Funny medical quotes by anonymous
Medical Questions
2013.07.10 22:21 Dvdrummer360 Medical Questions
Having a medical issue? Ask a doctor or medical professional on Reddit! All flaired medical professionals on this subreddit are verified by the mods.
2010.02.08 18:26 roger_ The Simpsons on Reddit! Woo-hoo!
Simpsons TV Show. The /TheSimpsons subreddit is fan base of redditors who love The Simpsons. The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society and television.
2010.01.26 06:19 dgillz Alcoholism
Information and support for those affected by alcoholism/Alcohol Use Disorder. If you are concerned about alcohol's effect on your life or a loved one's life, please feel welcome.
2024.05.21 22:59 Bitter-Programmer-73 YURRR! I JUST STARTED MY FIRST EVER REDDIT COMMUNITY!
WELCOME TO THE SIN FAMILY!
In this community i will be reacting to you guys memes, quotes, funny clips etc.
you can say anything you want but if ANY harsh comments are made i feel like is not right will be deleted or banned from the community!
if you better ideas to improve the community pls send a message in my dm or message me on any platform @ Sosintreal !
FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW! - I am a Content Creator that goes by SoSintreal (sin) - i react, make music, go live on twitch, make tiktoks etc. I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR STAY!
submitted by Bitter-Programmer-73 to SoSintreals_Family [link] [comments]
In this community i will be reacting to you guys memes, quotes, funny clips etc.
you can say anything you want but if ANY harsh comments are made i feel like is not right will be deleted or banned from the community!
if you better ideas to improve the community pls send a message in my dm or message me on any platform @ Sosintreal !
FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW! - I am a Content Creator that goes by SoSintreal (sin) - i react, make music, go live on twitch, make tiktoks etc. I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR STAY!
2024.05.21 22:47 quingd "The 'working poor' are the major philanthropists of our society"
I saw this quote on a post on another sub about some dickhead millionaire "deliberately losing his fortune so he could demonstrate that anyone could go from broke/homeless to a millionaire in a year" (spoiler alert: even with help, he still failed and had to give up because "his health took a downturn." No shit, Sherlock. Who'd have thought that it's easier to be healthy when you have financial means?).
Anyway, this is the quote that caught my eye (from "Nickeled and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich):
"When someone works for less pay than she can live on ... she has made a great sacrifice for you ... The "working poor" ... are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone."
... I'm really tired of being an unwilling philanthropist just so that Galen and his cronies can afford another yacht. Nok er nok.
submitted by quingd to loblawsisoutofcontrol [link] [comments]
Anyway, this is the quote that caught my eye (from "Nickeled and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich):
"When someone works for less pay than she can live on ... she has made a great sacrifice for you ... The "working poor" ... are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone."
... I'm really tired of being an unwilling philanthropist just so that Galen and his cronies can afford another yacht. Nok er nok.
2024.05.21 21:48 Just_Currency_2476 Struggling - caring for an alcoholic
My partner is an alcoholic. Things have deteriorated for the last 5 years or so, until I challenged him 2 years ago about money disappearing. He called me controlling, and subsequently as he became jaundiced and developed cirrhosis, it was obvious.
He has been admitted again this year, twice, after a fit, and was discharged against medical advice, and then admitted a second time, by the gp when he was struggling to walk, and absconded from hospital. He has carers, although has sent them away. He has fallen 3 times since coming home, and won’t go back into hospital and has started drinking again.
Over the years, friends have been worried about seeing me because of abuse and hassle. He quotes conversations I’ve had with friends saying ‘it always gets back to me’. He has thrown things at me, threatening that he will take the house and my savings.
I don’t know what to do. This all feels a bit hopeless
submitted by Just_Currency_2476 to AlAnon [link] [comments]
He has been admitted again this year, twice, after a fit, and was discharged against medical advice, and then admitted a second time, by the gp when he was struggling to walk, and absconded from hospital. He has carers, although has sent them away. He has fallen 3 times since coming home, and won’t go back into hospital and has started drinking again.
Over the years, friends have been worried about seeing me because of abuse and hassle. He quotes conversations I’ve had with friends saying ‘it always gets back to me’. He has thrown things at me, threatening that he will take the house and my savings.
I don’t know what to do. This all feels a bit hopeless
2024.05.21 21:44 Weird_Object8752 Don’t want to fix your alarm? Don’t worry we’ll do it for you.
This is one of my own and has happened about 20+ years ago.
We just had moved to a better neighbourhood, to a nicer house in a quiet cul-de-sac. This was a planned neighbourhood where people eventually expanded their houses and customised them as such. We had 3 neighbours and the neighbour on the rear of the yard had an intruder alarm which would be set at random times of the day - probably due to some sensor being badly positioned or an electronic fault.
The owner of this property, decided to create a nice big veranda on the top of his house and to achieve that he has built up a wall adjoining the boundary wall to our house and built his upper floor veranda. Now this was a structural wall but had the upper part (facing our house’s rear) open where metal bars were fitter to deter any burglars (this detail is important). The alarm bleeper was fitted to a column close to the metal bars in such a way that it was reachable from our property (and probably from the adjoining property as well).
On a beautiful sunny day, dad was cooking lunch/dinner and since it was a nice sunny day he would have had already a few beers and the blasted alarm went on. He then pretty much told me (12 then) and my brother (6 then) to sort it out. Cut the wires. “Sod the neighbour I’ve already told that cuck to fix that blasted alarm”. Being the good boys we were, we obliged: I took some sharp scissors that would have a plastic/insulating handle. I then held my brother up and told him to cut one of the wires carefully. Well we did it. It was quiet (or as quiet as it could be with dad playing his usual tunes as he would after a few beers - anything from Donna summer to Queen )
Couple of days later, some federal police officer knocks our door, it was the neighbour’s boss as he was a federal highways officer, asking dad if he knew who tampered with the neighbour’s alarm. Dad said he didn’t but he would like to raise a complaint as the neighbour was disturbing the peace with his fucking alarm. Federal police officer said that would be dealt with by the state police, hence when dad identified himself as a state trooper (he was on medical leave then) and said that “I’ve already told him to fix that alarm but he hasn’t took it seriously, will I need to report him?”
Words were exchanged and the neighbour moved his alarm bleeper to the front of the house - only to receive a town fine after an anonymous tip off from a member of public due to a noise violation. I wonder who did it…
TL/DR - neighbour with small man syndrome doesn’t fix his annoying intruder alarm. Gets the bleeper cut from the system, bollocked by his boss and fined by the town.
submitted by Weird_Object8752 to pettyrevenge [link] [comments]
We just had moved to a better neighbourhood, to a nicer house in a quiet cul-de-sac. This was a planned neighbourhood where people eventually expanded their houses and customised them as such. We had 3 neighbours and the neighbour on the rear of the yard had an intruder alarm which would be set at random times of the day - probably due to some sensor being badly positioned or an electronic fault.
The owner of this property, decided to create a nice big veranda on the top of his house and to achieve that he has built up a wall adjoining the boundary wall to our house and built his upper floor veranda. Now this was a structural wall but had the upper part (facing our house’s rear) open where metal bars were fitter to deter any burglars (this detail is important). The alarm bleeper was fitted to a column close to the metal bars in such a way that it was reachable from our property (and probably from the adjoining property as well).
On a beautiful sunny day, dad was cooking lunch/dinner and since it was a nice sunny day he would have had already a few beers and the blasted alarm went on. He then pretty much told me (12 then) and my brother (6 then) to sort it out. Cut the wires. “Sod the neighbour I’ve already told that cuck to fix that blasted alarm”. Being the good boys we were, we obliged: I took some sharp scissors that would have a plastic/insulating handle. I then held my brother up and told him to cut one of the wires carefully. Well we did it. It was quiet (or as quiet as it could be with dad playing his usual tunes as he would after a few beers - anything from Donna summer to Queen )
Couple of days later, some federal police officer knocks our door, it was the neighbour’s boss as he was a federal highways officer, asking dad if he knew who tampered with the neighbour’s alarm. Dad said he didn’t but he would like to raise a complaint as the neighbour was disturbing the peace with his fucking alarm. Federal police officer said that would be dealt with by the state police, hence when dad identified himself as a state trooper (he was on medical leave then) and said that “I’ve already told him to fix that alarm but he hasn’t took it seriously, will I need to report him?”
Words were exchanged and the neighbour moved his alarm bleeper to the front of the house - only to receive a town fine after an anonymous tip off from a member of public due to a noise violation. I wonder who did it…
TL/DR - neighbour with small man syndrome doesn’t fix his annoying intruder alarm. Gets the bleeper cut from the system, bollocked by his boss and fined by the town.
2024.05.21 21:37 Old_Artist6703 AITAH for breaking up with my first boyfriend for the betterment of ourselves as individuals?
A little disclaimer before I get fully into it: This was my first real, long term relationship so a lot of things still don’t make sense to me, but I will try my best to explain everything clearly and fully.
Me (19M) and my boyfriend (19M) got together in February of 2023. We met through our job, and even before dating we were good friends for about 6 months prior. During this time in my life, I had just turned 18 and was struggling heavily with my self image, self worth, and the idea that a relationship was even a possibility for me. In fact, I would say i was struggling the most with relationships and men in general. When my boyfriend came along it honestly seemed too good to be true. We hit it off instantly, got along very well, and shared a lot of the same morals and values when it came to dating. Except for when it came to sex, but i’ll go more into that later.
For the first few months, I would say the dynamic worked out well between us. Then, he moved out of his parent’s and in with his best friend and her family, which consisted of her mom, dad, and brother. Since the beginning of the relationship, I wasn’t too crazy about his best friend. I do care about her and have empathy for her, but for lack of better words, my boyfriend kind of let her walk all over him. This seemed to get worse after they started living together. And, it became apparent that they did not see eye to eye on most things and wanted different things out of their living situation. She would get jealous anytime we wanted to spend time together alone, and often times would not let us be alone when I was at their house. This eventually was talked about between them and i will say, in the regards of giving us more space, she did back off. However, their living situation was still toxic. They would have disagreements, but ones that would never be talked about or worked through. In turn, my boyfriend would talk/rant to me about her, and I always agreed with his POV, but that was the end of it. He always said that it’s extremely hard for him to confront people due to his own anxieties and past trauma. I 100% understood this, as I struggle a lot with confrontation too, but when it came to the point of his friend putting stress on our relationship/on me and I would talk to him about it, he would say he understood but nothing would ever be done about it. I could’ve very well spoke up for myself against her, but I was terrified that he would be upset with me and it would cause problems for us. I know that’s unhealthy now but in the moment it felt like I just had to get over it.
Then, around OctobeNovember last year, his friend’s mom ended up kicking both her daughter and my boyfriend out over a very small misunderstanding involving transportation. It was one night that I was taking him home from work, and her mom thought she had to pick him up, so we both showed up to get him. She absolutely flipped out over this and used it as justification to kick him out. Then when his friend tried to defend him against her mom, she kicked her out too. She ended up going to live with her current boyfriend and mine came to live with me. At this point, I had moved about 45 minutes away from our hometown with my dad and step family. I was (and still am) working in said hometown, because I do like my job and most importantly the people I work with. My boyfriend could’ve gone back to live with his parents, but honestly, neither of us wanted that. In hindsight, that’s what should have happened.
Up until this past April, everything was okay with our situation. We were living and working together full time and considering he didn’t have a car or his license yet, I was his source of transportation. Something shifted inside of me though. I found myself not being excited about his presence anymore and also not having sexual feelings towards him anymore, which is highly unusual for me. I felt like I had hit a wall that I couldn’t climb over in the relationship. In that moment, I chalked it up to being a “simple” change in feelings and that we were just growing apart. This did not go very well when I told him. I didn’t expect it to, but I know that he wasn’t even trying to fathom how I felt in the situation and ended up being pretty hurtful about it. The first night after it happened, we had a lengthy conversation over text where he was essentially saying that I ruined him and broke him and that I couldn’t possibly have loved him like I said I did since I was doing this. He also said, and I quote, “You built me back up and made me believe I was finally having the life I deserved and then you destroyed me and left me worse than when you found me”. This of course made me feel immense guilt but I knew it was coming from a place of hurt and I didn’t let it weigh me down too much. He also said that I would never find a friend in him and that this was goodbye, and blocked me on all social media and my phone number. Even though I was the one to break up with him, this still hurt a lot because I did and still do very much care about him.
The next day, he reached back out and apologized for how he reacted and asked me if we could try space instead of a full-on break up. I agreed to this because the relationship really did mean everything to me and I genuinely loved him. I did make sure to tell him that I couldn’t make any promises about my feelings returning but that I would try. And I have. Since then, we have still been working together, just not on the same schedule as before, and he is staying with his parents back in our hometown. We still text on the daily because we both made the agreement that we didn’t just want to go back to strangers. We mainly just talk about work and life and what not, but not much has been said about our specific situation on either end. We both agreed that we needed space. We both also agreed to not really see each other outside of work because we both know it would just complicate things even more, especially if we were to still act like a couple and even more especially if we continued a sexual relationship. This brings us to current day.
It has been about a month of space now and although it’s hard to admit to myself, I don’t want to be back with him. After I’ve had time to think everything over, I’ve realized that I may have put up with more than i deserve/disregarded my self and my feelings for him. Sex was honestly not that important to him, but it always has been for me. It’s not all that I care about of course, but I found myself being told no more often than not. I found myself suppressing my true sexual feelings for him in order to comply to what he wanted. I am also the type of person who likes to try new things, and he was almost always opposed to it. For a while I told myself this was the right thing to do in order for us to work out. With all this being said, our sexual relationship was good and we both enjoyed each other in that way, but it was just very inconsistent.
I also now feel like we just started to want different things out of the relationship. We both needed our own personal space which was impossible at the time, considering we lived and worked together on the same schedules and I was his transportation to and from work and also to hang out with friends when he wanted to. We also have conflicting love languages, as mine is primarily physical affection and reassurance while his are more along the lines of quality time, gift giving, and sharing his interests. As far as the love languages go, I knew early on that they were not the same but I thought we had come to a place where they could coexist. I know now that it was starting not work out that way, and I think he felt the same too although I’m not 100% positive as I found it very hard to understand him and his feelings sometimes, as did he with me.
Like I said previously, he struggles with confrontation. Any time I had an issue with something he did that would upset me, it was usually met with silence and a simple apology or “I don’t remember that/That’s not what I meant.” It seemed like he was taking things as a personal attack rather than trying to understand where I was coming from. One specific moment sticks out to me. One night after work, his best friend wanted to see us before we went home, but she got off of work later than us , which meant we would have to wait around for that. I was very tired due to a long busy day and just wanted to go home as did he, but we stayed and waited anyways because he was afraid of her reaction had we not. I did not respond to this well, and I told him straight up that she walks all over him and that I felt he was not considering how I was feeling about the situation either. All i got in response was confused silence and a simple “I’m sorry.” I was not satisfied with this, and after telling him so, he said how he doesn’t know what else to say/doesn’t know how to communicate how he’s feeling. I ended the conversation there because I could see that I was getting nowhere, but I was still very visibly upset. After we left to go back home, he wouldn’t talk to me and just fell asleep on the drive. This caused me to start crying and after he realized and I reiterated my feelings, I was met with a little more compassion and “i’m sorry”s but then the conversation shifted and no more was said about it on either end.
There were also multiple times that I knew that I had upset him over various things, because he would start acting different (short responses, dirty looks, spending more time on his phone etc). But , when I would ask him what I did, he would just say that he’s fine and to not worry about it. For example, on Valentine’s day this year, I made a very inconsiderate joke about his size (even though it wasn’t true). I was trying to be funny and we both knew I wasn’t being serious, but it still was wrong. It did affect him and eventually he opened up to me and we talked about it, and i apologized profusely and all was resolved. But before that, his demeanor and attitude towards me completely changed and he was treating me very differently. Before we talked about it, I was unaware that the joke I had made was the cause of it, but he told me that he was upset about something I had said but told me it was fine and that he’d get over it, while still treating me differently. I didn’t respond to this well because I knew I had hurt the person I loved, and wanted so desperately to resolve it and make sure it never happened again, but until he brought it to light I was stuck in an intense self-hate/guilt trip.
I will say I don’t recall him ever using any of that against me, but communication is extremely important to me and I just wasn’t getting it. It was like , we always were fine together until the more serious issues came about (differences in intimacy desires, communicating our issues with each other , etc.)
It’s worth mentioning that I also struggle with self image/self worth, and a lot of anxiety/uncertainty. I forgot to include it earlier, but another reason the space is happening is because we lost ourselves in the relationship. We still don’t really who we are or what we want from life. I was constantly preoccupied with how he was feeling and how my actions affected him, and he was constantly preoccupied by turning to me for comfort and safety. I don’t blame him for that though, as I know that we have to fully love and know ourselves/know what we want first before making a commitment to someone else. That’s why I struggle so much with knowing if I’m making the right decision or not. I’m also scared that once I tell him, he won’t want anything to do with me anymore similar to how he reacted the first time. I will forever be grateful for the love that we shared and all the good he showed me and would rather have him as a friend than nothing at all, but I don’t know if that’s the reality. And if it’s not that’s okay and I know that, but I haven’t accepted it. I just want us both to be happy in life and live to our full potentials even if that means it’s not together. If you made it this far I’m sorry for the novel but thank you for taking the time to read. I may be the asshole here and if that’s the case, I will do better and I will make the right decisions. I just need a little insight. Thank you again for anyone who took the time.
submitted by Old_Artist6703 to AITAH [link] [comments]
Me (19M) and my boyfriend (19M) got together in February of 2023. We met through our job, and even before dating we were good friends for about 6 months prior. During this time in my life, I had just turned 18 and was struggling heavily with my self image, self worth, and the idea that a relationship was even a possibility for me. In fact, I would say i was struggling the most with relationships and men in general. When my boyfriend came along it honestly seemed too good to be true. We hit it off instantly, got along very well, and shared a lot of the same morals and values when it came to dating. Except for when it came to sex, but i’ll go more into that later.
For the first few months, I would say the dynamic worked out well between us. Then, he moved out of his parent’s and in with his best friend and her family, which consisted of her mom, dad, and brother. Since the beginning of the relationship, I wasn’t too crazy about his best friend. I do care about her and have empathy for her, but for lack of better words, my boyfriend kind of let her walk all over him. This seemed to get worse after they started living together. And, it became apparent that they did not see eye to eye on most things and wanted different things out of their living situation. She would get jealous anytime we wanted to spend time together alone, and often times would not let us be alone when I was at their house. This eventually was talked about between them and i will say, in the regards of giving us more space, she did back off. However, their living situation was still toxic. They would have disagreements, but ones that would never be talked about or worked through. In turn, my boyfriend would talk/rant to me about her, and I always agreed with his POV, but that was the end of it. He always said that it’s extremely hard for him to confront people due to his own anxieties and past trauma. I 100% understood this, as I struggle a lot with confrontation too, but when it came to the point of his friend putting stress on our relationship/on me and I would talk to him about it, he would say he understood but nothing would ever be done about it. I could’ve very well spoke up for myself against her, but I was terrified that he would be upset with me and it would cause problems for us. I know that’s unhealthy now but in the moment it felt like I just had to get over it.
Then, around OctobeNovember last year, his friend’s mom ended up kicking both her daughter and my boyfriend out over a very small misunderstanding involving transportation. It was one night that I was taking him home from work, and her mom thought she had to pick him up, so we both showed up to get him. She absolutely flipped out over this and used it as justification to kick him out. Then when his friend tried to defend him against her mom, she kicked her out too. She ended up going to live with her current boyfriend and mine came to live with me. At this point, I had moved about 45 minutes away from our hometown with my dad and step family. I was (and still am) working in said hometown, because I do like my job and most importantly the people I work with. My boyfriend could’ve gone back to live with his parents, but honestly, neither of us wanted that. In hindsight, that’s what should have happened.
Up until this past April, everything was okay with our situation. We were living and working together full time and considering he didn’t have a car or his license yet, I was his source of transportation. Something shifted inside of me though. I found myself not being excited about his presence anymore and also not having sexual feelings towards him anymore, which is highly unusual for me. I felt like I had hit a wall that I couldn’t climb over in the relationship. In that moment, I chalked it up to being a “simple” change in feelings and that we were just growing apart. This did not go very well when I told him. I didn’t expect it to, but I know that he wasn’t even trying to fathom how I felt in the situation and ended up being pretty hurtful about it. The first night after it happened, we had a lengthy conversation over text where he was essentially saying that I ruined him and broke him and that I couldn’t possibly have loved him like I said I did since I was doing this. He also said, and I quote, “You built me back up and made me believe I was finally having the life I deserved and then you destroyed me and left me worse than when you found me”. This of course made me feel immense guilt but I knew it was coming from a place of hurt and I didn’t let it weigh me down too much. He also said that I would never find a friend in him and that this was goodbye, and blocked me on all social media and my phone number. Even though I was the one to break up with him, this still hurt a lot because I did and still do very much care about him.
The next day, he reached back out and apologized for how he reacted and asked me if we could try space instead of a full-on break up. I agreed to this because the relationship really did mean everything to me and I genuinely loved him. I did make sure to tell him that I couldn’t make any promises about my feelings returning but that I would try. And I have. Since then, we have still been working together, just not on the same schedule as before, and he is staying with his parents back in our hometown. We still text on the daily because we both made the agreement that we didn’t just want to go back to strangers. We mainly just talk about work and life and what not, but not much has been said about our specific situation on either end. We both agreed that we needed space. We both also agreed to not really see each other outside of work because we both know it would just complicate things even more, especially if we were to still act like a couple and even more especially if we continued a sexual relationship. This brings us to current day.
It has been about a month of space now and although it’s hard to admit to myself, I don’t want to be back with him. After I’ve had time to think everything over, I’ve realized that I may have put up with more than i deserve/disregarded my self and my feelings for him. Sex was honestly not that important to him, but it always has been for me. It’s not all that I care about of course, but I found myself being told no more often than not. I found myself suppressing my true sexual feelings for him in order to comply to what he wanted. I am also the type of person who likes to try new things, and he was almost always opposed to it. For a while I told myself this was the right thing to do in order for us to work out. With all this being said, our sexual relationship was good and we both enjoyed each other in that way, but it was just very inconsistent.
I also now feel like we just started to want different things out of the relationship. We both needed our own personal space which was impossible at the time, considering we lived and worked together on the same schedules and I was his transportation to and from work and also to hang out with friends when he wanted to. We also have conflicting love languages, as mine is primarily physical affection and reassurance while his are more along the lines of quality time, gift giving, and sharing his interests. As far as the love languages go, I knew early on that they were not the same but I thought we had come to a place where they could coexist. I know now that it was starting not work out that way, and I think he felt the same too although I’m not 100% positive as I found it very hard to understand him and his feelings sometimes, as did he with me.
Like I said previously, he struggles with confrontation. Any time I had an issue with something he did that would upset me, it was usually met with silence and a simple apology or “I don’t remember that/That’s not what I meant.” It seemed like he was taking things as a personal attack rather than trying to understand where I was coming from. One specific moment sticks out to me. One night after work, his best friend wanted to see us before we went home, but she got off of work later than us , which meant we would have to wait around for that. I was very tired due to a long busy day and just wanted to go home as did he, but we stayed and waited anyways because he was afraid of her reaction had we not. I did not respond to this well, and I told him straight up that she walks all over him and that I felt he was not considering how I was feeling about the situation either. All i got in response was confused silence and a simple “I’m sorry.” I was not satisfied with this, and after telling him so, he said how he doesn’t know what else to say/doesn’t know how to communicate how he’s feeling. I ended the conversation there because I could see that I was getting nowhere, but I was still very visibly upset. After we left to go back home, he wouldn’t talk to me and just fell asleep on the drive. This caused me to start crying and after he realized and I reiterated my feelings, I was met with a little more compassion and “i’m sorry”s but then the conversation shifted and no more was said about it on either end.
There were also multiple times that I knew that I had upset him over various things, because he would start acting different (short responses, dirty looks, spending more time on his phone etc). But , when I would ask him what I did, he would just say that he’s fine and to not worry about it. For example, on Valentine’s day this year, I made a very inconsiderate joke about his size (even though it wasn’t true). I was trying to be funny and we both knew I wasn’t being serious, but it still was wrong. It did affect him and eventually he opened up to me and we talked about it, and i apologized profusely and all was resolved. But before that, his demeanor and attitude towards me completely changed and he was treating me very differently. Before we talked about it, I was unaware that the joke I had made was the cause of it, but he told me that he was upset about something I had said but told me it was fine and that he’d get over it, while still treating me differently. I didn’t respond to this well because I knew I had hurt the person I loved, and wanted so desperately to resolve it and make sure it never happened again, but until he brought it to light I was stuck in an intense self-hate/guilt trip.
I will say I don’t recall him ever using any of that against me, but communication is extremely important to me and I just wasn’t getting it. It was like , we always were fine together until the more serious issues came about (differences in intimacy desires, communicating our issues with each other , etc.)
It’s worth mentioning that I also struggle with self image/self worth, and a lot of anxiety/uncertainty. I forgot to include it earlier, but another reason the space is happening is because we lost ourselves in the relationship. We still don’t really who we are or what we want from life. I was constantly preoccupied with how he was feeling and how my actions affected him, and he was constantly preoccupied by turning to me for comfort and safety. I don’t blame him for that though, as I know that we have to fully love and know ourselves/know what we want first before making a commitment to someone else. That’s why I struggle so much with knowing if I’m making the right decision or not. I’m also scared that once I tell him, he won’t want anything to do with me anymore similar to how he reacted the first time. I will forever be grateful for the love that we shared and all the good he showed me and would rather have him as a friend than nothing at all, but I don’t know if that’s the reality. And if it’s not that’s okay and I know that, but I haven’t accepted it. I just want us both to be happy in life and live to our full potentials even if that means it’s not together. If you made it this far I’m sorry for the novel but thank you for taking the time to read. I may be the asshole here and if that’s the case, I will do better and I will make the right decisions. I just need a little insight. Thank you again for anyone who took the time.
2024.05.21 21:22 Arbrand We Joined a Cult as a Joke [Part 1]
I sat in our dark bedroom, the computer screen glaring with a harsh, white light. A banner flashed before my eyes: “Seek wisdom by understanding yourself.”
“Chloe, check this out,” I called over my shoulder to my girlfriend playing The Sims on her laptop.
She glanced up, her brow furrowing in confusion before giving me a bemused look. “What the hell are you looking at?” she asked.
“It’s some cult,” I replied, unable to hide my fascination. “I fell down a rabbit hole and found this local place downtown. It's a derivative of Aleister Crowley and Golden Dawn bullshit.” I pointed to the Google Street View image of a dilapidated storefront in an ethnic shopping center.
She smirked, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “I never pegged you as the religious type.”
“Check this out,” I continued, clicking through the site. “They have some photos.”
We spent some time going through the albums celebrating various solstices. Most were taken in an odd room with black and white checkered floors, adorned with Egyptian pseudo-artifacts, bathed in the glow of red and purple lights that transformed the scene into a surreal dreamscape.
The people certainly had an alternative vibe. Tattoos were plentiful, but other than that they looked like they came from all different walks of life. Many of them looked like they had their fair share of bullying in high school - no shortage of that. But most of them looked relatively normal aside from the occasional piercing.
One photograph in particular caught my eye. A woman, sitting in a bright red room, sat on an altar, holding a staff in her right hand, wearing nothing. A man was kneeled before her, his arms tied behind him, rope anchored to the ceiling. They were sliding a knife down his back, a small trickle of blood dripping to the floor.
“Damn,” Chloe started. “She’s butt-ass naked.”
“You wanna go?” I asked. “They’re having a get together tonight.”
“You know what, fuck it. Why not? It’s not like we’re doing anything.” she replied.
“Good,” I smiled, standing up. “Because I already ordered an Uber.”
She sighed before opening a drawer and pulling out a small pipe. “I’ll go, but i'm not going sober.”
It was a cold, shitty Seattle winter night. We got dropped off in the parking lot and spent a few minutes looking for the storefront. We finally found it next to a dog groomer and Pho restaurant with some pun for the name I can’t seem to remember.
We entered the shop, which consisted of two narrow isles separated by wood shelves barely big enough for me to fit down. We spent some time looking at the various items, my attention diverting to a vial of elk blood. I remember wondering if they were even allowed to sell this without some type of medical certification they definitely did not have while Chloe shuffled through a bowl of mix and match crystals.
“Can I help you?” I heard a woman say from the back as she emerged from a beaded curtain. She was a short, overweight woman wearing what I could only describe as a sports bra and hula skirt.
“Hi, uh,” I stuttered. “I’m George and this is Chloe. We’re here for the… winter solstice celebration?”
“Oh, goodie! Newcomers!” she said with an out of place, overjoyed expression as she clapped her hands. Chloe and I laughed nervously.
“The door is in the back, but you can come through here just this time.” she said with a smile, arm holding the beaded curtain open.
We walked through a dark hallway, somehow more cramped than the shop, into a rather large room. A gaggle of people were huddled in the back, which Chloe and I quietly shuffled into.
A bearded man paraded around the room, white robes and red headdress cascading into a cloak, knuckles adorned with several large rings gripping a spear, held vertically in front of him. Behind him, another bald man, white robes and yellow cloak, followed behind, white sleeves crossed over his chest.
I glanced at Chloe’s bloodshot eyes, THC clearly flowing through her system. I gave her a knowing look, as if to say Having fun yet? She returned a slow smile.
Without warning, the entire crowd clapped their hands together over their heads as a woman in blue robes walked past, waving a censure leaking white smoke. We awkwardly followed to match the group.
The blue curtains on the back wall opened to reveal an older Asian woman sitting perched on the altar I saw in the photos, again, completely naked. And before you ask, no. She wasn’t attractive. It’s never the ones you hope it is. The red robed man kneeled down and softly kissed her knees.
I glanced back at Chloe. Her smile was so big I was afraid she was going to laugh at any moment. I pinched her on the side and whispered into her ear “Do. Not. Fucking. Laugh”. Honestly, I think I just made it worse. Her face turned beet red as she bit her cheeks.
The ritual went on for another half hour or so. They must’ve said “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law” at least a dozen times.
We were getting kind of bored and were ready to leave before the woman in the blue robes wandered in with a caged chicken.
"No fucking way" I thought. Surely enough, the man in the yellow robes held the chicken high in the air, before slitting its throat and draining blood into a large metallic basin. The man winced as the chicken flailed violently, scratching up his arms, before eventually succumbing to blood loss.
One by one, each person there stood between a white and black pillar saying love and intention in Greek before eating a piece of something, taking a sip of blood, and saying “There is no part of me that is not of the Gods.”
Chloe and I hung back, and politely declined when our turn came. Once all was said and done, they busted out some alcohol and started celebrating. We slipped out into the street, bursting out laughing. After we finally collected ourselves, Chloe whipped out her phone and showed me she took dozens of pictures of the ritual.
We laughed our asses off the entire way home. First thing she did was open her laptop and post the pictures on Twitter, tagging the lodge with the caption “me and the boys chilling right now”.
We returned to the usual rhythm of our lives. I went to work, conducting meetings and answering emails, while Chloe went back to her classes. A few days later, Chloe checked her Twitter and saw that she had gained a few thousand likes. The whole ordeal became a running joke between us.
I would eat fruit snacks and sip on my soda, saying, “There is no part of me that is not of the Gods”. A few weeks later, we had mostly forgotten about it, except for the occasional recounting as a funny story to regale our friends.
One night while Chloe and I were spending our evening the usual way with me on the computer and her on her laptop, I felt her furiously tap my shoulder while staring wide eyed at the window. Confused, I took my headphones off and walked over, pulling back the curtain to reveal 6 people standing in black robes and animal masks watching us from the hillside.
“What do we do, should I call the cops?” Chloe whimpered.
“No, they’re just a bunch of larpers. They’re not going to do shit! Just trying to scare us.” I said angrily as I closed the blinds and hopped back on my computer.
Chloe sat there for a few minutes in a tense pose with her arms folded together. She went to double check the door was locked, before we continued our night as normal.
The next day I got a text from Chloe frantically telling me to come home immediately. When I arrived, there was a squad car parked outside our building. I ran up the stairs to see two officers standing by Chloe in the doorway. I nearly shouted asking what was going on. They lead me inside to show me a massive black symbol drawn on our wall, a six-pointed star made from one continuous line.
We finished our police report and they told us they’d get back to us if they find anything. I’ve been robbed often enough to know that means they’re going to forget about this before they’ve even gotten back into their squad car.
Furious, I stormed over to the shop and banged on the window. The hula skirt woman came over and cracked the door open just enough for me to see one of her eyes.
“What the fuck do you think your little posse is doing!?” I screamed at her. “Breaking into my apartment like that!? You all are fucking psychos!”
“I haven’t any idea what you’re talking about”, she said with a sly grin.
“Oh, yeah?” I said pointing a finger in her face. “If anyone tries any shit like that again I’m going to burn your goddamn shop to the ground, do you hear me?”
She looked at the ground, clearly nervous. I have never blown up at a stranger like this but I could tell my threats were working.
After a moment of silence I stormed off again, back towards home.
“You meddle with forces you do not understand!” she called out from the shop.
I picked up a glass bottle from the sidewalk and chucked it, smashing against her shop window, forcing her to close the door and disappear into the shadows. I’m not particularly proud of how I behaved in this moment, but unless you’ve had someone break into your home and draw shit on the walls, hold on to your judgment.
The next few days passed without so much as a peep from them. Chloe and I began to relax, convincing ourselves that the cult had been scared off. Life seemed to be returning to normal, and the unsettling incident became just another story.
submitted by Arbrand to nosleep [link] [comments]
“Chloe, check this out,” I called over my shoulder to my girlfriend playing The Sims on her laptop.
She glanced up, her brow furrowing in confusion before giving me a bemused look. “What the hell are you looking at?” she asked.
“It’s some cult,” I replied, unable to hide my fascination. “I fell down a rabbit hole and found this local place downtown. It's a derivative of Aleister Crowley and Golden Dawn bullshit.” I pointed to the Google Street View image of a dilapidated storefront in an ethnic shopping center.
She smirked, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “I never pegged you as the religious type.”
“Check this out,” I continued, clicking through the site. “They have some photos.”
We spent some time going through the albums celebrating various solstices. Most were taken in an odd room with black and white checkered floors, adorned with Egyptian pseudo-artifacts, bathed in the glow of red and purple lights that transformed the scene into a surreal dreamscape.
The people certainly had an alternative vibe. Tattoos were plentiful, but other than that they looked like they came from all different walks of life. Many of them looked like they had their fair share of bullying in high school - no shortage of that. But most of them looked relatively normal aside from the occasional piercing.
One photograph in particular caught my eye. A woman, sitting in a bright red room, sat on an altar, holding a staff in her right hand, wearing nothing. A man was kneeled before her, his arms tied behind him, rope anchored to the ceiling. They were sliding a knife down his back, a small trickle of blood dripping to the floor.
“Damn,” Chloe started. “She’s butt-ass naked.”
“You wanna go?” I asked. “They’re having a get together tonight.”
“You know what, fuck it. Why not? It’s not like we’re doing anything.” she replied.
“Good,” I smiled, standing up. “Because I already ordered an Uber.”
She sighed before opening a drawer and pulling out a small pipe. “I’ll go, but i'm not going sober.”
We entered the shop, which consisted of two narrow isles separated by wood shelves barely big enough for me to fit down. We spent some time looking at the various items, my attention diverting to a vial of elk blood. I remember wondering if they were even allowed to sell this without some type of medical certification they definitely did not have while Chloe shuffled through a bowl of mix and match crystals.
“Can I help you?” I heard a woman say from the back as she emerged from a beaded curtain. She was a short, overweight woman wearing what I could only describe as a sports bra and hula skirt.
“Hi, uh,” I stuttered. “I’m George and this is Chloe. We’re here for the… winter solstice celebration?”
“Oh, goodie! Newcomers!” she said with an out of place, overjoyed expression as she clapped her hands. Chloe and I laughed nervously.
“The door is in the back, but you can come through here just this time.” she said with a smile, arm holding the beaded curtain open.
We walked through a dark hallway, somehow more cramped than the shop, into a rather large room. A gaggle of people were huddled in the back, which Chloe and I quietly shuffled into.
A bearded man paraded around the room, white robes and red headdress cascading into a cloak, knuckles adorned with several large rings gripping a spear, held vertically in front of him. Behind him, another bald man, white robes and yellow cloak, followed behind, white sleeves crossed over his chest.
I glanced at Chloe’s bloodshot eyes, THC clearly flowing through her system. I gave her a knowing look, as if to say Having fun yet? She returned a slow smile.
Without warning, the entire crowd clapped their hands together over their heads as a woman in blue robes walked past, waving a censure leaking white smoke. We awkwardly followed to match the group.
The blue curtains on the back wall opened to reveal an older Asian woman sitting perched on the altar I saw in the photos, again, completely naked. And before you ask, no. She wasn’t attractive. It’s never the ones you hope it is. The red robed man kneeled down and softly kissed her knees.
I glanced back at Chloe. Her smile was so big I was afraid she was going to laugh at any moment. I pinched her on the side and whispered into her ear “Do. Not. Fucking. Laugh”. Honestly, I think I just made it worse. Her face turned beet red as she bit her cheeks.
The ritual went on for another half hour or so. They must’ve said “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law” at least a dozen times.
We were getting kind of bored and were ready to leave before the woman in the blue robes wandered in with a caged chicken.
"No fucking way" I thought. Surely enough, the man in the yellow robes held the chicken high in the air, before slitting its throat and draining blood into a large metallic basin. The man winced as the chicken flailed violently, scratching up his arms, before eventually succumbing to blood loss.
One by one, each person there stood between a white and black pillar saying love and intention in Greek before eating a piece of something, taking a sip of blood, and saying “There is no part of me that is not of the Gods.”
Chloe and I hung back, and politely declined when our turn came. Once all was said and done, they busted out some alcohol and started celebrating. We slipped out into the street, bursting out laughing. After we finally collected ourselves, Chloe whipped out her phone and showed me she took dozens of pictures of the ritual.
We laughed our asses off the entire way home. First thing she did was open her laptop and post the pictures on Twitter, tagging the lodge with the caption “me and the boys chilling right now”.
I would eat fruit snacks and sip on my soda, saying, “There is no part of me that is not of the Gods”. A few weeks later, we had mostly forgotten about it, except for the occasional recounting as a funny story to regale our friends.
One night while Chloe and I were spending our evening the usual way with me on the computer and her on her laptop, I felt her furiously tap my shoulder while staring wide eyed at the window. Confused, I took my headphones off and walked over, pulling back the curtain to reveal 6 people standing in black robes and animal masks watching us from the hillside.
“What do we do, should I call the cops?” Chloe whimpered.
“No, they’re just a bunch of larpers. They’re not going to do shit! Just trying to scare us.” I said angrily as I closed the blinds and hopped back on my computer.
Chloe sat there for a few minutes in a tense pose with her arms folded together. She went to double check the door was locked, before we continued our night as normal.
The next day I got a text from Chloe frantically telling me to come home immediately. When I arrived, there was a squad car parked outside our building. I ran up the stairs to see two officers standing by Chloe in the doorway. I nearly shouted asking what was going on. They lead me inside to show me a massive black symbol drawn on our wall, a six-pointed star made from one continuous line.
We finished our police report and they told us they’d get back to us if they find anything. I’ve been robbed often enough to know that means they’re going to forget about this before they’ve even gotten back into their squad car.
Furious, I stormed over to the shop and banged on the window. The hula skirt woman came over and cracked the door open just enough for me to see one of her eyes.
“What the fuck do you think your little posse is doing!?” I screamed at her. “Breaking into my apartment like that!? You all are fucking psychos!”
“I haven’t any idea what you’re talking about”, she said with a sly grin.
“Oh, yeah?” I said pointing a finger in her face. “If anyone tries any shit like that again I’m going to burn your goddamn shop to the ground, do you hear me?”
She looked at the ground, clearly nervous. I have never blown up at a stranger like this but I could tell my threats were working.
After a moment of silence I stormed off again, back towards home.
“You meddle with forces you do not understand!” she called out from the shop.
I picked up a glass bottle from the sidewalk and chucked it, smashing against her shop window, forcing her to close the door and disappear into the shadows. I’m not particularly proud of how I behaved in this moment, but unless you’ve had someone break into your home and draw shit on the walls, hold on to your judgment.
The next few days passed without so much as a peep from them. Chloe and I began to relax, convincing ourselves that the cult had been scared off. Life seemed to be returning to normal, and the unsettling incident became just another story.
2024.05.21 21:07 Boring-Taro9600 Religious psychosis?
CONTENT WARNINGS: eating disorders && substance abuse This is going to be a wall of text and for that I apologize but I don’t know how else to explain my situation without giving the full story.
I’m not sure what I hope to gain posting this here. Maybe I just need somebody to talk to, or I need some advice. I don’t really have anybody in my personal life I can talk to about this so here I go, my name is Aria and I’m a nineteen year old girl. I’m about to be twenty. I’ve been smoking weed since I was sixteen, admittedly almost everyday. I’ve been very mentally ill my entire life but diagnosed with nothing, except adhd, because my borderline abusive parents didn’t support putting me into therapy, even though I’d cry and beg them to let me go to therapy at such a young age. I’ve always, always known something is very deeply wrong with me. My mental health is very severe, I frequently go through drug binges (harder than weed but softer than things like heroin or fentanyl), self harm, have ideations to end my life, etc.
I also have a restrictive eating disorder, which I’ve been struggling with since childhood. I recovered in my early and mid teens, but it came back with a vengeance. Because I’m diagnosed ADHD, I use my medication as a tool for my eating disorder. I won’t say anymore than that. I don’t think the medication is good for me, it doesn’t make me feel good, but I still take it everyday because of my disorder.
Now … I don’t know if it’s the weed, or the medication, or a mix of the two, but recently I lost a drawstring bag with all of my 3DS games in it. Ever since I was a child, my 3DS has been an escape for me. I absolutely love playing games on it, I know it sounds cringey but some days it’s the only thing I have to look forward to. It helps me sleep, it helps me clear my mind, it takes me back to my childhood … I dunno. It’s pretty much the only healthy distraction I have from my mental health. This loss is not only devastating to me, but it’s also very confusing. I know exactly where I left it, but when I went to grab it, it wasn’t there. It has never left the house, yet I’ve torn apart my room looking for it and it’s just nowhere to be found.
Here’s where I’m going to start to sound crazy. I have been binge eating an insane, almost inhuman amount these past three days. Like seriously a disgusting amount of food. And for some reason, my brain is convincing me that God is hiding them for me as punishment for my gluttony and I have to go on a hunger strike if I ever want to get them back. I know how this sounds … trust me, it sounds off the walls insane to me as well. But literally for some reason it’s the only justification I can make to myself right now. I’m confused and scared. What does this mean for my mental health if something as simple as losing a something important to me is the thing that sends me into the deep end?
The one funny thing throughout all of this is the fact that I’m not even religious :P my mom just forced Christianity onto me as a child and I guess this is the consequence.
Anyway, that’s pretty much all. I’m just a little unsettled by my mental health right now and some support would be nice. Thank you for reading this far if you have, I appreciate you all. <3
submitted by Boring-Taro9600 to mentalhealth [link] [comments]
I’m not sure what I hope to gain posting this here. Maybe I just need somebody to talk to, or I need some advice. I don’t really have anybody in my personal life I can talk to about this so here I go, my name is Aria and I’m a nineteen year old girl. I’m about to be twenty. I’ve been smoking weed since I was sixteen, admittedly almost everyday. I’ve been very mentally ill my entire life but diagnosed with nothing, except adhd, because my borderline abusive parents didn’t support putting me into therapy, even though I’d cry and beg them to let me go to therapy at such a young age. I’ve always, always known something is very deeply wrong with me. My mental health is very severe, I frequently go through drug binges (harder than weed but softer than things like heroin or fentanyl), self harm, have ideations to end my life, etc.
I also have a restrictive eating disorder, which I’ve been struggling with since childhood. I recovered in my early and mid teens, but it came back with a vengeance. Because I’m diagnosed ADHD, I use my medication as a tool for my eating disorder. I won’t say anymore than that. I don’t think the medication is good for me, it doesn’t make me feel good, but I still take it everyday because of my disorder.
Now … I don’t know if it’s the weed, or the medication, or a mix of the two, but recently I lost a drawstring bag with all of my 3DS games in it. Ever since I was a child, my 3DS has been an escape for me. I absolutely love playing games on it, I know it sounds cringey but some days it’s the only thing I have to look forward to. It helps me sleep, it helps me clear my mind, it takes me back to my childhood … I dunno. It’s pretty much the only healthy distraction I have from my mental health. This loss is not only devastating to me, but it’s also very confusing. I know exactly where I left it, but when I went to grab it, it wasn’t there. It has never left the house, yet I’ve torn apart my room looking for it and it’s just nowhere to be found.
Here’s where I’m going to start to sound crazy. I have been binge eating an insane, almost inhuman amount these past three days. Like seriously a disgusting amount of food. And for some reason, my brain is convincing me that God is hiding them for me as punishment for my gluttony and I have to go on a hunger strike if I ever want to get them back. I know how this sounds … trust me, it sounds off the walls insane to me as well. But literally for some reason it’s the only justification I can make to myself right now. I’m confused and scared. What does this mean for my mental health if something as simple as losing a something important to me is the thing that sends me into the deep end?
The one funny thing throughout all of this is the fact that I’m not even religious :P my mom just forced Christianity onto me as a child and I guess this is the consequence.
Anyway, that’s pretty much all. I’m just a little unsettled by my mental health right now and some support would be nice. Thank you for reading this far if you have, I appreciate you all. <3
2024.05.21 20:40 PsychologyAfraid2800 AITA for not wishing my friend happy birthday
The main events take place in the summer of 2023, but before that there’s some pretty crucial information you need to know.
Many moons ago, three or four years before I was forced to live with the burden of knowing my dear friend, some shit went down.
Sophomore year of high school, Heather and my now boyfriend Tony were besties with another girl, that I will call Jane (the sweetest person I’ve ever met, by the way). At some point, Jane and her boyfriend went on a break, and Heather decided, for some reason to this day unknown, to try and sext her best friend’s ex boyfriend. I say “try” because he never really indulged her, which made the whole situation all the more embarrassing. Heather, however, lacking self-awareness and critical thinking skills, decided to keep this up for over five months, after which Jane and her ex got back together, and he told her everything. Contrary to Heather, Jane decided to be a good friend and wait for Heather to come clean about her actions without revealing she already knew everything.
And so she waited. But Heather never said anything.
Keep this in mind, it’ll be important later.
Fast forward to February 2022, yours truly is introduced on the scene by becoming Heather’s roommate during our first year of college. Surprisingly we got along pretty well, we became really close friends in a very short time. She was also the extroverted one (also important) of the two and really helped me come out of my shell, so for a while I was really grateful to her. Anyway, throughout the three months we lived together she was constantly talking about her friends Tony and Jane from back home, but especially referring to Jane as her best friend, the only one that really knew her and that she really trusted.
Her friend Tony was also a very popular topic in conversations, and the reason she convinced me to visit her home country that summer, which resulted in us dating but I will spare you the details of that because it’s a different story (although a good one too).
The summer ends. She moves back to her country, I go back to mine, now pursuing two long distance relationships, the one with my boyfriend and the one with my only friend. So, in January 2023 plan a trip there with Tony but I decide not to tell Heather, and to let it be a surprise instead.
This is where the thing I told you to remember comes back for the first time, and I get front row seats for this years-long conflict finally unraveling.
Jane decided she had enough of waiting for her friend to become decent and slowly started growing apart from Heather, who had actually started the fight by accusing Jane of ignoring her.
When asked about the reasons for her behavior, some of Heather’s responses were, and I kid you not, “BRO I HAD A PLAN” and “IT’S LITERALLY NOT MY PROUDEST MOMENT”.
So. Yeah. Needless to say, they stopped being friends.
Now, for some reason, Heather decided to start this fight on the groupchat with my boyfriend, which meant I had access to everything, and after learning about everything I started to question my friend’s actions for the first time. Like, yes I knew she was a bit stubborn, and annoying, but who isn’t. Betraying someone you have talked about multiple times as your best friend and then lying about it for years, however?
But I decided to put my worries aside for the moment and just be more careful around her before I actually formed an opinion. I also had never met Jane before so at that point it probably wouldn’t have been my place to intervene.
During my trip, I get the idea to plan a surprise party for Tony in the summer and I share it with Heather who seems on board and ready to help.
That aside, the rest of my visit was pretty uneventful up until my last day there.
It being my last day, I wanted to spend it with all my friends, so me, Tony, and Heather met up at a mall to hang out. After a while, I noticed Heather looking pretty down so I asked her if she was alright. She told me she was feeling a bit worried because she got the impression that Tony was growing more distant from her. She revealed to me that this actually already happened before, during Tony’s last relationship, and she was scared it was going to happen again. “And I’m so sorry for involving you like this but do you think you could talk to him for me?”
Now, you have to know Tony and her were never the best of friends; he’s always been closer to Jane than he was with her, simply because they don’t have many things in common. Heather also had the habit of constantly bringing up his ex in my presence, by making weird comparisons with me about literally anything. “Oh, you’re dyeing your hair red? Tony’s ex also dyed her hair red for a while. Omg your eyeliner is so good, you know Tony’s ex actually—”
No. I do, in fact, not know and I would like to keep it that way.
So when she mentioned his ex, being the idiot that I am, I felt so bad because I somehow assumed it was my fault, that I distracted him from his friends with my psychic evil girlfriend powers and therefore it was my responsibility to fix it.
So in May, I start planning Tony’s birthday party and Heather decided that for some reason it was her job to invite people and plan activities and literally plan the whole fucking party actually. She kept making suggestions I knew he would hate and inviting people he outright said he couldn’t stand, until I had enough and was forced to put my foot down. I let her invite her boyfriend and a friend of hers and handled the rest myself. In the meantime, I contacted Jane. Because unlike Heather, I know my boyfriend well enough to understand who his friends are so I always knew Jane was going to make the list, which I anticipated to Heather back in February. Her response was something along the lines of, “It’s okay for me if it’s okay for her”, which I thought was good enough. After all, I wasn’t expecting them to chat like nothing had happened but I assumed they would both be mature enough to put their differences aside for their friend’s sake.
The day of the party comes and Heather and I get there early to set things up, and when we’re in the bathroom doing our makeup she goes, “Hey, this might be a weird question but did Jane mention if she was bringing anyone?”.
This is where I might have been a bit of a bitch. Because Jane did actually ask me if she could bring her boyfriend, the same guy from the story that keeps coming back, and she even apologized for that, but knowing there were going to be three couples at the party already, including Heather and her own boyfriend, I didn’t even think twice before saying yes. However, I also failed to mention that to Heather until the day of the party.
When she found out, she was gone. Completely lost the plot, would not hear reason. She spent the whole evening sitting on the couch next to her boyfriend, with her back to the rest of the party, ignoring everyone else unless they asked her a question directly or forced her into conversation. After the umpteenth failed attempt of including her I felt so guilty I went to cry in the bathroom thinking I had ruined my boyfriend’s party because Heather was not having fun.
Days later, when all of this turned into a paragraph fight via text, instead of apologizing she kept attacking Tony for being rude to her and not understanding that she is very introverted and has “major anxiety”, and that was the reason why she didn’t even try to celebrate his birthday with him once throughout the night. Something I found hard to believe as I had been in that position before, while she was the one to help me out of it, introducing me to new people. So I am well aware of what it means to feel out of place, which is why I tried my best that night, and I also know that if she really wanted to do more, she would’ve.
During the fight, I finally had the opportunity to really talk to Jane for the first time and finding out about some things Heather did to her while they were friends reminded me of something else she did to me.
Back in November 2022, I got on birth control. Naturally I texted my friend, telling her about it.
Her response was, and I quote: “I have a theory. I’ve noticed a pattern where all of Tony’s girlfriends (ex and you) have started taking birth control since dating him soooo he either forced the girls or the girls don't care about STDs and accidental pregnancies. And the side effects obv.”
So I brought this back up during our fight. She tried to deny and to claim she was simply in “shock” because of my sudden interest in birth control, but I sent her back the proof of how she ignored everything I was trying to tell her only to keep trying to prove her hypotheses. My message said: “I was excited because I had done my research, I found a gyno and I went on my own and I texted you knowing that I couldn't share that excitement with my mother so I thought my friend would understand but instead you just came up with conspiracy theories about Tony forcing his girlfriends to get on BC or his girlfriends not caring about accidental pregnancies which was extremely insulting and I still don't know what your intention was because if you were joking it wasn't funny. I was being really vulnerable and you just basically chastised me. I can understand not agreeing but there's ways and ways to say that, you can still be happy and supportive while disagreeing, which was not what you did at all.”
She apologized but also said “I’m sorry you felt that way”. I decided to leave it at that and forget about it.
A couple of weeks later she angrily texted me wondering why I didn’t wish her a happy birthday.
So, AITA?
submitted by PsychologyAfraid2800 to CharlotteDobreYouTube [link] [comments]
Many moons ago, three or four years before I was forced to live with the burden of knowing my dear friend, some shit went down.
Sophomore year of high school, Heather and my now boyfriend Tony were besties with another girl, that I will call Jane (the sweetest person I’ve ever met, by the way). At some point, Jane and her boyfriend went on a break, and Heather decided, for some reason to this day unknown, to try and sext her best friend’s ex boyfriend. I say “try” because he never really indulged her, which made the whole situation all the more embarrassing. Heather, however, lacking self-awareness and critical thinking skills, decided to keep this up for over five months, after which Jane and her ex got back together, and he told her everything. Contrary to Heather, Jane decided to be a good friend and wait for Heather to come clean about her actions without revealing she already knew everything.
And so she waited. But Heather never said anything.
Keep this in mind, it’ll be important later.
Fast forward to February 2022, yours truly is introduced on the scene by becoming Heather’s roommate during our first year of college. Surprisingly we got along pretty well, we became really close friends in a very short time. She was also the extroverted one (also important) of the two and really helped me come out of my shell, so for a while I was really grateful to her. Anyway, throughout the three months we lived together she was constantly talking about her friends Tony and Jane from back home, but especially referring to Jane as her best friend, the only one that really knew her and that she really trusted.
Her friend Tony was also a very popular topic in conversations, and the reason she convinced me to visit her home country that summer, which resulted in us dating but I will spare you the details of that because it’s a different story (although a good one too).
The summer ends. She moves back to her country, I go back to mine, now pursuing two long distance relationships, the one with my boyfriend and the one with my only friend. So, in January 2023 plan a trip there with Tony but I decide not to tell Heather, and to let it be a surprise instead.
This is where the thing I told you to remember comes back for the first time, and I get front row seats for this years-long conflict finally unraveling.
Jane decided she had enough of waiting for her friend to become decent and slowly started growing apart from Heather, who had actually started the fight by accusing Jane of ignoring her.
When asked about the reasons for her behavior, some of Heather’s responses were, and I kid you not, “BRO I HAD A PLAN” and “IT’S LITERALLY NOT MY PROUDEST MOMENT”.
So. Yeah. Needless to say, they stopped being friends.
Now, for some reason, Heather decided to start this fight on the groupchat with my boyfriend, which meant I had access to everything, and after learning about everything I started to question my friend’s actions for the first time. Like, yes I knew she was a bit stubborn, and annoying, but who isn’t. Betraying someone you have talked about multiple times as your best friend and then lying about it for years, however?
But I decided to put my worries aside for the moment and just be more careful around her before I actually formed an opinion. I also had never met Jane before so at that point it probably wouldn’t have been my place to intervene.
During my trip, I get the idea to plan a surprise party for Tony in the summer and I share it with Heather who seems on board and ready to help.
That aside, the rest of my visit was pretty uneventful up until my last day there.
It being my last day, I wanted to spend it with all my friends, so me, Tony, and Heather met up at a mall to hang out. After a while, I noticed Heather looking pretty down so I asked her if she was alright. She told me she was feeling a bit worried because she got the impression that Tony was growing more distant from her. She revealed to me that this actually already happened before, during Tony’s last relationship, and she was scared it was going to happen again. “And I’m so sorry for involving you like this but do you think you could talk to him for me?”
Now, you have to know Tony and her were never the best of friends; he’s always been closer to Jane than he was with her, simply because they don’t have many things in common. Heather also had the habit of constantly bringing up his ex in my presence, by making weird comparisons with me about literally anything. “Oh, you’re dyeing your hair red? Tony’s ex also dyed her hair red for a while. Omg your eyeliner is so good, you know Tony’s ex actually—”
No. I do, in fact, not know and I would like to keep it that way.
So when she mentioned his ex, being the idiot that I am, I felt so bad because I somehow assumed it was my fault, that I distracted him from his friends with my psychic evil girlfriend powers and therefore it was my responsibility to fix it.
So in May, I start planning Tony’s birthday party and Heather decided that for some reason it was her job to invite people and plan activities and literally plan the whole fucking party actually. She kept making suggestions I knew he would hate and inviting people he outright said he couldn’t stand, until I had enough and was forced to put my foot down. I let her invite her boyfriend and a friend of hers and handled the rest myself. In the meantime, I contacted Jane. Because unlike Heather, I know my boyfriend well enough to understand who his friends are so I always knew Jane was going to make the list, which I anticipated to Heather back in February. Her response was something along the lines of, “It’s okay for me if it’s okay for her”, which I thought was good enough. After all, I wasn’t expecting them to chat like nothing had happened but I assumed they would both be mature enough to put their differences aside for their friend’s sake.
The day of the party comes and Heather and I get there early to set things up, and when we’re in the bathroom doing our makeup she goes, “Hey, this might be a weird question but did Jane mention if she was bringing anyone?”.
This is where I might have been a bit of a bitch. Because Jane did actually ask me if she could bring her boyfriend, the same guy from the story that keeps coming back, and she even apologized for that, but knowing there were going to be three couples at the party already, including Heather and her own boyfriend, I didn’t even think twice before saying yes. However, I also failed to mention that to Heather until the day of the party.
When she found out, she was gone. Completely lost the plot, would not hear reason. She spent the whole evening sitting on the couch next to her boyfriend, with her back to the rest of the party, ignoring everyone else unless they asked her a question directly or forced her into conversation. After the umpteenth failed attempt of including her I felt so guilty I went to cry in the bathroom thinking I had ruined my boyfriend’s party because Heather was not having fun.
Days later, when all of this turned into a paragraph fight via text, instead of apologizing she kept attacking Tony for being rude to her and not understanding that she is very introverted and has “major anxiety”, and that was the reason why she didn’t even try to celebrate his birthday with him once throughout the night. Something I found hard to believe as I had been in that position before, while she was the one to help me out of it, introducing me to new people. So I am well aware of what it means to feel out of place, which is why I tried my best that night, and I also know that if she really wanted to do more, she would’ve.
During the fight, I finally had the opportunity to really talk to Jane for the first time and finding out about some things Heather did to her while they were friends reminded me of something else she did to me.
Back in November 2022, I got on birth control. Naturally I texted my friend, telling her about it.
Her response was, and I quote: “I have a theory. I’ve noticed a pattern where all of Tony’s girlfriends (ex and you) have started taking birth control since dating him soooo he either forced the girls or the girls don't care about STDs and accidental pregnancies. And the side effects obv.”
So I brought this back up during our fight. She tried to deny and to claim she was simply in “shock” because of my sudden interest in birth control, but I sent her back the proof of how she ignored everything I was trying to tell her only to keep trying to prove her hypotheses. My message said: “I was excited because I had done my research, I found a gyno and I went on my own and I texted you knowing that I couldn't share that excitement with my mother so I thought my friend would understand but instead you just came up with conspiracy theories about Tony forcing his girlfriends to get on BC or his girlfriends not caring about accidental pregnancies which was extremely insulting and I still don't know what your intention was because if you were joking it wasn't funny. I was being really vulnerable and you just basically chastised me. I can understand not agreeing but there's ways and ways to say that, you can still be happy and supportive while disagreeing, which was not what you did at all.”
She apologized but also said “I’m sorry you felt that way”. I decided to leave it at that and forget about it.
A couple of weeks later she angrily texted me wondering why I didn’t wish her a happy birthday.
So, AITA?
2024.05.21 19:56 chr0nicsadness My family is horrible with pets
I'm gonna start this off by saying this is a vent post. It's really long and goes over all the big instances I can recall of animal cruelty happening in my childhood all the way to present, so it will be a lot of paragraphs. The timelines are estimates, but due to trauma I have poor memory involving dates when things happened, and this probably still isn't every incident, again just the big ones I can recall. Read at your own discretion.
I (19F) live with my grandparents (70M and 67F) and my parents (42 M 43 F). Due to some injuries from last year and some medical history, I am disabled and currently jobless, and in the process of trying to obtain disability, which is relevant for later.
Since I was as little as I can remember, my family has always had cats. I even grew up with some cats that ended up feeling like siblings for me not having anyone around them age to interact with until my sister was born when I was 8.
My parents have always loved cats, but I don't think truly ever valued cats. They've always been left outdoors, and eventually the elements always get them. I have never had a family pet that grew past the age 12. All of our cats have either been attacked by dogs that are also loose in my neighborhood, been suspected to have been tortured and unalived by neighbors, got sick, or got ran over, because my family doesn't care and will just 'replace" pets less than a year later.
When I was around 5, I had my very first pet kitten. This kitten was a runt, so it stayed small for a long time. It also was very hard to potty train, and because of this, they released it outside when it was maybe barely 7-8 weeks. He did good for about a month, but after that, he vanished. But there was evidence when he disappeared that there were large dog paw prints in our driveway because it was rainy that previous night, and his food bowl was dragged out in the yard, which he couldn't have done.
Also around 5, my aunt (at this time 13F) was living with us, as her mom (my mom's mom) wasn't taking good care of her and was in and out of jail. She had pet guinea pigs for a bit. My parents decided to feed the guinea pigs potatoes without doing any kind of research. One of them died. The other one was sick and anxious all the time, so my aunt decided to release it in our backyard? It was also winter. (I want to say that I do not blame her directly because she was still a child and in a similar situation to me, and my parents didn't care about the well-being of these poor guinea pigs anyways.)
And yet another story of around age 5, my dad bought the family a pet red-eared turtle. The tank was too small for her. My dad also thought it would be "funny" and "cool" to put fish in there with this turtle whenever we were about to go on vacation. She ate all the fish in the tank: Neons, goldfish, the tank cleaners, and whatever other fish species he put in that confined tank that wasn't more than 20 gallons. (Red-eared turtles alone need around 40 at minimum.)
But that's not all. While on vacation, both I and my 13 year-old aunt got baby yellow-belly sliders. We took them home, and we put them in the tank with our adult turtle. She ate the heads off of both of them. There was one goldfish left there as well, and I got traumatized seeing both the dead turtles, and seeing her eat that last gold fish in two chomps one time.
When I was around 6, my family randomly decided, "Let's own goats!" because they have a big backyard with an old shed. Well, they ended up buying a small amount of chicken wire fence and giving them outside of the barn about a few feet to move around when our backyard is fairly large and most of it wasn't being used. And we live in a residential area, so every night we had the goats, they would scream. My parents hated their screaming and started neglecting them more by giving them less attention, which only made them scream 24/7. Finally, my parents decided to give the goats to some distant family that has farmland. (We are in the south.)
When I was around 8-9, I got another cat. She was a pretty cat, but very mean and feisty. She didn't really like anyone, but I loved her regardless. This cat was too annoying for my parents to deal with because she had behavioral issues, and instead of taking her to the vet, they decided to make her start staying outside. She loved it, but a bit too much.
(Big TW: death and some descriptions of gore) One day, I had to help my mom deal with her corpse on the road. I was obviously really sad and fell into a deal depression. I also panicked and nearly threw up when I saw, because her eyeball was hanging out. It was so disturbing for a child to see. We buried her together, but I was made fun of one day by my parents for randomly crying about her death.
When I was around 10, I owned my third cat. She also had a brother from the same litter, and my mom had recently lost a cat that she did keep inside from kidney disease. I haven't had my own cat in a while, and they decided to adopt this sibling pair from the neighbors. I got the female, my mom got the male, because she is the type to insist that boy cats are better.
Anyways, I LOVED this cat. I did so much for her, and she loved me and followed me everywhere. We'd cuddle to sleep together. She was my best friend.
But my parents never got her fixed. They also never got the brother fixed. They ended up doing the tango (gross I know, but nature) and my cat had kittens a little bit less than a year old. Since she was too young for kittens, she at first didn't know what she was doing and even misplaced her first outside and ran to me while in labor with the second. I found that kitten and helped her with all 5 of her kittens, all girls also, and the kittens ended up getting close to me as well.
Of course, once they were around 6-7 weeks, my parents were wanting to start finding home for them. But they also had another idea in mind. They wanted me to get rid of my adult cat, and the brother cat as well, and we'd take one kitten. At first I was like no, but they manipulated me and convinced me a kitten would be better. I told them which kitten I wanted, and it looked a lot like my cat. But no, since they thought one of the cats might be distantly Siamese and thought it looked the coolest from it's tabby and Siamese-like pattern, they chose that one, and then dropped my beloved cat and her brother off at a cemetery, didn't even let me say bye. They just threw them away like pieces of garbage. And then I ended up resenting that kitten anyways for not being MY cat, so the family ended up crashing her as well, and she disappeared a few years later.
Around age 11-12, I somehow managed to have pet hermit crabs, another pet yellow-belly slider turtle, and two pet rabbits. My parents were basically throwing pets at me because I guess they felt guilty or something about what they did to me. I didn't end up taking care of any of them, and they all died of starvation and/or dehydration, and I still feel terrible about it. I was so depressed that I couldn't take care of myself either. And I was given animals on top of it, and I was forced to be a high schooler in school. The pets suffered at the cost of what? Why did I even have them?
Around age 13, my parents were driving me home from school, and we saw some Canada geese with their babies by a pond. I'm sure you know where this is going, considering everything else. My mom convinced me to jump out of the car with her, and she distracted the adult geese while I caught a baby one. I knew that in itself was bad, but I didn't know Canada geese were such a protected species.
The little guy imprinted on me. I loved him, he would follow me around the yard. But once again my parents got out that chicken fence, only this time it was on the side of the house, and no shed for him to take cover in (still like a few feet of movement max.) He was growing fast, and he was plucking his feathers. A neighbor noticed and told us to get rid of him or we'd call authorities. They lied and said we "found him and rescued him." I was told to lie about this narrative for years. They ended up dropping him back off at the pond we got him from about two months after we first got him. He couldn't fly, his family wasn't there. He was defenseless. I still feel terrible to this day, I know I was manipulated, but I was 13. And again, I defend my aunt and she was also 13, so I really don't know.
When I was 15, that first turtle I mentioned was still there at our house for all those years. She had quite literally been there for a decade. My parents got tired of having to clean her tank, and she was obviously too big for it as well. But was their response to upgrade tanks and the old filtering system that's been there all that time? Nope. While I was at school, he just...released her. And not in a pond or anything, you know, being an aquatic turtle. (Not like that would be better, but better than what he did.) He just put her outside, in our front driveway. She ran away surprisingly fast according to him. An aquatic pet turtle. Just released in a residential neighborhood. I'm totally sure nothing awful happened to her.( /sarcasm.)
When I was also 15, this was when the pandemic hit. I was super depressed and bored all the time. But then a female stray cat came to our house and had kittens behind a board against my grandparents house. I started fostering them and their mom immediately. I didn't know at the time that we had any no kill shelters nearby, and neither did my parents. When the kittens were old enough, we started rehoming them. There were 3 in total. 1 got a home. The other was still outside for some reason and disappeared. The other one became my pet, whom was at first the family pet. But then they decided that he was too annoying (because he was sweet and affectionate and not what they wanted out of cats which was mean, feisty, playful.)
He is the sweetest boy ever and is still alive to this day, but because I still live with my horrible family, he has to be outdoors, and he gets really scabby from the bugs outside during the summer. As soon as I can I will move out, take him to the vet, and take him out of this home. He shouldn't have to be here.
A few years ago, my sister (11F but maybe 9F at the time) got her own kitten. He ended up growing up to be sweet and affectionate like my cat, so neither her nor my parents want him and he's outdoors, so I'll probably try to take him too.
My sister now has her own new cat that's about a year old she got last year. So far she's not abandoning him since he's a mix of sweet and playful, but my parents have talked about making him indoor-outdoor, which really means "Indoor-outdoor for a few days but after a while we'll just leave him outside and let him stay there."
As a child, I was taught so many messed up things about animals. That dogs are disgusting, gross, and pets have no feelings, and I was taught that cats also have no feelings as a child, but that they are at least a more fun and less gross pet. In fact, in my parent's eyes, no animals have feelings or sentience or any of those things. They are just play things for our benefit. Because of this, as a child I also did not treat animals with the respect they deserve, and I acknowledge this. I have been unlearning so much of this behavior since I was about 13, the goose that I had was my wakeup call.
Please, I know it may seem crazy to some that I out of all people are speaking on this, but if you own animals, please keep them indoors. And with cats specifically, if they crave outside, harness train them. Buy/build a cheap patio in your window if possible. Just don't let them roam free. They will kill so much wildlife. Having to also deal with the grief of my pets killing and bringing dead rabbits, moles, birds opossums, etc. is also a lot. It heavily effects your surrounding ecosystem as well, because annually house cats are estimated to kill over a billion birds and over 6 billion mammals. That's disastrous, and could be avoided if there weren't so many bad pet owners.
Also, don't get animals that go in tanks/terrariums/cages in general if you don't have the money to get them the most spacious enclosure with ALL of their needs. Don't put fish in bowls, it effects their eyesight and shortens their lifespans SIGNIFICANTLY. In general, do not get a pet unless you have the financial means to do so AND if you've thoroughly researched that pet, get it ethically sourced, and if you make sure you have the mental capacity to care for an animal. ANIMALS ARE NOT TOYS. ANIMALS ARE NOT HERE FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT, FOR OUR JOY. THEY ARE LIVING BEINGS WITH THOUGHTS, EMOTIONS, AND A LIFE. THEY DESERVE RESPECT AND DECENCY. NO, THEY DESERVE BEYOND DECENCY, THEY DESERVE TO BE WORSHIPPED AND NURTURED AND SPOILED BY US, NOT TORMENTED AND ABUSED! Thank you.
Also, if you somehow got this far, please read my previous story and give me advice on that one if you have the time, but if not that's perfectly okay. My living situation sucks, but hopefully things can change. I'm counting on a change to happen soon.
submitted by chr0nicsadness to confessions [link] [comments]
I (19F) live with my grandparents (70M and 67F) and my parents (42 M 43 F). Due to some injuries from last year and some medical history, I am disabled and currently jobless, and in the process of trying to obtain disability, which is relevant for later.
Since I was as little as I can remember, my family has always had cats. I even grew up with some cats that ended up feeling like siblings for me not having anyone around them age to interact with until my sister was born when I was 8.
My parents have always loved cats, but I don't think truly ever valued cats. They've always been left outdoors, and eventually the elements always get them. I have never had a family pet that grew past the age 12. All of our cats have either been attacked by dogs that are also loose in my neighborhood, been suspected to have been tortured and unalived by neighbors, got sick, or got ran over, because my family doesn't care and will just 'replace" pets less than a year later.
When I was around 5, I had my very first pet kitten. This kitten was a runt, so it stayed small for a long time. It also was very hard to potty train, and because of this, they released it outside when it was maybe barely 7-8 weeks. He did good for about a month, but after that, he vanished. But there was evidence when he disappeared that there were large dog paw prints in our driveway because it was rainy that previous night, and his food bowl was dragged out in the yard, which he couldn't have done.
Also around 5, my aunt (at this time 13F) was living with us, as her mom (my mom's mom) wasn't taking good care of her and was in and out of jail. She had pet guinea pigs for a bit. My parents decided to feed the guinea pigs potatoes without doing any kind of research. One of them died. The other one was sick and anxious all the time, so my aunt decided to release it in our backyard? It was also winter. (I want to say that I do not blame her directly because she was still a child and in a similar situation to me, and my parents didn't care about the well-being of these poor guinea pigs anyways.)
And yet another story of around age 5, my dad bought the family a pet red-eared turtle. The tank was too small for her. My dad also thought it would be "funny" and "cool" to put fish in there with this turtle whenever we were about to go on vacation. She ate all the fish in the tank: Neons, goldfish, the tank cleaners, and whatever other fish species he put in that confined tank that wasn't more than 20 gallons. (Red-eared turtles alone need around 40 at minimum.)
But that's not all. While on vacation, both I and my 13 year-old aunt got baby yellow-belly sliders. We took them home, and we put them in the tank with our adult turtle. She ate the heads off of both of them. There was one goldfish left there as well, and I got traumatized seeing both the dead turtles, and seeing her eat that last gold fish in two chomps one time.
When I was around 6, my family randomly decided, "Let's own goats!" because they have a big backyard with an old shed. Well, they ended up buying a small amount of chicken wire fence and giving them outside of the barn about a few feet to move around when our backyard is fairly large and most of it wasn't being used. And we live in a residential area, so every night we had the goats, they would scream. My parents hated their screaming and started neglecting them more by giving them less attention, which only made them scream 24/7. Finally, my parents decided to give the goats to some distant family that has farmland. (We are in the south.)
When I was around 8-9, I got another cat. She was a pretty cat, but very mean and feisty. She didn't really like anyone, but I loved her regardless. This cat was too annoying for my parents to deal with because she had behavioral issues, and instead of taking her to the vet, they decided to make her start staying outside. She loved it, but a bit too much.
(Big TW: death and some descriptions of gore) One day, I had to help my mom deal with her corpse on the road. I was obviously really sad and fell into a deal depression. I also panicked and nearly threw up when I saw, because her eyeball was hanging out. It was so disturbing for a child to see. We buried her together, but I was made fun of one day by my parents for randomly crying about her death.
When I was around 10, I owned my third cat. She also had a brother from the same litter, and my mom had recently lost a cat that she did keep inside from kidney disease. I haven't had my own cat in a while, and they decided to adopt this sibling pair from the neighbors. I got the female, my mom got the male, because she is the type to insist that boy cats are better.
Anyways, I LOVED this cat. I did so much for her, and she loved me and followed me everywhere. We'd cuddle to sleep together. She was my best friend.
But my parents never got her fixed. They also never got the brother fixed. They ended up doing the tango (gross I know, but nature) and my cat had kittens a little bit less than a year old. Since she was too young for kittens, she at first didn't know what she was doing and even misplaced her first outside and ran to me while in labor with the second. I found that kitten and helped her with all 5 of her kittens, all girls also, and the kittens ended up getting close to me as well.
Of course, once they were around 6-7 weeks, my parents were wanting to start finding home for them. But they also had another idea in mind. They wanted me to get rid of my adult cat, and the brother cat as well, and we'd take one kitten. At first I was like no, but they manipulated me and convinced me a kitten would be better. I told them which kitten I wanted, and it looked a lot like my cat. But no, since they thought one of the cats might be distantly Siamese and thought it looked the coolest from it's tabby and Siamese-like pattern, they chose that one, and then dropped my beloved cat and her brother off at a cemetery, didn't even let me say bye. They just threw them away like pieces of garbage. And then I ended up resenting that kitten anyways for not being MY cat, so the family ended up crashing her as well, and she disappeared a few years later.
Around age 11-12, I somehow managed to have pet hermit crabs, another pet yellow-belly slider turtle, and two pet rabbits. My parents were basically throwing pets at me because I guess they felt guilty or something about what they did to me. I didn't end up taking care of any of them, and they all died of starvation and/or dehydration, and I still feel terrible about it. I was so depressed that I couldn't take care of myself either. And I was given animals on top of it, and I was forced to be a high schooler in school. The pets suffered at the cost of what? Why did I even have them?
Around age 13, my parents were driving me home from school, and we saw some Canada geese with their babies by a pond. I'm sure you know where this is going, considering everything else. My mom convinced me to jump out of the car with her, and she distracted the adult geese while I caught a baby one. I knew that in itself was bad, but I didn't know Canada geese were such a protected species.
The little guy imprinted on me. I loved him, he would follow me around the yard. But once again my parents got out that chicken fence, only this time it was on the side of the house, and no shed for him to take cover in (still like a few feet of movement max.) He was growing fast, and he was plucking his feathers. A neighbor noticed and told us to get rid of him or we'd call authorities. They lied and said we "found him and rescued him." I was told to lie about this narrative for years. They ended up dropping him back off at the pond we got him from about two months after we first got him. He couldn't fly, his family wasn't there. He was defenseless. I still feel terrible to this day, I know I was manipulated, but I was 13. And again, I defend my aunt and she was also 13, so I really don't know.
When I was 15, that first turtle I mentioned was still there at our house for all those years. She had quite literally been there for a decade. My parents got tired of having to clean her tank, and she was obviously too big for it as well. But was their response to upgrade tanks and the old filtering system that's been there all that time? Nope. While I was at school, he just...released her. And not in a pond or anything, you know, being an aquatic turtle. (Not like that would be better, but better than what he did.) He just put her outside, in our front driveway. She ran away surprisingly fast according to him. An aquatic pet turtle. Just released in a residential neighborhood. I'm totally sure nothing awful happened to her.( /sarcasm.)
When I was also 15, this was when the pandemic hit. I was super depressed and bored all the time. But then a female stray cat came to our house and had kittens behind a board against my grandparents house. I started fostering them and their mom immediately. I didn't know at the time that we had any no kill shelters nearby, and neither did my parents. When the kittens were old enough, we started rehoming them. There were 3 in total. 1 got a home. The other was still outside for some reason and disappeared. The other one became my pet, whom was at first the family pet. But then they decided that he was too annoying (because he was sweet and affectionate and not what they wanted out of cats which was mean, feisty, playful.)
He is the sweetest boy ever and is still alive to this day, but because I still live with my horrible family, he has to be outdoors, and he gets really scabby from the bugs outside during the summer. As soon as I can I will move out, take him to the vet, and take him out of this home. He shouldn't have to be here.
A few years ago, my sister (11F but maybe 9F at the time) got her own kitten. He ended up growing up to be sweet and affectionate like my cat, so neither her nor my parents want him and he's outdoors, so I'll probably try to take him too.
My sister now has her own new cat that's about a year old she got last year. So far she's not abandoning him since he's a mix of sweet and playful, but my parents have talked about making him indoor-outdoor, which really means "Indoor-outdoor for a few days but after a while we'll just leave him outside and let him stay there."
As a child, I was taught so many messed up things about animals. That dogs are disgusting, gross, and pets have no feelings, and I was taught that cats also have no feelings as a child, but that they are at least a more fun and less gross pet. In fact, in my parent's eyes, no animals have feelings or sentience or any of those things. They are just play things for our benefit. Because of this, as a child I also did not treat animals with the respect they deserve, and I acknowledge this. I have been unlearning so much of this behavior since I was about 13, the goose that I had was my wakeup call.
Please, I know it may seem crazy to some that I out of all people are speaking on this, but if you own animals, please keep them indoors. And with cats specifically, if they crave outside, harness train them. Buy/build a cheap patio in your window if possible. Just don't let them roam free. They will kill so much wildlife. Having to also deal with the grief of my pets killing and bringing dead rabbits, moles, birds opossums, etc. is also a lot. It heavily effects your surrounding ecosystem as well, because annually house cats are estimated to kill over a billion birds and over 6 billion mammals. That's disastrous, and could be avoided if there weren't so many bad pet owners.
Also, don't get animals that go in tanks/terrariums/cages in general if you don't have the money to get them the most spacious enclosure with ALL of their needs. Don't put fish in bowls, it effects their eyesight and shortens their lifespans SIGNIFICANTLY. In general, do not get a pet unless you have the financial means to do so AND if you've thoroughly researched that pet, get it ethically sourced, and if you make sure you have the mental capacity to care for an animal. ANIMALS ARE NOT TOYS. ANIMALS ARE NOT HERE FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT, FOR OUR JOY. THEY ARE LIVING BEINGS WITH THOUGHTS, EMOTIONS, AND A LIFE. THEY DESERVE RESPECT AND DECENCY. NO, THEY DESERVE BEYOND DECENCY, THEY DESERVE TO BE WORSHIPPED AND NURTURED AND SPOILED BY US, NOT TORMENTED AND ABUSED! Thank you.
Also, if you somehow got this far, please read my previous story and give me advice on that one if you have the time, but if not that's perfectly okay. My living situation sucks, but hopefully things can change. I'm counting on a change to happen soon.
2024.05.21 19:37 tearsforfearsinrain Made fun of my cat for being melodramatic, now feel terrible since she is actually near the end of her life
My cat Kumatora (Tori for short, 13F) has lived a highly sheltered and comfortable life with me and my parents since we got her when she was a 3-month-old kitten. Our household is very quiet, with no other pets or young children, and guests being very rare. We always give her lots of attention, and spend a lot of money ensuring she gets whatever she wants, within reason. As such, there has been an understanding that she is spoiled, and prior to the issues at hand here, it was generally amusing when she really wanted something or got mad. For example, she really enjoyed sitting in open windows, and would throw temper tantrums in the days following weather being comfortable enough to have them open - throwing her poops out of the litter box, knocking stuff off tables, that kind of thing. Obviously we all still love and care for her dearly, but it's like how some people think it's funny when toddlers think it's the end of the world when they, like, don't get McDonald's for dinner.
About a month ago, she started meowing dramatically, and was dragging around one of her hind legs. We took her to the vet, where they x-ray'd her, ran blood work, and did other yearly check-up things, only to find nothing visibly wrong. She did not seem to be in any pain, and the only spot of numbness was her paw pad, so the vet concluded she had nerve damage and sent her back with us. In spite of this, her quality of life declined, although she was in generally good health. She hid under my parent's bed for a while, leaving only to eat and use the litter box. Eventually we moved her into a spare room without furniture to hide under so that she would at least be easily accessible if/when we needed to bring her back to the vet. During this time, given the knowledge I had as provided by our vet, I joked with friends that she was just being a drama queen, only enticed by treats to escape her moping, like an aging Shakespearean actress.
Starting last week, though, she stopped pooping, and later stopped eating everything but her preferred treats. That also happened to be the time of my graduation from graduate school, and we had a vacation planned, so she was left to be boarded at the vet's for 6 days. The experience was generally unpleasant for her, because in addition to the discomfort she was in prior, she hates the vet - usually we leave her by herself when we go on vacation, with a neighbor coming by daily to scoop her litter box, but thought boarding with them would be best given her issues. They ran several additional (costly) tests on her, and found that she had a congenital heart defect, as well as a heart murmur, and heart disease. As such, it was determined that she may have had a blood clot which caused her foot numbness, but the signs of that are inconsistent, and the vets still aren't 100% sure whether it was that or a nerve issue. Either way, the stress of the mobility issue and the vets stay put a lot of stress on her heart, and she's worse off than ever before - she's barely eating, doesn't want to be brushed anymore, has trouble grooming, barely gets out of her cat bed, and is purring constantly like cats do when they're hurt. It's clear that she is not enjoying life in the state she's in, and we're looking into at-home euthanasia at this point.
...And now I feel terrible for being so flippant about her discomfort before. It's not even like this affected how quickly we sought medical care - we brought her in as soon as we noticed the issue, and contacted the vet several times over phone to make sure that the care decisions we were making were appropriate. I just feel bad for the way I perceived her and talked about her with others when this is clearly significantly negatively affecting her. I guess I was hoping that she would just snap out of it one day, that her foot would magically regain sensation and she'd be her usual self and this would be another funny story to tell at parties. I wonder if we should have cancelled our vacation so that she wouldn't need to spend as much time at the vet's. Her heart problems may not have been discovered, but it would have been less stress put on her, which may have increased her chances of recovery. I also feel like it would have been the typical "internet pet parent" thing to do - toss aside all plans and direct all attention towards ensuring our pet is as comfortable and happy as possible. Reading stories of pet parents having to euthanize 15+ year-old cats after years-long battles with cancer or kidney disease, her decline seems so... quick, and premature.
And so I'm looking for support here. Anyone else struggle with not feeling attached/worried enough about unwell pets? I used to be super anxious and catastrophize things like this, but now I feel like the pendulum's swung too hard in the opposite direction, and I'm too detached - or at least I was in weeks prior. Do I have, like, pet parent imposter syndrome - is that a thing? Or am I genuinely selfish and insensitive and should never care for a cat again? :(
submitted by tearsforfearsinrain to CatAdvice [link] [comments]
About a month ago, she started meowing dramatically, and was dragging around one of her hind legs. We took her to the vet, where they x-ray'd her, ran blood work, and did other yearly check-up things, only to find nothing visibly wrong. She did not seem to be in any pain, and the only spot of numbness was her paw pad, so the vet concluded she had nerve damage and sent her back with us. In spite of this, her quality of life declined, although she was in generally good health. She hid under my parent's bed for a while, leaving only to eat and use the litter box. Eventually we moved her into a spare room without furniture to hide under so that she would at least be easily accessible if/when we needed to bring her back to the vet. During this time, given the knowledge I had as provided by our vet, I joked with friends that she was just being a drama queen, only enticed by treats to escape her moping, like an aging Shakespearean actress.
Starting last week, though, she stopped pooping, and later stopped eating everything but her preferred treats. That also happened to be the time of my graduation from graduate school, and we had a vacation planned, so she was left to be boarded at the vet's for 6 days. The experience was generally unpleasant for her, because in addition to the discomfort she was in prior, she hates the vet - usually we leave her by herself when we go on vacation, with a neighbor coming by daily to scoop her litter box, but thought boarding with them would be best given her issues. They ran several additional (costly) tests on her, and found that she had a congenital heart defect, as well as a heart murmur, and heart disease. As such, it was determined that she may have had a blood clot which caused her foot numbness, but the signs of that are inconsistent, and the vets still aren't 100% sure whether it was that or a nerve issue. Either way, the stress of the mobility issue and the vets stay put a lot of stress on her heart, and she's worse off than ever before - she's barely eating, doesn't want to be brushed anymore, has trouble grooming, barely gets out of her cat bed, and is purring constantly like cats do when they're hurt. It's clear that she is not enjoying life in the state she's in, and we're looking into at-home euthanasia at this point.
...And now I feel terrible for being so flippant about her discomfort before. It's not even like this affected how quickly we sought medical care - we brought her in as soon as we noticed the issue, and contacted the vet several times over phone to make sure that the care decisions we were making were appropriate. I just feel bad for the way I perceived her and talked about her with others when this is clearly significantly negatively affecting her. I guess I was hoping that she would just snap out of it one day, that her foot would magically regain sensation and she'd be her usual self and this would be another funny story to tell at parties. I wonder if we should have cancelled our vacation so that she wouldn't need to spend as much time at the vet's. Her heart problems may not have been discovered, but it would have been less stress put on her, which may have increased her chances of recovery. I also feel like it would have been the typical "internet pet parent" thing to do - toss aside all plans and direct all attention towards ensuring our pet is as comfortable and happy as possible. Reading stories of pet parents having to euthanize 15+ year-old cats after years-long battles with cancer or kidney disease, her decline seems so... quick, and premature.
And so I'm looking for support here. Anyone else struggle with not feeling attached/worried enough about unwell pets? I used to be super anxious and catastrophize things like this, but now I feel like the pendulum's swung too hard in the opposite direction, and I'm too detached - or at least I was in weeks prior. Do I have, like, pet parent imposter syndrome - is that a thing? Or am I genuinely selfish and insensitive and should never care for a cat again? :(
2024.05.21 19:32 FalloutKid3356 Girlfriend of five years dumps me for a 45-year-old cop then steals my dog two years later
Ok reddit buckle up this is a long one. As a growing fan of the subs, I’ve decided to tell my story. I 26M was dating my high school sweetheart for five years. We’ll call her CF for short. Yep, you guessed it, young love ignorant bliss the whole nine. At the time, this girl was my world, my life, my future. Well as the title suggests, things got interesting. Reflecting on the relationship now and all I’ve learned, it was unstable, toxic and at times abusive. There were so many red flags I ignored trying to make it work. Not knowing any better I fought to keep us together despite constant fights, arguments, and sleepless nights. Nearing the end of the relationship, in a last-ditch effort to either save what was or get closure that it in fact is over, I naively suggested to open our relationship. My thought process was, if she slept with someone else and felt rotten and/or dirty, then there was hope we could move passed it together. If she had slept with someone else and came home to me seemingly unbothered, then I knew it was over and beyond fixing. I however did not consider the emotional damage I would in turn subject myself to. Now I should clarify I had done some homework on my suggestion and found most blogs, forums and panels all mentioned that rules are important. So, as I mentioned before, this was a trial in finding out just how far gone the relationship was. The rules we set forward are the following: we bring no one to our house, protection must be used, we would never meet the persons together, and the last and most important one for me was I wanted to know as soon as she hooked up with someone, so we could talk and I could make my decision based on her behaviour. I should mention I had no intention of seeing anyone else at this time,I was devoted to her, and had no desire to see anyone else. This was purely to see if she still had love in her heart for me. Ok now into the nitty gritty, so not only was her hook up less than a week after we opened, she also broke a rule and saw her partner for over two months without telling me. Now I know this may be a point to argue, but I saw this as betrayal and cheating. We made rules and they were ignored. Turns out CF was seeing a 45-year-old cop going through a divorce of his own, at the time CF and I were 22. I’m not shaming age gaps, but this one made me sick. One week after our 5-year anniversary yep, she dumped me.
Now I know this is becoming a novel, but the best is yet to come. Ok now where does the dog fit in you might ask. Right, now onto that. Two years into CF and I’s relationship we were given the opportunity to foster a rescue dog, lets call her GA. The day this beautiful kind soul of a companion came into my life, I was in love. Screw fostering we’ll take her. Now GA wasn’t perfect at first but with love, guidance and patience she honestly is one of the best dogs I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting- let alone getting to call her my girl. Now like I said before, GA came with some areas to work on, like not eating couches; two to be exact. Also having a strong dislike of thunderstorms, and other behaviours most common with rescues, but she most notable has epilepsy, requiring medication twice a day to keep them at bay. This is important for later.
Alright so now we’re caught up to the breakup. After dealing with my world burning the best I can, I became angry and decided I wanted nothing to do with her. I helped get all her stuff out and she moved in with her dad. Knowing that GA would remind me of her, I told CF to also take GA. Now her dads a chain smoking, explosive drunk. After giving GA away, I lasted all of two hours before I begged to get her back, I realised I can’t lose everything all in one day. CF very willingly gave GA back. Both of us agreed that my house had more yard space for her and it was a cleaner, more stable home for her. I once again had GA in my life, and it was the best thing to have ever happened to me. Ok fast forward two weeks later I got sited from animal control for having an unregistered dog in the house and had 48 hours to register and pay the fee or I risk massive fines. I went that day, now where I live, pets become registered to the occupant of the registering address, then dog tags are issued to that name. GA also is micro chipped to the same address. So, to recap: CF moves out two weeks later, I’m forced to register GA solely in my name and my address. Now its time to talk about the verbal agreement we made regarding GA’s health, so I had agreed to what I’m choosing to call visitation rights. I’ll explain, so I worked weekends; three 12 hours shifts. GA gets her meds at 9am and 9pm so enter CF. She would come by on the weekend, with written notice, give GA her meds, and spend some time with her, then I would take over when I got home and the rest of the week when CF was working. So, the rules to the visitation: she was to give me written notice prior to stopping by and if I said no to her picking her up, that was final. CF was rarely told no unless I was already out with GA or it was late at night. Its worth mentioning CF still had her house key so effectively she could come and go as she pleased from my residence.
Now fast forward just under two years CF was very good at keeping with the program, written notice, healthy boundaries, and limited contact. I should add at the start, CF and I would chat about the relationship and possibly getting back together or not, then I was told that if CF couldn’t find anyone better than me, we would get back together. I’m no one’s safe bet and that comment broke me. I was hurt, broken, and angry from then on I was personally done with her. I started seeing other people and really living my own life. I’m a firm believer that when you buckle down and take charge of your own life, the universe will reward you. So, from then on, it was limited contact, if CF would message for GA. Then she could take her and I would leave the house and get coffee so I didn’t have to see her.
Ok let me introduce all of you to my current GF lets call her JT for short. She is an incredible, beautiful, smart, funny, and witty. I could use every possible vernacular in the English language to describe her and it still wouldn’t do her justice. Honestly folks, I couldn’t have gotten a better GF if I had ordered one from a magazine. She is truly my first love. CF may have been my first with a few things, but love wasn’t one of them, although at the time I thought she was. Ok I’m off topic so I met JT and things where surreal for the first time in two years since I was dumped. I believed I could love again. As my relationship with JT grew and the love not only grew but blossomed, its worth mentioning CF’s behaviour to me, and our arrangement became sparce. CF began showing up without notice to take GA. At one point me and JT were laying in bed bare under the covers, when CF opened my bedroom door to retrieve GA. Obviously this startled us both. I rushed to check my phone, that perhaps I missed a text... NOPE ok that was unsettling. Now to add to the disrespect of the arrangement, CF was keeping GA for days at a time without informing me. I would have to text her and ask “hey you got GA” CF. “ oh yea she’s with me” Me. “um ok no problem but as per our arrangement you need to make me aware of your plans with my GA”. CF. “yea ok slipped my mind”. Ok, so now you see my growing concern with the ongoing disrespect. I had no obligation to even let CF see GA legally, she was my sole property. Let me clarify real quick: remember how I was sighted by animal control? Well yeah, where I live animals are seen as property, and seeing as how I was sited after she left, GA became mine. Amiss my new found love and bliss, and growing concern, life hit me with one more unfortunate curve ball. I got evicted. Landlord got his GF pregnant and wanted the house I was renting for them to live in. Man, when I tell you that was a shock at the time, with some other things going on it was overwhelming. Turns out it was a blessing in disguise. We found an amazing house 40 minutes away from the city. I live on the cutest farm. Things with JT and I are going amazing! Not only has she made me feel things I thought were long dead, but she made me feel new experiences as well. Ok, decision time. I HATE CF for what she did to me, and I love JT with everything and more. One is getting in the way of the other. So, I devised a plan, taking advantage of my new residence and the distance, along with anonymity: I’m going to move out and cancel the arrangement with CF. Alright time to get to work. One week leading up to the move, I denied CF’s attempts to see GA. I rented a large box truck, and with the help of a small army of close friends and available family, we packed and move the entire house in one day. I would like the take the time now to thank all of you that helped me that day. It was such an empowering and liberating day. Right, so two pickup trucks and a mini van load go out off to the new house. Me, my old man and a dear friend pack the last into the box truck. Now I pre-wrote the message to CF in my notes, consulted a lawyer appraising them of the facts and documents to make sure what I had written was clear, concise, and contained the right verbiage for legal standing if need be. I hopped in the truck, started the engine, sent the text and drove off. Oh, I forgot to mention I did in fact change the locks and made my landlord aware of everything. Off I drove to start my new life happy, healthy, and full of bright prosperity.
So, as you may have guessed, my phone blew up from CF. Texts, calls, voice mails everything, it all fell on deaf ears. My word was final, and I was finally ready to close this ugly painful chapter of my life. So, well um, I will tell you all, I’m naturally a logical thinker that sometimes leads to a healthy level of paranoia. So, my new address was given to trusted people only. Written on paper and requested once we all met up at the new place and burned in the lane way. Why? Well, I know CF and her family, and I’ve seen them do less than legal things, and know who her dad is- and the contacts he knows. I took ZERO chances when it came to keeping my new life and address safe. Also remember I told you she’s dating a cop... knowing the fallout that awaits me, I took steps into protecting what I longed for. We moved in for June first of 2022. I should mention I live with my now GF and my roommate, my brother from another mother. My roommate moved in a month after CF moved out and I can update for any questions regarding him but for now back to the story. All members of the house were to follow strict security measures anticipating a reaction from CF. I had quickly found out that CF was trying to find out where I live through contacting friends, family and my old landlord trying to find the new address to no avail. Now, I work a full-time job, as well as run my own woodworking business. One day I was filing paperwork in the front office and I saw CF drive by in her vehicle. She drives an extremely recognizable car, so I knew it was her. I wasted no time. I drove to my local law enforcement and made them aware of everything. I wanted to start a case just to be safe if anything happened.
So, side note but very important, I was given the opportunity to purchase a puppy; FT for short. After discussion with the house, we decided getting GA a little sister was a great idea, you know, get her company and give her a friend to run around the farm with. To say they were inseparable is an understatement. They loved each other so much and it was the best move we ever made. I promise this is important later.
Right, June was great settling in, getting used to the new place, and watching GA play, mentor and thrive with her sister all was great! Moving to August 2022, our guards began to fall and we started letting the two out without being helicopters to them. August 12th 2022 oh man that day will forever remain with me rent free. JT and I are at work and the roommate’s home with the kiddos. 4:15pm I receive a phone call that will change my bliss for some time… yes GA, GA is gone “the hell do you mean”!! roommate “I let them out back, door open I was doing the dishes turned around and only FT was there”. “well did you look for them?” “yes I did, call in the damn microchip now!!” roommate hangs up. It’s worth mentioning he misunderstood how a K9 microchip works and thought It was like a GPS tracker. Work refuses to let me leave early and by the time I got home, three hours have passed since the disappearance.
I spent at least an hour exhausting any search method I could think of at the time, thinking if she ran off, she couldn’t have gotten far. After that hour I started to think, no way GA runs off and FT, 6 weeks old at the time, doesn’t follow.. Welp now it dawns on me, what? No? damn she must have taken her… off to the police I go. “ hey officer M, remember me from a few weeks ago?” “yeah what can I do for you?” “umm well I think my fears came true, I think CF stole her?” Ensue crying, panic and fear. How’d she find me? How is this possible?? Officer M “ ok take a breath tell me everything.” As I explain, I’m asked questions like are you sure she didn’t run off? I explain, no way she did and FT a young pup didn’t follow. I make my statement, broken, drained and beside myself with concern and fear I go home. No more then two hours later I get a call from M “Hi T so I’ve made some calls and I’m 99% sure she took her.” Me “what how? I mean what did you find?” M “I called your vet and an order for medication was placed by CF 10 days ago.” Me “ok damn so what happens now?” M “well this seems pretty clear cut I’ll investigate a bit more and make a case to the Crown.” Ok well my fears are confirmed. Damn she somehow found me and actually stole my beautiful GA. To this day, I have no idea how she found me. I suspect she put a GPS tracker on my truck. I had officer M looking into the possibility if her cop BF looked me up in the system, but that was ruled out very quickly.
Now the painful waiting game hoping justice will prevail. Each week I call for an update. On week 3 I’m informed he’s built a case and sent it to the Crown to see if it’s a clear-cut case of stolen property. Week 5 I’m told to hang tight its under review. At this point I became impatient and decided I can’t sit and wait. I took all the evidence and paperwork I had. I took it to both our vets as well as every vet in the region I knew she lived, explained and made airtight protocols for if, and when statements. Week 6 again I call, and I’m hit with bad news: the Crown, quite annoyed I was told, made it clear to M that this was a property dispute and needs to be settle in family court. Well, now it’s time to lawyer up. I scraped every extra penny I had to hire a good family lawyer and man did I find a good one. Turns out she was divorced and took my case a bit personally. She starts to prepare the necessary documents. 2 more weeks go by and thank whomever you believe in, I became impatient and went full proactive mode. I receive a phone call at work from my family vet. Vet “hi this is vet clinic just confirming your appointment for Monday at 11:25am?” well I sure as hell am now. I ring my lawyer, explain what happened, and put a rush on the papers having to call my dad to borrow money. You see now that I know exactly where CF is going to be with GA, I needed a legal reason to wait for her. So, I used the court case as a reason to serve her in person, thus being able to obtain GA custody until the hearing.
That Sunday I didn’t sleep a wink. 6:30am, I park my truck at the hardware store around the back of the vet, so CF wouldn’t see it. 8:00am the clinic opens. I walked in, documents in hand, and tell them everything and insist they let her in so I may serve her the documents and take GA. Regrettably, I forgot this was a functioning clinic and was told this could not happen inside, out of respect to the other patients. Me “Oh crap that’s more then fair, well what are my options?” Vet. “Well, we can bar her from the clinic under the proceeds of crime and you can serve her in the parking lot.” Me. “perfect I’ll wait in the sub shop down the way. you absolutely can not inform her of this.” Vet. “Not a problem we hope you get her back; we wish you luck.”
Off to the sub shop I go, for the longest 2 hours of my life. I get a phone call from JT, fully aware of my plan “hey we got rained out I’m off work do you want me there?” Me. “YES please come right away you can help record and dial the police.” The dominos are stacked, my shaky finger on the last one. JT shows up and we rehearse the plan; I must have checked the time a million times. The time comes I say where the hell is she. JT, with the calmest voice goes “she’s right there.” Me. “WTF!!” I ran out, papers in hand. JT calls the cops and starts recording. I utter the legal jargon, serve her the paperwork and latch onto GA as gentle and firm as I can, so CF can’t break my grip and wait for the police. They arrive in minutes. Get our stories. Check my paperwork. Separate us and attempt to figure out the situation. Low and behold, cop BF shows up. I’m told he’s “off duty” and is here in a BF capacity. Me, JT, two uniformed officers, CF, and cop BF talking, waiting with a level of uncertainty of the outcome. 2 hours goes by, and we ask what’s going on. I’m told that they are trying to defuse the situation, but cop BF has requested a supervisor. Well, he shows up and talks in great length to the BF, seeming frustrated. 3 hours go by, the supervisor walks up to me and demands our paperwork; I happily oblige. He reviews the documents and walks off, then comes back a minute or two later. “You gotta leash?” This clinic happens to be right next door to a pet store. So, just in case, I bought a leash in the three hours I was waiting. I hand him the leash. Words cannot describe the feeling as we watch the supervisor walk GA over to us after so long. Gone for 10 weeks total and waiting for three hours for the cops to deal with the situation. October 31, 2022, will be a day I will never forget. We will forever celebrate that day. Folks WE GOT HER!! What was once stolen by someone who couldn’t move on, was finally returned.
Thank you to anyone who read all of this. I needed to tell my story and I hope this was a good cup of tea for someone. I mean what I say, if anyone is going through something similar and is looking for help, please don’t hesitate. to reach out. For any questions, comments, or PM’s, I will read them, but I wish to update them publicly
submitted by FalloutKid3356 to pettyrevenge [link] [comments]
Now I know this is becoming a novel, but the best is yet to come. Ok now where does the dog fit in you might ask. Right, now onto that. Two years into CF and I’s relationship we were given the opportunity to foster a rescue dog, lets call her GA. The day this beautiful kind soul of a companion came into my life, I was in love. Screw fostering we’ll take her. Now GA wasn’t perfect at first but with love, guidance and patience she honestly is one of the best dogs I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting- let alone getting to call her my girl. Now like I said before, GA came with some areas to work on, like not eating couches; two to be exact. Also having a strong dislike of thunderstorms, and other behaviours most common with rescues, but she most notable has epilepsy, requiring medication twice a day to keep them at bay. This is important for later.
Alright so now we’re caught up to the breakup. After dealing with my world burning the best I can, I became angry and decided I wanted nothing to do with her. I helped get all her stuff out and she moved in with her dad. Knowing that GA would remind me of her, I told CF to also take GA. Now her dads a chain smoking, explosive drunk. After giving GA away, I lasted all of two hours before I begged to get her back, I realised I can’t lose everything all in one day. CF very willingly gave GA back. Both of us agreed that my house had more yard space for her and it was a cleaner, more stable home for her. I once again had GA in my life, and it was the best thing to have ever happened to me. Ok fast forward two weeks later I got sited from animal control for having an unregistered dog in the house and had 48 hours to register and pay the fee or I risk massive fines. I went that day, now where I live, pets become registered to the occupant of the registering address, then dog tags are issued to that name. GA also is micro chipped to the same address. So, to recap: CF moves out two weeks later, I’m forced to register GA solely in my name and my address. Now its time to talk about the verbal agreement we made regarding GA’s health, so I had agreed to what I’m choosing to call visitation rights. I’ll explain, so I worked weekends; three 12 hours shifts. GA gets her meds at 9am and 9pm so enter CF. She would come by on the weekend, with written notice, give GA her meds, and spend some time with her, then I would take over when I got home and the rest of the week when CF was working. So, the rules to the visitation: she was to give me written notice prior to stopping by and if I said no to her picking her up, that was final. CF was rarely told no unless I was already out with GA or it was late at night. Its worth mentioning CF still had her house key so effectively she could come and go as she pleased from my residence.
Now fast forward just under two years CF was very good at keeping with the program, written notice, healthy boundaries, and limited contact. I should add at the start, CF and I would chat about the relationship and possibly getting back together or not, then I was told that if CF couldn’t find anyone better than me, we would get back together. I’m no one’s safe bet and that comment broke me. I was hurt, broken, and angry from then on I was personally done with her. I started seeing other people and really living my own life. I’m a firm believer that when you buckle down and take charge of your own life, the universe will reward you. So, from then on, it was limited contact, if CF would message for GA. Then she could take her and I would leave the house and get coffee so I didn’t have to see her.
Ok let me introduce all of you to my current GF lets call her JT for short. She is an incredible, beautiful, smart, funny, and witty. I could use every possible vernacular in the English language to describe her and it still wouldn’t do her justice. Honestly folks, I couldn’t have gotten a better GF if I had ordered one from a magazine. She is truly my first love. CF may have been my first with a few things, but love wasn’t one of them, although at the time I thought she was. Ok I’m off topic so I met JT and things where surreal for the first time in two years since I was dumped. I believed I could love again. As my relationship with JT grew and the love not only grew but blossomed, its worth mentioning CF’s behaviour to me, and our arrangement became sparce. CF began showing up without notice to take GA. At one point me and JT were laying in bed bare under the covers, when CF opened my bedroom door to retrieve GA. Obviously this startled us both. I rushed to check my phone, that perhaps I missed a text... NOPE ok that was unsettling. Now to add to the disrespect of the arrangement, CF was keeping GA for days at a time without informing me. I would have to text her and ask “hey you got GA” CF. “ oh yea she’s with me” Me. “um ok no problem but as per our arrangement you need to make me aware of your plans with my GA”. CF. “yea ok slipped my mind”. Ok, so now you see my growing concern with the ongoing disrespect. I had no obligation to even let CF see GA legally, she was my sole property. Let me clarify real quick: remember how I was sighted by animal control? Well yeah, where I live animals are seen as property, and seeing as how I was sited after she left, GA became mine. Amiss my new found love and bliss, and growing concern, life hit me with one more unfortunate curve ball. I got evicted. Landlord got his GF pregnant and wanted the house I was renting for them to live in. Man, when I tell you that was a shock at the time, with some other things going on it was overwhelming. Turns out it was a blessing in disguise. We found an amazing house 40 minutes away from the city. I live on the cutest farm. Things with JT and I are going amazing! Not only has she made me feel things I thought were long dead, but she made me feel new experiences as well. Ok, decision time. I HATE CF for what she did to me, and I love JT with everything and more. One is getting in the way of the other. So, I devised a plan, taking advantage of my new residence and the distance, along with anonymity: I’m going to move out and cancel the arrangement with CF. Alright time to get to work. One week leading up to the move, I denied CF’s attempts to see GA. I rented a large box truck, and with the help of a small army of close friends and available family, we packed and move the entire house in one day. I would like the take the time now to thank all of you that helped me that day. It was such an empowering and liberating day. Right, so two pickup trucks and a mini van load go out off to the new house. Me, my old man and a dear friend pack the last into the box truck. Now I pre-wrote the message to CF in my notes, consulted a lawyer appraising them of the facts and documents to make sure what I had written was clear, concise, and contained the right verbiage for legal standing if need be. I hopped in the truck, started the engine, sent the text and drove off. Oh, I forgot to mention I did in fact change the locks and made my landlord aware of everything. Off I drove to start my new life happy, healthy, and full of bright prosperity.
So, as you may have guessed, my phone blew up from CF. Texts, calls, voice mails everything, it all fell on deaf ears. My word was final, and I was finally ready to close this ugly painful chapter of my life. So, well um, I will tell you all, I’m naturally a logical thinker that sometimes leads to a healthy level of paranoia. So, my new address was given to trusted people only. Written on paper and requested once we all met up at the new place and burned in the lane way. Why? Well, I know CF and her family, and I’ve seen them do less than legal things, and know who her dad is- and the contacts he knows. I took ZERO chances when it came to keeping my new life and address safe. Also remember I told you she’s dating a cop... knowing the fallout that awaits me, I took steps into protecting what I longed for. We moved in for June first of 2022. I should mention I live with my now GF and my roommate, my brother from another mother. My roommate moved in a month after CF moved out and I can update for any questions regarding him but for now back to the story. All members of the house were to follow strict security measures anticipating a reaction from CF. I had quickly found out that CF was trying to find out where I live through contacting friends, family and my old landlord trying to find the new address to no avail. Now, I work a full-time job, as well as run my own woodworking business. One day I was filing paperwork in the front office and I saw CF drive by in her vehicle. She drives an extremely recognizable car, so I knew it was her. I wasted no time. I drove to my local law enforcement and made them aware of everything. I wanted to start a case just to be safe if anything happened.
So, side note but very important, I was given the opportunity to purchase a puppy; FT for short. After discussion with the house, we decided getting GA a little sister was a great idea, you know, get her company and give her a friend to run around the farm with. To say they were inseparable is an understatement. They loved each other so much and it was the best move we ever made. I promise this is important later.
Right, June was great settling in, getting used to the new place, and watching GA play, mentor and thrive with her sister all was great! Moving to August 2022, our guards began to fall and we started letting the two out without being helicopters to them. August 12th 2022 oh man that day will forever remain with me rent free. JT and I are at work and the roommate’s home with the kiddos. 4:15pm I receive a phone call that will change my bliss for some time… yes GA, GA is gone “the hell do you mean”!! roommate “I let them out back, door open I was doing the dishes turned around and only FT was there”. “well did you look for them?” “yes I did, call in the damn microchip now!!” roommate hangs up. It’s worth mentioning he misunderstood how a K9 microchip works and thought It was like a GPS tracker. Work refuses to let me leave early and by the time I got home, three hours have passed since the disappearance.
I spent at least an hour exhausting any search method I could think of at the time, thinking if she ran off, she couldn’t have gotten far. After that hour I started to think, no way GA runs off and FT, 6 weeks old at the time, doesn’t follow.. Welp now it dawns on me, what? No? damn she must have taken her… off to the police I go. “ hey officer M, remember me from a few weeks ago?” “yeah what can I do for you?” “umm well I think my fears came true, I think CF stole her?” Ensue crying, panic and fear. How’d she find me? How is this possible?? Officer M “ ok take a breath tell me everything.” As I explain, I’m asked questions like are you sure she didn’t run off? I explain, no way she did and FT a young pup didn’t follow. I make my statement, broken, drained and beside myself with concern and fear I go home. No more then two hours later I get a call from M “Hi T so I’ve made some calls and I’m 99% sure she took her.” Me “what how? I mean what did you find?” M “I called your vet and an order for medication was placed by CF 10 days ago.” Me “ok damn so what happens now?” M “well this seems pretty clear cut I’ll investigate a bit more and make a case to the Crown.” Ok well my fears are confirmed. Damn she somehow found me and actually stole my beautiful GA. To this day, I have no idea how she found me. I suspect she put a GPS tracker on my truck. I had officer M looking into the possibility if her cop BF looked me up in the system, but that was ruled out very quickly.
Now the painful waiting game hoping justice will prevail. Each week I call for an update. On week 3 I’m informed he’s built a case and sent it to the Crown to see if it’s a clear-cut case of stolen property. Week 5 I’m told to hang tight its under review. At this point I became impatient and decided I can’t sit and wait. I took all the evidence and paperwork I had. I took it to both our vets as well as every vet in the region I knew she lived, explained and made airtight protocols for if, and when statements. Week 6 again I call, and I’m hit with bad news: the Crown, quite annoyed I was told, made it clear to M that this was a property dispute and needs to be settle in family court. Well, now it’s time to lawyer up. I scraped every extra penny I had to hire a good family lawyer and man did I find a good one. Turns out she was divorced and took my case a bit personally. She starts to prepare the necessary documents. 2 more weeks go by and thank whomever you believe in, I became impatient and went full proactive mode. I receive a phone call at work from my family vet. Vet “hi this is vet clinic just confirming your appointment for Monday at 11:25am?” well I sure as hell am now. I ring my lawyer, explain what happened, and put a rush on the papers having to call my dad to borrow money. You see now that I know exactly where CF is going to be with GA, I needed a legal reason to wait for her. So, I used the court case as a reason to serve her in person, thus being able to obtain GA custody until the hearing.
That Sunday I didn’t sleep a wink. 6:30am, I park my truck at the hardware store around the back of the vet, so CF wouldn’t see it. 8:00am the clinic opens. I walked in, documents in hand, and tell them everything and insist they let her in so I may serve her the documents and take GA. Regrettably, I forgot this was a functioning clinic and was told this could not happen inside, out of respect to the other patients. Me “Oh crap that’s more then fair, well what are my options?” Vet. “Well, we can bar her from the clinic under the proceeds of crime and you can serve her in the parking lot.” Me. “perfect I’ll wait in the sub shop down the way. you absolutely can not inform her of this.” Vet. “Not a problem we hope you get her back; we wish you luck.”
Off to the sub shop I go, for the longest 2 hours of my life. I get a phone call from JT, fully aware of my plan “hey we got rained out I’m off work do you want me there?” Me. “YES please come right away you can help record and dial the police.” The dominos are stacked, my shaky finger on the last one. JT shows up and we rehearse the plan; I must have checked the time a million times. The time comes I say where the hell is she. JT, with the calmest voice goes “she’s right there.” Me. “WTF!!” I ran out, papers in hand. JT calls the cops and starts recording. I utter the legal jargon, serve her the paperwork and latch onto GA as gentle and firm as I can, so CF can’t break my grip and wait for the police. They arrive in minutes. Get our stories. Check my paperwork. Separate us and attempt to figure out the situation. Low and behold, cop BF shows up. I’m told he’s “off duty” and is here in a BF capacity. Me, JT, two uniformed officers, CF, and cop BF talking, waiting with a level of uncertainty of the outcome. 2 hours goes by, and we ask what’s going on. I’m told that they are trying to defuse the situation, but cop BF has requested a supervisor. Well, he shows up and talks in great length to the BF, seeming frustrated. 3 hours go by, the supervisor walks up to me and demands our paperwork; I happily oblige. He reviews the documents and walks off, then comes back a minute or two later. “You gotta leash?” This clinic happens to be right next door to a pet store. So, just in case, I bought a leash in the three hours I was waiting. I hand him the leash. Words cannot describe the feeling as we watch the supervisor walk GA over to us after so long. Gone for 10 weeks total and waiting for three hours for the cops to deal with the situation. October 31, 2022, will be a day I will never forget. We will forever celebrate that day. Folks WE GOT HER!! What was once stolen by someone who couldn’t move on, was finally returned.
Thank you to anyone who read all of this. I needed to tell my story and I hope this was a good cup of tea for someone. I mean what I say, if anyone is going through something similar and is looking for help, please don’t hesitate. to reach out. For any questions, comments, or PM’s, I will read them, but I wish to update them publicly
2024.05.21 19:09 Plediocraties GEICO increased rates
I pay GEICO about $600 every 6 months for my 2013 civic’s insurance. About 2 weeks ago a rock fell off a truck and took out some of the plastic in front of the radiator, just cosmetic damage, figured I’d report the damage, make a claim and get the plastic parts replaced. Geico’s mechanic that they sent me to quoted the work at about $300 for parts and another $205 for labor. GEICO said I have a $500 deductible (which I do) and they will send me a $5 check for the work. But today I saw they raised my rates by $250 per 6 months… is this kind of rate increase legal? The cost to repair the cosmetic damage is roughly $1000 now if you factor in premium increases… this is outrageous.
Edit: got off the phone with GEICO, apparently they hadn’t noticed that I changed my address in their app until I filed a claim. Now I “live farther away from a hospital and around more old people who have higher medical bills if they are in an accident”. Also apparently they raised my yearly rate more than I thought. It’s increasing from $1137/year to $2268/year. I’ll be canceling my policy with GEICO as soon as I find a good alternative. If anyone has recommendations I’m open to suggestions. I’m not even sure I care if it’s that much cheaper, I just can’t give my money to GEICO anymore.
submitted by Plediocraties to Insurance [link] [comments]
Edit: got off the phone with GEICO, apparently they hadn’t noticed that I changed my address in their app until I filed a claim. Now I “live farther away from a hospital and around more old people who have higher medical bills if they are in an accident”. Also apparently they raised my yearly rate more than I thought. It’s increasing from $1137/year to $2268/year. I’ll be canceling my policy with GEICO as soon as I find a good alternative. If anyone has recommendations I’m open to suggestions. I’m not even sure I care if it’s that much cheaper, I just can’t give my money to GEICO anymore.
2024.05.21 18:21 dingbatthrowaway Sharing a little bit about California Jewish History
I did stumbled on this read about Californian specific Jewish history, which I found fascinating.
Here were my takeaways: - Jews were drawn to CA during the Gold Rush, and established in CA as early as 1849 - a notable chunk of the first Jewish Californians were American Sephardim who were already in the US! - Direct quote: “Jewish and civic communities developed overnight, with Jews as California's founders serving in leadership positions in the new multi-ethnic state. Without a Protestant hegemony and with little antisemitism, Jews and Jewish institutions flourished.” - By the end of the 1870s, San Francisco was where the largest Jewish population settled (this surprised me as it’s LA today!) - the Jewish population in CA increased dramatically post WW2
And this snippet:
“San Francisco's Jewish women, many the daughters and grand-daughters of the city's founders, were active in social, cultural, and philanthropic organizations. The Emanu-El Sisterhood for Personal Service, started in 1894, assisted East European immigrants and later established a settlement house for Jewish working girls. Hadassah formed a chapter in the state in 1917 to support its medical causes in Palestine, later Israel. California was also home to anti-Zionists who were active members in the American Council for Judaism , an organization committed to combating Jewish nationalism. Its large membership in California, especially San Francisco, may be attributed to an adherence to classical Reform and the view that California for them was the "Promised Land." After the establishment of the State of Israel, the community fully supported it.”
California as the Promised Land? 😏 This California Jew finds it hard to argue with.
submitted by dingbatthrowaway to JLC [link] [comments]
Here were my takeaways: - Jews were drawn to CA during the Gold Rush, and established in CA as early as 1849 - a notable chunk of the first Jewish Californians were American Sephardim who were already in the US! - Direct quote: “Jewish and civic communities developed overnight, with Jews as California's founders serving in leadership positions in the new multi-ethnic state. Without a Protestant hegemony and with little antisemitism, Jews and Jewish institutions flourished.” - By the end of the 1870s, San Francisco was where the largest Jewish population settled (this surprised me as it’s LA today!) - the Jewish population in CA increased dramatically post WW2
And this snippet:
“San Francisco's Jewish women, many the daughters and grand-daughters of the city's founders, were active in social, cultural, and philanthropic organizations. The Emanu-El Sisterhood for Personal Service, started in 1894, assisted East European immigrants and later established a settlement house for Jewish working girls. Hadassah formed a chapter in the state in 1917 to support its medical causes in Palestine, later Israel. California was also home to anti-Zionists who were active members in the American Council for Judaism , an organization committed to combating Jewish nationalism. Its large membership in California, especially San Francisco, may be attributed to an adherence to classical Reform and the view that California for them was the "Promised Land." After the establishment of the State of Israel, the community fully supported it.”
California as the Promised Land? 😏 This California Jew finds it hard to argue with.
2024.05.21 17:55 Lostit-catsanddogs5 New to the sub unfortunately. Hoping to find support in navigating this loss.
Hey all. I was told about the sub by a kind redditor. I'm lost, and have zero support in real life, so I'm here in hopes of just finding people who understand I guess, or that will at least let me ramble.
I lost my daughter last week to suicide. She was only 15. She was such an amazing girl (there's pics in my profile). She was smart, funny, kind, beautiful, so artistic, a talented singer and dancer, and she was such a huge part of me. She was my mini-me. My other two look like my late husband, which is fine of course, but she loved throwing up that SHE was my little clone.
My kids have been through it in their short lives. I don't want to ramble too much about the past, but to sum it up, my husband passed away from complications due to the flu in 2017. I raised the kids alone since. I have all the kids in therapy monthly/bi-weekly, and we have a great open line of communication, or so I thought.
She was suffering in silence with problems at school. She was being harassed by a group of girls, picked on by a group of guys, and just couldn't escape it. She thought she found the way out. I wish she had told me. I just wish she had given me a clue. Something.
I feel like I completely missed all of this. I should have stopped it. I should have protected her. She told me afterwards that she didn't want to add any stress on me, and it broke my heart. I would have taken ALLLL the stress to save her. Gladly.
She survived her attempt for nearly 6 weeks, but she did major damage to her heart and other organs, and in the end, they just couldn't reverse it. I think that's made it harder for me. She was seeing that it was a mistake. She was seeing that there were other options. But it was too late.
How the hell do I move forward? What do I do? My other two kids are so broken, and I'm shattered into pieces. We have lost all our family, and most of our "friends" are staying away. I think they just don't know what to say.
I haven't even finished planning her funeral. Between the financial aspect, and just being mentally able to do it, it's taking a while. I keep having people ask, over and over, and I just want to scream. Part of me isn't even ready to say good-bye. I can pretend this is all a nightmare right now. Maybe I will wake up?
I lost my uncle to suicide when I was 16, so this isn't the first loved one I've lost senselessly, but he had medical issues, marital issues, and "real" problems. He was facing life in a wheelchair. My Emmie was facing a beautiful future. She had her whole life ahead of her. I feel like such a worthless failure of a parent.
Anyways, if you read this far, I'm sorry for all the words, but thank you for taking the time to hear me out. I know it's going to be rough for the foreseeable future, so I'm glad I found you guys.
submitted by Lostit-catsanddogs5 to SuicideBereavement [link] [comments]
I lost my daughter last week to suicide. She was only 15. She was such an amazing girl (there's pics in my profile). She was smart, funny, kind, beautiful, so artistic, a talented singer and dancer, and she was such a huge part of me. She was my mini-me. My other two look like my late husband, which is fine of course, but she loved throwing up that SHE was my little clone.
My kids have been through it in their short lives. I don't want to ramble too much about the past, but to sum it up, my husband passed away from complications due to the flu in 2017. I raised the kids alone since. I have all the kids in therapy monthly/bi-weekly, and we have a great open line of communication, or so I thought.
She was suffering in silence with problems at school. She was being harassed by a group of girls, picked on by a group of guys, and just couldn't escape it. She thought she found the way out. I wish she had told me. I just wish she had given me a clue. Something.
I feel like I completely missed all of this. I should have stopped it. I should have protected her. She told me afterwards that she didn't want to add any stress on me, and it broke my heart. I would have taken ALLLL the stress to save her. Gladly.
She survived her attempt for nearly 6 weeks, but she did major damage to her heart and other organs, and in the end, they just couldn't reverse it. I think that's made it harder for me. She was seeing that it was a mistake. She was seeing that there were other options. But it was too late.
How the hell do I move forward? What do I do? My other two kids are so broken, and I'm shattered into pieces. We have lost all our family, and most of our "friends" are staying away. I think they just don't know what to say.
I haven't even finished planning her funeral. Between the financial aspect, and just being mentally able to do it, it's taking a while. I keep having people ask, over and over, and I just want to scream. Part of me isn't even ready to say good-bye. I can pretend this is all a nightmare right now. Maybe I will wake up?
I lost my uncle to suicide when I was 16, so this isn't the first loved one I've lost senselessly, but he had medical issues, marital issues, and "real" problems. He was facing life in a wheelchair. My Emmie was facing a beautiful future. She had her whole life ahead of her. I feel like such a worthless failure of a parent.
Anyways, if you read this far, I'm sorry for all the words, but thank you for taking the time to hear me out. I know it's going to be rough for the foreseeable future, so I'm glad I found you guys.
2024.05.21 17:55 sweet-avalanche IUI vs IVF - especially UK folks!
So we are meeting with our GP tomorrow to be referred to a private clinic (Care Fertility) in order to be able to claim through BUPA which my wxfe gets through their work. It's my understanding that we have £15,000 worth of treatment that we can use. I plan on carrying using anonymous donor sperm. IUI is looking at £2400 per cycle with donor sperm, IVF I can't figure out because it confuses me with all the additional costs but hopefully will get some clarity when we have our consultation. I've seen that IUI can be cheaper in other clinics but unfortunately Care is the only clinic near us that is covered by BUPA.
I have no known fertility issues, and my cycles vary from about 24-31 days so a bit trickier to predict but not horrendous.
We plan to have 2+ children which is where I'm considering IVF. However I'm also very aware of the dangers of IVF, how more invasive it is and I also recently heard in a podcast that regular IVF with medication means that the eggs and uterus lining are often lower quality, so more likely to be potential issues with the pregnancy should it occur.
Pros of IUI: - less invasive - cheaper if it works quickly - less risky to my health - theoretically better quality eggs and uterus lining
Pros of IVF: - cheaper if it takes a long time and we end up moving onto IVF anyway (?) - ability to freeze embryos for second child - higher success rate
Does anyone have any thoughts or advice on this? Note I'm also autistic ADHD so have of course been obsessively hyperfixating on this for months 🙃
submitted by sweet-avalanche to queerception [link] [comments]
I have no known fertility issues, and my cycles vary from about 24-31 days so a bit trickier to predict but not horrendous.
We plan to have 2+ children which is where I'm considering IVF. However I'm also very aware of the dangers of IVF, how more invasive it is and I also recently heard in a podcast that regular IVF with medication means that the eggs and uterus lining are often lower quality, so more likely to be potential issues with the pregnancy should it occur.
Pros of IUI: - less invasive - cheaper if it works quickly - less risky to my health - theoretically better quality eggs and uterus lining
Pros of IVF: - cheaper if it takes a long time and we end up moving onto IVF anyway (?) - ability to freeze embryos for second child - higher success rate
Does anyone have any thoughts or advice on this? Note I'm also autistic ADHD so have of course been obsessively hyperfixating on this for months 🙃
2024.05.21 17:40 toolittletoomuch4 Being an embarassment for 4 years consecutively. Is there hope?
This could be a long one. Or maybe it will be short, I don't know.
I am 24, turning 25 at the end of the year. Grew up in a dysfunctional, abusive household. Adoptee, orphaned at 11. I have now noticed that apart from depression and anxiety, I have been toxic and dysfunctional in my relationships (platonic and romantic). I have love bombed and put people on a pedestal without even knowing enough about them to categorize them as such important people in my life. I have had anger issues and had to apologize to my ex partners for outbursts that embarrassed them and was disrespectful. I have switched friend groups a lot because people have become distant towards me and after noticing it a few times, I just know when they are slowly removing themselves from my life and I do them a favor and isolate myself. No one has ever had a talk where they point things out and then proceeded to cut me off, but I think it is because they saw me as 1) cocky, arrogant, not teachable or 2) an adult that knows what they are doing - jokes on them, I did not. (Or third option, the mood swings that come with depression are not easy to handle for those around me. Everyone is pro mental health but also those struggling are often a menace. Anyways.) After leaving my abusive childhood home I felt “freedom” for the first time and went crazy! Too crazy, with no regards for others as I was feeding my inner child with all that she “missed” out on (attention, love, my own money etc.). I have created unnecessary drama by having two affairs with taken people. I did it out of insecurity and retrospectively, because I probably felt a high from them “choosing” me and did not understand that them choosing me was not a compliment. It’s not a case of having been outed on social media or so, more so, within my community I just notice people keeping me at an arm's length. When you post revealing pictures, dress a certain way, look for attention, post your partner (now ex) excessively (essentially trying to prove to the world how good the relationship is), at some point, people call your bs on how insecure you are and how much you base your self-worth on external validation and factors, how you have no sense of shame (not because you don’t care, but because you don’t know - low social awareness kind of thing). No one has come to me to call me out, but again, I am silently watching people be very careful with how they engage with me. And I myself have gone into isolation too. It’s frustrating as owning up to insecure, immature, toxic behavior does not mean it never happened. I have a severe fear of being seen/perceived now. "What if who they saw me as is who they'll ever believe me to be?" kind of thing. I am growing in self awareness at an age where I see many other people my age be further in their emotional maturity. I wish I was raised better. Good upbringing is such a privilege! I have been very childish in how I handled my reputation. Children don’t care for repercussions, I never did either. And yes I have found a therapist and psychiatrist on whose waiting lists I am on (but I am terrified to say the least as where I live I have to pay everything by myself and you guessed it - I don’t have good financial habits established yet and am scared to start therapy and possibly medication and not be able to continue treatment till I heal what is likely C-PTSD as these things are just highly expensive). Now that some enlightenment is happening, I am almost hopeless as if a potential partner did some searching, what they would find out could be problematic. These things did not happen at an age where I was a child, people actually expect me to be an adult. I am disgusted by myself and my former lack of integrity. I understand I find myself in a mess I single handedly created. This is a very short version of everything that has happened, that I did and so on.
How much hope is there really for me? I see a need to reparent myself, I would say I (obviously) was not raised very well under care and consistent love and have sought it in all the wrong places.
How do I undo life as I know it?
How do I come to terms with having to heal before I put myself back out there into the dating pool and even search for new friendships while I work on myself. I have been lonely for the majority of my life already and now that I know of my need to heal, I feel angry and sad that I may not be able to enjoy social connections for a while. Does that make sense? To protect others.
How do I accept that I can only heal from a place of self-love and self-compassion, not shame? I am currently in a severe depressive episode and already know that any doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist would probably focus on getting me to a stable mental state first. But I would prefer to go straight into learning new behavioral skills, healthy coping mechanisms and so on.. I feel like shaming myself into changing atm, which is funny as I want to stop pleasing people but am also changing amongst other reasons to be more likable by society?
How do I reparent myself joyfully? What can I do to enjoy this healing journey? Like seriously “re-raise” myself.
How do I forgive myself for the affairs (I’ve owned up to them to the women), the cringe oversharing, the skimpy outfits, the serial dating and so on? (without minimizing my home-wrecking)
How do I learn to trust myself, to trust that I don't f up any new relationship or friendship?
How do I measure when I am ready and healthy/healthier? What differentiates former red flags that turn into green flags from those that remain toxic, dysfunctional and so on?
Is it even possible to establish a sense of self and self-worth at my age? Should that not have happened by now?
What therapeutic modality would be best for me? Any therapists here by any chance? Can I even truly get rid of my baggage?
LOL: Men, would you date me based on what you heard lol? Given I have done “the work”. Please elaborate then what the “work” is. How do I redeem myself? I’d potentially also like to hear from the people that believe “people don’t change”. I’d like your view of things too if possible. Any comment and tip helps. Thank you so much.
Also: I newly found to Christ and would appreciate hearing from Christians too. From anyone really.
Please keep in mind that money is an issue unfortunately. I would love mentorship, therapy, to be surrounded by "elders" that can help me mature, are there any - idk- programs that are free?
submitted by toolittletoomuch4 to DecidingToBeBetter [link] [comments]
I am 24, turning 25 at the end of the year. Grew up in a dysfunctional, abusive household. Adoptee, orphaned at 11. I have now noticed that apart from depression and anxiety, I have been toxic and dysfunctional in my relationships (platonic and romantic). I have love bombed and put people on a pedestal without even knowing enough about them to categorize them as such important people in my life. I have had anger issues and had to apologize to my ex partners for outbursts that embarrassed them and was disrespectful. I have switched friend groups a lot because people have become distant towards me and after noticing it a few times, I just know when they are slowly removing themselves from my life and I do them a favor and isolate myself. No one has ever had a talk where they point things out and then proceeded to cut me off, but I think it is because they saw me as 1) cocky, arrogant, not teachable or 2) an adult that knows what they are doing - jokes on them, I did not. (Or third option, the mood swings that come with depression are not easy to handle for those around me. Everyone is pro mental health but also those struggling are often a menace. Anyways.) After leaving my abusive childhood home I felt “freedom” for the first time and went crazy! Too crazy, with no regards for others as I was feeding my inner child with all that she “missed” out on (attention, love, my own money etc.). I have created unnecessary drama by having two affairs with taken people. I did it out of insecurity and retrospectively, because I probably felt a high from them “choosing” me and did not understand that them choosing me was not a compliment. It’s not a case of having been outed on social media or so, more so, within my community I just notice people keeping me at an arm's length. When you post revealing pictures, dress a certain way, look for attention, post your partner (now ex) excessively (essentially trying to prove to the world how good the relationship is), at some point, people call your bs on how insecure you are and how much you base your self-worth on external validation and factors, how you have no sense of shame (not because you don’t care, but because you don’t know - low social awareness kind of thing). No one has come to me to call me out, but again, I am silently watching people be very careful with how they engage with me. And I myself have gone into isolation too. It’s frustrating as owning up to insecure, immature, toxic behavior does not mean it never happened. I have a severe fear of being seen/perceived now. "What if who they saw me as is who they'll ever believe me to be?" kind of thing. I am growing in self awareness at an age where I see many other people my age be further in their emotional maturity. I wish I was raised better. Good upbringing is such a privilege! I have been very childish in how I handled my reputation. Children don’t care for repercussions, I never did either. And yes I have found a therapist and psychiatrist on whose waiting lists I am on (but I am terrified to say the least as where I live I have to pay everything by myself and you guessed it - I don’t have good financial habits established yet and am scared to start therapy and possibly medication and not be able to continue treatment till I heal what is likely C-PTSD as these things are just highly expensive). Now that some enlightenment is happening, I am almost hopeless as if a potential partner did some searching, what they would find out could be problematic. These things did not happen at an age where I was a child, people actually expect me to be an adult. I am disgusted by myself and my former lack of integrity. I understand I find myself in a mess I single handedly created. This is a very short version of everything that has happened, that I did and so on.
How much hope is there really for me? I see a need to reparent myself, I would say I (obviously) was not raised very well under care and consistent love and have sought it in all the wrong places.
How do I undo life as I know it?
How do I come to terms with having to heal before I put myself back out there into the dating pool and even search for new friendships while I work on myself. I have been lonely for the majority of my life already and now that I know of my need to heal, I feel angry and sad that I may not be able to enjoy social connections for a while. Does that make sense? To protect others.
How do I accept that I can only heal from a place of self-love and self-compassion, not shame? I am currently in a severe depressive episode and already know that any doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist would probably focus on getting me to a stable mental state first. But I would prefer to go straight into learning new behavioral skills, healthy coping mechanisms and so on.. I feel like shaming myself into changing atm, which is funny as I want to stop pleasing people but am also changing amongst other reasons to be more likable by society?
How do I reparent myself joyfully? What can I do to enjoy this healing journey? Like seriously “re-raise” myself.
How do I forgive myself for the affairs (I’ve owned up to them to the women), the cringe oversharing, the skimpy outfits, the serial dating and so on? (without minimizing my home-wrecking)
How do I learn to trust myself, to trust that I don't f up any new relationship or friendship?
How do I measure when I am ready and healthy/healthier? What differentiates former red flags that turn into green flags from those that remain toxic, dysfunctional and so on?
Is it even possible to establish a sense of self and self-worth at my age? Should that not have happened by now?
What therapeutic modality would be best for me? Any therapists here by any chance? Can I even truly get rid of my baggage?
LOL: Men, would you date me based on what you heard lol? Given I have done “the work”. Please elaborate then what the “work” is. How do I redeem myself? I’d potentially also like to hear from the people that believe “people don’t change”. I’d like your view of things too if possible. Any comment and tip helps. Thank you so much.
Also: I newly found to Christ and would appreciate hearing from Christians too. From anyone really.
Please keep in mind that money is an issue unfortunately. I would love mentorship, therapy, to be surrounded by "elders" that can help me mature, are there any - idk- programs that are free?
2024.05.21 17:24 Professional_Prune11 Escape From Heavalun Section Three: Doctoral Dread
Whats up my dudes, we are back at it with another chapter for you all. We are getting the swing of things and have another chapter or two to start the main plot fully, we are just getting to know our leads for now. I hope you enjoy
Lets get this bread
-----
The movement from the nightclub to Stitch’s clinic was grueling. Typically lugging a passed-out HVI or some other sod halfway across the city's district would not be a challenge. With his cybernetics, Conor was in decent enough shape and could sprint ten kilometers in full battle rattle without breaking a sweat, but Conor had pushed himself and didn’t need to wax a few Voodal in his way.
Conor had heard that Kurlatra were dense, but his assumptions about how heavy they were came nowhere close to the reality of picking one up.
Whatever this woman's name was, she likely weighed north of eighty kilograms. It was a shock because she was a meter and a half tall at most. For Urka’s sake, Conor only weighed one hundred and fifty kilograms despite being two meters tall and filled to the brim with wires.
He thought a bit about the woman's build and realized why she must weigh so much. She had hips and legs that could crush a man's skull. Along with a pair of tits just big enough that they would overflow from your hands.
Conner was made all the more well aware of those traits as he adjusted her to ensure he would not drop the little lass. Her fatty chest and plump thighs would try to swallow his hip each time he did. No sentient this small had any right being heavier than his entire breacher kit, explosives, anti-rifle armor, and all.
If not for Brakul expecting this rosey scag to be delivered to Stitch’s place, Conor would have lugged her to his safe house, which was far closer. But no, he had another job and order to follow.
The only shining light on this impromptu extraction was that the Voodal did not follow him. He had been worried about that last ganger he had shot; they had only eaten one round through the midchest. At the time, it looked like it might not have been a heart shot, and since he was picking this bimbo up at the time, he did not have a chance to ensure they were put down permanently.
Conor took a deep breath as he rounded the corner into a dirty alleyway, leaving the bustling thoroughfare behind. Thankfully, the residents of Heavalun knew better than to mess with him or anyone else who regularly did mercenary work, especially when they were carrying a body—alive or not.
Those who stopped his type tended not to live long, so he was ignored other than a few passing glances.
After traveling a few meters into the alleyway, Conor stopped and tucked behind a dumpster. His feet squelched in a puddle of rank trash water leaking from the impromptu cover. While Conor was reasonably sure no one had followed him, a quick double-check was always good for his skin.
Conor did not want to bring trouble to Stitch’s place. He did not have the slightest idea where he would find another techy who could synthesize the cocktail of stimulants Stitch made to keep his broken body held together. Pissing the tech head off was not high on his priority list.
Over the next ten minutes, the only thing his thermal vision picked up between him and the main road was a few Zlit rats scurrying atop discarded food. Their fleshy tendrils groped the garbage and pulled it into maws of razor-sharp teeth.
The sight of them sent a shiver down his spine. Those foul little mammals were high on his list of hated creatures, having been bitten by them more than once since he was a kid slinking around the gutters of Heavalun.
Pushing those memories away, Conor traveled deeper and rounded a blind corner. The sounds of the crowd's chatter entirely vanished as he entered the backstreet where Stitch’s clinic was nestled.
The rest of the journey was only a few hundred meters and only required Conor to sidestep some used needles and shit; He also had to kick one homeless bum who tried to grab the girl out of the cover of his jacket. Usually, he would have just shot the piece of hreck shit, but with his hands full, a swift boot to the jaw got the message across.
With the bum limping away, broken jaw clutched in pain, Conor hammered on the metal door; its frame and the neon sign to its side quivered under his brute strength. Then began the worst part of dealing with Stitch, waiting for the asshole to open the door.
Conor waited until ten minutes had passed and received no answer. Then he punched the door harder, his metal hand denting the surface. Several seconds later, a heavily synthesized voice echoed out of the speakers hidden around the area—speakers that Conor had never been able to locate, no matter how fervently he tried.
“What do you want, Conor?” Stitch questioned. “Did you break more of your wiring?”
Conor sighed heavily, knowing Stitch had this entire block wired with multispectrum cameras and could see him a kilometer out. If this were a visit for his wiring, Stitch would know. The man was just being paranoid and wanted Conor to state his business.
“I got a girl I need you to check up on,” Conor said, pushing his jacket slightly open and letting the girl's ref scales shine.
“What another hooker pass out on a bad trip?” Stitch chuckled cruelly. “This is the fourth this month; you are getting soft merc.”
Rolling his eyes, Conor could admit he was softer than most of the other mercenaries and gangsters in the city's neutral sections. Having seen his fair share of how bad this city can be, Conor did his best not to fuck over those who were just down on bad times and were not trying to cause him issues.
Life was arduous enough for them. So he gave back by lugging hookers and junkies to the nearest tech head and paying for their treatment or the closest Zential clinic. The Zentials were more than willing to treat the downtrodden for free, unlike the other medical services in Heavalun—stitch included.
He considered it his way of giving back and maybe finding Urka's good grace. Perhaps the god might forgive him for being a general piece of hreck shit if he continued to until he did. But he would not know until he finally kicked the bucket.
His intervention was a drop of clean water in the ocean of venom in this city. The other locals were more than willing to pick those he aided clean in minutes. They might as well be a swarm of bealit beatles eating carrion with how ravenous they were.
“It ain’t that. Just open the damn door,” Conor growled, punching the door again.
“Hold on, you greased-up cyborg,” Stitch frantically complained, worried that Conor would break his door again.
Conor smirked, glad the strange form of tolerance he and Stitch had built over the years was still strong. At this point, it was their modus operandi. Neither hated the other; no, they respected one another's role in this shithole.
Both toles put them in harm's way and brought them respect and infamy.
However, Conor found the way the denizens of Heavalun treated them funny. If you asked the average COS or GU citizen, who was more brutal: a mercenary with a pension for hyper-violence and little regard for collateral damage—-or a skeletal Itelv doctor who regularly performs life-saving surgery? They would choose Conor ten out of ten times. They did not know Stitch like Conor, Brakul, or most of the people in this city section.
They would tell you the truth of the good doctor.
They would weave you a tale of a greedy, crit-pinching asshole and that Stitch was the type of man who would stitch up for pay but would just as quickly harvest your organs for sale, or Urka forbid he would stick some experimental tech inside you and wait for your inevitable death to retrieve his property.
The door at long last opened with a vile hiss, and a gangly grey-skinned hand forced it open.
Stitch was just about as tall as Conor. But his thin grey limbs made him look one stiff breeze away from taking flight, with only his heavy artificial spider-like legs keeping him firmly on the planet.
Draped over his pencil-thin neck was a once-white apron. After years of use, it was stained with blood, oil, and hydraulic fluid.
“If she ain't one of your precious hookers, put her on the table. I will get my tool ready,” Stitch hissed, jamming his thumb over a shoulder.
“I ain’t selling this one to you either. Girlie got tagged by visage, and I need yah to treat her,” Conor replied, pushing past and laying the blonde on the recovery bed.
“You said she ain’t some hooker,” Stitch complained following, having gotten tired of Conor no longer bringing him fresh meat to sell.
Once Conor turned around and was about to explain the situation, Stitch pressed a bony finger into Conor's chest. “I told you, I'm selling the next one. She is it,”
“Can it doc. She is a client,” Conor replied. “Or are you going to explain to Brakul why you cut her up?”
Stitch clicked his tongue but did not try to move closer. His glassy, verdant eyes pulled Conor and the girl apart as he weighed the pros and cons of allying with Conor and Brakul another time.
“What is in it for me?” Stitch questioned, tapping a finger on a scalpel attached to his tool belt.
Conor sighed, realizing he should have expected this question, but he was not the broker of deals. That was Brakul’s schtick, and he was running late.
“You can take her jewelry and any credsticks you find on her. Alright?” Conor replied, knowing Brakul likely would have made a similar deal.
Stitch nodded and slinked closer to the woman. He lifted the necklace from her chest and carefully examined the jewels with a prudish eye any good businessman should have. After Stitch activated his magnified eyes, his cornea glowed gold, letting him see the atoms of the shiny trinket.
The doctor grinned cruelly, letting his crystalline teeth show proudly. The sight was unsettling and made Conor grip his pistol, fearing the doctor would flip his shit and decide it was not enough payment and try to cut the girl up.
But he did not start to slice her skin open. Instead, he sniggered nearly uncontrollably for a few moments, then spoke. “Yes, yes, yes. This will do just fine,” He sneered.
Conor was unsure what the jewels were, but they must be worth far more than he initially thought. For Urka's sake, Stitch was drooling on the necklace and the passed-out girl's chest.
“Good. So you will take care of her?” Conor questioned, needing to hear an assured answer.
Quickly slipping the jewelry into his pocket, Stitch looked back at Conor, his demeanor having done a complete one-eighty. “Of course, I always have room for paying customers.”
“Oh sweet, Conor, you handled the deal,” Brakul said, having just stepped in through the doors.
Why Brakul was allowed unfettered access to Stitch’s clinic and Conor was not something Conor had wondered for years but had accepted it as something to do with their role in the duo.
“Yeah, and he will watch the client. But we had yet to lay out the finer details,” Conor explained.
“Ah, no issue, I can take it from here,” Brakul replied.
-----
so what did you think? a decent chapter or total trash? either way I wanna know. I will see you all in the comments. please don't forget to comment and updoot.
your baker
-Pirate
-----
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submitted by Professional_Prune11 to humansarespaceorcs [link] [comments]
Lets get this bread
-----
The movement from the nightclub to Stitch’s clinic was grueling. Typically lugging a passed-out HVI or some other sod halfway across the city's district would not be a challenge. With his cybernetics, Conor was in decent enough shape and could sprint ten kilometers in full battle rattle without breaking a sweat, but Conor had pushed himself and didn’t need to wax a few Voodal in his way.
Conor had heard that Kurlatra were dense, but his assumptions about how heavy they were came nowhere close to the reality of picking one up.
Whatever this woman's name was, she likely weighed north of eighty kilograms. It was a shock because she was a meter and a half tall at most. For Urka’s sake, Conor only weighed one hundred and fifty kilograms despite being two meters tall and filled to the brim with wires.
He thought a bit about the woman's build and realized why she must weigh so much. She had hips and legs that could crush a man's skull. Along with a pair of tits just big enough that they would overflow from your hands.
Conner was made all the more well aware of those traits as he adjusted her to ensure he would not drop the little lass. Her fatty chest and plump thighs would try to swallow his hip each time he did. No sentient this small had any right being heavier than his entire breacher kit, explosives, anti-rifle armor, and all.
If not for Brakul expecting this rosey scag to be delivered to Stitch’s place, Conor would have lugged her to his safe house, which was far closer. But no, he had another job and order to follow.
The only shining light on this impromptu extraction was that the Voodal did not follow him. He had been worried about that last ganger he had shot; they had only eaten one round through the midchest. At the time, it looked like it might not have been a heart shot, and since he was picking this bimbo up at the time, he did not have a chance to ensure they were put down permanently.
Conor took a deep breath as he rounded the corner into a dirty alleyway, leaving the bustling thoroughfare behind. Thankfully, the residents of Heavalun knew better than to mess with him or anyone else who regularly did mercenary work, especially when they were carrying a body—alive or not.
Those who stopped his type tended not to live long, so he was ignored other than a few passing glances.
After traveling a few meters into the alleyway, Conor stopped and tucked behind a dumpster. His feet squelched in a puddle of rank trash water leaking from the impromptu cover. While Conor was reasonably sure no one had followed him, a quick double-check was always good for his skin.
Conor did not want to bring trouble to Stitch’s place. He did not have the slightest idea where he would find another techy who could synthesize the cocktail of stimulants Stitch made to keep his broken body held together. Pissing the tech head off was not high on his priority list.
Over the next ten minutes, the only thing his thermal vision picked up between him and the main road was a few Zlit rats scurrying atop discarded food. Their fleshy tendrils groped the garbage and pulled it into maws of razor-sharp teeth.
The sight of them sent a shiver down his spine. Those foul little mammals were high on his list of hated creatures, having been bitten by them more than once since he was a kid slinking around the gutters of Heavalun.
Pushing those memories away, Conor traveled deeper and rounded a blind corner. The sounds of the crowd's chatter entirely vanished as he entered the backstreet where Stitch’s clinic was nestled.
The rest of the journey was only a few hundred meters and only required Conor to sidestep some used needles and shit; He also had to kick one homeless bum who tried to grab the girl out of the cover of his jacket. Usually, he would have just shot the piece of hreck shit, but with his hands full, a swift boot to the jaw got the message across.
With the bum limping away, broken jaw clutched in pain, Conor hammered on the metal door; its frame and the neon sign to its side quivered under his brute strength. Then began the worst part of dealing with Stitch, waiting for the asshole to open the door.
Conor waited until ten minutes had passed and received no answer. Then he punched the door harder, his metal hand denting the surface. Several seconds later, a heavily synthesized voice echoed out of the speakers hidden around the area—speakers that Conor had never been able to locate, no matter how fervently he tried.
“What do you want, Conor?” Stitch questioned. “Did you break more of your wiring?”
Conor sighed heavily, knowing Stitch had this entire block wired with multispectrum cameras and could see him a kilometer out. If this were a visit for his wiring, Stitch would know. The man was just being paranoid and wanted Conor to state his business.
“I got a girl I need you to check up on,” Conor said, pushing his jacket slightly open and letting the girl's ref scales shine.
“What another hooker pass out on a bad trip?” Stitch chuckled cruelly. “This is the fourth this month; you are getting soft merc.”
Rolling his eyes, Conor could admit he was softer than most of the other mercenaries and gangsters in the city's neutral sections. Having seen his fair share of how bad this city can be, Conor did his best not to fuck over those who were just down on bad times and were not trying to cause him issues.
Life was arduous enough for them. So he gave back by lugging hookers and junkies to the nearest tech head and paying for their treatment or the closest Zential clinic. The Zentials were more than willing to treat the downtrodden for free, unlike the other medical services in Heavalun—stitch included.
He considered it his way of giving back and maybe finding Urka's good grace. Perhaps the god might forgive him for being a general piece of hreck shit if he continued to until he did. But he would not know until he finally kicked the bucket.
His intervention was a drop of clean water in the ocean of venom in this city. The other locals were more than willing to pick those he aided clean in minutes. They might as well be a swarm of bealit beatles eating carrion with how ravenous they were.
“It ain’t that. Just open the damn door,” Conor growled, punching the door again.
“Hold on, you greased-up cyborg,” Stitch frantically complained, worried that Conor would break his door again.
Conor smirked, glad the strange form of tolerance he and Stitch had built over the years was still strong. At this point, it was their modus operandi. Neither hated the other; no, they respected one another's role in this shithole.
Both toles put them in harm's way and brought them respect and infamy.
However, Conor found the way the denizens of Heavalun treated them funny. If you asked the average COS or GU citizen, who was more brutal: a mercenary with a pension for hyper-violence and little regard for collateral damage—-or a skeletal Itelv doctor who regularly performs life-saving surgery? They would choose Conor ten out of ten times. They did not know Stitch like Conor, Brakul, or most of the people in this city section.
They would tell you the truth of the good doctor.
They would weave you a tale of a greedy, crit-pinching asshole and that Stitch was the type of man who would stitch up for pay but would just as quickly harvest your organs for sale, or Urka forbid he would stick some experimental tech inside you and wait for your inevitable death to retrieve his property.
The door at long last opened with a vile hiss, and a gangly grey-skinned hand forced it open.
Stitch was just about as tall as Conor. But his thin grey limbs made him look one stiff breeze away from taking flight, with only his heavy artificial spider-like legs keeping him firmly on the planet.
Draped over his pencil-thin neck was a once-white apron. After years of use, it was stained with blood, oil, and hydraulic fluid.
“If she ain't one of your precious hookers, put her on the table. I will get my tool ready,” Stitch hissed, jamming his thumb over a shoulder.
“I ain’t selling this one to you either. Girlie got tagged by visage, and I need yah to treat her,” Conor replied, pushing past and laying the blonde on the recovery bed.
“You said she ain’t some hooker,” Stitch complained following, having gotten tired of Conor no longer bringing him fresh meat to sell.
Once Conor turned around and was about to explain the situation, Stitch pressed a bony finger into Conor's chest. “I told you, I'm selling the next one. She is it,”
“Can it doc. She is a client,” Conor replied. “Or are you going to explain to Brakul why you cut her up?”
Stitch clicked his tongue but did not try to move closer. His glassy, verdant eyes pulled Conor and the girl apart as he weighed the pros and cons of allying with Conor and Brakul another time.
“What is in it for me?” Stitch questioned, tapping a finger on a scalpel attached to his tool belt.
Conor sighed, realizing he should have expected this question, but he was not the broker of deals. That was Brakul’s schtick, and he was running late.
“You can take her jewelry and any credsticks you find on her. Alright?” Conor replied, knowing Brakul likely would have made a similar deal.
Stitch nodded and slinked closer to the woman. He lifted the necklace from her chest and carefully examined the jewels with a prudish eye any good businessman should have. After Stitch activated his magnified eyes, his cornea glowed gold, letting him see the atoms of the shiny trinket.
The doctor grinned cruelly, letting his crystalline teeth show proudly. The sight was unsettling and made Conor grip his pistol, fearing the doctor would flip his shit and decide it was not enough payment and try to cut the girl up.
But he did not start to slice her skin open. Instead, he sniggered nearly uncontrollably for a few moments, then spoke. “Yes, yes, yes. This will do just fine,” He sneered.
Conor was unsure what the jewels were, but they must be worth far more than he initially thought. For Urka's sake, Stitch was drooling on the necklace and the passed-out girl's chest.
“Good. So you will take care of her?” Conor questioned, needing to hear an assured answer.
Quickly slipping the jewelry into his pocket, Stitch looked back at Conor, his demeanor having done a complete one-eighty. “Of course, I always have room for paying customers.”
“Oh sweet, Conor, you handled the deal,” Brakul said, having just stepped in through the doors.
Why Brakul was allowed unfettered access to Stitch’s clinic and Conor was not something Conor had wondered for years but had accepted it as something to do with their role in the duo.
“Yeah, and he will watch the client. But we had yet to lay out the finer details,” Conor explained.
“Ah, no issue, I can take it from here,” Brakul replied.
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so what did you think? a decent chapter or total trash? either way I wanna know. I will see you all in the comments. please don't forget to comment and updoot.
your baker
-Pirate
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2024.05.21 17:02 sensitive_expert1221 my brother’s dating a doctor
Last April 2024, with 2 months left before 2nd semester of 2nd year ended, I decided to leave medical school. I didn’t think it was worth it anymore and I was slowly dying piece by piece. Before I left, I started going into therapy. So pag-alis ko (and until now), I have to admit na I’m struggling to find a distinct path. Hindi ko alam kung anong gusto kong gawin ngayon.
Umuwi ako sa province to be with my family and my relatives have not asked any questions. Feeling ko kasi na-brief na sila ng nanay ko which was okay with me because I didn’t feel like answering anything. Lalo na, I felt like I disappointed them too.
Tonight, birthday ng lolo ko and complete kaming pamilya. Recently, my brother started dating a doctor from UPM. When one of my nurse cousins heard this, sinabi niya sa doctor mom ko “Sa wakas magkakatotoo na magkakaroon ka rin ng doctor, tita.” Sinabi ‘to ng kuya ko sa’kin sa harap ng isa ko pang kapatid and mga pamangkin kasi idk to be funny siguro habang kumakain? It wasn’t. Sumagot ako ng “That’s offensive.” Nawalan ako ng gana at nagkulong nalang sa kwarto habang umiiyak.
Feeling ko ang OA pero dahil dito mas may ick ako sa bago niyang dinedate hahahaha idk maybe because she reminds me of where I should and could have been? Feeling ko rin ang insensitive. Hahahahahaha or ewan baka OA lang ako. Lately naman, walang intact sa emotions ko eh. Ayun lang.
submitted by sensitive_expert1221 to OffMyChestPH [link] [comments]
Umuwi ako sa province to be with my family and my relatives have not asked any questions. Feeling ko kasi na-brief na sila ng nanay ko which was okay with me because I didn’t feel like answering anything. Lalo na, I felt like I disappointed them too.
Tonight, birthday ng lolo ko and complete kaming pamilya. Recently, my brother started dating a doctor from UPM. When one of my nurse cousins heard this, sinabi niya sa doctor mom ko “Sa wakas magkakatotoo na magkakaroon ka rin ng doctor, tita.” Sinabi ‘to ng kuya ko sa’kin sa harap ng isa ko pang kapatid and mga pamangkin kasi idk to be funny siguro habang kumakain? It wasn’t. Sumagot ako ng “That’s offensive.” Nawalan ako ng gana at nagkulong nalang sa kwarto habang umiiyak.
Feeling ko ang OA pero dahil dito mas may ick ako sa bago niyang dinedate hahahaha idk maybe because she reminds me of where I should and could have been? Feeling ko rin ang insensitive. Hahahahahaha or ewan baka OA lang ako. Lately naman, walang intact sa emotions ko eh. Ayun lang.
2024.05.21 16:33 MiamisLastCapitalist Essay: Grandma Edna vs the future by Andrew Heaton
So I was listening to a podcast by comedian Andrew Heaton (X), and he had a very interesting episode examining people's nostalgia for the American 1950's complete with humorous skits. For illustration's sake he assumed 50's America was another country called "Fiftiesland" and compared it's stats like GDP or live expectancy to Modern America. He conclude that a lot of the nostalgia came from how many astonishing improvements happened between 1900-1950 vs 1950-2024, even though Modern America is superior in almost every metric.
At the end he had a long monologue where he was trying to explain to his fictional Grandma Edna Bickle, born in 1889 and elderly by the 50's, what it'd be like in the future compared to how she grew up. Imagine trying to explain Netflix to someone who grew up with a radio.
It really demonstrates, in a lighthearted way, just how far we've come in ~125 years.
So imagine how astonishing the world will be in another 100, 300, or 500 years...
Anyway, it's a bit of a read, but I thought some of you all might enjoy it and Mr Heaten was nice enough to send me the transcript. Enjoy!
submitted by MiamisLastCapitalist to IsaacArthur [link] [comments]
At the end he had a long monologue where he was trying to explain to his fictional Grandma Edna Bickle, born in 1889 and elderly by the 50's, what it'd be like in the future compared to how she grew up. Imagine trying to explain Netflix to someone who grew up with a radio.
It really demonstrates, in a lighthearted way, just how far we've come in ~125 years.
So imagine how astonishing the world will be in another 100, 300, or 500 years...
Anyway, it's a bit of a read, but I thought some of you all might enjoy it and Mr Heaten was nice enough to send me the transcript. Enjoy!
My great grandmother, Edna, was born in 1889. My Dad and I were recently reminiscing about her, and he said, “Gramma Bickle, tough old bird, tough old bird. Went blind at ninety-two, quit driving at ninety-four, died at ninety-six. Almost lived in three different centuries.” I have some immediate questions about that chronology, and the realization that Gramma Bickle apparently drove her car blind for two full years before handing her keys in, but I digress.
In 1954 my great gramma Bickle was sixty-five years old. Think about how the country changed from her childhood to her golden years. From when she was born, to a little younger than my parents are today, she saw an entire country go from horse and buggies and pretty much nobody owning a car, to almost everybody has a car. Only six percent of the homes in America had electricity when she was a teenager. By the mid nineteen fifties, the whole country is throbbing with electricity.
In her lifetime, the country went from basically no light bulbs, radios, telephones, refrigerators, or washing machines, to a country where all of that stuff is ubiquitous.
In the year 1900, only ten percent of American households had a stove in them. By 1960,--when my great grandmother is the same age as my parents are now—95% of households do. When she was born, anti-biotics didn’t exist, and polio could cripple your baby. By the time she’s my age, penicillen—a miracle drug!—has been invented. By the time she’s my parents’ age, penicillen is widely available and some genius has recently invented a polio vaccine.
So, if we’re looking at Fiftiesland as a country around today, here’s what’s going on. All of the old people in this country, in their lifetime, went from a horse-and-buggy 19th century third world economy with polio and no electricity—something that, if it existed today, we would be sending anthropoligsts to—to a more modern second world economy perhaps akin to contemporary Guatemala. Which is no small jump.
And the people my age who live in Fiftiesland are still celebrating kicking the crap out of the Nazis, inventing the atom bomb, and enjoying an economy which is comparatively booming—because all of the neighboring economies are rubble.
If Gramma Bickle, at forty years old, my age now, could somehow visit me in contemporary America—she would think I made a pact with Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness. Or maybe, maybe her progeny somehow goes on to conquer Oklahoma as warlords, and all her great grandchildren become opulant Oriental sultans.
I have an icebox in my kitchen that’s powered by lightning that lives in my wall. I have another smaller box that makes my food hot by shooting it with invisible particles like the ray gun from War of the Worlds.
Not only do I let my dog sleep in a tiny bed inside my house, like a toddler, we just finished up a round of antiobitics from when he cut his foot. My great-grandfather—this is true—lived with tuburculosis for years before it finally killed him. Anyway, see that dog I make wear a necktie for my amuesment? Yeah, my dog takes miracle drugs unavailable to John D. Rockefeller. Last year Wallace got elbow cancer but the doctor fixed that, no problem, took a couple of months. Wallace literally has better medical treatment available to him a mile from my house than any human being alive in 1950.
Gramma, you wanna watch Netflix, Paramount Plus, HBO, Peacock, or Amazon Prime? It’s television. Well, television is sort of like radio, only much better, and with images, and I can watch it whenever I want, and there are thousands of options. Like, imagine Broadway, only, like, a few thousand of them, and they’re all inside of that rectangle.
Huh, yeah, I’m not explaining that very well. Right. Okay, so you know how in your time you know multiple people who were literally slaves at some point in their life? Like, you personally know some older people who were, at one point, legally a form of property?
So basically, I have this glass rectangle on my wall that a million of the world’s greatest comedians and dramatists live inside of as my slaves, and they put on plays for me when I’m tired after work. Except I don’t have to feed them or pay them because I use my friend Nick’s HBO account. They just eat the lightning that lives in my wall.
What? Oh yes, I get very tired from work, Gramma. Really get [sigh] worn out, you know? Well, you know how your dad was a wheatfarmer, who spent hours and hours plowing through dust and boneshards in Indian Territory, where he might literally be shot by a Commanche, and the threat of looming starvation for the entire family was never more than one drout away?
Right, so I… I talk for a living. Yeah, that’s right. No, a bunch of strangers just sort of send me money every month cause they enjoy hearing me talk. It’s actually very challenging. Because! Gramma, I do a lot research, you see. Like for this episode, I had to read a lot, and I had to do a lot of math. No, I did not personally do the math.
I have another magical rectangle that has several thosuand math slaves trapped inside that do the actual math for me. When I was a kid I had to perssonally punch the equations in myself, and the rectantle would crunch the numbers. Those were hard times. Now I have a smarter glass rectangle that I can just talk to. I just type in, “Hey, average these ten numbers, okay” and there’s, I dunno, like translater slaves that talk to the math slaves, and they all figure out whatever I’m trying to say, increasingly in lower case and with minimal punctuation, and then give me the answer.
But I have to do the research. Like, I have to read a lot. No, I don’t go to a library. I have another rectangle that has all of the world’s libraries inside of it, and also a lot of pornography, so I just stay at home and look at that particular rectangle, alteranting between research and pornography depending on my mood.
It sure is tough, Gramma. I don’t have any coworkers to keep me company. I’m all by myself here in my well-lit, smokeless, air conditionined home. That’s right, air conditioning! Not just in my house, either—in my camper—which is a tiny extra house I tow behind my armored, self-propelling buggy, which I feed fermented dinosaur juice they pump out of the ground. Oh yeah. It has a rectangle in it that plays music. I’d say I have roughly… three to eight million musician slaves who live in the rectangle in my car, so I don’t get bored when driving to the movies, which is a very large rectangle I go to when I’m tired of watching rectangles on my couch.
What? Good question. It’s called a “camper” because I go camping in it. It’s sort of my hobby. You see, Gramma, my life is so stupidly cushy and comfortable that I amuse myself by going out into the woods to forego wall lightning, air conditioning, and even pornography sometimes, when I can’t get a signal, and instead I sit in a hammock and shit in holes I dig for fun. We call that “roughing it.” For sport, I spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars doing what your entire family did their entire lives until they finally got indoor plumbing, except of course my camper has a propane stove built in, whereas your pioneer family had to dig a hole in the side of a hill and cower in it from the weather like cavemen while burning cow dung for warmth. I dunno where propane comes from. Probably dinosaur farts or something.
Anyway, I prefer to travel around in my camper rather than fly—that’s right, fly—yeah, like a spitfire pilot—which I do multiple times a year using frequent flier points. Which are sort of free, imaginary coupons that banks give me to thank me for using their credit cards, which are also rectangles, but these particular rectangles are small and flat and full of slave bankers that live in my pocket, next to my nine-billion dollar super computer I mostly use as a map, so I don’t have to go through the hassle of folding and unfolding maps, and also to send funny pictures to people in Scotland, in between watching porn in the woods.
I digress. Let’s all take a deep breath. Somebody from my great grandmother’s generation, who lived long enough to be an adult in Fiftiesland, would rightly think: We live in a golden age! We live in the future!
Back in contemporary America, my parents are in their early seventies. My parents today are about how old Gramma Bickle was at the end of the 1950s. And the jump isn’t bad, but it’s not nearly as mind-blowing. The developments they’ve seen since childhood are very impressive in terms of computers and telecommunications and medicine, but otherwise, the world they live in is a more efficient, clever version of the world they grew up in. Cars are safer and more comfortable and fuel efficient, but they’re still basically cars. LED lights are cheaper than incandescent bulbs, but they’re still essentially electric lights. Penicillan is better, but it’s still just clinical mold that strategically murders errant bacteria.
If Fiftiesland were a country, rather than our own history, we would pretty much look at it sort of how we see the poorer parts of Latin America or Eastern Europe: a very nice place with lovely people, wonderful to visit, try the food. Get some funky vintage clothes while you’re there.
But a comparatively poor economy to America or Western Europe. You wouldn’t want to immigrate there for the money. And also, not surprisingly, some views about gender, sex before marriage, having kids really young, having lots of kids, and skepticism about homosexuality that a globetrotter and even quite a few conservatives today might be tempted to call “quaint” or “traditional.”
Basically, if Fiftiesland were a country today, we would view it like Honduras or Moldova, or maybe Czechoslavkia after the wall came down.
2024.05.21 16:32 Consistent_Annual315 Maybe social media gets me talking maybe that's why I'm there? I don't know why I'm there I don't belong there. This is a really good post that I endorse. It just has to do with somebody else not liking what they see boys act out. Hitting us has become normalized.
 | Ladies this is not a fancy bag this is not a joke this is a serious public service announcement. He may seem like a very possible choice and you may meetd his mom and dad. submitted by Consistent_Annual315 to Linda2024 [link] [comments] When you mix his ego, testosterone, his need to control things his need to dominate certain things they're just not safe people anymore. You can go around and you can play with the guy but you're going to get hurt. That's all like this life is managing pain. Now you can be single and be sad that you're single you can go have a guy and complain about him gaslighting you. You can have a marriage and feel burden for the rest of your miserable life with that outcome. There's just people that were born in this world that have no happiness with other people because people are fundamentally dangerous. I was talking over at Twitter in the post about how in my twenties I was losing my home and this guy had to tell HR that I was doing things that I wasn't doing and HR looked at me missing work two days in one month plus his little story, and the outcome as I got fired. Now that was around 2007-2008 I went on to another job lost that job in the middle of foreclosing and moving because if you miss six mortgage payments that's 6 months of property taxes and you will be evicted. So I went ahead and moved out on June 12th out of my home. And this guy will call him Greg looks around for me all over Charlotte he thought I moved to an apartment he thought I moved in with a friend. And he couldn't find me for a while now this was the guy that made sure to tell HR to fire me so I was a little f****** confused why he is looking me up. and everybody this was before when the internet got so big that you could find everything and find everybody. And by the way you people that keep on looking up other people leave them the hell alone. Anyways back to this situation so in Charlotte some kid in his thirties had the bad mouth a girl with the house in her twenties that just wants her art and her two jobs or one job and left alone. Doesn't want a cat doesn't want a dog doesn't want a marriage doesn't want a baby. Doesn't want to take care of a goddamn thing except for her income and her healthcare. I've managed bipolar depression since my teens everyone it's been 30 years of managing pills and managing new doctors that don't know what the hell they're doing and they think I'm a science experiment. I'm just a woman that takes bipolar medication and I have so many God damn health problems I can't f****** imagine why anybody today in today's times would fire a working woman they're just trying to do a clerical job or a retail job and some HR b**** son HR Karen believes some prick guy over Linda and Linda loses everything anyhow. I was losing anyhow but I didn't need kicked while I was down on that job greg. And now My thirties I get involved with the Christian people these super duper Protestant Christian people, and they f***** my life up so God damn bad I am afraid of people. These six or seven m************ put together a bunch of screenshots about myself and a bunch of other women but funny those screenshots only made it to me, and they all laugh about it by the way this is just funny shop talk as far as they're concerned. It cost me a lot of mental and emotional pain and the last round with my 20s and 30s f***** up my wallet. But did it? Did it really? I would never have survived in Charlotte or anywhere else with my bipolar depression My outcome was going to be a disability and a gaf score for of 45. I just want all of the men to know how much power white power and control you exercised over my life you goddamn monsters. So yes I am afraid of everything I am afraid of everyone I have full-blown agoraphobia and full-blown car sickness because I can't trust you f****** men driving either you mother f****** wrecked my car I am so God damn sick of 40 f****** years of you rotten men ruining everything and ruining my life. And I sound like every other woman because you men ruin our lives anyhow. You and your goddamn white power well how much white power do you have now? You mother f***. Enough w to white power to get me fired huh, I hope you live in so much white power you're eventually found out by the law but there is no laws on the books for what you did to my life or what you did to HR or what you did behind the scenes you get away with it Scott free isn't it sweet and you have a free ticket to heaven too! You're such a success story you're so smart you're so elite you're such an intelligent genius that you didn't know what a global assessment functioning score was and you didn't know that Linda score is literally 45 and she wanted to be left alone and you ruined your life I applaud you for ruining her life and her mother and father f** her over to. Have you ever heard of having an only child and having six or seven pensions between you and your wife and yet the daughter lands up broke and under educated? Isn't that sweet and then Linda when you died when mom and dad died couldn't afford anything because you know she's poor and so her family had to abuse her at her mother's funeral on May 16th 2015 9 f****** years ago Linda was begging for help on the internet and thank God it eventually came for her you know years later she had to wait a long time but you didn't have to wait for anything at huh? Ted or Greg. I just think you're both such smart white power trips and I just remember how thankful I am that I can close my door at night and I'm completely alone with my art no guy, no responsibilities like children no commitments and no attachments isn't that the ultimate life that you guys want? No of course not of course you want your responsibilities, children, attachments, commitments. And I'm the foolish one because I'm so thankful that I lived through a few difficult times and I just have a couple basics around the house like my watercolors and a little bit of applesauce and yogurt to eat today and that's pretty much my life I have to manage five plus medications every day and I'm disabled from bipolar depression and five other problems. And I just thank you for being an a****** in my life guys you're really wonderful and you really reinforce that God loves us and you truly reinforce that you love people sincerely from Linda |
2024.05.21 15:01 FelicitySmoak_ Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - Jackson v. AEG Live Day 15
 | Trial Day 15 submitted by FelicitySmoak_ to WhereWasMJToday [link] [comments] Katherine, Rebbie and Trent Jackson are at court. LA Times reported that the Jacksons offered a settlement. Kevin Boyle , a lawyer for Katherine Jackson and Michael's kids , said they offered to settle the lawsuit against AEG, but that they never got an answer. Kevin Boyle said the family made the offers in January & March. Boyle would not provide details but said AEG's insurance would have paid, which means they could have settled the case without them paying a dime of their money. He said AEG has never offered to settle & they haven't apologized. Marvin Putnam, an attorney for AEG, said it was inappropriate to discuss settlement discussions: "We don't settle matters that are utterly baseless. We believe that is the case in this matter. I can't see why we would consider a settlement as anything other than a shakedown"CNN Reports there was a snack controversy during trial: AEG lawyers gave a bag of peppermint candy to the bailiff to hand out to the jury this week. Even Katherine Jackson enjoyed the treat but Jackson's lawyer raised an objection, suggesting jurors might be influenced if they realized the source of the sweets. A compromise was reached. Each side can provide snacks for jurors, but they'll be placed at the bailiff's desk before jurors enter court so they have no clue who brought it. Shawn Trell Testimony Jackson direct AEG Live General Counsel, Shawn Trell, told jurors that he had forgotten that Kenny Ortega was working under a signed contract. Trell said he met with his attorneys last night and reviewed one doc -- Kenny Ortega's contract. "He had a written contract," Trell said. "I remember the email dynamic. I'm not too proud to admit that I didn't recall the cover contract," Trell said he was changing his previous testimony to add that Ortega had a written contract, not only emails between him and AEGNext topic was Insurance: Cancellation/Non-Appearance/Sickness. Trell said he started working on insurance for the tour in November of 2008. Panish showed several chains of emails where the parties talked about the insurance for the tour Email from Bob Taylor insurance broker to Trell on 1/7/09: "Prior to speaking with carriers we ask the artist to attend medical with a doctor...A full medical with both blood/urine tests. The doctor also wants to review the medical records over the last 5 years to ensure full disclosure. Insurers require further medical examination to be carried out by their nominated doctor. They may restrict illness coverage or death from illness coverage until this examination has taken place"Email from 4/30/09 - Wooley to Trell : "We have no coverage against Michael sickness unless and until he submits to another medical in LondonEmail from 5/28/09 - Trell to Taylor: "We really need to get that medical done"Email from 6/23/09 - Trell to Taylor : "Any update on the availability of Term insurance?" (life insurance)Trell said if they secured life insurance, they would get money if Michael died. "We would get the money owed to us, yes," Trell testified.Trell also said he continued discussions with an insurance broker about additional coverage to recoup AEG Live's investment if the tour had to be canceled. Email from 6/24/09 -Taylor to Trell : "Insurers have refused to move on this. Huge amount of speculation in the media regarding artist's health. They feel if they're to consider providing illness to cover this particular artist, they must have very through medical report"Email from 6/25/09 - Gongaware to Taylor : "If we don't get sickness coverage, we are dropping this policy"Email from 6/25/09 - Taylor to Gongaware : "The consultation in London is critical. The doctor is holding the afternoon of the 6th July open at Harley St. But keep in mind the visit could take 2 hours plus"Next topic: Budget/Costs. Panish showed an email from AEG's Rick Webking to Michael's estate with 1st report of artist advances/expenses. This was a letter sent to the estate containing the expenses incurred, Trell said. "It seems to me we submitted this report for their review, I don't see any request for payment," Trell said.Trell said he spoke with Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware about Michael's physical condition prior to coming to testify. "I had heard about rehearsals in which Mr. Jackson was fantastic," Trell saidTrell said he's aware of email from Ortega saying doctor was not allowing Michael to attend rehearsal on June 14, 2009. "I was aware of the doctor not allowing him to attend rehearsal," Trell saidEmail from 6/17/09 from Phillips: "...Ortega, Gongaware, Dileo, and his doctor Conrad from Vegas and I have an intervention with him to get him to focus and come to rehearsal"Email from 6/17/09 from Gongaware to Phillip's assistant: "We need a physical therapist and a nutritionist"Email from Production Manager - Gongaware/Phillips on 6/19/09 : "Paul/Randy I'm not bring a drama queen here. Kenny asked me to notify you both Michael was sent home without stepping foot on stage. He was a basket case and Kenny was concerned he would embarrass himself on stage, or worse yet, be hurt. The company is rehearsing right now, but the DOUBT is pervasive"Email from Randy Phillips to Tim Leiweke on 6/19/09 : "We have a huge problem here."Trell agreed with a statement by plaintiff's attorney, Brian Panish, that company executives knew by then there was a "deep issue" with Jackson Does Trell consider that exchange a "red flag" that AEG Live should have noticed, Panish asked. "I would take it seriously, as I believe Mr. Phillips did," Trell answered. "I don't know I would use the word 'red flag'One of the emails shown to the jury was from Jackson estate co-executor John Branca, sent 5 days before Jackson's death & marked 'confidential': "I have the right therapist/spiritual advisosubstance abuse counselor who could help (recently helped Mike Tyson get sober and paroled) Do we know whether there is a substance issue involved (perhaps better discussed on the phone)The email was sent the same day that a meeting was held at Jackson's home with Murray. No further info given to jury. Trell said Mr. Phillips never told him about this email Email from Ortega to Randy Phillips on 6/20/09: (chain of emails) "I honestly don't think he is ready for this based on his continued physical weakening and deepening emotional state"Trell said he didn't see these emails. He said he spoke with Randy Phillips about Phillips' perception of Michael, in order to prepare for testifying, but not about specific emails. Trell has been designated as the most qualified person to speak on behalf of AEG Email from Phillips to Gongaware on 6/20/09 at 1:52 am : "Tim and I are going to see him tomorrow, however, I'm not sure what the problem is Chemical or Physiological?"From Gongaware to Phillips, on 6/20/09 at 5:59 am : "Take the doctor with you. Why wasn't he there last night?"From Phillips to Gongaware, on 6/20/09 at 2:01 pm : "He is not a psychiatrist so I'm not sure how effective he can be at this point obviously, getting him there is not the issue. It is much deeper"Trell said Randy Phillips went to a handful of rehearsals, three at the Forum and two at Staples Center. The head of the marketing department attended rehearsal on June 23, 2009. "She was blown away by it," Trell testified.He said he was unaware of issues with Jackson at rehearsals. "I knew of no problems with Michael Jackson at all",Trell testified.Trell said he never saw the emails from Phillips directing people to exclude images from This Is It of Michael looking "skeletal" while rehearsing. "What were his observations of Michael's physical condition during rehearsal," Trell said. "I asked for his (Phillips) personal opinion."Next line of questioning is about human resources and background checks. Trell said they can be valuable and useful tools when hiring. Background check costs around $40 to $125. Trell said AEG Live could afford this fee. "We don't do background checks on independent contractors," Trell said. Trell said he was involved in the hiring by AEG Live for the This Is It tour. His department was responsible for retaining independent contractors. Trell said he is not familiar with background check process for hiring. "I am not familiar with the process of doing background checks," Trell said. "No training." Panish: "There was no hiring criteria for the This Is It tour, correct?"Trell: "Not to my knowledge" Trell testified that when it comes to independent contractors, they have either worked with the artists, AEG or known in the industry. Trell agreed that no background check was done on anyone working on the This Is It tour. AEG Live General Counsel Shawn Trell told jurors that no legal or financial checks were done involving Conrad Murray or anyone else who worked as an independent contractor on the This Is It shows. Depending on the nature of the position, a background could be done, Trell said, like for potential employees in the financial area. Trell said he thought a background check would be appropriate for people working in financial roles, but not tour personnel who weren't employees of AEG As to independent contractors, Trell said there's no supervision and monitoring like there's for employees Panish: "You don't do anything to check into background, supervise or protect the artist?"Trell: "No, safety is a concern" Trell said that AEG did not hire Murray, that the doctor was like many independent contractors, "When they leave the environment, what they do on their own time is their own business"Trell testified he doesn't believe the artist is more at risk because AEG Live doesn't do background checks "We did nothing to monitor Dr. Murray," Trell said. "We did not monitor whatever it was that he was doing, no.""It called for Michael Jackson being able to terminate Dr. Murray at will," Trell said about the contract. "If the concerts didn't go forward, and he was terminated under this provision, Dr. Murray would not be paid going forward," Trell explained As to Dr Murray being under dire financial straits, Trell said that he doesn't know if he agrees with it, everyone's perception is different Trell: "I certainly wasn't aware of it at the time"Panish: "Because you didn't check, right?" Trell: "That's right" "I don't think conflict of interests are a good thing, and we would want to prevent it," Trell said Email from Kathy Jorie to Shawn Trell on 6/24/09 at 12:54 am: Subject: Revised agreement with GCA Holdings/Dr. MurrayIt had two attachments Attachments: Revised Michael Jackson -AEG GCA Holdings Murray Agreement 6-18-09 Final MJ -- AEG GCA Holdings Agreement (Dr. Murray) 6-23-09Email chain from 6/23/09, 5:39pm from Jorrie to Wooley, Murray Subject: RE: Michael Jackson - Revised Agreement with GCA Holdings/Dr. Murray Email:"I have redlined the Word version so that you can see all of the revisions. In addition, I've attached clean PDF version for execution" (The email says that if Dr. Murray approved it, he was to print it, sign and send it back to Jorrie) Panish: "Did Ms. Jorrie call this contract a draft?"Trell: "She called it a Final Version" "Every document is a draft until it is executed," Trell said. Panish showed emails exchanged among AEG executives that contained drafts of Murray's contract. Although Murray had signed a contract with the company, neither Jackson nor anyone from AEG had added their signatures. Trell testified that a copy of the contract had never been sent to Jackson With Trell on the stand, Panish played part of an interview that AEG Live President Randy Phillips gave to Sky News television soon after Michael's death. "This guy was willing to leave his practice for a very large sum of money, so we hired him," Phillips said.Panish also showed jurors an e-mail between AEG lawyers suggesting that Phillips told other interviewers AEG Live "hired" Murray. Panish: "Isn't it true that Randy Phillips made numerous comments that AEG Live hired Dr. Murray?"Trell: "I know he has made that statement" Panish said AEG higher-ups became concerned after Phillips made such admission. Trell said he didn't know if that was true. Bruce Black is the General Counsel for parent company of AEG and AEG Live. Michael Roth is AEG's media relations Email from Kathy Jorrie to Bruce Black and Michael Roth on 8/25/09: Subject: AEG Live president says AEG Live hired Dr. Conrad MurrayPanish shows Trell a deposition, under oath, given by insurance broker Bob Taylor on another case. Trell said he has never seen or read it. Trell denied having a telephone conversation with Mr. Taylor where Trell asked him if a doctor's compensation was covered in the insurance. Panish: "Does that refresh your recollection that AEG was employing Dr. Murray?"Trell: "Mr. Taylor has this completely wrong" After lunch break, Brian Panish asked if Shawn Trell wanted to change anything else in his testimony, to which he said "No" Bruce Black, attorney for Anschutz, was present in the meeting with LAPD. Trell met with the police on 1/12/10. Trell told the police that day that Dr. Murray would receive $150,000 compensation per month. Trell also said that Dr. Murray requested and AEG would provide necessary medical equipment and a nurse. More than five months after Jackson's death, Trell said, he informed LAPD detectives that Murray initially requested $5 million to join the tour but eventually agreed to a salary of $150,000 a month for 10 months. Panish: "As far as you know, all the agreements written for TII tour was done under AEG Live Productions, right?"Trell: "Yes" Panish: "Was Dr. Murray trying to help AEG get insurance?" Trell: "The policy was in both names, so he was helping both parties" Trell said Dennis Hawk, who represented Michael, was in touch with Taylor regarding the insurance Panish: "As of June 2009, you don't even know whether Mr. Jackson had a personal managerTrell: "Well, my understanding at the time there were a couple of people acting in that capacity" Email on 6/2/09 from Randy Phillips to Jeff Wald: "Jeff, remember getting Michael to focus is not the easiest thing in the world and we still have no lawyer, business manager, or, even real manager in place. It is a nightmare!"Trell said the only time he saw an artist's signature required to retain an independent contractor was for Dr. Murray. Trell said his understanding was that Dr. Murray worked for Michael for 3 years; didn't know how many times MJ saw Dr. Murray. "I've never spoken with Dr. Murray ever. And I met/spoke with Mr. Jackson once," Trell said. "He was a significant expense," Trell testified about Dr. Murray.Trell said AEG Live didn't do anything to check Dr. Murray's competency as doctor, other than checking his physician license. Trell said AEG didn't do anything to determine Dr. Murray's financial conditions in 2009. Jury was shown an email that Phillips sent to Kenny Ortega on night of June 20, 2009. It was email urging Ortega to stand down. Email on 6/20/09 Phillips to Ortega : "Kenny it's critical that neither you, me, anyone around this show become amateur psychiatrist/physicians. I had a lengthy conversation with Dr. Murray, who I am gaining immense respect for as I get to deal with him more. He said that Michael is not only physically equipped to perform & discouraging him to will hasten his decline instead of stopping it. Dr. Murray also reiterated that he is mentally able to and was speaking to me from the house where he had spent the morning with Michael. This doctor is extremely successful (we check everyone out) and does not need this gig so he is totally unbiased and ethical"Panish asked Trell whether Phillips "characterization to Ortega, given no background check was done, was a lie". Trell responded that he didn't know what Phillips knew or was thinking when he wrote that email to Ortega. Trell also said he expected Randy Phillips to testify at some point during the trial, so he could address the email himself Panish then asked Trell, "Sir, you never checked out one single thing about Dr. Murray -- you've already told me that, correct?""As of the date of the email, that would've been correct",Trell said. When pressed by Panish, Trell said that Phillips' statement that Murray had been checked out, along with the executive's claim that the doctor 'does not need this gig' were inaccurate. "I don't know where Randy's understanding or impression comes from", Trell said.Trell testified that Phillips might have been "misinformed" or simply was stating his impression of the Las Vegas cardiologist Panish: "But no one at AEG checked Dr. Murray to see if he was successful or not, isn't that true?"Trell: "Yes" Panish then asked several pointed questions about whether Shawn Trell agreed with Phillips telling Ortega they'd checked Murray out. One of Panish's questions was whether Trell thought Phillips' email was 'acceptable conduct' Panish called Phillips' statement "a flat out lie" and asked Trell whether he agreed with it or if it signified how AEG did business. Trell said he didn't know what Phillips thought he knew when he wrote the message. "I know this statement is not accurate, but you'd have to speak with Mr. Phillips about what he thought or meant in saying it," Trell said. Panish: "That's a flat out lie, isn't it sir?"Trell: "I don't know what Mr. Phillips intended to say, this should be a question to him" Panish: "You don't know if he was successful or facing bankruptcy, did you?" Trell: "No" Trell: "I know the statement is not accurate. You have to speak with Mr. Phillips about what he meant to say" Panish: "Do you agree with the CEO of your company making untrue statements?" Trell: "I don't know that he didn't know it wasn't true when he said it" Trell said Phillips never told him that he checked Dr. Murray out. As to reference in Phillips' email about Dr. Murray being unbiased, ethical, not needing this gig, Trell said it was Phillips' impressions. He said AEG typically only runs background checks on candidates applying for full-time jobs with AEG, not independent contractors. Panish: "Isn't it true AEG Live does not do background check on independent contractors?"Trell: "That's true" Trell said that no one from AEG interviewed Dr. Murray because he was an independent contractor. "Did anyone from AEG ever at any time interview Dr. Murray", asked Brian Panish"No", Trell replied. Panish showed a document used by AEG entitled "Disclosure and Authorization to Conduct Background Check". Doc is used for employment, promotion, retention, contingent or the rate staffing, consulting, sub-contract work, or volunteer work. Panish asked if there was any reason why Dr. Murray was not given a background check. "He wasn't an employee, he wasn't applying for a full time position with the company," Trell explained.Trell said theoretically they could've asked to check Dr. Murray's background and credit. AEG Cross Jessica Bina began her examination by showing the letter submitted by AEG's CFO to the Estate of Michael Jackson for their review. She asked Shawn Trell about the estimate presented to Jackson's estate that included Murray's $300k fees. She asked why it was prepared. Shawn Trell said it was done at the request of the estate. He said Jackson's estate wanted to know state of tour finances when Jackson died. Trell said the report was requested by the Estate after a series of meetings after Michael's death. "The purpose of the meeting was to wind up the business affairs of the tour due to Michael's death", Trell said. "It was my understating in June Tohme was back in the picture in some capacity. I'm not sure which, Mr. DiLeo was in it too," Trell saidBina: "Is there any request for payment?" Trell: "No, there's no demand for payment, it's for review" Stebbins Bina asked about the inclusion of Murray's fee in the document. Bina showed the report that was attached to the letter. Murray's fee on the document had a footnote. Trell read what that footnote said, and explained why estate wasn't asked for Murray's fee. Next to "Management Medical" there's a reference to footnote 3. Note 3: 'Contract is not signed by Michael Jackson and such signature was condition precedent to any payment obligation' - Footnote on Murray fee.Trell testified Webking, the CFO for AEG, did not ask Michael's Estate for payment of Dr. Murray's salary "You testified you were somewhat confused (by the inclusion of the $300,000)?", Bina asked Trell as she projected the list, dated July 17, 2009, on a screen for jurors."Do you see there's something in parentheses?', Stebbins Bina asked, zooming in to blow up a footnote from AEG CFO Frederick Webking that stated Michael Jackson never signed Murray's contract, so its terms were not enforceable. "Is Mr. Webking asking the estate to pay?", Stebbins Bina asked Trell. "No", he replied, explaining that upon reflection he believed Mr. Webking was just being 'thorough' by including the $300,000 as a budgeted cost. "Did Mr. Webking make a mistake as you thought yesterday?",she asked. "No, he did not", Trell answered Second report made to the Estate on 9/18/09, there was no amount next to management medical. Stebbins Bina then showed a Sept. 2009 report of This Is It's finances to Michael Jackson's estate. Murray's fee is not listed in that document Trell went through his job description with AEG. He said he has five lawyers in his department and has worked on thousands of agreements. Trell explained what PMK is -- Person Most Knowledgeable, identified by the company to testify on its behalf. Trell said he didn't know about all the topics he was designated, so he had to do some studying and interviews with people As to Ortega's contract, Trell said he was aware of a string of emails being at least a part of the original agreement with Kenny. "When we were done here yesterday, I looked at Kenny Ortega's original agreement," Trell said.Trell noted he hadn't looked at Ortega's agreement since it was entered into in 2009. Before the afternoon break, Trell and jury were shown Kenny Ortega's tour agreement. It was signed in April 2009. The agreement was three pages of legalese, with several pages of emails attached that confirmed the terms. The first three pages included some paragraphs that described who owned the rights to This Is It content. A large number of emails are part of the agreement as exhibits. Trell said he recalled the emails exchange and admitted again not being proud of forgetting the cover contract portion. Bina showed Ortega's executed contract with everyone's signature on it. Trell said Kenny Ortega was paid after his contract was signed. Trell, Phillips and Kathy Jorrie were involved in drafting and negotiating the contract with Michael Jackson. For MJ, Trell said Dr. Tohme Tohme and attorneys Dennis Hawk and Peter Lopez represented him. He said there were multiple drafts. "It's my understanding they were talking to, or at least receiving offers from, a competitive of ours, Live Nation," Trell said.Trell also said that before signing an agreement with AEG, Jackson had been considering a tour offer from its main competitor, Live Nation. Bina showed the jury the final tour agreement. Trell said he went to MJ's home at Carolwood to sign it. Upon arrival, Trell said Mr. Jackson got up from where he was seated, and said 'Hi, welcome, I'm Michael." Trell said it was pretty funny, since he was a very distinct person. Trell said they shook hands, he had a good firm handshake and his voice was not what people think "He popped up, came over, introduced himself, was very cordial, there was a real positive energy, good vibe in the room," Trell said. "He seemed genuinely enthused," Trell added. "He had the contract in front of him, said he read every page, seemed very enthused." Trell said they all signed it and Mr. Jackson was really keen on the 3-D stuff, that he was already down the road in his mind. "I was probably there just a little less than an hour. And that was the only time I met him," Trell recalled.Bina discussed the contract for the tour agreement: A first class performance by Artist at each show on each of the approved itineraries. Contract: Artist shall perform no less than 80 minutes at each show, and the maximum show length for each show shall be 3.5 hours. Artist shall approve a sufficient number of shows on itineraries proposed by promoter or producer as to recoup the advances made.Trell said compensation was agreed on 90-10 split. Artist received 90% of what's defined contingent compensation. Trell explained to jury how concerts get paid for. One scenario is artist pays for production up front. A second scenario is that the promoter gives artist an advance, and then they use the money to put together the show. The third option, Trell said, is the artist pays someone like AEG Live to produce and promote the show, with costs to come out of their pay. Trell called the second and third option like an interest-free loan. In Jackson's case, AEG agreed to a 90/10 split of show's proceeds. Jackson would have received the 90% portion, Trell said. Jackson was also on the hook for a 5% production fee AEG Live was promoter & producer. "We advanced the money necessary to mount the tour," Trell explained. "It's interest free money".Trell testified that Jackson's advance, which covered his $100,000-a-month rent on his mansion and a $3-million payment to settle a lawsuit that would free up his performance rights, was considered a loan to be paid back to AEG. Part of the advance was to pay off the settlement agreement of $3 million in London court. The underlying dispute was that a company owned the rights for Jackson's live performance. "The rights needed to be freed up," Trell said.The advances were to be paid back to AEG Live before the split of revenue. Production Advances were capped to $7.5 million. Contract: Artist was responsible for all the production costs in excess of the cap and had to reimburse promoter. "Michael Jackson was known to have very elaborate productions," Trell said. "Production values can get significant, for lack of a better word, it really depends on how many bells and whistles they want," Trell said.Trell said AEG would not advance money without the artist requesting it. Trell said it's not only typical and customary, but standard and artist needs to secure either non-appearance or cancellation insurance. Their interest in the policy, Trell said, was to cover the advances and production costs incurred with the production of the show. "If the were no obligations to AEG, the payout would go back to the artist", Trell explained, "It just recoups our loan made to the artist."Trell was also asked about elements of tour insurance policies and an agreement with former manager Tohme Tohme. Jackson's contract called for him to represent to AEG that he didn't have any health conditions that would keep him from performing. Contract: Artistco hereby represents and warrants that artist does not possess any known health conditions, injuries or ailments that would reasonable be expected to interfere with Artist's first class performance at each of the shows during the termOh Tohme's $100k per month agreement, Trell was shown a January contract that Jackson signed to pay that amount. However, Trell said Tohme's agreement was predicated on Jackson getting tour cancellation insurance by a certain date. Deadline passed and by that point Tohme was no longer Jackson's manager, so he wasn't entitled to be paid his monthly fee. January 24, 2009 -- agreement entered with Dr. Tohme Tohme. Trell said Michael was involved and signed this agreement. "This agreement was entered into January 26, Trell testified. "There are conditions that needed to be met before any payment could be made."One of the the conditions was placement of non-appearance insurance, Trell said. That placement was done in late April, early May. In May, AEG received letter from MJ saying Tohme didn't rep him anymore. "No payments were ever made under this agreement," Trell explained.Court Transcript Rebbie Jackson attending court https://preview.redd.it/mmatrsug5o1d1.jpg?width=443&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2bb18c8e5e6bca215719208409346bccaf96bc4 https://preview.redd.it/h6ywhnug5o1d1.jpg?width=443&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4576d97371141a308ad6300fb33400f28ed009e3 https://preview.redd.it/wd14srug5o1d1.jpg?width=508&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31ded1abac7f1916fc67b5d0b264dd231b96f275 https://preview.redd.it/pvrb3vug5o1d1.jpg?width=423&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e4e93a20eccf030747d4ee60a95365b5e41e9ce https://preview.redd.it/yexbwrug5o1d1.jpg?width=419&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c26155b8478e7c48f8863d946b836f1ab2a13fe8 https://preview.redd.it/o6nzk0vg5o1d1.jpg?width=483&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f146baaaa738ec5fe700fa42aaf58e138f21165f https://preview.redd.it/vuozioug5o1d1.jpg?width=431&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f229517cb96a8f80571439f6f0e27f8c6c7852bc |
2024.05.21 15:01 Turbostrider27 Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Review Thread
Game Information
Game Title: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year DoorPlatforms:
- Nintendo Switch (May 23, 2024)
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – Overview Trailer – Nintendo Switch
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door — Our Story Begins — Nintendo Switch
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Nintendo Direct 9.14.2023
Publisher: Nintendo
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 89 average - 100% recommended - 29 reviews
Critic Reviews
CGMagazine - Jordan Biordi - 9 / 10Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is an excellent remake of an excellent game with enough modern additions to make it feel fresh and new.
Thousand Year Door is a remake done right. The new sound and visuals look terrific. The game’s essential identity has been preserved. Plus, the original release is able to shine through with no distractions. It’s exactly as wonderful as you remember it being. I’m still impressed with the writing, and the level design is mostly excellent. I still hate the tournament arc, though. And I wish some of the puzzles didn’t involve scouring a dungeon until a forgotten button or door is dragged into the sunlight. Although the original release is amazing, it’s also nearly impossible to play anymore. For new and old fans, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is an essential addition to the Nintendo Switch library.
Nostalgia goggles haven't failed us: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is still a masterpiece. With vastly improved graphics, a great rearranged soundtrack, and a few tasteful gameplay touchups, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Nintendo Switch is now the best version of this fan-favourite classic. The only thing missing is extra content for those who have already played it, but for everyone else, there's no reason not to pick this one up.
All in all, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is an easy recommendation. For those that never got a chance to play the original game, there's no better time than the present, and the Nintendo Switch version is easily the best way to play it.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a masterpiece that continues to enchant nearly two decades after its initial release.
Though Hellblade 2 has the power to force your jaw open and give you goosebumps, too often the whole project ends up feeling like a very expensive tech demo – an absolute tour de force of technical achievement bogged down in its own sense of gravitas and mystery. Keeping you off the stick for so many of its most impactful moments, and not giving you enough to play with when you do have control, hobbles the potential of this visual and aural masterpiece enough to make the whole experience feel like it was constantly trying to find a foothold on that dread Icelandic scree, and never really getting to its feet until you come staggering over the finish line.
Overall a beautiful looking game, one that feels fresh and in-keeping with recent modern Mario efforts.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door stands the test of time and is fantastic on Nintendo Switch.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a classic Mario role-playing game that every fan of the chubby plumber should play. If you've already played the original, it's worth taking another trip into this paper world thanks to the completely revamped graphics and soundtrack.
The simplified role-playing mechanics and the interactivity of the turn-based battles make the game accessible even to beginners and players who don't usually like RPGs. The numerous environments impress with their quirky humor, excellently written characters and a beautiful paper look. What I didn't like were the annoying backtracking passages and some tedious mechanics. They unnecessarily slow down the pace as the game progresses.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a magical combination of parameters that make this title must have!
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is still a great mixture of RPG and platformer with fine papercraft graphics and humorous story. But in terms of content, the visually advanced Switch version delivers nothing new for dye connoisseurs of the GameCube original, which makes it less interesting for them as for players who experience the remastered version for the first time.
Thousand-Year Door is now a series highlight. It marks the first instance of where I didn’t want a Mario RPG to go (I generally prefer the Mario & Luigi direction), but the constant fourth-wall breaking, myriad colorful and unique characters, and its willingness to just be weird all lead to a joyful journey.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake is wonderfully crafted for modern hardware while still capturing the magic and love of the original 20-year-old game. There’s a reason this is a cult classic and now everyone can enjoy it.
Whether you're replaying for the new visuals, or a very lucky first-time player, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is one of the best RPGs ever to come out of Nintendo.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is an amazingly loyal and visually dazzling remake of a treasured RPG, and the improvements made throughout easily make this the definitive way to experience Mario’s unforgettable quest.
For 20 years, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has been held as the best Mario RPG of all time, and the Switch remake proves it has earned that title. This is a fantastic RPG adventure, whether you're a Mario fan or not, with some best-in-class combat, brilliant writing, and a few little creases ironed out to make this the definitive way to play Thousand-Year Door. We wish there was a little more to do post-credits, but there's no doubt about it, this is a beautiful-looking Switch remake and a must-play RPG.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Nintendo Switch improves upon the GameCube classic in almost every way; not just with its impressive graphical overhaul, but with plenty of quality-of-life changes and additional content too. As long as you can handle some occasional backtracking and a reduced frame-rate of 30fps, this is undoubtedly the ultimate Paper Mario RPG experience. Mario games usually put the narrative to the wayside to focus on having fun and engaging gameplay, but The Thousand-Year Door manages to do both and succeeds at it in such a way that still hasn’t been topped 20 years later.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door is a masterful remake that improves on the original in practically every way while keeping everything that made it a mainstay in the Nintendo canon. While its timelessness is reflected in the strength of its humour, wit and story, a major visual overhaul and much needed quality of life improvements make The Thousand-Year Door an adventure that can't be skipped.
It is not a full-blown remake with overhauled graphics or new episodes. But deep within lies truly one of the best parts of the series to be enjoyed even 20 years later with excellent gameplay, sharp-wit writing and funny dialogues for long evenings or short bursts.
Behind its vibrant and cheerful appearance hides a great battle system and a memorable cast of characters and events in a world brimming with content. Just be aware that some patience is required to enjoy the ride fully.
The Switch version of Paper Mario and the Thousand-year door is a rare delight, just like the GameCube one before it: it's a funny and clever mix between a turn based RPG and a platform game, full of jokes and memorable characters. The price might be a little bit steep and the frame rate is halved if compared to the original, but it's still worth to dip your toes into it even twenty years later.
The Thousand-Year Door remake is a triumphant return for Paper Mario. It turns back to an earlier chapter in the series that knows exactly what it’s trying to achieve and does it masterfully.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door will probably be the last Mario game to release (solely) on the Switch. While Wonder will take the plaudits, porting this cult classic means that a new generation of players can experience it. New fans will have a ball, laughing along with Mario & co., even if their experience will be slightly marred by the backtracking and pacing. Old fans will enjoy the quality of life improvements and some new additions. Whether you’re a Paper Mario veteran or this is your first time entering his origami world, this is the definitive way to experience The Thousand-Year Door.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a wonderful remake of a GameCube classic. Now in a modern game engine, but with all the quirkiness and charm of the original story and characters, and with a return to the original Paper Mario combat style, it's great for Mario RPG fans and newcomers alike.
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While I wasn’t there for the original, I now completely get just why Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is so revered among Mario fans, and why demands for a remaster were practically ceaseless. It’s the absolute pinnacle of Mario RPGs, and if it was a bit more focused as an overall narrative experience, in the discussion as one of the plumber’s best-ever games.
Alongside last year’s excellent Super Mario RPG remake, The Thousand-Year Door is one of the very best Mario spin-offs on Nintendo Switch, whether you’re an old fan or discovering it for the first time.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a classic RPG with a perfect blend of turn-based combat and adventuring complete with a rewarding unlockable abilities system that encourages you to explore every nook and cranny. Plus, its updated graphics, hilarious humour, and welcome gameplay improvements make it more accessible than ever. 🚪
While the new Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door preserves the gonzo charm that made the original game a cult classic, not a lot has been done to deal with its padding and other design quirks. If you’re a hardcore Thousand-Year Door fan, worry not, you’re going to love this spiffy new version. If you’re new to the game or weren’t entirely sold the first time around, you’re still likely to find plenty to enjoy here, but you may also notice a few tattered edges.