Finding this subreddit has been so therapeutic and validating for me. I’m 26, married to the love of my life (32M) with the most amazing 5yo stepdaughter.
Reading all of your stories has inspired me to sit down and type out my own. I must warn you, there are times when I am the villain. Buckle up. This is a small novel.
If we start at the very beginning, my DH began dating HCBM (33) when they were very young in their early 20s. Shortly into their relationship it became clear to DH that she was struggling with very severe alcoholism. I cannot even begin to write out all of the stories I have heard from DH about her alcoholism. He was very young, didn’t have a positive model for a healthy relationship as a child. He believed he could help HCBM. They were extremely on and off together for almost 7 years. Every time he’d try to break up with her she would weasel her way back in. She would go as far as showing up at his family events because she had his family wrapped around her finger (don’t worry, that changed. Read on.) She almost drank herself to death several times. The police in her town know her by name and recognize her car because her family has had to call in for welfare checks so many times. She’s had bits where she’s gone missing for several hours. Been listed as a missing person. Had the police ping her phone. I’ve read the police reports myself.
Where do I even begin with her family? Her parents are extremely proud. They own two businesses in their small town. They’re the kind of people who are very obsessed with image and making people think they’re wealthy. HCBM started drinking when she was 16. Her parents would deal with her problem by sweeping it under the rug and hiding it. They cared more about their pride than getting her the help she needed. When they were together, my DH was often the one who would drive her to AA meetings. HCBM didn’t like AA because she felt she was above the other people there. Her family now despises my DH, and weaves a narrative that she drank because of her toxic relationship with him. Though her drinking problems existed long before and after their relationship.
I’ll share a few stores in particular with the goal of establishing the absolute delusion that HCBM feeds to anyone who will listen about my DH.
There was one evening where they were at my DH’s uncle’s house in the city. The thing about HCBM is that you never saw her drink until she was drunk. She’d sneak in a bathroom or what have you to drink. DH and HCBM got into some kind of argument and she ran off into the city late at night. DH spent several hours driving around the city searching for her until he finally found her in a bar, making out with a random guy. He said “you can take her home tonight” and left. Several hours later in the wee hours of the morning, HCBM stumbled back to the uncle’s house, wasted and crying.
Another occasion, DH was at work and HCBM was at his apartment (she did not live there) and went to hang out with his upstairs neighbors who were girls. She got drunk with them. When DH got home, he tried to explain to his neighbors that she had a problem and shouldn’t be drinking…. They said “don’t control her! That’s manipulative”. DH went back downstairs, HCBM followed, and they fought. She ran back to the neighbors crying and the girls stormed down into his apartment saying “What did you do to her? What did you do to her?!”
A different time HCBM was drunk she had locked herself in DH’s roommate’s room. He was trying to explain to her that she needed to come out, that it wasn't his room and she couldn’t be in there. HCBM called DH’s mom (now my MIL) and began wailing “he’s doing it again, he’s being crazy again!” God knows what she was talking about. Eventually DH called HCBM’s dad who came to pick her up. HCBM’s dad dragged her by her arm down the stairs rather roughly, and DH got upset, like “hey I get that she is drunk and being a problem but you can’t manhandle her like that” so HCBM’s dad responded my shoving DH up against a wall and holding his arm to his throat.
Shall I go on? There are dozens more. The worst is yet to come.
Anyways, about four years into their relationship, after multiple incidents of infidelity on her part, DH started chatting with other women sporadically. He says he knew it was wrong, but he thought if he could show himself there were other women out there who could make him happy, other stable relationships he could be in, he might be able to get away from HCBM. It was about five years into their relationship that DH actually cheated. And so begins HCBM’s favorite narrative, that DH was an awful, unsupportive unfaithful partner who drove her to drinking because he was so shady. She will never, ever consider the fact that my DH to this day is traumatized from their relationship. He’s been in therapy several times and every single therapist identifies her as a narcissist.
Several years ago when DH and I met I was in college. We had an on and off fling for a while on the coattails of him trying to end it with HCBM once and for all after over six years stuck in a cycle. I think my DH made poor decisions, dumb even. But I sympathize with the trauma bond he was stuck in with this woman, and how difficult it was for him to cut ties with someone who would go to great lengths to insert herself in his life, and with the pressure of his family saying he should be with her. He cut things off with me and fell back in with HCBM. Lo and behold… HCBM gets pregnant. This may be shocking…. But it was not a good situation to be bringing a baby into. HCBM was 28 at the time. She was (and still is) working for her mom at the business she owns because she had gotten fired from every other job for showing up drunk. A side note, her mom owns a gymnastics center where she is a teacher. My DH has told me about several times her mother would text him to come pick her up because she’d shown up drunk. Her mom would get her out of there and just sub in another instructor to cover her ass. Anyways, DH was terrified. However, DH grew up without a father, so there was no way he wasn’t going to be involved in his child’s life. It is an impossible thing to talk about in hindsight because I love my SD so dearly, she turns mine and DH’s world. But DH told HCBM to terminate initially. And to be fair, he was right. It was not a stable situation to bring a child into. Would I reverse time and change anything? Never in a million years.
As you may have guessed, HCBM decided to keep the baby. She repeatedly told DH that if he left, he would not see his child. DH was stuck and miserable. During her pregnancy, while HDBM was parading about as if they were this cute happy couple, DH began to miss me. He realized he had real feelings for me, and he reached out. I loved him the moment I met him, so I was thrilled. I’ll keep this part concise; DH began cheating on HCBM with me, and I knew. It was an ugly decision on both of our parts. Despite how much I loathe HCBM, she is a person. She did not deserve that. DH and I are both pretty ashamed about our choices back then. I’ll go into detail later about how both DH and I have tried to atone for our actions.
When she was about 7 months pregnant, HCBM caught on and contacted me. Those conversations are forever burned in my mind. She said some of the most disconnected, ridiculous shit I’ve ever seen. She was obsessed with the image she was trying to portray to everyone about her life. I’ll never forget one conversation where we were discussing their daughter’s impending arrival… I had said something along the lines of “do you think it’s wise to bring a child into this situation,” and she said “I have lots of help. I’m old enough.”
“I’m old enough.”
Like she’s a kid trying to convince her parents to let her stay out past midnight.
DH and I broke things off before SD arrived. I was heartbroken, but let’s be real, that was a mess. An entire mess.
Still, HCBM thought it was just a brilliant idea for her and DH to move in together. So her parent’s rented them a house in their small town…. DH kept paying the rent on his apartment the city about 45 minutes away. DH has told me how miserable their relationship was, and HCBM knew all about his affair with me. But like I said, she was desperately trying to create this pretend life for herself.
SD arrives, a day I am so glad to celebrate each year. She is truly the joy of my life. DH cried more than she did. He was instantly in love with his baby girl.
About three weeks later, HCBM is back on the bottle.
DH told me about how he’d come home from work and find her drunk. She’d grab the baby and lock herself in a bedroom and cry. DH feared for his child’s safety.
HCBM was only able to breastfeed for a month or so because she stopped producing milk due to heinous dieting. She was obsessed with getting back to her pre-pregnancy weight. She would eat only miso soup for days on end. This poor relationship to food comes into play later. HCBM’s mother was always over at the house. Cleaning up, buying them things. Contributing to the facade.
DH was severely depressed. He continued to stay with HCBM to monitor her drinking and watch out for his daughter. They got to a point where DH would sleep on the couch. One night DH came home and HCBM was drunk again with SD in her care. DH called her parents who came rushing over to remedy the situation as they always do. Shortly after they arrived, HCBM had slumped over on the couch and became unresponsive. An ambulance was called. DH says it was one of his most traumatic memories holding his baby daughter watching the EMT’s resuscitate her mother wondering how he would raise this girl on his own.
After a hospital stay, HCBM returned home and her parents ordered pizza and put on a movie and pretended as if nothing had happened. That was the routine. When DH expressed his anger, his justifiable concern for what was going on, HCBM’s parents treated him as though he was the problem, he was an asshole for bringing it up and blaming her.
It wasn’t long after this, SD must’ve been around eight months old that HCBM was on a binge and DH returned home from work to find the house empty. He frantically began calling people to locate SD when HCBM’s parents informed him that she was with them, and that HCBM had crawled out a window and was missing. A missing person’s report was filed. HCBM’s father told police to check ditches and park benches, as she could often be found there. She turned out to be at some random man’s house, and was located about 36 hours later.
DH was at the end of his ropes. He took the police report and lawyered up secretly.
Here’s a fun new component to the story, remember how I said that DH had began sleeping on the couch? In said police report, it is documented that DH and HCBM were not in a relationship and were merely roommates. Because that was the situation. Behind the scenes, HCBM had met the man of her dreams. Let’s call him PF….. for psycho fiance. Yes, they’re engaged now. We’ll get to that part. PF randomly messaged HCBM on facebook and they began talking. PF was a recovering alcoholic in his 30s with no driver’s license due to a DUI.
Now, recall when HCBM was missing? Her parents searched through her facebook accounts to try and locate her and found her messages with PF, they explained their daughter’s drinking problem and asked PF if she may be with him. She was not. They had not even met yet. But PF thinks this woman who clearly has severe personal issues is just the cream of the crop. He decides to take her out to lunch. By the end of their lunch date, he is love-bombing the daylights out of her. Calling her his wife, his galaxy, all of this grandiose crap.
Two weeks after they met, PF got HCBM’s name tattooed on him. While DH was trying to sort out a plan of action with his lawyer…. HCBM informs him that he has to move out so that PF can move in because he will soon be without a place to live. She wants to invite this man she’s known for three weeks to live with her and her baby daughter. I’ve seen the message she sent to DH, it reads, “I know it seems fast but I know in my heart that he is so good.” HCBM’s parents are thrilled.
Less than a week after PF had moved in and DH was out, the ex parte motion was filed. DH was granted full emergency custody of SD until a hearing could be held. HCBM did not see SD for nine days… and of course, DH was the villain for this.
At the hearing. DH was awarded majority custody, with HCBM being allowed one overnight a week. PF was not permitted to be present when SD was there for overnights until CPS could investigate.
Now, HCBM’s parents funneled money for lawyers, rent, utilities, basically any adult expense HCBM needs is taken care of by her parents. DH did not have the same luxury. He was working himself to death as a single dad trying to pay for his lawyer while the court battle ensued. Almost two months later, DH contacted me. We hadn’t spoken in close to a year. I was off living my own life almost halfway through college. DH just needed someone to talk to about it, and still had very strong feelings for me. I was a shoulder for him to lean on.
We began hooking up, with no real intention to enter into a relationship. I met SD and would watch her while he was at work. There was an obvious deep love between DH and me, but the circumstances were just so insane. Plus, HCBM despised me, and was weaving stories to the court about how DH was an emotionally abusive partner, a narcissist and the reason for all her drinking.
DH and I did not want the drama of HCBM knowing I was around. Since we were operating under the guise that this was just an indulgence and would end at some point, we kept our interactions a secret.
Then, the universe must’ve thought we were owed some karma for what we did during HCBM’s pregnancy. I was diagnosed with ADHD at age five and have had a prescription for stimulants since a very young age.
One morning I awoke and heard what sounded like tiny wretching from the other room. My medication had spilled out in the bottom of my purse as the safety cap was screwed on crooked. SD was playing on the floor and digging around in my purse. DH noticed her putting something in her mouth, realized it was my medication and immediately ran into the bathroom and began making her puke.
I called poison control who instructed us to bring her to the hospital. She seemed relatively normal, a bit dazed maybe. We called the ER to let them know we’d be arriving. We got there and they stuck charcoal down her throat, drew blood, the whole ordeal.
I brought my medication bottle with me to give to the nurses so they knew what she had ingested and to prove it was a legally obtained prescription. I was frantic and bawling, a nurse comforted me and told me that ingestions are extremely common and we had done the right thing by bringing her in.
SD had an elevated heart rate, was fussy and stressed. She was administered medication to help lower her heart rate and as a result had to be admitted to be monitored. The blood tests came back with extremely minimal amounts of my meds in her system, but it was protocol that she be monitored after the medication was given to regulate her heart. If you’re feeling anxious, I’ll add that SD is perfectly healthy and happy, she fully recovered and did not suffer any seizures or damage to her brain/liver etc. which were the primary concerns with this ingestion.
Since she was being admitted, HD had to inform HCBM. I had told him he should tell her immediately, but he did not want to deal with her reaction or her family arriving. I think this was a poor decision on his part. As flawed a person as she is, I do know that HCBM loves SD very much, and I can sympathize with her wanting to be informed if her daughter was being seen at the hospital.
HCBM and her family arrived, I had left to avoid the fallout and gather some things for DH to drop off while he stayed at the hospital with SD. Naturally, HCBM was in a blind rage that she had not been contacted immediately. She demanded that the CPS worker who was mandated to check in because of the ingestion file a report of negligence. The CPS worker declined, saying that there was no negligence to report. That evening, security was called to remove HCBM from the hospital because she was screaming at DH in the pediatric wing. She was told she could return on her custody day.
I went to visit DH and SD the next day, she was back to her old self and able to go home. We were nowhere near prepared for what was about to ensue.
HCBM had weaved a story that I was addicted to drugs, and that whatever I was doing had to have been in a plastic bag in my purse or how else would SD have gotten into it? HCBM and her lawyer filed an ex parte motion. Now I’m sure most of you are familiar with the workings of family court, but for those of you who aren’t; and ex parte motion is an emergency motion. It is a piece of paper laid in front of a judge. The details can be as vague or exaggerated as the writer pleases them to be, and it is not until a hearing is scheduled can anything be disputed.
HCBM and her lawyer claimed that SD had ‘overdosed’ on stimulant drugs and conveniently failed to mention that they were a legal prescription. More than that, ‘overdose’ was a completely sensationalized description of what had occurred, and not a term used at all by any of the medical professionals nor was it included anywhere in her chart of the incident. SD never lost consciousness. There was never a point where doctors were in fear for her life. But the judge sees what is put before them and signs off with the limited information they are given.
When HD filed an ex parte motion against HCBM, the hearing was scheduled for nine days later. When HCBM filed an ex parte motion against DH, the hearing was scheduled over two months later.
This was the worst time period in DH’s life. He attempted suicide. He lost an insane amount of weight. He sold beloved possessions to pay his lawyer. He did not have custody of his daughter and HCBM allowed him rare visits in public places once or twice a week.
But ah, how the tables turn.
A month before the hearing on the ex parte motion, HCBM got a DUI with SD in the car. Her driving was so ballistic, someone had called in her car. She was arrested. I could go into detail about the bullshit-ery of her and her family I read in the police report from that, but there is still so much ground to cover.
CPS notified DH of the DUI. HCBM and her lawyer told DH’s lawyer they wanted to settle custody outside of court before the ex parte hearing.
DH was exhausted. He was broke. He just wanted his daughter back. He settled with HCBM on 50/50 custody. This is perhaps the greatest regret of his life. The GAL at the meeting even told DH he didn’t have to do this, that he could fight her and probably get more custody. But DH was a shell of a person at this point. He was in debt. He was exhausted.
Mere days after they settled he checked himself into an inpatient mental health facility for treatment. He and I were in touch every once in a while throughout that entire time, but had ended our romantic relations after the ex parte was filed. I was more of a confidant and friend, but he had drifted apart from everyone in his life and I was focused on school.
The day that DH left inpatient, PF messaged him to tell him that HCBM had slipped up and drank again. Saying, “she just has such a big heart, this is so difficult for her.” DH suspects that she had gotten herself into another nearly lethal situation or gone missing and PF was hoping to do damage control by contacting him rather than him finding out another way.
So 50/50 custody it was. Nine months later, HCBM gave birth to her and PF’s son. I’m not sure of any exact dates but judging by the date of that message and the birth of the baby there is a high change HCBM was drinking while unknowingly pregnant.
For the DUI, HCBM was sentenced to 40 days in jail while pregnant with her son. It was a work release program. Since she worked for her mom, she worked as many hours as she possibly could. Her mom would pick her up from prison with her phone and her makeup so she could hide what was going on from her coworkers and the community. DH would bring SD to the gymnastics center to visit her. She had an IED put into her car when she was released, meaning she had to blow into a breathalyzer to get her car to start.
DH and I would check in every once in a while over the course of the next year. We both dated other people. HCBM of course had issues with DH’s girlfriend he was with for a few months. But things had relatively settled save for the tension and resentment between HCBM and DH.
More than a year had passed since everything transpired and since DH and I were last romantically involved. We began talking more frequently during COVID lockdown and DH admitted he was hopelessly in love with me and wanted to be together. We had a major problem though.
When HCBM and DH were settling on their custody agreement, HCBM insisted I was not to be around SD. If you recall, HD was broke, exhausted, and severely struggling with his mental health. He and I hadn’t seen each other in person in several months, we talked but very infrequently and never of rekindling our relationship in any capacity. So he gave in. As long as he could be done with the nightmare and have his daughter back.
A single sentence in a five-page custody agreement meant that I couldn’t be around SD. I want to specify, this was not a restraining order. I was never served any papers, I would not be punished in any capacity were I to see SD, there was no court record of any kind indicating that I was restricted from seeing a child or was a dangerous individual. DH wouldn’t even lose custody or face any legal ramifications were he to violate that single sentence, it would just mean an official would have to intervene to investigate and ensure the stipulation be adhered to. Still, it would’ve prevented us from having any sort of real relationship. So we filed a motion to have the line removed. I had not seen SD in well over a year and we abided by the order which was exceedingly painful.
The first hearing was before a court commissioner. We came armed with letters of recommendation from friends and family, from the families I had nannied for during college. DH’s family had finally seen the light and turned against HCBM and attended the court hearing, filing the seats.
The court commissioner spent about ten minutes reviewing our plea, and decided this was not a matter of my character or whether I was a threat to SD, but that this was a communication issue between DH and HCBM, and since DH had agreed to this, they needed to work it out between the two of them.
Ha. Like that would ever happen. DH and HCBM began communicating through a court monitored app and attending co parenting counseling while our lawyer filed a motion to bring the issue before a judge and have a GAL and Family Court Worker appointed. As we all know with family court, things move slowly and this we had to wait months to make progress on our case.
Co parenting counseling was fruitless. HCBM is not capable of accountability. She insisted DH was a narcissist because she’d read about narcissism on the internet and she believed she deserved full custody of SD.
A judge appointed a GAL and Family Court Worker to our case. I’ll never forget the relief that day as the judge told HCBM that me being in SD’s life was inevitable at this point. There was no evidence that I was a dangerous person. At one point, our lawyer brought up the language used in HCBM’s ex parte motion all that time ago, pointing out the sensational language used, specifically the term “overdose”. I was shaking when HCBM’s lawyer admitted to the judge that “there was no overdose.” I’ll never forget the sheepish look on that lawyer’s face, or how HCBM’s jaw tightened as she refused to look even a millimeter in my direction.
Everyone met with the GAL and Family Court Worker. Of course HCBM got the earliest appointment possible so she could try to sell her story. When I sat down with the GAL he said “I don’t know why you’re here, to be honest.” But that’s the ridiculous thing about family court, people can just spew this insane shit and it has to be looked into.
Both the GAL and Family Court Worker recommended the line be removed entirely. We still had to wait another month for our hearing for these recommendations to be made to the judge. Over the course of these proceedings, DH and his lawyer (with my consent) had been urging HCBM to attend a co parenting counseling session with me to address her concerns. HCBM of course vehemently refused, actually speaking to me would destroy the picture she had painted and deluded herself into believing about me.
We continued to press the issue though. After the GAL and Family Court Worker’s recommendations were passed on to everyone’s lawyers, it was clear this was not going to go in HCBM’s favor. It could’ve easily been settled outside of court, saved everyone time and money. But that was never going to happen, HCBM was going to go down swinging. Less than two weeks from our final hearing before the judge, HCBM agreed to attend co parenting counseling with me. Both parties signed NDA’s before going into these sessions, they were meant to be mediation for parents to work out their issues and not dig up fodder to toss around in court. A safe place, if you will. DH and I suspected she’d want to attend a session with me so she could fabricate some story about me being awful, or make it seem like she was being reasonable since she’d refused any and all attempts to mediate this issue civilly.
We were correct, but her feeble attempts at control were fruitless and the line was removed. I could see my girl again. Since then, DH and I got married and have been in absolute bliss as a family of three. But of course, the mess with HCBM does not stop there.
DH and I have no idea it HCBM has been drinking or not. We have no proof. She claims she got sober, but she never received any professional help or rehab so that seems doubtful to me. There are a few red flags. She now shares a car with her mother, claiming her car has “been in the shop” for well over a year now. DH explained that when she would go on drinking binges, her parents would take her car away so they could control where she went and monitor her.
We’ve also had the issue of SD not wanting to go to her mom’s house. I have ring video footage of HCBM coming to pick up SD. SD was in hysterics, she ran back in our house several times while HCBM stands annoyed in the driveway. DH sits with her and consoles her, encouraging her and telling her she will have so much fun with her mom and brother. On this particular occasion, it took 45 minutes to get SD to go with her mom. This happened numerous times. DH eventually brought this up to HCBM, expressing his concerns and saying that he wished she would participate in co-parenting their daughter in these situations rather than hiding behind her car. HCBM dismissed him, saying she was a great parent and he was obviously making SD act this way. Give SD an oscar at this point. I can’t even fathom what DH would say to make a five year old act that way.
Eventually, HCBM stopped picking SD up and instead sent her mom to get her. SD has no issue going with her grandmother. A bit suspicious to me that it was specifically her mom that caused such an upset for her.
HCBM is very obsessed with image. She dresses SD in expensive outfits with intricate hairstyles. I should add, expensive outfits that are purchased for her by HCBM’s mother. She has told DH that she is not pleased with how he sends SD to school and has concerns about his ability to parent. He sends her… a 5 year old… to school in leggings and t-shirts like the rest of the 5 year olds in her class. Don’t get me wrong, I love to dress SD up when she’ll let me and I have indulged in Rylee and Cru outfits and what not, but the majority of the time SD wears normal kid clothes. She runs and jumps and plays and likes pink and sparkles and tops with her favorite characters on them. We let her pick her crazy mismatched outfits and throw her hair up in a quick bun or braid so it is out of her face. She bathes almost excessively because she loves the bath and is a very well looked after child.
Now, HCBM lost a significant amount of weight after she got together with PF. Her mother is also extremely thin. DH has told me about how they were always doing fad diets, they’d call themselves fat and critique their appearances constantly and clearly did not have a healthy relationship to their bodies or food.
At our home, SD is fed a balanced diet but I try to encourage a positive relationship to her body and food. No food is “good” or “bad,” they simply serve different purposes. For example, carbs give us energy, protein helps us grow, sugar makes us happy, etc. Creating guilt around eating certain types of food can lead to eating disorders, body image issues, I know because I had a poor relationship to food and my body for so long. SD loves fruits and veggies. She also loves chips and candy. She is allowed to indulge in sugar within reason and without guilt. I don’t think it's rocket science, and for us it has had fantastic results. We'll be at a gas station and ask SD if she wants a snack and the kid will want celery. I follow the instagram page “kids eat in color” very closely and when we prepare SD’s meals, the “treat” component is served together with the rest and not withheld until later. This is so SD doesn’t view certain foods as special or more desirable than others, and won’t associate treat foods with this rush of excitement and overwhelming positivity moreso than say chicken nuggets or carrots. When DH sets down her plate to eat, SD rarely if ever reaches for her treat food first. She eats everything on her plate until her body tells her she’s full.
HCBM constantly berates DH about SD eating “healthy.” She criticizes him for getting candy at the movies. Goes off about her having a cup of sugar-free pudding at 11 a.m. On Halloween, SD is allowed two pieces of candy from her trick or treat pile at her mom’s house.
Last Halloween at our house, we dumped all of our candy out in a huge pile and watched a movie. SD ate, I kid you not, four pieces of candy. She didn’t feel the need to binge on all this candy because she knew it wouldn’t be withheld if she asked for more in our home. There is still halloween candy in a bucket in our pantry and we weren’t even out trick or treating for an hour.
HCBM accuses us of “competing” with her. This. Is. Rich. SD loves visiting my parent’s and sometime last fall took a liking to playing my dad’s drumset. Later that week, HCBM bought her a kid-sized drumset. We adopted a kitten, HCBM adopted a kitten. We started playing barbies as a family, HCBM buys a barbie dreamhouse. We planned a weekend trip to a big city a few hours away, HCBM and PF take SD and their son to that city the week before we’re supposed to go. My husband is a Dungeons and Dragons fanatic, and recently he has been making kid friendly campaigns for the three of us to play as a family. SD loves playing dungeons and dragons with her daddy. It has become our family’s thing. The dungeons and dragons movie came out recently and DH and I got tickets for an early screening on a day we didn’t have SD. Who do you think we saw there while we were waiting in line to get popcorn? Their family does not play dungeons and dragons. You’ll be pleased to know that SD came down to sit with us for the last half hour of the movie, PF who had taken her had to give in because they were seated a row behind us and she kept leaning forward to excitedly whisper to DH about the movie.
I have suffered extreme emotional issues due to the abuse from HCBM. I’ve attended therapy specifically to address it. I developed severe social anxiety because HCBM will tell anyone who listens these fictions about me and DH. We live in a small community, one that HCBM and her family have been a part of for a long time and I am constantly afraid people I meet will know them and have these crazy ideas about who I am as a person. The flipside of this is that their family’s reputation is not as positive as they like to think it is, particularly to police in the area. In addition to HCBM’s drunk escapades involving police, her father has a court record pages long for tax fraud.
Thankfully, I work in the city 30 minutes from where we live and that has allowed me to build my own village and have a life untainted by HCBM and her crap. Through lots of work I have been able to establish firm boundaries. I’ve had to restrict HCBM and her friends from my social media accounts after being watched obsessively. HCBM’s mother even went as far as messaging my mother on Facebook to try and say DH is a narcissist and she should be concerned for me. DH and my mom are very close, and my mom was mainly worried about how far these people were going to go to untether my life.
HCBM doesn’t seem to understand the concept of equal guardianship. She views herself as the primary parent and believes she should have access to everything in our lives. This is legally not the case so luckily we’re just able to ignore those demands but it gets taxing.
HCBM’s parents pay for SD’s health insurance so HCBM makes all of her doctor and dentist appointments and acts as though that’s because DH is an uninvolved parent, despite the fact that he has asked to make appointments on his custody days so he could go. I have excellent benefits at my job and could take SD on as a dependent since she resides with us 50% of the time. We haven’t even proposed this idea to HCBM because god knows she would never agree despite the fact that this would probably save her parents a ton of money.
HCBM has SD involved in several activities on her custody days. A bit too many for a five year old in my opinion. Multiple gymnastics and dance classes and soccer. Since HCBM’s parents are always funneling her money and paying her bills they are constantly going out to do expensive activities, weekend trips, shows, you name it. HCBM thinks these things make her a good parent, but I personally don’t think that SD feels as emotionally attached to HCBM as she does DH. DH and I spend a ton of one on one time with SD. We play with her with her toys, we do crafts, we watch movies together. HCBM thinks dropping her off at some expensive activity makes her this stellar mom, but she doesn’t engage in the same level of connection with SD that DH does. HCBM’s parents of course bought them a trip to Disney World last year, and the day they came to pick up SD to leave for the airport she did not want to go. She began crying and insisting she wanted her dad to take her, and that she would miss him too much. What five year old objects to effing Disney World??
We have issues on the horizon with SD attending kindergarten next year. I know a battle will ensue about where she attends. The custody schedule does not give us any weekend time because when it was written, SD was one and DH was working weekends and the days they agreed on coincided with his schedule. This means that when SD attends school in the fall five days a week, we will not get a full day together as a family. DH and I are very nervous about addressing this. We don’t have any desire to change the 50/50 custody, just to adjust the days so that we can have some weekend time with SD. It is likely this issue will end up in court and cost us thousands.
I have had to come to the hard acceptance that this is just how our relationship with HCBM will be, likely forever. I hold on to selfish hope that she may screw up drinking again, but at the end of the day I want what is best for SD which is a healthy and stable mother and I will do whatever I can to encourage a positive relationship for them. At this point we have no proof of her drinking for the past few years. Either she miraculously stopped or her family’s response is just so calculated to protect her from getting into any shit and jeopardizing her custody. If that is the case, that can only go on for so long before SD is old enough to tell us what is happening.
I think that HCBM is deeply insecure and ashamed. I think she needs to make DH and I the villains so she feels better about herself. I think her upbringing has allowed her to shirk any and all accountability, she is surrounded by people who tell her she’s never wrong and she’s this great person and great parent.
I don’t know what the resolution is here. If you have read this far, thank you sincerely. Though I confide in my mom and friends about the situation with HCBM, I keep my venting to a minimum so as not to let her live rent free in my life. I am not going to spend all this energy being pissed at her and her immaturity. I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of getting on my nerves, being the subject of my conversations. I’m not even going to let her think I care enough to trash her to people. But it feels extremely therapeutic to get this all out to a group of people who understand.

Greetings, employees of truscum:
We are thrilled to announce that we are undergoing a transformation to better align with our corporate objectives. Effective today (April 1st, 2023), we would like to inform you that Casual Friday will no longer be observed in our workplace. As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our brand image and appeal to our esteemed investors, we are proud to introduce Transmedicalism, Inc. - a sleek, modern, and dynamic brand that embodies our vision for the future. We feel that this change better fits what we strive to accomplish as a corporation, so we invite you to celebrate our first Serious Saturday with us!
To go along with our new look, we are implementing new guidelines that all employees are expected to follow. We kindly request that you refrain from posting any inappropriate content on our company's social media platforms. We believe that maintaining a positive and professional image is crucial to our success and growth as a business. Please keep in mind that from now on, all of your posts are expected to be high quality, workplace appropriate, and should reflect positively upon Transmedicalism, Inc. as an organization. Our rules have been updated to better represent our values.
We appreciate your cooperation in this matter and look forward to your continued dedication to our company's values and goals. Any questions should be forwarded to HR, and don't forget to check the Slack for updates!
Corporate

Are you tired of being promised CWL but never get in? Do you have a Alt and want to do CWL? Here is your chance as a well established clan is holding a second cwl.
✨Clan will start to fill Friday night Saturday morning and spin CWL Saturday evening CST✨
THE UNTRUSTED- TH12+ https://link.clashofclans.com/en?action=OpenClanProfile&tag=8Y2V2GPJ

Lothli woke up bright and early this Saturday, as always. Then, with a yawn, she checked her phone: April 1st.
Was there something important happening today? I don’t quite remember…
Her thoughts were quickly swept away by the mundanity of her morning routine. Pulling on clothes, brushing her teeth, doing her hair…
And so, she was entirely caught off guard when she arrived in the kitchen.
Her twin sister cackled like a madwoman, stirring a gigantic cauldron smelling burnt iron, cotton candy, and writer’s tears.
“Maishul, what exactly have you done?” Lothli sighed, ambling over to the bubbling cauldron.
“This? Oh, just a little April Fool’s prank!” the other twin giggled before pulling out a miniature figurine of a strange humanoid insect. With a snap of her fingers, the statuette grew to full size, glancing around warily.
“Oh goodness! What’s going on here?” the moth woman exclaimed, seeming more confused than frightened. “What kind of insect are you? I’ve never seen anyone with just four limbs like you two!”
Lothli turned to Maishul, a frown on her face. “Is this Minerva? Did you STEAL her? We’re going to get banned, you know.”
The other twin continued cackling, heedless of Lothli’s wrath. “No, no, I got permission! Look!”
Indeed, the paper Maishul pulled out did have the signatures of one, two… how many authors?!
“Maishul, what the heck have you done?” Lothli huffed. “This is— how do we—”
“Excuse me, but I believe I may be lost?” Minerva asked, her wings fluttering nervously. “While I would love to ask the two of you some questions, I need to return to my lab, if you could point me in the right direction?”
“Oh, I apologize, Dr. Minerva. You’re currently experiencing a dream. Please do forget about this,” Lothli sighed before snapping her fingers and reverting the insectoid woman to her figurine form.
“How exactly are we going to explain this to Polaris?” Lothli deadpanned with her gaze on her happy-go-lucky sibling.
“Oh, I have a good ‘ol industrial barrel of Remove-Yo-Memory. I’m sure it’ll turn out fine!” Maishul grinned back. “Look, look! Let me show you what wonderful scenes I’ve cooked up for everyone!”
Scene One: Art’s Very Bad, No Good Day
I was not having a good day. First, I was thrown into yet another random plane of existence. Dimension hopping was something I wanted to experience no more than one time in my life; thank you very much. And yet, here I was. In yet another random plane of existence with absolutely no say.
“Iklem.”
Second all, I found myself surrounded by these strange creatures. Four legs, shimmering black pelt, bizarre snake-like neck, flat head, creepy singular eye, and that weirdly human voice. Definitely not a fan.
“Iklem.”
The three Iklems crept—
Ahem. The plural of Iklem is Iklemli, Art.
And thirdly, that obnoxious voice ringing out in my head. Who was that? Why were they in my head? And why could they read my thoughts?
Fine. The three Iklemli crept closer and closer, predatory intent clear. I backed away slowly before my phone suddenly burst out with the cheery tune of Weird Al singing, “Just eat it (eat it), eat it (eat it)...”
“I’m in the mother of all situations here, Demoness, and you choose a freaking parody song? Can you at least tell me what the hell is happening here?” I snarled into my phone’s mic, watching the approaching monsters closely.
“M’dear, I hate to say it, but I have no clue what’s happening.” The slight strain in the Demoness’s usually sultry voice gave me pause. That Demoness? Confused? I really was in some deep shit, wasn’t I?
“Could you at least tell me what an Iklem is?” I said, imitating those creatures as best I could.
“My love, how do I explain this? As best as I could tell, at least five foreign dimensions have been forced together into one singular mess. And whoever did it had no grace or finesse at all.”
Tell the Demoness that she has no grace or finesse, either! Hmph!
Rolling my eyes, I communicated the feelings of my new head neighbor to the Demoness.
“Well, dear, tell your new friend that they should consider undoing this fiasco,” the Demoness replied with a sigh. “Whatever the case is, those Iklemli you mentioned are from one of those other dimensions. I can’t tell you a thing about them.”
With that good news, I turned back to the advancing beasts. This was going to be a fun one…
“Maishul, you can’t just break the fourth wall and shove your thoughts into the scene,” Lothli huffed, shaking her head.
“Pfffft!” Maishul blew a raspberry before turning back to her abomination of a cauldron.
“Also, you can’t just swap to first-person narration. We’re in third-person narration.”
“Well, Matt writes in first-person. And I respect our fellow author’s intent; thank you very much!”
Lothli raised an eyebrow in response before pointing to the bubbling cauldron of doom. “You call THAT respecting our fellow authors’ intents?”
“They gave permission!” Maishul pouted before turning back to her inglorious creation. “And you won’t complain once you see my next glorious scene!”
Scene Two: Sloth Squared
Pride’s scowl only grew deeper as he dragged his erstwhile companion along. The swampland around them had warped into a blooming forest, with trees looming large overhead. The various fully intact buildings were most concerning, indicating that the pair had passed into a rift.
“Sloth, GET UP!” he hissed, shaking the lazy layabout.
“Huh? Wuzzit? I’m sleepin…” Sloth snored, already back asleep.
“We’ve got a MAJOR problem here. Pretty sure a rift opened around us, so stay on guard!”
Sloth blearily stumbled to his feet before glancing wide-eyed at his surroundings.
“Holy cow, you’re right! I didn’t even notice. But, man, Pride, I’m so tired… I…” Sloth stumbled a bit further before faceplanting directly into a bed of flowers.
“Dammit, Sloth. This is ridiculous, even for your standards.” Pride leaned down to pick Sloth back up, but something strange was afoot. As soon as he leaned down, an overwhelming surge of exhaustion passed through him as well, and he collapsed on top of his companion.
“Dude, you’re sleeping right on top of a good patch. Can you two move?” A voice lazily drifted into Pride’s mind before he rocketed up ramrod straight.
“Hwa— what!? Oh. A rifter.” Pride composed himself as he stared down at the man who awoke him. About five foot six, with short white hair and red eyes.
“Uh, I’m not a rifter or whatever you just called me. I’m Clear, prince of Sloth. And you?” Clear tilted his head.
“Prince… of me? Ehehe, there’s no prince of me…” Sloth murmured in his sleep.
“Typical rifter, spewing nonsense. Come on, you lazy bum. We’re gonna hide before this gets violent.” Pride turned to drag Sloth away but found his legs unwilling to move.
“Hey, man. C’mon now. You haven’t noticed you’re in a dream yet?” Clear said, his hand extended. “Let’s just talk, alright?”
Pride struggled for a few more moments, then back at Clear. “Alright, alright, never seen a rifter do that before. Calm down, yeah? I’ll chat until this rift collapses.”
“So please, introduce yourself properly this time,” Clear responded, freeing Pride with a flick of his hand.
“Right. I’m Pride, that’s Sloth.” Pride pointed at himself, then at his companion. “Can we go?” “No. Please explain what you are doing here and those wings on your back.” Clear yawned. “Also, don’t use our nation’s name as a moniker. It’s probably disrespectful… or something. Eh, we don’t actually care that much.”
“Huh? We’re here because your stupid rift pulled us in,” Pride hissed. “And these wings? We were born with ’em. No story here. Also, pretty sure we were the ones who had those names first.”
“Eh, the kingdom of Pride wouldn’t be very happy to hear about that,” Clear responded. “But whatever, man. Things have been rather chill ever since a random blob named Sparky fell on top of the Demon King and ate him or whatever. So enjoy the nap, I guess. Mind if I join in?”
Pride rolled his eyes before scooting over to allow Clear access to the flowers. Before long, Sloth and Clear were snuggled up together, much to the chagrin of Pride.
“What the hell am I supposed to do now?”
“Aren’t they just the cutest?!” Maishul exclaimed. “We should make that our newest OTP. I bet Haru would approve.”
“Please don’t ship characters across two different SerSuns,” Lothli replied with a shake of her head. “Also what was that about Sparky eating the Demon King—”
“OKAYNEXTSCENE!!”
Scene Three: Machines, Demons, and The World Tree
There was a rather strange rash of oddly dressed folk in Lugavya lately. Or rather, just odd folk in general.
Rumors flew of a human with bird wings who passed over the town, carried through hurried whispers between the residents. A strange man with fierce red eyes insisting on making ‘deals,’ much to the annoyance of passersby trying to get through their day.
Lena and Veska had met to investigate, unable to keep themselves still while such strange events abounded. No sooner had the two exchanged greetings did two strange men approach, flagrantly discarding any sensibilities on their right to free speech.
“Hello!” the younger one called out before getting his head gently bonked by the older.
“W-what was it? Oh! The greeting we use should have been ‘well met,’ right?” the teenage boy puzzled himself, rubbing his head.
“No. Firstly, as foreign visitors, we do not use that greeting. Secondly, we do not greet them. They greet us,” the older whispered, turning his eyes to Lena and Veska. It seemed at least one of them remembered their manners.
“Peace, strangers. We will not begrudge you for your transgressions. Tell me, what business have you with us?” Lena began.
“We are looking for directions. We have lost our way. Please, would you tell us our current location? Latitude and longitude are preferred, but any notable landmarks will do.” The older man bowed slightly, with the younger following shortly after.
Latitude? Longitude? These words were unfamiliar to Lena and Veska.
“This is Lugavya. Home to Alvedos, the World Tree?” Veska explained, an eyebrow raised. Were these folks raised under a rock or something?
The two men conversed among themselves, their frowns deepening.
“Apologies, but I am unaware of Lugavya. Could you perhaps point us in the direction of the United States?” the older asked, tilting his head slightly.
“Oh, and if you know of any demons, could you put in a word for me? I can’t figure out the ritual to get home without one of them…” the younger added.
The United States? Demons? More unfamiliar terms. Lena and Veska knew these newcomers were oddballs, but this was a bit much.
“I’m sorry—really! But we simply don’t have the knowledge to help the two of you. Perhaps you could head to the Foresters? I’ll give you their location.” Lena rattled off directions to the nearby Foresters’ hall.
“Thank you very much.” The older man stalked off after a stiff bow, and the younger man quickly followed.
“Sticks and stones, what is the world coming to?”
“Was that Megan’s SerSun? All that intricately balanced worldbuilding, and you just shoved random crap in.” Lothli barely held back a sigh. “Also, you didn’t even introduce those two characters. How are our readers supposed to know who they are?”
“This is left as an exercise to the reader,” Maishul tittered into the camera before returning to the glorious mess in her cauldron.
“Next scene!”
Scene Four: The One With No Chill
There wasn’t much that could faze a Huntress.
It was often said that their wills were unshakable. Nothing could cause them to stop them from single-mindedly accomplishing their goal. And yet, Olivia stood dead in her tracks, staring at the abomination across the Dam square.
“I AM OLIVIA. DARK HUNTRESS. SMASHER OF SQUEAKERS. AND THE ONE WITH NO CHILL,” the awful creature that vaguely resembled Olivia boomed.
“That young lass a friend of yours?” Barlow remarked, barely holding back a chuckle.
“Nope.” Olivia chucked one of her daggers at the offending sight, but she deflected the blade with a ripple of its musculature.
“You are weak. You have no strength. Witness me, false Olivia.” The muscle monster took up a ridiculous pose, her muscles overtly flexing.
“I will destroy you. And after that, I will destroy your creator. And I’ll salt your entire bloodline, while I’m at it,” Olivia snarled.
“I would like to see you try, false Olivia. Last time, I was overcome by the power of the Deus Ex Machina. But this time, I will not be struck down.” The monster took a step forward, the cobblestones cracking under her feet.
Olivia flinched. A Huntress does not feel fear. A Huntress does not back down. Yet… in the face of this horrible being… Her mind recalled the near-death experience she had with the Beast. Did she really want to face that again?
She shook her head, clearing it. No. She would finish this. Olivia raced at the mocking facsimile of herself, her onyx daggers at the ready. As she drew closer, she summoned every ounce of strength and struck.
As Olivia flew through the air, the world seemed to slow down.
Ah… this feels… familiar…
“‘Admittedly, Huntress, you are quite the entertainer—”
“No!” Lothli slapped the figurines out of Maishul’s hands, sinking them into the dreadful mire of the cauldron below. “You can’t reuse that line for the third time!”
“But you used it, Lothli. That’s hypocritical!” Maishul harrumphed.
“Yes, because it was the first time we used it. You can’t just reuse jokes like that!” Lothli glared. “And don’t think I forgot about that comment Clear made about Sparky. What. Exactly. Did you do?”
“Uhm, uhh…” Maishul stuttered. “W-Well, I maybe kinda spilled some my Story-Breaking-Plot-Devices into the cauldron on accident…”
“Your WHATS?!” Lothli stared at her twin in disbelief.
“Uhh, it wasn’t a big deal or anything. Just, uh... Scarlet, the Demon King, Sparky, Wan, Pre-Geas Dread Lord Ardus, the plague from , the Deus Ex Machina, the Beast, and the entirety of the United States’ arsenal of nuclear weaponry.”
Lothli shook her head with a sigh. “I’m pretty sure you caused mass human extinction at least three times over.”
“Well! No time to worry about it! Next scene!”
Scene Five: Bea and Ophelia Discover The Wonders of Nuclear Physics
Bea and Ophelia stared at the booklet that had just materialized before them. “Maishul’s Simple Guide to Stealing and Utilizing the Entirety of the United States’ Arsenal of Nuclear Weaponry: For Dummies!” The booklet was decorated with garish stickers of rainbows and glitter, along with cartoonish mushroom clouds.
With a glance at Ophelia, Bea picked up the book. Immediately, her mind was flooded with images and knowledge. Where exactly every nuclear silo in the United States was located. The launch codes and how to bypass the two-key rule. The birth and loving families of each and every nuclear warhead…?
“Bea? Dear? Are you alright?” Ophelia shook Bea gently, concerned. Bea wordlessly handed over the booklet and watched the same information flow through her. The two shared a meaningful glance before turning the manual over. A bright red button sat there, glowing ominously amongst the childish stickers and drawings of shocked faces.
“This is absolutely too dangerous to be left just lying around,” Bea murmured, staring at the booklet intently. Maybe it was a prank some lesser fae put together to induce some concerning but ultimately harmless illusions. But deep down, the two knew this was far more sinister than a simple prank. Plus, there was no fae named “Maishul” that either of them knew of.
“I’m going to have to seal this thing away with the strongest magic I have,” Ophelia declared. With a wave of her hand, ethereal chains weaved around the book. Magical seals whirled through the air, all concentrated on the offending manual. The horrors of nuclear annihilation have been contained with a final clap of her hands.
For around five seconds. Immediately after the ritual was complete, as if to spite Ophelia’s work, a glowing sword descended from the heavens, slicing through the glowing chains and seals like butter. The two barely managed to glimpse the name written on the side: “The Deus Ex Machina,” before the blade landed squarely on the big red button with a satisfying click!
“Shit.”
“So what exactly were you saying about ‘not worrying about it’?” Lothli shook her head in dismay. “How are we going to explain this mess to their poor, poor writers? What are we going to say to Bay?”
“It’ll be fine! I’m not breaking any of the rules on shortstories, which means I totally can’t be banned!” Maishul quipped cheerily.
“That is 100% not how it works.” Lothli crossed her arms. “Don’t drag me down with you.”
“I dunno! You’ll bail me out, right?” Maishul shrugged before returning to her appalling project. “Next scene!”
Scene Six: Sanguia Loses a Fight
These were the end times. The world felt… sideways. The government was in shambles. A plague that turned people into fine, yellow dust had apparently appeared, sweeping the continent from east to west. Yet, there was nothing I could do. Right in front of me, I had my own foes to contend with on the roof of Holos Lucidium.
On my right was a shapeless mass, writhing and transforming, throwing vicious barbs my way. It never introduced itself, but I knew its name from within myself: the Beast.
On my left was a much more innocent figure, at least on the surface. He had slicked-back black hair, brown eyes simmering with self-assured pride, and an easy smirk. And to cap it off, he introduced himself promptly and with great gusto; he was Dread Lord Ardus.
I could attempt to flee, but what purpose would that serve? Even if I got away, which my gut told me was highly unlikely, I would be abandoning my guild to die to these two monsters. So no. I stood my ground here.
“Sanguia. Member of Holos Lucidium.” I balanced my stance between my two flanks, watching both. With a smirk from Ardus and a ripple from the Beast, the fight began.
I quickly discarded the idea of even fighting the rippling mass on my right. It had no blood I could control, and impacting it with my blade would make me stuck. But the Dread Lord was no slouch, either.
As I rushed at Ardus, a tingle in my spine screamed at me to duck. I tucked into a combat roll as a great blast of flame roared right where I used to be.
“Fiesty, aren’t you? Well, that’s what makes it fun,” the Dread Lord growled, licking his lips.
I had no time to respond as a raging, shimmering bull attempted to ram its gleaming horns directly through me. I sprung off the ground, landing just behind the writhing bull. There was no time to go on the offensive; it took all I could to stay alive.
“Stop struggling, Interloper,” the Beast snarled. “I have plans I have to attend to. Plans that do not involve you.”
I kept the undulating mass between myself and my second opponent. My only hope was to promote crossfire. The dagger I held in my right hand felt woefully inadequate for this task.
“You heard the fella. I’ll end this, here and now.” Ardus thrust his hand straight up into the air as if grasping something far above him.
“Dread Lord. May I take this as a sign of betrayal?” The Beast rumbled, a dangerous edge to its voice.
“Nah, I never said I was working with you. You’re too… icky for my tastes.” The Dread Lord tapped his chin thoughtfully. “It’s a good thing you’ll be obliterated in an instant. Ta ta!”
I looked up with a heavy heart, knowing how outclassed I was. There was barely time to say goodbye before a massive ball of light enveloped me in its all-consuming shine. The last thing I managed to think was:
That was an utterly unfair fight.
“Well, the protagonist of our SerSun just died. What now?” Lothli looked at the cauldron in dismay.
“Hey, it’s not so bad! Scarlet is still alive, right?” Maishul dug around in the cauldron before pulling out yet another distended scene. “Look! Here she is!”
“What… is that?” Lothli looked at the scene with equal parts awe and disgust.
“Oh! Well, I really liked Fye’s SerSun, so I made my own! Isn’t it great?”
“Maishul, I think you missed the entire point of his SerSun. Where’s the inter-character drama? Where’s the mystery? Where’s the actual HISTORY?” Lothli poked the off-kilter scene with distaste. “This version of the story is just <Murder.>.”
“Well too bad, dear ‘ol sis! Here! We! Go!”
Scene Seven: Murder Without the History
Hi, I’m Benedict Lushon, Ben for short. Somehow, I think I just unlocked the secret to teleportation. I stand in the middle of the mansion’s dining room, feeling my stomach turn violently. One moment, I was chained in front of a cackling Kyle, and the next thing I know, we’re back in this blasted room. I crane my head, checking who else is here.
Teddy, check. His monocle and top hat are still crooked as he looks around the room, just as confused as I.
Cornell, check. Unfortunately, he still seems to be out cold.
Kyle, check. Wait—
I stride up to Kyle and grab onto his lapels. “What exactly have you done?” I say, shaking him back and forth.
Unfortunately, he seems even more confused by the current events than I am, judging by the bulging eyes and frothing at the mouth.
“W-What exactly happened here!? We were just— and then—” my former coworker manages to sputter out before a booming feminine voice rings out from the walls.
“Heya! What’s up, characters! It’s me, ya girl Maishul, back at it again with another fun murdery twist!” The cheery voice that booms out from the walls contrasts with all the horrors we’ve seen thus far. Also, who talks like this? Did we get kidnapped by one of those Instagram influencers? Ugh, I hate those kinds of people.
“Who are you?! What have you done?!” Kyle screams, his voice cracking. “I have waited YEARS to take my revenge on these fools, and you—”
“Oh. You.” The voice seems displeased at the interruption. “Sorry, I didn’t think your Tuffy plotline was interesting, so I retconned it!”
Now, that was the mark of a bad writer. As a future multi-bestselling author, I know that one of the most sinful things a writer can do is randomly retcon the story. I’m confident this random influencer girl will never go anywhere in her writing career.
“YOU! We were known as the Tufforo family, and we—” Kyle rages before being cut off by the voice again.
“Sorry, don’t care.” A piece of duct tape manifests itself directly onto Kyle’s mouth. I would find it funny if it didn’t demonstrate how supernatural this influencer’s power seems.
“Anyways! Here’s the rules. I’m not really good at that being cryptic thing, so it’ll be easy!” the voice announces with glee. “Here’s my super special sparkly OC, do not steal, known as Scarlet, Scourge of the Americas. She’ll try and chase you down! She wins when you’re all dead. You all win when, I don’t know, she dies of old age or something. You can try to kill her; it won’t work!”
‘Super special sparkly OC, do not steal?’ So, what, did I find myself in some hellish parody of Earth? That must be it. This must all be a very terrible dream. I sincerely hope that none of my readers would ever consider making fanfiction like this of my stories.
“By jove, those rules seem downright unfair!” Teddy finally seems to have found his voice. “Please, good madam, could you let us go? We have already suffered at the hands of that accursed man—”
“Lalala, can’t hear you!” the girl’s voice sang out. “Here she comes! Give it up for… Scarlet!”
A hidden panel drops a… rather regular-looking young woman onto the floor. Why, if I were in charge, I would have ensured that my villain would have a spectacular appearance. Someone as fascinating and spellbinding as Jack the Ripper—
Scarlet dashes at Kyle and [REDACTED]
… … Technical Difficulties
“MAISHUL! What the hell was that?! Is that how you talk when I’m not around? And what the hell was that last section?” Lothli furiously slapped the tortured scene back into the accursed project bubbling menacingly below.
“Well, Scarlet’s kinda messy, so I tried to cover it up,” Maishul pouted. “Also, I was just trying to liven up the scene a bit! Kyle’s so BORING. He speaks in RIDDLES and they make my brain HURT.”
“That’s because you don’t have a single brain cell in that head of yours,” Lothli huffed. “Don’t make such sweeping changes to people’s stories!”
“Well… dear sis, could I trouble you for a favor, since I’m so head empty ‘n all?” Maishul smiled her widest, most brilliant smile.
“What.” The other twin glared back, unimpressed.
“Well, if you don’t want the two of us to get banned, can you help me separate these stories back out? Please?” With a fluttering of her eyelashes and a winsome wink, this would undoubtedly win her sister to her side—
“Deal with it yourself. I’m going to hand out apologies.” Lothli had no sympathy for her twin’s plight.
“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” Maishul cried. For now, she was burdened with her least favorite task; actual work.
And thus, this tale comes to a close. Nevertheless, its name will ring true throughout the land as the legendary fable known only as “In the Shadow of Machines, Scarlet, and the In Between Geas and the Beginning of the Demon Murder History: Dissonance, also How Did We Get Here?”
Thank you very much for your time. And apologies for my sister.
Lothli, signing off.
Credits: Maishul, Lothli, FTF!Olivia, and the Deus Ex Machina, from u/Lothli’s FTF Serial, Minerva and the plague, from u/PolarisStorm’s Art, Demoness Virtua, Sparky, and Dread Lord Ardus from u/mattswritingaccount’s Iklemli, Lena, and Veska from u/MeganBessel’s Pride and Sloth from u/Helicopterdrifter’s Clear and Alex from u/Carrieka23’s Talix, Sanguia, and Scarlet from u/Lothli’s Olivia, Barlow, and the Beast from u/Not_theScrumPolice’s Wan, Bea, and Ophelia from u/ZachtheLitchKing’s Ben, Theodore, Cornell, and Kyle from u/FyeNite’s The Entirety of the United States Arsenal of Nuclear Weaponry from the United States.
Special thanks to u/OldBayJ, which this fantastic feature would be impossible without.

TW: physical, mental and sexual abuse by a partner, violence against women
​
When I was 18, I was dating what my current therapist calls a psychopath. We met the summer before our freshman year of college, before going to schools on the opposite side of the country from one another. He had completely charmed me, my family and my friends. I was so enamored that I broke up with my boyfriend/best friend at the time to be with him. It was "love at first sight" and being fresh out of high school, I thought he was the best thing that had ever happened to me. A mutual friend mildly warned me about him but I ignored her. I regret that.
To give more context-- pretty quickly towards the beginning, he would play these "pranks" on me. One morning the summer we met I get a text from an unknown number and it's "Dr. Joe" (his dad). Boyfriend had stayed at my house until 3AM. The text says that he had fallen asleep at the wheel on his way home and was now at the hospital, but if I came over right now I could go with them to see him. I'm too young and naive to be able to see through this. I lose my mind, and quickly drive to his house about 7 minutes away. I pull up, and he's standing outside grinning with a huge poster board that said "GET WRECKED". More pranks just like this one ensue.
He was a wrestler who definitely had some ED characteristics. He would fast for days and go in the sauna in a trash bag to make weight. I had never really had body image issues until him. He worked out a LOT, and it got to the point where he made me feel I had to keep up or he wouldn't be attracted to me anymore. I started restricting the kinds of food I ate in favor of being "healthy", I worked out twice a day. It was so stressful and I didn't even realize it. I've had to go into ED treatment for a couple conditions I've developed because of this and other events that transpired in the years following.
He would compulsively lie, about things anywhere from pointless to insane. Like knowing Ansel Elgort or even just what he had for dinner. He love bombed me. He guilted me into sex, into getting incapacitated by drugs and alcohol, took advantage of me in every way every chance he got, he gaslit me before I even had a chance to consider if I was right. He would disappear for days. He would send me pictures of his best friend's girlfriend in lingerie and compare me to her. I'm pretty sure he cheated on me. Consent lines were blurred or downright trampled multiple times, and he used BDSM as an excuse to hurt me-- he once knocked my jaw out of place and another time choked me until I passed out. I would brag to my concerned but also naive friends essentially about how violent we were. He'd convinced me that I liked being hurt badly. I was completely manipulated and pulled into his dark cloud.
Somehow, what I am most ashamed of is not anything from above. Not how I handled it all, not what he took from me, but this. I haven't even told my therapist about it.
We were in constant communication, sending pictures and videos of a bunch of different things. I don't know how else to say it, but he convinced me to send him pooping videos. I'm ashamed and embarrassed because were it not for him and his instability and manipulation, this is not something I would have EVER done. It's humiliating. I did it because I thought I had to. I don't think it was even sexual. I think it was about control. On top of everything he did to control me, he also had to humiliate me, and that makes me angry and ashamed.
Not too long into starting school I met another guy and ended up dumping my boyfriend for him. I was very lucky to have been on the opposite side of the country and that my feelings for someone else were enough to get me out. I'm not sure I ever would have seen the light otherwise. I'm lucky it was only a few months. I was young and I thought I was in love.
I found out some time later after I had finally come to terms with the fact that he was abusive (thank God for my friends who helped me figure it out) that I was not the first person he'd done these things to. Not even just romantic partners. He grabbed one of his girl friends by the neck and pushed her against the wall. I can't imagine I was or will be the last.
I thought I had blocked his number, but he reached out a few years ago and hit me with a "hey how are you :)". I had a panic attack at work.
By the time I had the motivation to report it (just in time for the Me Too movement), there was no evidence other than my friends' testimonies of my bruises. There was never really any evidence to begin with. It was my word against his. All I know now is he's somewhere in LA.
So yeah. A psychopath convinced me to send him poop videos.

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Welcome to BoxingDiscussion's General Discussion Thread!
Discuss your favorite fighters, the upcoming card or something you forgot to bring up in this week's Moronic Monday thread.
Click here to message the Mods of /BoxingDiscussion
Custom flairs: here are three ways to obtain a custom flair:

• place and lose a flair bet in the Friday thread
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I randomly stumbled upon this after connecting my MacBook with my cell. For an update before the read I have tapered off alprazalam and take 5mg of diazepam a day for the last month. It has been 3 days since my last pill. I always get down on myself for the lack of progress but fuck, this shows how far I have gone. I’m so happy to be where I am at even tho I still feel like I need a pill. At least that amount is only 5–10mg if DZ. Wanted to hear your thoughts and comments. Thanks everyone
Journal 7/9 I took Xanax for a trip that most likely wasn’t even needed. Started a fight with Caroline at Happy Hour secretly bought K. Went into a K hole and scared the living shit out of Caroline because I was in another universe. Woke up feeling awful and even worse that I have hurt her so much. I am currently addicted to Xanax and struggling with an off and on battle with it. I hurt Caroline on the 4th of July blacked out and took to much Xanax and said horrible things. The morning after I told her I wouldn’t do that again. Stopped using Xanax for 4 days and here we are again. No fights but secret drug use and scaring the shit out of her. She doesn’t deserve this and either do I. I need to be better and to change. 7/28 been a rough few weeks. To catch us up I have decided I need cut out my drinking snd dramatically reduce my Xanax intake. I haven’t had a drink in 10 days and feels great about that. The Xanax tapering is the issue/ struggle. Going thru with drawls has been a fucking nightmare even with the taper. I have been struggling going out of the house and doing normal things without Xan. I tappered down to 1/4 bar a day from god knows 3-6 bars a day and then I was completely Xanax free for 72 hrs. But yesterday before my dance recital I took a xan Bc my anxiety was out of control. It helped siginjcslly but then as I started to feel better I took another 1 and another 1 and then browned out and didn’t get in a. Fight with Caroline over the phone but made her feel bad which is the exact reason I am trying to get off this fucking shut. It’s such a hard fight Bc without the Xanax my anxiety hasn’t never been worse and I feel like I need it for any event. I feel like it’s a necessity. Today marks the day where I start actively trying to better myself from a CBT perspective. Started 15 mins of meditation, consistently journaling and will be reading my CBT book. I also have CBT therapy today. I am also going to work out. I need to rewrite mu brian while I am 100 percent off alcohol and xanax. I know last night was a set back but I will talk on Friday with my outpatient about it. 7/29 I woke up feeling so sick and awful side pain head aches anxiety everything was ready to give up. Finally is succumbed to Xanax and took to many. Instantly felt better. Hate that it fixes me that quickly maybe I just don’t drug but stay in Xanax so I can function.
7/30Woke up feeling super anxious took Xanax everything was better. As I’m tapering this is harder and harder to do. Things were fine on Xanax a lot better took too much at night
7/31 woke up took a small amount of Xanax walked to Brooklyn has a great day. Got home took a full one don’t really have a reason for it and now I took another one before dinner I guess just in case I also have one in my lockst which I will probably take. Not really anxious for obvious reasons wirh the Xanax but just pissed about missing my Bach party. Fuxking sucks that’s all my friends are there and partying and I’m not. I want to drink and have fun but I can’t do this ar this stage in my life unfortunately. Need to continue to work on the anxiety and tapering the Xanax
8/3 doing so mix better haven’t had a drink in 2 weeks but still using and almost abusing Xan. But I have been working out journaling meditating and reading
8/12 wow haven’t journaled in a while need to do this everyday. Yesterday was a perfectly fine day but I took 12mg of Xanax which is insane. Took 3 pills to go tk therapy and then 3 more to the dr. I DONT NEED TO DO THAT. It’s just the easy way to do it. Now today I struggle. I need to cut it way back because I want to be off Xanax in 2 weeks. Today is gonna be a struggle. I already woke up early this morning with anxiety headache classic not enough xan symptoms. Which makes me Freak out about my wedding and just life. That I can’t live without a ton of Xanax. This morning I only took .25 mg which is a scrap compared to yesterday so we will see how bad today goes. I will NOT take more than 2 bars. My goal for today is less than 2 mg. So it’s already been a tough morning so I got on the treadmill just to walk off so the pain and took a gabapentin for anxiety and withdraws. We will see how the rest of the day goes. I am going to try and mediate after this. Do all the hard things today. Work, go for walks, go in stores.
8/13 today the morning is fine. I woke up super early again. Not sure if it’s from the lack of xan ax. But I didn’t hit my goal. I didn’t take as much think only 4 pills instead of Wednesday’s 6. Today’s minimum goal will be 3 pills but I am shooting for 2mg. That is the constant goal with at the very least dropping a bar a day. So instead of laying around in bed I stretched for 15 minutes and now I’m in the treadmill journaling. Doin g all the things right just this addiction is kicking my ass and once I take 1 bar it’s a slippery slope. So what I did was break 8 pieces of .25 in order to achieve my goal and not feel the barred out effects of Xanax. Let’s see how today goes talk tomorrow

Settings

*Note: These settings change every part (and week) so read over them every time you submit!*Theme: ParallelStyle: AnyGeneration type: text2imageModels: Any

Info

Welcome to the (unofficial) Stable Diffusion Competition! I'm hoping that together we can make a mega competition with hundreds of people at some point in the near future (IE >10 year). So, let's get started. The rules will be listed below - don't worry! I tried not to make it to complicated.

Prize

Okay, well at this point I don't have much karma so I can't give awards (maybe if you upvote this post 😉)! But for right now, you'll get lots of upvotes if you submit a good image, so you get some karma. When I get more karma I'll give bigger awards, but for right now I'll give you some little ones.

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FAQ

**Q: What fine-tuned models/stable diffusion versions can I use?**A: Most of the time you can use any models you want. But please check the 'Models' field in the setting section to check if that is the case. Sometimes I will give a model that is required to use (I will also provide a link, if you don't trust it, just search for the model).
**Q: Do I need to use Stable Diffusion? Can I, for example, use Midjourney or Dall-e 2 instead?**A: No. Only stable diffusion. It's recommended to use AUTOMATIC1111 (you'll most likely get better results), but it is a hassle to set up, so in that case use https://stablediffusionweb.com.
**Q: When does each part/week start at?**A: Each week (the first part) should start every Friday in North America (US & Canada area), Wednesday in South America (Brazil area), Saturday in Europe (England, France, Spain, Ukraine, Germany, and many many many more area), and also Saturday in Asia and Austral-Asia (Japan, China, Australia, and New Zealand area). Whew. And for time, I'll probably start at noon (New Zealand time), so go translate that into other times, sorry but I'm not doing that again. For the second part I'll do it ~4 days.
**Q: What are parts?**A: The first part is where you get a lot of upvotes, the second is where you bathe in them. Well, depending on how good your image is. But, in all seriousness I'll declare the winner in next week's competition, which will be a sum of both their 1st part upvotes and 2nd part upvotes. Also, when you submit for your second part, show both your newly generated image for that part and the older one for the first part. So when people vote, they'll also take into consideration your first part. Note that you may submit into the second part without submitting into the first, or submit into the second without submitting in the first, but you'll get much less total upvotes.
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Make sure 'suggestion' is spelled right, because I'll be using Ctrl-F to find suggestions. Higher upvoted suggestion have a higher chance to be implemented.
**Q: Will you be submitting an image?**A: Yes, I will. I don't want to be left out on all the fun, do I? And for the award, I'll just um, gift it to myself.
Q: Can I upvote my own post?A: Yes, please do so. I was thinking about saying don't do it, but people would do it anyway, so do it so you don't get left behind.
Q: Can I submit multiple images?A: No, please don't.
**Q: I have a question about this competition that wasn't listed here.**A: That's fine. Just type:"QUESTION:[Your question]"As a comment (spell 'question' right and mentioned above) and I'll try respond to it and maybe add it to the FAQ.

Willow, the Forest Florist

Hello, it's maGeDNA here! I'd like to introduce you to Willow, the Forest Florist. This champion went through many iterations before I got here as you may have noticed she is similar to Sequoia, The God-Willow's Woeful Caretaker, a champ I had made prior. I put a lot of thought into Willow's design, theme-wise and ability-wise. I want to thank u/theheraId u/renegadepony and u/FallenDemonX for their thoughtful opinions, guidance, and support. You guys keep inspiring me to pursue design!
Classes: Enchanter
Roles: Support
Region: Ionia, Omikayalan Forest
Species: God-Willow Sapling
Damage Type: Magic

Champion Appearance:

In her sapling form she is an elegant child, with a wood-nymph-esque body with bark-like skin wearing a green and gold summer dress. When she achieves her budding form she grows taller and the bud on her head becomes golden. When she blooms, she looks like a beautiful woman, wearing a green and gold dress with a large golden God-Willow Flower on her head.

Similar to this but with bark like skin and a large golden flower on her head.
Image for visualization (I don't own this image!):
https://images.app.goo.gl/rGgFSdE7YwvgAEze9

Champion Lore:

Willow’s life began once her mother was killed. The God-Willow of the Omikayalan Forest, known as the Heart of the World, was killed having been chopped down by a cruel man by the name of Ivern. In a last ditch effort the God-Willow, had bundled its life energy into 2 seeds. 1 seed was thrown towards the murderer in an effort to cleanse his evil so that he would not continue to harm the rest of the Forest. He had been chosen to be the Forest’s caretaker. The second Seed was cast high into the sky, dated to be carried by the wind who knows where. The God-Willow’s had hoped its child could have a different fate than herself. The child would be free to roam the world instead of being stuck to one place. A life outside the forest would be hard, but if the child survived, they would bloom into an immaculate God-Willow able to endure anything.

Months Later…

A tall, beautiful, lightly tanned woman wearing red and gold armor was laying down next to a slender, pale-skinned woman. The slender woman was wearing a simple black robe with turquoise and silver pattern. She was staring at the tanned woman while the tanned woman looked in awe towards the sunrise.
“How beautiful that the sun always rises…”, the tanned woman said.
“Lee…I don’t know what you see in the Sun…it just hurts my eyes…” the pale woman said in response, rubbing her eyes.
Leona turned her head to face the pale-skinned woman.
“Dee…you just don’t understand…”, Leona said, grabbing her hand and looking into her white eyes. Diana stared back intently at Leona’s glowing brown eyes, almost like she was finally seeing the beauty of the Sun.
“You don’t have the Solari’s eyes…you wouldn’t understand,” said Leona, her auburn hair tangling with Diana’s white hair. “You couldn’t. And you shouldn’t be looking at the sun anyways, you’ll hurt your eyes even more.”
“Meh. I don’t care about my eyes, Lee, you know I don’t. I just want to understand your obsession. I would understand if it was the moon. But the sun? Come on…at this rate you’ll be chosen to be the next aspect host…leaving me here alone on this mountain”, Diana said looking away, laying down on her back with her hands on the back of her head.
“Dee…I wouldn’t leave you even if I did become the host…I’d still remember you…”, Lee said, but Diana could hear Leona’s uncertainty in her voice.
“Yea right. The moment you become the host for the Solari, I’m offering my body to the Lunari in a heartbeat…I wouldn’t be able to live.”
Leona smiled, “You know…moonlight…moonlight is sunlight…these wars are stupid…let’s just enjoy our time together.” She laid down next to Diana and they sat in silence feeling the wind against their face for what seemed like hours.
Smack! Something fell on Diana’s face. She sat up and grabbed what felt like a rock in her hand. It was a seed.
Leona sat up. “What is it?”
“Here. You can have it. Looks like a seed of some sort…wake me up when the new moon rises”, Diana said going back to sleep.
Leona held the seed in her palm tightly vowing to keep her promise. She kept the seed in her pocket. She was the next host, she knew it. She just hoped she would remember Diana after the ritual…

Years Later…

The Aspect of the Sun, Leona was fighting a terrible battle involving the Lunari atop Mount Targon. She stared at the Pale-skinned woman dashing across the mountaintop slaying her brethren. Leona was about to support them in battle, about to stun this woman, when she winced from pain. The necklace she had made many years ago, with a large seed as the pendant, was burning her neck and chest.
Leona instinctively grabbed her necklace, She kept thinking about this Pale-skinned woman. Diana…was her name Diana, that didn’t seem right. She looked so familiar…her white hair…her white eyes. As if looking at the craters of a full moon. Leona’s head hurt as if she was fighting back another soul.
Something had clicked. She remembered. It was the host’s memories forcing its way up into Leona’s mind. Not now, not when the Solari were in danger. They needed Her help. Leona struggled to keep balance, she had fallen to the ground clenching the Seed with her hands. She released a burst of sunlight in pain, a solar flare burst forward blasting her armour and necklace off of her. She collapsed on the ground. But everyone on the battlefield didn’t look towards Leona, instead they looked at the glowing bright seed in the grassy terrain.
The seed had broken off from the necklace glowing with a golden light. It was pulsing so bright the warriors could not tell if it was day or night…
A crack. A green tree shoot had burst forward from the seed quickly. When the golden light had stopped pulsing, a child was standing in the seed’s location.
The child was smiling, and looked like a cross between a girl and a tree. She had skin that looked like tree bark but was wearing a elegant dress made of green leaves. She had a golden head where it looked like a golden flower could bloom.
“W-where am I? W-who am I? W-why am I here?”
Leona stood back up. But this was not the same Leona anymore. The host had won the battle against the Aspect.
Leona had returned back to her body.
Leona looked at the child. She thought she was beautiful. A miracle. For such a child to be born in the midst of war…this must be fate.
Leona turned to face the Solari, “we are retreating! Everyone stand down, now!” Leona said with as much bravery she could muster. The Solari acknowledged her and did just that, marching down the Mountain.
“Coward!!” Diana yelled, raising and shaking her Khopesh in anger.
Leona felt tears fall down her face. She turned to face Diana.
“Dee…you just don’t understand…” Diana spoke softly, looking into Diana’s white eyes, “ You couldn’t understand…”, Leona clenched her eyelids, tears continuing to fall, “and stop looking at me with those eyes…you’re just going to hurt me even more…”
Leona turned around, accepting her fate, her eyes still closed. She opened her eyes with resolve. She ran towards the Sapling Child and grabbed her into her arms ignoring all protests. But to her surprise the child just giggled. Leona kept running, as far away as she could from this stranger in Dee’s body.
She could hear the impostor-Diana’s screams of anger as she ran down Mount Targon.
She looked at the Sapling child and her wide smile.
Leona smiled back, the widest, happiest smile of her life.
“She really did offer herself after losing me…” she told the child, “she loved me…”
The child smiled back then laughed an innocent, pure laugh.
“What a will you have, child…to laugh in the middle of war…I think I have the perfect name for you…”

1 Decade Later…

Leona had become accustomed to a life away from battle and the Solari. She was a mother now and she had raised her Sapling-Child with love.
“Mom! Mom! Mom! Why won’t I grow!! Everyone else in school is taller than me!!” Said the sapling-child throwing her wooden sword to the ground.
“Willow…”, Leona said, picking up the wooden sword, “everyone grows differently in their own way, at their own speed. I grew tall, but Yordles grow small.”
“But! But! But! I’m not a Yordle! I don’t know what I am! My friends at school keep calling me Maokai and swors ‘cause I’m no different than that stupid wooden sword you're holding…”
Leona knew it was time to tell her. She kneeled down till she was eye-level with Willow, looking into Willow’s white eyes. Leona smiled.
“You are different from your friends. That’s all. Nothing more, nothing less, my child. They are fools for not accepting you for the bundle of joy you are. But you are right…you are not like them. In fact…”, Leona hesitated but pushed forward “you are even different from me. I am a Solari. And you…you are a miracle.”
“I-I’m different from you?” Willow said, confused.
Leona nodded, smiling.
“But you’re my mom.”
Leona nodded again, “I am, and I couldn’t be happier,” Leona kissed Willow on her head and hugged her. Sunlight and warmth filled the air and the golden part of Willow’s head began to change. She was budding. A golden bud had emerged on top of Willow’s head and began to glow a warm light similar to Leona’s eyes. Leona was amazed. She also confirmed her own theory of Willow’s origins.
“W-what’s happening!??”
“Relax child,” Leona smiled assuringly, “This is normal. I told you. Everyone grows differently, in their own way, at their own speed. Look,” Leona pointed at the mirror behind Willow.
The bud on Willow’s head was large and golden and sunlight was shining from within. The bud itself was half of Willow’s height.
“Whoaaa!! I’m so tall now!!” Willow touched the bud in her head with her hands, making sure it was real. Then she turned to her mother and hugged her.
“You were right mom! Everyone grows differently, in their own way, at their own speed! Even me!” She turned and faced the mirror once again. Leona met eyes with Willow in the mirror’s reflection.
“Mom! I’m gonna keep growing! Then I can protect you and even that white-haired woman you have a picture of! I’ll stop the wars between the Lunari and Solari! I promise! Just give me some time! I swear I’ll grow up to become strong! I’ll grow up fast! I promise.”
Leona began crying. “I know you will. You will become so strong…you already are. Just promise me you won’t grow up too fast…”
“Mmmm…okay…”
The mother and daughter hugged once more, filling the small home with warm sunlight, once more.

Base Stats:

• Health: 600 - 2050
• Health Regen: 6 - 16
• Mana: 350 - 1300
• Mana Regen: 11 - 22
• Armor: 29 - 112
• Magic Resistance: 30 - 52
• Attack Damage: 55 - 92
• Movement Speed: 330
• Range: 550
• Attack Speed: 0.625
• Attack Speed Bonus: 0 - 40%
• Attack Wind Up: 18%

Intended Strengths:

• Lane priority and zone control.
• Rewarding hard work and teamwork to heal, shield, and buff allies.

Intended Weaknesses:

• Kit relies heavily on bloomed brushes and Willow Fruit. She loses the majority of her utility when she cannot maintain her garden.
• Immobile.
• Willow’s damage is applied via allies. Almost 0 damage when she is by herself.

Intended Keystones:

• Guardian/ Summon Aery

Intended Core Items:

• Moonstone Renewe Shurelya’s blessing
• Vigilant wardstone

Passive: Willow’s Willing Will!

“Mmmm!! Willow-Fruit is so yummy!! More, more, more!!”

Willow starts the game in her Sapling form. Willow gains a stack of Growth whenever she consumes a Willow Fruit. Willow buds at 10 Growth Stacks and blooms at 20 Growth stacks. After achieving her blossomed form, Willow bears God-Willow Fruit every 10 Growth stacks thereafter, instantly consuming it to permanently increase her healing and shielding power.
Willow gains stacking permanent effects based on her achieved form:

Sapling Form:

Ghosted and gains 10/15/20/25% increased movement speed towards a visible brush within 700 units of Willow. 

Budded Form:

25/50/75/100% base mana regeneration and 25/50/75/100% base health regeneration. 

Blossomed Form:

5/10/15/20% healing and shielding power + 5% per God-Willow Fruit consumed. 

Effects scale depending on Willow’s level (1/6/11/16).
​

Basic Attack: Healing Touch!

“It’s okay…you’re just a seed right now. But don’t worry! I'll grow you into the beautiful flower I know you can be!”

Willow can basic-attack her allies to make them bloom over 2 seconds healing 80-250 (based on level) (+50% AP) health during the duration but requires the consumption of 1 Willow Fruit to do so. Basic attacking an ally again during the bloom duration does not consume Willow Fruit but accelerates growth, instantly healing them for the remainder of the heal and granting them Willow’s Sapling Form’s bonus movement speed for 1 second.

Willow’s basic attacks after achieving Blossomed Form instantly bloom her allies, healing them for the heal amount on-hit.

Willow can basic-attack an ally ward to heal its health by 1.
Willow can basic-attack an ally totem ward or control ward to make it bud, creating a Budding Ward. The Budding Ward prepares to bloom over 4 seconds. Willow can basic-attack an ally Budding Ward after this duration to make it bloom, creating a Blossomed Ward. The Blossomed Ward prepares to bear 1 Willow Fruit over 4 seconds. The Willow Fruit lasts for 8 seconds on top of the Blossomed Ward. After this duration, the Willow Fruit perishes and the Blossomed Ward reverts back to a regular Totem/ Control Ward, refreshing its health and life span, but making it unable to bud for 4 seconds.
Willow can Basic-attack the Willow Fruit to collect it (maximum 3), instantly reverting the Blossomed ward back to a regular Totem/ Control Ward, refreshing its health and life span, but making it unable to bud for 4 seconds.

Budding or blossoming a ward costs 5% of Willow’s current health. Consuming a Willow Fruit heals Willow for 10% maximum health.
Budding wards have reduced sight radius and Blossomed wards have increased sight radius*. If the blossomed ward is within a brush, the brush changes to a* Blossomed Brush while the ward is Blossomed.
When a Budding or Blossomed Ward reaches 0 health it is destroyed; Willow Fruit perishes instantly and cannot be collected.
​

Skill 1Q: Blossom Seed!/ Bloom Doom!

“Hey!! This garden is private property!! Out, out, out!!”
Passive:

Willow periodically stocks Blossom Seeds, up to a maximum of 3.

Active:

Willow places a Blossom Seed at the target location, which upon landing arms over 1 second, becomes stealthed and lasts for up to 60 Seconds.

Blossom Traps have 4 health and take 1 damage from ranged basic attacks and 2 from melee basic attacks.

Range: 300 Recharge: 20/18/16/14/12 seconds 

​

The blossom trap blooms into a Blossom Flower when an enemy champion is within range of it granting it access to cast Bloom Doom.

​

Recast: Bloom Doom!

All Blossom Flowers launch a beam of light in a line in the target direction slowing all enemies hit for 1 second.
Hit enemy champions are tethered for 4 seconds to the Blossom Flower and marked with Bloom Loom while tethered.
Targets marked with Bloom Loom have a bud appear above their Champion. Ally champions can basic-attack the marked target to deal bonus magic damage on-hit, up to 3 times. Each instance grows the bud and at 3 instances the bud blooms, empowering Willow’s next basic attack against the target to collect 1 Willow Fruit and end the tether duration early.
All tethered enemy champions that are standing within a Blossom Flower’s effect radius at the end of the tether duration are stunned for a duration.

Bloom Doom’s cooldown is reset whenever an ally champion basic-attacks an enemy marked with Bloom Loom.

Slow: 30/35/40/45/50% Magic damage on-hit: 10/15/20/25/30% of ally’s AD Stun: 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2 seconds Effect Radius: 525 Beam Range: 525 Cooldown: 4 seconds 

​

Skill 2W: Inner Bloom!

“I seeeee youuuu!! Ahahahaha! W-Wait! Hey!! That’s my Willow Fruit!! Give that back!! It’s mine, mine, mine!!”
Passive:

Willow periodically stocks Brush Seed, up to a maximum of 2. Willow and WIllow’s allies gain sight of all Blossomed Brushes and gain bonus attack speed while within a Blossomed Brush.

Bonus attack Speed: 15/20/25/30/35% 

Active:

Willow places a brush in a target area (lasts for 60 seconds) or chooses a target brush in range to bloom into a Blossomed Brush. The Blossomed Brush bears fruit to 1 Willow Fruit after 4 seconds. The Willow fruit remains for 8 Seconds. If the Willow Fruit is not collected during the 8-second duration it will fall off and sink into the brush’s soil reverting the Blossomed Brush back into a regular brush. 8 seconds after the Willow Fruit sinks, the brush blossoms again, repeating the cycle again, indefinitely.
Enemy Champions that enter a Blossomed Brush make the petals fall off over 2 seconds reverting the Blossomed Brush back into a regular brush. If the Blossomed Brush has a Willow Fruit, it is immediately consumed by the Enemy Champion permanently, granting sight of the champion for 2 seconds thereafter.

Recharge: 30/27/24/21/18 

​

Skill 3E: Blossoms!

“Oh no, oh no, oh no!! I’m so sorry, my little Blossoms!! I promise to grow you back right away!!”
Active:

Willow targets an ally champion, shielding them.

Shield: 50/70/90/110/130 (+20% AP) 

​

If Willow has achieved her Budded Form she can charge this ability for up to 1.5 seconds, very quickly increasing effective range and can recast this ability.

Recast:

Willow summons all Blossomed Wards and Blossomed Brushes within range to instantly shed their Blossoms reverting to regular wards and brushes. Blossoms travel very quickly towards the target Ally, granting a small shield for each Blossom that reaches them.
If Willow has achieved her Blossomed Form*, each Blossom that passes through an Ally champion is also* shielded, granting them bonus movement speed for 2 seconds*. Additionally,* Blossoms that pass through enemy champions are dealt magic damage and slows them for 2 seconds*.* Blossoms’ effects can stack*. If the enemy champion is* slowed for 100% or more they are rooted for 2 seconds instead.

Shield per Blossom:10/15/20/25/30 (+5% AP) Movement Speed: 6/8/10/12/14% Magic Damage per blossom: 20/28/34/42/50 (+10% AP) Slow: 20/24/28/32/36% Cooldown: 18/16/14/12/10 seconds 

​

Skill 4R: Pollen Power!

“Bless you, bless you, bless you!! Hmm…looks like that’s not working…okay let me try!!”
Passive:

Ally champions marked with Pollen cannot have their Pollen consumed while within a certain range of Willow.

Range: 525 

Active:

Bloomed Brushes and Bloomed Wards (and Willow if she has achieved her Blossomed Form) release pollen in a circle around themselves, marking all champions standing in the effect radius with Pollen for 8 seconds.
A champions’ first basic attack against a champion marked with Pollen consumes the Pollen to make them sneeze, blinding them for a duration.

Champions marked with Pollen mark other champions they come within a proximity range of, over 1 second (static 8 second cooldown). Champions marked with Pollen additionally convert all wards they come within a proximity range of, into bloomed wards over 1 second.
If Willow has achieved her Budded Form they are rooted for the duration as well.

Proximity Range: 300 Blind: 1.5/2/2.5 seconds Root: 1.5/2/2.5 seconds Cooldown:120/100/80 seconds 

If Willow has achieved her Blossomed Form*, Willow gains access to* Sunshine Blessing!:

Recast: Sunshine Blessing!

Willow shoots sunshine in a line in front of herself. If sunshine comes into contact with a champion marked with Pollen she consumes the mark and stuns them for a duration if it was an enemy or cleanses the mark and shields them if it was an ally.

Sunshine’s cooldown is reset when a Pollen mark is consumed or cleansed.
If at least 3 marks of Pollen were consumed/ cleansed total, she bears fruit to a God-Willow Fruit herself, instantly consuming it.

Sunshine Range: 600 Stun: 1.5/2/2.5 Shield: 80/120/160 (+75% AP) Cooldown: 4 seconds 

Playstyle:

Willow is a gardener running from ward to ward, brush to brush tending to her garden hoping that they bear Willow Fruit. She heals with her basic attacks but constantly is in need of Willow Fruits to do. She can zone with her Q but needs to land her Bloom Doom light beams to help ensure damage and stun. She can make her own brushes for lanes where she cannot walk up to the brushes in lane. The more she gardens the more impactful she is as an enchanter.
She can join her jungler in the jungle to play alongside the jungler to gain map control with her vision control. Since she gains movement speed towards brushes she will quickly move within the jungle.
Players should try to get as many Willow Fruit as they can to heal allies but also so that she can achieve her Blossomed Form and gain a lot of healing and shielding power, in addition to empowered ability effects.
The E shield is not very big compared to other champs normally, but can get big after setting up her garden and charging. Most likely used in emergencies.
Ult helps "bring to fruition" more Willow Fruits in teamfights and adds a form of cc. When bloomed the cc becomes a stun also. Using the ult to gain God-Willow Fruit should be capitalized on when ulting but not necessarily a focus when ulting as just trying to stun enemies with Sunshine will help make that happen on its own.

Intended Max Order:

R, Q or E depending on lane, then W

Message:

Hope you like Willow! More champions coming soon! Let me know what you think! All feedback welcome!
- maGeDNA

When Covid hit we had just had our newborn baby girl. It was terrifying so we came to the agreement that if their house was sick that she would keep their son so it wouldn’t be passed back and forth and vs versa.
Fast forward three years, we now have our son who has febrile seizures when sick. The doctors have told us that they don’t cause damage but it’s scary enough to want to avoid it at all costs.
This week she informed us that my step son had been puking and stayed home from school. We split the week in half and typically pick him up on Wednesday-Friday. Wednesday morning comes and she tells us that he has the shits but she’s sending him to school anyways and doesn’t give us an option.
Which brings us to friday night. Simultaneously myself, our 1 year old and 3 year old are all puking.
Ever since Covid restrictions have lifted she has been pushing boundaries and I want to freak out on her. She knew we would all get sick and still sent him. When I brought this up to her yesterday she pretty much told me if I didn’t like it she could keep him full time and take my fiancé to court. She said that because I’m a stay at home mom I should take him because she has to work. I just don’t see how her having to work is MY problem. My children are my priority and I think her children should be too.
Am I the asshole for wanting her to keep her son to take care of him when he’s sick?!

I have contracted covid 19 and I think not personally, nhs website says to minimise contact and stay indoors for at least 3 days and 18 hours more if there is still a fever but my work wants me in still keeping in mind this I work at a pizzeria so I’m dealing with food. I don’t want to give it to others who may be vulnerable as I have seen what that can do as I have many family member who are and I can’t see them for now. They want me in as quarantine is not required anymore. This isn’t the first either I’ve had this conservation with my manager. I’ve told them and sent them images on this Friday morning. What do you guys think I should do?

Hello! Not asking for advice, just wondering if anyone has experienced this and how it went…
I (28 F) was diagnosed with ER+ PR+ Her2- breast cancer and subsequently found out that I have the BRCA1 gene mutation putting me at risk for ovarian cancer. I went through taxol+AC with Lupron injections, now on Taxol having MRI/mail+ultrasound each once a year every 6 months.
For the past three weeks I have had a pain in my right ovary building and building - felt like the pain that I usually experience with ovulation so I ignored it but it finally got severe enough for me to go in to see my doctor who sent me to urgent imaging and blood test. The ultrasound found a “complex cyst” doubling my ovary in size.
The specifics:
Right Ovary: Presumed right ovary appears to extend into left pelvis. Size 9.7 cm x 8.4 cm x 5.6 cm. Vol 236.5 cc Cyst(s) 1. Size 5.0 cm x 5.8 cm x 4.9 cm. Vol 74.1 cc. Complex cyst with low level echoes and septations. 2. Size 7.2 cm x 4.5 cm x 7.2 cm. Vol 122.1 cc. Simple cyst.
My primary care provider followed up warning about rupture and told me that an MRI was ordered and that there was a small chance of cancer… I asked if a biopsy would be done and he told me that that was what the MRI was for. My Oncologist then left a message saying that he ordered a CT. Both stressed that these were somewhat urgent and to schedule them as soon as possible on Monday morning.
Needless to say, I am having a lot of anxiety which is not helping the pain that has me curled up on the couch since arriving back home.
Has anyone else experienced this? How did things pan out?

I 26F have been dating my boyfriend 33M for almost a year now. Our relationship has been nearing a stale mate for the past few months, but neither of us have ended it yet. He is a bartender working to be a touring musician with a band, and I am working an 8-5 office job. I knew this going in, but he said he had kids and was trying to get serious and settle down. He said he was wanting to get past going out all the time and focus on his career. I like going out on Fridays / Saturdays so I didn’t foresee it being too big of an issue if he went out a little more than that. I didn’t know anything was wrong until I moved in. I realized that when he goes out, he potentially doesn’t come home until the morning or afternoon later. I know most people would say he is cheating, but I do at least believe he is not doing that. I opened up to him and said that I don’t really like him staying out all hours of the night like that, especially considering that he is eventually going to bring the added responsibility of kids into the relationship.
He really broke his habit of doing that and said that has been his way of doing things for years now and it is a hard habit to break. The newest issue is that when he goes out, he feels as though he needs to give me a time to come home that is fairly early. If we had dinner plan at the house or if it is last minute plans, I will ask him if he plans on coming home around the evening, and he will always say yes. These times leave me waiting around for him and planning my afternoon around being with him later. He then has some new excuse every time on why he has to push the time back by an hour or two. He will then continue this until either I fall asleep or until he decides to come home. I have told him multiple times that I don’t mind him hanging out with friends, but I did not like when he would go to random after parties and stay out all night (due to it making him sluggish and grumpy multiple days while he recovers) and I did not like him continuously pushing back the time. I would rather him just apologize for bailing or just say he really wants to hangout with his friends than have me trying to trust his time commitment he gave. He said it was because he does not want to disappoint me, but I think it may be that he does not want to admit that he doesn’t have a good handle on himself and his priorities. I know that is an assumption (one that I would not want to throw on him), but the whole point that this boils down to is the following.
I have tried being open and saying that I feel as though I am not a priority. I feel the most secure in a relationship with words or actions of affirmation. I told him that I appreciate he doesn’t stay out all night anymore, and I don’t need him to constantly stay at home, but that it would mean a lot if he was staying out all night still or pushing off our plans for the bar if he could take some time to do something nice for me so that I see in my best love language that he cares. He said he understands but goes back to how he has come a long way and I am asking him to do something that is very hard for him. I feel like I am compromising and trying to understand him a lot, but I feel like he can’t make the sacrifice to be a little extra sensitive when he does something he knows upsets me. It makes me feel taken advantage of even though I do know he has at least the respect for me he is capable of. I am not trying to make this work if I am the only one willing to adapt a bit to what he needs. At this point I just want some perspectives of where he is coming from and why it seems so hard for him to be a bit more caring and thoughtful when I am giving him the respect he needs to keep having his time out of the house (granted I did semi put restrictions on him when I wanted him to come home after the bars closed the majority of the time). Why would he stay with me knowing what my boundaries are if he wasn’t ready to make the adjustment?
TL/DR: I 26F want to understand why my boyfriend 33M says he sees a future with me and wants to settle down when he is unable to make the adjustments to come home at a reasonable time and not stay out all night (we live together now) which I am very understanding of, but I asked him if he could make more of an effort with either words or actions of affirmation to just make me feel more respected / considered since he knows I don’t like it when he stays out all night. It hinders our relationship because he is tired, lazy, and pushing off responsibility. Which I would be more willing to accept if he made an effort to make me feel appreciated and loved in the way I recognize it best. My ultimate question is why is he so unwilling to do that when I feel as though it isn’t forcing his feelings, I’m just asking him to change the way he shows it sometimes.

I went cold turkey last Friday. I smoked all day every day for 15 years. Doing surprisingly well so far. A few cravings sure but nothing unbearable. My life this week has been the exact same, sans cannabis. I feel really good about that and very blessed that I'm not struggling more. Eating can be a little challenging and I often don't have an appetite. I'm noticing that it's hard to start eating, but once I get the first bite down I can usually finish. I just have to remind myself to eat because I'm just not feeling super hungry. That is all I have to say, just wanted to share with somebody. Stay vigilant friends you got this!

for the sake of this story, let’s call her M. i’m 20, she’s 21.
i met M exactly a year and a week ago. i remember the night we met like it was last night. we met at our school, which has two campuses. one in new york, and one in los angeles. M was a transfer student along with some other friends i met, we’ll call them C and Z.
it was february 20th, it was the seventh episode of the second season of “euphoria”.
i had a really bad best friend/roommate issue at the time, so bad as to realizing that they had been lying to me about a death that “fundamentally shook them”, and they were really my only friend at the school. so i was obviously having a rough time.
let me set the scene:
the walls are paper thin, euphoria has just ended for me. i’ve got no one to talk about this. so i’m just chilling.
then i hear three women scream in the room next to me… and the faint roar of “i need a hero.”
could these be my new euphoria friends?
i leapt up, went over to the neighbors, and knocked.
a few seconds went by, and i hear the door unlock.
SLAM!!
the chain lock was still on.
and from the darkness, emerged M.
when i tell you that i crumbled immediately.
she pushed her face in between the crack of the door and smiled at me.
“hiiiii”, she said.
she had brown hair, shaggy, almost like ally sheedy in the breakfast club. an easy laugh, freckles line her glowin eyes, it’s like she was chiseled from marble. i would have fallen in love with her in any situation, in any universe.
i introduce myself, i meet the three.
m’s from tennessee, c’s from washington, z’s from florida.
i invite the three to my room for a euphoria after-show discussion. the conversation lasts until the wee hours of the morning.
i immediately become connected to these women, these vivacious, beautiful, warm, and caring women.
this sets off the best three months of my life. they become the best friends i’ve ever had.
but with M, i just… felt full. i never felt judged for who i was, i felt like there was a reason for me to get up every day. M and i would just hang out, her and me. we’d sit in my bed, watching a movie, hanging out, making grilled cheese when we didn’t know what to eat. we’d go out for quick bodega runs, get a joint and inexplicably find ourselves outside, getting delightfully blitzed. i didn’t care what we were doing, i was with her. i felt a sense of oneness with her.
agape.
i knew she was my person. i still do.
i was the happiest man on earth for three months.
the four of us were inseparable. i’d also hang with C and Z separately, too… but not like M. it was always just a different vibe.
now, this is all in retrospect, but being autistic? you remember shit. really well.
in my many nights of wondering, the signs were there. especially physically.
we’d do the triangle thing to each other, you know, that look from one eye, to the other, and then to the lips. when i really thought back, she went crazy with the triangle thing, but you know what?
i was too dumb and cautious.
so i never let myself act upon the urge to divulge how i felt. i still haven’t.
now, it’s early to mid-may. almost the end of the semester, and my best friends are leaving me in the first week of june.
i am bereft at the thought of them leaving.
i am devastated that M’s going to be a country away.
one night, M doesn’t reply to a text of mine. hey, no biggie.
then she doesn’t show up to school. and i’m confused.
i bump into C, and i’m informed that she’s somewhere in new jersey with a hookup. now, i immediately confront why i feel like i’ve been stabbed.
“why would i care about a decision she made on her own? like, why am i so emotional? why am i jealous?”
i quietly seethe. she returns, she doesn’t really like him, says he only likes to do things he likes.
i get a second of relief, but i’m still reeling from it. i’m almost ashamed of how i felt.
i decided to just bury these feelings into the pits of my would because maybe deep down, she doesn’t love me that way.
and i had to be okay with that so i didn’t hurt myself.
memorial day weekend rolls around, i thought i’d invite the three over to my childhood home a state away. get out of the city for a weekend.
M’s already got plans with a friend in the state over from mine, so i just invite C and Z.
one night, i go over to return something one of them forgot in my room. i shoot her a text, she says to be quiet when i come in, C’s sleeping.
i go in, and she’s crying. a lot. and i am concerned.
“i’m okay, i just am having a hard time with the idea of leaving soon. i know i’m really going to miss you too.”
we tearfully have a conversation before i am pointed out of the room by a groggy C. we laugh, and go to our beds.
in the week leading up to this trip, C starts making moves on me, getting real flirty.
now, i’m desperate in this situation, so i’ll take any love i can get.. stupid, but human.
we get to my home friday night, we hang out, and we three drink. a lot.
midnight? 2am, who knows.
C and i are laying down, she inches closer to me, and whats next is private.
couple of days later, we begin dating. i’m happy. i guess.
it’s the first week of june now. first C leaves, then Z, and then M.
and then i’m all alone.
C and i begin a long distance relationship, it’s good for a little bit before she just decided to ignore me. she’d leave me on read, and when she’d reply, it’d be the laziest response/a vague complaint about her day. i felt like an emotional doormat. i broke up with her three months later. i wasted my love and my time.
i was love bombed and it has messed with me. i’ve only come to terms with all of this recently.
during all that, i keep consistent contact with M and Z.
i learned C wasn’t very good to M as a friend and a roommate, and i just felt guilty for not noticing.
now, we’re in the present. C’s in a happy new relationship, seems that M and Z are done with her.
i feel like the little stint “with” C set me back. i still don’t forgive her for that, fuck her and her new toy.
since their departures, i’ve managed to maintain contact with M almost daily. lately, since she’s on a semester break from LA, we’ve strengthened our contact more. i’ve fallen deeper in love. it’s almost like i’m in a pit i can’t get myself out of. we even flirt a little. we talked about myself making a trip to texas, her to new york at some time. she sent me theater job ideas that include free housing, and is within a 20 minute radius of her family’s property. we even just send each other funny videos over instagram for hours on end. it feels different too, because we actually take the time to watch what we’ve sent each other. always snapchatting, we facetime every couple of days.
i applied to that job, i thought “what the hell, it’ll get my foot in a door, i’ll learn a lot, and maybe i’ll be able to spend more quality time.”
i get the job. i go to texas. M and i make plans.
i arrive friday, shop saturday, hug my folks goodbye on sunday, and then i go spend time with M from sunday to tuesday morning, an extension she made from the plan of staying until morning. we spend the three days together, it’s great, it’s like no time has gone by. she introduced me to attack on titan, i’m already on season 2. sunday, made dinner and had a beautiful night with her family, followed by hanging out in her kitchen until the wee hours of the morning, and more quality time following.
there’s such an element of mystery. i don’t know where this is going.
i fall deeper and deeper for this woman every day. i truly believe she’s the aphrodite of my own mythology. i just fear that my worries of unrequited love will be the case once again. i know it’s not doing me any good, but i have truly never felt this way for another person.
she fills the hurt of my soul with the deepest love a man can ever feel.
i don’t know what to do now. i want to profess my love to her. i just don’t want to ruin anything, and i don’t want to become jealous if she so chooses someone other than i.
for now, my heart shall bleed in anticipation.
any advice is appreciated.
thanks. love y’all.