Hello OKOP empire. Thank you for taking time to read this. it will be long but on to my story.
So I'm going to give background of the beginning of my life. It was my determining factor of why I didn't want anything to do with her. Names I use are not their real names.
When I was conceived my Bio mom (we'll call her Sally (17F) ) already had a little girl my bio half sis (call her Chrissy (1F) ) Chrissy would go to our babysitters house ( call her Jenny (34F) ) while Sally went to school. When bio Grandma (Call her Karen, don't know how old she was at that time) found out Sally was Pregnant with me, She was furious, According to my Bio Aunt (Deny (14F) ) Karen almost killed us. Deny said she had to step in and stop Karen from hitting Sally even more after she threw her down the stairs. After her rage subsided she took Sally and Chrissy to an apartment and said you want to be sleuthing around your old enough to live on your own. Sally kept trying to go to school as she dropped off Chrissy at Jenny's, then would go to a job and try to make things work.
Time goes on and I am born, I then started going to Jenny's as well sometimes spending the night with Chrissy as well at times.
Now Jenny was Babysitting in the day, EMT at night and did foster care with her husband Lee (38M). his job was teaching Spanish. Super hero's in my eyes FR.
After that month Jenny said she had not seen me and Chrissy for about 2 weeks. She got a call from social services asking her to go to Sally's apartment to check on her and the children. Jenny wasted no time at all grabbed her bag as her son (Josh (10M) ) asked to go with she said sure.
Jenny went up too the apartment door and knocked, with no answer but as they stood outside she could hear kids crying inside but still no one came to answer the door. She went and got the manager of the apartment complex and asked him to open Sally's door. But she had to call the cops and paramedics to come out before he could open the door. they had to stay outside for about 20 Mins for the emergency services to show. They finally get the door open and see Sally on the couch unresponsive. Jenny went to the bedroom door as one of the police officers had to break it down due to it being locked. I was only around 2 months old and Chrissy at this point was almost two years old and didn't know how to open doors at that time. So Josh went in with Jenny, seeing Chrissy trying to feed me a bottle that was filled with curdled milk. Josh looked at Jenny and said mom she looks dead referencing me. They rushed us to the hospital and found that Sally was alcohol poisoned and I was very dehydrated, underweight, eyes sunken into my sockets. Doctor told Jenny if i were not able to gain weight in 3 days i would be in ICU for failure to thrive ( basically all organs start to shut down and would basically be dying). Chrissy and I were put into Jenny's foster home that night. Jenny took us home and feed me close to 8-8oz bottles. she said it was the most amazing thing as i ate my skin turned back to a pinkish color my eyes came out and my body started filling out, never throwing up a drop.
Time goes on and we were put into the fosteadopt program. Karen wanted Chrissy but did not want me. She ended up taking Chrissy without finalizing papers with the court, taking off to another state.
I was a little over 2 yrs old when Jenny and Lee official adopted me. Now she was my mom and he my dad giving me 5 brothers and 1 sister. Big family I know
I was 6 yrs old when we had ready a weekly reader on adoption in school. A lot of what they were saying in it with how adoptees feel is exactly how I felt, also as my family would be talking about who got what from which parent. I asked who's eyes did I have and my mom would answer you have your mothers eyes. I got very confused about that then we read that weekly reader. So many questions had swirled in my mind. One day as my mom and I are walking into a Wal-Mart crossing the front where the cross walk is as I'm holding her hand, I asked her mom am I adopted? She looked at me with a pause and said well yeah you are in a more concerned voice then any other emotion. I didn't ask anymore questions for a few days, but one night I walked into my parents room and asked why did my family give me up and all my mom said was god meant for us to have you. I then asked if i had any sisters or brothers and she told me about Chrissy. Being so little I couldn't really deal with the thought of someone just threw me away and felt like I did something wrong and that's why my bio family didn't want me.
As I get older with a year or two in between i would keep going to my mom asking more questions. Now you remember my parents also did foster care as well and I would hear and comprehend at around 12 of the children coming to my home for things and they would tell me of there horrifying story of how they ended up in the system. A lot of them were horrible stories and I couldn't understand how a parent do something as bad as they did to their own children.
When I was Fourteen I went to my mom where my brother Josh was talking with her about something and said ok mom I am old enough to know what exactly what happened to me cause I deserve to know my story. I saw my brother and her share this look of like hey its time she should know kinda face. She then proceeded to tell me the whole story minus what i wrote about Karen and Sally bit cause she did not know about that. Deny is the one that filled me in about that. Deny was the one to call in with concerns about us that day my life was saved, to social services.
I spent many days with free time in computer class looking so hard for my half sister after that but since it was still so new at that point I could not find much out about anyone.
More time goes on and I was around 26 yrs old and I do a little google search looking for Sally sue to her being the only way i could possibly find my half sister. I had found a birth certificate that I had a very strong feeling that it was Sally's, A couple months go bye with no other hits and one day i see i have two message requests on FB one from Deny which she began by giving info about me where we lived and just personal info that no one else would of known except for the ones involved. i had another from Chrissy who was saying basically the same thing. I went numb. from the top of my head to the tip of my toes i felt like electricity was vibrating my body. I asked my husband what he thought he said its up to you love what ever you want to do i'm hear for you. so i begin to type and we had gotten to know each other. i went to their state and met them also met Karen. didn't really care for that but was told Sally was telling Chrissy and Deny to find me that was top priority to her for some odd reason. but anyway they asked if i would want to meet her, i answered im not sure im up for that yet.
I get back home after a 2 week visit and I was being asked many times to meet or at least talk with Sally. I finally said no i'd rather not cause i already have a wonderful loving mother and i rather not go down that road with Sally cause i couldn't get over her just leaving. Jenny gave permission for Sally to visit or send me letters as i grew as much as she wanted but she never sent anything or called. my adoption was an open/closed adoption. meaning Sally could contact me anytime and visit me where it was closed for the Bio father who was never in the picture. But Chrissy/Deny and I had a huge fight about it and are no longer in contact. its better cause it was a very toxic family and id rather leave the toxins out of my life.
So guys was I the AH for not wanting to meet/talk to Sally???
​

Effect: Inverse the effect of surrounding jokers (immediate left and right)
Below is a list of how this joker would effect other jokers. I have bolded the changes to each effect to make it easier to see what is different.
I have italicized the effects that are only negative effects, I am not sure these effects should be included as a way to make this joker have downsides or not. On one hand its a cool idea because you need to manage the placement of this joker, but on the other hand this may be a very shallow complication to the gameplay of this joker and may not even be worthwhile. I would love to hear your opinions on this.
Also if there are (???) next to the effect I am unsure if this should be the inverted effect or not. The food items in particular I am unsure if they should get better over time instead of getting worse over time (and maybe if they do get better over time they should start as debuffs aka negative modifiers).
I will update this list with your ideas if they seem more cohesive or well thought out.
Also if anyone is interested in helping me turn this into a mod, please reach out. This idea is probably not going to leave my head until it gets implemented in some fashion. I have experience with coding and game development, but have never used love2d or looked into modding balatro)
Compatible Jokers (and new effect):

• All first page jokers would be negative mult or chips
• Half Joker(+20 mult if played hand contains 4+ cards)
• Joker Stencil (x1 mult for each filled Joker slot)
• Ceremonial Dagger (Generates a Joker to the right that costs the current mult to generate)???
• Banner (+30 chips for each discard used)
• Mystic Summit (+15 mult if no discards used)
• Raised Fist (Adds double the rank of the highest ranked card held as mult)???
• Abstract Joker (+3 mult for each empty Joker slot)
• Delayed Gratification ($2 per used discard)
• Pareidolia (No cards are considered face cards)
• Even Steven (Played cards with odd rank give +4 mult when scored)
• Odd Todd (Played cards with even rank give +31 chips)
• Scholar (Played aces give +20 mult and +4 chips when scored)??????????????
• Bussiness Card (Played non-face cards have a 1 in 2 chance to give $2 when scored)
• Ride the Bus (This Joker gains +1 mult per consecutive hand played with a scoring face card)
• Space Joker (1 in 4 chance to downgrade played poker hand)???
• Egg (Loses $3 of sell value at end of round)???
• Burglar (When blind is selected lose 3 hands and gain 3 discards)
• Blackboard (x3 mult if all cards held in hand are Diamonds or Hearts)
• Ice Cream (+100 chips +5 chips for every hand played)????????
• Blue Joker (+2 chips for every card used this round)
• Sixth Sense (If first hand of the round is a single 6, duplicate it and add it to hand)???
• Constellation (This Joker loses x0.1 mult for every time a planet card is used)???
• Hiker (Every played card permanently loses -5 Chips when scored)???
• Faceless Joker (Earn $5 when 3 or more non-face cards are discarded at the same time)
• Green Joker (-1 mult per hand played +1 mult per discard)
• Card Sharp (x3 mult if played poker hand has not already been played this round)
• Red Card (This Joker gains +3 mult when any booster pack is not skipped) [needs better wording]
• Vampire (Adds random enhancement to non-scoring cards in played hand)??????
• Hologram (This Joker gains x0.25 mult every time a playing card is removed from your deck)
• Vagabond (Create a tarot card if hand is played with $5 or more)
• Obelisk (This Joker gains x0.2 mult per consecutive hand played that is your most played hand) [probably too broken]
• Midas Mask (All played non-face cards become Gold cards when scored)
• Photograph (Last played face card gives x2 mult)???????
• Turtle Bean (+5 hand size increase by 1 every round)??????????????
• Erosion (+4 mult for each card above 52 in your full deck)
• Reserved Parking (Each non-face card held in hand has a 1 in 2 chance to give $1)
• Hallucination (1 in 2 chance to create a tarot card when any booster pack is skipped)
• Juggler (-1 hand size)
• Drunkard (-1 discard)
• Lucky Cat (This Joker gains x0.25 mult every time a lucky card is played and not triggered)??????
• Baseball card (Common and Rare Jokers each give x1.5 mult) [broken?]
• Trading Card (If first discard of round has only 1 card duplicate it and add it to hand)???
• Popcorn (+20 mult +4 mult per round played)????????
• Ramen (x2 mult gains x0.01 mult per card discarded)???????????
• Walkie Talkie (each played 10 or 4 gives +4 chips and +10 mult)???
• Castle (This Joker gains +3 chips per played [suit] card, suit changes every round)
• Smiley Face (Played non-face cards give +5 mult when scored)
• Campfire (This Joker gains x0.25 mult for each card bought, resets when Boss Blind is defeated)
• Acrobat (x3 mult on every hand besides the final hand)???
• Sock and Buskin (Retrigger all played non-face cards)
• Troubadour (-2 hand size, +1 hand each round)
• Certificate (When round begins add a random playing card with a random Enhancement to your hand)???
• Smeared Joker (Hearts and Spades count as the same suit. Diamonds and Clubs count as the same suit)???
• Throwback (x0.25 mult for each Blind selected this round)???
• Hanging Chad (Retrigger the Last card used in scoring 2 additional times)
• Glass Joker (This Joker gains x0.75 mult for every Glass Card played and not destroyed, loses x1.5 mult for every glass card destroyed)???
• Flower Pot (x3 mult if poker hand contains no suits) [I'm thinking all stone cards]???????
• Blueprint (Copies ability of Joker to Left) [This would be fun, but honestly confusing]?????
• Wee Joker (This Joker gains +8 Chips when each played 2 is not scored)???
• Merry Andy (-3 discards each round, +1 hand size)
• Oops! All 6s (Halves all listed probabilities (ex: 1 in 3 -> 1 in 6)
• Seeing Double (x2 mult if played hand does not have a scoring club card, but two still has at least two separate suits)??????
• Matador (Earn $8 upon completing boss blind without triggering its effects)???
• Hit the Road (This Joker gains x0.5 mult for every Jack in hand)
• Stuntman (-250 Chips, +2 hand size)???
• Brainstorm (Copies the ability of the Rightmost joker)???
• Shoot the Moon (Each played queen card gives +13 mult) [or maybe discard]???
• Driver's License (x3 mult if you have no enhanced cards in your full deck)
• Cartomancer (Create a tarot card when Blind is skipped)
• Astronomer (All Tarot cards and Arcana Packs in the shop are free)?????
• Burnt Joker (Upgrade the level of the first played poker hand each round) [broken?]??????
• Canio (This Joker gains x1 mult when a face card is added to your deck)???
• Triboulet (Held Kings and Queens each give x2 mult)???
• Yorick (This Joker gains x1 mult every 23 cards played)???
• Perkeo (Destroys 1 random consumable card in your possession at the end of the shop and generates a random planet, tarot, or spectral card)????????????????

Thank you for your time lol

Hello there everyone, before anything I do have to state that I have to be vague about a lot of this stuff since it is TW as well as legal things so here, we are. Fake Names used
For a little back story, I 20 F then 19 F met my ex-boyfriend 21 M (20 then) in December of 2023. I was renting out a room in a house that wasn't in the safest area but the cheapest rent in the area so I couldn't complain much, but I talked to my landlord who told me I needed to move out by the first week of January of 2024. I had a stable job and almost 1k in savings, so I wasn't to worry about trying to find a place but the area I lived in was way too expensive and most places were denying me. I decide one day that I would go on bumble on the friends and dating part of the app to get connected with people in the area since I didn't have many friends at the time. I met my ex-boyfriend, Jacob. He was engaged and in an open relationship, from what I was told from both parties, it was open long before I met Jacob. I did meet his fiancée Lila, she was about my age only a few weeks older than I was. (20 F).
It was really stupid of me I know but I was also trying to enter my idgaf era, about two days after our first date we hooked up at his place with Lila joining in. After a night of the devil's tango, I asked Jacob if we were together or just FBW since I know that I connect with people to quickly and get attached (childhood Trauma doesn't matter) anyway, he gave me a kiss and smiled, saying that we were dating now. and honestly, I was overjoyed, he promised I could stay with him and Lila until I could find a place for myself, and I was thankful. But I wouldn't be making this post if there wasn't a turn for the worst, He had convinced me many times to call out of work because he needed me and needed help with cleaning. So, I did this ended up costing me my job and slowly I had to eat away at my savings because I didn't have a job. Door Dash became my best friend for money. Fast forward a bit since I don't really know when's the best time to start explaining more.
He landed a job at a Greek food shop about half a mile away from the apartment complex that we were at and he asked if I could drive him to and from work since he didn't have a car, I said sure but he needed to walk or get a bike off of FB marketplace because I couldn't always be his ride to work since I needed to find my own job. He got a bit mad at this because I wouldn't drive him to and from work and he got tired of having to do it, so he stopped working, so three people in an apartment building with almost no way to pay rent. Before people come at me asking why I didn't help with rent that was because when I moved in we agreed that I would help with grocery's, cooking dinners and cleaning the kitchen, and I agreed since I would much rather do dishes then laundry. About another two weeks after this Greek job fail, I landed a job as a nanny for an amazing family and a very adorable five-month-old. I loved this family so much and they were so kind and open and very accepting of everything. It almost felt like my dream job.
Jacob was happy for me to same with Lila and honestly, I thought this was going to be perfect, I didn't know it then but after putting puzzle pieces together I found out that he had well, taken advantage of me, on my birthday to be exact.
After I found this out, I decide to leave for a few days to one of my friends place about two hours away from the apartment, Lila told me she would play devils advice and figure out exactly what was happening because at this point, we both knew we needed to get out of this relationship but didn't know how. So, when I was leaving to go to my friends, he deiced to throw himself on my car preventing me to leave, I rolled down my window, stupid of me I know. I told him that he needed to leave, he started crying saying that he needed me and that he couldn't be alone. I remined him that his soon to be wife was in the apartment and wanted to spend time with him, he said that he couldn't do it alone and couldn't bear the thought of me leaving, I had to call Lila out of the apartment to get him off my car since he was hanging on my car door. After almost forty minutes of me telling him to get off of the car he finally let go and went back into the apartment, I stayed at my friends for about a day before he was blowing up my phone begging me to come back and that he needed me and couldn't go on without me. My friend suggested I stayed a little bit longer at their place but I said no and that I needed to go help him. So I left later that next day and what I came home to was a mess, the apartment trashed and disorganized, my stuff thrown everywhere and messy. We talked about his reaction to it all and he consistently made himself the victim.
He constantly tried to get me pregnant, almost every day he was trying, while I was telling him I didn't want to be tied down for the next 18 or 19 years of my life taking care of something too stupid to care of itself, I couldn't even take care of myself sometimes lmao (I would like kids in the future but I just don't want one at the age of twenty) Eventually Lila and I knew we needed to get out of this relationship since he was becoming more and more toxic demanding that we give him our phones so he could search through them. I denied hard, I believe that your partner shouldn't search through your phone, if you need to use it go ahead if you wish. But I'll be damned if I'm letting someone forcefully going through my phone because of their insecurities. He constantly gaslit us as well as lying about everything and how we were the issue, never him. Manipulation was almost like his superpower. As well as many other things I really don't wish to get into.
Idk when to skip to but after a lot of secretly planning and scheming, my friend in another state agreed to allow us to move into her place to get away from him and to start a new life almost, and honestly so far it's been great. I have a stable job, some new friends and honestly it couldn't be better. I did call the police and filed a report on him, but since he lives in a whole other city than the city it happened in it taking a lot longer than one would hope. But just recently I had this large gut feeling, something I hadn't felt since the night I met Jacob. I ignored it that time and this time I refused to ignore it. So here is where I am asking if AITA. After much self-debate I called his father and told him most about what happened how it happened and not where I am, but I just told him that I am in a safe place. I wasn't expecting much because as a parent of a child who does something like that what would be the right responds.
(I do not have a child idk why I need to specify that but yeah)
It took me a while to write this, but I really need some unbiased opinions, a lot of people are saying I am in the wrong and a few close ones says that I am in the right, so what better way to find opinions?
So AITA?

So the last few years have been rough.
*note* if you're a "cheaters will always be cheaters type" tldr is don't bother reading or commenting
BACKSTORY 2019-2023 child nearly annual broken bones, lots of stress and specialist visits.
2018-2024 my wife got her associates as a medical assistant and is almost done with her bachelor's and final quarter internship while working full time and that has been hard for me. The lack of time for me and my son has really made an impact.
2019 I was injured at work and 2020 had my first surgery to try and preserve an ankle joint. That surgery ended up failing and while recovering I ended up mangling 2 fingertips in a wood jointer. 2020 I had to make the transition to a sahd on workers comp and have been since then. My lifestyle of hiking and fishing was upended because I could barely be on my feet 3 hours a day and uneven ground killed me not to mention the whole covid thing was pretty isolating.
All of 2021 was supporting her being a surrogate for a couple in City X (their egg/sperm). So, lots of trips checks and giving her injections. It was kind of proving myself to her because I was terrified when our son was born in 2017 and didn't help as much as I should have. Especially the first 3 months. Really, I didn't find out until later. We had conversations and fights at the time and id step up to do more and she would agree and tell me it was all okay. Then another fight saying I wasn't doing enough/anything and asking more and me being upset and confused. I guess at the time she was afraid to ask more, or tell me what she wanted, or her feelings, and the postpartum depression and initial feelings of abandonment didn't help.
Anyways the surrogacy went okay. I was there and supportive. Rubbing her feet and back. taking on extra load when she was tired etc. And hey I didn't pass out at delivery this time XD The end was a bit hard with 2 inductions needed and a massive 9.5lb baby and a stuck shoulder.
Then a few weeks after birth in November 2021 the nightmare began.
Out of nowhere she started hemorrhaging. She had to have an emergency D&C to stop the bleeding and scans showed a mass. Turned out the surrogate baby's placenta had some cells turn cancerous and attach to her uterus (Choriocarcinoma). 3 months later and the first 3 agent chemo failed, and her numbers were skyrocketing because it turned treatment resistant. They had to hit it with 5 types of chemo (EMACO) leaving future fertility a coin toss but more than a hysterectomy. By May 2022 the tumor marker was gone, but it was 6 months of intense monitoring and 6 months of monthly monitoring. The whole time she was in an intense spiraling depression questioning life. The meaning of all it, and how all her childhood trauma was fair. That no god would let a child live that. And questioning every decision in her life and wondering what things could have been like if she went a different direction. Feeling like she missed out on opportunities early in life. If this might be all there is (we have been together since she was 17). She said she felt like reality wasn't real and this was make believe at times.
Summer 2022 she made a new mom friend. She was pretty toxic and selfish. She used my wife for personal benefit and to go places. Yelled at her kids and treated the oldest from a prior marriage as less than (girl doesn't know her dad and when she mentioned she was part Mexican she freaked out and denied it because of how conservative and anti Mexican her new dad and his family is). Like never offered a dime, but expected food, gas, tickets, and gifts. She drove my wife nuts with that behavior. but she was desperate for a friend and loved her kids. Her friend would just talk shit about her partner pretty constantly and say my wife should be unhappy in her relationship too. Shit talking husbands behind their backs became like a mutual thing and I def hated it
Sometime 2023 she jumped into fantasy romance and fantasy smut /erotica. This progressed to an AI chat smut generator.
May 2023 monitoring was over and she was officially cancer free and had been on a health/mental health quest..
The mental health part started early in the year and she was seeing a therapist for depression and anxiety alone as well as her long list of childhood trauma. Off hand her therapist told her a few times she didn't know maybe just divorce me or something. I was super uncomfortable with this as it was completely outside her practicing scope and I didn't feel she should be providing relationship guidance, especially without me or the rest of the story. I felt a bit attacked and didn't even get the chance to give my perspective or account and felt that is pretty important after being here for a decade. A lot of negative points get omitted by her.
Summer 2023 she had some tough diagnosis for other chronic issues. Narcolepsy Dissociative Identity disorder Depression And a sleep disorder
I initially rejected this as I didn't want to accept these chronic and incurable conditions and insisted it has to be something else, that she's okay. It was taken as rejection of her.
Fall 2023 she reached out to a childhood ex bf a few states away and started an emotional affair. They kept in infrequent contact over the years and nothing ever came of it before. He has been unable to move past her or have meaningful relationships in 13 years. At first he pushed her away and rejected it, but after a month by Nov it was a thing. Texting saying I shouldn't worried because they dated before, but he ended up coming out as gay, calls in private, staying later after work. I gave it the benefit of the doubt but got burned. I found out in December the second time she wanted a private call in the car, and I checked her phone.
We started marriage counseling in Jan and I started my own therapy search as well as a condition of hers. She agreed to no longer contact the boy showed me the sent message ending it and blocked him. By Feb I found him listed in her phone as Saraa and found deleted texts and calls. In therapy she wanted to keep him as a friend and only friend and I tried this. She asked if a PO box would be okay for a birthday present, and I said no. That it crossed a line. It was also super close to Valentine's day. Next therapy I couldn't handle the anxiety and feeling physically ill when she used her phone, and we went through Jan again break off block etc.
In Feb the therapist recommended a separate space for conflict as we work on things. That too much conflict triggered her dissociative identity disorder. It was either a hotel as needed or a rv/camper. My wife was set on a camper and the only way to get a newer one was to add my credit/income to hers for a loan and I was uncomfortable on a $20k purchase. She assured me the intent of the camper was working on us and not separating/divorcing. She brought up me not having chores completely done all the time and I poured myself into it if that was making her unhappy over the years.
During this time in March I found out she got the secret PO box and had yet again resumed texting entirely deleting her logs. She had valentines gifts. birthday gifts, long distance electronic bracelets, and had an easter basket coming. Everything was put together into a box to be gotten rid of. That effort I had for chores and making everything spotless kind of died. Like there was that recognition that that obviously wasn't the problem. We lived completely separately for a few weeks until she could make a choice. We split our son and had almost zero interaction. Eventually she chose and I saw a notebook she used once in December. Basically she has started outlining a story envisioning herself as the lead character in once of her romantic fantasies and cast me and the other man as competing love interests
April and early may there was nothing. We did therapy and tackled our issues slowly. Together. Our future plans: college vs baby and the ticking clock of fertility and ifs after chemo. Etc
Last week she was going out for lilac picking and didn't text me for 2 hours and said she was at the beach. Later she showed me something in her email and I saw discord emails about a pw change and login. One bad gut feeling later and the next morning I see she deleted the discord emails and check our phone plan and her phone and see missing texts. I put in a phone record request for recent texts and text/call logs. She woke up and I said it did it and she said I was disgusting. Then admitted I was right.
She says after breaking it off she was worried he would hurt himself and just wanted to be sure he was okay and admitted to 3 texts and the discord call which i verified. Said that he was in therapy for his issues. She said she didn't want to bring it up to me because I would make it a fight and she thought she could just get away with a few texts to make sure. That she felt responsible for how much he had been hurt too.
So I did what I do with extreme anxiety and checked her work bag. I found an old journal they shared Jan to mid-march. Kind of confirmed again what was going on. Also revealed she lied to me about the trailer, or him? She couldn't get it without me and told him it was to work on separating from me easier. Yeah I kept pics in case this goes downhill because yeah, I'll gun for EVERYTHING. I'm sure that being tricked into signing a $20k contract under false pretenses for her personal benefit, secret po boxes, lying to our therapist repeatedly, secret texts, expecting gifts from the other man, career over spending time with family and a serious personality disorder on top of narcolepsy making a job hard to keep down wont do her favors at divorce/custody hearings.
So its all fresh for me again. I already have extreme anxiety and the autism doesn't help with reading/understanding people the best, although my gut intuition and pattern recognition are catching stuff fine.
WHERE I THINK I AM
Looking back, I can see that the personality disorder and narcolepsy are apparent. Dream delusion and memory issues from the narcolepsy make separating dream from reality hard as well as just recalling what happened. So whether not the "not feeling like reality is real" was a dream delusion or a full-blown dissociative episode... I can also see that messaging him was a "new" personality state. Maybe it's a manifestation of the trauma of nearly dying from cancer, maybe it's a fragment of her young identity that was created to survive her traumatic childhood resurfacing after nearly dying. But her interests and perspective massively shifted at that time and there was a clear separation between her with me and her with him. It was like this regression back to 15. Like she was molding an identity to fit his desires and interests. She took up tarot and witchy books, different music, painting, rockhounding (my interest), dried bouquets, dyed her hair and got multiple piercings. Even getting caught there was that click in her whole demeanor.
I can see how her friend may have jaded her towards me by all the shit she talked about HER husband. I can see that throwing herself into fantasy smut to cope flooded her with portrayals of unrealistic romance. That she progressed that by using an AI smut bot to hold those conversations with. Then she directly tried to process her own reality through the lens of those novels in that journal.
This "relationship" was "I love you, we can be together in 10 years". He wasn't going to leave his cushy job. Or his state. He didn't want to be a stepdad. He didn't want to support her career or have any involvement in it. She couldn't leave my state. Never saw illicit photos. No discussion of sex. It was like exactly what you think some lovestruck preteens would come up with. Like just a fantasy. No talk of bills or finances. Of moving. Of any substantial tangible entanglement.
Somehow that's easier to handle
I love her and don't want to leave her. But i desperately think she needs serious help and have told her I want her to do therapy 2x a month (on top of marriage therapy 2x).
I also think if a secret or deleted text happens again, I've got to take off the kid gloves and fight for it all. Cause well showing up at the dude's door would end in prison.
I'm sure this happening right as I fully got over last time and took a trust leap of faith on a "gay" friend that burned me will make it harder. I get the last few years have been garbage luck and I get almost dying can have profound affects though. She had been utterly loyal for 5 years (believe me I checked as we agreed to ie open book). Tying to see this with an open mind.
I get my exact expectations are muddy and part of this is just putting it into words to process for me, but I value if someone has any good input

This was a while ago, but we repped a company in a lawsuit over a contract to sell a business that owned several franchises.
This was a really contentious case and about six months in, they deposed our client's rep and just absolutely tore him apart. By this point, I personally had probably spent 10-20 hours discussing the case with this guy.
So we're debriefing our client after depo and trying to soften that things really aren't looking good for him, and he pops in with, "we'll, when [opposing counsel] represented us before..."
Co-counsel and I immediately lock eyes and both say at the same time, "wait, when he WHAT??"
Turns out opposing counsel had represented both the plaintiff and our clients in a previous failed attempt to purchase the exact same business and we were the only ones who didn't know.
We filed a motion to DQ OC the following day, but judge ruled we'd waived the disqualification by waiting too long. Still bugs me to this day.
Tell us your client-withholding-info stories!

Okay, so, am I the asshole... I want to give a little background. So, my husband works hard and tends to show his love by bringing home money. Today is my birthday, and for the past two years, he has completely forgotten my birthday (2 years ago), and then bought me a gift last year but no card, cake, etc - just bought something that I literally told him to buy so he wouldnt have to think about it. In past, even when he does buy cards, he doesn't "fill them in" as he calls it, just gives me blank cards. So, I have tried for many years to tell him that my bday is very important to me, I grew up with narcotics addicts and they never celebrated it, and that I want to feel like he thought about me. I also regularly tell him that, while I appreciate him working hard, I sometimes need him to show me love in the ways I receive it, which is through quality time and thoughtful gestures. I would far rather get a handwritten note than a bought gift, and I fully recognize there is probably privilege in that statement in that my needs are met. So last year, I bought my own cake - and I told him that I no longer wanted to celebrate my birthday because it always ends up being hurtful. This year, I bought my own gifts (farming overalls that I LOVE), and told myself I would have zero expectations. My birthday present to myself was to have an uninterrupted day to work on the farm (it's planting season, and I am behind). I had a really great day - super productive and was feeling great, still working at 5:30 when my husband called and said he would be home late, and asked me to pick up my own cake. I told him that being asked made me feel resentful, and if I were to go get it I'd feel more resentful, so no, I was not going to go pick it up. He said well, I guess you will just eat cake tomorrow then, I said that's fine. He got short and snippy and hung up. Fast forward an hour, he gets home with the cake - and proceeds to tell me that he and his barely adult employee have both talked about me all the way home, and that his employee thinks I'm conceited and that I just need to go back to work and quit being so entitled. (More background, I worked full time as a CPA until 5 years ago, always was the breadwinner, and then got sick with a lifelong issue and could no longer do it. Now I farm our property, which has mostly been start up costs, but is now making okay income, and something we had both agreed to do and wanted to do for 15+ years. I also parent our children mostly solo, make all meals, clean the house, do all dr visits, all kid outings, parties, etc. - I am always incredibly busy and still very hard-working)... anyway, I feel super betrayed by him bad-mouthing me... I feel embarrassed... but I don't feel like I was wrong. I didn't think it was fair for him to ask me to stop what I was doing, nor did it feel fair to myself to have to go get my own cake again, so I drew a boundary. Was I out of line? I mean, I questioned myself on this before saying no, but I know I would have felt resentful if I went to get it. I just want to feel like he thought about ME, not just tossed money at something careless... I don't even like cake and never have... which, whatever, it's a traditional birthday thing... but it just feels like he is checking the box. Here is the requisite cake, your unfilled out card (there wasn't actually any card), and buy yourself a gift you like... the love part feels like it's missing. Am I crazy? Am I an entitled shit? Am I the asshole here?

Hii! My name is Sophia and I’m a 16 year old girl looking to exchange stylish letters/small packages with a penpal :D I also don’t mind just sending messages to each other here on Reddit, or a different platform you may be comfortable with!
Let’s set one thing straight… I am extremely lonely! I haven’t had a real connection or conversation with anyone for a long time and I’m need of someone to talk to! I don’t mind any conversation, wether it’s deep and personal or if it’s just something about your day. We can talk about anything!! I have a great personality and just looking for a real human connection.
I’ve been homeschooled for a long time, since the past 8 years! So I’m not very social, and I have zero friends, and I mean that literally 😅 Unless you count my journal as one! But just because I don’t have friends, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to make a great conversation 😉 I have so much to talk about, our conversations could go on for a long time with white I have stored in here 🧠
I’m not very focused on school, I just do the assigned work and go to classes and that’s it, nothing extra! It’s just really hard for me to focus on it, I don’t feel happy doing it and doesn’t have anything to do with what my future career is going to be 🎤 Being a singesongwriter is my goal for the future, and yes to most people it probably sounds silly and think it’s not possible, but if it was then would be have any musicians today? I like to think that almost anything is possible!! 🌟💭 I honestly can’t say if I’m good or bad. I’ve been singing almost non stop for the past six years. Of course there are some things I need to improve on though. The thing is.. I’ve never sang in front of anyone before! Not even my own parents. I sing in front of my brother, but he’s really young so he can’t criticize me 😣
I love watching shows and movies! My favorite genres are romance and comedy the most but I like others too. I also watch crime/investigation shows, it’s always interesting and I have so many recommendations! I have been watching many different shows for the past couple of weeks, it’s very entertaining. I’m always open to recommendations as I usually stick to watching the same things in rotation…which can get boring 😓 My favorite show (anime), is One Piece!! If you don’t like One Piece, then I’m not sure I can talk to you… just kidding 😂 It’s something my entire family likes watching together, we’re currently starting the Whole Cake Island Arc! No spoilers please, I’ve already seen too many 😭
I like drawing, coloring, doodling. I have a journal that I like to decorate with stickers and cute little designs, which is what I plan to do in our letters!! I’m not the best, but I’m not the worst either 😄📝
I have an “online business.” I sell here on Reddit and other platforms as well. I sell miniature toys and have been doing so for over a year. I make a decent amount of money from it! 🤑😅
I love cats, flowers/plants/nature 💐, both my parents are amazing cooks so it’s hard to choose a favorite dish 😬, one of my favorite colors is blue, and I can describe what I look like in a private chat if you’re interested in knowing!
I’m very serious about skincare, I had really horrible acne and after all these years I’ve finally been able to clear it up completely 🤩 My skin has never been more radiant :D Still needs work in some places though, I am always open to hearing what you think are the best products, or products that you’ve used that you feel are amazing! Im half Korean, and have always wanted to try Korean/Japanese skincare products. Im not very big on makeup, I don’t wear any. I’m working on showing my natural beauty, and also because I don’t want my skin to break out 😅 I like wearing lipgloss and that’s about it :o
I’ve been through some really dark times and I’ve found the easiest way to let your feelings out is by writing it out in a journal, which is what I’ve been doing recently! My young brain is still growing so it’s hard to process what I see and hear sometimes, and I talk inside my head a lot to try and process it, but the best way to make sense of it all is by writing out what you really feel ❤️‍🩹 But, just know that even if you may be going through something terrible, that it will eventually come to an end, because life is not that cruel and has to balance negative and positive. It’s what I’ve learned and seen, that’s why we have so many emotions because we can’t just be happy all the time, and life can’t just give you happy moments every day, sometimes you need sad/bad days in order to appreciate the good ones! I realized that the past few years I haven’t done anything productive or tried to make myself feel better. But that’s changing! I’ve starting exercising, journaling, upgraded skincare routine, eating healthier and more nutritious hearty foods, and hoping to keep it up! Remember to love yourself and don’t neglect your body, and always take care of yourself 😙 And hopefully once we start chatting, you’ll feel comfortable sharing any dark times you’ve been through!
I’m looking for a penpal from anywhere, male or female!! And hopefully also around my age (16-25), but age doesn’t really matter to me, it’s just a number after all! 💌 We can send letters, chat here on Reddit (or somewhere else if you’d like) or little packages with things each of us like ours letters inside! I’ll be sure to design the letters in an aesthetic you like ✨ I really just want to talk about anything and everything, whatever we want!! Hopefully it can turn into a long lasting friendship 💝
Message me if you’re interested in becoming my penpal! There’s still so much you haven’t learned about me yet <3

Advice?
I currently have to live with my family which includes two abusive emotionally immature parents. Today I was taking a shower and my brother fell, he immediately ran to my parents and said I hurt my self. He wasn’t actually hurt. He wasn’t. He wanted attention from my parents and he pretended to be hurt because they were ignoring him. Even telling him to just get out and go away. So yes the five year old pretended. My dad being the sick pos he is noticed this and berated him for it. “Your faking it” “he isn’t actually hurt don’t baby him” when my mom finally gave him some attention. I get out the shower it’s eight o’clock, my dad says my brother needs to do some abc mouse. They’ve been half assing a home school scenario for my brother thinking he’ll turn out better than me. That they can control more of what he sees and hears. So at 8pm he forces him to do spelling and every time he fucks up it’s “what are you doing man?!” “You know this!” “I guess you don’t want your tablet tomorrow” he’s tired?? I say nothing. I bite my tongue. I got get dressed and he’s still going. Just belittling him for everything. “Of course you didn’t finish your food” “why do I even waste my time” “you’re just a time waster”. I say nothing. My brother naive asks my dad how do I not be a time waster? My dad says “by not being lazy” I broke. I say that’s horrible advice, and I fucked up I know. It was on after that. Every disrespectful things he could’ve thrown at me was tossed. “You deserved to be choked” “I’d do it again” “when you have your own kids then you can parent them how you want” (I can’t have children because of them, they know this). So I say enough and I get my dinner and go to my room. Five minutes he controlled himself and then he yelled at me through the door in the pitch black. Busts my door open and starts pointing his finger in my face. I saw a post about what narc rage is like and they described it as a Doberman barking at you, showing their teeth, and jumping. They haven’t attacked you YET, they might not even but the threat is real. My mom starts defending my dad when I told her I didn’t want to talk. Talking is just me listening to her talk and defend why my dad is justified in his behavior. How do I prevent my self from getting so triggered? How do I just let him abuse my brother in the same way that has affected me so detrimentally? I feel like as long as I witness this I can’t let it go. My brother needs to know someone knows right from wrong. That my dad is not the only example he has. That he’s not even a good one. I’ll be working two jobs soon but it’ll be around 5 months before I can afford the expenses of living alone.

let say you buy 5 month atm option
but right after you buy, it goes 3% against you in few hours
what do you usually do?
cut loss right away?
or hodl and pray it comes back?
something else?
option have very high leverage so 3% in single day against your direction is enough to make it -30% -50% even for several months long options
if you get caught on the wrong side right at the start, how long do you usually wait to see how it plays out?
was wondering what your strategies are when you get caught on the wrong side of market

Please let me know how this sounds 💚 I am terrible with words and terrified of public speaking sooooo I need it to sound good while I try not to pass out as I give this speech 💀
-Hello everyone! Thank you all for joining us to celebrate these two amazing individuals. Bride, you look absolutely stunning, and groom, you clean up quite nicely too!

• I know a good portion of you here with us tonight but for those I don’t know, hi my name is MOH.
  
• I met Groom and Bride in high school through mutual friends. While I hung out with bride occasionally and bumped into groom in group settings, it wasn't until a few years later that bride and I would become close.
  
• bride, It's difficult to put into words just how grateful I am for you, but ill give it my best shot. Thank you for loving me for who I am, even though I'm a bit bullheaded and stubborn. You’re the person I call when I have exciting news to share or need to vent after a tough day. I know my deepest secrets are safe with you and you’ll give me the advice I need, even when it's tough to hear. Thank you for loving my children as your own, even if they are little wild. I can never thank you enough for always being around to support me during those dark days after I had child’s name.. I don’t know how I would of made it these last 9 years with out you. While life has taken us down different paths, we have always made the best effort to keep our friendship as close as possible. Naps on the couch with the dogs and all day hangouts have turned into trips to the zoo and hour long phone calls on your drive home and even longer when you commuted for school. Just know we can never stop our wild days on the boat and ice cream runs to ___, those keep us both somewhat sane. Bride you are kind and loving, genuine to the core and never afraid to speak your mind. You are truly amazing inside and out and i’m so glad I to call you my best friend.
  
• Groom, I was unsure if we would become friends in the beginning of you and bride’s relationship. You would walk in the door without saying a word, heading straight for the computer room. Now when you walk in, you almost always have some smack to talk, so id say we’ve come a long way. You’re not the type to write some mushy Facebook post professing your love for bride, and If you did, I'd probably think you've hit your head... But words aren’t necessary to see how much you adore her. The way your face lights up when you look at her says it all. Your love for her is unconditional. Thank you for loving bride exactly as she is, for always standing by her as her biggest supporter, and for filling her days with laughter and joy. Even if that means occasionally pushing her buttons just to get a rise out of her. I could not imagine a more perfect person to be her husband.
  
• Mr. And Mrs. XXXX! I have been dying to say that all day. Thank you for allowing the kids and I to be a part of your special day. May your love continue to grow stronger with each passing day, and may your journey together be filled with laughter, joy, and endless blessings. Here's to a lifetime of happiness and cherished memories. Congratulations, Groom and Bride, I love you both. Cheers!!
  

I’ve been lurking and reading up tips from here and figured it’s my turn to share what worked for me to hopefully give insight to anyone that may need it!
Just want to prefix this by saying that my little one was a great sleeper until 4 month regression kicked in. We were using side bassinet by our bed so I could slide him closer when I know it’s time to feed. This worked great and he slept 16-18 hours/day except during the 3 week growth spurt (we tracked with huckleberry). Rarely had to carry to soothe (only if we were out and he gets overtired) We also had an established bedtime routine since about 2-3 weeks.
Now the four month regression kicked and we definitely knew because he was waking up every 2-3 hours. I put him to sleep while nursing, so he would look for me each time he wakes up because that’s how he fell asleep. Since nursing while side laying worked prior, I would offer breast and he’d fall asleep instantly to less than 5 minutes. I should’ve known he wasn’t waking due to hunger because he didn’t fully nurse, just a nibble to help him sleep. Because I was sleepy and wanting him to sleep right away I would repeat this multiple times a night. If nursing doesn’t work then my husband had to carry him to sleep. It lasted about a week until my husband and I decided we can’t keep doing this.
We decided to try sleep training, specifically Ferber, and we were so surprised! We detached his bassinet so he wouldn’t look for me for soothing and hopefully start encouraging him to self-soothe. We dropped him in the bassinet awake and drowsy having enough wake window prior to bedtime. He fell asleep no fuss within 12 minutes (I kept a diary of the first week of sleep training). We realize our little one had what it takes to fall asleep on his own but we, as the parents were so used to doing it a certain way that we were crutching him.
As the days go by he would fall asleep faster and faster 12-> 9-> 7-> 6.5 -> 6 -> 5-> 4 mins. He was waking up the first 4 days and we followed a check in routine of 3min-5 mins, 8 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins. We rarely got to 15 mins. By day 4 he was having longer stretches of sleep and we see him wake but he turns and falls right back to sleep. Other times he’s awake content talking to himself then next he’s asleep.
My little one is almost five months now, there are still times when he’s fussier and that’s okay. It doesn’t last longer than 15mins, usually if we had a late nap so he had more energy and not wanting to sleep yet. This link explains this for me pretty well https://www.preciouslittlesleep.com/power-down-to-sleep/ Now he sleeps 9-11hr stretches from 8pm , usually wake 5~6am for feed, then sleeps till ~9am. We didn’t notice any changes to his attitude during the day since sleep training, still our happy active baby.
So glad we decided to try sleep training, getting better sleep helped me be more active and purposeful during his wake time. I believe learning to sleep independently is beneficial in the long term. I had to step back and train myself not to automatically offer breast to get my son to self soothe and now he sleeps better than ever. There’s no one size fits all, so tailor a sleep guide to your child’s need and what you can be consistent with!
Wishing you and your little one better sleep!

TW: blood loss, retained placenta
Well I got my home birth vbac, plus much more than I bargained for!
I'll begin by including that today is my actual due date so baby boy was right on time and I was full term. I'd had bouts of braxton hicks and prodromal labor off and on for the last few weeks, with one very convincing false alarm last week, resulting in me calling the midwife and her assistant over. She checked me out and I was sitting at 3cm, fully effaced but there were no other signs of progress.
In the days leading up to yesterday however, I had passed some noticeable mucus clots and was spotting a bit here and there. I tried not to think about it too much because I know you can lose the plug well before labor and I was just hoping at that point that it would be painfully obvious when I finally went to real labor.
So yesterday I couldn't catch any rest whatsoever. I wasn't sleeping great at night so I had taken to just napping as needed around the clock. But yesterday I couldn't nap for the life of me. I had this nagging anxiety that I really needed to rest so I ended up taking unisom around 5pm and making myself go to bed. I proceeded to wake up every other hour either hungry, thirsty or needing to pee. This is uncharacteristic for me because usually once I fall asleep, I'll stay asleep for at least a few hours. I was miserable.
I dozed off again and around 10:30, a contraction woke me up. It was a bit more intense than braxton hicks but it didn't have the same searing intensity as the worse contractions last week. So I got up and started pacing around to see if they would ease up. I rotated through a series of exercises meant to keep baby in a good position (a la Turning Babies) and they didn't seem to let up so I finally started timing them around 11. They were averaging less than 5 minutes apart and lasting about a minute.
This was starting to feel real. I called my husband who was working late and said he needed to get home asap because I was fairly certain things were really happening. I continued timing the contractions for a full hour and sure enough, they were staying steady so I called my midwife over. From here on out, my sense of time is super vague and warped. I really knew it was finally happening because I suddenly understood what they mean about not being able to walk or talk during a contraction, plus I felt like I was in this liminal space of being and nonbeing - like I was hyper aware of my body and the pain, but I was removed from it in order to cope.
By the time the midwives got to our home, my husband and best friend were there, I had already labored on the toilet, in the shower and on the couch in rounds. They took one look at me and knew it was real, and immediately took turns helping me and setting up the birth pool. I'm guessing I labored in the pool for about 5 hours, because it was ready around 2am and I stayed in there until after the rose. The pool really helped my labor progress and at one point, my midwife noticed that the sounds I was making were getting lower, more intense and drawn out.
She checked me again and sure enough, I was at a 6 and counting! She said, "Now might be a good time to call your moms, we might have a baby soon!" I think it was around that point that my water broke as well, as there was a good bit of mucus and bloody show floating around the pool. Our moms showed up shortly after, along with my teenage son, and I labored a while longer, taking turns holding our moms hands. They kinda started making me anxious so I got out and slowly moved through various labor techniques. Ultimately, I ended up sitting on the couch with my legs up on the midwife's legs, holding myself behind the knees with each push.
After about 12 hours of hard labor and no medication other than some motrin and ginger, he crowned with a beautiful head of curly dark hair! My sweet boy was born a couple pushes later and I immediately knew that I had torn. The ring of fire is a whole other ball game when you tear. The midwife tried to wait for the afterbirth to come away for about thirty minutes but each time I pushed I lost more blood. I started getting dizzy and losing color and we ended up at the hospital for 4 blood transfusions and to surgically remove the placenta.
I was too out of it to get the full run down if the placenta was actually fused to my uterine wall but they were able to get it out quickly in a 15 minute surgery. They were worried that it might be fused to my c section scar and if that was the case I would've ended for a partial hysterectomy. After the surgery I woke up cold and shaking profusely, begging for blankets and a warm compress for my boobs because they were so cold they were like hard as rocks. After they tried to warm me up I spiked a fever, plus losing so much blood had deflated my veins so they had stuck me all over trying to test my blood volume after the transfusions.
I was in surgery and recovery for a good while so the baby was with daddy and fam the whole time. They rode in the ambulance with me and when we got to the hospital we asked if they could give the baby donor milk. They said we'd have to admit him in order to do that and I was hesitant but they've been really respectful of our wishes. I said no vaccines, no bath, no circumcision, no formula and no taking him from us. We're just now letting them take him to the nursery so we can get some sleep. It was pretty hairy there for a while but we made it and he's perfect 🤗
Tl;Dr had an amazing physiological birth but tore severely and had a retained placenta. Ended up in the hospital for blood transfusions and surgery to remove the placenta.

Please let me know how this sounds 💚 I am terrible with words and terrified of public speaking sooooo I need it to sound good while I try not to pass out as I give this speech 💀
-Hello everyone! Thank you all for joining us to celebrate these two amazing individuals. Bride, you look absolutely stunning, and groom, you clean up quite nicely too!

• I know a good portion of you here with us tonight but for those I don’t know, hi my name is MOH.
  
• I met Groom and Bride in high school through mutual friends. While I hung out with bride occasionally and bumped into groom in group settings, it wasn't until a few years later that bride and I would become close.
  
• bride, It's difficult to put into words just how grateful I am for you, but ill give it my best shot. Thank you for loving me for who I am, even though I'm a bit bullheaded and stubborn. You’re the person I call when I have exciting news to share or need to vent after a tough day. I know my deepest secrets are safe with you and you’ll give me the advice I need, even when it's tough to hear. Thank you for loving my children as your own, even if they are little wild. I can never thank you enough for always being around to support me during those dark days after I had child’s name.. I don’t know how I would of made it these last 9 years with out you. While life has taken us down different paths, we have always made the best effort to keep our friendship as close as possible. Naps on the couch with the dogs and all day hangouts have turned into trips to the zoo and hour long phone calls on your drive home and even longer when you commuted for school. Just know we can never stop our wild days on the boat and ice cream runs to ___, those keep us both somewhat sane. Bride you are kind and loving, genuine to the core and never afraid to speak your mind. You are truly amazing inside and out and i’m so glad I to call you my best friend.
  
• Groom, I was unsure if we would become friends in the beginning of you and bride’s relationship. You would walk in the door without saying a word, heading straight for the computer room. Now when you walk in, you almost always have some smack to talk, so id say we’ve come a long way. You’re not the type to write some mushy Facebook post professing your love for bride, and If you did, I'd probably think you've hit your head... But words aren’t necessary to see how much you adore her. The way your face lights up when you look at her says it all. Your love for her is unconditional. Thank you for loving bride exactly as she is, for always standing by her as her biggest supporter, and for filling her days with laughter and joy. Even if that means occasionally pushing her buttons just to get a rise out of her. I could not imagine a more perfect person to be her husband.
  
• Mr. And Mrs. XXXX! I have been dying to say that all day. Thank you for allowing the kids and I to be a part of your special day. May your love continue to grow stronger with each passing day, and may your journey together be filled with laughter, joy, and endless blessings. Here's to a lifetime of happiness and cherished memories. Congratulations, Groom and Bride, I love you both. Cheers!!
  

Zekarias peeked out from behind the door, watching the assembled legion.
"I cannot do this."
He turned and smiled at his Hammer, resting his usual gentle hand upon her shoulder.
"Can't implies an inability. You have the ability. But compared to the likes of Horus and Fulgrim, public speaking was never your forte."
Ferra snorted as she stood up, her necrodermis hands resting on the door console.
"Have you any advice for me, Anvil?"
Zekarias smiled before locking eyes with his lover.
"Be honest. Be your usual, blunt, and frustratingly honest self. Sincerity is a strength. Especially when tempered with tact. But I won't instruct you any further on the things you fail to grasp."
Normally, Ferra would scowl and tighten her grip on Forgebreaker. But to Zekarias' delight, Ferra Manus laughed, using her hammer as a support.
"Indeed! Perhaps I should've made you my scribe instead to craft those lavish speeches to sway my sons!"
"Ah, but then who would stand up to you and insult you into making better decisions?", Zekarias retorted.
"Don't make me coat your hands in Necrodermis, Anvil."
The man made an exaggerated gasp and clutched his hand to his breast.
"Perish the thought!", he exclaimed, "For whose hand would your new ones hold in the morning? Where then shall I get my pleasure of stroking your face at night before we rest after a hard day's labor?"
Ferra scoffed at his theatrics and bid the machine spirit to open the door, her thoughts straying to her Anvil's advice.
"Be seated", she bid her sons. As they did so, she gazed at their shield arms. All of this. To honor her? After the last battle brother had taken his seat, Ferra returned her attention to the congregation.
"I have heard reports of late, indeed spanning centuries ago during the Great Crusade, that to honor me, you have been removing your arms and replacing them with augmetics. While I am flattered that you wish to be like me and possess iron hands of your own, there is a fact lost on you that has twisted your ritual to honor me and turned it dangerously close to a mania."
"That fact is quite simply that these are not my hands", she continued, gesturing to her necrodermis arms, "These hands are strong, to be sure, and I have created a great many things for Mankind. And that counts for something. You forget, my sons, that the silver on my arms comes from a beast I vanquished. It is the mark of a great evil that I ended, and yet it persists within me."
Ferra paused to collect her thoughts, catching Zekarias' eyes gleaming with pride.
"I would have struggled to remove them then. I did not remove them because I had learned to depend on them. The fault was with my mind. I had relied on the augmention given to me by my metal gauntlets, so much so that the flesh beneath them was little more than a distant memory."
Another pause to collect her thoughts, remembering her second most sacred oath.
"For many decades, there was not a way for me to remove the metal from my hands. But I had sworn long ago that when the time came, and a cure found, that I would strip the unnatural silver from my arms and instruct you, my sons, to do the same. For by relying on the metal and works of the machine, we have begun to doubt the natural strength of our bodies. Hatred of what is natural is the first and greatest of the corruptions. I bid you, my sons to recant the gifts of the machine and relearn the mysteries of flesh, bone, and blood."
"Yes, indeed", Ferra said as she began to wrap up her speech, "In doing so, I shall weaken myself and the legion, but nevertheless, it must be done. For these iron hands have created great things, but they are not mine."
Ferra awkwardly left the podium, leaving most of her sons in confusion. Of course, she informed the Dreadnoughts and the Iron Fathers of her decision, and both stood behind her decision. But what if..?
"And you said I was good at speeches", Zekarias chuckled. Ferra huffed and extended her hand.
"Are you ready?"
Ferra paused before the door to her personal chambers, a whirlwind of thought racing through her mind.
"I don't know."
She gazed playfully at her Anvil, looking him up and down.
"But what I know for certain is that tonight, my hands will be of flesh and bone again. I will want to experience touch again. I will want to experience you."
Zekarias laughed as realization of what his Hammer was saying dawned on him.
"I suppose I'm not the only one doing the stroking tonight?"
Ferra shook her head and opened the door.
"Come. For in this forge, the Hammer must fall upon the Anvil and create something beautiful and natural. Indeed, for I will show you why the Iron Hands were not made for rest."

Postgame Thread 5/15/2024

Final Score: Dodgers 10, Giants 2
Purpose of this thread

• Discuss developing baseball action LIVE
  
• Discuss the Giants game
  
• Post hilarious memes / images / gifs / information that may not deserve a front-page post of its own. If it's big news, feel free to do both! This, and the gameday thread, are good places to post your Dodger jokes and memes.
  
• Discuss ANYTHING as long as it follows the rules of conduct.
  

Highlights

Description	Length
Keaton Winn against the Dodgers	0:07
Gavin Stone against the Giants	0:07
Bullpen availability for San Francisco, May 14 vs Dodgers	0:07
Bullpen availability for Los Angeles, May 14 vs Giants	0:07
Bench availability for Los Angeles, May 14 vs Giants	0:07
Bench availability for San Francisco, May 14 vs Dodgers	0:07
Fielding alignment for Los Angeles, May 14 vs Giants	0:11
Fielding alignment for San Francisco, May 14 vs Dodgers	0:11
Starting lineups for Dodgers at Giants - May 14, 2024	0:09
Shohei Ohtani: Home Run Statcast Analysis	0:13
Analyzing Shohei Ohtani's home run through bat tracking	0:11
Breaking down Keaton Winn's pitches	0:04
Breaking down Gavin Stone's pitches	0:04
Gavin Stone's outing against the Giants	0:23
Brock Purdy throws out ceremonial first pitch	0:20
Giants turn two	0:19
Gavin Stone keeps game scoreless in 3rd	0:16
Shohei Ohtani's solo home run (12)	0:27
Teoscar Hernández's RBI double	0:35
Field View: Brock Purdy's ceremonial first pitch	0:06
Max Muncy's sac fly	0:22
Gavin Lux's RBI triple	0:32
Mookie Betts' single	0:11
Will Smith's RBI single	0:17
Shohei Ohtani's 446-foot home run	0:31
Heliot Ramos' RBI single	0:28
LaMonte Wade Jr. nabs Teoscar Hernández	0:16
Keaton Winn exits with injury	0:28
Shohei Ohtani's RBI double	0:28
Data Viz: Shohei Ohtani's solo home run	0:30
Keaton Winn K's James Outman	0:06
Gavin Stone strikes out two	1:17
Miguel Rojas' RBI double	0:18
Freddie Freeman's run-scoring knock	0:16
Teoscar Hernández's two-run triple	0:30
Luis Matos' RBI single	0:26
Nabil Crismatt seals the win	0:06

Nominate your Player of the Game (POTG). Upvote your choice if it's posted, or add your own!
For more off-topic fun, check out /SFGSocial!

For context, I (F22) was on Boo to make friends (on friends mode, not dating mode) as I am an international student in Perth. About 2 weeks ago, I matched with a (China)Chinese guy (M32) who claimed to have been living in Sydney for almost a decade after graduating from university there. The starting conversation was very normal, nothing out of the usual. After chatting for a day, he suggesting moving over to Whatsapp and asked for my number. I was alert at that point and asked: "How would I know if you weren't going to scam me? Why don't you give me your number instead?" To which, he did. So we moved over to Whatsapp to chat.
FYI, Mandarin is not my first language – it's my mother tongue, so I'm not as fluent. He mentioned that he can understand English, but his understanding is limited for some words and the context the words are being used in. Completely understandable, that's how Mandarin is to me. As he's more comfortable in Mandarin, he asked to practice my Mandarin with him – no red flags yet.
The conversation flowed normally, not much flirting, just getting to know one another. Hobbies, plans for the future, differences between Perth and Sydney. He claims that he works in real estate development, and only goes into the office once a week (sounds too good to be true but okay). Said he studied foreign economics and trade, then an MBA in university. Again, nothing crazy or alarming.
It's now the 3rd day, I decide to sus this guy out, and ask why's he still single at age 32 since typically for Chinese, parents would chase their children to get married. He says his parents did chase him to get married, but can't do anything since he's in Sydney, and that he prefers to meet a partner in a natural way than an arranged marriage. That's when he starts flirting a bit – "the biggest takeaway from Boo is you." Then, we chatted about hobbies, etc.
I asked, "if you could turn back time, what would you change?" Him: "I wouldn't change much but if I could turn back time I would purchase all the bitcoin on the market back then and sell it now" Me: "I've been interested in crypto but never had the courage to get into it" Him: "Hahaha, the cryptocurrency and blockchain fields are the most important part of the future market and will replace the traditional financial market"
We started chatting about bitcoin, but nothing alarming.
I jokingly said, "Wait till I earn some money, then I'll purchase some" Him: "When the time comes, I can teach you. Also, getting started with cryptocurrency does not require you to have a lot of funds. There's no restriction" 1/2🚩 Me: "Sure! If we're still talking by then" Him: "I'm not going to disappear, if nothing happens to me I'll still be here for the next 10 years 🤣" Me: "How would I know, haha? We met online" Him: "My feelings are filled with anticipation for you"
He started flirting with me more and more, talking about life, food, the conversation was going great. By now, it's the 4th day, and we had a conversation about food (as usual). I asked him what he had for dinner and he said he got takeout. Him: "If I had the motivation I'd cook, but I've been feeling lazy lately. But maybe if you were in Sydney I'd have more motivation to cook" Me: "What if I'm in Melbourne?" Him: "That's fine too, it's not that far" After more chatting... Me: "I'm only going to Melbourne though, not Sydney" (I'm heading to Melbourne in June) Him: "Then let's meet in Melbourne. I have an apartment there"
Just to be careful, I did not tell him when I would be flying over there, and at this point, he still does not know my full name. I joked with him about me possibly bring an elderly grandpa, or him being one, and pulling the "My mum says I shouldn't be talking to strangers". He replies, "Then don't make any friends 🤣 They're all strangers." He changes the topic because obviously that came off a little passive-aggressive. 1/2🚩
It's now the 5th day, after chatting about our interests, he asks me what I was doing during the weekend as he wanted to teach me about crypto. 🚩 I said, "I have no money" Him: "Well, if you have no money then you should earn some 🤣" Me: "I know, but crypto is dangerous" Him: "There's always a danger in everything, but when you expose yourself to it and learn, you'll understand it better" Me: "Yes and no" Him: "One more thing I have to tell you, you have to buy crypto when you're first starting out if not you can't learn it at all" Me: "I don't want to do that now, I'm okay with chatting about it, but I don't want to start now" Him: "It's your own decision, I just have to make sure you're aware before starting" Me: "Thanks for being honest about it, if not I'd feel like this is a crypto scam, not saying that you are" Him: "It's better to be honest about things." He changed the topic to food (not in a abrupt manner, but quite naturally)
Another day passed, and he went out drinking with friends. After returning home, he seemed to be a little hyper and tipsy, but I don't think he was drunk. I asked for a picture of him drunk because I thought it'd look funny, and he sent it over in 4min. Then, I mustered up my courage to voice call him to which there was no answer, but after 2min, he called back. The call lasted 38sec because I chickened out. To me, this confirmed that he was a legitimate person, not an AI that I was chatting with, and he most likely would be who he said he was. (But with that being said, it is also possible for him to be using a voice changer or whatever.)
After that night, it had been one week of chatting daily, and his texting was the same as usual, flirty but not overbearing. I had been out partying with the girls for a friend's birthday and I got home at 7am in the morning. I had spent the night watching out for my girls as you know, clubbing can be scary at times – the girlies drunk making out with others and all, the usual. As I was telling him about the crazy that went down that night, he said, "as long as nothing happened to you, that's all that matters, if not I'd be heartbroken" Me: "Why?🤣" Him: "Do you still need to ask why?" Me: "Well, if anything happened, then we just cut off this connection, hahaha, anyway we've only met for a few days" Him: "....." Me: "It's realistic" Him: "Is it?" Me: "Huh?" Him: "Rest well at home" Me: "Are you upset?" Him: "Not so far as to be upset about it" Me: "Well, think about it, we've only met a few days, and it's not as if you know if I have a good personality or a bad personality" Him: "If you put in effort to understand, you can actually discover many details" Me: "Then what kind of person do you think I am?" Him: "A realistic and rational person"
And then... I changed the topic because this conversation was getting a bit too deep for me.
It's the 9th day. My friends were really curious interested in this guy that I was chatting with and they wanted to hear his voice (so did I) to confirm his identity. So, childishly, we plotted for me to 'accidentally' leave my phone charging on my friend's table while I went to the bathroom, they unlocked my phone and called him to ask him who he was, then when I returned I'd snatch my phone back. He picked up, it was a 22sec call before I snatched my phone back and ended the call because I was way too embarrassed. He asked, "What happened?" Me: *explains the plot* Him: "Why's your phone unlocked?" Me: "It's locked but my friends know my PIN" Him: "Hahaha, change it" 🚩 Me: "Sorry for the trouble" Him: "It's fine, text me when you're back" A while later.... Me: "I'm back in my room" (I live in a dormitory) *Him asking how my friends know who to call, me explaining that we're together all the time, they know that we've been chatting* Him: "No privacy at all 🤣 They probably saw our entire conversation" Me: "It's okay, they read Mandarin really slow, don't worry 😂" Him: "Babe, you should learn how to protect yourself" Me: "Then when I'm speaking to you don't I need to protect myself?" Him: "Of course" Me: "Anyway, why do I need to hide anything?" 🚩(Can't tell if it's because he's older? That's why he thinks like that?) Him: "You don't care about your own privacy?" Me: "I do" Him: "I think boundaries between friends are important. I'm not mad, I just feel that if your friends can just take your phone, unlock your pin, and call me, wouldn't you be angry?" Me: "But this friend group is like my family" Him: "Your phone is like the last layer of yourself, you need to learn how to take care of yourself" Me: "Well they're just scared I'll get hurt and cheated" Him: "Cheated what?" Me: "They've seen me at my worst" Him: "Cheat you for sex or money? Rest assured, in this lifetime I'll never borrow money from you 🤣" Me: "We don't know if you're a real person either" Him: "Then am I or am I not?" Me: "Probably?" Him: "Really? The word probably?" *more conversation, blah blah*
Then it ended with him confessing that he likes me.
It's the 10th day. The flirting has been amped up and of course I can feel it, he starts calling me babe more, and talking about how it's normal for couples to hug. Of course, I was like "Oh? We're already a couple?" Him: "Aren't we heading in that direction?" Me: "Well that depends on your performance" Him: "If I turned you into a little rich lady, wouldn't you be happier?" Now, he's pushing about crypto again, and if I tried it once, I'd understand. Then, I confronted him, "Why'd you keep asking me about crypto?" Him: "Didn't you say you were interested?" Me: "Yeah I did, but I don't want to randomly start" Him: "How's that considered randomly starting?" Me: "Well, I don't know you well, and it's not as if we've been longtime friends. Also, there's a lot of scams on Boo, especially crypto scams. We've only been talking for a week, how much can I even trust you?" Him: "The decision is still yours to make, but I won't bring it up again" Me: "If I misunderstood you, I apologise. I can chat with you about crypto if it's your interest but I don't want to start now" Him: "We don't have to chat about crypto, there's no point talking about it" Me: "If you feel that I have no interest in crypto and would like to stop talking to me, that's completely understandable" Him: "There's no link between the two" Me: "I mean, some people feel that when there's no common topic, the conversation won't work. People have different dealbreakers." Me: "Have you eaten?"
GHOSTED. So, naturally, I thought he was now 100% a scammer (although it's only been a day). From what I know, he hasn't been active on Boo, his Follower count dropped but his Love count increased a bit. Honestly, everything he's said checks out, the timing under his name is Sydney timezone, his location checks out. Searched his images on Google and the Chinese search engines, nothing comes up.
I thought he blocked me because I sent him, "So you really blocked me just like that? 🤣" on Boo and Whatsapp and it was only a single tick on Whatsapp, which means he didn't receive the message. But turns out, he didn't block me... I was overthinking it. I was so sure he was a scammer, I reported his Boo account... 🙊 He replied after 5hr, "I've got a fever" and when I asked if he was fine, no reply. I am confused. Is he a scammer? Or am I just overthinking it? Did I piss him off perhaps? 🤣
Thanks for taking the time to read this if you have. Please help a confused girl out 🤣

Hi all you kidney warriors! I have a question. I went for my annual blood work and my LDL was high as usual but also my creatinine was a little high at 1.05 cutoff is 1.03 and egfr was62 down from 76 . Dr. Called me back a few days later for more blood test and urine test. Urine test showed low creatinine at 14 should be 20-275 , albumin was normal at 0.5 but my ratio was 36 and should be under 30 . My egfr was 66 this time. And the rest of the renal function panel was normal,( Creatinine in blood was .99 ) I go back in on Friday and doc says he just wants to re run the blood tests . Shouldn’t we also do the urine tests since thats what was “off”? And the blood tests were fine on the second draw but the urine wasn’t. Just wondering if anyone knows why he wouldnt run the urine tests again, are blood tests more accurate? Thanks in advance for your input. 😊

I (22F) just got into a new relationship with this guy (27M). I've never been with someone who's had a "girl best friend", but knowing their history being platonic, I figured it was something I can learn to be around. His first girlfriend was long term, around 3 years, and although she cheated on him he says that they are on good terms and still follows her on all social media. That strikes me as odd because if I got cheated on I'd want nothing to do with that person in my life. Well turns out his girl best friend(25F) and his ex met while they were together and became best friends as well. Even though they are broken up she still hangs out with his ex, and invited both of them out to a party where skinny dipping was involved. I wasn't notified about this until the day after. He wants me to be friends with his gbf, but I find it weird that she's still friends with his ex, even after she supposedly cheated on him. Along with that, it puts me in a position of many chances of being around him, his ex, and gbf all having fun together. I guess I'm wondering if I have a right to be upset? Or should I just end the relationship while it's early? I feel that his whole friend group dynamic is odd, but he sees no issue in it (note: he has a hard time letting people go in his life, there are a lot of his friends that use him but when I tell him about it he gets mad and says I'm overreacting or just being jealous).
TLDR; Would you be comfortable if your boyfriend's girl best friend was besties with his ex and all still hang around eachother?

I’m not too sure if this is the right place to post this. Hell, I don’t know if anyone’s even gonna see it. I want to start this off by saying that this story isn’t to be taken lightly. I don’t want you to read this and try to copy what is done, instead take it as a warning. A warning to never play this game, a warning I wish I had gotten before I made that mistake.
I lived almost my entire life in the middle of Delaware, if you forgot that was a state I wouldn’t blame you. In my neighborhood there were 3 kids I always played with everyday. Kyle, Jimmy, and Seth. Our houses were close enough to each other that we played together whenever we had the chance.
We did all the typical things a couple 13 year old boys would do. Swimming in the local pool, going to the Walmart and buying nothing, or just hang in one of our basements and being jack-asses. It was almost a Disney-like childhood. Sleepovers were nothing new for us, I think we had one almost every weekend. What was new was not having any parents there to watch us.
Seth offered to host the next one and included that his parents were gonna be gone for the night. They were staying down at the beach and told Seth it would be fine for him to invite us over. Fine for him, not so much for the rest of us. I think me and the other guys pleaded and begged our parent’s multiple times to let us go.
Our parents knew each other and trusted us but the idea of 4 pre-pubescent boys being alone in a house was any parents worse nightmare. Somehow, by the grace of god, they agreed the night before. After all this time, I still wish they had denied us. Maybe things would have ended differently.
I wanna tell you about the events that happened that night that changed me into who I am. It changed my life and every families that was involved in it. This is the night I played Hide and Seek with my friends.
“Hide and Seek? Won’t that get boring with just 4 of us?” I asked suspiciously as I took a handful of Doritos from the bowl on the table. It was about 10:30pm when Kyle suggested we play a game so we could try and stay up later.
“Yeah man and besides, we have an Xbox.” Jimmy pointed out. Seth came walking down the basement with some sodas in hand, almost dropping the cans
“What are you guys talking about? You better not be thinking of touching my controller with your greasy hands Jimmy, not after last time.”
“It was an accident! I got you a new one.” Jimmy responded before chuckling a bit.
“No guys, I saw this on the internet a few nights ago. We have to try it.” Kyle said. He almost sounded like he was pleading with us.
Kyle was always the kind of kid to believe in spooky things. Ghost, werewolves, demons. You name it, Kyle probably believed it. I remember one time he somehow got us all to go in the woods with him during the winter to look for dog people that a YouTuber said was out near us. We all got the flu after that.
“Oh god, another one of these? Is it gonna be like that dog thing again?” Seth chimed in.
“It’s not like that, this one is real. I promise dude.” Kyle seemed genuine about it. I almost felt bad as the other guys called him stupid for it.
“Alright man, we try your game for a bit. Then if it’s a bust, we play Xbox.” I suggested. Kyles face lite up as he got some paper out of his bag.
“Who said you were in charge of deciding when to play my Xbox?” Seth questioned. I just shushed him as Kyle got some more stuff out of his bag. Candles, lighters, a knife. I would have hated to see what would happen if we said no to his idea.
“Alright, first. We gotta turn all the lights off. Not a single one can be on during the game.” We looked at each other before we went off to get the house started. I had been in Seth’s house almost as much as mine but there’s strangeness to it when the lights were all off. We got back to the basement where we found Kyle lighting the candles and placing them on the ground around the paper. As we sat around him I could see some words on the paper. “Ready or Not, here it comes”
“What’s that for?” I pointed as Kyle placed the last candle down.
“That’s to start the game. I saw these Indian guys play it and they said you have to start the game just like this or it doesn’t work.” Kyle answered as he slowly pulled the knife up and turned to face us.
“Now, we have to cut ourselves.”
“Like Sarah from home room?” Jimmy chuckled
“I thought that was a rumor?” Seth remarked as he leaned towards Jimmy
“Guys! Focus! Just a small prick on your finger. Then you put it on the paper.” Kyle demanded as he slowly pressed the knife tip into his finger
“This feels very, extreme. Is this safe to play?” I asked, seeing Kyle whence as blood slowly pooled on the top of his finger
“I think so, the guys seemed like they were having fun when they did it.” He held the knife towards me next, the guys watched as I reluctantly took the knife and plucked my finger. I did encourage us to play this for Kyle sake, I couldn’t chicken out now. The other two did the same, Jimmy had more tears then the rest of us but when he finished he handed the knife back to Kyle.
“Now?” Seth asked, rubbing his finger on his Pokémon pajama bottoms.
“Now, repeat after me.” We all listened to Kyle and repeated
“ 1, 2, 3. Ready or not, come find me.” We stared at each other. Silence filled the basement as our eyes kept darting to see if anything happened.
“Do you hear that?” Seth whispered We listened as the most quiet fart escaped him. He fell on his back and laughed. Jimmy joined him and so did I. We laughed and laughed, I looked to see if Kyle found it as amusing but was met with sadness. He looked almost heart broken, I knew he lived for these kinda things and for it to not work most have broken him. I moved to him and smiled
“Hey, at least we didn’t have to sit out in negative degrees to get results this time huh?” He smiled slight back
“Yeah I guess you’re right. I don’t know how those guys made it look so convincing.”
“CGI probably, my dad says that’s how most things are done like that.” Seth said as he got up to go turn the light back on. Before he hit the switch, a loud thud filled the room. I’ll never forget the look on his face as he rushed back to the floor where we were all sitting.
“W-what was that?” Jimmy whispered to me. I didn’t know what to say until Kyle reluctantly chimed in.
“It’s him, the seeker.” We sat still as another thud could be heard. Like it was right above us.
“What the fuck dude? S-Seth? Did you invite someone else over? Duncan or Josh maybe?” Jimmy was frantic with his questions as his eyes filled with tears.
“No, it’s him.” Kyle answered before Seth could respond.
“Who?” I asked
“The seeker. The person who plays the game with us.”
“Well tell him we don’t wanna play anymore.” Seth demanded, making sure to keep his voice down.
“We can’t, they said he plays until everyone is found.”
“What do you mean until we’re found?” I asked, I kept looking at the stairs. My brain was trying to wrap around what was happening while also trying to keep reason in it.
“It’s like hide and seek. We play until we’re all found or he can’t find us.” Kyle answered
“Ok, let’s go get found so the game can be over.” Seth tried to stand before Kyle pulled him down.
“No, we don’t wanna be found. Bad things happen if we’re found.” Kyle looked at the carpet as he said it. The thud got louder, almost like it was searching the house.
“Ok, ok. Then we should just stay down here right? If we hide down here it won’t find us….h-how long do we have to hide man?” I stuttered as I waited for Kyle to answer.
“I…I don’t know.”
We sat there in silence, thuds and crashes from upstairs made the silence somehow louder. I had wished it was all a prank. Seth and Jimmy loved pulling those and Kyle was usually the target for them. But I knew it wasn’t that, I knew this was real. I don’t know how it was but at that moment there was something upstairs, tearing the house apart trying to find us.
We stayed like that until Seth finally spoke “Let’s run.”
“What?” Kyle mumbled out, his face covered by his hands. Tears were rolling down his cheeks.
“Let’s run, the doors not to far from the basement entrance. We unlock it and run to a neighbors.” Seth looked for nods or any sign of agreement. Jimmy nodded and I slowly shook yes. I looked at Kyle, grabbing his leg and squeezing it.
“Come on man, we’re definitely faster than it. We’ll be out before it even sees us.” I smiled at him.
He looked up and slowly smiled, nodding. We all slowly moved to the base of the basement stairs. Looking down into a dark basement is scary, but looking up into a dark house is another whole kind of fear. I don’t know how long we took going up those steps but it felt like ages, we were slowly ascending into what could be our end. Seth held the doorknob and just stared at it. I knew he didn’t wanna be the one to open it, to potentially be the one to see what ever it was that was on the other side. I scooted around Jimmy and slowly turned to knob.
The door silently opened, the house was almost pitch dark. The only light we had was from the moon herself, shining into the windows and illuminating the destroyed house. He quietly but quickly moved towards the front door. I peered into the living room to see the chairs and couches turned upside down, some side table doors ripped off they hinges.
“Hurry up man.” Jimmy urged Seth on as he fumbled slightly with the deadbolt. I looked to see Kyle slight behind, close to the basement door. I moved over to get him ready to run
“Let’s go Kyle, we gotta get-“ I almost finished my words as I watched his face turn from scared to horrified. I turned slightly to see Jimmy on the floor crawling away from the door.
I’m not sure even after all this time how to describe what we saw that night. I had wished it was just a man. Some man that was in the house with us but it sadly wasn’t. The best I can try and give a description is to think of a Picasso painting. It had a crookedness to it. Its arm jagged and legs crumbled as it towered over Seth. Seth didn’t move, he didn’t try and fight. All he could do was stand there and look up to see its eyes peering down at him. It picked Seth up and like a rag doll threw him into the living room. A mean and disgusting noise came from his body as he hit the wall of the fireplace. I quickly got Jimmy to his feet and Kyle to snap out of his gaze. Me and Kyle ran to the bathroom as Jimmy made his to the kitchen. I locked the door as I tried to catch my own heart from jumping out my chest. “J-Jimmy? Where-“
My question was shortly answered as I heard Jimmy whimpering and crying outside the room. I unlocked the door and peaked out the crack. I watched “it” linger its way towards him and all I could hear was wet sounds. I quickly shut the door and relocked it. My mind didn’t really process what had just happened in what couldn’t have been more than 3 minutes. My two friends I had been with almost my entire life were gone, just like that. I sat on the cold tile floor as I listened to the thudding from outside. My breathing was dull as I looked to see Kyle shaking by the toilet. I slowly moved my self over and gave him a hug. I knew what he was thinking, I knew the horrible things he was saying to himself in his mind. I didn’t know how to tell him that what was happening wasn’t his fault. I’m not sure that even now I could find the words to tell him that.
“We’ll be fine, we just gotta stay here. It won’t find us.” I tried to reassure him.
“No, it will find us. We can’t stay here.”
“Kyle, Seth and Jimmy are dead. We can’t go back out there and run. I don’t know why we thought it would work.”
“No we…we…I need to get to the basement.” Kyle said, he looked up at me.
“Why? It’s a dead end there. It will-“
“Maybe, I can try and end the game. Rip the paper up…something, I don’t know.” I didn’t know what to say.
On one hand it was the only idea we had besides hiding and waiting to be found. On the other, I couldn’t bring myself to put that hope in his mind. To encourage him just to watch as it fails, He knew this as he came to his own conclusion.
“I’ll go down there, and you head for the coat closet. If it doesn’t work I’ll run back up and I’ll head there to hide with you. Ok?” He nodded to himself. I just stared at him as I nodded back slight. We stood up and slowly unlocked the door. It wasn’t anywhere we could see, which made it all more frightening. We slowly made our way to the basement door
“Good Luck” I whispered to him. He smiled and went our separate ways in the house. I quickly got in the coat closet that was almost directly in front of the basement door, and Kyle made his way down stairs.
That was the last I saw of Kyle, it wasn’t long after I heard loud thudding outside the closet door that quickly went down the stairs. All I could do was sit there, and listen as I heard the silent screams and the pounding of flesh over and over and over again. Soon the hits became more wet, and the screams became more silent.
I sat in the closet and accepted my fate. I slight covered myself with a fallen coat as I heard the thudding move around the house. It was only a matter of time before it got me, before it ripped the door open and I would be met with its horrifying figure. I looked out the slits of the closet door and saw the moon light shining through the windows.
I’m not sure when I fell asleep or even how I did. My body must have been so exhausted that it decided sleep was more important than survival. My eyes slowly opened to see daylight peering though the house. The night was gone and the day had come to save me. Although I was relieved I still forced my eyes shut. The small amount of what I saw was enough to make me do it. I saw the closet door was open, I didn’t wanna have them open as it might slowly peer from the corner and look at me. I didn’t want my last image to be that. I just kept them closed and covered my ears. And then I felt it. Thuds.
I could feel the thudding get closer, closer, closer. Two hands grabbed me, this was it. My flight or fight kicked in and I started to fight. Kicking, hitting, screaming. Anything I could think of I was doing.
“Calm down son, calm down. You’re safe.” Those words hit me like a wall, a calmness I hadn’t felt since the day before came over me. My eyes slowly opened to see the face of a young man kneeling in front of me, his hands holding my arms. He was a police officer.
“It’s gonna be alright.” He reassured me again as he slowly brought me to my feet. He walked me out of the closet and faintly said “Keep your eyes down kid, I’ll lead you out.” I think he said it more for himself, cause I knew what he didn’t want me to see.
Seth was laying in the living room, he’s body bruised from the impact with the wall and his bones broken.Jimmy was on the kitchen counter, multiple wounds and slashes were found on him. Kyle…I’m not sure what really happened to him. The reports on his body never came out. I just know I’ll never forget those sounds from when I hid in the closet.
Seth’s parents moved away almost immediately after the incident. Just left, didn’t take a single thing from that house. It was later taken down, I guess no one wanted to live in a house where something like that could happen.
I saw Jimmy and Kyles parents every once and awhile when I walked around the neighborhood. They would give me small smiles and waves and I would return them back. No more, no less. After high school I moved away for college, my parents knew why and never argued that I should stay closer.
That was a little more than 15 years ago. Few weeks back my dad called to tell me mom had passed away. He offered if I wanted to stay at home for the funeral, stay in my old room. I hesitated. I thought of that night every day for the past 15 years, never really bringing myself to wanna be back in that neighborhood. I refused and opted for a hotel a few miles away in town.
And that’s where I am now, in my bed writing my tale. I want you to take it as a warning, cause as I write this I know I’m not alone. It’s here, it’s in the closet of the hotel room. I can just make out its outline. It’s crooked legs crouching to fit inside, its arms slight poking out from some clothes, and its eyes staring at me. It knows I see it, and it knows I’m writing about that night. I’m not sure why now it decided to finish the game from all those years ago but here we are. Once I finish and close my laptop, it will kill me. My father will have to bury his son just moments after burying my mother.
I say this again, this tale is a warning. If I could I would go back and tell myself to never play that game. I would tell my parents to never let us have that sleep over. I would do everything in my power to stop that night from happening, to be able to save my friends. So please, I beg and plead to you, don’t play this game. Cause if you do, whether your ready or not…
He’s coming to find you