So I'm just here too vent I don't know where to start but I'll start at the beginning so some backstory, I grew up in a traditional household as in I was fending for myself from the age of 14 by that I mean that once I turned 14 I cooked my own meals I did my own laundry I cleaned my own room I did my own jobs where I got paid money for things Such as babysitting house cleaning and sitting. Also I feel like I should mention that I grew up in a sixth generational military household where we were Raised under strict discipline We were also raised to have strong moral values as in do not do anything illegal and be an upstanding citizen you see something wrong report it. So to the meat and potatoes of why I want to vent so For this we need to go back 12 years ago so I just graduated high school I decided I want to start dating so I ended up meeting the person who would become my life partner when I first met him and we were on our first date I specifically told him that if we are going to be serious there's a game changer or end of game for me would be If he Or any of his friends or family members Had a criminal record that it would be game over "sorry thanks for playing tell him what he has won Charlie". He very plainly told me that no everyone and his family and his life are good people. So I give him a chance and we ended up dating for 2 years. Eventually I ended up getting stationed far away and I asked him if he would like to move in with me and he said yes. After a short while of us living together we ended up getting pregnant with our daughter and then he wanted me to meet his parents. side note The reason why I haven't met his parents up until this point is because I was a strong believer in not meeting the in-laws until marriage was either on the table or at least in talks but I did not want to meet them unless I and he was absolutely sure that we wanted to take that step. So we eventually went to go meet his parents and siblings and his siblings kid and everything went well it was a very lovely meeting and there was nothing to complain about nothing out of the ordinary. It eventually got to the point where every weekend we would be going to his parents house and the rest of the pregnancy went by swimmingling no problems whatsoever. Eventually my daughter came into the world during the summer and she was full term healthy happy baby. After 2 months of recuperating from giving birth we went to go visit his family let them see their granddaughter, niece, cousin. When we arrived at my in-law's house his cousin was there just chillin sitting on the couch. My partner said "cousin you're out of juvee that's amazing I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon" Safe to say my eyes widen when I heard my partner say this because I flashback to when we first met and I specifically asked him if he had any family members or Or friends who Who had a criminal record. I pulled him to our room that we had aside at the In-law's house and hushley yelled at him saying that he had told me that he had no family members are friends with criminal records he very nonchalantly Said "oh cousin doesn't have a criminal record it was expunged when he turned 18" 🚩#1: I don't know about everyone else but this was a red flag when I first heard it cause he basically got me on a technicality But I still felt betrayed because his cousin was in juvee for a pretty bad crime.( Not gonna mention here but it will come into light later in the story.) I let it go for the moment And enjoyed the rest of my weekend unfortunately though I had left my ipod In my room cause I was told it would be safe there because I was also told that I should make my partner's room feel more homey to me. But when I had came back the following weekend to get my ipod it was not where I had left it I ended up tearing apart the room looking for it because it had sentimental value to me due to irreplaceable photos videos from high school of friends, friends who are no longer with us, events that I held dear from high school Especially all the events that come with senior year of high school. I asked all the family who were living in the house at the time if any of them had been in partner's room or Or borrowed my ipod and everyone said no everyone said I don't know where it is. I then asked who has been in the house during the week since I was gone and mother-in-law said oh cousin was here because he was having trouble with his girlfriend. I went to partner and asked him to call cousin to see if he borrowed my ipod because if he did then I would like it back because I have I have irreplaceable photos on the ipod. 🚩#2: Partner said no cousin wouldn't never take anything from my room cousin's not like that you're crazy why you being so upset and crazy over a few photos and a ipod. Partner also mentioned that because of my view of His cousin that that's clouding my Vision of him so of course I would automatically assume he would take it granted I did not specify he stole it I said borrowed did not say stolen please refer to previously mentioned reason why this ipod was so important to me...partner knew of the sentimental value of the ipod also that I paid for it with my hard earned money, it was the first expensive thing I had ever brought. Anyways partner had me second-guessing myself so I eventually just let go the fact that my ipod was missing I did not bring it up I should have it would save me a lot of mental health in the future anyways flash forward to 2015 my contract With the military was up I decided not to reinlist. As a goodbye gift my master chief had given me a deer antler bullet Pen that he had made personally for me. At the behest of his parents me and partner and our daughter moved into his parents place I kept the pen in a pen holder On my desk in my room At this point in time I was always out of my room and out of the house looking for a job. I didnt really need one I was making and still am making plenty from the VA. I'm sure a lot of you I probably gonna say that when I had moved in I should learn my lesson with the ipod and had installed a lock on the door but my in-laws were strong believers in a no lock policy in the house of course I did not And still do not believe in that policy I like privacy I do not like the idea of someone just randomly barging into my Space at any given moment. So eventually one of my old navy buddies had came to visit me and wanted to see the pen that master chief had given me. We wanted to compare the ones that Master chief had given both of us Every pen he had made was always unique so we wanted to see the difference Between the 2. Low and behold my pen was missing and I was devastated. And true Rinse and repeat fashion. I asked all the family members who were living in the house at the time if anyone had been in my room and took a pen they all looked at me like I was crazy and said are you going to get upset over a pen missing now and I specified that that pen was basically a parting gift from my boss for For being in the military. 🚩#3:After I realized that I was not gonna get anywhere with asking the family, I voice my concerns and grievances to my partner he also made me feel like I was crazy because he stated that "it's just a pen get over it". Eventually I did manage to get a few jobs over the next few years up until 2019 when I eventually decide I want to better my education and go to college so from June till may of 2020 I was going to college.side note: From when we had moved in with his parents all the way till even today I have been doing 90% of the housework as in I cook, I clean, I do laundry all the while working 40+ hour weeks. All partner ever does is just go do work with his dad And come home to fresh clean clothes and towel fresh out of the dryer laid out in the bathroom and a hot meal waiting on the table as I'm sure you're getting from the tone of what I'm saying right now I think you know Where this whole thing is gonna go real soon. So while I'm going to school and doing all the housework taking care of our child. My partner would come home shower do all the normal stuff and then go to bed but then he wouldn't touch me or be intimate with me he would always say I'm tired I'm not in the mood I have a headache. Maybe you dont understand partner but I never pressed on him because I assume because of certain work stressors He must be having a tough week so I never pressed him to be intimate with me. Pass to around a few weeks before Halloween I was just randomly scrolling on his phone looking at Halloween costumes for our daughter cause she wanted a very specific costume and he had gotten a text message from someone labeled under a male name and they said something that was very alarming and I looked in the text against my better judgment And what it said was hey how about we have another car date. I didn't want to jump to conclusions so me in stealth mode I text it back saying what would you like to do during the car date and the person replied oh the same thing we do every time we go on a car date you me in the back seat and you pounding me like crazy. With you saying my name and me screaming yours. Safe to say I was sick to my stomach just from reading what the person had text I had screenshot the text and I had sent it to myself and then deleted the text that I had sent to myself from my partner's fault I then put the phone away and then partner went and got his phone and I could see his face turned pale white as he saw that the Text had been opened but he didn't make any mention even brought it up. After this I went into FBI mode and I would casually look at his phone whenever he was in the shower he would always leave it charging as soon as he got home from work and then any text messages that seemed kinda off I would screenshot them and I would look app the number at a later time and back track it via Google. The information you can find on Google is crazy to me thank God for google. I eventually would get the person he was sending messages 2 send pictures as proof that they were together And evidence was unmistakable the things that she had sent made my stomach turn lowkey I could hear just what the episode of SNAPPED would have said about me if I had listened to that inner voice. After getting plenty of proof of his infidelity I eventually confronted him And here's where red flag number 4 comes into play. 🚩#4: He stated that I had become distant from him that I was more concerned with our child and school then I was with him and then also another thing that was basically as he said the straw that broke the camel's back was that I had put on weight. at this point in time I was Only 50 pounds heavier than when I got out of the military. He also mentioned that I didn't make time for him anymore Which was far from the truth if anything I always tried to push to have time with him on his days off but he was always "with his friends" I later found out that he was with her. Another reason he had given was that our relationship had grown stale and cold and boring and he wanted something exciting and new. I gave him the ultimatum either he picks me and our daughter or he picks his side piece. And true kid mentality he said it wasn't fair because he loved both me and her and he couldn't pick and he had the nerve to come up with the idea that we do a sister wife/polygamy type of relationship. 🚩#5: He even went As far to say that we should do an open relationship but primarily one where he would be in a relationship with someone but I would have to be faithful to him.another side note:he's not morman or LDS or muslim Very nicely I state did that it would be a cold day in hell when any of those options would be even viable to me.* Again I grew up in a traditional household where monogamy is a necessity And I also made it very clear when we started dating that I was a monogamous person so how this even became an idea in his head I have no idea.* So he tells me once he sees that I am dead serious that he chooses me and our daughter and I stated good choice and I thought that was the end of it until December of that year when I had heard his phone go off while he was again in the bathroom and I went to look at it and it was her and she had stated that He had left his wallet at her place when When he had seen her last week. I was feeling mad and when he came to sit back down on the couch I threw his phone at him I Called him out for the sleazy dog that he wasAnd brought up other harsh words Regarding events that had happened in the past years Since we had moved in with his parents. 🚩#6:He stated that he hasn't seen her since I had given him the ultimatum and that she is just trying to get rise out of me because he had told her that I had found out about her. Of course I did not believe him so once he left for work the following day I checked his Google location for the day that she had mentioned that he had left his wallet and lo and behold he had been at her house during that week and then also later in the day after the text he had been at her house again this time he was at her house for the better part of 3 hours when he strictly told me that he was gonna be super busy and working with yard tools where he would not be able to hear his phone go Off whenever I text or call him. * Yes I can hear you all screaming at me that I should have left him when he first had the affair but I don't know maybe I had my daughter in my mind and didn't want her to grow up in a broken household or whatever may be the case but for some stupid God forsaken reason I gave him another chance And kept giving him chance after chance every time I saw he had gone to her house* Eventually he had grown tired of the girl and then he settled back into being monogamous again and everything for the most part especially after covid happened was quiet and calm but that's what I thought. Queue cousin entering from left stage. Cousin ended up staying with us during COVID because again he had a falling out with his girlfriend now baby mama And one particular day I came home from working limited hours due to covid and I see an iPod that looks eerily similar to the one I had. Curious I looked at the back and low and behold there was still a sticker residue from A sticker that had previous There. Fun fact about my ipod I had an anime sticker That I had personally designed. Again curiosity got the better be and I unlock the ipod and check the serial number in IMEI numbers and check the same Info on the product box that I had gotten my ipod in and lo and behold they matched perfectly to a T. Stupidly optimistic I was hoping someone had found it where it might have been misplaced and I was hoping that my photos and videos were still on the ipod. But as I'm sure you're probably already guessing it was wiped clean and it was nothing but photos of and you guessed it cousin and his baby mama and their baby. every video and pic that I had on my ipod from when I first bought it In freshman year of high school to when I had eventually had my daughter Was gone forever. Cousin came out of the bathroom and asked what I was doing with his ipod. I'm sure you know where this conversation is going so I'm not gonna repeat it but let's just say a few harsh things were said and he eventually felt guilty for not coming to me and asking if the ipod was mine. I obviously gave it back to him because it had no more sentimental value to me because all my stuff was deleted and it was basically his at this point. So later that night I again leaned on Partner's shoulder and Express my grievances and how I didn't appreciate that he gaslet me into thinking that his cousin wouldn't take something out of his room when in later years it is found out that he did in fact I asked for an apology on the matter and he stated... 🚩#7: Why are you upset over something that happened in the past and over photos that Aren't that important.* Our daughter's entire birth was on the ipod by the way Not to mention all my pregnancy bump milestone photos were there too.Also I have fertility issues and was told carry children would be difficult...I think they meant conceiving because like a unicorn no morning sickness or any of the negative things you hear that comes with pregnancy* Later in the year 2020 partner's brother ended up moving out and moving about 2 hours North of us With his girlfriend now wife. In the same fashion as us not too soon after they moved into their new place they found out they were expecting their first child together. The entire pregnancy went by just as smoothly as mine but around December, Brother-in-law and cousin decided to do cross-country trip this is all that they told us we thought they were crazy because His brother-in-law was expecting his first child and cousin was expecting his second child And the babies were going to be due any day at most within the coming weeks. Well surprise surprise we get a call from brother-in-law's frantic wife stating something happened to brother in law and cousin and that she couldn't talk about it over the phone. When she eventually arrived she was hysterical, Tears rolling down her face I actually felt A sense of concern and dread for what she was about to say to us. So long story short cousin and brother-in-law had been working for unfavorable people and transporting unfavorable items across state lines. sil and cousins baby mama knew what they were doing and would tag along, they "didn't care because the money and their lives were good" * Brother-in-law's ex then gf had previously told me that he was working for the same unfavorable people and when I brought it up to 🚩#8: partner he said x is crazy don't listen to Her. (He later told he and fam always knew what bil and cousin were doing just never brought it up because 'thats cousin and bils business to tell us'* Again due to COVID the court system was delayed and brother-in-law did not go to jail right away. While we were awaiting a sentencing Brother-in-law set all the family down and asked us to look over his wife and kids (yes kids plural he ended up having a second child while awaiting sentencing stupid I know.) The rest of the family said they would look out for Brother-in-law's family. But here's where I'm going to sound like an a****** but I very plainly and bluntly told him that I will not look after his family because I did not marry "wife" and I did not have "kids" I also stated that he knew that he was expecting a kid and he went to do a run even though his kid was due any day and I also mentioned that he needs to suffer the consequences of his actions. To make it short the family looked at me like I was the devil for saying this but I have made it clear of where I stand when it comes to criminals and doing illegal activities. I also have made it very clear how I feel criminals should pay for their actions. I know this will sound cheesy but if you cannot do the Time do not do the crime. In my eyes this was a textbook case of f*** around and find out. I do not feel like I should bend over backwards when I am taking care of my own family and my own problems and adding my brother-in-law's problems to my plate. Again this is where I might lose people but as I previously I grew up in a traditional household where we pull our weight and take care our ourselves. Sister-in-law is now living with us she does not have a job, she does not want a job, she does not pitch in for any expenses. I am paying over 70% of the household expenses water, gas, Wi-Fi etc. * Also after looking at the mortgage payment statements the rent I pay my in-laws to stay in the house pays for more than half of the mortgage.* Sister-in-law does not pitch in a dime. She has no disability she can work she just chooses not to. Well if you couldn't guess it the house was tense for the rest of the time that brother-in-law was in the house until he was eventually sentenced and put in jail. So since brother-in-law has been in jail I still stick to the hole I don't help sister-in-law with anything pertaining to her, I don't ask her for anything. She's been making it a habit of calling my partner and having him move my car from the spots that Im able to get in front of the house before she got into the spot to have him move the car for her because she doesn't want to walk far with The kids. This was usually how things were done until yesterday when sister-in-law was calling my partner to have him move my car and he wouldn't answer because he was asleep due to being sick. So In a begrudging fashion I assume this was for her she calls me to have me move my car, I told her I don't mind the car being moved but she would have to come get the keys to move it as I was currently busy rearranging my Space, And that I was trying to get everything i needed to get done before my day was over cause this was my only day off during the week, And in A spoiled sounding tone she says whatever Forget about it. Later in the day when my partner had woken up he Received a call from Sister-in-law stating that I was being difficult and wouldn't move the car From my spot.* I think it's fair to Mention that there are plenty of spots In front of our house but for some reason she always wants to park where I park. She never calls anyone else who's parked in front of the house ,if they're parked there, to move their cars only me or my Partner.) Also full circle, I was cleaning out our family's "junk cabinet" yesterday during my cleaning frenzy and found my deer pen it was in fils work bag, and yes its mine says my rank and full name on it.(trust me it'll come into play) So after the call with sister-in-law partner starts berating me Stating that I'm a part of this family and that I should be helping everyone out nevermind that I pay 70% expenses and more then half of mortgage,among other things. I told him very sternly that I had let her know that she could come and move the car herself but I was currently busy. I also stated that I told her when When brother-in-law asked us to help out with his family that I would not be doing any favors I will not be dropping things at the Whim of a hat for sister-in-law. I have my own things I need to do I can't just be stopping what I'm doing just to help her just cause it'll make it more convenient for her. I also stated during the convo with partner that there are plenty Of Mother's whose Partners are also in the prison system Who have multiple kids who are doing just fine by themselves. And that sister-in-law needs to women up And handle things on her own. I also stated that I did not tell her to have the kids That was all her choice. I also stated that I have never asked or received help for anything during my time with him and his family. I've been a very self-sufficient independent person. I'd like to make it known that we primarily survive off my income alone most of his income that he gives to me goes into savings because I make a Remarkably large amount of money thanks to what I get from the VA and from my 40+ hr job in the federal sector. And with the hours I work I don't have to worry about childcare as I watch my daughter during the day, When partner comes home from his long day at work I will sleep for a couple of hours before I start my night shift, I also will sleep while my daughter is in school till I have to pick her up then I do housework and take care of my child till my Partner Comes home and cook dinner. The only reason we live with in-laws is to help them with the mortgage because the mortgage is so incredibly high in the area that we live in. So to reiterate I have never asked or needed help from any of partner's family. And I find it funny that they are now preaching that we're a family we need to help each other, Yet never once while I was living with them have ever offered help offer to watch a our child for the night or anything. Not that I would accept or anything just saying it would have been a nice gesture at the very least. But after partner said that we're family, I retaliated by saying family doesn't violate personal space and go in your room and steals your stuff. He sighed and said you're on that again and I said it's not just the ipod it is also the fact that your dad stole my deer pen. And that the ipod was and the deer pen is sentimental to me. Like a broken record I stated that the ipod had everything from my past that was irreplaceable memories of friends who are no longer with us and of our daughter's first breath into the world And the fact that he is not as mad as me about the fact that we no longer have the video of our daughter being brought into the World Is eye-opening. We ended the day on a sour note where he ended up sleeping on the couch and I in our bed. which has led me to write out my emotions because I just want to scream at him for 🚩#9: everytime he gave his free time to his family,when I couldn't even get 2 hours a day to just chat, the little bit of time I did get with him he just wants to "sit in silence" where he ends spends the time on tiktok. Also whenever I find out when i have a day off usually a month in advance. I try to plan an "US" day where its just me, him, and our daughter.spoiler alert I rarely if ever get to share a day off with him and when he manages one, on the day we had plans he says something along the lines of I have to do a tree trimmng job or fix a sprinkler head, he states "won't take long" then will call and say he'll be bit longer, rinse and repeat this and he spends the whole day at his clients house fixing his fuck up. no hes not seeing AP I have untraceable GPS trackers secretly hidden in all the vehicles, and no not illegal I legally own and insure all our vehicles at my suggestion due problems with the parents. Also partner owns piece of fils business so in a way its keeping track of work equipment in case it gets stolen. I've gotten to the point where the moment he says he's gonna take longer than planned I just leave with my daughter and do what I had planned like go to the zoo, museum, trampoline park, etc. Partner does not call me all day. im at the point idc,still frustrated but don't care. Also here's the cherry on the cake usually when me and daughter go out we get back right when partner gets home and is unpacking the work vehicle and he has this look like were you out of the house all day? Which is confirm with that very question coming from his mouth. I send our child to go in the house sensing where the convo was leading to and once she was out of ear shot. Again very bluntly I tell im not gonna cancel my day if your not gonna prioritize me and our daughter's time I had plans for today I told you in advance you made your choice of which is more important so while you used your day off to do an extra job I used my day off to make memories with our child. In true child fashion he says but I wanted to go to insert place too. You should've just waited to go on a different day. I tell him that he always postpones or comes up with a reason not to go (too expensive, too hot, will be crowded, blah blah blah) so instead I will make the plan to go tell him ahead of time if he takes time off great if not no sweat im still going. Boy he got so irritated for being called out especially when our daughter yelled from the doorway dad you always cancel on us. BTW daughter is unaware of partners affair on the day that I confronted him a close friend that I had told of my situation told me and partner that her daughter wanted to do a sleepover I was unaware this was her sneaky way of helping me. I just took advantage of the empty nest situation I'm sorry if this is more of a rant but my anger and emotions all over the place I'm half tempted of just ending things cutting ties with him and his family because they expect me to change my morality, which I'm very uncomfortable with that. Everything that I was taught respect the relationship your in, respect the law, dont do anything illegal etc these are basic common sense things. Mil, bil, and partner did not respect their relationships or partner. Mil and partner cheated (not with eachother gross but with other people). Bil left pregnant wife alone, due to have a baby anyday, to do something illegal. Also the mental abuse i deal with Partner's sisters bullying me by critiquing how my parents raised me, on my parenting, calling me a hypocrite on my morality because I was trying to pin a baby on partner (was not true he was given the choice to leave all the way up until before delivery) I'm just mentally, physically and emotionally tired. And separation is looking really like a good idea. I've asked for family and couples counseling, inlaws and partner say "we don't have issues you do,why dont you get it, your too needy and selfish always wanting to spend alone time with partner" Thats why I'm turning to reddit one to vent/rant and two for second opinions. I try to limit what I tell bout my family to my parents friends and sibs partly because I hate painting people I've chosen to keep in my life in a bad light also my dad and brothers wouldve have made partner and inlaws take a dirt nap in the desert if I had told them what they've been putting me through and what partner did around time of covid, no trace or evidence think scene from boondocks of the assassin who "took care of" the entire family.only my close friend has seen and knows the full extent of what I've gone through, so she could be a witness to my family if partner tries to spin this around in his favor. But also she suggest the reddit route so I can get opinions and see if maybe I'm seeing this in a different light like seeing this though a different POV. Any advice or insight would be appreciated. I know I most likely am gonna get hate for this next thing I about to say as well But when we found out she was pregnant with the second kid I said with a great deal of concern that she should "take care of it" because "if you arent sure if you can handle two kids while brother in law is away then maybe keeping this one isn't the best choice" Again family looks at me like I'm the devil for suggesting this.Just so It's made clear I was not pushing her to get an abortion I was just trying to make it clear to her that she is going to be having 2 kids under the age of 2 in her care While her husband is away. Also for further insight cousin broke up with baby mama while she was pregnant with second kid but after it was too late to do anything about it when baby mama announced her pregnancy (prior to the crime) i voiced my same concerns with her,in standard young dumb full of it fashion she state "we are in this ride or die" and now she cries to me saying she can't handle two kids and "why did i have a second one" baby mama is now regretting her decision.For any single parent taking care of two kids is a daunting task so I was just looking out for her mental health due to the fact that she would be Taking care of 2 kids by herself at the same time her partner was going to be going to jail for an undisclosed amount of time and at the time not knowing if she might have ppd like some people have after having Irish twins.

I (50M) have been married to my wife (52F) for 20 years now, together for 30 years.
Our sex life has been textbook definition dead since before we got married and dead dead (no sex at all after the first year) after we got married. I was a virgin when we met, but she was not. She actually had a decently active sex life with at least 6 partners and probably a couple more by the time I met her when she was 22 although they all happened in quick succession as she didn't lose her virginity until she was almost 19. One was in a long-term (1 year+) relationship, most were guys she dated for a few months, one was a friend with benefits, there were one or two week long flings while traveling in Europe, and a one night stand with a guy she had known previously. I would say she was less promiscuous than her friends, but hardly a prude.
It's hard for us to talk about sex as it is an embarrassing topic for us. Every so many years I get up the courage to initiate a discussion about why our bedroom is dead so we have discussed it 6 times total.
The first time she said that sex just wasn't something she thought about at all anymore but it was good when we had it.
The second time she said that she was raised Catholic, was taught sex was a sin, wanted to become a nun up until high school, and has hangups about it.
The third time she said that sex doesn't feel good to her, it's a chore, it's hard for her to get off, and it's just not worth the effort
The fourth time she said that realized she was asexual as she had no sexual desire for anyone at all and rarely gets horny. She did say she missed the intimacy.
The fifth time she said that she was sexually abused when she was a little girl and again as a teen. She again said that she was taught sex was a sin and has a lot of Catholic guilt. She said that she would be willing to go to therapy to address this, but she never did.
The last time (about 4 years ago) she said that she is in menopause, is "now an old lady", has never been that interested in sex except to explore it as a young woman, and she will never have sex again. She told me she is afraid I will seek out a younger woman to have sex with now that she's past the age. Mind you, she was 48 when she said this.
Now, given everything she has said I am not expecting to have sex with her again. I am not even sure if her body is capable of penetrative sex after so many years (19) without it and now being in menopause. However, that doesn't mean we can't be sexual and loving and intimate. I want to run my hands along her hips and thighs and nuzzle my face in her bosom and just enjoy being with my wife. I miss that so much. It would be great if she could help get me off, too, as long as I am still able. She used to love it when I ejaculated on her body and I'd love to do that with her again. She also liked occasional anal (made her orgasm every time) so maybe that's still on the table. Who knows? Maybe her equipment down below still works, too. I am afraid to ask. The point is that I need her to be willing to try because our marriage is missing so much since the sex stopped.
I don't really want to call it an ultimatum, but I guess I want to give her an ultimatum. I am willing to have a seventh talk about our Dead Bedroom, but there won't be an eighth. Either she puts in the work to figure out what is going on with her emotionally, physically, and psychologically to understand what is going on with her sexuality or we need to part ways.
It's not really the lack of sex that bothers me as much as the lack of effort to try to figure it out for both of our sakes. She can't be happy with the status quo. She said she would go to therapy and she never did. Her reveal that she was sexually assaulted is heartbreaking to me. I just don't understand how she was a seemingly normal sexually active young woman, including with me, and then it all disappeared in a short time. Yes, she has Catholic guilt. Apparently she is a survivor of sexual abuse. But whatever happened happened before she even met me.
I have been really unhappy lately because I am sexually frustrated. I usually used porn to satisfy myself, with occasional visits to a strip club but in recent years I had been chatting with cam girls instead as it was safer and actually more economical. She doesn't know about the cam girls, although she knows about the porn and the strip club visits. She wasn't thrilled, but I told her I needed some sort of sexual outlet if it wouldn't come from her and she grudgingly agreed.
I actually started corresponding with a sex worker who did tantric work who was visiting my city from out of the area and setup a meeting with her, but she had to cancel at the last minute. I already had the cash in hand and everything. I am really glad she did, because that was a wake up call to me that I was compromising my morals. I realized I could have gotten arrested, beaten up, robbed, had my car stolen/broken into, caught a disease, gotten someone pregnant, and all manner of other consequences not to mention breaking my marriage vows. I didn't want to be that person. I stopped doing all of that stuff, even porn.
My wife noticed that I have been really unhappy and grouchy and snappy. I am sexually frustrated and I want to tell her that. I think she can guess what is bothering me because she keeps asking me about women at work. She might think I am having an affair. She told me that she wants me to buy a notebook and write in there what I need to say. She will read it one day while I am at work. That is what will be the final version of The Talk. It will apparently be written in a notebook.
If you have gotten this far then thank you. I am not really sure what to tell her or how to say it. I want to tell her that I love her but that it has been a difficult journey for me. I want to tell her that I am not done with sex yet and that I still see her as a vibrant, sexy woman. I want to tell her that we need to go to counseling to try to work on this problem together and that we cannot sweep it under the rug this time because our marriage is at stake.
I'm not sure what else to say. I want to be supportive but I also don't want to give her any outs, because every time we have this discussion she seems to find a way to avoid intimacy. I need to be firm with her. I am not looking forward to entering the dating pool in my 50s but if that's what needs to happen so be it because we can't ignore this problem any longer. There won't be any more iterations of The Talk after this one.
I'm a little concerned that she will go down the "open the marriage" route thinking that I won't have the guts to do it and then she will feel vindicated because she offered me up what it is I want and I turned it down. However, I have thought about it and if she does that I want to be clear that's not a solution.
I want to make sure that what I write is done well because it is the most important letter I will ever write. Our marriage, our retirement plans,... everything we ever shared together and planned together in our future might be altered forever as a result. When I write it like that it seems crazy that I would give it all up because of a lack of sexual intimacy, but being mere hours away from visiting that sex worker made me realize I needed to try one last time to work with my wife to stay an honorable man and husband. I couldn't sacrifice that for some cheap, meaningless sex.
It's very scary, but I am looking forward to a resolution whatever that may be. I can't live like this anymore.
Thanks for any advice and support.

I am looking for victims of Shell Gas Station. Please see my Google review below. Thank you in advance.
EDIT: Because corporate decided to IMMEDIATELY respond back, I would like to give an update that this is the 3rd time Shell Gas Station has stolen from me and right now we're all enduring the worst economy the nation has ever seen due to inflation. I WILL be posting on EVERY SINGLE SHELL GAS STATION REVIEW PAGE ON GOOGLE UNTIL MY MONEY IS RETURNED AND I AM COMPENSATED FOR THE HARDSHIP I HAVE ENDURED. One should not have to worry about money being stolen out of their account when stopping to get gas. THESE CORPORATIONS MUST STOP AND SOMEONE MUST STAND UP. THEY MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. I am placing this very disturbing issue on Reddit where I will be gathering other victim's information and obtaining counsel in a class action lawsuit. PLEASE CONTACT ME AT: telessablack@gmail.com.
I wish I could give this corporation ZERO stars. DO NOT PUT YOUR CARD INTO THEIR GAS PUMPS... THEY STEAL MONEY AND WILL NOT GIVE IT BACK FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS. THIS IS EVERY SHELL STATION. THIS SHOULD BE AGAINST THE LAW. I'D LIKE TO START A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT BECAUSE NONE OF US AGREE TO THIS THEREFORE IT'S STEALING AND CAUSED ME AND MANY OTHERS HARDSHIP.

"If [Taylor Swift] ran for President and would listen to great advisers, I'd consider supporting her." - Ray Dalio, hedge fund billionaire, who praised Swift’s ability to bring people together.

Diss Tracks

We’re suddenly weeks away from the earliest presidential debate in U.S. history. If that seems unusual, you’re right — in more ways than one.

• It's starting to feel like everything is beef these days. The mega-rap-star-showdown between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has already inspired one Biden-Harris ad, using Lamar’s diss track, “Euphoria.” On Wednesday, President Biden dared disgraced former President Trump to debate with a schoolyard taunt: “Make my day, pal.” Now the old boys are set for June 27, three months earlier than usual. Biden’s tight timeline leaves him all summer to recover if he flops, before round two on September 10. But it also feels like this rumble is coming on faster than anyone was ready for. So what’s with the rush, fellas?
  
• Just like the Drake-Kendrick beef, there’s plenty of speculation about each side’s motivations. Biden’s bravado may actually be a sign of concern. Recent New York Times polling shows him behind in five-out-of-six key swing states. He needs a way to shake up this race. Trump, equally excited to throw down, may be eager to redo his disastrous performance in 2020, when he yelled out of turn, interrupted the moderator, and shredded decorum to the point of incoherence. He may also be looking for a way to change the subject if a Manhattan jury finds him guilty in a few weeks.
  
• Biden jeers, Trump sneers. Are we doomed to suffer the tabloidization of politics? These guys are vying to be President of the United States, not climb the Billboard charts. Sure, lots of people find beef entertaining. But there are real stakes here. Reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and voting rights are being stripped away. Two major international wars have claimed tens of thousands of lives. One candidate stands accused of serious federal felonies. It would be downright refreshing to have a big-boy discussion about actual policies and issues that impact American lives.
  

Let’s just hope the Biden campaign doesn’t have him walk out on stage to Kendrick’s “Not Like Us,” please.

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

We all make bad decisions sometimes, and although you probably have a group chat of friends to dissect what is going on in your life, understanding the nightmare-fuel that is Supreme Court decisions might require a law degree… or 3. So let Strict Scrutiny be your guide to this decision season. From abortion bans to Trump trials - law professors and hosts Melissa Murray, Kate Shaw and Leah Litman decode the drama and break down everything you need to know- and keep you sane in the process. New episodes release every Monday wherever you get your podcasts - And now on YouTube! Plus keep an eye out for bonuses, whenever SCOTUS tries to set the nation back 60 years.

Under The Radar

The Department of Justice vowed to crack down on threats to election officials, the kind that made the 2020 election so fraught and could make 2024 dicey as well. Trump’s stolen 2020 election narrative helped prompt hundreds of such threats. Four-in-10 local election officials say they have experienced threats, harassment, or abuse just for doing their jobs.
But the DOJ’s efforts may not measure up to the sheer size of the problem, according to the latest episode of this newsletter’s sister show, the What A Day podcast. Garland’s Election Threats Task Force has only brought 13 convictions since its inception in 2021. It’s far from clear how the DOJ will trace each threat back to its source. And this time, they’ll need to grapple with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, which could supercharge both the spread of misinformation and the reach of the worst people.

What Else?

Nearly a dozen MAGA faithful including Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) took more time away from working for their constituents to appear in Trump’s courtroom. The internet dunked on Boebert for attending Trump’s criminal trial, but not her son Tyler’s recent court date. Apparently blood is not thicker than that sweet, sweet MAGA juice.
Judge Juan Merchan is reportedly growing annoyed with the sideshow. The prosecution asked him to stop the entourage from entering court in the middle of questioning. We will all be very glad when this spectacle is finally over… which it will be. Hopefully. One Day. We think.
The House Judiciary Committee advanced an effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress Thursday after the White House refused to give up an audio recording of President Biden’s interview with the special counsel about his handling of classified documents. The White House seems to think Republicans want to take the audio, chop it up, and distort it for political gain. And, of course, they do. But voting to hold Garland in contempt effectively means asking Garland to arrest himself. Good luck with that one, fellas!
The North Carolina Senate voted to ban anyone from wearing masks in public for health reasons… as if the state isn’t still reporting hundreds of respiratory virus cases weekly including COVID-19! Republicans want to crack down on protesters in masks, accusing them of abusing pandemic protection to hide their identities. We know this is really just part of the GOP’s freaky little crusade against masks that is now entering its fourth year.
Cardi B is doubling down on revoking her support of President Biden in a new Rolling Stone interview, and to our disappointment, making a public stance that she is not voting for either candidate this year! Never thought we would see the day we disagreed with the iconic rap star but she has to “Be Careful” with her words and her influence. Sorry Cardi, we don’t like it like that.
A far-right Missouri secretary of state candidate might end up getting sued by rapper Lupe Fiasco for using his music in a diabolical ad featuring homophobic slurs. The ad shows candidate Valentina Gomez randomly running with an armored vest on before she blurts out: “In America, you can be anything you want. So don’t be weak and gay. Stay hard.” She even adds an F-bomb in there for good measure. Not sure what wearing a bulletproof vest for no reason and calling people gay has to do with being Secretary of State but hey, we’re not the * freedom * experts.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) said he will pardon a former Army sergeant convicted of fatally shooting a Black Lives Matter protester, citing the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law. A review board recommended Daniel Perry’s release after he was originally sentenced to 25 years in prison last year. Court records revealed Perry regularly shared racist memes and threatening content on social media, and now he will be back out on the streets thanks to Abbott. Perry’s firearm rights were also restored. Another winning day in Texas government!

What A Sponsor

This allergy season, go beyond the cycle of temporary fixes with ARMRA Colostrum™.
Colostrum is the first nutrition we receive in life and is an exclusive source of all the essential nutrients we need to thrive.
Harnessing the natural power of colostrum’s over 400 functional nutrients, ARMRA Colostrum™ strengthens your body’s barriers at the cellular level, offering a robust shield against inhaled allergens, bacteria, viruses, and pollutants. With ARMRA Colostrum™, you're transforming your body's response to allergies from the ground up.
Beyond allergy season, ARMRA Colostrum™ strengthens immunity, ignites metabolism, fortifies gut health, promotes hair growth and skin radiance, and powers fitness performance and recovery.
As a special offer, valued readers can get 15% off their first order of ARMRA Colostrum™! Visit https://tryarmra.com/WAD or use code WAD at checkout.

Light At The End Of The Email

The Justice Department is moving ahead with its plans to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Reclassification wouldn’t legalize weed outright, but would federally recognize its medical use and take it out of the category with drugs like heroin and LSD. High five to that?
The Biden administration announced it will end coal leasing on federal lands in the Powder River Basin, which produces nearly half of the country’s coal in a region spanning 13 million acres across Montana and Wyoming. It’s a huge win for climate advocates pushing to restore an Obama-era moratorium on coal mining on federal lands.

Enjoy

Andrew Nadeau on Twitter: "I wish other jobs let us solve issues by releasing diss tracks. got some sick rhymes about debbie from accounting and her poorly structured invoicing"

I really just wanted to get this story off my chest. I sought out help with some issues before on another account and but ended up deleting it because some people decided that they were green lit to brigade me with rather unpleasant messages. Sometimes I feel truly alone now.
I guess a bit of back story to start out.
I lived in a decent rental property out in a rural area in the SE U.S. I am a male, mid-30s at the time, divorced, decent job and all around not a bad life all things considered. I had family nearby and friends who seemed to care, and there was a woman in my life that seemed like we were a pretty good match for each other. This was back in 2019 right before the big covid epidemic really ramped up.
I had no idea it was all about to end.
At 3am on a thursday night, I was awoken to a loud knock on my door. I put on some slippers and looked out the peephole. There was a police officer standing there. I hadn't done anything illegal and had no reason to fear a police run in. My first thought was that something was wrong with someone in my family. I opened the door and he asked my name. I confirmed and he grabbed hold of me and yanked me out. More officers from around the corner pinned me to the wall and cuffed me. I asked what was happening and received a punch to the head for my troubles.
I was rather stunned and horribly confused. They drug me out to where they had parked, just out of the line of sight for me to see from my door. I was tossed into the car and eventually one of them got in and finally answered my question of what was going on.
I had been charged with rape and child molestation. He didn't tell me who charged me or when, just that there was a warrant out for my arrest.
I was hauled into the county jail at that point. I had never been arrested in my life and I was terrified. I didn't have my phone and couldn't remember anyone's contact information at the time. I was processed, given my mugshot, and put in a small holding cell.
Some time later I got my first appearance and was told my charges, no bail, I was warned not to talk to the judge or I'd regret it. Just answer his questions and sit down when told,
Then they moved me to a very small padded room. There were 4 or 5 police officers I think that moved me. It's a bit hard to remember this part in detail, but I remember enough. They handed me this small cloth vest and told me to strip naked. I had no idea what they were doing and I got really scared. I didn't get asked again. They held me down, ripped my clothes off, and beat the hell out of me right there. They shoved my face against a vent in the floor that served as the toilet. One of them remarked that was where a piece of shit like me belonged and they laughed. They spit on me and left, leaving that small vest laying next to me on the cold rubber floor.
For four weeks, I curled up under that vest in the corner of the room. It was so cold and I didn't dare let that spot cool down. The pain was terrible and the nurses that had to check on me didn't care what I'd went though. I didn't have back problems before that, but now I do. Some days I wake up now and can hardly walk.
I was finally moved to general population. I figured things were finally getting better. I was sure that whatever had started happening would finally be over. I got a message from my family and was able to contact them. I reassured them I had no idea what was happening or who had filed charges or anything. I was as confused as everyone else would be.
I tried telling my mom about the abuse. An officer came back there, told me point blank that if I didn't want to get it again and worse next time, I'd better shut my mouth. It was a threat I'd rather not test out. I kept my mouth shut at that point. I learned that all calls and mail was monitored by the jail.
I asked my mom to get in touch with the woman I'd been seeing to explain things. She's already messaged my mom and told her that she wanted nothing to do with me. I guess all things considered I ended up better off, but it hurt at the time.
A few weeks later, a public attorney had been appointed and came to see me. I was finally about to find out who was behind all this. I figured this was some sort of great big misunderstanding and I'd be home soon.
It was the neighbors daughter. Someone I barely knew and only spoke to in passing. I never touched this girl and I didn't want to either. She had told her parents that I had forced open her window and raped her in the early morning hours and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.
I was 6'1 and 230lbs of pudding. I am not stealthy. There was no way I could quietly force open a trailer window and have my way with someone and keep it quiet. regardless though, that's what she claimed to her parents, and then to the police.
Why would that poor precious child lie? Very good question and I never found out the full story. I can speculate a few things on it. They did collect DNA evidence though and it had been sent off for testing.
Something to keep in mind. If you ever been in county lockup for any length of time, you know that nearly everyone claims innocence, and they don't believe other people are. I was locked into a dorm room with actual convicted child sexual predators and actual rapists. Some of whom were violent and had nothing to lose.
It wasn't pleasant and it wasn't fun. I was attacked on occasion simply for my charges.
And remember I said this was pre-covid? Yeah. They shut down the court system. They wouldn't be hearing my case for quite some time and the judge was a real hard ass that refused to set my bond. I spent the next 3 years in county lockup charged with a crime I did not commit.
3 years of my life gone.
I ended up firing my public defender and hiring a real defense attorney. the P.D. told me "things look pretty grim. If you just plea out, you can be home in about 10 years." Hell no. I borrowed the money from my family and got a real attorney. After he reviewed the case he was pretty positive I'd go home, and for a few good reasons.
Let's go to trial.
It finally happened. I got a trial date and I was ready to go. They came at me with another plea deal. The prosecutor said that I had wasted the states valuable time and they offered me 25 yrs in prison or I could lose and never see freedom. I told him to go pound sand.
At the trial, the alleged victim could not keep her story straight. She constantly backtracked and fudged the details of things like "What was he wearing?" or "Things he had said to you before." She also claimed to be a virgin and I took that from her.
I mentioned some time ago that they collected DNA. It was male, but it wasn't mine. Apparently the prosecution sat on those results until it was nearly time for trial. They knew I was innocent and let me sit in jail to entertain their plea deals.
I don't know what really happened that night, I suspect that she had sex with some guy she was seeing, They may have got into a fight and she cried rape, and then changed her mind after she'd started. She needed a rapist though and she just randomly chose a guy nearby that she didn't care anything about. Maybe she got in too deep and knew that if she backtracked she'd be in trouble.
I went home that day, found not guilty of all charges. I was thankful to be back with my family. Many of my so called friends abandoned me though. A few stuck around and those are the good ones.
My facebook arrest post had my full name and address and plenty of people wished for my death. "I'd be glad to put a bullet in him if they'd just let me" or "I know that guy. I knew there was something wrong with him the moment I met him."
I lost my home and a few things had been stolen before my family could secure it. Nothing irreplaceable I guess, but it still feels bad to of lost a few things I cared about.
In addition to severe back pain, the mental damage I got from this has been crippling. No matter how much I try, I just can't seem to get my life together. I am absolutely terrified of women as I know what just a few errant words can do. I don't think I could ever form another meaningful relationship because of those fears. I'm scared of the police as well. I fear they'll come after me again just like they did that night. They could kill me and get away with it these days.
Mostly I stay inside my moms house. Some days I'm ok. Others, I'm just so scared to go out. This isn't really a good life anymore. Counseling is somewhat helping at least.
There's no lawsuit that can be filed. The state doesn't have to answer for anything because they followed the letter of the law and the pandemic gave them emergency powers to do certain things. There's no lawsuit against the girl either as she never said it was made up. There's laws to protect her.
My life was ruined despite all charges being dropped. I honestly am not sure I can recover from this nightmare. There's plenty of details I left out, but I've talked enough as it is. I'm tired now. I expect people to call me a rapist or chomo anyways, innocent or not. For some, an accusation is enough proof for them.

Kingmaker: A Game of Thrones in Brevoy
System: Dungeons & Dragons 5e
Format: Discord Text pbp
No. of Players: 5
[Notice: This is a 18+ campaign. It contains NSFW and adult elements.]

The same message has appeared on bounty boards and in taverns across Brevoy.
HEROES WANTED!
Those able of body and brave of heart are invited to the mansion of Lady Jamandi Aldori, Swordlord & Chief Defender of Restov, to embark on an expedition into the Stolen Lands.
Bandits and monsters have been allowed to infest our southern borders for far too long. Those selected will be divided into groups and given a charter to reopen old trade routes and secure the surrounding territory. The brave-hearted mercenaries and adventurers who choose to take on this quest will face unimaginable danger, but whomever succeeds shall receive honor, glory, and a noble title granting dominion over the lands they've claimed to pass on their children.

For generations, the Stolen Lands have spanned the southern border of Brevoy. Many attempts have been made to settle them, but to date, none have succeeded, making these 35,000 square miles of wilderness the largest swath of unclaimed land in the entire region. As tensions mount in Brevoy, one ambitious swordlord hopes to change that fact.
Lady Jamandi Aldori is issuing charters to several groups of adventurers, sending them south into the Stolen Lands to reopen old trade routes and defeat the bandits and monsters who have made them too dangerous to use. By sending free agents south, this swordlord of Rostland hopes to alter the political balance of power in Brevoy without sacrificing her own position or forces. Yet, as with most complex and brilliant plans, the future holds plenty of opportunities for disaster.

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

Hello! I'm a longtime DM and a huge fan of A Song of Ice & Fire. I'm looking to run a campaign that's heavily influenced by the series I hold so dear. If you're a casual fan who's only seen Game of Thrones or House or the Dragon, you're more than welcome! The main things I'm looking for here are quality roleplay and enthusiasm. If you've got that, I promise we can have a good game together.

"Winter is coming."

Kingmaker is an Adventure Path originally designed by Paizo for the Pathfinder RPG but has been converted to be compatible with the 5th edition D&D ruleset. I'm taking so serious liberties with it but the bones of the adventure remain the same. Kingmaker is a high fantasy campaign that thrusts the player characters into a unique situation of building their own kingdom and carving out their own niche upon the world. You may be a scion of a lesser branch of the great families with ambitions that can't be hindered by your place in the succession. You could be a commoner whose witnessed your humble community suffer at the hands of the lawless bandits pillaging the countryside and will take on this great challenge so your family can live free. Perhaps you are a bastard child of a powerful figure and now seek to carve out your own kingdom knowing that you stand to inherit nothing you don't build for yourself.

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."

I've got a couple of expectations for the characters that will be brought into the adventure. I am looking for characters with reasons to have a desire to venture into hostile territory and work as a team to build a kingdom. Good or evil doesn't matter but chaos doesn't serve to further the group. So, no chaotic alignment will be allowed. This is not the campaign for chaotic evil players looking to betray the other players, loners or free-spirited vagabonds.

"Backstabbing doesn't prepare you for a fight, and that's all the realm is now. Backstabbing and scheming and arse-licking and money-grubbing."

Political intrigue is a pillar of the series inspiring this and a big part of my plans, but in order to keep charisma from being everyone's primary stat I will be using a reputation system to even the playing field when dealing with individuals of consequence. In certain circles, a knight renowned for their honor and bravery is going to be as respected and influential, if not more, as a traditional face will be anywhere else. I think this will do a lot to allow the party to have a proper balance of classes with no one feeling handicapped in the social aspects.

"Let me give you some counsel, bastard. Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you."

You may have noticed the tag, and the catch is: This is an adult only game, featuring erotic roleplay where characters can engage in sexual activities with no fade-to-black, etc. Lewd events, plans, consequences, and more are all on the table in this campaign. If you've watched either of the shows on HBO, this probably isn't much of a surprise to you. I'd like to be clear that just because it's on the table, this game will not become a raunchy, never ending orgy. There is usually meaning behind how sex is used in the series and that's what I'm looking to emulate.

"Distrusting me was the wisest thing you've done since you climbed off your horse."

GRRM often uses the intimate scenes to peel back layers to a character. Sometimes to paint them in a different light, other times to drive them further into the role he wishes to present them to the reader in. Some examples would be Tyrion's lingering trauma and emotional vulnerability, driving him to purchase the closest thing he believes he can have to real love being a way to earn Tyrion the reader's sympathy. Contrast that with Cersei's narcissism making her seek lovers, she can view as idealized male versions of herself, the only match worthy in her deranged mind. Or how Littlefinger justifies his pitiless ambition, being something forced on him by a cruel and unfair world that's kept him and his one true love apart by no fault of their own.

"Love is the death of duty."

PCs are encouraged to find and nurture romantic relationships with other characters or NPCs. Weddings are considered the truest way of sealing alliances, after all. Beyond the love lives of the characters, there are many other scenarios. A corrupt noble might be willing to trade information to carry on an affair on their spouse. A sex scandal could undermine the legitimacy of a claimant in a contested succession. Barbarian raiders may attack a village under your protection and take the women as slaves. Spies might attempt to seduce you in order to secure a position in your court and feed information to a rival house. A neighboring tyrant might earn your ire when reports of him abusing his authority to take advantage of an unfortunate captive or innocent reaches you.

"The things I do for love."

Because I'm sure it needs to be said. ERP will not be my main focus while running this; it may or may not even happen on my end. I'll already be responsible for the story, so trying to match everyone's taste in smut on top of that might be biting off more than I can chew. That being said, I'm all for your characters sharing a tent during the long weeks of adventuring because I think a good amount of sexual tension adds player investment and fun to the story. While I'm not promising anything, I'm not firmly ruling things out on my end either. You all could charm your way into a few NPC's pants to loosen a secret from their lips or secure a favor down the road. You might decide to blow your coins on prostitutes while visiting the capital. If the scene serves the story (or I'm just feeling horny that day), I may indulge you! Just wanted to make sure you're aware that just because I am open to ERP does not mean I'm making a commitment to provide it to everyone, expecting all players to take part in it, or putting it ahead of the actual campaign in any capacity.

"There are no other men like me. Only me."

If it's not apparent by now, I'm very serious about making this game something great. I love the ASOIAF books; I love the adventure path; I love the cRPG, and I desperately want to do justice by all three influences. Expect a bit of gritty realism and tragedy in this story. Your triumphs will be hard fought. Your holdings will face constant peril. Your enemies will always be lurking with their knives out for the moment you drop your guard. However, the rewards for your success in this campaign are unlike any other. I truly don't think there is another adventure that matches the sense of accomplishment that comes from taking a stretch of hostile wilderness and carving your own thriving kingdom from it.

"Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less."

A little bit on my approach to DMing this. I plan on running this very differently from traditional D&D 5e. Combat is obviously what the system does the most of, but if you've ever watched GoT or HotD you'd see the main characters don't draw their swords all that often. In fact, a lot of the main cast never have their own fight scenes. I like this less is more approach a great deal and think it'll bring a lot to the pbp experience. Outside of encounters with a named enemy, I won't be using initiative. This is so the RP isn't held up by any individual's schedule. I'll also be utilizing the minion rule from 4e where all the monsters have 1 HP. Their AC remains the same, so if you have trouble hitting them, the danger remains but low damage rolls won't cause encounters to drag unnecessarily.

"Hard truths cut both ways."

Matching the tone of the books this campaign is inspired by will take collaboration. I want the heroes of this story to have lives that involve more than their swords and spells. If you’re just looking to roleplay a non-stop fantasy porno, this isn't the game for you. But if you are interested in writing a character who is enriched by getting to explore their desires, be influenced by lusts, make compromises out of attraction, and maybe even experience heartbreak if their trust and affection wound up in the wrong hands-- then you're exactly who I'm looking for!

"If I do not press my claim, my claim will be forgotten. I will not become a page in someone else's history book."

If you can't be bothered to respond to the RP for days at a time, I'm going to kick you out! Plain and simple. I won't be reaching out. I won't be constantly giving you reminders. There will be no stoppages for you to get your shit together. It's a big world, and I'm not going to hesitate to find someone else interested in actively participating in the adventure if you go ghost. I understand that IRL always comes first, so if you have the common courtesy to reach out and explain your circumstances that prevent you from putting together a couple paragraphs every day, then I will still be replacing you, but I will move your character out of the story for you to pick up later on when you can. If you can't manage to let me know what's going on, then I'm just going to forget about you and move right along so everyone else can continue the fun!

"I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples, bastards and broken things."

My plan is to be pretty rules-light with this campaign since while I run a lot of D&D, I haven't run that many text games. I'm still confident I can handle it, but I'm just throwing it out there in case there are bumps along the road. If you're more experienced in the pbp arena than I am, I'd greatly appreciate your advice as things are coming together. We will be using dndbeyond and the standard discord bots. In my experience, these games work a lot better when the story is put above mechanics, so keeping things to PHB races and PHB/XgtE subclasses. If you're looking to do some awesome game-breaker build you've theory crafted for months. This may not be the game for it. I don't plan on meticulously tracking things to make sure you get your sentinel feat trigger each turn.

“Oh, my sweet summer child, what do you know about fear?”

Alright! That's my pitch. Sorry you had to read all that, but hopefully you're still interested and can see I don't have a problem handing out paragraphs, so this game ought to be in good hands. I look forward to reading your applications and will be leaving the form open for the next week while I work on the discord server.

“The night is dark and full of terrors.”

I'll looking forward to playing with you. As well as hopefully some fun debates about who we're rooting for in HotD season 2 as it airs.
The application link is down below! I'm going to leave it open for a week so folks don't miss out. I will be checking it regularly, so if I find a bunch of folks I like over the first couple days, I'll reach out to them, but I'm sure we all know how these sorts of games go. People may drop out or prove unreachable, so even if you're not someone who hears back from me immediately, we might be writing together soon!
The Stolen Lands await you!
https://forms.gle/bnmHsUt2Qmq5D1jK8

“There is only one god, and His name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: 'not today'.”

TLDR up front: I'm sad and guilty cuz I don't want or plan to contact my dad on Father's Day next month or his birthday in July, cuz I'm coming to grips with how (among other things) he had emotionally abused my mom during their 27 year marriage.
I (42f) just realized what a daddy's girl I am. Not in the way I guess I'd thought of, but not wanting to disappoint him. I've not come out as pansexual, although that's easy enough cuz I'm in a monogamous hetero marriage.
The big one is I've not come out as athiest. My dad was raised catholic by Mexican immigrants (well, my abuelo was born in the US but we hadn't stolen New Mexico yet when his parents first lived there). He converted to, like a generic non-denominational christian (I guess maybe it's called protestant?) in his early 20s. It's how he met my mom who was raised catholic as well. Anyway, after their divorce he was went full midlife crisis mode and converted to messianic Judaism. (My mom went back to the catholic church, and he was super bitter about the divorce, so I really think he was going for polar opposites.)
And biggest of all, is I haven't told him I know the emotional abuse he put my mom through.
I wasn't blind as a teenager. I saw how he'd wield his authority as "biblical head of household" over her. I saw the look in her eyes when he'd talk down to her and she'd have to submit. It was like he broke a little piece of her heart, he spirit, her soul, and like she felt shame for us kids (2 younger brothers who are intellectually disabled, and 1 older sister) seeing this and thinking it was ok.
However, my mom recently opened up (they've been divorced nearly 20 years now) about the reason she was so willingly weak and submissive my whole childhood. It's cuz he broke her down so much in their early years. This is long enough as it is, so that's another story for another day. But it was bad.
She's not perfect, but she's a good woman. A strong woman, who stayed to protect her children. He set things in motion to poison us kids against her if she left him, that he believed and cowed her into believing she would lose us and we'd be raised solely by him.
When she finally got up the courage to leave him, he briefly lost his shit, like full-on mental break, almost died but he denied it was intentional self-harm and of course refused to seek further mental health counseling. He instead chose to lean into religion, and the whole conversion, and blah blah, enough backstory.
I learned about the emotional abuse just last year. I barely talk to him anyway just cuz of depression and kinda turning into a hermit during and post pandemic lockdown. So I just stopped initiating contact last year. I did however send him a cursory text on Father's Day and his birthday. Now I'm struggling cuz I don't want to even make those efforts. And I honestly want to proceed eventually to full NC. He lives in over 1,400 miles away in Texas and is self-absorbed enough that he barely reaches out, so it's not like it'd be that difficult. I just feel like it will become blatant once those 2 days come about, cuz I've never forgotten then once even when I was deployed overseas.
Anyway, this got way longer than I thought it would, even when I put the tldr in, but it just kinda poured out of me. This isn't even the half of it.. I'm still unpacking it.

Things are getting pretty exciting in NYC personal injury law right now. A few of the bigger plaintiff's firms and a good 50 or so doctors are being sued in federal court for allegedly manufacturing fraudulent claims and lawsuits for accidents and injuries that never happened. If you practice persona injury law in NYC you'll absolutely recongnize the vast majority of the named defendants. The main lawsuitis pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Roosevelt Road Re, Ltd. et al v. John Hajjar, MD et al, case number 1:24-cv-01549-NG-LB.
This stuff has been an open secret for years, and the lawsuit was filed a couple of months ago. It's starting to make the news, and it's been tremendous fun (at least for me as an insurance defense attorney) watching things start to break down. There have been *hundreds* of motions filed by a handful of plaintiffs' attorneys asking to be relieved as counsel before the lawsuits come to any kind of conclusion.
https://abc7ny.com/imposter-posed-as-queens-man-for-doctors-visits-in-fraudulent-construction-fall-claim--7-on-your-side-investigates/14755461/
https://abc7ny.com/stolen-identify-construction-worker-says-his-id-was-to-file-false-workers-comp-claim-and-lawsuit/14607751/
https://abc7ny.com/construction-workers-fake-falls-injuries/14529496/
https://abc7ny.com/videoClip/14607874/

Title says it all. My wife and I have been together for 10 years, married for four with one kid and one of the way (I know). As each day passes, it becomes more solidified that I no longer want to spend the rest of my life with her. I have grown what feels like an insurmountable resentment for her with the feeling becoming more mutual.
Divorce, I'd imagine is never easy but I feel like it's the lesser of two evils rather than being married to someone who seems to push my sanity to the brink. My house is always a mess (even pre children) because nothing ever gets put away when she's done with it. Her poor behavior can always be justified but no else is given this same grace. She spends money that we don't have like it's going out of style but adds very little to household/living expenses (90/10). Pregnancy has only made her often crappy, entitled attitude worse. My marriage nor my current household condition is what I want to model for my kids' future, nor is it good for my happiness or sanity. It was over in my head when she asked me to say something 'sweet' about her and I drew a blank because I don't feel this way for her any longer. I wouldn't want her served while she's pregnant for the sake of her and the baby's health but AITAH for filing shortly after birth?
Edit* In an attempt to keep up with some commonly asked questions.
No we haven't had any formal marriage counseling since we've been married. All of our agreements on finance, lifestyle, etc have been 'handshake agreements' that are often agreed and then reneged upon. While we haven't discussed divorce, yet, I have repeatedly shared that I'm unhappy with the way things have been going and it feels like our (financial) future is being stolen away.
Shortly after birth is less clear because there isn't a defined timeline. My thought is somewhere between 6-12 months after birth depending on how things progress. Regardless of how some of it may read, this is still the mother of my children and if nothing else I want her to be mentally and emotionally stable as a parent.
I am not absolving myself of any part of what has helped get my relationship to this point. We all understand that ideally, she wouldn't be pregnant but that in no way will stop me from continuing to be the best parent I'm capable of being with or without being married.

I recently commented on a post about how strong Columbo's case against Milo Janus would be in court, and someone kindly asked me to do one on 'Suitable for Framing.' I am a criminal defense attorney -- still a young one, and I've never tried a murder, but it's a fun exercise to see how I would try to defend a Columbo killer. There's always lots of debate over whether Columbo would actually get a conviction or not, so I thought it would be fun to weigh in.
Suitable for Framing is a really good choice. It is a very complex crime with two murders, and there is not a whole lot of physical evidence. Most of Columbo's case comes from the *excellent* ending, by far one of the best scenes in all of Columbo, where it is revealed that Dale Kingston's fingerprints are on the stolen pastels that had been offered for ransom. The person who requested I weigh in specifically mentioned the fingerprints, wondering exactly how they would be used to prosecute Dale Kingston.
First, let me start with a brief explanation on how things would go. (Disclaimer: I work in 2024 in Pennsylvania, not California in 1969, so there may be some differences in the law.)
After the iconic image of Columbo holding out his gloved hands, Kingston would be arrested on first-degree murder charges -- meaning his crimes were premeditated. I'm going to analyze this case assuming that the prosecution intends to convict on that charge. There is no right to bond for a defendant charged with murder, therefore Kingston would most likely be incarcerated while awaiting trial. Nowadays, trial would be several years in the making; back then, it might happen a little sooner.
During that time, we would be discussing the possibility of a plea deal. Plea deals are controlled by the prosecution, they are not obligated to make any offers, and the decision whether to take a plea deal would 100% lie with Kingston. I could tell him to take the offer until I'm blue in the face, but if he wants a trial he gets a trial. There are two main considerations for Kingston regarding a plea deal that I can't answer: The state of Kingston's resources to effectively fight his case, how much time Kingston is willing to sit in jail without knowing the likely outcome, and whether the prosecution would be pushing for the death penalty.
The prosecution is definitely going to threaten Kingston with the death penalty. They're going to threaten to charge him with Tracy's murder, too, even though they don't have a ton of evidence and I am going to vigorously fight to have that charge thrown out before trial. They are going to try to twist Kingston's arm into taking a plea. Trials are expensive, and the prosecution does not want to waste taxpayer funds on a highly-publicized trial like this one, and as I will explain below, the prosecution's evidence is not the strongest. As Kingston's attorney, I'd be looking for a plea deal that would ensure Kingston saw the outside of prison walls again someday, and the prosecution would know that. Ross Martin was 49 years old when he played Dale Kingston, so assuming that is indeed Kingston's age, I'm going to aim for a deal that allows Kingston to be eligible for parole in his sixties. Anything more than that and I think we're going to trial.
Ok, but enough of that bargaining -- what if we did have to go to trial? How well would Columbo's evidence hold up?
Well, let's start with the biggest piece of evidence: Columbo's fingerprints on the paintings. How could Columbo's fingerprints be on those paintings?
I mentioned this in my other post -- I am not a lawyer who fights everything. If one piece of a case is lost, I give it up. I believe that if I fight everything, it undermines my credibility when I'm arguing in a place I can win. A good example of this is if I'm defending a client accused of drug dealing. I'll admit that they had drugs, sure, whatever, but not that they were dealing them. For Dale Kingston -- sure, maybe we'll have to admit he was involved in the theft of the paintings and their ransom. But even if we admit the theft... Now prove he killed Uncle Rudy.
THAT'S the problem I think the prosecution faces with the fingerprints. All it proves is that Kingston might've somehow been involved in the theft. So Columbo can testify, he can lay out all the evidence, and in his closing argument, the prosecutor can piece it all together in the way Columbo thinks the murder happened. But they've got to prove it.
I think we're going for a classic SODDI defense here: Some Other Dude Did It. (Yes that's a real term in criminal defense.) Two evil art thieves, one of them a woman, broke into the house, stole some paintings, and killed Uncle Rudy. Prove that's not true and that it was Kingston and Tracy. Remember: Columbo has the wrong time of death because he doesn't know about the use of the electric blanket. Kingston has a rock-solid alibi for the perceived time of death. Columbo also has ZERO evidence placing Tracy inside the mansion at any time, and he can only speculate that she was an accomplice. ZERO evidence is ever shown in the episode that would put Kingston as Tracy's killer, or even that Tracy's death was actually murder. So yeah, Columbo can take the stand and speculate all he wants about Kingston and Tracy working together, about Tracy being the woman running out of the house, about Tracy's suspicious death... I will do a rigorous cross examination pointing out that that's really all Columbo is doing. He's just speculating. There's very little actually evidence. I can also object to a good amount of his speculation and try to prevent him from explaining himself coherently.
Now comes the shadiest part. This is the part where defense attorneys of the past have earned bad names for themselves. It is both illegal and unethical for me to counsel a client to take the stand and tell lies. But our conversations are completely confidential: Prove he was lying, and then prove I knew he was lying. Prove we made it up. We'll never tell!
So, Kingston and I can make up a plausible story to explain the fingerprints, which he'll probably tell first in a police interview before possibly testifying to it later. (Remember Kingston has a constitutional right not to testify.) My thought is this: "Ok, Columbo, you got me. I did have the paintings that night, and you did touch them. I had them because I had just gotten them back from the thieves. They did, in fact, call me about a ransom. They told me to meet them in a park at a specific bench in a really dark spot. They told me not to bring any money and that I would get further instructions later. When I got there, there were two people there, a man and a woman. They were wearing stockings, and the man had a gun. They gave me the pastels. They told me to plant them in Edna's house because there was too much heat on them since they didn't intend to kill Uncle Rudy, and they had no way of selling the hot pastels. I guess they knew a lot about my family and knew Edna was a suspect. They said if I didn't plant the pastels, I would have to figure out how to explain why I had them and they would start sending evidence to the police that implicated me. I figured I had no choice but to do what they said."
I only have to create reasonable doubt. I don't have to prove that Kingston is telling the truth. I only have to prove that Kingston's explanation of events is plausible enough that Columbo's version of events does not amount to proof beyond a reasonable doubt. I think, shady as it is, that explanation could do it. Kingston and I could also come up with some other fun lies, I'm sure, and maybe we'd find something that would work better.
So that's my analysis of how the case might go. Ultimately, I think Kingston's motive is simply too strong to risk going to trial. There's also the evidence of his wild reaction to Columbo and his gloves. I want a plea deal. Plead guilty to grand theft, or conspiracy to commit theft, or even conspiracy to commit murder. Whatever gets Kingston out of prison before age 70. If I can poke all the holes in the prosecution's case that I listed above, and show them that they risk losing a highly-publicized death penalty trial, I think I might have a shot.
I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments! And thanks again to the guy who asked me to do this, it was fun.

"Ambassador, this is a simple affair. You know as well as I do the circumstances of our meeting; withdraw your ships from the Garador system, and let this first interaction between our species be an amicable one."
Envoy Kartizhan had only met his counterpart atop the Diplomatic Building some 20 minutes prior, but he found himself despising the furless form already. Though the translator he wore couldn't convey tone, Kartizhan had let a low growl fill each of the words he'd delivered, punctuating his message with the undertones of threat.
Ambassador Thrall, who sat across the table as representative of the primate kind, twirled a pen around his shortest finger. At Kartizhan's proclamation, the Ambassador put the pen to a piece of paper, orderly lines of symbols appearing in its wake.
He doesn't even bother hiding his written thoughts. The Ceiling Eyes will be picking them apart already.
"It is a pleasure making your acquaintance, Envoy," Thrall said upon finishing, settling back in his too-large seat.
Kartizhan ignored the remark.
The humans, if the ambassador and his small cohort of soldiers were adequate representatives, averaged half the height of an Exemtl adult. What they lacked in ferocity, they did not make up for in form.
"I believed our first contact with the Exemtl would be under more pleasant circumstances, though one hopes this discussion can be pleasant nonetheless." A warm smile played across the human's lips, which Kartizhan couldn't help but find meek. If kindness was Thrall's ploy, the Envoy didn't have any plans of entertaining it.
The Ambassador leaned forward slightly. "With that said, what are the grounds for your request, Envoy Kartizhan? There is no evidence of your representative upholding the Galactic Council's standard. I was informed Lord Corogal's system map was acquired from the Council's repositories directly, and it showed the star system as unclaimed."
The mane running down Kartizhan's back rippled at the challenge.
"If you weren't so fresh to the galaxy's arena, Ambassador, you'd be aware that there are circumstances under which the standard is voided. Chief Gadaml, our representative, had provided to your ships his Statement of Intent to access the system."
"Only after Corogal's crafts had arrived in Garador," Thrall said. He grabbed the sheet he'd written on and scanned it, placing a finger upon its midsection.
"Furthermore, having queried the Council's rule-makers, the Statement of Intent is not officially recognized by any species bar yours." His gaze lifted from the parchment, pupils unblinking, awaiting the Envoy's retort. No doubt he anticipated a primal response from his bestial adversary.
Kartizhan's snout crumpled, and he fought the urge to bare his fangs. He would not indulge the ape's wishes, not after such an egregious show of disrespect. Who cared if the Statement of Intent was not explicit or codified? Any alien race could argue their case, but that argument would fall to the pack and find itself shredded to ash and soot when confronted by the slugrails and turrets of the Exemtl warships.
It seemed as though the humans, falling in lockstep with the Council and its blind obedience to rule-based logic, needed a more evident explanation of this fact to realize their error.
Kartizhan looked toward his paw, letting the dagger-points of their claws extend from his fingers.
"Ambassador. If you'll allow, there is a proverb from my kind that I find well-fitting for this scenario."
The Envoy found himself amused by his choice of words. It didn't matter whether the human permitted it, Kartizhan was intent on sharing this wisdom regardless.
"Please, continue," Thrall said with a wave of his arm.
So they are capable of agreeing to something.
"Your kind is fresh spawn in this forest of stars. When fledglings of my species stand before the ancients of the wood, they understand that their rules, written or otherwise, are not to be challenged. I would advise that, on Exemtl-1, my homeworld, in the presence of a race that crossed the cosmos long before you knew your place in it, you would be careful about the conclusions you hurry to."
Kartizhan slammed balled fists upon the table, drawing his form over it, closer to the human. The top of his immense shadow cast itself over Thrall's head.
"Retract your claim. Leave Garador."
The Exemtl diplomat drilled his gaze into the human's, waiting for a flinch. Though he almost certainly trembled under his skin, Thrall didn't let any fear flood his features. Instead, he remained quiet, assessing the Envoy with hidden emotion, a sort of placidity that was either carefully faked or abnormally real.
Long seconds passed with the diplomats locked in each other's stares. The tension in the room fell thick like rainy fog, guards from both species resting hands in prime positions if the need arose to draw weapons.
So much for pleasant conversation.
Their contest was only broken when another light grin split Thrall's facade. His arms rose and his head fell slightly, and though Kartizhan knew not what the gesture meant, he felt its openness, limbs parted and lolling with surrender, conveyed defeat.
"I must say, Envoy, this was not the direction I'd anticipated our conversation would turn."
The Ambassador glanced over his shoulder at the terminus of his words, peering at a feature in the corner of the room that still puzzled Kartizhan.
A pair of medium-sized boxes.
"If you don't mind Envoy, I've brought a gift from my world. A meal, as a matter of fact, of the carnivore's sort as your species enjoys. It'd be my privilege to share it with you."
The offer perked Kartizhan's ears. For a brief moment he considered foul play, but the notion was cast aside when he remembered the Ceiling Eyes. They would've raised the klaxons if any threat was present in this room, hidden or otherwise.
Fear buried, only the prospect of novel prey guided the Envoy's actions.
The Exemtl diplomat retreated from his perch over the table and resumed his seated position. What happened next would be of little consequence to any party bar the Envoy's taste receptors. The human had all but admitted his inferiority, and here was the offering to prove it.
He knew his place. At least that much he could report to the rest of his troop.
"If you insist, Ambassador."
Thrall maintained a smile and half-turned in his chair, motioning with a curl of a hand for his footsoldiers to bring the crates. They retrieved the containers from the floor, one noticeably struggling more with their charge than the other, and hauled the contents to the desk where the exchange was taking place. Meanwhile, two of Kartizhan's soldiers had materialized on either side of him, ready to inspect the boxes when their lids went off. It would be best if the humans believed there were no surveillance devices in the space, for there was another of the Council's codes the Exemtl had taken with lenience.
The Envoy watched his approaching feast with a lazy eye, unkeen on disclosing the buzz that pulsed through him in anticipation of a sated appetite. He was a fortunate soul, one of the more privileged ones among his kin, well-traveled and fed by the various packs of the homeworld with their rich tapestry of prey to share. He'd tried meat in every variety, form, shape, and style it could possibly be provided in, always caged and ready to relish. Though he dared not admit it, Kartizhan missed the thrill of an actual hunt. He missed the anticipation and reward of preparing one's own meal, that first bite made unparalleled in quality from the effort that went into achieving it.
As the containers were opened, Kartizhan couldn't help but feel that this was a meal he'd hunted down and earned.
The Exemtl guards peered over the box walls, the Envoy watching as their noses upturned to whiff the offering. When sly smiles slid across both of their faces, Kartizhan knew he could wait no longer. He pushed away from his seat and lofted himself upright to catch his first glimpse of the Ambassador's gift.
Within the plastene container, a wire-legged, hard-nosed, frill-tailed creature no larger than an Exemtl's skull pecked about its surroundings. It moved with sharp steps, head swiveling in place, dipping at intervals to collect seeds from the box's base. When unoccupied by feed, the creature drove its snout into the high and low faces of the enclosure, as though a secret was waiting to be uncovered if it just persisted in stabbing enough corners of its cage. Occasionally, it lofted its tiny eyes upward, beholding a view of three ravenous aliens with utter indifference.
"A chicken, Envoy Kartizhan. My planet's most beloved carnivorous delicacy."
Kartizhan looked at the Ambassador, who stood over his crate, arms outstretched to fetch its contents. For such a small form, Thrall seemed confident in finishing his own chicken before the Envoy could even register it.
Unwavering in his mission to keep the humans aware of their inferiority, the Envoy reached to do the same, plucking the creature and hoisting it into his arms, settling it into the nook under his left shoulder. If Thrall took the first bite, the only acceptable response would be to take one of double the size. Enjoyment of this offering was high on Kartizhan's list of priorities, but it stood second to his duties, self-appointed or otherwise.
"So, Ambassador, may we commence-"
The Envoy had more that he'd planned to say, but the words caught in his mouth upon sight of Thrall's portion.
The Ambassador had shifted his notes aside and placed on the table a grey box crowned by a black plate. Resting atop the dish was nothing more than a small, featherless lump of reddish pink. It was meat, unmistakably, but the portion looked so lame the Envoy had to stifle rising guffaws.
"It seems as though you're missing the rest of your meal, Ambassador," Kartizhan said.
As the human soldiers removed the empty containers from the table, Thrall sat down and began twisting a knob facing his side of the contraption. Once satisfied, he grabbed the plate and placed its contents through an opening atop the box, before closing the device and pressing a button to kickstart some sort of procedure.
As he did, a low hum seeped across the table, not dissimilar to the sound of ship engines preparing for launch, though far quieter.
Kartizhan's thoughts went to the Ceiling Eyes. He had always trusted them implicitly, knowing them as infallible allies the entirety of his diplomatic career. And yet, their lack of alarm against the box and its sounds unsettled the Exemtl. It seemed the case that either the humans had found a way to circumvent a system they didn't know to exist, or the Ambassador was doing something else with his portion of chicken.
An Exemtl guard behind Kartizhan, perhaps arriving at the former conclusion, was now stepping forward, ready to snatch the setup and extinguish a threat he couldn't comprehend, but the Envoy lofted his free hand and held him back. Covering his translator, Kartizhan chastised his soldier for undermining diplomatic authority by taking action without approval, raising his voice for the room to hear. By the time he'd finished, the Envoy's protection unit was the embodiment of rugged obedience, backs stiff and unmoving. They wouldn't break stance if the planet itself were falling apart.
Throughout the challenge, The human seemed unfazed, too busy watching his serving through a window in the box to care for the world beyond. It was only after Kartizhan returned to his chair that Thrall broke the silence.
"Apologies Envoy. I'll need to cook my portion before our repast."
"Cook?" Kartizhan said. The word had been unaltered by his translator piece.
The Ambassador gestured toward the device on the table as he spoke.
"The meat. Humans cannot digest raw meat with efficiency, but we can consume it if a part of the digestion takes place outside of our bodies. Hence, we tend it with heat or flame, which does half the work for us."
The Envoy looked away, struggling to mask his contempt. It was one thing to admit inferiority through gift, yet the ineptitude of the human representative to bring an offering that reinforced his species' weaknesses was threatening to tip the last drops of self-restraint right out of the Envoy's pot.
How could Chief Gadaml have possibly lost the Garador claim to such foolish creatures? He'll need to have his fitness for leadership assessed when I'm done here.
Shaking away the rising swell of disdain in his throat, Kartizhan returned his gaze to Thrall, whose countenance had failed to change in its idle denseness. The creature didn't seem to care for how horrendously he'd failed his kin.
"So you must burn your meat to consume it?" Kartizhan asked.
"Burn is perhaps too strong a word, Envoy. The meat only needs to lose moisture and become easier to chew. By then, our bodies may step in."
"And how long will this cooking procedure take?"
"With this heater? No more than a few minutes."
Kartizhan stroked the fur at his chin.
"And what do you propose I do until then?"
Thrall pointed with an open hand at the chicken still nestled under the Exemtl's mighty shoulder.
"You're free to feast, Envoy. Though, if you don't mind, as you shared a proverb of the Exemtl earlier, it would be a great honor if I could share a tale from humankind as a gesture of goodwill while my meal cooks."
Kartizhan considered the request. In his mind, stories held power. They carried the sort of weight that would hold every member of an Exemtl tribe in place as their Chief recounted tales old and new, of themes and ideas and characters that could evoke and extract your deepest, most hidden emotions. With Thrall having embarrassed himself to such lengths already, the Envoy wondered how much further into the pits of self-sabotage the primate could go in this futile quest to save his species' dignity.
The prospect of a story seemed the perfect way to find out.
Kartizhan, unkeen on restraining his to-be meal for much longer, passed the chicken to an Exemtl guard and crossed his forearms.
"As you wish, Ambassador Thrall."
The human shuffled in his seat as the grin on his lips grew wide enough to reveal the caps of his teeth.
"Thank you, Envoy. The chronicle I bring you is from the old world, concocted by one of humanity's most prolific thinking societies — the ancient Greeks."
"And does it have a name?"
Thrall nodded with renewed energy.
"The Story of Prometheus."
"Do tell then, though don't dawdle."
The Ambassador crossed one leg over the other and relaxed against the back of his chair. When he spoke, Kartizhan couldn't help but notice the measured tempo his words possessed.
"Before I reach the subject of this story, it's important I provide a touch of context. The ancient Greeks existed before much of our understanding of the universe was set in stone, as you've mentioned, Envoy. To compensate, they crafted their own stories explaining the world and its various ideas. Though they may lack a strong tether to reality, their richness and imagination still captivates many a human mind."
"So the ancient Greeks are a Great Tribe?" Kartizhan asked. He was unsure whether the humans had an equivalent for the Exemtl phrase, but he needed a hook to tether his understanding of this group onto.
Great Tribes may not have known the mechanisms of the world, but they understood its workings. Theirs were stories that stood the test of time.
Thrall bobbed his head in the affirmative.
"One might use that term, yes. Their influence — their thoughts — stretched for many generations beyond their fall."
Realizing their two species had more in common than he'd assumed, Kartizhan found himself more drawn by the prospect of the story, and he leaned forward in anticipation of its start.
"So, Prometheus," he said, beckoning the Ambassador's rendition to begin.
"Yes. He was born a Titan, a human-like form of great size, and he fought with his kind against the Olympians, another great power, to gain control of the heavens. The struggle between the Titans and Olympians lasted 10 years, and toward the end, Prometheus switched sides when the Titans forsook his battle tactics. His response was to join Zeus, the head of the Olympians, in the war."
"And who won?"
"The Olympians. Many accounts say Prometheus was decisive in their success."
"If this is the case, then why did the Titans abandon the advice of their most prolific strategist?"
The Ambassador's features kindled as though Kartizhan had stumbled upon a topic of intrigue.
"It is said he counseled them to use trickery in battle. Prometheus is well-known for being an opportunity-driven character, and one can only imagine what he had in mind which earned the cold shoulder of his own kind."
"Well, his tactics worked, didn't they? What did the Olympians do with him?"
"Prometheus was spared while Zeus banished the rest of the Titans to the underworld."
Kartizhan's eyebrow rose.
"The underworld?"
"Hell. The place where those of wicked nature are sent post-death."
"So it can be argued that Zeus spared him a great deal of suffering."
"Absolutely."
"And what did Prometheus do with his good fortune?"
The hum from Thrall's machine continued to emanate across the room, though the Exemtl were too engrossed in the story to notice.
"A great many things. Some suggest he sculpted humanity out of mud and clay, modeling us after the gods. Prometheus took a liking to his creation, though Zeus wasn't as generous in his support of us mortals. One particular event, the Trick at Mecone, ended with the head Olympian deeply disgruntled."
"Is Mecone a place?"
"It was, yes, in the area of Greece. The mortals and gods had arranged for a meeting to decide upon how to split animal sacrifices. An ox, a far larger creature than the chicken I've brought here, was slain, and its division became a matter of great controversy. Prometheus, ever the trickster, conducted the split, preparing one portion as bones covered in rich, succulent fat, and the other as unappetizing guts which, in secret, sat atop the best of the animal's meat. He then asked Zeus to take his pick, and when the Olympian picked the mock offering of bones, the better half of the ox fell to humanity."
Kartizhan couldn't help but snarl.
"Surely Zeus had his retribution?"
"Of the strongest sort. He punished humankind by stealing our fire. He left us in the cold and dark."
As expected.
"And what was the response?"
The corners of the Ambassador's lips fluttered at the question.
"Prometheus stole it back."
"Stole it back? How?"
"He lit a plant stalk, scaled the highest mountain in Greece, and thefted it from under the nose of Hephaestus, God of flames and metalwork."
"And Zeus? He let this pass?"
Thrall's face went stolid as he shook his head.
"The head Olympian, having suffered enough of Prometheus's tricks, concocted a most brutal punishment. The titan was taken far east and chained to a rock. Every day, an eagle — perhaps the fiercest winged creature on Earth — would come to feast on his liver, an organ of the body nestled within the human midsection. At night, it would regrow, leaving Prometheus to suffer the same torturous fate for all eternity."
Kartizhan's eyes went wide.
"This is how Zeus repaid the servant who won him the heavens? The titan was conniving, and no doubt a punishment was in order, but to have him strung on a rock and picked apart from sunwake to sleep seems a heavy overreaction."
Thrall appeared unbothered by the rebuke.
"Perhaps, but then again, these were barbarian times, Envoy. Even such great ideators as the Greeks were prone to bouts of animalistic intent. That, and they wanted to tell a memorable tale."
"If that's the case, then what is the moral here, or do your stories simply lack in their purpose? As far as any Exemtl would tell, you've admitted mankind as meek and deserving of punishment."
Thrall met the Envoy's eyes with unexpected steeliness.
"Our tales do possess morals, Envoy. Everyone perceives their own, though I abide by that of the general consensus."
"And what is this consensus?"
"Prometheus, in particular the tale of the stolen flame, represents achieving the impossible. Cast your gaze away from the helpless humans and focus on the Titan, Envoy. Prometheus is the embodiment of facing the highest power, going at odds with the great pantheon, and overcoming its absolute authority. His torture is the consequence, but that takes naught away from the scale of his act. As I see it, the ancient Greeks have personified the human spirit in the form of Prometheus; a figure so adept in disobedience to the hierarchy that he lived to undermine it. Who better to take after than the one who they deem to have sculpted us?"
Thrall pointed a finger toward the guard holding Kartizhan's offering.
"That chicken is a perfect example. Here I am, not made to enjoy its meat," his hand curled to indicate the device before him, "yet I've found a way to make it mine."
The Ambassador dropped his arm and leaned closer, his countenance shifting into one of pursed lips and icy apathy.
"And this is just the tip of the iceberg. We embody Prometheus in every action we pursue and every notion we conceive. If we'd bent the knee to rejection, even if it presented as irrefutable fact, we'd still be bumbling about the Earth playing with sticks and stones. Perhaps you're unfamiliar with the obstacles we've surmounted, but I can assure you they were never meant to be overcome. It's a good thing we're the embodied sculptures of a stubborn trickster, eh?
"My bottom line, Envoy Kartizhan, is that there's one idea we cannot wrap our minds around, even as we take on the stars. One word that sets the blood boiling in every subject of our fledgling galactic empire."
There was a sharpness, a dagger-like resolve, in the human's words and eyes that he'd had not betrayed the slightest hint of in any interaction prior.
"That word is no."
Thrall's words trailed off into stark silence, the sort that no Exemtl ever knew how to meet, having spent their lives in the clamor of the homeworld's rich forests and jungles. Only a few spaces like the Diplomatic Building presented with sound sterility, designed with the visitation of foreign species in mind.
The Envoy knew he could break the silence. His voice could crash through this room and imbue upon it those sounds his kind thrive off of. He could command in this very instant to have the Ambassador picked apart, torn to scrap, and his guards would oblige.
At least, he assumed they would, though he knew the smarter among his pack were experiencing the same uneasiness Kartizhan was now under. Their ears, after all, had caught Thrall's last words.
Words that, as the Envoy did the job he was assigned to do, he at last unpacked the meaning of.
Perhaps it was all these years gone by without proper challenge that had worn his cutting edge and prevented him from sighting the human plan sooner. The same tactic he'd used earlier, of cold approach and implied strength, had become the only weapon in his political arsenal. It was an inevitability, for this strategy had caused most alien kind to all but fall to their knees and beg mercy. Kartizhan thought he'd been right to assume the humans had stepped in line with this universal pattern.
So few others in the known cosmos acted on any more than calculated reason. After all, they would argue, what were the odds a species could even survive without unbridled, total logic as their sole guide? The only way the alien kinds of the Council knew how to live was to process the facts and act in accordance. To them, being swept into the winds of emotion is doubtlessly the poorest survival strategy of them all.
And yet the Exemtl had lived as counterpoints, one way or another, with emotion at the fore of their society. It was no easy feat, and often times they came all too close to ripping themselves apart in search of fickle dominance. But when the stars became their hunting grounds, those old woes and fallacious divides were cast aside for a united tribe to take on the power of the universe. Among the stars, their biggest weakness became an unconquerable strength. The Galactic Council couldn't challenge them, not when their rigorous regulations and stipulations and unwavering adherence to reason could be wormed through and shattered with the simple proffer of destruction. Violence that, though they'd not needed to act upon, the Exemtl could very well fulfill. No other species could lay claim to that candid threat of war, nor could most even comprehend it.
But these primates could. Thrall had just admitted that. Their ancient fables seemed to wax lyrical about war, decorated by great battles and divine punishments of the sort a mortal could only dream about. Their Great Tribes worshipped idols of capricious, scornful, and imperfect cut, and even then those higher beings couldn't sympathize with humanity, with the ones that did suffering abject torture for their heinous crime. The Envoy knew these were only tales, but the fables of the Exemtl were laced with hidden connotation, and here the Ambassador had sprung a story along the very same vein and delivered its meaning on a platter for the Exemtl diplomat.
Before the Envoy sat a creature of raw, bottled emotion. A being as bestial as he, if not more so, ready to challenge the galactic status quo.
Kartizhan couldn't speak because he'd walked into the bushes and slipped into the trap. To squeal now would resign him to a lost fate.
The device on the table let out a lengthy note as its lid came loose. When the noise concluded, Thrall fell back upon his chair and opened the container's top, retrieving his portion of chicken and dropping it upon the black plate. From within the face of the device he fetched a previously hidden pair of metal sticks, picking at the meat with their sharp ends.
The Ceiling Eyes should have been blaring by now.
"So, Envoy," Thrall said, cutting loose the first piece of his meal.
"Shall we reassess your terms?"

TLDR – A few weeks ago, I experienced a severe security breach with Verizon where my phone number was hijacked via a SIM swap, leading to the theft of $420,000 worth of cryptocurrency. Shockingly, Verizon’s systems showed no record of the swap being authorized — the hijacker did not have my PIN, password, security question, or apparently, anything that could be used to authorize the order. A successful swap occurred despite Verizon's claim that the order was rejected. Further complicating matters, Verizon's legal counsel claims the swap happened at an Apple Store, not through any action on my Verizon account directly. I’m reaching out to the Reddit community because I haven’t seen a case like this where even the telco’s system did not approve the change, but it still happened. So I doubt a SIM lock would do any good against this one. And btw Verizon doesn’t have a fix for it. Also interested in insights from those familiar with telecom security, on how a 3rd party affiliate can so easily bypass all protocols, especially since Verizon doesn’t seem to know.
A SIM swap can still go through on your Verizon number even if Verizon rejects it.
I’ve been a Verizon postpay customer for many years. Things were great until a few weeks ago when my number was hijacked through an apparent “SIM swap” and $420,000 worth of crypto assets were stolen from my exchange account. I had my phone the whole time.
Yes, I unfortunately had text message 2FA on my exchange account but here’s the thing – the sim swap was carried out without any “consent”. In fact, according to the VZW CS rep whom I spoke with days after, Verizon’s systems REJECTED the order. She repeatedly told me that the order never went through and was rejected because I did not provide “consent” – so my number was hijacked onto another phone and all the while, Verizon’s system was showing that the order did not go through.
I do not pick up random numbers and didn’t receive a phishing (or confirmation) text, email – nothing. The hijacker did not have my PIN, password, security question, or apparently, anything that could be used to actually authorize the order. These are no longer needed. Your number can simply vanish.
At first, I thought a rogue Verizon employee was the culprit, but Verizon Counsel now claim that this happened at an Apple Store.
Clearly, the perpetrator(s) didn’t (couldn’t) provide anything strong enough to fool Verizon or Apple into falsely believing they were me. With successful social engineering, they would have gotten the order approved. That didn’t happen.
Even though I also happen to be an Apple customer, this was not initiated through my Apple account nor ID. Verizon Counsel claim someone walked into the Apple store and somehow left with my number… even though their system rejected the order.
So, good luck if you think a Verizon SIM lock will protect you from this one.
The hijackers didn’t need customer consent. And obviously, they didn’t need Verizon’s either.
I’m no expert on SIM swaps, but from what I’ve learned – even when insiders/employees/authorized users are co-conspirators, someone somehow convinces the telco's system to green light the swap. In this case, that didn’t even happen!
A couple days after I got my number back, I spent almost 2hrs on the phone with another VZW agent, this one in Tech Support. He kept trying to figure out how this was possible, checking all kinds of systems and putting me on long holds. At one point, he commented that this is like “getting your account hacked into and leaving no trace”. He was so bewildered that he promised to ask around internally and we agreed on a day/time that he would call me back. The call never came.
It would have been bad if a Verizon employee hacked into their system… but an Apple employee hacking into Verizon’s system from an Apple store to hijack a number??
Please share this post as I’d truly appreciate the community’s insights on this. Thanks!

I really need some feedback because I’m struggling with understanding if I am in the right or not.
So, this is very complicated and I feel like it’s almost impossible to explain. Me: 26M Partner: 26M Brother: 22M
This past September, me and my partner left our apartment because we didn’t feel safe living with my brother anymore. We mutually invited him in to have a place to stay after he had a seemingly “terrible” break up with his girlfriend in April. I pretty much regretted letting him move almost a month after he got here. The first second he moved in, he was already upset with me and wanted to talk and I hadn’t done anything to upset him. We talked and he told me my family was concerned about me because of my distance and wanted me to be closer (even though me and my partner moved 3 miles away from the family). Later, I ended up feeling strange that I’m being guilted when he is the one that abruptly moved 2 hours away to live with this girl who he met on Snapchat, and my youngest brother had moved across with country with the Air Force as soon as he could.) my brother told me he realized my dad was a bad person and I said “so you see it too? Because I thought I was the only one.” He agreed with that. I also told him that I feel like my relationship with my stepbrother who he has a relationship with, is essentially over after I had been roommates with him for three years. I struggled with the stepbrother because our relationship seemed forced and he was not a good roommate, it got to the point where I even had to take my stuff out of the kitchen because he wouldn’t clean and got defensive if I asked him to clean up, and then left without saying goodbye or helping me clean the place up since it was disgusting. He even left a used dirty fleshlight out in his sink after being completely moved out. I struggled with this conversation with my brother because I felt guilted to speak to people, like my grandmother, who didn’t treat us right growing up, and who I now refuse to speak to because I don’t want a relationship with her. He also said he was trying to be closer to the family. Well, he ends up leaving for the military for a month so it was fine and he seemed to be fine when he got back.
When he got back, things were okay for a couple months. Me and my boyfriend really tried to be nice with him and offered him a lot of our stuff. However looking back I realized I still felt strange because of our conversation. But I tried my best to be friendly with him. There was a day he called me to tell me that both of his cats had been killed by a dog that his ex gf had gotten from a shelter, and they found her other dog trembling in the bathroom. He got upset with me for telling me it was irresponsible of his ex to allow that to happen and I started crying FOR him. He seemed to have no emotional reaction to it, and went to help clean up the mess, and offered showing me and my boyfriend pictures of his dead cats. This lack of emotional reaction was concerning to say the least.
Another day, my boyfriend told me that my brother had told him he got in trouble with the military and someone had ended up getting held at gunpoint because of him and his friends mistake. My brother asked him not to tell me. At this point, I was weirded out that my brother confided this in him with the intent to not have me find out. My boyfriend also told me that one night my brother asked him if he ever imagined me getting fucked by another guy while I was at work. I know this happened, because I texted him about it and he said “this is just how he talks to his friends”. I asked him to not ask things like that because it made us uncomfortable. Well, a couple days later I was talking to my dad on the phone and referred to my dog as one of his nicknames “Gus” and my dad asked me who that was? I was like.. it’s my dog. I feel like there was a suspicion that me and my partner were being promiscuous. i only think this because of the things my dad has told me he thinks about gay people. How gay men are promiscuous and the only holy union can be between a man and a woman.
A few days later, my boyfriend asked him if he could move his firearm in his room because he was sleeping with it openly on the side of his bed maybe 1 foot away from his head every night. We aren’t anti-guns but we’re just weirded out over his gun obsession. He didn’t listen so I just moved it to the closet myself.
A few weeks later, my boyfriend was telling me while I was at work that my brother was purposefully ignoring him and glaring at him from the kitchen. It got to the point where my brother would come home and say hi to me but completely ignore my partner. I was so confused because at first, you would have thought my boyfriend and my brother were the siblings at one point and I was actually happy that my family seemed to like him. It seemed like he totally switched between liking me and my boyfriend at random points.
I felt awful that my boyfriend was uncomfortable at this point but I was also hesitant of setting hard boundaries because of my brothers reactivity. Looking back, I tell myself that if I knew this, why did I ever allow him to live with us, but Ireally tried believing in the best in him and maybe he changed/matured after his relationship didn’t work. So dumb.
In August, my youngest brother came to visit from the Air Force. He was only supposed to be staying with us during his second week. But instead, he showed up without asking me or my boyfriend to stay the night and ended up staying with us for the majority of the two weeks he was here. I was upset that no one had bothered asking me or my boyfriend if he could come over, but instead went through my brother who wasn’t even on our lease. His first night here they went out drinking (my youngest brother is underage) and I assume they drove back drunk based on how they were acting when they got back. They were wrestling and obviously intoxicated. I asked them to stop wrestling and be quiet because our dog was asleep in the living room, and then my brother makes a snarky comment about me “oh he’s just high again 🙄” and kinda brushed my request to keep it quiet to the side. I do smoke my delta 8 weed pens but there’s no reason to shame me for it at night in my own home when y’all just drove home under the influence. The whole time I was just getting huge favoritism vibes by the way my little brother stayed cooped up with my brother in his room. It hurt me because me and my little brother were pretty tight until he started acting weird when I got into a relationship. When he left, he didn’t even say bye. When I texted him to check on him if he was safe he was very short with me which I found weird since I tried my best to do a barbecue party. I noticed that he had been going to lunches with my mom and I hadn’t been invited. My boyfriend even tried taking him to the park to walk with the pup and get to know him a little better. He even told me that he didn’t want to do much while he was here, so he really ended up moping around on our couch for two weeks with food wrappers not cleaned up.
Me and my boyfriend sat down to talk to my brother about his plan on moving out (he still didn’t have one, because the entire time he’d been here he tried to start a business that my mom was helping pay for (meanwhile all my mom has ever done is judge my aspirations and never once helped me with any of my business ideas), and claimed he was going to be buying a house). He was not supposed to be here for as long as he was, and he knew that it was temporary. We asked for a rent increase (325 + no utilities –> 525 + 1/3 utilities, total rent was 1700$ a month) since he did almost nothing to help us clean and even had black mold in his shower and treated his room like shit. Well this is where things got weird, I got a text from my mother 30 minutes after our talk “so you’re kicking him out?”. This was the first time I clearly saw the weird triangulating that was going on in my family because of the swiftness of the text from my mom. I called her and said no we’re not kicking him out, we actually gave him an exact date (four more months) and the rent increase. She said he felt like his hopes and dreams had been dashed. Obviously, I was pissed and came home to ask my brother to not do that. The situation escalated pretty fast and I feel I was slightly in the wrong, but I think it was the pent up frustration I’ve had with him for his entitled attitude when it came to our apartment. I asked him why he went to talk to mom so quickly after we talked and told him what my mom told me. He said he didn’t say that. I said well do you see how now me and my boyfriend are looking like the bad guys in this situation? He said that wasn’t his fault, he said that “you know how mom is” and kept repeating “Don’t come at me sideways like this” meanwhile he’s in OUR kitchen causing drama with my mom, cooking with OUR dishes! I told him “YOU know how mom is so why did you do that, I’m getting guilt tripped now”. Again he said don’t come at me sideways glaring at us, and I just totally snapped at him and said “you need to stop running to mommy like a fucking child” after he wouldn’t listen to our concerns and was completely trying to shut me down, and now has my mom and dad thinking I’m kicking him out, which we weren’t doing. After I said that, he told me that once he moves out, to never call or text him again. I walked out of the apartment upset and came back in to immediately apologize because I do think it was wrong to call him a fucking child. But god damn. I was so frustrated this living situation was going so badly and it seems like he was purposefully causing drama. He didn’t apologize for what he said at all. A couple days later, my brother had been sending me pictures of weapons through Snapchat from the place he planned on moving all of a sudden, of which my dad screenshot. A screenshot of my brothers gun.
Another layer to all this, my dad had been upset with me because I didn’t respond to his plans to visit for a “work trip”, because it gave me too much anxiety to even want to see him. I found it strange that he had a work trip all the way out here when that’s never happened before. I was annoyed that the only thing that got my dad motivated to come see us boys after he left during my parents divorce was for work. My brother was really trying to pressure me to talk to dad and see him, and I finally did call. It was very awkward and I told him me and my boyfriend had just gotten pizza, and he asked me “Oh is it the same pizza your mom used to get for you as a kid?”. Fucking weird to me. Then I tried giving him dates that would work and both dates I gave would t work for him because he had plans with friends here? He lives out of state for 15 years, and I know he doesn’t have friends here. Then he starts asking me to design him a tattoo and I tried skirting that one because I don’t want my art tattooed on him. The only day that ended up working for my dad was a Thursday, the same day that my boyfriend had told my brother that he was off from work. So I would have gone to see my dad and left my boyfriend home alone with my brother, because weirdly enough my brother didn’t want to go with us to dinner. For context, when my parents got divorced, my dad assaulted my mom, her sister, and my uncle, and got the neighbors to spy on my mom. So can you understand why I was concerned especially if I know he was upset already with my “distance”. I left the plan for my dad up in the air and ended up not seeing him.
Maybe a week after, the air in our apartment was haunting and me and my boyfriend tried keeping in our room because the hostile energy was too much. One day, me and my mom had been in a really big fight because for the past few months she had been trying to call me secretive and said how she and everyone else in the whole family had been concerned about me. Meanwhile, she literally knew everything that was going on in my life. She had been calling me several times every single day and months prior, I asked her to stop doing that. She even made fun of my job at one point. I had been defending myself for a long time against the “you’re being so secretive” narrative that was going on because I had my brother living with us and they knew exactly what we were doing. Which is working, enjoying our time in our new apartment and being with our golden retriever puppy. I told her on the phone she’s crossing a line and disrespecting me and she then tells me I’m disrespectful, and that my boyfriend had been taking up so much of my time. I ended the phone call pretty abruptly and she sends me a text “Bye for now. Don’t let this come between you and your sister. Then she starts a group chat trying to plan for thanksgiving with the entire family in September, all the stepsiblings said they couldn’t go. All of this weirdness was disturbing me and it seemed like they wanted me and my boyfriend to break up. I suspect it’s because they’re upset that my whole world doesn’t revolve around family and more with a sprinkle of unresolved homophobia thrown in that makes them uncomfortable having a gay son.
I decided it was best to get my dog and boyfriend out of the apartment to wait out my brother leaving and my dad visiting, so we went to the beach for self protection and even left my serving job abruptly in order to leave. We also had found a huge bottle of liquor set out on his dresser and some prescription for his ex girlfriend. I kid you not, we just barely missed my brother by two minutes getting our stuff in the car to leave, and he had a new concealed carry weapon on his belt. Again, he only tried saying hi to me and ignoring my boyfriend. I blocked my brother, my dad, and my mom, and put my little brother on restricted. When my brother realized we hadn’t been home and we didn’t say where we were going, he tried submitting a missing persons report for just me. But he could t because we had already filed a police report after he gave our numbers out to his friend who called both of us 20 times each. We didn’t know this guy and he’s where my brother was at when he sent me gun photos. My extended family who I really didn’t know were calling me out of nowhere and I blocked them too. I didn’t respond to anyone.
We decided to leave the beach, and stay with one of my boyfriends friend for about a month and a half. We got an email from our leasing office saying they had found a disturbing note on our bedroom door. The note was calling my boyfriend a dumbass piece of shit and said I deserve more than I know and to never speak to him again. We are now back in our apartment and financially struggling still due to the month we felt it best to be gone. We also found my guitar and my boyfriend’s laptop had been stolen out of the apartment. My brother left his entire bed and his rotting food in the fridge. My dad thought it was cool to announce to Facebook that I stopped speaking to him but “he knows where I am”. I still haven’t spoken to my family and I’ve been struggling a lot with guilt and feeling like an awful person. I just could not believe the drama my family was causing because of me getting into a relationship, growing up, and keeping a little distance from my family considering all of the harm they’ve caused me that I didn’t cover in this post. I feel like a fool for not seeing the toxicity until it got this bad, and I’m lucky my boyfriend has stayed with me. I keep getting no caller id calls, voicemails and real mail from my mom saying she wants to go to family counseling and how she struggled letting me become an adult.
Not only did my brother do all this, but other things he did was break our AC unit during summer heat by turning it down to 60F and got his oil stains all over our front door entrance from his job. I had to clean black mold out of our spare bedroom shower when we got back.
You know, when I first moved in with my boyfriend I was pretty happy and thought things were going pretty well. So I was pretty confused by all this concern. If anything, I’m concerned from a distance for my brothers. This is not normal. Please tell me I’m not crazy for feeling like I needed to leave?

I really need some feedback because I’m struggling with understanding if I am in the right or not.
So, this is very complicated and I feel like it’s almost impossible to explain. Me: 26M Partner: 26M Brother: 22M
This past September, me and my partner left our apartment because we didn’t feel safe living with my brother anymore. We mutually invited him in to have a place to stay after he had a seemingly “terrible” break up with his girlfriend in April. I pretty much regretted letting him move almost a month after he got here. The first second he moved in, he was already upset with me and wanted to talk and I hadn’t done anything to upset him. We talked and he told me my family was concerned about me because of my distance and wanted me to be closer (even though me and my partner moved 3 miles away from the family). Later, I ended up feeling strange that I’m being guilted when he is the one that abruptly moved 2 hours away to live with this girl who he met on Snapchat, and my youngest brother had moved across with country with the Air Force as soon as he could.) my brother told me he realized my dad was a bad person and I said “so you see it too? Because I thought I was the only one.” He agreed with that. I also told him that I feel like my relationship with my stepbrother who he has a relationship with, is essentially over after I had been roommates with him for three years. I struggled with the stepbrother because our relationship seemed forced and he was not a good roommate, it got to the point where I even had to take my stuff out of the kitchen because he wouldn’t clean and got defensive if I asked him to clean up, and then left without saying goodbye or helping me clean the place up since it was disgusting. He even left a used dirty fleshlight out in his sink after being completely moved out. I struggled with this conversation with my brother because I felt guilted to speak to people, like my grandmother, who didn’t treat us right growing up, and who I now refuse to speak to because I don’t want a relationship with her. He also said he was trying to be closer to the family. Well, he ends up leaving for the military for a month so it was fine and he seemed to be fine when he got back.
When he got back, things were okay for a couple months. Me and my boyfriend really tried to be nice with him and offered him a lot of our stuff. However looking back I realized I still felt strange because of our conversation. But I tried my best to be friendly with him. There was a day he called me to tell me that both of his cats had been killed by a dog that his ex gf had gotten from a shelter, and they found her other dog trembling in the bathroom. He got upset with me for telling me it was irresponsible of his ex to allow that to happen and I started crying FOR him. He seemed to have no emotional reaction to it, and went to help clean up the mess, and offered showing me and my boyfriend pictures of his dead cats. This lack of emotional reaction was concerning to say the least.
Another day, my boyfriend told me that my brother had told him he got in trouble with the military and someone had ended up getting held at gunpoint because of him and his friends mistake. My brother asked him not to tell me. At this point, I was weirded out that my brother confided this in him with the intent to not have me find out. My boyfriend also told me that one night my brother asked him if he ever imagined me getting fucked by another guy while I was at work. I know this happened, because I texted him about it and he said “this is just how he talks to his friends”. I asked him to not ask things like that because it made us uncomfortable. Well, a couple days later I was talking to my dad on the phone and referred to my dog as one of his nicknames “Gus” and my dad asked me who that was? I was like.. it’s my dog. I feel like there was a suspicion that me and my partner were being promiscuous. i only think this because of the things my dad has told me he thinks about gay people. How gay men are promiscuous and the only holy union can be between a man and a woman.
A few days later, my boyfriend asked him if he could move his firearm in his room because he was sleeping with it openly on the side of his bed maybe 1 foot away from his head every night. We aren’t anti-guns but we’re just weirded out over his gun obsession. He didn’t listen so I just moved it to the closet myself.
A few weeks later, my boyfriend was telling me while I was at work that my brother was purposefully ignoring him and glaring at him from the kitchen. It got to the point where my brother would come home and say hi to me but completely ignore my partner. I was so confused because at first, you would have thought my boyfriend and my brother were the siblings at one point and I was actually happy that my family seemed to like him. It seemed like he totally switched between liking me and my boyfriend at random points.
I felt awful that my boyfriend was uncomfortable at this point but I was also hesitant of setting hard boundaries because of my brothers reactivity. Looking back, I tell myself that if I knew this, why did I ever allow him to live with us, but Ireally tried believing in the best in him and maybe he changed/matured after his relationship didn’t work. So dumb.
In August, my youngest brother came to visit from the Air Force. He was only supposed to be staying with us during his second week. But instead, he showed up without asking me or my boyfriend to stay the night and ended up staying with us for the majority of the two weeks he was here. I was upset that no one had bothered asking me or my boyfriend if he could come over, but instead went through my brother who wasn’t even on our lease. His first night here they went out drinking (my youngest brother is underage) and I assume they drove back drunk based on how they were acting when they got back. They were wrestling and obviously intoxicated. I asked them to stop wrestling and be quiet because our dog was asleep in the living room, and then my brother makes a snarky comment about me “oh he’s just high again 🙄” and kinda brushed my request to keep it quiet to the side. I do smoke my delta 8 weed pens but there’s no reason to shame me for it at night in my own home when y’all just drove home under the influence. The whole time I was just getting huge favoritism vibes by the way my little brother stayed cooped up with my brother in his room. It hurt me because me and my little brother were pretty tight until he started acting weird when I got into a relationship. When he left, he didn’t even say bye. When I texted him to check on him if he was safe he was very short with me which I found weird since I tried my best to do a barbecue party. I noticed that he had been going to lunches with my mom and I hadn’t been invited. My boyfriend even tried taking him to the park to walk with the pup and get to know him a little better. He even told me that he didn’t want to do much while he was here, so he really ended up moping around on our couch for two weeks with food wrappers not cleaned up.
Me and my boyfriend sat down to talk to my brother about his plan on moving out (he still didn’t have one, because the entire time he’d been here he tried to start a business that my mom was helping pay for (meanwhile all my mom has ever done is judge my aspirations and never once helped me with any of my business ideas), and claimed he was going to be buying a house). He was not supposed to be here for as long as he was, and he knew that it was temporary. We asked for a rent increase (325 + no utilities –> 525 + 1/3 utilities, total rent was 1700$ a month) since he did almost nothing to help us clean and even had black mold in his shower and treated his room like shit. Well this is where things got weird, I got a text from my mother 30 minutes after our talk “so you’re kicking him out?”. This was the first time I clearly saw the weird triangulating that was going on in my family because of the swiftness of the text from my mom. I called her and said no we’re not kicking him out, we actually gave him an exact date (four more months) and the rent increase. She said he felt like his hopes and dreams had been dashed. Obviously, I was pissed and came home to ask my brother to not do that. The situation escalated pretty fast and I feel I was slightly in the wrong, but I think it was the pent up frustration I’ve had with him for his entitled attitude when it came to our apartment. I asked him why he went to talk to mom so quickly after we talked and told him what my mom told me. He said he didn’t say that. I said well do you see how now me and my boyfriend are looking like the bad guys in this situation? He said that wasn’t his fault, he said that “you know how mom is” and kept repeating “Don’t come at me sideways like this” meanwhile he’s in OUR kitchen causing drama with my mom, cooking with OUR dishes! I told him “YOU know how mom is so why did you do that, I’m getting guilt tripped now”. Again he said don’t come at me sideways glaring at us, and I just totally snapped at him and said “you need to stop running to mommy like a fucking child” after he wouldn’t listen to our concerns and was completely trying to shut me down, and now has my mom and dad thinking I’m kicking him out, which we weren’t doing. After I said that, he told me that once he moves out, to never call or text him again. I walked out of the apartment upset and came back in to immediately apologize because I do think it was wrong to call him a fucking child. But god damn. I was so frustrated this living situation was going so badly and it seems like he was purposefully causing drama. He didn’t apologize for what he said at all. A couple days later, my brother had been sending me pictures of weapons through Snapchat from the place he planned on moving all of a sudden, of which my dad screenshot. A screenshot of my brothers gun.
Another layer to all this, my dad had been upset with me because I didn’t respond to his plans to visit for a “work trip”, because it gave me too much anxiety to even want to see him. I found it strange that he had a work trip all the way out here when that’s never happened before. I was annoyed that the only thing that got my dad motivated to come see us boys after he left during my parents divorce was for work. My brother was really trying to pressure me to talk to dad and see him, and I finally did call. It was very awkward and I told him me and my boyfriend had just gotten pizza, and he asked me “Oh is it the same pizza your mom used to get for you as a kid?”. Fucking weird to me. Then I tried giving him dates that would work and both dates I gave would t work for him because he had plans with friends here? He lives out of state for 15 years, and I know he doesn’t have friends here. Then he starts asking me to design him a tattoo and I tried skirting that one because I don’t want my art tattooed on him. The only day that ended up working for my dad was a Thursday, the same day that my boyfriend had told my brother that he was off from work. So I would have gone to see my dad and left my boyfriend home alone with my brother, because weirdly enough my brother didn’t want to go with us to dinner. For context, when my parents got divorced, my dad assaulted my mom, her sister, and my uncle, and got the neighbors to spy on my mom. So can you understand why I was concerned especially if I know he was upset already with my “distance”. I left the plan for my dad up in the air and ended up not seeing him.
Maybe a week after, the air in our apartment was haunting and me and my boyfriend tried keeping in our room because the hostile energy was too much. One day, me and my mom had been in a really big fight because for the past few months she had been trying to call me secretive and said how she and everyone else in the whole family had been concerned about me. Meanwhile, she literally knew everything that was going on in my life. She had been calling me several times every single day and months prior, I asked her to stop doing that. She even made fun of my job at one point. I had been defending myself for a long time against the “you’re being so secretive” narrative that was going on because I had my brother living with us and they knew exactly what we were doing. Which is working, enjoying our time in our new apartment and being with our golden retriever puppy. I told her on the phone she’s crossing a line and disrespecting me and she then tells me I’m disrespectful, and that my boyfriend had been taking up so much of my time. I ended the phone call pretty abruptly and she sends me a text “Bye for now. Don’t let this come between you and your sister. Then she starts a group chat trying to plan for thanksgiving with the entire family in September, all the stepsiblings said they couldn’t go. All of this weirdness was disturbing me and it seemed like they wanted me and my boyfriend to break up. I suspect it’s because they’re upset that my whole world doesn’t revolve around family and more with a sprinkle of unresolved homophobia thrown in that makes them uncomfortable having a gay son.
I decided it was best to get my dog and boyfriend out of the apartment to wait out my brother leaving and my dad visiting, so we went to the beach for self protection and even left my serving job abruptly in order to leave. We also had found a huge bottle of liquor set out on his dresser and some prescription for his ex girlfriend. I kid you not, we just barely missed my brother by two minutes getting our stuff in the car to leave, and he had a new concealed carry weapon on his belt. Again, he only tried saying hi to me and ignoring my boyfriend. I blocked my brother, my dad, and my mom, and put my little brother on restricted. When my brother realized we hadn’t been home and we didn’t say where we were going, he tried submitting a missing persons report for just me. But he could t because we had already filed a police report after he gave our numbers out to his friend who called both of us 20 times each. We didn’t know this guy and he’s where my brother was at when he sent me gun photos. My extended family who I really didn’t know were calling me out of nowhere and I blocked them too. I didn’t respond to anyone.
We decided to leave the beach, and stay with one of my boyfriends friend for about a month and a half. We got an email from our leasing office saying they had found a disturbing note on our bedroom door. The note was calling my boyfriend a dumbass piece of shit and said I deserve more than I know and to never speak to him again. We are now back in our apartment and financially struggling still due to the month we felt it best to be gone. We also found my guitar and my boyfriend’s laptop had been stolen out of the apartment. My brother left his entire bed and his rotting food in the fridge. My dad thought it was cool to announce to Facebook that I stopped speaking to him but “he knows where I am”. I still haven’t spoken to my family and I’ve been struggling a lot with guilt and feeling like an awful person. I just could not believe the drama my family was causing because of me getting into a relationship, growing up, and keeping a little distance from my family considering all of the harm they’ve caused me that I didn’t cover in this post. I feel like a fool for not seeing the toxicity until it got this bad, and I’m lucky my boyfriend has stayed with me. I keep getting no caller id calls, voicemails and real mail from my mom saying she wants to go to family counseling and how she struggled letting me become an adult.
Not only did my brother do all this, but other things he did was break our AC unit during summer heat by turning it down to 60F and got his oil stains all over our front door entrance from his job. I had to clean black mold out of our spare bedroom shower when we got back.
You know, when I first moved in with my boyfriend I was pretty happy and thought things were going pretty well. So I was pretty confused by all this concern. If anything, I’m concerned from a distance for my brothers. This is not normal. Please tell me I’m not crazy for feeling like I needed to leave?

I really need some feedback because I’m struggling with understanding if I am in the right or not.
So, this is very complicated and I feel like it’s almost impossible to explain. Me: 26M Partner: 26M Brother: 22M
This past September, me and my partner left our apartment because we didn’t feel safe living with my brother anymore. We mutually invited him in to have a place to stay after he had a seemingly “terrible” break up with his girlfriend in April. I pretty much regretted letting him move almost a month after he got here. The first second he moved in, he was already upset with me and wanted to talk and I hadn’t done anything to upset him. We talked and he told me my family was concerned about me because of my distance and wanted me to be closer (even though me and my partner moved 3 miles away from the family). Later, I ended up feeling strange that I’m being guilted when he is the one that abruptly moved 2 hours away to live with this girl who he met on Snapchat, and my youngest brother had moved across with country with the Air Force as soon as he could.) my brother told me he realized my dad was a bad person and I said “so you see it too? Because I thought I was the only one.” He agreed with that. I also told him that I feel like my relationship with my stepbrother who he has a relationship with, is essentially over after I had been roommates with him for three years. I struggled with the stepbrother because our relationship seemed forced and he was not a good roommate, it got to the point where I even had to take my stuff out of the kitchen because he wouldn’t clean and got defensive if I asked him to clean up, and then left without saying goodbye or helping me clean the place up since it was disgusting. He even left a used dirty fleshlight out in his sink after being completely moved out. I struggled with this conversation with my brother because I felt guilted to speak to people, like my grandmother, who didn’t treat us right growing up, and who I now refuse to speak to because I don’t want a relationship with her. He also said he was trying to be closer to the family. Well, he ends up leaving for the military for a month so it was fine and he seemed to be fine when he got back.
When he got back, things were okay for a couple months. Me and my boyfriend really tried to be nice with him and offered him a lot of our stuff. However looking back I realized I still felt strange because of our conversation. But I tried my best to be friendly with him. There was a day he called me to tell me that both of his cats had been killed by a dog that his ex gf had gotten from a shelter, and they found her other dog trembling in the bathroom. He got upset with me for telling me it was irresponsible of his ex to allow that to happen and I started crying FOR him. He seemed to have no emotional reaction to it, and went to help clean up the mess, and offered showing me and my boyfriend pictures of his dead cats. This lack of emotional reaction was concerning to say the least.
Another day, my boyfriend told me that my brother had told him he got in trouble with the military and someone had ended up getting held at gunpoint because of him and his friends mistake. My brother asked him not to tell me. At this point, I was weirded out that my brother confided this in him with the intent to not have me find out. My boyfriend also told me that one night my brother asked him if he ever imagined me getting fucked by another guy while I was at work. I know this happened, because I texted him about it and he said “this is just how he talks to his friends”. I asked him to not ask things like that because it made us uncomfortable. Well, a couple days later I was talking to my dad on the phone and referred to my dog as one of his nicknames “Gus” and my dad asked me who that was? I was like.. it’s my dog. I feel like there was a suspicion that me and my partner were being promiscuous. i only think this because of the things my dad has told me he thinks about gay people. How gay men are promiscuous and the only holy union can be between a man and a woman.
A few days later, my boyfriend asked him if he could move his firearm in his room because he was sleeping with it openly on the side of his bed maybe 1 foot away from his head every night. We aren’t anti-guns but we’re just weirded out over his gun obsession. He didn’t listen so I just moved it to the closet myself.
A few weeks later, my boyfriend was telling me while I was at work that my brother was purposefully ignoring him and glaring at him from the kitchen. It got to the point where my brother would come home and say hi to me but completely ignore my partner. I was so confused because at first, you would have thought my boyfriend and my brother were the siblings at one point and I was actually happy that my family seemed to like him. It seemed like he totally switched between liking me and my boyfriend at random points.
I felt awful that my boyfriend was uncomfortable at this point but I was also hesitant of setting hard boundaries because of my brothers reactivity. Looking back, I tell myself that if I knew this, why did I ever allow him to live with us, but Ireally tried believing in the best in him and maybe he changed/matured after his relationship didn’t work. So dumb.
In August, my youngest brother came to visit from the Air Force. He was only supposed to be staying with us during his second week. But instead, he showed up without asking me or my boyfriend to stay the night and ended up staying with us for the majority of the two weeks he was here. I was upset that no one had bothered asking me or my boyfriend if he could come over, but instead went through my brother who wasn’t even on our lease. His first night here they went out drinking (my youngest brother is underage) and I assume they drove back drunk based on how they were acting when they got back. They were wrestling and obviously intoxicated. I asked them to stop wrestling and be quiet because our dog was asleep in the living room, and then my brother makes a snarky comment about me “oh he’s just high again 🙄” and kinda brushed my request to keep it quiet to the side. I do smoke my delta 8 weed pens but there’s no reason to shame me for it at night in my own home when y’all just drove home under the influence. The whole time I was just getting huge favoritism vibes by the way my little brother stayed cooped up with my brother in his room. It hurt me because me and my little brother were pretty tight until he started acting weird when I got into a relationship. When he left, he didn’t even say bye. When I texted him to check on him if he was safe he was very short with me which I found weird since I tried my best to do a barbecue party. I noticed that he had been going to lunches with my mom and I hadn’t been invited. My boyfriend even tried taking him to the park to walk with the pup and get to know him a little better. He even told me that he didn’t want to do much while he was here, so he really ended up moping around on our couch for two weeks with food wrappers not cleaned up.
Me and my boyfriend sat down to talk to my brother about his plan on moving out (he still didn’t have one, because the entire time he’d been here he tried to start a business that my mom was helping pay for (meanwhile all my mom has ever done is judge my aspirations and never once helped me with any of my business ideas), and claimed he was going to be buying a house). He was not supposed to be here for as long as he was, and he knew that it was temporary. We asked for a rent increase (325 + no utilities –> 525 + 1/3 utilities, total rent was 1700$ a month) since he did almost nothing to help us clean and even had black mold in his shower and treated his room like shit. Well this is where things got weird, I got a text from my mother 30 minutes after our talk “so you’re kicking him out?”. This was the first time I clearly saw the weird triangulating that was going on in my family because of the swiftness of the text from my mom. I called her and said no we’re not kicking him out, we actually gave him an exact date (four more months) and the rent increase. She said he felt like his hopes and dreams had been dashed. Obviously, I was pissed and came home to ask my brother to not do that. The situation escalated pretty fast and I feel I was slightly in the wrong, but I think it was the pent up frustration I’ve had with him for his entitled attitude when it came to our apartment. I asked him why he went to talk to mom so quickly after we talked and told him what my mom told me. He said he didn’t say that. I said well do you see how now me and my boyfriend are looking like the bad guys in this situation? He said that wasn’t his fault, he said that “you know how mom is” and kept repeating “Don’t come at me sideways like this” meanwhile he’s in OUR kitchen causing drama with my mom, cooking with OUR dishes! I told him “YOU know how mom is so why did you do that, I’m getting guilt tripped now”. Again he said don’t come at me sideways glaring at us, and I just totally snapped at him and said “you need to stop running to mommy like a fucking child” after he wouldn’t listen to our concerns and was completely trying to shut me down, and now has my mom and dad thinking I’m kicking him out, which we weren’t doing. After I said that, he told me that once he moves out, to never call or text him again. I walked out of the apartment upset and came back in to immediately apologize because I do think it was wrong to call him a fucking child. But god damn. I was so frustrated this living situation was going so badly and it seems like he was purposefully causing drama. He didn’t apologize for what he said at all. A couple days later, my brother had been sending me pictures of weapons through Snapchat from the place he planned on moving all of a sudden, of which my dad screenshot. A screenshot of my brothers gun.
Another layer to all this, my dad had been upset with me because I didn’t respond to his plans to visit for a “work trip”, because it gave me too much anxiety to even want to see him. I found it strange that he had a work trip all the way out here when that’s never happened before. I was annoyed that the only thing that got my dad motivated to come see us boys after he left during my parents divorce was for work. My brother was really trying to pressure me to talk to dad and see him, and I finally did call. It was very awkward and I told him me and my boyfriend had just gotten pizza, and he asked me “Oh is it the same pizza your mom used to get for you as a kid?”. Fucking weird to me. Then I tried giving him dates that would work and both dates I gave would t work for him because he had plans with friends here? He lives out of state for 15 years, and I know he doesn’t have friends here. Then he starts asking me to design him a tattoo and I tried skirting that one because I don’t want my art tattooed on him. The only day that ended up working for my dad was a Thursday, the same day that my boyfriend had told my brother that he was off from work. So I would have gone to see my dad and left my boyfriend home alone with my brother, because weirdly enough my brother didn’t want to go with us to dinner. For context, when my parents got divorced, my dad assaulted my mom, her sister, and my uncle, and got the neighbors to spy on my mom. So can you understand why I was concerned especially if I know he was upset already with my “distance”. I left the plan for my dad up in the air and ended up not seeing him.
Maybe a week after, the air in our apartment was haunting and me and my boyfriend tried keeping in our room because the hostile energy was too much. One day, me and my mom had been in a really big fight because for the past few months she had been trying to call me secretive and said how she and everyone else in the whole family had been concerned about me. Meanwhile, she literally knew everything that was going on in my life. She had been calling me several times every single day and months prior, I asked her to stop doing that. She even made fun of my job at one point. I had been defending myself for a long time against the “you’re being so secretive” narrative that was going on because I had my brother living with us and they knew exactly what we were doing. Which is working, enjoying our time in our new apartment and being with our golden retriever puppy. I told her on the phone she’s crossing a line and disrespecting me and she then tells me I’m disrespectful, and that my boyfriend had been taking up so much of my time. I ended the phone call pretty abruptly and she sends me a text “Bye for now. Don’t let this come between you and your sister. Then she starts a group chat trying to plan for thanksgiving with the entire family in September, all the stepsiblings said they couldn’t go. All of this weirdness was disturbing me and it seemed like they wanted me and my boyfriend to break up. I suspect it’s because they’re upset that my whole world doesn’t revolve around family and more with a sprinkle of unresolved homophobia thrown in that makes them uncomfortable having a gay son.
I decided it was best to get my dog and boyfriend out of the apartment to wait out my brother leaving and my dad visiting, so we went to the beach for self protection and even left my serving job abruptly in order to leave. We also had found a huge bottle of liquor set out on his dresser and some prescription for his ex girlfriend. I kid you not, we just barely missed my brother by two minutes getting our stuff in the car to leave, and he had a new concealed carry weapon on his belt. Again, he only tried saying hi to me and ignoring my boyfriend. I blocked my brother, my dad, and my mom, and put my little brother on restricted. When my brother realized we hadn’t been home and we didn’t say where we were going, he tried submitting a missing persons report for just me. But he could t because we had already filed a police report after he gave our numbers out to his friend who called both of us 20 times each. We didn’t know this guy and he’s where my brother was at when he sent me gun photos. My extended family who I really didn’t know were calling me out of nowhere and I blocked them too. I didn’t respond to anyone.
We decided to leave the beach, and stay with one of my boyfriends friend for about a month and a half. We got an email from our leasing office saying they had found a disturbing note on our bedroom door. The note was calling my boyfriend a dumbass piece of shit and said I deserve more than I know and to never speak to him again. We are now back in our apartment and financially struggling still due to the month we felt it best to be gone. We also found my guitar and my boyfriend’s laptop had been stolen out of the apartment. My brother left his entire bed and his rotting food in the fridge. My dad thought it was cool to announce to Facebook that I stopped speaking to him but “he knows where I am”. I still haven’t spoken to my family and I’ve been struggling a lot with guilt and feeling like an awful person. I just could not believe the drama my family was causing because of me getting into a relationship, growing up, and keeping a little distance from my family considering all of the harm they’ve caused me that I didn’t cover in this post. I feel like a fool for not seeing the toxicity until it got this bad, and I’m lucky my boyfriend has stayed with me. I keep getting no caller id calls, voicemails and real mail from my mom saying she wants to go to family counseling and how she struggled letting me become an adult.
Not only did my brother do all this, but other things he did was break our AC unit during summer heat by turning it down to 60F and got his oil stains all over our front door entrance from his job. I had to clean black mold out of our spare bedroom shower when we got back.
You know, when I first moved in with my boyfriend I was pretty happy and thought things were going pretty well. So I was pretty confused by all this concern. If anything, I’m concerned from a distance for my brothers. This is not normal. Please tell me I’m not crazy for feeling like I needed to leave?

Hey, all. Having a rough couple months and feeling like shit about a work situation that I can't really seem to let go. How do you all deal with feeling that you really messed up in your work? I have a had a former colleague recommend reading up on moral injury, but I am wondering if there are any other suggestions you have for helping move on. I"m also just writing this all out to vent
Last Fall, I worked for an agency in a major metro area where we were connecting people to housing, doing case management, helping people get to doctors appointments. Our clients were patients with Serious mental illness and a history of homelessness. We had a caseload of 10-15 and we're responsible for meeting them once a week and helping them get connected to services, get to appointments, and just generally do things to maintain housing.
I had worked with this population before as a hospital chaplain, but I don't have a social work background. I did take some individual counseling courses, but knew little to nothing about case management. I soon found myself in over my head. I was struggling just to get to people once a week, especially when I'd get cancelled on, or have to stay late cause a client was in crisis. After a few months, I knew I was out of my depth and should get back to my specialty of chaplaincy. The role was supposed to have supervision, but in my 5 months there, I never actually had a full session and my supervisor cancelled on me multiple times which still infuriates me. The assistant supervisor gave me some pointers, but I basically had to figure out everything myself.
My issues, is I can't get some of my mistakes out of my mind. We had one client moved to a scatter site apartment with no services beyond a living specialist coming by to make sure the place wasn't absolutely trashed. Within a few weeks, he had his benefits stolen and I completely spaced on reporting it and getting him a new card. I tried to do it online, but couldn't figure how much had been stolen and just resolved to go in person next time we met. He went into crisis, decompensated, and ended up hospitalized. The next month he returned to his apartment and we had to reapply for benefits. This took some time as I didn't have any of his documentation, the service that put him in his apartment did. I took him in person to have an in-person interview but we were just referred to a interview hotline and I eventually had to leave.
In that time, he decompensated again, and I feel so awful that it was my fault cause I didn't figure out his benefits in a timely manner. On the one hand, I feel I tried really hard and know I was limited because my lack of experience. On the other hand, he struggled so much, even with just getting food to eat every day and I played a role in that. I wrote detailed notes and kept my supervisors in the loop, but they didn't give me any help beyond telling me to go back to social services in person and then trying to force him off our caseload.
By the time I left the program, he was out of the hospital and I had finally got his benefits turned back on, and I advocated that he stay enrolled in our program because he definitely did not have the supports in place to thrive on his own. My supervisors said that this was impossible since he was assigned AOT care during his last hospitalization. I found out through talking with someone higher ups in the agency that this was incorrect, he could continue to receive our services, and on my last day I reached out to his outpatient therapist to re-enroll him.
But, I just cannot stop thinking about all of this. I think this makes me a horrible person, and I've thought about reporting myself to the state mandatory reporter line for neglect. I think this might be a bit of a jump, but I just feel so ashamed of not knowing what to do, not asking for help sooner, and also just angry for taking the job in the first place when I had so many holes in my knowledge.
I sent a report of everything that went down to the associate VP of the nonprofit, in hopes that if she did find anything I did illegal or unethical, she would report me. She didn't, and I thought that'd make me feel better, but it didn't. It still goes through my mind all the time, and I have tried everything to make it stop.
I know this all sounds crazy, but I need to type it out somewhere.

Yesterday I made a post where I blatantly lied to to you all, to myself, and to many, many actual Green Berets. For this I am truly sorry. I have dishonored myself and I have disrespected you. The screenshot is of the original post. Here is a link-
https://www.reddit.com/army/comments/1bt8kuv/quantity_has_quality_of_its_own/?share_id=FnbJ8LSmawjlPXCyyqQrJ&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=
I have been engaging in a long-standing deceit by misrepresenting myself as a Green Beret. In my post yesterday I lied repeatedly in the comments at various stages stating that not only was I Green Beret, but that I was the Distinguished Honor Graduate of my Qualification Course class. I told you that I was a Ranger. I told you that I was a Static Line Jumpmaster, that I was Air Assault qualified, that I was Military FreeFall qualified, and that I had earned my Combat Infantryman’s Badge. I represented that I am combat wounded and that I suffer from physical disability due to my entirely false Special Forces service.
None of this is true. Every word is a lie. I am a 91B Tactical Power Generation Specialist. I’ve never even attended SFAS.
I’ve been engaging in this fake identity for many months even going so far as to post on the greenberets subreddit giving (fake) advice to aspiring candidates and lying to real Green Berets. They, of course, immediately saw through my lies and made every reasonable attempt to allow me to do the right thing and come clean. I deliberately ignored them. They have been honorable and professional and kept my deceit in DMs, where I continued to lie. They have convinced me of the error of my ways. I’m done lying.
Let this be a lesson. Do not engage in Stolen Valor. Earn your badges. Earn your tabs. Earn your honor. If you don’t, they will find you. They had me figured out, including my other Social Media accounts, official email, and unit information within about 30 minutes.
I am not going to delete my account. I am going to restrict my Social Media while I seek counseling. I suffer from some undiagnosed mental illness and I can only point to this as the contributing factor to my lies. I hope that you all will forgive me as I work to become a better person.
I am sorry.
———————————————————————-

Hi there,There’s a bit to this and I’ve never laid it all out before so I apologize if it’s a bit messy. When I was 10 I was molested when I stayed at my friends house by one of her mums friends. I told my family when I got home the next day. My mum ran me a bath and she had a very candid chat with me. She told me she had seen me previously dancing to songs on MTV and she told me not to act like that around men because there are some bad men out there that only see girls as one of two things good girls or whores and she said some of those dances on tv can give those bad men excuses to decide your a whore and she wouldn’t always be there to protect me. (I understand this sounds a little 'victim blamey', my mum's dad is apart of the stolen generation here in Australia and he and her and her siblings experienced a lot of abuse by authority figures at a young age)
Anyway, mum organised some counselling for me through school and it was helping but I was also acting out at school at times. The sergeant of our police force came to the school and took me out of class and invited me to a fun beach camp for at risk kids. It was on the summer holidays and it was called Portsea Camp, it didnt take me much convincing, as he told me I would get to activities that other kids do on the holidays that i miss out on because I came from a poor family.
I brought home the information sheet to my mum and asked her to sign it, she was not as easily convinced and was very suss that id be going away with them over the holidays and not during school time with the school. She called the police sergeant and he came out to talk to her about it. Eventually I was aloud to attend.
I dont remember much of the 10 day camp at all. and for a long time i never thought anything of it. That was until i hit highschool age and started drinking and things. When we would go out to parties, no matter what i drank or how much or how little, I would always suffer a blackout. During these blackouts, others told me id act very sexually towards everyone and they showed me a video of me once, singing a song and dancing to a choreographed dance. Thats when i started to remember.
I dont remember being abused. But i remember learning the song and dance.The song was a compilation of all of those dirty versions of kids nursery rhythms that were going around in the early 2000's. "Jack and jill went up the hill to fetch a pale of water, dont know what they did up there but they came back with a daughter". Then it went to the chorus which was 'Hump de dump, hump hump de hump oooh" and whilst we sang the chorus we would thrust like we were air humping. Then it went to the next verse which was the next childrens story.But i can only remember the start and chorus. I remember staying in my cabin at camp and at 6am sharp, these really loud sirens would go off and we all had to run to the oval and line up and do this stupid dance.
Because of what my mum said to me before i left about provocative dancing, I had a break down during the dance and started screaming about how it was wrong for kids to dance like this. Because i felt in danger and like they we're trying to tun me into a whore.
I remember them taking me away from the dance oval space and as we walked off there was a boy who i had went to a totally different school to what i was at now when i was only 5, I hadn't seen him in 5 years. I remember crying as i walked past him and saying 'Jeremy, dont do the dance, they will turn you into a whore and you dont want that.'He recognized who i was and i remember hugging him but i was being taken the opposite way. I dont remember his last name to even find out if anything else happened to him there. He kept walking down towards the oval and i was taken to a tent whee the camp worker people plastered up my arm for fun? and told me to calm down about the dancing. I think i ended up just doing the dance each morning, but i really dont remember much after the fist day its like i went on autopilot mode, i do remember the feelings though and i remember feeling like if i did the dance well enough id be good and id be picked for something. But i dont know.
Fast forward to like 2020 or 2021 and i got a text from the sexual assault unit in Australia, it said i was involved in a large scale investigation and i needed to call them. Initially i thought it was a scam because i have reported sexual abuse before here and i know detectives are not supposed to text about things like that. I called my local police station first and checked the badge numbers from the text, they confirmed it was real and also strange. I called the number and spoke to them. Apparently i was one of 100's of women who's details were found in a government workers database along with evidence of stalking. They asked me if i could tell them about anyone who may have known me since i was a child and would have had details about me as a child and if ive noticed them following me or calling me. I named everyone i could think of and they said no to everyone and they said they couldn't tell me any more information as its an open case and to stay safe and be careful.
I of course started googling anything i could relate to it to try and figure it out or find out any more information but i couldnt find anything. Thats when i decided to google the police sergeant that had taken me to that weird camp.
And thats when i found out, he committed suicide in the local police station because he was being investigated. His name was Tony Van Gorp. I dont believe he was a pedo. Im not sure what i think. I think maybe he found out years later what was going on if there was something going on there, but i cant be certain.
The camp was an old military base with weird tunnels and stuff and i remember them telling us their was a 'phantom man' that would take us into the tunnels if we weren't good enough.
Anyway i just really needed to get this all off my chest. I feel alot better already for it. If you were me what would you do? Just try to forget about it forever? Do you think im paranoid? Do you think im over reacting about the dancing and singing? Why would they teach us to dance like that at such a young age. Were all the other kids their previously sexually abused as well?
If you think this is something worth looking in to, where would i even start?
I thought maybe there would be videos or footage out there, but im not about to search the darkweb to look for my own potential child abuse videos.
Thanks in advance to anyone who bothers to read all of this :)

Precursors -Yes my nephew is extremely obese and his eating habits of sedentary lifestyle are concerning. I'm aware, I try fixing healthier meals for everyone and make enough for everyone to get a portion and maybe a small helping or leftovers. If you look at my post history he's literally stolen my food while I've been asleep before. I'm not looking for advice on that
-Yes my current living situation sucks but my community is seriously lacking resources and it's either I live here, the streets or with a friend from my using days
-No this isn't fake
Hey everyone this post is in regards to my sister Katrina (33 F) and her son Chris (14 M) and names at fake for privacy.
My nephew has a habit of not wanting to walk into the bathroom all the way to use the toilet and attempting to aim from like 2 or 3 feet back. He has difficulty aiming anyway because his belly is so big he has difficulty reaching his penis and so consequently he pees on the floor, which he doesn't clean up. I went to clean my mom's half bath once and there was literally a puddle of urine next to the toilet from him, but I digress
I noticed a few things about his urine, without sounding weird, that greatly concern me. First off fruit flies are attracted to his pj's that he wore the night before if hes had an accident (hereditary bed wetting issue, again, not what I'm here for) and found that odd
While cleaning around the toilet I noticed his pee is like really sticky. I used to do home healthcare for a man with T2 diabetes and his urine was sticky and attracted fruit flies. I asked my doctor about it and he said that it's very concerning and he needs tor be seen about that. Doc said there is a chance he's either prediabetic or full blown T2 because urine is only sticky when you're peeing out glucose or there's another issue.
I had these realizations back in 9/23 and discussed it with my sister. She quite literally said nothing to me when I told her. I asked if she'd heard me and she responded she had.
So I brought it up to my mother (69 {nice} F) because she has POA in case of emergency and she said they'd make an appointment.
I waited a month, realized that they'd never taken him to see the doctor and brought it up mom again and she said she hadn't had the chance to do anything about it yet.
I probably overstepped but I took it upon myself to text his dad with my concerns and what the doctor said. He thanked me and told me he'd look into it, that he only has him weekends but he'd take him to urgent care or ED and see if they could do some sort of preliminary test. Never happened
In Dec I brought it up to my mom again because I'm worried. He cannot walk up the 8 stairs to his bedroom without huffing and puffing. He's a out 5'3" and his 4x clothes are getting too small on him. His brother passed 12/22 and IMO if I had a child pass I'd be beyond proactive in making sure my remaining children had their needs met. (Yes, I am a parent as well so I can safely say these things. My oldest actually has Reddit just to yell at ppl who talk smack about me)
When I brought it up to my mom again she absolutely went ballistic on me. Told me that it was none of my concern, I was putting my noise where it didn't belong and that I should just try taking care of my own health before I worry about a child that isn't mine. (I've lost over 100lbs since 4/23 and am still losing, have made all necessary appts for any concerns and have been sober since 4/22. My kids are all up to date on everything and any time I am worried I bring them to urgent care)
I'm at a loss, like how can I make them understand the severity of the situation. Diabetes is no joke and even if he's fine in that case he's literally half composed of body fat. His poor little heart has to work so hard to keep him going.
I feel that working now to make changes and getting counseling to address his unhealthy relationship with food. When he takes a bite he has to have his mouth so full his lips can barely close a d he inhales it. I try discussing healthier food options, water vs pop, going for short walks etc and he ignores me. This is partly due to family dynamics as my family does not view me as someone worthy of respect, this isn't in my head, again view my post history lol.
I don't want to call CPS because I will not only end up getting kicked out, but my mom has guardianship of my late sister's 2 children. They're very well taken care of, appropriate weights, aren't overly sedentary and would eat fruit over candy. I don't want to put my mom at risk of them getting removed, Chris would go to his father but my niece Natalia (7f) my niece Kiki (13f) and nephew Timmy (10f) would prob all go to the system.
Natalia's father lives a state away and her paternal grandparents have passed. My sister's widower, Kiki and Timmy's father, is on meth and in and out of jail and hasn't even made contact in about 4yrs. Kiki and Timmy got out to bed one night by mama when they were 6 and 3 respectively and when they woke up she was gone and they were thrown into foster care until my mom could travel to get them.
I'm literally have to choose between putting the mental, emotional and psychological well being of three of the children I love over the physical health of one. I'm not gonna lie Chris is an asshole like more than normal teenage boys but that doesn't mean I want him unhealthy.
Things to consider
My mom was in a near fatal car accident 6/27/23 and so large part of the second half of last year and all of this year has been focused on follow up surgeries, PT and adjusting to the new normal of her limitations vis a vis her left arm.
My sister has a TBI she acquired when she jumped out of the car while I was driving. She also has underlying, undiagnosed mental health conditions and struggles on and off with substance use since losing her oldest 12/17/22
I am actively saving while also utilizing resources through the recovery center I receive support services at. I understand this family dynamic is unhealthy for me and am fully aware that if I were able to recoup my finances and find a place for myself and my daughter it would be best. When I leave this house I will be low contact simply so I can stay in contact with my nieces and nephews. Especially Natalia, she is very close with me and cries when I talk about moving out

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-13-2024
After yesterday’s primary contests, we appear headed toward a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024. But this year’s election is an entirely different kettle of fish than that of 2020.
In 2020 there were plenty of red flags around Trump’s plans for a second term, but it was not until after it was clear he had lost the election that he gave up all pretense of normal presidential behavior. Beginning the night of the election, he tried to overturn that election and to install himself as president, ignoring the will of the voters, who had chosen Joe Biden. His attack on the fundamental principle of democracy ended the tradition of the peaceful transfer of power established in 1797 when our first president, George Washington, deliberately walked behind his successor, John Adams, after Adams was sworn into office.
Trump then refused to step aside for his successor as all of his predecessors had done, and has continued to push the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. His loyalists in the states have embraced that lie, undermining faith in our electoral system, although they have never produced any evidence for their claims of voter fraud. (Remember the Cyber Ninjas who handled the election “audit” in Arizona? The company went out of business in 2022.)
Then, a year after he left office, news broke that Trump had compromised the country’s national security by retaining highly classified documents and storing them in unsecured boxes at Mar-a-Lago. When the federal government tried to recover them, he hid them from officials. In June 2023 a grand jury in Miami indicted Trump on 37 felony counts related to that theft.
Trump is not the same as he was in 2020, and in the past three years he has transformed the Republican Party into a vehicle for Christian nationalism.
In 2016 the Republican Party was still dominated by leaders who promoted supply-side economics. They were determined to use the government to cut taxes and regulations to concentrate money and power among a few individuals, who would, theoretically, use that money and power to invest in the economy far more efficiently than they could if the government intervened. Before 2016 that Reaganesque party had stayed in office thanks to the votes of a base interested in advancing patriarchal, racist, and religious values.
But Trump flipped the power structure in the party, giving control to the reactionary base. In the years since 2020, the Republican Party has become openly opposed to democracy, embracing the Christian nationalism of leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who maintains that the tenets of democracy weaken a nation by giving immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and women the same rights as heterosexual, native-born white men.
Rather than calling for a small federal government that stays out of the way of market forces, as Republicans have advocated since 1980, the new Trump Party calls for a strong government that enforces religious rules and bans abortion; books; diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and so on. In 2022, thanks to the three extremists Trump put on the Supreme Court, the government ceased to recognize a constitutional right that Americans had enjoyed since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision: the right to abortion.
Last week, Trump formally took over the apparatus of the Republican Party, installing loyalists—including his daughter-in-law—at the head of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and purging the organization of all but his own people. Indicating its priorities, the RNC has hired Trump lawyer Christina Bobb, former correspondent at the right-wing media outlet One American News Network and promoter of the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, as senior counsel for election integrity.
In Congress, far-right Trump supporters are paralyzing the House of Representatives. The Republicans took power after the midterm elections of 2022 and have run one of the least effective congresses in history. Far-right members have refused to agree to anything that didn’t meet their extremist positions, while first Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and then Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) refused to reach out to Democrats to pass legislation except for must-pass laws like appropriations, when Democrats provide the majority of the votes that keep the government functioning.
The result has been a Congress that can get virtually nothing done and instead has focused on investigations of administration officials—including the president—which have failed spectacularly. Republican members who actually want to pass laws are either leaving or declining to run for reelection. The conference has become so toxic that fewer than 100 members agreed to attend their annual retreat that began today. "I'd rather sit down with Hannibal Lecter and eat my own liver," a Republican member of Congress told Juliegrace Brufke of Axios.
Meanwhile, Trump has promised that if he returns to office, he will purge the nonpartisan civil service we have had since 1883, replacing career employees with his own loyalists. He has called for weaponizing the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense, and his advisors say he will round up and put into camps 10 million people currently living in the U.S., not just undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers but also those with birthright citizenship, tossing away a right that has been enshrined in the Constitution since 1868.
Internationally, he has aligned with dictators like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and has threatened to abandon the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a security pact that has protected the U.S. and like-minded nations since 1949.
If Trump has descended into authoritarianism since 2020, Biden has also changed. For all his many decades of public service, it was unclear in 2020 what he could actually accomplish as president, especially since Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had weaponized the filibuster to stop Congress from passing anything on the Democrats’ wish list. But on January 5, 2021, in a special election, Georgia voters elected Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and the Democrats took control of the Senate as well as of the House.
In Biden’s first two years—with the help of then–House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who managed a squeaky-small House majority—Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic majority, and on occasion, a few Republicans set out to demonstrate that the government could work for ordinary Americans. They passed a series of laws that rivaled President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s Great Society of the 1960s.
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan rebuilt the economy after the worst of the coronavirus pandemic; the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act) is rebuilding the nation’s roads and bridges; the $280 billion Chips and Science Act invests in semiconductor manufacture and scientific research; the $739 billion Inflation Reduction Act enables the government to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies and invests in programs to combat climate change. Projects funded by these measures are so popular that Republicans who voted against them are trying to claim credit.
Biden, Harris, and the Democrats have diversified the government service, defended abortion rights, reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, relieved debt by enforcing the terms of student loans, passed a gun safety law, and reinforced NATO.
They set out to overturn supply-side economics, restoring the system on which the nation had been based between 1933 and 1981, in which the government regulated business, maintained a basic social safety net, promoted infrastructure, and protected civil rights. The result was the strongest economic recovery from the pandemic of any country in the world.
“Now, the general election truly begins, and the contrast could not be clearer,” Harris wrote after Biden secured the nomination. “Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy and our fundamental freedoms. He is proud of his role in overturning Roe, and has talked openly about plans for a nationwide abortion ban. He routinely praises authoritarian leaders and has himself vowed to be a dictator on Day One. Just this week, he said that cuts to Social Security and Medicare would be on the table if he receives a second term. Each of these stances ought to be considered disqualifying by itself; taken together, they reveal the former President to be an existential danger to our country.
“With his State of the Union speech last week, President Biden passionately presented our alternative vision. We will reduce costs for families, make housing more affordable, and raise the minimum wage. We will restore Roe, protect voting rights, and finally address our gun violence epidemic. The American people overwhelmingly support this agenda over Donald Trump’s extreme ideas, and that will propel our campaign in the months ahead.”
It appears that Biden and Trump will square off again in 2024 as they did in 2020, but the election is not a replay of four years ago. Both candidates are now known quantities, and they have clearly laid out very different plans for America’s future.
—
Reminder: These letters are available in a free audio version at Substack, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Notes:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/cyber-ninjas-company-led-arizona-gop-election-audit-shutting-down-n1287145
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/12/politics/rnc-trump-takeover-lawyers-election/index.html
https://apnews.com/article/trump-documents-investigation-timeline-087f0c9a8368bb983a16b67dd31dcd4c
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-classified-documents-indictment-c15a5f36e4e83417805718d81a035441
https://www.axios.com/2024/03/12/house-republican-retreat-infighting
https://punchbowl.news/article/never-ending-impeachment-inquiry/
Twitter (X):
Acyn/status/1768084013799932213
david_darmofal/status/1767735412158570604/photo/2
Victorshi2020/status/1767965023115333973