Not so long ago I had an escort job. A divorced older man, in need of my service. When I ranged the bell, he opened the door and something moved around in the background, at first, I thought, someone else was in his house. It turned out to be the dog. The dog was big, but very friendly. The dog had a lot of energy, it was like a toddler in the amusement park. He pushed his nose into my crotch, and almost jumped me over. The customer laughed and said that the dog really liked me. We sat down and had a drink, I tried to put on my act, but that didn't go very well because his dog was all the time seeking my attention.
After a second glass, he suddenly apologized for having to walk the dog first. I waited and just watched TV. When he returned, we went upstairs and I lured him into the shower, because he smelled like a dog. Finally, he was ready for sex. We went into his bedroom, I undressed, crawled on top of him, grabbed a condom and I gave him a blowjob. Suddenly the dog entered the bedroom and sat down on the bed next to us. As it seemed, the dog was used to sleep on the bed. When I asked him to put the dog outside, he agreed, took the dog out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Before he was back even on the bed, the dog already opened the door.
I gave up and continued working. Moments later whilst fucking, I could see the dog staring at us, and that dog got on my nerves. The man noticed my distraction, and we changed position, but because of all the commotion he lost his erection. He took the dog down, and locked him up somewhere downstairs. Finally, we could continue, without the dog.
It didn't go well. Already after a couple minutes, the dog started barking. He didn't stop. He went down, freed the dog and gave some food, as a distraction. That gave us enough time for a quickie. As we fucked, the dog came up the stairs silently but quickly, and walked into the bedroom and started sniffing and licking my feet, and then I watched the dog moving his hips, the movement was very clear!! I said something like, “What is he doing?”, and he replied, “He likes you too.” and then apologized for the bad joke and pulled the dog away. I was shocked, because there are really men who want to see how a woman fuck a dog, and I’m already getting sick of the idea!! Lucky this one wasn’t, I believed him. When I got home, I immediately showered. I was covered in dog hairs, and everything smelled like a dog. I don't understand why people want a dog. And, YES, I do love animals, but not during sex.
I hope you enjoyed reading it; I write about what’s it like to be a prostitute. Why? Because I can't talk about it with my family and friends. I’m 42 and a single mom of 2 and joined REDDIT so I can tell in this community my story undisturbed.
I created my own community on REDDIT: “Life_as_a_Sex_Worker” hope to see you all there, many more post will follow. Any questions, suggestions? Send me a private message, big hugs to you all XXX💋

Hi all, I am writing a chat app which can play audio file in the chatscreen of the app. After updating to Expo SDK 51, the app cannot load the chatscreen with audio message (but it used to work fine when I was using Expo SDK 48). The following are the error showed in the log when I opened the chatscreen with audio message:
***************************************************
ERROR TypeError: Cannot read property 'Track' of undefined
This error is located at:
in AudioPlayerViewTest (created by Bubble)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by Bubble)
in TouchableWithoutFeedback (created by Bubble)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by Bubble)
in Bubble (created by ItemWithSeparator)
in ItemWithSeparator (created by CellRenderer)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by CellRenderer)
in VirtualizedListCellContextProvider (created by CellRenderer)
in CellRenderer (created by VirtualizedList)
in RCTScrollContentView (created by ScrollView)
in RCTScrollView (created by ScrollView)
in ScrollView (created by ScrollView)
in ScrollView (created by VirtualizedList)
in VirtualizedListContextProvider (created by VirtualizedList)
in VirtualizedList (created by VirtualizedSectionList)
in VirtualizedSectionList (created by SectionList)
in SectionList (created by ChatScreen)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by ChatScreen)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by PageContainer)
in PageContainer (created by ChatScreen)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by ImageBackground)
in ImageBackground (created by ChatScreen)
in RNCSafeAreaView
in Unknown (created by ChatScreen)
in ChatScreen (created by SceneView)
in StaticContainer
in EnsureSingleNavigator (created by SceneView)
in SceneView (created by SceneView)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by DebugContainer)
in DebugContainer (created by MaybeNestedStack)
in MaybeNestedStack (created by SceneView)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by SceneView)
in RNSScreen (created by Animated(Anonymous))
in Animated(Anonymous) (created by InnerScreen)
in Suspender (created by Freeze)
in Suspense (created by Freeze)
in Freeze (created by DelayedFreeze)
in DelayedFreeze (created by InnerScreen)
in InnerScreen (created by Screen)
in Screen (created by SceneView)
in SceneView (created by NativeStackViewInner)
in Suspender (created by Freeze)
in Suspense (created by Freeze)
in Freeze (created by DelayedFreeze)
in DelayedFreeze (created by ScreenStack)
in RNSScreenStack (created by ScreenStack)
in ScreenStack (created by NativeStackViewInner)
in NativeStackViewInner (created by NativeStackView)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by SafeAreaProviderCompat)
in SafeAreaProviderCompat (created by NativeStackView)
in NativeStackView (created by NativeStackNavigator)
in PreventRemoveProvider (created by NavigationContent)
in NavigationContent
in Unknown (created by NativeStackNavigator)
in NativeStackNavigator (created by StackNavigator)
in StackNavigator (created by MainNavigator)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by KeyboardAvoidingView)
in KeyboardAvoidingView (created by MainNavigator)
in MainNavigator (created by AppNavigator)
in EnsureSingleNavigator
in BaseNavigationContainer
in ThemeProvider
in NavigationContainerInner (created by AppNavigator)
in AppNavigator (created by App)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by MenuProvider)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by MenuProvider)
in MenuProvider (created by App)
in RNCSafeAreaProvider (created by SafeAreaProvider)
in SafeAreaProvider (created by App)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by GestureHandlerRootView)
in GestureHandlerRootView (created by App)
in Provider (created by App)
in App (created by withDevTools(App))
in withDevTools(App)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by AppContainer)
in RCTView (created by View)
in View (created by AppContainer)
in AppContainer
in main(RootComponent), js engine: hermes
***************************************************
My code for the audio player is as follows:

import React, { useState, useRef } from "react"; import { HStack, Icon, Slider, Text, Button, NativeBaseProvider, } from "native-base"; import { MaterialIcons } from "@expo/vector-icons"; import { Audio } from "expo-av"; function msToTime(millisec) { var seconds = (millisec / 1000).toFixed(0); var minutes = Math.floor(seconds / 60); var hours = ""; if (minutes > 59) { hours = Math.floor(minutes / 60); hours = hours >= 10 ? hours : "0" + hours; minutes = minutes - hours * 60; minutes = minutes >= 10 ? minutes : "0" + minutes; } seconds = Math.floor(seconds % 60); seconds = seconds >= 10 ? seconds : "0" + seconds; if (hours != "") { return hours + ":" + minutes + ":" + seconds; } return minutes + ":" + seconds; } export const AudioPlayerViewTest = (props) => { const { audioUrl, } = props; const [isPlaying, setIsPlaying] = useState(false); const [active, setActive] = useState(false); const [loaded, setLoaded] = useState(false); const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false); const sound = useRef(new Audio.Sound()); const [currentDuration, setCurrentDuration] = useState(0); const [totalDuration, setTotalDuration] = useState(0); React.useEffect(() => { loadAudio(); }, []); async function loadAudio() { setLoaded(false); setLoading(true); const checkLoading = await sound.current.getStatusAsync(); if (checkLoading.isLoaded === false) { try { const result = await sound.current.loadAsync({ uri: audioUrl }); if (result.isLoaded === false) { setLoading(false); console.log("Error in Loading Audio"); } else { setLoading(false); setLoaded(true); } } catch (error) { console.log(error); setLoading(false); } } else { setLoading(false); } } async function playAudio() { try { loadAudio(); const result = await sound.current.getStatusAsync(); console.log(result); if (result.isLoaded) { console.log("Play Audio"); await sound.current.playAsync(); // setPlayable(true); setIsPlaying(true); setActive(true); } sound.current.setOnPlaybackStatusUpdate((playbackStatus) => { if (playbackStatus.isPlaying) { setCurrentDuration(playbackStatus.positionMillis); setTotalDuration(playbackStatus.durationMillis); } if (playbackStatus.didJustFinish) { setIsPlaying(false); setActive(false); setCurrentDuration(0); sound.current.unloadAsync(); loadAudio(); } }); } catch (error) { console.log("Cannot Play Audio"); } } async function pauseAudio() { try { const result = await sound.current.getStatusAsync(); if (result.isLoaded) { if (result.isPlaying === true) { console.log("Pause Audio"); sound.current.pauseAsync(); setIsPlaying(false); setActive(false); } } } catch (error) { console.log("Cannot Pause Audio"); } } return (           {msToTime(currentDuration)} / {msToTime(totalDuration)}    ); };

Also, anyone has ideas on how I can modify the function playAudio( ) as I feel strange that the loadAudio has to appear twice (The purpose of that is to make the playback to go back to time =0 after direct finished playing).
Thanks in advance!

I never thought much about the dark web. To me, it was just a spooky corner of the internet, filled with urban legends and exaggerated tales. But last month, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to explore.
I had always been tech-savvy, so accessing the dark web was easier than I expected. I found forums, marketplaces, and bizarre sites that looked like something straight out of a horror movie. But one night, I stumbled upon something that still haunts me: a chat room called "The Abyss."
The description was cryptic: "Talk with those who truly see." Intrigued and a bit naive, I clicked the link and entered the chat. The interface was basic, just a black screen with a list of usernames on the side and a chat window in the center.
The usernames were strange—EbonShade, SoulSeeker, _WhisperingVoid_—and they immediately started messaging me.
EbonShade: Welcome, new traveler. What do you seek?
SoulSeeker: Knowledge? Power? Or perhaps, something darker?
I hesitated before typing, "Just curious. What is this place?"
WhisperingVoid: This is a place where truths are revealed. But beware, not all truths are meant to be known.
I felt a mix of excitement and unease. Before I could respond, a new message appeared.
EbonShade: Would you like to see something truly enlightening?
My heart raced as I typed, "Yes."
A link appeared in the chat, ominously labeled "Enter the Abyss." Against my better judgment, I clicked it. My screen went black, then filled with a montage of disturbing images: old, decaying buildings, people performing strange rituals, faces twisted in terror. It was overwhelming, like a nightmare unfolding before my eyes.
When the images stopped, I found myself back in the chat room, but it was different. The usernames had changed to real names—David, Claire, Michael—and my webcam had turned on, displaying my own horrified face in the corner of the screen. Panic set in as I realized I couldn't close the window or turn off my computer.
David: Now you see. There's no turning back.
I frantically tried to unplug my computer, but the screen remained on, showing my terrified expression and the cold, emotionless faces of the others in the chat.
Claire: We know where you are.
My heart felt like it was going to explode. I grabbed my phone to call for help, but it wouldn't turn on. Suddenly, my screen flickered, and a new video feed appeared—my own apartment, seen from a perspective I didn't recognize. It was as if someone was inside, watching me.
Michael: You invited us in. Now we are everywhere.
In a frenzy, I ran to my front door and threw it open, only to be met with the empty hallway of my apartment building. No one was there. I checked every room, every closet, but I was alone.
When I returned to my computer, the chat room was gone. My screen was back to my desktop, as if nothing had happened. But I knew better. My phone buzzed, and I saw a notification for a new email from an unknown sender.
Subject: Welcome to the Abyss
Body: We are always watching.
I haven't been the same since that night. I moved to a new city, changed my name, even got a new job, but the feeling of being watched never leaves me. Sometimes, I'll catch a glimpse of a shadow in the corner of my eye, or hear a whisper when I'm alone.
One night, about a week after I moved, I woke up to the sound of my computer booting up. I had left it off, but there it was, the screen glowing in the darkness. The chat room was back, but now, the names were different: John, Emily, _Sarah_—all people I had known in my life, all who had passed away.
John: Why did you leave us?
Emily: You can never escape.
Sarah: We are part of you now.
I unplugged the computer, but the screen stayed on, showing their faces, twisted in agony and anger. I screamed and threw the computer out of my window, watching it shatter on the pavement below. The screen finally went dark, but the terror remained.
I replaced my computer, thinking it would end the nightmare. But then, the texts started. Unknown numbers, always the same message: "We are watching."
I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. I see them everywhere now, in reflections, in crowds, in my dreams. If you ever find a chat room on the dark web called "The Abyss," don't enter it. Some doors, once opened, can never be closed.
One evening, as I was walking home from work, I felt someone watching me. I turned around, but no one was there. Quickening my pace, I hurried to my apartment. When I entered, my phone buzzed. Another unknown number.
Text: We are here.
The lights flickered, and the temperature dropped. My breath came out in visible puffs. I grabbed a knife from the kitchen, my hands trembling. As I backed into the living room, the shadows seemed to move, coalesce, forming shapes that were almost human.
I don't know if it was a hallucination or something worse, but I heard their voices, whispering my name, promising I would never be alone again. I dropped the knife and ran to my bedroom, locking the door behind me. The whispers grew louder, more insistent.
Desperation set in. I decided to document my experience, to warn others. I started typing out this story, but the words are running out. The whispers are too loud now. I can't think. They're here, with me, in the room.
If you ever find this post, heed my warning. Do not go looking for "The Abyss." It will find you, and once it does, there is no escape.

So, I had a really emotionally abusive roommate who I had to leave in the very end of April. For reasons I won't get into here, I had to go into emergency housing because of her and completely uproot my entire side of the room at the end of the semester.
She would take her anger out on me frequently, even if I wasn't the cause of her anger. If something made her mad, she would yell at me and make the atmosphere of the room really uncomfortable. She would also say really nasty things to me if I did something she didn't like, too. For example, I unfollowed an old mutual friend of ours because they weren't treating me well and told her for transparency. She got quiet and then said "I get it, but you're really fucking stupid" and then later told me that I caused her to shut down because I "tore apart the only friends she has and she really needs support." Then after acting out like that, she would lovebomb me and tell me how she's so grateful for me, she's such a terrible friend and yet I've stuck beside her, she loves me, I'm the best friend she's ever had, stuff like that. She would also randomly buy things for me, even when I asked her not to. She wouldn't allow me to do things on my own or with other people, like dinner or other plans. The only thing she wouldn't get mad at me for going to were my classes. Her possessiveness was really bad, especially when I was with my boyfriend. She would yell at him and say "Back off! appastoebeans is MINE!! She's MY girlfriend!" I also had to file a Title IX against her, too. So, you can see why I had to leave.
Before I left, I had blocked her on absolutely everything so that she couldn't message me because she could be pretty caustic and guilt trippy over text. I was afraid of the things she would say to me and I was afraid that I'd fall for whatever she would say, so I blocked. I spent the night before I moved out somewhere else and then went to my old room to quickly move out while she was in class. Since I had her blocked, she wrote me a letter. At first, it didn't bother me but now, her words are kind of seeping in. I threw out the letter the day I moved out but I still remember a lot of what was written. She said stuff like "I don't know why you blocked me on everything because I have done nothing wrong. I'm really hurt and confused right now. Did you ever care about me at all? Was I that easy to throw away? Did almost 2 years of friendship mean anything to you at all? I don't think I can accept any kind of apology from you. Let's just be civil to each other since finals are near." I can't help but feel terribly guilty now. Especially because she thought I was coming back and apologizing. She also had a major meltdown upon seeing I moved out, publicly posted about her anger towards me online, and then tried to ask people to tell her where I was staying.
Her words just keep repeating themselves in my head and I keep feeling like a terrible person. I also keep having thoughts like, "I threw her away. I threw 2 years of friendship away. She was so confused. I hurt her. I made her panic. I ruined the friendship, not her. It all falls on me." It's just hard. It's really, really hard. If you read all of this, thank you.

I’ve been with my boyfriend (28f) for almost eight months. He’s a little rough around the edges, and a habitual glitter snorter, but other than that, he’s been an absolute gem.
A week into dating, he’d told me he wasn’t talking to anyone else, and we decided to be exclusive. We’ve both been cheated on in the past, and agree that cheating is the most damaging thing you can do in a relationship.
I’ve spent our whole relationship trusting my boyfriend. Sure, he’s tattooed and rides a Harley, but every girl I’ve met while out and about (with or without him) has said he’s mentioned me and how beautiful I am. His Harley ride night mom has even taken his phone while they’re out and he’s called me just to tell me that he’s telling waitresses about me, and when he’s gone to visit her at girl nights cuz she’s forgotten something, upon being forced to do a tarot reading about his future, he only wanted to put me in the running as a future wife. With all this in mind, I felt extremely secure.
My boyfriend got a job up north, and when he was away, he would call me every day and say good morning too. When he was back in town, he would spend every day with me. His roommate (31m) would take care of me while my boyfriend was away. They’ve known each other for over ten years and my boyfriend trusts that I only have eyes for him and vice versa.
This roommate, however, was going after my boyfriend’s ex (23f) for a while, even after my boyfriend made it clear he was uncomfortable about this cuz his ex is “unstable.”
This ex messaged me and is now claiming that three or so months ago, right when my boyfriend officially asked me to be his girlfriend his first rotation back from up north, the two of them slept together. There’s no actual proof, via screenshots of texts or calls, as my boyfriend blocked her. However, his roommate (who is friends with this ex) is backing all of it up and saying it’s true and that my boyfriend cheated on me.
When I first heard this, I confronted my boyfriend, and he told me it never happened. I feel like I’m going crazy, as I’ve spent eight months trusting my boyfriend AND his roommate so completely. But the more I look at it, the harder it is to figure out who to trust.
My boyfriend denies the cheating, and he has been so consistent and faithful to me since the day I met him.
His roommate says it happened but all of his information comes from the ex. The day he claims my boyfriend cheated is weird too because it means he would have only really had a couple hour period to go do it, and I don’t remember anything being off that day. As well, the roommate says my boyfriend fessed to it but at the time they were snorting glitter and he doesn’t remember any exact details, so how reliable is that? On top of things, the roommate invited the ex over to their apartment while my boyfriend was up north, went into my boyfriends bedroom, snorted $200 of my boyfriends glitter, and offered to let the ex sleep in my boyfriends bed, which is extremely disrespectful to me and my boyfriend.
I don’t know who to believe. It doesn’t help that my best friend has pointed out the roommate might be into me, so that’s an extra layer of ulterior motive.
The final plot thickener is that the ex is with a new man. I don’t know much about him, but when she reached out to me about the cheating, she admitted to cheating on her boyfriend with mine. I could always message this new man, and if he confirms it, then that would make this undoubtably real? But does reaching out to my boyfriend’s ex’s new boyfriend about cheating make me look crazy?
In my experience, it’s best to trust the woman, especially if she’s incriminating herself as a cheater by telling me my boyfriend cheated, however my boyfriend has never done anything to show he’d do something like this. He’s been so faithful and wonderful. He would have practically had to be superman to make the cheating happen since he was with me almost the entire week he supposedly went and slept with her. His roommate’s confirmation of the cheating is glitter snorting riddled and entirely based on heresay from the bereaved ex.
What do I do? Who would you believe?

This’ll be a rather mundane vent on a non-dramatic breakup. I’m posting this as a method of self reflection to help cope.
I (40sM) dated her (40sF) for about six months exclusively, and I suppose this is around the time most relationships either progress or fizzle. Truth be told, I haven’t been thrilled with the relationship for the last few months, so this is likely a blessing in disguise. Still, it hurts.
We met on Bumble, she reached out first, and we had a six hour date the next day. We had a lot of differences - I have no kids (she’s a single mom of 2), I’m into fitness/martial arts (she walks and gardens), I’m a nerd/gamereadetech geek (she’s not any of those things). But we were both introverts, and we laughed a lot together. Since that first date, we were exclusive and spent a lot of time together. I loved her wit, she loved animals, and things seemed really fun at first.
The struggles began early. Even though I appear rather “masculine” (muscly, tattooed, ex Marine)…I’m actually quite sensitive. If you’re into MBTI, I’m an INFJ - A. She is quite clear in telling people that she’s insensitive, doesn’t have time for feelings, and can’t process her own. This should’ve been the first red flag where I cut and run. But I didn’t. I figured we’d talk through any issues that came up. I’ve been through therapy, have read self improvement/relationship counseling books, and I’ve done a lot of self work. She was very clear about the importance of stating issues and concerns clearly, and I like that.
Our relationship followed that standard, typical template of mismatched temperaments - things were great until a conflict. She’d do something insensitive, I’d get hurt, I’d try to talk it out, and she’d get explosively, angrily defensive - and completely unaware (or uncaring) of how that’d impact me. Sometimes it’d happen right away, other times we’d appear to have a calm discussion…only for me to get lashed out at the next day after she’d had time to think. She was blindly focused on being “right”, instead of understanding or compromise. Another red flag.
I wasn’t blameless - I can be overly sensitive, as she liked to tell me, and I enjoy semi frequent communication in between visits. We’d see each other on the weekends, and I wanted to stay connected during the week with texts. She felt put off by that, and would go a day or so without responding. When I brought it up, she’d get angry and say “I just don’t miss you that much during the week - I’m independent and I don’t need consistent communication”. Again, another clear sign of incompatibility. I need to pay attention to these things.
She felt smothered, I felt disconnected. So I pulled back, texted less, and kept my feelings to myself. I supported her through some big changes, and kept quiet about my own wants. Things went GREAT when I did that, as you can imagine. I tried to just focus on enjoying our time together, while pulling myself back when apart. I thought it might be good for me.
I should mention the dynamic of our relationship at this point. It was sorta…one-sided. She left the “honeymoon period” quicker than I did, and I became the driver for things. I also paid for most dates, cooked meals for her, drove her around (because she drove her kids all week)…she enjoyed me “taking care of her”. She introduced me to her friends (at her request), I’d help her with gardening and home projects, and I even helped her with work problems. Our conversations were primarily her venting and complaining. We live apart, and we spent weekends at her place because it’s bigger, has her dog, and it’s more private. My place is smaller, I have cats, and a roommate. I didn’t mind this arrangement - I enjoyed her company, she was affectionate, and we laughed a lot.
She never showed much of an interest in my things, to the point of “yeah, I hate gaming/am not a readethat’s kid stuff”. We did binge GoT, which I appreciated. She never expressed interest in my friends, who are also nerdy gamer friends. She’d offer to meet them if I wanted, but I never pushed it because she didn’t seem enthusiastic. I figured if she wanted to meet my friends, or stay at my place, she’d ask. Because she was always clear about “just say what you want”.
I’m sad, so I’m painting a one-sided picture here. I should note the fun times we had. We went to Vegas for a weekend, did E, and had a great time. I took her house sitting to my family’s beautiful coastal home, and we visited some of my childhood haunts and botanical gardens (she’s a plant fanatic). We took the train to a beach town, and spent a long weekend smoking pot and eating. We hiked, we took a lot of walks, we’d get stoned and watch laser shows. We’d wear pajamas, smoke pot, and binge tv while cooking stupid food.
She also has a lot of lovely characteristics. She’s hilarious and witty, she’s really intelligent about her hobbies/work, she’s very devoted to her friends and family, and she’s beautiful. She’d be considerate in small ways - picking up things at the store, etc. She also had a really busy life - two teens, a full time job, and a tight social/family circle. I never distrusted her, never worried about cheating or any of that stuff. She wasn’t physically affectionate, but would try to be because it’s important to me. She’d compliment me and say nice things.
She wasn’t a bad partner, and neither was I. But months of me keeping quiet about my feelings, recognizing her waning enthusiasm, and feeling dissatisfied in the relationship came to a head this weekend. I had some weird, confusing feelings about feeling taken advantage of, or at least putting in more effort than her - I wanted to process it more, but she wanted to talk. We had, what I thought, was a calm and open discussion. I never said that I don’t appreciate her, and I thought I reassured her. It seemed fine, I left, texting was fine.
Next morning she called me and dumped me. She pointed out all the things she done “for me”, like introducing me to her friends (I never asked for that, and I was generally excluded/ignored at gatherings), including me in her gardening (I don’t care about gardening, I took an interest to connect with her), spending weekends together (I also spent MY weekends with her, at her place, because she was more comfortable there). She got quite mad at the idea of me paying for things and driving, stating “I’ve never paid for any of my meals on a date”. She claimed I never let her into my life, introduced her to my friends, etc. She felt unappreciated, and like I was going to keep score.
I was shocked at her anger. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and if all these things were on her mind…why didn’t she communicate them? Had she asked, i would’ve scheduled a friend meet that week! I would’ve told her not to bother introducing me to her friends if she viewed it as a “favor” to me. Hell, any grievance she communicated in the past was dealt with immediately and decisively by me…so she knows I don’t fuck around.
She said she was done, I didn’t want to end things in an ugly manner so I told her I loved her, she’s a beautiful person, and I hope she finds what she wants. I sent a final text apologizing for any hurt, and other kind things. She sent a LONG, dumping text basically shitting on me. I sent another kind “I’m sorry for any hurt I caused, you’re a wonderful person, I wish you well”. Then I blocked her.
It’s like a gut punch. I know I could’ve handled things better, and she definitely could’ve. It’s clear that she wanted a low maintenance partner, and I wanted a reciprocal equal partner. She needs to do some work on her temper and conflict issues, and I need to be more discerning and aware of red flags early.
Thank you for reading, it helps to write this all down.

I had a wonderful childhood. I couldn't have asked for a better one. My parents, brother, family, ... so much love in my life.
As I got older, I started to become exposed to the harsh realities of life. The people closest to me and the ones I loved the most started to get sick and pass away. I lost my dog. Life wasnt the same. And later, was diagnosed with Crohns which had a massive impact on my life and self confidence. I felt like a lab rat.. so many tests, doctor visits, medicine, diets, needles, ... eventually extensive surgery.
Luckily, after years of torture, I made it out ok. I started to build back my confidence, and was optimistic about the future. Before I knew it, I met the love of my life. I felt so extremely lucky to have you in my life. It felt like a dream. I felt that after all that pain and loss, I had finally had something good happen to me.
As time we on, we became best friends. You confessed your love to me, said I was different than all the rest, and you saw a future with me. You expressed how special I was to you. I felt the same way.
We met eachothers families, who became so close with eachother. I truly loved your family, they felt like home. My family loved you so much... my parents loved you like a daughter, and I knew you loved them too. We had everyone's support and love. We were the golden couple. We grew and experiences so much together. Bought our first house, saw the world, new jobs, school, ... Everyone was so proud of us, and we were proud of eachother.
Somewhere along the way, you started seeking outside the relationship for attention. I knew you were very social, so at first, I was happy to see you making friends. I knew you had a difficult childhood and past, and didn't have many good friends, so I was very supportive and encouraged you to do things with your friends.
We were inseparable. Always going things together, planning trips, going on adventures. Everything was easy. We enjoyed eachothers company so much. We made eachother laugh, feel loved, and safe. We were so comfortable and open, goofy with eachother, and always so intimate.
We shared a lot of the same hobbies: plants/garden, camping, trails, video games, movies, travel, outdoors, relaxing at home, ... it didn't seem to matter what we were doing, we were happy together.
I loved making you smile and laugh. I loved seeing you happy doing what you loved, or eating a meal I'd prepare for you.
I always wanted you to have the best. Since you were in school, I provided for you. Food, toys, restaurants, trips, ... whatever you wanted. I wanted to give you the world. It felt so good to make you happy.
You would tease me and hint towards wanting to get engaged. After 3 years, it happened. We were so happy, and you were so excited and happy to share the big news. We started planning our wedding, moved into a bigger house, new jobs, everything felt good.
I never expected to love someone so much. This young woman brought so much love, happiness, and adventure into my life. She completed changed everything. Everything was so easy.. effortless.. felt right.
When we moved into your dream home, things became more stressful. The house needed a lot of work, as well as the property. Regardless, we were willing and eager to tackle projects together and were excited to make things our own.
As time went on, and school/work seemed to become more stressful for you, I was left finishing a lot of our projects and maintaining them by myself. I also stepped up and started trying to take on more of the chores and responsibilities so that you could focus on school/work and still have time to relax. I was happy to help give you some relief.
After a few months, your brother asked to be our roommate for a time. I was hesitant, but you encouraged me that it would be a good thing. He would pay and help around the house. At first, it was nice. However, as time we on, it became more and more stressful.
The stress of doing everything and having a roommate that didn't mesh well with us overwhelmed me. I knew it was temporary, so I endured it.
One day, you came home from your new job and expressed what a good day you had.. that you had the chance to work with a different doctor, and that he was very fun and nice. I was so happy to hear it, since I knew you hadn't been having good days and people had been difficult. I was glad you seemed to have a mentor.
You started to have more good days than bad, working with this person more and more. You started talking to me about them more, sharing things you learned and talked with him about. As time went on, I started to feel a bit jealous. You had been spending more time with this person than me... your shifts were long, and I hadn't been seeing you as much. You started even talking to our parents about this person.
I started to notice you texting him while we were at home together. I'd ask, and you'd happily share whatever it was you guys were talking about. One evening, you were texting this doctor late at night. I approached you about this, and expressed how it was making me feel. I felt that it had started to become too much, and wasn't appropriate. I didn't like the idea of this older married man communicating with my young fiance so much. I expressed that I was happy that you had a friend at work, but felt that it was becoming too personal and inappropriate. You tried to reassure me that you were just friends, and that he was old and married, you would never be attracted to him. I stood firm and expressed that I would like for you to only communicate while at work, or for work related matters. You agreed and assured me it was nothing.
As time went on, I noticed you would sometimes hide your phone, turn it away, flip it upside down, or turn it off as I walked by. At first, I thought it was just me being paranoid. But as time went on, it started to mess with my head... otherwise, everything was good, so I told myself it was nothing. You started to enjoy that type of work and decided to join his practice. I was happy you were able to make up your mind and find something you enjoyed. Time went on. At some point, you needed an invasive procedure done... and you requested that doctor complete it. I didn't love the idea, but you preferred to have someone do it that you trusted. After that, the doctor seemed to be a thing of the past.
As the wedding date approached, the excitement increased. We had everything planned out and we were so excited for our big day. I saw how happy you were throughout the whole process. I couldn't believe our big day was right around the corner.
Our wedding was like a dream. Everything came together so nicely. We had the best night of our lives. I loved seeing you so happy with our friends and family there to celebrate with us. We went on a wonderful honeymoon and I felt so loved and appreciated.
Once we returned home, our roommate left, and stress started to decrease dramatically in the house. I was so relieved. You finished school, graduated, and I threw you a big surprise party to celebrate. I had always put together parties for all your special occasions, and I knew you really appreciated that. After so many nights helping you study, it felt wonderful to see you walk across that stage and finally finish.
You shortly after moved to a different hospital, and seemed to really like your new job and everyone there. Life was so good...
The house and our list of responsibilities and all the maintenance was still a lot, but I felt we were quickly starting to knock things off our list.
One week, you started working a lot... I hardly saw you that week. We'd always text and check in, saying we loved eachother, missed eachother, and looked forward to seeing eachother. When the weekend finally arrived, you had mentioned your best friend invited you to join her for girl time. I realized you hadn't seen her much lately and encouraged it.
That weekend, my grandmother had been struggling. I felt alone in our big house and had wished you were there. We checked in on eachother while you were gone. I was expecting you to return one evening, so I had dinner prepared. I was hurt when you didn't arrive and decided to stay another night with your friend.
When I saw you the next morning, I was feeling pretty down. I was already sad about my grandmother, but also felt like an after thought that week. You were so happy to see me, which was nice. We had a nice evening, spent time together, .. you never stopped telling me you loved me.
The next day after work, I got home, and you seemed so cold and distant. You seemed bothered by something. I checked in, asked if you needed anything, then went about my day. It seemed like you wanted space. I checked in every few hours, and you were busy doing something on your laptop.
I prepared dinner and started watching TV. I encouraged you to take a break, eat, and relax some before bed. You joined me on the couch, but was quiet and explained that you had some work to finish.
As it got late, I went up to bed. You explained you'd be up a little longer while you finished your work. As the hours went by, I thought it was so odd that you weren't in bed yet. I knew you had to get up early... sleep was always such a priority. I got up to check on you and to get some water. You were still on your laptop.. I noticed you were looking at rooms to something. I encouraged you to get some sleep. You joined me, looking exhausted.
We cuddled, said we loved eachother, then fell asleep. The next morning, I finished getting ready for work while you slept. As I was getting ready to leave, I sae your laptop. I decided to check and see what you were looking at... another air bnb for a trip? I was curious. We shared the laptop, so I didn't feel like I was invading her privacy.
I opened the laptop and saw apartments. I was so confused. I checker her email.. apartments. I noticed she had Facebook messenger up with recent messages. I checked... my world turned upside down. Those seconds felt like eternity as my heart sounded and my stomach sank. I read a message to a friend saying she wanted a divorce, never loved me, felt like a stranger in her house, dreaded coming home to me, ... that she loved a doctor.. he's married, but his wife is a lesbian. That was easily the worst moment of my life. I panicked and didn't know what to do... I was in shock. After a few minutes, I decided to address this with you.
I quietly walked up the stairs, sat on the edge of the bed, and calmly woke you up. You were sleepy, asking why I woke up.. you still had about 30m before work. I apologized for waking you.. As I looked at you silently, I started to cry. I quietly said "I know...". "I saw the messages". She looked back at me in shock.. eyes wide in the dark. I asked if she had been having an affair. She said no.. then started to look at me as if I wad a stranger. It was a terrible feeling.
You got up to get ready for work, and said we'd talk later that evening. You left. I was standing in the driveway and felt sick. I wasn't sure if I could make it to work.. but being at the house was making me feel worse, so I left. I didn't eat anything that while day. While at work, I prepared myself for our talk.
When we both got home, you pulled up to the house and started to pack some things while I sat on the couch. When you finally joined me, you were quiet.. asked about my day, I asked about yours.. then more silence. I asked what you needed from me. You explained that you were feeling very anxious, and didn't want me to get upset. You said you were going to stay with a friend for a few days to clear your head and wanted to talk once we were both rested.
You left for almost a week while I stayed in our big empty house, taking care of our pets, and completely confused and dead inside. I hardly ate or slept. I desperately started reading and watching whatever information I could find to help explain what was happening and to prepare myself. I spent most of my time thinking, reflecting on our life. I started tonrealize how stressed I had been... and thought about all the things I should/could have done differently. I knew I treated her so well, but no one is perfect.
Looking back, I started to think about all the red flags. Love is blind. I truly loved, trusted, and cared for this person more than anyone in the world. I thought she felt the same way... I never imagined us seperating.
I started to think of that doctor she used to talk about.. and realized she probably never stopped talking to him. I started to realize that my wife had stopped opening up to me... was no longer emotional or vulnerable... her emotional? affair started to kill the emotional intimacy between us.
I was happy just to have her in my life and enjoyed just being with her... she never expressed or talked about being unhappy... if I had known, I feel certain that we could have fixed whatever was lacking. I would have met whichever needs werent being met.
Were you lonely while I was busy working hard for us? Was she bored? I would have happily planned more outings... whenever I suggested something, you expressed that you were tired or didn't show interest. I knew you enjoyed time alone, so I never felt bad doing my own thing. I figured you would tell me of you needed or felt something...
I was so confused... started to question what was real. When did this all start? Why? How? Terrible thoughts entered my mind... so many late shifts, staying the night at the hospital, leaving early to get the air bnbs ready, ...
I also realized that towards the end, you had suddenly started to listen to different music, got a nose piercing, tattoo, talked about signing up for a sport, working out, ... these were all things I knew you had wanted to do for awhile, but it was all so sudden.
Why didn't you ever communicate... I recall you expressing your concern with my stress, but nothing else. I felt that my stress was reasonable considering everything I was doing.. and knew it was temporary. I didn't ignore it though. I saw a therapist, and started making changes. Was it all too late?
When we finally spoke again, it was so nice to just see you. We sat and you were so friendly and sweet - it reassured me that everything was going to be ok. We made small talk and joked, which immediately lightened the mood. You suggested I spoke first. I expressed my feelings and how important the marriage was.. that I'd so anything to save it. I took responsibility for my side of things and expressed the changes I had made and would continue to make. When you started, you expressed that you would always cherish our time together, but we're set on divorce. That we both deserved to be truly happy. Shortly after, you left.
The days after, you started packing your things while I was at work. I was living in a big empty house, every day getting more and more empty. I was a complete mess living in hell. Her family started to reach out to me and shower me with support, apologies, and disbelief. No one could make sense of this.
After a week or so, I couldn't take it any more, so I moved to stay with my parents while we finished moving out. I attempted to stay cordile through all this. You seemed so unphased and happy... texting me and talking to me like we were still best friends.
You explained that you felt bad for saying you never loved me... that you did, but not in the way a wife should love their husband. That it could be years, but in the future, I could count on you.
As time went on, and the pain increased, I was more distant. You texted more and more. Finally, I suggested that we limit communication unless she was interested in working on our marriage.
As the days went by, you grew colder and irritated.. I started to feel like the bad guy. I know you started to feel the weight of your decisons, and starred to project onto me. Making me the bad guy made you feel better. I attempted to end things on a good note... being helpful throughout the move out process, but you were so cold. It hurt so much... 5 wonderful years tossed aside like it never mattered.
I havent talked to you in weeks... I miss my best friend, my love, your family, our pets, and the wonderful life we built. I'm left trying to pickup the pieces. I feel so lost, confused, broken, ...
The tremendous amount of support I've gotten from both sides has helped a lot. I'm seeing a therapist, reading a lot, eating more, working out, and focusing on my self. The days are getting better, but I still have days where I am a mess.
I havent been sleeping well... always tired. Waking up several times, terrible nightmares and thoughts of you being with another man... I still have believe you would be capable of all this.. of hurting me so much.
I have urges to reach out to you... wanting to fix this, that there must be a misunderstanding... there are so many things I'd like to say. I got complacent and comfortable during our time together. I stopped doing the little things as often as I used to... I never meant to hurt you, make you feel lonely, unloved, unappreciated, ... whatever it is you felt. It's difficult for me to accept that my sweet innocent wife was capable of this... surely there was a reason?? I was just so caught up in my list of things... I was working so hard for our future.
I feel like my wife was manipulated by this man... why does an older doctor (20 years older) have a lesbian wife? He doesn't love her like she seems to think... he is using her. I feel sorry for her... I know there is no future there.
I've done a lot of reading on Attachment Styles, Limerence, love addiction, and other things that come as a result of childhood trauma. I feel like a lot of this has to do with her trauma... but also her selfishness and emotional immaturity. There is nothing I can do. I just pray she figures things out on her own, finds longlasting happiness, and puts an end to this cycle.
I would love it if we were able to reconnect in the future... I still deeply love and care for her. I don't want our story to end... none of this feels right. My gut is screaming that this is all wrong. I just know we both need to work on ourselves for the time being.
One day I had it all, the next, it crashed down before my eyes. Meeting you was the best thing to happen to me... you leaving was the worst. You rushed out of my life so quickly... I wish things were different.

Hey everyone,
I'm currently someone (30M) who has always had folks by my side all my life as part of "my team," as my parents call it. A major reason for this outside support network is because I'm autistic, have ADHD-I, dysgraphia, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, PTSD (more on that later), and processing speed in the 3rd percentile. I did not learn I was autistic until I was 14 and always took medication for it and my ADHD-I. I also did not know I had ADHD-I until I was 24-25 because I was on my own for submitting the records of my disabilities to the graduate schools I've attended up until this point. As for my processing speed, I did not learn it was that low until this past August when I sought a DSM-V re-evaluation with my own money.
My mental health symptoms were so severe that, despite doing well academically in a suburban school district that was well funded through property taxes (I'm in the US so the education system here is messed up), I transitioned to a tiny high school that specifically accommodated disabled students. This school had no AP, honors courses, or foreign language courses offered at all. I enrolled in a rural undergraduate school because they gave me the best scholarship offer and my parents insisted on getting as many scholarships as I could (more on this towards the end of the post). Despite my university's reputation as the "stoner college" of northern Ohio, I got my butt handed to me academically and had a 3.1 GPA from that undergraduate and a 3.26 from all of my courses overall. Part of the reason was because I went for a BS, rather than a BA, in Psychology and didn't do well in the math courses with the exception of when I retook Calculus 2.
After my first year, I wanted to take a break from college, but I was forced to stay at the behest of my parents. They even hired a life coach who worked with me from a distance for all four years. As grateful as I am for that support, I realize it was the beginning of issues with becoming totally independent. Fast forward to graduation and I have one summer's worth of lab experience and a 3.5 PSY GPA to my name. I'm forced to take a gap year because I applied only to Ph.D programs (big mistake) and had low GRE scores.
So, how did I get into graduate school with my awful credentials? My parents hired a different coach who specialized in job applications and had a lot of connections. I was able to sell what little I had and get offers to 6/8 Master's programs I applied to in Experimental Psychology and had solid references that explicitly address that they thought I could do well despite my shortcomings. This coach taught me how to contact potential advisors and professors ahead of time and taught me the ins and outs of selling myself to get in.
My final Master's record upon graduation was a 3.48 GPA and I graduated a semester later. My final year of the Master's program, I reconsulted my old coach who helped me write my personal statement and get in contact with potential advisors again. I got two interviews and had one offer of admission to the current Ph.D program I'm in right now. This was despite my lackluster GPA (both undergrad and Master's) and not taking another 10 hours for an assistantship during my Master's program (no additional TAship or RAship in other words, even though everyone else in my program did something extra by their second year).
After I matriculated into the program, I got my Master's in December 2020 due to COVID delays and defending later than I had hoped in my case. I eventually had an ugly falling out with my first advisor due to a misunderstanding (I'll leave it at that since this background detail is already long), but thankfully passed my qualifier project still. I think the world of my current advisor, especially since he was the only one who took me when no one else would at all. I developed PTSD from the experience with my first advisor based on a neuropsychological evaluation I got back in August 2023. When I spoke to the original evaluator for my autism, she said that it was only likely that way because my stress management is characteristically poor and I have extremely low stress tolerance.
Fast forward to now and I recently turned 30 earlier this month. I am back with the old coach who helped me with my Master's and Ph.D applications once again and they're even helping me with "life stuff," getting through all of it and were immensely crucial for helping me get through the situation with my first Ph.D advisor.
I am thankful for the help I've received, but as the top of comment of a previous post alluded to in this instance, I have not learned to walk on my own.
In case this information is relevant, I have $53k in student loan debt principal. The undergraduate loans are eligible under Biden's SAVE plan and have their interest waived when payments are due since they're $0 at the moment. I have about $26k saved right now that I'm not going to put back toward my $24k of graduate loans until I know if I have income after this August.
I have student loan debt even though my father makes over $200k a year ever since I was around 10 years old and my mother makes anywhere between $60k-$80k a year. My parents do not have student loans since neither went to college. I also just learned that the coach billed my parents for around $680 each month over past two (highest ever). Even though its $100 per one hour session (thus leading me to think it was $200 a month since we meet twice a month). Turns out they charged for email and text communications with me even though those were encouraged. Should I feel guilty for not keeping track of the spending despite the agreement with my parents to help me on that? Given everything else mentioned earlier, should I feel guilty for "blowing through" these support systems? Folks love to tell me that someone who had half the resources I did taking my spot in graduate school instead could've gone further.
There is also something else I've been wondering ever since I learned their income levels. Other than the spending on me and my brothers, why would they be that insistent on me and my brothers taking out student loans? They said that they, my grandparents, and me would all pay for "a third" and part of that third on me and my brother's end was taking out student loans. I should also note that I went to a private high school for those with disabilities tuition free despite my parent's income as well because I got an autism scholarship from the state of Ohio that waived tuition.
Only other things I know that are finance related are the $350k in loans (not sure if this was principal or principal + interest) my father took out for his small business, which I know were paid off around my junior year of undergrad. Other than that, I don't know the mortgage of the house or anything else related to its value. I do know there's a mortgage in general though because one of my brothers asked if he paid for the house upfront and he said he did not at all and took out a loan. What else could be underlying their spending? I'm open to hearing others speculate.
Also, thank you for reading this super long post.

Am I wrong for soft ghosting one of my “friends”?
Wow, this one might me a long one.
So I moved to (undisclosed location) sometime in the beginning of last year. When I moved here I really had no friends but became heavily involved in this yoga studio I went to and slowly but surely started to make friends/acquaintances with the teacher that instructed me.
From afar she seemed super cool and I became pretty enthralled with her and her life. I would look forward so heavily to going to her classes every week and was quite intrigued by her. I thought she was funny, bubbly, spunky, cool, and always made jokes during class that made me laugh. As months went by I found myself wanting to get closer and closer to her, and she even invited me out one time to one of her “events” she was hosting. Here’s the thing;
It seemed like we had a lot in common and was just generally craving camaraderie and connection. I felt a sense of belonging with her and wanted to expand that energy in my life, and wanted to do anything I could to get closer to her for those reasons. But I guess this is where we have the first red flag;
One day after class, she extended an invitation to me to a meet up of sorts, (I’m being sparing with details just out of fear she might read this) and when she invited me it seemed like it was gonna be this big thing with lots of people invited, and just in general in talking to her it seemed as if she was very well connected and respected within her community, had lots of friends and connects, and I thought this was gonna be a huge thing that I was even lucky to be invited to. I was super stoked and exited about it.
However when the day of the event came, I was super tired and slow to getting up that morning. I figured I would just make my way over whenever I could since it seemed causal and like you could drop in whenever. I also figured there would be more than enough people that no one would really even notice my arrival or departure. (Plus, sometimes it’s chic to be fashionably late ;) ). Well…. I was most definitely wrong.
When I showed up I heard someone excitedly shout my name, which was her, and she waved me down to the “meet up”…. There was literally only one person there and it had been going on for 2+ hours. I was definitely a bit unnerved, but also didn’t want to be rude, and like I said I was just kind of happy to be there and be getting invited to things. But it was kinda like, damn…. Are these all the friends you have?
I had dressed up and looked cute but they were just kind of wearing whatever and I felt awkward and overdressed and also embarrassed now that I was even this late because it was clearly much more intimate than I expected and my arrival/absence was DEFINITELY felt. We had chatted a bit and that was cool but then I remember her confessing me that she had cried to her husband earlier that morning that she was scared nobody was going to show up and how thrilled she was that not only one, but TWO people had showed up and that it felt like she had friends. I wasn’t really sure what to say or make of that.
She also…. The whole time (and mind you, this is our first legitimate interaction out of yoga class) just kind of kept talking maniacally AT me, not to me, and was coming off almost even manic, and she had formed a white crust of spit around her mouth probably from talking so much that I couldn’t look away from. To say the least, I was a bit disturbed coming away from this interaction but I just kept telling myself that I was being too judgmental of her and to give it a chance and that maybe she was just hyper that day and that I had probably had unintentional embarrassing hygiene moments as well. So I keep going to class and that’s that.
There were several other red flag moments between this first interaction and the next one, mostly just her incredibly cringey social media presence that I genuinely almost couldn’t stand to see without feeling like I was withering away inside, but maybe I’ll save that for later. It’s almost like I couldn’t just see that the person I thought was so cool in class and the person I was seeing her be online and outside of class were the same people. But I digress.
She had actually ended up inviting me to go with her on one of her international yoga retreats, and I was actually very excited about this. I had very little time with her in between classes, and my attraction (but also repulsion) with her was growing stronger and I wanted to figure her out and see what she was really about and what the pull I was feeling towards her was about. Plus, I love travelling and just thought it would be fun.
I had a pretty good time, but we didn’t get to talk much, HOWEVER, I do remember this distinct point during the trip where it was myself, 2-3 other fiends I had made, her brother, and her “best friend” who had happened to be her brother’s Gf in a room together, talking. the brother, the best friend, and the other friend I made just all completely started talking shit about her and I was so confused.
I felt super hurt by this actually, bc I felt like I had a inexplicable bond with the teacher who had invited me, she was the reason we were all there in that beautiful place, and I just couldn’t understand why they were choosing to be so negative about someone I thought they had claimed (at least by title) to love. They would say things like “I can’t fucking stand your sister” (one of the friends I made to the brother) and everyone would just sigh and put their hands in their head and be like “I know…. I know. It’s a lot. She’s a lot”. And I didn’t have anything to add to the conversation because I was just so confused and I knew the girl would just be so upset if she heard them saying this. Anyway… that confusion stuck with me for a while after.
Fast forward maybe a month or two, I started hanging out with her more regularly myself outside of class. I would say this is when we became more “friends”. She would invite me to other teachers classes and we would talk a lot about our lives.
I learned how she felt about her close friend and family connections, and how she often felt hurt and betrayed by people close to her and how some of her friends were actually really shady. I just got a general sense of her feeling scapegoated and libeled against by ppl that got close to her and how she had walls up for that reason.
She also shared to me that most of her family was cut off, with the exception of her brother who she had recently rekindled a connection with, hence why he was on that trip. I felt very bad for her and wanted to be a source of comfort and support, and she would often comment on how she felt a sense of camaraderie with me since I also (LITERALLY) had no family and how we have to make our chosen family. This was a sweet sentiment, for sure, but I was still sussing out how I felt about her.
So one day, a mutual friend that had been on the trip with us was having a birthday party and I guess that she was invited to it, too. She sat down next to me and I was SUPER excited to see her as I was craving her energy and hadn’t seen her in some time. But then… idk. She had had a lot to drink. I’m fully aware that she’s kind of a quirky individual, and has a way of socializing which I can sometimes find a bit uncomfortable or even intense, (like the first meetup I spoke of) but this time it was even more and seemed to be heightened by the drinking.
Her husband was sitting on her other side and kept trying to interject and insinuate that maybe she was doing a bit much, but I think she was drunk enough to the point that she just found it funny and had no awareness of how she was coming off. There’s not even a way I can describe it really, but she just seemed a bit obsessive over me and kept making jokes that were literally not funny and seemed to have lost all ability to read the room. I also had noticed that she had only had TWO beers and was acting like this already which I found… really strange.
So at some point she goes to the bathroom, and I also get in line for the bathroom about 5 mins later. When I get up to the bathroom, she’s still in there, and there’s a line of about 2 or 3 people ahead of me. When she exits the bathroom she immediately spots me and rushes up to me and just starts… drunkenly spewing.
I can’t even remember what she was saying, but we were in a pretty high class establishment and I remember her gushing over me and was saying “I just want to let you know that I don’t really have friends or let people close to me in my circle but I just want to let you know that YOU are officially in my circle and you have earned friend status to me and I’ve let you in my circle…” or something like that. And I just kept thinking, who tf even says that??? I’m pretty sure the last time I checked that friendship is a two way street and it’s not just a title we bestow onto some “lucky” person and that’s that. Like girl… let ME decide if I want to be friends too first.
It was partially that, and also the way she was drunkenly spewing was so awkward and embarrassing bc I could tell all the other women in line were like who tf is this bitch and why is she saying all this weird stuff and like, does she even know you?? Lol. Just a very odd interaction which again, I kind of wrote off, but the unsettling feeling kind of just kept growing after that point.
Then, the time that I REALLY knew something was up came up about a month later, but there are still some key details of this story that are missing. Perhaps I will discuss them later.
SO. About a month later, she invited me last minute to this concert of sorts. When I got there, I was super excited to be there, the vibes were amazing and we were having so much fun. But she had definitely had a lot, A LOT to drink. I didn’t mind at first, because everyone there seemed severely under the influence, but she would just start randomly kind of lashing out at people in the crowd and she thought it was funny? She first loudly and audibly started making fun of some guys shoes in front of us, and was trying to laugh with me as if I would join in, but when his girl friend turned around and shot her a dirty look, she had the nerve to be self conscious and mad about it. She would loudly poke fun at other people in the crowd too, but not in a ha-ha way, just in a straight up mean and asshole way and I could not understand why she would even do that or why she thought that was funny.
Again, I kind of just awkwardly laughed and brushed it off. But when all was said and done and the concert was closing, she enthusiastically invited me back to go to her house and soak in her hot tub. I kept saying are you sure?? But she was like please, PLEASE come, we have weed, we’ll smoke you out and other things and I wanted to continue the vibes because it sounded fun. And then….. completely downhill.
I had arrived back at their place before she did, but as soon as I saw them go in I knocked. When I walked in, she was pale faced up on the floor, non verbal, pretty much motionless, and staring at the ceiling. I was like oh no… it seemed like she got a bit too much to drink. I waited patiently there for a few mins, unsure of what to do as I had just drove for 45 mins and I was still 25 mins in the opposite direction away from home.
I kind of just sat around, and hoped that she would sober up. I asked if she was drunk… she said no. She ran to her bathroom multiple times while her husband (a complete socially awkward case himself) tried to take care of her while she threw up. I asked her if she puked and she also said no. So I didn’t really know what to do. I was trying to offer support/ empathy but she just kept denying any claims of anything being amiss. Her husband left to pick up a pizza and I probably just should’ve left but I’m telling you I had no idea how to exit their house without making it weird or awkward. And I also was hungry. So I just stayed… and waited for the pizza.
What happened in those 20-30 mins, I don’t even know if I can fully explain. She just became… so FUCKING WEIRD. she clearly was embarrassed that I was seeing her drunk, and I think was trying to over compensate. But she just turned into an absolute freak show and I’ve never been more uncomfortable in my life.
She started hoola hooping in my face, and making these weird gremlin faces and noises at me, fell to the floor, rolled round on the floor while continuing to make the noises, convulsed on the floor, but tried to do it in a funny way, tried to make an interpretive dance for me… I’ve truly never experienced something so uncomfortable in my life. I probably do sound like an asshole, but I swear you would just have to be there to see how a) gross and b) weird and actually scary it was. I was genuinely frightened.
I’ve never seen anyone act like that and I didn’t want to make her more uncomfortable or weird by showing her how clearly uncomfortable I actually was. so I just sat there and tried to laugh. But it probably came off as more of a grimace. And for the record, this woman is 33. I am 26. It was just. Obscene.
And she’s tried to act like and say multiple times that she’s like my “big sister”. Now I’ve seen a lot of drunk behavior, but not this. I wolfed down my pizza, and so did she, and she started to get even more philosophical and weird on me, showing me songs and art which were quite frankly some of the worst things I’ve ever heard in my life, and I left as soon as I could.
I was so shaken and disturbed coming away from this, because like I said earlier, I thought she was a cool girl, but honestly her behavior and lack of control over herself completely terrified me. And it’s not like she was drinking liquor, it was just damn IPAs. And I just did not know what to do.
Some details I will try to add to this story, even though I know it’s monolithic at this point , is that 2 months prior to this she had gotten fired from the studio she worked at.
She had a mental breakdown during class because the manager was being mean to her, and he fired her on the spot. I remember being so angry with the owner, (honestly he IS a piece of shit human being) but I thought he was being sexist by calling her mentally unstable and I thought the way he handled things was unfair.
I went so far as to boycott the studio and completely remove myself from it in support of her and followed her to her new one. After the drunk #2 incident, I didn’t hang out with her very much, and only saw her during her class as I was locked into a certain number of classes I had paid for.
I remember her telling me that she had just started at ANOTHER studio, and got fired 3 days after on her birthday and she was talking about how unfair it was and how much of an asshole that new girl was for firing her… and I believed her. AGAIN.
I went so far as to block that girl on Instagram too, but deep down I kind of knew that she had probably just been fired bc let’s face it… as I was starting to discover, she WAS a lot. and the studio was in an upper class area , catered towards more upper echelon people, and I just don’t think she was fitting that image. I lent her an empathetic ear, because that’s all I would want in that situation.
But where she fucked up was sending me screenshot proof of the text exchange between her and that girl, thinking I would take her side, and later sending me screenshots of another conversation she had with the OTHER manager. She told me that this new girl fired her for bringing her husband to class. In my mind I was like, oh no, is she racist!?! Because her husband was black. But no, that’s not what I read at all.
It was the most reasonable, level headed response to someone ever, and laid out multiple offenses and reasons she didn’t want her at the studio. The reasons were honestly so embarrassing that I don’t know why she would send it to me and think I would side with her. She recently also sent me messages with the other boss and the last thing he says to her is “I hope you get help for your mental illness because whatever you have is serious and will impact all your relationships and business and things that you do”. And honestly I can now say in retrospect that those were the truest words ever spoken.
When I read these texts, I had a look back at my whole relationship with and how she would always paint everyone else to be the villain and how everyone is so mean to HER… and the whole time the common denominator was her. It was always her. And it made me rethink everything.
I’ve even had extensive conversations with some of the other people on her trip that were talking shit and couldn’t stand her and they all told me the same things. How it seemed like she was the coolest person ever and had her shit together and seemed like she was going places… but deep down she was just an absolute mess and pushed everyone away from her. And I no longer felt like I was going crazy.
But like I said, she formed a really close bond with me (I think from her perspective) and said she felt like my big sister and family, and shared all these stories about her feeling isolated and shut out by people, but now here I am, doing the exact same thing to her. Icing her out of my life. And I just wanna ask you guys…
Am the asshole?

I have been BFFs with this individual for 4 years, we met at work. We usually would talk every day for multiple hours. I've been there for her during her divorce, multiple toxic relationships, etc.
I've been depressed, so a month ago I decided to go on a huge social media/texting break for a month. I didn't tell my friend about this until the 2nd week into my break, which I feel bad about and apologized for. She liked the message and I thought all was well.
A couple days ago, on my birthday, she blocked me on all social media channels, including my BF. I only know this because my BF brought it up, and I went back on my social media to check. No warning or text message explaining her decision.
When I confronted her about it the next day, she said that she's blocking all her friends "for her head" and that "if I'm going to be mad about social media connects then she doesn't know what to do" and "she just doesn't care about social media" even though she posts more than me.
The last time I posted on Instagram was March 2023. The last time I posted on Facebook was 4+ months ago. I'm very confused why I got blocked and how that is hurting her head? It feels like an excuse but she keeps insisting that she is my friend, she just needs to block me and my BF right now.
Is this even a great excuse? I get deleting your own social media or muting someone, but she full-on blocked me. On all platforms. And my BF! I don't believe her, even though she has never given me a reason not to.
Also, it it selfish to admit I just don't want friends who block me? I feel bad for taking a social media break, especially bc she is going through a hard time in her life too. But blocking feels intense and almost a weird punishment. I'm bad with friends so I don't know.

Proof I was here. (As I stated in the first thread, I will not be disclosing this location to any of you. Took as neutral of a photo as I could. If you live here, MAYBE you'll recognize it. Take it for what it is, I guess.)
Link to part one.
Before we begin, let me start by saying WOW, simply because when I passed out last night, I was hovering around ~350 upvotes and had a steady trickle of interaction with people. I was doing my best to respond to the comments as they came in. Then, when I woke up this morning, ya'll...I had over 1500 messages in my inbox and the thread has fucktupled in upvotes, just overnight. I'm so sorry if I didn't respond to you...it was a fool's errand to try and get to everyone.
I also want to address specifically a small handful of you...the ones I was certain would show up in the comments to basically call me a liar or say my story was fabricated. Some of the reasons you gave were pretty telling. My favorite was when someone said something along the lines of "This is too well-written to be true." What a world we live in where clear dictation automatically disqualifies a recounting of events from being accurate. I'll admit that it read closer to a novel than anything else, but that's just how I dictate I guess.
Anyways, onto the update.
I arrived at the tire shop just a hair after 8:00am. There was one gentleman in line at the counter when I arrived, but he was already being assisted by one of the associates manning the register. I took a look around and peeked my head in the back office area where I knew John typically worked when he wasn't being pulled into a bay.
John wasn't there.
As I walked towards the sitting area, I happened to ask an employee who was walking by if he knew when John would be in today. He told me John usually arrives a bit before 9:00am when he worked mornings, so I should just chill for a bit. I didn't have anything pressing to attend to today, so I did just that.
As I moved towards a seat, I happened to glance outside at the working bays and noticed my ol' buddy Eric, who was currently walking towards the main building. When he saw me, I watched as his head drooped down and I could visibly see him mutter the word "Fuck" under his breath. He stopped for just a second, shook his head, and continued walking towards the building.
When he came inside, he set a packet with what I presume was a customer order on the counter and said something to the clerk at the register. He hesitated for a moment and walked over to where I was sitting. As he approached, I greeted him with "Morning, Eric." and smiled. He just stood over me for a moment before he took a chair across the coffee table that was sitting in front of me.
Wonder what his next move was?
Honestly, I didn't expect it, but the dude opened with "I owe you an apology."
Color me shocked, I guess.
Now, you see...at this point about a billion things began to run around in my head. MOSTLY, for some reason, the things that ran most prominently through my mind were all the calls for bloodshed that popped up in the last thread. All the claims that Boomers can never learn and the only language they knew was bullying, which were thrown at me like mortars practically every step I took. Ya'll were bloodthristy last night and still were this morning, convinced that this gentleman was a drunkard asshat, but do drunk asshats apologize after doing something wrong?
Back to the story.
He continued on, saying that he didn't just owe ME an apology, but also the cashier he yelled at last night, and how he had actually planned on returning to Walmart on his lunch break to see if she was working so he could apologize to her as well. In his words "I've been dealing with a lot of personal shit in my life recently including the loss of a loved one, and I took that out on ya'll last night and it wasn't right."
Right about this time is when I noticed that John had arrived. He walked in through the door behind where Eric and I were sitting and walked straight into the back area I checked before. We will get to that later.
Guys, I honestly had no idea what to do. On one hand yes, this dude was a raging douchebag to that girl last night, but this felt genuine. I mentioned several times in the first thread that I didn't want to react hastily and this is exactly why. Had I gone in there and thrown a colossal fit and started a shitstorm, I don't know if this would have ended the same.
Anyways, I don't wish to grandstand things further. The guy apologized, I stood up and shook his hand, and I simply told him "Be good to people for no reason, man. Kindness is free and isn't a sign of weakness." We chatted a bit and had a bit of a revelation that Eric and I have a distant connection neither of us really knew about. I won't disclose what or how we knew each other for personal reasons.
Then John came out of the back office.
He recognized me and gave me a hug. Asked what I was in for. I basically told him that I ran into Eric at the store last night and wanted to check in on him and get an update on an issue he was having there.
That's when John said "Yeah, Eric I need to talk to you about that. I had a lady call me about something that happened at Walmart you were involved in."
Oh shit. I'm guessing either the manager or the cashier called John after what happened last night. I guess the ball isn't in my court any longer.
Eric gave a deep sigh and basically told John "I was a shithead to a cashier last night because I was in a hurry. I wasn't thinking and it wasn't right. I'm gonna make it right at lunch time. I hope she's working today." John then said something I didn't catch and him and Eric walked into the back room.
That's it. End of story. I took a scrap from a notebook, jotted down my "proof" and snapped a photo, then jumped in my car and left.
I certainly hope that this brings you guys whatever closure you were looking for. I'm certain some of you aren't going to be happy with how this turned out, given how many pitchforks I saw last night. But after all this, all I can say is to not be so hasty when jumping to conclusions. People are people, ya'll. You can't really be sure what someone is going through before you jump to judgment. Some folks don't know how to ask for forgiveness or don't know how to take responsibility for their actions, but some folks can. I'm glad this resolved itself the way it did. John knows what happened and knows that it happened with his business on full display, so he can now CHOOSE how HE reacts with that information. I got the closure I needed, and I hope the cashier does too. Time will tell in that regard, I suppose.
Be good to each other.
EDIT: I'm present in the comments, trying to interact with as many of you as I can. But comments are coming in so fast I can't keep up. Sorry!

Ever-shifting Short Seller Claims

The short sellers attacking RILY in 2023-2024 have been relentless, with an ever-shifting list of wild accusations.
It's sickening to watch them compile a never-ending list of baseless wild theories and claims to support their short positions, which are demonstrably false. But as each is proved false, they pivot to new claims, and/or change the goalposts.
The sheer volume of shifting claims makes it hard to track how despotic they are with their "platform," and how many falsehoods they've spun. Even for someone who watched it in real-time, for almost a year

Compiled & Debunked

Sunlight kills vampires. To that end, I've compiled a list of (i) claimants (ii) claims (iii) reality (iv) definitive source proving reality.

Why Did They Target RILY?

One of the most vocal short sellers, Nate Koppikar (who also introduced Marc Cohodes to the "opportunity") has a fund Orso Partners. Based on their SEC registration document, this is their investment thesis:
"The Account’s investment objectives are to achieve capital appreciation primarily by identifying and selling short marketable equity securities of underfollowed and complex companies with misleading or corrective disclosures through a research-intensive process. The Account employs a short-biased investment strategy with an emphasis on primarily small to mid-cap companies that are underfollowed and complex (i.e., companies with market capitalizations of less than $5 billion which the market does not yet have a wellformed bull and/or bear perspective)."
RILY fits their description. The icing on the cake was the relatively large market cap, and the relatively small float. Given extremely high insider ownership (32.9% of shares per the proxy), and limitations on when and how insiders can trade, the "free float" of the stock (i.e., the shares that regularly trade) is very small for the size of the company. Moreover, the setup would only get better - given insiders have consistently used their free cash to buy additional shares hand-over-fist (further reducing the float).
That meant, with relatively small amounts of capital, the short sellers could shove around the stock price. That ability to move price opens another profit avenue - taking large derivative positions (buying puts, and selling calls), and shoving the price (or allowing it to drift up) to profit all along the way. It looked so good, the stock has been the highest-shorted on the US indices for several months. Even after the release of the 10-K, shares remain "hard to borrow" with elevated borrow fees.

Debunked Claims

The claims made by vocal short sellers could fill a book. Most were outrageous and fanciful when they were proposed. Virtually all have objectively debunked. This isn't a comprehensive list, as their claims are too numerous and varied. But it paints an illuminating picture.
With a track record this poor, one would expect the short sellers to exit - rather than continuing to spin new narratives. Perhaps the continued attacks are their exit strategy to avoid bankruptcy... Well, #Bullish.
With the highest short interest of all US stocks (albeit likely decreased from the highs of ~76% of the float), I think this is more than ripe for a return to fair value - or well above, if a short squeeze occurs.
Note that the list below deliberately excludes three types of posts/claims from the short sellers:
A) Juvenile personal attacks and attempts to character assassinate and dox a long list of people (RILY CEO, RILY new hires, RILY clients, Marcum the auditor, Marcum's lead audit professional, any firm or individual publicly posting a bull thesis on RILY, etc.).
B) Those that make no objective claims, but simply exist as a product of malicious degeneracy (like pictures of roasted pigs in ovens labeled Bryant Riley the CEO, photoshopped pictures of the CEO in prison chains next to convicted felons, video of an obese woman barely able to walk being gored by a bull labeled Mrs. Riley the CEO's wife, etc.).
C) Those that are impossible for short sellers to know, and impossible to objectively verify (e.g., Marc Cohodes claiming a single RILY trader front runs the CEOs personal short trades in front of clients taking following the firm's bullish advice on those stocks, to guarantee profits).

Claimant	Claim	Reality
1) Wolfpack	Wolfpack “RILY will record investment losses of up to ~$700 million in 2023” FALSE 10-K	FALSE
2) Wolfpack	“new loan to CORZQ will work out just as badly as the last and end in default (again) before June 2023”	FALSE Repaid in full, early, on 1/6/2024.
3) Wolfpack	“The coupon rate on RILY’s seven issues of baby bonds ranges from 5% to 6.75%, which we believe to be far too low to compensate investors for the existential risk that accompanies these securities.”	FALSE Full redemption of May 2024 came early. Far more than sufficient cash to cover debt payments.
4) Wolfpack	“According to our analysis, 4 of RILY’s largest 7 corporate borrowers with outstanding loan balances of $295.3 million are at a high risk of default, or in the case of CORZQ, is already in default.”	FALSE a. Core Scientific Inc. repaid early and in full ($111MM of the “risk”) b. Exela Technologies repaid term loan in full ($55.8MM of the “risk”) c. Arena Group Holdings debt retired in full ($99MM of the “risk”). Publicly disclosed in the most recent 10-K for each company (search for "Riley" in the filing)
5) Wolfpack	“RILY’s NAV is Far Below the $1.1 Billion Minimum NAV Requirement That Is Required for the Nomura Credit Agreement Putting RILY at Risk of Collapse in 2023”	FALSE RILY is in full compliance with the Nomura credit agreement. Moreover, reflecting the strength of the relationship, Nomura even granted a no-fee extension when the 10-K filing was delayed. Also see 10-K for current status.
6) Wolfpack	“Over $200 Million of the Goodwill and Intangible Assets on RILY’s Balance Sheet is Attributable to its Telecom Rollup, which is Centered on Dial-up and DSL Internet:” - criticizing them as dying businesses with no value	FALSE Segment is extremely valuable. From just 2020 to 2023, the communications segment has returned over $212.2MM in adjusted EBITDA.
7) Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	RILY committed fraud with loans and closing the FRG acquisition. "The fact $RILY closed the FRG deal while hiding the Kahn loan - an all PIK defaulted loan backed by $FRG shares - is a Hall of Fame worthy act of fraud. I thought after Enron/Sarbox we couldn't have something like this happen in US markets."	FALSE A law firm led an internal investigation, and an independent external investigation both found “The review confirmed what the Company previously disclosed: that the Company and its executives, including Bryant Riley, had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Prophecy.” “The results of the independent investigation confirmed that the Company and its executives had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Mr. Kahn or any of his affiliates. This independent investigation was conducted subsequent to the Company's February 22, 2024 disclosure of the internal review performed with the assistance of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as outside counsel.” Also see 10-K
8) Marc Cohodes (AlderlaneEggs), ParrotCapital, Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	The 10-K will never be filed. They can't produce audited financials.	FALSE Audited 10-K was filed. Delay was due to Audit committee fulfilling its responsibilities and proactively conducting investigations (internal and external).
9) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs) + Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate) + ParrotCapital	Sullivan and Cromwell knew about Massive Fraud, and did a "sham investigation"	FALSE Sullivan and Cromwell is one of the most respected law firms, in the US and worldwide. "Sullivan & Cromwell continues to lead all law firm advisers in announced and completed global deals in 2023, according to Bloomberg and LSEG. The Firm advised on global announced deals totaling more than $345 billion, representing a 12.1 percent market share, per Bloomberg, and on completed global deals totaling more than $431 billion, representing a 16.9 percent market share, per LSEG." They're not compromising themselves for a relatively small client.
10) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear), Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Parrot Capital	Marcum is enabling Massive Fraud	FALSE Marcum is a respected audit firm, and 13th largest by revenue. "Marcum LLP advanced into the Top 15 in the 2023 Vault Accounting list of top-ranked accounting firms. Marcum climbed six levels to the No. 13 ranking overall and earned a ranking of 14 in prestige. The Firm also won Top 20 rankings across all Practice Area, Quality of Life, and Diversity categories, including several new classifications added this year."
11) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	Nomura is enabling Massive Fraud	FALSE Nomura is a global financial services company, and the oldest brokerage firm in Japan. They operate in a highly regulated industry. They're not putting themselves on the line for a relatively small client.
12) Parrot Capital	"The list of $RILY enablers is massive: Marcum LLP, Sullivan and Cromwell, Seeking Alpha, Holbrook Holdings, $AX Axos Bank, Many, many more."	FALSE There's no global conspiracy whereby these companies - all respected law firms, auditors, banks, and media outlets - are collectively colluding to enable RILY to commit fraud. Requires only two brain cells and one functioning synapse to know there's no grand collusion cabal between these disparate companies.
13) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Jonathan Weil at WSJ	Franchise Group shares used to secure Kahn loan: "It is unclear whether Kahn pledged the same shares twice—to both Prophecy and B. Riley."	FALSE As stated by the company, Simple UCC search disproves this. UCC # 202302295747
14) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	“Bryant Riley is on the Road, telling people the ‘audit partner at Marcum left’ and that ‘I have made mistakes’ “	FALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had hit the 5yr SEC rule, so he was never working on this year’s audit.
15) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"So it turns out James La Rocca was Fired by MarcumLLP If nothing was wrong with prior $RILY Audits, why is he gone? This will be great in discovery of what exactly went on.	FALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had hit the 5yr SEC rule, so he was never working on this year’s audit.
16) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“So Bryant Riley did disseminate MNPI back in March” in response to Cohodes claim that he told people the Marcum partner left	FALSE Cohodes claimed Bryant Riley was telling people the Marcum auditor left. Koppikar called that disseminating MNPI. Cohodes statement was false (and thus Koppikar's derivate claim is also false). A different auditor worked on RILY, as Marcum follows the SEC rules; the lead auditor can only serve the client for 5 consecutive years. As such, Koppikar’s derivative claim of disseminating MNPI is false.
17) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“He appears to still not be familiar with the voting interest model of consolidation… why is a life science and tech partner signing an extremely complex investment company / broker dealer audit ???” i.e., auditor is unqualified	FALSE The auditor is fully qualified. Marcum is a highly respected auditor; they don't hire unqualified people, or assign them to clients they're unqualified to audit. RILY is continuing to use Marcum as the 2024 auditor.
18) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"Now that the $RILY dividend is going away, this omission is serious stuff"	FALSE The dividend did not go away. It was reduced from $1.00/share to $0.50/share, to allow them to opportunistically allocate capital. 23Q4 and 24Q1

Disclaimer: I have switched back to the main subreddit, so aside from three, maybe four of you, you’re probably missing out on some context. If you’d like to be all caught up, you can comb through the previous episodes on my profile.
Votes:
Emma - 2
Katie - 1
Props to u/Proofracer for coming up with plot points
At the campfire ceremony, Chris attempts to build suspense by reminding the campers about the safety of a marshmallow, but Heather insists he get on with it, so the moment is cut short. Chris calls on Shawn, Zoey and Max before tossing them all a marshmallow. He then gives Owen and Heather one each, leaving Emma and Katie. Both Emma and Heather shoot angry looks at Katie, making her feel a tad worried, but Chris gives her the last marshmallow and deems Emma eliminated, causing her to have an outburst at Heather.
Emma: I knew I couldn’t trust you! You’re a backstabbing snake!
Heather: Please, as if I’d betray you this early. If I had any say, you’d still be here for a few more weeks.
Emma: Then, how?
Katie: It’s not just me who’d been fed up with how mean you’ve become. We don’t want a second Heather on this team. No offense.
Heather: Offense taken.
As Emma walks the dock of shame and the rest of the Screaming Gophers disperse, Chris turns to the camera to say his outro.
Chris: Will Max finally do something actually evil? How much longer can Heather keep her alliance afloat? And what will Damien do once he finds out about Bunny’s replacement? Find out next time, on Total Drama Island!
In-world votes:
Emma - Katie, Owen, Max, Shawn
Katie - Heather, Zoey, Emma
Basic Straining
The episode opens with Duncan using his knife to carve a skull into the wall of the Bass cabin when Axel exits the cabin. She scoffs at him, but before she can leave, Duncan attempts to apologize for how he’s treated her in the past. Axel stops to think for a second, but she sees through Duncan’s lie and leaves anyway.
Confessional:
Duncan: Of course I didn’t mean what I said to Axel, but Trent and Sammy are too loyal to one another, and Damien’s essentially attached himself to Dawn. Sadly this means that Axel is the only person I have a chance to ally with, so I need to get back on her good side.
Meanwhile at the Gophers cabin, Katie is sitting dejectedly on the front steps when Owen comes over to cheer her up.
Owen: Are you still bummed out about poisoning me? It’s okay, I know it was an accident.
Katie: That’s only half the problem. Emma got so mad at me for it, and now apparently I brought a cursed item to the team.
Owen: You mean your tiki souvenir? Are you sure it’s cursed?
Katie: Apparently it’s from Boney Island, so I’d say it’s pretty cursed.
Owen: Well, you don’t have to get rid of it, if that’s what you’re worried about. It may be cursed, but it’s still yours. I say you should keep it to remember this show by.
Katie: Thanks Big-O.
Owen: You know what? Let's prove Emma wrong. If you try your best this time, I’m sure you’d do way better at the challenge than you think!
Just then, the loudspeakers turn on, but instead of Chris, it’s Chef Hatchet who orders the campers to meet him at the docks for their next challenge. At the docks, Chef is dressed in a military uniform and starts barking orders at the campers about fixing their forms, with the one exception being Axel, whose form he deems “surprisingly average”. Chef then goes over today’s challenge. The teams will go through Chef’s grueling boot camp and drop out one by one until the last person remaining wins immunity for their team. Heather asks Chef what happened to Chris, but he ignores it and starts going over further rules, like how everyone will have to address him as Master Chief, and that no one eats or sleeps unless he says so.
Confessional:
Axel: I was never trained in the military, but I’m adept in most fields of work Master Chief could go over, so this will be a breeze.
For the first part of the boot camp, each team must carry a canoe, and will continue to do so until someone drops out and rings a bell on the dock. Owen and Trent each make a remark about how easy the challenge sounds, but by noon, everyone is starting to feel the heat.
Chris and Chef are sitting on top of the canoes while taunting the campers about missing lunch. This causes Owen to think about quitting, but Max catches on and tells him not to.
The Bass are still holding up strong, so Duncan tries to talk to Axel again. He says that he knows she hates him, but they’re both stuck between the two couples and need each other. This causes Axel to angrily reply that she’d take her chances with the others over him, leaving Duncan beginning to get annoyed. However, Trent overhears the conversation and begins to look worried.
As night rolls through, the campers are all tired, especially Owen, who has fallen asleep with his arms still holding onto the canoe. Chef is recalling a story from his military days, and Heather asks him what war he was in, causing him to shout at her. Heather then turns to Shawn and tries to strike up a conversation with him.
Heather: Hey Zombie Boy, how do you feel about joining my alliance?
Shawn: Wait what? You’re kidding, right?
Heather: You and Emma were friends, yes?
Shawn: Sure, but that doesn’t mean I trust you. What happened to getting payback on me for locking you in the freezer?
Heather: You could trust me if you were in my alliance. With Emma gone, I’m missing a member of the alliance, and if you join, you won’t be in as bad a spot as you are now.
Shawn: Oh, and what is that supposed to mean?
Heather: Think about it. I didn’t vote Emma off, she got herself eliminated. If the team knew you worked with her, maybe they’d vote you out too. Especially since you’re such a big threat without any allies. With me, I could protect you, plus I won’t plot against you anymore.
Shawn: You were plotting against me?
Heather: That’s besides the point. Just think about it.
Later, Chef has finished bragging about his line of duty just in time for Max to decide he isn’t going to stand in one spot anymore. Much to his teammate’s dismay, he walks down the dock and rings the bell, thus allowing the contestants to drop their canoes. Chef insults Max through his megaphone before ordering everyone else to go to the mess hall to eat dinner, getting Owen excited.
In the cafeteria, Chef announces that everyone will get only ten minutes to eat before he starts night training, which gains him a lot of complaints. Damien asks him where the food is, and Chef gestures to a row of trash cans filled with leftover garbage from breakfast, which only causes more complaining. Owen, however, doesn’t discriminate against the disgusting food and eats some anyway. Chris then invites Chef to eat at the craft services tent, leaving the teams to themselves.
Trent meets with Sammy and tells her about what he heard between Duncan and Axel. He says that Duncan has a point and that since nobody really likes Duncan, Axel would be the deciding vote between them and Dawn and Damien. Hearing this, Sammy comes up with an idea, and suggests winning Axel over ahead of time so that she’s with them. Trent likes the idea, so Sammy goes over to talk with Axel. They have a friendly conversation, and Sammy offers Axel the least disgusting food she can find in the trash, to which Axel declines. Sammy then returns to Trent to talk about other ways to win Axel over.
Damien was watching Sammy’s conversation with Axel, and realises what she and Trent were trying to do, so he walks over to Dawn to talk with her.
Damien: I hate to say this, but we’re going to have to start getting extra votes against Trent and Sammy
Dawn: But why? Wouldn’t we just vote Duncan?
Damien: No, that’s not- I mean, after Duncan’s gone, all that’s left of the Killer Bass is us, them, and Axel. And I think they know that too, because they’re trying to bond with her.
Dawn: Yes, Axel is stuck in between the four of us. I’m not very worried though. I’m good friends with her.
Damien: I know, but we should start getting closer so that if need be, Axel will vote with us instead of them.
Damien then digs through the trash and finds a carrot that is half eaten, but otherwise clean. He decides to save it for Bunny, before noticing that Dawn looks unsure of something. He asks her what’s wrong and she brushes it off as having missed Bunny while it was gone. Damien is happy with this answer and tells Dawn that he knew she and Bunny would get along well, but this only makes her feel worse.
Confessional:
Dawn: Bunny left Damien, but I still don’t know why Duncan found a replacement. Duncan is not to be trusted, but I don’t know how to break the news to Damien that Bunny’s really gone.
We then cut to the next part of the boot camp, which is to repeat Chef’s suspiciously Triller-esque dance routine. The dancing goes on for a while until it’s interrupted when Duncan shuts off the music. Chef angrily asks him what he’s doing so Duncan reminds him about how once someone drops out the training ends. Chef says that they’ll be done when he says they’re done, before forcing Duncan to do push-ups.
Next up, write a three hundred word essay about how much you love Chef, being eliminated if you fall asleep or fail to reach the minimum word count. Owen and Katie are discussing ways to pad out their essays while cracking jokes to make each other laugh. Seeing the two of them bonding, Shawn turns back to his own essay looking a little less confident.
Duncan takes a break from doing the challenge to try and persuade Axel to join him again. She snaps at him and tells him to get lost, but Duncan mentions Shawn, which gets her attention.
Duncan: Let’s face it, everybody knows you like Shawn.
Axel: So? If you want to mock me about it, expect a fight!
Duncan: No, I’m saying that you two are pathetic. Neither one of you ever makes a move! Watching you two is like watching a car crash in slow motion.
Axel: (Sarcastically) Thanks for the advice, Dr. Love.
Duncan: You need a wingman, badly. So it’s going to be me.
Axel: Why would I ever listen to you?
Duncan: Because if you and Shawn are ever going to be a thing, you need me.
Axel: Fine. But if you pull anything you’ll leave this island in a cast.
Duncan gets Axel to close the deal with a handshake before returning back to working on the challenge. Later, Chef returns to pick up the essays, and eliminates both Trent and Zoey for falling asleep. As for everyone else, their essays meet the requirement, although Duncan’s is just one sentence with 289 verys in between. On his way out of the cafeteria, Chef slips in a puddle of Owen’s drool from him being half asleep, and Duncan offers to clean him off. This causes Chef to yell at him again, and the rest of the Bass stop Duncan from saying anything more, lest he get them all in trouble.
The next evening, the training continues, as Chef forces the campers to run an obstacle course until everyone can do it in less than a minute. As they climb a wooden wall, Axel asks Duncan for advice and he tells her she should get Shawn’s attention by showing off her survival skills in the course. Axel takes the advice and waits for Shawn to reach the top of the wall before jumping off and doing acrobatic tricks in midair. This catches Shawn’s eye, who shows off some tricks of his own in return.
The obstacle course causes trouble for some of the other campers, as Owen gets stuck while jumping through a tire, getting him eliminated. On top of that, Damien falls flat on his face when climbing the wall. He pukes up some mud, and is coughing and sputtering, so Chef eliminates him too and sends him to the infirmary.
After going through a montage of campers falling into the mud or otherwise failing, we see Katie struggle to clear a rope swing. She remembers what Owen told her and tries it again, only to clear it easily. She cheers for herself before continuing to run the course.
While crawling through the mud, Sammy reaches a deep spot and starts sinking. Duncan passes while mocking her, only to come across an angry Chef. He gives Duncan more pushups, but Duncan just thanks Chef before kissing him on the nose. This sends Chef off the edge and he announces that Duncan will spend the rest of the night in solitary confinement in the boathouse. This causes everyone to gasp, but Duncan asks how bad it could be, before we cut to him sitting in the boathouse regretting that comment.
In the cafeteria, the contestants remaining in the boot camp are being fed rock hard gruel. Dawn sits down next to Axel, intending to win her over, but Axel is the one to talk first. She explains to Dawn how Duncan is working as a wingman for her and Shawn, and while Dawn is happy for Axel, she reminds her about how Duncan is untrustworthy. She talks about how he replaced Bunny when it left Damien, and that she thinks he has a secret agenda behind everything. Axel agrees with Dawn but leaves to get more advice from Duncan anyway.
Heather finds the gruel Chef has served her to be well past unappetizing, and chooses to instead try to persuade Shawn again. She points out how close Owen, Katie and Max have become, and that since she still has Zoey, they’ll go after him first. After careful consideration, Shawn caves and agrees to work with her. But he specifies that while he will do what’s required for her to protect him, he will not associate himself as a member of her alliance. Despite this, Heather is still pleased by the news, and leaves to get some sleep.
In the boathouse, Axel finds Duncan sweeping the floors to pass the time.
Duncan: Did you get General Crazy angry at you too?
Axel: No, I’m here so you can make good on our deal. What’s some more advice you have?
Duncan: Really? You can’t be so desperate that you need my help for every single thing.
Axel: Then what do you want me to do then? This was entirely your idea!
Duncan: Just ask Shawn out. Maybe set up a date or something. But if you just sit there and don’t talk to him I promise you that nothing good will happen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to mess with Chef.
Duncan then leaves despite Chef’s orders and heads towards the craft services tent, leaving Axel behind wondering what she could do.
In the Gophers cabin, Katie visits Owen, who congratulates her on doing so well in the boot camp. Katie is ecstatic at her performance and thanks him for giving her the pep talk. Max, while also happy for Katie, insists that “Evil has better things to do than make friends” as he works on something secret in his bunk bed. Owen tells Katie that he thinks she can win the entire challenge, but to this Katie is still a bit skeptical.
The remaining Bass return to their cabin to find Trent and Damien playing cards on the front steps, and inside Dawn finds various snacks left in a big pile on her bed. She’s confused how it got there, but is happy to finally find something edible, so she invites everybody on both teams to hang out and eat the food. As the eleven of them dig in, they discuss how insane Chef is for making them do full on combat training, with only Shawn, Axel, and surprisingly Katie enjoying the challenge. Eventually the relaxation is ruined when Chef barges in and orders everyone in the Killer Bass to line up outside. He announces that the food they were dining on was stolen from the craft services tent, and that he was tipped off that it was one of them because the perpetrator left a raw bass in the fridge. Dawn confesses that she found it on her bed, but before she can explain herself Chef automatically eliminates her from the boot camp and confiscates the rest of the food.
Chef starts the last part of the boot camp the next morning, which is to hang upside-down from a tree until only one person is left. The last campers left are Sammy, Duncan and Axel for the Bass, and Shawn, Heather and Katie for the Gophers. Axel confronts Duncan about what he did, and he admits he stole Chris and Chef’s food, left a bass behind as a calling card and dumped the food on the first bed he found. Axel is pissed at him for getting Dawn in trouble with Chef and cuts the deal between them, causing Duncan to tell her that he never really cared.
Confessional:
Duncan: Okay, maybe I went a little too far, but I’ve always found a way to stay in the game. Surely this will be no different, right?
Chef rants about the side effects of being upside down, and as he goes over each one, someone gets it, causing them to fall off the tree. Eventually it’s down to Axel and Katie, with Dawn cheering on Axel while Owen motivates Katie. Axel looks between Dawn and Duncan, and is visibly conflicted, while Katie’s starting to get dizzy. But just as she’s about to fall, Axel jumps off first, meaning the Screaming Gophers win. Katie then falls off the tree before being enveloped in a bear hug by Owen. Chef congratulates Katie, saying he’d go to war with her anytime, but she gets mixed messages from the complement.
Duncan scolds Axel, saying she lost the challenge for them. But she snaps at him in front of everyone.
Axel: You are not fit to be on this island! You essentially threw two challenges, ridiculed me the entire game, and now got Dawn disqualified just because you wanted to prank Chef! So excuse me if I want you out!
Duncan snaps back at her before storming off, and for the first time in a while, Axel looks relieved. Dawn then comes up to her with Damien telling her that she did the right thing. Afterwards, Damien asks Dawn if she only said that to get Axel on their side, gaining an annoyed look from her. Seeing this, he backtracks and says that they should help Axel like real friends, and is relieved when Dawn nods her head in agreement.
Vote off a Killer Bass and come up with any plot points you want to see later.

Ever-shifting Short Seller Claims

The short sellers attacking RILY in 2023-2024 have been relentless, with an ever-shifting list of wild accusations.
It's sickening to watch them compile a never-ending list of baseless wild theories and claims to support their short positions, which are demonstrably false. But as each is proved false, they pivot to new claims, and/or change the goalposts.
The sheer volume of shifting claims makes it hard to track how despotic they are with their "platform," and how many falsehoods they've spun. Even for someone who watched it in real-time, for almost a year

Compiled & Debunked

Sunlight kills vampires. To that end, I've compiled a list of (i) claimants (ii) claims (iii) reality (iv) definitive source proving reality.

Why Did They Target RILY?

One of the most vocal short sellers, Nate Koppikar (who also introduced Marc Cohodes to the "opportunity") has a fund Orso Partners. Based on their SEC registration document, this is their investment thesis:
"The Account’s investment objectives are to achieve capital appreciation primarily by identifying and selling short marketable equity securities of underfollowed and complex companies with misleading or corrective disclosures through a research-intensive process. The Account employs a short-biased investment strategy with an emphasis on primarily small to mid-cap companies that are underfollowed and complex (i.e., companies with market capitalizations of less than $5 billion which the market does not yet have a wellformed bull and/or bear perspective)."
RILY fits their description. The icing on the cake was the relatively large market cap, and the relatively small float. Given extremely high insider ownership (32.9% of shares per the proxy), and limitations on when and how insiders can trade, the "free float" of the stock (i.e., the shares that regularly trade) is very small for the size of the company. Moreover, the setup would only get better - given insiders have consistently used their free cash to buy additional shares hand-over-fist (further reducing the float).
That meant, with relatively small amounts of capital, the short sellers could shove around the stock price. That ability to move price opens another profit avenue - taking large derivative positions (buying puts, and selling calls), and shoving the price (or allowing it to drift up) to profit all along the way. It looked so good, the stock has been the highest-shorted on the US indices for several months. Even after the release of the 10-K, shares remain "hard to borrow" with elevated borrow fees.

Debunked Claims

The claims made by vocal short sellers could fill a book. Most were outrageous and fanciful when they were proposed. Virtually all have objectively debunked. This isn't a comprehensive list, as their claims are too numerous and varied. But it paints an illuminating picture.
With a track record this poor, one would expect the short sellers to exit - rather than continuing to spin new narratives. Perhaps the continued attacks are their exit strategy to avoid bankruptcy... Well, #Bullish.
With the highest short interest of all US stocks (albeit likely decreased from the highs of ~76% of the float), I think this is more than ripe for a return to fair value - or well above, if a short squeeze occurs.
Note that the list below deliberately excludes three types of posts/claims from the short sellers:
A) Juvenile personal attacks and attempts to character assassinate and dox a long list of people (RILY CEO, RILY new hires, RILY clients, Marcum the auditor, Marcum's lead audit professional, any firm or individual publicly posting a bull thesis on RILY, etc.).
B) Those that make no objective claims, but simply exist as a product of malicious degeneracy (like pictures of roasted pigs in ovens labeled Bryant Riley the CEO, photoshopped pictures of the CEO in prison chains next to convicted felons, video of an obese woman barely able to walk being gored by a bull labeled Mrs. Riley the CEO's wife, etc.).
C) Those that are impossible for short sellers to know, and impossible to objectively verify (e.g., Marc Cohodes claiming a single RILY trader front runs the CEOs personal short trades in front of clients taking following the firm's bullish advice on those stocks, to guarantee profits).

Claimant	Claim	Reality
1) Wolfpack	Wolfpack “RILY will record investment losses of up to ~$700 million in 2023” FALSE 10-K	FALSE
2) Wolfpack	“new loan to CORZQ will work out just as badly as the last and end in default (again) before June 2023”	FALSE Repaid in full, early, on 1/6/2024.
3) Wolfpack	“The coupon rate on RILY’s seven issues of baby bonds ranges from 5% to 6.75%, which we believe to be far too low to compensate investors for the existential risk that accompanies these securities.”	FALSE Full redemption of May 2024 came early. Far more than sufficient cash to cover debt payments.
4) Wolfpack	“According to our analysis, 4 of RILY’s largest 7 corporate borrowers with outstanding loan balances of $295.3 million are at a high risk of default, or in the case of CORZQ, is already in default.”	FALSE a. Core Scientific Inc. repaid early and in full ($111MM of the “risk”) b. Exela Technologies repaid term loan in full ($55.8MM of the “risk”) c. Arena Group Holdings debt retired in full ($99MM of the “risk”). Publicly disclosed in the most recent 10-K for each company (search for "Riley" in the filing)
5) Wolfpack	“RILY’s NAV is Far Below the $1.1 Billion Minimum NAV Requirement That Is Required for the Nomura Credit Agreement Putting RILY at Risk of Collapse in 2023”	FALSE RILY is in full compliance with the Nomura credit agreement. Moreover, reflecting the strength of the relationship, Nomura even granted a no-fee extension when the 10-K filing was delayed. Also see 10-K for current status.
6) Wolfpack	“Over $200 Million of the Goodwill and Intangible Assets on RILY’s Balance Sheet is Attributable to its Telecom Rollup, which is Centered on Dial-up and DSL Internet:” - criticizing them as dying businesses with no value	FALSE Segment is extremely valuable. From just 2020 to 2023, the communications segment has returned over $212.2MM in adjusted EBITDA.
7) Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	RILY committed fraud with loans and closing the FRG acquisition. "The fact $RILY closed the FRG deal while hiding the Kahn loan - an all PIK defaulted loan backed by $FRG shares - is a Hall of Fame worthy act of fraud. I thought after Enron/Sarbox we couldn't have something like this happen in US markets."	FALSE A law firm led an internal investigation, and an independent external investigation both found “The review confirmed what the Company previously disclosed: that the Company and its executives, including Bryant Riley, had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Prophecy.” “The results of the independent investigation confirmed that the Company and its executives had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Mr. Kahn or any of his affiliates. This independent investigation was conducted subsequent to the Company's February 22, 2024 disclosure of the internal review performed with the assistance of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as outside counsel.” Also see 10-K
8) Marc Cohodes (AlderlaneEggs), ParrotCapital, Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	The 10-K will never be filed. They can't produce audited financials.	FALSE Audited 10-K was filed. Delay was due to Audit committee fulfilling its responsibilities and proactively conducting investigations (internal and external).
9) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs) + Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate) + ParrotCapital	Sullivan and Cromwell knew about Massive Fraud, and did a "sham investigation"	FALSE Sullivan and Cromwell is one of the most respected law firms, in the US and worldwide. "Sullivan & Cromwell continues to lead all law firm advisers in announced and completed global deals in 2023, according to Bloomberg and LSEG. The Firm advised on global announced deals totaling more than $345 billion, representing a 12.1 percent market share, per Bloomberg, and on completed global deals totaling more than $431 billion, representing a 16.9 percent market share, per LSEG." They're not compromising themselves for a relatively small client.
10) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear), Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Parrot Capital	Marcum is enabling Massive Fraud	FALSE Marcum is a respected audit firm, and 13th largest by revenue. "Marcum LLP advanced into the Top 15 in the 2023 Vault Accounting list of top-ranked accounting firms. Marcum climbed six levels to the No. 13 ranking overall and earned a ranking of 14 in prestige. The Firm also won Top 20 rankings across all Practice Area, Quality of Life, and Diversity categories, including several new classifications added this year."
11) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	Nomura is enabling Massive Fraud	FALSE Nomura is a global financial services company, and the oldest brokerage firm in Japan. They operate in a highly regulated industry. They're not putting themselves on the line for a relatively small client.
12) Parrot Capital	"The list of $RILY enablers is massive: Marcum LLP, Sullivan and Cromwell, Seeking Alpha, Holbrook Holdings, $AX Axos Bank, Many, many more."	FALSE There's no global conspiracy whereby these companies - all respected law firms, auditors, banks, and media outlets - are collectively colluding to enable RILY to commit fraud. Requires only two brain cells and one functioning synapse to know there's no grand collusion cabal between these disparate companies.
13) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Jonathan Weil at WSJ	Franchise Group shares used to secure Kahn loan: "It is unclear whether Kahn pledged the same shares twice—to both Prophecy and B. Riley."	FALSE As stated by the company, Simple UCC search disproves this. UCC # 202302295747
14) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	“Bryant Riley is on the Road, telling people the ‘audit partner at Marcum left’ and that ‘I have made mistakes’ “	FALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had hit the 5yr SEC rule, so he was never working on this year’s audit.
15) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"So it turns out James La Rocca was Fired by MarcumLLP If nothing was wrong with prior $RILY Audits, why is he gone? This will be great in discovery of what exactly went on.	FALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had hit the 5yr SEC rule, so he was never working on this year’s audit.
16) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“So Bryant Riley did disseminate MNPI back in March” in response to Cohodes claim that he told people the Marcum partner left	FALSE Cohodes claimed Bryant Riley was telling people the Marcum auditor left. Koppikar called that disseminating MNPI. Cohodes statement was false (and thus Koppikar's derivate claim is also false). A different auditor worked on RILY, as Marcum follows the SEC rules; the lead auditor can only serve the client for 5 consecutive years. As such, Koppikar’s derivative claim of disseminating MNPI is false.
17) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“He appears to still not be familiar with the voting interest model of consolidation… why is a life science and tech partner signing an extremely complex investment company / broker dealer audit ???” i.e., auditor is unqualified	FALSE The auditor is fully qualified. Marcum is a highly respected auditor; they don't hire unqualified people, or assign them to clients they're unqualified to audit. RILY is continuing to use Marcum as the 2024 auditor.
18) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"Now that the $RILY dividend is going away, this omission is serious stuff"	FALSE The dividend did not go away. It was reduced from $1.00/share to $0.50/share, to allow them to opportunistically allocate capital. 23Q4 and 24Q1

i 20M have this friend 21M and we have been really great friends for the past 3 years and it was really fun and intelligent conversations. aside from that we have also had a lot of down and bad times in our friendship. i’ll give you all a short summary.
we found each other in a really bad time in his life, he was going thru depression and a lot of other mental health problems, i was a good friend and i loved and still love him and wish him well, when he got better in this regard our relationships shifted and i realized we don’t have much in common except that love for each other and care.
i decided to try to get to know him better but i was always met with excuses or phrases like ”i don’t want to change u so i will like u, i already like u as a friend”. however deep down even during our one and one hangout time i would always open conversations and try to relate and make him join a convo which for a introvert like me is really difficult already.
due to these reasons we found ourselves really fighting a lot , he started no caring in action but telling me he cares which confused me mentally. i decided to cut back on our interactions until he figures this stuff out. i texted him a little less and make convos more normal and i confronted him a lot about this and told me how i felt and how his inaction and basically avoidant friendship style with me btw and solely me is making me feeling alone and like i am fighting for a lost cause.
he promised to put more of an effort and i believed him, he like any other person in life has periods where he doesn’t wanna talk, usually i try to talk to him about it or thru it but in one conversation he told me that he just doesn’t want that, so i respected his wishes.
around 3 months ago, i saw he was entering that level and i remembered what he said so i decided to give him space, i decided he will talk to me once he is ready, until now he didn’t even text or ask about me, completely ignoring me and not communicating, i know from our mutual friends he is texting hanging out and enjoying life and i am still stuck here.
i really did love him like family and it feels like i lost my brother and dear confidant. i grappled a lot with these emotions and i can’t just drop him the way he dropped me, i want closure and i don’t know if i should confront him or just ignore him or have a conversation but i feel it would be really bad looking in my part to communicate with someone who wants nothing to do with me.or atleast showing me that.
i really need help, i don’t like how all my love turned into anger and hatred and i don’t like hating people i don’t like having to deal with this and i can’t have this stress anymore.
i just need closure and i don’t know what to do.

I (f22) have been with my fiancé (m23) for 7 years. I’ll call him jack. Jack and I met in highschool. We were each others first bodies, and jack is still my only body. Once graduated jack decided to join military. I was sad but it was only army National gaurd so I knew he’d be home often and I just had to stick it out for l deployments. we get our own apartment & adopt a senior pitt bull! we commonly spend our nights watching youtube and anime, playing games on the computer and loving eachother (or so i thought)
2022 he leaves for a year long deployment. I wait loyally. He ghosted me all deployment saying it was a military thing because they’re so busy all day. I took the benefit of the doubt because I don’t know shit about military. He called me one time on thanksgiving. I could see he would be on his phone overseas but never to message me , I was muted. TW- SELF HARM actually tried to OD and performed a lot of self harm while he was gone due to the fact that he ghosted me without reason. I was up night after night delerious wondering why.. losing so much weight, being in pain and heartbroken.
Anyway . He came home and for the last year we were regular best friends again. I cooked, cleaned, all the housewife shit but on another note, we woke up together, played video games & watched anime together everyday. we went gambling together lol, dates every other damn day, car rides.
Anyway he had to leave 2 weeks ago to Trinidad for his annual National gaurd 2 weeks. He left. He promised never again will he ghost, and he promised nothing would happen. He talked about the date we were gonna go on when he comes home on the 15th.
he leaves for trinidad for 2 weeks - No suprise, he ghosted. He was sent out to Trinidad and was working and “busy” but I had a gut feeling something was weird. The 15th comes, and he’s now not even traceable on life 360. On the 16th, I Started to worry. I assumed maybe they worked a little more out in Trinidad. On the morning of the 17th, I text his sergeant, asking when they would be home. Sergeant told me they arrived home early morning on the 15th. Wow.
So I had no idea where he was at . He finally text me saying he’s at a guys house. He said “I don’t want to talk about it, I’ll be home tomorrow.” He doesn’t have friends. We share the same 4 guy friends and we were all looking for him. i was freaking out and crying until he came home the next day. He comes home the next day like he said. I was crying when he came through the door . He was staring at me cold and rash. He said we’re done cause he wasn’t “happy for a while now”. He told me I can still stay at his apartment, but we’re single. Heartbroken and confused, I go about my night . I come back to the apartment around 1am. I get in bed and he kisses my forhead. He said I’ll be back I’m going to get some food.
I secretly turned his location back on. My app shows him pull up to some house down the street. I immediately drove there . Best believe his truck was right parked outside the house it said he was at. I knock on the door crazy af . He comes outside pale, and tells me I have to leave. I busted into her house and screamed “he has a fiancé of 7 years he’s cheating on me” he covers my mouth and drags me out. He tells me to leave he says “I met her on deployment you have to go this isn’t right, I told her we broke up” “YEA YOUVE BEEN SEEING HER ALL WEEK . YOU CHEATED AND BROKEUP WITH ME DAYS LATER. WE WERE TOGETHER 7 years” i screamed this so she could hear it. She had a suprised reaction. My fiancé was saying he didn’t even know me. I’m not gonna lie I keyed his new tundra truck on the way out.
how he met her - he admitted to “mentally breaking up with me months ago” just not “telling me that part” FUCK YOU! he said she’s in his unit and he’s had a crush on her but made his move in trinidad by letting her know of his crush on her. they flew home together on the 15th and he gave her a ride from the airport, and asked her if he could stay the night .
NOW - he is letting me continue to live at the apartment with him. because he let me QUIT my job last week and admitted to taking care of me so i can study for a better career. now i’m single with no job. I spoke to the girl he cheated on me with 1 on 1 and turns out of course he was lying about a lot including him telling her he broke up with me months ago. so she left him and said she won’t be seeing him anymore . she’s pretty nice and genuinely apologetic. anyway he’s been moping around the apartment and i don’t know what to do or how to act. He was crying in his bed last night when i was about to go out with a friend and i felt bad. my head is fucked with i can’t tell if he’s sad about what he did or sad that he lost her. i personally am a little bit over it already , because cheating is one of those things where i just straight will hate and be disgusted by you . that being said , is it smart of me to continue speaking to him? i’ve known him since he was 15 he has a fucked up family (drugs & alc) and no friends. i told him regardless of what he did i’ll still be a friend for him. what would you do and how would you act as the roomate? i won’t lie we’ve cried and hugged a few times but that’s cause we know it’s over .

hi everyone, i'm a student who just finished my five month CNA class at my local community college. I've already passed my knowledge exam and I just got back from taking my skills today.
I am pretty sure I failed and badly. I don’t think I forgot any of my steps but all this morning I was extremely nervous and anxious and I still was once I started the test. I was shaking like a lamb the entire time. My skills were emptying a catheter with ppe, giving a partial bedbath, and dressing a resident (volunteer).
As soon as I begin I forget to put my arms in my gown first and start tying the neck. The observer corrects me and lets me do it again, but she tells me to just not tie it and move on since she didn't want me to linger on that step for too long (I have a very hard time tying the gown in front of people). Then when I start to empty the bag I am already having trouble opening the lock and accidentally closed it again. While I’m fumbling with it little bits of the fluid are getting everywhere, so I'm like, great, I already failed.
I had thirty minutes in total for the skills and took exactly ten minutes for each. I didn't even realize how slow I was going until the observer started to point out the time to me, asking if I needed help, and telling me to move on to the next step before finishing. The whole time she was asking me if I was nervous.
I feel like I did each skill very badly and haphazardly. I felt like I did such a bad job that at the end I said aloud “It'll be a miracle if I pass.” By the way she answered it seemed at the very most she was uncertain if I would.
I am just looking for someone to help me ease my anxiety. Is there any chance I will still pass or were my gown and catheter mess-ups automatic fails? I would think so but I am honestly copium. I've put so much time into this class and was going to work at the nearby home this summer. I feel like I've wasted it and won’t have anything to do now. I am going to college for nursing. But I don’t even know now. The next available test for me would be at the end of this month three hours away. I feel like maybe this is a sign. I’ve already been worrying so much about if this is the work for me. If I can’t even pass this test, how will I become a nurse? Should I think about changing my major if I do fail?
Sorry for the long post. If anyone read this wall of text do you have any bad failing stories?

So, we've been friends for quite some time, but our friendship only grew stronger after I was with her through a tough season in high-school.
The first incident was when I told her about a boy I had a crush on and she started seeing that boy- gosh they even kissed. I think I was a little dramatic about it, but we ended up making up after we both talked it out. Still, it was a little difficult for me to tell her about boys, but I still did spill partial tea. We grew a little distant then but we made up and things got better, just never the same.
This is the second incident. After graduating high-school I told her how much I wanted to study abroad and all and she helped me out. She got into a really good school and I was so happy for her, whereas I, got rejected from all the schools I applied to abroad but got accepted to some in my country. I went a little crazy from the rejection and kind of lost my mind, which landed me in therapy. (Yeah it was my dream😅). We stopped FaceTiming as much. Ever since then she always gets mad at me for not telling her stuff, but when I do tell her stuff about what's going on in my life, she outright ignores me. (Yeah she skips those messages and starts a new conversation) I initially thought I made her uncomfortable, so I reduced, and our friendship kind of fell through.
She still ignores me when I talk about anything personal to me, like how today I was trying to tell her how happy I was that my parents finally agreed to let me get braces. (I'm very insecure when it comes to my teeth) and she just ignored my text. We don't even talk about deep stuff anymore, she stopped telling me things. I tried to talk to her about this, I even told her that I was all better and stopped my therapy sessions (I lied), just to get her to talk to me because I thought my condition was pushing her away. I don't know what to do now, and we keep drifting apart. Was it wrong for me tell her about those deep deep stuffs? Should I have kept somethings to my self even if she got mad?

I'll try to keep this short but I tend to yap a lot so I'm sorry if this is unnecessarily long. Regardless I [18F] have been dating my boyfriend [20M] for a solid 6 months. When we first met things went really well, we bonded on a lot of things such as similar interests, morals, hobbies etc. Although, early on I noticed that I would be the one mostly opening up about my past/current things in my life[which isnt anything on him, i just sometimes trust way to easily]. When it came to him discussing his past/ current life events it would take a while for him to mention it and usually it would take someone else asking him for him to discuss recent things at the very least. Which I didn't mind initially since I want him to take his time opening up to me. As of recent, he's been acting very distant, in early April he all of a sudden let everyone know in our shared server that he would be taking a break for two weeks or so. When the announcement went out and I saw it, I messaged him and asked if he was alright, he was vague and said he was just burnt out. So I gave him some space and I only messaged him once during that time as a little "Hey hope you're doing well, make sure you take care of yourself." Etc, etc. After the two weeks he came back for a day and then later after I fell asleep made another announcement about needing more time, which he said he wasn't sure how long he'd be gone for. So I again gave him that space. However, as of now during this extended break he asked to talk to me over text, which was a day after my really close friend who I've known irl since I was a kid, told me that he had asked her about some advice about our relationship. My friend of course asked "Well do you still love her?" And he apparently said yes. However, when he asked to talk he typed out this paragraph[which I'll summarize as best as possible since I don’t really wanna look back at our old messages since the wound is still fresh] but he basically said he didn't love me and didn't know what to do, he also briefly elaborated on some other issues that may be causing him to feel this way such as family, work, etc. We discussed it briefly over text and I asked if we could take a break, which he agreed to. After the fact I talked with said close friend and she of course like any friend was upset and told me that I needed to focus on myself and distance myself from him. Which I did, initially we had matching pfps that I drew for the both of us which I abruptly changed[he ofc did the same]. Later I asked if we could discuss things properly over the phone instead of over text since I felt hurt by not being able to have a proper conversation over the phone. He agreed but come the day of the our phone call he blew me off to hang out with friends, I being hurt at the time snapped a bit and asked if I really wasn't good enough for a proper conversation which he with the same attitude as me responded that he forgot and the plans with friends were last minute. So I let it go and asked if we could take the next day, which we managed to. The conversation summarized was basically me asking what changed etc. Etc. To which he explained his reluctance to be honest about his past because of what he'd done prior[which I'm not going to touch on too much out of respect for him] apparently though everytime he was honest with a partner about his past they became distance or ended things right then and there. Which Depending on what it is my opinion on him isn't going to change, since a lot of my family has done similarly terrible things so it's not like I haven't heard it all before. Regardless, I'm not going to pry for his past, however I feel like he's letting his past hold him back and not allowing himself to be happy for once even though it all happened a while back. The main reason why I'm only putting this here now is because recently I had my senior prom which was last Saturday, and like anyone I posted pictures to our shared server, now usually when he's on these breaks he never ever responds to anything in the server, but when I posted pictures of me in a dress with full glam he immediately responded with "I love it". Which gave me mixed signals, so as a bit of a hail marry I decided to text him to see if he wanted to hang out which he immediately responded back with "sure". So when I got home late we hopped on a game for a bit which ended abruptly when he decided he wanted to play something else for a while, which I didn't mind since we stayed on party vc. I'll admit when he got off the game I wanted to play with him I sighed and he ofc asked me what was wrong and I just used the classic "nothing I'm just tired, or I don't wanna talk about it excuses." He took me at my word initially and left, he came back a little while later and told me that he knew something was wrong and be wanted me to tell him and be honest. So I did, I explained that I was confused on what we are and he was honest with me and said "I don't really know right now, but I know I'm not gonna find someone I relate to as much as you." I of course kinda froze at that not knowing how to feel with the sudden affection so I just kinda awkwardly laughed and said something along the lines of "Okay, you don't need to lie to make me feel better." Which he responded with something along the lines of "I'm serious though, it's gonna be hard to find anyone I relate to as much as I do with you." Then as the night progressed he casually made flirtatious comments as well as calling me babe again for the first time in a while, which I'll admit I didn't reciprocate the nicknames since it didn't feel right to call each other that after everything. After that night I just don't know how to feel, I'm just worried he's moving on and doesn't wanna be mean to me by breaking up with me, so he doesn't until he finds someone else. I don't think he is but as a chronic over thinker I can't help but worry, especially since I've never been so serious about someone, but everyone I know around me is telling me he's not worth the time and I should break up with him and move on. However, not only do I not want to, I really want to make things work. I just hope that he doesn't see this as I don't want to worry him or anyone else in our friend group, and I've already bugged my two friends a bunch about this already, but I don't wanna tell them about Saturday since I know I'll get shit from them since they want me to move on and find someone else.
[TLDR: Boyfriends become distant because of his past and stresses within his life[eventually telling me he didn't love me anymore and didn't know what to do chasing us to go on a break] and friends around me are telling me to move on etc. Etc. But I love him a lot and want to make things work, especially after he started showing me affection again last Saturday.]

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