u/slimskinni

my brother is in his early 20’s and in early 2025 he met a married couple. one is a woman and the other is a man who transitioned from female to male. they had apparently been trying for months to have a baby together by acquiring sperm from someone they knew and then would go to a hotel room to try to conceive, but nothing worked.

not long after, they met my brother and by mid 2025 he was living with them. now he's having a baby with the wife, while her husband is heavily involved. i only just found this out yesterday.

my brother has no money, is financially unstable, mentally unwell and works himself to the bone. he tells people he's happy and stable but we hear completely different stories from other family members. his girlfriend has also brought her 13 year old younger sister into the household. she's been expelled from school and is apparently very difficult to control. my brother is basically providing for her (and with the help of payments from the government).

i recently found out that my brother's girlfriend said to my eldest sibling that she feels “incredibly lucky to have met someone like him because of how much he's helping me.” (helping her conceive, like an accessible tap of water).

that really, really bothered me.

i want to be happy for my brother. i love him and i'm going to support him. but i'm struggling because i genuinely don't think he's ready for a baby. he has literally NO MONEY, he's already struggling mentally and financially and now he's taking on an enormous responsibility in what sounds like a very dysfunctional household.

i'm starting to worry that he's being used as a sperm donor. this couple had been trying desperately to have a baby before they met him, then he came into their lives, moved in with them and is now having a baby with the wife.

i obviously don't know what happens behind closed doors and i don't want to unfairly accuse anyone of anything, but the whole situation makes me incredibly uncomfortable. i want to support my brother without pretending that i think this is a good situation when i'm genuinely terrified about where it's going to end up.

i do NOT know what to do. i want to speak with him, but he has a very, very defensive personality and has often threatened that if people think DIFFERENTLY of his unconventional relationship, that he will “cut them off”.

the news has rocked our family and now we feel like we have no place to say anything. genuinely, what should i do?!

I went to party a couple of nights ago, and yesterday all of the photo’s were being sent out to each other, and now I feel like I don’t know myself.

This happens every time, but this time I truly feel like an imposter. I THINK I know what I look like until I see photos of myself from different people, now I’m genuinely upset with all of the different angles and lighting. I also feel like I can no longer post my “good pictures” without feeling like I’m catfishing on social media, because every picture taken from someone other than me looks so wildly different…

I think I also make up such a particular version of myself in my head, and then am grounded back to reality after moments like this.

i love nylon hair and articulated bodies. i love how easy it is to style nylon, i love the shine, i love the body to it.

also, as someone who grew up with bratz, i think the articulated bodies are so, so much better than the original. but i think saran and the original bodies are forever nostalgic and iconic.

what’s YOUR unpopular opinion?

Do we think Bratz is struggling as a brand financially? Or do you think they’re trying to be as cost effective as possible?

They’re privately owned, so I can’t find any information related to their sales or profits, but I’m so curious as some of the new releases feel so, so cheap 💔

What do you think?

I feel the strong urge to reach out to an old friend, a friend that I cut off, after I accused her of gaslighting and being dishonest. I want to apologise (even though we would still very well see things differently).

I’ve realised as I’ve gotten older that someone might unknowingly gaslight/lie, as we sometimes remember things differently, and they genuinely don’t think they’re doing anything wrong.

Though I remember the events specifically and have other people that had seen it for themselves, I often grieve at the fact that I was so concreted in calling them “deceptive” and a “gaslighter”.

Has anyone been in anything similar, and has reached out before? It’s been three years. I’m not looking to make amends, more so to apologise.

At the time, it really messed me up when she’d tell me the events I remembered was not true, even though I had support from others. I just wish I didn’t retaliate so angrily.

Has anyone else experience it like this?

I feel the strong urge to reach out to an old friend, a friend that I cut off, after I accused her of gaslighting and being dishonest.

I’ve realised as I’ve gotten older that someone might unknowingly gaslight/lie, as we sometimes remember things differently, and they genuinely don’t think they’re doing anything wrong.

Though I remember the events specifically and have other people that had seen it for themselves, I often grieve at the fact that I was so concreted in calling them “deceptive” and a “gaslighter”.

Has anyone been in anything similar, and has reached out before? It’s been three years. I’m not looking to make amends, more so to apologise.

At the time, it really messed me up when she’d tell me the events I remembered was not true, even though I had support from others. I just wish I didn’t retaliate so angrily.

Has anyone else experience it like this?

If you genuinely don’t like the releases from this year and don’t wish to waste your money on these new releases, then simply don’t!

You’re only giving money to a giant corporation that will pump out the same exact, poorly priced and executed releases. Literally LOOK at Barbie in your local stores.

$55AUD for Stylin’ Birthday is genuinely daylight robbery, I actually consider Sasha to be stunning in this line, but for the price and lack of accessories, no...

It’s a shame because I wholeheartedly believe their design team executes the prototypes perfectly, and then has to suffer with budget cuts.

If you actually enjoy the new releases, go crazy, and if you care about making a difference, start by keeping your money in your wallet.

When will MGA ever hear their consumers out?

i’ve had roommates for 6 years, some great and a handful that really pushed my boundaries.

my roommate and i ended up moving out of the shared home into a smaller apartment early last year to get away from our roommate that was being difficult.

only 6 months later we both went our seperate ways because we also couldn’t meet in the middle about a few things and wanted to protect our friendship (we ended up losing touch unfortunately as we moved back to our hometowns.)

i’ve moved home to put some more money aside and then planned a move to a new city, but now i genuinely am paralysed at the idea of living with people.

i love the idea of socialising, making new friends and having respectful boundaries, but after 6 years i certainly believe that ship has sailed. 2020-2023 was the most phenomenal time with roommates, and then after having new roommates it was really traumatising.

i’m curious to know if anyone has handled this as well?

i’m wondering if i should just fork out half of my paycheck to live alone, or just take another leap…

i don’t know what’s scarier, being in an entire unknown city all alone or being under a roof with strangers.

a question from me (who has a fear of falling short as a dog owner, but wants to realise that not everything is entirely perfect at all times as a dog owner!)

edit: i should note that i am currently not a dog owner!
not now, but one day!

I noticed I stopped buying dolls after feeling the disappointment with Sassy Stampede (I think I haven’t bought a doll since March actually)….

It also hasn’t helped with the rise of Bratzies…

But also, I feel like MGA is terrible at listening to their customers? Every social media comment section makes it very clear what the fans want, and it almost feels like with every release it’s the polar opposite.

I also kind of get icked out with the “corny intern” constantly teasing/baiting people in the comments about releases or when questions are asked…

Anyway, my spill is over, I can’t entirely tell if my “break” has been from disappointment in the dolls or in the actual brand?

I have accumulated over 60 bratz dolls since I started collecting last June (which in my opinion is quite a large amount for such a short period).

I keep having a lot of up and down moments where I feel quite empty/regretful, which is ironic because this entire splurge started because I wanted to fulfil my inner child that I lost to bullying (as a boy who owned Bratz, it did not fly well throughout my childhood and I had to let that part of myself go when I was 10. I really grieved this.)

I feel like parts of me has now been fulfilled, and I don’t want to let this part of me go, but I feel almost terrible/empty when I look at what I’ve accumulated. Collections are collections for a reason, but sometimes I can’t help but think about what else I could have done with that money, and if I’m regressing in a way, and what will my collection mean to me in the future?

I’m sure it’s just a mixture of buyers remorse or so, but it’s actually a little exhausting. I haven’t made a splurge or bought a doll in two months as I’ve decided to really reign in what is worth buying/skipping.

Just looking out to relate to someone.

Possible Trigger

For people who are scared of flying because they feel trapped, compared to people who are scared of crashing, heights, or turbulence, are we actually experiencing the same kind of panic?

I deal with cleithrophobia, so when I’m in situations where I feel trapped, I panic and it honestly makes me feel insane. My thoughts become completely irrational and uncontrollable, I start spiralling, and then the panic attack hits so hard that I just want to escape immediately (but in those moments, I never do and I remain calm).

The weird thing is, I’m not scared of the height, turbulence, or even the thought of >!crashing!<.

So I always wonder if flight anxiety feels different depending on the person?

Do we all feel that drop when the plane door closes?

Or does it only really happen for some people when turbulence starts?

Sometimes I feel really isolated when I fly because the people reacting to turbulence seem scared, but not like they’re having a full panic attack. Maybe they are and I just can’t tell, because I internalise mine really well even when I feel like I’m dying inside.

Just super curious. Obviously others may not have panic disorder, but I’m curious.

*Also, I’m heading on a 9 hour flight in a few months. I am super proud of myself, I seriously am pro-exposure therapy! It’s done wonders. I hope everyone is well.*