At our wedding reception my husband's cousin (age 16, male) asked for a dance, which I obliged (age 21,female). During the course of the dance, he asked me if I was a virgin and made a snide comment. I was a bit startled and thought it was totally inappropriate. I've never really liked this kid. My husband and I have been dating for four years and three months prior to our marriage so I've known his cousin for years. I just think he's a punk. I was pretty mad and went and told my husband and asked that he have his cousin removed from our reception. My husband refused. Said it would cause all sorts of between his aunt and uncle/the parents of this kid. I was pretty disappointed in my husband's reaction, to be honest. Am I the asshole for asking that he be removed?

Any guidance would be appreciated. We hired a full concierge planner to plan and execute our entire wedding weekend (rehearsal dinner, welcome party, ceremony and reception). We’ve really enjoyed working with her over the last 18 months and she’s done a great job. Her fee structure is a flat rate of $19K plus 10% of any budget over $110K. Our wedding weekend came out to be ~$400K so we’re paying her $19K + $29K for a total of ~$48K. We’re also paying for her travel, her weekend-of staff’s travel, and tipping her weekend-of staff. Am I expected to also tip my planner? She runs her own business and outside of the staff she hired to assist for the weekend, she is the sole employee. I don’t want to be rude and not tip her, but I also feel like I’m paying her very well to begin with.

Narc mom has no issue engulfing me when she is bored and alone telling me I have to go visit her and keep her company at her house while she watches tv on my one day off. However if she is having friends over or has a make companion she will tell me not to go to her house and ignore me. She also had me drive her to my brothers wedding, carry all of her luggage back and forth to her room and keep her company. However during the wedding reception dinner and rehearsal dinner she told me "Don't sit near me". WTH?

Hi Reddit! I'm new here and in serious need of some support. This entire wedding process has been extremely hard for me for a variety of reasons. (Sorry this is a long post)
My FH and I got engaged in 2022 and had a tough time deciding on what we wanted to do. I voted for an elopement because we've been in several weddings the past few years and all of them had their own insane stories that completely put me off the traditional wedding ceremony/reception idea. My FH however is a more traditional guy and wanted a big celebration. Fast forward and we decided to compromise on a lowkey destination wedding this September with close family and friends. The destination is in the states and we rented a giant beach house and are paying for our close friends and immediate family to stay with us for a week.
Sounds ideal? It's been a nightmare. There's been so many family dynamics involved from our extended family being upset that we chose a destination wedding to both of our parents giving us grief over who we invite at the house, what we decided on for the catering, etc. and my maid of honor has not been supportive which has been tough. There's a lot more minutia with all of this and this post could turn into a novel but we're only a few months away from the wedding now and I'm so upset and ready to throw in the towel and tell my FH we elope or nothing like I originally wanted to.
I've felt so upset by everything today from feeling unsupported by our families to anxiety about everything coming together for an event that I truthfully wasn't initially excited to plan.
Has anyone else had a tough planning experience and if so how did you navigate all of the politics? 😭
-sincerely a stressed out bride

I have three siblings, and two of us are estranged from our parents, but the other two are trying to have it both ways. One of them got married this last weekend and our parents made the weekend completely miserable for us. I’m not exaggerating when I say that my dad cornered my brother and tried to start a physical fight with him in the middle of the wedding reception, while screaming about how only God can judge him for his actions, nobody else.
What’s hard is that I really do believe that everyone is on their own journey with my parents, and I don’t want my siblings to feel pressured as they go through their own journeys. I have never wanted to tell them how to feel or what to do.
But I do feel a lot of anger right now for the siblings who spent all weekend trying to pretend that my parents aren’t monsters. And I don’t want to hold this anger. Has anybody else struggled with this?

I (26F) have been feeling apathetic toward my boyfriend (26M) of 4 years now.
To start, we met on tinder and had so much in common. We lived at our parents houses and did not have a place to be intimate for 1 1/2 years before I got the chance to move out finally. We still were intimate, but it was difficult and I mostly would set things up for us to be comfortable. Going as far as getting a cabin stay for us. My main reason to move out from my parent's house was just so I could have a place I could finally be intimate with him. He never had that motivation.
We met our senior year of college, graduated together. He took a gap year to work and apply to schools. He got into a school one state away and we went "long distance" for 2 years. While he was away for school it was extremely hard for me emotionally to cope. Here I was, asking repeatedly when we could see each other with respect to his school schedule and he just wouldn't really gaf. Come his third year and he has a mental breakdown and takes a years medical leave from school. I was just chugging along, struggling through the distance, and now he's back home for a year, but that just means another year our life is delayed. I was always very careful of not talking about the future with him (not wanting to pressure him about kids/marriage). During his mental break he turns to me and asks that all we talk about is our future together and that I'd be there for him and how many kids I'd want to have with him. I entertained the conversation. In truth, I have stuck by him this entire time, even when he'd ignore me entirely because of "school"
During our relationship, I took hormonal birth control. I even got an IUD because I was not looking to get pregnant due to not having finances to support a child. The hormones and IUD messed me up very bad. To the point where i just got my second IUD I was trialling removed because I would not stop bleeding with it. Our ratio of getting off during sex is 80/20, and I have to initiate a lot of the time, he always cums. I do not. I wish we'd have sex more often, especially with how little we see each other and how busy I am with work and school. We have sex maybe twice a month? Not worth it for me to put my hormonal health through hell for him not to even initiate.
During our relationship we have not fought much. The one issue I always brought up was him not introducing me to his family or friend and keeping me a "secret" (I felt) for a solid 2 years. Every time I'd bring it up he'd put some effort in, but then he'd revert back to keeping me in the dark. Last summer his classmate which he does not know all that was had a wedding in his school's state so we drove 6 hours with my car to attend this bland reception where I wasn't even introduced to the bride and groom and left after 20 minutes. I took time off work for that bs. Then this spring his family member which he actually knows gets married in the same city, he never mentions inviting me. His brother and sister in law are in all the videos dancing. His friend took his girlfriend, but me? Nothing.
Now he's off traveling in a different country for the last month. I've been in and out of the ER bleeding my uterus out essentially for a month straight, going through a hellish finals week. Having my job jumping down my throat on numbers. I see him post on instagram videos of dancing women at a bar he's at. Mind you, he has never once posted me. I have just gone silent. i deleted instagram. I am on so much hormonal and blood clotting drugs I just have no emotional capacity to deal. All I feel is anger. And stupidity for putting up with this bullshit.
He texts me he's coming back but I'm actively ignoring his texts. I. Am. Over. It.

Hi fellow BBBs! My fiancé and I are getting married this fall in a micro wedding (<20 people total). The ceremony is at a local estate (English garden vibes) and the reception is at my parents’ home.
I’ve already booked most of the vendors for the day but wondering if there is anything I could do to make the experience even more special and luxe? Budget is flexible, so far we’re on track to spend $1.4k per guest (not including outfits & rings).
Things we’re already doing: getting ready in my old childhood bedroom; first look with my dad in our backyard; sister is officiating; handwritten letters to each guest. Was thinking of putting a movie screen up by the pool and playing a slideshow OR one of our fave films while we have dinner- would this be tacky!? Does having a guestbook make sense with so few guests?
Would love more ideas!! xx

Good day!
Baka lang sakali an dito ang future partner ko sa reddit, nakakasawa na din gumamit ng dating apps haha.
About me.

• Chinese filipino
• 5'9" / 65-70kg. /normal build
• Shy / Introvert
• NGSB
• Home buddy pero game naman din gumala
• Big 2 graduate
• Licensed engineer / working professional
• average maintenance lifestyle
• speak filipino, english, and few chinese (learning pa sa duolingo haha)
• loves sports (basketball, football, F1 etc.)
• Can Drive ; also good at transportation and directions
• Good hygiene
• Doesn't like to drink soft drinks and eat sweets (except kung yun na lang available)
• Doesn't smoke and do gambling and do drugs
• Stop drinking alcohol for 4 years and counting (except 1 time pero wedding reception, ayaw ko naman maging KJ doon)
• Likes street food and ramen and fruits; hindi ako maarte sa food except kung super exotic like insects haha
• home workout daily (may rest day lang if masakit na ang katawan or OT sa trabaho hehe.) Hindi na nag gym, effective na sa akin ang bodyweight workouts at gusto ko lang ma condition ang katawan ko haha.
• like watching KDRAMA, and a fan of twice (love watching their vlogs)
• like sneakers (1 model na lang na collection ko now)
• One Piece Fan
• Gamer (playstation lang)
• Hindi marunong magluto (I'm sorry, pero I'm willing to learn para sa iyo)

About you.

• chinese filipino as well
• working / employed (huwag naman sana tambay sa bahay)
• NBSB
• good hygiene
• 26-32 age sana para maliit lang gap natin haha
• home buddy din pero mahilig din mag travel
• hopefully tall (5'6" and up) pero any height will do
• nag workout din
• slim to normal build (sorry no to plus size muna)
• hindi maarte sa foods, game kahit nasa Ugbo Tondo tayo or Divisoria tayo pumunta.
• doesn't do vices (smoke, drugs)
• average maintenance lifestyle
• knows how to cook (para sa iyo ako magpaturo haha) pero its fine kung hindi at least sabay tayo matuto.
• I won't mind and judge if you spend your money sa mga items nabili mo kasi its your earned money pero sana sa future if ever naging tayo eh sana priority natin ay sa family na

The one they did for Hades covered development from early access on and it was so damn interesting to see how things go behind the scenes but I wonder if it would work for a second time or if we'd just be seeing the same steps again. Also I just watched the office tour video that game informer put out and it was mentioned that a lot of the development is happening from the developers homes now so that may also make it more difficult to create such a documentary.. I guess really I'm just posting this as a hope and a prayer, lol.

TL;DR Looking for ceremony and reception recommendations for our 75 person, $45k-$55k, Saturday in May - August 2025 wedding in the redwoods. Ideal ceremony space is quiet, private, natural, 30 minutes from where guests could stay, and close to the reception location.
Hi everyone! My fiancee and I are looking for some venue recommendations as our tours have not been very fruitful. We are looking to have our wedding on a Saturday in the May - August 2025 timeframe. We anticipate about 75 guests, the vast majority of which will be flying in from the EST timezone. We are based in Redwood City. A lot of our guests are coming to California for the first time and we'd love to give them a great first impression and make it "worth their time", so a beautiful venue and good food are at the top of our list.
Our ideal ceremony location is in the redwoods in a private, quiet, and natural setting, so we have been searching the Santa Cruz mountains and the peninsula west of 280. Looking to spend around $45k with a hard maximum of $55k. We'd originally wanted the ceremony and reception to be in the same location for so many reasons, but based on our searches we will have to separate them since no venue seems to have what we are looking for. We would like the reception to be as all-inclusive as possible but understand this comes at a premium. Exclusive use of the ceremony site is important to us as well.
So far, we've seen:

• Mountain Terrace: CA-35 road noise is loud
• Waterfall Lodge & Retreat: Not much room for activities, not cost-inclusive
• Deer Park Villa: Not so private
• Nestldown: Expensive, with a 125 guest minimum
• Amphitheater of the Woods at Pema Osel Ling: Too far away
• Fairview Crystal Springs: No redwoods

Other venues that were on our list include:

• Berkley Botanical Garden: Not a fan of the stadium seating in the ceremony space
• Sparrow Valley Retreat: Too far away
• Ralston White Retreat: Too far away
• Rancho Nicasio: Too far away
• Stone Creek Village at Kennolyn: Too expensive (22,500 venue + 37,500 food/drink/lodging)
• Piedmont Community Hall: All Saturdays booked in 2025

They are all great but have one or two deal breakers for us (location, privacy, noise, price, etc.). Because of this, we are splitting our ceremony and reception. Our top choice so far for a separate ceremony location is the Sequoia Peterson Grove in Sanborn Park, and we are looking for reception recommendations nearby in Saratoga or Los Gatos.
Feeling slightly discouraged having visited the venues that are the best matches on paper only to find deal breakers, but aren't sure if our requirements are too strict or we are too picky. We are hoping separating the ceremony and reception gives us the choices we need.

TW for sexual, physical, medical, emotional, and religious abuse, childhood sa, suicidal ideation, and self harm
This past week has been incredibly difficult so I decided it would be good for me to write a letter to my mom to keep for myself during my healing process to get everything out and it's been very cathartic (all fake names used). Part of my healing journey has been sharing my (extremely personal) experience with others who understand, hence why I'm sharing this here, and maybe it'll give someone some strength knowing that I made it out. I hope everyone is kind to themselves this week and was able to treat this holiday as a holiday for themselves for surviving their abusive moms!
Dear mom, Happy belated Mother’s Day. My Mother’s Day was spent being upset and anxious so I decided to write this letter. This letter is so incredibly difficult to write and even more difficult to read back to myself. Moving away from my university and back home during COVID was genuinely one of the most difficult things I have done in my life simply because of all of the repressed memories that flooded back into my brain every single day I was in that house. I used to resent the pandemic for forcing me to live in an environment that made me want to harm myself every single day and die every other day, but I am now thankful for the clarity that it brought me as I don’t think I’d have the foresight that I have now.
There is a lot that I want to say. I am angry, bitter, resentful, and traumatized from things that you have done to me as a child and also as an adult. Growing up, you’re never able to fully recognize what is healthy because whatever you experience will be your barometer for normalcy. I thought for a very long time that thing were normal but thank God I now know just how truly fucked up so many of my childhood experiences were. Not a single day goes by where I don’t think about the emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that I went through. I am haunted every single day by things that you did (and some things that you didn’t do) and hope that one day I will be able to heal from what I experienced.
I grew up being close to my cousin Chloe (a year younger than me) who was obviously very bitchy, mean, and abusive. This fact isn’t something you weren’t aware of as I know a fully grown adult would be able to see how she treated and talked to me when around you and come to the obvious conclusion that I should not have been allowed to be around her. She bullied me, called me names, physically assaulted me by pushing me, pulling my hair, and sitting on me with my hands held behind my back until I couldn’t breathe, forced me to bathe in scolding hot bath water that would burn my skin, making me undress and make fun of parts of my body, and forced me to watch things that she knew would scare me. This is the same time that I started having insomnia and struggled in school due to anxiety. It’s also the same time I remember my sound sensitivity starting. Do you remember my childhood friend’s mom Amelia and how protective she was over my friend, Diana? Diana met Chloe at my 9th birthday party and Diana went over to her house for a playdate and Chloe did something to her. She physically reached over and groped Diana on the privates. I knew Amelia IMMEDIATELY prevented her daughter from ever being around Chloe again. I also knew that it's possible she mentioned this to my aunt, but I'm not positive. I know that Amelia is the type of mom to prevent Diana from reading Harry Potter because she thought it was a bad influence on her due to being “demonic”, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she made you aware of what Chloe did to Diana as she knew that I spent a lot of time around her. I doubt that what Chloe did to Diana was ever kept a secret from you. Chloe also forced me to do sexual things I didn’t want to do from roughly the ages of 8-11. One time, we were in her kitchen and she pulled out a knife and said that she was going to stab me. By then, I knew she just wanted to scare me so when I had no reaction, she put the knife away. I was terrified of what would happen if I said no to her so I went along with whatever she wanted. She would go into the bathroom and tell me to follow, would lock the door, and make me take off my clothes and let her do things to me and forced me to do the same things to her. I used to think that you had NO IDEA about this until I remember you saying the words- “you were an amazing kid and never had any problems until you got a little older. I always wondered if something happened.” Who the fuck says that to their kid? Yeah, something did happen and it wouldn’t have happened if you protected me!!!! You fucking idiot!!!! I remember being in our new house and taking a shower with you when I was about 8 (which was VERY inappropriate and should NEVER have happened at all) and saying something that clearly made you uncomfortable. I remember the exact face you made and know that any normal, healthy adult would have done something about it and made sure nothing was happening. They would have made sure I was SAFE, and talked to me about safety, but nothing was said or done. You have failed me many times, but this one is the most painful. Not only will you need to live with the fact that you knew about my abuse and did nothing, but I will have to live with the fact that my mom knew "something happened” and didn’t care about me enough to protect me. I look at my beautiful niece Hallie, and imagine not protecting her like that and want to vomit. I cannot fathom how a mother would have the thought “I wonder if something happened to my daughter to case a massive behavioral change” and NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT! You didn’t talk to me, never asked me if Chloe was doing anything, or anything at all. If I even had a minor suspicion that something was happening to Hallie, I would IMMEDIATELY do something about it because THAT IS MY JOB as an adult in her life. You failed me and deserve to know that this traumatized me and gave me PTSD. I am NOT autistic, no matter how much you WANT me to be so you can go around and gain sympathy for “having an autistic daughter” rather than owning up to the fact that you caused what “went wrong” with me.
Not only did you not help prevent me from being molested by my cousin, you also added to my sexual trauma by forcing me to use the giant egg monistat insert to treat a yeast infection when I was 11. I was ELEVEN and you had a bright idea to force a HUGE foreign object into my prepubescent body even though you were fully aware I could have easily gotten a prescription for a pill to swallow from a doctor. I was scared. I had so much pain and itching and needed a mother to hug me, tell me it’s going to be okay, or at the very least, EXPLAIN what I had and how we were going to fix it. You didn’t do any of that. You told me to lay down and proceeded to try and administer medication that is NOT meant for children 12 and under due to the physical damage it could cause. I was clearly in pain and scared, but you kept trying anyways. At any point, you could have stopped and taken me to the fucking doctor, but nope. You then got frustrated that “you couldn’t get it in” and told your 11 year old daughter to shove it inside herself. Then you left the room. I hadn’t even had a period yet, let alone know where my vagina was but you sure felt the need to yet again abandon your parental responsibilities and place them onto your kid! Miraculously, I put it in and wobbled out to lay on the couch because I was in physical pain from BOTH the infection and YOU, but because a child’s body isn’t able to properly fully insert the medication used (which once again I’ll remind you is meant for girls 13 and up), it came out and got on the couch because you didn’t give me a pad. And rather than prioritize your own daughter’s health, safety, wellbeing, and comfort, you were more upset about the stain on the couch and yelled at me. I will never forget in all of the years that I am alive how ashamed and disgusted I felt standing behind you watching you furiously scrub at the stain that I caused (actually, that YOU caused since this never should have happened in the first place!) and feeling a huge flood of guilt every time I saw that couch stain. One of the best days of my life was when we got a new couch and I never had to see that stain again.
All of this caused me to develop anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and ideation, self harming behaviors, having out of body experiences where I dissociate, and panic attacks amongst other things. YOU caused ALL of this and you fought tooth and nail to convince me that it was MY fault for being broken. “There’s something going on with you,” and you made it your mission to never take any responsibility for any of the trauma that you caused. Not only did you ignore all signs of abuse and sexually assault me yourself, you bullied and helped a family friend Sharon bully me when I was “being mean” to (her daughter) Faith. I was treated like I was a mentally ill monster who couldn’t be trusted and always got in trouble whenever Faith shed a single tear because I was “mean to her”. Faith cried at LEAST 15x a day, and I was blamed every time she decided to say I was the reason. You allowed a monster (Sharon) to ABUSE me and had the incredibly wise idea to start passing along what shit talking you two would say about me TO ME, a 13 year old girl. I was THIRTEEN. I was A CHILD. And yet, you came crying and complaining to me about how tired you were of hearing Sharon say I was being mean to her daughter when you could have TOLD THE OTHER ADULT IN THE SITUATION TO STOP. It never was my responsibility as a child to try and make another adult stop abusing me by “behaving better.” There was nothing wrong with how I was behaving. You never once tried to help me, you always blamed anybody and everybody else for your failures. I would come and ask you for help when I was struggling and if you didn’t care, you would pawn it off to somebody else- “go talk to your older sister” “talk to your therapist about that” “I don’t know what to say except to tell you to pray about it” and when I came back saying praying didn’t magically fix my depression, you told me to pray harder. I guess you really thought it was a skill issue rather than a diagnosable health condition! No wonder I wanted to die! Hahaha! I’ll never forget the look of disgust on your face when I was sobbing hysterically and struggling to get out the words when I told you just how badly I was affected by Sharon and said how you played a role in helping her harm and abuse me. “WELL. I’m SORRY if you think I didn’t protect you enough. I know what that feels like because my parent’s took my sister’s side a few weeks ago when we were having an argument” (as FULLY GROWN 50+ YEAR OLDS arguing and bitching LIKE CHILDREN!) No, mom, it’s not the same. I was a child and not only did you not stop an abuser from harming me, you joined in. You allowed her access to me and you passed along what horrible things she said was wrong with me. “SHARON said she thinks YOU’RE BIPOLAR. Do you think you are?” “Sharon told me that you’re having AN EPISODE and are being mean to Faith! Show me your phone!” “Well, I just don’t understand why you keep bringing this up when it happened so long ago. I just hope you can forgive her and move on.” You’re fucking disgusting. Should I go into detail about how many times I asked you to not interact with Sharon more than you needed to and you proceeded to try and force her into my life more? You KNEW how uncomfortable I was with you attending Faith’s wedding and yet, you cared more about how you looked and not only attended, but hosted both her wedding and wedding showers. I have always wondered why you never cared how I feel until I realized that you prioritize yourself and how you look to other people above anything and everyone. There is a clear pattern of behavior-

• When I was 17 and you were painting my fingernails and berating me for wanting to visit my friend up in Boston to see a concert together because “you just didn’t understand why I’d want to do that” and I started crying. You rolled your eyes and said “you better leave now if you don’t want my next client to see you crying because her appointment is in a few minutes.” You cared more about having your random client seeing me cry and potentially thinking you’re a bad mom than comforting me.
• When I was 13 and we were saying our nightly prayer the night that I had my “therapy appointment” (aka, you and my “therapist” chastising me for writing in my diary that I was having suicidal thoughts), when you were praying you said “Dear God, please help (my name)… and… pLEASE HELP ME!!!!” Clearly, YOU were affected more than I was even though I was the one wanting to die because of you. Wow. Your life is so hard!
• Telling everyone around you that I “have problems” and am “really struggling” so you can gain an ounce of sympathy. The way that your friends come up and talk to me is baffling. They treat me like I just got home from the psychiatric hospital.
• Laughing about me with my friends in high school when I was out of the room- “hahaha my daughter is sooooo weird hahaha”
• When I was 18 and you called my “therapist” (who did NOT get my consent before doing this and violated her ethical guidelines) after I moved out and stopped talking to you, you got her to help you write a list of “rules” to force me to stay in contact with you. They consisted of requiring me to “talk to you, dad, or my sister at least 1x/day” so you “knew that I was safe” aka, you wanted to control me even though I was an adult and not living in your house. I was perfectly safe, and yet you made me sound like I was doing drug deals in the morning, prostituting myself after lunch, and had plans to commit felonies later that night. I went to school, ate, and went back to my apartment. You had no right manipulating me into talking to you by using my therapist, dad, and sister against me. Pathetic.
• Telling me to go do my runs on a strange man’s property instead of the road because it’s “safer.” Dad said that this man who I’VE NEVER MET told him that “there are bad people out there who will kidnap her and do horrible things to her, SO INSTEAD she should run on MY property!” Not sketchy or rapey at all, right? And completely dismissing me when I said that made me uncomfortable by saying “my dad knows him”? Lady, do you know any rape statistics? Clearly not, because you’d then know that only 7% of assaults are strangers while 93% are family members or acquaintances. NINETY THREE PERCENT. The amount of times that I’ve mentioned someone made me uncomfortable or had a massive affect on me as a child and you’ve replied with “Oh, well did they touch you?” People don’t have to touch me to traumatize me. You’re pathetic for thinking that.

I’m not mad at Chloe. I don’t feel any anger or ill will towards her at all. She was a child just like I was a child. She was failed more than I was failed. No child acts that way and assaults other children without learning that from somewhere. I blame her parents for what happened to her. I blame YOU for what happened to me. I vividly remember things that my aunt would say the same time this was happening about little girls and their bodies and I want to smash my head against the wall. Children are to be protected above anything and everything else, by you didn’t. Do I hate Faith and think that she’s a bad person because of what happened when we were 13? No. I fully blame you and Sharon. The amount of adults that have failed me in my life keep me up at night. I think about how different my life would be had dad been more involved and seen what was going on and taken me away from you. I am angry with him for that. I dream one day I will be able to sit down with him and tell him everything I have written about and he will hug me, support me, cry with me, and apologize for not being there more to protect me. But who knows, he might defend his child abusing, mentally ill wife and say I’m making up everything. Who knows.
Do you want to know what my sister said when I told her all of this? She apologized to me for not being 15 years older than I am so she could have raised me instead. I want you to sit here and think about how fucked up that is. My own sister wishes she could have taken me away from you so you couldn’t have abused me. I imagine the pressure she must have felt having to grow up while also raising her mother and sister and I sob for her. I’ve sobbed for me for the mental anguish and torture I experienced at your hands. I’ve even sobbed for you because I can’t imagine being even a fraction of how fucked up you are to resort to abusing and neglecting your child- a child you begged to have. A child you had trouble having and prayed for. Embarrassing.
I’m never going to have a relationship with you again. If God is willing, I will never have to interact with you ever again. Saying that phrase “if God is willing” is ironic because you forcing me to pray my problems away rather than helping me led me to not believe in him. How can I believe in something that also neglected me? I’d sit in my dark bedroom night after night praying and sobbing for him to help me. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but I felt broken and alone. I now know that I was a child praying for God to take away my PTSD, and that is not possible. My heart breaks for that child.
You’re a pathetic excuse for a mother and human being. I’m truly shocked that I survived you and your abuse. I’m surprised that I didn’t ever try to kill myself to try and get away from you because you’re a vulture that prays on innocent people. The only important people in your life are people you think will give you something or will make you look good. That’s why you refused to ever cut ties with Sharon, you knew she was sexually abused as a child and you couldn’t POSSIBLY NOT be her friend because you need her to be your “friend,” or rather, your token sexually abused as a child friend. I genuinely hope that you get better and become a normal healthy person but I won’t ever be around to see it. I hope you feel even a fraction of the pain and abandonment that I have felt my entire life. Happy Mother’s Day, but today isn’t Mother’s Day for me, it’s Daughter’s Day. Moving far away from you one month ago has truly saved my life. Instead of trying to survive, I am enjoying my life. I would have died in that house. I get to finally celebrate being away from you and celebrate myself for staying strong and fighting when I could have easily given up. You once told me “you feel like I HATE you!” to guilt me into fawning over you and telling you how much I loved you, but now you get the opposite. I DO hate you and hate how you have permanently changed me and I wish to never see you again. Instead of praying for the “God forsaken, atheist, lost, evil, liar, miserable, spiteful, hateful, disgusting, mentally ill, “autistic” daughter, pray for yourself. Pray for God’s forgiveness for emotionally, medically, physically, sexually, and religiously abusing and neglecting me. You deserve to remain in your "clueless" state of "having NO IDEA what you did wrong to make her stop talking to me!" for the rest of your life.Happy Daughter’s Day.

I’m on the east coast and she’s on the west coast, so has to be something I can setup virtually or with a vendor for a fee. I work in the industry so pls no lectures about contacting a vendor for favors last minute.
I already got her a huge gift, so nothing outrageously expensive, pls and ty.
Thank you! 😃

A little context: I've been with the guy I'm marrying 10 years, I've known my moh 15 years. We're best friends, even our kids are best friends. The wedding is 2 years in the making, we've been planning this A WHILE! Her kids are in the ceremony, as are mine. But the reception is kid free... We had rides figured out for everyone, I have rides figured for both my 16 year old and my 5 year old. She wants to leave right after pictures and take her kids and hour away to her sister's house and dropping them off and then coming back. Without counting traffic, that's 2 hours. The reception is only 3 hours long. And I have no problem with them staying. She wants to get them dropped off tho early. I've suggested the following: Maybe her fiancee, father of the children can drop them off for her? Nope Maybe her sister can come to the ceremony and take them home with her after that? Nope Maybe someone else can give them a ride? Nope. It has to be her for some dumb reason. Am I being unreasonable here? I just wanted my maid of honor to share the reception it's me, possibly make a tiny speech, she doesn't have to, but dance with me to sings we picked out, and meet people she hasn't met yet. I want to keep her happy. But I've run out of ideas on how to handle this. I've even purchased activity books for the kids, ages 4 and 6, and have gift bags with gadgets and goodies in them for them to play with at the reception. Like what more can I do?

Note: Questions about monetization? Check here: An Introduction To The Book That Is Me :
Note: Questions about what else I've done? Check here: Masterlist for edgiscript :
Part 6: [F4M] Mafia Dog - Part 6 of 7 [Confronting Your Yandere] [Sneaking Into The Mission] [Supporting Mom] :
Note: Just realized yesterday that the tags on every chapter should be [FF4M] instead of [F4M] which some are. Sorry about that.
Note to those of you who have been reading and enjoying this series: Thank you. I hope the finale meets your expectations. I said before that this was a post-horror-yandere story. If anyone feels like writing a backstory with Francine and Puppy before he was Puppy, go right ahead. I don't do horror.
Note for future stuff: At present (5/19/24) I'm adding nearly my entire library to Reddit 1 piece at a time with some exceptions. Most notably, Crazy Cat is doing a masterful job with Mayna in "Amazon's Surprise" and she's only posted parts 1-3 so far. I will only release parts 4-7 as she does them. 3 VAs have currently done the 1st part of "The Captive Yandere" and at least 2 are considering whether or not to do more, so I'm holding of on releasing parts 2-6. And Xarty was incredibly endearing as Kaylix in "The Weakest Orc - A Love Story" part 1. I'm holding off releasing parts 2-7 until she does them or decides she won't do any more. But if there are VAs interested in performing those series, contact me and I'll send you the full scripts so you can decide if you want to do them before they're released publicly.
Now for Part 7. (Bet you didn't know this movie would come with trailers.) :)

Part 7

Carissa: (Sorrowfully.) Friends, family, loved ones, we have come today to mourn a beloved friend and colleague. We are going to miss his smile, his warmth, his courage, and his genuine love for each and every one of us, but most of all we’re going to miss the sound of his voice…
(With humor.) …because now that Puppy has married Jane, every one of us here knows that he’s never going to get a word in again.
(Sound of mild laughter of people at the party.)
Jane, you’ve been my courage, my fire, and my wisdom for so long now, I’ve forgotten what it was like without you here. Your spark has kept me going through many trying times. I’ve been able to count on your unwavering patience and your perseverance since the moment you joined our group. You have been by my side through thick and thin and you will be missed.
Puppy, in the nearly two years since we rescued you, you have been my heart and my conscience. I’m proud, very proud that you consider me as your mother, because I most definitely think of you as my son. You have also been by my side through thick and thin and you will also be missed.
Jane and Puppy, my left hand and my right, as you leave us to begin your own journey, at least temporarily, may God watch over you both, and may everyone you meet bring you as much joy as you have brought to all of us. Kent, Mike, Ronnie, and everyone present, please lift your glasses with me as we toast, to Puppy and Jane.
(Pause while they drink, then sounds of minor applause.)
Jane: (Hugs Carissa.) Thank you, mom. We’ll miss you guys.
(Brief pause, then playfully.) Puppy, you can hug Mom in a second. Let me get mine in.
Carissa: You see, Puppy. It’s started. There’s still time. Save yourself. Run.
Jane: (Laughs, then with mock irritation.) Carissa!
Carissa: Nope. I’m still Puppy’s Mom and I’ve got to do what’s best for him.
(Both laugh.)
Carissa: Seriously, you guys, be well. I know you want to show Puppy so many things that he missed growing up the way he did, but… well, just… be safe. Ok?
Jane: Oh, Mom, we’ll be fine. Stop worrying. Puppy’s going to love it.
Carissa: I know. I know. But… (Sighs.) I love both of you so much. Go have fun. See the world. Hurry. Run now before I hug you both and refuse to let go. We’ll be here when you get back.
Jane: We love you too, Mom. Thank you. You’ve been…
Carissa: (Interrupting.) No. Seriously. Go now. Go! Go, go, go, go, go!
Jane: (Laughs.) All right. We’re going. Come on, Puppy. You heard her.
(Runs off. Car door opens and closes. Car sounds as they drive away.)
Well, Puppy. How does it feel?
(Pause.)
To be married? You’re not just Puppy now. You’re MY Puppy.
(Pause.)
(Laughs/Giggles.) Yes, you’ve been my Puppy for a while, but now it’s official. Or legal, anyway.
(Pause.)
Nope. I don’t care. You’re mine. The wedding and the reception are over. I don’t have to share you with another soul for the rest of our lives. (Giggles.)
(Pause.)
Ok, we’ll see them again. I’m not taking you away for good. But you’ll still always be mine no matter what anybody else says about it. (Giggles.)
(Pause.)
Yes, it’s definitely nicer that we can be open about it. We’re so used to living in the shadows, you and me. Being out in public like a regular couple… that’s nice.
(Pause)
(Giggle.) Yes, there are definitely some things we’re not going to do out in the open. Speaking of which, there’s our stop.
(Pause)
Yep. That little house by the ocean. I rented it out just for us.
(Pause. Car comes to a stop and car door opens and closes.)
Nope. I already put all of our luggage in there before the wedding. Now, all that’s left to do is for you to carry me across the threshold. Unless, of course, you want me to carry you. We’re not exactly the most traditional couple after all and…
(Jane is interrupted by Puppy picking her up.)
(Squeals as she’s picked up and laughs. Kiss.) Oh, Puppy. Does this all feel as magical and as much like a fairy tale to you as it does to me? I can’t believe I get to call myself your wife. I love you, Puppy.
(Pause. Front door opens and closes.)
Oh no. You don’t get to set me down yet. Not until we’ve reached the bedroom. (Giggles.) I’ve got a surprise for you.
(Pause.)
(Laughs.) No, that’s not it. That’s no surprise, silly. You already knew I was going to give you that. (Giggles.) No, I’ve got something else for you.
(Pause while they reach the bedroom.)
Here we are. Now, lay me down and then lay down beside me.
(Pause.)
I love you so much, Puppy.
(Pause.)
I know you love me too. And I’m not just saying that because it’s the proper response. I want you to really, truly know that I know you love me. I meant everything I said in my wedding vows. My heart and my soul belong to you now. Ever since I’ve known you after we rescued you from that personal prison of Francine’s, you’ve been nothing but kind, considerate of others, laughing and loving everyone when you could have been broken and bitter. I love you for that, Puppy.
(Pause.)
(Giggles.) Ok, you’re kinda cute too. (Giggles.)
(Pause.)
(Note: From here on, there are no instructions on how to say the rest of this. Please let your own emotions decide how it should be done. Tender and sweet? Tearful? Joyful? You decide.)
Thank you, Puppy. I will always love to hear you say that. But I wanted you to know just how much I love you. I know you said that when you were trapped by Francine, and while she was… well, you know. She would constantly tell you how much she loved you and needed you, even while she was hurting you. She didn’t know love, Puppy. She only knew her own obsession and her lust. She took what she wanted from you without any consideration for you. When she said that she loved you, all she did was hurt you.
I know it’s why you don’t even want me to call you by your given name. It brings back memories of her and even the broken life you had before she took you. I gave you the name Puppy, and when I say “I love you,” I actually do love you. You’ve told me that you only want me to call you Puppy because that marks you as mine, and that’s what you want.
Here. Before I go on, open that drawer. Yes, that one right beside the bed. Open it.
(Drawer opens.)
Take the key that’s in there. That’s the key to your chains. I found that after we rescued you when we did a sweep of Francine’s old headquarters. I saved it… for you. It’s yours now. Nobody owns you. Nobody controls you. You’re free. You can keep it as a symbol that you control your own destiny now, or you can throw it into the ocean tomorrow morning. But you decide. Nobody else.
I know that the pain she caused you happened because all she wanted to do was take from you with no thought of your well-being. She didn’t care how much it hurt you as long as it satisfied her needs. So, Puppy, when I say “I love you,” I want you to know that I’m not taking from you. I’m giving to you. I’m giving you me, Puppy. I’m yours. I’m your wife. I’m your love. I’m your friend. I’m whatever you need me to be. Whatever you need from me, I’m here to provide it for you. I really, really love you. Ok?
(Kiss.)
You’re the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me. And I vow to you that I will never let you forget that for as long as we both shall live.
(Kisses.)
(Fade out.)

Just for folks keeping track, we will be also doing our Pantheralia Fundraiser come July! I heard some people last year asking for more time to get a bit of money together to donate to Panthera, so this is just a reminder if it's helpful!
Hello all, and happy Pride month!
This year we will be rerunning our Liberation Dionysia!
The Liberation Dionysia is a time to honor deities that are seen as patrons of Queer people (or as Queer themselves), the gains made by the Queer Liberation movement, and the fight that continues today.
Here is 2022's announcement, gallery, & winners.
Here is 2023's announcement, gallery, & winners.
Share stories of Queer deities, your art and poetry of them, or depicting how they have supported you. The ritual category is more open, for rituals we may not have but may be interested in using. Please one submissions per category per person, except for rituals, which are unlimited.
Only rule is, anything submitted to prior Dionysias (Lesser, Greater, Autumnal, or Liberation) is ineligible. Show us something new!
The Five Categories:

• Art: Can be physical or digital!
• Poetry: Could be standard poetry, or songs, or hymns and prayers! (If you sing your song, it will be considered Performance!)
• Myth: A myth, retold or new. Can be in any format (play or prose).
• Performance: Dance, drag, or song!
• Ritual: This category will not be voted upon due to its personal nature - this is to submit wedding ceremonies, recognition/dedication/baptism ceremonies, or even just Queer rituals or spells you may have. We'd also love to see your Queer altars! As this isn't voted upon, there can be unlimited submissions by the same individual.

Please email all submissions to [LiberationDionysia@gmail.com](mailto:LiberationDionysia@gmail.com)! Be sure to include how you'd like the work to be titled and how you'd like to be credited (username, real name)
The deadline for submissions is June 27th, Anywhere on Earth! Voting will happen after!
~~~ Our Partners ~~~

• Hellenic Herald
• Hellenism

~~~ FAQ ~~~

• What is a Dionysia?
  • A Dionysia is a Dionysian festival where art (usually literary and dramatic, though increasingly not so) is created. Today, there is the Dionysia Ta Astika, in the Spring, and the Rural Dionysia, in the Fall, both on Tumblr.
• What if I’m not Queer?
  • No worries! Simply standing with us is standing up for us. But, if you have penned a wedding ritual, or even a renaming ceremony or a consecration for yourself after coming to Paganism, that has a value to us.
• How Queer do the submissions need to be?
  • There are no hard limits! The Queerer the better, but if you have something you think fits, please submit!
• What if I’m not a Dionysian, or even a Hellenist?
  • Though this is taking a leaf from the branch of Dionysian Hellenic tradition, it is open to all. If you have a prayer to Hindu deities for tolerance, a story of Queer Celtic deities or a non-religious ritual for self love after transition, by all means share!

I don't have a solid prediction yet, but here are my thoughts about win equity and possible finalist combinations.
At the start of the season, I said that the big question ask during the postmerge is the following:
"Is the general audience supposed to respect this player's gameplay without them being propped up as the threat to beat?"
This is something that I can say for all five of the new era winners. There was always someone else being propped up as the threat everyone needed to take down, but each winner's postmerge gameplay was presented in a way to frame them as a respectable player. This makes sense from a storytelling standpoint. You want the winner to be a respectable player but not the most obvious pick. So how does our final five stack up?
Ben and Liz both fail this test unfortunately. I can give both of them some credit (Ben often giving insight about why the eventual boot was good for his game and Liz driving the Tevin boot), but while I think they've both been framed as players to sympathize with, they're not being framed as players to respect. Both have been too passive, with any moves they've made being overshadowed.
Maria gets a mixed score. She has been shown driving votes and having some good social play, but there have been a few instances of her rubbing people the wrong way socially in a way that diminishes her respectability.
Charlie also gets a mixed score though I'd say he's more positive than negative. There have been some suggestions that he's too naive and lowkey, but that's subtle to me. He's been shown as being in a good position where the moves he attempts usually succeed.
Kenzie passes this test. Do I think she's an amazing player? Not really. But even though she's lost control of the steering wheel at points, she's always been able to explain her thought process and I don't remember a point in the postmerge where that indicates that Kenzie isn't supposed to be respected. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Looking at possible finalist combinations, right off the bat I'm ruling out the possibility of both Ben and Liz making it to the final three. Neither of them are winning and neither would be a convincing decoy winner either, so it's impossible for both to be in the final three. However, I do think the chances of one of them being the third placer is very high, and my current guess is Liz. Going back to Jeff's opening monologue, if someone can't get the jury votes no matter what because of something about their personality, Liz makes the most sense as she's talked a lot about how she doesn't need the money and has received negativity because of that (including from someone who is on the jury and likely will confront her about it).
Next, there's Charlie, who at this point I think is unlikely to win. Given how much he's emphasized the need to get Maria out, them getting to the end and him winning wouldn't make any sense. That means if he wins, it'd be against Kenzie, and while I haven't been tracking Kenzie's edit much in regards to reasons she could be a losing finalist, nothing stands out to be that'd suggest that Kenzie would lose to Charlie. Maybe it simply comes down to him being in control more than her, but that doesn't make much sense for the conclusion of the season given the emphasis on social game.
Kenzie is my current frontrunner. Premerge, she clearly fit the main theme of using her background and unique perspective coming into the game to get people to like her. And of the final five, she's actually the only person who's had that emphasis on social success carry over into the postmerge. If she wins, who's the competitive losing finalist? Charlie is an option, but I don't know if I'm clicking with the narrative reasoning behind him losing to her. Any combination with Kenzie and Charlie at the end is going to lead to a controversial outcome from a fan reception standpoint. The reasoning we'd have for Charlie losing to Kenzie would be his more lowkey strategic game and the fact that Kenzie has simply been better at bonding with people.
While it would fit in with his introduction, the lowkey strategic game argument isn't that convincing to me. He's been a lot more involved in the strategy lately and given that this would be a finale scenario that doesn't involve Maria (unless it somehow is Kenzie v Charlie v Maria, which if that's the case then the argument for Charlie to lose is much more compelling), his endgame strategy of taking out Q and Maria would be successful.
So the social argument is the one with more weight to it. Charlie was decent at forming bonds with people but Kenzie was amazing at it, so she wins. Okay, that's possible. But in a season that's built around social successes and social failures, wouldn't it make more sense for our competitive losing finalist to have social failures emphasized while still being framed with a degree of respectability?
That's where Maria comes in. Given how much emphasis has been placed on how poorly she handled the reward choice, it looks to me that the audience is meant to turn against her, and that is a very bad sign for her winner chances. If someone is getting the big threat edit, it's her, but lately I've been thinking. Could she be the competitive losing finalist?
We've had two instances of her rubbing other players the wrong way postmerge. The first was her feud with Venus the day that Soda was voted out. Then, we have the heavy emphasis on how her handling of the pizza reward upset the other players, which was brought up once again this latest episode. She's been set up as the person everybody is afraid of, but it is also possible that she wins out.
For the sake of the argument, let's say Kenzie and Maria are in the final three, and in this timeline Maria likely plays a role in Charlie's elimination. Initially, Maria does well at Final Tribal Council, explaining how she was able to influence the game and get to the end despite being seen as a threat. But when jurors like Venus call her out and her social game is compared to that of Kenzie's, that could get enough jurors doubting her that Kenzie could win over.
Am I confident about this? Ehhhhh, not sure. But it's the most compelling winnerunner-up explanation I can come up with at the moment.

Hi! Dealing with some feelings as I prepare to plan my own wedding. My boyfriend is going to propose soon, and we’ve started laying the groundwork for a wedding next year, but I dont even want to tell my BFF about our plans because of how she treated me when I was her maid of honor.
Last year, my best friend got married and I was her MOH. The bridal party was just MOH/best man, no other bridesmaids or groomsmen. The wedding was in her in-laws’ backyard and to be honest, it was a nightmare. A beautiful wedding, but zero consideration for the guests.
I live out of state and I went to stay with her for a week before the wedding, so we could get our nails done, finish DIY projects, prep the venue space, etc. Honestly she seemed MISERABLE all week. Was short with everyone. I heard her say “thank you” maybe twice the whole time I was there. This is usually not like her! So I figured hmm…we’ll wait til the wedding day is over and see if she feels happier.
I was so excited to spend the actual wedding DAY with her but we barely saw each other. We got her ready for photos (I did her hair and makeup) but she left me alone in her apartment to get ready solo. I had no one to zip my dress, put my hairpiece in, etc. I had to walk to the venue myself, carrying buckets of flowers she’d forgotten to make arrangements for.
During the cocktail hour and reception, I missed group photos because I was working. There was NO WATER or other nonalcoholic beverages out for the guests, so I prepped those and got them into the coolers/dispensers. I barely had time to sit and eat because I was the designated “go to” person for questions, so guests would find me if they needed directions to town, help finding the bathroom, etc.
Here’s the part that really hurts my feelings: when I was shopping for my bestie’s bridal shower, I found thank-you cards that matched her invites EXACTLY. It was incredible! I sent a pic and said “hey — want me to buy these???” She responded with a huge yes. They were on clearance at TJ MAXX so ~100 cards for $10. Not a huge expense at all. But…
It’s been a year and I haven’t received a thank-you card. No one has. And I get that, no one wants to do thank-you cards! But I haven’t received ANY acknowledgment for my efforts. And it really hurts. The day before the wedding, her now-husband was excitedly showing me the thank-you gift package he had chosen and assembled for his best man. I know the best man received his thank-you gift the day after the wedding because he posted about it in his wedding photo dump.
It’s been a year and I haven’t received a single thank you from my “bestie.” Her husband has shown more gratitude to me than she did. And now that I’m planning to get engaged…I don’t know if I should bring this up ahead of time and clear the air, or if I should leave it be. Our friendship feeeeels pretty normal and we talk regularly, but every time I think about this, it makes me want to NOT invite her to the wedding. I don’t even care if it’s not as elaborate as what the best man received, I just want SOME acknowledgement of my effort. There’s definitely some added bitterness because she is a stay-at-home wife and lives off her husband’s income, so I feel jealous she has time for craft projects and creative/leisure activities that I have to fit into my demanding career…but she can’t find time to send me a thank you? Ugh. I feel so dumb but after 15 years of friendship, I just want my effort to be acknowledged in SOME way. :(