Mel Magnolia

== Early Life ==
Initially joining October 7, 2023, Mel broke the ice with a variety of "Facebook Memes". Images varied from inspirational quotes to kittens with text overlaid in the Impact font. Interaction with other Herpists was minimal during her first few weeks.
On October 18th, she engaged in her first conversation, seeking second opinions for her "guy friend" in need of relationship advice. Mel's guy friend was dating his online girlfriend - who was upset that he had not yet set up an in-person date after two weeks of talking in spite of living a few states apart. Herpists came to the conclusion that the online girlfriend was being unreasonable in this instance, which Mel agreed with.
This same week, Mel's activity increased as she began posting "Spot the Difference" challenges. She also requested access to the age-restricted channel of HerpClub, but was denied by a moderator due to insufficient activity. She frequently pinged and interacted with Herpists including Kaz and Alex, her longest discussion being on sterilization and its usage against POC (People of Color).
== Build-Up Period ==
On November 11, 2023, Alex changed his server nickname to "ass" after learning that the Herpist known as "balls" adopted this username due to his love of men's balls. Other users followed suit, with names including "titties", "thighs" and "dick". One user, SpaceMan47, misunderstood the trend and changed his username to "feet" - assuming they were selecting body parts at random, not based on preference. Mel shared the popular Top 40's song, "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor, with the newfound knowledge that Alex was an "Ass Man".
For the remainder of 2023, Mel continued posting trivia for Herpists to answer each morning. Challenges were often themed for upcoming national holidays, as well as custom-made quizzes based on the topics surrounding GoHerping's YouTube videos. She was successfully age verified and gained access to the age-restricted channel, where she frequently shared opinions on relationship subjects including marriage, crushes and TLC's "90 Day Fiancé".
== Breaking the Ice ==
In January, Mel began to direct message Alex. The contents of the original message is unknown, as it was edited to "Hi" before being opened. Alex responded "hi". Two days later, Mel began to call Alex directly, but they were unanswered. Mel continued to direct message Alex, but the majority were edited to "." or deleted entirely before they could be read or responded to.
At the start of February, Mel learned Alex was still a virgin, to which she responded, "Yay". 
In preparation for Valentine's Day 2024, Mel began creating GoHerping themed cards for Herpists to send to their prospective Valentines. As the holiday approached, her activity leaned heavily into the topic of romance, sex and pornography. Vehicles also became a primary theme in her trivia, as GoHerping began uploading car-centered content. On Valentine's Day, Mel asked Alex if he was seeing anyone. Alex responded "no lol". Mel followed up with "o ok" "Me either".
== Obsession ==
Mel stayed active on the server for the full duration of February. She began to frequently message Kaz, Alex's roommate. Kaz would provide information Mel requested, often fabricating details, including how he reeked of curry and his affiliation with Bronies. Generally unreciprocated, and unbeknownst to the rest of the server, Mel would spam Alex with a variety of proposals, selfies, questions and prayers - but these were generally deleted before Alex was able to respond. These messages included the presumption that Alex gets "meat sweats", which Mel was comfortable with because she "likes the taste of curry". She would also share links to music by "God's Nation", a label posting EDM centered around Christianity.
In March, Mel joined a voice channel with other Herpists. Alex suggested Mel had autism, to which she took offense. Other Herpists suspected she was purposefully altering her voice to sound younger. Later this week, Alex shared a shirtless image of himself in the server to compare bodyfat percentages with a female Herpist. This caused Mel to feel jealous and suggested he was cheating on her because "I don't want to share you lol". Mel told Alex she was going to begin sending nudes in the server as revenge and suggested he likely smelled of curry in shirtless image.
Alex later uploaded a video which featured clips of himself exercising without a shirt on, alongside clips of himself as a child. Mel said the video was bizarre, due to editing "clips of yourself as a child back to back with softcore porn".
=== 'Groomel' Awakens ===
Herpist, SpaceMan47, had a trip planned to Florida and suggested meeting up with Mel. She asked if SpaceMan47 was 21+, to which he informed her he is 18. Mel allegedly tells SpaceMan47 via private message that she is twenty and they set up plans to meet.
== Climax ==
It wasn't until April that Herpists began to learn of Mel's intentions to date Alex - as he had chosen not to leak any private messages to the server. Mel decided to bring light to the situation herself by sending the message, "What’s funny…Alex and I are shy in completely opposite ways" in #general, but refused to elaborate. Alex ignored this message, but he continued talking with other Herpists. This caused Mel to have what has since been coined, a "Mel-tdown". She told Alex to "just grow up and call me" and left the server. It was at this point that Alex began to leak Mel's obsession with him on the server, which came as a surprise to most Herpists who knew her as the girl that sends "Wholesome boomer memes". She continued privately messaging Alex.
Mel re-joined a week later and was met with animosity by many Herpists. She sent a link in #general but it was quickly deleted before Herpists could click it. Alex alleged Mel had linked porn in general. Mel responded it was "cuz yall kicked me out of grems! [adult-restricted channel] Where else am i supposed to send it?". David Lunch clarified that Mel was not kicked from the restricted channel, but instead lost access due to leaving the server and failing to receive age reverification.
Mel was subsequently labeled a groomer, in addition to nicknames including "Melusional" and "Groomel" by many Herpists, to which she infamously responded, "age is just a number"
=== Salvaging Reputation ===
David Lunch suggested SpaceMan47 risked "becoming a victim" if he went through with the planned Florida HerpMeet. Though SpaceMan47 had previously confirmed he was an adult, Mel responded to this concern with "no offense but ew. ethan is a child like legit" which did not gain Mel any support. She canceled the plans to meet with SpaceMan47, claiming she had gotten ill. Mel asked Alex to "stop the lies and slander" before attempting to change the subject with her signature "Spot the Difference" trivia images.
== Desperate Ends ==
Mel left the server on April 19, 2024 after being locked in "quarantine" - restricting her to adult-only channels. After her second departure, it was learned that Mel was in her mid thirties, not twenty. It was also revealed the allegations Alex made in regards to Mel linking porn in the server were false. But to the confusion of the server, she had chosen to go along with the narrative that she had sent porn in #general.
A few months later, it was discovered that Mel secretly rejoined the Discord server by deleting her welcome message. She lurked the server, before blowing her cover by "reacting" to a message in #general. Mel left the server a third time, but continues to e-mail Alex on a regular basis.