My bearded dragon likes to press up on the glass door and if it’s not latched all the way it can be pushed open pretty easily by him. I was in a rush to get to work and thought I had it latched all the way, turns out it wasn’t and he pushed it open yesterday morning around 6/7am when his lights came on and he’s gone. My boyfriends family and I have been looking for him and I have no idea where he went and can’t figure out where to find him. I’ve checked dark corners and little hiding spots and I’ve checked everywhere he can climb which is mainly fabric related (he used to climb my curtains in my old house). I have two cats and they’re very careful with him and I was hoping one of them would’ve found him by now since they always check out sounds they hear. It’s been about 21 hours since he got out I need tips or any advice on how to find him. I should also mention I just moved about 2 weeks ago so the basement where I am is covered in storage and boxes so it feels really hard finding him. Also my boyfriend is absolutely terrified of my bearded dragon so his family and I are trying to find him before he realizes he got out 😭

This is my first post so I'm sorry if it's way to long but I needed to get this out.
Trigger warnings: sa, suicidal ideation, physical abuse (kinda), neglect, stalking,
(These topics are mentioned but not explored deeply)
I (m19) have been losing everything it seems since I was 11 I think.
Off the bat I have autism, ADHD, a learning disability, and a bad family dynamic I think (this is apart of it), due to this and growing up in a town that's not very open minded I quickly became suicide. When I started therapy in middle school I would score as severely depressed every 2 weeks when the test was done. Along with talking to councilors, therapists, resurch and how life has been going I think I might have developed BPD and Narcissism.
Right before middle school I met S, they where my best friend and first "love". The day I met S I feel hard, and over the next 7 years my feelings would deepen. Our relationship dynamic was very toxic, we'd yell and scream at each other then the next day say we loved each other but if I didn't want to be there friend they wouldn't care and they'd echo this sintament in a million different ways that would userally come at the end of our fights. S would say things like "if I'm so mean then why are you still friends with me" or "that's a you problem" when I'd bring up a way they would make me feel, once they said "no wonder your dad doesn't love you" (this was years ago so I'm not sure if that's exactly what they said but the last 4 words where still in there) just to give you an idea of the kinda things they'd say.
On the other side, I would constantly make my personal episodes there problem, call them a bad person, accuse them of intentionally hurting me, I'd be extremely controlling of there relationships and just controlling in general. I'd also ask them to berate me, and call me any terrible thing they could think of, like a good friend they only did this a few times at first but then stopped. All this would be going on while I act like the guy best friend with feelings, I'd confess to them on avrage once a year in bigger and grander ways.
Other then S, there have been a lot of other unwell people I'd have to deal with. The actual scary ones where a couple rapists and one person who'd brag about sending there boyfriends on suicide watch. The rest where all either bullies or "crazy" people, either way I didn't care much, I was just happy I could live out a heros fantasy. Even though on paper I was a good guy, I only did it to feed my ego and feel secure. So even though I was hurting people who where hurting others it could have very easily been the other way around and a few times it was. I would stalk people in school, I'm not proud of it but it happened, ive also struggled with homosidle tendencies. One more thing, I was sa'd twice my freshman year which the school did nothing about, you could probably imagine how I feel.
My home life wasn't much better in my opinion, my autism crated a huge divide between my family and by existence everyone else. Out of my whole family I'm the most severe and most of us have autism (this is all my opinion) my mom has taken tests and is open to the idea but my brother (m20) doesn't see what I do, It would also make since for my dad but I don't know. This is important because my needs and acomedations are seen as to much for my family, and then when I went out into the world I didn't understand the social difference between my autistic family and the rest of the world. Whatever I learn out here is hard to communicate to my family and what I learn from my family isn't the best out here.
More specificly my brother would beat me up not super often but often enough for it to be a thing I was scared of for a long time. to be fair I did use to bite him when we where little which is what he mentioned when I brought up the times he'd beat me up, he also denied doing this to the extent I mentioned and said "all brothers fight". He has been teaching me about emotional intelligence recently because of my issus with being very defensive, this was after he stopped beating me up for a while so I think he's changed. But he still says things like "why do you look like that" or "you smell" as a joke, I've asked him to stop but he's never stopped. He also makes jokes about sexualizing animals, children, and even made incest jokes just because I have a funny reaction. I've told him to stop because it makes me uncomfortable but after high school I gave up, he hasn't made these jokes in a while and thankfully the ones about kids are ferthar in the past then the others. When he didn't stop I told him I would tell my friends that he made these jokes and he said that he wouldn't care.
Other then him, my mom recently called me to yell at me about the traffic being bad, the phone called ended with me throwing my headphones and yelling about killing myself in a school building. To be brief.
My dad was just super neglectful, nights I'd go hungry, he cooked only 2 times for me and my brother. Once I had to take him to the bathroom because he was to drunk to know he wasn't in the bathroom. This should be enough.
In modern day.
I'm in college for acting and writing, I haven't lived with my dad for years and he recently took out a EBT card under my name. I got in a car crash a year ago, in the same week I got it, my mom yells at me to drive and yells at me to not drive without insurance, she yells at me for not being prepared wile packing my bags for college for me wile not letting me do it on my own. My mom offers help but then complains about everyone catering to me and yells at me about every single unplanned step. My brother is trying to help me but he doesn't except that I'm disabled or that the issues I bring to him are as bad as I say they are, he buys me fast food almost everyday I'm home though. All the other freshman in my college ghosted me at once after the car crash (for real, I get back from the crash, everyone's int he commons, one person asked if I was okay, the other people from the crash show up and everyone flocks to them and I still don't understand why), this caused rummers about me to be created and at the end of the year it got so bad that a group calls me a pedophile. Even though all the shit I've had to deal with just at school I found someone, F. F is super caring and kind because they really do care. Simply put, niceness is transactional, your nice to someone you expect them to be nice back. F just gives all away and expects nothing in return, they've been helping me with my family and school issues along with the mental shit and their just all around a good person.
Even though things are better and I have someone I like, I feel miserable. Everyday it gets harder and harder to keep myself from letting go and do fucked up things to people just because I see something I like or that I'm intereged in, I have a need to feel power and to know everything I can out of insecurities which I've mentioned in this post. I also wanna break up with F but because I know I will hurt them like everyone else in my life, and I'm not sure if I'm with then for them because there the only person who supports or if it's all the free weed. And like the Annabelle movies, my obsession over S isn't and probably won't ever go away as it gets stronger and more annoying.
So after all this I don't know if I should keep fighting until I can't anymore which feels soon, or finally kill my self which I don't think is likely but if not me then I'm scared of who it could be one day. I will continue to try and work though this anyway unless I make a decision, then I'll try to make an update.
Also please let me know if this is violating the Staying on topic rule.
Thank you.

background of who we are: I (23 F) have been dating my bf (23 M) for 3 years now. This is our first serious relationship (for both of us), who are both inexperienced for our age. We met in college and have been dating postgrad for almost 1 year. During our first two years, we were always together in dorms so we basically lived together. Postgrad we still live close enough, so we see each other often. Because our parents live far from us, we spend a lot of time and we feel like we are family to each other.
The issue is that the relationship has been quite toxic despite all the lovey-dovey good times, yet we are unable to let each other go.
I was emotionally abusing him: The reason why this relationship has gotten toxic was partly because of me, and I grieve about it. I had a lot of issues navigating through the relationship these past 3 years, as I did not come into this first relationship with the right idea about healthy boundary and self-control. I am severely anxiously attached, causing me to do things that categorize as mental abuse. He is rather avoidant (but originally more on the secure side) to begin with than I am, so I could imagine how hard it was for him to deal with my actions. I did not give him the right space he needed, told him what I wanted him to do, and suffered from terrible mental instability as well as lack of emotional control during arguments an as the result "burst" all the time. Very recently, after 3 years, I finally became mature enough to realize what I had been doing things wrong, and that this is not what a healthy relationship should look like.
he created triggers in me: Ironically, the first two years of relationship was what exacerbated my anxious attachment. We started relationship at the wrong time (when it shouldn't have started), and as the result I lacked trust in him and developed a severe lack of self-esteem back then. He repeated behaviors that made me lose self-esteem even more a few times over the span of 2 years, but I chose to stay (which I shouldn't have because I did not have maturity to be emotionally responsible with my decision). He was also not a type of boyfriend to be able to do the "boyfriend" stuff (buy flowers sometime, buy chocolate etc) in the beginning. I do not want to say that all boyfriends should do that, but what became a trigger for me was the fact that I had to beg and cry to him to get him buy a flower for me on our first Valentine's Day. Now that he has learned, he is the sweetest boyfriend everyone admires, but the beginning of our relationship stayed in my heart that I became overly reactive to his lack of "proactiveness" and emotionally abused him for that as the result.
issue: I see a clear negative loop between me and him since the beginning of the relationship. The past one year, I wish I could have done things differently because I feel like my lack of emotional control (sometimes due to the trigger, but mostly my own issue) was unhealthy for him. Of course, we love each other so much (used to be enough reasons why we both stayed despite all the fact above), he has done so much for me to show me his love and gain my trust, and it feels amazing when we are just hugging things out for a moment.
We had another argument last month, that ended up terrible because of my lack of emotional control. Every time we argue intensely, he dumps all of his stress about this relationship that he tells me he cannot be himself with me (which make me think was your words and action not genuine.?) and then give me silent treatment. I am aware that this relationship is not going well anymore (or maybe it never was). As much as I understand where he is coming from, it is also very difficult to accept the reality especially since we are very lovey-dovey when we are not fighting.
Due to a circumstance (unrelated to relationship), we cannot talk much for the next 3 weeks. He might decide to break up with me finally this time after 3 weeks. However, based on our past, it might not be the case (we are both not brave enough to let it go). We surely loved each other (that's why we stayed this long), but we hurt each other so much as well. Especially this past one year, I was the one who hurt him more (and as the result he would burst with emotions and give me silent treatment, so it hurts me as well).
Now that I recently became aware of my own issues (and I am really really trying to mature), if I were to move on and start a new relationship I fell ready to choose and build a healthy one. But a part of me still strongly dreams about talking things out and continue working on it with him if he also wants to.
What should I do? I would really appreciate any advice or stories about you if you had gone through similar situations in the past.

Hello, I am an atheist who would like to convert to Christianity. I was born in Canada, specifically in Quebec, a province where the Catholic religion was very strong and present until the late 80s. I was baptized, but I never received my first communion and I distanced myself from the Catholic religion during my childhood. Today, I am 34 years old and I would like to reconnect with Christianity. I have been living in Vietnam for 2 years now, and this country has a large active Catholic community. Last Christmas, I decided to go to the cathedral in the city where I live, something I hadn't done since I was a child, and I felt the need to get closer to God. I would like to know how to do this and how to reconnect with God. Do you have any ideas?

Playing guitar and buying guitars are 2 completely different hobbies so in the 6 years I've been playing, I've only owned 3 and they all have names. My first guitar was a hand-me-down beginner acoustic from my older sister who asked for a guitar for Christmas and never played, I names her Olivia after my first summer romance. My second guitar came 4 years later, again during Christmas, a navy blue yamaha stratocaster that I brought everywhere and played all the time for a while. I named her Stephanie, after my first official girlfriend. And my newest edition is a black Morgan guitar (It was the end of Olivia's long life 😔, I needed a new acoustic guitar) which was the first guitar I decorated (It has a bunch of stickers) and she is named Valeria after my ex-girlfriend and best friend in the whole world. I can only ever seem to name them after my ex GIRLFRIENDS, not boyfriends. Not sure why. I really wanna hear everyone else's guitar names

Hello, I am an atheist who would like to convert to Christianity. I was born in Canada, specifically in Quebec, a province where the Catholic religion was very strong and present until the late 80s. I was baptized, but I never received my first communion and I distanced myself from the Catholic religion during my childhood. Today, I am 34 years old and I would like to reconnect with Christianity. I have been living in Vietnam for 2 years now, and this country has a large active Catholic community. Last Christmas, I decided to go to the cathedral in the city where I live, something I hadn't done since I was a child, and I felt the need to get closer to God. I would like to know how to do this and how to reconnect with God. Do you have any ideas?

To preface, I am a 26 year old female, alot of the events that I'm going to talk about occurred when I was a child, some will be more recent, but as I keep low to no contact with my parents now, there wouldn't be much to tell.
As far back as I can remember, my mom would say and do things that made me feel like I wasn't as important as my brother(s). Before my younger brother (22M) was born, if my older brother (29M) broke or damaged something, he'd blame it on me. She always believed him. Sometimes he'd pinch himself, run to our mom crying and say that I pinched him for no reason and I'd end up getting punished. If he wanted to use the PS1 (for those who remember that) and I was using it, I'd be forced to get off so he could have a turn, regardless of how little time I had been using it. The same applied to the family computer. Anything he wanted, he got.
After my little brother came into the picture I assumed my older brother would be forced to share the game systems, computer, toys etc. But I was mistaken. Instead, my mom began to spoil them both, giving them whatever they asked for. Citing their recent autism diagnosis as the reason for the special treatment. "You're the only normal one, you have to compromise on these things for your brothers because they're special." "You have to be mature and responsible because they can't." Were essentially the messages I was fed for years.
I was often the one left in charge if my parents went out, not my older brother. If I wasn't in charge, they would have our oldest brother, (32M) who was adopted by our maternal grandparents, my mom's parents, watch us. Unfortunately, he was also spoiled rotten, but by my grandparents in an attempt to make up for the fact that my mom didn't raise him. Which only fueled my older brother's need for the latest and greatest toys/games at the time. So they got into arguments all the time and I'd end up being the mediatoone in charge regardless. I always had to keep a close eye on my little brother regardless of who was left in charge also, he's not as self sufficient as my older brother and lacked the understanding that most kids his age had, so he needed constant supervision or else he'd end up getting hurt. Which happened a few times, but surprisingly only while my parents were the ones watching him.
When I was 10, my dad lost his job after a seizure (he's an epileptic) caused him to slam his face into a coffee table. He wasn't able to immediately return to work due to the damage, and was fired as a result. We were then evicted from our apartment and were forced to move in with my maternal grandmother. My grandfather had passed a few years prior so it was just her, my uncle and my oldest brother living in the house at the time. My grandmother didn't want us there, to put it simply. My uncle is the one who kept bothering her about how my mom was going to lose custody of us if we didn't have somewhere to go, and she eventually caved. But she wasn't discreet about how little she enjoyed having us there.
At 13, we were still living with my grandmother, my dad had gotten a new job and I finally got a cell phone. Not my own, but my Dad shared his with me after he'd get off work. So from the hours of 4pm to 10pm, I was a regular teen with a phone, which felt nice. One day, I had to text a friend about something related to school, so I asked my mom if I could borrow her phone to text this friend. As I was getting the info on the assignment that I needed, a text came across the screen. It was from my mom's ex Jay. Jay was the father of my two older brothers, (29M & 32M) he was also physically abusive towards my mom when they were together. I admit I shouldn't have gone through her messages, but as far as our entire family was aware, Jay wanted nothing to do with my mom or my brothers, so I was curious as to why/how my mom had his number saved, let alone why they were speaking. To my horror, my mom was flirting with and sending very explicitly worded messages about how much she wanted him and how terrible my dad was. I'll admit, neither of my parents were perfect, my mom had her favoritism of my brothers, while my dad was verbally and physically abusive towards me and my older brother, but never my little brother. My dad also cheated on my mom with a coworker shortly after I was born. Which my mom made common knowledge to us kids by the time I was 7. So our relationship as a family, was tumultuous to say the least. Nevertheless, I brought the texts to my dad, who then confronted my mom. I mean, I was a kid, I had no idea how to navigate that. So I brought it to an adult, as I thought I was supposed to. But boy, I had no idea that things would turn they way they did. My mom essentially told my dad, who barely understands technology, that the texts he thought she sent, her ex sent and that I was just trying to break them up because I hate her. He believed her. This affected me for years because she'd always use it as leverage to accuse me of lying. "Well you lied about those texts, so obviously you'd lie about this too!" I was branded a liar and to this day, despite her admitting that she was lying back then, everyone in my family just sees me as a melodramatic liar and I've come to accept that will probably never change.
At 14, one of my best friends died in a train accident. I wasn't allowed to go to his funeral because my parents had booked a vacation to see my dad's family. My parents knew that telling me no before we left would result in me sneaking out and going to the funeral anyway, so they lied to me, saying that they'd think about it and let me know in the morning before we'd leave, saying it with that tone they use when you know they're going to say yes just to make me think I'd be able to go to the funeral and avoid having to look for me. They've admitted to all of this which is even more chilling to me. The next morning, they'd already packed my luggage in the car by the time I had woken up. My dad sat down and told me in no uncertain terms that I was not going to the funeral and that I was going with them, regardless of what I thought or did. I kicked, screamed, cried, bit, everything I could possibly do to get my dad to put me down. But in the end he turned on the child safety locks and he threw me in the car with my younger brother, we left and spent 3 days with my dad's family. All the while I was made fun of and mocked for crying constantly on what was "supposed to be" a happy vacation according to my parents. My older brother didn't want to go, so he didn't have to. But apparently that only applied to him. To this day I still haven't forgiven them for that.
At 15, I was kicked out of my grandmothers house, and only my dad was against it. But in the end, I had to go live with my boyfriend because I had nowhere else to go and nothing my dad said changed the minds of my mom or grandmother. Until I turned 18, my mom would get me $100 in groceries a month, to keep me alive. (I think she was just afraid I'd report her for abandonment if she didn't atleast feed me) Even then, she would say that she couldn't afford the $100 sometimes and I'd have to get a month of food out of $50 or less.
At 18, I became pregnant. My dad was very unhappy. I had my first born and I thought we were on the road to mending our relationship.
At 21, my parents invited me and my child to their house for dinner, they also invited my boyfriend but he was unable to join us because he was tired from work, but these dinners had become a regular occurrence at this point. Unfortunately, my older brother (29M) still lives at home with them and my younger brother, so I was forced to interact with him. He ended up saying something like "Mom and Dad only put up with you because they want to see your kid." It struck a nerve with me, because it had already felt that way to me for awhile, and my parents were right there, but didn't deny what he said and I started to cry. I excused myself outside but I wasn't calming down.
For some context, back when I lived at my grandmother's house, I had regular breakdowns. My parents were constantly yelling at me or hitting me for one thing or another. I didn't have a room or a bed back then, I slept on the couch in the living room from the ages of 10-15. So when my dad would go off, he'd repeatedly slam me down into whatever surface was in the room if I tried to get up or leave the room we were in. So the couch if it was the living room, my parents bed if we were arguing in their room, etc. My mom never stopped this. Sometimes it would go on for hours, and it'd get to the point where I'd either freak out and get physical with my dad or I would start to rip out my hair and beg him to leave me alone. I was regularly laughed at by my mom or older brother and called dramatic for reacting that way during these screaming sessions.
But in that moment l, as I was crying outside, I felt like that kid again. I was small and meaningless. I wanted to go home. So I collected myself as best I could and walked inside, grabbing my son as I walked up to my parents at the dining table. I told my mom that I was sorry, but we're going home. She got as far as saying, "But we're about to have di- ." before my dad began to scream at me like I had never heard him scream before. My mom took my son into another room as soon as she saw that I was caught off guard by my dad's outburst, and locked him in my uncles bedroom. For over an hour my dad berrated me, as I could hear my son wailing for me from the other room. He kept pushing me and getting in my face, not letting me leave the dining room, he almost slapped me but for whatever reason, didn't. My mom and older brother, just like when I was a kid, stood there and laughed at my reactions. Eventually, he stopped because I said something that made him really mad, so he charged outside and left. My uncle came out of his room with my son soon after and he drove us home. I sent them a long message afterwards stating that I'm going no contact. That lasted about three years, and we've since reconnected in the past 2 years, my dad hasn't pulled anything like that, seemingly because he knows I'm serious when I say I will never speak to them again. My mom on the other hand is back on the "she's out to get me" "she hates me" train again. Anytime I ask her something, even simple yes or no questions, she sends me a novel detailing her yes or no answer. If she's saying no, she always phrases things like I'm this unhinged person who goes crazy over being told no and that she's just an innocent victim to my rage? Which is funny because regardless of what her answer is my response is always "Okay." Or "Okay, thank you." And any question is prefaced heavily with "You really don't have to if you don't want to." "It's totally fine if you cant." "It's fine if you say no, I can figure out something else if need be." I don't want to be a burden and I don't like exerting more energy than absolutely necessary, so I have no reason to try to argue with her. It's gotten to the point where we have so little contact, she has to blow up small misunderstandings that happen when we do converse. My uncle sent me a screenshot from my mom to him, which was her saying I needed to do something, I honestly don't remember what. But whatever it was, apparently my dad and my uncle were the ones who wanted me to know that, not her. Which honestly doesn't matter either way to me. But I guess she took whatever I said in response as an attack despite only saying okay or alright as a response, and I had to deal with her and my dad spamming my phone in the middle of the night trying to make this literal non issue, an issue. So I ended up replying that I have no idea why or how this had devolved into what it did, but I have nothing to do with this, and to stop messaging me about it. Surprisingly they did. Finally the most recent thing was that I had talked to my parents, in front of everyone at their house, including my boyfriend and our kids. I told them I wanted to start looking for a job and was wondering if they'd be willing to watch my now two kids for a couple of hours on some of the days that I work, just until we save enough for the down payment at a daycare for them. My main driver for this was that my mom and dad had been pushing for my kids to stay ovespend time with them so i figured if we could do that while I also work that'd really help. Nowhere in my mind do I think I am entitled to my parents help, I just thought that if they were pushing to spend time with them, that this was a perfect opportunity to do so. My parents agreed initially, but when I called them to make plans about it because I had an interview lined up, my mom said she never agreed to anything like that and that she "wasn't going to raise my kids for me." In the end, it wasn't worth an argument and I just said that she could have just said no the first time I brought it up, and I would have just started looking at alternatives for childcare. Pulling this hurtful stunt was unnecessary and cruel. And we haven't spoken much since.
Honestly I doubt they'll ever actually change, which is why I keep them at an arms length. Sorry for the rant, I just needed somewhere to put all of this.

My (pending) boyfriend 22M and I just agreed to take a little break (I initiated it).
For the last while today we’ve been texting back and forth.
I felt like he didn’t have a adult goals in life and it led me to the conclusion that there was possibly nowhere for our relationship to go. I had tried to ask him on at least 3 occasions about any ideas he has. He currently works full time however hasn’t worked in like 2 weeks. He’s not in school, or any other programs. I wanted to know if he wanted to work towards a home, a car, a family (of dogs) , a career. I would get simple responses like “idk”. The only thing he loves to do is make beats at home on his laptop. He told me he might want to start selling them and get them monetized on YouTube. At first I wasn’t worried about it.
Until he was working less and less.. I talked to him about it and he said he’d be fine if music was just a hobby in life. So I backed off. Only for him to tell me that now he might want to make it a career or make it a side job. I was more bugged about it because he had not worked once this week and said him making his music was being productive.
I laid into him a little and said that I feel like his hobby is overshadowing to real life responsibilities and that he’s been in a bad habit. Taking off up to 4-5 days a week to sleep some more and then make music. It made me feel insecure about the future. I started to realize that I wanted a man that I knew was working towards something that will provide a good life for himself. Just as I want to provide a good life for myself in my own career. he started to feel like I thought he was stupid , and not capable. While feeling unsupported by me. I feel bad that I made him feel this way but my mind feels like I can’t wait for this boy to start making steps towards a permanent future in his life. He sees his music and him having his mental health in a good place and his job as being the future.. however none of those imo are going to sustainably help him move forward in life. However he doesn’t get it.
I want to know that I can count on my man and be proud of his goals and achievements one step at a time. I felt like in my relationship there wasn’t any of that for me as he was barely working , his music had not gone viral yet, and he could never tell me about anything he wanted to do or make anything happen. He was so passive. I guess I just snapped and couldn’t take it anymore. I don’t want to feel stagnant with someone unless we are comfortable and living well.
Anyways he told me that he feels like he’s doing great and he’s sorry I can’t see that. Therefore I told him I wanted to take a break because I needed time. It feels maybe a little fast as we’ve only been together for 3 months.. I just feel like we’re in different places in life and I’m going to leave him behind one way or another. And it looks like he’s fine with that as he said “he’s progressing enough for himself to be happy”.
Aside from this it also started to feel like we were not that compatible. We are very different people and clearly our ambition is also very different. Sadly this was showing in our bedroom life too. This was the cherry on top. He expressed no interest or want to try anything new.. in his defense he is brand new to it. But I thought most people at least had a little idea of what they might want to explore.
Anyways,
Did I break it off too fast? Should I not care so much as we’re so young?
TLDR: my (pending) boyfriend couldn’t tell me about any future “ideal” plans. So I ended it after 3 months.

I know the obvious answer is to leave, but I don’t know how. For context, my father cheated on my mom when I was young. She never left, and I never learned to hate him. He stopped but never got better for my mom. My father had anger issues and would hit and scream at us when he’s in a bad mood.
I grew up physically abused, as most Asian families do. I have a fear of abandonment to a point where it’s paralyzing. I am the oldest out of 3 and learned quickly to be a pillar, a second mother for my sibling. I love taking care of people.
Me and my boyfriend met when we were 19. He is my first boyfriend, my first love, and who I lost my virginity to. He was the first man to take care of me, he never yelled, he talks to me so softly. He was nice and I fell in love. To be honest, I let a lot of things slide because he was truly loving towards me. I didn’t get lots of great physical touch when I was young, so it was nice that he never hits me. He always kisses and hugs me.
But he would constantly lie, cross my boundaries, and never truly understood me. Yet I still loved him wholeheartedly. I choose to see his good and hoped that he would one day change or that my love will be enough for him to want to change. But he never did. We moved in 4 years ago, and ever since, I did everything for him. I cooked, packed his lunch for work, dropped him off, and picked him up from work when I could. I played games with him. But he would lie, and we would have fights where I sometimes got physical, like pushing him away when he hugged me to calm me down or hitting his chest in frustration. I don’t have an excuse for my reaction.
But he never once told me that he minded, and so I stayed the same. One day, he told me he’s done, out of the blue, and that he needs space. I was confused at first and pestered him to tell me why. He was having trouble at his new job and is generally depressed. He didn’t want to handle our relationship and would like a break. I tried talking to him about helping him and working things out.
He wanted to move out, and I took the initiative and booked and paid for a hotel room for him for one night for him to cool off, and maybe we can talk after, since it has been weeks of this talk.
He came back saying he still needs to move out and be by himself to better himself and come back to me. He promised that if he does, he’ll be a better version of himself.
Today, I found out that he was cheating since months before. That the hotel I paid for with the little savings that I had was for him to sleep with this girl. I found out way later, and when I caught him having phone calls with her, he denied it being romantic.
Today I met the other girl, AZ. AZ told me everything. She was also lied to, she had no idea we were still dating. She told me every detail, how he kissed her and how much he loved kissing her. How much they love each other. How he lied about our relationship and our breakup, how he showed interest in her from the beginning.
He told me it was a mistake, that it was a one-night stand. And all he wanted was to let go of his frustration and play around a bit and will eventually come back to me after the break. That the 7 years was during his young years and that he didn’t explore and that he thought we were getting boring and with AZ, he felt alive again. He said he liked how easy it was, how fun being with AZ is. But he said he knows it was wrong and that he will never forgive himself or ever do it again.
I basically made him quit his job; they’re coworkers, and I stopped them from going further. He asked that we start over in a new country and that we can be better. He said that he doesn’t deserve me and is ready if I would want to let go, but if I would want to work things out, he would change.
I spent all those years not having a backup plan. He was everything for me and was the person I never thought could do this. I truly planned my whole life for him.
Yet after all of this, I can’t shake the feeling that I can’t leave. I want to forgive him and forget this ever happened. But all of you experienced folks, please help me. I don’t know what to do, I’m so lost. Its so hard for me to abandon people. I’m 26, and I feel like dying. Will I even be desirable, and will I even love again, are all men like this? What if I meet one that hits me? Was I loved?
Please, help me.
I’m so sorry this was long, I had no one to talk to. I just hope to get some advice.

I know the obvious answer is to leave, but I don’t know how. For context, my father cheated on my mom when I was young. She never left, and I never learned to hate him. He stopped but never got better for my mom. My father had anger issues and would hit and scream at us when he’s in a bad mood.
I grew up physically abused, as most Asian families do. I have a fear of abandonment to a point where it’s paralyzing. I am the oldest out of 3 and learned quickly to be a pillar, a second mother for my sibling. I love taking care of people.
Me and my boyfriend met when we were 19. He is my first boyfriend, my first love, and who I lost my virginity to. He was the first man to take care of me, he never yelled, he talks to me so softly. He was nice and I fell in love. To be honest, I let a lot of things slide because he was truly loving towards me. I didn’t get lots of great physical touch when I was young, so it was nice that he never hits me. He always kisses and hugs me.
But he would constantly lie, cross my boundaries, and never truly understood me. Yet I still loved him wholeheartedly. I choose to see his good and hoped that he would one day change or that my love will be enough for him to want to change. But he never did. We moved in 4 years ago, and ever since, I did everything for him. I cooked, packed his lunch for work, dropped him off, and picked him up from work when I could. I played games with him. But he would lie, and we would have fights where I sometimes got physical, like pushing him away when he hugged me to calm me down or hitting his chest in frustration. I don’t have an excuse for my reaction.
But he never once told me that he minded, and so I stayed the same. One day, he told me he’s done, out of the blue, and that he needs space. I was confused at first and pestered him to tell me why. He was having trouble at his new job and is generally depressed. He didn’t want to handle our relationship and would like a break. I tried talking to him about helping him and working things out.
He wanted to move out, and I took the initiative and booked and paid for a hotel room for him for one night for him to cool off, and maybe we can talk after, since it has been weeks of this talk.
He came back saying he still needs to move out and be by himself to better himself and come back to me. He promised that if he does, he’ll be a better version of himself.
Today, I found out that he was cheating since months before. That the hotel I paid for with the little savings that I had was for him to sleep with this girl. I found out way later, and when I caught him having phone calls with her, he denied it being romantic.
Today I met the other girl, AZ. AZ told me everything. She was also lied to, she had no idea we were still dating. She told me every detail, how he kissed her and how much he loved kissing her. How much they love each other. How he lied about our relationship and our breakup, how he showed interest in her from the beginning.
He told me it was a mistake, that it was a one-night stand. And all he wanted was to let go of his frustration and play around a bit and will eventually come back to me after the break. That the 7 years was during his young years and that he didn’t explore and that he thought we were getting boring and with AZ, he felt alive again. He said he liked how easy it was, how fun being with AZ is. But he said he knows it was wrong and that he will never forgive himself or ever do it again.
I basically made him quit his job; they’re coworkers, and I stopped them from going further. He asked that we start over in a new country and that we can be better. He said that he doesn’t deserve me and is ready if I would want to let go, but if I would want to work things out, he would change.
I spent all those years not having a backup plan. He was everything for me and was the person I never thought could do this. I truly planned my whole life for him.
Yet after all of this, I can’t shake the feeling that I can’t leave. I want to forgive him and forget this ever happened. But all of you experienced folks, please help me. I don’t know what to do, I’m so lost. Its so hard for me to abandon people. I’m 26, and I feel like dying. Will I even be desirable, and will I even love again, are all men like this? What if I meet one that hits me? Was I loved?
Please, help me.
I’m so sorry this was long, I had no one to talk to. I just hope to get some advice.

I know the obvious answer is to leave, but I don’t know how. For context, my father cheated on my mom when I was young. She never left, and I never learned to hate him. He stopped but never got better for my mom. My father had anger issues and would hit and scream at us when he’s in a bad mood.
I grew up physically abused, as most Asian families do. I have a fear of abandonment to a point where it’s paralyzing. I am the oldest out of 3 and learned quickly to be a pillar, a second mother for my sibling. I love taking care of people.
Me and my boyfriend met when we were 19. He is my first boyfriend, my first love, and who I lost my virginity to. He was the first man to take care of me, he never yelled, he talks to me so softly. He was nice and I fell in love. To be honest, I let a lot of things slide because he was truly loving towards me. I didn’t get lots of great physical touch when I was young, so it was nice that he never hits me. He always kisses and hugs me.
But he would constantly lie, cross my boundaries, and never truly understood me. Yet I still loved him wholeheartedly. I choose to see his good and hoped that he would one day change or that my love will be enough for him to want to change. But he never did. We moved in 4 years ago, and ever since, I did everything for him. I cooked, packed his lunch for work, dropped him off, and picked him up from work when I could. I played games with him. But he would lie, and we would have fights where I sometimes got physical, like pushing him away when he hugged me to calm me down or hitting his chest in frustration. I don’t have an excuse for my reaction.
But he never once told me that he minded, and so I stayed the same. One day, he told me he’s done, out of the blue, and that he needs space. I was confused at first and pestered him to tell me why. He was having trouble at his new job and is generally depressed. He didn’t want to handle our relationship and would like a break. I tried talking to him about helping him and working things out.
He wanted to move out, and I took the initiative and booked and paid for a hotel room for him for one night for him to cool off, and maybe we can talk after, since it has been weeks of this talk.
He came back saying he still needs to move out and be by himself to better himself and come back to me. He promised that if he does, he’ll be a better version of himself.
Today, I found out that he was cheating since months before. That the hotel I paid for with the little savings that I had was for him to sleep with this girl. I found out way later, and when I caught him having phone calls with her, he denied it being romantic.
Today I met the other girl, AZ. AZ told me everything. She was also lied to, she had no idea we were still dating. She told me every detail, how he kissed her and how much he loved kissing her. How much they love each other. How he lied about our relationship and our breakup, how he showed interest in her from the beginning.
He told me it was a mistake, that it was a one-night stand. And all he wanted was to let go of his frustration and play around a bit and will eventually come back to me after the break. That the 7 years was during his young years and that he didn’t explore and that he thought we were getting boring and with AZ, he felt alive again. He said he liked how easy it was, how fun being with AZ is. But he said he knows it was wrong and that he will never forgive himself or ever do it again.
I basically made him quit his job; they’re coworkers, and I stopped them from going further. He asked that we start over in a new country and that we can be better. He said that he doesn’t deserve me and is ready if I would want to let go, but if I would want to work things out, he would change.
I spent all those years not having a backup plan. He was everything for me and was the person I never thought could do this. I truly planned my whole life for him.
Yet after all of this, I can’t shake the feeling that I can’t leave. I want to forgive him and forget this ever happened. But all of you experienced folks, please help me. I don’t know what to do, I’m so lost. Its so hard for me to abandon people. I’m 26, and I feel like dying. Will I even be desirable, and will I even love again, are all men like this? What if I meet one that hits me? Was I loved?
Please, help me.
I’m so sorry this was long, I had no one to talk to. I just hope to get some advice.

I (F24) have been friends with this person (F24) since we where 16, and we're both 24 now. I get that life changes a lot. I would say I'm a relatively open and try to be patient because I don't just wanna throw my friends away, and I get that change is inetiable in life. Over the past year, she has definitely had a lot of changes, like marriage and children and now the second child. Sometimes I just feel like there is not really any interest in how I'm doing, but moreso I'm just the guest to all her events. Give an example, we have not seen eachther for 6 months and out of the blue she sends me an invitation to her childs birthday, a long list of present ideas. No one question of how I am doing. Naturally her life and stuff takes up a lot of space and energy, I get that. I just start to feel like I need more. I love deep conversation and to feel understood. But it feels superficial, and I almost feel used in a way like I have to give her all these presents, and that's pretty much what our friendship is based on. When we are together I notice that the conversation rarely is focused on me. It was fine when we where younger. I could take to some extend, because I get that we all need validation from friends. But lately I feel like it's not any balance in the friendship. I don't feel like she values any of the effort I put into our friendship. Forexample when she had her first child, I baked cupcakes, bought presents, and all that stuff for the baby-shower and she can't even remember what I gave her. Me and my boyfriend put SO much time and effort into finding something her child would like. I don't feel like she really expreses a lot of gratitude for any thing I do honestly. And now I am really unsure how to go about it. It makes me so sad. We are just different places in life. I just miss when our friendship felt more equal, but now I dont feel like there's any effort on her side. I don't need a lot just a bit more if that makes sense. Can I even do anything to make the situation better?

It’s super late where I live but boyyyy I’m just so mf upset, I need to get this off my chest. I have never felt pretty. Never in my life. All my girlfriends can get any guy they want and are constantly approached by them. But not me. Just yesterday I went out with one of my gilrfriends for a girl’s night. She had multiple guys glued to her all night while I played chaperone to make sure she was safe. I tried to have fun and I danced by myself and vibed with my drink but I won’t lie, it absolutely hurt my confidence. I stupidly have a crush and I’m 30000% certain it is not reciprocated. But that’s fine and I’m not surprised.
I’ve never had a crush be reciprocated. I’ve never looked good in a candid photo and even posed ones I will take a million and look at one I sorta like until I hate it. I feel absolutely horrific about myself and it thinking about it too much makes me feel like all the air in the room is gone. My last boyfriend constantly made fun of me and my weight and never complimented me even when I tried really hard to make myself look good. I’ll admit he did a number to my mental health and self esteem for 2 years but I feel horrible even after leaving him.
I eat healthy, go to the gym, take care of my skin, hair, and nails, and keep myself active with hobbies but it never helps. I am working with some doctors on specific medical issues I have that make it much harder for me to lose weight compared to others. I’m not 200 lbs or anything crazy but I am short so I look stocky-ish. My nose is too big for my face and I have a weak jawline with no definition, even when I was under 115lbs.
I feel like I’m absolutely losing my mind over my appearance. It consumes my thoughts constantly. If I could get filler and plastic surgery, I would. My siblings are gorgeous but I definitely got the shit end of the stick. I am so deep in this cycle of self hatred that I’ve started skipping meals. Food scares me now. I weigh myself multiple times a day. I have made myself throw up to speed up the weight loss process and think about it every time I eat. Because to me, maybe being skinny would give me SOME points and make me feel better somehow. It is so pathetic and attention seeking but I can’t help it anymore.
My friend posted a picture of me and my pet in our group chat with friends after a hangout. I am barely in the picture, just from my mouth/chin and down but I burst into tears over my friend sharing it when I was alone. I don’t believe anyone who tells me I’m beautiful because I know they’ve just become accustomed to my looks because of my personality and being funny.
I know personality is important but I want to also be desired. I want to be wanted. I want to like who I am and what I look like so badly. I have no idea how to truly love myself and that’s the scariest and loneliest feeling in the planet. It is so pathetic and humiliating to be a grown woman and feel this way. I honestly wouldn’t mind wasting away into nothingness. I’m not fishing for compliments here and I’m sure this won’t get seen anyways cause it’s so mf long. I hope ranting at least makes me feel somewhat better. We’ll see.

To preface this I 26 f have been broken up with my ex boyfriend 30m for almost 3 years… our relationship started to fail when I was unable to take out as many credit card loans or make an income due to health reasons. When we moved into a newer quote on quote more upscale apartment complex I found out I was pregnant and was ecstatic because I was told I was more than likely infertile. When I told him, his first response was to make an appointment at the abortion clinic or he would leave. (Do not get me wrong I am pro choice until the day I die but this was my choice, to keep the baby). It was around Christmas time so no clinics were open (in my small town) and by the time I would be able to get an appointment I would be farther than 10weeks along…well the 11th week hit and we still hadn’t told anyone but I hadn’t slept the night before I, I felt something was wrong. When I finally got out of bed I immediately knew I was miscarrying (I had been working on labor and delivery for 3 years at that point). I told him immediately but heard nothing from him all day. When I got home he immediately changed into some “going out “ clothes and told me he was going to go out and celebrate him not having to have a baby with me anymore. Long story short 3 years later I meet the love of my life and were happily engaged planning on a summer 2025 wedding. Last week I got an emergency alert text that said my ex needed assistance through his smart watch (I bought for him). I knew this was a kind of serious one because it gave me the exact latitude and longitude of his last know whereabouts. I ignored it. And tbh I hope he’s dead in the mountains somewhere because of what he put me through. So AITA?

Copy and pasted from what I sent in a discord server on the topic.
ZTD and possibly 999 Spoilers ahead
Carlos (Action Figure)- a type of doll that is meant to be posed at all main joints (head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, sometimes the waist) and be able to hold the pose, doesn't have any interchangeable parts and typically depicts more masculine figures (commonly superheros and other rigid designs such as mech suits are used as a basis as skin tight suits and armor are easier to model around posable joints than loose clothing)
Akane (Nendoroid)- Nendoroids are a type of collectable figure produced by Good Smile that are smaller than a standard figure often depicting characters in a "chibi" style. Most models also come with multiple replaceable parts including face plates for different poses and expressions. Good Smile did also release a general accessories pack to add extra little pieces to put on the Nendoroids which does include different color cat ears
Junpei (Voodoo Doll) - I'm sure most people already know what this is, I haven't done a lot of research on voodoo dolls or the cultures that may have used them so I don't want to say anything incorrect so imma say Google it in your own time if you wanna go in depth. This being used for Junpei is more than definitely a reference to the "For you" June doll in 999
Sean (Matryoshka)- also called a variety of names including Russian Nesting dolls, stacking dolls, and tea dolls. They were created with the intention of helping kids learn to count. Symbolically is used to represent a number of things including fertility, continuation of life, and less often; someone who is "two-faced" or has secrets.
Mira (dress up doll)- the image used in game most closely resembles a Bratz doll. Dress up dolls usually also have posable joints but the range of points of articulation varies greatly between specific models. The different outfits you can buy with them can be made from cloth and closed with velcro or be made from rubber with an open seam to slip on and off. Definitely made to be played with in a ton of scenarios that kids may come up with
Eric (baby doll)- this one doesn't require much explanation. Baby dolls were initially designed in the 1800s with ceramic heads and limbs attached to stuffed cloth torsos to be a part of "imaginative play" to give kids a more cuddly doll to use as a pretend baby instead of other common dolls that were completely made from hard material with no articulation. Modern baby dolls use soft plastic or rubber as an alternative to ceramic but still represents a baby to be taken care of. Not to be confused with "Reborn dolls" that are highly intricate pieces of art designed to look exactly like newborn babies.
Diana (Porcelain Doll)- Porcelain, while being a type of ceramic, is made from higher grade clays and fired at much hotter temperatures than normal ceramics. Dolls made from porcelain are made to be display pieces and not played with in the way a dress up doll or a baby doll would be. Antique porcelain dolls can sell for upwards of thousands of dollars (Diana's doll in mentioned to be made of bisque porcelain, which is what the most expensive porcelain doll, made in 1916 and sold for $300,000, was made of) and are rare due to porcelain being extremely susceptible to significant damage from minor trauma. They are the most used example of "Creepy dolls" used in media due to their glass eyes and typically blank expression.
Phi (Posable Paper doll)- most popular from the 1930s-1950s due to paper being a cheap and accessible resource during the depression era and world war 2. They were easy to mass produce using a printing press and were often found in old newspapers. Theyre used mostly nowadays as the easiest diy dress up doll as all you need is to just draw and cut out the clothes on another piece of paper and place it on top. For this reason they are also popular for fashion designers to work out how they want something to look like on a person (example: how long a skirt on a dress should be). Also used as puppets occasionally for indie animation due to their ease of use, small storage space required, and again, price. As mentioned by someone else, very very flammable.
Sigma (Nutcracker)- a number of jokes could be made here but I will refrain. Typically associated with the Christmas season and can be used to open nuts with harder shells but using their jaws. Original german Nutcrackers were designed off of people of power to give the common folk enjoyment of the idea of making the powerful work for them by "making them crack their 'hard nuts of life.'" Nutcrackers did not become associated with the Christmas season until they were used in the ballet "The Nutcracker" that opened the week before Christmas in 1892 and became massively popular in the 1940s when it started to be performed outside Russia. Nutcrackers are also used to represent good luck and frightening away evil spirits.
Zero II's doll found on a piece of paper in the Pod room looks to basically be a cloth or rag doll which can be used to symbolize a limp person who is unable to do anything (example: being paralyzed or in a vegetative state) which could be a little itty bitty hind sight nod to Delta spending all of Dcom and the decision game in the wheelchair believed to be incommunicable with before being outed as Zero II.

Share your Lather Games shave of the day!

Today's Theme: Ahoy, Lather Games!

Product must be a Bay Rum, Old Spice or Old Spice dupe, or something with nautically-themed branding / marketing.
Note: this means the soap brand or soap concept must be nautically themed in some way. It does not mean "scent must be from the Aquatic fragrance family."

Today's Challenge: Paleontology Day

Priusaurus won last year. Honour him in some way in your shave.

Sponsor Spotlight

Noble Otter Soap Co.
Established in 2017, Noble Otter started off as a team of two with one goal in mind; to make men's grooming products the way they should be. Noble Otter started many years ago in their own home making bath soaps that they felt were better than what was available on the market. One year for Christmas, Cody got a wetshaving starters kit from his wife and fell in love with wetshaving. Cody loved the nostalgia, the quality of the shave, and of course the many different scents. Of course, as a hobbyist soapmaker Cody decided to start making his own. And after many test batches and feedback from numerous people, Cody decided it was time to start his own small business. So why Noble Otter? When they started thinking of a name for our business, they wanted to be different and unique. They started with the idea of telling the story of their scents through art and olfactory experience. Each scent has a unique otter that helps you picture what the experience might be like while using one of our products. It's fun, unique, and engaging at the same time. All Noble Otter soaps and splashes are handmade in Houston, Texas.

Tomorrow's Theme: Where's the Beef?

Product must contain a non-beef tallow - e.g., sheep, bison, deer, duck, bear, cat, etc. Caveat: we acknowledge that there are usually a few vegan players who object to being required to use a non-vegan product to be on-theme; therefore, players may use a vegan soap for today's theme, provided that all the other software and hardware they use this month is also vegan.

Tomorrow's Challenge: OnionMiOsma Day

If you have Osma, use it. If you have some other alum, use it and tell us how much you wish it was Osma. If you don't have any alum, tell us why you don't put salt on your skin after you shave.

My boyfriend (M17) broke up with me (F18) 6 days ago. I can't talk to him anymore. He was the person I talked about everything for one and a half years. He was my first everything. First relationship, first "I love you", first kiss.. So I'll spread my feelings, maybe it helps.
On Tuesday everything started normal, he kissed me in the morning and behaved like always. After school then he wrote me that he wanted to go on a walk with me.. In a nutshell, he broke up with me. Told me he didn't love me for a month. I cried a lot but now I'm just not really there. I haven't eaten much since that day and feel very bad, mentally and physically. We spent so much time together, I have no idea how to get rid of all the time. The time in my head, the time we had. I just want to forget. And the thought of him completely forgetting about me kills me. He doesn't care anymore. From one day to another I wasn't even a friend to him anymore. I was nothing. I ain't anything now and I feel like it When I think about the great time he has now I feel even worse because I feel like I'll never have a good time again. I'm a special person. I'm clingy and want to cuddle all the time. I'm not too good looking and a huge nerd. Not speaking about the failure of my now past relationship I fear that nobody will ever accept me the way I am. Because he did. He was the only person that ever accepted me completely. In his case I had no social batteries. I was always so comfortable with him. And even for him I was too much to love.
I never felt worse and I feel like my life ended. You don't have to tell me that my life continues. I already heard all of that a million times. But that doesn't change my feelings, sadly
Since some days I'm also very mad at him. That fact doesn't change my love, but it helps me to handle the pain. I'm ranting about past problems, he was just a child that isn't ready for a real relationship. I was. Maybe it was just too much for him. We talked about living together in the future, we had 'fun proposals' . On our 6 month anniversary he gave me a ring. I'm not wearing it anymore, my finger misses it a lot. Inside of it he put a I love you and on the outside our names. It was everything to me.
The fact that I lost him feels like a deeply loved family member died. But he decided to die for me. I hope I can kill my own love too soon.
Stay strong guys.

Adam and D-Sides Boyfriend, or DS for short, were deep into a game of Super Mario Bros Wonder on the Nintendo Switch."Yeah, this game is pretty good!" Adam agreed, just as the doorbell rang. He paused the game and got up. "Hang on, I gotta see who's at the door." Boyfriend nodded, and Adam walked to the front door. Opening it, he found Owen and Oskar standing there. "I often forget you know where I live," Adam remarked. Oskar darted inside, eager to escape Owen’s company. "Hi," Owen said, following more slowly. Owen took one couch, and Oskar took another, each eyeing the other warily.

Adam broke the silence. "So, where are your girlfriends tonight?" "Busy," they both replied in unison. "Well, okay then," Adam said. "I’m playing Mario Wonder with Boyfriend. Want to join?"
"You have a boyfriend?" Oskar asked incredulously. "No, his name is Boyfriend," Adam clarified. "You’re joking," Owen said, skeptical. "Nope. Hey BF, come out here!" Adam called. DS stepped out and waved. "Beep!" "Huh, you’re right," Oskar admitted.

Just then, someone knocked on the side door. "Hold on," Adam said, heading over. He opened it to find Isaiah and Eleanor. "Hi, Adam!" Eleanor greeted cheerfully. "Hi, guys!" Adam responded. Isaiah walked in, stopping when he saw Owen and Oskar. "Oh...who are you guys?" Isaiah asked. "I’m Oskar," Oskar replied. "I’m Owen," Owen added. Eleanor followed Adam, who closed the door behind them. "So, since there are more people here than usual, any ideas on what to do tonight?" Adam asked. "Beep Bo Bap!" DS beeped. "Boys' Night Out?" Adam suggested. "Boys' Night Out?" Owen repeated, confused. "It’s basically when just the guys go out for the night and have fun!" Adam explained.

"So, basically anything?" Oskar asked. "Yeah, as long as it’s legal," Adam said. "Are you okay with it, Eleanor?" Isaiah asked. Eleanor smiled and nodded. "Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Your sister is home, right, Adam?" "Yeah, but she was a bit snappy earlier. I wouldn’t bother her," Adam warned. "Where would we go, anyway?" Owen asked. "Beep bap!" DS suggested. "Yeah, we can go to Applebee's," Adam said. "I’m okay with that," Isaiah agreed. "Can we go to the casino afterward?" Owen asked. Everyone stared at him in confusion. "Dude, we’re all 12-14 except for BF," Adam said. "Oh right," Owen realized. "We can go to the arcade next," Isaiah suggested. "That works," Adam said. "What about after that?" Oskar asked. "We'll figure it out. Ready to go?" Adam asked. "Yeah, I’m ready," Isaiah said. Owen got up. "Let’s go." Adam, DS, and Oskar followed. "Bye, Eleanor! We'll be back in a bit!" Isaiah said. Eleanor waved as the boys left.
After a bit, they finally arrived at Applebee's. "Alright boys, welcome to Applebee's. You know what I love about this place? The culture. I usually have a burger, but sometimes I switch it up. First meal, you’re in Asia; next meal, you’re in Greece!" Adam said.

"Beep bap bo!" DS chimed in. "Exactly, I feel like I need a passport to eat here!" Adam laughed. "So what do you recommend?" Isaiah asked. "What do I recommend? Isaiah, this is Applebee's. I recommend all of it! Wait, you're from New York, right?" Adam asked. "Yeah. Why?" Isaiah asked. "Brooklyn or Queens?" Adam asked. "Manhattan," Isaiah said. "Did you not go to Applebee's before?" Adam asked. "No, not really," Isaiah said. "Well, that's fine. You’re gonna love it," Adam assured him.

After a bit, the waitress came over. Adam’s heart sank. It was Mary Lou Maloney, a familiar face to him but not to the others. "Hello, welcome to Applebee's. My name is Mary, and I'll be your server tonight," Mary Lou said.

"Beep!" DS said."Y-Yeah..." Adam stammered, clearly unsettled. Mary Lou focused on Adam. "How about we start with you, handsome?" she asked, getting close and rubbing his hair. "What would you like to drink?" "Uh, I would like a..." Adam began to say. "You want a lemonade, right?" Mary Lou suggested. "Y-Yeah, that works," Adam said, visibly uneasy. Oskar looked at Adam, puzzled by his behavior. "I’ll have water," Oskar said. "I’ll have a Pepsi," Isaiah added. "Beep bo bap!" DS said. "He said he’ll have a Coke," Adam translated. "I'll take a water too," Owen said.

Mary Lou smiled and walked away. Adam faced the ground, holding his head. "Adam, are you okay? You acted strange when the waitress came," Oskar observed. "No, no, I’m fine. Just a bit hungry, that’s all," Adam lied, unconvincingly. "Who was that? You acted like she was your mom. Oh my god, was that your mom?" Owen asked. "What? No, that's not my mom. Look at me," Adam said. "Beep bap bo, skidoo bap?" DS asked. "No, not my ex or girlfriend..." Adam said. "Then who is it?" Isaiah asked. "Well, she's... a friend of mine. Yeah, a friend. I forgot she worked here," Adam said.

Mary Lou returned with their drinks, still grinning. "I have your drinks, boys. Now, may I take your orders?" "Yeah, that would be nice," Isaiah said. Mary Lou turned towards Adam. "Hey!" she said. "...Yeah?" Adam replied. "You want a classic bacon burger, right? Well done, fries seasoned?" Mary Lou asked. Adam’s heart dropped. "Y-Yeah..." "I’ll have a chicken sandwich," Isaiah said. "How do you want that cooked?" Mary Lou asked. "Crispy," Isaiah replied. "I’m not hungry, thanks," Oskar said. "I’m not hungry either," Owen added. Owen and Oskar exchanged glances, both thinking, "What's your excuse?" "Beep bo bap do bop!" DS said. "Alright, I’ll be back in a bit!" Mary Lou said, leaving with a tune. "Not your girlfriend, eh?" DS teased. "Why are you speaking English now?" Isaiah asked.
Meanwhile, Eleanor knocked on Esther’s door, but there was no answer. "Hello?" Eleanor called, knocking again. "Go away, Adam, or I’ll stab you," Esther threatened from inside. "But... I’m not Adam," Eleanor said. Esther opened the door and looked up at Eleanor. "Who are you?" "My name is Eleanor. You’re Adam’s little sister, right?" Eleanor asked. Esther groaned and tried to close the door, but Eleanor held it open. "Hey, what are you—" Esther began to say, but Eleanor's grip was strong. The door cracked as Eleanor instinctively burst it open, then sprinted off. "What the fu—"

Back at Applebee's, Mary Lou brought the food over, still grinning. "Enjoy your food!" she said, passing it around before leaving. "Damn BF, those nachos look tasty," Adam said. BF nodded, taking a bite and giving a thumbs up. Owen and Oskar’s stomachs growled. "You sure you aren't hungry? It’s not too late to order something," Adam offered. "I'm fine," Oskar said. "Yeah, me too," Owen agreed.

After around 20 minutes of eating, the food was done. "Wow, that burger was delicious," Adam said. "Beep…." DS said. "Yeah, it was," Isaiah said. Mary Lou came back. "I hope you enjoyed your food, now who's paying?" Mary Lou asked. Everyone looked at each other. "Uh, can you give us a second?" Adam asked. She nodded and left.

"Alright, I'm fine with paying if I need to but are there any takers?" Adam asked.
"...This might work," Oskar said. He pulled out Swedish cash from his pocket. "...Oskar, that's Swedish currency. I don't think that's gonna work." Adam said. "Oh…" Oskar said. "Wait, Oskar, are you Swedish?" Isaiah asked. "Yeah, Eli too," Oskar said. "Huh, I mean I can kind of hear it in your voice," Adam said.

Mary Lou came back and leaned close behind Adam. "You know, if you can't pay, if you come in the back with me Handsome, I'll let you off free…." Mary Lou said. Adam turned red as everyone turned towards him, dazed, surprised, and confused. “Uh..Uh..” Adam begins to say, dazed and confused. “Think about it handsome. I'll be back in a bit..” Mary Lou said, kissing him on the cheek. She walked away, humming to herself. Everyone just stared at Adam. “Did…Did she just…?” Oskar began to say. “I think…?” Owen began to say. Isaiah just stared at the ground.
“Bro, I think the waitress just offered to let us go free if-” DS-Boyfriend began to say, but Adam cut him off. “Boyfriend for everyone's safety DON'T finish that sentence,” Adam said. “...Are…Are you going to say something about what just happened….?” Isaiah asked. “I would rather not…” Adam said. Everyone just stared at each other. “You know what? I'll pay. That way we can simply move on.” DS said. “Really?” Owen asked. “Dude, when a waitress offers to bang your best friend to get out of a restaurant without paying, that's when you know you gotta get the f**k out of dodge,” DS said. “Hey, nice reference,” Isaiah said. “Thanks,” replied. “How can you afford to pay?” Owen asked.

“My parents are CEOS of big companies, that's how,” DS-Boyfriend said.
“Hey Adam, can you get the waitress?” DS-Boyfriend asked. “...Why me?” Adam asked. DS-Boyfriend gave a sh*t-eating grin. “Oh you gotta be kidding me,” Adam said agitated. “Hey, don’t look at me, she’s the one into you,” DS said. Adam rolled his eyes and got up, but when he turned around, he bumped into Mary Lou, who was walking back to the table. “Oh hey! Taking my offer?” Mary Lou asked. Before anything could happen DS stepped in. “Actually he was going to get you so we can get the hell outta here,” DS said. Mary Lou looked down before nodding her head. “Alright, we can have some fun another time then.” Mary Lou suggested. Adam turned red again as DS got up from his seat and handed Adam the Money. “Here you go,” Adam said. Mary took it and smiled. “Alright, you can go! Have fun boys!” Mary Lou said with a creepy smile. The others got up from their chairs and quickly left through the door. But before Adam could Leave, Mary Lou grabbed his arm. “...This was nice. Can we do this again sometime?” She asked. Adam shrugged. “I guess so,” Adam said. Mary Lou smiled. She took off Adam’s hat and rubbed his hair. “... It's a date then, see you later…alligator.” Mary Lou said. “YO ADAM, WHAT’S THE HOLD-UP, COME ON!” DS yelled. Adam turned and left through the door.

Eleanor was sitting outside on the steps in the backyard, thinking to herself about what transpired. She didn’t know what came over herself, she didn’t even mean to get so aggressive. She was about to just get up and go take a walk down the road when she noticed a toy Rabbit sitting near the gate. It wasn’t there before. It was grey, and one of its eyelids was drooped down. It had a red vest and a blue bowtie and its eyes were purple. “Where did you come from?” Eleanor asked. The toy roared to life. “R-R-R-Ready to Rocket!” the toy belted. Eleanor gasped out of surprise and dropped the toy, causing it to stutter on one line. “Bon is here- Bon is here- Bon is here- Bon is here- Bon is-” But then the rabbit stopped, its eye slowly turning to look at something in front of it. “H-H-Hi Bon!” Eleanor looked up and saw him. A large 7 ft rabbit animatronic stood in front of the gate, but he looked…damaged. The rabbit had a white latex mask, with a cigar in his mouth and its eyes glowed a bit white as it stood there.He wore a red bowtie connected to a dickie. The torso had a large hole in it, and it was…slightly lined with blood. His vest was tattered and damaged. It had a bunch of holes in it. He had a name tag on his vest “HELLO! MY NAME IS BON.” But it was slightly ripped. His lower arms were exposed with an endoskeleton, but the fingers looked like claws. His lower legs were exposed with an endoskeleton as well. Bon wasn’t looking at her at first before his eyes slowly tilted towards her. The rabbit slowly moved its head, a creaking sound coming from it. The mouth opened, and at first, nothing came out, but then it spoke. “M-My. Name. Is. BON.” The rabbit went to walk towards Eleanor when Esther opened the side door. “Hey. Knew I’d find you out here.” Esther mentioned. Eleanor looked back, but Bon was gone. It was as if..it were an illusion. She looked down and the toy rabbit was gone as well. “Oh, hey,” Eleanor said, trying to sound as normal as she could, albeit possibly hallucinating. Esther sat next to her. “Listen, I don’t know what that was back there, but I’m not going to lie, it was kind of cool,” Esther admitted. Eleanor smiled. “My name is Eleanor, what’s yours?” Eleanor asked. “Esther,” Esther replied. It seemed like she would continue the sentence, but she left it hanging. Eleanor smiled before she asked something, following up on something she heard earlier. “...Hey, can I ask you something?” Eleanor asked. Esther nodded. “...Why do you hate your brother?” Eleanor asked. Esther frowned a bit. “It’s…not that hate him. I’ve been in other homes before this one and most of the time my brothers were…assholes.” Esther explained. “And…is Adam one?” Eleanor asked. Esther sighed. “No...Not really, he’s been nothing but nice but..I just don’t believe it. Like how could someone just be so nice? I haven’t even seen him snap in anger yet. I know it's bound to happen eventually but still.” Esther admitted. Eleanor shrugged. “Guess I understand,” Eleanor whispered. Esther got up. “Well, it was nice meeting you, I’m going to go back into my room ok?” Esther asked. Eleanor gave a thumbs-up as Esther left.

“Right so, where is the arcade?” Oskar asked. DS looked at his phone. “Uh, somewhere around…Here!” DS shouted, pointing at a building. The Building was red, with white glowing neon lights. The arcade was called “THE NEON ARCADE!” “Dude this place looks awesome,” Adam stated. “Where did you find this place?” Owen asked. “I came here with my girlfriend once, gots a sick amount of arcade machines,” DS stated. “Well what are we waiting for, Let's go have some fun!” Isaiah shouted.

The gentlemen walked into the arcade, it was literally what you expected, mostly just an arcade, but there was a play zone, food court, and…a bowling rink! Yeah, that should be about it. “Dude this looks straight out of the 80s!” Oskar shouted. “How would you know? It’s not like you were FROM the 80s!” Adam replied jokingly. Oskar just stared at him, his face serious. “...Calm down! It was a joke!” Adam said, putting his hands up. Oskar made a sigh of relief. “Good, I thought I’d need to kill ya,” Oskar said, joking back. Owen stared at Oskar, his eyes wide with fear. Oskar looked at Owen, seeing the fear in his eyes. “...What?” Oskar asked. Owen didn’t respond, as if remembering…bad times. “Owen…Owen!” Adam shouted. Owen snapped out of his trance. “Oh, sorry...Just thinking of something.” Owen admitted. “Your girlfriend?” DS chuckled. "Something like that," Owen muttered, wanting to change the subject. Adam glanced at him, concerned but deciding to let it go."Alright, let's split up and see who can get the highest score on any game!" Adam suggested, trying to lighten the mood. "Winner gets bragging rights for the rest of the night." DS chuckled. “Bet I can get the highest score,” DS spoke cockily. “You sure about that?” Owen asked. DS looked up at Owen Smugly. “Wanna bet?” DS asked. “No, I just don’t wanna see you lose it.” Owen replied. “BET.” DS stated.

The boys went to different games as the hunt was On. Adam saw this cool game called “Death by AI”, while Oskar played a game called “Ring Out”, while DS and Isaiah played Air Hockey. Owen on the other hand, didn’t exactly know what he should play. Sure, there was Miss Pacman, but he didn’t feel like playing that without Abby. That’s when he noticed a game just..sitting there in the corner. It was an arcade game from King of the Jungle Cafe. But that closed a long time ago. How did it make its way here? The game was called “ZOO ESCAPE”. It was about King Louie and his animal friends being sent to a zoo and they needed to escape. Owen looked around. No one was watching him. Why not give the old game a go? Owen walked over and placed a token in. The game rocketed to life, the familiar jingle playing out. It put a smile on his face. And so, he began to play. Despite how old the game was, it was still fun to play. He was playing for a while when he sensed someone was watching him. He at first thought it was Adam, but he realized it wasn’t. It felt off. He paused the game and saw someone leaning against the arcade machine. It was a boy. He was wearing a black teeshirt with white stripes. It had the earth on it. He had a purple and blue bracelet on one of his arms. He wore tan pants with white shoes. His brown hair went slightly over his eyes. From his face, Owen could tell he had braces and freckles. “Enjoying the game, huh?” The boy asked. Owen nodded. “Yeah, it's fun, I used to play this all the time,” Owen admitted. The boy chuckled. “I used to love playing this thing.” The boy agreed. “..I’m Owen, what's your name?” Owen asked. “Ronny, nice to meet you. ..Though, I swear we met before.” Ronny pondered. “What do you mean?” Owen asked, tilting his head. Ronny shrugged. “Nevermind, it's nothing,” Ronny said. Owen wa about to respond when he heard Adam shouting from the other end of the room. “OWEN, WE’RE ABOUT TO HEAD OUT, YOU READY TO GO?” Adam cried. “Yeah, Coming!” Owen shouted back. Owen looked back, but Ronny was gone. He looked around, but couldn’t see any trace of him.

Adam and the others gathered near the entrance, their faces glowing with excitement from the night's activities. "So, who got the highest score?" Isaiah asked, smirking as he pointed at the air hockey table, where he had just narrowly defeated DS. “AI had nothing on me,” Adam replied. Oskar chuckled, shaking his head. "Ring Out was a blast. I reached level 15, but I think you might've beaten me, Adam." "Did anyone check the scores for Owen?" Isaiah asked, looking around.
Owen shrugged, a small smile on his face. "I was just playing an old favorite, 'Zoo Escape'. Didn't check my score." "Old games for old souls," DS joked, giving Owen a friendly nudge. Owen glared at him but shook it off. "Alright, boys, let's tally up and declare a winner."

The group walked to the main score screen near the entrance. After some friendly banter and a quick check, Adam emerged as the victor with his impressive score on "Death by AI". "Bragging rights secured," Adam announced, striking a triumphant pose. "Now, what's next on the agenda?" DS pulled out his phone to check the time. "It's getting late. Maybe we should start heading back." Adam yawned. “Yeah, I agree, come on gentlemen,” Adam commanded.

The group began their walk back to Adam's house. The air was cool and refreshing, a welcome change from the bustling, neon-lit arcade.
"So, what was up with that waitress at Applebee's?" Isaiah asked, breaking the silence. "She seemed...intense." Adam stopped walking and rubbed the back of his neck, clearly still embarrassed. "Yeah, Mary Lou's...interesting. I guess she likes to mess with me." "Mess with you? Dude, she was all over you," Oskar pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "You sure there's nothing more to that story?" Adam sighed. “Look, I don’t really know, I guess she’s just…like that. I have no idea what’s going on in her head. I guess she just has a unique way of interacting with people she likes.” Adam suggested. Owen looked around. “My house is nearby here, I’m gonna head out,” Owen said. “Right, see ya man.” DS waved. Owen waved goodbye as he separated from the group. “Actually, looking around now, I think my place is around here too. I’ll see you guys later ok?” Oskar said. “Alright, see you later man,” Isaiah replied. Oskar walked away, now it was just DS, Isaiah, and Adam here. “You know what? This was fun.” DS Remarked. “Yeah, it was,” Adam responded, a bit tired. “Just a question, why did you start speaking English out of nowhere?” Isaiah asked. “...Eh, I just felt like it.”

It took them a bit, but the trio got back to Adam’s house. “Welp, that was fun boys but I’m gonna head home, see yall later!” DS shouted. Adam waved goodbye as DS walked away. “Don’t know about you, but I’m tired,” Adam said. “Same, goodnight Adam!” Isaiah replied. Adam waved as they walked into the house, Adam walked into his room, as Isaiah walked downstairs.

Isaiah got back into the apartment downstairs and closed the door behind him. He breathed a sigh of relief. Unsure why he did that. “Isaiah.” A voice called “S**t!” Isaiah yelled out of fear. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The voice responded. Isaiah focused his eyes and noticed two eyes staring at him from the darkness, but he recognized the voice. “It's ok Mom,” Isaiah replied. “Where did you go?” Naiomi asked. “I went with Adam and some of his friends on a boy's night out. Where’s Eleanor?” Isaiah asked. “In her room waiting for you,” Naiomi responded. “Thanks,” Isaiah replied. He was about to walk into the room when his mother stopped him. “...That Adam…is he any good?” Naiomi asked. “What do you mean?” Isaiah asked. “Is he treating you right?” Naiomi asked. “Yeah, if anything he’s like a brother,” Isaiah stated. Naiomi stared before nodding. “Alright, good. Goodnight Isaiah.” Naiomi said, with a deadpan voice. “Good Night Mom,” Isaiah responded. He entered the room as Naiomi looked at the door upstairs. But she decided against going up there, she’d need an invitation after all.

I went to my friends house yesterday alongside my boyfriend. They planned to sneak out to a mall 5 mins away and i thought that it was a bad idea but still went with it. Thats it, im doomed. My parents caught me red handed and confiscated my phone. Even worst is that they went through it and found pics of me and my boyfriend together (hugging/out together while i lied to my parents that im going out with friends) It's been going on for 6 months now and they found out. Theyre also very religious so they slapped me countless times and grounded me. After that they erased my phone, Im not allowed to go out, meet friends, talk to my siblings, no devices, no skincare, no makeup etc. I am absolutely devastated. I cant even sleep in my own room, i have to sleep in my cats room on the floor. I might even have to transfer schools since they know my friends and my boyfriend are my classmates. My parents probably hate me.. im not allowed to go anywhere now. Im lifeless.. i regret everything, i miss my old life. Im guilty and sorry. What can i do? How long will this last? Someone please reach out.. thank you

my boyfriend of 3 years just broke up with me. he said he didn’t want to be in a relationship anymore, he didn’t feel like he could love me the way i “expected” him to. towards the end he started getting distant so i would constantly ask him for reassurance just to make sure everything was still the same. i guess it was just too much to ask for. he broke up with me but said we can just be friends. its been 5 days, we’ve been talking and ive just been begging him to give me another chance. we hung out as “friends” but he held my hand and kissed me. i asked him again to consider giving me another chance and he said no he said he just wants us to be friends because he didn’t want all the commitment. i asked if he just wants to talk to other people but he said that wasn’t the reason. we’ve been talking on the phone like we always did, but all i do is beg him to give me another chance. i can’t sleep without being on the phone with him, im really down bad. i know being friends isn’t a good idea but i can’t imagine cutting him out completely. i love him. this hurts so bad. he’s been living his life like normal, and i’ve been in bed crying all day. it really sucks to see how he isn’t affected by any of this. i want to die lol this feeling sucks so fucking much.

I (19f) have been in a near 2 year long relationship with my boyfriend (20m) who has shown me nothing but green flags. He is my best friend and we do everything together. We spent Christmas together we go on road trips. Things are very serious between us and we have both agreed that as of right now we fully intend to marry each other. I always have a great time with him. He’s genuinely the love of my life.
We both still live with our parents. He has met my family including my parents, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. His parents are divorced. I have met his dad, all of his siblings, his grandparents, and his stepmom. They are all very nice and welcoming to me and treat me like their own daughter. Their house is about ten minutes away from mine.
His biological mother lives just 2 minutes down the road from me. He and I have been friends for years so I have heard a lot about his mother being pretty strict and possessive. Again, it has been almost 2 years, and I have NEVER seen his mother in person. I ask him all the time if we can go to his moms house and I can meet her but there is always an excuse made by her of why she doesn’t want to meet me today and he never argues.
He has told me that it upsets him that she refuses to be involved with such a big part of his life, but I don’t see him making much of an effort to convince her to let him introduce me. We have walked to the house so that he can pick up something that he forgot in his room, and she tells him to make me wait outside (even in the winter when it’s cold). I’ve heard her voice on the phone with him, asking where he is, and whenever he says he’s with me she doesn’t seem pleased.
I’m not sure what to do because it almost seems awkward at this point to meet her since she has refused for so long. I don’t want to get too offended because even his dad and his grandparents told me “not to take it personally” because that’s “just how she is” but he is pretty close with his mother and lives at her house, and that is the only part of his life that I am not involved with. It’s so strange and I don’t know what to do.
My boyfriend almost seems stressed out when I bring it up too. Like he thinks I’m scolding him about something that he can’t control. I don’t try to scold; I am genuinely just so confused.
I found myself getting upset about it tonight and thinking that if we ever have grandkids together, however long it takes his mom to finally agree to meet me will be how long it takes until she can see her grandchildren. It’s offending me slightly and I don’t know how to move forward please helppp!!