I think “my simple pleasure” is the best prompt. If used right it’s a good way to say things you like. For example mine was- thrift stores, new tattoos, Philly sports and R&B. Really depends how you write it
As a woman, I’d advise men not to use “I won’t shut up about,” as a prompt.
Woman constantly complain about men dominating verbal conversations. Saying you “won’t shut up about…” just reinforces that you might be one of those guys.
I think if you actually have a good travel story, that prompt can work. That is to say, I think that the "tiers" really fluctuate a lot from person to person, and your qualifiers ("this works if you're funny") are kind of proof of that.
For example, I have two pretty good stories about coming face to face with sharks, and one less good story about coming face to face with a shark. I think that the shark thing is just crazy enough that it intrigues most people. But you have to have a genuinely good story for it to work.
Also, someone else said they need to get rid of prompts - I disagree. It's really annoying if you try a new prompt and then can't go back to your old one.
I think “my idea of a good Sunday” is a great prompt bc if guys include it and they say “church,” I’m 95% more likely to like them.
THERE'S AN ART to curating your Hinge profile. If you're looking for quality matches, don't be the guy with a barren profile who sends a mildly-enthused "hey, how's it going" to every potential partner. Hinge offers a feature called prompts: conversation starters that let you show yourself off and spark more substantive conversations—and you should use them to your advantage.
Choosing the right Hinge prompts—and writing good answers those prompts—will help you scan the many fish in the sea to find those most suited for you. It might sound like a daunting task to craft the perfect profile, but at least you're an expert in the subject matter: you.
Best Practices for Crafting Your Hinge Prompts
Having an air of mystery may seem hot in movies, but it's just a waste of time in real life—especially when it comes to dating apps, where determining what's real and what's not is so much more difficult than it is in person. "Being coy may seem like a safer way to interact on apps, but it doesn't yield fruitful results," Engle says. (No one's swiping right on a bio that says "I suck at writing bios.")
So nix those coy answers and get specific when you fill out your Hinge prompts. The more specific you get, the likelier you are to match with people that are similar to you. That means you'll really have to think about yourself and want you want.
Be specific when discussing what you're looking for, too. Vagueness won't help narrow your options. For example, don't just say you're looking for "someone with a lot of personality" (is anyone not looking for someone with a personality?); say you're looking for "someone with a lot of energy, and who enjoys being active and trying new things" (or whatever that personality looks like to you). Be honest, both with yourself and in your profile. Don't say you're "super into the gym" because you want someone with a six-pack, when in reality you haven't been to gym in six months and have no intention of starting again.
Add a variety of prompts to paint a full picture of yourself. If all of your prompts are jokes, that doesn't reveal a ton about you. But, if all your prompts are serious, you might come off as a little intense—and you won't be revealing much about your day-to-day life.
The 20 Best Hinge Prompts to Help You Get You a Response
Here are 20 Hinge prompts to get you off the apps and into real relationships.
I'll pick the topic if you start the conversation...
Starting a conversation isn't easy, and with this prompt, you're meeting them halfway. It creates less of a barrier to entry for the person doing the messaging. Pick a topic you're interested in or care about, and "be as specific as possible," Engle says.
What you can say:
The best bands to come out of the 90's.
The worst holiday traditions.
The best and worst concerts you've seen.
The last time I cried happy tears was...
"Consider the things that really make you YOU," Engle says. Mentioning things you care about "will allow you to engage with like-minded people who share similar likes and interests."
What you can say:
When they showed Jason Kelce ripping his shirt off at Travis's touchdown against the Bills.
At the closing scene of All of Us Strangers.
When I PR'ed my back squat (the boys didn't see).
The one thing I'd love to know about you is...
It's always nice to see someone on a dating app be interested in you, even if they haven't seen you yet. Put that energy out there with this prompt. People might feel more comfortable responding when it's something about them, since they know themselves the best. Find a topic that's important to you, and let your potential match take it from there.
What you can say:
What would you do for a living if money weren't a factor?
What's your go-to coffee shop order?
Were you a Nickelodeon or Disney kid?
Let's make sure we're on the same page about...
The great thing about this prompt is you can make your answer as lighthearted or as serious as you want. If you have something that's a deal-breaker for you (like wanting an open relationship), you can insert that here. It also works if you have something a little less serious that still plays a role in your life (like putting pineapple on pizza) and you want to get that out there.
What you can say:
Not wanting kids.
The ending of Game of Thrones.
The shape of Earth.
This year, I really want to...
This prompt is an excellent way to open up potential first date options, or show how you want to work on yourself in this upcoming year. Want to get more creative, more fit, or try something new? Maybe someone out there wants to do the same—and wants a partner to do it with.
What you can say:
Try a ceramics class.
Drink less.
Find the best burger in town.
I'm looking for...
If you already know what you're looking for, you may as well lay it all out there. That being said, don't nit-pick or be judgmental in your answer. Don't be too vague either, or you won't narrow down your options for people best suited to you.
What you can say:
Someone who will get along with my family.
Someone comfortable with being in an open relationship.
A good time, not a long time.
My simple pleasures...
You're probably looking for someone with similar interests as you (at least, we hope you are). "Prompts serve as conversation starters, so consider your interests, hobbies, and skills and lead with those," Engle says. Odds are someone shares them with you.
What you can say:
The smell of fresh cut grass.
When Debbie from marketing brings in banana bread.
Open sunroofs.
I go crazy for...
Another easy way into talking about the things you like—but make sure it's something you can carry conversation on. "Focus on answers that you can go into detail on," Engle says. "Talk about interests, hobbies, and goals outside of romantic relationships to give potential partners a full picture of the person you are."
What you can say:
Planning my next trip before the one I'm on has even ended.
Barry Keoghan. Obviously.
Reruns of Pimp My Ride.

You should leave a comment if...

This is another way to discuss what's important to you, with a call to action for the other person. You can pull in your hobbies, hopes for the future, or interests—the world is your oyster here. But remember: specifics, specifics, specifics (don't just put down "you like sports").

What you can say:

• You were hoping for a Ravens versus Bills Super Bowl.
• Your Spotify daylist often includes the term "mallgoth."
• You're on the dance floor all night at the club.

A shower thought I recently had...

Balance your prompts by throwing in a lighter option here and there. A shower thought is a great way to show off your humor and how your mind works. Get creative.

What you can say:

• Could really use a beer in here.
• Whose Line Is It Anyway needs a reboot.
• Is Punxsutawney Phil doing okay mentally?

Green flags I look for...

Get a little deeper into what you're looking for in your person by hinting at characteristics you want to see in someone. It's better to be open and honest about what you're looking for in a potential partner then have to do the dirty work of talking to a bunch of people only to find out you don't actually see a future with them.

What you can say:

• Funny conversation, but can get deep, too.
• Tipping 20 percent, always.
• Emotional support water bottles. Here for the hydration.

We're the same type of weird if...

Have some nuance interests that you want to get out there? Here's your chance.

What you can say:

• You're hitting up the Renaissance fair every time it comes to town.
• You're the person everyone wants on their trivia team.
• You enjoy 5Ks on Thanksgiving, too.

I hype myself up by...
Everyone gets nervous when it comes to online dating. Confidence is hot, but most of us aren't 100-percent confident all of the time, and that's okay. This shows you're nervous, too, but can hype yourself up when need be.

What you can say:

• Blaring some hard rap.
• Power posing.
• Hitting the gym.

I feel most supported when...

Dating app prompts aren't all about making the right joke or being overly funny. You'll want to layer in some real prompts, too, to show potential partners you can get deep. This prompt is a great way to do that without getting too vulnerable before you're ready. Plus, it reveals a little bit about what you want out of a relationship.

What you can say:

• My partner help around the house.
• There's healthy communication.
• My family and friends support my work.

A fun fact about me is...

An oldie but a goodie. To mix in a lighthearted prompt with some deeper ones, stick with what you know and toss in your go-to fun fact from freshman seminar in college. Don't over think the "fun" part—just pick something you think is unique about yourself!

What you can say:

• I've been cage diving with sharks.
• I speak four languages.
• I never lose in Mario Kart. Ever.

Teach me something about...

Want to learn something new and find a partner at the same time? This is also a great way to show an interest in potential partners by making your answer something related to them. Like we said, people are always more comfortable talking about themselves because it's the one thing they know everything about. People love talking about their passions... maybe someone out there has the same one as you. This is a great way to find out.

What you can say:

• The Roman Empire
• Your ick list
• What you want to see in a partner

I know the best spot in town for...

Hate the phase of online dating where you message back and forth forever and never actually get to a first date? Us, too. This prompt can help speed up that process by getting you out of the app, and meeting in person. Suggest something you'd want to do for a first date.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

What you can say:

• $5 happy hour Miller Lites.
• VPR watch parties.
• Live music.

First round is on me if...

Another prompt that gets you out of the app and right into the first date. Plus, you can pose a characteristic you really want to see in a partner: a win-win. PSA though: If it translates, you do actually have to pay for the first round.

What you can say:

• You love a Dadbod.
• You also cried when My Chemical Romance broke up.
• You're okay with my dog joining us.

My typical Sunday...

This gives a little snippet into your every day life. You're probably looking for someone who lives a similar lifestyle to you (if you're a "sleep until the afternoon every weekend" kind of guy, you're probably not looking for a "6 a.m. half marathon on a Saturday" kind of girl), and this is a great way to give them that insight.

What you can say:

• Rearranging all my furniture...again.
• Hitting the snooze button relentlessly.
• A walk with the dogs, football with the guys, and meal prep.

Give me travel tips for...

Have a trip coming up? Hit two birds with one stone: get some travel recommendations and start up a conversation with a potential special someone. It's an easy entry to talking, and you can quickly branch to "well, where else have you traveled to recently?" Even if you just put down your neighborhood—there's nothing like a little stay-cation.You should leave a comment if...
This is another way to discuss what's important to you, with a call to action for the other person. You can pull in your hobbies, hopes for the future, or interests—the world is your oyster here. But remember: specifics, specifics, specifics (don't just put down "you like sports").

What you can say:

• You were hoping for a Ravens versus Bills Super Bowl.
• Your Spotify daylist often includes the term "mallgoth."
• You're on the dance floor all night at the club.

A shower thought I recently had...

Balance your prompts by throwing in a lighter option here and there. A shower thought is a great way to show off your humor and how your mind works. Get creative.

What you can say:

• Could really use a beer in here.
• Whose Line Is It Anyway needs a reboot.
• Is Punxsutawney Phil doing okay mentally?

Green flags I look for...

Get a little deeper into what you're looking for in your person by hinting at characteristics you want to see in someone. It's better to be open and honest about what you're looking for in a potential partner then have to do the dirty work of talking to a bunch of people only to find out you don't actually see a future with them.

What you can say:

• Funny conversation, but can get deep, too.
• Tipping 20 percent, always.
• Emotional support water bottles. Here for the hydration.

We're the same type of weird if...

Have some nuance interests that you want to get out there? Here's your chance.

What you can say:

• You're hitting up the Renaissance fair every time it comes to town.
• You're the person everyone wants on their trivia team.
• You enjoy 5Ks on Thanksgiving, too.

So i have been trying to generate a photo of a character walking away from the camera. Ive gotten the pose, everything is right, except that no matter what i put in positive and negative prompts She always ends up with her head turned slightly to the side, I am Genning locally with Auto1111, and several Loras, No aDetailer for this specific shot.
Also on a slightly unrelated note, what is the best way to describe two separate charterers, I know you can use inpainting to tweak specific things, but just wondering if there was an easier way to specifically break up two characters in the original prompt to get a better baseline for inpainting tweaks.
Pos: (score_9, score_8_up, score_7_up), volumetric lighting, vibrant colors, 1girl, ( ((skinny body)), 18 yo girl, narrow waist, narrow hips, skinny arms, skinny thighs, thigh gap, ((pale skin)), ((long black hair with dark purple highlights, blunt bangs,)) (long nails, spiked bracelets and anklets), (tight crop top), tight spiked thigh bands, tight black shorts, (spiked black goth jacket), (Spiked collar),), (public street background), Gothic decorations, dark theme, low light, walking away from viewer, small butt, ((back view:1.3)), (looking forward:1.5), back of head, staring off into distance,
Neg: easynegative, score_6, score_5, score_4, source_furry, 3d, futa, futanari, pubic hair, pubes, body hair, hair accessories, hair clip, bad anatomy, bad proportions, gross proportions, unnatural body, uncoordinated body, disfigured, ugly, deformed, fused bodies, body horror, malformed, mutated, mutation, bad hand, bad hands, bad fingers, mutated fingers, fused bodies, body horror, weird face, ugly face, long face, conjoined, extra arms, monochrome, bad text, x-ray, signature, pale skin, big arms, bulky arms, long toe nails, flat ass, skin blemishes, text on clothes, car interior, ((bubbles:3)), ((nose piercing)), (face wrinkles), looking at audience, looking at viewer:1.3, eye contact:1.3, turning head, (looking to the side),
Any help or input would be awesome.

heya. Just looking for some insight really.
I am mid 40s. Ive been on and off hrt for many years, sometimes a few weeks to a few months.
Ive gotten married and been able to father a child.
My last denial phas wasw around 2016 where i moved town, purged my clothes and fem things, and since tried to shun this side of me.
Recently things have become too urgey.
I rejoined tvchix.com and have gotten myself back on hrt 2mg EV 12 hrs apart with 100mg progesterone.
The first few days I was constantly dripping, precum and erection ( i guess this was my bits saying 'hey dont leave me behind').... now today i am a week in and my libido has gone...
Theres more to it. I am a big girl, and some may say i have big moobs - but since i started my regieme the girls have become more full, nipples hard and alert to the point where i am constantly distracted.... also though - i am dribbling a lot....
is this normal?? it is a mixture between precum and pee i think...
Anyways, i think my tinky has shrunk about 1inch and its only been a week, and my moobs have grown the equivalent - this seems surprisingly fast!
I am in a relationship tho weve been sexless for 2 years.... she knows i am kinky trans but doesnt know ive always wanted to be femmme.....
Do i come out to her in full??
Will i get my libido back?
How do i hide my nips and tits?

I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/EffectiveRepair8231
Originally posted to AmIOverreacting
AIO: I feel like a Dad a the daycare I work at is hitting on me (20f)
Trigger Warning: sexual assault, stalking, sexual harassment, mentions of CSA
Original Post: May 20, 2024
Hi! I work at a daycare, and I’ve noticed that one of the children's parents always makes inappropriate comments to me. At first, I thought he was just one of those people who always compliment others or that he just wanted to have a friendly relationship with his kids' educators, but now I think it’s more than that.
During my first weeks there, I was always assigned to his younger daughter’s group (the babies), so I would see him often. At first, it was brief friendly talk, but it really escalated when I started working with the older kids (4-year-olds). His other daughter, let’s call her Emmy, and I clicked right away when we found out we’re birthday twins. She always wants me to play with her and asks for hugs literally every two minutes. Whenever her dad comes to pick up his kids, she always makes sure to give me a big hug and tells her dad that we’re best friends.
Last month, Emmy’s dad and I ran into each other at the grocery store and started small talk. We were mostly talking about Emmy, and he just kept saying how much she loves me and that she wants me to come over to their house. I said something like, “Oh, she’s so cute. I love spending time with her too,” and tried to end the conversation, but he just kept talking. I noticed him looking at my chest a couple of times, which was one of the reasons I wanted to leave. He then offered me a ride, and although I initially declined, he kept pushing it, so I accepted. I didn’t let him see my house; I told him to drop me off downtown.
Since then, I keep running into him, but to the point where I don’t think it’s a coincidence. He doesn’t live in the same neighborhood as me (I live near downtown). In fact, when he dropped me off the first time, he kept going on and on about how he could never live somewhere as far away as I do. So why do I keep seeing him? In our conversations, he always makes sure to compliment my physical appearance or mention my age and how “young and smart” I am. It obviously makes me uncomfortable, but for the sake of his daughters, especially Emmy, I don’t really say anything. I have tried to set some boundaries, but it’s really uncomfortable. I jokingly said once, “Well, if I were your age, I don’t think I’d date someone as young as me,” and he was like, “Well, good thing I would,” and he laughed.
I casually mentioned this in a conversation with one of my colleagues, and she said something like, “Oh, he’s a flirt; that’s what he does.” She kept talking about how handsome he is (he is handsome but also a married dad of two). I asked if there’s anything we, as educators, could do if, hypothetically, a parent is being too friendly/flirty with us, and she basically said no.
Anyway, it’s gotten hot outside, so I’ve started wearing sundresses, shorts, and crop tops, and he always compliments my outfits when he sees me and says he likes seeing my bellybutton piercing out (EW). Also, Emmy has told me that her dad said I’ll be their nanny for the weekends when the daycare is closed. I don’t know if he actually said that because she’s 4, but I don’t even want to ask because I don’t want to give him ideas if he didn’t actually say it.
He has tried multiple times to give me his phone number to “call him if there’s anything,” and I always gently reminded him that we can communicate through the daycare app. He always says that he would rather call me directly than through the app. He was being super pushy, and I felt a little trapped, so I gave him my phone number. He texts me all the time, asking what I’m doing, etc. I have FaceTimed his daughters a couple of times, but it just feels wrong. I briefly talked about this to a friend, and she said that she would’ve told his wife. I don’t even think I have the guts to do that. Ever since my friend told me that, I started casually bringing up his wife in conversations. He would always change the subject or say she’s not here.
Anyway, all this is to ask: what should I do? Am I imagining things? I feel trapped. I can’t lose my job; I’m scared that it’ll take me forever to find another one. Also, all the kids love me, and I love them. I’ve really gotten attached to them. I love Emmy too, and I mostly feel bad for her. What would you do in this situation? I’ve asked, and you can’t ban a family from attending a daycare, so that option is out of the window. Also, we can’t be on our phones 24/7, so it’s extremely hard to get “evidence.” Anything helps. Thank you!
I don’t know i’m I’m posting this on the right subs, if not sorry about that
Edit: I’ve never seen his wife, he’s the one who does everything. Emmy has mentioned her a few times (saying things like “Mommy got me this shirt” or something) but I don’t even know what she looks like. He doesn’t talk about her unless I bring her up.
Edit 2: About the crop tops, we are allowed to wear them at work with long pants. Same thing with shorts, we can wear them with a non-cropped shirt. 90% of his comments about my piercing were outside of work, when I would run into him. Also, I blocked him. I don’t know if he noticed, but he’s blocked.
Edit 3: A lot of people are asking me why/what I am scared of. I don’t have an exact answer. I’ve had a lot of traumatizing experiences with men so I don’t feel comfortable around any man in general. I don’t have any guy friends. It’s like I think of all the things they could do to me if they wanted to, then I get scared/uncomfortable. I know I have a fawn trauma response and I am working on it, I really am. Also, I have work on Friday (or Wednesday maybe) and I will talk to my supervisors and update.
Relevant Comments
Commenter: “That wouldn’t be appropriate” seems like a good response to 90% of his requests. I would get used to being comfortable saying that to pushy male customers.

OOP: i say that sometimes and he’s like “oh well you’re best friends with emmy so we’re basically family” and i get scared so i just laugh it off or i try to end the conversations

OOP responds to multiple redditors on not accepting any more things from the father and speak with her supervisor about her concerns

OOP: i do say those things and he says that we’re like family because i’m “friends” with his daughter. i don’t always answer and he’ll sometimes bring it up when he drops off/picks up his kids and i say things oh i was busy or i didn’t see it. i keep telling myself that this time ill be direct and just say no but i just get so scared. it’s not like im full on flirting with him, i do reject him but not as firmly as i should i guess. whenever he brings up dating i say things like im not looking for a bf. and for the facetime thing, one time he was being really insistent and i said no and the text time i saw them at work, emmy asked me why i didn’t pick up the call and he said in front of her that i was being mean that day and that i didn’t wanna talk to her. she ended up crying. i tried telling my supervisor and she said that she never noticed any weird behaviour from him and he’s a very friendly man. she asked me if i had any proof which i didn’t. idk what else to do

~

i tried to talk to one of my supervisors about it but rn they’re always busy (they’re the new owners of the daycare so they’re trying to figure everything out) so it’s never a good time. i am alone with my group. i see him in the morning when he’s dropping off emmy and in the afternoon outside when he’s picking his kids up. our conversation in the morning are more brief bc all the parents are coming at the same time so there’s not much time. in the afternoon, he always tells emmy to keep playing with her friends just to buy more time and when i tell him i have to go back to watching everyone he says that there are plenty of other educators who are watching them and not to worry about it. i try to say things like hey i really have to go back to work/now’s not a right time but it’s like there’s nothing i can say to get through to him. im the one in charge of emmy i have to be the one to talk to him about emmy’s day etc

 
Update #1: May 23, 2024
Hello everyone,
I want to thank everyone who gave me advice. I tried to read every comment. Before I give you an update, I need to clarify a few things:

1. I don’t work at a school; it's a private, family-owned (i think) daycare. I have three managers—two women and one man. They became the new owners in January. I primarily interact with one of the female managers. I've tried to discuss this situation with her, but it’s never the right time. For example, I’d knock on her office door and say I needed to talk about Emmy’s dad. She’d say she’s busy and ask me to come back later. When I did, she’d apologize and ask to talk the next day. She also suggested texting, but I didn't feel comfortable telling her everything through text.
   
2. Some suggested having another teacher watch my group when he arrives, but that’s not possible. In the afternoon, after nap time, we take the kids outside until their parents pick them up. All educators need to stay outside to supervise. When parents arrive, I discuss their child's day and hand over their keychain. It’s difficult because he always approaches me when I’m distracted, so I can’t warn a coworker.
   
3. Rides: The first time I saw him outside of work was at the grocery store. He recognized me, we chatted briefly, and he offered me a ride. I declined, but he insisted, saying it was ungentlemanly to let me carry groceries alone. He paid for my groceries and drove me home, despite my discomfort. I sat in the backseat, but still. I shouldn’t have said yes. I was just so weirded out by the entire situation. The second time was at a gas station. After hanging out with a friend in his neighborhood, I stopped there for a drink. He saw me and again offered a ride. He was pushy, so I reluctantly agreed. That was the last time I accepted a ride from him.
   
4. Clothing: Most of his comments about my piercing happened outside of work. I don’t wear revealing clothes to work; I mostly wear sweats. Occasionally, I wear a long sleeve crop top with sweatpants, which my managers don’t mind. We’re allowed to wear mom shorts. But again, I most of the time I wear sweats.
   
5. Facetime: I’ve Facetimed his daughters three times, and each call lasted less than five minutes. I realize now that this was inappropriate, but yes it happened.
   
6. Texting: I don’t always respond to his texts. If he texts ten times, I might reply three times. The thing is, he often asks in person why I don’t respond, telling me he had something important to say. He’d sometimes say that in front of Emmy, then say, “You see that Emmy, she’s not nice to Daddy. She doesn’t want to talk to me.”
   
7. I live in Canada. Some suggested carrying pepper spray for protection, but it’s illegal here, so that’s not an option.
   
8. I don’t know his exact age, but I’d guess late 30s to mid-40s. I’ve never seen his wife; some suggested they might be separated. Maybe. Emmy has mentioned her mom before, but she seems closer to her dad.
   
9. The dating comment: I had ZERO idea my comment could be seen as flirting. I thought I was indirectly turning him down. When the topic of dating came up, I said I didn’t want a relationship. He joked that we’d get along great, and I responded by saying “Don’t you think you’re a little too old for me?” And he said, jokingly, “Oh, man. Dont say that. You’re very mature.” That’s when I said that I wouldn’t date someone my age if I were his age.
   

Update: I was only scheduled on Friday this week but ended up working today too. I texted my manager saying that I have something very important to tell her about a parent and that I'm afraid my safety could be compromised. She asked me to come to her office before work to talk about it.
I was very scared because reading the comments made me realize that I could lose my job because I gave him my number. But I still told her everything (looking back, I missed a few things, but I told her the most important things). I told her about how, in the beginning (when I was assigned to his 2-year-old daughter's group), he was very friendly and nice to me, but it escalated when I started caring for Emmy. I told her about the grocery incident, the gas station incident, and seeing him near my neighborhood.
She kind of "defended" him by saying that I live near downtown, so it’s not a miracle to run into someone there. I then brought up the fact that, yes, I understand that, but he’s told me that he enjoys staying in his neighborhood and that I live so far away, and he doesn’t understand how I'm able to work at a job so far away, so it was weird to see him so much. I think it made her understand more. I told her about the comments about my appearance. I asked her if it was possible to get assigned to another group, and she said yes.
I told her about me giving him my number after feeling pressured, and she said that I shouldn’t have done that, that it’s very dangerous to give out personal information like that. She also said that, especially with my job, all communication must be through the app. She said that she was a little more upset at the dad because he’s been attending that daycare for almost four years, and he knows that parents are not allowed to do that.
I then told her about how he makes Emmy play with her friends when it’s time to go just to talk to me longer. She said that since I won’t be assigned to Emmy’s group, I won’t even have to talk to him at all. She said that she’ll take care of it and let the other girls know to keep an eye on him.
I told her about the Facetimes and how he told Emmy that I was mean for not answering one time and how he made her cry. She only said that that was out of line. I asked if it was possible to “ban” him from attending, and she said maybe. She doesn’t have any solid proof (I showed her some text messages, but she said that he was being friendly in the messages and that there was nothing sexual). She said that most of this was basically hearsay, and she doesn’t have concrete proof of him being an actual predator.
As for Emmy, we played together on the playground as usual. I think the hardest part for me is to slowly distance myself from her. I did, however, encourage her to play with her friends, but she would always come back every five minutes to ask to play with me. When her dad arrived, he greeted me and asked me about Emmy’s day and her keychain. I said that I did not take care of her today and pointed to the girl that did. I then got up to get Emmy to tell her to leave. He tried to stop me, but I just kept walking. I didn’t really give him time to talk to me. When I got Emmy, I gave her a hug, then stayed on the other side of the playground, and they left. I know it’s not much, but at least I avoided an interaction with him today.
I think that’s it. I tried to answer everything.
Edit: He’s never driven me home, I would always ask to drop me off downtown. Typo sorry!
Comments
Commenter: If he texts you, tell him that you got a memo from work that says all interaction with parents must go through the app with no exceptions for legal and safety reasons and that you can't risk your job. Then block him.
Or just block him.
 
Update #2: May 24, 2024
Hi, I saw some comments asking for an update, so I wanted to share what happened because I am too ashamed to tell someone in real life. I had work from yesterday 8 AM to 5 PM, then went straight to the gym to work out with a friend. I got there around 6 PM and worked out until about 8:30 PM. I was walking home (I live about 10 minutes away from my gym) when I heard someone behind me. Looking back, I know I shouldn’t have walked home, but I didn’t think about it in the moment. I had music in my ears, so I didn’t know if someone was talking to me or on the phone, so I just kept walking. I felt the person getting closer and immediately thought, “Oh my God, what if it’s him?” I started walking a little faster.
After about 2 minutes, the person tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around, it was him. My heart dropped. I immediately froze. I had practiced what to say if I ever got into this situation, but of course I had to forget everything. He acted like we ran into each other and said, “Hey, it’s nice seeing you.” I said, “Hi, nice seeing you, but I have to go.” He complimented my hair (I recently dyed it) and said it looked good on me. I said a quick thank you and tried to leave. He then grabbed my wrist and said, “I don’t like when you act like that.” I just froze up; I couldn’t move. He asked why I don’t take care of Emmy anymore. He said that she constantly asks about me at home and that I make her cry. I stuttered and said I didn’t know, that I’m not the one who decides. I said I have to go now, sorry. He then asked if I blocked him. I said I really can’t talk right now.
He then blurted out that he saw me working out. He was doing all of this while grabbing my wrist, mind you. I didn’t know what to say, so I repeated that I had to go. He started looking at me up and down in a disgusting way. He was staring at my boobs while smiling. He then started caressing my arms. One arm stopped at my waist, and the other one kept caressing my arm. He would sometimes move it to my chest and touch me there. I don’t know why I didn’t just punch him in the face. I just could. not. move. Before you ask, I wasn’t wearing anything revealing. I had on a hoodie and sweatpants. I even removed my belly piercing because I don’t like this type of attention.
I eventually quietly said, “Can you please stop?” He looked at me, smiled, and then left. I’ve been getting sexually assaulted by men since the age of 7. I promised myself after getting sexually assaulted at 18 by a friend that I would never let it happen again. Now this. I don’t know why this keeps happening. Most of the time, I feel like my body isn’t even mine, just for someone else to use whenever they feel like it, no matter if I want it or not. Maybe it was my fault because I shouldn’t have walked home knowing I had a “stalker”. Maybe it’s my fault because I didn’t tell him to leave me alone earlier. Maybe it’s my fault because I am 20 years old and I can’t fucking say no. I know he didn’t full-on grab my tits and squeeze them, but I feel so so violated. I am too ashamed to reveal this to anyone. I told my boss I was sick to avoid going to work for a couple of days.
I went to the police station, but they said there wasn’t anything they could do legally because he didn’t commit actual crimes and that I didn’t really have any proof. I just feel like they didn’t take me seriously. They gave me tips to be more careful like don’t walk late at night, change your number, don’t have the same routine, etc., but that’s it. They won’t give me a restraining order. I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand half of the terminology they were using. But from what I understood, we’re both adults so the texting and Facetimes aren’t incriminating enough. I guess I’ll just stay home. I feel so dirty. I thought I had everything under control because I found a way to avoid him at work, but I guess I was wrong. I genuinely thought that I found a way to make everything stop.
The worst part is I saw some comments saying that this whole situation could escalate if he finds out that I’m avoiding him and I didn’t believe them. Again, I was wrong. I don’t know if I’m looking for advice or sympathy, but I don’t have anyone in my life who could help. Maybe some friends, but I am just so ashamed and embarrassed to say that a man was “groping” me and I basically let it happen because I was scared. It’s just humiliating. As for my family, knowing my mom, she would most likely slut-shame me and say it’s my fault. But yeah, here’s the update I guess. I don’t know if I’ll update after this, mainly because I don’t know what else to do.
Edit: (copying and pasting this from one of my replies because I can see how it looks): i posted about him 4 days ago but i started having doubts about him stalking be like a month ago i think. i talked to my manager wednesday and i got assigned to another group. i didn’t interact with him wednesday and yesterday. HE is the one saying that his daughter is crying about not seeing me. i know it’s not true, he keeps saying stuff like this. saying things about his daughter to make me feel bad because he knows we’re close. when this incident happened, i went straight to the police station near my home to tell them what happened (bc it’s opened day and night). i asked if with what i have i can have a restraining order and they said no. i know im updating quick but i genuinely don’t have anyone i can talk to about this
Edit 2: Okay I think I’ll just quit my job stay with a friend for now. I’ll send an email explaining my situation with my boss and try to find a stay at home job. Thank you all
 

DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP

I had the strangest thing happen to me.
I went out to workout, and after my cardio session, I go into the parking lot elevator in a big parking lot with multiple floors. Two chicks get in the elevator with me and start talking to me, asking me if I’m "Elmo". I'm thinking "why do they think I'm Elmo, wtf is even Elmo?" but then I notice that there was a piece of paper on the elevator saying someone left an Elmo toy and to go to the security check in the parking lot to retrieve it. One of them, the one that seemed most extroverted, asked me for my name while riding the elevator up while the other just looked at me. She gave me hers and told me her friends name is Anna. She asked for mine, I told her and she said "it sounds latin!". They were very well dressed whereas I was wearing gym-clothing, all sweaty and looking disgusting. After getting off the elevator, we were all on the same 3rd parking floor. The extroverted vocal friend touches my forearm and tells me I should ask her friend Anna out. The extroverted one said “you should ask my friend Anna out, she’s a building engineer!”. I tell her I can't date her, that she would be better off asking someone else, and I pointed at some dude we walked past lmao. I told her "I'm too busy". The extroverted friend kinda got loud and essentially dismissed me. Two seconds of silence go by and then, curious as to what a building engineer was, I turned to her friend Anna and I said “civil engineer, right?” As if that was the type of engineering she did and Anna smiled at me saying yes and then her extroverted friend started saying "no no no no" as in to break the convo cuz I said no to dating.
I highly doubt Anna was even interested in me, so why would the extroverted girl do all that dumb stunt?

Hello everyone. 1st off, I would like to thank everyone for their kind words. I have had a very stressful week and while I did not feel up to replying to anyone's posts, I want you all to know that I read them and your words helps me through the week. This has been a devastating event for me and each and every one of you that commented or reached out through chat brightened my day just a tiny bit. With that said, here is the most recent update.
Last Friday night, after my buddies got to the hotel, I explained what I had heard on the phone call. All 3 of them were stunned to say the least. They asked if I had saw any signs of this, and TBH, I really hadn't. I said I didn't know what I was going to do. I informed my one buddy that the proposal was off, and given the circumstances, he completely understood. One thing I had my buddies do when they left their houses is turn off tracking, incase their significant others were checking and getting back to Rachel. I know Rachel isn't close with one of the wives, but at this point, I didn't want to take any chances.
That night, we spent the night at the hotel bar and I tail spun pretty hard. Shot after shot after shot. It wasn't pretty. My buddies were getting calls all night from the SO's asking where they were, and to their credit, they stood their ground and backed me up, just saying that we were safe and not to worry. One asked to speak with me after assuming that where they were, but I didn't want to talk to her. She kept saying Rachel is worried and just wants me to come home. I just told my buddy to deal with it and I'll fill them in another time. I spent most of the night hitting on the bartender (which I'm not proud of), and a couple of girls who were traveling for work. The next day, I thanked them all for spending time with me and they took of back home.
This week, I had one of my buddies scope out the house we were renting as it was on his way to work and he gets to work after Rachel and I would have already left for the day. Rachel had taken Monday and Tuesday off, but went back to work on Wednesday. As soon as he informed of this, I went to the house and started packing as much stuff as I could. The house was a mess. Dishes in the sink, clothes laying everywhere, trash was full of takeout and ordered food. It took me about 3 1/2 hours to get all my crap out. Before I left, I cleaned up for Rachel as a final gesture. That afternoon and evening, I got flooded by Rachel with calls and texts after she realized that I had came home and gotten all of my things. So, for now, I'm now staying at my mother's house until I can find a a place of my own this fall. I spoke with the landlord, and without Rachel's signature, he won't remove me from the lease, meaning I will have to cover my half of it until October. My mom has said I can stay with her until then, at which point I will try to find a new place. I know, a 38 year old moving back in with his mother. How amazing life has treated me.
I finally contacted Rachel on Thursday, and told her we could meet up at a local bar and grill downtown Friday evening. I told her one of my buddies would be attending to make sure everything was on the up and up. She complained for a few minutes, saying she wanted me to come home and talk with her so we could move past this, but I told her if she wanted to see me, this was how it was going to be. Eventually, she agreed.
So Friday night, Rachel shows up after my buddy and I had been there for about an hour. I had already ate and took a couple shots of Ciroc to calm me. We sat down and she wanted to make small talk, asking about me and blah blah blah. I cut that garbage off. I told her I had a list of questions. Immediately, he eyes welled up. I asked her how long has this been going on? She swore this was the 1st and only time. I told her to cut off the shit. I said there was no change we were ever getting back together, so just tell me the truth, so I can have my closure, and move on with my life. She stuck to her guns for a few minutes, but then (as most of your predicted), she came clean. Every time I went on those trips for the past 2 years, she thought I was going to "cheat" on her, so she was having her fun too. This set me off. I told her she was using this as a f'n excuse just to sleep around. I then asked who she was talking on the phone with, but she refused to give me an answer for this. I asked if they used condoms, and she said sometimes. I said she's lucky I got an STD test, cause I'm clean, so she doesn't have to worry about getting one, unless her most recent "horse" didn't use one. Finally, before I left, I told her about my plans. July 4th proposal, I showed her the ring, and told her that I was gonna propose at our friends party, because that was where they introduced us. It was around here that she just started crying. She begged for another chance. I told her that I will always love her, but we are over.
So yeah, she's been messaging me all day, but I'm going to block her here soon. So I'm just sitting here eating some B Dubs and drinking beer while watching the fights. Hopefully, Poirier wins, but I'm doubting it. Ahhh my life is a train wreck. Anyway, thanks guys for listening. I don't know if I'll update again, as I doubt I will ever talk to that see u next Tuesday again.

The Injustice Initiative and Megaverse Council did not grieve with their former leader for too long, due to the combined forces of Venessa and Velocity making swift progress in uniting dozens of Omniverses under their heroic banner. Velocity used her direct and demanding demeanor to influence the defenders of each Omniverse to join the Council and was brutally honest in her meetings with the current situation. She stressed that if they refuse to join then they will face extinction and the Council will not help them when they are attacked due to them only having priorities for attacking the demons head on. Venessa on the other hand focused her attention in strengthening the Injustice Initiative with rigorous training and firing incompetent people in leadership positions and swiftly replacing them with those that were far more competent and understood the severity of the situation. In the span of 16 days, the combined efforts of these two feminine leaders made great leaps in progress that equaled or surpassed Diamond's own work in the past three months.
While these two were on a mission together, The Researcher contacted them regarding a very important matter. When the two heroines arrived at the Council's headquarters The Researcher revealed to them two enormous discoveries. "We finally found them. The place where our foes call home, Omniverse 6,666,666. We do not know much of this Omniverse other than the Diamond from Omniverse 8 being aware of its potential and became paranoid of its existence leading him nearly wiping all traces of it from the Council's database. I happen to uncover the last fragments of his report that failed to be deleted. Furthermore, the Core of that Omniverse is deeply fractured, completely drained of all power. We can deduce with sound reasoning that the landscape of that Omniverse is something out of an apocalypse with everything that could have gone wrong, definitely went wrong. In addition, it is a very wide and vast Omniverse similar to the Main Omniverse. In fact, before its current miserable state, it was a near copy of the Main Omniverse. We are trying to scout and analyze the area as best as we can, but it is blocking all of our scanners. Our supernatural sensors can barely last four seconds before frying when they sense the amount of dark negative energy that shrouds that Omniverse." Velocity, "And the other news?" "We also found a very promising Omniverse that was elusive to our map, but just appeared and is surging with radiant energy from the Light." Venessa abruptly, "Light? Like The Light......... not just colorful lights?" "Correct. Would you care to guess what this Omniverse's number is?" "I would assume it would be the polar opposite of the other, so Omniverse 7,777,777?" "Bingo. Apparently, they have a hierarchy over there and their King requests your presence. His words not mine were King Alexander humbly requests the presence of Empress Venessa of the Main Omniverse and any companions she wishes to bring for a formal meeting in regards to the future protection of the Megaverse."
"Alright, message King Alexander and tell him I will adhere to his request. She accessed her communication com and ordered Tray and Cross to join her on the mission. She then turned to Velocity. I would have you join me on this mission, but I do not want to delay the progress you are making in convincing more Omniverses to join our cause." A short time passed as the three members arrived for their briefing with Venessa. After their meeting, they used their watches and traveled to Omniverse 7,777,777. Their eyes were blinded by the bright rays of the sun, before they could tell where they were at. At last, their eyes adjusted to their environment, which resulted in them being astonished at the shining city that was before them. They observed trains similar to bullet trains zipping back and forth through wind tubes and the residents there in very intricate clothing. The residents either had high collar jackets, dazzling shirts, and most importantly, Venessa could sense all of them having unusual levels of the Light inside of them. A loud voice could be heard behind them. "Are these the people who the King wishes to speak with?" The group turns around and sees two men standing a few feet behind them. One appears six foot and a few inches, he did not wear a shirt but was surrounded with gold and red armor, a long red cape, black pants, and long flowing blonde hair. The other was a little shorter around five feet and possibly 11 inches with black and purple hair, a black and purple cape, purple pants, and purple armor in the exact areas as the first man. The second one responded to his companion in a soft-spoken manner,"Yes, these are the three we were assigned to escort back to the castle." Venessa, "Hey, are you two like siblings or something? You two kind of look alike." The purple one, "That assumption is correct. I am Lucrest and this is my older obnoxious brother Leoped." Leoped, "We are two in a handful of select individuals, who serve the King by carrying out special assignments and investigations." Lucrest, "If you will please follow us, the King is eager to greet you."
The three heroes followed the two guards to the castle, during their walk Venessa teased her sibling, Tray. "It appears those two brothers have larger swords than you. I think they are far superior swordsmen if they can handle large blades like that. It fails to even compare your toothpick of a sword." "Shush! I don't want to hear it. I choose elegance and gracefulness over something flashy." The group finally reached the castle as several guards in colorful shining full body armor saluted the group as they stepped inside the large white crystal doors of the castle. Leoped and Lucrest led the trio right towards the throne room; no sooner than when the doors opened, King Alexander leaped from his throne and welcomed his guests. The King's outfit was composed of expensive black cloth with silver and blue crystals creating his unique armor with gold outlining around the edges and his crown. His hair was white as snow with a cape flowing from his waist with two metallic angelic wings attached to his back. He appeared as someone who was no older than their early 20's, much less muscular than Leoped, while possessing a staggering height of 6,7. "Greetings Empress Venessa, first adopted child of Diamond! A pleasure to finally meet you. Greetings to you Tray, second adopted child of Diamond! And a very warm welcome to Cross, the last member and headmaster of the Royal Guard!" Cross' attitude changed from being standoffish to one of utter shock. No one has addressed him as headmaster since the days of the Clone War. Tray whispered to Venessa, "Headmaster of the Royal Guard? I never knew that about Cross." "Yes, many years in Cross' realm he was headmaster of the Royal Guard, an elite group of warriors who protected his realm from malevolent threats under the orders of a man named the Keeper. This was brought to an end when.........Alastor manipulated him to massacre all of his fellow friends and the Keeper towards the end of the Clone War, mere days before order Kingdom Come was initiated."
King Alexander, "Empress Venessa please accept these gifts as a sign of good will. He signaled for four servants to step forward with bundles of technology and scrolls. The Alphaverse is more than ready to work closely alongside the Megaverse Council to defeat the fallen angels and corrupted souls of the Demonic Council! Please follow me to our war chambers." King Alexander led the heroes down several steps to a room that was protected by several guards. They were granted access and upon entering, the heroes were stunned to see holographic displays of plans and projects that were scattered as two male figures were debating with a female. The figures turned to the doors and quickly turned off the scattered plans and pulled up a file that said, "Propositions and explanation for the Megaverse Council." One unique hologram Venessa saw before it disappeared was a hologram of the Matrix of Eternity with a subject line under it labeled "Restore the Matrix to its former power?" As Venessa was deep in thought, King Alexander spoke to his guests who the other three figures were, "The lanky one with grey hair and a gas mask is our lead chemist, Lorenzo. The other one with him with the crimson operator hat, black and red hair, and basically black and red from his natural wings to his armor adored with many medals is our head of homeland security, Viciate. Last but not least is our lead scientist of technology, and weapons, whose brilliance I cannot put into words, Malissia." Malissia had medium length jet black hair that only left her left eye visible, yet it appeared she had unique facial marks that were long black lines leading up to her eyelids. She wore a long black coat that went just above her ankles with boots in the shape of heels. Nearly everything she wore was black except her shirt which was white with print that resembles computer chips. Malissia, "I prefer to go by M." Tray in a playful manner, "A little gothic in your appearance compared to everyone we've seen today!" "Simply a matter of taste and perception." Tray then noticed Malissia had white irises as the rest of her eyes were black, which created a sense of mystery behind them.
Lorenzo, "The disgraced Royal Guard is here......." King Alexander disappointingly, "Lorenzo......we talked about this." Venessa, "Hey what was that project regarding the Matrix of Eternity about? How would any of you be able to reload it?" King Alexander, "We have the source that originally fueled the Matrix. We were the ones who originally created it." Cross and Tray were shocked to hear such a revelation. Was the king bluffing or legitimately telling the truth? Malissia, "The reason you saw so many other projects scattered was due to these two knuckleheads trying to push these loose ideas my way, knowing full well we had a meeting today." Viciate, "Then Lorenzo and I should be going." Viciate and Lorenzo leave the room as King Alexander and Malissia start speaking with Venessa, Tray, and Cross. Lorenzo and Viciate journeyed far from the castle's boundaries and into the outskirts of the gorgeous city into a dark alleyway where a female was waiting for them. "Have you two finally reached a decision?" Lorenzo, "Yes, we have, Paradox." Paradox in a feminine form smiled while twirling their hair, with a snap of their fingers a contract appeared before Lorenzo and Viciate. "Both of you sign there. Viciate tried to sign with a pen, but Paradox stopped him. Nuh uh uh, in blood!" Viciate pulled a dagger and cut a piece of flesh off him and Lorenzo as they signed the contract that bonded them to Black Hat. See that wasn't so hard. Now I sense you have something to tell me?" Viciate, "The Empress, playboy, and ex-harbinger of darkness are here. They learned of the plans to restore the Matrix of Eternity." A sadistic smile appeared on Paradox's face, "Wonderful! Wonderful! Things could not be better! With your help we can kill those three now and you two will rule this Omniverse as the new kings only in service to Black Hat and the Council. Let them retrieve the remains of the Matrix, and we can either strike before or after they restore the Matrix, then steal it and place it within the treasury with the other dangerous objects that could pose a threat to our reign. Run along now and continue to play your parts like good little errand boys." Paradox gave them a wink. Lorenzo, "Freak! When it comes to your services, we work with you, not for you!" The two then leave as Paradox continues to smile in the shadows.
Back in the war chamber. Venessa, "Impressive. All that you are proposing will greatly benefit us. I can see your offers are sincere, but I must ask, why it took you this long to reveal yourselves?" King Alexander, "That is........simply because of an old law......that had been in effect for thousands of years. I wanted to honor my father and his father, but eventually my consciousness allowed me to overturn that old silly law." Loud footsteps could be running through the halls as a young teenage girl open the doors to the room with pieces of paper in her arms. She began to speak clearly out of breath, "I'm here sister. The documents you wanted." Mallisa, "A few minutes late like usual, Joan." "It's not my fault, military class went on longer than normal! Gosh, how many times do I have to tell you I hate it that mom and dad forced me to become a soldier!" "Everyone, this is my younger sister, Joan. Joan this is Empress Venessa and her two colleagues, Tray and Cross." Everyone exchanged friendly greetings except for Tray who stared at Joan. There was something about Joan that captivated him, it was either the childish way she speaks or the fact she had navy hair like he did. Instead of a handshake, he wrapped both his hands around hers and knelt down, "My fair lady, it is with great honor to meet you. I pray that you will accept my greeting as one of humbleness and may good health and prosperity follow you all the days of your life, my dearest madam." Everyone in the room stared dumbfounded at Tray's speech. Cross, "Where the crap did that come from Shakespeare?" Joan stood there blushing as she stuttered while addressing Tray, "Th....thank y...yo.....you." King Alexander, "Well this meeting is nearing its end, so why don't Tray and Joan spend some time with each other while the rest of us handle the closing logistics?" Mallisa, "WHAT THE?" "Alright it's settled then. Tray and Joan, you two are dismissed."
Joan and Tray stared at each other before she offered Tray some lunch, which he readily agreed to. Alexander turned back to Venessa, "Venessa, if you don't mind, I will like you and your party to stay here the next four days. The first two can be used to handle business regarding our technology and battle tactics as I introduce you to our greatest soldiers, warriors, and fighters. The last two days can be a sort of mini vacation." "Well..........I don't think such an offer will hurt. You have yourself a deal King Alexander!" At lunch Tray and Joan were deep in conversation. Tray, "You look much different than your sister. Your eyes are normal, you are much more cheerful, and just overall livelier." "My sister takes all the stress and responsibilities of the family upon her. That and her role in the kingdom just adds more stress to her. As for her eyes and facial markings, those came when she felt called to the Spring of Restoration." "What now?" "The Spring of Restoration grants those worthy unique properties or powers. Only a select few experience a change from the spring. It is not heavily protected because the spring prevents anyone unworthy from stepping foot in its waters." "Radical." "Mhm!" "So, I heard you fighting with your sister about you hating being trained as a soldier. Why is that?" "It freaking sucks! My parents do not want me to be an astronomer or engineer! They want me to become a Celestial Crusader. On top of that, I don't even get to choose what I want to do or what I want to eat a majority of the time! Eating lunch with you right now is a rare occurrence." "Have you brought your problems to the king?" "Yes, but I don't know if he is hearing my pleas or not. If he's not, I don't blame him, he has a lot on his mind and considering my parents are very influential in terms of politics, if the king makes a brash move, my parents will give him political turmoil." Tray abruptly received a message from Venessa stating their four day stay. He was excited and already made up his mind that he will spend these four days showing Joan the freedom she is missing out on.
The next two days, King Alexander did everything he said he would to Venessa and Cross. Among the strongest warriors and fighters were Ezekiel with his four angelic wings and star saber, Phonix with his ability to control time and fire, Ian with the ability to create things out of metal at will and his large sword in the shape of a key, Vivi with her ability of harnessing animal souls and acquiring their powers and abilities to her disposal, and with several other notable fighters. Yet, the group was slowly stalked by Lorenzo who reported all of their movements to Paradox. The next two days arrived where Venessa and Cross briefly parted ways in order to find some way to relax before returning to base. On the fourth day, Venessa contacted her adoptive mother, Selena, for a special request. She wanted Selena to travel to the Alphaverse with the Matrix of Eternity in order to restore it with wisdom capable of changing the tide of the war. As for Joan and Tray, the two traveled all across the kingdom from going to the beach, kayaking, visiting the aquarium, and art museum. Tray taught Joan how to properly duel and was deeply proud when she complimented him on his elegant sword. Unknown to them Viciate was also reporting their activities to Paradox. On one of their stops, Joan brought Tray to the Spring of Restoration just for them to sight see. Yet, she was startled when Tray stopped responding to her. His eyes were affixed at the spring as he slowly started to step towards it. Joan tried to stop him, but her petite body could not stop him.
Suddenly, he stopped on the edge of the spring and bent down scooping up the water as he started to drink it from his hands. Joan was confused at Tray's behavior, "Are you......alright?" Before Tray could turn around, he collapsed on the ground. "TRAY!" She ran to him, but when she arrived, his eyes opened wildly as his body started to glow with an unearthly light. Tray's body started to transform with his pupils becoming white similar to Mallisa but instead of the other part of his eye becoming black, it became a bright cyan color. His navy hair became white with a few streaks of cyan along with his olive skin changing to being white as quartz. His outfit even started to change around him with his clothes glowing with a clear like cyan substance with a hood gently resting on his hair. Gold embroidered his collar as a unique glowing cyan halo appearing over his head. "Joan.....please tell me I'm not dead." "I uhhhh you mmmmmmm I guess not? Here let me show you what you look like." Joan opened her camera and took a photo of him in order for Tray to see the photo. "Oh my gosh I became even more handsome." "Seriously, that's what you think about after looking like you just died on me!" "Hey, I'm sorry for zoning out on you like that. I just heard a soothing voice calling me from the Spring and I could not help but follow it." "The voice was more than soothing than mine?!" "Well yes...CRAP NO NOT LIKE THAT I SWEAR!" Joan started punching Tray as he let out a hearty laugh. From the shadows Viciate contacted Paradox on what happened and for Paradox to arrive swiftly to exterminate the couple.
The two continued on their walk after having their emotions die down. Yet, there was a sort of tension in the air between the two as one waited for the other to speak first. At last, Tray was the one to break the tension as he stopped Joan and decided to finally reveal to her the thoughts that had been plaguing his mind the past few days. "Joan, I don't know how to say this but, whenever I am around you, I just feel warm inside and what I could only describe as butterflies, erupt in my stomach." Joan blushed deeply before responding, "Oh Tray!" "Joan, if you do not want to enlist in the Celestial Crusaders, you don't have to. I'm offering you a choice. I see how much you care for your older sister and your eagerness for freedom. I encourage you to follow your heart and join me. I promise with every fiber in my being that my family and I will protect you and support you with whatever decision you make." Joan with tears in her eyes. "Oh Tray! Thank you! I want to briefly stay here so I can help my sister with any last assignments and join you on exploring the Megaverse and you taking me back to the Omniverse you call home! Thank you, thank you for being such a wonderful person to me these past four days. Truthfully, I can say I feel the same when I am around you. Your outgoing free-spirited nature is very cute and contagious." Tray extends his hand towards Joan, "Then what are we waiting for? Take my hand and I will show you all the wonderful places in my Omniverse! Obviously after you are done helping your sister of course." He gave her a big comforting smile as he waited for her to wipe the tears of gratitude off her face. However, just before she could place her hand in his, a gunshot went off as a singular bullet went through the right side of Joan's head and exited out of the left. Tray opened his eyes and was horrified at the pool of blood emerging from Joan's body as she lay lifeless on the ground. He was shaken as he heard a sickening laugh. He hastily turned his head to the direction of the laughter.
Tray's eyes widened in confusion as he saw Gadget Bandito emerge from the shadows. "What.....what are you doing here? How did you get here? Why have you done this after being a loyal member of the Initiative for many years?!" "Doesn't matter. Any last words kid?" Tray thought inwardly, "Wait......no......there is no way he is the real Gadget Bandito. The real one does not even know a lot of the Megaverse, much less keep up with any news from the Initiative." He finally spoke out loud. "My powers and senses are telling me you are Gadget Bandito. But my heart, mind, and soul tell me otherwise! WHO ARE YOU?" Paradox finally revealed himself to Tray as he morphed into his mechanical appearance. Tray finally spoke after being at a loss for words, "I know you. I know who you are. No, you are not even a person anymore. You have turned yourself into something unrecognizable. I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE! YOU ARE THE CREATURE WHO MURDERED MY FATHER'S PARENTS ON THE NIGHT OF HOLY THURSDAY!" Paradox had a twisted malicious grin on his mechanical face as he spoke, "Aren't you a smart one." Tray began to channel his new powers granted to him from the Spring of Restoration. "I WILL NOT ONLY AVENGE THE DEATH OF DIAMOND'S PARENTS! BUT FOR JOAN WHO YOU SHOT IN COLD BLOOD! DIE YOU BODY MORPHING BASTARD!"
Filled with pure rage, Tray could not control his powers as Paradox merely toyed with him before using Tray's disorientation to his advantage. Paradox was able to overpower the young hero, but briefly underestimated his new power buff when Tray's halo pierced itself into Paradox's chest. This comeback was shortly lived due to the intervention of Viciate who incapacitated Tray and tied him up. Elsewhere, Venessa felt a disturbance in her gut and thus gathered Cross and met with King Alexander to ask where Tray and Joan were at. The King did not know of their location much to the dismay of Venessa, but suddenly in the throne room a thick green mist entered the room which knocked the guards and the heroes unconscious. Lorenzo did his best to pick up the bodies of the heroes and tie them up, "Now we just wait for the Queen of Asteria to arrive and snatch the Matrix from her by ransoming these hostages."
Meanwhile Selena took care of Diamond and would not allow him out of her sight. If he had to leave her house, she would go with him wherever he went, due to the public opinion on him fiercely divided. There were some who believed the attacks were caused by him while others knew that he would never do such a thing and it had to be an imposter. She would fiercely criticize any bystander who booed or tried to assault Diamond. Diamond on the other hand did not like how Selena was being overprotective of him, and her reasoning was that his mental state was not in a good place. Truthfully, it felt like he was on house arrest. One day the two of them took a nap on Selena's couch, when Selena was notified to embark on the mission to Omniverse 7,777,777. She did not have Diamond know what mission it was, but said it was important. "Don't do anything stupid or silly while I'm gone. And do not go on any adventures either! If I find out you left the town, you won't hear the end of it!" "Alright sheesh I got it."
Selena traveled to Sanctuary and entered one of the passwords a few of the elite members possessed in order to gain access to the broken remains of the Matrix of Eternity. She grabbed the pieces and created a portal to the Alphaverse. Once Selena teleported off to her mission, Diamond took advantage of this opportunity and decided to venture into town. He grabbed his Bluetooth earbuds and walked outside to his favorite coffee shop. While walking, he played Have You Ever Seen The Rain, by Creedence Clearwater Revival, one of his father's favorite bands. He could not resist but sing along with the lyrics, "When it's over so they say it'll rain a sunny day, I know, shining down like water. I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain? I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain? Coming down on a sunny day." During his stroll a handful of protestors spotted him and began to yell, "Murderer! Thief! Crook! Liar!" One such protestor threw a pot of hot water at him, which nearly resulted in Diamond retaliated, but he bore these wrongs patiently and continued on his way. He turned a corner into an alleyway and started to dance and jump in the puddles. On the other side were a set of stairs where he slowly danced his way down each step to the closing parts of the song still singing with raw emotion. "Yeaaaaahhhhhhhh I wanna know have you seen the rain? I wanna know have you ever seen the rain? Coming down on a sunny day."
He turned off his music when he entered the doors of the small shop and waited patiently in line. After he finished placing his order and pulled out his wallet to pay, the cashier whispered to him, "It's on the house. You are still a hero to us who work here." "Are you sure ma'am?" "Yes. It'll be out shortly." He took a seat near a window and started reading the local newspaper in silence. Just then a little boy who was with his parents came to his side and started to speak with him. "Excuse me sir, but are you, Diamond?" Diamond chuckled to himself, "Well there is no use in hiding my identity. Yes, I am." "Can you tell me what it was like during the year I was born?" "Uh, odd request but yeah I can tell you, first I have to ask how old are you?" "I just turned four!" "Well happy birthday! Let's see four years ago was 2016.....wait no it was 2020. Gosh was 2020 four years ago? Man, all these adventures all start flowing together kid. So, around this time an old enemy of mine named......" Diamond abruptly stopped speaking as he felt a disturbance. "Named who, sir?" Diamond stood up and slowly walked to the doors as a giant explosion went off in the center of town. Everyone started screaming, running in all directions from the blast, as Diamond signaled his AI using his nanotech vision glasses. "HONEY what are we looking at? HONEY? Crap I never turned you back on." Diamond hastily had his nanotech grow on his left arm as he turned on the setting to activate HONEY. "I'm back! Are you ok boss, did you do anything brash when I was gone?" "We can catch up later HONEY, right now I need you to prevent traffic from entering this street and alert the local authorities." "Yes sir!"
While all of this was happening on Earth, Selena's portal finally brought her to the Alphaverse. She begins to mutter to herself, "Alright Venessa I'm here. Hopefully we can get this done quickly, because I don't trust Diamond being by himself." Selena was cautious of her surroundings, due to being greeted with an eerie vacant throne room. She suddenly heard a quiet "help me," this prompted her to locate the source of the voice which resulted in her finding Lorenzo lying next to a pillar. "Please help me." "Who did this to you, where are they now, and have you seen a young girl with pink and blue hair go by?" Selena used her powers to silently read the injured person's mind, but before her powers could alert her of it being a trap, she heard another voice which caused her pupils to shrink with fear. "Hello my precious doll." Selena turned to face the new voice and to her horror, she saw Paradox standing behind her, appearing the same way he looked the day before he died. The trauma from the mistreatment and terror she received from him overridden her senses and caused her to stand completely motionless. Behind her Lorenzo leaped and took off his mask expelling a strong toxin into her lungs causing her to faint and drop the pieces of the Matrix. Lorenzo, "Why did you change the plan to capture her instead of bargaining with her?" Paradox, "Because I want the last thing, they see is me holding the reloaded Matrix and handing it over to my masters." Paradox then switched back to his mechanical body and wrapped Selena in thick pairs of chains. He then took her body along with the rest of the heroes to the depths of the castle.
Simultaneously on Earth, Diamond slowly made his way to the source of the blast as he yelled at the pedestrians to head southbound. When he reached the center of the blast three figures emerged. A hulking lizard creature, a humanoid squid, and a tall figure wrapped in black cloth with piercing red goggles. "HEY! THIS TOWN IS CLOSED TO THUGS LIKE YOU TODAY!" The man in black cloth responded back, "We were wishing for a fight with Selena, but facing you is even better!" "I suggest you stand down before I rip a tentacle from your friend Squidward!" "Grok shut his mouth." The hulking creature lifted his axe from his back and started charging at Diamond. Diamond tapped his chest as his nanotech started to form around him as he created several large blasters from his back and fired at Grok. The blasts sent Grok flying backwards to his two other companions, but the man in black simply waved his hand to the right which sent Grok crashing into a local store. Diamond flew towards the humanoid squid and started punching him with unrelenting force that caused the squid to vomit quantities of ink. The man in black teleported behind Diamond and used his mystic powers to gain the upper hand by distorting the reality around them. The squid shaped his head into a spear and tried to pierce Diamond with his poison, but Diamond dodged it and sent him hurdling towards the man in black, breaking the reality illusion. He then had his suit create a sticky net which he shot to capture both the man in black and squid. Grok finally managed to get back up, but upon seeing his comrades captured, he clicked a button on his belt that resulted in him exploding creating a blast deadlier than the first. Diamond noticed there were a few people that were in the blast radius of this second explosion and flew towards them using his strength to hold the falling debris from the tall business building. The debris piled the streets with dust and papers, until the sound of sirens broke the silence. Law enforcement arrested the two other villains while Diamond was barely holding large portions of fallen walls, glass, and stone from crushing him and the civilians under him. The leading officer noticed Diamond struggling in the debris, but decided not to help him, he thought to himself, "Let's see if he can truly save others and be the hero the weak minded believe him to be." The crushing weight began to take a toll on Diamond as he slowly began to lose his footing until he was on his knees holding the debris up.
"I promise.....I will get all of you out alive!" Negative thoughts began to enter his mind as various voices began to call out. "You are not good enough. You couldn't save your own parents; how can you save these unfortunate souls? You are playing a fool's game. See how the law enforcement refuses to acknowledge your existence. Face it your story is over. Finished. You are nothing but a weak boy who thought he could have been a great hero." Diamond tried to block out these voices, but they began to take a toll on him, nearly causing him to give up, but then a quiet voice entered his mind. A voice smooth like honey but strong as thunder echoed in his mind. "You are something more. Look inside yourself, you are something far more than when you started all those years ago as a small-town hero. Do not listen to their empty words, listen to me. Do you renounce sin?" "I do." "Do you renounce the Devil, the sin whisperer, and all his empty promises?" "I do!" "Do you believe in the Faith of your fathers, the Resurrection, and life everlasting?" "I do!" "Arise my child." At that very moment Diamond felt the power of the Light course through him at greater quantities than before as his body began to glow with gold and white light. With a newfound access to the Light, Diamond felt it was only natural to change the wording when harnessing its power, "Through the power of Heaven's Light.......All things are possible!" Diamond effortlessly lifted the debris away from him as the civilians under his care ran to the rest of the crowd. The onlookers stared at Diamond's glowing gold and white body. They were baffled in amazement as a few murmured amongst themselves, "Truly this is the act of a selfless hero."
Diamond did not hear the crowd's cheers, whistles, and praises as he stood deep in contemplation. Deep within his soul, he was able to sense his family was in grave danger. With his connection to the Light restored, he made it his new mission to travel to the Omniverse where he sensed the disturbance. He quietly spoke to himself, "Oh yeah I'm ready to whip the person who is so bent on ruining my life! But first, I have to do it in style. He allowed his suit to create two large speakers; HONEY make sure the volume is on max. Time for us to go back into the Megaverse!"
To Be Continued In The Alphaverse Part 2

IF YOU DO NOT READ AND FOLLOW THE PROFILE GUIDE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THIS POST, YOUR PROFILE REVIEW WILL BE REMOVED
In most online dating subreddits, profile reviews focus on aspects of the person that won't actually lead to increased results, like bios or silly minutiae regarding someone's profile. Here at SwipeHelper, we realize that the two biggest factors regarding success on apps are your personal attractiveness and the quality of your photos.
The idea of this thread is for people to get honest advice on both aspects:

1. how to improve one's profile
2. tips for improving your physical attractiveness so that you can come across better on your app of choice.

All profiles posted will be given advice on both how to improve their profile as well as maximize their looks (if needed - for some people they are attractive enough and the profile itself is more of the problem, or vice versa).
The following are required information in every profile review request:
- What type of relationship you're looking for (hookups, FWBs, something more serious, marriage)
- Your current level of success (number of matches per week and how many likes you send out) plus if you're paying for any premium features

SwipeHelper Profile Guide

NOTE: READ THIS GUIDE THOROUGHLY BEFORE POSTING YOUR PROFILE HERE. If your profile does not live up to the guide's standards, your comment will be removed and you will be referred back to the guide.
Archetype and Story
Before you build a Tinder profile, you need to determine your archetype. What vibes do you want to give off to attract your ideal type of girl? Attractive archetypes could include:

• Cool California surfer guy
• Suave suit-wearing businessman
• Tattooed bearded hipster lumberjack
• Iced out hood fuckboi
• Generic good looking fratty college dude

The following are not attractive archetypes. If you are one of these people, either change your lifestyle or at least make it look like you aren't.

• Nerdy neckbearded gamer
• Completely generic nondescript dude with no personality
• Overweight guy that doesn't work out
• Skinny sadboi that never smiles

You get the idea.
Once you have your attractive archetype, you should aim to tell a story through your photos - don't just have a bunch of photos of you standing around posing for the camera. When someone swipes through your photos, they should get a full picture of who you are, what you look like, what you like to do, and what spending time with you will feel like.
General Photo Quality and Looks You Should Emulate
The minimum acceptable photo quality you need to succeed on Tinder these days is a professional photo taken with a DSLR camera. Yes, this probably means you need to pay a photographer to take photos of you. May seem like a big investment, but for a few hundred dollars you get a bunch of great photos that you can ride for years.
Read the following two articles for examples of photos that do well: Playing With Fire Ultimate Guide to Tinder Profile Pictures and Playing With Fire 6 Highly Successful Tinder Photos for Men and Why They Work
And the following article for photo inspiration: https://killyourinnerloser.com/inspiration/
Photo Order and Types
Your first photo should be an upper-body shot with your full head (no sunglasses) and torso visible, taken with the highest-quality camera possibly, preferably a DSLR. You should be wearing stylish clothes that fit your archetype. YOU SHOULD BE THE ONLY PERSON IN THE PHOTO. DO NOT USE A GROUP PHOTO AS YOUR FIRST PHOTO.
For your other photos, choose from:

• You with a group of friends. You should be as tall or taller and as attractive or more attractive than every friend in the photo. All of your friends must be decently attractive and not low-status (i.e. if this photo was taken at an anime convention, you’re toast). (see: Pancake’s Golden Rules of Group Photos on Apps
• You doing [insert hobby here]. Snowboarding, DJing, skydiving, climbing, playing a high-status sport (sorry, Magic: The Gathering doesn’t count).
• You in an exotic location.
• You doing something that indicates you’re a leader of men. Holding a microphone, giving a speech, standing on stage, etc.
• A candid, shirtless photo (e.g. playing sports, on a beach). If you cannot bench your bodyweight and/or squat/deadlift 1.75x your bodyweight AND are less than 18% bodyfat, skip this. If you don’t have a candid shirtless photo, a non-candid is OK, but you’ll get worse results.

Each photo needs to be in a different setting and you need to be wearing a different outfit in each. They should not look like they were taken the same day or on the same photoshoot.
Do not include photos that:

• are generated by AI apps or otherwise obviously over-edited
• don't have you in them (like of your pet or your art or a meme)
• have your back turned to the camera
• are of you wearing a mask or obscuring your face or eyes (e.g. wearing sunglasses)
• are too far away to see your face
• are selfies. SELFIES ARE ALWAYS UNACCEPTABLE. IF YOU HAVE A SELFIE, REMOVE IT. Your phone has a self-timer function for a reason — use it, or get someone to take photos of you.

You do not need to fill out all nine photos. As long as you have more than three photos, you're fine. Remember, you will be judged on your worst photo, so make sure they're all solid.
Finally, learn to pose and squinch (narrowing your eyes to make you appear more attractive).
A more detailed guide from a different perspective can be found at: https://killyourinnerloser.com/tinder-guide

Recently picked up the new Avata. Unboxing qss a great experience, really nice bag and all that jazz. Plugged my shit in on a table and let it go. Went to check and noticed there was some dust on the face "pad" of the goggles, and went to wipe it off and felt like I almost tore the rubber.
It's literally like a piece of rubber film made of the same shit a punching balloon, or heavy duty disposable latex glove is made of. SUPER disappointed at the quality of this, and I will SURELY rip or damage it very quickly. Plus it's a real dust/fuzz/hair magnet. It even came all bent and wrinkled up from how it was packed in the bag.
Tried looking around for a foam with that cross stitched outer material that looks like like some cloth on the interior sears of a car, but having some trouble. Most things seem to be coming up for the goggles 2, for what limited ones there are, or for the meta quest. I have seen one that say for Avata 2/Goggles 3, but they all pretty much have ZERO reviews and like 2 week shipping times. I found one with reviews and 2 day shipping, and it was rated 1/5, with a bunch of pissed off reviews. I'm afraid they will all be junk like that.
Not that I'm worried about wasting the money, they're only like 8 to 15 bucks, but I don't wanna waste the time and feel ripped off. I'd really like some recommendations on replacements, especially ones that come bundled with stick on magnetic/velcro/friction fit lens covers. I'd be okay with foam if that's the best one, but I'd prefer a cloth/poly/nylon material or whatever they are. I'm sure there gotta be decent replacements, as I can't imagine anybody is actually very HAPPY with the factory material quality. It's a pretty crappy thing they did with a $1,200 item, when they don't even sell an official replacement to make it better. It's just empty and hard inside, unless mine is made wrong or missing foam that should be there?
Thanks in advance!

I (21)male have been dating my (19)girlfriend for over 6months now.
For a long time we have been set on her moving out to me considering I'm in college and she doesn't have it all together there in australia. She has been trynna escape her abusive environment and religion for a long time. She is in Australia and I'm in the U.S. Her mom wants to arrange her marriage and select a guy from the same religion regardless of age or compatibility. Her mom only boast about how the man has a wealthy family and is successful/spiritual. My girlfriends interactions with people has been limited because her Mom doesn't want her interacting with people outside of the religion.
She has recently lost her job because her Mom demands that she takes off for her little brothers and attends religious events. Her mom doesn't charge rent but constantly demands money for any form of transportation or help despite knowing her daughters financial state. This isnt the first job my girlfriend lost due to this, and she doesn't have a license yet because her mom refuses to take her to test or help pay for them.
I met my girlfriend on discord where she ran a server, i know shes been locked up in her room and relies on her computer and phone both of which she fully payed for including service plan. We always vid call and ive been constantly there through night after night when her mother emotionally or physically abuses her. Many times her mom talks about her to a group chat of people from the religion and they shame her.
We had a plan for her to come out for a month in August which the mom knew about, i had a feeling the mom was gonna go against it and last minute she did. She used many tactics to talk my girlfriend into holding off and threatened to disown her. Her mom broke into her phone and went through our chats. When my girlfriend learned about this it resulted in a argument where my girlfriend attempted to stay at a hotel for the night but was stopped by her mom attacking her and choking/ripping her hair and punching her on the ground.
I knew the mom broke in but with the timezonee by the time i woke up i couldn't get in contact with my girlfriend till what was 3am for her sobbing and bruised with a still bleeding nose and marks. Her mom apologized and brought her home and talked to her about how she can't marry whoever she wants.
Ik the decision to leave has recently been hard on my girlfriend because shes worried about her brothers. Her mom constantly wants her spedning money to look perfect and rly beats on her when she's not in her moms ideal physical condition which I don't get because i find her body perfect. My girlfriend has been doing a lot to get out of the house and did get drunk at a bar and raped at one point. On top of that her mom wanted her to have $500 ready ontop of doing her hair and nails to go to Thailand with her. Her mom had no consideration of her financial state when it came to a wedding too.
I've paid for a lot of these things and now its come down to my girlfriend terrified of the u.s because of what poeple and her mom fed her. She is scared to lose contact of people her mom would force to cut her off if she leaves, and just overly confused and never was taught many life skills. She really just knows cooking and cleaning which she does each day 4x.
I helped her go over the process for an interview for the last job she got and her mom complained saying shes getting nowhere, isn't going to college which is dumb because she needs money for college.
Now my girlfriend can hardly afford anything since she lost her job, and she's almost ready to go into sex work. All i can do left is beg her to come here where I'd be able to get her a work visa, citizenship, insurance, a license, a car, medical insurance (which she don't have), she would be able to study abroad, get a job and maybe take up an apprenticeship through connections. I live in my parents shore house for college, they are fine with taking her in and helping her get sorted out here. She just has nobody to go to there, the friends she has can't afford to help her.
When her Nana comes out it's a whole other hell, because the Nana is a lot harder on her. Her Nana has left but might be coming back, she wants to move out and rent but she has no financial support or job. Shes been through most jobs that don't require certification in her town and still no license. I have the money to get her out here and started but it's just too scary and looks too big on her. I would've liked to give her time but with how it's been going our relationship is going looking like dust and her life is going to shit. She already cuts herself and has almost went to nicotine which i got her off because it was going horriblly for her health. Periods which happen monthly add to her debt when she needs help.
I get moving to a new country, leaving her dog and family/friends is hard but atp she's 19 and digging a deathbed of regrets. Her mental state is all sorts of fucked from that environment. Ive done tons to be there and work things out slow with her. Her mom dont believe in disabilities and I see a clear undiagnosed case of ADHD. Prob more, she is indecisive and it seems she relies on people who keep screwing her over.
Rn she practically constantly depressed thinking it won't work, we knew her mom wouldnt allow her to marry me or come here and suddenly last minute she needed her moms approval because she's scared. She wanted to do a 2-3yr break and see what happens and i see that jst going to shit for me and her.
This relationship helped me through a lot and two of my friends deaths, I've lost many close ppl to suicides and accidents of all sorts, went through some terrible relationships and it sucks to say a girl 12,000 miles away was my perfect match despite being very social. My girlfriend can be quite the case but once shes has her time with me without interruptions she rly is worth it all. Through months all ive seen is stress and her family, bad ppl destroying that girl. Me trying to get her to leave that setting is manipulative and controlling, so idk anymore if I'm the asshole asking for too much or I'm the person who will show her a life where she'd be able to be herself and explore her interests. I just know sex work and this controlling and abusive lifestyle isn't what she wants.

Hello, I am building a game about Japanese pop idols and need an animator, programmer, choreographer, artist and a modeler
This is a Roblox project aimed at making a high effort game that doesn't resemble the typical games on the platform.
The game is about Japanese Pop idols heavily based off the Love Live IP. The gameplay is a rhythm gacha game and will feature a full story mode. We have a lot already finished for the project including dialogue, music, art, models, story and more.
The team currently consists of an artist, 5 Voice Actors (Voiceing the characters in the story), 2 Writers, 2 composers (we have 4 songs fully composed with lyrics) and me who works on production and modeling.
Animator - I need an animator to help with animations, most of the work will be correcting errors from motion tracking, models are rigged and ready to be animated. BlendeMaya or anything else is fine for animating.
Programmer - This is a rhythm game with gameplay that isn't incredibly complex I need a programmer to program UI and Gameplay.
Choreographer - I need someone to make choreography for the dances.
Artist - I need someone to make 2D artwork with an anime style to help work on the cards and other tasks for the project.
Modeler - I need someone to help model costumes for the girls and make clothing items. Our models are made in Vroid studio but shouldnt be hard to learn.
Please reach out through discord @Miyuki Lily as that's where I'm most active.
I'm more than happy to provide more information and materials about the project.
I'm not looking for professionals or experts I just need someone to help fulfil the roles at the moment as we are understaffed and need the help.

When I was ten, I formed a junior detective squad.
Mom bought me the entire box set of What's New Scooby Doo, and I was inspired to start my very own detective gang. I held auditions outside the gymnasium at recess (serious enquiries only) after a number of kids tried to apply for the role of Scooby Doo despite me reiterating I was not interested in playing make believe.
When I was laughed at in class, I made posters strictly asking for SERIOUS wannabe detectives, even going as far as using my Mom’s printer to make flyers, sticking them all over the school.
Auditions were simple. I asked them to solve a simple riddle.
Whoever impressed me got to sign their name down, and I’d get back to them.
I spent three days sifting through kids who definitely had charm, but they lacked the intelligence of a junior detective. Most kids were only auditioning to make fun of me, anyway.
Still, though, I didn't give up.
My flyers had five requirements:
1). You had to be smart.
2). You were not allowed to be a scaredy cat.
3). You had to accept your inevitable death at the hands of our town’s evil villains.
4). You had to have a fully registered driving licence (I quickly changed this to a bike).
5). You cannot have a criminal record.
(I later scribbled this one out, writing over it. *“You cannot have any tardies.”
Narrowing the applicants down to three kids, all of whom failed to share my enthusiasm for solving cases. The kids I picked didn't even know how to make plans, and when I invited them to my house, they stole my Mom’s necklace.
I didn't even need to solve the mystery of who stole Mom’s necklace. The girl was wearing it at school. I punched her in the face, and was immediately sent to the principal’s office. When I was being given the mother all lectures, the door quietly opened, a head peeking through.
It was Ben Callows, a freckly kid with overgrown brown hair hanging in his eyes. Ben really needed a haircut.
He was always wearing the exact same baseball cap, and I found myself wondering if it was permanently glued to his head, stuck on top of unruly brown curls practically matted to his forehead.
In class, Ben was also known as Bloody Ben. In the second grade, the boy had a nosebleed in the middle of a spelling test, bleeding all over his paper.
It's not like he didn't try and detach himself from the name.
Ben brought in Digimon cards, so kids would call him Digimon Ben instead.
Then he “accidentally” spilled yoghurt down his shirt in hopes we would call him Yoghurt Ben. But no. The kids in our class were relentless in reminding him of his name. No matter what he did, he was still Bloody Ben, and when anything related to blood came up in class, fifteen pairs of eyes would swivel to him, like he had invented the concept of bleeding.
I feared the nickname would follow him to junior high.
Ben didn't wait to be let in. He didn't even knock, striding in with his arms folded. Over the years, Bloody Ben, had definitely soured his personality.
He smiled rarely, and when he did smile, someone was falling over or hurting themselves.
Which definitely strengthened the claims of him being a sociopath.
The rumor mill was churning, with the latest claiming Bloody Ben killed his cat. That wasn't true. Ben’s cat was seventeen with cancer, and that was why he was sobbing all the way through reading time.
According to Ellie Daly, however, Ben had killed and dissected his kitty, and buried her in his Mom’s flowers.
Now, my principal did not like being interrupted, especially when she was in the middle of screaming at me.
Principal Marrow was old old (like, thirty, in my ten year old mind) stick thin like a pencil, and always wore the same stained sweater.
She used to be pretty, but I was convinced she had kissed a frog and been cursed. After our old principal suffered a stroke, she stepped in as a temporary replacement, and since becoming principal, had banned my favorite book series, colored shoe laces, and hamburger helper, even officiating a uniform.
(vomit green shorts and a tee, and plain white sneakers).
Kids were convinced she was a witch, and I kind of believed it.
Principal Marrow’s whole existence was built on sucking the fun out of school.
I was already reprimanded for my mystery gang flyers.
Her office smelled of peppermint and she was definitely sneaking sips of whisky in her coffee cup. I could see the bottle sticking out of the trash.
She straightened up, folding her arms across her chest, squinty eyes narrowing at the boy. I had spent the whole time she was lecturing me trying not to cry, my fists bunched in my lap.
I took the distraction as the perfect opportunity to swipe at my eyes, allowing myself to breathe.
Ben Callows was her victim now.
I was right. The woman's voice was like a thunderclap in my ears.
“You better have a good reason for not knocking, young man.”
Ben wasn't fazed by her tone. “You took my Switch two weeks ago,” he said, “I want it back, or I’m telling my Mom.”
At first, I thought I'd misheard him.
No, I was pretty sure he'd threatened our principal.
I swore I heard all of the breath sucked from the room.
“I'm sorry,” Principal Marrow cleared her throat. Her soft tone was dangerous.
She wasn't being nice. The lady was about to explode.
I could see visible veins straining in her temples, her right eye twitching.
It was straight out of a cartoon.
“Did you forget something, Ben?”
Ben sighed, like she was inconveniencing him.
He held out his hand. “Please can I have my Switch back? It counts as stolen property. Give it back, or I'm telling my Mom.”
The kid put so much emphasis on the word please, I couldn't resist a smile.
I think our principal was too shocked to get angry.
“Get out.” She said, firmly. “I don't have your gaming device.”
“It's in your drawer.” Ben nodded to her desk, “Under your divorce papers and the restraining order ordered by Jake Willow, the seventeen year old boy you've been having math ‘tutoring sessions’ with.” He quoted the air, his gaze lazily rolling to me. “Tutoring”
Principal Marrow went deathly pale, her eyes darkening.
“Benjamin Callows–”
“The school already knows about the restraining order, but your uncle is the head of the Board of Education, so all you get is a slap on the wrist and a warning to leave the boy alone."
Ben continued, and I found myself mesmerised by his words. He was a natural, his expression stoic, mouth curved with satisfaction that wasn't quite a smile. “However.” He held up his phone, pulling it away at the exact moment the teacher attempted to grab it. “You were outside Jake Willow’s house at 6:12am, drunk, and trying to climb through his window, which, I think violates the restraining order, does it not?”
Ben pretended to think real hard, his gaze flicking to the ceiling.
“I mean, I'm just a kid, right?” His mouth curled into the hint of a smirk
“What do I know, huh?”
Principal Marrow’s expression twisted, her lip wobbling.
“Mr Callows, remove yourself from my office, or I am calling your father.”
Leaning comfortably against the door, Ben’s lip twitched.
“Why? Are you planning on telling my Dad about your relations with a teenage boy, or will I have to tell him instead?”
I was enthralled, and fully disgusted, making a move to inch away from the woman.
“But it doesn't end there.” Ben continued. He straightened up, taking slow, intimidating steps towards the woman's desk. “You don't even want Jake, do you? Because, once upon a time, you were in love with his father. Jason Willow. You despised him for rejecting you, so you decided to defile his son.” Ben leaned over the principal’s desk, slipping his hand into the drawer, and pulling out his switch.
Painfully slowly.
She stood there, speechless, her shoulders trembling.
Ben smiled, and I found myself liking it.
“Thank you!” He said, waving the console in her face. Ben mimed locking his mouth and throwing away the key.
“My lips are sealed.”
Ben’s half lidded eyes found mine. “Are ya coming, Panda?”
I forgot my own nickname.
Panda.
I wore my Mom’s eyeliner because I thought it looked cool.
It did not.
Finding my breath, I snapped out of it.
Jumping up, I followed him out of the office, and when the two of us were safely on the hallway, I burst into hysterical giggles. “How did you know all of that?!” I whisper- shrieked.
Ben surprised me with a splutter. “Wait. You believed me?”
Something very cold trickled down my spine.
I stopped walking. “You lied?”
He shrugged. “I had a dig around her office before she caught me a few days ago,” Ben swung his arms, a smile curling on his mouth. “There's no restraining order, but there is prescription anti-psychosis medicine, and an extremely detailed story on her laptop about a teachestudent romance, which I presume is a self insert.”
Ben shot me a sickly grin. “The school refused to make her condition public.”
He prodded at his own cotton shirt embroidered with the school emblem.
“Why do you think she's made all these dumb rules? The woman is a certified Looney Tune.”
I nodded slowly. “Wait. What about Jake and his dad?”
“I made them up.”
I choked out a laugh. “And… the video?”
Ben walked faster, pulling out his phone and shoving it in my face. The video was real. Principal Marrow was walking around in circles, draped in her nightgown. “It's her own house,” he explained. “She locked herself out.”
Nodding slowly, I was in awe. Bloody Ben was kind of fucking amazing.
“But the restraining order isn't real.”
Ben raised a brow, coming to an abrupt halt. It was his smile that cemented his place in my gang. His lack of empathy for a woman he had gaslit into being a disgusting human being. Ben Callows wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but he fascinated me. Maybe for the wrong reasons. “Her filing cabinets are filled with tinned cat food, Panda,” he said with an exaggerated sigh, “I’m not psychic, but I thiiiiink we’ll be okay.”
I turned to him, unable to stop myself jumping up and down with excitement.
“Will you be my first?!”
Ben inclined his head. “Will I be your what?”
I shook my head. “Sorry. I mean, will you join my mystery gang?”
The boy’s eyes lit up, and I shoved him playfully.
“To solve real cases,” I corrected myself. “Not make them up.”
Ben wore a real, proper smile. But there was something in his eyes, a darkness that was so hollow and polluted and wrong, I pretended not to see it for the sake of his smarts and intellect. “Well, if you insist, sure!” Ben held out his hand, and I shook it. I'll be your first.”
We found our second member, who was, ironically, looking for her glasses under the table in class. Lucy Prescott, the quiet girl, was born to be with us.
The class eraser went missing, and she found it in the blink of an eye.
When questioned, Lucy’s face turned as red as her hair. “I asked everyone in the class and followed the clues to the last person who had it,” she pointed to Chase Simpson. “Which was Chase, who was throwing it at Marcus Calvin.”
Twisting around in my chair, I aimed to get Ben’s attention. But he was already looking at me, chin resting on his fist, eyes ignited with excitement.
The two of us cornered Lucy after class, and when she motioned for us to get back, I dragged Ben (who was a little too excited) to my side.
Lucy looked mildly horrified when I said, dangerous cases, though her expression pricked with intrigue.
She agreed, her gaze lingering on Ben, cheeks smouldering.
Our last two members were a surprise.
Violet Evergreen was what you would call popular on the middle school hierarchy. Not just because her mother was the mayor, but because Violet could get away with murder. The girl refused to wear the school uniform, coloring a single purple streak in her hair to cement herself as the it girl.
She was also one of the girls who started the Bloody Ben rumor.
Ben, Lucy, and I were sitting on the grass during recess, trying to come up with a name for our detective service, when Violet came storming over, hands planted on her hips. She was copying how her mother held herself during town meetings.
“What are you doing?” Violet demanded.
Lucy opened her mouth to answer, Ben nudging her to shut up.
“Making a mystery gang.” I told her. “Why?”
Violet inclined her head. “Oh.” She folded her arms. “Well, can I join?”
Ben stood up, stepping in front of the girl. Violet didn't move, stubbornly standing her ground. “Sure.” Ben flashed a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. He stepped closer to her, his smile widening. “If you can pass the test.”
Violet’s lip curled. She took a single step back. “What kind of test?”
Ben nodded to me. “Meet us at the swimming pool at 8pm.”
To my surprise, Violet nodded. “Do I need to bring anything?”
“Nope!”
8pm. The four of us met outside the local swimming pool.
Violet was already on the other side of the fence, waving.
“Hey guys!”
I noticed Ben’s expression, his eyes darkening, lip curling.
Still though, he maintained positivity, vaulting over the fence.
“You made it!”
I followed him, helping Lucy, who was immediately freaking out. I didn't blame her. The pool looked cold and dark, a hollow oblivion carved into the ground.
Ben and Violet stood on the edge, the two of them shoulder to shoulder.
Violet Evergreen was braver than I thought.
Standing with her arms at her sides, Violet's hands clenched into fists.
“What's the test?” Violet said, her gaze glued to bleeding black depths.
“I don't know,” Ben murmured, his voice teetering on a giggle. He leaned forwards, arms spread out. “I didn't think you'd actually come meet us.”
Violet hummed, stretching out her leg, teasing it across the surface. “Was that the test?”
The boy leaned back. I caught the glint of a grin under the floodlights. “Nah.”
Before I knew what was happening, he shoved Violet into the pool. The girl didn't scream or shriek, she just hit the surface, sinking into pitch dark nothing.
“Sink or swim,” Ben said in a low murmur, when Violet’s head bobbed under water. I could see her shadow under the surface, imagining the freezing cold depths pulling her down.
“Drown, and you can't join us.”
It was so quiet, suddenly. The three of us staring into rippling water.
A minute passed, and my tummy started to twist.
“Fuck.” Ben’s expression stayed stoic. I wasn't expecting him to say a bad word.
He cocked his head. “I thought she could swim.”
I hit him, holding in a cry. “You need to get our parents!”
But he didn't listen to me, taking a single step, and dropping into the pool.
I fell to my knees, scanning the water.
Lucy was crying. “Are they dead?!” she shrieked.
“Shhh!” I was watching two shadows lingering under the water.
Violet broke through. I expected her to be crying, but her expression was unwavering. She was silent. I thought the splashing underneath her was her legs trying and struggling to tread water, before Lucy shoved me. Hard.
“Panda! What do we do?!”
Looking closer, Violet was perfectly still, her gaze on the sky.
While she shoved Ben under the water, drowning him.
Violet’s eyes sparkled, and somehow, I knew she belonged in my gang.
Her gaze found mine, glinting with that darkness, that poisonous streak I found myself drawn to. It was a starving, insatiable need to understand a fractured mind. Know your enemy.
“Do you want to see if Ben’s a witch?” Violet asked me, her tone something else entirely. This girl did not make sense, using barely her finger to drown Ben Callows. I knew she was wrong.
I knew there was something loose, something unlocked and unbridled and drowning inside her mind and heart.
But I wanted more of her. I wanted Violet Evergreen in my detective gang.
I think that is why I stood there, frozen.
When the thrashing stopped, Ben broke through.
He wasn't coughing or spluttering, his head inclined. “You didn't drown.”
Violet climbed out of the pool, offering her hand. “And you're not a witch.”
He declined her hand, taking the steps instead.
I asked Violet in a shaky voice. I was trembling with terror, but I was excited.
Exhilarated.
“Violet, will you join my gang?”
She didn't answer me until we were sharing hot cocoa in my house.
I told Mom we fell in the pool, and she believed me. I should have told her that my friends were sociopaths, and I was kind of maybe in love. Violet sipped her cocoa, nodding with a smile I didn't recognise. Violet never smiled at school.
Well, she did. But it was always the prick of a cruel smirk.
I don't think her smile was genuine, but she was definitely enjoying herself.
Our last member came to us, instead of finding him.
Jules Howell, a straggly brunette pushed his way in front of me in the lunch line. I didn't really know the kid.
He sat at the back of the classroom and slept through most of class. I did like his accent though.
Jules had moved from Melbourne in the second grade. He didn't talk much.
When he did, I found myself enveloped in his voice, which sounded like water to me, a bleeding cadence to his tone.
Jules piled his plate with fries, smiling widely at the lunch ladies.
“I saw you last night.” He murmured through that perfectly moulded grin.
“Saw me where?”
“At the pool,” Jules said. “You, Bloody Ben, Violet Evergreen, and that Lucy girl. You were doing a suiciding pact.”
“That's not what we were doing.” I said, “What's a suiciding pact?”
“When you kill yourself together.” Jules said. “I saw it in a scary movie my Mom was watching.”
I grabbed a fork. “We weren't doing that.”
His eyes were strange when I took the time to notice them. The excited gleam had fizzled out. Jules’s hands tightened around his tray. “Then what were you doing?”
I didn't reply, making my way over to our usual table. Ben was already waving me over, Violet and Lucy holding up the flyers we were making.
THE REDBLOOD DETECTIVES.”
Do YOU need our help? We can find/solve anything! Contact us on the number below. (We take donations!)
When I bothered turning around, Jules was lost in the crowd of kids.
We were on our first official case, searching for Mrs Lake’s missing mail, when Jules appeared seemingly out of nowhere. And with him, a golden retriever puppy he introduced as Arlo.
It took a dog jumping up at them for Violet and Ben to find their real smiles, their real selves slowly seeping through these facades they had built around themselves. Ben dropped to a crouch, ruffling the dog's ears, his smile faint.
“Who's a good boy?” He chuckled.
Arlo didn't move, tail wagging, eyes bright.
Ben motioned the dog towards him, but Arlo stayed put.
Jules joined us…quietly.
I don't remember asking him, or even him asking me.
He just became part of us, side by side with Arlo.
We soon came to quickly realize that our town was boring.
There were no monsters or thieves, or soul sucking demons. No criminals or serial killers. Not even one missing person. We did, however, get calls about missing cats. I turned eleven years old, patiently waiting for a murder or a kid going missing. But there was nothing.
All we did was chase cats, and the occasional dog. Maybe a budgie if we were lucky. Twelve years old, our detective club became a joke.
The five of us (and Arlo hiding under the table) were trying to pinpoint Mrs Tracy's lost hamster, when three girls came over, dumping their soda all over us.
We watched crime shows for inspiration on catching killers.
Ben’s favorite crime was one that happened in the 80’s in our town.
2 girls murdered.
Their intestines stuffed into envelopes and mailed to family members.
“That's what we should be solving,” he told me one night, “Not missing cats.”
Thirteen years old, we lay in Violet’s backyard under the cruel glare of the summer sun. We called it working and didn't like to admit it was hanging out, or that we were even friends. However.
That didn't stop us growing closer.
Even if it wasn't quite the way I’d expected.
I proposed a plan, standing up, wobbling a little off balance.
“I've got it.” I said, my voice kinda slurry from Violet’s special summer cocktail, which was just random alcoholic beverages we found, thrown into a blender, and diluted with water.
The town wasn't taking us seriously.
So, we were going to make our own mysteries.
I ordered a full-scale assault on our small town. One that they could not ignore. Ben stamped on Mrs Mason’s flowers, and Lucy threw mud pies at people's cars. Jules trashed the high school gym, and Violet and I spray painted threats and warnings on every store window. Now, this did cause panic, but also an official curfew.
Thirty minutes before curfew, we met in our usual spot, deep in the forest near the lake. Ben yelled at me when I was three minutes late. He was real passionate about finding a real mystery.
“You're late.” Ben was sitting on a rock waving a stick in Arlo’s face.
The dog still wasn't going near him, whining softly.
I took my place, muttering an apology. “I had to lie to my Mom.”
Violet, sitting with her legs crossed, idly digging her manicure into the dirt, suggested we buy mannequins and masquerade them as dead bodies, hanging them from the school rafters.
Lucy, who had slowly grown out of her shell, becoming a lot more outspoken, nudged her. “That's a stupid idea.”
The girl groaned, leaning into her. “Urgh. You're right.”
Jules was the only energetic one, standing on the tireswing.
He jumped down, definitely twisting his ankle.
But his smile only widened, kind of like he enjoyed being in pain.
“Why don't we pretend to be kidnapped?” He said, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt over blondish curls growing out. Jules did a dramatic spin, his eyes shining. “We can ‘go missing’ for like a week, and then when our parents are really scared, we can turn up, and tell them we escaped a kidnapping.” His lips split into a grin.
“And then we solve our own kidnapping!”
Ben awkwardly patted Arlos head, only for the dog to pull away with a snort.
“I like it,” he murmured. “I'm in.”
Jules’s idea was stupid.
But.
It was worth a shot.
The five of us agreed to meet the morning after with enough food and supplies for a week. Then we were going to hike to the next town, and hide out for a week. It was an almost perfect plan, using ourselves as victims of our own mystery.
Packing as much as I could, I kissed my mother goodbye (I told her my pack was for a picnic) and set off to the rendezvous we agreed on.
When I arrived, I was the first one there. I checked and re-checked my pack.
I waited ten minutes, unable to contain my excitement.
Then 20 minutes.
It was getting kind of cold.
One hour.
I sat on a rock for enough time to watch the sky change color.
When the clouds were orange, I stood up and stumbled back home. They had gone without me. Mom lectured me when I got home, and I stuck to the plan of pretending my friends had gone missing, even if I they had betrayed me.
Ben said he'd text me when he arrived at the redervous. I at least expected him to text an explanation, but there was nothing. I was in the dark, and after three days of nothing, our town finally began to take us seriously.
“Our children have been kidnapped!” The adults were screaming.
Mom was crying in the kitchen, praying to a god I knew she didn't believe in that I wasn't taken next. I was interviewed and stuck with the exact same story I came up with when I was with the others. Our plan was to return after a week, claiming to be locked up in a dark room with a masked man.
I told my Mother and the other parents that I didn't know where my friends were, repeating the same thing over and over again until I was tongue tied.
“I saw them the day before they went missing, and… yes, everything seemed okay.” I slowly sipped my glass of milk provided, looking the sheriff directly in the eyes.
“No, I didn't notice anything suspicious, sheriff. Yes, I'm sure, sir. No, they didn't tell me anything.”
It was Ben’s mother who shattered my mask.
“Did I know about… what?” I whispered.
Something warm filled the back of my mouth, foul tasting milk erupting up my throat. I leaned forward, trying to look Mrs Callows in the eye. “No, I… I didn't know about Ben’s…condition.”
Mrs Callows was screaming at me about her son’s troubled past when I barfed all over myself, my eyes burning.
In the privacy of my own room, I sobbed until I couldn't breathe.
I tried to tell Mom, but we had come so close.
One more day, and the others would be back.
But that day came. I sat cross legged at our usual spot, which was now covered in police tape. I waited for their thudding footsteps, their laughter congratulating each other for coming up with a great plan. I waited, my face buried in my knees, for my friends.
It was dark when my phone vibrated, and I'd fallen asleep.
I wasn't scared, forcing myself to my feet.
“Where are you?” Mom yelled down the phone.
“Coming home now.” I muttered.
“Sorry.” I paused, holding my breath against a cry. “Mom.” I broke down, forcing my fist into my mouth to hide my squeak. “Mommy, did they come back?”
Mom didn't reply for a moment.
“I'm so sorry, baby.” She whispered, ending the call.
I took my time walking home that night.
There were no stars in the sky.
When a hand clamped over my mouth, I could smell him.
When he dragged me back, stabbing a kitchen knife into my throat, I stared at the sky and looked for stars. His arms were warm around me, violently pulling me into the back of a pickup truck. The pickup truck he'd said he was bringing.
It was his grandfather's, and he could just about drive it.
Hitting the backseat, my body was numb, my thoughts in a whirlwind.
The pickup flew forwards, and I remembered how to move.
I rolled off the seat, my hands pinned behind my back.
Twisting around, blinking in the dim, I could feel something warm, something seeping across upholstery seats. Blood.
It was everywhere, sticky on my hands and wet on my face when I struggled to get up. I was lying in someone's blood.
A scream clawed its way out of my throat.
The pickup flew over a pothole, and something dropped off the seat.
Arlo’s leash.
I screamed again, this time his name gritted between my teeth.
I didn't stop screaming until the jerking movement stopped. The doors opened, pale light hitting me in the face.
Flashlight. Warm arms wrapped around me, pulling me from the car, and then, pulling me by my hair, into our old tree house. It was always our secret place, our saving grace on the edge of town.
The flickering candlelight caught me off guard, illuminating my surroundings.
Two bodies slumped over each other, lying in stemming red.
I felt suffocated, like I was going to die. I screamed, and that warm hand cradled my mouth again, gagging my cries.
Violet and Jules.
There was something wrong with them. And it was only when I forced myself to look closer, when I realized their insides had been carved out, heart, stomach, everything, pulled out.
There was paper on the floor.
No, not paper. Envelopes.
Envelopes stuffed with gore, bright red leaking through white.
Shuffling back, my brain was too slow to react, while my body was trying to vault to my feet, only to be violently pulled back by my ponytail.
I felt his fingers twining around my hair, revelling in my screams.
With another tug, my head was forced forwards.
Orange candlelight felt almost homely, this time lighting up a third body.
Lying on their back, curled up, pooling scarlet dried into the floorboards, their wrists restricted with duct-tape.
I could feel blood underneath me, sticky, a congealing paste.
“Do you know what happened on October 3rd, 1987, in our town?”
Lucy Prescott stood over me, her arms folded across her chest.
I managed to shake my head, when she grabbed Ben’s legs, dragging him under the candlelight. I dazedly watched her stroke the blade of a carving knife, the teeth already stained scarlet. “The intestine murders.” Lucy hummed, tracing the knife down the floorboards.
“A man murdered two high school girls, carving out their insides and sending their pieces to their loved ones.”
Lucy's eyes found mine, ignited in a familiar gleam. I saw it in Principal Marrow’s office. Then the swimming pool. The cafeteria. “It was the sheriff's only murder case, Panda. Ever since then, our town has been boring. There's no mysteries to solve. Nothing to find.”
The girl jumped to her feet, retrieving a blood stained envelope.
She held it up, a smile curved on her lips. The girl turned around, and I heard a horrific squelching sound. Lucy held up a bright red sausage, ripped into it, and slipped it into the white paper.
“But I can change that.” she said, in a giggle.
“I can create a real serial killer, who we can hunt down together.”
Lucy stabbed the blade into the floor, laughing.
“Or! I can bring a fan-favorite back! I can bring the intestine killer back from the dead!”
Her gaze flicked to the others. “There are casualties, of course. The story is, I was kidnapped with Ben, Violet, and Jules. The scary intestine killer killed them, and I managed to get away.”
Lucy shuffled over to me, her eyes wide. “Then! He came back and struck again!”
With those words, she shoved me onto my back.
“First he took Violet,” Lucy hummed, tracing the blade down my shirt.
“Then… Jules.” I squeezed my eyes shut, pulling at the restraints around my wrists. “Then Ben.” her breath tickled my cheek. “And finally… Panda.”
Lucy lifted the knife, and I accepted my death.
Until a low rumble in my ears.
Shouting.
Thundering footsteps, followed by the pitter-patter of paws.
“Lucy!” The sheriff was screaming, and the girl stumbled to her feet, the knife slipping from her fingers. Lucy stumbled, tripping over Ben’s body.
“He got away!” she shrieked. “He…he killed them! Oh, god, please help me!”
I don't think Lucy even realised the traces she'd left behind.
The blood slick on her fingers, her manic, grinning smile full of mania.
I was looking for stars when an officer crouched over me.
I couldn't understand what she was saying.
Her voice was white noise.
“Rachel? Hey, try and sit up, honey. You Mom is on her way.”
Instead of listening to her, I curled into myself.
My gaze found Arlo sticking his nose in Ben’s hair, trying to nudge the boy awake.
I didn't fully register the next few days.
They went by in a confusing blur.
Part of me tried to eat, and spent hours with my head pressed against the toilet seat.
I could still see the slithering, scarlet remains of my friends every time I closed my eyes. There was so much red, soaked in that hunting orange light.
Blood that I could still see, a starless sky that stretched on forever.
Weeks went by.
Then months.
I think I turned 14. I wasn't sure. I didn't feel alive anymore.
I stood at my friend’s funerals with a single rose I dropped into their casket.
Violet’s mother was quick to cover the whole thing up.
Lucy's plan didn't work after all.
Our town’s murder cases stayed stagnant at one.
It's been four years since my friends were murdered by our ’Velma’.
Now, at seventeen, Mom asked if I wanted to visit Lucy in juvie.
I'm not even upset or angry anymore.
I want to know why.
Ben picked me up. Arlo was at his side, wagging his tail.
Ben was…different. He'd dumped his baseball cap and gotten a haircut, swapping his old wardrobe of drab colors for an attempt at changing style.
That day, he looked awkward in a short sleeved tee and shorts.
At school, Ben is no longer Bloody Ben.
Now, he is Survivor Ben.
I’m still Panda.
Every time I was with him, I felt like my soul was being sucked out.
Guilt so deep, so fucking painful, I lost my breath.
I live knowing that I immediately assumed it was him that day.
Ben was barely alive when I found him. Lucy had started to carve into him before remembering she needed me.
After admitting it to him, his lips formed a small smile.
“Can I tell you a secret?” He said to me, at sixteen.
"Yeah?"
Whatever he was going to say, Ben never told me.
Presently, I nodded at the dog’s new collar.
“Peppa Pig themed?”
The boy shrugged, ruffling Arlo’s ears. “FYI, he chose it.”
“It's cute.” I said. “Very… chic.”
We didn't speak the whole ride, but Ben did entangle his hand in mine.
We spent half an hour outside the detention centre. I was panicking, and Ben was trying to hide that he was panicking. In the end, we joined hands, and strode through the doors together.
Lucy greeted us with a wide smile. Just as psychotic.
The orange jumpsuit suited her, though I had zero idea why.
“Hey Arlo!” she giggled at the dog, and Ben pulled the pup onto his lap.
“Ben.” She sighed. “I wish I got to finish you. I would have loved to solve the mystery of your gutted corpse.”
Ben’s smile was wry. “Nice to see you too.”
Behind a glass screen, I asked Lucy one simple question.
“Why?”
Lucy didn't reply. Or she did, but it was just nonsensical bullshit.
But there was one thing she said has stuck with me, chilling me to the core.
I am fucking terrified of Lucy. Of what's she's done, and what she's capable of doing.
It was a throwaway line, and I don't even think Ben noticed.
Or he did, and was in denial.
Lucy's smile was wide, her eyes empty pools of nothing.
The exact same glint in Ben’s eyes.
Jules’s eyes.
Violet’s eyes.
Like something was gnawing away at their psyche, twisting and contorting it, filling them with darkness, poison, that was so vast, so endless, I had craved it as a child. I still don't know what it is.
But I'm going to find it.
Lucy's laugh was shrill, and next to me, Ben didn't move a muscle.
But he did smile.
Yes, my gang were psychos.
But I kind of maybe loved it.
“I don't even wear glasses!”

Ripping the bandaid off and posting this - eek. Originally posted V1 on my old account before promptly dox'ing myself on a local subreddit. Oops. Previous versions is here. Any feedback is much appreciated.
Dear AGENT NAME SPELLED CORRECTLY,
If sixteen-year-old Thea Dorner is ever going to escape from the shadow of her psychic sister Everlee, she’ll have to expose her as a fraud first. For Thea that means systematically overturning her sister’s most obvious lies: The one saying Thea has all the psychic talent of a soup spoon. That their house ghost, Henry, died years before he did. And the biggest lie of all - that Everlee sees ghosts, too.
Hidden in the fudged details of missing persons cases her sister has allegedly solved, Thea finds hints that whoever abducted and murdered Henry is responsible for dozens of other disappearances, and there’s no way Everlee doesn’t know it. The killer has a signature: a silver button left behind.
It’s exactly the sort of case to make headlines, and it’s practically built to prove Thea’s abilities, if she can solve it. But Thea is on a path that leads straight to a murderer. If she doesn’t use every single one of the talents and tricks her sister says she doesn’t have, all that will be left of both sisters is a pair of silver buttons in need of polish.
TO BUTTON FROM BONE is a YA horror novel complete at 80,000 words. Set in a world where ghosts are an everyday fixture and psychics aren’t a secret, it will appeal to fans looking for the obvious supernatural elements of Lockwood & Co or Rules for Vanishing, but built around a strained sister-relationship, like in Katie Alender’s Bad Girls Don’t Die series.
BIO HERE.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
MY NAME
And the first 300 words:
Chapter One
In my peripheral a candle flickered on the windowsill, threatening to go out, nearly spent as dawn rapidly approached. Not a spirit trying the defenses of the small attic window in the early morning light, just the daily end of the candle’s life. Throughout the house, in every windowsill, candles would be doing the same dying dance. Every house on the street, every street in the city. It was routine, like locking a door at night, or wearing a seat belt.
“Thea?”
It was soft, like it was most of the time. Like somehow the incompleteness of my name made it taxing for my mother to say. Not Theodora – not Theodosia – and no middle name to speak of. Just Thea Dorner, plain and simple.
“Thea?” Louder, like she might approach the stairs.
The problem was, there was no way I was going to wear the hand-me-down dress laid out on my bed. It belonged to my sister Coral first, because Bianca had died in the one our mother had bought for her. After that it tipped through my other three sisters’ hands for their own aptitude tests before being forgotten in the back of a closet.
Once, it was soft lace over a whisper-light slip. Simple. Perfect, even. But that was before it sank into a permanent state of gray, faded and all stretched out.
I didn’t have to try it on to know I couldn’t wear it. Not as my funeral dress.
“Hello?” The voice was still soft, but I could hear the annoyance as my mother settled her weight onto the bottom step. If she had to come up, she’d ask questions. Like why I needed a black dress.
The jig, as they say, would be up.
“I’m not ready!”
#
​

I'm 17 years old. Ever since I was 11, I've had huge boobs. I wear a 32 DD minimizer bras but I know that's definitely not the correct band or bea size, I have to tighten it to the max and even then my boobs don't fit in the bra. I am very slim, to the point where extra small sized clothes are usually still way big, and my boobs look HUGE on me. I think 26 H might be a lot more accurate after looking at the Irish Bra Lady account after seeing it mentioned in this sub. I've been insecure about my breasts since I first got them, so for like 6 years now, to the point where multiple times they almost brought me to an eating disorder to try to get rid of the 'fat' (which I know now is impossible, i'm currently 5'2 and 102 and I've always been very thin and I still have huge boobs, so it really isn't fat I guess). The thing is, no clothes fit me, because anything that fits my torso correctly is tight around my boobs, it makes me unable to wear the trendy, form fitting clothes for girls my age. If I want to wear something tight to show off my waist it makes my boobs look like humongous things that jump out to anyone, and if i wear t shirts or anything NOT form fitting they make me look super duper wide and just odd. I've come out of stores crying because all the dresses and cute tops aren't made for my body, because they believe that most petite girls have small boobs. No one in real life understands, they think I should feel grateful even though they make me deeply insecure, have made me cry more times than I can count, make me feel terrible about my appearance and ashamed. In real life Ive never met someone I feel looks as 'disproportionate' as I feel I look, not even a lady on the street. I'm embarrassed to even wear bathing one piece bathing suits, and two pieces just straight up don't fit. It's so 'bad' that even once a stranger (an adult woman) commented on it. My mother says that I should wait at least til i've been an adult for a bit because supposedly in your 20s your body shape changes and I won't be as slim and maybe my boobs will look less 'disproportionate' but I highly doubt that, and would like a reduction as soon as I turn 18 if I can get it. But how should I go about this? And do you think it's true what my mother said? I'm also terrified of having my boobs be too small after reduction, I don't want them to be too small I just want them to be proportionate looking so they don't jump out of people and prevent me from wearing all clothes ever made. Do you guys have suggestions on what might be proportionate size on someone of my body? I have mild back pain too, on my upper back, practically 24/7, but I'll admit that's the least of my reasons, my main reason is that i've been insecure for so long and it ruins my confidence because otherwise i'm very happy with my body type and my appearance.

I live in a basement apartment. There is 4 units all 2 bedroom on the basement level. May 24th water started seeping in through the walls. I had to leave for work so put my cats in the bathroom and hoped for the best. I called my landlord but no answer. He then texted that he was on his way. When I got home from work, there was a company there sucking out water and putting in floor fans. My stuff was everywhere. The cats were freaking out. The water got so high that it was in there litter box. I had about 17 fans in my apartment. I found my neighbors and they said that it was the sump pump. Our landlord put a new one in last summer but it was too small and the alarm would go off pretty frequently. He knew about this issue but did not do anything about it. With that, insurance is not covering anything. He has not been keeping us updated. We were not able to use any plug ins due to all of the fans being plugged in, it could blow a fuse. We all had to go find somewhere else to live for the night.. which turned out to be a week now. I thankfully had a friend that was willing to take me in for a little. Others found hotels. All the floors were ripped up in the other apartments but since mine has vinyl flooring he wanted to try and keep them. On Wednesday he updated me and told me that the fans should be gone by Friday and I can move back in. When I got to my apartment on Wednesday to pick some things up, my living room floor was gone and I was sticking to the floor due to vinyl glue. I was very agitated as he told me they were not removing them. Since they did, the flooring guys can’t come until June 10th. I consider the apartment unlivable due to having animals and the floor is sticky. All of my baseboards got torn off and laid on my bed and clothes and shower. I want to know people’s thoughts and opinions on this. He said he has no money to give us since he’s paying for it all. I want to offer him less money for rent to in June. He told me I could just end my lease now and move instead. My lease is up at the end of June and I am moving two hours away so I needed this apartment for one more month. What should I do?

I have been working at my center for almost 6 months and I’m the lead in the Three’s room. I absolutely love my job and I was excited when my director told me two months ago that there was a spot for my daughter (1 year old/ toddler room) finally open. I got my daughter signed up and she’s been coming for about a month. Everything is going pretty well however every day somebody says something about her weight.
My daughter was 10 pounds at birth. I was a 10 pound baby and so were my siblings so I was expecting to have a larger baby due to my genetics. I had a c-section and I remember when they pulled her out the anesthesiologist saying “omg that’s a 6 month old”. I get that it’s a joke but Jesus Christ lady I just had a baby ripped out from me. My family always would say how “huge” she is and I would just would kind of fake laugh.
Fast forward to now- the infant teacher on my daughters first day said “wow she’s pretty fat which means she’s a good eater”. I know she meant well but I wasn’t expecting someone to just straight out call my baby fat. Everyday when I drop her off her teachers call her chunky monkey, big girl or talk about her large belly. Maybe I’m being over dramatic but I’m so annoyed with people talking about her weight. Yes she is a larger child she’s in the 70th percentile for both weight and height but it doesn’t need to be talked about constantly. How should I go about this since I do work with her teachers, not directly but in the same building. I don’t want to make a big deal out of this but just want it to stop. Please send any suggestions, thanks <3

TW ⚠️

For privacy reasons, I’ll call my daughter Ava and my brother Jack.
On Thursday evening, 2 days ago, I (23F), had gone over to my parents house to visit my daughter. She is only 18 months old (1 year and 6 months). She has been living with my parents for the past 6 months due to my unstable mental health. It was agreed between us, and a social worker, that my daughter would reside with them until I get better. I only live a two minute walk away from my parents house, which is extremely convenient because it means I’m only around the corner from my daughter. On the 23rd of May (last week), I had a breakdown and ended up in A&E after overdosing and expressing that I wanted to end my life. A couple days later, slowly, my mood started to improve. I decided to get up out of bed and have a productive day, as prior to this I just stayed locked up in my apartment crying endlessly. I went to the gym, came home and ate, then decided to visit my daughter as I hadn’t seen her in about 3 days.
I open the door to my parents house, and walk into the living room. The house was really quiet, usually my daughter is in the living room watching TV or playing with her toys (all of her toys are in the living room). I walk into the dining room, and my dad is sat by the computer. I say hi, then go upstairs. I go into my sisters room and ask her where my daughter is and she tells me that she is in my brothers room, so that’s where I head next. I’ve never really liked the fact that my brother brings Ava into his room, because it is extremely small. There is no room for my daughter to run around and play, it’s a very confined space. Anyways, I open the door and my daughter comes over to me. She’s fully dressed and seems fine, but then I look up and notice that my brother is sat down on a chair by his desk, with his pants pulled all the way down by his ankles, a bowl of food in one hand (feeding my daughter) and his phone in the other… it seemed as though he was on a phone call. Anyways, I ask him if he is feeding her (stupid question as I can see the bowl of her food in his hand - I was just in shock at what else I was seeing and didn’t even know what to say at this point). He says “yeah”, stands up and hands me the bowl, walks back to the seat and pulls his pants up. I leave the room with my daughter to go downstairs. I sit down, continue feeding her for about a minute, until what I just witnessed starts to really sink in. I put the food down and take her outside into the garden, because I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Once outside I start breaking down with panic at a complete loss on what to do or think.
The thing is, I’ve had a bad feeling about my brother for a while. Something about his presence around my daughter makes me feel uneasy. He hasn’t necessarily done anything substantial (apart from what I saw on Thursday) to warrant this feeling, it was always just a gut instinct. Prior to this I’d observed that he is very affectionate towards my daughter, but this could have been interpreted as him being a good, attentive uncle. I didn’t exactly see it that way, something just seemed a bit amiss. I thought maybe I was just being paranoid though, so I asked my ex (the father, and partner at the time) to observe my brother around my daughter and let me know if he gets the same feeling I do. His feedback was basically along the lines of “I can sort of see why you would be concerned, he is quite close to her, but I just think your brother is a bit weird. He’s not like your usual typical guy. He clearly has a softer side, maybe because he grew up with only sisters. I don’t think he necessarily means any harm, it’s a big allegation and he hasn’t done anything to indicate that level of thinking. Also, Ava is a very young baby, not saying babies don’t get targeted, but usually paedophiles go after children who are a bit older like toddler age.” Even though I kept that response in mind, I still didn’t really feel comfortable with leaving my daughter around my brother, (she was about 7 months old at the time and still living with me), so I stopped letting her stay at my parents house unless I was present too. My mom noticed this and asked me “how come we haven’t seen Ava in a while? I’d love to babysit whilst you go out, we all miss her, especially Jack!” Around this time I had a really vivid nightmare, it was so bad that when I woke up I felt physically sick, it almost bought me to tears. I can’t remember what exactly had happened in the dream because this was almost a year ago now, but it was involving inappropriate sexual behaviour from my brother towards my daughter. I told my mom that I had a bad dream, and that’s why I didn’t want to bring my daughter around anymore. My mom is quite spiritual, I grew up in a Christian household so it’s not uncommon for dreams to have meaning to us. Anyways, she kept asking me what the dream was, but I didn’t tell her because…. How do I even begin to ?????!
To be a bit more specific on why I became suspicious of brother - he used to ask to see pictures of her, offer to change her nappy, and just jump at any opportunity help with her. It struck me as odd, because he seemed more interested in her than my other two siblings (17yrs and 13yrs, both girls). I don’t know who would offer to change a babies dirty nappy, especially a 19 year old male. Even Ava’s own father would want to back out of changing her dirty nappies!! I also recall one time when Ava was sat on my brothers lap, playing with the drawstrings on his joggers. Her hand was basically in the reigon of his groin area whilst she was playing with the strings, and he just sat there and watched her. This made me feel very uncomfortable so I picked her up.
There was also one other occasion in particular that stood out to me and struck me as odd. Last year July, I was at my parents house visiting with my daughter. I was playfully showing her how to play the keyboard, when my brother approached me and held his arms out to take her. “I want to see her!” he said. I let him take her, but made a mental note in my mind that after 5 minutes, I was going to go and check on her. Something told me that I wouldn’t find them in the living room, (I was sat in the dining room with her at the time, which is adjacent to the living room) and I was right. I got up, opened the door to the living room and yep, just as I had suspected they weren’t there. It’s weird because like I mentioned earlier, it’s where she usually plays. There is limited access to hazards in there and in addition to that there is the TV and space for her to run around (well crawl at that point in time) and play. I go upstairs, and I find my brother in my parents room, in the dark (lights turned off, curtains closed) holding Ava with one arm and his phone in the other. I ask him what he’s doing and he says he is putting her for a nap. I take her from him and go back downstairs. Bare in mind this was probably around 2pm, it wasn’t her nap time, she wasn’t even living with my parents at that point. She was perfectly fine in my arms playing with the keyboard, why did my brother randomly decide to take her upstairs for a nap?
I’m not close with my brother, and I don’t live with my family, so I can’t give much detail on his personality or habits. What I do know, is that he is very reserved. He spends a lot of time isolated in his room, and when we are all together as a family watching TV or just talking in general, he isn’t involved. If we ever go out together, he doesn’t come. He chooses to just stay in his room. Something about his aura, even when he isn’t around my daughter, makes me feel uneasy. I don’t really talk to him, if we do it’s only a short exchange.
Anyways, given what happened on Thursday, the police has been notified. What had happened was, I took my daughter back to my apartment (which then alarmed my family because due to my mental health there is a rule in place that I’m not supposed to be alone with Ava without another adult present). I called a good friend of mine, told him what I had witnessed, and asked him to meet me at my apartment ASAP to ensure that I was adhering to the rules. During this time, my brother showed up at my apartment, and told me to the open the door or he’d call the police. I didn’t want to engage with him in any way, shape or form so I told my friend (we’ll call him Sam) to call my brother and let him know that he didn’t need to be there because he was on his way and therefore I wouldn’t be alone with her. After this my brother left, and when Sam arrived I called my ex and told him what I saw. My ex doesn’t live in the same city anymore (he’s about 8 hours away) so there isn’t much he can really do, but obviously he was furious and very disturbed. My sister (17yrs) keeps calling my phone because she’s worried as to why I left the house with Ava, so I tell her to come over to my apartment, and upon her arrival I told her what I saw and she was in shock. I asked her if she had ever witnessed any strange behaviour from my brother prior to this, and she said no, but that he does bring Ava up to his room sometimes.
Sam phones my mother (who is at work) and explains the situation. My mom tells us that she’s leaving work, and to wait until she gets here to discuss this further with my brother. My mom was working in a different city about an hour away, and the plan was for my dad to go and pick her up. My ex didn’t like this idea and says we need to call the police ASAP. Sam, my sister and I decide to call my brother and confront him. I call him, and before I can say anything, he says “Hi, so I know what’s going on, mom just called me and told me. I can’t believe you’d think that. I know what it looks like, but it’s not that.”
My response was - “so you’re admitting that you were feeding her in your room with your pants pulled all the way down???!” He confirmed that’s what I saw, and then said something along the lines of not wanting Ava to touch his pants because she’d get them dirty. I know that’s bullshit, because Ava wasn’t even picking up the food. My brother was feeding her with a spoon, so how could she get his pants dirty if she wasn’t even touching the food? If he didn’t want his pants to get dirty, why didn’t he take them off completely and put something else on? Why not put a towel or muslin cloth over your lap? Nothing about his response is adding up in my mind.
I end the call with him because at this point I feel sick to my stomach, and I call the police. My mom arrives a while later, and shortly after her arrival a police officer shows up. Whilst he is questioning us, other officers turn up at my parents house and arrest my brother. They took my daughters clothes and my brothers phone, and questioned him the following day. He was released yesterday under police bail, and is not allowed to return to my parents house within the next 3 months. He has been sent to live with a relative about an hour away. The official date that he is allowed to leave and come back, is actually on my birthday.
Based on the interview they had with my brother, the police have said that they won’t be carrying out a physical examination on my daughter. I’m glad in a way, because I know it would have probably been very invasive, and I don’t particularly think they are going to find any evidence on her, because when I entered the room she was fully dressed. My concern is what he could have been potentially getting her to do to him, if you catch my drift. I strongly think that they should investigate his devices. They still have his phone, however his laptop was left at my parents house. My mom said that she would ask my brother for the password to the laptop, so that we can look through it for my peace of mind. Apparently my brother refused to this, and as I write this my mother is currently on her way to visit my brother and give him is laptop.
As you can imagine, this whole situation is very unsettling. Tensions are elevated, and there is a blatant vibe of awkwardness in the house. My mother has made it clear that she is disappointed with me for not notifying her first and contacting the authorities. She’s worried that this is going to go on my brother’s record and ruin his future, along with any possibility of him finding employment. Whilst I can understand that it is upsetting to even think that your son could be capable of POTENTIALLY doing something so outrageous, I feel as though she isn’t understanding how I feel. Given the circumstances I believe that my brother should be open to giving the password for his laptop up to put my mind at ease, but according to my mom he isn’t open to this idea because he’s angry with me. I know his laptop is his own private property… but in this situation, I personally would be more concerned about proving my innocence than breaching my privacy.
If we are being honest, I don’t even want to go through the laptop - that was my mother’s idea. Since my mom had informed my brother about everything, he had at least a good 2 hours to delete anything incriminating on the laptop, IF there was even anything on there to begin with. I think the laptop should be handed over to the authorities so that they can search it, because they can recover deleted files if needs be. But my mother has decided to give it my brother because ‘it’s his only means of communicating with her’ since the police have his phone. I pointed out that that isn’t necessarily true, because I overheard her talking to him earlier on phone (he was calling from the relatives phone) and she got frustrated with me. I also overheard her speaking with her friend on the phone last night, and she was asking her friend for advice on whether or not she should give the laptop to the police or just keep it. Her friend told her to keep it, because ‘if the police needed it they would have taken it in the first place’.
My mother isn’t being totally transparent with me either, because she initially tried to make it seem as though she hadn’t asked my brother for the password at all, but my sister pointed out that she had. I feel as though my mother is feeling sorry for my brother and wanting to make him feel as comfortable as possible whilst he is away at our relatives house, but she isn’t thinking about how disturbing it was for me to walk in and see my daughter in a small enclosed room with him, sat on a chair with his pants pulled all the way down. My brother is a 20 year old man that knows right from wrong. He even admitted on the phone that ‘he knows what it looked liked’ from my perspective. Everybody knows that what I saw was odd, no matter the context. My daughter is only 18 months old, she can’t defend herself or speak up for herself. She is only just learning her first words. So why does it seem like majority of my family only have my brother’s best interests at heart?
I understand that I could be wrong, maybe I did misread the situation. Maybe I did jump to conclusions based on my prior suspicions. Maybe he is innocent... and if that’s the case I will apologise for putting him through the ordeal of being arrested. I did make it clear to the police that I wasn’t accusing my brother of rape, all I did was report everything that I saw and express my concern. Based on how my mother and some other family members are acting, I’m starting to doubt myself and question if I did the right thing. It’s a very confusing time right now, and I’m not sure what the outcome of all of this will be. What I know for certain is, I’ve definitely caused a rift in the family, and we probably won’t recover from this. I never really had a relationship with my brother before this, but it will definitely be very awkward going forward - we’ll probably never have one. I’m not sure what to do, think or feel. If anything, this has been a wake up call. I know now that suicide isn’t an option, I have to be here for my daughter. I’m all she has, and I need to be by her side to ensure she is safe. I feel incredibly guilty because if anything has happened to her whilst under my parents care, it’s my fault. I had my suspicions, I even went as far as to order a mini camera to place in my brothers room months ago, but I never went through with it. If I wasn’t so busy being depressed and self-destructive, she would have still been living with me, and none of this would have happened. My parents say that my daughter will probably be removed from the house and put into care because of everything that has happened. The idea of this worries me.
I’d like to know what anyone thinks of this situation… do you think I was just being paranoid this whole time about my brother? Or is there grounds for concern? Where do I go from here?
Thanks for reading this far and sorry for any typos or grammatical mistakes!
*side-note, I can’t say for certain if my brother was wearing boxers or not. I didn’t see any around his ankles where his pants were, and when he stood up his shirt was covering that area.

It took her into the next day, but she did come up with a plan. She was arguably one of the more brilliant minds on the ship, yet her hours of toiling yielded a conflicting result. Captain Tarkey paced back and forth, watching the note she had written on the island.
“I didn't go too far…did I? No, it's not that bad. It's not like it's a real threat,” Captain Tarkey said to herself. “He won't even know I wrote it. It is harmless.”
She picked up the note to reread what she wrote out loud.
Captain Tarkey,
You will pay for your treachery. Blood for blood, on the land of your ancestors, I will have my revenge.
Sincerely,
Your Doombringer
She looked over it again, examining it closely to ensure no stroke of her pen resembled her actual handwriting, rather than questioning the strangely polite and formal letter. There were better ways to make a threatening letter for the intent of getting Cam to accompany her planetside. In fact, there were better ways to simply get Cam to accompany her at all. None of those were deemed realistic to her overworked brain, so this is what she came up with. A fake assassination threat seemed like a logical choice with minimal downside.
“Why do I still have a bad feeling about this?” Captain Tarkey mused to herself and the door slid open. She threw her hands behind her back and stood up straight. The sudden interruption flustered her all the more when she realized it was Cam entering her place.
“Sorry I'm late,” Cam said. “I ran into Jack in the hallway.”
“Oh, it's alright. How are you feeling? When I found you sleeping on my couch, I was worried.”
That wasn't a dream? Shit. “I promise, that isn't normally like me.”
“You don't need to worry. I had no idea Parroon made humans sleepy. Vani told me when I called her to check on you.”
“Oh, that's good to know then.” His shoulders relaxed, relieved he hadn't developed narcolepsy. “Next time I want to knock myself out, I need to raid your refrigerator.”
“You're welcome anytime.” Captain Tarkey smiled, remembering the note still behind her back. “So, what were you and Jack talking about?”
“Just plans for when we get to Ohar. Jack can't leave until the second day after we hit orbit, but I see no reason to wait around for him. Just wish I knew what to do for a whole day.”
This was her moment. There would be no better time. She stowed the note in her waistband and took the shot she never thought would happen.
“Seeing as you're free, I was wondering if you would like to join me for the day? I'm visiting my parents and I'm sure they would love to meet you. They love hosting guests.”
Cam’s face elongated with intrigue. He wanted to see how locals lived and they would probably offer a place to stay for the night, which gave him more money to spend on silly souvenirs later. It sounded like a great idea, but he wanted to be careful not to impose.
“Would they mind on such short notice? I don't want to intrude or anything.”
“You won't be. You are my guest.”
“Okay then.” Cam nodded. “Is there anything I should be aware of, culturally? Like am I supposed to bring a gift or…”
“Nope. No gifts. The only thing I would say is don't wear your uniform. My mom thinks it makes our family seem more normal.”
Cam saluted her casually. “Can do. Wasn't planning on wearing it anyways.”
“Perfect,” Captain Tarkey said. “I have a lot to get done before we are cleared to land, so you can take the day off today.”
“Seriously? You don't mind?”
“Not at all. It will give you more time to plan the rest of your leave. Seeing as it's your first time, you will want to make it count.”
“Thanks, Banyani! I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“See you soon.” Captain Tarkey called back as Cam left. As per usual, once the door closed, she let out her true emotions. She punched the air and danced around her room. “Yes! He said yes!” He’s going to meet my family!”
Captain Tarkey pulled the letter out of her waistband, wadded it up into a ball, and drained the shot into the trashcan. The plan she spent hours on was nothing more than history. She was happy to rid herself of it. In hindsight, she knew the letter would only cause more problems than solutions long term. With it out of the way, she was free to relax and tell her parents the good news.
She went into her room and came back out with a slate, which she propped up on the island. Navigating through the contacts, she clicked on the one labeled ‘Home.’ The loading screen spun and a fun jingle played. Captain Tarkey was all smiles when the screen changed to her mom showing up on the screen.
Her mother, Gwendolyn, would pass as an older sister in the right light. Her cheeks were a tad plumper and her braid was thicker than both of her daughters’. Gwendolyn’s blue eyes sparkled upon seeing her daughter for the first time in far too long.
“Banyani, my beautiful girl, I was wondering when you were going to call. It is good to see you.”
“It is good to see you too, Mom.”
“Kenny, come over here. Banyani is calling,” Gwendolyn said to her husband, Kenton, in the other room before returning her focus back on her daughter. “How are you? When are you coming home?”
“I'm going to be there soon,” Captain Tarkey said, spotting her dad coming into frame. There was no mistaking his trim, salt and pepper beard or proud smile. She always felt his warmth radiate from a simple look, no matter how far away she was. “Hey Dad.”
“There's my little captain. You working hard up there?”
Gwendolyn slapped her husband's hand that rested gently on her shoulders. “Oh stop it. No talking about work you two. I haven't heard from you in ages. What is new in your life? Meet any cute boys?”
Captain Tarkey blushed. “Actually Mom, I was calling to let you know we will have one more joining us tomorrow.”
“Eeee! I knew you would find someone! What's his name? What does he do? How long have you been seeing him?” Gwendolyn rapidly fired off, unwilling to hide her excitement. Her dad was less enthused, keeping his poker face until more was said.
“Easy mom. We aren't dating, but I would hope after he gets to know me better, he might see me as more than just his boss.”
“His boss? He’s enlisted?” Kenton asked.
“Oh shhh you.” Gwendolyn waved him off. “Come on girl, details. Momma needs to know.”
Captain Tarkey smiled. “His name is Cameron, although he lets me call him Cam. And…he’s my personal security officer.”
“Oooh, what is that?” Gwendolyn asked, looking up and back at her husband who wore a disapproving gowl.
“Why does my daughter need a bodyguard?” Kenton asked plainly.
“She doesn't. It just gives her a reason for a late night booty call,” Vani said, coming into frame, leaning on her dad, while nibbling on something resembling celery.
“Vani? What are you doing there? We haven't gotten clearance yet.”
It wasn't entirely true. Captain Tarkey hadn't given the crew the approval to disembark. Clearance was given sometime in the early morning. She couldn't remember when exactly, since she was mostly focused on her trashed note.
Kenton turned his frustration toward the daughter on his shoulder. “You said she let you go early.”
“She didn't stop me. That's basically the same thing.” Vani took another bite of her crunchy vegetable. “So, you got the hot human to come to dinner. Please tell me you didn't order him to. That's tacky.”
“He’s a human!” Gwendolyn gasped and clapped her hands. “I have always wanted to meet a human!”
“First off, I didn't order him to. I asked him and he wanted to see you all. And second, Vani, which shuttle did you steal?”
“I’ll never tell.” Vani waved goodbye. “I’ll see you when you get here sis. Tell Cam I said hi.”
Captain Tarkey wanted to be mad at her sister for breaking several protocols, but she was too excited about bringing Cam tomorrow. She saw her mom happy as can be, but her dad was a different story.
“Banyani, this is a bad idea,” Kenton said. “You’re the captain.”
“And I think our daughter is responsible enough to make her own decisions.” Gwendolyn defended. “Don't listen to your father. If you like him, I say go for it. When are you two coming in?”
She was about to answer when another call came in. It was one she always dreaded to see. High Command.
Captain Tarkey sighed. “I'm getting another call I need to take. We’ll be there in the afternoon sometime tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow! Don't work too hard,” Gwendolyn said.
“I won't, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Captain Tarkey signed off and her finger floated over the screen to answer the next one. High Command was the last group she wanted to talk to, but she had a feeling this would happen. Making a new position is a rather irregular situation, which likely needed more explanation beyond the boilerplate form. Was she ready to give a plausible explanation for needing a bodyguard? No, but if she wanted Cam a little closer to her, she would need to be creative.
***
A bang came from below Lisa's cubicle desk as she hit her head on the countertop. Lisa let out the usual explicative and climbed back in her chair. The device on her desk was beginning to be far more than she bargained for. Cables ran under and over her desk, all going to other instruments of the trade. Many of the devices she was using were completely foreign to her months ago. Lisa caught on quick, but when it came to this, she felt frustratedly inadequate.
“Why won't you decrypt and make my life easier?”
A red light blinked on the device at a consistent pace. It was the most she was getting from it. No answer or, if it was an answer, it was speaking the wrong language. A blinking light wasn't exactly a language for any discernible person, alien or not.
“If you weren't the key to stopping this hacker, I would smash you. You understand me!”
Again, the device did not. The blinking continued as if it was mocking her, enjoying the sound of its own soulless and soundless voice. Computers were weird like that.
“I'm insane. I'm talking to a computer.” Lisa threw up her hands and stood up from her chair. “I need a break.”
Lisa left everything where it was and went for a walk around the ship. Normally, her go to brain cleanser was playing video games, but this was different. She didn't need a distraction. She needed to think. Her travels along the halls led her to one person she did not expect to find.
“Cam? What are you doing here?” Lisa asked, although happy to see a friendly face.
“I got the rest of the day off.”
“How did you swing that?”
“I guess she had a lot of work to do before we get into orbit. I don't blame her. I'm already going to be spending the next day with her. I’d want some time away from me too.”
Lisa smirked. “Sounds to me like she is preparing for more than our arrival.”
“What do you mean? Her parents are the ones hosting me.” Cam cocked his head. He truly was the epitome of clueless.
“You’re dense, you know that, right?”
Cam flexed his average looking bicep. “I mean, I have been working out lately. I wouldn't say dense. Built would be more like it–”
“You never thought for one second that she might like you?”
“Banyani? Like me? Come on, Lisa. Let's be realistic.”
“You’re right, you're not six one. Everyone knows women only want tall guys.”
“You calling me short?”
“I'm calling you dumb. Big difference, genius.”
“First you call me dumb, then you say I'm smart. Pick a lane.” He shoulder bumped her and she bumped him back.
Their friendly little razzing session ended up knocking loose some ideas for both of them, albeit about wildly different topics. Lisa was the first to verbalize her sudden epiphany.
“I think you are a genius,” Lisa said and began walking back to the IT office. “Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To crack open the device.”
Cam lengthen his stride to keep up with her. “Device? What device?”
“The one Jack took. Or have you already forgot?”
“No, I didn't forget…” I have no idea what she's talking about. Was I even there? Dang, that parrot meat really did a number on me.
Lisa opened the door and rushed to her cubicle, excited to try out her new theory. At her desk, she unplugged different cables and plugged in new ones with the urgency of a surgeon losing their patient. She switched over to her keyboard typing with the same speed and intensity. It was a lot for Cam to take in.
“What exactly are you doing?” Cam asked, hoping her explanation will fill in a lot of gaps.
“I am reversing the modular polarity, fixing the capacitor output, and injecting a revised version of code for decrypting. How did I not think of it sooner.”
Cam was fairly certain half of what she said was complete nonsense. It still didn't stop his amazement when the device light turned from red to green. Lisa kicked her seat back and jumped in the air.
“Yes! I was close all along!”
“You did it?” Cam said, inching closer with his pointer finger to poke the device.
Lisa swatted his hand. “Don't touch it. I don't want you screwing it up.”
“How can touching it screw it up?”
“Ever heard of static electricity?”
“Nope,” Cam said, shocking Lisa when he turned his finger on her.
“Hey,” Lisa said. “See what I mean. You could've fried it.”
“How do you know all this stuff?”
“I'm just gifted, I guess.”
“I wish I was gifted at my job.”
“You must not be doing too bad. The captain is still alive.”
Cam shrugged. “She did most of the fighting. All I did was help her up when she fell.”
“You make a good point. Better start filling out your registration paperwork,” Lisa mocked.
“No way. It pays too well,” Cam said.
“Then you're buying us drinks when we get to the beach.”
“Only for you. If I know Jack, he’ll pick the most expensive bottle.”
“Don't you owe him money though?”
“Exactly why I'm not paying for his. He’ll end up owing me money. And we both know he won't pay that back,” Cam said and made his way to the door.
“Where are you going?”
“It looks like you got your hands full. I'm going to get ready for tomorrow.”
Lisa waved. “Make sure you dress up nice for the in-laws.”
“Not my in-laws.”
“Not yet.”
Cam shook his head, but it didn't shake the thoughts already planted there. Banyani doesn't actually like me…does she? Naw, that's ridiculous. She's the captain and my boss. Lisa's just teasing me. Yeah, that's it…
***
Lisa had made some progress, but like all solutions in IT, sometimes the hardest thing to do was to wait and see. Nothing had failed yet, which was a good sign in her eyes. The negative was it gave time for her annoying partner to return.
“Get any farther on your little project?” Lotan asked, fully expecting her to say no.
“Did you go through those logs yet?”
“I did. Last entry was you and then naturally me as I swiped in. Otherwise, the other entries were all around the normal times engineering would be doing expected work.”
Lisa looked back at her screen, seeing the progress bar inching forward at a snail's pace. With the logs being a bust, this was her last chance at finding out who was there. Lotan didn't need an answer to his question, nor would he get one from her as Captain Tarkey called. Lisa tapped on her slate to answer.
“Lisa, good, you're still awake.”
Lisa lifted her slate to show Lotan in frame as well. “Yes, ma'am. We’re both still at it.”
Captain Tarkey paused for a moment, thankful Lisa clued her in on who else was with her. What she wanted to discuss was far from professional in nature.
“How is the progress?”
“It's coming along. I had Lotan check the security logs for a different lead, but he came back with nothing. Now I'm just stuck waiting for this device to be decrypted.”
“So, you have some time to see me in my quarters?”
“Of course we do, ma’am,” Lotan said.
“Sorry, I was talking to Specialist Smots.”
“I guess so.”
“Good. Meet me here as soon as you can. And Specialist Lotan, if anything changes on the status of that device, you let me know right away.”
Lotan saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good,” Captain Tarkey said. “Lisa, I’ll see you soon.”
The screen went blank and Lisa sprung up from her chair. She hoisted her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. Lisa had not the slightest idea why she was needed, but it seemed important. It wasn't long before she found herself at Captain Tarkey‘s door. She knocked and heard a muffled, “Come in.”
Lisa swiped the door, not actually thinking it would open for her, but it did. “Wow, since when did I get access?”
She continued inside, where she heard clothes hangers rattling in the other room and plops of heavy cloth hitting the floor. Lisa stepped cautiously to the noise, worried something could be wrong.
“Captain? Is everything alright?”
“I think I need some help,” Captain Tarkey admitted. Lisa came into her room, where a tornado had hit.
Uniforms were tossed all over the bed and floor. Hangers were piled up and more casual clothes littered the floor. Captain Tarkey held two tops up, one purple with thin straps and the other, a blue blouse with a floral design.
“I don't know what I'm doing?”
“Neither do I,” Lisa said. “Care to explain?”
“I'm trying to figure out what to wear tomorrow. I can't remember the last time I wore anything other than my uniform.”
“I'm not really the best person to ask.”
“No, you are.” Captain Tarkey lowered her clothing choices and grabbed Lisa's shoulders. “Please, you're the only one I can turn to.”
Lisa was surprised by the sudden ambush, yet it wasn't unwelcomed. It beat staring at the slow progress bar and Captain Tarkey genuinely valued her opinion. She never got that vibe from other women she had known.
“Are you okay with me being brutally honest?” Lisa asked.
“I wouldn't ask if I didn't. Last thing I want is to screw this up. Tomorrow is my big opportunity to show Cam I'm more than a captain.”
“Okay, I'll–”
Captain Tarkey gave her a big hug. It wasn't like her to act so impulsive, but she felt Lisa agreeing would be huge for wooing Cam. She recoiled fast and held up the two outfits again, excited to hear Lisa's input.
“What are you two doing tomorrow?”
“I was planning on doing some sightseeing and then visiting my parents for dinner.”
“Is it warm in Ohar?”
“Where my parents live it's a bit cooler, but otherwise fairly comfortable. I think it is twenty one degrees.”
She must be talking celsius. I definitely wouldn't wear either in twenty one degrees fahrenheit.
“They both look cute. Are you planning on wearing leggings?”
“Yes…that isn't too sexual, is it? I don't want him to think I’m a slut.”
“Then go with the blouse. Or you could wear skinny jeans. I never saw them as overly sexual.”
Captain Tarkey went back to her bed and found a pair of white jeans that resembled her uniform pants. “Would these work?”
“I don't see why not?”
Captain Tarkey began putting on the clothes and Lisa sat down on the bed, looking at all the other sad unselected options on the floor. The shirts she had were all rather plain and wrinkled, while her uniforms were all pristine and eerily similar.
“Did you just dig all these clothes out of your dresser or something?” Lisa asked.
“I had to raid my sister's closet. She has much better clothes than me,” Captain Tarkey said, squeezing into her skinny jeans. “She didn't leave much behind to pick from.”
“Leave behind? Where did she go?”
“She stole a shuttle and is already at our parent's place. When I find out how she did it, then I'll consider returning her clothes.”
Lisa chuckled at the innocent level of retaliation. “Couldn't you just reprimand her or something?”
“Tried it. Doesn't work. I threw her in the brig once. Not making that mistake again.”
Lisa bounced on the bed closer to her, eager to hear more. “Okay, there is a story there. Spill it.”
“It was strange. One day, out of the blue, she decided to dress up in my uniform and go give orders on the bridge.”
“Why would she do that? Is she power hungry?” Lisa asked, not knowing anything about Vani.
Captain Tarkey shook her head. “No, she kept blaming it on ‘a Halloween’, whatever that is.”
Lisa burst out in laughter. How could she not? These aliens may have spoken English, but their understanding of human holidays was severely lacking.
“What did I say?”
“Sorry. Nothing. Please continue,” Lisa said, trying to get her composure back.
Captain Tarkey continued, despite the new questions forming in her head. “The problem was, it wasn't a punishment for her. She liked not having to work and somehow still found a way to have sex with guys.”
“No way, how is that possible? Don't you put men and women in different cells?”
“All I'm going to say is tentacles reach much farther than I thought.”
Vani sounds like a wild one. “Speaking of being pleasured, you need to tell me about your hair situation. How does that work exactly?”
Captain Tarkey scratched her head, unsure how to phrase it for her to understand when an idea popped in her head. She slapped the ends of Lisa's hair, getting a minimal response.
“You didn't feel anything did you?”
“Not really.”
“If I pulled on your hair, where do you feel it?”
“In my scalp.”
“See, that's where we are different. I feel it through my whole spine or in some cases my entire body. A simple slap that did nothing for you would tense my back muscles.”
“Really?” Lisa said, looking at Captain Tarkey’s braid.
“Our hair is very sensitive. Mine is less sensitive than most, but still.”
“So, do you like turn yourself on when brushing your hair in the morning?”
Captain Tarkey laughed. “Maybe Vani does. No, for me, the only way that is happening is if I pull on it really hard.”
“Or Cam touches you anywhere?” Lisa teased.
“Not anywhere…” Captain Tarkey blushed.
“You're right. From where I'm sitting, he doesn't even need to touch you.”
“I'm that obvious?” Her voice almost whined and fears entered her mind. Lisa was quick to offer some assurance.
“Unfortunately, Cam is oblivious. I did put in a good word for you.”
Captain Tarkey lit up. “You did?”
“I got him thinking, at least I think so. Hard to tell with him sometimes.” Lisa hadn't finished her sentence for longer than a millisecond before feeling Captain Tarkey’s arms wrap tightly around her.
“Thank you, Lisa. I'm so glad to have a friend like you.”
Lisa patted her on the back, finding it a little hard to breathe with the death grip around her ribs. Despite the minor discomfort, it was nice to feel a warm embrace for a change.
“Me too.”
***
[Previous] Next

I am somewhat fatigued right now because, even though I’ve been on my break from work this week, I’ve been staying up until 2am (3am this morning.) I don’t know why I keep on doing it. I suppose that on some level, I’m too anxious to fall asleep. I have depression, anxiety, and PTSD - I have seen my parents change over the years, or rather I have realized that they are not who I thought they were when I was a child (when I was about 13-14, I first realized this when they failed to handle the situation effectively when my older brother was displaying signs that he was about to have a mental break. He did have one, and is presently in rehab. My mother has gone from being, in my eyes at least, a maternal-seeming happy woman to an astoundingly unhealthy monster who walks around shouting about how she “had” to quit her job because she refused to take the vaccine. I still live with my parents while taking community college courses, but seeing your parents… your entire family, really, change like that is traumatic, and I think it takes a toll on you. I think that these changes have definitely contributed to my issues in setting my sleeping schedule straight over the last four or so years.)
I still have high functioning depression anyhow, according to my former therapist (saw her in high school.) In my case, I think it helps that I do feel my “childhood” (5-9) was as stable as it could have been. I wasn’t abused in any sense at those ages. When I was especially depressed in middle and high school, I always looked back on that time frame nostalgically (though ever since I graduated from high school - almost a year ago today - I notice I’ve started to move away from thinking of elementary school nostalgically, because I think working with children has helped me realize that I am just at a completely different stage of development, and don’t really want to go back to the days wherein my parents, who I now fully understand I can’t trust, were taking care of me. When I was little, I think they had good intentions, but still, the way I’ve seen them change - or actually, when considering what they’ve both admitted about their pasts, perhaps simply revert back to the way they were before I was born - when I really stop and think about it, almost taints my childhood somewhat. Just a little bit.)
When unhealthy in the past, I have found myself longing to be in a different place and time. When I was younger, I think I almost kind of wanted to be a groupie for 70s rock n roll stars, kind of like Lori Maddox or Penny lane in “almost famous” - I knew it was bad and tragic and that I’d have hated it, but I wanted to be around a star, a famous person, I wanted to be impulsive and get wrapped up in something that really would have been no good for me. I’m actually an ISFJ, and was too afraid to ever actually get involved in something dangerous like that. It was around about middle school that I started thinking like that, after seeing films like “taxi driver” (though I know Iris was a prostitute.) It’s hard for me to figure out, even now, why I’d ever desired this to any extent. In elementary school, and 6th grade, I was actually so strait laced due to my mother and grandmother’s religious beliefs that I was afraid to swear. I remember thinking lowly of those who did swear, it had really been ingrained in me as a child that swearing was wrong (though of course, my hypocritical parents swear all the time.) In middle school, I started to swear, and remember feeling rebellious when I did, like I was scratching an awful itch. I’d still never want my parents to hear me swear, even as an adult, for some reason.
When I was dealing with a bad case of body dysmorphia in high school, I remember crying once about how no one had ever had a crush on me (supposedly, I’ve learned since that two people have, but one may have lied to be nice and if she didn’t, on some level it doesn’t register for me as being… I don’t know, important because I wasn’t attracted to her. The other was my ex boyfriend, who I already had come to dislike and really dislike now that I’m older, have had more experiences with different people, and more time to think about how he treated me.) It partly stemmed from my former crush (who doesn’t register in my mind as being important now, which is why I almost feel kind of silly when thinking about how fixated I was on him when depressed) calling me a 5 and then a 4. I didn’t like him by junior yr when he had become average looking, and understand that if we’d dated (if he’d hypothetically had interest in me,) it really wouldn’t have worked out. We weren’t compatible, and he didn’t really have anything to offer me.
I feel just a little better about my appearance as an adult, since at least in my opinion a woman being thin or not overweight makes her average assuming she isn’t horrendously ugly. I’ve gotten a bit of attention from men as I’ve grown older, but am not actively trying to date because I feel like there’d need to be a particular set of circumstances for me to feel comfortable entering into a relationship with someone. I also want to get my life together first.
I take community college courses (normally, I’m not taking them this summer and will just be working instead,) but have become a bit more depressed lately because I’ve realized that I really don’t know what I’m doing with my life. I have about $12000 saved, have been working for almost a year as an educator… but I don’t know what I want to major in, and I’m not positive that teaching is the path for me. There are plenty of things I like about it, but I feel like I’m changing and I know I’ll have more responsibility when work starts back on Monday. I’m honestly afraid to return, but am trying to avoid thinking about it.
I did obtain my raise ($19/hr instead of $17/hr starting Monday) after meeting with my boss a little over a week ago (I’d grown angry because I’d started to feel after learning that my responsibilities in regards to a child who has different needs would increase that I wasn’t valued. I was already going to receive a $1 dollar raise to $18/hr for being punctual, but I was overwhelmed last Monday after being told that the child who has a different set of needs - who, if I’m being honest, everyone knows requires more energy to care for - would be unexpectedly switched into my group after hearing at first that they’d be in the group of two more experienced teachers.)
I remember my mother described me as having been a “nervous child” even when I was 3. When I was younger (pre-depression,) I remember having been fun loving, I had a public YouTube channel and asked my mother to post videos of me doing handstands. My best friend was an ESFP 7 and we got on well until I became depressed at 9 (nothing “happened” to me, we just temporarily stayed in a hotel and I realized that one day, I’d have to move away from home for good. That I’d grow older, that I’d eventually die, that my parents would eventually die, that everyone and everything around me would change. Made me depressed. When I was about ten, I started to really worry about finances because of it, about my future as I had already grown up in a low income family. I remember I started to study to enter a higher math class when I was in 4th grade due to these fears, but also because I didn’t like feeling like I was stupid.
I don’t take particularly great care of my appearance. I probably look unkempt a fair amount of the time. If asked to dress up, I have an idea of which outfits I look my best in, and will wear them assuming they are appropriate for the occasion (when I was in middle school and really throughout most of high school, I didn’t care about fashion at all. My former best friend and a few other girls who I fell out with even insulted my fashion sense in middle school - it was a pretty juvenile comment though, about me dressing like I was younger, which is something I still probably do sometimes.) Now that I’m older, I care about fashion more, and when I have enough money saved up (I never spend what’s in my savings account, and won’t until I’ve hit $15000,) I plan to go shopping for new clothing items. Ideally vintage clothing items, I’ve always liked 1950s fashion but now that I’m older I’ve developed a greater appreciation for 70s fashion. I also think that within the past year, now that I’m more developed physically, I’ve gained a better idea of what kind of outfits will show off my figure.
When I have enough money and more energy, I want to develop my own sense of style, perhaps inspired by the looks of vintage actresses.
View Poll

For a while now, it's felt like my mum was more of a friend than a mother sometimes with the way she would go on.
I remember when I was very young, around 11, we were in a store and she was obsessed with the idea of getting extra money. She wanted to do this online thing where she would dominate men or something, it was fucking weird. She went into detail about how she was researching it and instead of telling these men to so sexual stuff, she would make them do good things like pick up litter etc. When we were in this store, she made me look at the dog collars together and choose one out, I remember she even asked me if she thought it would be a good fit for the guys.
She constantly goes on about her only fans now, I don't know why she wants me to know about it so much. She keeps on going into detail about what her plans are for photos and stuff and I just think it's very odd that she's telling me about it all. She's doing everything in her power to stop my brother from finding out, he's in his 20s, I don't understand why she's so happy to let their minor child know about it but not him. I remember when she was first starting it up, she got offended because I didn't want to wear a cosplay she used for one of her photoshoots. Another time she was going on about her plans for another cosplay thing, but this character happened to be a child, which I pointed out to be weird that she would think to do that. Her response to that was "yeah, if he was a girl." Like wtf.
She wanted me to help take photos for her aswell, the thing is these were going to be out in public around a store that was really close to our home. She kept on saying it was fine if I didn't want to and that the photos weren't going to be sexual, but once I said no she seemed a bit upset. Which I don't understand because even if the photos aren't explicitly sexual, it's still a fetish thing that she wanted me to take pictures off. She also tends to take photos of her chest when other people are around. Like once I was sitting next to her and she just started taking photos of herself for her onlyfans, (I know this because I asked and she said that was what they were for), I'm just worried because I think I was in the frame a bit. Another time we were at my grandparents and she started taking obvious photos of her chest in front of me and my grandma. The thing that makes me feel sick is that she was wearing one of my shirts when taking them.
I remember once which was also recent, she just randomly told me about how she was writing porn or something. I don't know why she felt the need to tell me that.
She got mad when I wouldn't share my underwear with her. She tried to hide her anger but I could just tell she was frustrated when I said no. I remember her arguing with me, saying something like how she let's me share her clothes all the time. (Which isn't exactly true, she just gives me shirts that she doesn't want anymore from time to time.) I don't know if that's normal though and if anyone else shares their underwear with their parents. But I just think it's more uncomfortable than sharing clothes.
My parents always used to expose me to their sex lives, I remember once when I was 11, after they finally stopped I heard my stepdad say a comment about how he liked the choker my mum was wearing. The thing is, the choker she was wearing was my choker. It's stupid because yeah it's just a choker, it's pretty far away from everything. But I hate the fact that she wore it during that, call me pathetic but I'm really sensitive to sex now. I never wore it since and even thinking of wearing it again makes me sort of upset.
This isn't really major but when I was 14, I bugged her into buying me a new hoodie. Due to dysphoria and personal preference, I love really baggy hoodies. (I also needed it to be big enough because I needed it to be able to go over my blazer, stupid school rules it's too long to explain.) We got into a semi-argument over it and she kept on pressuring me to buy a more smaller size. She then said I needed to start 'showing off my body more' which I find really odd considering I was 14 at the time and why would I need to show it off.
I'm sure there's probably more, but I'm tired and I can't remember anything else right now. Sorry