Funny signatures for my cell phone

I come from what I consider a middle class family. We are not rich by any means, we do not go on extravagant holidays but going up we were spoiled and did have more than most people in our area. We got bikes, a trampoline and swing sets. We had toys. Our parents gave us (me and my sister) approx 5k each to put towards our first cars (not allowed to buy until we got our full licence and had a job for at least 6 months).
Me(23F) and my sis(26F) have always had a strained relationships but things got worse as we got older. I worked hard for my first car and bought a Toyota worth 20k where as my sister only spent the money my parents gave her and spent her wage on clothes and makeup. Because I was younger and I got a more expensive car, she assumed our parents gave me more than her but this was far from it.
Anyways about 8 months ago my sis and Brother-in-law(BIL) got engaged and everybody was happy.
They wanted to have an engagement party in BIL’s home town (500km away). We were cool with that but we all had to take time off work, pay for fuel to drive there and spend money on accomodation. Overall trip cost me about $500-600. Which I wasnt to concerned about because they promised us the wedding would be at home so I wouldn’t have to stress about this.
Fast foward a couple of months and sis organises her own hens party(nobody else was apparently allowed to help). This too was held at a destination, now appox 1000km away from home town. So I had to miss another 3 days work, 3 nights accomodation, fuel money for 2000km and had to chip in for the party because that what’s bridesmaids do. Goodbye $1600 but I couldn’t say no. She’s my sister right, I had to go. Oh and she also announced that here wedding would also be at this location in just 4 months - this was big shock to everybody.
Another month goes by and my sis starts sending me photos of dresses, shoes and accessories she wants here bridesmaids to wear on her big day. $100 on a pair of shoes - you’ve got to be kidding me. I’d never wear these shoes again. $400 dresses. I was strat up honest with her and said “Nope, not happening. I work a decent job and get paid ok money, but I cannot afford $500 for a dress and shoes that I will wear once”.
Well this upset the whole family. Sis, mum, dad, Granny, Aunts you name it and they were all calling me, demanding that I apologise and buy the dress. Call after call, message after message. It was too much so I ended up just buying it to shut them up after mum and dad promised that I could car pool with them the distance to the wedding and hitch in on their motel to save money.
The plan was to drive my our parents to the destination on Wednesday (Wedding on Friday) and therefore I only booked in 3 days of work. Well the week before the wedding, I am now told that I was needed at the destination by Monday. dress alterations, nails (because apparently a French tip at one place is not the same at all and you will be able to tell the difference in the photos - eyeroll) and pre wedding practice runs need be done. Again I resisted but the calls and messages started again. I couldn’t handle it. So I just packed my car, took 2 sick days at work and drove to destination. Everything would be easier right if you don’t have 20 people spamming you at the same time stressing you out.
I got my own accomodation for 2 nights then planed to jump in on my parents room like previously promised. Boy was I wrong. My parents purposely booked a 1 bed room motel without a couch. Leaving me stranded again. This trip alone was going to cost me: Fuel: ~$500 Accomodation: Sunday-Sunday (7night) $1750 Nail: already done back home but had to do again ($90) Dress Alterations: (because the dresses hem was longer than the other bridesmaids because I’m a bit shorter- for aesthetics apparently) $100 Wedding Hair and Makeup: (was not told until after it was done that bridesmaids would have to pay for their own) $200
Thankfully there was no drama at the wedding and it went pretty smoothly. Until 2 days later. I was already back home by this stage when the phone starts blowing up again. Phone calls, messages, social media post. Calling me lousy and cheap and disrespectful and so much more for not “Donating” to “Her” (not their which I think was funny) wishing well at the wedding. I tried to explain that I had spent close to $5,500 if not more in 6 months just accomodating her. Without lost time at work. This made everything worse. Apparently my mum had told her that they paid for my dress, accom, fuel etc and that the least I could do is spare a “few hundred dollars” for her wishing well. Well she didn’t take to kindly to the truth that I paid for it all and is now calling me a liar and much worse.
AITA
Did I also mention that am a studying full time at night and already am short of money due to trying to pay student loans

I’ve had the same cell phone number for 24 years. So old they used the same prefix as businesses and home phones in the city back then. I vary rarely get a weird calls. I’m waiting for an important call regarding a paediatrician appointment for my son. So I answered. Yesterday I receive a call “British Columbia” with the same prefix as my number. So I assume oh it a business or a person, no it’s automated voice about fraud activity on my visa. I have a Mastercard. I hang up. About half an hour later I get another call from a similar number, doesn’t say British Columbia just the phone number. This is an actual person saying he missed a call from my phone number and is just calling me back. I’m like no I’m out for dinner. So here I’m thinking, could my phone number have been used calling people coming up as British Columbia? Maybe this guy missed the call and was calling back the number that was used. I absolutely did not call this guy, why would my number be showing up on his calling ID. I’m confused.

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When delivering food via popular mailing services, companies like Goldbelly don't have a ton of control as to if the food arrives on time. But from my experience, the regulation around the amount of insulation and dry ice/ice packs the company makes restaurants has gotten a lot better in recent years. This makes it so food generally can last at last 24 hours after their intended arrival date.
If you're considering giving Goldbelly a chance, the product is trustworthy.
Overall review..
Goldbelly is definitely expensive. You're paying 2-3 times more sometimes, and some of the food won't be as fresh as having the option to dine in. Goldbelly is useful if you're really trying to splurge, or send someone the gift of some food they normally don't get to eat.
I would stay away from shops that have a 4.2 review or lower.
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Chapter 4
A mother daughter relationship is so so complicated, often times more complicated than any other relationship.
Mum for example never had a “normal” relationship with GG. Mum was always hyper criticized. She was made out to be promiscuous and a liar- specifically in regards to what happened with her older brother M. She was told horrible things her entire life, and I wish I could say the cycle ended with her.
Summer and i are the younger siblings - but we do share a very significant age gap. So it was almost as if I grew up with my brothers and Summer in a lot of ways grew up as an only child. summer and mum were both the babies of the family-
From around age 11 mum would tell anyone who would listen how bad I was. I didn’t listen. I was a lair. I was a manipulator. I was promiscuous. Any demonstration of my “goodness” would be portrayed as a manipulation- my intentions were always villainized. I’d go to a friends to stay and I’d say, I just don’t want to live in mess and chaos. But what mum told people was that I was actually for the streets, that I was probably running around doing drugs and sleeping around- within reality I always slept alone. I just wanted to do so clean sheets. I can’t stress enough how much growing up in filth can truly psychologically damage a child.
After R had his accident - mum and step dad worked a lot. Summer became mine and brothers responsibility to take care of more often than not- and because r was sick- we almost became his caregivers. Brother and I were responsible for feeding ourselves and cleaning the house, and watching summer. Brother had always been such a hard worker- he has always been Switzerland and always tried to remain neutral and keep everyone happy. So he did his part easily- but I was harder to break and bend. I fought back. I would express over and over again that I didn’t feel like it was fair for someone who was 11 to be essentially responsible for taking care of a household —- when mum heard this her first instinct wasn’t to say “ you know what this actually is a lot of unfair responsibility to put on a literal child. Maybe we need to back off some” no no. It was “ I am going to get duct tape and tape one of her arms to her and force her to clean the whole house house so that way she can see how much harder it would be if she only had the ability to use one arm like r” (not long ago she actually brought this up and was talking about how funny it was) as a parent myself now, I cannot express how repulsed I am by her behavior. I have five children, and I would never have the idea to use duct tape as a punishment- for ANYTHING. And if you as a parent ever think my kid needs a punishment let me go get the duct tape. Please just give your child to somebody that will actually care for them.
The more I fought back the more it fed the fuel that I was somehow some horrible awful child/ teen. Mum became my biggest hater. She would and still does actively wish negative things on me, just for the right of saying “I told you so”. As a mom myself- I could never do that. I could never wish for horrible things to happen to one of my children just for the right to say “see they were the problem all along”
I once won a scholarship at a church function, and when the youth pastor excitedly told mum- her response was “ She won’t use it. She’ll probably end up pregnant and on drugs by 16.”
When all I needed was a signature in order to obtain a learners permit- I was met with no, I’m not spending my day at a DMV. Any opportunity she had to make my life more difficult. She would take it every single time.
Going to college and need my W2s for fasfa? Mum - “no im not giving you my tax info”
I honestly could write a book just on the weird punishments and the weird dynamic I had with her. But this isn’t just about me.
Summer. I honestly think in some type of karmic way Summer somehow became everything that mum tried to convince the world that I was. Everything I was falsely accused of- summer was doing (obviously years later, as we did have a significant age gap) and what’s so crazy is- Summer never got the treatment I did.
Mum and summer are … co codependent- and a constant echo chamber of negativity and absolutely no accountability. To this day if summer does something wrong / bad I’d still hear “well remember when you did something a fraction as bad 20 years ago when you were a teen” it’s honestly one of the most toxic cycles I’ve ever seen of my mum trying to use everyone else’s past mistakes as excuses or passes for summers current mistakes. Summer is never held accountable- and when something comes up- the mistakes of other people are used as passes for her bad behavior. Down to simple things like- when summer stole from me as a child, I told mum and mums response was “ well you’ve stolen my stuff before so now you know how it feels” and no accountability for Summer
Summer got expelled from high school for bringing drugs to School on two separate occasions - mums response was to remind everyone how horrible I was in school (mind you I was the only one of my siblings to graduate )
I can go on and on about how being the family scapegoat means literally everything somehow is your fault. Or whatever anyone else is doing OK because you have somehow managed to do something worse in the past. It’s a battle I’ll never win.
it’s also important to note- mum did not protect any of us for SA as kids. Her first husband SA’ed me. Brother was SA’ed as well- although I don’t know the details because he wouldn’t ever open up about it. And summer was first SA’ed by a cousin on my step dad’s side. I want to take a moment to also address signs your child has been SA’ed. They may stop caring about their physical appearance- and the space that they keep around them- like mum. They may be overly sexual towards other kids at a very very young age (under 7) like brother (most kids who do this are expressing learned to behavior and are generally not seen as a predator) (most kids doing this also out of it at a very young age because they realize how wrong it is) they could become so outspoken no predator would risk doing anything to them at a fear that they could not keep them quiet- like me. Or they could hate themselves and become hyper sexual- finding affection in sexual acts- like summer.
But with that being said. Being a family scapegoat ask means you somehow become a people pleaser. You have been told your entire life how unlovable you are and how unworthy you are and you spend so much time trying to prove your goodness and prove that you are actually worth basic love and respect. - and you spend so much time effort and energy, picking up the breadcrumbs of love
This year we moved from the north to the south. When we sold our house in the north- we made a pretty good profile- hubby (my husband) wanted to buy a house outright, and even with the profit on the other house we would still owe a pretty good amount on our current residence. So we decided to buy a property outright and allow my mum- summer - summers son- and step dad to move into the house and do a rent to own situation. I’m sure you’re asking why. Why would I do that.
Ultimately, it’s because I’m an idiot- I fell for love bombing- I fell for the idea that mum would be an amazing grandparent to my kids.
They moved in in June. The wedding was in July. Things calmed down until December. And then - summer relapsed. Her son was around 9 months old. She tested positive for everything across-the-board. CPS got involved and placed her son with my husband and I - now is a perfect time to put out a reminder that we have our 5 of our own children - by newphew will always have a place here.
We knew at the 90 day mark CPS would likely reassign temporary custody
One of the stipulations mandated by CPS was that Summer go into a rehab program
Mum being the enabler that she tried to turn on the family to not hold her accountable
At this point, my husband- was pissed- as was I.
We had 3 stipulations for allowing them to live in the house that we owned. All stipulations were agreed-upon by all parties prior to them moving in. 1. Keep the house clean, that didn’t happen. 2. Minimalize the smoking in the house- so that way my kids could still come over and it would not affect the value of the home- they immediately started chain-smoking everywhere in the house, making it impossible for my kids to spend any time over there (my husband and I take the problems. Secondhand smoke causes very seriously seriously.) they chose to smoke in the house over having the ability to have my children over. And finally the most important rule- and the one that was a no go for us - NO HARD DRUGS. obviously as I mentioned, Summer had a relapse meeting. She was bringing hard drugs in and out of the house.
At this point, my husband told my stepdad if there are drugs in that house again that he will just evict all of them and sell the house- that literally none of our boundaries have been respected, and they ultimately crossed our biggest one
So what did mum do ? Well, she went around and told all of our family that I was using the house over her head. And when it came time for us to discuss custody for my nephew that her and stepdad needed to be on the agreement because I am such a horrible person I would use someone else’s child against them.
This broke me. It was the first time in life. I actually realized it does not matter how much I do for them the second the narrative doesn’t fit what they want it to be anymore. They will turn on me and make me the villain of the story. I can give them a house and car. I can give them everything and as soon as it’s no longer suing them, I will become the villain over and over.
Summer never got her son any type of insurance- I was overwhelmed with not only taking care of my kids, but an additional child that I was being villainized for caring for- so at this point, I contacted CPS and asked them to place the baby with mum and step dad. They were approved.
And before anyone judges me for doing this too much, please remember that I was under a tremendous amount of stress - I had absolutely no support outside of my Husband and all of my relationships with my family crumbled- all because I was just doing what I felt was the right thing. Naranon truly helped me realize that I actually have control over how much of this nonsense I allowed in my life. I was losing Hair by the clumps. My very accurate. Was weeks late because of stress. And to be honest, I was not being fair to my children by trying to take take on the world- to solves mums / summers problems.
So for my mental health, and for the sake of what was best for my children, I had to eliminate myself from the situation and only allow it in my life in the capacity that was healthy for me
So ever since January, I’m pretty much have been low to no contact with all of them.
The next chapter will be the final chapter. Everything will come together I promise and these back stories will makes complete sense I promise.

Context- We’re both divorced, we each have 2 daughters who are the same ages. We work at the same company but in different departments and different management levels- he’s higher up.
We see each other probably 1x a month. It’s a hybrid work environment- we choose how often and which location to work at. I personally choose to go into the main office every day. It’s just more convenient for me. That said, I don’t risk running into him too often if I get rejected.
The thing is every time we see each other we immediately walk over and say hi, chat, whatever. we recently had a situation where there was a local celebrity in the office - everyone was being greeted by them, shaking hands, getting hugs, etc. i took a pic of my crush while he was greeting this person - and was sure to catch pics of few other coworkers too - so i didn’t look like a creeper - lol. We were chatting right after and I said I had some pics of him - he seemed genuinely happy about it and asked me to send them and gave me his cell. then, he actually said something like “cool, now I have your number too” which I took as a sign??
i bumped into him recently- I was sitting in a common cafe area meeting with a colleague. he came in, said “hey”, realized I was in a meeting and went right over to make a coffee. he looked like he was lingering for a lot longer than he needed to - i got the impression he was waiting for me to finish. Unfortunately he left before we could catch up.
An earlier run-in we were with another coworker and laughing and joking- he even said something about doing a happy hour sometime. but it’s been months since then.
Ugh. I’m tempted to text him or maybe wait until I see him in the office again. I’m at a loss. But I find him so funny, and good looking and we’re in similar life stages - I feel pretty confident about a good outcome but then doubt creeps in.
Looking for your encouragement and stories please! The pool shrinks considerably as you get older - I’m not sure I can afford to miss an opportunity :( THANKS!!

Hi! I apologize in advance if I did any of this wrong, I’ve never made a post before. But I just wanted to turn here to ask for help with this issue I keep on repeatedly having.
So I (21F) have an iPhone 11, which comes with 64 GB of storage. Currently I’ve used up 63.78 GB of this. Since maybe a few months ago, I started to run into the issue of running out of storage. When this happened, I would go to my settings, look at which things were taking up the most and do what I can to minimize them, for example: if my messages were taking up a lot, I would go to “review large attachments” and see which longer videos and screen recordings I sent or were sent to me that I could delete, and delete or offload the data of apps that I don’t use. But then time would pass, and it would happen again. I really don’t have that many apps, over and beyond the ones that come with the iPhone (some of which I’ve deleted) and ones that are crucial for banking, transit, and other essential ones, only one mobile game, and I only have two social media apps (3 if you count Reddit I guess lol), etc.
It is currently not at all financially feasible for me to fix this issue by upgrading my phone, unfortunately. Even if it was, I really try to minimize my consumption of new tech with how exploitative, unethical, and environmentally damaging the cobalt / lithium battery mining industry is. So I try to make each devise last as long as possible and only upgrade when I absolutely need to.
Even though I’m young, i have never been the most adept with technology. I’m good enough with computers to have passed a basic coding & programming course for school, but let’s just say I’ve never been the kid who helped the teacher fix the projector, or the family member who messes with the wifi router and TV cables at home. So I’d really love some advice if possible. I’m going to lay out as much info as possible so someone can hopefully identify something that might be the issue and what could help. I wanted to attach screenshots of my storage report in my phone settings to help, but it seems that this community does not allow attachments to posts, so I’ll have to do my best to describe.
The one thing that I do have is a lot of photos. For some background as to why / rationalizing it, next paragraph: if you dgaf then skip to the paragraph after that, where it goes back to being specifically about the situation at hand:
One reason I have so many photos is that I have moved around a lot my whole life, and lived in a lot of different places, so with the very frequent change of scene, you can imagine I would probably have more photos than the average person who grew up and lived in one or two cities their whole life. To add onto this point, I’m currently overseas, far from my home country, doing working a job for the next four months, and this involves a lot of travel, where I’d be obviously want to be taking pictures of the places I go. I’m also in a long-distance relationship, and as such, we send each other photos, and screenshots of how we did on the wordle, etc. I try to delete these afterwards, but it still adds up. Furthermore, I’m an ecology and wildlife biology student, so a lot of what I do involves taking pictures and making sound recordings of observations while I’m outside, both while conducting fieldwork, identifying species, taking down observations for classes, and out of my own personal interest / passion while I’m out and about and find something interesting. One final important reason is that I have a little sister who has stage 4 cancer, of an extremely rare kind, with a very unpredictable nature. It seems that she is ok for now, but I my family and I are burdened with knowing that that could change very rapidly, and we really can’t know how much time we may have together. So as you can probably imagine, I have a lot of photos with her, and of her, that I would not ever consider deleting to make space, as you can hopefully understand.
I do try to go through my photos regularly to clear my camera roll of trash, blurry photos, random screenshots, and pictures of physics questions. But doing this isn’t a solution, or not a sustainable, realistic one anyway. I’ve already spent so much time doing this, to the point that I’m sure there has to be an easier way.
I used to have Google photos and used that, but then my Google account storage was full (google drive documents, emails, photos, everything) and that gave me trouble for a long time so eventually I resorted to deleting the Google photos app off my phone, and downloading my photos only onto the iPhone photos app. But eventually, because I was missing important emails, I decided that I’ll just have to pay the like $4.99/month subscription to get more Google storage.
Now, I’m thinking that I might be better to archive my photos using Google photos instead, now that I’m paying for more storage there, but I already deleted the app and currently don’t have enough storage to download it again. I also can’t download this app that is required in my building to be able to do laundry (which is honestly ridiculous but whatever). Moving overseas in general has required me to download quite a lot more apps than I expected to have to use for daily life, which contributes to my issue.
There’s also been an update available for my phone for some time now, but I’ve been unable to start it because of insufficient storage. In the mean time, my phone has started to have some weird issues it didn’t have previously, like one thing has been that a few days ago, all of my notes on my phone disappeared. This is highly distressing to me because those went back a very long time, and had very important information I’ve carefully recorded over the years I’ve had this phone. This is very upsetting so I’m hoping desperately that once I am eventually able to start the update on my phone, and get more storage, the notes will show up again. Another example is that sometimes, apps will just stop responding to touch, and I’m unable to scroll, to click, to type for a while until I close the app out and open it again, but sometimes that also doesn’t work right away. It usually only responds to sliding up from the bottom to return to the Home Screen, and the volume and power button. And before anyone asks, yes I have tried turning powering my phone all the way off, and on again.
One thing to note is that since arriving to this new country to work 2 weeks ago, I bought a new SIM card so I could have a functional phone number and a cell service plan. I don’t know if that could at all be contributing to any of this..? Maybe? But I also had these storage issues start up months ago, so it’s definitely not entirely that.
Another piece of information is that I do have a laptop, unfortunately it’s a MacBook Air tho (which I know is really not the best PC, it was a gift) which I got in 2020. Is there any way I could download my photos onto my computer to free up storage on my phone? Or would this not work because they have the same connected iCloud account? Also, if my photos were on another device, would that make it more complicated to send people photos from my camera roll, and would I be unable to pull up old photos I have in my camera roll (like of my pets, memories, things that come up in conversations, etc.) on my phone to show people?
Like I said before, I would really appreciate any advice you can offer whatsoever! I really don’t want to into an Apple Store and have to pay a fortune for a consult, when they might end up just telling me that I simply need to upgrade my phone. If you have any questions or points to clarify, please feel free to ask in the comments. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this, I am deeply grateful, and may life treat you well <3

In August of 2022 when I was 14 my then bf touched me in a bad way. I left the group until March of 2024 because I was so sick of just sitting in the bathrooms at school on my phone every lunch time. It was pretty isolating considering I struggle with talking to people and I’m honestly just incapable of making friends. I apologised to him because I said some shitty things, and now I’m friends with him I think, though he’s been acting strangely. He’s always super close to me and he asked me to go out twice during a half term (we only went out once).
I have like 17 days left of school, and in the past few weeks he’s said some things that just make me want to scream in a negative way. It’s so cringe. Like he’ll say things about my mental health issues, or mock the things I like, or tell the others about the things I was doing that I prefer to keep private. I don’t want to go back to the bathroom, and if I leave that’s probably where I’ll end up. I can’t really go with any other friends because then I’ll be intruding on their time with their friends, and I can’t really be with my best friend because she goes to another school.
Would it be best for me to just cut my losses and leave or just stick it out because there’s not a lot of time left at school.
Edit: I’m 16F, and he’s 16M. The friend group is made up of me, him, another 16M and a 15F. I have autism and anxiety, and he makes fun of me for my interests but not in a funny way and he’s ignorant about my mental health.

My identity was stolen by an associate that works at the Watertown, MA store. They put 2 additional lines on my account and financed over $2k in my name.
I had to file a police report because AT&T didn’t believe me since my ID was scanned. My ID was scanned because the associate took a picture of it without me knowing.
I am refusing to pay a $900 bill until all the additional charges are taken off. They have now suspended my line and I can only use my phone while on WiFi. I am unable to make or receive calls on WiFi until my bill is paid. I just got an email saying that if it isn’t paid in less than a month that my plan will be cancelled and I will be responsible for over $3k.
Since the police are involved the regional manager said the police had to call AT&T legal to get this cleared up. They kept the officer on the phone for over an hour and transferred him 6 times for them to say I needed to call. What’s funny about that is, I CANT CALL BECAUSE THEY SUSPENDED MY LINE! Even if I try off another phone I can’t get through until the bill is paid.
Has this happened to anyone? Does anyone have any advice on what I should do next? I have exhausted every resource possible. I’m at a loss on what to do now.

My mind is spinning after a night of drinks with friends so forgive any errors, but I have to put this out into the world.
I have been trying for years to get my casual DnD friends, who insist they like DnD, to truly invest themselves in their characters. I have groups of theatre kids that bleed when their characters bleed, but I can't seem to illicit the same buy in from my casuals. Last night while we are catching up, talking about our friends and families, it hits me... No matter how mundane, we are all deeply invested in our own lives as well as the lives of our friends and families.
Inspiration takes shape; I need to build a homebrew apocalyptic event and have my friends play as themselves. I'm thinking Isekai genre meets the 2019 film Little Monsters.
Session Zero: I love some of the ideas people explore with capturing their own real life stats within the confines of a DnD character. So, I am thinking we will start character creation with a bit of gaslighting ;) The premise is a game night filled with challenges to see what your real life stats are. Challenges of strength, trivia, and common sense knowledge. Friends attempting to decieve, persuade, and seduce one another to approximate charisma.
At the end of it all, once we have fine tuned everyone's character pages, I plan to set the stage with a little help from the sweetest woman I know, Mom. She calls me, I tell her I'm at game night with friends, she insists I put her on speaker (presumably to say hello to my childhood friends she hasn't seen in years) but instead of just saying hi she starts sharing her concerns with some event taking place all around he world. I plan to have the interaction be brief and to the point. Something is happening and she wants us to know about it. "I sent you a linkto the news story but I really have to go now... crashing noise in background Be smart and stay safe! I love you." Hangs up without waiting for a response I know the concern and intrigue in the room will be palpable at this point.
Next I ask to borrow a computer, hoping that rather than waiting someone in the group urges me to just click the link as everyone gathers around my phone. The link will direct us to a video of one of our long distance theatre friends dressed in suit and tie presenting a news bulliton. Finally some brevity to their all to real concerns! The news story is similarly brief and cryptic, sharing that people are acting strange everywhere and viewers are urged to hunker down and wait out the violence in a safe place.
Finally, the game is afoot! I pull out a battle map. It's a giant birds eye view via Google Maps of my friend's house where we are currently playing games. I tell my players that a threat is imminent and they have mere moments to devise a plan to defend the house. (I'm thinking zombies or creatures from the TV show From, but won't share specifics) I will let them use the improvised weapons mechanic and assign real life items available in the house damage values and proficiency based on their arguments. I'll preperscibe AC and hit points to doors and windows, adding to them based on creative improvising using things like tables, bookshelves, couches, etc. to reinforce any breachable point of the house.
Long term, I am interested in seeing how the players will choose to act once dawn breaks and the home siege has played out. How will my teacher friends interact with kids when one wrong move could put their own child in danger? Will my friends see their specific parents/siblings/friends/pets as an asset or a liability? Is our town really the safest place to survive an apocalyptic event? I think it will be immeasurably funny to have our real life friends and family satirized in the form of NPCs both helpful and problematic.
Thoughts? Concerns? Am I going to far or not far enough? None of my friends are snowflakes, but at the same time I don't think losing their 2 year old in a game setting would sit well with any of us. Help me explore some mechanics and guardrails, please!
Thank you all for any input you may have.

I honestly don't know where to start. My dad has never been a good person for as long as I can remember. I (18) have 3 siblings. 24,23 and 4. Growing up me and my siblings were always abused. We would get thrown into walls, beat until we were bloody and weak. Handcuffed to our beds and couldn't get up unless we screamed out and asked. We couldn't get water unless we asked. We couldn't use the bathroom unless we screamed and begged. Even then my dad would stand outside the bathroom and if we were there linger than 5 minutes he would open the door or even rip us out the bathroom. It was worse for both my siblings. I was my dad's favourite. I wish I wasn't. But it made things easier. I experienced what they went through but less. My brother used to wake up with my dad beating on him. Sometimes for things he didn't even do. My dad would fight us at the ripe age of 7. I dint mean whoop our ass either. I mean actually beat us. Chase us around the house, pull our hair punch us in the rips. Make holes in the walls from our body. And my mom stood by, watching. She too was afraid. Some days we were forced to get naked. He would bring people over like his friends or his family and they would watch him beat us in our underwear. We were kids. We were girls. Girls getting beat in front of grown men. Screaming and crying begging to stop and let us go. Nobody helped us. They just watched. They sat by and just fucking watched. Some came back and were still around my father but most left. They couldn't be friends with a man like him. I wish I could describe what that man had done to my brother but my sibling won't tell me. It's been years since my brother moved out, he's left that life behind him and I'm so thankful for it. My brother is happy. Living with his girlfriend and making music now. My sister's however, we all live with our parents. And every day, I see my mother in agony. He beats her. He Screams in her face. He throws knifes at hern and when she says she's gonna leave he throws himself in our garage and tells her he's going to kill himself. So she fights for him to stay alive. Because she still loves him even though she's being mistreated. Even though he's mistreated us. Her children. He cheated on her with his friend. (Let's call her B)
B had a child of her own, she came into our lives when I was in about 6th grade. She was horrible. She clearly wanted my father. She made up things about me and told them to my dad so I would get in trouble. She misconstrued my words till I was grounded for being disrespectful or thrown at my mother. My mom knew everything that went on. She saw her. B would push me into the walls and on the floor. They forced me to call her daughter my sister. Throughout my protests, they never stopped. I would actually get beat for saying she wasn't. She called my dad, daddy even though she HAD a dad. This is the woman my dad first started cheating on my mom with. My mom would coom and clean. Take care of him financially . Let this woman into our house. Into our lives only for her to turn around and fuck it up. One day I went to walk my dog and when I got back my father was in handcuffs. How funny. It wasn't me anymore. It wasn't us being Handcuffed. In some twisted fate there he was. Sitting in our lawn. 10 police cars all over my street. So many officers guarding the house and him. I cried. Maybe he was gone forever. I don't care about what he did. I care about how long he's going to be gone. My mother informed me that his mistress b scratched his face in an argument and he abused the fuck outta her in front of her child. Then took her phone and left. I prayed that day. I prayed he would be gone forever. I prayed he would never make it back home. And yet he did. My mom begged me and my sister's for bail money. And it's my mom. As much as I hate that man. I love my mom. I would do anything for her. I tried to tell her I didn't want to. He wasn't good for us but she cried into my arms. She didn't want my little sister to grow up without a dad. She was financially dependent on him even tho he didn't have a job at the time. I'm guessing he got a check because he was ex military but I'm not sure. He came back the night before thanks giving. Next morning he disappeared. Told my mom he was gonna kill himself then went silent. Mom begged me to talk to him. SHE said he was only willing to talk to me. She begged and begged " please baby, please I don't want to lose him" I couldn't say no. So I sat outside by the ring camera. Alone. At the age of 14 I talked my dad out of killing himself. By. Myself.
Now years later, B hasn't been in out lives and he's cheating again. My mother despises him. If he drops dead today she wouldn't care. She just wants to be a person. She's told us to pack a bag in case he goes crazy she's ready to leave. He's cheating on her with a woman from him new job. She found pictures of her nudes on his watch. I pray for my mommas safety. I will fight for her. I'm old enough now to understand that my mom was afraid too. I'm old enough to understand that sometimes you just need to put down a man if he hurts your family. He isn't my dad and he's not a real man. I wouldn't normally wish death. But he may deserve it.
(Sorry if there's typos I literally broke the right hand side of my screen so I can't see anything n I don't have money or a car to go fix it ) <3

I have repeatedly tried to cancel my cell service on my xfi app. It tells me to schedule an appointment for a callback, but I ALWAYS get a error message, to try again later. It's happened for 2 months straight. I cannot come into a location, and phone calls are difficult due to my disabled child. With ACP leaving, phone has to go too. Thanks!

context: I'm on my high school varsity tennis team, and I really like this girl on it as well, she's kind, funny, pretty and a bunch of other adjectives, I genuinely enjoy the time I spend with her during tennis.
My current situation: I've just got back from an overnight tennis tournament. And it went pretty well. The thing is, I have no idea if she was flirting or if she accidentally did this stuff. First thing I'm mentioning is pretty innocent I guess, after matches or during our team games, we would often high five or "dap each other up". Thing is, our hands would linger a tiny bit longer than what was usual, and for high fives often our fingers would interlace for a very short amount of time before breaking contact. But was this just me? Or was she also contributing to this "action" I guess you would call it.
Secondly, when our team was playing games on the court amongst ourselves (like doubles king of the court), when we were both waiting for the current point to finish, she would come stand really close to me, to the point where my hand, which was resting on my side, would be touching her upper thigh/bottom of her butt. I'd like to think this was intentional and that she was sending signals that she's interested in me, but what if she didn't even realized, and accidentally did it. Girls who read this would you be aware if this sort of stuff happens? Like would you feel the contact? Cause like she didn't break contact and it would last 10-15 seconds sometimes.
I also feel like I have great chemistry with her, as when we're in the same place we often laugh and talk.
I think also sometimes she would sit quite close to me. And when showing me something on her phone our heads would be unnervingly close.
Could she actually like me? Or am I just imagining it? I really want to call her and ask her out, but I'm scared that if she says no it'll make our future encounters really awkward. Also, if I do call her, how do I make sure she's alone and not with family/friends, as that would be kind of awkward for her.
TLDR: Idk if she's flirting or if I'm imagining it, don't want to make it awkward, if I call how to make sure she's alone and not with family/friends

Buying a 2014 Cayman. Thus fall all negotiations by phone. They obtained car by trade-in. Initially dealer said previous owner arrived with envelope of service records but “we declined them because we won’t transfer private/personal info, it’s illegal” but the carfax lists all the maintenance history (im not an idiot, and the CF history doesnt list actual service)…later in negotiations i asked that he communicate with the owner , offer my cell# and ask that he offer the records. Dealer balks, then gets upset at the notion of re-opening line of communication.
Later that day say he spoke, owner is “a busy big-business guy, doesnt have time for me, and shredded the records and wont consider calling Porsche dealer he used to release the records to me”…whole thing smells fishy.
I did the PPI, only suspicious thing is the serpentine belt is worn. Car has 77k miles. But if all services were done as diligently as dealer implies then belt would have been replaced at 60.. ..going today to drive/likely buy it if it’s smooth….but that gut-feeling is eating away at me.

Everyone needs to sign up for this. Every month all you need to do is submit at least ten photos of receipts from any purchases. Once you have had ten receipts approved you get a fiver of Amazon credit or you can donate it to charity.
They also have surveys that crop up from time to time. They are super random but are crazy short and rewarding.
There is a third income stream where they give you an extra two quid a month but they require you to set up some sort of Amazon diet VPN and I found it made my phone act funny so I avoided it.
Amazingly there is no benefit to me apart from a warm fuzzy feeling of knowing I helped people get free Amazon credit.
Just Google for it and get on the waiting list. Keep checking back until they let you in.
If you feel like replying just to say you have joined the list that would be nice, but not essential.

I'm here working outside under the sun. No clouds in sight, just a friendly wind making the set up perfect.. I did my workout already at 7 o'clock, went for a little run and hit the gym. 1,5 hours in total. I'm finishing my thesis for university, tomorrow is the deadline and after many painful weeks I'm 100% positive that I will graduate this spring.. oh my god how good it feels to say that.
My background is quite dark. I'm 25, I've had a decent life so far; I have quite large social network and supporting family and friends. Careerwise I'm doing okay. I got a job and our band is about to sign a deal with one of the major labors. People describe me as a friendly, positive and funny person who's easy to hang out with. Well breaking news, that's all fake fellas..
Behind the scenes I was/I've been depressed as hell for 6 years. Today I realize the reason behind that was pörn and mösturbation addiction. For every single day ever since I was föcking 13 years old.. The shame I've carried all these years made me feel literally miserable and different from other people. Last time I was in relationship 7 years ago, which ended bc my low self esteem caused by pörn. My parents never taught me a single this about söx or pörn, I had to gain the knowledge by myself. Unfortunately I did it in a wrong way by watching pörn...
My nofap journey is currently at day 40, yay! I gotta tell you bros, I haven't felt this good since 2016.. I always used to dream it was 2016 again, now I realize that's unnecessary. The life is here right now. My confidence is flying through the roof, I find it super easy and interesting to talk to everyone all the time. I used to find small talk waste of time, now I'm living for it haha.
My focus is 1000% better than before. I find little things interesting such as this sunshine or writing a föcking journal update. Without doing this change, I wouldn't have been able to graduate.. Also I already have a thing with a girl I've fancied literally ever since I was 18. I föcking sent her a message and turns out she had a thing for me too back in the days.. Imagine. My first relationship in 7 years is potentially about to happen..
Earlier this year I already had some nofap attempts which makes this time easier I guess. I'm 100% committed for this new lifestyle and I NEVER want to go back to the darkness.
If you're still reading please listen. I just want to tell you that you HAVE TO fight real hard bro to get rid of pmo. I've been hitting my head against the wall, I've stayed up all night with the urges, I even had to leave my house at 2am just not to masturbate and stay in local gas station like a föcking idiot... It will be super hard at times, but believe me, the reward is just so amazing.. Something I didn't know even existed. I had already made the conclusion that I'm just different from the other people and will die alone.
I know day 40 is just the beginning but I feel like I've beaten the hardest part already. Now it's only one hard day per week, it used to be 7. 90 days will come so fast. Lastly, my tips on how to do it based on how I did it:

• Block porn sites on your phone and computer. On iPhone and Mac that can be done in settings, or then install a blocker app
• Start dopamine detox. This is crucial. Only this way your brain will get rid of the need of constant dopamine caused by porn. After week or two you won't be looking for porn just for boredom which is a trigger for many.
  • Remove TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, all the apps on your phone causing 1. dopamine overload 2. you to expose for sexual content.
  • Stop video games, Netflix series, all the things that give you infinite dopamine. Your brain is ruined I'm sorry to tell you. Most of ours are. And yes, you really have to suffer from boredom to make an actual progress. So goodbye all the discord friends, it's time to make real life friends.
  • Block the news sites on your phone. At least on iPhone you can manually block certain websites. The reason for this: 1. just like everything else, news are sexualized these days for more readers. You will get exposed for sexual images and titles. 2. News are mostly negative, which affects our brain wrong way. No, everything is not wrong in modern world, you just read too much news.
• Start working out. This is the hardest part for the most. Even if you're at bad shape, start walking outside, then running. Only this way you start to respect your own body and heal from the damage pörn did you your self esteem. Start lifting heavy weights in gym. Your testosterone levels will get back up and morning wood will be crazy,
• Avoid any sexual content as much as possible. Just do it. Don't watch twitch or play tinder. That will make you relapse. Unfortunately.
• Sleep with pants on.
• Don't even dare to touch yourself. Do not edge, or mösturbate even a little bit. Blue balls will make everything so much harder.
• Optional: start eating healthy and avoid sugar, quit nicotine, gambling and other addictions. Okay, this sound really hard, but I did it too. Now I'm addicted to new things like working out and having social life.

You have the strength in you to make the difference brother! Imagine having a hard time for ONE MONTH just to have the best time of your life for years. It's so easy to waste our life in internet but there is so much to feel and experience. Start today, and don't quit no matter what happens. 💪

Today marks my three hundred and sixtieth day in this box. In six days’ time I'll clock one year here. It's said that at the end of a thing we remember the beginning. The beginning of this ordeal seemed like a joke and I guess it is – life is poking fun at me.
That week was like any other school week. I went to school on Monday, 22nd May, 2024 and taught my students as usual. At around 5 pm, I finally left the school premises and went home. Nothing unusual happened. The day was just like every other regular school day. The next morning, I resumed work and a regular routine began to play out…or did it?
Around 10 am, about the time we were to have our breakfast break, I was explaining something in our first lesson when someone walked into my class upstairs and invited me down to the administrative place. Things flowed from that very moment to this point of me spending a whooping 360 days of pain and misery in one of the worst prisons on earth in every way minus having access to a cell phone.
By God I've seen some deep shits in this shithole! I've seen a man literally expire after 33 years in this friggin place. I'm talking about Fregene who began bleeding in his nose, mouth, and ears close to the time of his death without having any physical hit to his head, he just expired (Search his name in sub for post on him). My first two weeks coming in and staying in the “Welcome Cell” was hell on earth.
Forty of us were crammed in a space meant for two or four. We didn't have enough space even to sit. We, without exaggerating, stood for 24 hours, even standing to sleep or just falling over on top of one another out of exhaustion and laying dead till we couldn't anymore. And this was also while being starved, locked in that space without water, or toilet . Many defecated there and we rolled and lay right on them when we tired and fell.
Hostilities were high. You don't really know what you're capable of until the animal in you is poked so bad like we were. Fightings were murderous and barbaric and we saw humans spontaneously revert to the animal-like survival of the fittest seen in animals in the wild. The strong try to dominate, rule over and bully the weak out of the prime space with air at the entrance and also any available food.
I had to shed my preacher ideals, cast off my mantle of pacifism, and get into a bloody tangle with some hardcore criminals. I promised to murder them with my bare hands and I would have. I was mad and frustrated enough for it and they saw it in my eyes and so let me be, even according to me my due respect from that moment on. One of the notable assholes there is nicknamed Horror for his ugly, tattooed and scarred face. Till date, his minions and him doff when they see me.
It's said that the higher you go, the cooler it becomes. Things may have become a little different now but the miseries are still the same but come packaged in novel ways.
Tomorrow is Saturday and the end of a prison week. This is not the end, just the same old cycle.
Goodnight Diary!

My catfish story - trigger warning talk of suicide and abuse
Soo this still lives rent free in my mind though its been about a year since loss of contact with said catfish. The emotional and mental damage that came from my experience still haunts me and the constant questions I have constantly cross my mind. Who was he? Why? Was anything real? What was the end goal? Are my pictures floating around? Did he sell photos of my son? That last one hits right in the mom guilt...
My story starts the end of 2019 early 2020. I was a new mom struggling with PPD on-top of my already bad depression, untreated ADHD, insomnia and my then husband was no help. For example I had issues with breastfeeding and would often try to nurse for a small amount of time then supplement with formula. One night I was going down to warm up the bottle after another failed attempt of nursing that night. It had been a difficult night and sleep at this time was none existent. I heard my son crying harder after a few moments and heard my ex yelling at him to stop crying. By the time I got upstairs I walked in on him shaking him out of frustration. I took my son, got him settled and fed them attempted to have a conversation with my ex about what happened and as per usual it ended in a verbal fight. I took over all night time wake times from this point forward. I took care of the house, cooking, cleaning, paying bills etc. it was a very hard time in my life and I started having small joints or bowls after giving up breastfeeding to help control my constant anxiety and sleep. I never did this when I was alone with my son and only once he was asleep at night. My ex began to get more and more verbally abusive in the relationship and my mental health took a downward spiral. He blamed my smoking for my lake of affection towards him, my baby weight staying on and causing me not to be a 10 among many other nasty things. He began to pressure me to quite and seek help for my addiction but for free and online as I needed to be home with my son and had minimal money. (My ex hide a huge amount of debt before we got married, had me build us a brand new home to fit his life style as I was fortunate to be in a good finical standing at that time so money was tight) So I joined an app called Sober grid. And that's how I met "Michael"....
So I joined as mentioned about late 2019 earlier 2020, I had received numerous messages on the app from people reaching out to support me becoming sober. Michael was one of them. He was sweet and extremely charming. He came off extremely carrying and empathetic to my situation. As time progressed we chatted more and more and it slowly became more about our personal life's then sobriety. He would make jokes, send memes, listen to me cry over my house situation.. basically became my best friend. We stopped talking on the app and moved to what up as we live in seperate countries but only a few hours apart (he is in the states and I am in Canada) . He began to open up about his personal situation, informing me of his childhood trauma and war traumas as he had been a marine during the height of the Afghan war. I was 27 at the time and he 33. He knew I was married and had a son. He would ask questions about my son, never anything to personal or sus and about my husband. Eventually we began talking on the phone, I was enjoying the feeling of being desired, being appreciated, being dodted on even though he was hours away, he always seemed to make time for me.
Eventually as you all can assume that friendship grew feelings. So I began an emotional affair seeking all the things I was missing and to supplement my lack of self love. We talked from sun rise to sun down. Text and phone calls. The feelings grew, the texts and phone calls became more and more intense and pictures were sent. He sent me millions of photos of himself in different cloths, doing different things, and they mostly matched what he said he was doing at the time. I attempted FaceTime a few times but things just didn't work out. I didn't think much of it as I was addicted to the feeling I was feeling and my mental health was a mess...
Things between my wx husband and I deterated. I was primary caregiver and 9months after having my son I had to return to work so we wouldn't lose our home and could afford food. Mat leave in Canada is 12-18months.. I opted 12 and returned early. At this point my mental health went further down the gutter, my ex and I were seperation and getting back together on repeat and constantly fighting. I am so glad my son will have no memories of this time due to being so young. My choices became worse and judgement continued to be clouded by this delusion that me and "Michael" would be together as he promised. In sept 2020 I began having suicidal ideation a believing I was a horrible human and mom and absolutely useless. I spent sometime in therapy and got medication but I didn't continued the treatments as in my mind once I get to make a plan and remove my marriage I can be with this person who makes me feel like a queen and talks to highly of my son.
I did send him a few photos of my son solo and some of me and him. Never anything exposing just mostly of us playing and what we were up to. He always spoke so kindly of my son, told me he wanted to be a bonus dad and take care of us.
Like I said, I really just ran past those flags..
In Jan 2021 everything in my life came to a crashing end. I ended up informing my ex of "Michael" and explained that this man was going to get himself killed because of me. At the time "Michael" had convinced me that he was going to rejoin the marines and remove himself from this situation n find peace in death as he couldn't live without me and couldn't commit suicide.. Due to the poor state my mental health came to a crashing point in this moment. My ex said some harsh things (deservingly so I was an idiot at this time - though he was abusive an ass what I did was wrong) and "Michael" walked away... I thought... To get himself killed because of me.
I ended up in a spiral and attempting suicide believing that was the only way out. Michael began calling and texting me off 2 numbers (his work and personal cell) to tell me he made a mistake and he wanted to stay in my life. I ended up on a form and in inpatient mental health unit for treatment. I was there for 4 days.
Upon discharge I attempted marriage counseling and personal counseling but things between myself and ex never improved only worsened. And "Michael" had gotten in contact with me and sweet talked his way back into my life..
I left my husband a few weeks later in 2021..
I fully committed to "Michael" and hung off his every word, photo and phone call. He spoke to my friends, my son, and sent me surprise flowers and pizza all the time. Though hours away always tried to look out for me...
This is when I started to become more aware of the flags. Through 2021 and the beginning of 2022 we continued down our path of on and off relationship, him always leaving and coming back. He said he was afraid of me leaving him over his PTSD and wounds from war. That's what he stated then.. the facetiming never happened, he always face timed when I was busy or never answered mine. I became aware of the toxicity that had began happening, him leaving saying he was not good enough for me and my son, me fighting, him coming back and promising me things and then repeat. One time he told me he had obtained a job in my area and was moving here. He was apparently here, completed some training and then the night we were to meet he chickened out and pulled one of his I'm not good enough, I'm a horrible person act as he always did. He would get jealous easy, he had found an inactive dating profile once from a period of time we were not talking and lost his mind. He called me "mo" as he always wanted more of me.
I could provide so many stories and examples of these fights, toxic behavior, red flags I ran past etc.
Then one day he told me he wasn't who he said he was, his storyline was true but the person was not. I asked him to explain and he covered it up with a war PTSD storey, foster home story or homeless teenage story that would distract me to thinking he ment personality wise and decency wise not looks.
I was very on my toes with him at this point but trusted him...why I do not know...
This continued till the end of 2022 when I bought a home and started to live life and not wait for him to join me. We slowly driftes apart as clearly after basically 2 years of this I was at a point where he needed to meet me or leave me.. in early 2023 all contact stopped. Not blocked but I had started treatment a few months earlier, got medicated and mentally stable.. I noticed the red flags and began calling him on them. Asking him about his pipe fitting at "Nicor" and how they let him leave to go to Ukraine. He was trying to convince me he had went to Ukraine to stand with them, text me as if he was there in war fighting to get back to me. Purposing to me over the phone, telling me he placed me as his beneficiary, giving me a marine number that would identify him and allow me access to his fund if something happened.
I did some digging as things just didn't add up. At this point I asked more questions and became more stand off.
This man never told me who he was, why, or that he was even a catfish.
He began to distance himself from me and I to him.
Later 2023 I found out about face ID websites and uploaded one of the images I still had of him just put of curiousity. He had never had any social media - told me he didn't like it but I'm assuming my guliable ass just fell for a lie there.
Well.... He was not in fact the person he sent me all those photos of.. I'm genuinely concerned how he got all these photos of this person he had so many different ones.. the person in those photos was an Italian soccer player..I attempted to confront him up n both numbers but have never recieved an answer. Just silence... He's never blocked me either and clearly still has the number as the person never responds.
I have come a very far way from who I was when I met this man. I have come even further since becoming more active in my mental health care. I am at the most stable I have ever been, the happiest I have ever been, and overall just happy with who I have grown into. I have done some stupid shit and this was probably the number one thing (though it did help me leave a horrific situation I should of handled it way better).
Don't be me.. ask the questions, do the face times and ask for all the proof. Don't be left haunted by a bad choice and if this person, who you have no idea what they look like, could be around you or your son. If your in an abusive relationship, find a safe way out and take your time to heal.
I hope someone who reads this avoids being dragged through it like I did and asks all the smart questions..
Remember it's not capture the flag ppl

Soo this still lives rent free in my mind though its been about a year since loss of contact with said catfish. The emotional and mental damage that came from my experience still haunts me and the constant questions I have constantly cross my mind. Who was he? Why? Was anything real? What was the end goal? Are my pictures floating around? Did he sell photos of my son? That last one hits right in the mom guilt...
My story starts the end of 2019 early 2020. I was a new mom struggling with PPD on-top of my already bad depression, untreated ADHD, insomnia and my then husband was no help. For example I had issues with breastfeeding and would often try to nurse for a small amount of time then supplement with formula. One night I was going down to warm up the bottle after another failed attempt of nursing that night. It had been a difficult night and sleep at this time was none existent. I heard my son crying harder after a few moments and heard my ex yelling at him to stop crying. By the time I got upstairs I walked in on him shaking him out of frustration. I took my son, got him settled and fed them attempted to have a conversation with my ex about what happened and as per usual it ended in a verbal fight. I took over all night time wake times from this point forward. I took care of the house, cooking, cleaning, paying bills etc. it was a very hard time in my life and I started having small joints or bowls after giving up breastfeeding to help control my constant anxiety and sleep. I never did this when I was alone with my son and only once he was asleep at night. My ex began to get more and more verbally abusive in the relationship and my mental health took a downward spiral. He blamed my smoking for my lake of affection towards him, my baby weight staying on and causing me not to be a 10 among many other nasty things. He began to pressure me to quite and seek help for my addiction but for free and online as I needed to be home with my son and had minimal money. (My ex hide a huge amount of debt before we got married, had me build us a brand new home to fit his life style as I was fortunate to be in a good finical standing at that time so money was tight) So I joined an app called Sober grid. And that's how I met "Michael"....
So I joined as mentioned about late 2019 earlier 2020, I had received numerous messages on the app from people reaching out to support me becoming sober. Michael was one of them. He was sweet and extremely charming. He came off extremely carrying and empathetic to my situation. As time progressed we chatted more and more and it slowly became more about our personal life's then sobriety. He would make jokes, send memes, listen to me cry over my house situation.. basically became my best friend. We stopped talking on the app and moved to what up as we live in seperate countries but only a few hours apart (he is in the states and I am in Canada) . He began to open up about his personal situation, informing me of his childhood trauma and war traumas as he had been a marine during the height of the Afghan war. I was 27 at the time and he 33. He knew I was married and had a son. He would ask questions about my son, never anything to personal or sus and about my husband. Eventually we began talking on the phone, I was enjoying the feeling of being desired, being appreciated, being dodted on even though he was hours away, he always seemed to make time for me.
Eventually as you all can assume that friendship grew feelings. So I began an emotional affair seeking all the things I was missing and to supplement my lack of self love. We talked from sun rise to sun down. Text and phone calls. The feelings grew, the texts and phone calls became more and more intense and pictures were sent. He sent me millions of photos of himself in different cloths, doing different things, and they mostly matched what he said he was doing at the time. I attempted FaceTime a few times but things just didn't work out. I didn't think much of it as I was addicted to the feeling I was feeling and my mental health was a mess...
Things between my wx husband and I deterated. I was primary caregiver and 9months after having my son I had to return to work so we wouldn't lose our home and could afford food. Mat leave in Canada is 12-18months.. I opted 12 and returned early. At this point my mental health went further down the gutter, my ex and I were seperation and getting back together on repeat and constantly fighting. I am so glad my son will have no memories of this time due to being so young. My choices became worse and judgement continued to be clouded by this delusion that me and "Michael" would be together as he promised. In sept 2020 I began having suicidal ideation a believing I was a horrible human and mom and absolutely useless. I spent sometime in therapy and got medication but I didn't continued the treatments as in my mind once I get to make a plan and remove my marriage I can be with this person who makes me feel like a queen and talks to highly of my son.
I did send him a few photos of my son solo and some of me and him. Never anything exposing just mostly of us playing and what we were up to. He always spoke so kindly of my son, told me he wanted to be a bonus dad and take care of us.
Like I said, I really just ran past those flags..
In Jan 2021 everything in my life came to a crashing end. I ended up informing my ex of "Michael" and explained that this man was going to get himself killed because of me. At the time "Michael" had convinced me that he was going to rejoin the marines and remove himself from this situation n find peace in death as he couldn't live without me and couldn't commit suicide.. Due to the poor state my mental health came to a crashing point in this moment. My ex said some harsh things (deservingly so I was an idiot at this time - though he was abusive an ass what I did was wrong) and "Michael" walked away... I thought... To get himself killed because of me.
I ended up in a spiral and attempting suicide believing that was the only way out. Michael began calling and texting me off 2 numbers (his work and personal cell) to tell me he made a mistake and he wanted to stay in my life. I ended up on a form and in inpatient mental health unit for treatment. I was there for 4 days.
Upon discharge I attempted marriage counseling and personal counseling but things between myself and ex never improved only worsened. And "Michael" had gotten in contact with me and sweet talked his way back into my life..
I left my husband a few weeks later in 2021..
I fully committed to "Michael" and hung off his every word, photo and phone call. He spoke to my friends, my son, and sent me surprise flowers and pizza all the time. Though hours away always tried to look out for me...
This is when I started to become more aware of the flags. Through 2021 and the beginning of 2022 we continued down our path of on and off relationship, him always leaving and coming back. He said he was afraid of me leaving him over his PTSD and wounds from war. That's what he stated then.. the facetiming never happened, he always face timed when I was busy or never answered mine. I became aware of the toxicity that had began happening, him leaving saying he was not good enough for me and my son, me fighting, him coming back and promising me things and then repeat. One time he told me he had obtained a job in my area and was moving here. He was apparently here, completed some training and then the night we were to meet he chickened out and pulled one of his I'm not good enough, I'm a horrible person act as he always did. He would get jealous easy, he had found an inactive dating profile once from a period of time we were not talking and lost his mind. He called me "mo" as he always wanted more of me.
I could provide so many stories and examples of these fights, toxic behavior, red flags I ran past etc.
Then one day he told me he wasn't who he said he was, his storyline was true but the person was not. I asked him to explain and he covered it up with a war PTSD storey, foster home story or homeless teenage story that would distract me to thinking he ment personality wise and decency wise not looks.
I was very on my toes with him at this point but trusted him...why I do not know...
This continued till the end of 2022 when I bought a home and started to live life and not wait for him to join me. We slowly driftes apart as clearly after basically 2 years of this I was at a point where he needed to meet me or leave me.. in early 2023 all contact stopped. Not blocked but I had started treatment a few months earlier, got medicated and mentally stable.. I noticed the red flags and began calling him on them. Asking him about his pipe fitting at "Nicor" and how they let him leave to go to Ukraine. He was trying to convince me he had went to Ukraine to stand with them, text me as if he was there in war fighting to get back to me. Purposing to me over the phone, telling me he placed me as his beneficiary, giving me a marine number that would identify him and allow me access to his fund if something happened.
I did some digging as things just didn't add up. At this point I asked more questions and became more stand off.
This man never told me who he was, why, or that he was even a catfish.
He began to distance himself from me and I to him.
Later 2023 I found out about face ID websites and uploaded one of the images I still had of him just put of curiousity. He had never had any social media - told me he didn't like it but I'm assuming my guliable ass just fell for a lie there.
Well.... He was not in fact the person he sent me all those photos of.. I'm genuinely concerned how he got all these photos of this person he had so many different ones.. the person in those photos was an Italian soccer player..I attempted to confront him up n both numbers but have never recieved an answer. Just silence... He's never blocked me either and clearly still has the number as the person never responds.
I have come a very far way from who I was when I met this man. I have come even further since becoming more active in my mental health care. I am at the most stable I have ever been, the happiest I have ever been, and overall just happy with who I have grown into. I have done some stupid shit and this was probably the number one thing (though it did help me leave a horrific situation I should of handled it way better).
Don't be me.. ask the questions, do the face times and ask for all the proof. Don't be left haunted by a bad choice and if this person, who you have no idea what they look like, could be around you or your son. If your in an abusive relationship, find a safe way out and take your time to heal.
I hope someone who reads this avoids being dragged through it like I did and asks all the smart questions..
Remember it's not capture the flag ppl

Back story. My dad had a massive stroke and is now paralyzed on one side of his body. Personally I feel like that is a Blessing to the world as he was a used to be a cop that loved to beat his wife and let his only kid watch and live it. (Sorry if you are a decent cop but my dad was not one of the good ones) At one point my husband and I welcomed him and his wheelchair into our home to escape wife #2. He got a taste of his own medicine as she was abusing him with lack of care. He lived with us rent free for 9 years. In those 9 years my mental health was obliterated. He treated me like a kid living under his roof, where are you going? What are you doing? Do this for me? Take me here? Go buy me that? I got tired of it fast and when I told him I was an adult and he was living under my roof and I didn't have to tell him anything he lost it. From that moment on the verbal abuse started....but only while my husband was at work. He never spoke out of turn in front of my husband because he knew better. It didn't stop him from yelling at my in front of my kids, telling me I am raising my children wrong and anything else he complained about. It was so bad my son told his teacher that he hates his grandpa because he makes me cry everyday. She had to report it because of signs of abuse. CPS came knocking but he charmed the case worker and she danced out of here like he was amazing and I could do more to help him but that moving out was the best for him. Fast forward to a couple years ago I had a meltdown. I asked my doctor for resources to get him out of my house and she gaslit me about being a better person. (Yeah she's not my doctor anymore) Then the VA stepped in to help when I called. They offered in home care to help run errands, do his laundry etc because we just couldn't help him anymore either physically or mentally. HE TOLD THE NURSE AT THE VA HE CAN COOK, CLEAN AND DO HIS OWN LAUNDRY. HE BASICALLY REJECTED HOME HEALTH CARE. okay... We played his game. That night I stopped cooking for him. I stopped going to the grocery store for him.I stopped doing his laundry and we didn't help him shower. He can do it all on his own and we let him. He ended up having sandwiches for a week because we didn't give him dinner. He had to instacart for his groceries and he had to pay my teenage son to do his laundry because his chair can't get to the washer and dryer. He would get mad at me when my husband was in the kitchen cooking dinner and the final straw was when he yelled at me in front of my husband and said "you better come get me when he's done in the kitchen" that lead to a shouting match where my dad was waving his fist like he was going to hit my husband. I have it recorded....my son had his phone out at the time. But yeah my dad had 2 weeks to move. No one spoke to him and life has been a lot better since he left. Now my mom went to a funeral recently and ran into some people they both knew. They flat out asked if I talk to her. She said yes all the time. She's at my house at least once a week. Apparently my dad is telling people that I'm being coerced into no longer talking with family so I can move out of state and cut ties completely. Not true. I just cut ties with him and his family. So then my mom tells them the truth, that he lived rent free for years and was verbally abusive to me in front of my kids. That he was asked to leave at the recommendation of CPS since he was the reason cps came to the house. So now I have no clue what he's telling people and because of it he has been calling my cell, leaving me texts and he started calling my work. I am at the point of contacting the cops and asking if I can file harassment charges.

Or whoever is reading this
I'm probably not gonna care if you do read this or not since I'm just writing this as a ramble to get my thoughts out. I'll probably just write anther post when I want to or feel like it.
I guess the reason why I've begun typing out this post isn't because I'm suicidal or anything, but more of a writing whatever I think so I can reduce the weight on my chest that I've been holding back from speaking out aloud. I tend to not really speak out and hold my tongue, but I guess its too much to think about or talk aloud in the air when I think no one can hear me. Privacy is hard sometimes, but I endure I guess.
Writing this now after graduating or well graduating and needing to take 2 more classes has made tired or maybe scared of the future, 20 years of monotonously just going to class and trying to get good grades provides a sense of comfort despite the pain I've gone through. I'm more or less scared of getting a job, internship or other, I'm not a very initiative man to be honest as I would ready just work the job already provided to the best and not do more than that. I'm rather simple, sleep, wake up, eat good food, play games, work, sleep, repeat. Doing that and having to adjust to the new reality my life will become is difficult, annoying and scary.
I've not much to live for in this life, not that I'm depressed or suicidal, I'm just....apathetic? This boulder or weight on my chest has been with me since a child I suppose? I'm not sure if everyone else has it. But to be honest, I not the most expressive or caring person in the world. The basic emotions? happy, funny, angry, scared, yeah I can feel those, but not much else. I tend to just not care much or sometime have to wrong or no emotions to feel at certain times and even fuck up at social places. Maybe I'm anti-social? I don't really have that much anxiety par for certain things that happen in life I guess.
I have barely any friends or none at all. I guess I owe that to my anti-social and introverted nature, I'd rather be in my room making no noise and surfing the web than to interact. The only person/ friend I do like are gone to anther state and we barely talk on the phone/text and my other friends were made during online and even then the same as well. Despite that I feel like I'm starved for love and affection.
I guess I'm more touchy feely I want to hug and hold people more. I'd say this would be weird, but I've not had most physical affection in my life, I was raised by my grand parents for 2 years and then moved to my parents house, but they don't like physical affection and my siblings don't do that either other than smack me around as the youngest sibling.
I guess I'm just saying that at the age of 22 young man, I feel lonely, isolated and apathetic to my life right now. I mean I value my parents, but their is a certain space between us and I enjoy my silence away from them. My siblings are alright, a bit dysfunctional, but that's siblings dynamics.
I guess for now that's all I got speak from my chest and regrets.