Hi everyone, I’m not sure if this is the right subreddit to ask this question but I thought I’d try anyway.
Just for some context, me (21) and my sister (19) still live with our parents and are both looking into getting jobs soon (relatively delayed because of mental health issues for both of us). So it’s very possible that I’m overthinking and just making a mountain out of a molehill here because I’m in such close proximity either my family all of the time.
My mother is going through the menopause at the moment. While she’s always been highly strung, recently she’s been more irritable and critical than ever. She and my dad get into disagreements almost daily. It’s rarely a full blown screaming match, but it’s terrifying when it turn outs that way and it affects me and my sister for weeks afterwards. She often tries to get a reaction out of me when she disagrees with my dad - she’ll sigh and roll her eyes at me, nodding in his direction, and her mood is soured for the rest of the day. She pretty much refuses to address issues with him directly and just lets whatever her feelings are simmer, or she’ll complain to me or my sister instead. Either way, it’s still very obvious when she’s upset, and it affects everyone. I’ve had full blown panic attacks when I can feel the obvious tension that no one addresses.
Whenever she’s annoyed at either me or my sister, she’ll go straight to my dad and tell him everything. It’s usually during the weekend when they’re drinking. The ceilings are pretty thin, so we know when they’re talking, and we can often hear clearly what they’re saying just by walking past the stairs. My sister has told me she doesn’t feel safe talking to her about things anymore because of this. Sometimes, I even hear them mocking us, or imitating our voices. They’ve imitated our expressions to our faces before too.
(TW in this paragraph for mentions of SH) Their usual response to a problem that me and my sister are having is to get annoyed or angry. My sister is the one most affected by this, because she’s very open about her feelings and doesn’t try to hide them. But I still remember when they found out I was hurting myself as a teenager, and I wasn’t offered any comfort. They just spent hours yelling at me, or making fun of me by claiming I got the idea from my friends or off the internet. I honestly don’t feel comfortable communicating my feelings with them anymore. I’m currently on a waiting list for therapy (again) and they have no idea why. I hide my feelings and get on with it, because someone in the house has to at least seem stable.
What I’m trying to ask is if this is normal behaviour by a parent’s standards, or if I’m overreacting to being upset about our situation. I haven’t heard my friends mention anything about their parents acting this way, so I have nothing to compare it to. Any insight at all is appreciated.

It was a normal saturday and I had already walked him, my mom took him out on another walk and it was all fine until an Xl bully attacked my boy truman and his lead broke so he ran away bleeding into the road and got hit, he died instantly. The dog owner disappeared and the car that hit him kept driving.
The phone call from my mum was so shocking, to hear her say he’s dead and to hear her so devastated has messed me up. Seeing my little buddy’s lifeless body on the side of the road was surreal. I just wanted him to be happy and cuddly like always
I loved him so much, me and my mum are around for him more than my other family members. I feel like i’ve lost my best friend. He was so healthy and so young. He was awesome. My last dog died at 12 years old and devastated me. That was just over a year ago. I don’t even remember my last interaction with him because i had no idea he would be dead next time i saw him. I want him back. I miss him. I loved him.
I’m in the middle of some of the most important exams of my life. I have one on monday and pretty much all of this coming week. I don’t want to study i want to cry.

Hey everyone,
Wanted to share this story to hopefully inspire some of you on this forum to pursue your passion musically.
I’m 36 years old and grew up glued to VH1 and MTV. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were staying up late on New Years Eve watching the top 100 songs of the year countdown.
After discovering The Beatles through my parents vinyl collection, I asked for their CD’s for my 8th birthday. For my 9th birthday, I asked for an electric guitar. I only had that guitar for a couple weeks before my sisters complained and I had to trade it in for an acoustic. It was way too big and after unsuccessfully trying to play it I put it back in its case where it remained for a decade.
About every 5 years I would take it out and attempt to learn. When I got into my Alice In Chains phase senior year of high school I went for lessons but nothing stuck. When Chris Cornell died in 2017 I ordered a new guitar that night. Again, I gave up when I couldn’t form the chords.
In 2021 I started running with a man named Robert “Raven” Kraft in my hometown, Miami Beach. Ravens story requires more than a few paragraphs, but to some it up, this man has run 8 miles on the beach every single day since January 1st 1975. The run started out of heartbreak after he found out a hit song he had written was stolen from him.
Ravens dream is to have a hit. Him and I would discuss music every run (to date I have run with him over 220 times). We would fantasize about me learning guitar and him providing lyrics, starting a real rock and roll band.
In the winter of 2021 my job was on strike so I had a lot of extra downtime. I decided once again to pick up the guitar. This time, inspired my Ravens dedication, I decided I would play 1 hour a day, everyday, for the entire year of 2022.
By June, I was comfortable playing in front of my girlfriend. By October, my best friend was coming over once a week and we started forming songs. By November, we felt the music was good enough and all we were missing was lyrics.
We invited Raven over, who penned his 1701st song in about 10 minutes, our first single, Digging Her Grave.
Another runner joined us from Haiti and plays bass, another runner from Serbia came over and introduced his native Tambura to the band. Finally, a man named Bryan we found on Facebook came over and decided he wanted to produce the album.
In 2023 we became Raven and the Dark Shadows. Our first live performance was a disaster, but we regrouped and practiced more. We found a studio and recorded 10 tracks. Through my connections and Raven’s fame we convinced Dave Abbruzzese (Pearl Jam), Ian Grushka (New Found Glory), Keli Gunnarson (Agent Fresco) and Dave Pastorious (tech 9) to guest on several tracks.
We released our album, An Unkindness, in November of 2023. To celebrate, we had a show at the Wolfsonian with over 150 people attending.
Jack White’s Third Man Pressing is currently producing Blue and Yellow vinyl editions of An Unkindness that should be ready by the summer.
Our song Dracula just reached 30,000 streams. In addition to our music, I produced 4 music videos for our band. A fifth animated one will be out next week. Total views on YouTube are north of 20,000.
At a recent Florida Panthers hockey game, our song, Dead End Road, was played after the Panthers scored a goal. It’s also been used at various Spring Training stadiums around Florida this spring. The Miami Marlins have it on their batting practice playlist. Our upcoming song “Feel Like a Fugitive” is on the Grand Theft Auto 6 soundtrack, and last year we played Stephen King’s 75th birthday bash.
We are currently preparing our second album. All the songs have demos, we just have to find the time to enter the studio and begin the process. We hope to have our second album released by October of 2024.
On January 1, 2025, Raven celebrates his 50th year of the streak. We are hoping for more exposure for the band when this happens.
I hope this inspires you all. In my mid 30s I definitely didn’t expect something like this to happen, but if you really commit to something, dreams can come true.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the project and the sound. I’d also love to get recommendations on what we can do better, as we prepare for album number 2. Check us out on all the streaming platforms
Raven and the Dark Shadows

Hey everyone,
Wanted to share this story to hopefully inspire some of you on this forum to pursue your passion musically.
I’m 36 years old and grew up glued to VH1 and MTV. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were staying up late on New Years Eve watching the top 100 songs of the year countdown.
After discovering The Beatles through my parents vinyl collection, I asked for their CD’s for my 8th birthday. For my 9th birthday, I asked for an electric guitar. I only had that guitar for a couple weeks before my sisters complained and I had to trade it in for an acoustic. It was way too big and after unsuccessfully trying to play it I put it back in its case where it remained for a decade.
About every 5 years I would take it out and attempt to learn. When I got into my Alice In Chains phase senior year of high school I went for lessons but nothing stuck. When Chris Cornell died in 2017 I ordered a new guitar that night. Again, I gave up when I couldn’t form the chords.
In 2021 I started running with a man named Robert “Raven” Kraft in my hometown, Miami Beach. Ravens story requires more than a few paragraphs, but to some it up, this man has run 8 miles on the beach every single day since January 1st 1975. The run started out of heartbreak after he found out a hit song he had written was stolen from him.
Ravens dream is to have a hit. Him and I would discuss music every run (to date I have run with him over 220 times). We would fantasize about me learning guitar and him providing lyrics, starting a real rock and roll band.
In the winter of 2021 my job was on strike so I had a lot of extra downtime. I decided once again to pick up the guitar. This time, inspired my Ravens dedication, I decided I would play 1 hour a day, everyday, for the entire year of 2022.
By June, I was comfortable playing in front of my girlfriend. By October, my best friend was coming over once a week and we started forming songs. By November, we felt the music was good enough and all we were missing was lyrics.
We invited Raven over, who penned his 1701st song in about 10 minutes, our first single, Digging Her Grave.
Another runner joined us from Haiti and plays bass, another runner from Serbia came over and introduced his native Tambura to the band. Finally, a man named Bryan we found on Facebook came over and decided he wanted to produce the album.
In 2023 we became Raven and the Dark Shadows. Our first live performance was a disaster, but we regrouped and practiced more. We found a studio and recorded 10 tracks. Through my connections and Raven’s fame we convinced Dave Abbruzzese (Pearl Jam), Ian Grushka (New Found Glory), Keli Gunnarson (Agent Fresco) and Dave Pastorious (tech 9) to guest on several tracks.
We released our album, An Unkindness, in November of 2023. To celebrate, we had a show at the Wolfsonian with over 150 people attending.
Jack White’s Third Man Pressing is currently producing Blue and Yellow vinyl editions of An Unkindness that should be ready by the summer.
Our song Dracula just reached 30,000 streams. In addition to our music, I produced 4 music videos for our band. A fifth animated one will be out next week. Total views on YouTube are north of 20,000.
At a recent Florida Panthers hockey game, our song, Dead End Road, was played after the Panthers scored a goal. It’s also been used at various Spring Training stadiums around Florida this spring. The Miami Marlins have it on their batting practice playlist. Our upcoming song “Feel Like a Fugitive” is on the Grand Theft Auto 6 soundtrack, and last year we played Stephen King’s 75th birthday bash.
We are currently preparing our second album. All the songs have demos, we just have to find the time to enter the studio and begin the process. We hope to have our second album released by October of 2024.
On January 1, 2025, Raven celebrates his 50th year of the streak. We are hoping for more exposure for the band when this happens.
I hope this inspires you all. In my mid 30s I definitely didn’t expect something like this to happen, but if you really commit to something, dreams can come true.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the project and the sound. I’d also love to get recommendations on what we can do better, as we prepare for album number 2. Check us out on all the streaming platforms
Raven and the Dark Shadows

The Context:

A user posts to /BoomersBeingFools wondering if boomers don’t eat enough and are “starving” themselves, and by extension pushing their expectations unfairly onto others.
Many users quickly take issue with OOP’s premise. The discussion quickly devolves into multiple slapfights, insults over weight, and the war in Gaza.

The Drama:

Does metabolism change as people age?

People commenting it’s cause they’re older and don’t need to eat as much. Yes, I know that could be a part of it, but let’s be honest, it’s mostly them just being judgy/brainwashed by diet culture/think it’s absurd to spend money on eating out…

"Brainwashed by diet culture" ah so in other words you are obese and need to eat a lot and probably deeply into healthy at any size/fat acceptance.
No they just know they don't need 5000 calori3s a day to exist.

I’m obese for wanting to eat some lunch and dinner? 🤯

No I say that because of "brainwashed by diet culture" there's exactly one group that talks like that.

You must not get out much

[Continued:]

I do actually it's how I maintain not being fat. Limiting calories to under 2500 and being outside moving a lot.

I lost 140 pounds by eating more. 🤷 starving myself led to weight gain.

I'm sure you eat more but less calories in total. No one increases their calories and losses sorry.

You're wrong. Instunted my metabolism and my body was holding on to the weight to protect me.
I was eating skinless baked chicken and plain broccoli for 2 years and could not lose weight. I was sick and exhausted but worked out all the time.
Started eating carbs and the weight came melting off.
Sorry :)

[Continued:]

For sure. Thats why all the body builders are morbidly obese. They eat chicken and broccoli and their body just goes into starvation mode and holds all the fat. Same with like the concentration camps. All those poor morbidly obese starving people. Once we saved them and fed them the weight just shed off. It's the craziest thing.

It's almost like bodies are different, user name doesn't check out, a nerd would know that 🤔

Whatever you need to tell yourself.

[…]

i guess the law of thermodymanics doesnt apply to you.
You should get studied. Defying the laws of thermodynamics is pretty impressive!

[…]

Tell me you see someone fat in the store and cringe inside/judge them for no reason without ever speaking to them without telling me 😂
You dislike/hate fat people for the horrid crime of being fat when they don't think about you at all and haven't ever wronged you in any way at all.
Also, I can tell you have never struggled with your weight in the past due to not giving a shit how hating random people for looking a certain way effects them. That, or you did struggle once, and bought into the haters telling you you were worth less based on the number on the scale, in which case I am sorry you believe that.

Dude I was 350lbs at my heaviest. People love saying "oh he says weightloss is eat less move more? Clearly he wants to genocide fat people" but no that's not it at all. I lost tons and most of the people around me went from morbid obesity to overweight or a normal weight. We changed our lifestyles and got in shape. The people that didn't lose weight claim all kinds of medical issues but none of them changed their diet and not of them want to work out. It's pretty clear how to lose weight. That's all.
No more no less no hate.

Wanna know how I know you're a liar or incredibly ignorant of how you come off?
You say you don't dislike them but make fun of their physical disabilities like it's funny. It's not funny. You're making fun of them. It's not funny to make fun of people for having disabilities or for how they look. You perpetuate hate against them that makes them feel like crap for being alive. I don't care about your spiel about medical issues or dieting in general or the fat acceptance movement. When you make fun of disabled people who have trouble walking i'm going to call you out on it. That's exactly what you did. Whether they're fat or not I refuse to make fun of people for that.

I have never made fun of a single person. Only a movement that claims you can be healthy at any size. You can't be vastly under or over weight and be healthy.

Whatever you say buddy. Keep on making fun of people because they can't walk or cope some more that it wasn't directed at a specific person. Have fun with that.

[Continued:]

Shut the fuck up fatty

Insults are made, ending with accusations of sockpuppeting:

I don't think you realize how pathetic you sound. When my jaw was broken I went 6 weeks without solid food and I'm sitting here rolling my eyes at your propensity for letting your stomach color your opinions of other people. I'd bet dollars to dimes that your body mass index is over 30.

Hey.
You should know:
It costs $0 to not be a dick.

I'll pay that cover charge any day of the week. Especially when I'm dealing with a major league dipshit like [Candy_cane999]
Radagast was brown, nerd.

Wow, you’re disgusting. It’s not that deep

Says the person here gossiping about their relative's metabolism. "Not that deep" lol you made a judgment about an entire generation of people because your family member wasn't hungry..lol fuck off
I bet you are high as a kite right now from all the users here agreeing with you, even if they haven't a fucking clue what they are talking about.
Seriously, though, how fat are you? I'm guessing fat enough that you can't hide that stomach roll when you sit down.

High as a kite? Huh? Relax weirdo, it’s just Reddit

You still haven't told us how fat you are.

Damn this guy hates fat people !

I used to be one.

[Continued:]

So now you just hate fat people for fun?

People with no self control, ESPECIALLY when that self control would benefit their health, are people who are functionally useless as human beings. They are the pieces of shit who would hoard food while everyone else is starving.
It ain't for fun.
Do you comment on Reddit to be an annoying middle child?

Ahhh yes. The fat people are useless excuse. Okay bud have fun out there!

It seems you have to self control over your feelings little guy. Go out there and practice some self control!
Bitter, party of one.

[…]

Get a life, chill

Get a life, chill

Ah yes, the mating call of people who "have lives"...ohhhhhh the irony.

😂sounds like you’re projecting. What’s it like still living in your boomer mom’s basement?

lol "projecting", I see you have your masters in Reddit psychology.

What’s it like still living in your boomer mom’s basement?

Oooooof, sounds like someone is...................................................................................projecting.

You do realize calling someone fat is the easiest most insecure insult to throw out there. Classic textbook. Hypocrite

I used to be fat as fuck, 270lbs at 5'10. I'll judge you fatties all I damn well please.
You keep avoiding answering the question. You're a landwhale, aren't you?

Ahha! There it is. It’s because you hate yourself. Hope you’re in therapy

[Continued:]

The more you avoid this the more we know what kind of person we are dealing with.
You talk shit about people who have self control to excuse how fat and disgusting you are.

[…]

Dude why admit that, all you are showing is that you had become really fat, and rather than learn a healthy relationship with food even at that extreme point, you just chose to hate food in general. You took the easy way out because nobody ever taught you portion control. Your loss I guess.

I admit it because I was raised in a home where I couldn't get up until my plate was clean and my mother made sure there were never leftovers that way. I admit it because it is the truth and I don't lie or omit details to make myself sound better. I admit it to show I can relate to being a fatfuck. I admit it because being fat is a choice.
”why would you say something true about yourself!?" - if that isn't Reddit-in-a-nutshell I don't know what is.

I'm just saying it makes you look like you just hated yourself and were pushing that onto another person that may or may not have a healthier relationship with food than you, that's all.

[…]

They didn't answer did they?

After several attempts they've avoided even talking about their fat stores and are now trying the victim angle.

No doubt. Fatty McFat Fat can't comprehend people not being addicted to constant feedings.
Reddit in a nutshell.

Bro's talking to himself on an alt ​

Then, there’s this:

OP is a fat fuck

As a former fatass this was my immediate thought

I knew as soon as he said road trip to Florida

For wanting lunch and dinner? You’re sick
They’re someone whos whole identity is shoving food in their mouth. Look at their username

Eat shit.

One user thinks they’re speaking uncomfortable truths:

If StandardSafe isn’t willing to say it again, I will: grow up and get over it. 99% of the people who say they “aren’t heavy” actually are, your dad was probably just being a concerned parent. “unhealthy relationship with food”, LMAO. A first-world problem for sure

No, he was just a bully and abusive. But thanks for playing.
That’s a really weird thing to say to a stranger, dude
You ok bro? Did that make you feel good about yourself? To insult a stranger because you personally didn’t have to deal with abuse? Or let me guess, you did, but it made you a “strong man” who knows what’s best for everyone.
You don’t know me. You have no idea what my childhood and young adulthood was like and maybe it sounds like a “first world problem” (which by the way, is so fucking dismissive and gross to say to people when they an issue) to you, but for me it became an eating disorder that I still struggle with in my 40s.
I’m going to try to say this as politely as I can, please fuck off into the sun with your bullshit and go troll somewhere else. You’re an asshole who seems to get off on insulting people to get your pathetic dick hard. I hope you don’t have kids because I worry if you do how fucked up they are and if you’re married I feel terrible for your wife. But let’s be honest, you’re a sad, lonely, angry man who has nothing better to do.
Dumbass takes like this are part of the reason people develop eating disorders on both ends of the spectrum.
You're gonna tell me someone who is suffering from Anorexia/Bulimia just needs to "grow up and get over it"?
You need to grow up and take a biology class.

When did the commenter say she had anorexia/bulimia? Those are actual eating disorders…she just said she eats very little and blames her dad.
A biology class, really? Psychology sounds more like it. Or are you telling me you learned about eating disorders in a bio class? Where was that, at some sort of school that gives out certificates in self-actualization or holistic-healing?

Sorry -- from what school did you get a psychology degree that allows you to label Anoerixa/Bulimia as "actual" eating disorders but not what OP described?

The school of hard knocks 😂 he’s so superior to us that he can diagnose a stranger through the internet on Reddit based on a paragraph that seemed to make him bigly angry.
He’s just a sad man who needs to get off by insulting people. He can go live that life and we’ll be over on this said being human to each other.

Finally, the war in Gaza is brought up for some reason:

You know that on the other side of the apartheid wall Israel set up there are thousands of people who had access to the Dead Sea (and their homes), that was changed by the establishment of Israel. Millions of people around the world are coming to the decision to boycott any company that supports the Israeli Apartheid Occupation. Millions are urging their universities and employers to divest any money and programs with the genocidal force that is Israel. I urge you and your family to take a hard look at yourselves and learn what Israel really is made of. Then the logical decision will be to never visit or spend a dime in Israel until their genocide and apartheid ends. Ty

Take a walk off a short pier.

This response is unhinged.
“Learn about an ongoing genocide, with bombs falling through the air as we speak, that you knowingly or unknowingly support, that we can do something about”
“Your response”
Please just look someone in the eyes today and remember what it means to be a human. Each of us is a library of life, and we’re constantly diminishing the value of each other as “enemies”.
I’d rather that than share air with someone who supports the ongoing genocide. Not for me, not for you, but for the kids and our collective humanity: please learn something new today.

You’re supporting the death of my family in Israel. Seriously, you’re a PoS

Before Israel was, there was Palestine. Palestine was for all. Muslims, Christians, and Jewish families all lived together. We all visited Jerusalem.
When Israel decided that only Jewish people would now be allowed in to these random borders drawn over Palestine, well, that should come off as racist. Now the Christian and Muslim Palestinians had their villages raided and their women raped by a well funded militia, before it became the IDF. This terrorised the Palestinians that lived in their homes, so they ran.
Then these homes were empty.
The land without people for the People without a land. Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. The people that were born there were displaced by a terrorist militia, and now it was a land magically without a people.
And your family came in, and settled in “Israel”. A family out there has the keys to the very home your family lives in in Israel, although you’ve probably changed the locks by now.
But for generations this land fed them and protected them from the elements. All of a sudden it’s yours?
And the people Israel oppresses, the thousands of Palestinians that are in prison with no trial. Children and women Palestinians have been taken captive for over 70 years!! Where’s the outrage?
Are we not human?
When we say free Palestine from the river to the sea. It’s for everybody. Come by and buy my home. But please don’t show up with an armed force ready to exterminate me for refusing you the home my forefathers have called their own.
TLDR Israel is the fire nation in avatar the last airbender.
The best way I can put it is.. if a bunch of armed chickens showed up and kicked you and your family out of their homes, one day you might want to fight those armed chickens back instead of being homeless. Israel are the armed chickens

The Flairs:

• “We boomers don’t hungry as often as you gamers”
  
• “ok nerdguy 👍🏼”
  
• “Radagast was brown, nerd.”
  

PC

Reddit Account: choronga
Discord Tag: Choner
Name and House: Malwyn Blackwood
Age: 53
Cultural Group: Riverlander (claims First Men heritage)
Appearance: Average in height, perhaps slightly taller than the next man. His build is that of a man who has fought his entire life, toned yet lean. His face sports the marks of battle, a few scars cross it, and his many wrinkles are a clear show of his advanced age, even though he definitely does not look as old as he is. His auburn hair somehow as kept its color, yet his hairline has receded considerably. His eyes are those of a tired man, yet they hold a glint still.
Trait: Strong
Skill(s): THS(e), First Man Warrior (e), Reckless
Talent(s): Complaining, Drinking in moderation, Dice games
Negative Trait(s): N/A
Starting Title(s): Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, The Bloodwood, Ser
Starting Location: Opening Event
Biography:
Malwyn was born the second child to Lord Morgan Blackwood and Lady Jeyne Blackwood nee Frey in the year 29 before Aegon's conquest.
His early years were peaceful. He had proven to be able with the blade from a young age, and while his brother Desmond received the education worthy of an heir, Malwyn practice relentlessly, almost obsessively.
The two brothers got along fine, but their relationship strained as Desmond began to feel undermined by his brother, as he wished to excel in everything, and Malwyn's swordfighting was clearly superior to Desmond's. The heir had been pampered and now, he couldn't find himself happy with all the attention he had received, he wished for martial recognition as well.
It would never come.
Desmond was not a bad swordsman, just not a good one. He had a cunning mind for strategy, sharp at numbers, a good memory, as by only one-and-ten he could remember almost all of the Houses' banners, holdings and words from the Kingdom of the Isles and Rivers. However, his blade handling was never even close to his brothers' and the constant attempts were met with failure, which only further enraged the Lord.
A daughter was born to Lord and Lady Blackwood when Malwyn was seven years of age. Cynthea, they called her.
Desmond inherited early. Lord Morgan perished at the hands of Lord Lothar Bracken in the eleventh year before the conquest. The twenty year old Lord Desmond quickly married, having his first son, Brynden, just a year after.
After Brynden followed two more, daughter and son, Jeyne and Addam, then another one, Alys, in the year 1BC and two more after the Conquest, Edwyn and Theomar.
All these years, Malwyn had yet not married, two years younger than his brother. He had been betrothed, but a knight of House Hoare defiled Malwyn's soon to be wife, murdered the girl's brother and the woman took her own life before the bastard of the Hoare monster was born. This left in Malwyn a sense of pure hatred for his Ironborn overlords.
Then, the dragons came.
While many saw this as a threat, Malwyn saw any who could bring the Hoares to a kneel as friends, and when they eventually not only defeated them, but decimated their rotten House, Malwyn jumped to the chance to pledge his sword to Aegon the Conqueror.
He was made a member of the Kingsguard soon after he joined the side of their invaders, which was seen by his family as betrayal. Malwyn saw those who followed the Tullys' call for independence as nothing but fools. A man had come and released them from their Ironborn overlords, and the Riverlords paid that man with bloody rebellion.
Malwyn grew close to the new Targaryen King, due to him being his stationed kingsguard most of the time. The Knight managed to save Aegon from the goldcloaks once, but not twice, and after his death he became Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, as the attack on King Aegon had caused death of Corlys Velaryon.
It is Malwyn, with the help of Willem Ryger, that reveals the Tullys as culprits to Visenya Targaryen, leading to the destruction of the trouts. There were more conspirers, but the Bloodwood remained silent.
The following years were calm. The rest of the Blackwoods had made it clear that they wished for nothing more than the death of Malwyn, for he was a craven, a traitor and a kneeler. Malwyn didn't care, he still held love for his brother, even if it had never been mutual.
Around these years, a young boy of House Mallister became Malwyn's squire, getting knighted by the Lord Commander in the year 11AC.
In the year five-and-ten after the conquest, during a a hunt to celebrate the 18th nameday of Orys Baratheon's heir, bandits attack. It is a surprisingly well organized force and manages to take hostage many of important figures. Malwyn leads the defense, and is forced to take difficult choices. His hands are stained in blood in the end, innocents dead because the Lord Commander chose not to save them in order to save others. The King of the Woods died in the hands of Roland Arryn, and Malwyn fought alongside him.
A year after, Addam Blackwood died, killed in a border skirmish with House Bracken.
Two years later, a foolish Bracken decided that claiming that a Blackwood hill was theirs by right was a great idea. The boy, not older than eight-and-ten, brought a letter for the Hand of the King, and he was met with Malwyn, who laughed at the boy and insulted him plenty. The boy called for a duel, and Malwyn slaughtered him.
This incensed the two ancient enemies' feud. House Blackwood joined with the Mallisters of Seagard and the North. House Bracken had the Riverlords at their side. The two armies met at the Red Fork, and the two Lords dueled. Lord Bracken's leg was maimed by Lord Desmond Blackwood, but Lord Blackwood received a wound on his chest that never healed, and would eventually kill him in the year 24 AC.
Two years after the battle that never was, Cerion Blackwood, Desmond's heir, died from a hunting accident. Suspicious circumstances.
The war was halted by the Belaerys dragon of Aegon's Rest.
Malwyn wouldn't go home until a moon before Desmond's death, being called by Edwyn Blackwood, the Heir to Raventree Hall. There the two spoke, and Malwyn left without saying anything a night after he arrived.
Now, he's back at King's Landing, and someone has pissed on his tent.
Timeline:

• 31BC: Desmond Blackwood is born to Lord and Lady Blackwood
  
• 29BC: Malwyn Blackwood is born to Lord and Lady Blackwood
  
• 25BC:
  
• 22BC: Cynthea Blackwood is born to Lord and Lady Blackwood
  
• 11BC: Lord Morgan Blackwood dies at the hand of a member of House Bracken, Desmond Blackwood becomes Lord of Raventree Hall.
  
• 10BC: Cerion Blackwood is born to Lord Desmond Blackwood
  
• 7BC: Jeyne Blackwood is born to Lord Desmond Blackwood
  
• 6BC: Addam Blackwood is born to Lord Desmond Blackwood
  
• 5BC: Malwyn's betrothed is assaulted by a Hoare, the woman's brother killed. The girl takes her own life after the event. Malwyn is left distraught
  
• 1BC: Alys Blackwood is born to Lord Desmond Blackwood
  
• The Conquest:
  
• Malwyn pledges his sword to Aegon the Conqueror after the burning of Harrenhal
  
• House Blackwood remains neutral, but is close with House Tully during their call to independence.
  
• 1AC: Edwyn Blackwood is born to Lord Desmond Blackwood. Malwyn Blackwood becomes a Kingsguard
  
• 4AC: Theomar Blackwood is born to Lord Desmond Blackwood. Malwyn Blackwood manages to fend off an assassination attempt on the life of King Aegon I.
  
• 6AC: Tristan Mallister becomes Malwyn's squire.
  
• 7AC: Another attempt, this one successful. Aegon Targaryen, first of his name, is killed. Malwyn becomes Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He helps in revealing the Tullys as culprits, and is shunned for it.
  
• 15AC: The Kingswood Catastrophe happens. Malwyn does his best but gains the hatred of many who believe him guilty for the death of their loved ones.
  
• 16AC: Addam Blackwood is killed by a bracken in an ambush
  
• 18AC: The Riverwar. Lord Desmond Blackwood is gravely injured. He manages to survive but never properly heals, constantly fighting infection.
  
• 20AC: Cerion Blackwood dies in a hunting accident. Edwyn becomes Lord Regent, as his father's condition only worsens.
  
• 24AC: Malwyn Blackwood goes to Raventree Hall, as his nephew calls for him due to Lord Desmond's ever worsening condition. He leaves the night after.
  
• 25AC: Present. Someone has pissed on me tent
  

AC

Reddit Account: choronga
Discord Tag: Choner
Name and House: Edwyn Blackwood
Age: 23
Cultural Group: Riverlander (claims First Men heritage) Appearance: Of average height, slender, with a face often described as "maidenly" by those who seek to mock the Lord of Raventree Hall. His voice is surprisingly deep, with a whispery cadence. His face is lacking a beard, not because he has not attempted to get it to grow. He has jet black hair, as befits a Blackwood.
Trait: Ruthless
Skill(s): Ranger, Schemer, Devious
Talent(s): Poetry, Archery, Gambling
Negative Trait(s): N/A
Starting Title(s): Lord of Raventree Hall, Wielder of the Weirwood Bow, The Raven
Starting Location: Opening Event

NPCs

• Davos Blackwood: (Master-at-Arms) The captain of Raventree Hall's guard
  
• Cynthea Blackwood: (Magnate)
  

I have two best friends and I have a crush on one of them. I honestly don't even care if she doesn't want to be with me because I don't think she is bi and we each have boyfriends anyways (my bf knows I like her and doesn't care).
Best friend #1 knows I have a crush on best friend #2 and while I was hanging out with best friend #1 she was really drunk she was saying how "beautiful" and "top tear" best friend #2 is. I mistakenly asked if she thought I was also "top tear" as well, and she nonchalantly told me no, that best friend #2 is on a higher level. She didn't mean to hurt me, she just thought she was answering my question and that I wanted an honest answer. This was on my birthday too. I felt like she just stabbed me in the stomach. TBH I much prefer she stabbed me in the stomach. I asked two of my friends at my birthday party if they agreed and although I knew they would be nice and say that I was "top tear" too no matter what they thought. They started off with "oh, that girl! she was supppperrr cute, but yes you are cute too". Which just confirms what best friend #1 said to me.
To make matters worse, my own fucking boyfriend wants to sleep with her too. In the past, once he found out I like her he hinted at trying to get a threesome with her. I cannot handle the idea of my boyfriend getting hard for another girl especially a girl who more "top tear" than me.
Also, our entire friendship because I see guys check her out at the club a lot more than I see guys check me out.
This is sole crushing. Like this is an objectively hurtful thing for my friend to say, but I fucking hate myself so much and compare myself so terribly to people. So I basically feel like best friend #1 just told me I am better off dead and that I need to kill myself I want to die so badly.
I had a similar situation like this happen in the past with a different girl and feelings of attraction and envy getting mixed up with each other and now every time I hear her name I feel overwhelming thoughts of needing to die. I had to block her on everything and cut her out of my life like the toxic piece of garbage I am. Now I have no choice but to do this with best friend #2 because if I ever see her again I will kill myself.
I also don't have a therapist right now because I am on a waitlist and the DBT program people I can't get ahold of. I don't have a single skill to lessen the emotional agony I am in right now. And I know how god damn dramatic I am with this and it is humiliating.

Hi there,
I’ve been quietly reading on this sub for about a month now, thinking about posting. Finally have a good reason to, I think.
Backstory: I’m 24F. I’m the oldest child - my sister is 18 and my brother is 10. I can’t remember ever having liked my ndad, and we “butted heads” a lot when I was growing up, increasingly about me wanting independence especially when he would promise to do something (that I felt I could do myself) and wouldn’t come back to it for a long time. He wanted control. He was always sensitive about lying. When I was starting my senior year of high school (good grades, committed to extracurriculars, aiming for top schools like Harvard, Stanford, John’s Hopkins), he found out that I was experimenting with drugs and lost it. He went through all my texts, found out I’m queer, saw all the bad stuff I wrote about him, and decided he can’t trust me anymore. He strip searched me, sent me to a psychoanalyst that he wouldn’t listen to anyway, took away a lot of my belongings, set up surveillance cameras around the house, moved me to his office and put a lock on the door and window. A mattress and a notebook to write in. Months of interrogations followed. I was not allowed to close the bathroom door, and later, I was allowed to close, but not lock it. No phone, no seeing friends. I wasn’t allowed to be alone for months. Or to go upstairs. Listen to music. It was real bad. He told me he wanted to break me down and rebuild who I am from scratch… my mom was devastated and was on his side, despite having previously stood up for me now and then.
I was able to apply to my state school ONLY and got in. The deal was that they would pay for it basically and I would help with the family. I was never allowed to have a job, despite wanting to work since high school. The first year of college my mom drove me. They didn’t trust me to take the bus. Partway through the second year, I found the resources at the college to put together a backup plan in case I needed to leave. It did come to a point (ndad found out about it bc I was carrying around a business card in the waistband of my underwear and dropped it in the bathroom one day) and I decided to leave.
I was allowed to leave with the clothes on my back - no shoes, no coat, nothing else except some documents. And even then he didn’t give me my passports (foreign), saying they don’t exist when I named the document (likely I used the name they used, and not the official document name). Had to sign a handwritten paper that said I refuse their help.
Friends helped me get back on my feet and I’m surrounded with loving people now.
The period of severe abuse lasted 2 years and 5 months. I saw a couple friends a couple times throughout. More details take too long to write.
Since then (4 yrs 3 months), I’ve not seen my immediate family. I call my mom more frequently now, that relationship is stable, but she won’t share information with me. I can talk to her about my life. Have only been able to talk to my sister 2 times over the phone - her last 2 birthdays. Talking to dad never ends well. Last time I tried to call and talk to my sister he wouldn’t let me.
I found out what school she goes to and found out when her graduation is by the powers of the internet. I want to go - to see her and show up for her. I’m debating if I want her to see me or not. And I’m worried about running into ndad. I had a stress dream about it last night. I’m both scared that she won’t want to see me and I’m scared of making things bad for her. To the extent of my knowledge, she may be going out of state for school (know that through a family friend). We were rather different kids growing up and idk how she feels.
Should I go incognito? Or call attention to myself?
(Also wanna write a memoir one day if I ever get the time.)

I choose this platform to say sorry to a person I hurt 15 years ago. I know we have our own lives today but I would like to take the courage to say sorry. For me to also move on and validate the feelings I had this moment. I'm not a good writer but I want to share my story. Do you guys experienced having no memory of a certain situation in your life? It's like you remember the person but not fully apprehend what "really" happened to both of you? Seems like there is a missing puzzle in the big picture? It happened to me and realized everything after all the embarrasing things I did. I was like acting the victim before and not knowing I am to blame after all. Year 2023 when I came back in my country, I'm working overseas by the way. As I went home, I declutter my personal things and there I saw some letters wayback 15years ago. Letters during our retreat activity college days. I read all their sweet messages and I stumbled to read a letter written by my crush. After reading his short and sweet letter I'm sobbing. Tears rolling down my cheeks and asking myself, what was my reaction when I read his letter before? Like what did I do?!! Did I read this? I'm thinking so hard searching for answers in my head about his letter but got no answer. It was so vague to me that I cannot find the answer I'm looking for in my mind and in my memory. All memories and emotions were bleak during that specific time. Throughout the day, all I'm thinking about was his letter. Thoughts like, yeah, I do have a crush on him during college days and it is too impossible that I disregarded that letter. I'm thinking crazy things already about his letter yet I cannot remember what really happened. I contacted my close friend who's been with me since college. She's like my sister from another mother who knows everything since college days. I started the convo sending her the letter he wrote for me and instantly she recognize who wrote it. She even ask me what did I do when I read the letter before or did I even bother to read the letter? I told her I cannot remember what I did before but one thing that's clear to me was our friendship seemed to drift away even before the graduation day. That's why I was'nt able to contact him after graduation day till up to present. Thinking, I was just the girl who just learned that the guy I like before, liked me back after reading the letter, my friend give me a silly suggestion of giving him a PM. Yes, we are classmates, friends during those days. He was on my list of friends in my socmedia yet after all this years, I never sent him a PM. I just wanted to say hi but I'm too embarassed to do it. Overthinking stuff and crazy ideas crossing in my mind. Then all of a sudden I saw in my screen 11:11am, immediately type hi and hit send button. Feeling embarassed that I pm-ed him first at the same time doubting if he still knows me, I'm too anxious in wanting to have or not to have a reply from him that time. Morning the next day upon checking my phone I got a reply from him, 👍 at 5:55am. Being weirdo again all I did was to talk to myself early that morning to give him a reply or not. I'm thorn of doing so or what. Then I just decided to give him a message of asking how is he, introducing myself, hope he's doing okay, message him because of blah, blah then wishin him luck and good day. Ugh, still embarassed. I thought it will be the end of our convo but he replied back saying he's doing okay. He remember me saying I'm his classmate and I'm happy that he's doing good now in his new career. He also ask how I'm doing and what do I do these days. We exchange 4-5 convo until he stop responding. I'm like yeah, that's it. I'm sure he's busy and I understand his profession demands time but I also want myself not to expect anything in REALITY. I'm being too emotional as of the moment that all I got to think was him and his letter creating imaginary things between us. I'm a rational person so as I pacify myself and calm down the thoughts in my mind, I decided to write everything in my journal. As I write down my thoughts, the question of how's and why's, slowly I remember everything that happened 15 years ago. I clearly remember the thoughts I had, the decisions I made and how I ghosted him.
Circa 2009. 4th year college. I have a guy friend who's my classmate during 3rd year since we were block section. He's also my block groupmate. Maybe we became close because we were together most of the times. He's tall, lanky, sweet, caring, funny and brainy. He's the type of guy who only bring a notebook in the room, I never saw him with a bag in normal schedule of classes but hey he always pass. And as a cheapskate college girl, I used to take down notes and do everything as I can to not spend extra penny. I become aware of him being sweet to me by borrowing my notes saying she can understand my handwriting, sitting beside me on classes where sitting position is not required, going to library doing group activities, walking side by side in school aisle and seeing him giving me a sweet smile. Getting him caught staring at me then he will just smile mirorring his eyes. It seems like normal things right? But I can sense there is something behind those small gestures. I also shared this to my friend that I can sense there is something about him but he never confirm anything at all. He was never even bothered when he knew one of my girl friends told him she had a crush on him. I got a little jealous during that time, I even got jealous on her friends that were beauties during college days. He was a friendly guy but knows how to be a gentleman. Since, no admission of feelings in his part we continued to be good friends, him still giving the same care and treatment to me. I can't remember if it was 2nd trimester when we had our retreat activity. It was months also before our graduation day and then after that will have our in-house review for upcoming board examination. Everyone is excited to attend the retreat because we can give a rest on our tired minds. We rented a good place with a perfect weather during that time. During our last day, the last task given to us is write a letter to each person in your group. He was my groupmate during the retreat. We can read the letter after the activity or if we have time to spare. I decided to read mine when I got home. Me and him are still good during that time. When I arrived home, I started reading their letter, I read his letter last. His letter goes like this,
A_____, " I have met you on a cloudy Monday and now you never knew how much I loved the rain." Your a gentle child and very sincere. You are very concern to all the people around you and thats what make you different from others. You can carry things up and I know you can make it. Goodluck and Godbless. I am just on yourside waiting for you to tap me and call my name.
I'm shocked yet relieved knowing that what he's doing towards me is confirmed in his letter. It might be a indirect confirmation but I think it still says so. I'm happy to know he's not just a friend caring for me but someone special who took care of me all this time. But as my happiness took over me, that feeling of anxiousness and cowardice envelops my entire body. Confessing his feelings, then now, what? What will happen in our friendship? How do I face him, as I am shy girl before? If I tell him I like him too, what will happen to us? Graduation day is in the corner, inhouse review is giving us pressure, licensure examination will happen in next few months and I need to focus, to study to pass the exam. Those were my concerns at that time. So, I made up my mind. Without giving him any answer, without telling him what I have in my mind, without him knowing what I really wanted to say despite the concerns I had in mind. I let him go without telling him what I feel towards him that time. Following days at school, I started avoiding him. I dare not to look at him directly in his eyes. I never got to talk to him about his letter. And as days passes by giving him same treatment and distance, I saw him once looking at me, his eyes saying like giving up. From then on, our friendship drifted off. I never got to talk to him in our graduation day, even in succeding events after our licensure exam. I did pass my licensure, he also did. I'm not expecting he will talk to me or greet me if ever we crossed our path again. He was my first love. But I never give him the chance. There might be a future for our relationship but I never gave him a chance. To my lovecrush, I am sorry for ghosting you, for not giving you a chance, and for leaving you hanging-up. I know I'm a big coward, selfish, self centered and faint hearted person when it comes to you. Confessing and telling you what my heart wants before will NOT/NEVER change anything now. But I wanted to say this for me to let go of the feelings that I still have for you. Lovecrush, I like you too. I care for you too. I did become a scaredy cat before telling you my true feelings are but know that after all those days knowing you like me too, I always think of you. The heartbeak I give to myself and to you, left me no choice but to suppress the pain and convince myself to forget the painful choice I made. Thank you for letting me feel how special I am in my own way. Thank you for being my green flag.❤️ Thank you for being warm, caring, thoughtful and loving friend.🥰 Now, I will never ever forget the memories we shared before even if it brings joy and pain. It is now my treasure. Thank you so much lovecrush. 🥰 You will always be my first love and first heartache.🙂 I know you can make it in life. You're such a kind hearted soul. Wishin you all the best in life! Takecare as always. Godbless!🙏❤️

Hi Reddit, throw away account for obvious reasons but y’all are a lot cheaper than therapy so here we go. I know this is long but I feel that the context is important.
TL;DR - I need advice for how to tell my mom that I intend to go no contact with my mom because I can’t deal with her husband’s alcohol fueled innappropriate behavior in my life anymore especially now that I have a family of my own. I already had a long heart to heart explaining where I’m coming from and she appeared to understand and even agree, but she still makes excuses for her husband.
I (31 F) have a young daughter only a few months old. My mom (57 F) has been married to my stepdad (60 M) for 28 years, and I’ve never gotten along with him. He’s an alcoholic, and for lack of a better description, turns into a belligerent asshole when he’s drunk, which is of course all the time. He’s extremely inappropriate and vulgar in public and even at important family events (weddings, funerals, etc), and generally makes everyone, including his own family members uncomfortable. Unfortunately, my mom has been with him for so long that she makes excuses for him, and is constantly manipulated by him. There have been prior domestic violence incidents where I’ve called the police, and she lies for him. They’re both retired, and she’s super intelligent so is constantly wanting to learn new things, but he prevents her from doing any hobbies or additional education that makes her happy - especially if alcohol isn’t involved or if it’s inconveniences him.
So this weekend, both of them flew in from out of town - we live almost 1,000 miles away across a few states - to spend some time with my daughter, and to celebrate my birthday and Mother’s Day. We also scheduled our daughter’s baptism for this same weekend so my mom could attend since she’s recently taken up an interest in my religion.
I knew there would be a problem pretty quickly after they landed. We have small a local airport only 10 minutes away from us, but they always choose to fly to a larger international airport in a different state, rent a car, and drive over 2 hours to get here. There was an issue with their rental car and my mom started texting me to complain about it. I tried to brush it off and not get annoyed, but this happens every single time they come and there are obviously more convenient options. It took them over 3 1/2 hours to get to our city from the airport and I get texts like “omg we finally just now made it to our airbnb”.
I called her and it was clear that they had been drinking either on the plane, in the airports, or more likely than not, both - even though it was barely noon. She was annoyed and asked about our impending dinner reservation, which was several hours away still. I asked if she was going to come to our house to see her granddaughter beforehand, but she wanted to “relax” at the airbnb (aka drink more) and that my stepdad was trying to find a last minute barber in town because he was apparently unhappy with how his hair was overgrown. Never heard him mention a barber in my life so this was extremely strange to me.
A few hours go by and we’ve got about 30 minutes before we have to leave for dinner. I get a text from my mom asking if we can go pick her up at the airbnb alone. Due to my stepdads history I asked if everything was ok, and all I got in reply was “no”. I sent my husband over there and she was waiting on the street. When she got in his car and he asked if she was alright, she jokingly said “oh well I’m single now”.
I didn’t get much info out of her except he was “cranky” about their travel day and mad he couldn’t find a barber - again - so fucking random. They had gotten into a verbal altercation and he locked himself in the bathroom for over an hour. We’re talking about a 60 year old man here.. some people never grow up I guess. So she comes to dinner with the rest of our group of family and friends and acts like everything is ok. I tried to insist that she stay at our house that night because I didn’t feel that it was safe, but she went back to the airbnb anyway.
When she got back there, my stepdad and their rental car was gone, and he had turned off his location from her view. I called her and had a long hour conversation about how this behavior isn’t ok, that he’s manipulative, and that we’d be happy to let her live with us if that’s what it takes to get her out of this toxic relationship. She cried and agreed that what he does isn’t ok and that it’s a huge struggle for her and said “I’m not 100% sure but I think this is it for me finally”.
I wasn’t happy that it had come to this but I was glad to have a breakthrough with her, and be able to be blatantly honest. Also needs to be mentioned that when I talk to her on the phone, it is ALWAYS on speaker and he’s listening in. Even if he’s in the bathroom, she asks me to recap what I said if he comes back. Not just me, other family members notice this too.
While on this hour long conversation we talked about how he is no longer invited to my daughters baptism the next day or to my house and I offered to have my husband and I tell him ourselves, which she insisted that she wanted to handle herself to “soften the blow”.
So all this transpires, he apparently came back to the airbnb very late and apologized to her, and today she attended my daughter’s baptism alone. She was clearly upset about his absence, but I stood my ground. She asked if I had changed my mind about the rest of the weekend because “he was so apologetic” to her, and I again said no. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time but I’ve had enough over the last 28 years of him manipulating my mom. While we were packing up to leave the church she told me that she would probably be spending time with him because “he wouldn’t be ok” hanging out alone for the rest of the weekend. She also suggested that she would try to fly out again in a few weeks alone after the dust settles to spend time with me and my daughter.
When we were walking to our cars, my mom was borderline crying, didn’t say goodbye to me or my daughter, got into the car (she hitched a right with one of our friends since we didn’t have room in our car) and left. She didn’t come to our house, she didn’t show up for our planned lunch reservation, and she hasn’t said a word to me since.
At this point even if she does reach out and not just fly home in the next few days I’ve decided that the option is 1) she can be a part of my life and my family’s life if her husband isn’t around or 2) no-contact. I wish I could say this is the first time I’ve gone no-contact with them, but there were a time period over 10 years ago that I didn’t speak to them either and that lasted 3 years.
I know she’s not going to take it well when I tell her, and I’ve accepted the fact that she’s likely going to stay with him even if it means never seeing her granddaughter again. Or IF I get to tell her at all since she is not talking to me. Her airbnb is literally 1/2 mile from my house and we can see each other’s location so I know she’s just there with him and ghosting me.
So now I feel that I’m in a stalemate waiting for her to talk to me, just so that I can tell her that I can’t have her as a part of my life if her husband is always tagging along. I also want to make it clear that while I think it would be better that she divorce him, that’s not the ultimatum I’m wanting to communicate to her.

Losing the one shot is definitely disappointing, however I don't think the character is dead. I know there's been a lot of hopelessness in the Hanzo community, but my aim is to help you guys improve your game so you can still excel on Hanzo and feel like a GOAT. In this post I'm gonna talk about the general playstyle that works for me on Hanzo, and how to adapt your playstyle based on the enemy comp. And at the end I'll put a couple tips for improving your aim.
Hanzo still has some distinct advantages that he can leverage against his enemies. His wall climb is amazing for a medium range hero, considering most other heroes either can't access high ground, or need to commit cooldowns to get there. Storm arrows are an incredibly consistent kill tool at medium/close range. And having a leap every 4 seconds, combined with wall climb, gives you the ability to be just as slippery as you are deadly. And of course, sonic arrow lets your whole team have wall hacks 50% of the time, and on defense, lets you see the enemy comp before they even come out the doors, allowing you to plan your positioning accordingly.
The thing is, most people think that hanzo is a long range hero, but he's really not. The only time you want to be shooting enemies from long range is before the fight to do pressure, get ult charge, and potentially get a pick on any hero that's taken chip damage. It's not about being a goat and hitting long range headshots. It's about proper medium/ close range positioning and proper timing, to make your shots easy to hit.
The way I play Hanzo is as a medium range pressure hero with incredibly high dps. You don't want to hold long range sniper angles on your own, you want to be active in the fight from medium range and use your slippery mobility to take off angles and high ground at opportune moments. Getting kills at close range is incredibly consistent with Hanzo, you just can't expect to get a 5k with headshots only. You want to take an off angle to get a kill or two with storm arrows. Then as soon as the enemies turn to react, use your leap and wall climb to escape.
It sounds crazy but you want to play on a razor's edge of feeding to maximize your damage output. Push in close from an off angle near your tank to get easy headshots and storm arrow kills, but always be one leap away from safety... Whether that's a high ground to climb up to, or just leaping back into your team.
I've also had some success with full committing on a hard flank, but the key is timing. You want to get behind/to the side of the enemy backline shortly after the two tanks clash. When the enemy supports are tunnel visioned on helping the frontline, THATS when you pop around the corner and take your shots on the supports and burst them with storm arrows. Best case scenario, you kill the supports, then the DPS, then finish the tank in a perfectly executed pincer attack. Worst case scenario, you distracted the supports and made people turn to shoot you, while the enemy tank is left with no support in the frontline.
There are times where it's better to just spam from main, and I'd say that's usually when your tank has a distinct disadvantage against the enemy tank and both are fighting in the frontline. Keeping constant pressure on that tank can help sway the matchup into your tank's favor, or at least make space for them. But of course, killing squishies can still carry games.
DIVE COMPS:
The other time to stay in main with your team is when the enemy team has flankers/ dive heroes who can kill you if you are isolated. Generally in those matchups, I just try to focus on hitting shots on the threatening mobile heroes. They won't push you if they're half HP. In these cases, using yourself as bait can be very effective.
Let's say there's an enemy Genji, you should play slightly outside of his dash range while also being near your healers. He will want to dash at you, but he will fall just short of hitting you. Then you can pop your storm arrows, but don't shoot. He will instinctively deflect. Now, suddenly the Genji is in the middle of your team with no dash and no deflect, while you still have a full volley of storm arrows. Similar tips can be used against Dva and Winston as well.
Against Wrecking Ball, it depends. You don't wanna try to kill him, just force him out. If he rolls back to his team, keep putting out pressure. But if he chooses to escape BEHIND your team, try to hit him with a sonic arrow as he's leaving, then you can tell where he's going. It helps a lot.
Against Tracer and Sombra, Keeping tabs on their position is key. Sonic arrow is good to scout flanks. Plag near your team, but DONT PLAY BEHIND YOUR SUPPORTS. Play in front of them. The ideal scenario is that they target one of your supports, then you can turn and shoot them while they're tunnel visioned. Your burst damage is high enough to often kill them, or at least enough to force them to run away and reset. When you do force them away, try to estimate how much time you have before they come back, and use that time to apply pressure to the frontline.
But let's say you werent able to scout them, and don't know exactly where they are, but you know they're lurking somewhere. Take a shot at the frontline and then do a 180. Literally check the flank after every shot. Good flankers generally wait for you to be distracted by the frontline before they pounce. By shooting the enemy tank and doing a 180 turn, you can keep applying pressure while still being able to react to the flank at a moment's notice.
This last tip is SUPER risky but it works sometimes. Sometimes when I'm facing a Dive comp or lots of flankers that are rolling me, I will actually flank as Hanzo. I will hide in a concealed area behind the enemy team and then when I'm confident that the flankers are in my backline, I'll start attacking the enemy backline. The reason this works sometimes is because when you're facing flankers, they will be lurking around YOUR backline. But if you're lurking in THEIR backline, you're essentially on the complete opposite side of the map from them and they'll have no clue. This is a strategy that pro players called "trading backlines". If the enemy flankers are going to kill your backline anyway, you may as well target their backline too. After all, Dive comps don't usually peel for their own backline, they commit to killing yours. This works especially well when they're hard targeting you specifically. The last place a flanker expects to find you is in their own backline.
POKE COMPS:
The name of the game is map control. A big mistake Hanzo players make is trying to ego duel hitscans from long range, banking on hitting long range shots to win. Straight up, don't do that. It's ok to aim for hitting one body shot to keep them in check or force them off their angle. Sonic arrow also helps deter them from peeking those angles. But the way you beat those long range heroes is getting up close and dumping storm arrows into their face. I will literally get close enough so that I could literally leap into their face and melee them to finish them if I wanted to. 3 storm arrows is 225 damage, to body shots or one headshot is 240, so getting leap-melee finishers is actually very useful. I KNOW it sounds crazy to play this close, but I urge you to challenge your beliefs about Hanzo. Your damage output is so high that you will beat pretty much every long range hero up close. Storm arrows are ridiculous. Though medium range storm arrows are fine if they're unaware of you or have cover to escape to.
Against Ashe, just remember that you have plenty of ways to delete Bob. Headshots while jiggle peeking from cover, or storm arrow headshots, or even using dragonstrike to melt him if he's near the enemy team.
And against widowmaker, use your sonic arrow to scout her specifically. If she's bad, she'll stay scoped in and let you line up headshots. If she's good, she'll hide for 5 seconds or take a new angle. This means you can push up while she's given up the angle.
Against poke comps, you know that you're always safe in cover, because they have no flankers. So as long as you're controlling the angles and bullying the enemy off of their angles, you will win over time by controlling all the space and winning the objective.
BRAWL COMPS:
Brawl comps are generally slow and tanky, and usually only good at close range. And many of the brawl heroes have big hitboxes, making it easier to hit them from further away. Hanzo LOVES playing against slow brawl comps. With your mobility, you can bully them from angles where they can't even contest you. Even if you don't get kills, you can farm ult so fast that you can zone them off the objective with dragons and do tons of damage to their clumped up team. Just don't spend too much time focusing the tank, because if they have lots of healing you probably won't kill them. Though you can still pressure the tank to make them fall back to buy space for your team.
RUSH COMPS:
Rush comps are kind of a hybrid between dive and brawl, and so many of the tips for both will apply. You want to put out lots of pressure, and take off angles when you can. BUT!!! You need to rotate back to your team sooner than you normally would. You might think you're safe from a decent range on an off angle, but a Lucio speed amp or Junker Queen shout, Rein pin, or Moira fade can let them rush you down much faster than you'd expect. Don't get greedy on your off angles, and dont expect kills. Even just hitting a shot or two to bait out defensive cooldowns like Shout, Wraith form, etc can lower the enemy team's lethality and make them hesitant to rush. If a rush comp gets a numbers advantage, they can pretty much run your team down for free. So don't get greedy.
Also, the baiting tip works well with rush comp too. If you're playing near your team, you can be in the front just behind your tank and bait the enemy team to rush you, and then you can quickly leap away and climb to high ground. Now, you're on high ground above a ground-based comp that just wasted resources to push you. You simply need to watch your spacing and use your slippery movement to dodge the rush. Just remember to play in sight of your healers incase you do take some damage.
People HATE Hanzo to a degree that is completely irrational, and they will literally feed their brains out to try and kill you. You can use that to your advantage. He has the mobility and burst damage to slip out of arms reach and burst them down, making them even more tilted, making them feed harder.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR AIM:
A HUGE tip that I've barely heard anybody talk about it a really simple one: Don't focus your eyes on your crosshair, focus your eyes BELOW your crosshair. Essentially you just aim at head height but focus your eyes on the enemy's body. Because it's much easier for your eyes to track a moving body than a moving head. Once I started doing this I noticed an immediate difference.
My personal favorite way to warm up my aim is a custom workshop code for an improved practice range: AJERA
Before every session, I go to the area by the roaming bots, and press interact on the blue orb near the ledge. It will spawn a flying Pharah bot. Then I climb up to the various high grounds and practice shooting Pharah from different ranges. Its hard at first, but once I can hit shots on her semi consistently, then I know I'm ready to queue.
And for practicing close range consistency, the central area has an orb that spawns a Lucio bot who jumps around and wall rides within an enclosed area.
The custom practice range also has a blinking Tracer bot to practice on, which is nice.
The only thing it's missing in my opinion is a jumping Genji bot, but there are other custom codes that have those like VAXTA, which is also good.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope these tips are useful for you. I know a lot of people are choosing to boycott Hanzo, and I respect that. But for me, I want to keep playing him and prove that he can still carry.
Now get out there and make your enemies tilted. ;)

The Note.
One day there was a boy walking to school who found a note on the ground. But the boy was young and had not yet learned how to read, so he picked it up and took it to school. The boy showed the note to his teacher and asked "Teacher teacher I was walking to school and found this note on the ground but I don't know how to read, what does it say?" The boy hands the teacher the note, and the teacher reads it. The teacher yells at the boy "HOW DARE YOU SHOW THIS TO ME, TAKE THIS NOTE TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE!"
So the boy takes the note and goes to the principal's office and meets the principal there. The principal asks the boy "Why are you here?" The boy tells him "Well Mr. Principal I was walking to school and found this note on the ground but I don't know how to read! So I brought the note to school and I showed it to my teacher and asked her to read it! When she read it she yelled at me to go straight to the principal's office so here I am!" The principal says "Well this must be some note, let me see it. The boy hands the principal the note, and the principal reads it. The principal yells at the boy "HOW DARE YOU, GET OUT OF MY OFFICE. YOU'RE EXPELLED, GO HOME AND DO NOT COME BACK TO THIS SCHOOL."
So the boy takes the note and walks back home. Once he walks inside his mother is there cleaning up a bit. Mother is of course surprised to see the boy in the middle of a school day! The boy's mother asks him "Why are you home so early?" The boy tells her "Well mother I was walking to school and found this note on the ground but I don't know how to read! So I brought the note to school and I showed it to my teacher and asked her to read it! When she read it she yelled at me to go straight to the principal's office! So I went to the principal's office and showed him the note! When he read it he told me I was expelled and to go straight home so here I am!" Mother is shocked to hear such a tale, and tells the boy to hand her the note. The boy hands his mother the note, and his mother reads it. The boy's mother yells at him "I CANNOT BELIEVE AFTER ALL WE HAVE TRIED TO TEACH YOU. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO YOU. YOU ARE GROUNDED, YOU GO TO YOUR ROOM AND WAIT FOR YOUR FATHER TO GET HOME FROM WORK."
So the boy takes the note and goes to his room, and waits for his father to get home from work. The boy's father goes into his room, and asks him why he has been grounded. The boy tells him "Well father I was walking to school and found this note on the ground but I don't know how to read! So I brought the note to school and I showed it to my teacher and asked her to read it! When she read it she yelled at me to go straight to the principal's office! So I went to the principal's office and showed him the note! When he read it he told me I was expelled and to go straight home! So I went home and showed the note to mother! When she read it she told me I was grounded and to wait in my room for you to get home from work so here I am!" The boy's father begins laughing at such a tale. "What a ridiculous story son. Let me see this note so we can laugh at it together." The boy hands his father the note, and he reads it. The boy's father stops laughing, and disgust and anger takes hold of him. The boy's father yells at him "YOU ARE NO SON OF MINE. WHAT YOU HAVE DONE HERE IS UNACCEPTABLE AND YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN FOR THIS. YOU ARE GROUNDED BUT NOT HERE IN YOUR ROOM, GO INTO THE BASEMENT AND DON'T COME OUT!"
So the boy takes the note and goes into the basement.
25 years go by...
The boy emerges from the basement to find his family has long since left. A man and woman he does not recognize are sitting at the table, and are quite surprised to see the boy emerge from their basement! The man stands up and demands to know why the boy is in his home. The boy says "Well sir I was walking to school and found this note on the ground but I don't know how to read! So I brought the note to school and I showed it to my teacher and asked her to read it! When she read it she yelled at me to go straight to the principal's office! So I went to the principal's office and showed him the note! When he read it he told me I was expelled and to go straight home! So I went home and showed the note to mother! When she read it she told me I was grounded and to wait in my room for my father to get home from work! So I went to my room and when my father came home from work, I showed him the note! When he read it he told me I was no son of his, and to go into the basement! And now 25 years have gone by and I finally have come out, so here I am!"
The man and woman look at each other and then back to the boy, hardly believing such a story. The woman's interest has been piqued however, and she tells the boy "If such a note were to exist, whatever would it say I wonder." The boy replies "I was young, I never learned to read and still don't know how! Here, read it!" The boy retrieves the yellowed, worn note and hands it to the woman, and she reads it. The woman pauses for a moment, looks to the man and then to the boy, and walks into the kitchen. The boy looks around confused, and watches as the woman returns from the kitchen. The woman yells at the boy "THIS IS YOUR FAULT. YOU DID THIS." The woman reveals a large kitchen knife and stabs the man, killing him. The woman then lunges at the boy, stabbing him in the chest. The boy falls down and watches as the woman yells at him "HOW COULD YOU EVER DO SUCH A THING" before stabbing herself, and dying. The boy crawls over to the woman, and clutches the note, as he breathes his last breath and dies.
Time passes, who can say how long...
The boy opens his eyes and begins looking around. He sees white, pearly gates, and a tall angelic figure before him. The figure speaks "Hello boy, I am St. Peter. Welcome to the Gates of Heaven. Tell me, what do you remember? You are rather young, why are you here so soon?" The boy is in disbelief, but he tells St. Peter "Well St. Peter I was walking to school and found this note on the ground but I don't know how to read! So I brought the note to school and I showed it to my teacher and asked her to read it! When she read it she yelled at me to go straight to the principal's office! So I went to the principal's office and showed him the note! When he read it he told me I was expelled and to go straight home! So I went home and showed the note to mother! When she read it she told me I was grounded and to wait in my room for my father to get home from work! So I went to my room and when my father came home from work, I showed him the note! When he read it he told me I was no son of his, and to go into the basement! And then 25 years went by and I finally came out, and I found a strange man and woman inside my home! When I tried to explain what had happened, the woman asked me to read the note so I gave it to her! The woman read the note and then she killed the man, me, and then herself! So here I am!" St. Peter's eyes are wide, but he approaches the boy and embraces him. "Alas, such a story and yet here you are. Allow me to read this note and free you from its burden, and you may enter the Pearly Gates." The boy hands St. Peter the note, and he reads it. Suddenly, the Pearly Gates begin to fade, and the bright angelic glow behind St. Peter changes to a shade of deep crimson. The imposing voice of St. Peter bellows out "DEFILER. SACRILEGE. YOU ARE DAMNED AND YOU SHALL LINGER IN THE HEAVENS NO LONGER. I CAST YOU OUT!"
The boy begins falling, and falling, and falling...
The boy awakens in a deep, deep pit of fire and pain. A million anguished screams pierce his eardrums, and then a million more. The boy understands, he is in Hell. A figure approaches him but before it can speak, the boy cries out "SATAN! THIS ISN'T FAIR!" Satan only laughs at him, and says "Fair? Nothing is fair. Tell me, why is it do you think you are here, and not above with St. Peter?" So the boy tells him "Well Satan I was walking to school and found this note on the ground but I don't know how to read! So I brought the note to school and I showed it to my teacher and asked her to read it! When she read it she yelled at me to go straight to the principal's office! So I went to the principal's office and showed him the note! When he read it he told me I was expelled and to go straight home! So I went home and showed the note to mother! When she read it she told me I was grounded and to wait in my room for my father to get home from work! So I went to my room and when my father came home from work, I showed him the note! When he read it he told me I was no son of his, and to go into the basement! And then 25 years went by and I finally came out, and I found a strange man and woman inside my home! When I tried to explain what had happened, the woman asked me to read the note so I gave it to her! The woman read the note and then she killed the man, me, and then herself! Then I woke up in Heaven and St. Peter was before me! I showed St. Peter the note and he cast me out of Heaven, so here I am!" Satan laughs again. "Stupid boy, whatever could be written on a note to cause such series of events? Perhaps I myself authored this note. Give it to me so that I may read it."
The boy reaches into his pocket and retrieves the note: at this moment ancient, torn, yellowed, blackened, tattered. The boy holds the note gingerly in his hands, cradling it like a newborn butterfly, and he extends it towards Satan.
The boy is in Hell, and the heat there is so great that the note bursts into flames and is lost forever.

All right here it is finally, thank you all for your patience and let's hope chapter 5 is a little more expedient. As usual I hope you enjoy and would love to get everyone's thoughts.
First Previous
4: Memory transcription subject: Zeak, Harchen orphan, citizen of the Venlil Republic. Date: standardized human time July 13th 2136.
The sky was a roaring mass of fire and pungent black smoke that choked out the light of the sun. As I ran down the street, green blood flowed like a broad shallow river. It splashed up with every step I took, sticking to my scales, the smell of it made me feel sick. As the piercing wail of the emergency sirens seemed to grow louder and louder with every step I took making my ears ring and filling my head with a thunderous pain. My heart pounded, my lungs were on fire, and my legs felt like they were made of lead.
A herd of towering blurry figures appeared out of nowhere and ran past me, some almost knocking me down. In their panic they began to look more like crazed wild animals than people. I cried for help but they couldn't hear me. I waved my paws then grabbed one of them a male Venlil, tightening my grip with all the strength I had hoping this would get his attention. He threw me off like I was trash, less than trash. I turned around and continued pleading for anyone to help me, reaching out for others. But their frantic idiot eyes looked only straight ahead and not down, never down, as the herd passed me.
I turned back around and continued to run, blood splashing up soaking me all the way to my knees. I stumbled, my legs were so tired I could barely stand, and I fell down catching myself, plunging my paws into blood as deep as my wrists. I felt myself scream but I couldn't hear it over the ringing in my ears. A scrap of paper gently floated past me, a single word written on it that echoed in my mind “Weakling.” It passed and four more took its place, “Coward”, “Liar”, “Oath breaker”, “Murderer.” I screamed in rage and slapped the pieces of paper aside, blood splashing onto my snout, but the meanings of those words remained. Getting back up I stumbled forward, and fell down again. Then with an effort born out of sheer desperation I managed to stand again lurching forward. My legs were too tired to run but I had to keep going, I had to save them. Or at least her, please Protector if you're listening please let me save at least her.
It felt like I was searching for an endless time. Lurching forward, stumbling, falling down, getting back up, lurching forward once more. Eventually I saw it and my heart fell into the pit of my stomach. My family's car was turned over on its roof, the driver's side had been caved in. It was engulfed in fire and thick black smoke that rose up into the sky. I struggled forward and when I reached it I collapsed, my knees hitting the hot pavement. The smell of burning metal and something else I didn't know assaulted my senses making my stomach turn. Every muscle in my body begged me to run away. Calling out their names l looked inside, and a wave of nausea and horror flooded through me.
I turned away and vomited, then reached up with my blood soaked paws and covered my eyes. Those words thundered in my head making me think it was going to burst open, as hot tears welled up. “WEAKLING! COWARD! LIAR! OATH BREAKER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! “I'm sorry I'm sorry, I should have stayed, I should have helped. Why did I run?” I wailed, still unable to hear myself. Someone rested a delicate paw on my shoulder, and the world went quiet. As the pain in my head melted away.
My eyes snapped open and I was greeted by the gentle ringing of my alarm. In a rush of adrenaline I leaped out of bed not even bothering to wipe the sleep out of my eyes. Running out of my bedroom and down the narrow hallway towards the living room. Convincing myself It had all just been a horrible, horrible nightmare and everything was alright. Mom and Dad would be fixing breakfast, Dad softly singing a Harchen folk song while making something savory and delicious as mom sang along in harmony, preparing something special for my baby sister Naila. Oh yes and Naila, she would probably be sitting on a cushion in the sunny part of the living room. Holding her crooked tail, a birth defect which my parents said could be fixed when she was older. And making excited chirping noises at my arrival, while sunlight shone against her emerald scales. I loved my baby sister, I knew other kids resented having a younger sibling. Dismissing their responsibilities and spending less time with their family and more with their friends. I never once felt that way, the moment Naila hatched I devoted every spare minute I had to her. Finding music that would help her fall asleep, watching over her when my mom needed a break. Excitedly telling her about the day's events and what I learned at school, especially what I learned in computer science which was my favorite class.
“Mom! Dad!” I yelled bursting into the living room. “I just had the worst…” My voice trailed off as I was greeted with nothing “dream.” My heart tightened painfully in my chest, as I frantically ran through the house throwing open every door, knowing that they had to be here somewhere. They were just playing a game on me that was all, a game I would tell them I didn't appreciate. After the final door had been opened and no one was there to yell “Surprise!” My body slumped and I felt heavy as reality set back in, and the memories of what happened hit me like a hammer. I made my way back down the hall to my room, tail dragging behind me as I crawled back into bed. Wrapping myself tightly in a blanket, trying to find some comfort.
It must have been hours I lay there feeling numb all over, wishing I could get up the energy to just cry. I think I might have fallen asleep at one point. If I did it was a dreamless sleep, thank the stars for that. Eventually I did get up, sitting cross-legged on my bed, resting my chin in my paws, staring holes into the wall. I took a deep breath and side numbly looked out the window, searching for anything to distract myself with.
It was overcast, and eerily quiet. The emergency sirens had stopped blaring yesterday mere hours after everyone had gotten to the bunkers. The bodies of the dead had already been collected and their blood cleaned from the pavement. So as to not attract any predators into the neighborhood. I saw my neighbor A'shul was home, his white vehicle was sporting some new dents. I wondered, when he got into his vehicle yesterday morning and drove to the nearest bunker; did he try to help anyone? Or was he thinking only of himself? I suppose it didn't matter really. Nothing mattered.
I turned my head away and looked around my small room taking in everything, every trinket, misplaced item, my old second-hand desk, a big green crackle finished monster. Better suited for a Venlil than a young Harchen, heck I needed a stool just to use it. I had gotten it for basically nothing about a year ago, when the local extermination office was getting rid of their old furniture. All it took was a small bribe and they put it in my bedroom when no one was home. My parents, but especially my mom we're not happy when they saw it the next day. They would tell me at least once a week that It was too big for me and they were going to get rid of that eyesore. “Wouldn't you like something a little more modern dear?” My mom would ask, practically pleading for me to say yes. I used to pray that my parents would just shut up and stop bugging me about that stupid desk. I thought it was great, it made me think of private detective Bal from the exterminators show. Bal was a no nonsense Harchen who was so often pivotal in tracking down the predator or predator diseased person. My desk was very similar to his and that's why I wanted it. But at that moment, I would have given anything to hear those words again.
On the desk there was an ornate wooden box, with a fruit tree in full bloom delicately carved into its lid. There were also scuff marks where it had been dropped, and a deep crack running down the center. It was known as a blessing box, Naila's blessing box to be specific. When she hatched nearly ten months ago the whole neighborhood had been invited to come and write a blessing on a scrap of paper and put it in the box. I had written one too, not a blessing but a promise, a promise I couldn't keep. The belief was that if kept near the infant, the combined power of all those blessings would keep the hatchling safe until their first birthday. Where on that day the box would be set on fire and burned to ash. Releasing those blessings back into the world so they may protect someone else. It was an old tradition and not commonly practiced anymore, but as my dad always said “It is important to keep the old traditions alive my son. Both in song and action.” I remember asking him why? And he looked at me like he had been waiting for that question for a long time. “Because” He said, his tail moving with authority. “Someday when you lose your way, and you don't know where to turn to. You will always have something to guide you back to your center.”
Looking away from the box not wanting to look or think about the damn thing, I shifted my gaze down to my bedside table. There was a little holographic projector showing pictures of me, Mom, Dad and Naila on holiday back on Fahl, the Harchen home world to see family. I was born and raised on Venlil prime, so I didn't really know any of my extended family. There was a picture of my mom and Naila sleeping at the beach. Naila’s crooked tail coiled around mom’s arm, their scales a deep emerald in the light of the sun. The picture changed to me and Dad putting the finishing touches on a sand skyscraper taller than him. I had to sit on his shoulders to place the last bucket full of sand on top. Both of our scales were as blue as the ocean. My tail flicked sadly thinking of that day. I reached over and turned the holo protector off.
My holopad lay next to me flashing, alerting me to an urgent message. I hadn't really looked at my holopad since yesterday morning. Picking it up I tapped the flashing icon. It was an official government statement signed by Governor Tarva herself, saying that the humans Noah and Sarah were peaceful explorers, and that they only wished to be our friends. ‘No, that's impossible, they’re predators. Predators don't want peace, they want to conquer, kill and eat us,’ stunned and confused I kept reading. The rest of the message stated that the two human scientists were completely unaware there was intelligent life of any kind on Venlil prime. ‘No! Lies! Predator lies!’ I yelled inside my head. Something hot began to form in my chest as I read the last bit. Governor Tarver had shown the two predators footage of the Arxur torturing Venlil pups. It said that the humans were capable of empathy and felt deeply saddened and angered by what they saw. They vowed to do everything in their power to get their united nations into the war against the Arxur.
I scrolled all the way down and what I saw stopped me cold. Standing in her office being flanked by General Kam, stood Governor Tarva. Beside them looming over the two Venlil one bigger than the other, both of them covered in some sort of protective suit. Their faces were obscured by dark visored helmets. It said that the larger of the two Noah was male, and the smaller one was Sarah female. Sarah had her hands clasped in front of her, while Noah kept his to his side. Neither were acting threatening, and neither Tarva or Kam looked to be harmed in any way.
Something in me snapped, that hot thing inside my chest erupted and I could feel my scales turn black. I very carefully set my holopad down beside me, then I uncrossed my legs and got out of bed. I stood there in the center of my room shaking slightly, feeling terribly calm as white hot rage flooded my body, spreading to my paws and all the way out to the tip of my long tail. It never had to happen, the panic, the stampede, the death, we could have stayed home and avoided those people. ‘No… no not people,’ a bitter thought came over me. ‘They're not people at all, people stop and help, like that Venlil girl Kayleik, she was a person maybe the only one. But the rest of them were just wild animals, masquerading as sentient beings. ‘Do you really think you're any better, coward?’ Some internal voice said.
A sudden impulse took control of me and I grabbed my desks stool and hurled it against the wall. It dented the wall and bounced off still in one piece. Enraged, I leaped forward grabbing it by the legs, then turned around and slammed it into my desk. The sheet metal dented and the green crackle finish paint flew off, but the stool made of good dense wood from the string fruit tree stayed whole. “DAMN THEM! DAMN THEM! DAMN THEM! DAMN THEM!” I screamed, slamming the stool down again and again, my tail whipping wildly, striking the bed and the floor. The tip of my tail began to hurt, which only fueled my anger. Finally I heard cracking and wood began to splinter off. They didn't have to die, we could have stayed home. The muscles in my shoulders burned and my heart pounded as hot tears began to well up. I brought it down one final time narrowly avoiding the blessing box, and the stool broke in two. I hurled the pieces away from me, one slamming into the corner the other crashing through the window.
I leaned against the desk catching my breath as tears flowed freely. ‘Well that definitely showed them didn't it. Hey I got a great idea! Let's go break some more stuff, that will definitely make you feel better. Idiot!’ That internal voice said all coldness and bitterness. As I cried, the burning in my chest cooled, and I was filled with the same numbness as before. After a while my stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten since yesterday. I moved sluggishly out of my bedroom and went straight to the kitchen, quickly grabbed some fruit and left to go and watch the view screen or something. The moment I entered the living room, memories came flooding back. Mom and Dad laughing, Naila sleeping peacefully, the lingering aroma of breakfast, and the warmth of our home. But now it was all gone and I was alone. For the first time in my life, I had no one to go to.
It was right then I realized I couldn't stay here anymore. This place felt like a tomb, all cold and filled with the memories of the dead. Besides, if I stayed here someone would eventually send the authorities to come and get me. Ship me off to an orphanage, foster care or maybe to my extended family back on Fahl. I balked at the idea of being forced to live with people I didn't know or trust. Memories of yesterday's stampede invaded my mind and I shuddered. I couldn't trust any of them not anymore. No, there was one person I could think of that maybe I could trust. Turning around I went back to my room, found my backpack and grabbed my holopad, the blessing box, the holo projector and my blanket stuffing it into my pack. Then I went to the kitchen and filled my pack up the rest of the way with dried fruit and vegetable snacks. With my backpack looking like it was going to burst I shouldered it and made my way to the front door. When I rested my scaly paw on the door handle I stopped and looked back at the place that was once my home. “Goodbye” I said in a shaky voice, knowing this would be the last time I would never set foot in this house. With my head low I opened the door and stepped out, into the dim light of a new unfamiliar world.

Sorry if my post is long....Its my first time taking advise from anyone regarding such things.🙈
I have mostly studied in institutes only for girls. As I grew, talking to guys became difficult for me. Also, I was very naive always. I am the " good fun intelligent girl " as per others & "unlike other girls". Due to my family problems & fights, which promotes inferiority complex, I am not someone who considers herself beautiful all the time... to the point that once i didn't want to attend my institute's freshers party but just went there because 2 classmates called me beautiful so I thought i won't look bad maybe ( i am not much of a makeup person) & ended up being the winner ( it included looks, quizzes, debate & games ) So i found out i look pretty if I give few minutes to get ready & take care of myself a bit. I always saw myself as someone a guy won't like but after attending birthday parties etc, girls used to say their boyfriends were talking about me in a very good way later and praising me a lot. They used to feel jealous but not insecure as they saw me as a girl not interesting in dating. I never had a boyfriend. For a long time, I didn't care. Now for past 1 year, I too feel like having someone. Most of the friends who knew me ever use words like " pure " & " decent " for me though I know these things don't define purity or goodness. Have you seen " beautiful people " song video by Edsheeran? I am somewhere between those " beautiful people " & that couple. I don't know if its normal but when guys approach me through insta & start showing romantic interest just in single day, i dislike it.. like you don't even know me dude. I have a big thing for decency & friendship first. & I always have my guards up. It's self destructive maybe.
I have evolved now but since despite being a bright person, I gave up on many good opportunities so currently I don't like the current version of myself much & I feel like i should work on myself & be with others ( even friends ) when i would be a better version of me. This year is crucial for me.
Now, THE MAIN PART - Now... I have an extra anonymous type instagram account. I rarely scroll it but one day, i saw a viral reel of a girl with normal number of followers with her foreigner boyfriend. There were other reels too showing their first meeting in LDR after meeting on a dating app. At first it made me happy & smiling but I remembered something & guess what? I knew about that girl's very very bad intentions ( specially about her plan about how she would manipulate her would be boyfriend & eventually cut him off from his family)..don't ask me what & how but if i tell you.. you would ask to let the innocent man know anyhow. Well.. I dm'd that guy but only hinted indirectly for the sole purpose of humanity ( that anonymous account doesn't indicate my gender or picture ). I also wrote that it was not my main account to signify that i was not a fake troll. To my surprise, he understood the hint & even elaborated a bit & replied that such things may already be happening & he won't fell into such traps. He thanked me & said I could also come from my main account. I didn't think much & followed him from main account. He followed very very very few people but followed me back too. I decided not to talk further on this issue as he had already understood more than i hinted. But he himself thanked me again & said bad things are happening from her side & they are fighting too & he may even break up if it goes on like this. My intention was just to make him aware & at the end of the day, he is in relationship with that girl so I just replied with formal answers. I also became scared later that what if its a trap & they make me viral later picturing me as a villain. I told him this directly but he said i could trust him & he knows the situation himself & understands that I worried genuinely for him. I replied that I did this because every human is precious to their parents. Later i deleted my such texts. He said he wants to learn a language & if I could help him. I said yes. We have talked a bit since then. He seems a nice, well mannered, hardworking guy. Once my closest friend asked me to describe a guy very particularly i would like to go on few dates with just once. So I told her that all nice guys but if you ask me very specifically then a fine guy with this one particular characteristic & of this particular country. & He fulfils both. I have started to like him. It's not a dreamy crush. Believe me. I know what that is. It's more like I would like to get to know him & go on coffee date sometime. But obviously I won't take any step because - i can't even take first step in befriending someone & no matter what, there is a girl in his life. But I think if it would be good or bad if i totally give up on texting him. I can't carry on with short talks.. i am not that of a conversation expert. There is a bit of language barrier too. He likes my stories..only the ones in which i am present. But currently I am focused on important things so I don't even have much to post. He rarely posts his pictures...just work sort of stuff.
Please don't think me as a *^%## waiting for breakup. It's never my intention ever for anyone. I annoyed you by telling about the way i am to show that i just don't wanna regret anything from now on because of introvertedness or naivety or whatever & I am afraid that I might mess it up even if something happens further. I have lost precious friends in the past due to this self inferiority complex & not being able to keep on the conversation & understanding their references later on. Since, I know i have to be better.. should i just keep working on my life & myself till I make myself deserving?
What should I do? Should I just keep liking his posts and be silent... or... I can think of no other option. That's why I am here.

My mother just recently passed away in a nursing home. I was her power of attorney. She was on Medicaid. She has money in her checking, and she has an IRA that if I remember correctly I was told both would go to either Medicaid or the nursing home. I don't remember which.
We had a lawyer that got her on Medicaid back in 2018. I know my power of attorney ceased once she passed away. What I'm wondering is will I need to be the executor of an estate to deal with anything around the IRA or any check the nursing home might require for her time since the last bill was paid? Because I don't have that power of attorney anymore and it just dawned on me that I don't know how I would handle anything without it. Do I need to become the executor of her estate? Does she need one? She has no assets beyond that IRA and what's left in her checking.
I never really thought about this until I realized that money would still be due to the nursing home for the days that she was there after the last payment was made, and I no longer have the authority to write a check for that. And I have no idea what Medicaid or the nursing home would do with regards to the IRA or her checking, and I have no idea how I can handle any of that without the power of attorney.
Thank you for any help you can provide

i’m so sorry if this is rlly long, im new to reddit so pls let me know if i need to shorten it and how to do so😭
hi so this is kinda hard to explain fully so i’ll try to explain the most important parts.
this maybe a TW to a lot of ppl so please be careful reading this i don’t want to upset anyone! ⚠️
so i’m 20(f) and i’ve been with this guy (also 20)for about over two years. we met in highschool when i was going through a breakup and he was one of my only closest friends. as with all abusive relationships, it started off so amazing, it was my first in person serious relationship so i was fully heard over heels. so much so that when red flags started popping up i ignored them. it started off with him telling me to drop my closest guy friends, etc… and i did because he used him having no friends at all to make me feel like i had to do the same. he also got me into smoking weed, which i have nothing against btw, it was just bad for me because i used it to cope with a lot of my depression. since i smoked weed more often, i started gaining weight which i had no problem with since i had gone through a severe case of anorexia about 2 years prior, but it did make me a little insecure. slowly he started insulting my weight, my body, and so many other things, until it led to the point where he got physical after around six or seven months of us dating. i remember his mom walking in on him about to hit me with a belt and she had been abused by his dad and my bf witnessed it all, so she was very angry at him and she took my side, and i’ll never forget what she told me; “this isn’t love. someone who loves you would never even think of putting their hands on you”. i still feel guilty for not listening to her. i wanted to believe in him so badly, so i stayed and things just got worse.
everyday there was a fight, either verbally or physically (most of the time both), and i just felt so horrible. so i eventually wanted to adopt a cat, something i always wanted to do since i was a little girl. i adopted a kitten and unfortunately my parents did not allow me to keep him at my house because of my dog, and i asked my bf if i could keep him at his house for the meantime while i can work with my parents on how he can live with me (the kitten). i am not exaggerating when i say that that little kitten was my soulmate in a little cat body. he seemed to understand me and love me in a way no other human did. and i loved him more than anything. i eventually went on vacation with my family for a few days and when i came back i could tell somehow things were different. he wouldn’t let me see my kitten and when i pretty much forced him to let me see him, he started crying and begging me not to leave him. i of course panicked and agreed because i thought something bad happened to my kitten, and he showed me him and told me that he had broken one of his paws. i was so horrified, i felt so much pain at seeing my little buddy in that state, so i freaked out and i demanded and begged that he let me take him to the vet or anywhere else that wasn’t his house so that he can get help. but he refused, and even threatened me if i took him, saying it was his cat and just making me feel like it was my fault that this happened and not his. my biggest regret and the reason i feel guilty to this day is that i stayed out of fear, instead of taking my kitten with me and never looking back. he ended up killing my kitten one night that i went home (i have always lived with my parents), and he didn’t tell me until i came over the next day. it was the most painful and traumatic day of my life, knowing that i never got to say goodbye to my kitten, knowing how much my kitten loved me and how much i loved him, and now he was gone when he shouldn’t have been. i screamed and cried so much, and his (my bfs) only response was to aggressively attack me so i would be quiet, and blaming me that if i had taken him he would still be alive.
i felt so guilty and ashamed that i didn’t tell anyone until a month later, when i started having an onset of ptsd because of everything that happened, i decided to tell my therapist. she was horrified, saying that it was one of the most horrific things she ever heard, and honestly if it wasn’t for her help, i would’ve never survived that pain and guilt of losing my kitten. i know now that i was in a heavy denial that my bf would do something so horrible, so i continued on seeing him, but things just got worse and worse. he did so many fucked up things to me, physically, mentally, sexually, in almost every single way possible that you can imagine. i used weed as my coping mechanism for a lot of it, and it was the only way i could numb all the pain he was causing me. i was so depressed, i never felt suicidal with intentions of offing myself, but i did just want to go to sleep and never wake up. the guilt of my kittens death, combined with the horrible abuse this person that was supposed to love me was doing, was so painful. eventually i told my family what happened, but all they did was basically say that i “let it happen” and that “i should’ve left the first time he put his hands on me”, and that “why didn’t i defend myself the way i defended myself against them (referring to my family)”. it hurt but i understand they weren’t educated on it, especially coming from a minority family.
eventually a few months passed, and i found out i was pregnant. it was honestly one of the best days of my life, even if i was young, i still was happy because there was this little life in me. and i knew from the second i found out that i couldn’t stay with him. i couldn’t allow my baby to have that same life that i was living, but i didn’t know how to get out. he didn’t want me to continue the pregnancy when i told him, and even threatened to leave me and not support me at all, but i was determined to stand by my decision; he wasn’t going to take away my choice of having my baby. i stopped smoking weed the day i found out, and he always tried to make me smoke, which i refused, which would get him so upset. but i was determined to take care of my lil baby from the start, he had taken away too much already from me. i told my parents and they were disappointed but quickly became supportive, and encouraged me to leave him for good. it took a few months of me seeing him occasionally, but things not really changing, for me to leave him for good.
i left a few weeks ago due to me realizing that the only thing i was doing by going over to his house was putting myself and my baby in danger. and after a very scary traumatizing incident, i realized while crying and praying to God, that the only true love i’ve ever felt and feel at this point, is for my baby. my bf was no longer my whole world, it was my baby, and as a mother to be, i was going to do everything to protect my baby. i rather go through the pain of breaking away from my bf then something bad happening to me or even to my baby. not only does my baby deserve a happy and safe life, but i realized that i do too. and in order for my baby to be happy, i have to be happy as well. so i made a promise to God and to myself and my baby, that i was never ever going to see my bf again. so that day after i left his house, i never went back. i don’t blame other moms in these situations, because it is so incredibly difficult to get out, i know, trust me i do. but for me what has helped me stay strong in my decision, is seeing how much happier me and my baby are already. i only have a few more months until i give birth, and i can already feel him kicking so hard now and being much more active. i truly believe it’s because he senses that we’re truly safe now, that our nightmare is over.
it’s been really hard i’m not going to lie, i cry sometimes and miss the person i fell in love with, but my faith in God and my baby have helped me a lot, as well as my family! that person i fell in love with, left a long time ago, and was never truly there. i know that i’m doing the right decision for me and my baby, to be safe and to have a happy life together. i know i can be both mommy and daddy to him, and most importantly i’ll teach him that he has God as his father too, which is much much better than having a pos father tbh.
going back to the title of my post though, i realized in these recent days that i know it’s time to go no contact completely. i haven’t seen him at all which i know is good, but i know to fully move on i have to cut off all communication with him. i think he can sense i’m breaking away from him, because yesterday he begged me to come over, saying all the things he used to say before, like that he “wants to hold me”, he wants to get our favorite drink together and food, that he wants to feel our baby kick, which honestly made it so hard to say no but i stood by my decision as painful as it was 🫠i told him i will not see him because i know things are going to remain the same and i’m doing what’s best for my baby and for me. and that as much as i still have love for him and miss him, i will not put myself or my baby in danger any longer. he proved my point after i said that, because he basically said so many horrible things to me, including that i was a “dumb overweight bitch”, “fuck you”, and he got mad that i saved a video of MY kitten that HE killed, saying that “fuck you for saving a video of me and my boy”, and a bunch of other hurtful stuff. it was honestly so disgusting and it made me glad i stuck by my decision to not ever see him again. i left him on read so he spam called me and i only answered once to tell him to leave me alone, but he basically only called me to say “i rather spend money on drugs and alcohol than you and that fucking baby🥲”. i’m not going to lie and act like it didn’t hurt, it really did. it really really did. but it also strangely gives me strength and makes me feel reassured that i made the best decision ever by leaving, not only for myself but for most importantly my baby. i don’t need him in my life anymore, all i need is my baby, God, and my family.
ever since then i want to send him a message that i want to breakup with him for good and basically go no contact from there. it sounds stupid, but i’m still scared to do so, i’m scared i’ll regret it in a way, even though i know for certain i won’t. i also remember the “good times” and it makes me sad and feel guilty for “giving up on him” even tho i know he doesn’t deserve me at all🫠. i guess that’s the abused part of me being scared still. i know i’ve taken an important big step by cutting off physical contact, but i know i can’t keep talking to him because he’ll only find other ways to torment me and make me feel bad even from far away. i guess i just wanted to ask for reassurance that i’m doing the right thing? idk🥲 sometimes it feels like i’m not strong enough, but my baby always reminds me with his kicks (lol) of why i’m doing all of this, which is for him!! a mothers love is truly so strong, i never really knew that until now. i would do anything to protect my baby. the only thing that has kept me happy and strong enough to continue is him! :’) and i also want to cut off contact for good because i want to enjoy the last months of my pregnancy in peace lol, and once he’s born soon i def do not need my bf stressing me out nor do i want him to. i also do not want him to be apart of my baby’s life once he’s born, i made sure to collect evidence just in case he ever wants to ask for visitation rights, cuz there is NO WAY in hell i will ever allow him to be near my baby let alone be alone with him ever. it’s sad but it’s the reality of his actions, it’s my job to protect my baby first. i’m lucky to have my family’s financial support as well while i finish up college, so i def do not care if he threatens me with not paying child support. i just want him out of our lives for good.
so yeah im just looking for reassurance that im doing the right thing and any advice if anyone has some! 🥹🫶i just want to be a good mommy to my baby and i hope i’m doing just that already 🥲❤️‍🩹i haven’t really told many people about my story out of fear of judgment, so it’s really a big step for me to share, even if it’s anonymous in a way. im just focusing on trusting God and myself, and im so excited to meet my baby soon! 🥹and to do better in college since i’ve been slacking ever since i started due to all the trauma and problems my bf put me through. i’m excited in general, to get my life back and to start a new chapter with my little one! 🥹🥲🫶 i got in contact with my old friends which has been nice, i know i should try to socialize more so i won’t feel as depressed. i also am looking for a new therapist (i stopped going to my old one a few months ago due to it being out of pocket😭), which i’ve been procrastinating but i know it’s important to help me heal from my trauma and to help me with my ocd (which has gotten worse tbh and it makes me more anxious about my baby🥲 even tho i know he’s okay i’m just really paranoid always). i am sad, but not as sad as i was when i was with him. and while i don’t really want to find a partner in the future because my priority is my baby, i do hope i’ll one day find someone who can love me as i deserve. it feels impossible though, but i know that might just be because of all the effects of his abuse…
i hope even if you don’t have advice for me or anything to say (which is totally fine!) i hope people reading this can find comfort that all bad moments come to an end, and that you have the power to leave, as hard as it is ❤️‍🩹even if it doesn’t seem like it, i promise you will get through it. i’m still not over it completely, i def have a long way to go, but i know it’ll all be worth it, and tbh it already is worth it!
thank you for taking the time to read this, i send all my love and good vibes to all of you warriors! <3 :’)

I’ll try not to make this the longest thing ever.. I am 32F and Married to my 33M husband. We have been together for 8 years and have almost 4 year old twins. but my Mother in law is classic in a lot of ways. She’s over dramatic, she assumes any post or meme is about her.. then gets upset and demands apologies. She once banned one of my husbands friends from coming over for a month for not saying hello to her. Acts like all my husbands friends are her “kids” and “friends” and will even message them for help or to talk. she lives far away and only comes around for visits or parties. She has never helped us beyond gifts. She’s never babysat or even been alone with our kids.
My twins have their 4th birthday coming up, we had their 3rd birthday party at my husbands grandmothers house last year and it was amazing! My husband’s grandmother asked many times over the last year to host it again. I had posted to my social media that I wanted to invite some children from the school this year.. my mother in law wanted me to keep it to just family and friends. When we decided to invite some of those kids anyways.. she proceeds to message me and let me know I’m gonna need to rent a Porta potty cause she feels grandmother won’t let random people in the house to use the bathroom. I let her know we had been talking with grammy about it and she said we did not need to rent one. She responded “I’m not trying to be a dick” just letting you know. I wasn’t rude or anything in my response, just to the point. Fast forward to a week ago, we saw my husbands grandmother and confirmed all the details and everything, showed her all the invites.. etc.. (which were very expensive by themselves) we were also showing her the car we had just bought, and surprised her by letting her know we wouldn’t need to borrow her vehicle anymore. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Yesterday I get 4 kids to rsvp from the school for the party, and post about it and our excitement… and two hours later I get another message from my mother in law saying my husbands grandma doesn’t want random people in and out of the house and wants to know if we can go ahead and get that. The party is in two weeks and it’s $300 to rent that. We obviously don’t have the money for that. We also are certain that this happened because she called my husbands grandma and complained about it and convinced her of this.
She has never lifted a finger to help us in anyway. Or help with anything related to the party or raising the kids.. never given any form of real support in anyway outside of Facebook posts and it really feels like she’s deliberately making this harder on us. When she comes over, she talks about herself, her problems.. her nonsense.. so of course she immediately uses not helping as “punishment” as if she’s ever done anything to help us anyways.
Idk. Yall tell me. If I’m wrong, I’ll politely take it.. just don’t be unnecessarily rude
First screenshot is from a month ago, the rest from yesterday. She regularly responds to me like I’m being rude or being disrespectful when I’m not which amplifies at all, I’m sure.
Please, am I the asshole? Or is my mother in law sabotaging my kids day, then attempting to gaslight me for trying to establish a boundary. We talk to this grandma regularly. It’s hard to believe she decided this all by herself

“I attended middle school with her, although we did not attend high school together (she instead attended a high school that was supposed to help students gain college credits. She earned two liberal arts degrees while there in Social and Behavioral Sciences and Natural Sciences. She now attends an HCBU, and has on her LinkedIn profile that she is presently working toward graduating from her college with a degree in Health Sciences, Pre Med, and a minor in Military Science. She is apart of her school’s Army ROTC.)
I remember that a lot of people in middle school did not like her (although that was also the case for me,) and I understood why. She seemed noticeably introverted, yet also didn’t seem like the kind of person, at least from my perspective, who would try to appease you in the way I imagine a lot of people feel the stereotypical woman might. She had a strong glare (I remember mentioning this to my then best friend’s mom, who agreed with the suggestion) and stood out to me as being weird (it wasn’t necessarily anything she said or did - not her personality, exactly - it’s just the strong glare I mentioned, like she didn’t tend to look sincerely happy nor would she pretend to be unless she was around friends of hers. I remember that she didn’t tend to look happy, in my opinion. It’s possible that she was depressed, or she may have just tended to look irritable, I don’t know. She didn’t strike me as being the kind of person who would make an effort to be polite, struck me as being tomboyish and unladylike, the kind of person who wouldn’t try to change the way she was for you - I wasn’t used to it. Seemed competitive, too. I had truly never interacted with a girl who was like that before. She also struck me as being smart, although she was in the normal math class whereas I was in the advanced one (I was known for being smarter, but thought it should have been her. However, I did notice after looking at her LinkedIn profile that there were more grammatical errors than I expected.)
I remember that she and her friend (who I later on ended up being on good terms with) decided early on that they disliked me, although I hadn’t done anything to them, which bothered me. They also once used me for food in sixth grade, which had also bothered/upset me.
I remember that my former best friend had issues with her ranging back to elementary school, and that in sixth grade in particular they were competing for the attention of an ISFP they’d both been friends with since elementary school. This girl is the one who won the ISFP’s attention/was officially her best friend by the time they were in seventh grade. However, around seventh or eighth grade (it’s been so long that I no longer quite remember,) she “ditched” (in the words of my former best friend) the ISFP and the other friend I’d mentioned in favor of a new crowd. I actually remember my former best friend suggested that the people in her new crowd didn’t like her, either (although she hung out with them throughout eighth grade, and briefly went to high school in person with one of them as a junior whilst presumably taking courses at the other high school online, so I assume that she never knew this/didn’t read them well enough to know or understand this.) I notice that she unfollowed the ISFP at some point as a senior, though the ISFP never unfollowed her (she strikes me as being the kind of person who likely took note of the fact that the ISFP’s life doesn’t seem to be heading in a good direction - the ISFP was abused a few years ago, and has had substance use issues since, in addition to having had to repeat a year of high school. She also unfollowed my former best friend, and my former best friend recently unfollowed her back.)
She figured out that I was the one who owned the middle school gossip account (although most of our peers already suspected, and technically, this girl couldn’t prove it either.) She figured this out because she remembered that I was standing nearby when she told my former best friend who she had a crush on (I was being mean and told our peers who she was crushing on.) However, she never directly confronted me about the matter, even though she told my former best friend that she suspected it to be me. She later on changed her mind when I was kind to her friend who lost the role for graduation speaker to me toward the end of eighth grade (but she was right the first time.)
I noticed around junior year that she has actually turned out to be quite nice looking, even though I had once meanly suggested that she was fat in middle school (she was a tad bit chubby, though as an adult I’m inclined to suggest that this was likely simply baby fat/that with us being so young there wasn’t really anything wrong with this.) She does seem to wear makeup, but also has nice style (she is light skinned, and has a looser hair texture, which are likely factors in me thinking she’s attractive, if I’m being honest - she’s mixed race, with a black mother and white father.) I can’t possibly know, but she gives off the impression to me of being someone who knows that she’s attractive (just something about her energy/facial expressions in photos. She has her Instagram account public now.)”
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He's leaving his village to get away from a civil war between the branch family, and the main family. His dad doesn't expect to win the war Yes I understand d that using dots to represent a pause isn't the best way to do it, and that it confuses people. This is un-revised. I plan to do a little more research to better signal a pause for emotional exclamation. Tell me what you think of my first exerpt
"Why do I have to go mother?, you said I wouldn't be leaving for another 4 more years. so why?" Luceon asked.
"We are sorry son but the circumstances have changed. It is becoming too dangerous for you to stay." His mother said
"Father, at least tell me why I wasn't told before hand. Why so suddenly am I being torn from my home without even a warning?" Said Luceon
His father got down on one knee so as to be close to eye level.
"Luceon my son. You are a wise boy. The light behing your eyes seuggests an age far beyond your years so i..... I assure you that" for a moment his father's cheeks reddened as if he was about to let loose a tear. But only for moment. Then it was gone. His father, ever stoic wished to keep an air of "everything will be alright. Don't worry about us". Although Luceon could tell right away that something was horribly wrong. Something was being kept hidden from him. "I assure you... that if there was another way, we would keep you by our side... one day you will understand why it is you have had to leave."
His younger, adoptive brother by one year, crawled out from behind his father's legs and asked "brother, why are you leaving us? Why do you have to go?" His voice became quivery and a tear slid apart from his left eye. "I don't want you to go brother."
Luceon wrapped his arms around his brother and said "I don't want to go either. I really do hope we'll see each other again one day." He tightly held his brother., just as tight as his throat felt.
His mother stooped beside them and gripped them tightly. She said " Audrey is a fine woman. She is an old friend of ours, and of yours as well. She was here the day you were born. She's even held you in her arms. She has been anticipating the day she would see you again, though it is a bit early.... please come and greet luceon" his mother said aloud, so Audrey, who was still waiting inside the [not yet named animal] drawn carriage could hear, and be signaled to come out.
The woman who stepped out had the brightest shade of red hair he had ever seen. And the deep green color of her emerald eyes was a stark, and beautiful contrast. The fair and smooth features of her face gave him goosebumps. Yes... she had the kind of beauty that could spark war between nations. The kind of beauty that would tempt even the most zealous of clergymen. Yes.. to say she was beautiful was an understatement to be sure.
"Hello there child. I am Audrey Harpa. Though it is far to soon for us to meet, and the circumstances are less than optimal, I am more than happy to make your acquaintance." Her voice had a slight lilt in it. An echo of a forgotten accent, long since sanded away by the cogwheels of time. Luceon tucked himself away behind his father's legs just like his brother. "Luceon" his father said "say hello! You aren't like this with anyone else. Where did this bashfullness come from?"
He reluctantly came out from behind his father, and slowly raised his hand. Instead of stooping down to hold his hand like a normal adult would to greet a child, she stretched her arm down to meet his, as if she were greeting an equal. "I'm not happy for the circumstances either, but.... well, it's nice to make your acquaintance."
"So well spoken for your age" Audrey said
"Son, I would love to stay here with you and hold onto you for a few moments more but.... we really must say goodbye now. Audrey cannot linger any longer " his father stated.
"Father be truthful. Will I ever see you, mother and [unknown name] again?" He asked
This was the final straw that broke his father's composure."Damn this boy's intuition." He thought. He let loose more than a few tears, and his mother followed suit. "I..... I honestly cannot tell you. I really wish I could assure you that we will. But I cannot..."
His mother broke down into sobs next to him and held him. She said through choked tears "son.... promise me one thing.... promise you'll never forget who you are. Promise you'll never forget where you came from..... no matter what obstacles come, or what challenges you face, you came from us, and because of that we..." she was barely able to talk through the sobbing. "We are always with you..." she said as she placed a small leather bracelet adorned with little copper oraments into his palm. "Remember us"
They all held each other a little longer. Him, his mother, father, and tiny little brother. They cried for a few moments then, with his head facing the ground, he walked over to Audrey's side, unable to pick up his face.
Luceons father handed Audrey Luceon's baggage, and a small leather satchel as well as he whispered something into her ear. She nodded her head. And the climbed into the carriage. As the carriage departed, Luceon looked back through the dirty glass paned window to take in one last image of his family and his village. He stared until they were to far to see any longer... once his eyes were sure that they were out of sight.... luceon turned his back on his family. He turned his back on his old cobble stone village that housed his prideful clansmen. He turned his back on the rolling emerald plains that stretched across the isle of skye. He turned his back on scottland And most importantly, he turned his back on his home.
He shed one more solitary tear, and whispered "goodbye."

(Sorry, it’s kinda long)
Hey everyone,
A bit about me: I grew up in a toxic household with an alcoholic abusive single mother. She had anywhere from 15-20 stray cats in our home that she spoiled and loved more than me. She sure made that clear! My father left me and my mother when I was two years old and he never came back. I was put into the California foster care system at age 13 due to my mother being reported multiple times by my junior high school counselor. From there I went to several mental hospitals, lockdown facilities and group homes up to my 18th birthday. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder back in my adolescent years. I haven’t been evaluated as an adult but I’m sure I would be diagnosed with MDD if I were.
I have spent almost my entire adult life doing nothing with myself. I spent a lot of time early on sleeping in my car and showering at my friends houses. My grandma in Arizona helped me out a great deal and let me stay with her and find work, and I was proud of myself although I was working a menial janitorial job at a casino. I’m pretty tech savvy and skilled with automotive repair but I never pursued further education. When my grandma passed away in 2007 I got severely depressed but I managed to get a place to live with roommates and held down a full time job, again at a casino doing janitorial work. Developed a gambling addiction and an alcohol addiction. Got a DUI in 2008 and that started my legal troubles. Lost my place and lost my job.
I slept in my car and worked at casinos doing menial work again. Met a woman at one of the jobs and got married April 2010. She had a few kids with a bunch of baby daddy drama, and I couldn’t deal with it so I just walked away and the divorce was finalized by the end of the year. I stopped drinking after that. From there I kept working until 2011, when I decided to quit my job, take my old Subaru XT and hit the road. Went all over the southwest US sleeping in the car and exploring, got a few tickets for no insurance, got my license suspended for said tickets and also for not paying my payments on the DUI. I got to Albuquerque NM and my car finally croaked on me. Transmission failure. Slept in it for a week or so in a mini-mall parking lot until the cops were called on me and unsurprisingly took my car. I was officially a street person at age 26.
I spent several years hitchhiking, panhandling, dumpster diving, hopping freight trains and finding spots to sleep or camp wherever I could. I was so depressed that I didn’t take very good care of myself and had no desire whatsoever to try to better myself and dig out of the hole I got myself into. I used to call myself an urban survivalist. I remained in this state of mind until late 2022 when dental problems nearly killed me. I finally found a place to stay in Nevada with a lady I called a foster mother but I had a very hard time getting used to being housed. I got all my teeth yanked and a set of dentures thanks to Nevada Medicaid. I got a job at a car wash for six months but gave up the job due to stress at home and workplace nepotism. I even got a few credit cards and got my score up to 719! Anyhow, foster mother was an alcoholic, she started to remind me of my biological mother and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had a few thousand dollars saved up and moved back to Arizona a couple of months ago.
I am currently at a weekly motel and have been attempting to find any work I can. Managed to get interviews for dishwasher jobs, housekeeping jobs, janitorial jobs and night crew at a grocery store. Haven’t heard back from any of them though. I have half of my savings left and it seems inevitable that I’ll run out of money pretty soon.
I have a good feeling that the ridiculously long gap of employment looks terrible on my resume and that may be a reason I’m not getting anything. I mean, what do I tell the interviewer, that I was a damn bum?
I like to think I’m pretty smart. I was disassembling and reassembling IBM PC’s before I hit puberty. I was the computer technician for my high school back in the Windows XP era. Once I started driving I began teaching myself automotive repair with Chilton and Haynes manuals along with plenty of trial and error. It blew people’s minds when I, a dirty bum, helped get their car back on the road if I noticed they needed assistance. I helped a man I met at a park and did an engine swap on his Nissan Xterra over a couple weekends in exchange for new camping gear.
I can’t get work as a mechanic or do any driving related jobs unless I get my license back and it would take a LOT of money to get it back. On top of that I have to have an ignition interlock in any vehicle I drive. I wouldn’t mind getting into computer repair but I don’t have the certification to do so, and I’ve been out of the loop for a long time. I have a MacBook Air M1 and wish I could learn a way to make money with it like some sort of remote job but that seems impossible to me at this point.
For the record, I still don’t drink and I’ve never done a hard drug in my life. I haven’t smoked weed in months so I am able to pass a drug test if I were hired somewhere. Also, I have no felonies whatsoever on my record. Some people like to be stereotypical so I figured I’d throw that out there.
I guess what I’m asking is what should I do at this point? What path would you take if you were in my shoes? I won’t lie, suicide has been on my mind a lot lately. I don’t have many friends and I don’t have any family to talk to. I don’t like being a burden on anyone. Should I just accept that I’m gonna probably be homeless again, possibly for the rest of my life? Is there anywhere in the US that I could possibly get back on my feet with some sort of labor work and a place to sleep? I’d move anywhere if I knew I had a shot. Am I a lost cause at age 38? I’d love to hear some ideas!

I am kicking Mississippi off with a case that I'm quite surprised has never been on the sub before. There are several in Mississippi that I will be able to highlight.
In 1992 LaMoine Allen was just two years old. He was traveling with his aunt and uncle Glenn Edwards and Leola Jackson. The aunt and uncle were described as LaMoine's "unofficial guardians", I assume this to mean they were just responsible for him for the trip. On May 10th 1992 they were on their way from Edgard Louisiana to Woodville Mississippi. Leola was the Mistress of ceremony at A Mother's Day program in Woodville.
On that same day in 1992 Carla Russell and her boyfriend Tyrone Edwards were also traveling from the New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Edgard to Woodsville for the same Mother's Day ceremony. Carla's two young daughters were traveling with them. Kreshanna was the older of the sisters and Kreneice Jones was just 2 years old.
The toddlers LaMoine and Kreneice had never met each other before this day, according to reports from Kreshanna when she was older, but their families were long time friends. Tyrone Edwards, Carla Russell's boyfriend considered Glenn Edwards an uncle.
After church and the Mother's Day ceremony that day the families hung out together near what used to be the Jimmy Jackson grocery store in Woodville. Leola Jackson's parents owned the store. The children played together all throughout the day and the adults stood out talking and swapping stories.
At some point during the day Leola and Glenn came over informing the other adults that they could not find LaMoine. This prompted Carla to notice that she did not have eyes on Kreneice and she called out for the toddler, with no response.
When they asked Kreshanna at that time, she had last seen her sister Kreneice when the toddler was trying to follow her around. Neither LaMoine or Kreneice have ever been seen again.
The adults began frantically searching all the surrounding property. Kreshanna says that they searched every nook and cranny of the store, the house, even an abandoned school bus near the property.
Once authorities were called in they too begin an extensive search. They knocked on several houses and did a wide range ground search and eventually brought in dogs. It seems the dogs tracked the toddlers to a sidewalk just to the side of the Jimmy Jackson store. From here it seems authorities took the stand that a vehicle must have pulled up and driven off with the pair.
It seems for a very brief while Kreneice's father was a suspect but he was cleared. A few leads have trickled in through the years and a woman was actually DNA tested in 2012 but turned out not to be Kreneice. Kreshanna has her DNA on file for any leads along the way.
Both families seem to believe that these toddlers are still alive out there somewhere, now grown adults. Authorities stance seem to be this was a stranger abduction.
There was a car in the area that was suspiciousa at the time. The car was described as a blue compact car with chrome hubcaps and a false convertible top with darkly tinted windows. This vehicle or its owner have never been identified and it is not clear if that vehicle had anything to do with the toddler's disappearance.
But who took these babies pretty much in front of people? Who snatched a 3 year old little girl and 2 year old little boy right out of their families lives? Did they potentially wander away and become lost and hurt? I hope that both of these families find answers some day. Those sweet little faces left a hole in the world when they vanished.
https://charleyproject.org/case/lamoine-jordan-allen
https://charleyproject.org/case/kreneice-marie-jones
https://www.google.com/amp/s/ourblackgirls.com/2023/01/21/kreneice-jones-lamoine-allen-missing/amp/
https://thecinemaholic.com/lamoine-allen-and-kreneice-jones-found-or-missing-are-they-dead-or-alive/
It seems the FBI is investigating at the Mississippi State office 601-684-2500.

In case people have not been keeping up with hybe vs MHJ, a lot has happened recently. Hybe wants to use their majority shareholder powers to fire MHJ, but MHJ obviously does not want them to do that so now they are going to court to see if Hybe can fire MHJ. In court, Hybe claimed "CEO Min wanted NewJeans members to be mentally subordinate to her. She gaslighted the members into believing they had a mothedaughter relationship." They also released KKT messages to the public of MHJ saying degrading things about the NewJeans members. Because hybe presented evidence and perjury is illegal, pretty much everyone (aside from some NewJeans fans who support MHJ) responded to these statements believing hybe was telling the truth and the NewJeans members had been victims of gaslighting and abuse since they were young teens and/or preteens. However, when it was released that at the beginning of the trial, NewJeans members submitted a petition in favor of MHJ, everyone aside from bunnies turned on the girls and started judging them from supporting MHJ. It is crazy how according to a source they deem reliable, NewJeans have been "manipulated using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning" (dictionary definition of gaslighting), yet they still feel comfortable victim blaming young girls
Also, since everyone always responds to posts like this with "that is just twitter shit you should pay no mind to," I thought I would mention that the comments after NewJeans' petition was publicized and before they the kpop mega thread got locked were very critical of the NewJeans members.
https://www.reddit.com/kpop/comments/1csh5yw/comment/l4k5st
85 upvotes "They themselves are too entitled and prideful as well and now I’m sure hyein meant that statement in regards to illit." (context for the Hyein part, she posted a pic showing Haerin copying her outfit and captioned it "stop copying." the post gained no attention until over a month later when people wanted an excuse to bully a 16 year old girl on her birthday and say she made the post to incite hate on illit).
https://www.reddit.com/kpop/comments/1csh5yw/comment/l4k9fah/
182 upvotes "I used to listen them casually but I have completely stopped and will not return ever."
https://www.reddit.com/kpop/comments/1csh5yw/comment/l4k80d6/
148 upvotes "I don't think I am gonna listen to New jeans for a long time now."
https://www.reddit.com/kpop/comments/1csh5yw/comment/l4k85ts/
100 upvotes "NJ’s involvement and most critically their petition in favor of MHJ has soured my view on them"