u/Correct-Dingo-9242

I have been talking to this guy from Bumble for a few weeks now. Yesterday we were chatting and he told me a story about how his colleague is cheating on his wife with multiple women, and they have an eight‑year‑old son. He said the colleague has boasted about his endless pursuits and the number of women he has slept with. He also said he accidentally forwarded a woman’s private pictures to their group chat and deleted them immediately. On top of that, he mentioned that he does not keep photos of his wife and son on his phone because if someone sees his wife’s picture while he is showing the side chicks’ photos, they might comment on it in the wrong way. He was presenting all of this as a funny story.

I did not find it funny. I felt uncomfortable and incredibly sad for that woman. As a pravasi, this is not the first time I have seen cheating first hand. People come here with a wife, husband, girlfriend, or boyfriend at home waiting for them, and then they have a side piece here. Meanwhile their partner at home is completely clueless. I have seen this happen many times, in many forms. Sometimes it is just an emotional one, and in my opinion that is worse, because they do not even realise they are doing something wrong. So if they get caught, it becomes easier for them to gaslight the other person into believing it is just a friendship. It is getting messed up. Why is loyalty such a hard thing to find.

I’ll start.

There’s a reserved forest near my town, and if you wander deep enough into it, you’ll find a small kavu. The deity there is a tribal woman said to have given birth to a thousand piglets. According to the old lore, anyone passing through that route must offer murukkan and ask her permission; otherwise, the thousand piglets won’t let you cross a certain point.

My father used to tell this story from when he was a teenager. One night, after a midnight movie, he and his uncle were cutting through the forest on their way home. They had no idea about the legend. They just walked.

Halfway in, they heard a low, rolling noise, like the entire forest was crumbling. Spooked, they scrambled up a nearby tree and clung there until the sound faded. When they finally tried to climb down, the moment their feet touched the ground, the rumbling started again. They froze. Tried a second time. Same thing.

By the fifth attempt, they were so terrified they didn’t care anymore. They jumped down and ran for their lives, sprinting through the dark until they got out of the forest and didn’t stop until they reached home at dawn.

To this day, I don’t know if they were hallucinating, if some half‑remembered story triggered their imagination, or if there really was something in that forest. But either way, it’s one hell of a story.

Now tell me yours.

Nothing in From is coincidence. Everything means something. In the latest episode, when Sophia was telling the story of Abraham, I don’t think that is a coincidence either. For anyone unfamiliar with the Abraham story (I looked it up), the basic idea is that God tests Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham is willing to do it, but at the last second God stops him. The point of the story is absolute faith and obedience.

Now think about Father Khatri back in Season 1 talking about “Book 74” and asking what if they were living through a new book of the Bible that has not been written yet. And then he gets killed off almost immediately, maybe because knowledge comes with a price. The more people understand, the more power they gain, and the town reacts violently to it.

What if the Man in Yellow is basically a twisted Fromville version of Abraham. In this version he might have actually killed his son (maybe the Boy in White) because of some malevolent entity. That would mean the Man in Yellow could be a puppet of something even more evil.

Then, when the original settlers first arrived in the settlement era, the Man in Yellow might have offered them eternal life or salvation in exchange for sacrificing their children. Maybe he manipulated them into believing it was a divine test of faith. Unlike the biblical story, nobody stopped the sacrifice. The children actually died. Instead of receiving salvation, the settlers were cursed and transformed into the monsters.

And honestly, the monsters themselves feel trapped. They do not act fully free. They repeat routines, mimic human behavior, smile unnaturally, wander at night, and seem stuck in some kind of eternal punishment. Almost like they are remnants of the original people who participated in the ritual.

This could also connect to the idea that the ritual failed or was interrupted somehow, maybe because of Tabitha and Jade, but not enough to stop it completely. So the cycle keeps repeating because something was left unfinished.

Victor, Eloise, Ethan, and Julie also feel connected in a very specific way. The town seems to treat certain children differently. Ethan especially feels important beyond just being the kid character. Julie has also repeatedly been tied to strange experiences connected to the town. Maybe every cycle has children who become central to whether the ritual is completed or broken. What if Eloise was important in the previous cycle, and Ethan or Julie are important in this one.

We will have to wait and see.

On a side note, after seeing the latest episode, I am scared for Donna. I do not want her to die. But with the whole speech about how if anyone is going to die for Tabitha's kids it is going to be her, I think we might see her die, especially after the scarecrow monsters they dug up from the lake.

I turned 26 today. And I have a lot to be grateful. But one thing I feel the luckiest is friendship. I may not be lucky in love, and I may not be lucky with money, but my god, I am lucky with my favourite people, especially my girlies. The way they hype me up, the way they make me feel important, the way they make me feel valued and seen just tears me up every single time. 🥹

There’s a quote from HIMYM where Barney Stinson says that no matter how legendary your life is, it’s not worth it unless your friends are there to see it. 💜

Thanks to my forever hype girls, all of them. I don't know what I'll do without them 💞💎

I once matched with a guy who seemed very charming and confident at first. At first glance he wasn’t the best‑looking, but there was something about him that felt attractive. We started talking, the usual progression from the app to Instagram, then WhatsApp, and eventually calls. He was a talker, which actually worked for me because I am not much of a talker in real life. I prefer listening.

After a few days of calls, it became clear that we had completely different vibes. He was an outgoing, extroverted person who loved going out, partying, clubbing, all of that. I was a homebody who preferred staying in, watching movies, and binging shows. It clicked for both of us pretty quickly that it wasn’t going to work out. And honestly, by then I had already noticed a few red flags.

For example, he suggested meeting up even though we lived quite far apart, around two to three hours and two buses away. At first, we discussed meeting at a neutral place in between, which was reasonable. But then he started pushing for me to come all the way to his place, saying we could go somewhere from there. The idea of me travelling that far, alone, just to meet him at his house annoyed me.

I always make it clear to people that I am not there for hookups. It’s something I state upfront. When his questions started getting sexual, I clarified the same with him. He got very offended.

Eventually we agreed that dating wouldn’t work because our vibes were too different. After that, our conversations became casual and mostly texting.

One evening he messaged me, and I’m pretty sure he was drunk. The conversation drifted to exes. He told me he had six relationships and around eleven past partners. Then he started talking about his most recent ex, calling her ugly compared to the other girls he had dated. He even sent me her Instagram profile, to me, a complete stranger he had known for only a few weeks.

Then it got worse. He started describing their sex life, how she was a virgin when they met, how she invited him to her room, and more comparisons about how she was “ugly” and how even her sister and mother supposedly said so. He complained about her friends because they encouraged her to break up with him. And this man, who goes clubbing almost every day and drinks heavily by his own admission, was judging her for going out, drinking, and wearing short dresses. He even sent me some private pictures.

I was deeply uncomfortable and blocked him everywhere except one place I forgot. The next day he messaged me there asking why I blocked him and then added that he “wasn’t interested in me anyway because his aesthetic is better than mine.”

The whole thing was so bizarre. And honestly, I felt awful for that girl. If this is how he behaved with me after just a few weeks of talking, I can only imagine what she must have gone through in an actual relationship with him.

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts and comments about Julie and Randall, and Kenny and Sophia, and it’s honestly getting uncomfortable. Randall is clearly in his late twenties or early thirties while Julie is around sixteen or seventeen. Kenny seems to be in his mid‑twenties, and Sophia is supposed to be fifteen or sixteen (Ik she's not really 16 but Kenny doesn't know that).

I really don’t think the creators intend to take the show in that direction.

So please stop pairing them together. It's honestly weird.

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts and comments about Julie and Randall, and Kenny and Sophia, and it’s honestly getting uncomfortable. Randall is clearly in his late twenties or early thirties while Julie is around sixteen or seventeen. Kenny seems to be in his mid‑twenties, and Sophia is supposed to be fifteen or sixteen (Ik she's not really 16 but Kenny doesn't know that).

I really don’t think the creators intend to take the show in that direction.

So please stop pairing them together. It's honestly weird.

Edit: "The actress who plays the role is an adult" is weak ass argument. You are not shipping the actors; you are shipping the characters. And also, the argument that it's just fiction so it's allowed is messed up on so many levels. You are fantasizing about a grown ass man going after literal child is NOT OKAY.

When you say you fell in love with someone you barely know, did you ever stop and ask was it love or were you just lonely for so long that the smallest bit of attention made you feel seen?

And somewhere along the way, you started believing that if this person loved you back, it would finally prove you’re worth something.

Ik a bit heavy. But please just sit with that.

Do you think the place where the RV crashed is an important location? In Season 1, Ethan gets seizures there and sees visions of the “Lake of Tears” and spiders. Later, the radio starts playing and Jim hears “Thomas” or something pretending to be him. In Season 2 or 3, when Randall ties Donna up and Boyd, Jim, Donna, and Randall end up in the RV, the music box starts playing and Boyd sees his wife. In Season 3, when Jade plays the violin and they start remembering things, Jim walks toward the RV, which suggests the Bottle Tree might be somewhere nearby. The MiY also appears there, and Jim is killed in that same area. In Season 4 Episode 2, Ethan sees Jim there and tells him to find the Lake of Tears, and he keeps looking back like he is scared of something in that exact spot.

I don’t think all of this can be a coincidence.

That’s way too many major events tied to one place to be a coincidence.

Edit: I just remembered that day when Boyd, Jim, Donna, and Randall in the RV they heard something knocking from the down and when they get out and run, then the lights flickered and Abby shows up. The monsters seemed to be scared of that.

Do you think the place where the RV crashed is an important location? In Season 1, Ethan gets seizures there and sees visions of the “Lake of Tears” and spiders. Later, the radio starts playing and Jim hears “Thomas” or something pretending to be him. In Season 2 or 3, when Randall ties Donna up and Boyd, Jim, Donna, and Randall end up in the RV, the music box starts playing and Boyd sees his wife. In Season 3, when Jade plays the violin and they start remembering things, Jim walks toward the RV, which suggests the Bottle Tree might be somewhere nearby. The MiY also appears there, and Jim is killed in that same area. In Season 4 Episode 2, Ethan sees Jim there and tells him to find the Lake of Tears, and he keeps looking back like he is scared of something in that exact spot.

I don’t think all of this can be a coincidence.

That’s way too many major events tied to one place to be a coincidence.

Edit: I just remembered that day when Boyd, Jim, Donna, and Randall in the RV they heard something knocking from the down and when they get out and run the lights flicker and Abby shows up. The monsters seemed to be scared of that.

I’m turning 26 next month, and I have an agreement with my parents that I’ll start looking into matrimony. It’s not like they’re forcing me, I’m okay with the idea too (I think). But lately, every time I open Instagram, Reddit, or YouTube, I keep seeing stories about matrimony experiences, and almost all of them are bad. I’ve also spoken to a few friends, and every single one of them has some kind of unhinged story. It’s honestly starting to scare me.

The reason I leaned toward matrimony in the first place is because I don’t want the traditional arranged marriage setup. I want to talk to the guy directly first, get to know him, maybe even date for a while before involving families or making any decisions. But when I actually look at matrimony profiles, especially on religion or caste-specific sites, it feels extremely transactional. Everything is about astrology, salary, caste, and background, and it just goes against everything I believe in.

For context, I have a job and I don’t expect my partner to be the sole breadwinner. I just want someone who is working or at least working toward something and not a manchild. Similarly, I want someone who's willing to see this as a partnership rather than an unpaid maid that gives birth his kids. I’m also an atheist, so I don’t want someone who is super religious or strongly believes in astrology or caste. Atp, I’m wondering if there are any platforms or apps where I can actually find like-minded people. I know this might sound unrealistic for matrimony, but these are things I’m not willing to compromise on.

Dating apps haven’t really worked for me either. It’s usually either guys who are just desperate to be with someone, emotionally unavailable, or the timing is just off. Ideally, I would prefer to meet someone irl, but I work in a pretty secluded area in Abu Dhabi. There aren’t many Mallus around me, and my workplace is mostly Filipinos and a few older Malayali colleagues, who're married and has kids. I’m also not the kind of person who can just walk up to someone and start a conversation, and even if someone approaches me, I tend to get awkward and shut down.

I guess I’m just trying to figure out if there’s a middle ground here. Has anyone found a way to approach matrimony that doesn’t feel so rigid and transactional?