Hey Reddit, I’m fairly new at this and will probably be having to make edits and updates along the way so please bear with me. Also the timeline may be a bit confusing so if there are any questions or confusions just say so and I’ll clear it up the best I can.
My dad (49) and I (19f) currently have a very strained relationship. We rarely speak to other besides greetings when he’s home and when he calls my mom on the road (he’s a truck driver). I should start by saying that growing up I was probably the biggest daddy’s girl you could know. It was when I was around 11-12 he became less active and seemed uninterested in anything i did if it wasn’t about grades in school. In February of this year he came out and told my brother (16 at the time) and I that he had cheated on our mom and the woman ended up pregnant. The cheating in question happens on a trip he took back to his native country for his birthday. I put the time line together after he let us know that the unborn child had actually been born. He turned 2 this past April, 2 weeks before my other brother turned 17. When he finished my brother and I both in shock said we weren’t mad, just EXTREMELY disappointed, and would need time to process what he told us and then we’d have another talk.
We are now in May and he hasn’t breathed a word of anything regarding the situation since the day he told us. He walks around and acts like everything is normal and tries to make “jokes” in passive aggressive statements. I don’t know if i’m crazy but I just don’t feel like he has the right to do that, because he’s the one who messed up. Like sir, there is no more normal you brought a whole new person here. My mom is considering divorce, but he swears he’ll never do it again and he thinks “they can make it work”. Let it be known for the record, this was not the first time cheated, it’s more like this is how he broke his promise to never cheat again.
TRIGGER WARNING small mention of SA in this paragraph
Honestly the whole situation is really fucked up but it made me take a step back and truly analyze the relationship i had with him as a whole, and although we lived together (because he’s only been truck driving for 2 years) I don’t feel like he was really a father to me like he should’ve. I was always involved in school extracurriculars and constantly had something going on. In my whole conscious life i can count on one hand how many he showed up for anything i had. And it wasn’t because he couldn’t, he simply didn’t want to and never made an effort to. My mom however would take days off and came to who knows how many and she really played both roles for me. 2 years ago I also had to get therapy for SA and trauma, and i didn’t realize it until speaking about it with my mom a few weeks ago that he never once asked me if I was okay while dealing that (and I was not). I tried to speak to him and have conversations, but with me he’s only ever able to talk about how i need to “do better in school” or how i need to “quit my job and focus on school full time” to which i said no.
After that I ended up telling my mom that I’ll pass on speaking to him about anything other then what we need to talk about and figure out. She’s positive our relationship will be fine but it’s teetering the verge of me choosing go no contact, because I couldn’t imagine having that man walking me down the aisle at my wedding. Thinking way ahead yes, but he never wants to bring up the topic, if you do he gets mad. He can never take critique, you can never not agree with him, and even when he’s dead wrong he still gets angry and blames it on others. All my life we have had to, quoting my mom, ”get over it”.
Quite frankly, I could go on for pages of little and big things he’s done and hasn’t done, but i’m just tired of putting up with it and told my mom if he continues he wouldn’t have a daughter much longer, i’ve been thinking about this a lot more recently as he is on his week off at home.
Any and all advice is welcomed but i also want to know would i be the asshole?

I am about 12 weeks pregnant after three back to back miscarriages (FTM). This is the furthest I’ve ever gotten in my pregnancies and while I’m excited, I’m very nervous and cautious. I got a good NIPT result and I’m just waiting on the NT before I announce to everyone. My parents and sister know as well as my husband’s immediate family.
Now that I’ve gotten then NIPT results back my parents are on my case with advice. My sister called me and asked me if I wanted her old bassinet one day after my results. Like I said, I’m taking things slowly bc of previous losses so I haven’t done much research. I told her I don’t know and I don’t think I want it because I want to do my own research and decide. She got upset that I wasn’t grateful for her offering it to me.
I had already had a conversation with her earlier and mentioned a bassinet I was thinking of getting and she immediately dismissed me saying it’s no good (even though it’s pediatrician approved and studies have shown babies get better sleep in it) even though she has never tried it or used it herself. I told her I wanted to also get an infant vitals monitor bc I’m worried about SIDS (given my previous losses I am so nervous about losing my baby) and she immediately said “oh those things never work and only work if your baby has heart issues” at this point I felt like all the decisions I was making were being judged and shot down so it made me feel so insecure and like I was a bad mom already. I also told her I wanted to get a glider for the nursery and she once again shot it down and said “it was too difficult for me to be able to hold my baby and breastfeed anywhere except my bed so you won’t be able to do it on a glider either”. Maybe it’s the hormones but I’m so sad my decisions are constantly dismissed by her.
I just feel like she judged me so much for some of my decisions on things and then got offended when I wasn’t grateful for her advice and offers. I am grateful but I also am overwhelmed bc I’ve only known the NIPT results for 48 hours so far. There was also this time when I was telling her I had an idea for names for a baby girl and she jokingly guessed the name I had and when I said yes that’s the name she started to make fun of it and didn’t stop. Now that name is ruined and I can’t use it anymore even though I loved it (it meant hope in my native language and was special to us after our mcs).
My dad called me up today and said we need to all sit down and talk so we can tell you all the things that your sister got and liked and what worked and what didn’t. I again got upset because it feels like they’re piling on me and he said I’m being resistant to advice. So I told him that I will take advice that’s written down and sent to me and I will compile it and put it into a spreadsheet and do research and make my decision. I told him I’m open to advice as long as he and everyone else is respectful of my informed decision in the end. He responded saying “I will talk with you about this later” so I feel like he isn’t respecting my boundaries.
Am I crazy for feeling this way? Am I being stubborn b*tch? I know they mean well but it feels like they’re taking control and not trusting my husband and I to make the decisions that are best for us.
Sorry for the long post!!

this is really my first time doing this but I really need help. There was this one situation where my fellow classmates were laughing at me and making slick comments about me. The crazy thing is, i’ve never disrespected them and was always nice to them. This generally hurt my feelings, and I cried so hard after that incident in my next period. I wanted to go home so bad. The most embarrassing part for me is that I’m about to start my junior year next year and I still care about what people say or think of me. I’m also very sensitive, I don’t like when people (especially my friends) make fat or big back jokes about me because i’ve also been insecure about my weight. Also hate the way when they sometimes bring up my skin color. I am dark skin so you might know what i’m talking about. People tell me to always be confident in myself and don’t listen to what people have to say about you because they’re just jealous, but i find that very hard to believe. It’s hard for me to not care what people think of me. It’s hard to not be confident. There’s been times where I would plan on hurting myself just to make myself not go to school. I can’t even walk in the classroom, where the situation happened, the same as i do anymore. Anytime i hear them laugh, i always think it’s about me. There will be times where I just cry myself to sleep just because I see myself as ugly. it’s so hard to be confident in myself. i want to skinny, pretty and experience young love but i can’t do any of that. i hate the way i look with and without make up on j hate my body so much to the point i have to wear the most uncomfortable shape wear that doesn’t even do much, i still don’t fell confident with it on. i avoid mirrors at school to see how i look at cause im scared i may look bad, my outfit is ugly and i look too big. I’ve been self aware of myself since the ending of elementary school moving up all the way to high school. I nitpick everything about myself to the point i even think my eyes are ugly. I also HATE taking pictures so much. Anytime i take a pic with my friends i would have to cover my face is some type of way of use a filter. I just really need help. I’m so scared I can never see myself as a beautiful person and grow in confidence.

Hey yall like stated in the title I understand yall ain't health experts and I'm probably in the wrong place but im on the younger side, not 18 yet but throughout all of my childhood I have been the butt of all the fat jokes and you know how it is if you were the fat kid. Recently I have taken an interest in joining the army but I don't meet any standards... so here is what I have going for me I'm 5'11 187lbs so not super overweight but not fit at all. So to provide extra info I do not have access to a gym but I do have free weights up to 50lbs and a bike. Another issue is the school food on a typical school day they serve a couple of options a parfait, A nacho bar with turkey meat, lettuce, beans, and cheese. They also have pizza, hamburgers/breaded chicken sandwiches, and a rotational item. At home for food, I typically eat whatever my mom makes and don't have amazing access to healthy food but my stepdad is on a keto diet so maybe I could eat with him. Any ideas??? I really want to join so bad (sorry for the messy formatting pieced together over an hour or so)

Ok so my son turns 3 next month, my sons father cheated on me multiple times and i found out all at once about 2 years ago when i went through his phone. We split, got back together, briefly tried therapy and have been really good since Oct 2023. I found out I’m pregnant again and i immediately became worrisome .. i wanted a second child but i don’t know if we’re healed enough for that or if I’m ready. But he kept encouraging me to make our family bigger and how things are better. But I’ve honestly never fully trusted him. He tries to reassure me but i know he’s a liar and a narcissist and i already felt like “he could be doing something still” even though he comes home at reasonable times now, doesn’t drink as heavy as the past and answers my calls now either right away or soon after.
But this feeling is intensifying .. may be the hormones, may be intuition.
So tonight (about 2 weeks since finding out about my second pregnancy) he was drinking and didn’t answer my calls for about 45mins. And for some reason i just knew there was more to it. He comes home drunk and calls me when he steps out of the car since i called he had about 6 missed calls from me but says he was walking down the street towards our house because he’s smoking a cigarette.
I asked him why he didn’t have his friend drop him off in front of the house and accused him of being dropped off by a woman. He denied it, made jokes, told me how much he loved me and I’m being crazy.
He fell asleep and his guy friend that he said he was with text him asking him to go out. If he had really been with him and he dropped him off why would he text him to go out?
So i checked the phone. Def not as much things there as i found 2 years ago. But on occasion he FaceTimed a female that he has saved under a different name. And one of the females he was cheating on with me before .. was re-saved in his phone under a different name. Someone i know btw so i pleaded to him if i took him back he’s to never talk to her again. And yet her number always ends up back in his phone
Clearly i can’t stay. My mind still keeps trying to make excuses. But I’ve known what it was for so long already.
My dilemma is .. i wanted a second child and I’m really hoping for a girl. But i don’t know if i want to be a single mom of 2 under 5. And i don’t know if i want to go through this pregnancy and breakup at the same time. I’m only like 6 weeks pregnant at most and i contemplate just stopping it now. But i know I’ll regret it. But I’m fearful , like what if i can’t love this baby the same way i loved my first knowing he made me do this alone.

My name is Dr. Smith, not my real name of course, but for purposes of storytelling it will have to suffice. I have been practicing medicine at an Asian country as a general practitioner. I'm relatively new and I practice at a small village, not too far from civilization, half a day's travel by car and a few hours by boat from the country's capital, but very rural nonetheless, complete with superstitious beliefs and customs. I decided to stay here when I first graduated and passed the licensure exam for two reasons: first, I have a place to stay here, my family's ancestral home (although none of my direct relatives have lived there for years), said ancestors being one of the first people to settle in the area and second, because my family had always been the physicians in this small community as far as anyone remembers. Me, my grandfather and his father before him all went to the city to study medicine and went back here to practice it, like there was a pull, a calling, to sacrifice the convenient, fast-paced city life for the quiet and serene. My mother hated the idea, as clingy as she is to me, saying things like she wanted me to always be around where she could protect me, but you can't really help it when purpose calls. To be honest, it feels good providing a wide range of services to the honest people of our small, humble town, no greater feeling than helping the less privelaged, educating them and dispelling preconceived notions and old wives tales which are aplenty in my country, especially here.
I still recall how everything began. I made a makeshift clinic at one of the rooms of my ancestral home, it used to be my grandfather's office, but it felt old, antique, and perhaps too... professional, nothing wrong with that, but I wanted my patients to feel a more homely setting. So, I rearranged a bit, removed the imposing self portrait of my great-grandfather wearing his white coat that hang on the wall and transferred it to a more private area of the house. I changed the dim, barely functioning lights into brighter, more modern ones, removed the exceedingly extravagant chandelier and equipped the room with materials and equipment that I deemed necessary for my practice. I retained the wooden floors, but outfitted the walls with charts and more colorful decorations, in anticipation for the occasional pediatric patient. It was beginning to look less like an old abandoned house where teenagers went for the spooks and more like a place of healing and betterment, a clean place offering a clean mind...or so I hope.
"Your grandfather would have a heart attack if he wasn't dead already, seeing what you've done with his old clinic" quipped Martha, our housekeeper. All I know about Martha is that my grandfather hired her as a young teen and she has been here since then, she babysat and raised my mother as her own, and even took care of me as a toddler. Considering her age, she mostly supervises the younger and more capable help rather than doing tasks herself. None of them stay at the house, but they get called upon when me or any of my relatives were expected. Most of the family consider her as one of our own at this point.
"Well i'm sure great grandpa on the other hand enjoys the change of view" I replied jokingly. "Besides, I bet the patients would appreciate not being treated in such a dark, gloomy room."
"You know how your grandfather was..." she replies, that the idea of a dark, gloomy, old man liking dark, gloomy, old places was a no brainer. "...but everything aside, it is so nice to see you again, have you been feeling better? What did your mother think of you staying here?" she said with what I felt as outmost sincerity, "I used to chase and carry you around this estate and now look at you, about to carry out your family's legacy as a physician yourself" she continued, with a hint of pride from her tone.
I smiled. I myself couldn't think of a reason why a well respected man, revered even, by this town and it's people for everything he has done would act nonchalant and depressed, always with a jaded look in his eyes and stay in an equally dim and depressing part of his house, I've always known him to be like that, but was he always?
"I am better now. It's good to see you too, I'm glad you're staying healthy, and mom sure did not like it but well...she told me to say hi on her behalf" I told Martha. She beams up and smiles on my mother's mention.
"Well...I took the liberty of digging up your grandfather's documents, records and his patient charts, I doubt many of them still live but I thought maybe you'd like to have a look, I placed them around your desk but I can relocate them if you want me to"
"No, that's perfect. That's something I actually intended to do, i'll give it a read, thank you" I replied. I know some of those patients were either old or probably dead to be honest, but seeing data as well as the cases my grandfather had to deal with might help me in the future.
"The villagers already know Dr. Smith's grandson is here, they know you're a doctor, so expect to have a patient one of these days, perhaps as soon as you give the word that your clinic is open" Martha said, as she walks out of the room smiling and slightly waving, signalling a goodbye.
"I'm not even surprised" I think to myself. Places like these, words spreads like wildfire on topics like these, the idea of someone from a known family, coming back from the city, not to mention deciding to stay indefinitely, like the whole village needed notification, like the village demands explanation.
Hours passed and as I was satisfied with my new setup for the clinic, I took a break, sitting down and looking at the mountain of paperwork and folders placed on and around my desk. I picked one, thinking to myself that I might as well have a look now, with nothing else of note to do.
Patient #010438 Name redacted 43/Female
History of present illness: Patient had 3 day history of undocumented fever, dysuria, and bilateral flank pain Did not seek consult, no medications taken
Past Medical History Unremarkable
Personal and Social History Unremarkable
OB history illegible
Physical Examination BP 110/80 HR 102 RR 20
Nonhyperemic tonsils No murmurs Clear breath sounds Nontender abdomen (+) Kidney punch test
Noted a signature of the patient claiming she was not pregnant as a form of waiver
"Jesus grandpa, couldn't your history and physical exam get any lazier?" I thought to myself. Seeing pertinent history not asked and multiple organ systems ignored on physical examination. Given, some of the writing were already faded, the quality of the paper had deteriorated greatly, and plenty of details already illegible, all in all the documents weren't that bad. It sure doesn't help though that he writes like someone in the middle of a warzone practicing heiroglyphs.
I skimmed through more of the documents and patient files, most of the cases are relatively benign, majority are outpatient visits, some are emergency cases and there are the rare ones requiring transfer to a more developed town hours from here with better services and equipment. Time passed and as I lay down the last folder in a pile, I noticed a moderately sized box, probably the size of a briefcase, placed on the floor, dusty but obviously ornate. It piqued my interest although in my mind, I was pretty sure it was nothing but more documents, I decided to give it a look.
I picked a stack up and I started to read:
Patient #00512c Name redacted 32/Female
"Weird" I thought, it was numbered differently, and definitely none of the other documents were lettered. I continued reading:
History of present illness: This is a case of a 32 year old female who came in on date redacted due to a chief complaint of multiple hematomas, abrasions, burn wounds and lacerations on her face, trunk and extremeties..."
"Trauma? An accident? Possible abuse?" I contemplated.
"...patient allegedly noticed easy bruisability 2 weeks prior to consult, followed by alleged spontaneous appearance of abrasions and lacerations 2-3 days from onset of bruising, supposedly waking the patient at night due to the sudden sharp and searing pain, initially small cuts 3-5cm widest on her extremeties and face but eventually progressing to deep cuts measuring approximately 10-50cm on her back, chest, abdomen and lower extremeties. 1 week prior to consult, patient started noticing burning sensations on her skin, causing extreme pain and leaving reddish burn marks on her body, patient also experienced lack of appetite and inability to sleep due to loud voices and..."
"Spontaneous appearance? Easy bruising could be a lot of things, but for it to occur with 'spontaneous' abrasions and lacerations? Not to mention burn marks?" I thought out loud, having doubts about the credibility of the use of the word "spontaneous". Surely it was not an accident, considering it started 2 weeks ago with noted progression. "It could be a hematologic problem with the bruising, but that wouldn't explain the sudden appearance of cuts...maybe accompanied by a dermatologic one, the patient is prone to breaks in the skin? But then again the burn marks...the voices..." I analyzed. I was leaning towards abuse, where the cuts and bruises were inflicted by someone else and the abused, whether in some form of fear or coping, decides that it was "spontaneous" rather than inflicted, but why bother lying to yourself, perhaps the one who did it to her is a partner? Or a loved one? It made sense, someone progressively becoming more aggressive with her as time went by, becoming more and more extreme, from bruises to eventually burning.
It could a combination of illnesses to be honest, one on top of another, perhaps an overly sensitive or extremely dry skin that breaks and peels until it bleeds, an allergic reaction prompting the patient to unconciously scratch till her skin became red and lichenified, voices due to lack of sleep or a mental disorder. But looking at my grandfather's physical examination of her, none of the findings solidifies the possibility of those i've mentioned. Truth be told I also partially allowed myself to tunnel vision on the prospect of an abuse, to the point I've skipped some of the chart's contents that I deemed weren't important and tried to look for information to support my claim, or perhaps to disprove it, rookie mistake, but well, I am a rookie then.
"Patient is widowed, lives alone at a secluded area near redacted, only goes out to buy some necessities from redacted but has very minimal interaction from anyone in the village"
Okay then, either she is hiding the fact someone was with her, who is abusing her like I initially thought of, or it's self harm. "I'm pretty sure grandpa considered everything that went through my mind right now. Let me check his initial impression" I thought, with a tinge of annoyance, considering I felt that the patient lied to my grandfather, and was lying to me, decades after the fact.

1 Trauma, to consider physical abuse versus self harm;

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere" I said to myself, with a bit of pride having the same thought process as a physician with decades more experience than I do.

2 To consider mental disorder, probably psychotic - premature dementia

I chuckled. Premature dementia, didn't think i'd see that term, I thought everyone including those from his time would have used schizophrenia already, then again medicine and medical knowledge isn't as easily passed around as it is now. Psychiatry as a science would be relatively new during his time compared to other disciplines so the fact he considered it based on the patient hearing "voices"? Bravo gramps.
"Well...", I thought to myself, "...plenty of things to consider and rule out, let me check what else is there." A bit of cockiness on picking my grandfather's brain out and feeling good about my train of thought, a practice consult and so far, I'm on my way to a perfect score...

3. To consider possession probably secondary to malevolent spirit

.................
I gave the document a stern look, unmoving, unblinking, emotionless. Time has stopped, and I haven't noticed. My brain trying to digest the information, the same way my stomach would probably digest a block of steel...it's just not possible. I read one of my grandfather's diagnosis again:

3 To consider possession probably secondary to malevolent spirit

I never been one for faith. Evidence is everything. Science is everything. You can replicate it, you can prove it. Most importantly...It. Makes. Sense. I look at beliefs not based on evidence and feel nothing but skepticism if not disdain. Why won't people listen to expert opinion? Why won't people believe in facts? Why explain the unknown in such convoluted ways, requiring submission of oneself when the only thing the truth requires is but comprehension. I looked at that diagnosis feeling disappointment.
Then I felt anger. "Grandpa, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" I thought to myself. Here is a woman, full of bruises, cuts and burns all over her body, claiming that she has been suffering for weeks, barely eats or sleeps, was having auditory hallucinations, in dire need of medical, if not emotional and psychological support and one of the things that comes across your mind is possession.
I tried to calm my mind, these are records of the past anyway, I thought. Maybe it was a resignation born out of incompetence. Maybe grandpa wasn't as good of a doctor as I thought he was, that the shortcomings of his knowledge and limited technology of his time prompted him to adopt a more...liberal viewpoint to medicine. Maybe he was just superstitious himself. Maybe the people of this place had leaked some of their local beliefs into his psyche. Maybe isolation changed the man. Or maybe...just maybe...there's something to it.
I've never been one for faith. That goes for my faith in science as well. To just say that something is stupid because it doesn't align with standard, accepted scientific belief is just as detrimental as its counterpart.
I decided to investigate further when I heard the entrance to the room open with force. One of the maids leaning onto the wall by the entrance, still grasping the doorknob and evidently out of breath.
"Sir...ma'am Martha...calling...for you...says...it's...it's...an emergency..." She says in between breaths.
I quickly stood up, feeling sorry for the woman, she just ran, obviously gasping for air as she arrived at the clinic and now has to lead me back to wherever she came from with the same urgency. At first I was worried something might have happened with Martha, what the maid said didn't really give much clarity, but upon arriving at the main hall I noticed Martha, standing beside a middle aged man and woman, carrying a child, no more than 10 years old. I notice the clear panic and worry on both of their eyes as the man held the boy, who was uncontrollably shaking.
"I know you're not taking any patients yet and I was considering the time, but nobody knows what to do so I..." Martha explains, quite concerned while I ordered the parents to put the child flat on the ground, with me assessing the situation. The first thing I noticed was that the child was burning hot, "possibly febrile seizure? No, too old" I thought. I asked both the parents important details while I ordered the other maid to time the duration of the child's seizure. All the while thinking of possible diseases that may present as such, "Seizure disorder? Epilepsy? Meningitis? Encephalitis?" Eventually the shaking stopped, much to the parents' relief, and I ordered them to carry the boy as we made our way back to the clinic.
"Was this the first time it ever happened?" I inquired, as I put the child on one of the beds in the clinic, securing the corners with additional pillows, noticing the sunken face and apparent exhaustion from the boy, possibly due to the ongoing fever and the recent seizure episode. Once secured, I face the parents and continued my inquiries, I eventually explained everything, elaborating on what I believe happened, I explained that for now, lowering the fever and investigating the source were what we could address, the battery of tests I plan to do (disappointingly, most of them cannot be done here, and I would have to accompany them to a hospital on another town as soon as first light breaks), and the medications and management I plan to give. Everything proceeded as planned and I asked both parents to relax and take a breather, offering them a seat and asking the help to give them water.
Things eventually settled, little Johnny's fever subsided and color came back to him. Nowhere near clear, he can worsen anytime, but that was the best that we could do at that time. The parents were still worried, understandably so, but to an extent reassured, we have a plan after all. Martha, as well as Diane (the help from earlier), now at a calmer state. We discussed the plan, how we would travel, who would accompany us and what we would bring. Eventually, our conversations became relaxed, started to shift to other things, trivial matters, such as were they lived in the village, the date and time of my arrival, recent gossip, where Martha was more than happy to share.
"I was worried the evil spirits might have gotten my baby..." Said the mother nonchalantly, as we talked about the occurrence on a lighter note. "...that's how they got Mrs. Johnson's middle child. That poor boy was never the same after."
I smiled. Not wanting to immediately correct them and sound like an uptight individual. It's part of our culture afterall, old belief systems and a way for people to cope with loss or difficulty, who was I to deny them that. I won't approach these people the hardheaded way, but I will slowly show them the realities and truths of the things they may not understand, well, at least with regards to their health.
"Well, little Johnny is safe here, we'll do what we can" pointing to their son.
Only, their son wasn't where he was supposed to be. I look at the parents, I look at both Martha and Diane, everyone who looked at where I pointed were just as shocked as I was, a split second of silence before panic ensued. Suddenly, everyone stood up on high alert and was looking everywhere. Under covers, under the bed, corners of the room, the desk, behind curtains, hell, I saw Diane look at one of the damn drawers, as if a 10 year old would fit there.
Suddenly I heard loud vomiting, retching, followed by sounds of splashing. I follow where the sounds came from and see a large pool of black, tarry liquid at a corner of my room. I slowly trace where it was coming from and there he was...little Johnny...standing...upside down...on the ceiling.
I hear everyone in the room scream, I was probably screaming too, I couldn't remember. I do remember little Johnny screaming with us though, extremely high pitched and mockingly, with bloodshot eyes, upside down, while black liquid poured from his mouth, covering his face and dripping from his hair. How was that even possible, screaming while liters of unknown fluid dripped from his mouth? I don't know.
Then he laughed, although I was pretty sure that wasn't his voice. It was deep and guttural, it cannot be the boy's voice, it cannot be any boy's voice.
Time seemed to move in slow motion, I was noticing every detail, every expression from everyone's face, I can feel the seconds hand on my wall clock move, the slow dripping of the viscous dark liquid from little Johnny, I can feel every drop of sweat on my body. I could not cope with what i'm experiencing, was it a trick of the mind, an organized prank, have I gone mad...again? So I did the only thing I know how to do...
I tried to diagnose.
"Maybe it was dengue shock all along!" I thought to myself. "Vomiting blood, paleness, fever, an episode of seizure and definitely change in sensorium" I reasoned to myself. I was coping, and I was coping hard. I was ready to drown on my self absorbtion when a booming voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"YOU DUMB FUCK, WILL ANY ILLNESS EXPLAIN WHY YOUR FUCKING PATIENT IS HANGING UPSIDE DOWN ON THE FUCKING CEILING?" Said little Johnny, or at least whoever was speaking on his behalf, because from where I'm standing, I can clearly see that the boy was not mouthing any of the words he said.
"YOU'RE A FUCKING FAILURE, DOCTORS LIKE YOU SHOULD KILL THEMSELVES! HAHAHAHA" he laughed, I never knew laughs could sound like that, as if the words were nails, and his voice box a chalkboard.
"OH WAIT, YOU FAILED AT THAT TOO DOC! FUCKING PATHETIC!"
Of all the things that were happening...a young boy hanging upside down, a mother crying on the floor hysterically, a father staring at his son, eyes wide open and mouth agape, Martha and Diane, both crying while sharing a rosary, in the act of what I assume to be prayer...the thing that snapped me out of my trance was the words that came from little Johnny. Knowledge nobody but the closest to me should know. A secret I planned to leave behind when I left the city, a wound I intended to forget as I started anew.
Visions of my memories came flashing back...medical school...overwhelming duty...familial expectations...failure...depression...my attempt...a bottle of medications...my mother...crying...on my bedside...
"LEAVE MY SON ALONE!" Johnny's father screamed. Starling everyone in the room.
Nothing matters, the past is in the past, I am better now, and that boy needs help, more than anything.
"YOUR SON? WHY DON'T WE ASK THAT CRYING WHORE IF JOHNNY REALLY IS YOUR SON" The voice says, laughing.
At that point the mother stops crying, looks up towards johnny, then towards his husband, in a state of shock. Like what the voice said is crazier than whatever was happening at the moment.
"THE ONLY REASON THAT WHORE STUCK WITH YOU WAS BECAUSE JOHNNY'S REAAAAAAAL FATHER WOULD NOT TAKE HER!" The entity says, continuing the hysteric laughter.
We were being played. It was toying with us. And from the look on the mother's face...it seems like little Johnny did not even need to lie to do it.
Then, to everyone's horror..."It" started to run.
It ran across the ceiling in a rabid frenzy, erratic and forceful, running and jumping, hopping sideways then going on all fours, still attached to the ceiling, splashing bile and blood all over the room, all the while making a "hihihi" sound...childish and terrifying. It ran and ran, repeating the same erratic change in movements, repeating the same eerie giggle until it reached the window, stopping and standing straight, it stared outside for what felt like forever...then all of a sudden...johnny just fell, like whatever was attaching him to the ceiling just gave, headfirst into the floor, giving a very audible cracking sound.
I heard a gasp from johnny's mother. I can at least detect some miniscule chest expansion, but that cracking sound cannot be anything good. As if thinking the same thing, Martha, who was the nearest to where Johnny fell, while still clinging tightly to Diane's rosary, approached the boy.
"Johnny?" She said softly, all the while approaching an inch at a time.
As she was almost at arms length of the boy's body, she gives the mother a knowing look, confirming that he was breathing. Martha suddenly produces a piece of cloth from one of the pockets of her uniform, possibly to pack the bleeding from the head. She intended to put the cloth on top of the boy's head, but looked towards my direction, urging me forward, perhaps for me to place it properly. I walk towards the boy, takes the cloth from Martha and as I fold the cloth to circle Johnny's cranium with Martha's help, the boy immediately sat up, looks at Martha and smiles ear to ear...literally ear to ear.
"GET YOUR WRINKLY HANDS OFF ME YOU DUSTY OLD FUCK!" He barks at her, Martha screams in fear and I was taken aback.
That was all the time Johnny needed to stand and jump towards the window, breaking it and running towards the mountainside. I hear his father scream his name, quickly breaking more glass so he could fit, and immediately giving chase. The mother was still on the floor, wailing towards the direction of her child and husband. Martha, in shock, still holding the cloth she intended to wrap johnny with.
It took me a while to notice Diane shaking me vigorously. "Doctor!" She screams. "Doctor Smith! What should we do!?" She voices out, with obvious desperation.
I ignored her.
I feel scared, but taking all into consideration, I predominantly feel tired. Defeated. Insulted.
I have nothing more to give in the face of whatever that thing that took Johnny was.
I slowly walk towards my desk, I open my drawer, I take a piece of paper and I pull out my pen.
Patient #00001a Name redacted 10/M
I write, giving no thoughts to the people on the same room as me, those left behind by little Johnny and his father. "Did he catch up to him? Was the boy alright now?...is his father alright?" I wonder. I'll find out soon enough, I figured, rumors spread like wildfire around here anyways.
I continued to write with resignment, absorbed in my own little world, consumed by the horror I witnessed, the breaking of my spirit, of my beliefs, the questioning of my knowledge. I want to escape it, deny it, but that's not what should be done to the truth. So I surrendered.

1 To consider possession probably secondary to malevolent spirit

END

I'm kind of in a rush so this might be a bit jumbled. Hopefully it makes sense and you can add in stuff I might have left out.
I feel like Alexandra Rodriguez (formerly known as "Learning To Be Fearless") has the personality & lifestyle of Kim and the body stature of Michelle (+body insecurity vendetta between both).
Alex is of a very close age (turning 32 near the end of this year) and I noticed that she is married and currently pregnant (something Kim is trying to clickbait a lot despite telling us off for asking her). She also splurges on tons of useless crap and does try-ons. She dresses in really tight clothes too, thinking it will somehow make her body look smaller when in reality, it just shows how fat she really is, and thinks that the clothes that don't suffocate her are apparently very "loose-fitting" or "big" on her. I think there was a time where she kept saying she was a size 16-18 when she was probably close to a size 30... (I don't think Kim and Michelle wear clothing that small/tight on them so at least they're not as delusional as her).
Alex is also known to be disingenuous and a lying hypocrite who photoshops herself to look less fatter but encouraging those around to be as big as her with her Health At Every Size mentality despite undergoing several surgeries to make herself look "smaller" including double chin removal, fupa removal and 2 or 3 gastric sleeves/etc. (the surgery that lets you lose at least 100lbs at first but if you don't put the effort in, you gain most of it back within a year or two which she did to the surprise of nobody). Of course, Alex being Alex still thinks she kept the weight off...
She recently went on a rant last month, preaching about how BMI is bullsht and stupidly says that she weighs more because she's got so much muscle because she's been going to the gym since she was 12(?!!) or some dumb delusional crap. (Doesn't explain why her body is wider than a fridge though...)
Kim who was praising Carlos' weight loss also went on a rant about BMI being BS too, when Carlos told Kim he wanted to get down to a weight where it's healthy as specified on the BMI chart. I bet Kim was triggered because his goal weight (180lbs I think) was very close to her current weight... Also Carlos said his waist was now around 36", close to Kim's 35" which I'm sure is not her actual waist size (if she did measure it, she probably sucked her breath in to make herself seem smaller).
Michelle is also known to hold grudges against people who comment on her body even out of concern like her relatives and doctors (despite her looking like a cross between Alex and early Chantal (Foodie Beauty)). She probably weighs less than them but still looks as fat or has the potential to be as big as them if she continues to gain. Though so far, she seems to be maintaining her weight. I don't really know...
I don't watch Alex much, but from what I've seen and read, she used to have a few close friends but seems to not be close to them anymore because she's jealous of them? I heard one of her close friends lost a bunch of weight so that makes sense. Sounds very similar to someone we know who would end their friendship over them wanting to improve their health...
That's all I can think of at the top of my head for now. Please tell me your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree (and correct any mistakes I made) or bring up anyone else who you think Michelle and Kim resemble. Would love to see photo comparisons too!

I’ll preface this by saying I was overweight before becoming pregnant. I’m also short with a small torso. I’m almost 20 weeks now and my “bump” doesn’t look like a bump at all. I look incredibly fat and lumpy and if I saw myself in public I wouldn’t think I was pregnant- just fat.
I hate getting out of bed every day because of how I look and I hate that I feel like I can’t start dieting or exercising more than I already do (typically just walking).
I’m grateful that I’m pregnant and I can’t wait to meet baby but I know so many other pregnant women right now with adorable bumps I’m growing resentful and just want baby boy out so I can get my shit together.
Edit- resentful is the wrong word. I’m just ranting. I love my baby and this pregnancy more than anything, it’s just frustrating not having that cute little bump that it seems everybody else has.

okay okay before everyone comes for me, let explain this weird and twisted situation. i (25f) have been friends with this girl who we’ll call abby for a few years now. we’ve gotten super close and never had any problems. this past year, around september she started to this guy (25 M) who we’ll call Ben. the thing about ben is that we have been friendly with each other for over 7 years ago. not friends just friendly. when abby and ben started talking i thought it was the cutest thing ever and i fully supported it. in fact abby’s sister and ben’s brothers had also been some sort of friends. now abby and ben had been talking for a few months now via snapchat and group facetime’s (i was not apart of these, as per my requests) and ben still hadn’t asked abby out. abby began to get impatient and so she asked me to step in and start talking to ben to see what was up. this is what led me and ben to start actually talking, but all we talked about was abby and schoolwork since we were in the same class. now valentine’s day rolls around and ben asks me for money to buy abby a rose and i happily agree and he does this and asks her to be his girlfriend. this all happened privately between them to might i add. however, abby did not tell me the details about what had happened until a few weeks later. she said that ben had told her that he has severe depression and was scared about getting into a relationship due to that. abby said that she reassured him and said that it would be fine and she wouldn’t tell anyone. yet about two weeks after that he sent her handwritten notes that were actually the sweetest and saddest things ever describing in further detail about his depression, attempt, and how abby was his light. now this is where the problems start. abby is not the sentimental or hug type and this threw her off a bit. she also has issues regarding other people’s feelings. now instead of keeping those notes to herself, she went around and told our whole friend group about it and his ‘issues’. of course this threw me off a bit but i was able to get over it. fast forward a month and ben is highly invested in their relationship but is clingy and sends her couple videos that abby finds to be gross and this is when the shi talking begins. she literally told me “i got what i wanted but it was not what i expected” basically ben was giving his all for them and abby couldn’t even text him back. ben said that one day he decided to do a test to see if abby would text him first and so he didnt text her first and for three days they did not talk. right before winter break abby tells me that she wants to break up with ben and im upset but want to be supportive of her decisions. however instead of meeting with him in person and talking about it, she has our other friend write a break up text that basically says that he has mental issues and isn’t ready for a relationship. this was something that i couldn’t agree with and i lightly told her which she brushed off. the thing is now, that me and ben are still taking and im realizing how sweet he actually is. of course abby has never been brought up in conversation as if could be a sore topic for him. but we’ve really had great conversations and laughs. i do tell abby about some of them and she makes jokes about how im the next person he is going to “go after”, but she’ll laugh and then call him ugly and fat. i’m realizing now i might actually be falling for ben because the other day we were accidentally matching football sweatshirts and he made a sweet comment about it. im not sure what to do and if i should keep talking to him, because im not even sure if he’s over abby. i’m no planet would i ever want to betray my friend like that, but at the same time, ben was not treated properly and was honestly so misunderstood which i am realizing now.

So, i want to know if i did the right thing.
I am a child that lives in england and will be keeping myself anonymous as i do not want my neighbours figuring out who did this.
Essentially, I live next door to a young family, a mum we will call nancy, dad we will call tom and the kids will be 4 and 2. (their ages)
We live on a new build estate and moved in at the same time as them 2 years ago. Nancy was pregnant with 2 and they seemed nice enough and we even had a barbeque round their house, but we took ourselves away from them when Tom told my father that the cars that he sells would basically only do one drive. Think about the dad from matilda, that kind of shady shit.
After 2 was born, every single day without fail we would hear them hollering at the children. And i dont mean shouting, i mean screaming in their faces and mocking them when they cried. It was getting so bad that their dog literally went deaf and im not joking.
So today i had the final straw and anonymously reported it to the police, as i thought it cannot be a nice environment for the children to grow up in, getting constantly hollered at and shouted at in their faces and mocked when they cried...
am i wrong for reporting it?

Link to original post for context.
Thank you so much to all of the amazing people who commented and reached out. I wasn't able to respond to anywhere near all of them but I am so grateful to everyone for opening my eyes to how toxic and unhealthy this situation is.
As I stated in this update, I called my dad and basically just explained that we were having some issues, and just to ease my mind I wanted him to come down and be nearby when I talked to my husband. He did not press for more info and told me that he was on his way. He and my mom live ~6 hours away, so it's not exactly a very ideal ask but he didn't even hesitate, which I am grateful for. He arrived Friday night and parked outside our condo and we agreed that id call him and immediately hang up if I needed him to come inside, in case my husband got aggressive or angry. I did not expect him to, since he never has before, but some of the comments made me feel like I'd better be safe rather than sorry.
I debated all day Friday about how exactly to approach this situation and how I could trigger this conversation without him shutting down or getting angry. I decided to casually approach the conversation and ask him how he'd feel about me getting another vibrator (to replace the one that mysteriously broke after he 'caught' 'me using it in the shower). In response he asked "what for?" To which I replied "because it feels good". I knew this would be his response, but it was something along the lines of "what am I not good enough"? As it usually was in the past. I explained to him that it has nothing to do with him not being good enough, and that sex is supposed to be fun and experimental and interesting and that it was just something that would make it better for both of us. He then suggested that I just wanted it to use on myself, to which I asked if that would be a problem. He told me that I know how he feels about that and so I asked him why he was bothered by the idea of me masturbating. He got very defensive and asked why I would want that when I could have him, so I asked if he ever felt like he'd rather just pleasure himself rather than going through the motions of having sex. He said no and that he's "not a beta who spends his days stroking when he could be doing anything more productive". I explained to him that that was okay if it was his preference but that sometimes my sexual desires are to pleasure myself versus having sex. That's when his same ridiculous argument came out of that being "basically cheating". Pulling from another Redditor, I explained that cheating involves multiple people, and that it is impossible to be cheating if I am alone. He told me to "fuck off and go stick the shower head between my legs". I started to get upset and realized that here is when I always back down. I feel the need to apologize and make him feel better, id usually have started something and would end up guilt fucking him because I felt bad, but I didn't. I told him that he made me feel like he was trying to control me and my body and that I wasn't okay with that. He told me I could "go be a fucking whore somewhere else then" and got up off the couch and ran upstairs. I could hear him slamming my drawers open and acting like he was putting my clothes in a bag. I resisted the urge to run up there after him and just decided to sit there and see what would happen. Eventually he came back downstairs and apologized and said that he's very uncomfortable with the idea of me masturbating in our home, when I asked him to explain why, he said because it makes him feel unwanted. I told him that this isn't true, and that I do want him, but sometimes I just want that and he said "okay I guess".
I decided to leave it at that for the night, and didn't want to press any further. I told my dad it was okay to go and that I was so sorry for wasting his time and he told me he'd be staying the weekend at a hotel just to be safe.
Eventually we went up to bed and I realized if I left it at that it would just get swept under the rug like it always does. I'd go on putting up with this until it came full-circle again and I was not going to do that to myself.
I decided to ask him about him telling me that he listened to me when I showered. I told him I wanted to talk about it and he told me that he was just joking and that "I'm a fucking moron if I actually thought he was serious". I told him that it was an odd joke, especially considering he was angry and very much not laughing when he told me. He insisted that he was joking and I told him that i didn't believe him. He then responded by saying he wouldn't do it again. This went in circles for a bit before he finally admitted to deciding to do this after catching me in the shower. Instead of accusing him of anything, I asked him if he thought that was an invasion of my privacy, to which he informed me that we are married and I do not have privacy. I told him that was an issue and that in order to have a healthy marriage we both needed privacy. He was determined that there is so such thing as privacy in marriage, so I flat out asked him if he wanted me in the bathroom while he was pooping. He said no, I said "right , because you want your privacy". He told me that's different.
Over the course of the next 10 minutes or so, this escalated from a simple conversation into a full blown screaming match, and we got absolutely nowhere in our argument. It was like talking to a brick wall. I was so heated by this point that I don't even remember what was said, but he eventually told me I was: a fucking worthless whore, that i had nothing without him, that my vag was disgusting and made him sick, that I was fat and no one will ever want me (I'm 125 lbs btw), that im lucky someone like him would even look in my direction, etc, etc, etc.
I could barely see my phone through the tears and I called my dad and asked him to come get me.
My husband looked at me and said "you're fucking dad isn't driving 6 hours to come get you you dumb fuck". I started to grab some random things of mine and yelled that he was here staying in town, and he broke down and started sobbing.
He told me that he knows he's controlling, that he has serious issues, and that he's terrified of losing me. He said that he knows he's not good enough for me and that he's so afraid of losing me that he's pushing me away to save himself the inevitable heartache. He said that if he ever lost me he'd k*** himself.
As I watched this grown ass man snotting and crying in a heap on the floor, I kinda realized that I feel nothing for him. Like, nothing. The blinders I've been wearing were removed and I no longer saw the handsome, intelligent, caring, strong man I once did. I saw a pathetic, abusive, controlling, sad, and sick person. I came to the realization in that moment that there's no fixing this, and even if he does change, I would never trust him or see him in the same way again.
My dad knocked on the door and my husband ran and hid in the bathroom. I took my bags and went outside to meet him. He asked me if I wanted to talk about what was going on and I said no. He asked what I needed from him and I asked if we could just go back to his hotel room. He asked if my husband hit me and I said no. Before we had even gotten to the hotel my husband began texting me. It started with pleading with me to stay and forgive him and turned into insults over the course of the next day or so. He never threatened me physically, but told me if I didn't come home I'd lose him forever, that I'd be losing out on the best man I'd ever have, etc, etc. he told me that his friends laughed at him for being with such an ugly bitch, that his parents hate me because they know I'm not good enough for him, that I couldn't get pregnant because I'm probably a fucking whore banging other guys on the side, that he was embarrassed to be seen with me in public, and so much more.
I'm leaving. And not because Reddit told me to, because I'm genuinely not even remotely interested in staying with him and because I deserve better.
I spoke to a friend from school, and will be staying with her until I'm done school next month. After that, I'm going home to figure some things out and get a fresh start.
I'm currently in bed in a hotel room with my dad and have never felt more loved or safe. He is going to go over to the house tomorrow and retrieve my belongings, after which he is helping me move into my friend's apartment and then heading home.
I don't have much to say at this point other than thank you again to everyone who made me realize how dangerous this situation could have been. I was determined that we were not going to divorce but after Friday night I don't think there's any going back to that. I'm over it. I might update again, I might not. But making that post genuinely might have saved my life. Thank you.

For context I’m a lesbian and I’ve been living in this apartment for about 9 months. My roommate entered a relationship that seemed very suspicious really fast. He wasn’t very nice and she would tell us what he’s been doing and a lot of it wasn’t cool. I always said something like you deserve better and he’s an asshole. To me it seemed like he was a narcissist that was really good at manipulation. They have broken up and gotten back together a million times in the 6 months they have been together. He would get into a fight with her and park outside our apartment and throw a tantrum. This made me really uncomfortable and I immediately brought it up but it continued. The last day it happened I had a terrible day at work and had to stay at work 45 mins later than usual. On my walk home I noticed he did it again and this time I was over it and said something to him. I asked “what are you doing here? you’re making us all so uncomfortable and it’s annoying”. He then started his car and took off I yelled “Get the F out of here”. She knew I did this and I apologized a lot because even tho I was so mad it was a moment of weakness. She said “no I get it you live here too”. Fast forward a couple weeks he’s been avoiding me in the house which was more than fine with me. I asked my roommates if a friend of mine could come stay with me for a couple days and during her stay they started fighting again. I made it known much earlier that this made me uncomfortable. My friend got home and I said loudly into the hallway “Hey can you guys please stop yelling my friend just got here thank you”. We went to the store and came back and I just turned up the TV and tried to have a good time with my friend. They kept fighting then took it outside. I later realized my front door was open and didn’t know she was still out there so I got up and as I walked to the door she came in and said she slapped him bc he called me a “fat f slur”. I joked about it and acted like it really didn’t bother me bc this fat f slur get a lot more pussy than he does, but it did bother me. I knew he would be back. He left his car there and took off with his friend. At some point in the night he came back and got it but I couldn’t sleep until I knew the car was gone. I was terrified he would come back and it would start again. The next day I sent her a text that pretty much said “hey I’m sorry last night happened but i’m really uncomfortable so I don’t want him at the house while I’m there. If he creates a disturbance like this again I will call the police. If you guys need to talk let me know and I’ll leave.” I got a text back hours later that pretty much said “Great but realize that you started the disrespect. So own up to your shit. He’s human too. You didn’t even ask me if I was ok (i did when she came through the door) You just started with how it made you feel” I responded with “ok sounds good 👍”. I’m moving out in a month so it doesn’t really matter but I need to know am I the asshole?

This post is mostly a joke, I'm aware that not all these players experienced weight/fitness problems but which team are you taking?
Team Fat: Harden - Doncic - Zion - Jokic - Embiid
Team Skinny: Trae Young - Steph - KD - Porzingis - Wembanyama

For the last few months I’ve had worsening symptoms all of which have had SIBO come up A LOT- but I mostly ignored it anyway knowing my symptoms will all be brushed off because “that could be a normal symptom sometimes to an extent/ibs” I have an Eating disorder so bloating? Nooo that’s body dysmorphia… & so on HOWEVER bc of this I’m veryyyy used to if anything far beyond “normal” gastro issues- AND I’m already on gut motility tablets, I don’t consume any gluten, i am veryyy used to bloating & constipation & wind etc (tmi warning) - I had to go 5 weeks without a bowel movement in inpatient until I started involuntarily vomiting & oral laxatives did nothing until I needed a phosphate enema, & fast forward to being ignored by gastro over & over despite whatever insane symptoms I had eg; “some blood is normal… even the nurse agreed looking like I’d had my period was not within said “normal” range (ew I’m sorry) - oh & ofc “just eat more fiber & exercise & more water!!!” all while my dietitian was like “you only eat fruit & veg, + exercise n drink too much water so no, no & no”🙃 All of this to essentially say I know the full range of normal & am probably desensitised to abnormal gut issues… but I know I’ll still be ignored lol,
But in the last 2 weeks especially I’ve been especially confused by my v specific stomach distension- which I can confirm is not “in my head” because it’s not even normal “bloating” or fat etc (again I’m used to a lot) so I was more concerned by just not understanding when I also know the normal female bloat under bellybutton- but it’s not quite that either? Very very strange, literally had me querying if I somehow got pregnant n had it blocked from my memory in the most unironic way (not haha I look pregnant but genuinely concerning wtf is this) - TLDR EVENTUALLY - Had already searched vile b/m’s + farts that had me literally google if it can be toxic which led me again to SIBO & Methane (but ignored that day again) until the stomach distension also led me to this sub & I was shocked someone’s photo looked IDENTICAL to the ‘strange shape & bloating’ I have right now… which also led more into IMO vs SIBO… all of which became more concerning bc I’ve also tried to ‘rationalize’ the last few weeks that recent weight gain had to be water because I hadn’t been eating enough to gain ‘logically’ (still stressful none the less) But I think I also Ignored the majority of the SIBO red flags bc they all had the side affect of “malabsorption” which… not in a means of downplaying the symptoms & issues this causes btw- but my brain is just like ah okay worth it so grand it’s fine (again NOT logical n defo wouldn’t say to anyone else) But yes I am now several hours deep pretty sure the most likely issue it Methane variant of SIBO… but now also freaking tf out at the idea my body is somehow magically extracting exponentially more calories from anything & everything I consume which may sound dumb but genuinely the physical symptoms are bad enough alone n I can’t with this anxiety also
Vvvv appreciative if anyone could share any insights or experiences bc honestly I am quite confused as I didn’t really know that there were different versions in this sense & google is just equating it automatically to “you’ll just keep gaining n this is why everyone’s obese” which… idk how much sense it makes but I can’t find any actual info on like howww much extra you can absorb?? Or if it’s automatically that?? Are we just doomed regardless or is there any way to know? I’ve already had under active thyroid issues but atleast they had some actual %less BMR etc but for this google is not being v helpful other than “this organism exponentially makes u consume more calories” but surely that has to be based on something? Like an 80 calorie apple surely can’t just multiply into 800? Idk v sorry for the rant but yes pls any experiences genuinely so so appreciated 😭🫶🏻

I moved to a new state with my husband about two months before he deployed. It has been very difficult making friends as I work from home. Even before deactivating my social media, it was very difficult making friends using social media group pages. He has been gone several months and while it hasn’t been easy, because I’m constantly alone, I thought it was going okay.
He emailed me last week, after going radio silent, telling me how much he is struggling and how unhappy he is. Shared that a lot of it is my fault. He doesn’t feel comfortable opening up to me and never will. To preface this, this happened after 5 days of no talking after a “fight”. I put it in quotes because I was genuinely trying to avoid a fight. We were talking on messenger. He was giving me one or two word answers to everything and I started getting frustrated. So I told him I was gonna let him go and to have a good night and I love him. He asked me what he did wrong and I told him nothing. He said I love you too and immediately logged off. I messaged him back explaining that it felt like I was trying to pull teeth talking to him and I know he is exhausted and stressed so instead of hurting my own feelings I would rather get offline. He never opened the message. I also sent him a screen shot about something funny his brother shared with me so he could get context about what I was asking and knew it wasn’t a big deal. But again, he never opened the message.
Five days later is when I received the aforementioned email; he was purposely ignoring me. He had promised me multiple times before that he wouldn’t do that sort of thing again (this was now the fourth time) and this one was by far the longest. I sometimes struggle knowing how to respond because when he shares that I’m upset about something, he gets the context completely wrong. For example, he thinks I get mad at him for talking to his family. That’s not true at all. I get upset that we get to talk for what seems to be a few hours online, and he’s not really participating in sharing anything. I have to ask questions, I get one or two word answers back and that’s it. I try not to push but sometimes I need the communication to feel connected. He doesn’t tell me he misses me, he doesn’t call me babe or honey (he used to) I know he is struggling, and I’m by no means saying I have it worse, but on the boat, he has explicitly told me that he doesn’t like anyone, he doesn’t trust anyone and he absolutely hates this command. I don’t really have any friends but my isolation is not quite self induced.
I responded to his email explaining my side of things, and apologizing for not creating a space for him to feel comfortable to talk to me. That’s literally all I’ve tried to do but he just seems to feel pressure when talking to me. I genuinely believe his stress, anxiety and lack of sleep are highly contributing to his emotional and mental distress. Add that he is in a combat zone and I’m sure its worse. He won’t tell me that though, usually just says he’s not at all worried or makes a really dumb joke about it.
I all but begged him to please let me know if all he needs is space, that I want to support him but the silence is torture to me. I have an anxious attachment style (he is avoidant) so I tend to think worst case scenario. So I requested that he please put my mind at ease that he’s not considering ending our marriage.
Three days later he sends me a very long email talking about how he is not looking forward to coming home, and isnt because we couldn’t get thru a deployment without fighting; that he wants to go to his childhood home to see his family. That we don’t want the same things. That I’m happy where we moved to and he is not. He only chose these orders and the last orders to be close to his family. He hates that I don’t get along with his family and that I don’t really want to move there when he retires.
Let me explain that he lives in a very tiny town where there isn’t even a grocery store. I literally would not have a career within an hour of his town. We had agreed that we could live an hour away, like one of his brothers does and it would still be close enough to his family. Also, his family has been quite rude to me. I have been mending fences with them for the sake of my husband. I don’t care where we live in the grand scheme of things, but I still need to have a job and his father and that side of the family very much abuse alcohol. They are also very ignorant and racist. My husband already struggles with over drinking. That’s not something I want to raise a family around as they can be verbally abusive when drunk, and you never know what’s going to trigger them. They have no goals nor aspirations in life, and that’s okay, but I do/ we did… I thought. My husbands goal is to retire from the service and go home. I was willing to go close (1-2 hours which he had agreed) to his home because I have a while before I can retire.
He proceeded to talk about how he was miserable with his ex wife and doesn’t want to spend six year with me, like he did with her, thinking marriage was supposed to be an unhappy union. That he stayed with her that long because he didn’t want it to fail; also because she convinced him things would get better. They never did, in fact I believe there was some infidelity on her side. He continued on about nonsense, like how he wants the mirrors in our house to stay but I wanted to change them and he has completely given up on having a say on how to update the house we bought. For the record, I left the mirrros the way he wanted. I picked paint colors I knew he would like.
Next, he mentioned how we had gotten in a fight right before moving and in haste, I told him to leave me there. he considered that we do end it then but we agreed to keep going because even though we struggle with communication, we do love each other and want to continue our marriage as overall we are pretty happy.
He ended the email explaining that he has not been happy for a while, has been struggling and while we work good together, he doesn’t believe we are right for each other. That I need to look within and figure out if I am happy in the relationship. That he doesn’t care about my answer but he is not at all happy.That he will never be able to communicate the way I want and he has made more changes for me, like attend couples counseling and anger management, than he ever would have for anyone else.
There are still a few months left to this deployment. I literally have no idea where that leaves me. I’m hurt as shit. I’m angry. I’m confused and frustrated. Not once on this deployment have I even mentioned splitting. Month two was the first time he mentioned divorce. We got past that hurdle and month three he mentioned that we should consider getting pregnant when he gets back. Then some stupid issue comes up and the cycle of being angry and fine continues. In fact, I all but beg him to not leave me when he has these outbursts. I feel stupid.
He is not one to ask for help. He clearly needs help but I have no idea what to do. It’s clear he doesn’t want anything to do with me.

The 2 words my boomer dad said to my heavily pregnant misses when we went round to see my parents.
Not sure why anyone with a brain would even consider saying that to a pregnant woman, let alone think thats it's gonna be received as funny.
Before i could say anything she responded with 'Are you ok fatty?'
(Side note: My dad is actually fat.)
I've never seen someone face drop so quickly & I've never tried so hard to not burst out laughing.
Needless to say, he was abit sheepish after that.

Dont get me wrong I LOVE dark humour..at times its the only shit i find funny and i dont think any jokes actually "cross the line" for me. Except for one which was abt jesus jerking off w the hole in his hands (i am rly christian so i couldnt..)
But its like ppl dont get that "dark humour" has two parts.. " dark" which ppl have no problem getting but its getting typical stuff now like its always the same jokes abt either 911 , chinese/ black ppl, or disabled ppl.. and its getting mind numbingly boring but thats not even the worst part
Second part is "humour" OKAY FUCKING HUMOUR. Like why is everybody forgetting how jokes are supposed to work. Where is the punch line? Where is the lead up? Where is the "💀" moment?? Like ppl these days juss say ...yeah she fat or sm and put 💀 this in the caption and if u dont laugh ur too sesetive or cant handle dark jokes??? Like am not offended except for the fact that u wasted ma time but u just ARENT FUNNY jeez iss getting old now the media is ruining stuff mxm

Context:
I’m rewriting my WIP for the fifth (and hopefully last) time to make the story more character driven and make my characters motivations stronger. I’ve changed the first three chapters so many times I have no idea what’s good anymore. It’s a portal fantasy Reverse Harem with fated mates. You only meet two love interests in the intro (and one of them only shows up towards the very end of the set up), but I am just looking to see if my FMC's motivations make sense, or if I have made the Set Up too convoluted and given her too many goals.
**Please note the scenes I am posting have been written as an outline, and is not intended to read line by line like a finished manuscript. I will be writing it in First person POV when I finish plotting.**
Backstory (TLDR; Character A needs to gain access to the Other World so she can make a bargain to trade her Father's life for hers, we open on the 6th anniversary of him being taken, her 24th birthday. I ramble on for quite a bit so if you would like to get right into it please skip to Intro/Set Up)
Motivation:
Character A’s Father was stolen by otherworldly creatures 6 years ago and taken to their lands. Character A harbours guilt and blames herself because she disobeyed her Fathers rules and snuck into the woods with her friends on her 18th birthday to go swimming. Her Father came looking for her and that is when she witnessed him being taken.
In the area they live in, disappearances around the full moon were common, with many losing their loved ones over the last 50 years with no explanation. There were a lot of theories of aliens, bigfoot, cougars, werewolves, and only her Father claimed that magic wielding creatures were responsible.
Character A grew up being told stories about these lands, how the creatures enslaved humans to play in their games until they died for entertainment. Her Father told her magic was real but it was to be feared and to run from any sign of the unusual, forbade her from leaving her house after sunset or from ever going into the woods, and he always tried to keep her close to him.
He had a hard time holding down a job due to the grief he felt from losing Character A’s mother during childbirth and when he would drink he would make it known that he resented Character A for derailing his life, because now he was burdened with protecting her instead of living as a family. Her mother was buried there and her father refused to move away from her body. Character A internalized this, feeling guilty for being the reason he struggled so much, and spent her life caring for her father the way she would a child. Cooking, cleaning, paying bills, etc. She would even get revenge on his bosses for firing him. Her Father always claimed it was never his fault, that they were abusing their power and couldn’t handle somebody smarter than them, and losing his job would send him into an alcoholic depression.
Character A heard her Fathers words, and combined with the way out-of town business men had turned her small mountain town into their own personal resort, developed a deep hatred for anyone that held power. She would find little ways to get revenge on her Fathers bosses, and when she was older, spent her spare time getting revenge on the trust fund kids who didn’t care if their actions had consequences for the people living there.
She had a big dream of leaving her small town and exploring the world, but she felt responsible for her Father. She took care of him, and she was afraid of what would happen to him if she left, but she knew she was suffocating under him. Although her guilt and love for her father prevented her from seeing the full truth of what he was, narcissistic and abusive, deep down she knew and she became restless under his restriction.
When she was young she believed his stories but as she got older and never saw any evidence to back up his claims, the more she chaffed against his rules and started sneaking out. She wasn’t dumb, she always carried a knife and bear spray. She read up on what to do if you encountered a predator in the forest, and she begun stealing what little freedom she could for herself. She didn’t believe in magic, wolves and mountain lions were the only things that made sense to her.
Wound:
After her Father is taken Character A is broken. Everything her Father said was true, all he was trying to do was keep her safe, but she disobeyed him and now he was taken to a magical land to be tortured by never ending games. She is distraught and depressed. She begins sleeping in the woods, hoping to be taken too so her pain can end.
A few months later, at the end of summer, her best friend and boyfriend, the only people her father approved of her spending time with, tell her that they still plan to leave for the year long trip they were all going on. They want to start their lives, they think Character A has become delusional in the wake of her Fathers disappearance, they can’t be stuck there taking care of her, they can’t handle her emotions, they need a fresh start. She realizes they have been having an affair, she internalizes them telling her she is too much to handle and that she is unlovable. She was a burden on her father and then a burden on them. She doesn’t see them again for six years.
Present Day:
Character A has spent the last six years trying to get to the other world during the full moon. The weeks in between she spends physically training, researching anything she can, working just enough to cover her bills for the month, and distracting herself with casual flings or sleeping with the trust fund kids in order to gain access to something she wants to steal from them as payback for something they have done. She never lets herself get too close to anyone, knowing that she plans to disappear, but she partied with whoever is willing to distract herself until the next full moon.
Every passing year on her birthday she grows more and more desperate. She begins researching magic spells and rituals that might show her the entrance to the otherworld. She finds a newly discovered mushroom being sold that claims to help you see what is hidden from human eyes.
Character B:
A month ago Character B was sent from the other wolrld to retrieve Character A. She is the descendant of a lost royal line and they have received a vision from the goddess that she is her Heir, the key to defeating the darkness and restoring balance to the land. Character B does not live a good life in the other world, he is nothing but a glorified prisoner in his own life, and all he’s ever wanted was a family of his own, but because of the queen and his father, he cannot have that. He avoids confrontation, always choosing to run from his problems instead of fight. He first lays eyes on Character A as she is driving a motorcycle into a lake.
He is unsure if the vehicle is supposed to drive under water, so he waits a moment before trying to do a rescue. He doesn’t know it’s her until she swims up into the shore, and begins gathering weeds from the lakebed. he thinks she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen and can’t imagine dragging her back to his world where she could be in danger. He wants to watch the curious human for a bit longer to see what she does
He silently follows her and watches her climb into a window and place the weeds around a man sleeping in a bed, then creep down the hallway to an office where she unlocks a safe and pulls out a stack of papers. She then meets up with somebody, hands over the papers with a hug, then walks into the forest.
She walks and walks and he realizes she heading towards the portal and gets nervous, until she reaches a tree with five different coloured ribbons tied around one branch. She takes a new yellow ribbon , adds it to the branch and continues walking until she reaches another tree with ribbons where she adds another ribbon, then walks to the very centre of both trees and sits down. She softly hums a tune to herself.
She seems relaxed, strong and confident, he thinks this must be some new human ritual he hadn’t heard of yet and her humming is soothing to him, but he notices a shiver. He feels a strong need. To wrap her up in a blanket and make her warm. He decides right then that he cannot take her back and ruin her peace, that he himself would not go back, that he would befriend her and they would hide together her in her world and they would be safe and happy. It was pointless trying to fight anyway, they were never going to win and it would be better for them both to be safe and far away from the evil queen.
The next morning he follows her to her favourite coffee shop, glamoured to look more human and remove his pointy ears, and introduces himself as a man trying to get away from his overbearing parents and family he doesn’t get along with.
Intro/Set Up
Chapter 1
-Character A is thinking about how she has to get laid tonight, because it will be her last chance before she disappears and probably dies. Character A is stealing some documents and a bunch of cash from a safe in The Guys home office, she pulls a bag out of her pocket and with it, a card for the bookstore she works at flutters under his desk. She puts the documents and money in the bag and bends down to pick it up when she notices the family photo on the desk and she stops.
It is a picture of The Guy, His Son that she stole and crashed his bike into a lake last month, and The Other Son that she may have killed nine months ago when she burned his cabin down. She is filled with rage when she looks at the photo and thinks she doesn’t regret what she’s done. Character B calling her phone snaps her out of it and when she hears someone come home, she leaves, but she forgets the card.
-She stops at the bookstore to give Coworker 1 the documents and money. Coworker 1 says she will never be able to thank her, that this was the last thing she needed she could get out of town. Character A tells her good luck and to give them hell. Coworker 1 is leaving town tomorrow, she connected with a journalist who can help her expose The Guy and once she does she won’t be able to come back. Coworker 1 is very grateful to her, and Character A makes sure to tell herself that they aren't friends, because friendship requires a level of vulnerability that Olivia could not give her, but she knew Coworker 1 was a good person and deserved so much more than what she got when The Other Son sexually assaulted her at work while His Son filmed it. How when she received a payout in exchange for her silence they knew it wasn’t the first time. They were determined to find further evidence, and they did. Signed NDA’s from all of the employees they had paid off in the past.
Character B joins them at the store. Character A is petting her beloved bookstore cat and goes to pull some treats out of her bag. Her hand brushes against a vial of red and white mushrooms and Character A hopes that they are the key she has been searching for. For six years she has felt like she has been brushing up against the edge of something, but has never been able to get herself to the other side. She was deep in a witchcraft discussion forum when somebody posted about a new discovery of mushrooms, one that allowed the ingestor to see through the Veil, to show them all the magic they cannot see. The poster was pretty insistent that it wasn’t just a trip, that they were able to see threads of magic. After years of failed meditating, drinking teas, burning herbs,and chanting spells around the ley line conversion and not finding anything, what did she have to lose with some magic mushrooms?
Character B calls her name, startling her from her thoughts and she knocks over a box of alien and bigfoot merch. Coworker 1 cracks a joke about being careful with the product or else the alien truthers will riot, Character A rolls her eyes at the people who flocked there in search of the wrong thing. Character B apologizes for startling her and says he was just admiring one of her new Boxwood Topiaries, three trees of varying height that ended with hearts on top, and she says she finished it yesterday.
She loves plants but, like a cat, she can’t commit to having them because she doesn’t plan to be around long, so she does topiary art as a compromise, and the extra money she earns goes towards buying her herbs and mushrooms. Her Father never managed to save much money and she wasn’t left with much after he was taken. She had to use her savings replacing the furnace in her home shortly after her Father was taken, and now she only worked enough to keep her living until the next paycheck. She spent the rest of her time training and researching. Preparing to go to Wonderland in search of her Father.
Character B is making friends with the cat, having charmed it onto its belly, and Coworker 1 gives Character A a knowing look. Character A shakes her head, says they are just hanging out, nothing serious. Coworker 1 says he could be good for her. She knew they had been hanging out, that Character A had let him stay at her house for the last two weeks. She wasn’t judging though, Character A seemed lighter around him, and he was so nice. She had seen him helping Mrs. Smith with her groceries the other day.
Character A thinks that was what initially warmed her up to him. Coworker 1 was right, she never brought guys home, but the first week that he was here he had never failed to notice when people needed help and always offered to lend a hand. Plus he was fun, and fun to look at, and he was always looking for a new adventure. He took her mind off of what a failure she was for not saving her Father yet, and he seemed relatively harmless. So when he said he had never seen her favorite comedy movie she just HAD to take him home to watch it. And he hadn’t left, she hadn’t asked him to. It was becoming a problem. Because she was going to disappear tonight, and a small part of her was beginning to feel sad she would never see him again. It was why she hadn’t slept with him yet, she knew she enjoyed his company just a little too much and wouldn’t risk any further attachment. Character A agreed that he was a good person but emphasized that it was just casual. Coworker 1 says alright, she will back off, and she will let them get to the party. She needs to finish packing and wants to leave as soon as possible. Character A says she understand, they hug and say goodbye.
Chapter 2
-Character A and Character B are walking to the Board Game party. They are dressed as Clue characters, she is Miss. Scarlet and Character B is Mr. Green. They had played every board game she owned, which was a lot of them, in order to decide what to dress up as for the Your Favorite Board Game Party. He turned out to be a good competitor and got way more into the games than she expected him to.
He hands her a cinnamon bun, her favorite, and tells her he had made a whole batch for her, claiming that he knew she hadn’t gotten one since they were hiking that morning, and all she had eaten that day was trail mix and beef jerky and he refuses to let her party on an empty stomach. She happily takes a huge bite, grateful for this one thing she loved before she left this world forever.
He says he’s been thinking and asks her to go traveling with him. She almost chokes on her food. His words rush out and he assures her he has money and can pay for everything and they can go anywhere she wants. Her heart sinks into her stomach. Before her Father went missing, an offer like that from a hot guy would have been her dream, but she couldn’t now, or ever. She looks at the half eaten cinnamon bun, thinks how he had made them because he had gotten coffee with her every morning for the last three weeks, and he saw how every Saturday and Sunday morning she would get a cinnamon bun the size of her face and eat it. She looks at the Green jacket he wore and remembers laughing in the thrift shop as he tried on a full leather catsuit while they searched for the perfect outfit for the party. He was too good. She begins to think that in another life, they could go. They could adopt an adventure cat and take it with them on their world travels, but that wasn’t possible for her. She wasn’t staying in this world, and even if she was, she was too messed up. Too broken. Too much of a burden. And she could never give all of herself to one person ever again, she did it twice, and was broken by both of them because she was too much.
She decides he’s gotten too close and she needs to push him away, so in the hopes that it will scare him, she explains that she can’t leave because her Father was stolen by a magical creature and taken to the Other World. She tells him the entire story her father told her, of creatures luring people to the Other World and keeping them for the Queen's entertainment, forced to be pawns in her games. They are ruthless and obsessed with games and everything reeks of roses. She tells him its her fault that he got taken and she can’t live with herself until she either gets him back or gets revenge for his death.
Character B begins pleading with her, telling her she shouldn't go. She is surprised he doesn’t balk or think she is crazy. He isn’t looking at her the way Ex-Bestfriend and Ex-Boyfriend did, like they feared she would infect them with her crazy, no, he looks at her with genuine terror in his eyes. She stops walking, they are just outside the party house. What do you know? She says. He inhales and steps forward, desperation etched into hs features, and says that he knows that everything she said was true, and that it is much worse than she even thinks. That if she goes, she will not make it back here. It’s too dangerous, and he just wants to keep her safe. She is flabbergasted, and checks over his features for signs. No pointed ears, no animalistic features such as scales or a tail, no strange eyes. How do you know all this? He doesn’t answer, his mouth works like he’s trying to come up with something and betrayal starts to roil in her gut.
Before he has the chance to lie, two men throw their arms around their shoulders. It is the couple that Character A hooks up with on occasion. They start walking them into the house and the one with Character A asks if she wants to come over later for a joint and to hook up. She tries to muster up a yes, it is what she wanted after all, but she can’t think straight after her conversation with Character B. She turns back to see he’s been steered into a conversation with a few other people and thinks she needs a drink to calm herself and give her some courage.
-She walks into the kitchen for a glass and bumps into her Ex-Boyfriend. She is thrown for a loop again. He says Happy Birthday and remarks that he didn’t think he would find her at a party today, since he knows how much she hates her birthday. Character A is surprised to see him and momentarily forgets about Character B, and asks what they’re doing back in town. He says its because Ex-Bestfriends mom is still missing. Character A says, oh, right. And feels stupid for thinking she wouldn’t run into them. She was devastated to hear Ex-BFFs Mom had been taken, she was like a second mother to her, but after Ex-BFF left she couldn’t stand to look at her Mom anymore and remember what she had lost.
He mentions something about the baby coming soon and Ex-BFF wanting to be as close to her mom as she can. Character A questions the baby and he tells her they are pregnant. Character A flashes back to both of them telling her they were leaving and couldn’t stay in contact with her anymore, that she had become too much for them to handle on the horizon of their new lives. She noted the way they looked at each other and how their knees pressed together, and that was when she knew they had been having an affair. She comes back to the present when he leans in close and says he actually wants to ask her some questions about her dad. She sees a familiar head with a mop of blonde hair moving through the crowd towards them. Seeing Ex-Boyfriend was bad enough, she cannot see Ex-Bestfriend. See her pregnant. And now he wants to hear what she has to say about the disappearances? You can go fuck yourself, she spits and walks away before he can say anything else, and thankfully, before Ex-Bestfriend reaches her. She thinks his betrayal hurt her, but her betrayal broke her.
-She is fleeing the kitchen, heading for the back door, desperate to get away from them, when she bumps into an attractive man in a red velvet sport coat with a red velvet top hat. They are both imprinted with roses. He apologizes for bumping into her and her heart skips a beat, thinking of the Queen's obsession with roses. She asks him who he's supposed to be and he smiles but pauses before saying his name is Character C, he’s friends with Character B, and her heart stops all together. A chill runs through her and Character B interrupts and asks him what he’s doing here. Character C hugs him and says its good to see him and says he thought he was dead. Character C turns to Character A and says that he took off for a month without saying anything, could she even believe it? And they had an important event that the three of them needed to attend tonight. Character B starts to argue with Character C when Character A hears her name called. The Guy she stole from is there, he holds up the card to the bookstore that fell under his desk and said he wants the contents of his safe back, and maybe the sheriff will go easy on her if she returns it, or maybe he won't since he will also be investigating his cabin burning down and one of his sons going missing. Character A plays dumb but he grabs her around the neck and says he knows it was her, she’s a pathetic bum just like her father. Character B punches him, forcing him to release her and they begin fighting. The other partygoers jump to Character A’s defense and start fighting the other guys that came with him. Character C picks up Character A after she was knocked over to keep her from being trampled, and Character B breaks away when The Guy starts fighting with someone else. So they turn and head for the door, but The Guy's Son, the same one from last month who she stole the bike from, blocked the back door.
-Character A turns and together they run into the basement, locking the door behind them. They run down the stairs and into a bedroom where she locks the door again. She whips out her knives and points one at Character C. “Why do you want me to go to the Other World?” He holds up his hands and smiles, “I need your help finding a weapon that will help me defeat the Queen .” “Why me?” “The Goddess showed me in a dream that it is you. I will pay you in gold and return you back here, unharmed, once you find it.” Character A hears them break through the basement door and descend the stairs. “Fine, I’ll help you do it.” Character B protests and steps forward but she gestures the knife at him and he stops. “But first, you will help me find my Father and send him back here. Alive. And healthy.” All she knows about the Other World is what she could glean from her Fathers stories and what she was able to research about lore, but she had no idea what was accurate and what was not. She would be a fool to think she should turn away help if she could bargain for it. “I will help you find you Father, but it won’t be until after tonight, we must attend the Queens party so you can search for the weapon, this is the best opportunity we will have for another year.” The Guy begins banging on the door. She took it back, she was being a fool, she had very little hope that she would be able to fulfill her end of the bargain, but she was out of time, and she may never have a chance to get to the Other World again. “Deal.” She says as she steps forward to shake his hand. Character C grasps it and an electrical charge runs up her arm. He pulls a small vial out of his pocket. He dumps some black sparkly powder on his tongue and a hole appears in the floor. Grabbing Character B’s hand as well they jump through it just as the door breaks open.
If you have read this far, seriously thank you so much and I love you and if you want feedback on anything please direct me to where I can provide it!
I wanted to note that the mention about her potentially killing The Other Son is relevant to the plot because he did not die in the fire, he was lured to the Other World and will be there as an antagonist when Character A shows up. Also, the mushrooms become relevant to her finding the weapon in book 2. She gets sidetracked this book by finding her father and bargaining to take his place in the game (the party they are attending is to watch this game take place) and having to fight her way out of them. The entire first book takes place over the course of one single night.

GOOD DAY MY GLORIOUS DIPSHITS!
So here we are, nearly halfway through the near, and we still can't figure out how to use Reddit or AskMen. THE LAST STICKY has been added to the FAQ but its not like you degenerates actually read a goddamned thing.
Joking aside for a moment
AskMen is a place to ask questions that will open a conversation with men or to gain a male perspective on things.
This is not a sex sub. This is not an anti-woman sub. This is not a dating sub. This is not a PUA tips sub. This is not a MGTOW sub. This is not an Incel positive sub.
Men are not a monolith. Do not ask questions that treat all men as a singular being. Do not post questions that assume all men think a single way, and you want to know why. You're already on the wrong path. Your boyfriend/husband/SO is an individual not part of collective male mind. If you want to know why they did something - ASK THEM, NOT US. You want to buy your boyfriend/husband/SO a gift, and don't know what to get them, HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM.
You didn't have a dad growing up and want to ask a question - we got dads here. You didn't or don't have many male friends and don't understand a reference - we got dudes here. You never learned how to do a thing that "every dude" seems to know how to do, and want it explained - we got those guys here too.
I am saying all this, because lately there has been a swarm of really anti-female shit being said around here, people feeding into it, and then other (usually either anti-male or pro-fem) subs using it to buzz around and incite fights, flaming and other bullshit. The bots catch a lot, but the mod inbox the last two weeks has been full to the brim.
This is a safe space. Liberal, Conservative, Gay, Straight, Bi, Trans, Cis, Married, Single, Poly, Child-free, parenting, POC, White, Religious, Atheist, whatever...thats all part of the male experience, so it's all valued and all valid.
WE THE MODERATION TEAM ARE ASKING - when you see hateful shit, when you see people behaving badly, when you see people being wrong - fucking report it. if it's reported, report it again - three reports takes it down. Or message us with a link - and title it "This Fucking Person"
We will act, but we have to know about it. We need your help to keep this place a good place to be. It's a big sub, and we mods are few.
We may hate you dumbfucks, but we love you as well.

Me and my husband is married for 4 years and dated for 5years. I just got a baby and he is 4months now. To be honest i didn’t want to have a child and i did tell my partner about it, he likes children but he did say that even if we don’t have one he is fine with it. Whenever we have some intimate moment i always asked him to use a contraception but he insists that he doesn’t like to wear a condom and feel more satisfied without one. i keep telling him he should wear one cause i didnt want to get pregnant but he is being selfish and beg me to not use one and just pulling out. in the end i got pregnant…
The pregnancy is very hard for me since this is not something that i want and i got a lots of breakdown during my pregnancy. the reason why i dont want a child is because i know im not good with children and i cant stand them whining, crying and throwing fit. so when the baby was born it is very hard to take care of him not to mention i have no experience dealing or taking care a baby. My partner did promise me to help taking care of the baby but sometimes i just feel like he is not fully committed. he is a little bit forgetful example: i asked him to throwing the trash he say yes but be forget about it. sometimes when i asked him to prepare the milk for the baby while he is playing his game, he just forget about it and the baby ended up crying for quite some time cause he need to wait the milk to get warmed up. and the worse is when i do the cleaning and washing he just let the baby cry and scream not wanting to hold them cause HE IS SLEEPY and TIRED. like what? excuse me? i need his help cause im a exclusive pumping mom since the baby has a very bad latching with kicking and biting my nipple causing it to sore and pain. there are more things that makes me so annoyed and irritated with him which i cant mention one by one.
at this point i resent him a lot for get me pregnant and i was angry at him for most of the time because he is careless, clumsy and forgetful. and there are other problem too… his parents are not working and dont have any savings so right now they are depended on me and my husband to provide for them.
i feel so tired with everything.. my body become so fat cause of pregnancy, seeing my husband not doing things right, his parents situation , getting pregnant. just everything slowly crushing me. i get a lot of breakdown and cry a lot. i regret everything right now and i dont feel the same about him anymore. sometimes i just want to tell him straight in his face that i hate him and being with him makes me suffer and unhappy.
im sorry for a long post, there are more things that i cant mention them here cause there just too many things. what should i do now?