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At Royal Rumble 2023, Asuka returned after a brief hiatus, sporting a deranged look reminiscent of her days as Kana. And since that point, the Empress of Tomorrow has solidified her powerful aura, winning the Elimination Chamber match and avenging her disappointing loss to Bianca at WrestleMania 39 by dethroning the EST at Night Of Champions. And while Asuka has been Raw Women’s Champion before, this time feels…different…
Monday Night Raw (5/29/23):
Following Night of Champions with the crowning of Asuka, it would appear the landscape of the women’s division has changed. While some individuals are surely eager to go after singles gold, this isn’t initially the case for the Way. In a backstage interview with Byron Saxton, Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell express their desire to go after the Women’s Tag Team Titles, only to be interrupted by the lunatic duo of Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville. Deville tries to get under the skin of the pairing, particularly LeRae, mocking her struggles to get victories as of late. However, Candice retorts that Sonya and Chelsea haven’t done anything either, their only actual success as a duo being making Adam Pearce question his own sanity. After a few more moments of bickering, Green tries to slap LeRae, but Hartwell blocks it for her, shoving Chelsea to the ground. Sonya shoves Indi back, and Candice in-turn attacks Deville, forcing several officials to have to separate things.
This results in a singles match later in the evening between Deville and LeRae, with Sonya trying to make an example out of the “Poison Pixie”. It’s a fairly back-and-forth encounter, with LeRae starting the match off hot, but Sonya is able to adapt, using her MMA background to her advantage with increasingly strong shots. However, as Sonya gains control, her emotions also start to fluctuate a bit. Rather than just go for the win at points, she decides to inflict further damage, regularly targeting the right arm in particular with a combination of stomps and armbars. However, the turning point of the match comes when Deville kneels down, once again looking to apply some type of submission hold…only for LeRae to transition it into the Garga-No Escape! While Sonya doesn’t submit, it gives her enough breathing room to mount a comeback, eventually hitting her signature springboard moonsault to finish things.
Candice LeRae def. Sonya Deville via pinfall
After the match, Candice and Indi take a moment to celebrate the win…BUT HERE COMES ASUKA! The Raw Women’s Champion is in the building, and she looks as maniacal as ever. She makes her way towards LeRae…and offers a handshake? Candice is definitely hesitant to accept, and for good reason, as when she starts moving her hand out…ASUKA HITS HER WITH A ROUNDHOUSE KICK! Indi tries to avenge her downed partner, but Asuka takes her out with a spinning backfist. The Empress moves back towards LeRae, staring at the injured right arm…AND SHE APPLIES A VICIOUS ARMBAR, SNAPPING IT IN THE PROCESS! Asuka eventually lets go, with Johnny Gargano and a medical official coming out to tend to LeRae while Adam Pearce wants to know what’s wrong with Asuka…to which she merely replies with a sinister smile…
Monday Night Raw (6/5/23):
About half-way through the show, Johnny Gargano comes to the ring, ready to give an update on his wife Candice LeRae. He says that while LeRae is unable to compete, it’s only for a short period of time, and the fracture to her arm was small enough as to where she won’t require surgery. However, Gargano also says that LeRae wanted him to pass along a message…which is why he’s calling out Asuka to the ring! On cue, the Empress comes out, looking at Johnny Wrestling with a curious look. Gargano says that once upon a time, he and his wife both had respect for Asuka’s accomplishments, especially her record-setting run in NXT. However, with the actions of last week, they no longer have those sentiments, and when LeRae returns from this set-back, she’s challenging you for that Raw Women’s Title! As Gargano says this, Asuka just begins giving a deranged laugh. No one in the arena knows what to make of this…until Asuka picks up a mic…to simply say…bye bye…
As Asuka makes her way to the ring apron, Gargano is left staring in confusion at what transpired…but suddenly, the lights go out! When they turn back on…a trio of masked men are destroying Johnny Wrestling! He tries to fight back, but he’s just overpowered, and left to be stomped on as Asuka just watches on from ringside, enjoying the carnage. The biggest of the three hits Gargano with a top rope splash, before what appears to be the leader hits…a wheelbarrow neckbreaker. As the individual hits this, Asuka comes back into the ring, standing alongside the figures. She whispers something to them, and they move their hand to the top of the masks, pulling them off to reveal…IT’S SAnitY! Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain are all back in WWE, and it appears they’ve aligned themselves with the Empress of Tomorrow. But the question left to be answered… Where is Nikki Cross in all of this?
Monday Night Raw (6/12/23):
In a backstage segment early in the show, the camera shows Nikki Cross backstage, alone and looking down, drowning in her own crazed thoughts…until Eric Young enters the shot. Cross raises her head, looking expressionless while a smile slowly creeps across the face of Young. He asks her…
“Won’t you join us?”
However, before Nikki can answer…HERE COMES JOHNNY GARGANO! He dives at Eric, looking to get revenge on one of the men who decimated him the week prior. He’s successful initially, but soon enough, Wolfe and Dain rush in, prying Johnny off Young and starting to beat him down. Luckily for Gargano, he came prepared, as he too has backup in the form of Dexter Lumis! SAnitY backs off as Dexter comes in with a steel chair, but not before Young mouths the words…This isn’t over…
Monday Night Raw (6/19/23): Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis vs. Eric Young and Killian Dain
With the tensions continuing to rise between the Way and SAnitY, it was inevitable they’d have to square off at some point, and Adam Pearce decides to see if a tag match can resolve this. The match starts off with Gargano and Young, Johnny Wrestling anxious to annihilate him while Young is more amused than scared. Johnny is able to get the upper hand initially, a superkick giving him the brief opportunity to then apply a Garga-No Escape. However, Killian Dain breaks up the hold by just hitting a Senton on Gargano’s back, a tactical maneuver to give Young the chance to gain control. However, Lumis enters the ring as well, grabbing Dain and trying to set him up for a side slam. However, Killian avoids it, and the pair move to the outside of the ring to brawl. By the end of the match, Gargano is weakened, but he’s still got the power of adrenaline on his side. He’s able to tag in for Lumis, getting in a flurry of offense against the big man Dain, including a pair of superkicks to knock him off his feet. However, as he goes for the One Final Beat, Young grabs his foot by the ring apron, preventing him from springboarding into the ring. Gargano’s able to kick him away, but when Johnny does go for the maneuver, Dain catches him, planting him in the center of the ring. He follows up on it with a splash from the top rope, with Young tagging in as he does so. And with Killian shoving Lumis off the apron, Young is able to hit the Wheelbarrow Neckbreaker to finish the match.
SAnitY def. Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis
After the match, Asuka makes her way to the ring, standing alongside SAnitY once again. She looks at the downed Gargano, now with a disgusted look on her face rather than an evil grin. She turns to Young, who nods and motions for Dain and Wolfe to pick Johnny up. But right before Asuka can seemingly hit him with the Mist…Here comes Nikki Cross! She rushes to the ring, sliding in and looking right at Asuka as she does so. Young walks up to her, asking her the question…
“Are you with us, Nikki?”
Cross stares at Young for a moment…then to Wolfe…then to Dain…then to Asuka. It’s to the Raw Women’s Champion that she gives the longest stare, Nikki’s eyes slowly growing wider and her expression becoming more intense. And with that, she mutters just a few words…
“You hurt my friends…she hurt my best friend… now she will pay.”
And with that, Cross dives onto Asuka, unleashing a flurry of strikes and catching everyone in the ring by surprise. However, Young pries Nikki off of the Empress, to which Cross responds by starting to attack him! However, it’s short lived, as Asuka runs up behind Nikki and drops her with a roundhouse kick. She quickly gets her locked in a crossface chickenwing as well, Nikki unable to escape and ultimately passing out. Before she fades, she’s left to only see the disappointed looks on the face of the SAnitY members…”You made the wrong choice Nikki”. But the attention soon shifts back to Gargano and Lumis now. They’ve slowly risen to their feet, and Gargano, looking directly at Young, demands another fight! Young sighs, seemingly bored at the prospect of SAnitY having to dismantle those two again…but it shall be done. However, before they can move in for the kill, we suddenly hear crashes echo throughout the arena. They happen for a few seconds, before the lights dim slightly. An unfamiliar melodic theme starts playing, sounding slightly reminiscent of that of a final boss, but as the lights turn back on, it changes back into the more recognizable song…
…NO ONE WILL SURVIVE! IT’S TOMMASO CIAMPA! After being on the shelf for months, he’s finally back, and as he gets into the ring, he looks at Johnny Gargano…there’s no shortage of history here. And while there’s a momentary tension as to what he’s gonna do, he sides with his former DIY partner, making it a more fair fight! Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the chance to lay into any of SAnitY, as they decide to make their exit, already having made a statement with the victory and assault on Asuka, nothing more needed to be done…tonight, at least.
Monday Night Raw (6/26/23): Indi Hartwell vs. Asuka - Non-Title Match
In her first match since beating Bianca at Night of Champions, Asuka looks to prove why she’s the champion. She starts off the match well, not letting Indi get any momentum by just rocking her with a series of kicks to the chest. After dragging Hartwell to the outside, Asuka begins going after the arm, slamming it several times into the ring post before deciding to inflict some pain to the skull with a tiger suplex. This momentarily causes the ref to check on her, potentially looking to end the match…but Asuka isn’t willing to let that happen. She gets Indi back in the ring, lining her up for a running hip attack…BUT HARTWELL TRANSITIONS IT INTO A GERMAN SUPLEX! Despite having just been on the ropes, Indi managed to use what she had left in the tank to take down Asuka, and as she gets to her feet, she feels the crowd surging behind her. She starts taking it to the Empress, getting her backed into the corner and landing a few solid chops. However, she gets a bit overzealous, trying to get Asuka on the top rope for a potential suplex attempt, only for the former Kana to kick her away and land a knee directly to the back of Indi’s neck. And with that, Asuka remains in the power position, eventually locking on the same Armbar that injured Candice LeRae and forcing Hartwell to tap or get snapped.
Asuka def. Indi Hartwell via submission
But before Asuka really has a chance to even get up…HERE COMES NIKKI CROSS! She runs out with a kendo stick, furious as to what transpired the week prior, and gets in a few shots on Asuka before Alexander Wolfe attempts to pry the weapon away. In response, Nikki shoves it into his gut, before hitting him with a swinging neckbreaker and sending a message to Asuka that she’s just as much of a force to be reckoned with. And it’s later announced that this match has been declared official for Money In the Bank: let’s see if these two dangerous competitors can live up to their classic from NXT…
Money In The Bank (7/1/23): Nikki Cross vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Despite not having a stipulation like their Last Woman Standing Match in 2017, the match is still intense from start-to-finish. Cross runs at Asuka immediately, getting in some shots with the elbow to the side of the face. Asuka is forced to a sitting position, allowing Nikki to gather some steam from running along the ropes before landing a kick to Asuka’s jaw! Unfortunately for Cross, her frenzied nature ends up backfiring, as when the action shifts to the outside, Asuka dodges a running attack and sends Nikki nearly head first into the barricade! With Nikki instinctively grabbing her head after the missed maneuver, Asuka sees what to target, dragging Cross to the ring apron and repeatedly crushing her skull into the ring post. And as the action shifts back into the ring, it’s just more of the same, Asuka being momentarily hit by mini-bursts of offense, but the damage inflicted on the skull clearly affecting her. This is evidenced when Cross has Asuka lined up for the swinging neckbreaker, potentially able to get her the win…only to collapse before she can properly hit it. With that, Asuka is able to apply the Asuka Lock, and as happened a couple of weeks ago, Cross passes out in the hold.
Asuka def. Nikki Cross via submission pass-out to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
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On the Raw after Money in the Bank, Candice LeRae would make her return from injury, calling out Asuka for a match…only to learn she isn’t in the building. But she decides to still issue a challenge, saying that while she wanted the Raw Women’s Title initially…now it’s about more than that. Asuka took out Candice’s friends and family, and left her away from the ring for too long…now, she wants to beat Asuka for vengeance first, gold later. And later on, it’s confirmed that the match will be taking place when Asuka returns…except it’ll be for the title as well! Pearce claims that the decision is due to Asuka’s recent actions, as after all, letting someone try to break someone’s limb after a match with no repercussions is a pretty bad look. But while this choice of action would normally upset some superstars…it might just put a smile on Asuka’s face…
Monday Night Raw (7/10/23): Candice LeRae vs. Asuka
Before making her entrance, Candice LeRae gets herself prepared with the rest of the Way, with Nikki Cross sitting in a corner nearby as well. Indi tells her to be cautious…Asuka’s a very dangerous competitor. LeRae of course knows this, but she’s caught off-guard by some words of wisdom from Nikki several feet away:
“Destroy her.”
Candice looks at Nikki, who’s staring back at her with something in her eyes…A look of needing something… wanting Candice to kill the Empress. LeRae nods, and she heads out to the ring, more confident than ever…And she truly gives it her all. LeRae’s strategy is simple: prevent Asuka from using her signature kicks. And for most of the match, she executes on her plan, moving herself back whenever she senses a roundhouse coming and catching Asuka off-balance. However, this was never going to last, and once Asuka lands a kick to the gut, she’s able to gather steam. And while this doesn’t finish LeRae, the “Poison Pixie” even managing to hit a springboard moonsault AND lock in a Garga-No Escape at various points, Asuka eventually locks in an Armbar on the previously-injured limb that Candice can’t overcome.
Asuka def. Candice LeRae via submission to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
After the match, the rest of the Way comes out, helping Candice to her feet. As they do so, Asuka stares at them, and then begins…counting them? The Way and the commentary team are confused, but as Asuka only counts four people…a maniacal expression overtakes her. She starts walking quickly to the back, and a few moments later, it becomes clear what her intentions were…
As the Way walks backstage, they’re horrified to discover a brutalized Nikki Cross! They rush over to her, asking who did this…and to no one’s surprise, she says it was Asuka. However, it soon becomes clear to Gargano…Ciampa might be next! While Indi and Candice stay with Nikki, Johnny (and Dexter to a lesser extent) start rushing through the halls, trying to get to the right locker room…but it’s too late, as SAnitY and Asuka are seen moving away from it! While Lumis stands guard, Gargano rushes inside, and finds Ciampa not just taken out…but also sprayed by Asuka’s mist! Johnny rushes over, giving Tommaso a towel, but as Tommaso wipes the mist off his face…there appears to be a dark look in his eyes, something not seen in him since when he destroyed DIY…
Remaining Build To SummerSlam:
While Ciampa, Gargano, and Lumis keep their attention towards SAnitY for a bit, Asuka shifts away from LeRae, Hartwell, and Cross, having beaten all three after all. With an open mic, she begins giving one of her standard energetic promos, seemingly wanting to know who her next challenger is gonna be…even though no one is ready for Asuka. It’s not long before someone interrupts though…and it’s someone who Asuka has grown familiar with in 2023…It’s Bianca Belair! The EST remained off television for several weeks following Night of Champions, but now, she’s back and angrier than ever. Bianca grabs the mic straight out of Asuka’s hand, and cuts a quick promo:
“Asuka… you say no one’s ready for you. But you’re wrong… because I’ve ALWAYS been ready for you. I proved that at WrestleMania 39, when I beat you clean in the center of this ring. And what did you do? You had to use that mist, that cursed, blinding mist. And you know what? Congratulations, it got you the title, but not for long. Because I say we have ONE MORE MATCH. But I think it’s time to have a match where no excuses can be made, and there are no rules to be broken. Asuka… At SummerSlam…I challenge you to HELL… IN A CELL!”
The crowd are clearly in favor of this stipulation…And it appears Asuka is too! She starts nodding repeatedly, and Bianca just stares on with a prepared look, perhaps fazed in the past by Asuka’s personality traits but now just ready to finally vanquish her and get the Raw Women’s Title back in her possession. In the remaining weeks, Bianca competes multiple times, getting the ring rust off with multiple victories, while Asuka is content with sitting at ringside for both contests…studying her competition…
SummerSlam (8/5/23): Bianca Belair vs. Asuka (c) - Hell in a Cell Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
We’ve finally made it to the Biggest Party of the Summer, and what better of a place to host it than in Detroit at Ford Field (definitely no bias as a Lions fan)! Once both Asuka and Belair are locked in the cage, the match starts at a feverish place, Bianca hitting a strong shoulder tackle only for Asuka to respond with a spinning backfist a few moments later! As the dust settles on the first fifteen seconds, the competitors look at each other, giving a momentary smirk and scoff apiece before continuing with the action. Bianca showcases her power, getting the Empress lifted in the Gorilla Press position and just hurling her at the cell wall! The several-foot fall to the floor certainly adds to the blow, and Bianca continues the assault outside the ring, slamming Asuka’s head repeatedly into the cage! However, she decides to look under the ring for a weapon, a table quickly catching her eye. She pushes it into the ring, but makes the mistake of turning her back to Asuka while doing so, the former Kana grabbing her from behind and hitting a Tiger Suplex onto the floor!
With Asuka now the lone woman standing, she follows up Bianca’s decision to look under the ring, pulling out a kendo stick. She feels it around in her grasp, getting a good feel for the damage she’s about to inflict. Once Bianca groggily gets to her feet, Asuka just decimates her back, hitting the stick ten times in immediate succession! However, Bianca’s able to dodge an eleventh shot targeted towards the throat, pulling the kendo stick to her and snapping it in half! Asuka looks briefly stunned, but not before she gives a condescending set of claps. In response, Belair grabs her, picking her up for a powerbomb and sending Asuka’s back to connect with the ring apron! Bianca then drags Asuka into the ring, proceeding to set up a table and initially primed to hit a K.O.D. through it. However, Asuka grabs Bianca’s hair, weakening her grip momentarily and presenting an opportunity to escape. Upon doing so, Asuka roundhouse kicks Belair, before getting her positioned on the table, climbing to the top rope…AND HITS A SPLASH ON BIANCA RIGHT THROUGH IT! 1-2-KICKOUT!
Despite the table spot being unable to put away Bianca, Asuka appears unfazed. She exits the ring, bringing a pair of steel steps back into the squared circle. Asuka picks Belair up, seemingly trying to hit a brainbuster on it…But Belair dodges, landing backwards on the steps before turning around and hitting a mini-elevated Spear! This leaves both women down for a few moments, but Bianca rises to her feet first. She gets in some of her signature offense, including a spinebuster on the steel steps! However, her attempt at a K.O.D. on the steps doesn’t work in her favor, with Asuka once again avoiding it. And unfortunately for Belair, Asuka is able to hit her with a suplex on the steps, this being the key factor for the rest of the match-up. With Bianca’s power lessened a bit AND Asuka’s submission hold targeting the back, she faces a tall task, and is ultimately unable to overcome it, the Asuka Lock resulting in a pass-out.
Asuka def. Bianca Belair via submission pass-out to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
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After an impressive victory at SummerSlam, Asuka has definitely proven that she’s going to be difficult to beat. But soon enough, she finds herself confronted by a potentially harmful numbers game…
Monday Night Raw (8/7/23): Damage CTRL Promo
Despite recent events not going so well for Damage CTRL, with Dakota Kai tearing her ACL and neither Iyo Sky nor Bayley able to capture the Money in the Bank briefcase, they’re still determined to get momentum back on their side. Bayley makes the bold decision to call out Asuka, saying that if she were actually a fighting champion, she’d consider accepting a match for the title. Asuka comes out, grinning at Bayley trying to goad her into a title opportunity. Asuka looks at Bayley as just another poor soul to be destroyed, but Iyo…Iyo has potential. Asuka even tells Sky…”Bayley isn’t your friend…but I am…”
This seems to get in Iyo’s head, as she begins looking questioningly at Bayley, who attempts to diffuse the situation by just pointing out Asuka being a freak who gets in people’s heads. In response, Asuka kicks Bayley square in the gut, and when Iyo instinctively goes to fight, Asuka shakes her head…I don’t want to fight you… You don’t need to be part of this…
Remaining Build To Extreme Rules:
Over the coming weeks, Bayley becomes a little more sympathetic, her intentions appearing less out of pure arrogance and more about striving to win championship gold back and improve her honor. She goes on a winning streak, but when confronting Adam Pearce about getting a confirmed title shot, he says there’s one more person she has to beat…Iyo Sky.
At this same time, Iyo looks perturbed whenever she’s on television, still at Bayley’s side but signs pointing to her being less convinced than when Damage CTRL began. And after Bayley does defeat Iyo to earn the #1 Contendership, Sky is just left sitting in the ring, staring down at the mat whilst utterly disappointed. Bayley offers her a handshake, but Asuka stands at ringside, motioning her to come roll out of the ring and stand tall with her. In response, Iyo moves in neither woman’s direction, rolling out to the entrance ramp and walking away alone, uncertain of what her future holds.
But with Extreme Rules approaching, there must also be a stipulation, and after a set of assaults from Asuka leave Bayley staring at the lights, Bayley decides it’s in both of their best interest to settle on…A Last Woman Standing Match! Asuka can try to keep putting her down, but she’s gotten back up each time, and come the PPV…The reign of the Empress will be history.
Extreme Rules: Bayley vs. Asuka (c) - Last Woman Standing Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
In a rematch of their TakeOver: Dallas encounter, the feel of the match is similar to what it was several years ago. Bayley, despite having been around in WWE longer, is the underdog, looking to prove herself against a terrorizing monster who we’re unsure can truly be beaten. The action quickly spills out of the ring, with Bayley even managing to hit a quick Bayley-To-Belly Suplex. Unfortunately, Asuka gets up before even a count of 5, disturbing Bayley. The action spills into the crowd for a while, with Asuka suplexing Bayley on the staircase and the former “Hugger” sent tumbling down for a solid five seconds. But eventually, Bayley recaptures the momentum, finding a trash can with weapons and using a kendo stick to start wailing on Asuka. And as the action approaches a set-up table, Bayley is able to not just prop her up on it, but successfully hit an Elbow Drop from a ledge through it as well! Bayley gets up at a count of three, and while Asuka is left stunned by the move, she recovers at a count of 8, continuing the match-up.
From there, the match spills back closer to the ring, with Bayley putting Asuka in the ring before grabbing a table. She sets it up, but Asuka manages to recover in time to avoid a Bayley-To-Belly through it, instead tossing Bayley to the side momentarily before going at her with a running hip attack. Asuka keeps control for a bit, but as she looks to put Bayley through the table…Here comes Iyo Sky! She slowly walks to the ring, not attacking Asuka initially, but giving Bayley enough time to send Asuka off the top rope and to the floor. However, with the action back on the outside, Asuka looks to be a bit desperate, using her signature Mist to blind Bayley! After this happens, Iyo rushes over to Bayley to try and help…But Bayley shoves her down hard to the floor, thinking it was Asuka! Meanwhile, the real Asuka appears behind Bayley, dragging her back into the ring. Asuka decides to lock on the crossface chickenwing, attempting to pass out Bayley, but this seems to only increase the fire in her spirit, Bayley able to back her into a corner to break the hold. Bayley rubs her eyes, improving her vision, and she drags Asuka to the table, seemingly able to hit the Bayley-To-Belly through the table this time…
…BUT IYO HITS BAYLEY IN THE BACK WITH A STEEL CHAIR FROM OUT OF NOWHERE! Bayley falls to her knees, slowly turning around with a look of heartbreak and pain on her face. Iyo returns the look with an icy cold stare, before Asuka pops-up behind Bayley, applying the Asuka Lock to pass the former “Role Model” out. But given this requires a ten count for Bayley to be down, and Asuka wanting to see what Iyo can do…she motions to the table. Iyo nods, getting Bayley set-up, climbing to the top rope, and hitting a Moonsault, crushing Bayley’s ribs, her friendship, and her hopes of winning the match in one fell swoop.
Asuka def. Bayley via KO to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
After the match, Sky raises Asuka’s hand, signifying the start of an absolutely lethal new duo in WWE…
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With Iyo Sky now having made her allegiance clear, Asuka would appear set-up to remain dominating moving forward. However, the enemies she’s made over the past several months aren’t so quick to forget what transpired, which could potentially create problems…
Build To Survivor Series:
Despite having already made an impact to this point, Asuka and Iyo Sky aren’t just going to put away challengers…it’s time to take out everyone. After a singles win on Raw, Becky Lynch would be blindsided by Iyo, being laid out with several shots of the Steel Chair before a Moonsault to cap things off. The following week, Bayley expresses her dismay at being left alone, to which Asuka and Iyo interrupt, immediately kickstarting a brawl that would seem to favor them once again…Until out comes Becky Lynch! Despite having been bitter rivals earlier in the year, Becky makes the save for Bayley, the pair nodding at each other afterwards to signify a slight respect…We don’t have to like each other… but there’s a bigger threat to be stopped…
But soon enough, this action spills past just being a two-on-two situation. Zoey Stark, the former tag team partner of Iyo Sky in NXT, decides that Becky didn’t suffer enough during their rivalry after helping Trish at Night of Champions, and that it’s worth it for these veterans like her and Bayley to be ousted. Along with that, Asuka’s power and general craziness draws the interest of the Unholy Union known as Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, the pair pledging loyalty to The Empress and perfectly willing to destroy Becky and Bayley. However, there are several other competitors backstage sick of seeing Asuka gaining an army, with Bianca Belair and the Way coming to the save to help even the odds. And of course, after a brawl featuring all of these competitors, William Regal comes out briefly to make his patented announcement:
“WAR GAMES!”
To determine which team gets the advantage leading into Survivor Series, we get ourselves a strong match in Iyo Sky vs. Becky Lynch, really the catalyst of what’s led into a two-on-one situation into an upcoming 5v5 match inside a destructive steel structure. Becky more than holds their own, but Iyo Sky shines even brighter, a cheap shot by Stark eventually allowing Iyo to hit the Moonsault and give the “heels” the advantage.
Survivor Series: Bianca Belair, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nikki Cross, and Candice LeRae vs. Asuka, Iyo Sky, Zoey Stark, Alba Fyre, and Isla Dawn - War Games Match
Kicking off the match is Zoey Stark and Becky Lynch, with Becky initially successful in getting Zoey downed, but Isla Dawn coming in presents a problem. She’s initially able to hold her off, but a chop block by Zoey Stark and a subsequent attack of the leg leaves Becky in a rough spot. She’s able to get some assistance, with Nikki Cross coming in with a trash can lid and just whacking Zoey and Isla around with ease. However, Alba Fyre is next to come out, and upon seeing Cross staring her down from inside the cage, she grabs a kendo stick, ready to defend herself. While Nikki initially gets the advantage, Stark and Dawn are able to pull Nikki back, sending her into the steel cage repeatedly. Bianca coming in next is a game changer however, the EST taking control of the match-up and getting a slight breather while awaiting the fourth competitor…which is Asuka!
But as the rest of the field comes in, with Asuka being the last entrant for her team and Bayley for the opposite side, the action starts to get more and more intense. With all of the competitors brawling in one ring, Iyo sees the chance to hit a Moonsault from the top of the cage, wiping out everybody (including herself)! However, a table being brought into the mix benefits the bayfaces, Bayley hitting Fyre with a Bayley-To-Belly through it (she finally got to hit it… just not on Asuka). However, the ending sequence comes down to Asuka and Iyo on their feet against Bayley and Becky, back where it essentially first started…AND IT ENDS WITH IO HITTING A MOONSAULT ON BAYLEY! 1-2-3!
Team Asuka def. Team Becky via pinfall
Just like that, Iyo Sky has once again proved her worth, defeating her former stablemate to win the match for her team and cementing herself as a force to be moving forward. And though a fairly small shot, we can see Asuka glance over at Iyo, a slight frown on her face for a moment before moving back to stand with the rest of her team. What could that mean…
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Build To Royal Rumble:
Despite the result of the War Games Match, Becky Lynch isn’t through with either Asuka nor Iyo by a long shot. She fights off both of them over the coming weeks, along with picking up several singles victory, establishing herself as the next #1 Contender. And as Lynch points out, she and Asuka have history at Royal Rumble. Asuka beat her in singles action in 2019…before Lynch went on to win the Royal Rumble and headline Mania. But this isn’t about the Rumble match now…it’s time to put away the Empress.
As for Iyo, she also has a run of singles success, carrying a lot of momentum heading into the Royal Rumble Match. And soon, we learn that she requested training from one of the most respected female competitors in the locker room, a former NXT UK Champion…Meiko Satomura! While Satomura doesn’t intend to compete right away, she’s more than willing to help Iyo, with vignettes being shown of them together and Satomura even being at ringside for her matches. However, as this keeps happening, Asuka’s looks towards Iyo become more and more strained. Sky is abandoning me… after all I did for her… something’s going to change soon enough…
Royal Rumble: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Earlier in the night, Iyo Sky does indeed win the Royal Rumble match, punching her ticket to WrestleMania. This doesn’t seem to affect Asuka’s thoughts however, the Empress looking as ruthless and as calculated as ever en route to using an Armbar to submit Becky after a pretty back-and-forth encounter. And while Asuka proved herself the master of the Armbar between the pairing, Iyo Sky coming out with Meiko Satomura to acknowledge the title win seems to aggravate something in Asuka. Her grin has become a definite frown, and she stares an icy dagger through the pairing. Something isn’t right here…
Asuka def. Becky Lynch via submission to retain the Raw Women’s Title
Build To WrestleMania:
In a conversation between Meiko Satomura and Iyo Sky on an episode of Raw, Satomura asks if Sky would be willing to use her Rumble Victory position to challenge Asuka. Sky doesn’t look too convinced about doing that, which Satomura says is fine, but it’s advisable to weigh all her options. However, in the background, Asuka can be seen, carefully listening to the conversation.
A week later, Satomura addresses the WWE Universe. She’s made the announcement that she wants to have one last run before she retires, and wants to face some of the best names this women’s division has to offer…which is why she’s challenging Asuka for Elimination Chamber! Asuka comes out, her face paint being more red than usual…but while it looks like she’s having to contain herself, she shakes Satomura’s hand, seemingly paying respect to a legend.
Elimination Chamber: Meiko Satomura vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Unfortunately for Satomura, this retirement run of sorts looked to hit the ground before it could even get going. While she catches the Empress off guard at the beginning of the encounter, as time moves on, Asuka appears to be getting more and more angry. This comes to a boiling point when after one Tiger Suplex, Asuka hits another…then another…then another…then another! The ref pleads for Asuka to quit the assault, which she does…only to pull a Bryan Danielson and just start repeatedly kicking Satomura in the face! This goes on for disturbingly long, and when it’s become clear that Satomura is passed out, the ref calls for the bell, him having made the discretion for the match to end.
Asuka def. Meiko Satomura via ref stoppage
After the match, Iyo Sky rushes to the ring, checking on the woman who’s helped her out tremendously over the past couple of months. Asuka looks down at Iyo, a look of disgust on her face, before demanding to know who Sky is facing at WrestleMania. And it better be a specific answer…
Iyo Sky: “I… CHALLENGE… YOU!”
The crowd roar in approval, Asuka somehow shocked initially…until a smile comes across her face. I’m not surprised you made that choice…but unfortunately, it’s the wrong one...it’s a shame this has to happen Iyo…so much potential…
WrestleMania 40: Iyo Sky vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Despite that inner monologue running through Asuka’s head at Elimination Chamber, Sky proves why she’s not to be taken lightly. On the Grandest Stage of them All, Iyo just looks…better. Having been around Asuka for several months, she knows the mechanics of her offense, doing a good job at avoiding those signature kicks while also having the speed advantage. And at the end of the match, Sky proves herself superior over The Empress of Tomorrow, hitting the second Moonsault of the match to pin Asuka, and end a spectacular title run while opening a new chapter for another one.
Iyo Sky def. Asuka via pinfall to win the Raw Women’s Championship

Recently, my mom said she was going to Wal-Mart and I knew it had to be because of the crazy bull shit directed at Target by Fox. I didn’t ask her why she was going there and she never said. But, my mom and I have a very complicated relationship.
She is very religious and just doesn’t accept me being gay and married. She isn’t mean, vindictive about it. She has just stated she doesn’t believe it’s okay. Of course it hurts and most people would simply cut their parent out of their life.
However, my parents and I generally had a good relationship growing up except for the gay part which, while not out officially, it was always kind of an unsaid thing. They encouraged me to do what I liked (which wasn’t sports), dad worked really hard labor job and my mom always had home cooked meals and both made sure I was healthy and got a good education. We generally had fun together growing up.
Now that I’m older and see how much life costs just for myself, I understand the enormous stress they had and sacrifices they made for me. I really do appreciate it.
On the other hand, since 2016, it seems they have gone into overdrive with Fox and conservatism. When Roe fell and I told my mom the ruling stated gay marriage should be looked at too, I asked her if she would be fine with my marriage being voided and she said she didn’t believe gay marriage was okay.
I call her probably every other day to check in on her and I feel like that’s the side of me that is thankful and appreciative of them but on the other hand I am so frustrated and hurt I sometimes randomly (like tonight) just can’t sleep thinking about it. Anybody else out there have the same issues? I’m 36 and not religious anymore and as I’ve been losing religion my parents seem to be becoming even more religious. I know us over 30 grew up during the infancy of the internet and at a time when church attendance was way higher so just looking to see if anybody else is in the same boat
I’m just so mad at their religion, Fox News, and crazy conservative media warping them. I’ve never been arrested, financially independent, tax paying polite and productive member of society but no matter what I do they just don’t accept me being gay. They “accept it but don’t like it” and I am not a rainbow flag carrying guy but I’ve been in a mood all night since my mom mentioned going to Wal-Mart because Target had their pride stuff.

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Skeeter had made an error. Not a big one, but one that did have significant downstream effects. He'd assumed that he could visit enough of each planet to give a sort of general feel to each one's character in three or four days, but it was looking more and more like he'd have to extend the stay at Corvian Home for at least a weak. He could scarecely remember being so excited by making a mistake. In most respects, Corvian Home was wildly different from Terra. From its many small islands to its ever turbulent storms, to its mediworld gravity, it was unlike any place found on Terra. It still baffled him that the xenos thought Terran gravity was heavy. The way in which it was similar had to do with the wide verity of culture, which made getting a general sense of the place a tad more difficult than planets with a more unified culture.
So, he had to ask Captain Vexkeed to extend the stay, which wasn't cheap. Additionally, it required the refund of any unsatisfied passengers who were on more time-sensitive journeys. However, it turned out that the majority of the passengers had apparently viewed the voyage as a "Sneaky Cruise," which made Skeeter laugh until he couldn't breathe when Captain Vexkeed told him. Likewise, when he told Suzie and Ivan, they found themselves completely overcome by mirth. Kip on the other hand couldn't see the humor in it. This, of course sent all three adults into the throes of hysterical laughter, which only further perplexed the boy.
The inscrutable, to Kip, Terran sense of humor aside, it turned out that apart from paying a fee to extend the journey and maybe five or six refunds, there was very little adjustment in terms of the We Bring Friends from Afar to Joyous Meeting making drastic changes to her manifest. Which was amenable to Skeeter's bank account, and his conscience. In any case, it let him fill out the itinerary with a wide variety of events from the local sporting events, to seeing interesting geological formations or particularly treasured vistas, to attending musical theater, to restaurant hopping in one of the larger cities with a conveniently cosmopolitan makeup. Even better, all of the things toxic to Humans, Doggos, and Lutrae were also toxic to the Corvians, so the risk of accidental poisoning was almost nonexistent.
"We actually discussed this in class last week," Kip was saying as the shuttle shook in the storm winds, "once a group went to a new island, the storms cut them off from the original group, except for the very few traders brave enough to fly in… well, this."
"That so?" Skeeter prompted genially.
"Yeah, for the most part I guess people would just float along with whatever everyone else thought, but I guess that's true for most places. Except, since they were separate and all, they didn't all go along the same currents, and so even islands that are pretty close can be crazy different."
"That, and it is ruining the landing shots," Ivan grumbled as he kept the camera trained on the trio.
"Well, back home rain's a good thing!" Suzie exclaimed exuberantly.
"Rain makes rye," Skeeter rejoined.
"Rye makes whiskey," Suzie laughed.
"You mean industrial disinfectant or emergency stomach purging doses," Kip said flatly.
"How'd you find out about that?" Skeeter asked.
"Greg George mentioned it in his book. He dumped so many doses in a glass that any sane person would think he was trying to poison someone with the fumes."
"Oh, I loved My Side," Suzie said, "It had always bugged me that the Lost Boys never got a fair say."
"Wait, isn't he a hero? He talks like you guys almost worshiped him…"
"It's complicated," Skeeter said, "I served on a ship with one of the Lost Boys once, Stephen the Line. It was hard to not be in awe of him. Hard to remember that behind the deeds was a man just trying to serve like me."
"Oh…"
"Were you discussing more about Corvian Home in the classes?" Ivan asked before the silence could turn cold.
"Oh, sure, lots. Like on this one island there's a big festival where they celebrate the harvest of these huge nuts, and then there's this island where they have 'Imitation plays,' where Corvians try to mimic exactly how the plays sound from other races. Tutor Brixvee showed us a video of one they coppied from the Star Sailors, and it was pretty cool."
"Do you figure she had lessons on Corvian Home since she knew we were headed here?"
"Of course," Kip said with a bitter scowl, "she's full of dirty tricks like that." His hosts couldn't contain their mirth, not that they tried all that hard.
Later that day, the intrepid travelers were in the throes of a local festival. They had surmised that it was probably related to local folklore, as various icons and masks were featured heavily, but the press was so active and exuberant, that not even the Terran implants could keep up, slaved as they were to the Terran compads with better translation matrixes than even the local networks. Therefore, three out of the four friends found themselves swept up in a feathered fury of dance and rough song, to their ears anyway, while the only clue to Ivan's immense pleasure at the experience was his swiftly wagging tail. Which the locals had no idea was the unconcealable tell that his exterior coolness was in fact, a complete sham.
The festivities seemed to show no sign of abating as night fell over the city sheltered in a rough and rocky crown from the storms of the sea, so in order to get a good night's sleep they were obliged to catch a local shuttle ride between islands to find a slightly less festive town to bed down in, and Suzie took the opportunity.
"So I hear Y'all's planet name isn't what anybody calls it," she said impishly to the shuttle pilot.
"INDEED, ahem, indeed. We know that you mammal-peoples, and the reptile-peoples, and the water-peoples, cannot do it."
"Come on, give us an example," Suzie said in that challenging, teasing way that made Skeeter both cringe and love her.
The pilot laughed, or at least Skeeter thought he, or maybe she? At least Skeeter thought that the pilot laughed, whichever sex they were. He had a hard time with regular Terran corvids, let alone these giant bird people that reminded him of the former. Then said piolet of undetermined sex made a weird clicking noise in the depths of the throat and said, "That is the name."
"I can see why y'all think folk can't do that. Hey Skeeter, why don't ya give it a shot?"
"No," he said flatly.
"Aw come on, it's their planet's name, you should at least try," she said with that wry smile she had that made promises. Promises that he had a very difficult time resisting for… reasons.
He then made a right proper fool of himself trying to replicate the sound by clicking his tongue in various ways before giving up and just saying, "I'm stickin' with Corvian Home."
After making a right proper fool of himself, the other passengers obliged to laugh at him, and Suzie turned on Kip saying, "Your turn."
Kip shot her a sullen look.
"Aw, c'mon, you gonna let these folk just laugh at Skeeter all by his lonesome?" she chided.
Kip downright pouted at her.
"Coooome oooooon," she taunted.
Realizing that she wouldn't quit unless he gave in, Kip also made a mockery of himself trying to replicate the throat clicking sound to the delight of all and sundry. "Shut up," he mumbled as he laid his ears back.
"Ivan?" she asked of her final victim.
He clicked his tongue once, and when Suzie gave him a pout he said, "That is as much as I am trying."
"Now you try," Kip shot at her.
"I know my limits, unlike you boys," she laughed to Kip's indignant sputtering.
Meanwhile, Jerry was having a less festive time. Instead of happening to land on an island that happened to be hosting a festival for one reason or another, he had purposely chosen the center of finance for his outing. He'd had a relatively uneventful series of meetings with financiers, entrepreneurs, and shipping guild heads, and various other parties interested in securing access to new markets for their various trades. It was all very productive, and very boring, and not for the first time he felt a stab of regret for the last time that he had interacted with Skeeter.
Even still, it was a satisfying day. There was a lot of troubling mentions of debts though. Jerry was no stranger to the lending industries of various planets of the CIP, and even had some Republican contacts in that realm, those who could stand his needling of the Republic's systems, but nobody he knew ever said anything about "debt masters" or "clan debt." Troubling indeed, but he chalked it up to clunky translation. Even CIP systems could have trouble with new languages, and he just knew that Republican datapads were inferior. They had to be, of course.
Still though, there was something about the references that bothered him. Something furtive behind the eyes of the avian people who spoke of either concept. Then, there was the fact that only those who were obviously startup businesspeople would speak about them, never the financers. Very troubling indeed. He resolved himself to investigate the matter if he could make the time the next day.
The following morning, the intrepid travelers went on the only "heavyworlder safe" zipline tours available on the planet, which just so happened to be in the heavily forested canyons and followed paths through the foliage designed to simulate danger. Skeeter and Kip found it thrilling, but Suzie found it merely pleasant while Ivan was actually bored by the thrilling experience. The man was pleased with getting a shot of kip chanting breathlessly, "Let's go again, let's go again, let's go again, let's go again!" Wile Suzie was more pleased to have sneakily captured a shot of Ivan's unamused expression as he sped along on the pullies.
"Sure, why not?" Suzie had said to Kip.
To which Ivan said, "Because is boring."
"What?!" Kip nearly shouted.
"You take ride in boarding torpedo, and you will be understanding then."
"The real answer to why not is I already booked a nature walk. There's this island where there's like this bowl formation full of flowers. It looks amazin'" Skeeter explained to Kip's dismay.
Meanwhile, Jerry was exhausted. He'd reshuffled the meetings so that he had mere moments between them to prepare, but he was good at his job, so long as his counterpart wasn't a Republican, and could get the proper contact details to the correct people for whatever the other party hoped to accomplish, so long as it was legal, and it all was. It was therefore by mighty effort alone that he had a scant two hours in which to seek out the information he sought before he would have to retire to sleep, or else be completely useless the next day.
He took snagged a gravcar and told the cabbie, "Take me to where you and the lads go for a spot of drink, or whatever the legal intoxicant is around here."
The cabbie gave him a one eyed beady stare and said, "Are you sure, mammal-people? The places we go are not the high class places, by the storms."
"I'm sure, I'm sure. I might not look it these days, but I came up from w working family. My dah still makes fun that I lost my calluses."
The cabbie blinked twice and raised his crest. Jerry had no idea whether that was a good sign or not, but the blue plumed cabbie lowered his crest and blinked again saying, "Sure, mammal-people. I will take you there, but do not cause the fights or my clan will have share of the debt."
Jerry thought about pressing the issue, but something about how the cabbie's feathers had puffed out and still weren't lying flat convinced him that social lubricant was the needed thing. "What is the preferred intoxicant?" he asked.
"We smoke an herb. It usually does not work for mammal-peoples, so you might not have the fun you look for."
"I see, we also have some intoxicants taken this way, do you draw the smoke through water first?"
"Yes, do you mammal-peoples do this too?"
"It's called hookah, and has a long tradition in several of our cultures. Or bongs, which have a somewhat younger tradition, as history is measured."
"Maybe then you will get the happy haze and no fights will be started, mammal-people."
"Maybe, maybe. I'm just after a good banter, and the banker types are too stuffy."
"You are right, you are right, debt masters do not laugh when you joke, they charge you more interest!" the cabbie laughed, and Jerry fell silent.
At the, well, Jerry would call it a hookah lounge, Jerry found that the lads about avoided him and shot him suspicious glances, and also found that apart from a relaxed feeling in his limbs, the smoke had no effect on him. It was a pleasant feeling, and he could maintain it by taking a draw from the hookah every two minutes or so. It seemed that was a prodigious rate of smoking though, for eventually the suspicious glances turned to those of curiosity or even grudging respect. Jerry surmised that despite his rather drab coloring, they knew an expensive suit when they saw one.
Eventually, a clearly intoxicated Corvain stumbled over to his table and sank down on one of the cushions, "Why do you smoke so well, mammal-thing-people?" he slurred.
"I am used to a much stronger herb, and this makes me simply feel good. Does it not feel good for you?"
"'Course it do. Can't smoke as much."
"Wondering anything else?"
"You a Sneaky?"
Jerry thought about correcting the error, but another glance at the state of his conversation partner dispelled the notion, so he said, "Yes, but I am not very stealthy."
"It's just what people call you… dunno why…"
"I'm not botherd, I know the reason and it's funny."
"Funny?"
"Yes, do you know it?"
"Ish a meme."
"The first one of us that the Star Sailors met was mistaken for a pet, and they named him Sneaky."
That, as planned, brought forth uproarious laughter from the intoxicated Corvian who confided, "That's the kinda thing people-things get bristly about."
"I know, people-things get brislty about all sorts of things. Like the bankers, they won't tell me what debt masters are."
"They own clan debts."
"Clan debts?"
"You know, the debts you clan has, from like way back."
"Do you mean to say you were born in debt?"
"Sssssure, isn't everybody? Well, not rich people-things I guess, but ever-peoples I knowed."
"And these debt masters, they merely collect the interest?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"If you're not… if the job doesn't pay… erm… they so like tell you to do stuff."
"Involuntary servitude," Jerry said coldly.
"Yeah, that. The hatchlings get that rough."
"Explain please," Jerry said with cold intensity.
It seemed that the intensity of Jerry's gaze or maybe the soft quality of a hammer that his voice emulated, gave the Corvian some degree of sobriety as he stammered, "Yes-yes. The erm, the uh or-or-orphanages. The hatchlings there have no parents to provide for them, so the debt masters have them do something useful."
Jerry was very close to becoming a very dangerous man as he asked, "Are the debts of these children for sale?"
"Y-y-y-y-y-yes?"
"Where does one go to buy debts?"
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" Ça Montrait une très mauvaise image, l'enlèvement du Spécial SALOMON SK à Kinshasa, nous autres avions compris que le Chairman vivait en danger durant son dernier passage de Kinshasa, mais que nos amis de l'Udps sachent qu'il provoquent un lion affamé et sa famine droite et méritée date depuis 2016 , le vieux ne voulait pas attaqué Félix ni Kabila parceque il prennait Félix comme un frère, un frère je vous dit ; Nous savons tous qu'il y aucune personne qui peut faire face au Président MOÏSE KATUMBI CHAPWE dans ce gouvernement ( ce régime où Mende, lisanga, Kamerhe, lukwebo,etc ...) le Chairman c'est hier aujourd'hui et Éternellement, il ne calculait même pas votre regime et il était capable de vous aider juste pour que vous terminer votre mandat en paix et record car nous savons tous que certaines personnes avaient maudit votre tribut pour ne pas diriger un jour le pays, malgré tout ce que M.Katumbi avait fait pour que ré-exister mais Tshibwabwa et Nkashama l'avaient trahit. Ce fameux pouvoir n'a jamais existé d'ailleurs c'est le chose que nos amis pasteurs des églises de réveil doivent évangéliser aulieu de créer des partis politiques dans des cultes, Dieu n'a jamais exaucé la prière d'un voleur jaloux car sa prière L'énerve. Depuis 2016 le choix de Dieu est toujours combattit mais il reste toujours solide comme le dit la parole Trop combattit mais n'a jamais été abattus . Nous attendons le mot d'ordre et d'office TSHISEKEDI et ses frères rentreront en Europe... 2024 en janvier TSHISEKEDI sera déjà un exilé et plusieurs mandats de recherche sur son dot, retenez cette date. Il cèdait ce pays depuis un longtemps et il veut nous distraire avec les dénonciations sans queue ni tête , mais lui (TSHISEKEDI) est le frère de Kagami le choix est clair, Un President dans un pays où les rebelles occupent presque tout un grand territoire d'Une Province, tshilombo doit avoir honte de parler au nom de la nation... Qu'il regarde ce qui est devant car il risque d'avoir la même fin que Mobutu, si la génération JKK avait chassé Mobutu dans 6mois, les jeunes congolais chasseront Félix dans 3mois .
Olivier Straneiro

So, one of my friends in my group, let’s call her Abigale (15), has a crush on a new member of our friend group, let’s call him John( Also 15). At first, it was just her taking an interest in him and stayed back just getting to know him as all the rest of us got to know him too. She then started to move next to him and was always next to him. I saw this and realized that she must have a crush on him. It wasn’t too bad, but it was noticeable that she liked him. We got together more and had more parties. I hosted a movie party with a fun activity before the movie. So, we were all interacting together, except Abigale. She was only interacting with John. John had his body pointed away from her, meaning that he did not want to be in the conversation. She continually left me out the whole time of the activity. Then it was time for the movie, as soon as John sat down on the couch, Abigale beelined right to him and sat down so close to him when the rest of the couch, which is a big couch, was empty. I was the last to sit down and when I went to get a seat, she scooted closer to him to the point where she was basically on top of him to make room for me. There was still not enough room, so everyone scooted back as I found a different spot to sit, but she did not go back to where she was before. She remained on top of him. She took pictures of everyone but left me out of all the photos. When I told her that I wanted to be in the photos and asked her if she could wait for me, she said she would take more, but she never did. To be fair to her, she could have forgotten but it still hurt. After the party, I told her that I felt hurt and left out and she got all defensive of her crush on John. I had to tell her that this was not me telling her that she should not have a crush, in fact, it is amazing that she doesn’t have that voice in the back of her head saying she isn’t good enough to have a crush or for someone to have a crush on her. She said she was sorry for making me feel left out and that she would make sure to make me feel included. (Spoiler alert, it gets worse.) So, we have this thing where we see everyone before school for an hour every Tuesday through Friday. I thought she was keeping her promise when I saw her for the first 5 minutes. Then she would go back to how she acted before. I didn’t think too much of it because I am better friends with someone else, so I just went to them. A different friend hosted a pre-party to a dance we were going to. Abigale was all over John. I kept on looking at him and he seemed uncomfortable, to the point where my sister noticed it and brought it up. Once we got to the dance, Abigale kept on dancing right next to John and he kept on moving and switching where he was. Time skip of about a month and I had broken my foot. I couldn’t move around as easily as I was in crutches and John was kind enough to move chairs out of my way each day for a week so that I could get out of. Abigale’s crush is to the point of obsession. She somehow finds a way to get the conversation about him and always says that we need to get together to host a party. I am DONE with hosting parties where both Abigale and John are there because she will ignore me and go to him no matter what happens to me. I have had multiple panic attacks in a row, and she was still next to him. She did look over at me once. ONCE. He seemed to care more than her. I have left the planning to her and other friends. She planned a movie night at her house, and I thought, “Oh her parents will be there maybe she will not sit right next to him to avoid her parents’ asking questions.” Yeah, no that did not happen. Her parents were upstairs the whole time, which my parents usually are too so that isn’t weird. But she still sat right next to him, and her couch is a lot smaller than mine, so she was on top of him. She was looking at him the whole night talking to him the whole night and not talking to anyone else. Our neighborhood hosted clothespin tag for all the kids 10-18. I couldn’t play, so I sat out with a friend. Once the game was over, everyone got up to talk and have fun, but she was talking to just him outside of the group. Go her. She is chasing what she wants. One last example, we had a lake day and Abigale was always with John to the point where I was left out. I was left behind on shore with another friend who also gets FOMO when everybody else was on an island in the middle of the lake. That hurt because no one came back for me and when they finally did come back, they came back for food. That hurt a lot. The rest of the evening she was always next to John unless other male friends wanted to be next to him. She only paid attention to John the whole time. When it came time for us to go home, I looked at her for a ride because we understand that if one of us gives them a ride to the place, the other brings them home. We gave Abigale and her twin a ride to the lake, so I was expecting her to give me a ride home. When she said she was getting a ride with John I was confused and asked her, “I thought that since we gave you a ride here that you would give us a ride home. How am I getting home?” She raised her voice at me, and said, “You’ll get home!” I was taken aback by her telling this to me one step below yelling and her laughing after to cover it up. This really angered me because I almost had no ride. One of the other people had to go out of their way to take me home. I profusely thanked the person who was able to take me home and her dad because it was so last minute and out of the way. The whole lake day was confusing because it was just thrown together with no real planning. There was no communication, so I texted her to get clarification and she gave a weak excuse that planning it was hard. There were no parents there. My parents were the only parents there. My dad was expecting all the parents to be there. There were no snacks or drinks. The only planning that was done was the times when we should be there. Over the course of John being in the friend group and Abigale’s crush on him, his body language is always pointed away from her in contrast her body language is pointed solely towards him no matter if we are in a group together or not. To me, it looks like he wants to be with everyone else and not in a conversation with her. John is a really nice dude, so he is not going to ignore her or put her aside to do what he wants. He isn’t Abigale. He actually thinks about other people. My friends are almost to an age where they can date so I understand that she is so close to being able to do something about her crush and ask John on a date, but we still have 6 months until he can date when she only must wait another month. Many friendships have broken because one friend got someone, and the friend doesn't like the bf or gf is getting what the friend used to and the friend feels left behind and forgotten about. I have told her that she needs to regulate her attention to both sides. She needs to keep the attention of John and the group the same so that no one feels left out or forgotten. I felt like that, so I told her she needs to not leave her friends behind for a crush. I asked my friend who isn’t in the friend group what I should do, and she said to ignore Abigale and if she notices, make up a random excuse as to why you have been ignoring her. If Abigale does not notice that you have been ignoring her, then talk to her saying that you have been feeling like she isn’t including you and you have been feeling left out. I have talked to her about this before and she did not change. I also asked my sister what I should do, and she agreed with my friend. I have been ignoring her aside from when everyone says hello and gives hugs. I have been doing this for a week now, even with school out and us not getting together in the morning, we have had parties the whole week and she hasn’t noticed. I even invited her twin over for a movie and told her not to tell Abigale. What should I do? Should I confront her about how I feel again?
TL; DR: My friend Abigale had a massive crush on my other friend John to the point where she is always next to him and ignoring the whole group to be with him. His body language tells me that he is uncomfortable being that close to her, but she can’t take a hint from him. I have ignored her for a week, and she hasn’t noticed.

Hey 👋🏻
I'm Neil, a 31 year old chap born and raised in Worthing, West Sussex but now living in Worcester, Worcs. I'd consider myself to be a down to earth and easy going man that's light hearted and cheeky natured. I'm your classic Pisces as per textbook - romantically affectionate and physically intimate, wearing my heart on my sleeve. I highly value my physical health being a Physiotherapist in the NHS but even more so importantly, my emotional well being given that like many of us, I've experienced my fair share of ups and downs but with time, effort and patience, I've come out the other side a far better version of myself.
I've attached a photo of myself below in order for you to put a name to a face but to give you a brief overview of my physical characteristics, I'm white British, dark haired, green eyed, around 5'10 and lean shaped.
https://i.imgur.com/OLWWdSP.jpg
In terms of my hobbies and interests, I have a wide range inclusive of but not limited to: drinking coffee - mines a skinny latte if we're out and about, console gaming - with a current love for the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Hogwarts Legacy, Netflix series - drastically ranging in genre from the Crown to Sex Education, outdoor cycling - typically along routes adjacent to both the Worcester canal and river Severn, country pubs - out in the sticks with an open fire and traditional grub, and weekend getaways - getting out into the great outdoors and exploring those hidden gems, both new and of old.
I'll be honest in saying that I'm brand new to Reddit, hence the blank profile as of now. I can fully appreciate that for some, this may present as a red flag, therefore if this thorough description and attached photo is not putting your mind at ease, let me please add that I'm also wanting to verify in different formats early on into the conversation as we're online after all. Say by going from texting to calling, videoing and so forth as and when we're comfortable to do so of course.
Now, as to what I'm hoping to seek out on here, well, as per many of you I'm sure, I've tried the more conventional dating apps and what not, however despite matching with various people of different backgrounds, I'm yet to stumble upon that special somebody in which I can create both a deep and meaningful connection with. The type of conversation where all just naturally flows with plenty of smiling, laughing and joking but also, with an underlying desire in wanting to plan for the future and settle down. I'm at a point in my life right now where I'm ready to meet my better half, dare I say it, soul mate?
Anyhow, that's enough of my waffling for now. If any aspects of my post have caught your eye, please do reach out and introduce yourself. All I ask is that you make a concerted effort in your initial message as I have and ideally, attach a facial photo so I can see that beautiful face of yours. As an ice breaker for you, why don't you start by telling me what drives you to rise out of bed every single morning?
And if you're one for the banter, I use to work in a factory that distributed fresh orange juice but for some unknown reason, my manager started to put the squeeze on me. I found this awfully tough over time and began to lose my concentration, ultimately resulting in me being canned from my job...
Stay happy and healthy fellow Redditors!
Ta-ra for now,
N 🤗

Hey 👋🏻
I'm Neil, a 31 year old chap born and raised in Worthing, West Sussex but now living in Worcester, Worcs. I'd consider myself to be a down to earth and easy going man that's light hearted and cheeky natured. I'm your classic Pisces as per textbook - romantically affectionate and physically intimate, wearing my heart on my sleeve. I highly value my physical health being a Physiotherapist in the NHS but even more so importantly, my emotional well being given that like many of us, I've experienced my fair share of ups and downs but with time, effort and patience, I've come out the other side a far better version of myself.
I've attached a photo of myself below in order for you to put a name to a face but to give you a brief overview of my physical characteristics, I'm white British, dark haired, green eyed, around 5'10 and lean shaped.
https://i.imgur.com/OLWWdSP.jpg
In terms of my hobbies and interests, I have a wide range inclusive of but not limited to: drinking coffee - mines a skinny latte if we're out and about, console gaming - with a current love for the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Hogwarts Legacy, Netflix series - drastically ranging in genre from the Crown to Sex Education, outdoor cycling - typically along routes adjacent to both the Worcester canal and river Severn, country pubs - out in the sticks with an open fire and traditional grub, and weekend getaways - getting out into the great outdoors and exploring those hidden gems, both new and of old.
I'll be honest in saying that I'm brand new to Reddit, hence the blank profile as of now. I can fully appreciate that for some, this may present as a red flag, therefore if this thorough description and attached photo is not putting your mind at ease, let me please add that I'm also wanting to verify in different formats early on into the conversation as we're online after all. Say by going from texting to calling, videoing and so forth as and when we're comfortable to do so of course.
Now, as to what I'm hoping to seek out on here, well, as per many of you I'm sure, I've tried the more conventional dating apps and what not, however despite matching with various people of different backgrounds, I'm yet to stumble upon that special somebody in which I can create both a deep and meaningful connection with. The type of conversation where all just naturally flows with plenty of smiling, laughing and joking but also, with an underlying desire in wanting to plan for the future and settle down. I'm at a point in my life right now where I'm ready to meet my better half, dare I say it, soul mate?
Anyhow, that's enough of my waffling for now. If any aspects of my post have caught your eye, please do reach out and introduce yourself. All I ask is that you make a concerted effort in your initial message as I have and ideally, attach a facial photo so I can see that beautiful face of yours. As an ice breaker for you, why don't you start by telling me what drives you to rise out of bed every single morning?
And if you're one for the banter, I use to work in a factory that distributed fresh orange juice but for some unknown reason, my manager started to put the squeeze on me. I found this awfully tough over time and began to lose my concentration, ultimately resulting in me being canned from my job...
Stay happy and healthy fellow Redditors!
Ta-ra for now,
N 🤗

So title, hope the title makes sense??
To clarify, we (my husband and I).moved to a new rental property in January. The house is on a property that is surrounded on all sides by ~fairly~ wooded areas, but within a fairly busy city (if it helps to "picture it", I'm in Clinton tn, in a "not directly in the city" part of town? in case anyone wants to Google it); and anyway, it seems that we have SO MUCH wildlife here that are totally comfy with humans (like, bunnies; crows; ALL SORTS OF other birds; chipmunks; coons; squirrels; and so on); and im wondering, like, HOW are all these different animals so comfy around us??
I can approach them within a couple feet, pace around and speak loudly on the phone, and so on, without them startling/skittering away; which I know isn't strictly "normal", so I wondered are they like diseased?? Bc i would LOVE to approach them and scatter some (more)food for them (we put out corn, bird seed, table scraps, etc; which MAY be why they don't mind us, but I've done the same before at other homes, esp ones way more rural, and I've NEVER seen this sort of "comfort" from local wildlife with humans near by); or even pet them if they'd let me (lol), but so many supposedly "wild" animals (again, there are coons, chipmunks, squirrels, and MANY types of bird, amongst others) being so ok with humans nearby worries me about disease.
So are there any "wildlife experts" who can weigh in on whether I'm dealing with like a forest-wide rabies (or whatever)exposure by getting close to these little guys (bc rabies apparently makes them less scared of people or whatever?); or do you think they just like us bc we feed all of them so much?
Idk, I just don't want a rabid chipmunk to launch itself onto my face as I'm trying to spread some corn for our crows; or get into a "the birds" situation doing the same, etc. Lmao
So any help is much appreciated!

Well. Accident happened.
Was driving on a Houston highway. Truck with a landscaping trailer veered into my lane and hit my driver side back area. Long version short the guy came to me on the shoulder of the highway saying it was his fault. He literally said, “I’m so sorry, I have insurance, it’s not a problem. You’ll be covered.”
Told him fine. No worries. I’m ok. Will call the police and we can make a statement then.
Well. He changed his statement. When I spoke to the police they said my insurance will easily find him at fault due to how the damage looks. I asked them to write in the report. They said they didn’t need to. I asked multiple times. They stated they didn’t want to take a side but felt it was clear his trailer came to my lane and damaged my car.
Got my car towed to Tesla collision, but the truck drops me at Tesla Service (2.5 miles away from Collision). Turns out that Tesla collision is different than Tesla Service. This matters later.
Have spoke with my insurance multiple times. Finally they told me that if the police didn’t assign fault at the scene it was a he said she said and I’d be responsible. I told them the police stated it was clear w/the damage to my car that there is no way I could have caused the wreck. My back wheel didn’t impact them without my front starting a swerve.
Anyway. My last insurance person I spoke with had a deep southern accent and told me sometimes life just isn’t fair. Unfortunately I will likely pay for my claim and be responsible.
I told her this was not acceptable and I expect State Farm to fight for me given all the reasons above. She basically told me they will not.
I looked at my coverage tonight. My agent I signed up with apparently only covered me for 50k. My purchase price was near 70. My loan is now 49. And I put 24k down.
So. If this is my fault. I will loose my entire down payment. Even though I have gap coverage with my loan. I trusted my insurance agent and will end up out 24k because of that. And. Unfortunately, I will not be able to afford another Model Y at this time.
All the tint/ PPF/ ceramic is just a loss.
I’m so angry. I miss my car.
Oh. Also. Tesla can’t even look at my car til July 15th. So, I will exhaust all my rental coverage before they even can see my car. Just more out of pocket.
Finally. The tow truck driver left my car at Tesla Service off Hempstead Highway in Houston. Tesla Collision is less than 3 miles away. I told Tesla my car was not drivable and unfortunately the tow driver dropped me at the wrong spot. Tesla service refused to get my car towed. Same at Tesla collision. So. I am $150 out of pocket for a 3 mile tow from one Tesla center to another. This is absolutely ridiculous. They even sent me a threatening message in app that they would impound my car as they refused to get it towed.
All and all I had a terrible experience with State Farm and Tesla. I don’t think I’ll be able to replace my car with another model y. And that really sucks.

So for reference if it matters, I don't believe in anything supernatural, paranormal, whatever you want to call it. I have very pragmatic views of the world and reality as a whole. I'm not religious, I'm not superstitious.. etc. With that out of the way..
So I moved my desk down to the basement because it's hotter out now, and its easier and cheaper to cool that area and be comfortable. My basements kinda dank and unfurnished, but I've always been perfectly comfortable there. I've never really felt scared or anything, again I don't really belive in any of this. But tonight, actually a few minutes ago, really shook me.
So I'm on my computer talking to a buddy of mine via discord. We tend to share screens and webcams as well. Started doing that during covid for the little extra connection and it stuck. Now it's just habit. Well we're talking and I swear I hear a voice clear as day in one of the rooms beside me. I honestly don't remember at all what it said but I 100% heard someone say something. To the point that I thought it was an intruder of some sort. Honestly I was ready to fight someone. I immediately paused the Convo and my buddy got pretty worried, since I'm normally not a very "alert" person.
I told him to give me one sec, and that I heard someone talking in a room over. He said he heard something through my mic as well, and I told him to just give me a bit and if anything goes stupid to call the cops. So I left my mic on and got up to go check. I had a broom that I grabbed to use as an improvised whacking stick, one of the really wide ones, in case it got physical.
Again my basements unfurnished, and pretty messy because I've been trying to do just that, furnish it. In fact yesterday I just got done insulating and am moving on to drywall. I trip over something, drop an f bomb, and I can clearly hear my buddy through my speakers ask if I'm good, and I yell yeah I'm fine. I have a pair of Logitech speakers that I had him coming through, so I could actually hear him through most if not all the basement.
It only takes me a minute or two to do a solid scan of everything, and no ones there of course. Otherwise I wouldn't be here right? And they couldn't have left if they were there. The door in my basement closes incredibly slow and makes a butt ton of noise if you try to force it to close faster. And it was fully closed and actually locked as well. So.. odd, but that happens. In my head I say a bird probably chirped a certain way and mid conversation I just heard a voice instead. No big deal, easy to explain, makes sense too. So back to the conversation. On my way back I hear him ask if I liked final fantasy 8, and I say "uhh random but ok. Controversial opinion but no, I thought the combat was overly convoluted and annoying. 9 was awesome though." At this point I'm sitting back down at my desk, my mind has chilled out.
So at this point is where it all really got under my skin, and I'm laying in bed right now typing all this still processing.
He says to me "tell your sister I said hi by the way!" We've known each other for a while and though we've only spoken through games and discord, were pretty close and are familiar with each other's family etc. I tell him "uhh yeah next time I see her sure.." and I make a joke about how my sister is a lesbian, and he has no chance with her no matter how hard he tried. He playfully says "stfu" and kinda yells through my speakers hoping she would hear, saying hi and what not.
At this point I'm really confused and tell him my sister isn't even over right now. I'm alone at my house. Plus it's 1am why would I have anyone over anyways?
So now he's also confused, and says he heard me talking to her and to stop being annoying about it. He said we were talking about a 3d print I was working on, and that my sister said she thinks it would print better if I printed it on it's side instead. I tell him he must've been listening to something online.. or.. idek because she's not here, and the only thing I said while I was away from my desk was to answer his random question about final fantasy 8.
He said he never asked that at all. And that once he heard me talking to my sister he went off "alert mode" since he assumed the voice I heard was my sister's.
At this point I go from confused to a little annoyed. I tell him to stop, since he's not gonna freak me out. It's my basement, I live here, I'm 100% comfortable in this space. In fact I've slept down here before. I walk around in my basement all the time in the pitch dark and it doesn't bother me. I don't believe in ghosts. Etc etc. He says essentially the same however, that I'm not gonna be able to scare him because why would he care anyways?
So now we're basically the equivalent of that meme where spiderman is pointing at other Spiderman's. You can't fool me, no YOU can't fool ME, and so on.
Eventually I ask if he heard anything I said about final fantasy 8, and he says "no dude I told you I was just chillin waiting for you to get back after you found out it was just your sister." At this point I tell him that I'm not intending to try and create some ghost story or whatever, but that my sister isn't here. 100% she was here earlier to grab some tomato starts for her and her gfs garden, but even when she was here we didn't talk about any 3d prints. And my heart sank when I said that.
I asked him how he knew I had a 3d printer? I bought one a few weeks ago (it's pretty sick btw), but I haven't spoken to him or any of my friends about it yet. Life's just been busy. He said that he only brought it up because he heard me and my sister talking about it in the background.
At this point I grab my phone and switch discord over to it so I can use the camera on that. I take him around the basement, go upstairs. Go around the house. Then go to the parking spots, and show him it's just my car. Eventually this boils down to me calling my sister on discord on my phone. Thankfully she answers, but she's in bed with her gf with bed hair and all, asking why in the world I'm calling her this late. She says hi to our friend, and he's freaking out now.
I essentially tell her not to worry about it, I just wanted to make sure she's ok, and that I'll explain later. I'm assuming she went back to bed. But yeah. That all just happened. We sat there for a bit and I told him j think that's a good sign to hang it up for the night, goodnight and sleep well, etc.
So I sat there at my desk for probably 5-10 minutes just trying to figure out wtf just happened. The voice being a bird chirping.. sure that's believable to me. But how did my friend know I had a 3d printer? He couldn't have. My sister doesn't really talk to that group a friend's although everyone kinda knows each other. Plus she wouldn't have the patience to try and mess with me like that. Also, she was definitely asleep when I called her, so that pretty much rules tomfoolery on her end out. And her gf is really shy and doesn't talk to anyone at all really (and frankly she's not the brightest either, I'd believe it was the ghost of Niki Minaj before I believed she came up with a prank like this). So honestly, id bet money it wasn't her either.
And that's not even including the part where I definitely heard my friend ask about FF8. Just as if it was coming through my speakers. And I know that mic can pick me up from other rooms if I speak up. Hell, ive left my desk to take a piss before and was able to continue conversations by just speaking a bit loud.
I'm of sound mind, I know I am. But right now I genuinely feel as though I'm going crazy. I expressed this to my friend and told him that now's not a good time (I have a lot of background stress going on) and if he is trying to mess with me it was funny, I'll take the joke to the chin, but please stop. I've never been this way with him and he was caught off guard a bit. He promised me 100% he isn't messing with me, and that now he's kinda scared too.
And honestly I believe him, and I hate that. I want to believe it's him and my sister messing with me, but why? Why out of the blue do that..? Like I said they're not really friends, more so just friendly, and it would be so out of left field for either of them to do anything like that, let alone in tandum. Were all adults that work and have stresses and are tired most the time, it's why we only talk rarely these days. Who has time or energy to do something that elaborate? And why would one of my best friends take what little time we had to catch up and waste it trying to spook me? Especially knowing this guy, and myself, are fairly sentimental and put a lot of weight on our friendships and what not. Like, it's just not adding up.
But I heard a voice, for sure I heard a voice. And I heard him ask about FF8. and I believe that he heard me talking to my sister. I just can't fill in the blanks of how that could've happened.. I tend to read people pretty well, and all I can say is I don't get the vibe that anyone here is lying.
So that leads me here. I made a burner account, and I'm posting to a daggon paranormal subreddit because I really just want someone to tell me I'm not going crazy. I don't know what to feel right now, because that was all so real, and so unreal at the same time.
I just reread over everything to make sure I didn't misspell stuff or something, and now I'm thinking about setting up cameras or something.. I still feel like I'm going crazy. But yeah, that's it.

I am not the OP of this post. The OOP is u/throwrapassive2, and her original post released two months ago. Her update came towards the end of May, and she is looking for support and advice. I got her permission to post before I did, and she said it was cool. She didn't make a separate post for her update because she didn't want to get lewd messages like she did previously due to the activity/hobby she does, and the post will give better context
Original Post (April 4th, 2023)
I haven't found the courage to approach the subject with anyone irl yet, and I'm breaking one of my rules by asking here. But I'm deciding to do so in hopes of attaining advice that I can bring to my current situation. I met my fiance during freshman year of college, and we have been together for four years. When he proposed, I told him yes, but I also told him that I needed to tell him something that I struggled to find the right time for. I told him I felt guilty for not mentioning it sooner, but that there was a reason for it
My assumption is that the same will happen here as I say what it is (in DMs), but I hope to still find advice. My parents enrolled me in a circus camp in middle school, and it's been a part of me ever since. I continued in high school and even college in a studio on the side of my studies, but I learned rather early to be careful who I told. I once posted a recital performance on my Instagram, but I received some lewd DMs, and this was during high school. I also told my boyfriend during HS sophomore year, and it led to him constantly making sex jokes about me even when I asked him not to. I practice handbalancing/contortion, and I rarely tell anyone for that reason. However, what hurt the most was when my HS boyfriend tried to force me into positions against my will when we were home alone and tried to r*pe me, and I would've quit if not for my parents
Long story short, my parents backed me up and helped me pursue action, but I don't want to make this about that. I wanted to quit, but my parents encouraged me not to, and I'm glad that I didn't in hindsight. I took over a year off from practicing until coming back to it, and I felt really strong for going back. However, I didn't tell my fiance about circus for a few years until after he proposed, and I knew I couldn't put it off anymore. He knew about the boy who tried to r*pe me, but I never told him that it was because he sexualized my practice or that I practiced contortion at all. I was afraid of telling him that I did circus after what happened last time. But when we talked and I told him, I soon regretted doing so
He seemed understanding and listened when I told him everything shortly after he proposed, and I even mentioned how I went to therapy on campus too. He didn't have much to say afterward, but he said it was good I talked to someone. I thought we were fine until he wanted to talk a few days later and said it was on his mind. He said he appreciated me being honest, but that he wanted to be honest too. He reiterated he was sorry for what I went through, but that he didn't want me to stretch at the gym after work "because people may sexualize me again" because I'm "more flexible than most". I told him that I only do basic stretches after doing treadmill to cooldown and nothing circus-like, but he said he felt "insecure about others looking at me" and that "we should compromise after he heard me out". He also said he didn't think we should put our kids in circus because "people might sexualize them too". But when I told him that we can't stop living because of other people, he said he wanted to agree on that before marriage, and I'm honestly surprised at his opinion. He's usually understanding, but he's been firm on this when I asked to talk again and he said "only if I changed my mind". I feel that it's good we're talking about this before marriage, but I also feel like I'm never going to get married because this is the second time it's been a thing, and he's refusing to change his stance. How should I progress since he won't change his stance, and how do I cope with feeling like I'll never get married without giving up what I enjoy? I know there's no future if he won't change his mind, but I'm nervous to tell him that I won't budge
Update Post (May 22nd, 2023)
It's been a minute since my first post, but I want to update here because I got the best advice here. I thought about making another post for the update, but that would probably come with more lewd DMs that I ended up receiving after my first post in a different sub because I mentioned I practiced contortion, so I'll just add it to here. We're no longer together as of now. When I asked if he wanted to talk again, he asked if I changed my stance, and I said no. That made him say we had nothing to talk about, and he said it was best to call things off. I've talked to my parents since my post, and they've been helpful with cancelling everything. My ex-fiancé didn't make cancelling difficult, but it's been really hard since. I wanted to update sooner, but I honestly wasn't in the mood
I've honestly struggled to do much since the breakup, but I understand that it was for the best. I've been unable to get out of bed on some days, and I used a lot of PTO to take time off. I want to get therapy, but I've been unable to find one that accepts my insurance so far, and I don't have a full-time job. I have full-time hours some week, but hours are really inconsistent. Performing also brought in a bit of my salary too, but I haven't had the motivation to practice either. I've kinda been depressed thinking that I'll never married although I know that that's not true because I'm young. It's just been tough because it's the second time someone has sexualized me because of what I practice, and it's honestly tiring. It's all I could think about when I tried to practice recently, and I'm not sure if I should hide my passion from my next partner. I don't think I should because I shouldn't have to hide it, and the odds are probably low of the next person being the same. It's just the second time that it's happened because of contortion, and I'm open to any advice on how to get past that mindset while I'm looking for a therapist in the meantime because it's been hard to perform gigs with everything going on mentally too
_________________________________________
OOP's Additional Comments:
"It's a rule for myself that I made in high school, and others in my circus studio have similar ones. Depending on their apparatus, performers sometimes have separate Instagrams for their circus arts that are separate from their personal accounts because many creeps will send lewd DMs regarding our performances/flexibility, and it's fairly common to get some from time to time unfortunately
I even received a lewd DM on Reddit yesterday after mentioning I practiced contortion. But my rule is basically that I don't lead with telling people I practice handbalancing/contortion because of people like my ex HS boyfriend/other lewd jokes people would make in high school too
I posted here for advice because I still wanted advice, and many of the responses have been really helpful/encouraging, so I don't regret it. I still practice regardless because people will sexualize anything, but I'm still careful about who I tell and only after I know I can trust someone"
"I agree and know that we have no future, and I'm glad it happened before we were married. It's just tough having a second relationship end partly because of it, and I hope that my next one doesn't view me differently because of it, so that is my hope although I doubt that too much sometimes only because of past experiences, but it's a big world too"

If you've reached this far, it's because of some happy confluence of my words, the Reddit algorithm and fickle fortune.
Our meeting seemed to dangle so much on fate, it's only fair we pay our dues. Give it our best shot. Do justice to the matchmakers of heaven. The directors of this romance. I'm on the quest for a sweet companion. Someone with a good heart. Kind and empathetic - Like my own. The good person at the end of the romcom when the attractive antagonists lose their allure.
Someone who enjoys intellectual discussions. Who likes dissecting her topics of interest and squeezing it for all the insight if offers. Someone who loves listening to someone passionate about the things they love. Someone whom I could talk to the entire day about the various events filling it and make observations about the overall arcs of our lives.
Our conversation begins with pleasantries and surface-level introductions – the most rudimentary and formal aspects. Gradually, the outer layers crack, and a lighthearted joke reveals another layer of depth. Common or contrasting tastes in art become the social customs for forging new connections.
The conversation starts out with pleasantaries and outward introduction of our demographic information - the most rudimentary. The most formal. Gradually, the outer layers crack and a mild joke cuts across the mask and we're another layer deep. Common or different tastes in art are the usual social custom for making new acquaintances.
Soon, our conversation flows like a roaring river eliciting deep intellectual and emotional responses from both of us.
We're discussing prized memories and cherished fantasies of the future. Chalking out hypotheticals and admiring the other's world views. Pretty soon, we're suddenly bare and feeling a strong bond by virtue of what we've shared.
Small silences punctuated the conversation. These silences were not awkward. It was a comforting waterfall of connection. It was the silence that followed from both of us knowing and enjoying the bond created by our hearts.
I love the feeling of talking to someone and, within a short span of time, feeling as though I have known them for lifetimes. It's a bond that surpasses those formed in everyday interactions..
I'd like someone who is open to and enjoys voice calls. I'd love to have someone to call at the end of the night, as I'm cozy in my bed, or maybe sneak in a call for pleasure amidst the endless perfunctory ones I have to take.
Our general moments of sugar would only be interrupted by strong torrents of spice. Moments when we'd be filled with raw, animalistic passion and forego any kind of sophistry. Times when we'd cast away the side of ourselves that everyone in real life knows and give free reign to the animal inside of us - hungry for the other. I should warn (or maybe delight) you that In my erotic fantasies I enjoy being someone far different from my usual reticent self into someone who firmly takes charge.
I do not want someone who only wants to talk for a day. I want someone who intends to talk for a few weeks at least. I also do not want someone who is simply reaching out to me because they're bored. Only reach out if you genuinely liked the post and genuinely want to spend at least a few weeks.

Oh my. This is my first Reddit post ever! Sorry this is pretty lengthy, trying to be thorough! I got so much help from reading through this sub that I felt compelled to share. I got tickets to see LCD Soundsystem over Memorial Day. It was my first visit to Red Rocks. I was very excited but pretty nervous. I adore live music but am also a highly anxious person. Unknown situations can really overwhelm me. I need to feel prepared when I visit new places. I am a fat person and a flatlander who is out of shape so I was extremely worried about how hard it would be to navigate the venue. I did many deep dives on this sub and others and am happy to report I had the perfect visit. Just wanted to share some info for those nervous Nellies like me.
My sister and I stayed at a Holiday Inn in Lakewood. This is far from the Denver Airport but a 15 minute drive to Red Rocks. It is a suburb - there were plenty of chain restaurants, coffee shops, and a Trader Joe's. While not overly exciting or interesting, it was very convenient and met our needs. Also! I highly recommended A Taste of Denmark, an absolutely devine Danish bakery.
We rented a car via Turo and decided to park at the venue. We went at 5 pm (doors at 6 show at 7)and parked in the Upper South Lot. Parking was easy and quick, the staff were friendly and helpful. There was a line of 50-100 people waiting by the fence for when the doors opened. We scoped things out around the parking lot. People had little screen tents, bean bag boards, and camp chairs set up. Since we weren't local/flew in we didn't have camp chairs, but if we had it would've been totally fine to set up by our car and chill until the doors opened or even wander around and talk to people. A crazy swirling dust storm whipped up for a few minutes so we just chilled in the car until the doors opened.
The entrance to the amphitheater from the Upper South lot is via a walk up a ramp that is STEEP but doable. Even my sister, who is in good shape, got a little winded. There was plenty of space and time to step to the side and catch our breath. Nobody was pushy or annoyed. We waited in line on the ramp for maybe 15 minutes and then were able to move through security. There were steps up to the security screening that were fine to navigate and not too difficult. Time to walk from car (front/middle of Upper South Lot) to security check point was less than 10 minutes total (not including wait time on the ramp).
I brought a draw string backpack (like the ones they give away at business conferences 😂). I had most of my things in a bunch of smaller bags and satchels-security didn't ask to go through any of the smaller bags. They had me open the top of my bag, kind of felt around, and asked if my water bottle was sealed. Easy peasy. There was a merch table to the left immediately upon entering. They were busy when we got in @ 6 (an hour before the show) but didn't have crazy long lines.
There are really nice bathrooms to your left as you walk towards the venue from this entrance. They are all gender bathrooms with big tall wooden doors/no gaps. It's like your own personal bathroom. These are the only bathrooms I used at the venue, before and during the show. I never waited more than 5-10 minutes in line.
The seating was broken up into GA sections and Reserved Seating sections. It was all clearly marked with ropes. We were in row 29, so not front row but not at the tippy top. The stairs are challenging, but again, we had plenty of space and time to stop and catch our breath. There are some hand railings on the left side but they do not go all the way up the amphitheater. So be aware that you may have to traverse stairs without the assistance of a railing.
My sister brought a picnic blanket that folds up with a handle. We unfolded it on our seats which was great to have this set out for once the shows got going and we wanted to sit and rest. We went right to our seats upon arriving. We really just took in the venue-the views and the vibes. The people watching is great. Each of us had time to check out merch, grab a drink, etc. I was not bored at all and was glad we went as early as we did. It made for a long day but it was worth it.
We only purchased 1 alcoholic seltzer and a bottle of water which were obviously expensive. I brought in 1 bottle of water (they have to be sealed) and wished I had brought 2. Everything is cashless-cards only. We did not try any of the food, although I saw a couple people go by with some tasty looking tacos and other fair style food. It would also be totally legit to throw a granola bar or sandwich into your bag if you think you'll need food (would definitely recommend if you are drinking). We ate right before we went to the venue and hit up a fast food drive thru at the end of the night and that was fine for us.
We had a group of people next to us-it was clear some of the friends had purchased Reserved tickets and their friends had GA tickets but were just going chill with their friends @ their Reserved seats - stacking each other 2-3 people deep per seat. They were nice and respectful. And during the openers I honestly didn't care. But before LCD started I did ask who all had tickets as the group was kinda jamming us up (they were obviously getting more and more intoxicated and dancing wider and wider into our seats). The guy who had the Reserved seat TOTALLY got it. I shared that we had come from out of state, paid for the reserved seats and this show was very important to me. He and his friends immediately apologized and had everyone on their best behavior, nobody was stepping in front of us during the show. We even kinda made friends with the dude and chatted a bit. His friends said something along the lines of 'oh we've only EVER been to GA shows so this assigned seating thing is hard.' 🙄 We had several people who were too drunk/high or trying to scam folks by being lost and unable to find their seats. They apparently decided to look for their seats 15 minutes into the LCD set. At that point in the game you are just out of luck. The seat numbers are on teeny tiny plaques that are not lit up. Figure out where your seats are before the chaos starts. We had to shoo them along because they were interrupting the show and weren't super aware of their behavior or surroundings.
I've read multiple articles and subs that have said marijuana is illegal to use in public! You can totally be arrested! This is definitely not the case. Everyone, everywhere was freely using drugs. It smelled of marijuana the whole show. Just a heads up if that bothers you. It is constant and potent. You can't get away from it, even in an outdoor venue! I had no problem with this but some people might care.
The show was at the end of May. I wore mid weight long pants, a t-shirt, and medium weight sweatshirt. This was the perfect outfit. No sweating and no shivering. We had a light comfortable breeze all night. It was a dream! I had packed a light jacket and rain poncho in my pack but didn't need either. This was easily stowed underneath our seats. I wore comfy running shoes. They aren't the most stylish but there is lots of uneven ground to traverse and you spend hours standing on cement which can be hard on the body and joints. Forget the cute heels for Red Rocks.
We stayed until the very end. MANY people left before the last song, I'm guessing to beat the traffic. Exiting the venue was slightly chaotic but uneventful. It took us 10-15 minutes to get back to the car. The ramp on the way back down is steep. I chose to use the hand railing just to be safe.
And then we zipped out of the Upper South Lot and down into Morrison in not even 5 minutes. We barely had to wait. I was expecting to sit for hours to exit per all the info I've read about parking at Red Rocks. It was a great surprise and a perk of going early!
I know this is a lot. Thanks if you read it all. Hoping by sharing I can inspire others to go. I was second guessing myself and my abilities prior to going and I'm so glad I didn't cancel! It was truly a once in a life time experience. Thanks to the info I found on reddit I felt pretty prepared and comfortable!

So last year I got some melanotan 1 nasal spray and after about a week of using it nearly every day i began to develop kidney pain on my right hand side which developed to penile discharge and pain when urinating although at the time I wasnt sure if the melanotan caused this. (Got STD tested and everything was ok ruling out ghonnorea). Fast forward to this summer and after literally 3 days of using melanotan nasal spray the same kidney pain is back almost instantly and discharge a day or two later as well. Im fairly worried about this but I just dont know how this can be possible after literally 3 days of nasal sprays where ive taken 3 sprays max per day. Has anyone had issues like these or have any advice i would really appreciate it.

So, obvious throwaway account - cause I’m fairly certain my wife may stalk some of the reddits I subscribe to on my main account.
Some history to begin - M39 - I got read the riot act from the doctor late last year. Scales tipped in at 199kg - 438 pounds… I’m not wanting to ever condone the way we lived and behaved during the time before vaccinations, but covid isolation policies in Australia, newborn just before covid blew up and all the challenges of sleep deprivation combined with WFH in a very stressful job and the convenience of Uber eats made my weight skyrocket.
Anyway, doctor tore strips off me, I buried it, as I always do with these things. I’m male, it’s what we do.
I would take my child to activities on the weekends, important life skills that I feel are vital for children to learn given how dangerous things are now. Anyway, it was also a gym. So, I signed up and started. For context I did all this stuff 12 years or so ago, got down to a weight where I did obstacle racing with friends - running 20k a day and loving life. Met my wife when I was at my peak and my nights rapidly changed from worshipping at the iron church to worshipping the idiot box or playing computer games. Pissed at myself for that.
Anyway, I started at the gym, I got checked out, all those things in March, I’d lost 6kg - so down to 193kg - the joys of catching covid - apart from the side effects of it, its a great way to cut weight /sarcasm - but still a long way to go considering how far I need to go.
My trainer, was supportive. He said for the first week all he wanted me to do is show up, spend 5 minutes on the treadmill and go home. By the end of that week, I was doing 20-30 minutes - the briefest flicker of what I missed had come back to me. The second week, we got into food prep, and weights - foundational stuff to get me back into the groove - nothing heavy, nothing complex, just tighten the up the ligaments and make sure everything would handle what would come over the next couple of months. I threw myself into it each night, after the family were sorted out for the evening, I’d spend an hour to start off with in my church.
I then had to travel for work - it’s not uncommon, but put a distinct damper on what I wanted to do. I bought a blender, packed it in my stuff and went away for work for a couple of weeks. I ended up signing up to a gym where I was - I spent my days at work, my evenings with my team members and the late evenings/very early in the morning (till 12.30-1am) in the gym each night. My food prep stuff was changed to allow me to do it relatively low effort - a couple of smoothies, packed with fruit/vegetables and one with protein powder and coffee. I’d go back to my apartment at lunch, make the next one and come back to work - so there was more incidental walking than I expected, anyway, caught gym flu. Who’d have thought, my calorie intake was so low, plus my expenditure was higher than my body would take, I had managed to grind myself into the ground. I eased off slightly, ate more food - not necessarily better food, but I ate, needed to build up again. By the time I got back I had lost 2kg, I wasn’t happy, but anyway, loss is a loss.
Over the course of the next month or so, I lost another few kgs, like 4 or so, but i was living at home again. When I train, I can be a moody, emotional shit, I know this. I’m like a bear with a sore paw.
This is where the rant comes in - My wife, and her family - aren’t exactly the most supportive in this - some never had to exercise in their life, lucky people. I constantly had to hear about it, defend my position - no, I don’t want a beer, I don’t want lasagne and I should live a little.
My wife on the other hand, has struggled all her life, and apparently it’s easier to just use the credit card and buy McDonald’s, kfc, multiple times a week at dinner and for lunch at work - then leaves the bags, boxes, etc in clear sight - kitchen bench, coffee table in front of the couch, in the car. She’s had weight loss surgery and it helped, but apparently, it’s easier to tap a few buttons on the phone instead of defrost something she’s made and chucked in the freezer. One of the things I do, at least 3-4 times a week is go around the house and tidy up after her, throwing out empty packets chips, fast food bags. I can feel the support there eh? Nothing like having my willpower tested every few days.
I had it out with her a few weeks ago, told her I couldn’t afford this and apparently cause I don’t eat with them anymore and my food is so expensive, it’s my fault. To be clear, it’s not cheap, it’s certainly less expensive than Uber eats multiple times a weeks.
We didn’t talk for a few days and I went away for work again, so I could cool off. I got to do my meal prep in the apartment again and didn’t have to see any takeaway boxes for a few days. Just to be clear - I do not ask her to make my food, and I often make my child’s meals, but the limit of how I’m helped is her ordering shopping online or may be take something out of the oven.
Whilst this was all happening, I was frustrated as anything. Scales weren’t moving, for like 2 weeks, despite how much I was putting in. I got sick as well whilst I was away - so I was like the bear with a sore paw. But, I persisted, and as of this morning, in a single month of persistence, I managed to drop 7.7kg (a sliver under 17 pounds). A proverbial shit tonne of cardio, and workouts anywhere between 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours a night that helps me live in my life that I . And I had to buy all new clothes - I probably should have bought the size lower than I got cause these ones are baggy too - oh well, first world problem right there🤣
Anyway, my journey so far 199kg to 174.9kg (438 to 385) dropping 24.1kg (53 pounds) through highly regimented cico, being stubborn and working out now I I have that thirst for trying to get back to my best life.
It’s the start of another month for me - I count my progress on the 3rd of the month, wish me luck 😃😃

Hello friends, I am looking for some advice to move on from a bad incident with people that are no longer my friends.
Long story short, a month ago, a stupid disagreement occured between two of my friends (we'll call them A and B) from different friend groups. I tried to resolve between the two parties by speaking with them indivudually. B was very cooperative and was willing to talk it out with A. A (who i've known for over 10 years) proceeded to lie about the story, deny any wrong doings and victimize themselves thoughout our entire conversation. They would also say various things about other people (including people who weren't involved) that crossed the line multiple times for no-reason. This toxic behaviour continued for a few months until we stopped talking. Throughout the conversation, I was being respectful but firm. I wouldn't try to say any mean retorts to his insults but I would call him out on where he went wrong. Evuantually A dragged the rest of our friend by telling them a lie filled version of the story. Group A decided to confront me about it (even though both A and B went their own seperate ways and there was no reason to try and force them together). I told them what actually happened since I was a non-biased witness to the entire event (as both A and B hold responsibility for the inital event) and saw the entire thing unfold. They didn't give me a fair chance and basically called me a liar. They gave me the ultimatium to choose between them and friend B. To me, this was extremely manipulative and immature on their side. This type of behviour hits especially deep with me because another friend within group A has been back talking me for some time. Although we don't get along, I've never told other people in the group to stop hanging with that individual, as I believe it is toxic to try and control other people's relations (I specially told another friend in the group who asked about it, not to choose sides between us). Seeing that I wasn't getting the same respect that I gave out, (and that they were so quick to resort to kicking me out of the group), I left. It was still a hard decision because I was really close with a few of them but I know I made the right decision in the long term.
It's been a little over a month since the split but I still can't help but feel bitter about it every time I think about it. They prided themselves about loyalty but didn't give me any in return and I feel like I was treated terribly for an incident that I had no involvement in. Essesntially they kicked me out for a fight that I wasn't a part of. Any ideas on how I can leave this behind and move on?

currently unable to sleep because of my knee pain ✌️
Some info about me is that I'm 22M, ~170lbs, 5'5, and from the US. I usually take ~500mg Acetaminophen or sometimes ~200mg of ibuprofen for pain.
I really want to get to the bottom of this tho because usually when I'm out and about on my knee I'm at a 5-7 on the pain scale and on the worst days an 8-9, but my doctor literally has no idea what it is. I got an x-ray done and nothing remarkable was found. He suspects tendonitis, and luckily there's no signs of a torn meniscus, but other than that no official diagnosis is going to happen until I go to physical therapy. I already have my appointment for PT, but I wanted to see if I could get any idea what it can be before then.
I have had knee pain that had been mild starting around high school and had a history of sitting peculiarly (W sitting) so I suspect I already have weak hip and knee joints as it is. But it got really bad when I dislocated my knee. I jumped on it really weirdly a few years ago and it popped back into place on its own, but lots of pain has been there ever since and has only gotten worse. I would have gotten it checked out at the time that happened, but I lived with my parents at the time and they never took me to the doctor. When it got particularly bad a couple years ago, I went to a doctor. She told me just to rest it and follow RICE, which didn't do much of anything to be honest.
The feeling of it is very sharp pain that is mostly around, under, and on the sides of the kneecap as well. There's also commonly a shooting pain that goes down the right side of my calf from time to time. I try to massage it to calm it down, but it usually causes more pain. I honestly think it's the worst when I stand up and it feels like my knees can't carry my body weight, which is odd because I'm fairly active and eat pretty well. Sometimes I also get a feeling of bone grinding against bone. There's also the occasional pins and needles feeling that comes up. For the time being I've been using a cane to get around, which helps but the pain can still be unbearable to the point where there is no way I can walk.
I am really curious as to what this might be and I hope that whatever it is, it can be dealt with because it is absolutely unbearable. I work a service job too that refuses to give me somewhere to sit, so being on my feet all day has definitely made life hell. Thanks to whomever reads my knee tangent :) ! <3

Hi everyone. Just curious how BS are managing the need to do a deep dive into their WS texts, social media accounts. It’s fairly new, over a month since dday and I still find myself going through the phone, not sure if I want to find something but it’s more of did I check EVERY possible corner to make sure everything is out in the open. I don’t have many doubts that there are any more secrets to uncover but I just feel so on edge. As a side note, did your WS block and delete all communication them and AP? I feel so petty not wanting to see any pictures (AP was a colleague and all pics are group pics) and wanting him to unfriend on every social media account they are on.