- i am talking to a scorpio girl Our connection from the first moment was beautiful and in a short time I gained her trust and she earned mine, we have many things in common. We both like to write, we can be silent and feel at peace, we both share the same values etc etc... But when we started talking she confused me because she told me she didn't want to be in a relationship with anyone but we kept flirting and she told me that she had never trusted someone like she trusts me.
- At one point she asked me if I was seeing her as more than just a friend, and I said no. that I saw her as a friend and that she had a special place in my heart because of how she was with me and because she was one of the few people I could trust. Well, then I told myself that it was just a friendship between us, even though I felt that she liked me in the same way that I liked her.
- I feel that at that moment we both wanted to say the opposite, that we both liked each other but since I told her that I saw her as a friend I think she wanted to protect her feelings and decided to say the same thing and believe me that I understand her 100%. But understand that when we started talking she had told me that she didn't want anything to do with anyone so I decided to respect her decision and since our friendship is beautiful I decided to keep it that way because I didn't know how she felt. we were both protecting our feelings
- Well here I tell you the drama, she's my sister's best friend (who is a Libra) for 7 years and my sister always insisted that I be with her and I always told her no. I had never spoken to her until a few months ago. Well, my sister at that time saw that I didn't want to be with her best friend so she decided to introduce her to my cousin (who is a Virgo) and the three of them would go to the river to swim and every time they saw each other was when my sister was there
- Well, understandably, they both liked each other and at that time I didn't care because I didn't know her. All my siblings and my family knew her except me because I'm an antisocial and I didn't feel like meeting her lol. long story short she and my cousin were never anything since she decided to cut everything off with him, they only talked for a short time to get to know each other and this version was also given to me by my sister which proved it to be true.
- Well, the thing is, she only talked to my cousin through messages and they saw each other when my sister looked for them. My cousin is a little crazier than me lol and it seems that she saw it and didn't like it, he always asked her out, he invited her to his apartment and she didn't want to because she knew what he wanted with her and in the short time that I know her I could see that she respects herself and her body, so she decided not to talk to him again. All this was told to me by my sister who is her best friend.
- Well after all this context, we continued to flirt and talk to each other as if we were something even when we were both in the hospital while my sister gave birth, she sat down for me to lie on her thighs while she played with my hair and caressed my face, there was a moment when she and I were alone in the elevator and she hugged me because she is afraid of the elevators and while I hugged her, she let out an 'I love you' i was surprised and didn't know what to say so i kept hugging her. all of this happened two weeks ago...
- Yesterday I decided to talk to her and I asked her if we saw each other as friends and in a few words she told me that she always liked me, that she told me that she saw me as a friend because I told her that I saw her that way. And I asked her why she hadn't told me that if she had told me everything would have been different and she told me that she knows it in a few words, regretting not telling me. When my sister found out several months ago that she and I were talking, she had an argument with her and in a few words told her that she could talk to me normally but not for a relationship, and that it didn't look good for her to be with me when she was talking to my cousin (which should be noted that after what happened with my cousin my sister kept insisting that I be with her) so i don't understand why she's mad now.
-Following yesterday's conversation, she was telling me all this and told me that she was never with my cousin, that they were just getting to know each other (which is true because even my sister told me) but that she didn't want my family to see her as something she's not and that she didn't want to have any more problems with my sister who is her best friend. but that if they hadn't gone through so many problems, she would have loved to be with me. She told me that I'm everything she looks for in a man She told me that she loves the way I am and how I treat her, that she feels safe with me and that if we don't get to have a relationship that she wants life to put someone like me in her path because our connection is unique and beautiful.
-She's afraid of what might happen if we get together and obviously I understand that she doesn't want to have problems with my sister and much less now that my sister made her godmother to her son. But every time I told her to be honest with her feelings I got more confused because she herself is confused and at times she let me know that she wanted something with me but at times she made me see that she didn't want to out of fear.
I asked her to be sure, (well then are you sure you don't want anything? I don't want to start a relationship with someone without knowing how you feel, I don't want to hurt you) and she with a sad tone told me (don't worry about me my love, give yourself the chance, believe me that if a lot of things hadn't happened I wouldn't think twice right now and I'd be with you)
-but today we kept talking like we always do, so my question is should i move forward and keep her as a friend ?

I'm sure many of you have come across "trad-wife" content at some point or another online. I've been fed this content more and more lately, which had me thinking about what this "trend" means for mothers and families, and what impact it has overall for the mothers who are still "in the trenches" today. Whether it's a trend you participate in, or one you roll your eyes at, I think for the most part, it garners an emotional response from women, especially mothers, in either a positive or negative light. I also want to make it clear that "trad-wives" and SAHM are NOT the same thing at all, and should not ever be used interchangeably. These are two completely different things. A SAHM is still a working independent woman whos job inside of the home to be viewed equally as important as any work outside of the home.
I fall under the category of someone who is triggered by "trad-wife" content and generally have a pretty negative, critical response every time I run into it. But today, as I came across a video of yet another "trad-wife" influencer, who was defending her lifestyle, and call to "traditional" ways, I decided to stop and actually take a minute and be honest with what emotion I was really feeling when I come across this content. It isn't actually rage, disappointment or fear, like I tell myself it is. It's jealousy.
The truth is, my first reaction is jealousy and a sense of inadequacy that feeds off of my deepest insecurities as a mother. Jealousy for the mothers that can stay at home all day with their children, who can clean, bake, garden and cook with their little ones at their side. And as someone who is a working mum, but not by choice, I feel jealous of the extra time these women can spend with their children during these short pre-school years. I feel inadequate because I secretly fear I am failing as a mother by choosing a double income, over the financial insecurity of a one-income household. Inadequate because my house is a mess and I'm burned out from work from a job I hate by the time I get home, that I worry my children aren't getting the best version of me.
After the initial emotional response of jealousy, my logical brain kicks in and reminds myself that this lifestyle they are showcasing isn't reality. Most SAHM's aren't baking sourdough on homesteads all day. They aren't showing the 3AM wakeups or the teething drama. This isn't an accurate representation of motherhood for 95% of us. This leads me to my next emotional response, which is to then to substitute jealousy for criticism. I begin to list all the ways their lifestyle is flawed, naive and unsustainable to give myself some false sense of superiority to these women who are essentially just cosplaying.
I'm sure this reaction isn't uncommon. I feel it's a natural response for people to substitute the emotion of jealousy with criticism to justify their own lifestyles and choices that feel attacked. You could argue that the "trad-wife" movement is just that--a way for some SAHM's who may feel the need to justify their lifestyle and choices of not be in the work force, when surrounded by a world that places outside work in higher esteem than domestic work.
However, I would like to clarify that just because I feel jealous when watching this content, doesn't mean I wish I was a "trad-wife". I find the entire concept to be just as toxic as the "hustle"/"girl boss" culture they are fighting against. Not to mention, a completely misinformed and myopic view of what a "traditional" wife or family looked/looks like throughout the world. The "traditional" wife they are cosplaying as is just ONE example of a historic "traditional" family and a woman/mothers role within one. Yes, women have always been charged with domestic duties and childrearing. The home has always been where women have traditionally been taught to focus on, however, women have also ALWAYS worked outside of the home too—either on farms, factories or kitchens (etc). And women have ALWAYS outsourced childrearing to either a nanny or governess (if wealthy) or they had their eldest kids stay home and look after the younger ones. Working mothers, and hired childcare are not new concepts to the female history.
But, I do see how this trend came about. It’s an allergic reaction to the extreme push for women to get out of the homes and into the workforce. To climb the corporate ladder while breastfeeding. To pity the girl with the college degree and spit up stains on her shirt at home with unused potential. To take “equal rights” so literally we act like a man’s life or parental journey is identical to our own. Ignoring our monthly hormonal fluctuations and pretend we're fine to sit through that 2 hour meeting while popping Midol. That we add more value to society as another cog in a machine sitting in a cubicle, then managing your home and family, because that's just "sitting at home" all day, right? And maternity leave is really such an inconvenience…
Looking at both extremes, I found it funny how both sides share the same core issues/beliefs which do nothing but hold mothers, and families on both ends of the spectrum back. This is what I found were the major issues in the perception of motherhood at both extremes, when I took a step back and away from my own biases as a working mother.

1. We need to recognise that both lifestyles come with the enormous privilege many women don't have-- The ability to live off of one income is a privilege just like having enough money for childcare or family support is a privilege. For many, our family set up wasn’t a choice, it’s a necessity. The reasons to be or not to be a SAHM are not always a choice or preference. A lot of times these are hard decisions that include major sacrifices. Before you judge either lifestyle, acknowledge the privilege you might have in the CHOICE to follow either life path. A woman who HAS to work to keep her family fed, even if all she could afford were Poptarts for breakfast, is just as good of a mum as the one who made fresh sourdough that morning. The mum who has to go back to school shopping at the second hand store, and mend hand me downs to dress her kids on one income is just as good of a mum as the corporate baddie who bought her kids the trendy shoes their kid asked for. Both kids are fed, both kids are dressed, both kids are loved.
2. No matter what they say, we all love our kids, and how they turnout does NOT come down to your choice to work in or outside the home -- At the end of the day, I don’t think kids of working mums turn out much differently than kids of SAHM. I think we all know personal examples of rotten kids or adults with both types of mothers. Neither dictates your relationship with your child. As kids get older, they naturally drift away from us. The truth is we may mess up in ways we didn’t even consider. Our kids may always blame us for being overbearing by not having a life outside of the home. Or resent us for never being around because of work. Bad/toxic mothers can be found both in the home or the work force. Just think back to how the adults in our lives talk about their mothers--sometimes it was "mum had 6 kids at home, but she somehow managed to keep us all fed and cared for", or "mum had to work a full day cleaning houses, but she'd always make sure we read a book together after work". All mothers make sacrifices, no matter what type of sacrifice it is. Our kids aren't going to love or resent us for our choices to work or stay at home, but how we show up for them. Don't underestimate our children's ability to recognise our sacrifices on either end.
3. Full time domestic work and homemaking is a real full time job that hold just as much value as working outside of the home and should be treated and respected as such.-- Childcare is a full time job. Full time nanny's and daycares prove that. Homemaking is a full time job. We hire cleaners, interior designers and household staffs that prove it. Cooking, is a full time job. We hire chefs and nutritionists that prove it. So, when a woman is a SAHM does one (or more likely) all of the above jobs for her family, it’s given lesser value or consideration than someone who works outside the home? You hear “I like to get dinner ready and the house clean for my husband who worked all day he deserves to relax when he gets home”, as if you sat around watching tv all day? Just because you enjoy it, or it’s for your own benefit doesn’t make it any less of a real fulltime job. You deserve sick days and breaks throughout the day like any corporate job would...except you never actually get them. The person bringing in a paycheck doesn’t contribute a greater value to your family than you. And same goes for working mums—you already have one full time job, don’t discredit the work left at home as just “chores” that you additionally take on as “lesser value” expected tasks. If two people work outside of the home then two people need to be responsible for domestic work. These are full time jobs. Spouses cutting the grass and taking out the trash is not equivalent to cooking, childcare and cleaning. We need to stop ignoring the home in the overall picture of a healthy family life. We all need a safe place to live that is clean, we all need to eat nutritious food, and our children NEED someone to look after them. These things have a real invaluable place in society. As a working mum, I'm finding more and more how hard it is to bridge that gap, to manage two workplaces essentially, the home AND the outside work. All attention and focus goes to work outside of the home, but the home life doesn't just sustain itself. We are neglecting the importance of our domestic life in favour of the outside working life. This goes for both working mums and SAHM's. We need to stop ignoring that piece of the puzzle if we want to create the complete picture. As it stands now, most working mums cannot afford help in the home which is effecting our mental and physical health--SAHM's don't get any sort of financial nest eggs or assistance at basically working for free, which makes them more vulnerable to abuse.
4. Men need to be included in the domestic work in a way that sets them up for success. You are doing your family or spouse more harm than good by taking it all on yourself. -- By not giving dads a real opportunity to be involved in domestic duties you are depriving them and the children the full depth of a parent child bond and perpetuating that domestic life isn’t as valuable as outside work, or that domestic work is strictly a "woman's" domain. If you are a SAHM, and your job is to care for the house and kids, you just worked a full 8 hour day, just like your spouse. Because you stayed at home all day, most likely the basic chores have been done (though, kids are wild and even things like unloading a dishwasher can't be tackled), and maybe dinner is cooking. That alone is taking so much off of your spouses plate. Every family situation is different, every work situation is different, however, both you and your spouse are entitled to decompress a little after a full day. Dads need to be incorporated into the childcare aspect at the very least when they come home. Maybe since you spent all day with the kids, your husband gives them a bath and puts them to bed. Or, if you are a dual income house, maybe you split the bedtime duties, giving you the chance to spend SOME time with your children, after being gone all day--and just "play time" alone isn't enough or fair. I think a big way we fall down in including men into the domestic responsibilities, is for the same reason working mothers are struggling. The workforce was never set up with women or mothers in mind, and homemaking was never set up with men in mind. Now, some people will use this as an excuse to perpetuate that it shows that "a woman's place is at home", but studies have shown that over and over again, that fathers who are more involved at home make happier, more successful children. Children gain an enormous value from having fathers be just as involved in their upbringing as the mothers. And, I argue that men also gain just as much value from this. My husband is an equal partner in childrearing, and I'm in awe to see how much he has completely flourished and grown in this role. The truth is, most of us don't find fulfillment in our jobs. It's a paycheck. But a lot of us do find fulfillment in parenting. But to my point, we aren't setting men up to be successful in these roles, because men don't always think or approach things the same way as women. How many times have we had arguments with our partners because they ignored a mess, or didn't clean/do something properly, or we had to "nag" them to follow up on a chore...I know I have. But then I decided to take a step back and change my perspective on the home and family, and look at it as almost a military or corporate environment. Women don't thrive on deadlines and assigned tasks. We are better able to multitask, switch gears. To be too hyperfocused on one thing doesn't work so well when you have so many jobs to tackle at once. But men seem to work better with structure and direction. I feel like women see the big picture, and can zoom in from there, but men need to break things into smaller tasks before they can see the bigger picture. When a man retorts with "I'm not a mind reader", they are being just as dismissive to your needs and views as you would be by saying "you should just know". The truth is we are different. We were raised different, our brains function differently...but, I've found my partner excels in the household if he is given clear directions and expectations within the household. If instead of viewing it as two separate worlds, work and home, I approach it as equal sectors of one unit. Like how accounting is just as valuable to a corporation as their sales team. We are all operating for one goal, and one greater good. If your partner works outside the home, and you stay at home, then you need to view yourself as the manager of the home and delegate accordingly. How can you help your partner in their work day, and how can they help you in yours? You are on the same team. If you both work outside of the home, then you both need to take equal responsibility for the domestic work. You are both managers of the home, how can you support each other? What does one person do better than the other? Being passive aggressive because your spouse doesn't naturally see what needs to be done like you do, doesn't help anyone. Your spouse becomes defensive, and never learns, and feels out of place in home where you have inserted yourself as manager instead of an equal partner.
5. Other people’s choices don’t discredit yours no matter what they say. -- Everything seems to be a targeted attack these days. People can’t seem to live in a way that makes them happy without you feeling threatened by it. If a woman is happiest at home catering to their husbands whims, that has no effect on your choice to be a stay at home dad. One is not a threat to the other unless you begin to feel superior to another. That the way you choose to live your life is so superior you want to control the narrative and influence personal choices of others in your life by attacking someone else to lift yourself up. I can’t help but ask myself who is benefiting from staging us against each others? Definitely not the mothers. Lumping one group as “those people” keep us divided. Each side more extreme in their POV echoed by peers and targeted social media. We have been fed that it's an "us" versus "them" issue. That one side is pushing us back into the stone age, and undoing all the progress we have made in the feminist movement. The other side feels attacked for finding joy and value in living a life at home and as a mother, that society has stopped valuing their contribution...really, society as a whole hasn't changed much in the past 40 years. The workforce has more working mothers than ever before, but work culture and regulations have not changed to accommodate that. We have to change to accommodate them. SAHM's have always existed, but we have not elevated their status to show the equal contribution they have in our society. In the end, society is still just exploiting women. A capitalistic profit driven society benefits more from more people in the workforce. I think we are all angry at the same thing, a lack of choice and a lack of respect. Women fought hard to enter the workforce and gain independence and equal rights so that we could have the CHOICE of what our life would look like. But are choices are still being under attack. Being a SAHM or a working mum is no longer a choice for a lot of us. We are being goaded into believing one is more valuable than the other, and that's just not true. If you find peace and fulfillment at home, that doesn't make you any less educated or independent of a woman. And if you love your career and thrive in your work, that doesn't make you any less feminine (because apparently we can't be feminine and work anymore according to some...) or as good of a mother. We are humans and multifaceted and cannot and should not be defined by one singular role.

This ended up being some sort of weird feminist manifesto, which isn't want I intended, but I guess I had a lot to say on the subject. I suppose I'm just scared at how well social media has gotten at dividing us. Social media isn't inherently good or bad, it's a tool for connection, but now even mothers are being pitted against each other. We all know it takes a village to raise a family, but we've pitted the village against each other. We are too busy claiming we are "under attack" from our peers, when we're just puppets--they want us to feel "triggered", and I'm glad. Because now I'm triggered, but it's not at the "trad wife" who is harkening back to a world that never existed, but at the people who are instigating this. Who are filling women's heads with this nonsense, and trying to box up our "values" or what "femininity" means...what it means to be a woman and mother. Because being a woman and mother has meant a lot of different things throughout history. We control our own narratives. We need to stop insinuating that our way is the "right" way, or that society is faltering because women are no longer "feminine" or because women want to go back to staying at home. All of this is "right", all of this is "feminine". Being a woman can mean whatever you want it to mean, and being a mother just means loving your kids and doing your best everyday.
***NOTES: I know this was a very hetero/cis centric post that focused a lot of perceived gender norms that excludes the same-sex or trans families...even single mothers. It was written as a reaction to a "trad wife" trend that is extremely hetero/cis centric, so my reaction to it is from this perspective as a hetero/cis mother. However, I know these values and views totally effect all families no matter what they look like. So, I just wanted to put it out there that I see you, and would love to hear your voice on this as well.
Also, a lot of sweeping generalities in here as well. These are broad sweeping statements and generalisations based on societies general assumptions about genders and family life. Right, wrong or myopic, it's what we live in. My point in all this IS that every family and every person is unique, and that we can't keep functioning under the assumption that there is only one way or one family dynamic out there.

"That was the most asinine pack of lies I have ever seen. I have to make a video...No...It's not worth it...This dumb basic broad will find some way to invoke her children and victimhood and blah blah blah until she mobs you with annoying people you wish were dead on social media. Ignorance is her bread and butter anyway."
I have no idea how you people have survived viewing this content in real time so long. Clam should be studied. She is everything that annoys me about a certain type of person. Her baby died, years ago...So of course it becomes this THING with her that she has to constantly talk about and invoke as a fake reason to pretend to be sad when she is feeling lazy. Jeez lady, no joke, that sucks, but MOVE THE FUCK ON. Did someone really have to say it like that? YEARS LATER "Welcome to the dead baby podcast with claim bitcherson, dead baby mom. buy my dead baby shirts, and please, remember to tune in on the 13th of every month as I threaten to kill myself because of PMDD, then use that to sell you a period tracker app."
"Hi, I think you are playing up a lot of this crap for drama and pity views. Just saying..."
"THIS MOTHERFUCKER IS MAKING FUN OF DEAD BABY MOM! DEAD BABY DEAD BABY! I HAVE A DEAD BABY! AUDIENCE, ATTACK THIS PERSON! DEAD BABY DEAD BABY! THEY HAVE MOCKED ME AND THEREFORE THE DEAD BABY BY EXTENTION! (deadbabydeadbaby)
Look, real shit, NOBODY IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE "I wish babies didn't die" ISSUE.
WE GET IT YOU HATE YOUR DAD AND YOUR UTERUS IS A DEATH CAMP. Just change your gender or join the Army or something Clam, why must you make the rest of us suffer?
AND GOD HELP THE ONES THAT SURVIVED because they will be exploited daily one way or another. If mom isn't telling thousands about your period, she is plotting on sending her son to school with maxi pads or if the kids aren't around she whines about a neighbor protecting his property FROM HER AND HER "WEASLEYS FROM HELL" family by using them as a human shield. Screming to the hills, "MY CHIIIIDREN PLAY IN MY HALF ACRE BACKYARD! NOBODY CAN POINT A CAMERA WEST! IT IS FORBIDDEN! DESPITE ME GIVING YOU CAUSE TO DO SO DAILY! DEADBABY DEADBABY DEEEEAAADDDDBAAAAAAABBBBBYYYY. JOOOOIINNN MYYYYY ONLYFAAAAAAAAAANNNNNSSSS!"
Just shut up.
Thank you internet, I had to get that out. I know you have all felt the same.

https://www.reddit.com/SipsTea/s/663vNtKq7W
Watch the above video, that's what I am looking for in a partner. No matter what, we laugh and enjoy the moment. I want a person who has similar style of humor and sees life with a lighter lens.
Here's what my onlyfans say- - male, 38, decently built, human - likes to make silly jokes to keep people smiling - rides motorcycles but doesn't know how to wheelie, but something tells me he doesn't care - can read, write, speak - must be educated with an MBA atleast, and something tells me he's an engineer by education as well - likes to hog, not a hog though - has a dog dad personality, some call him Jon Wick, only way to find out is to mess with his dog. Basically, he doesn't need to do anything, the dog takes care of himself - doesn't own a gun, no kids, no wife/wives, no parents, no doubt, no limit, no no - can hold a conversation, your purse, your dog, your bank details etc. - welcomes tips from his onlyfans ;) - is low maintenance, must be low standard human being - doesn't give a hoot about your caste, creed, color, religion, nationality, age, your mum, your paternal uncle, your day (😜) - can't believe he's 38, doesn't look or act like it. How the heck does he do long distance riding! - is raunchy and wild, but you need to bring it on - wears suits to work - you can't beat him at tennis or table tennis and if you did, may the non existent gods bless thy ass - enjoys photography, ofcourse for onlyfans - his contribution to cooking would be to preparation but has no active understanding of how food is made, ridiculous - on days when he cooks you a breakfast in bed, a butt pinch is how your need to show appreciation - can afford a good tip in a restaurant but appreciates it if people earn it
Here's what my dead mom might want, and I may or may not want the same, so tread carefully - please be funny and able to hold a conversation - please don't be a jerk, a gentleman my son is so be nice - doesn't care if you're the most beautiful person in the world but if you don't know how to use that pound of a brain he's a walker - be prepared to have a heart attack because of his silliness, I'm dead because of him! - enjoys range of conversation topics and appreciates anything goes by keep it all light - able to read between the lines of the onlyfans comments above - be around please - ex boyfriends are welcome as long as they are in another dimension
P.S- I don't hate kids, I just don't want my own or anyone elses to stop me from living my life how I want.
P.P.S - intimate shots of armpits upon request and tips on onlyfans

My dad (70) was diagnosed with advanced stage PC with Mets to the liver and a few adrenals on march 24th after an ER visit that turned into a 26 day stay between three hospitals. Finally landed at UVA which is “supposedly” one of the best teaching hospitals around and has three pancreatic specialists on hand. Long story short.. the tumor is so large it has cause two blockages , one in the esophagus and one in the duodenum. He cannot take anything but liquid by mouth. The tumor has also caused hemorrhage issues and the need for a few blood transfusions during his hospital stay. They finally put in a J and G tube after 20 some days of no nutrition and losing over 135 pounds in the last six months. we didn’t know the weight loss was bad in it as he was trying to lose some to control his diabetes but he went from losing about 30 of it naturally to the rest within a short couple months. Anyway, finally got that nutrition correct as much as possible and he’s doing nighttime feeds on his G. He had a 6 day stay be a of some tube issues but all seems to be clear now. I know he’s tired of hospitals and doctors already and has vented his frustration to us about it but he’s also open about being willing to fight and do what he has to do. We FINALLY met with the oncologist last week after all this time and he basically only talked about the blockage and nutrition. He didn’t go over pathology or any of the details I thought he should. They plan to start him on gem/abrax in another two weeks from now which I am happy about however, he said no when I asked if they’d be doing any baseline CTs or anything to see where the tumors are at so we can know if chemo is working. He said it’s pointless because we know it’s not curable, they just want to try and shrink it as much as possible in the hopes he may be able to eat again. This is frustrating to me. It’s been over 2 months, that cancer could be doing God only knows what in there. I would think they’d want to at least see what has changed since his initial scans over 60 days ago. I know I do? I want to know if it’s grown, has it moved, has it spread to other areas? That tells me a realistic view of what to expect in the near future. I have asked my mom, pleaded with her, to get a second option at the hospital my husband is currently at for his colon cancer. They are wonderful and the oncology dept has been overly thorough about every aspect. It has really helped me understand and prepare for moving forward. She refuses. She said they’ve already had to be moved around so much that she doesn’t want to do it again, even though she’s not happy with the care he’s receiving at UvA, and there have been several times that nurses made mistakes that ended up harming my dad. My mother is not very assertive about anything so I even offered to do the work for her, making phone calls and asking all the questions, etc. But she won’t do it. 😠 It’s so infuriating. I know she doesn’t want my dad to die, but I also know she isn’t doing all the things that could be done to bring him more time. I don’t understand why she won’t let me do it but I’ll always respect her and his wishes. Just frustrated! I hate this cancer with my entire being!!!

Hi mamas,
This sub has been my single source of inspiration for continuing my breastfeeding journey. My baby is 4.5 months now and healthy and doing great. Seeing him thrive, I forget all the pain that I go through for pumping. Lately, I have been having a hard time managing my time between my full time crazy desk job and managing my son. I do have my husband and dad fully helping me with the baby and the household work- but I feel like I am not doing justice to my pumping schedule. I am pumping 4 times and make 21oz and my son eats around 28-30 oz daily so I need 2 bottles of formula. I know deep inside my heart that if I pump in the morning by sleeping at night on time I can reduce that to one formula bottle only - but I feel like I am slipping away into laziness. I know my job is mentally draining and tough, I have client calls early AM where I have to be responsible and I am skipping my morning pump to 11am - literally losing the first half of the day and then I pump 4 hours to get 5 oz each pump. I am disappointed with my self, I feel guilty every night but I don’t know how to come out of this mess that I have created. My husband places all the pump parts in a ziploc bag next to my bed and he wakes me up at 7 to pump and I don’t know where the time passes by and it’s already mid day. Please help me out. I want to pump till my baby turns one that’s my dream that’s my goal. Help me achieve it please. I need motivation and advice from y’all to get me pump more. Any quick tips or hacks ? Anything that helps me.. please don’t judge me..I want to pump it’s just that I suck at time management..

Need some advice and perspective on how to handle this.
There was back and forth about organizing my eldest daughters birthday party because my ex husband wanted to organize it after I had already told him it was organized and I planned/organized and paid for the younger two children’s parties held in end of Feb and beginning of April.
Last week he agreed to go with my plans. This week I get a message to say our daughter (12) has asked for his girlfriend and her children to attend the birthday party. The party is at an art studio and she had asked for only her class to attend, specifically telling me she didn’t want her own younger siblings to attend. My ex husband then proceeds to say our daughter told him ‘she is concerned that mom does not know them.’ followed by ‘I can appreciate that it can be difficult for you that they will attend but can you please add them to the list of attendees.’
Its not difficult for me to be around this woman or her children. It’s awkward because my ex husband hasn’t introduced her to me. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to not want this woman I don’t know at my daughter’s birthday party that I’m hosting and paying for when my daughter has said she doesn’t want her own siblings to attend?!? I have moved on post divorce and I want to be able to enjoy my children on my weekends. There will be about 7 children from my daughters class at the party, it’s a drop off event and I am taking them for ice cream afterwards as my daughter asked for that instead of a cake.
This is the background.
Our marriage ended 2 years ago, separation happened in Feb 2023, he met his girlfriend in July 2023. He met her children in October 2023 and wanted to introduce our children in November 2023. He and I were in coparent therapy at the time and the therapist said absolutely do not introduce the children to your girlfriend. Coparent therapy broke down when he was caught recording our sessions, he lied about not agreeing to things which I then showed he had agreed to and no progress was being made. In this coparenting therapy process it became very clear it was toxic, emotionally violent and the therapist advised it was best we parent as separately as possible.
Come mid Feb 2024, he messaged me to say ‘I would like you to know the children met ‘the girlfriend’ at the park. This was the first time they have met.’ Total lie. She met them via FaceTime in December and he made sure she spoke with the children each week they were with him. My children told me this. Four weeks later he introduced the children to her children. I was not told of this by him but the children. I decided to say nothing to my ex husband because it’s none of my business for as long as our children are ok.
April 2024 my ex husband shows up to our daughter’s soccer game (school based team playing outside of school) with his girlfriend and her two boys. It’s awkward because I have my daughter go over to say hi and return to ask why I don’t introduce myself. Well, it’s my weekend with my children. I don’t appreciate my ex husband thinking it’s ok to show up on my weekend with his girlfriend and kids and then manipulate my daughter to ask me why I don’t walk over and introduce myself. Daughter is 12 and I don’t know a 12 year old who would say ‘why don’t you introduce yourself’ on their own. At the last soccer game of the season, two weeks ago, I showed up, expecting to see the girlfriend so I could introduce myself, and she wasn’t there. The following day my daughter told me they slept overnight at the girlfriend’s house. As a parent with 50/50 custody I was shocked he hadn’t told me ahead of time providing me with the address of where the children would be overnight.
The whole thing is one big circus which I really don’t want to be part of. Any sane parent would wait a year before introducing a new partner. They would also set up an opportunity for me to meet the person they are dating before introducing them to the children. I have been perfectly pleasant about his girlfriend with the children when truthfully I think the pair of them are behaving atrociously with zero regard for the welfare of the children involved and my ex husbands behavior towards me is incredibly controlling and abusive. I later found out from other parents that his girlfriend has only shown up on my weekends. My heart breaks for my daughter because she is being used by him to create the opportunity for her father to justify asking me to invite his girlfriend and her two children when he isn’t paying for it nor hosting the party. Our daughter of course doesn’t know this.
Reading this, I want to minimize the drama from him in my life and my children’s. Not sure how to best achieve that.

Long time lurker, first time poster. I never thought my MIL was QUITE bad enough for me to post on here... Background: I (33F) have been with my husband (37M) for 13 years, married for one year and I am 8 months pregnant with our first. My MIL has a history of manipulative behavior and making things about her. She is a kind person and does love us, but when push comes to shove, she will make it about herself. For example - last year his bachelor party ended up over mother's day weekend- not ideal yes, but a Bach party is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be celebrated by the people who love you and are excited for you. But instead she has never let him live it down that he missed mother's day (and he took her out after he got home). He bruised his ribs last month and when she found out he didn't immediately tell her she said "I used to be the first person you would tell that to" and made him feel guilty about it. Of course he told his WIFE first! About 5 years ago her and his sister called him and told him that I was stealing him away from his family 🙄. ANYWAY: My husband has suffered from depression his whole life and Wednesday was admitted to an inpatient mental health facility for suicidal thoughts. The visitation is super limited, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 6pm to 650 pm. He's doing really well and taking meds and starting to feel better but he misses me and our baby and doesn't want to give up any of those 50 minutes to visit with anyone else right now. All of our friends and other family understand but of course his mother does not. She has been all over me today saying "I know he doesn't want us to visit but I NEED to see my child" and "he has to let me in" "tell him he has to let me in". I completely understand her wanting to see him, this is so hard on all of us. But it is the acknowledgement of what he wants and needs but still prioritizing what she needs. Her son is in crisis and needs us to be selfless more than anything right now.
My solution is just to send updates on group text to his mom and siblings so she feels pressure not to be a selfish brat hopefully. Am I just being a hormonal preggo and overreacting?

Personally, it was this one of me explaining TF2 lore (Please excuse the spelling errors at the bottom and any inaccuracies to the lore, it was late at night and the text wall started glitching)
Right so there was this guy, Zephaniah Mann, right? He co-owned MANN co., a weapons company, with an Australian called Barnabus Hale. And Mann had three sons, Redmond, Blutard and Gray. He was going to kill Gray for being weak and being able to speak when he was born, but an Eagle came in and raised him. We ignore Gray for now. Redmond and Blutard grew up and convince Zephaniah to buy some useless land in the middle of the New Mexico deserts. When Zephaniah died, he left his money to his maidservant, Elizabeth, his company to Barnabus and his sons the uselessand land, to share. But the boys didn't want to share and hired mercenaries to steal the land off each other. Well the boys got old, but Blutard wanted to outlive his brother, so he hired Radigan Conagher to make him a machine that would make him live forever. As Radiagn was sorting that out, Elizabeth approached with a solution, Australium, something that makes Aussies big and strong, and moustached and made it so that non Aussies could live longer. She sold him the Australium as long as he made a machine for Redmond as well. To which he agreed. And Redmond and Blutard have lived for well over 100 years making the war go on for over 100 years. And I'm like 99% sure that the Administrator is Elizabeth, but she changed her name to Helen. Now, Gray also somehow got his hands on the Australium as well, making himself immortal as well. Despite being Australian himself, the australium he was exposed to didn't make him immortal. It has to be in your blood stream to do that. So Barnabus, Zephaniah's co-owner of MANN co., who was now full owner after his death, died, and left the company to his son, Billious. He's not important. So Billious dies and leaves it to his son, Saxton Hale. Now Gray Mann obviously wants MANN co., right? We've heard talks about him actually killing his brothers, so we've got to be careful with that. And apparently when he does, he's going to use the MANN co. fighting policy to his own gain, by saying his daughter, Olivia, who's mother I feel terribly bad for, is the CEO of Gray Gravel, and telling her to fight Saxton. So we do really need to tell Saxton to punch a child. But anyways, back to the mercenaries. Redmond and Butard managed to get 3 teams of mercenaries, the first 2 aren't important, I hope. So these current mercenaries, we have four trained assassins on team team, those are your spys and snipers, we have two scouts, two engineers, two demolitions experts, two Heavy weapons guys, two soldiers and two medic's and two pyro. Thats all shared between 9 a side.

In my business, I specialize in custom cakes and make all kinds of cakes - hyperrealistic cakes, luxury cakes (you can check my profile to get an idea). I got an opportunity in my city to participate in a food event. I will have at tent and a booth. I was thinking about offering a few different unique-ish cupcake flavours to sell. My husband thinks that I should have a decked out cake on the table as well and sell it by the slice. I don’t think that’s a good idea because people don’t do that… Typically you have sliced cake for sale but it’s already packaged and ready to go. You’re not just like “cut a slice for me”… that’s a bit weird… but at the same time, I want people walking by to be “show stopped” by a cake I made to show what it is that I do and what I’m capable of to boost my business… because like I said, cupcakes aren’t really my focus. I make cupcakes of course if ordered but what I really do are custom cakes. So I’m a bit unsure of what I should do.. I thought maybe a portfolio book type thing.. but it’s much different when you’re walking by and you see this extravagant cake in front of you.

Jesus was confused with Satan by some cultures and even worshipped as such – despite the fact that he was considered a "good" Satan and a "positive" Devil that sided with the weak and vulnerable and betrayed the "powerful ones" in order to dedicate himself and his life completely to the poor. (Such notion is not alien at all even to the texts – because Jesus is expressly called the Morning Star in 2 Peter 1:19 and in Revelation 2:28).
This is apparent in the fact that the Hebrews for example did not recognize Christ as the Messiah and they even called him "evil" and applied to him the title "Satan" (from the Hebrew: "śāṭān" meaning: "adversary, enemy"). The definition of "evil" here is relative – because since Jesus went against the teachings that the Hebrews held as sacred and he also went against the teachings that the Muslims for example also regarded as sacred (and he went against many other cultures as well for that matter; because the figure of Jesus was pagan and it actually belonged worldwide to all cultures of the world and he was claimed to have opposed all of them trying to reform them) – he was thus called "evil" in relative terms by some of these cultures; meaning an "enemy" or "adversary" of those doctrines. Originally not even the Christians considered Christ as a positive figure; because Christ professed a lot of ideals that were inconceivable and impossible to apply according to the mentality of the powerful castes that rule society – like the priesthood for example; because Jesus claimed many times that the wealthy ones must renounce everything they have, they must give their money to the poor and then and only then – will they be allowed to follow Christ.
But the Church completely ignored and bypassed this teaching of Christ because they knew that if they had started preaching this to their believers; they would lose all believers in one second since no one wants to give up their house, their wealth and their life to follow the Church. So even the Church had to rearrange and modify a lot of the teachings of Christ while straight up censoring and ignoring others; in order to create a religion out of it. The only difference is that the Christian Church decided that it was worth investing their time and money in turning Jesus into the symbol of their faith and into a figure that would appeal to the masses (basically deifying him and using his name and memory to attract people into the religion) – while the other two religions (Judaism and Islam) completely disregarded Jesus altogether and considered him a madman instead and even went as far as to call him "evil" and a "Devil" precisely because he had preached such revolutionary notions that were just impossible to accept for the rich and wealthy. (Another reason for this is also because Judaism had a different idea of the Messiah altogether and they followed a different Messiah – and this other idea of the Messiah along with the other Messiah – were also very different from the "Jesus Christ" concept altogether – but that’s besides the point).
The symbology of the spring refers to the blood of Christ which gives life and makes vegetation grow on the earth much like the water of a spring; but it also holds literal meaning because the pagan figures who correspond to "Jesus" were all claimed to have met their demise or to have had a life-changing experience happen near a spring or near a water-source more generally speaking. Such is the case for Hermaphroditus who was rendered female by his union with Salmacis near a spring; or also the castration of one of the gods called "Uranus" – because according to Cicero in his "De Natura Deorum" there were multiple Uranuses and one of them was the "younger" one – and he’s the same who was said to have been castrated near a spring by Phoenician mythology. (The fact that Hermaphroditus was joined to Salmacis thus becoming definitively feminine near the waters of a spring – refers to the confusion that happened in the myth due to the nature of the two characters taken into analysis; because Hermaphroditus and Salmacis were actually brother and sister in other iterations of the story and they were claimed to have been conjoined thus essentially making up a single being who was a "man-woman" united. But then after their birth they were separated and their bodies were not conjoined anymore; although the male – in this case Hermaphroditus – was claimed to have been castrated in further iterations of the story so it looked as though he had returned to being a female and was thus "rejoined" to his female nature which is why the Greek myth confused it and claimed that Hermaphroditus lost his manhood but he lost it by being rejoined to his twin-sister Salmacis. In reality he was castrated near the waters of that spring – the "conjoined" part referring instead to the myth of their birth, but the two accounts were later confused and amalgamated into a single story for the Hermaphroditus myth; thus confusing also the timeline on when exactly was it that the two siblings were conjoined – whether it was at the beginning of their lives or at the end of it as in the case of Hermaphroditus and Salmacis).
The god Attar of the planet Venus was worshipped as "Atarsamain" (Attar of heaven) by the Arabs and equated with Allat i.e. Athena (a fact that has left academics dumbfounded even to this day as for how is it possible that a male god was completely equated and identified with a female one. But the answer is found in the mythology and themes of the god himself – where he was considered of androgynous nature and was claimed to have underwent castration which made him be perceived as a female by some cultures). He was furthermore equated with the goddess Anat in the form of "Ninurta" – because the Mesopotamian warrior-god Ninurta being equivalent to Attar (and Atarsamain) himself – he was directly equated with the Canaanite goddess "Anat" and the name of Anat was also written as "NIN.URTA" in cuneiform. There is an epithet of Anat which calls the deity: "the strength of life" and this particular epithet is applied to Ninurta continuously throughout Sumerian mythology because he’s consistently called the "strength of Enlil" – the "one with superior strength" – the "son in whose strength the father rejoices" – the one with the "strength of a lion" and Ninurta was also in charge of ditches and canals being the one who created the canal-system in Sumer and who was claimed to have brought to everyone the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as a result. The epithet of Anat – in this case referring to the male Anat who was though still worshipped as female regardless because the god possessed androgynous qualities (and not coincidentally the term "Nin" which comprises the name "Nin-urta" is actually more often than not utilized for female goddesses in Sumerian culture; for example "Ninhursag", "Ninisina", "Ninlil" etc. as it usually means "lady" – but in this case the word assumes a neutral meaning and its connotation is given by the context; so since the god is male it’s translated as "lord" – but the androgynous aspect of this deity is still kept intact nonetheless by using "Nin" instead of "En" ("En" being more traditionally used in Sumerian to mean "lord") – and the title thus refers for the concept of "the strength of life" to the strength of life as a life-giver; because Ninurta being associated with water and with the fertilizing effects of water having been the one who brought canals and ditches to Sumer; the meaning of the term thus acquired such connotation.
This deity is also always associated with physical beauty; for example in the case of Dumuzi (the Mesopotamian god of vegetation) who was called "the one with the beautiful eyes" and even in the form of "Ishtaran" (a form of Dumuzi worshipped as the "heavenly serpent") – where there are several references to his "beautiful face". This notion of beauty is once again reinforced and repeated for all other versions of this pagan god as he was called by many different names throughout cultures – for example also in the form of "Joseph" the biblical son of Jacob; who was claimed to be so beautiful that while a slave in Egypt the women could not resist him – or even in the form of Japheth the third son of Noah (who corresponds still to the same character) – where the word "Japheth" is connected to the root meaning "to be beautiful".
Thus the ideals of "strength and beauty" refer to him. (The pagan imagery of this god depicts him joyous and free as he dances through the flower-fields and while bringing the springing of vegetation to the seasons – often times represented with ears of corn or garlands adorning his head; as in the case of his Slavic counterpart "Potrimpo" for example).
Christ furthermore corresponds also to the pagan god Dionysus as mentioned in other posts; and Dionysus had a particular epithet in Rome which later ended up becoming his main name (or one of his many names alongside the more renown "Bacchus") and this particular title was that of "Liber" i.e. "the free one", one who embodies "freedom".
In form of "Ishtaran" Dumuzi was worshipped as "Anu" as well – since they called Ishtaran with the epithet "AN.GAL" i.e. "great Anu"; thus meaning that Dumuzi was so beloved and his cult had risen to such prominence at some point – that some local traditions (smaller ones) worshiped him as God the Creator himself and substituted him in place of Anu or at the very least differentiated him from the main "Anu" by calling him "AN.GAL" – "the great Anu" or "greater Anu". This is why Hermaphroditus/Jesus corresponds also in Phoenician mythology to the one "Uranus" who was said to have been castrated near a fountain-spring – Uranus being the Greek equivalent of the Sumerian "Anu" and this is why he was addressed with the name "Uranus" and worshipped as one of the "Uranuses" (the younger Uranus, because the older Uranus is instead the father of Cronus/Saturn and he’s a much older Uranus).
Given how Dumuzi was worshipped as the male Ishtar and as Attar in Canaanite lands (from whom the name "Ishtar" came from because the name of the goddess "Ishtar" is actually in the masculine gender and the goddess inherited that name from the male god who was called "Attar", "Ashtar" and "Ishtar" himself); one has to take into account that the male god was worshipped as androgynous though – which is why he was later equated with the female goddess Inanna in Mesopotamia and became indistinguishable from her to the point that she also came to be called Ishtar herself. The rosette is the symbol of Venus and of this male god of Venus who corresponds to Christ himself.
But at the same time the rosette is also the symbol of the female Venus as well and of the goddess Inanna (the female form of Ishtar) so the rosette refers to both Ishtars; the male and female one referring to the planet Venus in general.
Now, seeing as to how the figure of the "son of god" was worshipped as "the creator" himself by some more local cultures who idolized him to such degree that they ended up seeing him as the superior god over others – this explains one of the symbologies present on the modern representation of the apparent "pagan god" of the Templars; where he’s depicted with the head of a goat and the five pointed star facing downward. The five pointed star being a symbol of the divine – it represents through the symbology present on the idol the fact that the god in question is not the one who resides in the sky (in which case the five pointed star would have to be pointing upwards instead); but they worshipped on the other hand a creator who was "the creator on earth" thus being "the one below" – so their god was represented by the pointed star facing downwards. (This is for the representations that depict the idol with the star facing down; otherwise in other cases the star is absent altogether).
Now, according to the Atbash ciphering interpretation done on the name "Baphomet" which becomes: "Sophia" – if the interpretation is indeed correct (that Baphomet=Sophia) it would make total sense given how the name of Christ himself was actually "Sophia" and the why that is was explained in this previous post: https://www.reddit.com/EsotericOccult/s/P3ZkDJvXdM – where essentially there was talk on the Christ’s physical appearance and the fact that he was born with androgynous traits. This for example made it so that the character in question also displayed overly-sized pectorals that were rather exposed when compared to the rest of his body and were also rounded and protruding; sometimes even resembling female breasts (and that’s where the symbology of the rooster sticking its chest out and of Christ "with breasts" came from: – the rooster in the act of sticking its chest out: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/81/a6/a5/81a6a5da3c527f3ce0fe1648a7650001.jpg – and the depiction of Christ "with breasts" on the Notre-Dame church: https://gcm.rmnet.be/clients/rmnet/content/medias/christus_750.jpg). This (physical) androgynous nature of the "son of god" was then explained through metaphors and in spiritual terms by Christianity and Gnosticism with the fact that when Sophia incarnated she incarnated as "Jesus Christ".
But – there was also a female-incarnated Sophia; which incarnated as a woman and the figure in question is sometimes identified with the "Thetokos" i.e. "mother of god" Mary – or alternatively substituted by Mary Magdalene the consort of Jesus (being called the "Bride of Christ"). The fact that the Templars were claimed to have worshipped the prophetic head of a female refers to the cult of the pagan goddess who corresponded to the Magdalene – where; she was claimed in pagan mythology to have been decapitated or to have been "half-decapitated" (her throat cut significantly to the point of almost detaching her head from her neck) and the goddess in question possessed oracular as well as prophetic gifts. The notion of Magdalene who corresponds to this pagan goddess was addressed in this previous post: https://www.reddit.com/EsotericOccult/s/iHlaRrZnzL.
So essentially the Templars were worshipping both Christ and Magdalene through pagan imagery (Christ being "Sophia" himself and Magdalene being the "female Sophia" who’s the counterpart of the Messiah); something which was not acceptable to the Church – and also because they were worshipping Christ in his real nature as opposed to the heavily filtered and altered version that Christianity gave of him – thus opposing the "official" canon established by the Church altogether.

Hi Parents! I (37F) have a toddler (3M) with my partner (39M) and we both work from home. Our son goes to daycare full time and we have lots of friends and family close by (we are super lucky) so our schedules are hectic.
I find myself to often be the 'bad cop' in our family, doing most of the work around communicating why we don't do things, safety, tantrum taming, consequences etc. My partner is a great dad, highly engaged and hands on, but has a much less structured approach to parenting. I actually think this dynamic isn't all bad, it plays to each of our strengths. I'm super process oriented, structured and rule based (this makes me sound like a dick, but I'm not, I promise) and he's much more fly by the seat of your pants, laid back and "fun".
I'd like to hear from parents who are in this dynamic and specifically how I can step out of this role more often and become a more "fun" Mom.
I also have been watching Bluey lately and love the vibe of the family dynamic if that helps lol.

All speculation aside, I think the RF credibility has been on its knees for quite a while and their recent behaviour has only served as a reminder. Without the risk of sounding too ignorant, the majority of their fan base seem to be people of a certain age or generation. Most folks my age (late 30s) think they're either irrelevant, scum, lizards or worse!
To summarise, the man currently waving the sceptre has the following accreditations:

• Mentored in his formative years by Lord Mountbatten, a known p**dophile.
• Married his mistress after the tragic death of his wife, who accused him of trying to have her killed before she died.
• Former best friends with one of Britain's most prolific p*dophiles, and protects/enables his little brother, who is also a known sx offender.
• Expressed concern for his son marrying a POC and the resulting colour of his grandchild's skin.
• Hates pens.

And that's just the cherry, there's plenty more in the cake! Whatever comes from Kate-Gate, it doesn't look good for any of them.
I could speculate all day on what I think is going on, but with the already mounting evidence that they're shadier than a parasol factory, I doubt I could think of anything worse than they've probably already done.
Abolish the monarchy, give sparkling water a chance.

multiple content warnings, i’m sorry, this will be long, this isn’t even everything and it’s a damn book i am 19. i was 11 when i had to grow up. my parents decided to divorce after months of fighting, letting us know a week before my 12th birthday. you know, the classic divorce story. my dad moved out and my mom started dating people. it moved so fast. we moved to a different area, even though we had just moved into a new house a year earlier, leaving my childhood hometown behind. my mom was trying to pursue school so we were living on student aid and stamps. (i have 3 siblings, so there were 5 of us) i started middle school in that area and was doing pretty well off. then my mom got pretty serious with someone i’m going to call SOB, he doesn’t deserve a name. my mom and SOB were dating for two months before that thing proposed to my mom. we met him once before he was labeled our step dad. my mom sat us down and told us we’d be moving to idaho to be closer to her family. come to find out, the whole reason for going there was because SOB is an ex convict and he couldn’t leave idaho because that’s were his parole was.
we were told at the time that he was framed for kidnapping and he had a whole story crafted to back it up. being a kid and needing my mom, i didn’t ask or dig about it. so we moved to idaho. i started school there and immediately got death threats. i got called a hoe relentlessly for seemingly being pretty. eventually things calmed down and i had friends, but that place was tiny and once people have formed an opinion of you, there’s no changing it, so it was hard to get around.
SOB was awful to my younger brother. we’ll call this brother zayn. zayn has bad adhd and has always struggled with school. he’s one of the smartest people i know, but getting assignments in is not his forte. so as a result he’s never had the highest grades. SOB hated the fact that my brother wasn’t doing great and would literally stand there and scream at him to get his work done. there was one time that i was in my room and i started to hear my brother screaming so immediately i’m upstairs to help him, SOB was literally chasing my brother around our house with a damn bat screaming at him like a demon was coming out. i yelled at him to leave my brother alone and things just got darker after that. me and my brother were scum to him and he ran our house like the hunger games. my other little brother and my older sister were prized jewels, they got everything they wanted and more, and SOB would rub it in our faces. he even gave my dog away, i went days worrying about her and looking because i thought she had ran away, to find out that some other person had my dog now and i wouldn’t ever get her back.
fasting forward a little, SOB violated his parole by going on a trip that wasn’t fully approved and got put back in jail right before christmas. my mom completely threw herself into trying to get him out. me and my sister noticed that my mom hadn’t gotten a single thing to be santa for my brothers, so we scraped up the money we had to get gifts so my brothers wouldn’t lose their christmas spirit seeing that santa didn’t come when things were already so bad as it was. i love that i was able to do this for them, the smiles on their faces, i will never forget that christmas.
after a long time of having a very absent mother, she was able to get SOB out of jail. he came back even worse of a monster then when he left. he sexually assaulted my mom, committed all kinds of fraud, basically stole all of my papa’s retirement money, the list goes on. my mom decided she wanted a divorce and when he found out, he went crazy. he locked all of us out of our house and threw our things on the lawn. it rained, i lost so many things, a one of a kind paper mache venitian mask i had gotten on a trip with my dad to italy included.
it’s 2020 by now and we went on a trip to Texas, to meet the person my dad was dating. on the trip, I very much learned that she was not for my dad. but, all reasoning was in vain. my dad proposed, and we had literally just met her. so that was that my dad was engaged now and focused on trying to move them out to him and getting a new house. my mom decided at that time that she wanted to move too so we had a choice, move to my dads and go back to the area i grew up in, or go with my mom to another ranch town in idaho. i chose my dads. my brothers came with, but my sister stayed with my grandparents where we lived in idaho so she could graduate.
things were fine for a bit. my mom was dating a lot and even got engaged. then she told us about this other guy she had been seeing, who had given her a 500 mile ride home from somewhere. immediately suspicious, especially because she wouldn’t drop a name. come to find out other guy was SOB. SOB proposes to her again and she’s got two engagement rings from two different people. everyone was like, what the actual shit are you doing. my mom was in a very cooky state of mind, broke things off with the other guy, and stayed with SOB. there was a weekend in september that my cousin had something going on so my extended family and everything was all there and we decided there needed to be some kind of intervention. to keep things short, it didn’t go well. my mom ended up leaving and she told me and my sister that she didn’t want to be our mom anymore. found out through facebook a couple days later that my mom and SOB were married.
then came the everlasting fun of a custody battle. my step mom had gotten into my dads head saying he needed to take full custody. now i wasn’t the biggest fan of my mom at the time, but that didn’t mean i never wanted to see her. my parents hated each other. there were a few times in exchanges that the cops ended up being called.
for a while my dad had pretty bad anger issues. low blood sugar, overstimulation, bad smells, anything could set him off. i just so happened to have a very large target on my back so i got the brunt of everything. i wouldn’t let him yell at my brothers and this resulted in me getting the lashings, but i would do it all again if that meant protecting my brothers. he wasn’t angry all the time, there were a lot of good days, but it was definitely pretty tortuous for a while. a lot of the problem, which i knew would happen to begin with, was my step mom. she is one of the laziest people i’ve ever known, which is the complete opposite of my dad. my dad likes to do things, he’s always active. so he was frustrated because he would want to do things with his wife there, and she would almost always refuse, so she could have a quiet day in bed. my step mom had also convinced herself that i was stealing from her. she ransacked my room multiple times, to no avail. she took my car keys ‘until she could prove i was taking things from her’ and i only got them back because they were sick of giving me rides places. she actually ended up stealing some of my things trying to claim they were hers, so she hid them and i haven’t seen them since.
so yeah i got yelled at a lot, accused of being a thief, and my relationship with my mom was shit + the joys of high school. i have been doing musical theater my whole life. when i first got to my new high school i was so excited because, although i wasn’t able to audition for the productions companies that year, the teacher told me i was a shoe in for the next year. she ended up leaving and we got a new teacher, if you can even call her that. so it’s my junior year, the first year with her, and it wasn’t bad, i got some good parts and did really well. i ended up getting nominated for an award for one of my performances and it was at this time, i don’t know what happened, but she did not like me anymore. she told me that she accepted the nomination for me, but i found out not too long later that she never accepted it and i was in favor to win so the judges were very puzzled by it. she accepted my friends nominations and kinda rubbed it in my face that i never got anything back. like’ awe are you sad because you didn’t hear anything from the judges? well so and so over here did😈’
the summer after that year i cut my hair pretty short. i wouldn’t say i’m not ‘girly’ but i definitely have a more masculine ‘bro’ persona comparatively. so now it’s my senior year, it matters a lot more at this point to try for good parts because it’s my last run. to keep it simple, my teacher wouldn’t cast me because i was too masculine, not even as a guy ?? idk make it make sense. i got one part my entire senior year, and i know it’s not because i’m bad. but i wrote and produced my own show that ended up being 100x the quality of the shows she produced, so i did get redemption. long story short, it really sucks to watch the peers your just as good as continue to succeed, while you get kicked out of the room for being distracting when you haven’t said a word. the reason they didn’t like me ? i’m good at improv, i kid you not i was told i was too creative and it bothered them. i know my presence scared the teachers there because i’m not a classic conformist theater kid that does anything and everything the teacher says.
anyways, so after years of trying to rekindle a relationship with my mom, fighting with an ass teacher and getting yelled at almost daily, a lot of worth questioning, and a flurry of weed later, i graduated.
both of my brothers in this time attempted to end their lives and were in facilities for a bit. i decided at that time to move in with my mom to hopefully help our relationship. it did a lot. me and my mom are best friends now. but it hasn’t been because of nothing. SOB had become the most controlling narcissistic asshole and my mom was just acting having any feelings for him so he wouldn’t take everything away from her. he monitored everything my mom did. he hit my mom in an intimate moment, and almost beat zayn, but i covered him and ended up slicing my arm open on our fireplace, once again i would do this 100 times over to protect my brother. i decided i wanted to dig everything up on him that i could. what i found was mortifying. i won’t go into too much detail, but there were a lot of charges, multiple of them being SA of a child. i vowed at that moment that i would do anything it takes to get him back behind bars. he’s actively on the offender list and he works across the street from a preschool, not on my fukin watch ass hat.
i will never forget the true terror on my moms face that that man caused. it got to the point where my mom would get really scared if she started crying because she knew he’d freak out at her if he noticed. i came back to my locked room, that i have the only key to, with holes in my walls in weird places, and in my bathroom too. a couple days before, my brother found a camera in his room, so i knew what it was and that SOB was spying on me. i taped them all up and came to stay at my bfs house and have been here since. after months of his treacherous cycle my mom had enough and left to a safe house, she’s there now. the divorce is going though but from some reason the stupid system denied my mom a protective order against him. he has full access to our house and things right now, and he’s trying to make 90,000 so he can baile his way out of the insurance fraud case against him that could get him back in jail in june. i’m so worried he’s selling my things because he so would. everything i have left is in that house and it’s all at his whim now.
when i moved in with my mom, i started a job at a fancy high end restaurant because i knew it would be good money. i’ve had problems with this my entire life, but ever since starting my job there, i have experienced countless creeps who have sexualized me in more ways then i thought possible. it’s made me feel so worthless. it’s people i work with and people who come in. drunk guys from the bar are the worst, and they’re all filthy rich so they don’t care about a thing in the world. i need to quit but i don’t know where else to go
my dad has now decided as of like two weeks ago, that he will be moving to florida. i never anticipated him moving across the country and leaving the last place i could call home. he also started therapy a couple months ago and his anger issues are pretty much nonexistent at this point. so i got my dad back but now he’s leaving again. i always hoped that as i got older, my family would always be pretty close, close enough that i could seem them once a week if i wanted. it’s really killing me because i was so close to that, to getting my family back. my sister has been in france the last couple years and she’s coming back in a couple weeks. my dad will be moving almost immediately after. we finally got to a point where my mom is free, my dad is happy, we’re all healing, and now my family will be broken up more then ever before by distance. my parents don’t hate each other anymore, my sister is coming home, we would all be able to spend time together again, never more.
so i’m at this point now, where i’ve been fighting for my family, taking every hit with hope in my heart for something i was so close to having, for 7 years i’ve been hoping. and just like that, the light at the end of this very long, cold and dark tunnel fades, and i’m left once again, in the cold dark nothingness that is hoping for a better day, that will never come.
so i’m left questioning, is overcoming another mountain worth it if there’s a whole range of painful climbing ahead of me? i’m so tired, my whole body hurts every day, my mind and soul are toiled with the pain of my lifetime, everyone in my family is moving on with their own paths and it’s only a matter of time before i’m only hearing from them every once in a while. i don’t want to do life, the world is so messed up right now and i don’t see it getting better. there’s too much pain and i can’t handle it. nothing seems worth hoping let alone living for anymore. i bid you adieu and wish you all the best 💗

The next morning, Himiko was awakened by a delighted scream. She shot up in her bed and saw Tenko dancing around the room.
"Nyeh...Tenko? W-What's going on?" Himiko asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
"La-la-la-la-la-laaaaaa!!" Tenko sang. Then, she stopped at Himiko's bed and gripped Himiko's shoulders like a crazy person. "Himiko! I ate your Snoozydoodles right before bed, like you told me to, and I just had the most amazing dream!!"
"What was it about?" Himiko asked.
"There were no degenerate males in the world! And all the girls made me their queen!" Tenko sighed. "It was perfect utopia! A utopia...for girls! The sky was pastel pink! The clouds were extra puffy and white! The ocean was also pink and glittery, and all the food we ate was pink, like strawberry cake, strawberry ice cream, strawberry cupcakes, and strawberry milk! And girls of every shape, size, and color were everywhere! Not a degenerate male in sight!"
"Nyeh...a dream filled with just girls sounds like a nightmare," Himiko muttered. "Most problems I had with bullying was from catty, popular girls."
"W-What?! There's no way that's true, Himiko!" Tenko cried. "Maybe they were males in disguise!"
"No, I don't think so," Himiko shook her head. "Plus, a world with just girls is going to lead to extinction."
"Not in my dream!" Tenko exclaimed happily. "Girls were born from 'Girl Flowers!'"
"Nyeeeh...girl flowers? " Himiko asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah! You plant a pink seed into the ground, and when it grows, the petals open up and reveal a beautiful baby girl inside!" Tenko gushed. "It was so amazing! Girls, girls, girls everywhere!" Himiko wrinkled her nose.
"I bet it smelled like fish in that world," she muttered.
"Fish?! Why would it smell like-...oh! Hahahaha!" Tenko said. "No, no, Himiko! We didn't have to deal with that because there was need for it! All the girls came from 'Girl Flowers,' remember?"
"Oh...I guess that's true," Himiko replied, shaking her head at the absurdity. Suddenly, there was a knock at their door. Tenko went over to open it. Standing on the other side were Tsumugi, Angie, Maki, Miu, Gonta, Ryoma, and Kaito.
"Hey! What are you all doing here?!" Tenko demanded. "Especially you degenerates!" Ignoring Tenko, they all rushed right in and crowded around Himiko's bed. Himiko nervously pulled her blanket up to her face.
"Nyeh...c-can I help you guys?" she whimpered.
"I had the most wonderful dream because of your cookies, Himiko!" Angie chirped. "Everyone in the whole wide world became a follower of Atua, and was welcomed into his kingdom!"
"I had a dream that I finally went to space!" Kaito exclaimed. "And I became the world's best astronaut for discovering a lot of alien civilizations! Everyone voted for me to be president of Earth!"
"There's no way such a title exists," Maki said, shaking her head.
"Well, maybe not in real life, but that's how it was in my dream!" Kaito said. "But, anyways, what was your dream about, Maki Roll?" Everyone turned to Maki, curious to what kind of dream she had. She blushed.
"I'd...rather not talk about it," she grumbled. "It's too dumb."
"Just tell us already, Judge Moody!" Miu spat impatiently. Maki glared at her, then sighed.
"Fine..." she said. "I had a dream where I wasn't an orphan, and I had real, actual parents who loved me. And I was happy and nice to everyone, and I didn't have to worry about being an assassin and stealing peoples' lives." Everyone stared in stunned silence at her. Maki sighed gloomily. "See? I told you it was dumb."
"Geez, that's not dumb at all," Ryoma said. "Sounds similar to my dream, though, I would agree if you had said that wishing for it to happen would be dumb."
"What do you mean, Ryoma?" asked Tsumugi.
"It's pointless to dream or wish for something that will never come true," Ryoma explained. "Even though my dream was...surprisingly delightful, it also felt like a punch in the gut. Hmph...I don't know whether to call that dream a blessing, or a curse."
"What was your dream about?" Kaito asked.
"Well, I'll tell you, but it is depressing," Ryoma warned. "My girlfriend hadn't been killed, and I was back home with her and my cat. And I didn't even play tennis, I wasn't even an Ultimate student. I was a regular guy."
"That doesn't sound depressing at all!" Kaito said.
"But, the fact that it'll never come true is what makes it depressing," Ryoma said. "That's why I say, dreams like that are pointless. It's better to forget about the past and move on with your life"
"Bullshit!" Kaito exclaimed. "C'mon, man, stop whining about how depressing your life is! You say that wishing for the impossible is dumb and it was all in the past, or whatever, so why the hell are you still depressed? If you truly believed that you should move on, you should stop worryin' about the past and look to the future with bright hopes! That goes for you, too, Maki!"
"What? Why me?" Maki asked.
"It's true that you can't change the past, and maybe wishing for it to change is dumb," Kaito explained. "But, if you're still depressed about what happened in the past, it means you can't let go of what happened! You're not moving on! Moving on is accepting what happened, and doing whatever you can to make your life better! Instead of wishing to undo the past, wish for a brighter future! That goes for all of you!" The room fell silent as they stared at Kaito.
"So, anyway, my dream was about me actually becoming the characters that I cosplay!" Tsumugi said, breaking the silence.
"Hey! Don't just ignore my inspirational speech!" Kaito exclaimed angrily.
"It really wasn't all that inspiring," Tsumugi said, haughtily waving him off.
"Seriously! Nobody asked for your opinion, Mahatma Ghandeez Nuts!" Miu said to Kaito.
"W-What?! " Kaito exclaimed.
"Ha! In my dream, I was the world's best inventor!" Miu said grandly. "With my inventions, I was able to rid the world of starvation, war, violence, famine, and all that other bad shit! And everyone loved me! All the guys on the planet wanted to bang me, and my boobs grew a size bigger!"
"Um...can you not share your dreams?" Tsumugi said. "I feel like every time you speak, I want to do unspeakably horrible things to you."
"Shut the hell up, you four-eyed, lamebrain otaku! " Miu spat. "You're just jealous because you have two deflated balloons for chest!"
"Um...can Gonta share dream, now?" Gonta asked.
"Yes, Gonta, go ahead," Tsumugi replied, eager to not have to listen to Miu anymore.
"Gonta was king of bugs!" Gonta replied. "Everyone in world loved bugs, and loved King Gonta!"
"Tuh...that dream sounds stupid as shit!" Miu scoffed.
"Oh! G-Gonta sorry..." Gonta apologized with a hurt expression.
"You don't have to apologize to her, Gonta," Tsumugi said, glaring at Miu.
"You want someone to apologize to, apologize to all of us for wastin' our time!" Miu spat to Gonta.
"Hey! Cut it out, Miu! Stop yellin' at him!" Kaito yelled.
"Don't tell me what to do, Luke Skyfucker!" Miu shouted back.
"Stop callin' me names!" Kaito yelled back.
"H-Hey! Why everyone fighting?" Gonta asked. "Gonta not mean to start fight!"
"Leave it up to a degenerate male to start a fight!" Tenko growled, glaring at Gonta.
"If you guys don't stop fighting, Atua will unleash his holy wrath upon you all," Angie warned with a creepy grin.
"Nobody asked you, you kooky cult bitch!" Miu said, swatting at Angie. "All y'all are just jealous because my dream was better that yours!"
"Excuse me?!" Tsumugi cried.
"Yeah! Obviously mine was the best one!" Kaito exclaimed.
"You're plainly wrong! Mine was the best one!" Tsumugi said.
"No, it was mine!" Tenko shouted.
"Nuh-uuuhhhh...it was mi-iiiine," Angie said cheerfully.
"Um...Gonta thinks Gonta's was pretty good," Gonta said diplomatically.
"Sheesh...I can't believe everyone is getting so worked up over this," Ryoma said.
"Seriously. It's stupid to be fighting over something like this," Maki agreed.
"Well, I don't think it's stupid at all!" Tsumugi said.
"Yeah! In fact, I want another dream!" Miu said. Everyone turned to Himiko, who had been staring at them in horrified silence. "You better whip us up some more cookies, ya little midget, or else!"
"Well, um...you'll have to wait next weekend," Himiko replied in a small voice.
"I ain't waitin' that long!" Miu spat. "So, chop, chop! Get to makin' those damn cookies right now!"
"Nyeh, but...what about school?" Himiko asked.
"Himiko's right, we need to get ready for school," Maki said. But...I think I'd also like more of the cookies." Everyone turned to her in surprise.
"Wait...really, Maki?" Tsumugi asked.
"It was...a really good-tasting cookie...that's all," Maki mumbled, fiddling with one of her pigtails.
"Or is it because you liked your dream?" Angie teased. Maki frowned at her.
"Shut up," she said.
"I...agree with Maki," Ryoma said. "I want to see if I would have a different dream. One that's more...sensible."
"A dream that's...sensible? " Tsumugi repeated.
"Yeah...one that keeps me away from my past," Ryoma explained. "Do you think you can do that for me, Himiko?"
"Nyeh...okay," Himiko said. She knew exactly how to do just that.
Part Twelve
"What was all that ruckus about earlier, Monkey Buns?" Kokichi asked as he and Himiko walked together to school.
"Nyeh...just as I was hoping, my Snoozydoodles gave everyone dreams," Himiko replied. "But, when everyone that I gave them to was talking about their dreams, things got a little out of hand."
"Was that the effect of the magic?" Kokichi asked.
"Well, no...that was because Miu was being her usual, annoying self, and then Tsumugi said something, then Miu snapped back at her, then everything sorta erupted into chaos," Himiko explained.
"Didn't you say a while ago that the dream powder can be addictive?" Kokichi asked. Himiko sighed.
"Yeah...even small doses of the dream powder might cause someone to be addicted," she said. "But, it works really well, and that's why I wanted to put it in my cookies."
"Hmm...I hope you know what you're doing, Himiko," Kokichi said.
"Well...I have another idea where the dream powder might be not as addictive...but the effects will be just as good?" Himiko said with a bit of uncertainty. Then, she blushed. "I...used this method to dream about you before we started dating." Kokichi raised his eyebrows at her.
"Really?!" he exclaimed, grinning.
"Yeah...I had to steal your hair while you were asleep to do it, though," Himiko said quietly.
"Yeah, that's not creepy at all," Kokichi teased, wrapping his arm around Himiko's waist, and giving her a kiss on the cheek. A mischievous grin crossed his lips. "I wanna know what this other method is."
***
Friday night had arrived. Kokichi was with Himiko in her secret magic room. She was flipping through the spellbook titled, "Inside the Magical Mind." Himiko showed Kokichi the chapter "Build the Perfect Dream," specifically, the romance section.
"Nyeh...these are potions I used to have dreams about you," she explained to him, and pointed to the different dreams. "This is the 'sweet love dream' potion, the 'spicy love dream' potion, and the 'hot and steamy love dream' potion." Kokichi read the description of each dream, his impish grin growing larger across his face as he read.
"So, you drank all of those potions?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
"Well, one night, I drank the first one, then the next night, I drank the second," Himiko said. "I secretly gave the last one to Miu, because I was too scared to drink it myself."
"Ugh! You gave it to Miu?! " Kokichi exclaimed in disgust.

"Well...I-I'd feel dirty having the last dream!" Himiko stammered.
"Well, then, why'd you make that potion in the first place?" Kokichi asked.
"Because I was curious!" Himiko said. "But, then my curiosity was replaced by fear and feeling dirty, so I gave it to Miu. It's a good thing I did, too, because..."
"Cuz, why...?" Kokichi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because she was doing very...dirty things with you," Himiko replied. "Yeah...we were having our monthly slumber party, and in the middle of it all, Miu was dreaming and...nyeh...screaming."
"AAAUUUUGGHHHH!!! GROSS!!" Kokichi exclaimed, covering his ears. "I don't wanna do it with her!! "
"Well, she did say that you said that to her in her dream," Himiko said. "But, you only did it to get her to shut up because she kept begging you."
"Ew, I don't care," Kokichi muttered. "There's no excuse to condone bestiality." Himiko sighed and gave Kokichi a playful swat. Kokichi laughed, then eyed her flirtatiously. "Besides, my body only belongs to you...Himiko." Himiko blushed and lowered her head. Every time he said her name like that, it got her heart pumping like crazy. "My body...is your body." Kokichi lifted her chin to turn her head to him. "Mi cuerpo...es su cuerpo, y mi corazón...es su corazón."
"Ohhhh...Kokichiiii...!" Himiko gurgled with delight, biting her lip. She didn't know Spanish, but he made it sound so good. Kokichi leaned in to give her a passionate kiss.
"Okay, that's enough!" he said, stopping the kiss abruptly.
"W-What?! Wait! No! Moooore...!" Himiko pouted, tugging on Kokichi's sleeve. "I want mooore."
"Nuh-uh, Monkey Buns. Tomorrow is another cookie sale, so we can't get distracted right now. We gotta make these cookies like Hiro...baked! " Kokichi said.
"O-kaaaayyy..." Himiko pouted.
"M'kay, so how are gonna do this, HimiCocoa Bean?" Kokichi asked.
"Well...what genre of potion should I make?" Himiko asked. "There's comedy, action-adventure, romance, horror, fantasy, mystery, aaannnd...lots of other stuff."
"Comedy!" Kokichi said. "Everyone needs a good laugh!"
"Nyeh...okay," Himiko said, then turned to the comedy section of the chapter.
"So, you'll just pour whatever potion you make into the cookie batter, right? And mix it up?" Kokichi asked.
"Yup, that's right," Himiko nodded.
"Aaaalrighty, then! Welp, do your thang, babe!" Kokichi said, kissing Himiko's cheek. Himiko giggled and read the comedy section:
~COMEDY:~
Laughter is the best medicine, as they say! So, why not have it in your dreams? After all, there's nothing cuter than someone laughing in their sleep! Whether you're in the mood for some gut-busting, slap-happy humor, wild, crazy humor, or even just simple, laughable jokes, every hilarious dream is welcome in clown town!
Slapstick comedy dream: A dream where tripping, punching, bashing, slapping, falling, and everything in between is considered more funny than horrifying! If you fancy a dream like that, give Slapstick comedy dream a whirl!
Boil water in small cauldron. Once water is boiled, add 1/2 cup of dream powder, 1 tsp of pepper for an extra kick, 1 tsp of cinnamon for an extra bite, 1 tsp of dragon spice for an extra punch, 3 petals of the Laffodil flower, and a 3/4 cup of sunlight for some lighthearted fun. Mix contents until water becomes a different color. Pour contents into a potion bottle. Add sleep powder before consuming. Drink and enjoy!
Fun-loving comedy dream: You can't always watch comedy, you have to experience it, too! If you feel like going on a funny, fun-filled adventure full of laughter, then the fun-loving comedy dream is just what you're looking for!
Boil water in small cauldron. Once water is boiled, add 1/2 cup of dream powder, 3/4 cup of elven sparkles for whimsy, 1 cup of pink polka dot pond water, 1 tsp of sugar, 5 petals of the Laffodil flower, and 3/4 cup of sunlight. Mix contents until water becomes a different color. Pour contents into a potion bottle. Add sleep powder before consuming. Drink and enjoy!
Joker dream: Want a dream with less gut busting, and more on the relaxed side? Then, a Joker dream is prefect the perfect comfort comedy dream for you!
Boil water in small cauldron. Once water is boiled, add 1/2 cup of dream powder, 1 tsp of funny honey, 1 petal of the Laffodil flower, a pinch of jesterly ginseng powder, and 3/4 cup of sunlight. Mix contents until water becomes a different color. Pour contents into a potion bottle. Add sleep powder before consuming. Drink and enjoy!
"Nyeh...which one should I pick?" Himiko asked. Kokichi scanned the page.
"Hmm...why not all of them?" he suggested. "You can make three batches of cookies, and pour the different potions into each one! Actually, it's way more interesting that way, since people will get to randomly choose their comedy dream cookies!"
"I guess you're right," Himiko said. She got to work, whipping up all three potions. "Nyeh...all done!"
"Do you wanna go to D.I.C.E. headquarters and bake them there again?" Kokichi asked.
"Yeah, but...let's take the short way," Himiko said. "I'm already tired from making these potions." Before Kokichi could ask what she meant, Himiko snapped her fingers, and they magically appeared at the abandoned insane asylum serving as D.I.C.E. headquarters.

After seeing the Dual Process Theory's video on solving fnaf, I'm 100% sold on the idea that Mike was the vengful spirit.
It just makes so much sense narratively for him be the one torturing his father - the same way his father had tortured him - especially if we truly are playing as Mike in every fnaf game.
Mike's build up at the end of Sister's Location never really made sense to me until now - when there is actual payoff of 'I'm going to come find you'. It's just so satisfying for William's hell to be created by his own son.
What I believe to be Custom Night's canon ending - the Old Man's Consequences ending - also makes sense if you believe that OMC is Henry and that the player is Mike - while William is screaming at them in the backround.
There probably are many clues to argue with this, but this theory made me excited about fnaf again. It made the story worth it - which to me, always has been what fnaf is.
Wondering what people's thoughts are on the video?

Dear Diary,
This is my last entry. This is my confession. This is where I clear the air and leave my fate to God. To whoever reads this, Father Cole is a liar. He is not who you think he is. He is not who I thought he was. He has never been who anybody thought he was. I shudder at the thought of the poor soul who picks this diary up after today.
I'll begin two years ago, on the day my parents had me confirmed with the bishop. My family was super excited about it. We had lost my younger brother Aiden 6 months prior, and this was one of the ways our family coped. His body was never recovered. I was indifferent about the whole venture. All I wanted was to truly accept forgiveness of the trinity into my life.
I remember the bishop having me lower my head and reciting his words in Latin. He then rubbed the oil on my head, and told me that my faith was finally sealed. I was now a confirmed member of our church, and my family couldn't hold back their tears. Father Cole walked over to me and asked me how I felt. I didn't say anything. He then asked my family to let him and I go into his chambers so he could speak with me privately.
He didn't seem happy. I remember he told me, "I want you to understand that my decision to let this happen was not about you; it was about your family. It was about your duty to your family. Never forget that."
It was almost as if he didn't believe that my faith was genuine. He told me, "If you want me to truly accept His grace into your life and you want me to believe it, I want you to be one of my alter boys. Originally, I was going to take your younger brother in for this honor, but now, in honor of your family, I am bestowing it to you."
I didn't know what to say. So I just looked to the ground. I didn't like anybody talking about Aiden in front of me with my emotional wounds being so fresh. Father didn't care.
"Understood?" He told me. I wasn't in a position to say no, since I was just confirmed. It was like he was holding everything over my head. My brother, my head, my faith, the church. It was just so much at once. I remember leaving his chamber feeling so overwhelmed. I broke down crying. I didn't say a word to anybody for the rest of the night.
I didn't like being an alter boy. I didn't like how it made going to mass a job and chore rather than being a way to make my faith better. Well, Father Cole took a keen interest in me over all of the other alter boys. It drove me crazy. It made me feel uncomfortable.
There was Thomas, Cole, Noah, James, and myself. All of us had a death in the family. Thomas lost his sister, Cole lost his cousin, Noah lost his brother, and James lost his mother. I wasn't sure if it was a coincidence that Father chose alter boys with similar afflictions or if it was because he wanted us to use him as a crutch. I now know it's neither. All of their lost loved ones were never found, either.
Ever had communion wine? I'm not talking about some wafer and grape juice. I'm talking about WINE. Some churches will use whatever wine they can get their hands on to be blessed by their priests. Everyone hated it at our church. They told us that it tasted disgusting and spoiled. Father Cole SWORE up and down that it was just an old vintage that didn't age well, but God would take of our devotion.
I remember setting up for mass, practicing for our ceremony one Saturday evening when I saw Father Cole walking outside behind the church. He went out back behind our cathedral, then back inside holding a bottle. I had always been curious about drinking to get drunk rather than just for communion. So from that day, I saw him go outside to go and get the wine every Saturday we practiced. This went on for months until I finally gathered the courage to try and sneak a bottle.
I asked Father if I could go home early, and he reluctantly allowed me to. I didn't go home. I went out back and hid behind the dumpster in an attempt to see where he went to get the wine. Nobody knew where it was kept, so I had to sneak and watch him. I sat at the dumpster for what felt like an hour until I finally saw Father come out and open a wooden panel behind the cathedral wall. It lead down into a cellar. He came back up with another bottle in his hand. I decided to get back up and walk home. I knew where he kept the wine then.
I turned the corner and was instantly met with the face of my priest. My heart sank to my toes, and he didn't break eye contact with me.
"You think I don't know what you've been planning? Take a walk with me. I'll teach you something about wine."
Father forced me back into his chambers and underneath a desk. He pulled out a bottle, took two glasses out of his drawer, and poured them. He then offered me one. I'm only 13.
"Drink." He said. I didn't say anything again. I've always been quiet and reserved. It drives my mom and dad crazy because they want me to say something and I don't.
"I said DRINK!" He screamed.
My hand jerked. I grabbed the glass and drank the whole thing in one go. It was disgusting. It burned my throat and had a faint taste of pennies.
He poured me another glass and told me to drink. "We will not leave here until we have drank the entire bottle. After that, you can stumble home and tell your parents that you broke into my cellar and stole a bottle of wine."
He poured glass after glass. I couldn't take it anymore. I stumbled out of my chair and threw up on the floor. He made me clean it.
Father Cole was starting to get drunk too. He was slurring his words. I fell to my knees after throwing up and I remember him walking behind me. He... touched me. Somewhere nobody has ever touched me before. Then he stopped.
I finally was able to get back on my feet. He said, "I will make you a deal. I will speak to God on your behalf, and you will not tell your parents what happened tonight. If you do, you will end up just like Aiden."
I was shellshocked. I wasn't sure what he meant by that. Did that mean he was going to kill me? Was I going to die just for trying to score a bottle of wine?
I stumbled home and didn't say anything to my parents. I just sat in my bed and cried so hard my stomach hurt. The room kept spinning around me. I couldn't get that awful feeling out of my head, and this overwhelming fear he gave me after that.
The next day at our service, Father Cole gave a sermon about curiosity being a ploy made by Satan to give into temptation. He told the story of a young boy who broke into a wine cellar and drank himself to death.
From then on, Father Cole stopped taking an interest in me. He wouldn't even look at me. Instead, he started getting really close to Thomas. He asked Thomas to do everything for him. I was so scared that Father Cole was going to pull something similar on Thomas. I remembered that deal that he made with me not to tell anybody, so I couldn't tell him what had happened.
No. What I needed was revenge. Maybe I couldn't tell anyone, but if I did something in retaliation, I believed that he would try to cover his tracks; that he wouldn't make a scene about the whole thing.
So tonight, I made the decision to go to alter practice. I didn't say a word to anyone the entire night. We finished our practice and setting up for tomorrow's service. I walked almost all the way home, and then I turned around. I wanted to go inside of the wine cellar. I wanted to break every single bottle that was inside of there.
I arrived at the panel and kicked it in. Inside, a putrid smell instantly hit my nose. I walked down the steps and was greeted by the sight of five corpses inside cauldrons of ice. There were metal containers that contained large syringes and several shelves of half empty bottles of wine.
All of their necks were broken, and it was hard to make out their faces. That was until I walked further into the room. One of the ice cauldrons that were sitting there... was Aiden. My younger brother who had been missing for so long. He looked so decayed. I could see needle marks all over his decaying flesh.
"Did I or did I not tell you that you would end up just like your brother if you told anybody? I thought I made it clear you were to never usurp your boundaries ever again... did I not?"
I turned around. Father Cole was standing in the entrance with a knife. He started edging closer, until he suddenly lunged at me with the knife. He missed and fell into one of the cauldrons. He tried to pick himself back up, but I grabbed one of the bottles off of the shelf and hit him over the head with it. He fell down, almost lifelessly. I hit him again. And again. And again. I just couldn't stop.
I put the bottle down and I ran home. That leads us here. To the end. I now realize what Father Cole had been making us do. He killed someone in our church by strangling them, or breaking their neck. He put them in cauldrons of ice and held them down in his cellar behind the church. He... took one of the young boys from each family and made them his alter boy. Almost as if it was a final trophy. Then he took the communion wine and filled it with their blood. All of those Sundays. We were drinking their blood. We were drinking Aiden's blood. All of those times.
For anyone who reads this, I'm sorry for what I had to do to Father Cole. This is my last entry. This is my confession. This is where I clear the air and leave my fate to God. To whoever reads this, Father Cole was a murderer. He was not who you thought he was. He was not who I thought he was. He has never been who anybody thought he was. I shudder at the thought of the poor soul who picks this diary up after what I did. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I commend my faith to the one above. Goodbye.

Hi! This might be long. I have two kiddos, a 14 year old daughter and a 9 year old son. Daughter played softball ages 5-8 and wanted to quit so we did. She played soccer 9-12 and wanted to quit, so we did. No biggie, she does band, theater, and is in advanced courses. She has done CC and track. She's really not the most athletic kid, but she does like staying active.
Her 9 y/o brother has recently joined a competitive baseball team. He/we are very into watching baseball and also practice a lot at home. He's having a lot of success with it (and I think she is interested in feeling some of that if I am being completely honest). She did a softball unit in PE this spring and had fun with it. She has started practcing at home with her brother a lot - playing catch, batting off the tee, etc. Recently she has expressed some interest in playing softball again. Of course this was after the rec sign ups has passed already. She brought home softball papers for HS next year. I got her a softball bat and she went to the cages with us last week. She struggles with the mental part of sports - she is a bit of a perfectionist and likes when she's good at things right away so she ends up being hard on herself. She's also old enough to know this isn't a reasonable approach and made the comment after batting in the cages that maybe softball would help teach her some of those lessons, which was nice to hear her say.
Am I setting her up for a hard journey by letting her jump back into it at high school age? Ultimately whatever decision she makes I will support her in just like I do with her brother, I don't ever want her to feel like she doesn't get the same support/opportunities as him. The high school does have a C team she can try out for in the fall. If that didn't work she could do rec the following spring. I am happy to work with her like I do her brother - I enjoy it! But also trying to figure out what's realistic. It seems like kids start when their young and if you don't you kind of miss the boat. I let her know she might have to work through being the "worst" kid on the team and just focus on her own growth instead of comparing. I don't want to put her into an overwhelming situation on top of starting HS.
Anyone have experience doing this yourself or with your daughter? I just want her to be happy and suceed and have fun with it! If you did experience something like this, what are the things we should prioritize working on over the summer?

Pakistan, Another Mosque Teacher Arrested for Sexually Assaulting a Boy.

In Larkana, Sindh, the man was caught red-handed and videotaped while molesting a nine-year-old student.
On May 9, Pakistani media reported that police in Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan, had arrested a teacher at the city’s Khalid Bin Waleed Mosque called Naimat Yaseen, also known as Molvi Yaseen (Yasin) Chandio.
A FIR (First Information Report) had been filed by the police by one Baghan Chandio, who reported that his nine-year-old son, a student at the mosque, had been sexually molested by the teacher.
Baghan’s brother and cousin, who were at the mosque for the afternoon prayers, caught the teacher in the act, the boy’s father reported. Part of the assault was recorded in a video, which made its way to some social media but was (rightly) deleted or masked so that what it depicts is not clear. A clear copy was, however, supplied to the police. The teacher tried to escape but was finally caught and arrested.
Both the teacher and the boy’s family belong to the same Chandio tribe. The father reported that he had been submitted to pressures to solve the matter through mediation or arbitration, but refused, believing that only criminal courts can stop the abuse of children in Islamic schools**.**
The incident created widespread emotion, because it occurred only a few weeks after another father filed a FIR against a prominent Muslim cleric and madrassa teacher. Maulana Abubakar Muavia, after having caught him red-handed in the process of raping his 12-year-old son in Tandlianwala, Faisalabad.
In the case of Muavia, the father was persuaded to resort to arbitration and “forgive” the cleric, although these arbitrations are invalid in the case of crimes according to a 2019 decision by the Pakistani Supreme Court.
Of course, clerics of different religions, including Catholic priests, have been prosecuted and convicted for child sexual abuse. This is hardly an excuse, however, for the leniency Pakistani courts often show to clerics and other Islamic teachers accused of raping both boys and girls within the context of what is becoming a systemic problem in the country.
Pakistan, Another Mosque Teacher Arrested for Sexually Assaulting a Boy (bitterwinter.org)

One day, in the folds of time, a person was born in the city of Marrakesh. They all had many brothers, and they were poor and their condition was miserable and extremely poor. This person, whose name was Ibrahim, worked the entire summer to buy school supplies for the next year, and if his shoes were torn, Or he sewed his clothes, but he had no shoes, so his clothes were worn out and old. Ibrahim’s father was in the service, so he was absent from the house, not being with his family much. Days passed and Ibrahim grew up, so his father gave him two choices: either to go to the Education Academy to study and graduate as a professor, or to enter the service. The military, and this choice was not recommended by the father, Ibrahim, because he did not want his son to go through a difficult experience like him, but Ibrahim had an opinion and was very stubborn, so he chose military service, so he went, and after a few years he graduated with the rank of colonel, and at that time his mother proposed to him, a girl from the neighborhood in which he They lived in it, and at that time he married a son, and after that she became pregnant and they had a son, a male, and they named him Muhammad, and from here our story will begin. Muhammad was an ordinary child, and he studied well and excelled in his studies. He always went to the mosque in order to memorize the Qur’an, and he was not an honest, trustworthy child with good morals. He respected people and never insulted anyone. He was a pure and pure child. As the years passed, Muhammad grew up and took the baccalaureate degree. And all these years, Muhammad was influenced by the Islamic conquests and the personality of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the Companions, may God be pleased with them, especially Omar ibn Al-Khattab and Ali bin Abi Talib, so he devoted himself to reading the biography of the Prophet and watching videos whose topics were Islam. The important thing is that we go back and said that Muhammad reached the age of 18 and did not find in Morocco job opportunities or even a good position, so he decided to immigrate to America like other young people, so he was registered in the American lottery and after a few months had passed. Acceptance came to him, and he was very happy because he would find a decent living and a decent life. But in reality, there is something else. The important thing is that Muhammad collected all the documents he would need and applied for the visa. Before and after that, he collected his beliefs and booked the plane ticket. On the night of the flight, he was so excited that he did not sleep a lot, and in the morning. He went to the airport, his parents said goodbye to him, and he went to the plane, and after hours he found himself in America, and the reality was something else. There were many racists, and they always insulted him with the name Muhammad because he idolized the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and they even called the Messenger lustful, and he married Aisha for 6 years. And God forbid, as they curse the honorable companions, may God be pleased with them. The important thing is that Muhammad completed his studies in America and obtained several certificates, so he submitted his application to enter the police because he had just obtained American citizenship. The important thing is that he submitted his application and they approved it, so he took the written and physical test and passed it, so he passed them, and now Muhammad has become An official policeman for the state of Chicago, Muhammad was sincere in his work and dedicated to it. He always did not accept bribery and punished criminals severely. Years passed and Muhammad rose in his position and became in the anti-gang department. He became the one carrying out executions and began killing and exterminating everyone. Killer gangs because the state gives him the decision to kill them because they incite fear in people, kill them, and rape their daughters. Muhammad killed, or rather executed, thousands of people, and he exterminated hundreds of gangs from existence, and all the criminals feared him and were afraid to even mention his important name. Hours passed, and one day of the daysOne day, Muhammad found a volume containing the story of the revolution and the Soviet Union. He read it all and was influenced by revolutionary thought. He began to imagine himself as the king of the world, and he was one of the most supportive of the Palestinian cause. They always sent thousands of dollars to Palestinian associations, and Muhammad was stable even though he was stable. In America, but he hates its corrupt regime and the racism towards foreigners that is abundant in it, so Muhammad decided to go to Russia in order to settle there and submitted his application to Russian intelligence and gave up his service in America, but he still possessed American citizenship. The important thing is that Muhammad worked in Russian intelligence and began every day. It is getting more and more popular and everyone loves it until one day there was a parade for President Vladimir Putin And then Muhammad met President Putin, and Putin liked Muhammad’s personality and the way he treated and respected him, so he decided to hire him as his bodyguard, and Muhammad was very happy with this news. The next day, he started working with the president, and he accompanied him wherever he went. The president was subjected to a series of assassination attempts, and Muhammad was always He was his savior. Meanwhile, Muhammad became a loyal friend of Putin and became Vice President. One day, Putin became seriously ill, and when he was on his deathbed, he said goodbye to Muhammad. Muhammad was very affected by his death, but he moved forward and now he has become the President of the Republic of Russia, so it began. His ambitions to reshape the Soviet Union, so he began to forcefully occupy the countries that were on his side. He did not kill innocent people or women. He implemented the commandments of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, to the letter. At this time, America began to threaten Muhammad that it would occupy Russia and destroy it. Muhammad was aware of this matter and was He planned in advance, as he intended to obey America and eliminate it, and the opportunity came to him. He restored the Soviet Union a hundred times stronger and stronger than it was during the era of Stalin and the other leaders. He only developed the nuclear arsenal and developed advanced weapons, and at this time Muhammad brought his father because He had experience in the army and gave him the position of first commander of the army staff, so his father trained the armyHis father was very strict, and he trained the soldiers very hard, and this would benefit them later. Muhammad also gave his grandfather the position of the chief president of all the central banks in the Soviet Union. He was the state’s accountant. All of the revenues of the Soviet Union passed through Muhammad’s grandfather. He also gave his great uncle the position of governor. He was in charge of all the car factories in the country, so he was in charge of all the car factories and all the companies. He was the president of them and the first factory because he had experience. He also entrusted him with the tasks of building power plants and manufacturing high-precision surveillance cameras. Muhammad gave his middle uncle the position of president of the iron and aluminum mining companies. All types of metal. He also gave his younger uncle the head of the taxi unions, as he is responsible for companies and all taxis and driving licenses for taxis, as well as their taxes. Muhammad also gave his younger uncle the position of head of the Ministry of Education and responsible for all schools in the country, as well as the head of the professors’ body. As he is responsible for the education and study sector, Muhammad also gave his great uncle the position of head of the body of lawyers, judges and courts in the state because his great uncle had more than 20 years of experience in the field. Muhammad also gave his other grandfather the position of head of arms manufacturing and export companies because his grandfather also had In military service, he had a lot of experience in questions, because this is all his specialty in politics Thanks to these positions that he gave to some members of his family, each of whom had great experience in the field in which he specialized, which helped the Soviet Union develop greatly and become stronger and stronger. At that time, Muhammad consulted his Soviet advisors and his father in his capacity as Supreme Commander. And the highest ranks of the army, intelligence, and security in the country. Ibrahim, Muhammad’s father, was the second most important authority in the country after his son Muhammad. The important thing is that after the long Shura period, Muhammad took the appropriate decision, so he bombed Washington, D.C., with a large nuclear bomb, which led to the erasure of Washington from the map and the destruction of the White House, so America rose. He responded with a nuclear missile, but Ibrahim, Muhammad's father, was able to dismantle it, repel it, and turn it towards America. From here, a fierce battle began between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. In the end, the Soviet Union was able to overthrow and eliminate America. It also occupied Canada and South America and brought it back. Alaska to Soviet ruleThe Soviet Union seized all the wealth of North and South America, and even Canada, and annexed them to the Soviet Union. Muhammad rebuilt America on the Soviet system, and even Canada and Brazil. The power of the Soviet Union increased 1,000 times, and the Soviet Union became the most powerful country in the world. Muhammad’s ambitions increased, so he occupied North Korea. He eliminated President Kim Jong-un and also occupied South Korea, Japan, and China. The thing that distinguished Muhammad was not killing innocent people. He only killed those participating in the war, and when he occupied the country, he rebuilt it and employed its citizens with a better salary than they had been, so everyone saluted him. There were also those who hated him, but they were very few. The important thing is that the Soviet Union became from the Republic of Russia to the most powerful country in history. Muhammad also liberated Palestine and gathered all the lions of the world and burned them, slaughtered them, and exterminated them from the globe. Only Muhammad eliminated all the Jews and it was Palestine. It was filled with ululations and joy at her liberation, and all the people were chanting the name Muhammad Muhammad and calling him Muhammad the Savior. Meanwhile, the grandfather of the first and second Muhammad died of old age, so Muhammad became very sad for them. At the funeral, someone poisoned Muhammad’s food with the most severe type of poison, and when he ate it, he choked and died. He almost died, but when he came out of the coma, the doctor told him while he was crying, “The poison has spread through your body, my lord Muhammad. You have only a few days left of your life.” Muhammad began to cry, but he was patient. Then Muhammad made his farewell conference in which he gave a speech and advised the people. When he dies, the rule will pass to his father, and when his father dies, it will pass to his great uncle, and this sequence will remainAfter a few days, Muhammad died and was buried in a grave of gold and diamonds. He became the most important figure in the world, so people began to visit him from all parts of the Soviet Union and even from the Arab countries. Millions of people visited him daily. As for him, when he died, power passed to him and he ruled with justice. Here the story of Muhammad has ended and has been folded between the pages of the past I forgot to mention that Muhammad was fighting with the soldiers, but he was covering his face with a mask so that the opponents would not recognize him and focus on him to kill him. If the president was killed, the Soviet Union would collapse. Muhammad was fighting with the soldiers and killing a lot of the enemy. He and his father were fighting, even though his father He was old, but he was stronger than Muhammad himself. Muhammad’s father was fighting 10 soldiers at the same time and killing them. Muhammad also occupied France, demolished the Eiffel Tower, and occupied almost all of Europe. Muhammad donated billions of dollars to Palestine until Palestine became very advanced and became a more ornate city. Muhammad also occupied Iran and exterminated the extremist Shiites. The one who poisoned Muhammad was a black man from Ethiopia, and the soldiers shot him dead when Muhammad died.Also, Muhammad could also have eliminated Morocco and wiped it from the map, but Muhammad did not want to do that out of respect for the Almoravids, Almohads, and Idrisids. When Muhammad died, power passed to his father and he began to rule the world. Muhammad’s tomb, built of pure gold and all precious stones, became a place of pilgrimage for millions of people every day, to the point that airports were filled with people and thousands of people were lining up in queues to obtain a visa. There were also thousands of people in the street chanting the name of Muhammad the Leader. The great and even they are queuing up to go to the Soviet capital, as there are people from far away places in the world such as Australia who go to the Soviet capital to visit the grave of Muhammad, and he was the most important and holiest person in the world after the Prophet Muhammad. And his companions, I am talking about his military clothes and weapons, all of them were sold for millions of dollars to Arab museums. As for the Soviet museums, they contain Muhammad’s necklace and his favorite weapon, and even the Soviet museum is crowded with people every day just to see its antiquities. Mohammed. Everyone loved him, so Muhammad became the second legend that history will not repeat. The first legend is the Prophet MuhammadWhen Muhammad died, they wrapped him in very advanced materials to prevent his body from decomposing. Muhammad's body did not decompose, but remained as it was. One of the materials used to preserve Muhammad's body was formalin, so Muhammad's body remained intact throughout the years.There are also some very wealthy Arabs who wanted to move Muhammad’s grave from the Soviet Union to Mecca in order to increase the state’s economy, but the entire world, billions of people, categorically refused, whether from within the Soviet Union or from outside it, and they wanted to buy his body for billions of dollars, but the entire world categorically refused. A wave of anger has erupted against Saudi Arabia because of this, because a person like Muhammad cannot be violated and his grave opened When Muhammad's father, Ibrahim, assumed power, and due to his old age, he was 61 years old. He found many difficulties because he found himself facing a great challenge in front of him, ruling millions of people. The Soviet Union, during Muhammad's era, was at the height of its power. He had sat on the throne of the most powerful country in history. Only the area of the Soviet Union was estimated at 400 million kilometers, so Ibrahim had to make a lot of effort, and in some of the Union’s colonies, some civil wars broke out between supporters of Muhammad and his supporters and among those who hated him, as most of those who hated Muhammad were from Central Europe, from the Greek islands and elsewhere. Next to it was the leader of the movement named Johann Gospiel. The latter sought revenge on Muhammad’s followers, and they all wanted to kill Ibrahim and destroy the Soviet Union. He was very hateful, and events will show you why the latter was so hateful of Muhammad and the main family. We will go back in time a little to when Muhammad committed mischief. America and occupied North and South Korea. His ambitions began in Europe, and he started with Italy, so he overthrew it, even though he respected Mussolini, the Italian fascist leader, but Muhammad’s ambitions were to occupy all of Europe, so he occupied Italy, eliminated its leader, and demolished all the ancient Roman idols and gods, and when he headed to occupy the Vatican. Muhammad remembered the words of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, at the sign of the Hour, that in the Vatican there is the staff of Moses and the Thapoth of the Covenant, according to what the commentators and hadith scholars say, so Muhammad retreated.With his army, he went to occupy Greece and wanted to destroy Athens. He met the other army, headed by Johann Gaspiel's brother, called Nicholas Gaspiel. The two armies faced each other. Nicholas' army consisted of 45,000 tanks, a fleet of planes, and 980,000 soldiers, while Muhammad had 60,000 tanks. 2 million soldiers, and the two armies faced each other at the famous Evros River in Greece. The war began, and it was so bloody that the Evros River was filled to the brim with corpses and its color became red with blood. Muhammad was killing the enemies, and his father Ibrahim was also fighting, as he was 51 years old and he was very strong. Stronger than Muhammad himself. The important thing was that Muhammad was fighting. He tore off his mask. Nicholas the commander saw him and said: Here you are, Muhammad. I swear to Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena that you will not survive today. Medusa's curse will fall on you. Today I will hang your head before the gods. Muhammad did not answer him verbally, so his response was to arrest him, cut off his head, and hang his body on a treeThey continued fighting for several hours, and Muhammad was able to eliminate the entire army and occupied Greece at five in the morning. He prayed dawn in the city and began his entry with the soldiers. 200,000 soldiers had died in the war. Muhammad made a broadcast on television and consoled all the families and gave them a salary. For life and huge sums of money. The important thing is that Muhammad passed by the fields and saw some peasants. When they saw him, one of them called out and said, “Where is Muhammad?” Muhammad said to him, “Here is Muhammad.” The man came to him and hugged him and said, “O Muhammad, we have been saved from a tyrant who was torturing us and making our lives miserable.” Nicholas Gaspiel) and gave Muhammad some apples and lemons, so Muhammad bought 300 cows from him and the soldiers slaughtered them, so they ate until their stomachs were full and they slept that night while Muhammad was standing praying. This is just going back in time to explain to you why Johann Gaspial hates Muhammad.Johann Gaspel was telling his experience when he saw Muhammad and saying when Muhammad conquered all of Greece, and the people were chanting his name. I said that Muhammad was not killing ordinary citizens and women because he was carrying out the orders of the Prophet Muhammad and his law of war. Johan Gaspel was 12 years old. He said: “I saw large crowds chanting the name of Muhammad, then I was looking out the window, and suddenly I saw Muhammad passing in front of me and hundreds of thousands of people.” Behind him were hundreds of thousands of soldiers armed with the most modern weapons in the world. He said that Muhammad was strong, broad-chested, not more than 180 centimeters tall, and had a black beard, black hair, and brown eyes. Dark brown, and when Johann saw him, he felt an unusual tremor and said that Muhammad was a person that everyone feared
This is a fictional story written by me. Give me your opinion in the comments

I (56f) separated from my husband (59m) almost three months ago, first legal separation. Every time I have left before, he always makes changes and I eventually go back. We have gone to counseling before, he has quit drinking, started treating me well, etc. He has not done anything since I left. I did discover in this process text messages (that he allowed me to read) between he and his sister. There are times i would speak with her, although I never trusted her, but just to get insight on her thoughts. I didn't realize what had actually been going on, which i don't know why I didn't see it before. They are both very negative people, had "The abuse" as she calls it while they grew up. I honestly feel like blaming the treatment of me on this is ridiculous. My siblings and I suffered mental and physical abuse from our bio father, and my mom made him leave when I was 9. I'm 56, I had therapy in my 30's and I dealt with it. My husband was 8 when his abusive father died. GTF over it.
I digress. So, in this last year since I returned from our last split up, his sister has just been so two faced. My husband and her discuss tings about me that are none of her business, my finances, my someday inheritance, he complains to her if I am doing my nails at home. She says things as I am not to be trusted? She has questioned the cost of my healthcare. I have been with him 14 years, cared for his ailing mother prior to her passing, helped my schizophrenic step son, raised his other son as well. We have grandsons! I have NEVER been unfaithful, I have been a very loving, caring, nurturing, happy and sexual spouse! I thought even with his faults I had hit the jackpot in a partner!
His sister advised him early on to take the money from our mutual accounts and hire a lawyer. He did this! He took ALL our money, hired an attorney, and then begged me not to take half of everything. He blames me for doing those things. I left to stay with my Dad (I was raised by my stepfather after my abusive bio dad was gone) Thank God I have my Dad, because I was left with just the paycheck I had on me that I had not deposited yet. And he demanded that money.
This entire time, his sister acts like she did no wrong. She sent ME texts about OUR money, I could not believe it. I honestly thought this was my last hope. Legally filing for separation, maybe he would finally listen and make the serious changes we needed.
The good news is, over this time apart, I have slowly come to process how poorly I have been treated for so many years. He always sided with anyone in his family over me. Now I understand why he was so mean to me when he drinks, because the things he says to me are guess what? The actual things he thinks about me. None of these things are true. He just complains to complain. They have been complaining about me just as I hear them complain about everyone else in our family over the years. No ONE is off limits. Why did I not realize this before?
Anyone have similar experiences with a meddling family member that you'd like to share I'd love to hear your story too! And especially any steps you did to call them out and take your power back.

Bill Rogers locked the garage door, slid the hose into the driver’s side window, climbed into the back seat, laid down and shut his eyes. When he woke up, he was surrounded by clouds and a blue sky. A man, neither young nor old stood next to him. He wore a coat like an Afghan goat herder, Bill thought, maybe made of sheepskin, or cowhide—tough to say, as Bill was no expert in husbandry. The man was small where Bill was large. Bill was six-three and two hundred and fifty pounds. He had played tight-end in college and lorded his physical stature over small men all his life. He felt it gave him an advantage at contract negotiations. He always made sure to be sitting when the opposing lawyers walked in because his size was hidden. Then he would stand up from behind table—a great reveal, a physical imposition—in an effortless attempt to intimidate the other team. It was mostly an effective strategy. The man, nearly a foot shorter, and a petite lady’s-weight less was standing almost eye-level with Bill. He sheepishly looked at Bill and asked if he was happy now.

“I suppose so,” Bill answered, rather dazed and unaware of all that was happening. “Are you God?” asked Bill. The old man smiled knowingly and set his delicate hand on Bill’s shoulder. “What can I do to make you comfortable?” Bill attempted to stand up but the man’s hand held him in place without applying any extra force. “A scotch would be nice! Do they serve scotch in heaven?” he laughed. The man laughed and gave Bill a scotch.

“Let me tell you, God, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it! When do we go through the pearly gates?”

“I’m afraid you’ve seen too many Hollywood movies. That’s not how it works. Tell me, how was life on Earth?”

“Well, I guess you can tell by how I checked out it wasn’t great. But I am feeling better now. Sometimes you just need a good night’s sleep, I guess, right?”

“I guess so. You weren’t very happy down there. But that’s what I’m here for. You can fix it all now. Tell me, what went wrong in your life?”

“Wait, is this Purgatory then?”

He chuckled, “No. Don’t be silly. What went wrong down there?”

“I knew it—those nuns were all off. Well, for one, I worked too much. I spent 80, 90, 100 hours a week every week for years—hell, probably decades when you add it all up—in the office, chasing the ring, getting the promotion.” His thought broke and he looked at the man and said, “you know I cleared 950-k last year?” Sinking back into his thoughts, “but it wasn’t enough for her. She could give Cleopatra a run for her money. Man she could spend. I worked all the time, always on the road to a different client’s office, eating airport food, never exercising. Traded my health and youth for wealth, then she got to enjoy it. I ended up all alone in my big house, all by myself and my LonelyFans Platinum subscription. Look at me, I got so fat no pretty woman could stand to look at me. If I could do it again, I’d go back and just make 60k a year, keep my health, my good looks, and go to clubs every night and dance with beautiful women. I wasted so much.”

“Wow, thanks for being so honest, Bill. I’m glad you were honest, because now I can give you the chance to fix it. I am going to give you the opportunity to craft the life you always wanted, the life you dreamed of! This is your chance Bill, to do it right this time. You had a full life, you tried out things: some worked, some didn’t—that trip to Tokyo probably didn’t help your marriage, did it; but now that’s all behind, now you get to create the perfect one based on everything you learned. Now you get to play God to yourself. You will have the power to create any life you want: money, women, food, servants, power, glory, the revenge on everybody who did you wrong—anything.”

“Oh, Good Lord, heaven is even better than Mother Superior led on! I get to do that? Now?”

“Yes, I’m granting you this power. Total freedom to do what you want. You deserve it! You’ve earned it, Bill.”

“Ok, so what do I do? Just point and make something happen?”

“Sure,” he said with a chuckle, “everybody always wants to point at things like some Vegas magician. The entire creation was spoken into existence, but ever since Adam people want to point things into existence—whatever makes them happy, I guess. Anyway, you’ve got the power of the Lord, do it however you want!”

Bill pointed to a cloud in front of him and a new truck appeared before his eyes. “Holy moly, I can’t believe it’s real.” The sun reflecting off the chrome was just a big blur to Bill Rogers water-filled eyes. He had to squint to see that it had the turbodiesel engine he had imagined. “I’m not going to get carried away on the wealth. I learned my lesson there. It doesn’t buy happiness. I had eight digits in my savings account,” he looked to see if the man was listening, “and look at where that got me. No, just a simple life for me,” he pointed to a cloud and four-bed, three-bath house with in-law suite and three car garage next to a lush green lawn appeared. It fronted a cul-de-sac. “You can’t take it with you, right?” he laughed.

“Is that it, Bill? What else do you want?”

“Well, like I said, I want to be young and healthy.” His stomach disappeared into his abdominal muscles and the brown spots and wrinkles on his hands vanished into a smooth clear skin.

“And what are you going to do with your time? Go back to your old job?”

“Ohh, you got a good sense of humor, God!” The old man laughed along with Bill. “Like I said, I just want to live a normal life and go to the bars at night, talk to beautiful women. Dance with them, smile, laugh. Have fun, that’s all.”

“Your wish, is my command,” he said, and Bill asked if that is how it really worked, and the old man laughed: “no, but people really started to ask for it after Aladdin got big, so I started doing it.”

“You’re a real people-pleaser, aren’t you, God?”

The small man’s sheepish smile resurfaced and a faint pink tint rose up to his pale cheeks.

“That is it for now, enjoy your new life, Bill. I’ll be back to check on you after a while.”

“Thanks, God, you really are great.”

“Oh, wait, one more thing—I almost forgot. In your newly made, perfect, heavenly life— do you want your children here?”

Bill let out a huge laugh, “of course! How could I forget! Yes, of course, I want to see my children! Not every day—and don’t have the Queen of Sheba bring ‘em by either, if you know what I mean,” he nudged the old man with his elbow, almost knocking his small frame over, “but yes I always regretted not having more time with the kids.”

“Great, I’ll make that happen. I’ll be ba-a-a-a-a-ck,” he said as he turned around.

A door appeared out of nowhere and the old man glided over to it, with his sheepskin coat dragging behind him. The door opened and he walked through it. It began to close, but his coat got caught in the door, and he had to reach back and yank it through. As the coat flew up, Bill thought he saw the tip of a German Sheppard’s tail and wondered if the dog had been there all along, but soon didn’t care as he saw his new neighbor, a young blonde woman in yoga pants and high heels getting into her Mercedes coupe. He tried to get her attention, but she was focused on fixing her lipstick and hair in the mirror as she drove away.

Bill settled down into his new life, got comfortable in his small house and extended cab truck, and began going out to bars and clubs, just as he had imagined. Every night there was a bar to go to filled with beautiful women, and they all were happy to let him buy drinks and chat for a while. Sometimes he would invite one or two to dance and they’d agree, and then disappear with their friends. Other times he would meet a young woman in pub and talk to her; they’d laugh and joke and maybe she would give him her number and maybe not. But he never saw the same woman twice. If he called or texted a woman, she never responded. If he asked a woman if she’d like to go somewhere for coffee she always declined and said she had to get back home.

On the rare chance that a woman did sit down and talk with him, the conversation was always the same: polite introductions, niceties, some flirtatious exchanges. He tried to talk to the beautiful women about life, what they wanted, what mattered to them, but they all just said they liked to have fun to some degree or another.

After three weeks of going to the bars and trying to talk to women, Bill got tired of going out. He stayed at home for a week, then he tried to find his neighbor again. He saw her car in the drive and rang the doorbell, but nobody answered. He only ever saw her driving away.

After a couple slow weeks, he tried going out again, but it was the same routine: a few drinks, a few laughs, nothing to talk about and goodbye, never to be seen again. Bill sat in his truck in the garage and contemplated his after-life. He wiped a tear from his cheek and heard someone knocking on his front door. He let the old man in, and Bill sat down at the barstool.

“Can I take your coat?”

“No, I like to keep it on. I came by to see how you are doing?”

“This isn’t what I thought heaven would be like,” said Bill, hunched forward, hands between his legs, staring at the floor.”

“Heaven?” said the old man, looking up at Bill. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Who are you?”

The old man took off the sheepskin coat and Bill saw the gray and white fur all over his body. The gray tail dragged on the floor, and the old man’s face looked like the snout of a grey wolf.

“This is your own doing, Bill. You made the life you wanted. You’ve had two chances now. This one you are stuck with, forever. No escaping. No crying, no laying down in the back of your truck for eternal sleep. This is the eternal sleep.”

“This is hell.”

“Call it what you will.”

The wolf got down on all fours and walked to the door. “Can you let me out?”

Bill opened the door and the wolf ran outside, almost knocking over the two people walking up Bill’s sidewalk.

“What are you doing here,” he shouted at them.

“We came to see you!”

“No! Get away! Get out of here, go! Go!”

The woman was getting in her Mercedes and looked over to see what the ruckus was about, but then looked away before making eye contact.

“Dad, we missed you! So, we followed you here. The old man told us how to find you! He asked us what our perfect life would be, and we told him ‘we just want to be with our Dad.’”

***
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