Dog knotting is it safe

hiiii! i'm 18 female, 154cm height and 50 kg
so a cat bit me 2 weeks ago, decided not to get anti rabies injection. my brothers don't believe that pets can naturally born with rabies, only If they have a contact with someone who have like dog/cat fight or smth.
the cat who bit me is an orange persian which is a house pet and complete with vaccines. my judgement is the cat is safe so I decided not to get an injection.
I have 8 wounds in total, so the day he bit me, It felt really painful (1 week pain and can't move my thumb comfortably), it also get swollen and redness. I experience this for about a week.
is my judgement right? is it okay for me not to get anti rabies injection?

Chapter 1
Scene 1
Sunlight streamed through the windows of my modern apartment as I meticulously folded clothes and packed my bags, the anticipation of an upcoming trip tingling in the air. The day seemed ordinary enough until the doorbell shattered the tranquility.

Startled, I hurried to answer it, only to find Elena bursting into the house with her usual exuberance. She was a whirlwind of energy, her long chestnut hair tied back in a messy ponytail, her bright blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Her olive skin glowed with vitality, and her infectious smile lit up the room.

"Peter, what took you so long to answer?" she exclaimed, her voice carrying a mix of impatience and amusement as she took in the array of luggage before me.

I shrugged, avoiding her gaze. "Just packing for a trip."

Elena scoffed, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Immigrating, are we?" She scanned the room before turning her attention back to me. "Seriously, though, what's with all the luggage?"

I chuckled at her bluntness. "You know me, always overpacking."

She rolled her eyes, reaching for her phone and cranking up the volume on her favorite song. The heavy riff of "Passenger" by Deftones filled the room, adding a pulsating rhythm to our conversation.

Taking a seat at the cluttered kitchen table, Elena flashed me a mischievous grin. "I came to hang out with my friend. Is that a crime?"

I raised an eyebrow, eyeing her suspiciously.

Elena's laughter filled the room, unapologetic. "Okay, you caught me. I need your help." Despite my curiosity, apprehension flickered, yet her sparkling eyes drew me in. "Come on, Peter," she urged. "I promise it'll be worth your while."

"What do you need me for?" I asked, unable to resist her infectious enthusiasm.

Elena's brows furrowed, and she leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I was hired by a family in Silverlake to find their missing daughter, Emily. She disappeared without a trace, and I've been investigating this case for weeks. But I have zero leads."

I frowned. "And you think I can help?"

Elena nodded eagerly. "You're one of the best investigative journalists I know, Peter. Your skills are exactly what we need to crack this case wide open."

"I promised my mom I'd spend a vacation with her. I leave in 2 days. I'm sorry, I cannot help you," I said firmly, my resolve wavering in the face of Elena's determination.

"In 2 DAYS AND YOU'RE PACKING FROM NOW?!" Elena exclaimed incredulously.

"Well, I've got to be well prepared," I defended with a shrug, trying to downplay the urgency of the situation.

"This will be over in less than 2 days. All I need from you is to help me identify her last known location when she disappeared and any digital data you could find linked to her disappearance. Do that for me, and you can continue with your plan," Elena bargained, her eyes pleading with urgency.

I hesitated, torn between my obligations to my family and the pressing need to help Elena solve this mystery.

"Well, you could get that from CCTV cameras and her social media, what do you need me for?" I asked, raising my voice slightly to be heard over the blaring chorus of "Passenger."

The heavy guitars and pounding drums filled the room, drowning out Elena's next words as she searched my face for a response. "Well, don't you think I tried that?" she retorted, frustration evident in her voice. "I couldn't get access to CCTV footage, and her social media revealed nothing. I need a deeper search into the digital landscape, and you're the one I trust the most with this."

"One thing is never enough for you, though. You have a way of always pulling me with you, and I really need this. My mother needs me right now. I haven't seen her since the funeral, and I cannot let her down," I said, my voice cracking with emotion.

Elena's expression softened, her eyes reflecting understanding. She reached out and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I get it, Peter. Family comes first. But think about it, helping me could bring closure to another family who's desperate for answers."

Her words struck a chord within me, igniting a sense of duty and purpose that I couldn't ignore.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded slowly.

I grabbed a notebook and a pen, my determination solidifying as I focused on the task at hand. "I'll do it for the girl's family."

A flicker of relief crossed Elena's face, her shoulders sagging slightly as she realized I was onboard. "Thank you, Peter," she said, her voice tinged with gratitude.

"The town of Silverlake, where Emily had disappeared, was 140 miles away. It was a daunting distance, but one that felt insignificant in the face of the urgency of the situation. Little did I know, Emily wasn't the only one missing. There was a series of disappearances in Silverlake that had gone unnoticed until now."

With a shared glance, Elena and I made an unspoken agreement. We would go to Silverlake, together, to start investigating immediately.

Scene 2
As Elena and I approached the reception desk, the polished tiles of the lobby floor echoed softly beneath our steps, carrying an air of anticipation. The lobby itself exuded a quiet elegance, bathed in the soft glow of the afternoon sunlight streaming through the expansive windows. A gentle hum of activity filled the space, punctuated by the occasional rustle of papers.

The receptionist, a woman with an air of indifference, glanced up from her notebook as we approached. Her eyes, cool and assessing, swept over us before settling on Elena with a hint of curiosity. "How can I help you, dear?" she asked, her voice monotone yet tinged with a subtle edge of detachment.

Elena, undeterred by the receptionist's demeanor, greeted her with a warm smile that illuminated her features. "We're in need of a room for my friend here," she said, gesturing towards me with a nod of her head. "He'll be staying with us."

The receptionist's expression remained unchanged as she reached for another key, her movements precise and methodical. Retrieving the key, she handed it to me with a detached air. "Room 204, second floor, fourth room on the right," she repeated mechanically, her attention already drifting back to her notebook as if our presence was of little consequence.

As I accepted the key, my gaze was drawn to a striking symbol adorning the wall beside the reception desk – the Eye of Horus. Etched in gold against a backdrop of deep blue, its intricate design seemed to watch over the lobby with an enigmatic presence, casting a subtle aura of mystery over the space.

"it's all over the place in here they believe it protects them from evil" Elena shrugged, noticing my gaze lingering on the Eye of Horus.

I nodded thoughtfully, intrigued by the symbolism woven into the fabric of the hotel. "Interesting," I murmured.

With the key in hand, I turned to follow Elena as she led the way towards the staircase, the soft echo of our footsteps mingling with the hushed whispers of the hotel's guests. As we ascended the stairs.

As Elena entered the room, she immediately shed her coat and rushed to the counter, grabbing her phone. Without pause, the familiar strains of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" filled the room, blasting at an ear-splitting volume.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at Elena's predictable ritual.

"Okay, Mr. P, we have no time to waste," Elena declared over the blaring music, oblivious to my annoyance. "Grab your notebook and let's start with the case."

"Emily's disappearance was the initial focus of my investigation," Elena began, her eyes reflecting the seriousness of the matter. "According to her family, Emily was extremely close to her mother. Her life seemed to be on track, with a successful career in marketing and a new boyfriend. However, her parents didn't approve of her relationship with Matthew, citing him as a point of contention."

She paused, her gaze drifting as if searching for the right words to convey the complexity of the situation. "The police initially dismissed Emily's disappearance as a case of a young woman running away, especially since Matthew was also missing."

Elena's voice wavered slightly, betraying the weight of the uncertainty surrounding Emily's fate. "For a while, I entertained the possibility that Emily had indeed chosen to leave her life behind. But then, three days ago, another woman disappeared under similar circumstances."
"And where is Matthew?" I interjected, my mind grappling with the complexities of the case. "His friends and family filed a missing persons report on him as well. He disappeared one day before Emily. But there's no reason to think of him as a suspect, is there?"

Elena's expression darkened, mirroring the shadow of uncertainty that clouded my thoughts. "That's the perplexing part," she replied, her voice tinged with frustration. "All three people disappeared without a trace. One moment they were there, and the next... poof, disappeared as if they've been captured by ghosts."

Her words sent a chill down my spine, and I couldn't shake off the sense of foreboding that gripped me. It was as if we were peering into the abyss of the unknown, where answers remained elusive and danger lurked in the shadows.

As my mind raced, struggling to contain the torrent of thoughts swirling within, I sought desperately for patterns amidst the chaos. With furrowed brow, I turned to Elena, my voice trembling with urgency.

"Is there any connection between the third woman who disappeared and Emily or Matthew?" I inquired, grasping at straws in the hopes of unraveling the enigma before us.

Elena shook her head solemnly, her eyes reflecting the gravity of the situation. "No," she replied, her voice tinged with frustration. "The third woman is a 50-year-old, last seen exiting her workplace at the quaint bistro, La Petite Cuisine, and heading home."

The revelation sent a shiver down my spine, the realization sinking in that the disappearances were not isolated incidents but part of a larger, more sinister web of mystery. As I pondered the implications, a sense of unease settled over me, the unknown looming ominously on the horizon like a gathering storm.

"Listen, P," Elena's urgency resonated in her voice as she spoke, her words cutting through the tension in the room like a knife. "I acquired CCTV footage of Emily's last sighting, and that's what I need you for."

Without a moment's hesitation, she raced to retrieve her laptop, returning with it clutched tightly in her grasp. With a sense of urgency, she opened the device, revealing the footage of Emily walking down a seemingly ordinary square, her demeanor betraying no hint of the impending turmoil.

But then, like a sudden storm on a clear day, a police patrol car flashed across the screen, casting a shadow of doubt over the otherwise mundane scene. "That means the police have more information on Emily's last movements," I realized, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach.

In a voice tinged with frustration, Elena explained her futile attempts to obtain a statement from the police, leaving us stranded in a sea of uncertainty. It was a crucial piece of the puzzle that remained tantalizingly out of reach, teasing us with its elusiveness.

Turning to me with pleading eyes, Elena's hand reached out to grasp my arm, her wide eyes locking with mine in an unspoken plea. "I need you to secure an interview with the chief of police or any detective working the case," she implored, her voice soft but desperate. "You could still go on your awaited vacation with your mum afterward."

Her touch sparked a fire within me, "alright el I'll think of a plan but I need some rest first, maybe we could meet at the lobby after 2 hours?"

"Thank you, Peter, for real," Elena's gratitude washed over me, momentarily easing the weight of the task ahead. "Also, two hours sharp, don't be late, ey?"

I offered her a reassuring smile, my resolve firm. "I am always on time," I assured her, though a flicker of uncertainty danced behind my eyes.

"Yeah, right," Elena retorted sarcastically, her skepticism evident as she exited the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

As the door clicked shut behind her, a sense of apprehension settled over me like a heavy shroud. Contemplation mingled with reservation, and a hint of fear gnawed at the edges of my mind.
Scene 3
As Elena departed, I surveyed the room. It bore the marks of neglect, with faded wallpaper peeling at the edges and worn furniture showing signs of age. The bed, positioned against one wall, appeared tired and weathered, its mattress sagging in the middle and the sheets bearing wrinkles. Above the bed, an out-of-place symbol caught my attention once again - the Eye of Horus, its intricate design etched into a wooden plaque and mounted on the wall.

Feeling the weight of exhaustion settle upon me, I sank onto the bed, craving a moment of respite. Before I could even settle in, the insistent ring of my phone shattered the silence. With a resigned sigh, I reached for the device, noting the caller ID - it was my mother, FaceTiming me.

I answered her call, greeted by the warm glow of her smile radiating through the screen. Our exchange of greetings was laced with the gentle familiarity of mother and son.

"Hello, dear," she chimed, "So, you finally found some time to visit your old mum, did you? How kind of you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, accustomed to the underlying reproach that often accompanied her affectionate words. "Yes, Mom," I replied, trying to mask the unease in my voice with forced cheerfulness. "I'm looking forward to spending some time with you."

Her smile widened. "Well, I'll believe it when I see it," she quipped, her words laden with a veiled challenge. "Don't keep me waiting too long now. You know how precious my time is."

"Are you calling me just to do that?" I interjected, a hint of frustration creeping into my voice.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Do what, dear?" she inquired innocently.

I hesitated, the words catching in my throat as I grappled with the swirling emotions inside me. "Never mind, Mom," I murmured, a wave of guilt washing over me for even entertaining the notion of confronting her.

But before I could retract my statement, her expression softened, and her voice took on a tone of vulnerability that caught me off guard. "Listen, Peter, I'm sorry," she began, her words tinged with a hint of sadness. "I just miss you. You don't call enough, and it feels like there's nothing for us to talk about. I just..."

Her voice trailed off, leaving the weight of her unspoken words hanging heavy in the air between us. In that moment, I felt a pang of sympathy for the woman on the other end of the line, grappling with her own insecurities and yearning for connection in the only way she knew how.

"I understand," I replied softly, feeling a surge of empathy. "I've been too caught up in my work, but that's why I decided to take this vacation. I've missed you too, Mom, and I really am looking forward to spending more time with you."

A genuine smile spread across my mother's face, her eyes lighting up with warmth and relief. "Oh, Peter, that's wonderful to hear!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with genuine happiness. "I've missed you more than you know, dear. It's been too long since we've had a chance to catch up properly."

Before we could delve further into our conversation, my mother couldn't resist injecting a bit of her trademark humor. "Well, now that you're finally taking a break from work, maybe you'll have some time to find yourself a nice, not-at-all-crazy wife," she teased, a mischievous twinkle dancing in her eye.

Her playful jab elicited a hearty chuckle from me, knowing full well it was all in good fun. "We'll see, Mom," I replied with a laugh, shaking my head affectionately. "But for now, I think I'll focus on spending time with my favorite woman - you."

With a heartwarming laugh, my mother waved goodbye, her parting words carrying a hint of playful insistence. "Don't forget to keep your eyes open, Peter! You never know when Mrs. Right might come along," she quipped before ending the call, leaving me smiling at her enduring humor and unwavering love.

As she hung up, the old bed's worn embrace felt oddly inviting. I sank into its tired folds, finding unexpected comfort in its familiarity, and drifted into a well-deserved sleep.

scene 4

The sound of my alarm rang, and I half-opened my eyes, seeing only in black and white. I hit snooze and repeated the process five times until I finally woke up. I hoped Elena wouldn’t get mad at me for being late. The bed squeaked as I got up, and I hastily washed my face. As I turned on the water tap, I noticed water droplets leaking from the sides.

"Jeez, this place needs serious renovations," I muttered to myself.

I walked to the lobby, only to meet Elena.

"Hi, El," I said, bracing myself for Elena to scold me for my lateness.

"Hello, Peter," she replied in a low voice. She seemed to be staring at a void behind me, her face expressionless and still. I took a step closer to her.

"El, you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, all is good. Uhm, weren't you supposed to leave for a trip to see your mom?"

"Well, yeah, in two days. I'll help you with this thi—" I began, confusion visible on my face, but Elena interrupted me. Her voice was firm, yet she avoided making eye contact.

"No, Peter, it's fine. I've thought about it, and I don't need your help anymore. You can go."

"I am not your toy, Elena. You can't just make me travel with you and then ask me to leave before I even get the chance to do anything," I snapped, my anger blinding me to the obvious. There was something Elena was hiding, and I needed to be calm to understand what was going on.

I tried to salvage the situation by apologizing and reassuring her that I was by her side, but it was too late. Elena's eyes welled up with tears. "I'm sorry, but please, Peter, leave. Go on your trip," she said, storming out of the lobby.

As she left, I noticed a necklace with the Eye of Horus dangling around her neck. Why does Elena wear this, and why is this place filled with an ancient Egyptian symbol? I froze, unsure of what to do. As I ran after Elena, desperation gnawed at my insides. She wasn't in front of the lobby anymore. I hopped into my car and started scouring the streets, telling myself she couldn't have gone too far.

I drove down every street, checked every alley, but Elena was nowhere to be found. Panic rose within me, and my breath quickened as I frantically tried to contact her, only to find her phone out of service.

Finally, I parked in front of an old bar. It was midnight by now, and the place was bustling with people. As I entered, I was greeted by a middle-aged man with a full beard. "Hey, newcomer, welcome to the Allure Bar," he slurred, his breath heavy with alcohol. He introduced himself as Michael Convivial, the owner of the bar, and offered me a shot on the house since it was my first time there.

"I didn't come here for the drinks," I said, the song 'What Am I to You' playing softly in the background. I showed him a photo of Elena, and he instantly recognized her, laughing as he muttered something I couldn't quite catch.

"That crazy girl who still hopes," he said, his speech slurred. He mentioned that he last saw her two days ago.

As I stepped out of the bar and headed towards my car, a ping from my phone startled me. It was a message from an unknown ID, accompanied by a chilling photo. In it, Elena lay unconscious, her Eye of Horus necklace smashed beside her. The caption sent shivers down my spine: "Listen to Elena, outsider. Get out of Silverlake and don't get involved in a fight you've got nothing to do with."

Dread washed over me as I stared at the image, my mind racing with questions.

As my fingers moved almost of their own accord, typing out a message, my mind raced with a mixture of fear and determination.

"I don't know who you are, but I will soon, and I will make you pay," I wrote, my fingers trembling slightly as I pressed send. "You've made it personal by kidnapping Elena, and I won't let you hurt her even more, you hear me?!"

Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared at the screen. I never knew I cared for Elena this deeply until this moment. The thought of her in danger filled me with a sense of fierce protectiveness, driving me to do whatever it takes to bring her back safely.

(I know it's not the main focus in the title but I'd also be super keen to talk to people in the UK, either London or somewhere in England or Scotland around like Edinburgh as there's a near 100% chance I'm moving there this year)
Hi everyone!
My name is Jack, I'm 21 and I'm a recent cyber security and forensics and internetworking and network security graduate, but I hope to go on for a few more years and do post grad studies! (this year my goal is to move to Edinburgh for my masters!)
Hobbies!: For the past few years I've been heavily into formula 1, never missing a race (even the 3 am ones and even worse, the 7 am ones!)
I also enjoy doing photography, I mainly do cars but I have recently started thinking about more landscape/urban photography.
Now for games! My main ones are Destiny 2, and rainbow six siege, (for those wondering my highest rank is diamond 3 (when rank actually meant something lol)), but I haven't been playing them much these days. I play heaps more than that but I can't think of them off the top of my head lol. To try and list some id say project zomboid is one I'm very into as of right now, that and hell divers 2. I really enjoyed elden ring so I want to try more souls like games. Red dead redemption 2 is amazing and my favourite game of all time is probably watch dogs 2.
I love JDM cars and unfortunately haven't been to a car meet in over a year now. My introduction to photography was through cars so if you'd like to see some of my photos do let me know! Most of my part time work went towards getting my dream car so I definitely plan on going to more meets!
As for what I look like I'm 5"11' brown hair that touches my shoulders and never acts normally. I am 75 ish kg and I have brown eyes. That's a basic description of me but if you want a picture that's not an issue.
I'm not really too good at writing these advertisements or making titles or finishing them off so I'll just say if I sound appealing to you or you wanna know more, feel free to shoot me a message! For those in WA I'm down in the Mandurah area but travelling up to Perth isn't an issue for me! And hopefully I see all you Scots later this year!
Thanks for reading! Stay safe people!!

As the title says Im moving in with my boyfriend. He lives in a trailer and already has 2 big dogs (almost 2 y/o Great Dane/Australian shepherd & 4 y/o a pit/lab/husky). The 4y/o dog has not ever met a cat but is okay with other dogs. He makes me super nervous though because he gets SUPER hyper-fixated on other living creatures when he first meets them. He hasn't actually attacked or killed any animal that I know of. He carried a baby bunny around alive in his mouth once, and is really rough playing with the other dog. The dane is crate trained but the other dog isnt. Both dogs are trained well, except they dont listen when they are both around each other and majorly excited. They feed off each others crazy energy. The 2 y/o pup has been brought to my house and met the cats briefly and was a little scared at first but being that she was in a new environment as well, didnt really focus too much on them for the 30 minutes she was over and was on leash the whole time. Anyways, is it a good idea to move in my cats with the dogs? Is there anything I can do to help my cats (almost 1 y/o and an 8 y/o) adjust without stressing them out too much? What signs should I look for in the dogs in case they do try to harm my cats? What do I do to help them safely get to know each other? What can I do for my cats to help them if they need to get away/have space from the dogs? There aren't many places they can hide or get on to be out of reach from the dogs. I have until June 6th to be out and I really need suggestions! Please help!

hello, i do not use this reddit account often and use it more as a throwaway, I am not sure if i flaired this properly/correctly. I apologize in advance for spelling and grammar errors as well
For some context: my house has a sealed off crawl space. my bedroom has a window facing outside into my backyard and under it is the entry to said crawlspace. My bed is in the corner of my room and there is a small sliver of space, enough to stick my arm into without getting stuck.
the title basically explains it all. for multiple months i have been hearing this light tapping sound, i can't exactly pinpoint where it's coming from, it sounds like it's coming from under me, on the side of my bed near the wall. When i get up from my bed the sound stays loud but shifts to coming from my window instead, however nothing is out there. It'll happen a few times a month, sometimes 3 or so times a day, sometimes for a week or 2 straight. sometimes it sounds quiet and other time's it's right in my ear. When i bang on my wall or my headboard it'll stop, or it'll stop for a few hours and start up again.
Lately it sounds like the tapping follows me around the house, sometimes it sounds like it's under my feet or above my head. i know no animal is living in the attic or the crawl space of my house, since the entrance to the crawl space is sealed and hasn't been damaged, and i know nothing is coming from the attic since my dad's up there often cleaning things out and the only way to get in the attic is by going upstairs, into the bonus room and open the door to said attic, we also have no roof damage so nothing could have gotten in through there.
normally i can just tune it out but it's gotten louder, and especially at night when it's dar is when it's worse. I already have issues with paranoia s hearing the tapping makes my thoughts run wild and sometimes i fall into panic attacks believing someone or something is living inside my house wanting to hurt me. it's gotten so bad that in order for me to sleep i need to have noise playing and some sort of nightlight. it's getting even worse to the point i can't walk around my house when it's silent, i can't be home alone and my dog has to follow me everywhere during the day so i'll feel safe.
i am unmedicated and currently have no access to mental health support right now, most of my friends don't struggle with this type of stuff, and my parents aren't much help either, same with my siblings other than the fact they are sympathetic and don't make it worse.
I didn't really know who to talk to, so i'm putting all my thoughts here and hey, maybe someone will see this and relate to this problem or have had a similar experience

I'm planning on going to PSU next year and I was going to bring my cat since I'd be moving a few hours away. How does the pet policy work? I know you're allowed to have cats for emotional assistance but is it difficult to do school alongside keeping your animal safe and healthy? She has seperation anxiety since I got her right before the lockdown so I don't want to just leave her with my parents and their dogs but I'm worried about her safety.

✨What are some ways y'all have been able to make peace with being disabled and/or to find supportive ways of living a life that isn't trying to meet NT standards?✨
I was diagnosed in my mid-30s after being high masking. I've been recovering from severe burnout and learning how to navigate life as an autistic person and not as a wannabe NT.
For me the biggest challenge is understanding how to live a supportive and healthy life as an autistic adult. I am in therapy and coaching, but I still struggle with those old messages from US society about high productivity and self-worth being tied to one's accomplishments. From hanging out on this sub I know I'm not the only one!
So I thought maybe it'd be helpful to share tips or tricks or whatever around accepting autisim and reframing life around disability.
✨What's helped me so far✨

1. If I need to take several hours to rest on the couch or in bed, I tell myself that I am listening to my body and taking care of it. (Not that I am lazy or a failure... Messages I got from family and others in the past.)
   
2. I make walking my dog my number one priority for energy expenditure each day. I reminded myself that even if all I can do is walk my dog, I have helped my dog and myself and that's an accomplishment.
   
3. I stopped judging my food choices. My main concern is that I eat enough food and that half of it is reasonably healthy (veggies, fruit, etc). I take vitamins and make sure I have easy safe foods on hand. I don't try to make food from scratch all the time like I used to and that's okay.
   

✨What's helped you?✨

Sooo I’m sorry for the lengthy post but it wouldn’t make sense without the back story. I’m newly diagnosed with lupus, fibromyalgia, long covid, POTS and hypothyroidism (I know, it’s a lot. Ugh). To say I’ve been in pain is an understatement. Head to toe symptoms, extreme swelling that makes movement even harder, fatigue, depression/anxiety, you name it I have it all right now. it’s been trial and error with medications so far. I’m still suffering from my first major flare in January.
Anyways, I (27F) was engaged to my boyfriend (29M) of 3 and a half years who I’ve known since I was 14. We are best friends and the love he gives me is like no other. Almost like something out of a movie..We both had shitty upbringings but not to belittle his situation, I definitely had it worse. I get anxious around big groups of people and I unfortunately care about what other’s think too much and my reputation. No one meeting me would ever know. That being said, there’s been numerous times he’s humiliated me in front of his friends and family. Even his own step mom told me a year and a half in when she saw I was frustrated over how he handled something that he used to manipulate and play both his mom and dad to get what he wants. They’re all unstable honestly but mostly the father. I’ve always felt uncomfortable around the family, they’re just not my kind of people and I feel like I can’t be myself around them. A year before my diagnoses we went to his best friend’s wedding. The wife is super mean to others and has started drama with a lot of the friend group especially the other girlfriend’s and wives and even her own husband’s family. My boyfriend has always said “these girls are just jealous because you’re stunning”. I grew up kind of ugly and didn’t get hot until senior year of high school so I was bullied really badly and it didn’t even stop when I got “hot”. A lot of girls were still mean to me just in different ways. I was already not excited to go to this wedding due to that and my boyfriend being in the wedding party. I made friends with this really nice girl who just started dating one of his friends. We went to the bathroom together and on our walk back to the tables we walked past my boyfriend who was standing in the mix of a big group of people and he was talking to one of his friend’s girlfriends. Really nice, cute girl. I didn’t even see him cause there were so many people by him so I walked right past him. He apparently called my name when he saw me but with the music it was so loud I didn’t hear nor see him. Him assuming the worst of me says to this girl “what the fuck is her problem” then this other girl walks up to me asking if I’m mad at him.. I was so confused and said what?! Why would I be mad at him? I pulled him aside and said what’s going on? I was so upset he involved other people over an issue I had no idea about. He’s obviously drunk but to me that’s even worse cause I believe drunk words are sober thoughts so he gives me the nastiest look and says you’re that insecure I can’t even talk to my friend’s girlfriend? I was so angry and said well you must be telling on yourself because I didn’t even hear or see you so he takes my words and twists them saying I said I was mad he was talking to her. I swear I could’ve given two shits less. I sat in the bathroom the entire wedding crying because I was so humiliated everyone was involved and they had heard his twisted version of what happened. Shame on me for thinking we were at a good place. I have no problem admitting I’m wrong but I literally did NOTHING for him to do this. I have had insecurity issues due to my upbringing and being cheated on and I finally got comfortable in our relationship where I stopped needing constant reassurance so for me to just finally feel safe and happy and then to have it all ripped away was like grieving a death for me because who is this person and why would they turn on me like that? he made me Uber with other people back from the venue cause he told them he didn’t want to be by me. No one really knows me so they clearly believe him and I’m absolutely shocked and embarrassed. It was rocky for months but he’d make it up to me then something else similar would happen and he’d involve other people in our business. His friend group is also so immature for their age and the girlfriends as well, so I always felt out of place and wondered why my boyfriend was friends with them. Obviously then it clicked.
Another wedding halfway across the country, he said he didn’t want to go out with the guys the night before the wedding because he didn’t want to leave me alone. I kept trying to talk him into going, especially with the fear that his friends would be blaming me for him not going. Finally after we all convinced him to go, I wanted to watch the football game so I took a Lyft by myself to a local bar that had the game on. Why should I have to sit in the room by myself all night waiting? I love traveling and was in a new city so I figured I’d make the most of it. He was annoyed and all his friends and one of the girls apparently said I was weird for going out to a bar alone. I’m also a loner and used to live out of my home state alone with just my dog and I so it’s literally what I’m used to. I can take care of myself. I dropped everything and sent him a spicy picture when I got back from the hotel bathroom. Him and his best friend came back not too long after to our room to hang out. I was asking them how it was and was telling them about my night and how a girl approached me and I actually made a friend. He was acting drunk which was totally fine cause that’s what most people do when they’re celebrating so I was like oh, you drunk?! Literally in a fun tone, not judgmental at all cause I had a fun night too.. his entire demeanor changed and he gets nasty with me in front of his friend saying that he’s not drunk and didn’t even drink at all. I was like huh? It’s not a problem, we’re literally hanging out having a conversation. He went to the bathroom and even his friend shrugged his shoulders. They were going to party in one of the other guys’ rooms and I didn’t even want to go. I realized he had the room key when I left at the same time to grab water bottles so I followed him up real quick to get it and he was talking shit about me to his friend. I said “hey I can hear you”. every single time something like this happens he takes AT LEAST a day or usually longer to realize how wrong he is. He throws out the excuses “all my friends and their spouses fight no one even cares and no one even remembers it.”
Well, fast forward to Thanksgiving.. his step mom has always been overly kind where it’s suspect because she literally talks crap about everyone including family so I’m obviously the subject when I leave the room. My boyfriend was on the deck petting the dog and I was packing our bags because we were all visiting his family in another state. His grandma goes “where did A(my boyfriend) go? His dad replies “he’s outside petting the dog. The step mom goes “no B(me) is right here. Literally calling me a dog. I went outside to the car and my boyfriend saw me and asked what’s wrong? I told him and he started yelling at ME saying that I made it up and she never said that. He goes in to ask them. All of a sudden his dad, step mom and him all come running out bombarding me it was so overwhelming. She’s trying to tell me she didn’t mean it that way and she thinks I’m gorgeous and loves me and she even started tearing up.. mind you, I’ve already sat out many gatherings the last year due to some of her comments. This ultimately led to a huge fight cause I was crying and explained how he’s never once defended me and I don’t think I can be with someone who acts like this in these situations. He always misses the point or tries to reverse the blame. I grew up walking on eggshells and have also been diagnosed with complex PTSD which I forgot to mention earlier so I really try my hardest to communicate healthy because I hate yelling. I will admit, I’ve fed into and once he started yelling at me I did start yelling back which I know wasn’t good but I truly couldn’t take being so misunderstood this bad like he was always trying to make me a bad guy for no reason. I had booked a mini vacation after Thanksgiving so we were driving to the hotel even though he had already ruined the excitement for me. We get there and everything escalated again. He left the room and said he was leaving me here. He came back in all angry and I said you need to get out of the room but he wouldn’t stop being nasty and I said if you don’t get out I’m literally going to call the cops, I’m not sitting here listening to this all night. I know that was a little far fetched but I actually ended up calling the cops because he kept daring me to and making threats refusing to leave, laughing in my face and taunting me (he was hammered). I literally went to book him another room first and he refused to give me space so I exhausted all options. Looking back, I wish I didn’t call the cops but I was so sick of this shit I pretty much just wanted a reason for us to be done and not have a reason to get back together.. I told the cops to just take him to another room and I didn’t want any trouble at all. He acted like I was trying to get him arrested when I literally stressed to them that I didn’t want that and just needed space but he wasn’t listening. I had called one of my best friends and her boyfriend to come get me over 4 hours from home.
He financed my car for me knowing my ex has ruined my credit when we split but I had cash saved so I paid him $1,000 a month on top of the down payment just to pay off the car super quick. He took the engagement ring from me and left me stranded without a vehicle not even letting me have a day or two to get a different car. We didn’t talk for a week, I refused his texts and calls which were blowing up my phone until I finally caved. He agreed to therapy. I made him apologize to his friends and family and explain that I wasn’t crazy or out of line like he made me seem the last few years. I wasn’t happy with how he did it and think he still defends his case around them as he knows I have no interest in going around any of them except his mother and step father who were the nicest out of everyone but they still were not my cup of tea..
Come January, we split again for a week. This time peacefully because I told him any little slip up and I’m gone, I have to look out for myself. This is when my first flare happened that progressively got worse to where after a month I could barely get out of bed. My heart rate had gone up to a high of 180 at one point while just standing. There’s too many symptoms to write out here as it’s not completely relevant but I have a very poor quality of life right now and I’m trying my best to be positive because I was super active and loved being outdoors before this. My boyfriend has gotten better for the most part but still doesn’t know how to communicate issues without blowing up most of the time and it has caused my pain to get worse each time this happened. One time I told him to stop because it’s making it worse and he says “I don’t give a fuck about your symptoms”. I kicked him out and he apologized tremendously and hasn’t done anything that bad since but still will argue with me over dumb things after I’ve repeatedly begged him to just stop and think first before reacting, especially now with how sick I am..
I’m only explaining the bad here because just envision Prince Charming aside from these scenarios.. he is literally amazing and has taken care of me through all of this, giving up time where he could be having fun to just sit inside with me and cater to my every need which I’m so grateful for. I haven’t been able to go back to work since this happened so he has helped me with a few bills and takes me to some specialist appointments when my grandmother can’t. He cooks often for me on my really bad days and even for my younger brothers. They all love him because he spends time with them but they don’t really know the side that I do. It’s like I’m with two different people and with my heart issue right now I’m scared to lose him because I already feel like I’m having a heart attack on the daily. Should I suggest he goes to a psychiatrist and tries medication or just find the strength to leave him? I don’t look at him the same and all the good seems fake cause I’m just waiting for his next outburst where he holds it over my head or something.

Details such as names, dates, and locations have been altered to protect myself and the people of my town, but the story is true.
Everybody in my area knows about Kit Jenson, the Crazed Contortionist. A moniker he posthumously earnt after butchering his wife and taking his own life. The deranged man was a performer. An artist, he would have said. Jenson frequently put on a mesmerising contortionist display at the old theatre in Greentree. A show that was loved, though he was an oddball.
Still, in spite of what folk call him, he did not slaughter Mandy Jenson in a performative way. There was no display of gratuitous grandeur. The two bodies were not packed into some poky space, like a pair of contorted sardines. He beheaded his wife and threw himself from a sixth-floor balcony.
They both died on Tuesday 10^th May, 2022. I know that because I’ve researched it extensively. Read and re-read articles until my eyes throb. Just to ensure that I’ve not entirely lost my marbles. There's no denying it. They’ve been gone for two years.
That’s why I don’t understand the calls I received on Friday 24^th May, 2024. Calls that all stemmed from a town I shall call Greentree.
~Call 1 – 12:40pm~
Operator: 999. Police. What is the nature of your emergency?
Caller: Hello. I, erm… I should’ve called earlier, but I just didn’t get it. And now something’s happened. Something awful. Erm, my… My name’s Ian Poole. I work at the care home off Broad Street. Know the one?
Operator: Yes, I do. What’s happened, Ian?
Caller: Well, a few of the folk in the east wing have been acting bizarrely all day. There was an incident, and… Well, they’re starting to frighten me. Frighten all of us.
Operator: I see. What was the incident, Ian? Why did you call the emergency services?
Caller: One of the residents seriously injured someone. It was Mr Harrison, one of our oldest residents. He… Oh, God. He broke Mrs Renley’s legs. I don’t… I don’t…
Operator: Okay. Breathe for me, Ian. It’s going to be okay. I’ll dispatch officers, but I have to ask whether Mr Harrison has pre-existing mental health problems?
Caller: Well, of course he does. You understand the nature of this place, right? It’s a home for dementia patients. Not a retirement village.
Operator: I understand that, Ian. Do you understand why I asked the question? When it comes to crimes committed by dementia sufferers, such incidents rarely result in court action. The patient has no knowledge of what they’re doing.
Caller: Yes, I know. Shit, I’m not trying to throw Mr Harrison in prison. I’m trying to protect everybody. He’s… We sedated him, but now Mrs Renley’s not herself either. I know what you’re thinking. Obviously, she’s not herself, given her injured legs. But it’s the opposite of what you’d expect. She… She should be in pain, but she’s not. She’s just not herself. And this madness is like a disease. It’s spreading throughout the wing. I don’t want to stay in here. None of us want to stay in here.
Operator: Okay. I’ve dispatched some officers, and the ambulance service has been notified. But tell me what happened, Ian. I’m not getting the full picture.
Caller: I know. It’s hard to say what happened though. I saw it, and I still don’t understand. It was a frightening morning. I’m the manager here, but I didn’t arrive until ten. And my co-worker, Susan, was flustered. She’d been crying because Mr Harrison called her a rude name. Well, what’s new there? That’s what I thought, but I didn’t say it out loud, of course. Anyway, Susan said that Mr Harrison was behaving even more strangely than usual. To give you some context, he… He often speaks in broken sentences, he’s practically immobile, and he doesn’t recognise his loved ones. That’s the level of his deterioration. But today, he’s been lucid. Very lucid. He even got up and strolled around. I’ve not seen him walk more than two steps in months.
Operator: Right. How did this lead to an altercation with Mrs…?
Caller: … Renley. Right. Well, she was complaining about Mr Harrison’s incessant chattering. Not a new complaint, mind you. See, he’s always chattering, but it’s usually jumbled nonsense. That’s what I’m trying to explain to you. Today, he’s been speaking in complete sentences, and he’s been saying horrible things. Things that make my skin crawl. I don’t know why. It was nothing particularly threatening, but I feel… He feels dangerous. Well, clearly he’s dangerous.
Operator: What exactly happened between Mr Harrison and Mrs Renley? How did the assault occur?
Caller: Lenny said that Mr Harrison had been ranting for a while. He even wrote down some of the things Mr Harrison was saying, before things became volatile. ‘I am endless.’ That’s one of the things he’s written. What else? Erm… ‘I will endlessly be the greatest artist there has even been. The true one. The stage never dies. I must persist.’
Operator: Right. Mr Harrison said a lot, didn’t he? I hope you don’t take offence, Ian, but none of those sentences sound particularly lucid to me. It sounds exactly like the jumbled rant of a dementia sufferer. Words that mean nothing at all.
Caller: No. I work here every day. Trust me. That wasn’t normal. Look, I get what you’re saying. And you’re right, in a sense. People say and do the strangest things in this place. Things that’ll break your heart or set your hairs on end. But residents often regress to the people they once were, and none of those words match the man that Mr Harrison used to be. He wasn’t a poet or a performer. He didn’t speak eloquently or care for the arts. Back when he used to speak clearly, he didn’t speak like that.
Operator: Ian.
Caller: Fine. I understand. You might be right. After all, we thought the same. I would’ve dismissed it. So would’ve Susan. In fact, we did dismiss it. She dried her eyes, pulled up her bootstraps, and came to the canteen with me. We heard some commotion, and that was when it happened.
Operator: The assault?
Caller: Yeah. Mrs Renley said something Mr Harrison didn’t like. ‘It wasn’t a good show’. According to Lenny, at one point, the man had been doing yoga. Susan and I found that hard to believe, as he’d hardly moved for months. Anyway, Lenny was already heading over to Mr Harrison when Susan and I entered the room, as things were becoming a little too heated.
Operator: What was Mr Harrison saying?
Caller: He called Mrs Renley an ‘uncultured swine without the intellect to digest true art’. Now, this is what I mean. I know you don’t know Mr Harrison, but he was a typical bloke. A man of few words. Even when he could talk in full sentences, a year or so ago, he did not speak like that. He hasn’t been himself today. Almost as if somebody else were… Never mind.
Operator: Right. Okay. What about the assault, Ian?
Caller: Oh. Sorry. I’m just… I’m trying to avoid talking about that. Look, I’ve already said what happened. He broke her legs.
Operator: Yes, but I need to know more than that. That’s a very serious assault. Did Mr Harrison use a weapon? You said your co-worker, Lenny, was in the room. Then you and Susan were in the room. Three members of staff. One perpetrator. A man who you told me was mostly immobile. ‘Practically’ immobile, you said. So, why didn’t any of you manage to stop him?
Caller: Our residents have no access to dangerous things. Don’t try to turn this into an investigation of Greentree Nursing Home. We operate things properly here.
Operator: I’m not accusing you of anything, Ian. I’m trying to understand how on Earth this happened. So, if he had no weapon, how did Mr Harrison break Mrs Renley’s legs?
Caller: I… I don’t… I don’t want to say. When are the responders getting here?
Operator: In a few minutes. And you don’t have to talk to me, but at some point, you’ll have to answer detailed questions about the incident. You have a duty of care to those residents, and given that such a serious assault occurred whilst three members of staff were present–
Caller: – He used his bare fucking hands. Okay? He… Mr Harrison snapped Mrs Renley like a fucking twig. One leg after the other. Snapped each limb upwards, far past breaking point. I'm looking at her right now. The bones are protruding. There’s blood everywhere. Our trained nurse applied tourniquets and bandaged the wounds, so she says that should’ve stopped the blood loss. Mrs Renley should be okay until the responders arrive. Physically, anyway. I thought about asking for an ambulance when I rang 999, but… Look, we wanted the police. We’re scared. We thought we… Oh, I don’t know anymore.
Operator: Don’t worry about that, Ian. I’ve dispatched an ambulance as well. What have you done with Mr Harrison? Does he pose a threat to any residents or members of staff?
Caller: No. We were scared of him at first. Don’t worry. He’s… He’s fine. No threat to any of us. We gave him some Lorazepam to calm him down a little. He’s in his room, and a member of staff is watching him. We’re scared of Mrs Renley now. She’s started sounding like him. Talking about performing on stage. And some of the others have started saying odd things. But Mrs Renley scares me the most. She told me that she ‘could bend her legs a little farther, if I’d just give her a stage’. I don’t… I don’t understand any of this.
Operator: Right… I… Thank you, Ian. Do you want to stay on the phone until the responders arrive? The paramedics should be there before the police. Any second now, in fact.
Caller: Yes, I hear the sirens outside, but I think I should hang up. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I want to go to sleep.
Operator: Okay, Ian. The paramedics will help. I promise.
Call ended at 12:18pm.
Responders arrived to find that five of the residents in the east wing had passed from heart attacks, including Mr Harrison and Mrs Renley. Several others are still in hospital.
When I received this call at the beginning of my shift, it horrified me. I was struggling to come to terms with the thought of such a vicious assault, though I’d heard of worse things. Once, a killer confessed his crime to me. Yet, somehow, this frightened me more than any other call. Something about the dread in the voice of Ian Poole. It was contagious. A disease, like he said.
And it was only the first crumb of Friday’s awful events. Events which took place on a date that carried no significance, though I’ve spent days searching for answers. Searching for whatever ties everything together. I’ve found only one horrible link.
Kit Jenson.
~Call 2 – 3:24pm~
Operator: Police. What is the nature of your emergency?
Caller: A strange man is following me home.
Operator: Okay. How long has he been following you?
Caller: Since I left school. Oh, God, he’s still there. He’s still there.
Operator: Okay. It’s all going to be okay. I’m going to send a police officer out to you. Just stay calm for me. Which school was this?
Caller: Greentree High School. My name’s Cora Ashburn.
Operator: Thank you, Cora. Okay. Where are you right now? Is there anyone else around? A group of people who seem safe, perhaps?
Caller: I’m on a street with lots of houses. Wait. Why? Should I do something? Should I knock on a door? I don’t… He’s so close. He’s so close. He seems to be getting closer, no matter how quickly I move. Shit. What’s wrong with him?
Operator: Stay calm, Cora. Do you–
Caller: – What’s wrong with his body? There’s something wrong with his body.
Operator: Do you know the name of the street, Cora?
Caller: Yeah, it’s Crescent Drive. Off Main Street.
Operator: Thank you. The police are coming, okay? And I wasn’t suggesting that you start knocking on doors. I need you to keep walking, okay? Do you see anybody on the pavement?
Caller: Oh, God.
Operator: I’m sorry. I don’t want to frighten you. Breathe for me, Cora. It’s all going to be okay. A responder is on the way, all right? We’re only five minutes from your road. Have you seen anybody else on the street?
Caller: I don’t know. I’m walking, like you said. I don’t want to stop. I’m just moving. He’s so fast though. He’s on his [inaudible]. I don’t know. What is he doing? He doesn’t look real. He looks… His spine is bent. His arms. I’m losing my fucking [inaudible]. I don’t know [inaudible]. Shit.
Operator: Just a few minutes, Cora. You should hear the sirens in the distance. Do you hear them? They’re close.
Caller: I see someone. I see someone in the playground. Should I go to them?
Operator: As long as you stay nearby, Cora. The responders need to be able to easily find you. Who have you seen in the playground? It’ll help to make you identifiable when the responders arrive. A girl in a Greentree uniform, and…?
Caller: It’s a woman. Hey. Help. Help me. A man’s following me. He’s… Oh, God. No, no, no, no, no, no. What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with you?
Call ended at 3:27pm.
When responders arrived at 3:29pm, they did not find Cora Ashburn. Four days later, she is still missing.
After sweeping the playground beside Crescent Drive, officers found a threadbare cardigan knotted onto two interlinking bars of a jungle gym. Something that only warranted attention because its remaining strands had mostly unravelled from a gaping hole in the centre. Worst of all, upon closer inspection, it appeared to be blood-stained.
After the evidence was brought into the station, an investigating officer recognised the item of clothing from an old case. It was the cardigan found on the corpse of Mandy Jenson. A cardigan that was discarded once the case had swiftly, and decisively, been closed. Two years earlier.
~Call 3 – 6:16pm~
Operator: Police. What is the nature of your emergency?
Caller: He’s, erm… He’s got… Oh, he’s wrong, man. He’s all [inaudible] wrong. Like, [inaudible] head’s gone. Head’s coming off, mate. Know what I mean? Y’know?
Operator: Sorry, I didn’t understand any of that. You’re slurring. What’s the emergency?
Caller: Hey, love. Are you okay? Is that [inaudible]? Why are you crying, love? Oh, shit. Did he do that to you? Did he [inaudible]? Fuck me. Fuck.
Operator: Are you okay? Who else is with you? Please tell me what’s happening.
Caller: Don’t… Don’t [inaudible] hang up. I have an emergency. I do. This lass has been… She’s having a rough night, mate. She’s having a… Shit. Fuck.
Operator: Take a deep breath. Just tell me what’s happening. Slowly. Calmly.
Caller: I’ve had a bit to drink.
Operator: I can tell.
Caller: Sorry, I just [inaudible].
Operator: I really need you to speak clearly. What has happened to the woman you mentioned?
Caller: It’s this guy. He was hassling [inaudible]. He was, like, off. Just fucking off. Didn’t really see him. I felt it though. This tall fella. Weird [inaudible] figure. Some creep who vanished when a bunch of us came out of the [inaudible]. Don’t know where he went, but she’s just… She’s [inaudible] rough. He hurt her. There’s so much fucking blood.
Operator: Right. Okay. A man hurt a woman. Where are you?
Caller: In the centre of [inaudible]. Near The Old Arms. In the [inaudible]. The, erm… Where the cars park. The… The car park. Around the back of the pub, y’know?
Operator: I know the pub. Okay. I’ll be sending emergency responders to your location. Stay on the phone, and please do not leave the woman on her own. Are any other people there?
Caller: The others went home. I told the landlord, but he’s gone. Don’t know [inaudible]. Don’t want to leave her. Y’know? There was another woman, but [inaudible] left.
Operator: Do you think I’d be able to talk to the injured woman? Or would you be able to talk to her, at least? Just until the paramedics arrive. Is she breathing? You’ve not described her injuries.
Caller: I, er, [inaudible]. She’s twitching, but she isn’t, like, gonna… She isn’t gonna talk, mate. Her mouth’s all… The man broke her jaw, and she’s just… Do you hear [inaudible]?
Operator: I hear another voice. Is that her?
Caller: Yeah, she’s… I tried to talk to her, but she didn’t [inaudible] words. She just… Oh, shit. Oh, shit, shit, [inaudible]. Where does the [inaudible]? Fucking [inaudible].
Operator: Hello? Are you okay? What’s happening? I’ve dispatched some officers. They’re already in the town centre. Only a couple of minutes away from the pub. Please stay on the phone. Tell me what’s happening.
No intelligible words.
Call ended at 6:25pm
For the remainder of the call, though I tried to communicate with the man, I heard only muffled noises. Crunching and what almost sounded like howls of agony, though the connection was garbled. I pretended that the sounds were perfectly explainable, but that didn’t ease the knot in my gut. I knew something was dreadfully wrong.
Responders arrived at 6:25pm, finding the phone of Robert Anderson outside The Old Arms. And Officer Jeffrey Ross claimed that he had seen something in the alley beside the establishment. The body of a man being ‘misshapen’ by a figure in the darkness. Misshapen. That was the word he used repeatedly.
Officer Isabelle Donaldson didn’t see what her partner alleged to have seen. It was ‘there one moment and gone the next’, in Officer Ross’ words. And he called the alleged figure at the end of the alley ‘recognisable’. Ross told investigators that the perpetrator’s ‘costume’ reminded him of the one Kit Jenson used to wear for his performances at Greentree Theatre.
~Call 4 – 9:19pm~
Operator: Police. What’s your emergency?
Caller: Oh. I needed an ambulance.
Operator: Okay. Well, I –
Caller: – Shush. I need a little bit of quiet, please.
Operator: What is the nature of your–
Caller: – I said ‘shush’.
Operator: I’m afraid I won’t shush. This is an emergency line. Would you like me to patch you through to the ambulance services?
Caller: Maybe I do need the police.
Operator: Okay. What’s happened? What’s happening?
Caller: No, forget it. Forget it. I spoke out of line. It’s… Oh, hello, Kit.
Operator: Is somebody else there? What’s the nature of your emergency?
Caller: I said I was sorry. I said I was sorry. I said I was sorry. I said I was sorry.
Operator: Are you okay? Please tell what’s happening. I want to help. Are you not able to talk right now? Is that the problem?
Caller: You’re right, Kit. I didn’t understand your art. Oh, I just didn’t understand, but I do now. I’m sorry I didn’t applaud. Yes. No, of course. The town deserves it. Every last one of us. You’re right. You’re right. You’re right. You’re–
Operator: – Miss, who is in the room with you? Would you be able to give me some sign that you’re in danger? A code word, perhaps? How about ‘house’?
Caller: I’m not ignoring you, sir. I was just talking to him. You will be able to help me. I need somebody to come and find me, so the place doesn’t smell afterwards, you see. It would be a shame for the smell to tarnish the place. Like it did when she…
Operator: Are you having thoughts? What is your state of mind right now? If you give me your location, I –
Caller: – Round Mills. Apartment 201. Yes, I know, Mandy. I know. But he makes such a beautiful point. You see, if I try and fail, I will finally appreciate his art. That’s all he wants. Just a little appreciation. It’s the only way, Mandy. The only way.
Splintering sounds were audible.
Operator: Miss? Miss? What’s happening? I’ve dispatched an ambulance and a couple of officers to your location. If you tell me what’s happened to you, I might be able to help. It’ll certainly help the paramedics.
More splintering sounds were followed by a distant scream.
Caller: Oh. Yes. Yes, you were right, Kit. I got it all wrong. My legs don’t bend that way. Not like yours. My arms. No, I’m not like you, Kit. Not the Incredible Kit. Not the… Oh? Yes, I suppose I should try that too. Yes. I’ll try bending my neck. If I just –
One final splinter sounded.
Call ended at 9:27pm.
Quiet followed the woman’s unfinished sentence. Not silence.
I heard the sound of applause. The slight patter of a person’s slow, measured claps, muffled by the bad reception of the call. And sobbing. Two terrible noises that immediately ceased when the front door of the apartment burst open.
Responders found nobody in the apartment but Rachel Jenson, the sister of Mandy Jenson. Rachel was mangled in a way that made one paramedic vomit, and I’ve been told no more than that. I only learnt of the aftermath, detailed in this post, through a friend of mine who works at Greentree Police Station.
I keep thinking about the scream that I heard. One that, I am certain, did not come from Rachel Jenson. She sounded joyous. Her voice became increasingly unhinged as she brutally contorted her body into sickening configurations.
Thinking about it, I do remember Kit’s final show being quite lacklustre. A performance that took place shortly before his death. I didn’t attend, but I heard from other Greentree residents that he fumbled the finish. Kit attempted to escape from a box in a contorted position, but he failed. His wife had to assist him. There was no applause. Only concerned murmuring from the crowd.
People had speculated for years that something wasn’t quite right with the man, and that’s why I keep thinking about what Rachel said. What Ian said. What all of the callers said. Stories of adoration. Appreciation. Rejection. Anger.
Things make a little more sense, when viewed from the right angle. These stories serve as interlinking pieces of a puzzle, forming the picture of a man who might’ve wanted to punish those who did not applaud his disappointing performance. A disgruntled artist’s revenge against the town that dismissed him. A wife who dismissed him.
In truth, Kit Jenson was simply a sick man. People had heard the whispers about his abusive tendencies for years. All it taken was one bad day to push him over the edge. So, such a man would surely want to hurt all those who did not appreciate him. Not only Mandy.
However, even if that were the case, it wouldn’t explain the entirety of that dreadful day of calls. Kit Jenson died two years ago.
Who, or what, did people see in Greentree?

My roommate (29yo) and I (27yo) have been friends for years and years. We have lived together before with a large group of people, but now we rent a house together, just the two of us. I know what some of you are already thinking- don't live with your friends. Roomie and I have no major issues and talk about our feelings and concerns regularly. We are going on 3 years living in this house now. For about a year, Roomie dated a guy on-and-off who lived over an hour from us. He would sometimes stay here for days at a time and I never cared. He would help buy groceries occasionally, and played video games with us. He was generally a good time unless Roomie wanted to go out on the town or our other male friends were hanging out with us. His attitude in these scenarios included but was not limited to: passive-aggressive comments about male friends, silent treatments when not everyone wanted to do what he wanted to do, constantly trying to start conversations with me and Roomie's friends to basically talk shit about her. Roomie was aware of most of this and enlightened me about more of his toxic behavior after their "official" break-up. This included started arguments right as Roomie had to leave for work, yelling/screaming at Roomie during a few arguments, and even throwing things out of her room (the things nearly hitting her) on one occasion. The worst of his behavior always happened when nobody else was around them, of course. Fast forward a year later, and Roomie tells me they have been secretly hooking up regularly and lying to me about going to spend the night/weekend at her parents. She said she kept it secret because she knew I would be mad. and I AM MAD. I begged her to stop seeing him but she insists they have an "understanding" and that he isn't toxic when they are just hooking-up/not dating. Since then, Roomie and I have had the agreement that I never want to see him, and if I do, I will NOT be keeping the peace or staying silent about his behavior. I also told her that she should be honest with me about her location at the very least for her safety, but she made it clear I won't be able to change her mind about their arrangement. She said that she considers bringing him to our house when I am not there but I told her I would not like that. Fast forward another couple months, and I was out of town dog-sitting at my parents for a long weekend (this past weekend). She sent me a picture of our cat being silly and I said I was excited to come home (it was the Monday after the long weekend). She asked me what time I would be home, and I said it would take over an hour for me to get there and I'd be leaving soon. She said, "I'm not planning on leaving here until 7. So you may experience some crossover but I can try to get things around quicker". This immediately had me suspicious that she had said ex over at the moment. I was already getting upset and wanted to call the only other friend that she was honest with about this situation- I wanted this friend to calm me down and give advice if this is the case. Friend didn't answer so I called my boyfriend while I was on the road and told him that I was angry and don't want to say anything that would push Roomie away/to toxic ex even further, but that I will NOT be stalling just so that she can get her unwelcome sneaky-link out of our house before I got there. Luckily, they were both gone by the time I got home but now I do not know the best way to talk to Roomie about this. Friend later called me back and told me that she actually had the toxic ex in our house for the entire time I was gone, not just one night or the last day. I hate the thought of this guy (who I made very clear that I dislike and don't trust) was in our house again, playing our video games, snuggling with our cats, seeing my life again as it is shown all throughout our eclectic house. What are some soft but direct ways to approach this issue without pushing her to him further? She tends to oppose people who try to directly tell her what to do. She is a strong and smart adult, but I just want the best for her and to stand my ground on not wanting him in my safe space whether I am there or not.

Title kinda says it all but to add more context my MIL tried having herself a do-over baby and at the expense of myself, my husband, our baby, and our oldest child.. ...our entire family. I (31f) have been with my husband (32m) for 12 years. We had a new baby this past summer. My husband had already been a dad for 12 years, he adopted our oldest child (our daughter), whom I had right before we met. We really didn't expect MIL to change considering she had already been a grandmother for 12 years. Well, as you can assume from this.. ...she did. I made one post before but deleted it, it was a post about me referring to my MIL as a hibernating cicada bc she waited over a decade to act up in such a way.. ...or maybe she just never viewed my daughter as blood bc why act differently with my son?
My MIL has always been an ass, for the most part do-able. She very passive aggressive, making "jokes" to insult you (especially regarding weight/looks and caree money choices), very jealous of everyone, gossip queen, talks shit on everyone, acts tough and very in your face but she has never gotten into a fight, plays victim when benefits her, everyone else is wrong and she's always right, hates putting in work but loves to be the savior, just to name a few to give you an idea. She can be very toxic, but does it all with a SMILE. Despite all that, I thought we had a pretty good relationship, although, looking back I can see it lacked depth. I had a terrible relationship with my ex MIL, and because my now MIL isn't as bad as my ex MIL I thought our relationship was good, or good enough. I usually avoid conflict, especially with my MIL, and the rare occasions I had to have something addressed with her I asked my SO to and he would bring it up with her as if it was his issue and would never involve me. Just an FYI it was about lack of privacy with walking in his room without even knocking when we rented from her & stopping by unannounced when we bought our home. Very minor in comparison to the issues at hand now. I must also add that in all 12 years MIL never crossed the line with our oldest (our daughter) like she's crossed the line with the new baby (our son).
I always say it started the day my son was born but I think it could be argued it started sooner than that. This baby was planned and my husband and I don't really share sensitive info like that so my MIL only found out a few weeks after he was conceived. Started off fine and MIL seemed supportive and happy. It did creep me out with how she gave me "crazy eyes" and a Grinch-like smile when she had seen me for the first time after hearing I was pregnant. Months went by and my friend planned my baby shower with my step dad offering to pay. This was my second pregnancy but my first baby shower. My mom had just died a few months prior to my second pregnancy. This was less about stuff and more about emotional support, I wanted to feel surrounded by love. I asked my MIL which date worked best for her so I could put that date on the invites. I remember I was well over 20 weeks at that point and that was the first time I ever heard my MIL say, "I was hoping I would get to do that, I wanted to be the one to throw you a shower." I agreed bc I thought it would be a good bonding experience, it wasn't. She threw out all my plans (which were minimalistic), started over from scratch, ghosted me for six weeks and was a no-show multiple times during the planning process (not even a text and I cried the second time she was a no-show), she didn't care about my input even when she asked me, all plans were up to her, and most importantly- she had complete control over the guest list. She asked me who I wanted there but with each name I said she would say an excuse as to why not, make eye contact with me, shake her head no and say no. It reminded me of how she would interact with a child, leading questions, answering your own questions, etc. She wouldn't let me invite my baby brother who recently got back from Slovakia where he was deployed for a year (left right after our mom passed), and she wouldn't let me invite my step dad. These two were the only family on my side I had left. I did bring up with her how much it hurt me not to be able to invite my brother, how she ghosted me, and how she was a no-show twice- she cried to get out of it, she made everyone feel bad for her, used the excuse she's tired and works all the time (for being absent during planning) but never once acknowledged the part about my brother. I still wasn't allowed to invite my baby brother. She would never admit it, but it's bc she finds my brother annoying. She used the excuse that my brother and stepdad are male and it's a female only shower. But then she invited her father (whom I love, had no issue with him there, and grateful for) and HER ABUSIVE ALCOHOLIC EX aka my husband's ex step father (whom I have absolutely no relationship with, whom my daughter has absolutely no relationship with, whom has had no relationship with my husband as an adult, and whom abused my husband as a child). I also noticed she invited her neighbors (that I love but were surprised to see there) and realized after the fact these are her only "friends".
FF to the day my son was born. Eighteen hour labor, baby sunny side up, born at 1am. After I was moved to my room around 430/5am I sent my husband home to tend to my dog who never spent a night away from me (our daughter was at a sleepover). As I'm waiting for my husband to get home to text me he was safe (he was very tired) I sent him a picture of the baby in his clear bassinet. I also sent the pic to our daughter. I put the phone down and picked it up with an after-thought to send the pic to my SIL and MIL. MIL sends me multiple texts telling me to send the pic to her creepy, alcoholic, abusive ex. She also sends me his number bc I don't have it bc he is totally and completely absent from our lives, he hasn't bothered with us in over a decade (not that we even want him to). I ignor her texts. When the sun comes up she asks if she can visit me in the hospital and I say yes however she was SIX HOURS late, no consideration for the mother who just gave birth. When she arrives she sits down and I hand her my baby and she immediately looks up at me and says, "You know you guys really hurt (her ex's) feelings." I was stunned and she continued on about how my husband and I hurt some absent drunk's feelings bc I wasn't a mind-reader and bc I didn't send a no-body a picture of my fresh newborn hours, moments, after he ripped out of my bleeding body.
Just to throw it out there that after 20 years of marriage (and 20 years of her children being abused by this alcoholic) she cheated on him and kept their marital home, she wasn't thinking about his feelings then, was she. They've been separated for more than 10 years now, each date other people, and she can't stand him.
Back to the day my son was born, I told her "I just gave birth and I'm not prioritizing any adult male's feelings, not even my husband's". I'm about to go on and she cuts me off changing the subject. She asks me if we are going to circumcise the baby. I said that was my husband's decision and left it at that. She then goes on to tell me that we should circumcise our son bc basically that's her oral sex preference- that "uncircumcised pen15's are gross". She tells me about all of the glizzies she's gobbled, the doorknobs she's slobbed, her oral adventures. Then without a pause she kisses my baby on his face as she hands him back to me!!!!! She left the room as I was wiping off her spit and hitting the nurse button. Fyi she frequently has cold-sores, and is the gatekeeper to her father in fear of covid (so she should know better). My husband was not there and I put in a no-visit order for her with security.
We didn't have visitors at home for two weeks after that. We needed some time to cool off. We grudgingly gave her the benefit of the doubt that she was excited and kissed him without thinking. In hindsight, this is where the justifiable distrust with her started. We have no rhyme or reason why she acted terrible regarding her ex or why she felt he was entitled to a picture or text after my son's birth.
(To be continued with Part 2....baby is ten months old now)

A few weeks ago, I was smoking in my house with some friends who were visiting from out of town when my dog walker came to get her. There are a lot of details, so I'm just going to do bullet points... sorry it's still so long...
•My friend is my landlord. I knew it was risky to be friends, but she works out of the casita connected to my house and we unintentionally became very close, very quickly. We would see each other multiple times/week and cowork together, I joined her and her daughters for dinners, and babysat for her a few times. I even let them stay at my place for 3 days when she was going through a break up and needed somewhere safe to go. I also found her a therapist and helped her get into that. I don't think she owes me anything for this, but my point is that i really did try to be a good friend.
•She knew I smoked and smoked with me a handful of times. I used to smoke outside, but one day she was over and just casually hit my pipe in the kitchen without a second thought. I took this as an okay to smoke inside. I just keep doors open and the smell always goes away.
•I live in Colorado, so weed is completely legal.
•Her daughter had been walking my dog every Monday & Tuesday for many months. It was great, but I often didn't realize the day/time (I'm self employed & work everyday, so they all blend together. I'm also just a bit of a mess) until she would show up.
•As far as I know, she didn't see any weed or anything, but the house definitely reeked :/
Anyways, I feel terrible. I would've been so, so uncomfortable if I smelt weed/walked in on that at that age. As soon as she left for her walk, I called her mom to let her know what had happened. She didn't answer, but texted me several hours later, basically stating that her daughter had smelt weed and would no longer be able to walk for me. She went on to say how I can't smoke in the house as stated in my lease. Though again, she knew and was okay with it until this point. Then she listed other problems she had, like my dog peed in a room upstairs and she wanted me to prioritize that. I had already told her I would hire a professional carpet cleaner and if the smell didn't come out, I would of course pay to replace the carpets at move out, so it seemed unnecessary & a bit aggressive to mention again. But I got a professional to come a couple days later & apologized profusely. I feel like such an idiot, but there's only so much I can do now. A few days later, she mentioned the carpets again and I said that I'm taking care of it, she doesn't need to worry, and it felt like it was more about all this then tbe carpets. She apologized and assured me she wasn't at all upset or angry about the situation, just surprised. But then she cut me out and went cold. It's been 3 weeks and it's very clear we aren't friends anymore, which I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, I think it's probably understandable and it's obviously her right to cut me out. But on the other hand, it feels kind of extreme. I fucked up and can understand her not allowing me around her kids, but to cut me off from her too seems like overkill. Would love some outside opinions on the situation. I'm 25 and not a parent, so maybe that's why I can't understand?

I preface this with my husband is super supportive and helpful, in fact he does a large amount of childcare/pick up/ drop off and of course i love my kids and i wouldn't trade them for the world but FUCK
I feel like I have a million balls in the air at all times and if it even looks like I'm going to slip or drop one, at least three people will be disappointed with me. Two kids 9 & 2, have to be on top of daycare theme days, school theme days, lunches, snacks, sports, laundry, plus taking care of the house, vacuuming the hair from the two large dogs (one long haired husky, one mutt), keeping all things fed and alive, grocery shopping, meal planning, keeping the house relatively clean, fucking non-stop dishes, laundry, so much laundry, plus I'm 30 weeks pregnant, work full time in a high stress job (attorney), my husband also works full time at a job that doesnt give an inch for working at home or sick days. At least my schedule can be flexible with working from home, i just have to figure out my (now) unmedicated ADHD to motivate myself to do the work and find the energy to do it. Work feels like everyone always needs something from me, even as I type this, my outlook is pinging and i get a knot in my stomach each time. Forget having time to spend with my husband, forget intimacy and sex, I don't have the time, brain capacity or energy. I think the last time we had sex was February? He doesn't push the issue, he's understanding but goddamn do I feel like I am failing. I am failing everyone, I can't keep up.
I see friends without kids, without dogs, without husbands, or moms without full time careers and I don't necessarily envy their lives because I'm not the kind of person who would be ok without working (not knocking anyone, thats just me), and I really do love and cherish my kids and husband. I just dont know how other people do it. How do you handle everything?
Sometimes I think that maybe the third baby was a bad decision, yes we wanted one, i feel like our family is "complete" with the third, and yes we can (just) afford it, but can we handle it? If its all so overwhelming now, wont it just be worse? I'm so fucking anxious that I can't do this, I can barely keep my head above water right now. Things felt so easy before I was pregnant, like we were doing well, and now I feel like the overwhelm is my fault cause I pushed for the third baby. Now were underwater like this for at least five more years and all of my woes are just going to get worse. There will be more laundry, more sports, more things to keep track of and remember, more everything.
If you got this far, congrats and I'm sorry, I just needed to get it all out of my head and somewhere else

Does anyone else have the issue of their MM not communicating important things about their life? My MM and I have been together for three years. His dog went in to surgery today to get a cancerous tumor removed. I knew they had found a lump on her leg that was possible cancer. He told me last week. Today I asked him how she was doing as he hadn’t mentioned her since. I get a text back saying “Not sure how the surgery is going yet”. So she was having surgery today, and he didn’t tell me.
I can’t imagine my dog going in for surgery and not telling him. I’m trying to think of a scenario where I wouldn’t tell him, and I can’t. This isn’t the first time we have had issues with his communication, we just had a huge fight last week about him driving to another state and not texting me that he arrived safely. It was only after I texted him to see if he made it that he texted me back five hours later “sorry, I made it”. He tells me he loves me, that he wants to be with me, but for some reason I am not important enough for him to communicate these kind of things. I’ve asked him over and over to communicate better, that I need that to feel close with him since we only get 4 hours together a week. He gets defensive and says that he can’t be 100% perfect in texting me. But these seem like pretty important things to text someone you love about.
I love this man, but his lack of communication hurts me constantly, and no matter how much we fight about it, nothing ever changes. I feel like I am fooling myself in this relationship. But maybe I am expecting too much of him?

Hey my name is Gabe. I am looking for 3 hardcore nerds that want to play PF2e with about a 50/50 spread of combat and RP. I am the DM of this game and I've been running games for 7 years now in various forms. The group will have approximately 6 people. We'll be starting late at night on EST. There will be a session zero starting the 8th of June. This will be to get everyone together and acclimated to each other.
We run Forge with Foundry VTT and we use discord for chatting and cytube for music. You must be able to use all these applications at once. Foundry can be somewhat taxing on your computer so you may need a decent setup to play with us. I create a lot of maps on my own and create a lot of custom monsters and other things to help facilitate the feeling of my world. I find this game allows me to express myself creatively. I really enjoy it and want to share my stories with my players. I expect you to make most Saturdays and to be prompt and on time. I want players who are really into PF2e and love the rules and want to get even further in depth with them.
The campaign is based heavily in my own custom world built around the pantheon of the PF2e universe. There are a few custom gods. I've been running this world for about three years now and all of my campaigns take place in the same world. Meaning you can run into old PCs and experience the way the world has been shaped from previous adventures.
Games will be EVERY SATURDAY from 9pm et to 12am et.
Here is a writing sample from a previous campaign in the same world:
"A woman veiled in birch branches and red leaves. She sits waiting, at the bottom of her land, at the bottom, at the bottom.
You’ve been running through the forest for days. Chased, hounded by your former masters. Your saviors took you across the island. Along the way you encountered a lake, above it a griffin so large it could cast a shadow over a city, and a thousand strong Kimmerian army wiped from this island by the griffin. Through all this Tygram, Nadrya, Walter, Po’tash, Andre, and Nooh’j rescued and guided you. These heroes, through some infighting brought you intact to a safe town. They were mighty, like adventurers in stories you’ve read as children or told over a campfire to your fellow captured. They’ve left to the underground to clear the town of dangers.
The Kimmerians were cruel. Far too cruel. Casual violence is their nature. Toward their slaves and even each other. Every interaction with these people shows their capacity for force. They pick you up, toss you around. Force you into the mines, drag you out. They treat you as dogs, withholding and giving food almost nonsensically. A wrong look a downward gaze, meeting their eyes, all of these things you’ve seen a slave be beat or even killed over. It was all insane. You could never understand exactly why they were driven to this. Every day they’d drag you out of bed, throw you into the mines, throw some slop in front of you when you bring some rocks out. Your stomach gurgles and the pain causes even the strongest amongst you to break down in tears. This happened so frequently that your body somewhat adapted. Routine almost seems like ritual from a certain perspective.
You’re a thousand strong now. You and your people will need to carve out a life here in this abandoned village. Discern what the red meteor is to the east, explore the caves and grounds, find a path home or else create a new one here."
You can expect a similar level of quality going forward for RP and such. So if you like what you read above please fill out the form below and DM me! Stuff like race restrictions will be talked about when we talk after you apply.
Required Google Sheet Please fill it out: https://forms.gle/iVd9SBb4o4BBZnmE9

I (23M) have ADHD and autism along with anxiety and a short list of mental health conditions. My partner (also 23M) has some mental health stuff himself. Overall I thought our relationship was good and healthy but lately I've been second guessing that at times.
Over the past few months we both started using 🍃🍃 to cope with physical pain as we both have our own health issues/damaged muscles. Something I've known as a smoker of said thing is that over time it greatly impacts my mental ability, I'm already a forgetful person but it makes it 4x worse. I admit I got carried away for a while because after a long day at work I just wanted to forget about the stress and laugh at silly videos with my partner. I've decided to quit all together for quite a while so my brain can recover. I won't lie, right now I basically have some symptoms of early alzheimers so I know it's frustrating to deal with at times but it's equally frustrating for me.
My partner can be a lovely, caring and sweet person. He makes me feel like I can do anything and am safe to do what I want or try to achieve my goals with him by my side. He makes me feel loved and appreciated.
My partner can also be rude, is constantly brutality honest and nit-picky. In the past this wasn't really an issue but over the past maybe 4 months it's become a point of unspoken contention between us.
Like I said I've become very forgetful, it's usually never anything big, things like I forgot to put something away or misplaced something, maybe I didn't realize the dogs had already been let out so I let them out again, etc. When my partner points out things I forgot I just go and put whatever it is away/fix whatever it is. When my partner forgets things like that on occasion I don't say anything, I just fix whatever it is without a second thought and move on. But when my partner finds something I forgot or didn't do right he tells me about it and that I need to fix it, then spends the next few minutes acting frustrated. He also calls me stupid or dumb when these things come up because how could I forget?
The past week or so it's finally become too much for me to be quiet over. Every time he finds something I get aggravated with his reaction, I react back in a frustrated way and then we're both frustrated with each other. I told him today I don't like being called stupid every day (hence why I've had an attitude with him) and he said I just need to stop forgetting things.
An example that happened the other day:
I was making him lunch and while I was already holding some food containers I put one of the bags on the counter. The counter hasn't been cleaned in a while but it wasn't like I put it on a mound of dirt, the bag was also sealed. I continued making the rest of the food, planning on putting the containers I was already holding away after I was done with them and then I'd grab the bag I needed from the counter. Still holding some of the other containers I walked across the kitchen to throw out a wrapper and my partner walked into the kitchen. He saw the bag on the counter and grabbed it, asking me why I'd put it on the counter. I said (still holding 2 or 3 containers) that I didn't have enough hands so I set it down while I finished the rest of the food. He then berated me about being stupid for putting it on the dirty counter and how he "wouldn't put up with this forever".
Today I told him that I love him but the way he's always getting after me is very frustrating and it's hard for me not to have a reaction to his reaction at this point. He said he loves me too but I'm "naturally dumb" so I'm therefore irritating to him. A bit after this he was annoyed that I was still upset over the comment (I was sitting silently instead of trying to make conversation) and asked why I was being a baby. Before letting me respond he said he actually didn't care and that he knew I wouldn't tell him why anyway. I told him I had already said exactly what was bothering me earlier.
He likes to get irritated after making me upset because I'm "being a baby" which is actually just me having feelings towards the way he spoke to me. Obviously I'm not going to be happy after being told I'm naturally dumb or stupid. Also hearing that from someone I love and want to be my husband makes me feel like shit and I hear it basically every day now.
My partner has some symptoms that feel like bipolar or just mood swings because he can go from asking me how I am/being excited that we get the day together to irritated as fuck over some minor thing like a door he wanted open being closed or I forgot to bring paper plates upstairs, you get the idea. I continually try to compromise on things with him, I myself am trying to better my memory and I'm currently on a waitlist for a neurologist because I've had memory issues for many years (not due to smoking). I'm a very patient and calm person but these past few days I've been feeling angry. Angry that the person I love can flip on a dime over something insignificant, something I wouldn't think twice about let alone let myself get worked up over.
My partner has never physically hurt me or anything but he's a very angry person. If one thing starts not going his way then his day is already ruined, when he gets especially mad at me he'll just go to sleep and leave me with my thoughts. He always talks about how he doesn't care and doesn't have patience but he does nothing to get better at it. In my opinion he's making himself miserable because he lets himself get so worked up. I know when to stop myself and take a breath, he doesn't.
I love him to death and I want us to stay together, but I need the person he is half the time to be present nearly all the time. Should I approach him about this? Should I just give it time and see if my own mental betterment helps him regulate himself too?
He can be the most amazing and supportive person, it's just as soon as he's mad I feel like I can't do anything right.

Hello! Been awhile since I posted here.
Our ASD is now almost four years old. She has suddenly developed an extreme fear of storms. She is allowed to free range the farm during the day but at night, she is fenced into the back along with the chickens, etc. I noticed she started disappearing overnight if we had storms, and would reappear in the morning from the back side of the property. Ok, I thought, she found a place she considered "safe".
Keep in mind, this is completely ignoring the fact she has a fully framed and insulated, large 5x5 dog house that is incredibly nice, facing east. But she refuses to acknowledge that it exists now. It is literally ideal for this. Anyway.
She started wanting into the house if she heard storms coming and it worked a couple of times but the anxiety is getting worse and worse. It got to the point that she would pant, drool, vomit, get sick, push furniture around, tear down bath curtains, etc. I contacted the vet and they prescribed Trazadone, up to 500mg, 90 minutes leading up to any storms. I've done it several times and it doesn't seem to help.
This last weekend we had a long night of overnight storms with tornado warnings. She lost her mind. Diarhea all over our bedroom, pure panic, even with the full 500mg. As soon as the storm passed I put her outside. She then proceeded to run 7 miles and three days from the house only to be finally found by another farm we happen to know in that area.
I genuinely don't know what to do. I can't tie her up. She'll hang herself. I can try securing the yard again but she'll just dig under or go over whatever. Or die trying. And I've got three little kids who rely on sleep, and bottom line is she is tearing the house to shreds when we do try to bring her in and comfort her.
Am I missing anything here? My next step is to just put a GPS tracker in her and try my best to contain the yard she is in.
It doesn't help that this is the most active storm season we've had in years. It's been pretty awful. We had multiple days of super cells march through. Everything from wind damage, tornado warnings and two rounds of big hail. Sigh

**Introduction**
1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?
* Yes, first owned dog. I have been very involved in training the family dogs (stabijhoun, spaniel mix) though, as well as experience working with sled dogs and now living with a mini dachshund and a labrador.
2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a [reputable breeder]( http://ownresponsibly.blogspot.com/2011/07/identifying-reputable-breeder.html)?
* Breeder
3) Describe your ideal dog.
* A fun and adaptable companion that I can take many places and try out lots of things with.
4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?
* So many different ones lol. For a medium sized dog: smooth collie, german pinscher, english springer spaniel, boykin spaniel (wish they were available), viszla (if I go for a high energy dog), field spaniel, Drentse patrijshond, and open for any suggestions
For a small dog: (English) cocker spaniel, english toy terrier, manchester terrier, miniature pinscher, danish swedish farmdog (this one's a safe bet)
5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?
* Anything needed to be a good companion, being off leash ideally, bikejoring and skijoring, and I love trick training
6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?
* No
**Care Commitments**
7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?
* 1-2 hours probably?
8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?
* 1-2 hours. Leash walks, sniffy walks, long line walk in the forest, skijoring and bikejoring on weekends and holidays. No plans on doing dog parks.
9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?
* I want very low grooming needs
**Personal Preferences**
10) What size dog are you looking for?
* I know I want a medium sized dog, 15-20 kgs ideally. I may potentially consider a small dog as a second dog in the future, so open for small (3+ kg) dog breed suggestions too.
11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?
* I prefer shedding over grooming, but after living with a labrador I definitely want less shedding than that. I don't want a very barky dog but I'm fine with alert barking as long as it's accurate and not excessive. I prefer little to no slobber.
12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?
* Not a dealbreaker if it's not something I can do but I would prefer to be able to train the dog to be off leash.
**Dog Personality and Behavior**
13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?
* Snuggly dog
14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please?
* I'm fine with eager to please or a little stubborn, but not primitive level independent.
15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?
* Ideally: Barking when someone is coming, but rather no bark than aggressive behaviouextreme barking. Neutral to strangers and happy to see visitors, but again rather a friendly dog than aggressive one.
16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?
* Yes, but really prefer not to.
17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid?
*A dog that does not want to go on long walks
* A "heartbreak breed" in terms of health issues
* Resource guarding.
**Lifestyle**
18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?
* For a full workday
19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog?
* I live alone
20) Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they?
* I plan to have cat(s). I also may get a second small dog in the future.
21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly?
* I do not plan on having children, but the dog should be able to tolerate (respectful) children without a problem
22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease?
* -
23) What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds?
* I live in Norway, there are banned breeds but none that I would have any interest in owning
24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?
* 25C -15C
**Additional Information and Questions**
25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.
* No additional information.
26) Feel free to ask any questions below.

In the real world, humans love chocolate, but it kills dogs. Humans eat onions, but it kills cats. Birds love those little red berries that grow in the winter, but they'll make humans sick. Presumably, things would work similarly in a fantasy setting. Like, maybe onions poison tabaxi, cinnamon is deadly to dragonborn, and dwarves use nightshade like we use basil. So how do spells work? If a human casts detect poison it, will it detect onions, or will a tabaxi accidentially get sick, thinking the food was magically detected as safe? What if a dragonborn casts purify food and drink on my cinnamon rolls?

Trying to turn my backyard from being for dog use to a play area for my kids but I can’t get over the grossness of all the poop that was all over at one point and don’t want them playing there. Is there anything I can do to clean the grass/soil to make it safe and clean to play on?