So to start this off I should give some context. A while back a close friend of my brother’s passed away in a very tragic car accident along with one of said friend’s friend, so some of his friends and family got together and made him a cross to put at the spot of the crash, cut to a few moths later a video is posted on facebook of his pos mother destroying his cross with a stupid grin on her face all because said friends and family had been pouring out some alcohol at his cross ( which a lot of people do, it’s not uncommon and is a way of showing respect especially in communities like ours). So now I am here asking how I should make the cross i’ve never done anything like this and idk what material to use that would be strong enough to withstand the weather we get in this region or if anyone has any idea for things I should put on it, I have the idea of putting a waterproof notepad on it so his loved ones can write notes to him as I feel it’s a nice way to feel connected to him, I also want to paint it in his favorite colours as well as do have designs of some of his favorite things but idk what else I should do for it. Tysm for taking the time to read this and I hope you have an amazing day/night <3 TLDR: Someone I know passed in a car accident and I wanna make a cross for them to put at the site but don’t know how I should go about making it.

I have owned a game shop for 10 years now. I see neck beard types. I see leg beard types. I see incels. The whole rainbow of cringe is often in my very shop. They play their games. Stink up the joint. Above all else though they got on my ever loving nerves I swear.
I bought the shop back in 2013ish after my grandfather died. He left me some decent money, which is about all the good he ever did. Cranky old man stuck around far too long and was a drain on myself. My parents saddled me with caring for him. My only escape from that bitter old man was the game shop. I would go and play war games and yugioh. Around 2011 I was banned from the store for chronically selling yugioh cards in the shop. Something the crotchety land whale that owned the shop did not like. So he banned me. When my grandfather finally died he afforded me the opportunity to lift my ban by purchasing the shop at a high markup. I may have overpaid, but it was worth it to get back my home away from home and to ban that landwhale from his own shop.
Once I took over. I learnt that I wouldn’t be able to participate in games as much unless I wanted to hire employees. Which I did not. I don’t really understand the taxes and had no interest in paying extra to employ people. So I basically ran it all myself for a damn long time. It was fun at first. But I realized I actually hated my customers. I hated games. I hated these goblins that occupied my shop for events and game nights. That’s how you make money though. Stupid events for stupid little neckbeards.
So I am gonna tell you about some choice individuals. I like to call them The Party. Four human shaped food holes that were far too loud. When I was young, back in the 80’s dungeons and dragons wasn’t fun. It was a game to be won. I dont know what happened. Maybe it was all them critical role streamers that ruined it. At some point neck beards gravitated to dungeons and dragons as a form of fun. As a way to make jokes. They basically ruined the game. I hate that they ruined a great war game and turned it into nothing but jokes. Us older nerds get not a drop of respect as these youngins trample over our great games.
The party consisted of two manlet weirdos. Dressed in what looked to be homemade wizard robes. A tall thin man dressed in an outfit that would be seen on frank sinatra. And the loudest legbeard landwhale I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. They would come in on open play nights and occupy the back room where the warhammer gamers played. Their volume was completely unacceptable. I had asked them politely several times to keep it down. I had received several complaints from the warhammer players as well. It was not uncommon for the war gamers and The Party to start arguing. Which was always a sight to behold. 90 percent of the time I didn’t intervene hoping one of The Party might get their teeth knocked out. It never got to that point. Despite all the wishing in my heart.
Still I tolerated them for the most part. They bought plenty of snacks. Overpriced soda cans and over priced chips are good money in this line of business. Cleaning up after them was a pain. Cheeto smeared tables and chairs are not fun to clean. I remember once asking them to clean up after themselves. They just stared at me with blank dead fish eyes before talking about the hot dog man. The hotdog man being some sort of inside joke. They found it hilarious. It was some recurring npc in their campaigns that did “wacky” hijinks or something. They tried to explain it to anyone who would listen. Anytime someone else would laugh at their stupid joke I wanted to just close up shop.
Then I started fucking with them. I’d shake up cans of soda they bought. I’d “accidentally” bump into their table while moving inventory. This would cause their set up and dice to spill all over. I’d sell them microwaved dice sets “at a discount” and laugh with joy as they consistently rolled nat 1’s. I actually had quite a bit of fun coming up with new ways to inconvenience them. Damaging their favorite table, replacing the chairs at that table with uneven ones. One time I spilled a cup of hot chocolate on the one dressed like frank sinatra.
They eventually started blaming their new streak of misfortune on the hotdog man. That fucking stupid inside joke about the hotdog man had grown to encompass their real life misfortune. These beardy fucks had completely disassociated from reality apparently. It wasn’t long after this began in the shop that it spread. Any little thing that went wrong in the shop others started blaming on the hot dog man! Bad game of yugioh…hot dog man. Shit your pants? HOT DOG MAN! Dog got hit by a car! HOT DOG MAN! It permeated and spread because these little beards never shut up about their stupid inside joke.
I could not tolerate it any longer. As a game shop owner I am the god of these halls and I would not take this beardery. NAY! I didn’t clean my grandads colostomy bag for 8 years to have my castle ruined by the fucking HOT DOG MAN! No these nerds hard to go. I had to hatch a scheme to get them out of the shop.
It was actually relatively easy to come up with a scheme. I knew the fat leg beard was dating the tall “well dressed” kid. But, I also knew she was a bit of a cheater. They had many arguments about her cheating on him. Why such a beast would be able to get so many men interested in her I have no idea. But i knew she had her eyes on one of the seedier warhammer players in the store. He wasn’t a good guy, actually a bit of an alcoholic who hung around because this was all he had left. So I struck a deal, I offered him a hefty amount of figurines for his army in return for “seducing” the land whale. A task he was actually excited about.
Over the next couple weeks I watched as the alcoholic man inserted himself into The Party. I watched as he got closer to the girl, I saw the “well dressed” beard grow more and more insecure. Going outside in a huff more often. The leg beard and her boyfriend arguing loudly in front of the store a few times.Then on the third week during an open play night only the land whale leg beard appeared, crying as she clung to the alcoholic war gamer and complained about her boyfriend. The crying was only slightly less annoying than hearing about the hotdog man. I tried to tune it out by doing some stocking of new inventory for the upcoming yugioh release. I eventually noticed a distinct lack of belly aching. I looked over to the side room, and saw that the alcoholic and legbeard were actively making out on a table. Disgusted I made sure the cameras were recording in the side room.
The world was at peace again. The Party would soon be destroyed thanks to some well deployed miniatures in the right desperate losers hands. Simple as can be. Soon my store would be free of the hot dog man plague. This is why you should never mess with a wealthy man we are wealthy because we are wise. My store is one of the best in this town and it is because of my wisdom. No one else can compete with me because I am too good to be doing this.
As I stocked the cabinet with new singles I had recently bought from someone clearly desperate for drug money I found myself very pleased with myself. I sang as I organized my new acquisitions. Then sneaking a peak at the camera I noticed a distinct absence of the obese legbeard and the war gaming alcoholic. I tried to locate them by walking back there, only to hear the sounds of unholy degenerate acts in the bathroom. I found myself amazed by their lack of shame and more so how easy the land whale was. I guess it’s true what they say “fat chicks will do anything”. I contemplated breaking it up. Then I thought it might be really funny if she got pregnant and the frank sinatra wannabe had to raise a cuck baby. So I allowed it to continue. They left together sometime later.
I went ahead and did a little facebook stalking, as frank sinatra and the land whale were both on on my stores facebook page. Two days later they were broken up and the land whale was dating and apparently living with the alcoholic wargamer. Now I still have to deal with her, but the rest of The Party is distinctly absent.
I posted the video from the security cameras on the facebook page on valentines day that year and tagged the frank sinatra wannabe, deleting it after he left some angry comment under it. Just one more jab at his stupid broken heart. That’s what he deserves for being a cringe neckbeard with his stupid inside jokes.
Now the legbeard and alcoholic play wargames on open play nights at the shop and she’s much quieter. The legacy of the hotdog man died shortly after. I do now have to occasionally observe as the land whale and alcoholic wargamer swap spit on a table. I’ve had to make a sign for the bathroom door that say “please do not fuck in here” and when that didn’t work yell at the both of them. Saying something along the lines of “THIS IS NOT A MOTEL!” but even with that inconvenience, it is still preferable to those beards and their stupid inside joke. I will take cringe bathroom sex over the hot dog man any day.
I am just happy that I met my wife in Mexico. If you have money and a passport, get yourself a Mexican wife. They are much less insane than your average american woman. Also they are very grateful to be here. So that pays dividends in the end. Plus you have someone who can talk to the repair men in their native language around here. Wish I would have known she was infertile beforehand. On the brightside though no condoms. So its not all bad. There are no any beards in Mexico my friends.
If you read this ReddX thanks I’ve been a big fan of the channel for a long time and have wanted to write a story. I just haven’t had the time as I am a very busy and important man. But I can tell we’re like kindred souls. You’re gonna love reading all my installments because were bouth great men of substance and the world. It is time I aired out all these beards. So you’re welcome for contributing to your collection of stories. I truly am a generous king.
Your Best Friend
KingRodGod

Hello, posting this to help people out who don't know what's going on.
When I first figured out I was being watched by these people I would try my best to avoid them and take side streets and nature paths in order to learn the extent I was being followed.
Turns out many many people, it seems like most people are apart of Neighborhood Watch and very few people were not invited.
My family and friends are apart of neighborhood watch and refuse to talk to me about it I don't know why. Well, they aren't my family and friends anymore because real friends & family don't do that.
I was told by someone who works for CSIS how to get off the watchlist here's how you do it:
Don't look suspicious, don't act paranoid, don't be negative or aggressive, don't do crime, live a normal life and pretty much just ignore it. Work your job, have a normal routine and stop associating with certain people in your life who might be a criminal.
Sounds odd because I've been getting stalked by these people since I was 13 but that was during a period where I was being bullied by people in my school immensely so that might have gave Neighborhood Watch an incentive to watch me in order for my protection.
Anyway not to talk too much about myself here... If you live your life for a long time, and I mean a long long time Neighborhood Watch and the Feds who are the mastermind behind this see that there is nothing going on with you they'll move on and stop watching you.
Right now, you're where the money's at. For whatever reason there's an incentive to watch you and that gives them a reason to do their job, write reports etc and gives them a reason to justify the surveillance and when these numbers where people are being watched they will be able to justify to courts why the need more funding for this type of surveillance.
I've been attacked by people on Neighborhood Watch many many times and have been set up several times to get arrested for crimes I didn't do. I've been set up so many times and it's all so they can justify why they need to watch me.... It's all BS they don't want to let me go, they want to aggravate me, harass me, stalk and attack me in order to keep me in a alert, panicked, negative and spiteful frame of mind in order for them to get me to retaliate and justify the surveillance for them in order for them to fill out reports to use in the courts so they can keep their numbers high, increase their fundings which will increase their pay, yadayadaya.
Stay out in the open, because they look for ways to attack and harass you in ways you'll have a hard time proving that they're doing that because these people are afraid of getting caught and are afraid of the police.
I've pissed off so many of these people by playing their game back (nothing illegal) and I've watched them get pissed off, yell at me, walk around me trying to find anything they can use to get back at me and what stops them is that they are in public and on camera, or other stalkers who WILL snitch on them are watching their move too because there are good, good and naive and ignorant stalkers who will snitch on their own stalkers if they see anything they do that's wrong. I've had stalkers snitch on other stalkers and tell the police that someone attacked me and that person got arrested and I doubt they're still on the Neighborhood Watch anymore.
I believe it's a CIA program at it's core trying to hurt people, manipulate people, behavior modify people whatever it is that CIA is known to do in the past I believe they're still doing it through Neighborhood Watch.... Mass shooters are on the rise and I believe CIA might be experimenting on people in ways where they can get away with it, just like how Neighborhood Watch people are trying to stalk you and harass you in ways they can get away with it and make it hard for you to prove it's happening.
Basically stay in the open, try your best not to retaliate, keep a normal routine and don't do anything illegal or shady and they'll see that nothing is going on with you over a LONG time and they'll move onto someone else. The person who works for CSIS told me that they'll come back and check up on you again, and again, a few times until they finally stop so keep that in mind. The stalkers are also getting stalked occasionally but they aren't aware, like we are.
The best way to spot these stalkers is if they have their phone out and the phone camera is pointed at you these people always have their phone out, and earphones in their ear sometimes they'll keep it in one ear and sit on a bus or somewhere or walk by you with the other ear faced to you showing nothing's in their ear meanwhile they got an earpod often times in the other ear on the side not faced to you.
They'll show you if you confront them that they aren't recording you or that they don't have their voice call/face time up but they're able to minimize it or close it, then turn it back on when you aren't looking, I promise you they are face timing someone and that person who is face timing you is screen recording everything.
Ignore the posts about freemasons, illuminati, all that stupidness it's THEM trying to discredit people from speaking out and make us all sound crazy it's simply Neighborhood Watch and CIA/CSIS/NSA that's behind all of this, but the people on foot they're all Neighborhood Watch and they get paid by Patreon, it's all volunteer work some of them do get paid but it's from donations for example, some neighborhood watches have everyone donate $5 a month and pool it all together and these people get paid mcdonalds, or gift cards, and the extreme stalkers can up to $300 a week or more depending on how often they're stalking.
The intelligence agencies do recruit people from time to time, but most of the time, like 98% of the time it's simply Neighborhood Watch and disinformation assholes online trying to confuse everyone about what's actually going on.
Keep spreading the word, it's simply Neighborhood Watch and the Federal Intelligent Agencies behind all of this.... maybe you hit their radar for whatever reason just don't give them an incentive to watch you anymore like I said earlier and you'll be fine and remember, the stalkers occasionally get stalked too so don't take it personal and if you're dealing with bad neighbors harassing you maybe find legal ways to piss them off but legal, nothing illegal for example... crank up your music full blast (provided it's not past the legal limit) and put it up towards your ceiling or something like that.
Also.... one more important thing to tell you.
Some of these guys can see through your walls right? Yeah, I'm very familiar with this.
Look up the device called VAYYAR.... It allows people to see through the ceiling, the floor and the walls and it's very cheap this is the sort of device they use to spy through the walls and also please check your outlets because I had a pinhole camera in my washroom very nasty stuff they did to me but I want to spread the word because I wanna help anyone I can out there.
For police who try to suggest mental health problems, simply say you aren't a danger to yourself and others, and don't say you're mad or violent or anything negative just keep it simple and they'll have nothing they can use to apprehend you and put you in a mental hospital because some of them who know what's going on usually the supervisors want to make you scared and shut you up but I'm not a conformist not in the slightest and neither should you be.... Stand up for yourself we're dealing with evil vigilantes who are told propaganda about us in order to get them to sometimes hate us and they feel justified in doing what they're doing to us.
There's many ways to legally piss people off just in case your case is severe and you're dealing with people who are maliciously trying to hurt you and get away with it, and no cops are helping you. I've seen cases where they were jumping on someone's tiny home at night and throwing eggs at someone's house, or meeting someone where there's no cameras and assaulting their target and running off and cops don't help that person it's terrible and you don't need to put up with that so I'll tell you some tips:
Take a picture with your flash on and let them know you took a picture of them. Sometimes they'll get right in front of you and/or yell at you.... it's just them trying to intimidate you into stopping but they will not and cannot touch you because they know other stalkers are watching this go down, or cameras are in the area do not be intimidated even if it's a big scary looking person if you know they're a stalker then do not be intimidated at all it's all BS trust me, they will not touch you, and in the odd case they do press charges and get that stalker the jail time they need and file a lawsuit against that person and get paid if you can but 99.99% of the time they will not touch you, they'll only act like they will.
Don't take pictures of any children or teenager follows or harassing you, especially since they're children just accept that they've been duped and if they're actually breaking the law though and you can prove it, like if they're harassing you then video tape of course and protect yourself but only if you can prove it 100%
Be careful with taking videos and pictures, because sometimes they are recording you and won't stop or react as you're doing it and then they'll post what you're doing on their Facebook, Twitter, instagram, snapchat, youtube or wherever else even Discord and will frame you as a weirdo even though they are so be careful.
If you're walking by, no one's going to blame you for being a Klutz and accidentally step on their shoes or toes, I mean, things happen right?
Or if you have a water bottle you bought from the store and the lid is hard to open, no one is going to blame you if you accidentally open the water bottle and your arm flings to the side with the bottle in hand and you end up splashing one of them in the faces.
No one is going to blame you, if you have a coffee in your hand and you trip and you spill it all over them, or if you walk by and your heavy bag hits them in the head, I mean these are all accidents and no one can blame you for it just make sure you're not doing it on purpose ;)
They want to play their game, well there are ways we can play this back. We don't have to be as careful anymore when it comes to being considerate, or being mindful of where peoples feet are on the bus or subway, or wherever we no longer need to be mindful just don't do anything on purpose ;) and you're all good.
If you're being tailed by a stalker and cops won't listen to you.... Go to a side street at night as you're being stalked and while this is taking place, have in your trunk some big thick and possible sharp gravel or rocks in a bag and dump them all over the road where you know your stalker will be driving... lets say they drove past you... They'll take a U-Turn and drive back, so dump it wherever you know they'll be coming and say F them and their tires, they shouldn't be stalking you anyway.
I'll try to make more posts in the future if i can but I believe the Mods on this subbreddit are the ''Gangstalkers'' and they are controlling what is put out there so in case this post doesn't even make it, I'll simply just PM everyone on a day to day basis with this information instead and I'll make my own subreddit and PM everyone to join that one if the Mods feel like playing that game by censoring true and helpful information.
This is how things are right now the World isn't perfect. You're not the only one, bad people are in this World don't take it personal. Find God, find Spirituality find something meaningful and don't let anyone take that away from you be strong.
Good luck.

Hello! My name is Daniel... It's a shame for me to have to resort to this but someone hacked my Facebook and made payments from my profile with my credit card. The problem is that I cannot make a complaint from my account since it was suspended because the person who hacked my Facebook unlinked my Instagram account to link another user that I do not know who did not comply with the community standards. The sad thing is that my family business is linked to my personal account, I have had my account for more than 10 years and I have never had any problems on Facebook. Now that this has happened to me, I'm trying to solve it but in order for me to "appeal" I have to log into the Instagram account linked to my profile... How do I log into an account that is not mine and when I search for it it doesn't even exist with the username that appears there? I have tried to find a way to contact Facebook and I find it really impressive that they do not have a support area where a person can assist you since with all their recommended methods I cannot solve this. Is there anyone here who has had something similar happen to them? This situation is really very sad for me, the only thing I want is to recover my account, to remove the suspension since everything was caused by whoever hacked me and to cancel the charge on my credit card so I can continue with the development of my business online family which I want to support my family.

WAR
A few days later my phone buzz-chirped. I opened my messages to find several pics of Dennis' Jeep, a blurry mess of lights, and a final shot of Dennis leaning back in the driver's seat with his eyes closed and his junk out and at attention. And there was a caption.
"Consider us EVEN."
I saw red. The possibility of finding peaceful contentment with Whisky was a distant memory. A figment of my imagination. I wanted blood. I wanted to slap Mary's fat fucking face senseless. I wanted to rat her out to Chuck. I was livid. Angry heat spread from my sternum to my shoulders, and the sharp sting of wrath radiated through my being. I rang Mary.
Mary: How does it feel, bitch?
I couldn't make words. I was shaking. My head was spinning. All I could muster was a meek little, "Why???"
Mary: You owed me.
Me: Mary, I'm not screwing Whiskers. And how did you even FIND Dennis? Do you even LIKE him?
Mary: Totes! He's soooooo cute! We banged it out five or six times in his car, and then he told me to lie down in the parking lot. And then he pissed all over my titties! It was soooo hot!
Me: I don't believe you. Dennis is into some pervy-ass shit. But not piss.
Mary: Well, he told me you were too vanilla to do anything fun.
Me: YEAH. I didn't wanna get butt-blasted without a rubber by a guy who couldn't even be bothered to show up when we had plans. That's not being vanilla. That's having self-respect.
Mary: Guys don't like girls who make a big deal about self-respect. It's a major turn-off. That's why I get so much more boom-boom than you do. Hey! Now that we're done fighting, you can pick me up and take me out for sushi! I'll teach you how to make men happy and then you'll owe me dinner. I obviously pleased Dennis when you couldn't.
Words failed me yet again. I shouted a much, much filthier version of, "GO SCREW," hung up on her, put on my sneakers, and ran aimlessly through my neighborhood until I almost collapsed. Once I trudged back home, I smoked a shit-ton of cigarettes and drank a shit-ton of vodka (for me, which was like... three shots) and really did collapse.
Up to this point, I felt like I had been patient with Mary. More patient than she deserved. I probably hadn’t done her any favors by allowing her to behave like a fucking maniac while I did nothing more than gently suggesting alternative behaviors. I still wanted to have faith in her ability to grow (emotionally). But all of that came crashing down. For some reason, my formerly improved sense of self-respect crashed as well...
I texted Whisky, planned to meet him at his townhouse, and successfully banged him. It was absolutely a hate bang even though I didn't hate Whisky at all (yet). I'd never engaged in hate-fueled intimacy before. I didn't realize those two states could co-exist like that. As reluctant as I am to admit it, it was cathartic. And it was also admittedly unfair to Whisky because he had no idea what was happening. I had just used him to make myself feel marginally better about a guy I guess I still had some kind of feelings for.
In case I've been unclear, I'm fully acknowledging that my actions were immature, inconsiderate, and indefensible. Don't bang somebody just because you're mad at somebody else, kids. Nobody wins. Well, it might feel like winning for a short time. It's NOT. It's bad behavior. And I absolutely hold myself accountable. Did I deserve to get verbally abused by the psycho neckbeard lurking behind the mask of the man I’d just hate-banged? No. Unequivocally, NO. But would Whisky have been well within his rights to dump me in a spectacular fashion if he’d realized what I was doing in that moment? Abso-freakin-lutely. Hell, I would have totally deserved it if he’d booted me out of his house butt-naked and screamed insults from the window. An isolated hurling of insults is not the same thing as chronic verbal maltreatment within the context of a relationship. But that's a serious topic that feels out of place in this story.
So instead of calling me on my crap and giving my butt the boot, Whisky remained oblivious to what was going on in my misguided mind and took the hate bang to mean that our relationship had just gone to the next level. And he became even sweeter and more affectionate towards me. This made my skin crawl because all my feelings for Dennis (both good and bad) had just come flooding back with a vengeance. I had no idea what to do with them. Part of me wanted Dennis to hug me and apologize. Part of me wanted to punch him in the dick. Part of me wanted Whisky to hug me and assure me that I had value as a human being even if some Golden God hadn’t chosen me to be his partner. And then part of me wanted to snap at Whisky every time he touched me. "You're NOT the one I want, Asshat!!!!!!!"
But the truth was... I didn't really want Dennis anymore. I mean... I wanted him in theory, but I didn't want the real version. He was a flake. He was nasty. I couldn't wrap my head around his inconsistent, albeit devout, spiritual beliefs. He was indeed a braggadocious butthead. I suspected that he wasn't even a very nice person beneath his affable veneer. Even so, I was irrationally irate with Mary for deliberately stalking him and seducing him. Did she really think that would make me look at my relationship with Whisky differently? I hadn't stalked him. I hadn't even pursued him. In fact, I'd rejected him several times (albeit not out of respect for Mary). How are these two situations alike??? What am I failing to see here??? Maybe I was the villain. I certainly wasn't innocent. But neither was Mary.
I mean... Mary was friggin’ MARRIED. And she'd been going around blabbing indelicately about all her supremely nasty boom-boom (whether real or fabricated) with Whiskers, Scumbanger, Tech Guy, Artistic Director, and the Hoggs. How the living, breathing, God-forsaken FUCK had she decided that she was entitled to sexy time with my (former?) crush just because I was dating ONE of the innumerable guys she’d stalked once upon a time???? Gaaaahhhhhhhhh!
And then it got even worse. Dennis was almost finished with his graduate program and was planning to move to New York that summer, while I still had another two years to go (counting the internship). But we both worked in the Neuropharmacology Lab that semester, so I still had to see him every week. Even though nothing had happened between us in a long, long time, I never knew if Dennis was going acknowledge my presence or look right through me. The power of invisibility isn't all it's cracked up ti be. But the next time I saw him, following the Mary tryst, he very deliberately approached me and said in an almost apologetic tone, "Val? Can we please talk after lab?" I nodded.
He asked me to get in his car, but I couldn't stand the thought of sitting in the ghost of Mary's snail trail. I insisted that we sit in my car, and he didn't protest. The familiar scent of mandarins and mountain air wafted through my Prius as I steeled myself for a confrontation.
Dennis: I think your friend stalked me...
Me: The crazy bitch with the big boobs?
Dennis: Yeah... She messaged me on Facebook and she was talking like you'd told her about me and thought we should hang out. I said we should call you and invite you to come along, but she said you had a boyfriend. Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: I'm dating someone. But what does it matter?
Dennis: Oh. I guess it doesn't. Anyway, I met her at this 24-hour diner. She drank like... ten beers even though I told her I don't drink. She kept talking about her cat or something...
Me: Whiskers?
Dennis: Yeah.
Me: That's a guy. She used to have a thing for him.
Dennis: That’s a guy’s name??? Weird. Well, anyway... She got all sloppy and literally started doing mouth stuff to me under the table.
My stomach turned and my blood boiled. "I don't need to hear that. She already told me all about your night. She sent me pictures of your dick and she told me how you peed on her in the parking lot."
Dennis: She said I WHAT??? Babe! Er. Um. Val! I would never do that.
I gave him a skeptical stare.
Dennis: Hand to God! I didn't pee on her. But, wait... She took pictures of my stuff???
I took out my phone and showed him the pic. Dennis blushed ferociously and looked away. Finally, he said quietly, "I'm so ashamed of myself."
I sighed. "You're always ashamed of yourself. That's why I stopped fooling around with you. It felt like you were ashamed of me, too."
Dennis: Babe! No. I just have to get right with God.
Me: Well, have you talked to God about Mary?
Dennis: I'm not ready for that one yet. I feel dirty. Like... dirtier than usual.
Me: Well, now I feel kind of guilty. She's mad at me because I'm dating a guy she used to have a crush on. She went after you because she knew I used to have a crush on you.
Dennis: You had a crush on me??? For real?
At first, I scoffed (thinking he was being sarcastic). Then I looked at his wide eyes and realized that he might have actually been that clueless.
Me: Yes, Dennis. I massively had a crush on you. You knew that. But I was apparently too vanilla for you, according to Mary.
Dennis: What??? Babe! I never said you were vanilla. I said you were classier than her.
Me: Well... Thank you? If that really is what you said to her, I appreciate that.
Dennis (striking his version of a smoldering pose): So. Uh... You still have a crush on me?
Me: I think I'll always wonder what could have been if we were each just... slightly different people. But I had to move on. I knew you didn't like me in that way, and it wasn't fair to either of us.
Dennis: Well, for what it's worth, I wish it had been your mouth the other night.
I finally smiled a little bit. I wished the same thing. But I didn't say that out loud.

Oddly enough, having that somewhat respectful, somewhat reassuring conversation with Dennis quelled my anger at Mary... a little. Don't get me wrong; I was still pissed and I never let her get close to me again after that. But I also never made a big, dramatic show of telling her off. In my mind, that would have invited more unnecessary drama. By tacitly distancing myself and henceforth keeping her at arm's length, she wasn't able to freak out over anything and I was able to keep her out of my business.
Years and years later, even now that Mary is a functional person with a healthy BMI, and much better manners (most of the time), she is still wont to bring up her tryst with Dennis. While I genuinely applaud her for putting in the work and making some sensible changes, I'll never be super buddy-buddy with her again. The fact that she still throws Dennis in my face to this very day makes me suspect that there remains a touch of cray in her gray matter.
And where Whisky was concerned, I had finally felt some sense of closure with Dennis after the aforementioned talk. So I leaned into a new relationship. And it was fine at first. Not super hot, but also not super weird. Having learned from my disgusting mistake, I know that I tend to get tempted to speculate about incredibly offensive crap regarding Funky Whisky whenever his behavior is unremarkable and not in keeping with the delightfully repulsive tone that this audience tends to enjoy. So I'll end this chapter here. In the next proper installment, I'll finally shed some light on The Goblinization. But before I wrap things up, I need to write a one-off about The Pie Guy and bring back some classic cringe!

I (33f) and my husband (34m) have been in a commitment and solid relationship since we were 18.
If you need background on our relationship read this or skip ahead:
Background: We met online in a game in two separate states. We moved in together in his state and got married in court during lockdown in 2021. Neither of us are close with our families because of their extremely conservative and religious convictions. I am romantically attracted to women more than sexually which I confessed to my husband at a later time in our relationship. I didn’t have and don’t have any interest in other women since we met. I later shared with him my spiritual beliefs and practices as a witch that I suppressed since I was caught by my mother as a teenager. I was shammed a lot for being me growing up. I grew up in a very emotionally unstable home. I also did not receive the supports I needed as a child with adhd and autism that developed anxiety and depression. There is a lot behind that but it is what it is at this point. This being said, my dad also has adhd and mental illnesses that he would display with subtle to full outbursts of anger and my mom unresolved childhood neglect and bullying and what I believe to be some form(s) of intellectual deficits which severely affected her self esteem and her almost unhealthy strong attachment to me. So I grew up to be a clusterfuck of mental, emotional, developmental and spiritual instability. I was also bullied and suffered betrayals from friendships because of various factors often due to my neurodivergent behaviors. So as to be expected, I 100% formed an anxious attachment style. Please look it up so you are familiar with this. It’s a big part of the conundrum I’m in.
(DISCLAIMER: I’m not into the evil fuckery type magic btw… I’m the kind of witch that practices moon magic with lots of love, light and blessings n all that shit - yes I’m in a pissy mood from all of this so you’ll be getting that sort of spice throughout). .
.
.
If you skipped ahead it starts here:
My husband had slowly loosened up on his own strict conservative programming since he started seeing me become happier and more secure in myself since I started practicing my personal spirituality again and dropping my “mask” more often and being that weird quirky neurodivergent girl more openly and working so hard on myself to overcome my childhood traumas and the shame that stifled my authentic self. And that was great! Until it wasn’t for me in our monogamous relationship.
He guilted me (unintentionally) into having a threesome 2x with a woman who we ended up having a sort of friendship afterword but I was always very mentally off put by it but faked being ok for a while. After each of the 2x weeks apart, I became very emotionally numb to my husband. Like my heart literally froze and I was feeling almost like a cold-hearted bitch, even telling my husband I wanted a divorce. Mind you, he was in a bad mental state at this time in which I didn’t really know because he never truly expressed his actual emotions much. I found out later that he had been feeling pretty severe distress from his mom who has been making horrible mistakes and acting like a spoiled child begging him for money and complaining to him about her constant fights with her sister who was like a second mom to him in which he kept being placed in the center. I have my own traumas from her due to a psychiatric break she had which was slowly building that we weren’t aware of until she snapped fully disconnecting from reality and the entire time I was the center of her hostilities, likely because I was taking her baby boy from her - if you’re Hispanic, you understand this atrocity I was committing 🙄. My poor husband was under her thumb to the point he was completely sheltered and dependent on her - as a full grown man in his 20s until I literally helped him become an independent man in thought and lifestyle. So imagine that stress being in the middle and then having me add in to that with my constant complaining and irritation with his mom’s bs affecting us constantly in one way or another.
And then ADD TO THAT he was suffering severe caregiver burnout because I’ve been chronically ill since we met and still in that stage where all my doctors were telling me I was just anxious so they didn’t have to actually do their due diligence, which was then exacerbated significantly after I was in a car accident and they couldn’t figure out was was wrong for almost 2-3 years until I got the right care and back on my feet- kind of. I have been off and on disability - including a SI attempt last March - for about 6 yrs now. So my husband has been my main support for almost 12-13 years of our relationship. I obviously am not close to my parents (and because my dads a money hungry idiot I was always moving around California for his next big promotion which separated me at 7yrs old from my then 22yr old sister and her 2yr old daughter).
When he finally broke down and told me, we had a long and difficult talk with so many tears and a bit step toward healing ourselves individually and as partners. Don’t get me wrong, we had our fair share of misunderstandings and issues but we always came together stronger and closer. I thought before this significant issue that I had the most wonderful and strong marriage in the world. I mean, not only was he still there, but he helped me get back up every time I wanted to give up which allowed me so much success and the ability to purchase our 2nd home by the time we were 32yrs old. The 1st house we had to sell because of the accident and we hit rock bottom, and then we got this one a year ago and almost lost it again due to my health.
We worked to a point where we were happy again. Like the kids who met and fell in love 15yrs ago. We just had the PERFECT date day (we had 6 separate exciting things packed into that day). At the end of the night we walked around the lake by our house and sat down on a bench overlooking the water when after some time snuggling and laughing and talking about our day…. He confessed something major to me. Something that has made me feel that slipping of warmth in my heart for him once again.
He brought up the poly thing again. But this time, he said after much research and soul searching, he identifies as polyamorous. I asked him if he meant he wanted just flings or something with other people or if he meant… romantic relationships as well. With sadness in his voice he confirmed. He wanted a romantic relationship outside of me. This is why he hadn’t been wearing his wedding ring in a long time. It started during to his skin condition on his hand but when it healed he lied and said it bothers his hand whenever I’d ask after that.
I know he will always keep me as the permanent primary partner I guess they call it, but I just can’t get over this intense sense of anger, jealousy, fear of abandonment. Remember that anxious-attachment style? Well this is the WORST NIGHTNARE for someone with that type of attachment.
It feels almost like he punched me square in the chest with all his strength and this boy has some serious biceps. I love him so much and as much as I want to tell him no, that I am his wife and I will be the only one because HE is MY husband, that would lead to that awful resentment we both held for what felt like ages. You know that saying? If you love them, let them go? That’s how I feel. He has made it so clear he will always be at my side and that his love for me is everything. But he can’t deny who he is and I can’t rip that part out of him and burn it until not even ashes remain.
I know he would be a complete and utter mess if I divorced him, but I feel so devastated. He has done so much research and I asked him to give me the resources he said he’d collected for me to understand him and what this whole polyamory thing is. I love this man with all of my being. He’s my soulmate. Or I guess… was.
I don’t want to feel this way but I don’t know how I’m going to get over this right now. We talked about couples counseling but my heart and anxiety want to just throw in the towel to avoid any more pain.
****I’m so sorry for the long and possibly over encumbered post…
But, AITA for wanting to shut down and kick my loving husband to the curb? ****
Any advice for this anxiously attached, autistic wife married to a monogamous and now polygamous husband would be so appreciated.
Edit: he only wants to see a partner WE BOTH are into. But I want to punch the shit out of every imaginary man or woman who would dare steal any millisecond of my man’s affection.

Let’s make it aware that there is a job offer scam that lies and take you to Scam Factories and you become a slave, and you may even die. Post here all cases of Disappearance of people who may be associated with this type of scam.

Know The Signs!

Have you been trafficked?

• Did you apply for the job via Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram), WhatsApp, Telegram or an online platform?
• Did you have an online interview?
• Have you been promised a job with a company in Thailand?
• Were you promised a lucrative salary?
• Did you receive a letter of confirmation for your new role?
• Did you investigate the company you applied to and are they registered?
• Do you have an agent or consultant handling details for you?

How to prevent yourself or someone you know from being trafficked

• Never give anyone your passport!
• Research the company you are applying to join. For example, check their website, search for them on social media and LinkedIn, check the legal registration of the company.
• Ask for references (face to face or virtual) from current employees.
• Ensure you received an official letter of offer and check the email addresses match the companies contact information.
• Research the visa requirements for working in a foreign country.
• Notify your countries Immigration Office of your intention to travel or contact your countries Embassy once you arrive at your destination.
• If you are about to cross a river in north-west Thailand don’t, it is likely you are being trafficked into Myanmar.

Forced Scamming:

Trapped in secure compounds.

• Victims are trafficked into secure compounds within Myanmar along the Thailand-Myanmar border with no way to escape. They are watched by armed security and their movements monitored 24/7 by CCTV.

Physically tortured, Sexually Assaulted & brutalised.

• Victims are punished if they refuse to work, until they comply. They are sexually assaulted and brutalised to keep them compliant and their torture used as a warning to others. All have scars, some visible and some hidden, that they will carry with them forever.

Forced to work 20 hour days, 6-7 days a week.

• Victims are forced to work 16-20 hours per day and often 6-7 days each week. They are locked into offices with rows and rows of computers forced to participate in illegal activities, including cyber scamming.

Passports confiscated & phones strictly monitored.

• Victims have their passports confiscated usually under false pretences. All phone activity is strictly monitored with random checks are conducted daily. Victims are forced to use company phones and can only access their personal phones in their rooms.

Could this be your situation? If you or someone you know has been trapped in forced criminality, contact your nearest embassy or email the Global Alms Counter Trafficking Unit at admin@globalalms.com with the details

This is a post for awareness. Let’s help each other. Only serious comments.
Below are more links to other related posts.
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2023/12/asia/chinese-scam-operations-american-victims-intl-hnk-dst/ (Scam Factory location: 16°38'53.0"N 98°31'15.8"E https://maps.app.goo.gl/hjxFLTUJ1SK1aLMM8?g_st=ic)
http://chinascope.org/archives/32233
https://youtu.be/m6qFCdHvYuI?si=rs2J71V1XIeFF7we
https://www.globalantiscam.org/contact
https://www.reddit.com/Thailand/s/L8OTm9Lvye
https://www.globalalms.com/protection
Fill up the form https://www.globalantiscam.org/contact

(My account created recently for privacy/scam concerns)

Hi, so I also posted a version of this on brokeryestafa because this is a spanish website and the target audience is latinos, but there is not a lot of information out there and I’m desperate for some piece of mind. So my dad paid to do investment lessons on this website. When i looked this place up all of my scam senses were tingling, but my dad is convinced that he knows better than me and that this is legit. Here are a list of reasons i think this is a scam and reasons he thinks its not a scam.
Reasons it could be a scam:

• Yoel Sardinas, the teacher, says he is a millionaire but how is it a millionare cant pay someone to make a good website. Lots of the links on the site dont work like the instagram, linkedin, facebook, and x (twitter) buttons
  
• The yellow contact us button takes you to resources. The only contact us button that works is on the top menu & it takes you to a screen to send a message, but there is no phone or email information.
  
• My dad showed me one of the videos he paid for & on the page theres a section where the instructor would have their name, photo & bio, but they forgot about that part & left the generic template. It says John Doe w no photo & the generic lorem ipsum filler text for bio
  
• The policies are in english (when everything else is in spanish) which makes it difficult for their target audience (spanish speakers) to read the policies. It’s also unfinished as some sentences are just cut off. And some information is missing in certain parts like they forgot about it.
  
• in the privacy policy they sometimes refer to the learning to invest seminar instead of invest step.
  
• They asked for ssn when enrolling in classes. Why do they need the ssn?
  
• When you select the shop button it says shop not found
  
• I can’t find information on the parent company SAAI COM LLC which is what the company is according to the privacy policy
  

Reasons why it could be real:
-So far all the information they have given my dad is a real guide to use stocks (although he couldve gotten all this info free online but whatever)

• i cant find any bad reviews or comments about this guy or his program

I am going to keep investigating & i will update this post as i find more information but please let me know your thoughts and opinions. My dad trusts his judgment more than mine so i wont be able to convince him to stop giving these people money unless i have definite proof of scam behavior

My boyfriend and I have been together 2 years and have decided we are ready to have a baby together. This might seem early in the relationship, however, I have been with my fair share of bad boyfriends and I know this one is the one and we will make good parents together. We actually really wanted to have a baby together within the first year however we decided to be responsible as we weren’t living together, didn’t have much money saved and just knew it wasn’t the right time. We are now both 25, we have a house together, have enough savings and feel it is absolutely the right time. We have worked hard to get to this place and are very excited for the next step. Not only are we excited to actually start a family but I have always dreamed about telling my family and how excited they will be. I was also extremely excited to tell my boyfriends family as he is the oldest and our baby would make his parents grandparents for the first time. When I first met my boyfriends Dad, he asked when the grandkids were coming, telling us he couldn’t wait to be a grandpa. He also got out his phone and showed us a video of a gender reveal involving a truck blowing the coloured smoke out of the pipes and told us this is what we would do when we had a gender reveal one day (he is a very proud truck driver from a long line of truck drivers). My boyfriend and I laughed and said that was cool and we will do it one day. Every time we rang my boyfriends Dad as he lives 5 hours away, he would always ask when his grandchildren are coming.
Fast forward a year. My boyfriend and I were still trying to conceive with no luck yet, we knew it wouldn’t happen over night. However, one night we receive a facetime phone call from my boyfriends Dad. He is sitting beside my boyfriends younger brother, we’ll call him Tom, who is 22 and says ‘guess what’. Tom then holds up a new born onesie and says ‘we’re having a baby’.
My heart sinks. And this is where all of my ugly, angry, sad emotions begin. I would also just like to disclose before I go on, that I KNOW I should not feel this way, but it’s just the way I do feel.
My boyfriends younger brother Tom has been with his girlfriend for 4 months, we’ll call her Sarah. She has an 18month old baby with someone else and doesn’t work to take care of this child. Tom lives next door to his Dad and step mom in a rental with 2x of his step brothers, absolute bachelor pad. They all work in the truck yard down the road and smoke bongs in the shed every night. Sarah moved in to the house with her child as soon as she met Tom and sure enough now she is pregnant with his child. Tom is always broke, asking my boyfriend for money all the time. He is constantly caught short for rent, which isn’t even that much considering it is split 3 ways. Tom drives a two door v8 Ute which is his pride and joy, which he will now have to sell to get a family friendly car.
My boyfriend is happy for his brother, yet I feel crushed. I want to feel happy for them.
A few months later, my boyfriend and I took some time off work to visit his dads side of the family (his parents are split). We drove 5 hours to come and stay with them as my boyfriend doesn’t see them very often. Whilst we were up there we met Sarah for the first time and her child from her previous relationship. Sarah, Tom and the child had moved into a slightly bigger ‘bar’ room out the back of the bachelor house and it was absolutely trashed. They are sleeping on a mattress with no sheets, there is clothes, toys, empty food containers, dishes, rubbish covering the floor and surfaces. Tom simply remarked ‘when you have kids, you’ll understand’. I get that, having kids is hard and messy but this was beyond that, and, Sarah doesn’t work she is home all day every day. My boyfriend commented that Tom use to be a neat freak which I found hard to believe.
Whilst we were up there it seemed all everyone could talk about is this baby. Sarah was also constantly leaving her other child with various of Tom’s family members and just going to bed. My boyfriend and Tom’s stepmum quietly said to me that she is constantly left with the child whose nappy is always full. I spent some time with Sarah who mentioned to me that she happened to fall pregnant and asked Tom if he wanted to keep it or if she should abort it. My boyfriend and I had argued over whether we thought it was a planned baby or not, my boyfriend insisting it was planned. Obviously not.
Sarah also began discussing with us that she and Tom were going to do a gender reveal. She then explained that they were going to do the same truck idea that my boyfriends Dad had showed us. I made an excuse to leave the room and I burst into tears. This made me feel like his Dad didn’t actually care if my boyfriend and I had a baby, he just wanted a grandchild no matter where it came from, and Tom did it first. Whilst we were staying with my boyfriends Dad, we also saw so many fights unfold in front of us between Tom and Sarah. Yes couples fight but they were screaming at each other, in front of the 18 month old and getting in each others faces. A very healthy thing for a couple about to be a family of 4. Not long after this trip, Tom and Sarah announced the pregnancy on Facebook and all of my boyfriends family commented on there how excited they were and how Tom is a ‘clever’ boy as there will be 5 generations since Tom and my boyfriends great grandparents are still alive. I again tried to feel happy for them but this was stifled by my feeling of anger. Since day one of meeting my boyfriend I had always put in a HUGE effort to not only meet my boyfriends family but we travelled immensely to meet all sides of family as he has family all over the place. His mum and her partner live away and we often spent lots of weekends with them which was not easy at all as his mum is addicted to hard drugs and my boyfriend is the only family member that still speaks to her. We also travelled 4 hours multiple times to stay with his grand father and visit cousins. We travelled 3 hours on Christmas Eve to spend Christmas with his cousins family and recently we travelled another 6 hour round trip to spend the day with his Nanna who is sick. Family is very important to me and also my boyfriend so I always made a huge effort to visit them with him. This is what has bothered me almost the most, my boyfriend and I have made such an effort with his family, yet, all they can talk about is Tom and Sarah having a baby. Tom and Sarah have not made nearly as much effort as us to meet any family, Sarah has met Tom’s dad and brother (my boyfriend) and that’s it. Everytime my boyfriend speaks to one of his relatives it’s always ‘isn’t it so exciting, not long now’.
A few months after this, my boyfriend and I had a triumph - we were pregnant! Followed by heart ache, an early miscarriage.
I spoke to my family who were extremely supportive and my boyfriend told his who were supportive at the time but just told us to ‘keep trying’. No one has spoken about it since, which is okay, but, I am not okay. Whilst I was feeling so hurt and upset before, it is now millions times worse. I have had good days, and bad days. One of my worst days was recently when Sarah invited us to her baby shower. My boyfriend came home from work and said ‘we’ll have to book some time off work since it’s on the Saturday and we have to travel’. We then got into an argument as I was so hurt that he just assumed I was okay to go to it. After a few days of thought I realised how important it was to my boyfriend and I had to push my feelings aside. I’m still so frustrated though because aside from all of my pain, I KNOW they would not travel 5 hours and take time off work to go to our baby shower if we had one.
So the baby shower is in 2 weeks and I’m still having the same ugly, angry, sad, disgusting thoughts swirling around my head.
Why do they get to have a baby within 4 monts of knowing each other, completely unprepared, no money, no vehicle, no house, no nothing? They didn’t plan this, she just let herself get pregnant or they were so careless not to use protection. My boyfriend and I could’ve gotten pregnant within the first months of dating but we’re not that stupid and irresponsible. My boyfriends stepbrother has moved out of the house and is living in a shed so that Sarah and Tom have more room to have a baby which I think is so completely unfair. And now the other stepbrother that lives there will have an 18month old and a new born in his house which he never signed up for. Tom and Sarah have just gotten pregnant and not thought about anyone else or how this effects anyone else. My boyfriend and I have worked long, hard hours to save for our dream and yet we’re here watching it unfold for someone else whilst we deal with the heart ache of getting so close and losing it. I work in disability which is extremely mentally draining and my boyfriend is a diesel mechanic which is physical and hard. Sarah doesn’t work, yes she takes care of her child yet they’re living in filth and she manages to palm him off most of the time anyway. Tom is a casual at his work and spends most of his pay check on weed and smokes every night. Yet, the entire family thinks they are so incredible and wow! They’re having a baby! I feel so cheated, I feel like it should be us, and I know that’s so incredibly selfish but we couldn’t have planned this more if we tried yet they simply didn’t use protection and get to live out our dream.
I’m wondering how on earth I am going to manage to get through this damn baby shower and I would love to know peoples thoughts on this, but please, be kind 😭

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/brokenheartedsister
My (26F) fiance (28M) slept with my sister (32F). Heartbroken and devastated. I can't move on.
Thanks to u/Choice_Evidence1983 for suggesting this BoRU
TRIGGER WARNING: infidelity, betrayal, self harm, depression, property damage
Original Post Nov 27, 2015
Hi Reddit. I'm posting here in the hope that someone can give me some advice, share their experiences, I don't know. I'm just completely at a loss. I feel like my heart has been ripped out.
My fiance (let's call him Jake) and I have been together for 7 years. I don't know a life without him. I met him at university, we stayed together past graduation, and moved into a flat which we bought together 2 years ago. He proposed last summer and we were set to wed in July 2017. We have had very few problems until now.
My sister (let's call her Sara) is an extremely volatile person. Growing up, I doted on her completely but she had a lot of personal issues that made our home life turbulent. Her childhood was very different to mine. My parents had very little money, they were on the brink of a divorce, my dad was physically violent on a number of occasions. Whilst things improved drastically in the years after I was born, she has an abundance of problems that stem back to this. My parents feel a lot of guilt about Sara's upbringing, and used to let her get away with some shocking behavior.
Sara had the same boyfriend for as long as I can remember (they dated from when they were 16), and their relationship was toxic. They habitually broke up and got back together; when they were good, they were crazy in love. But more often than not, she would have these insane arguments (sometimes physical) with him then take out her frustrations and despair on myself and my parents. I remember spending many nights lying by her side in bed while she cried so hard she would retch. After their arguments, she would throw plates and glasses at the wall, hit herself. Sometimes she would hit me and my parents too. It was like he was a drug to her, and she was emotionally stunted and didn't know how to see anything past their relationship.
2 months ago, her boyfriend called things off for good. I don't know what gave, but after nearly two decades together, he finally had enough. He booked a one way ticket to another country, changed his number, deleted all social media profiles, and essentially disappeared from Sara's life. To this day, she still won't explain what caused this, but it was long overdue.
To say Sara was devastated is an understatement. She moved out of their shared rented apartment, and in with my parents. I would visit her most days after work, where she would flit in between explosive rage to an almost catatonic silence, staring at the wall with tears streaming down her face. At one point, we were all extremely worried she might seriously harm herself and organized for her to see a therapist (something I had suggested for years). Of course, she backed out days before her appointment, and there were no consequences. She is, after all, a grown woman. She just hasn't changed emotionally in the entire time I've known her, and still acts like a teenager.
2 days ago. I went to visit Sara, who was in bed in her darkened room. I let myself in and attempted to speak to her, telling her about my day at work. She immediately exploded, screaming at me, throwing her pillows across the room, crying uncontrollably. She told me life was unfair. That I had everything and she was left alone to "rot". That everything wrong in her life was because she was a bad person. She hurt her boyfriend, she drove him away, she's ruined our family, she fucked Jake and didn't even feel guilty at the time. I initially thought I'd misheard her, but then she said it again. It was like she had poured a bucket of ice water over me.
I silently left, shaking. When I got home, Jake was there watching TV. It came out of my mouth the second I saw him, and I could see in his eyes it was true. He broke down, and told me it had happened 3 years ago. Sara had had another blazing row with her boyfriend and decided to drive round to Jake's looking for me. I was at our parents at the time and Jake attempted to pacify Sara. He comforted her while she sobbed in his arms, and one thing led to another. They had sex.
I packed an overnight bag while he followed me from room to room, sobbing and telling me it was the worst mistake of his life, that he still has no idea how it happened. That he felt unbelievably guilty the second it was over, that it feels like it wasn't even real. I left him in the doorway begging me not to leave.
I've checked into a hotel and have switched my phone off. I don't know what to do, who to tell, where to begin. I feel sick, like this is a bad dream. My heart feels like it's been ripped into a million pieces. For all of Sara's faults, I love her more than anything. It's the two people who are more to me than anyone else in the world.
How the fuck do I move on from this? I feel like I'm in a bubble. I don't know what's going on in the outside world. All I do is cry and sleep in this room. Someone please help me make sense of this.
tl;dr: My volatile sister recently went through a break up after a 16 year relationship with the love of her life. She is severely depressed and almost catatonic; I went to visit her one day only for her to explode and tell me she slept with my fiance 3 years ago. He admitted it was true and I haven't spoken to a soul since. I have locked myself in a hotel room with no plans of ever coming out. My heart is shattered into a million pieces and I don't know what to do.
Update Nov 29, 2015
Hi everyone.
I logged on this afternoon to find 300 + replies and messages to my post. I am unbelievably touched by the all people who reached out to me, particularly fractalfay's incredible response which spoke to me on a level I didn't think possible from a stranger. I'd like to thank each and every single person who took the time out of their day for me; I was so overwhelmed that I've not responded to a single one as of yet but it is truly truly appreciated.
Now onto the update.
It has only been a day or so since I made my post, but it feels like I'd been in that hotel room for weeks, crying in the dark buried under the covers. At some point this morning, I decided to draw the curtains open and let the sunlight in. I went and sat on the balcony and switched my phone on for the first time. It started ringing within 30 seconds. It was my mother, who burst into tears as soon as I answered. Her and my parents had obviously been desperately worried (this is the longest I have ever gone without contact) and had even contemplated calling the police had I failed to contact them by this evening.
My mom informed me that as I was walking out of Sara's room, down the stairs, and out the front door, Sara was screaming and wailing that she's sorry. Funnily enough, I didn't hear this. I don't know how. I think I was in such a state of shock that I couldn't process anything around me. Honestly, I can't even remember the drive home. After I shut the door behind me, my mom (who was the only other person at home) rushed into Sara's room to find her trashing her room and attempting to slash her wrists with a blunt lino cutter of all instruments (Sara used to do a lot of art). Obviously, this barely caused a scratch but jump started my mom into action. She drove Sara to the hospital, where I understand she underwent some sort of assessment and was kept overnight. She has, incredibly, agreed to undergo treatment for whatever it is that is wrong with her. My mom was surprised she was so complaisant on the drive down, willingly entering the car and saying nothing other than asking where I am.
Sara seems resigned and completely deflated; my mom spoke to me at length for the first time in my life about the hardships they had undergone during Sara's childhood. I am unwilling to go into detail and am still in shock about some of the things I heard. Sara is not devoid of responsibility; she has long surpassed the age where she can blame her childhood for her behavior, but my mom admitted through tears that not sending her to therapy at an early age was the biggest regret of her life so far.
I asked my mom if she knew why I had left; she admitted that she had known SINCE SARA'S EX LEFT TWO MONTHS AGO. At this point, I had to struggle not to hang up and I suddenly felt myself going back into that pit, but she begged me to listen. After her ex Harry (I am too drained to invent a name...hi Harry) left, Sara told my mom exactly what had happened. It was not the reason for Harry's departure, although he did know about it. Rather, he had had enough of being Sara's carer, and years of begging her to seek help had fallen on deaf ears one too many times. When Sara informed my mom, my mom told Sara I have to know immediately. Sara refused to tell me, and I still don't know why she changed her mind in that moment. My dad doesn't know for anyone wondering, and thinks I've left as I've also finally had enough of Sara's behavior.
Now here is where the home truths came out. I asked my mom if she knew the details. She was reluctant to tell me anything, stating that it had happened and that was all I needed to know. But I told her I refused to step foot in the house until I knew everything. She then proceeded to tell me that a few months before they slept together, Sara and Jake had kissed at my dad's 60th birthday party. It was a large family gathering with a lot of alcohol involved. I remember Jake getting very drunk with my cousins. Sara had a crying tantrum prior to arriving as her and Harry had an argument and he refused to come (she called me sobbing before she arrived). At some point during the night, Jake asked her if she was okay and hugged her, and once again "one thing led to another" and they shared a kiss in the kitchen. Sara told my mom that they were both immediately remorseful and vowed never to speak of it again, but Sara deliberately sought him out the night they slept together knowing he was unlikely to turn her down. She openly admitted she did it to get back at Harry, who had cheated on her during one of their many infamous breaks. I don't think I even entered her thoughts.
At this point, I'd heard enough. We'd spoken on the phone for over four hours and I felt mentally drained and physically sick. Any hope I had of salvaging my relationship with Jake has completely gone. I feel the last 3 years have been tainted by their betrayal, and the many years before that I wonder: did he like Sara this whole time? Part of me doesn't even want to know.
It's worth noting he has made absolutely no attempt to contact me other than a single TEXT stating "I'm sorry. Take as long as you need". As if it's inevitable I will come back to him.
Things are still up in the air. I don't feel ready to check out of the hotel as I don't know where I'm going to go next. I feel my relationship with my mom has been rocked by these revelations. I don't know what's going to become of Sara. I have no idea what I'm going to do about me and Jake's flat, where I'm going to live. I don't even know if I have a job anymore. I just haven't showed up to work.
But I know the truth and the smallest part of me is grateful for that. The rest of me is consumed by a pain I never imagined possible.
I guess there's nothing else to do now except wait and see how things unfold. But reading through your comments and messages have been more help than you can imagine, thank you thank you thank you.
And for anyone who has have ever experienced symptoms like Sara's, or has been around someone who is so visibly troubled, I beg of you: seek help before it's too late.
tl;dr: I had a four hour conversation with my mom, who not only knew about Sara and Jake, but informed me that they had shared a kiss a few months prior to the event. I am still in the hotel, still heart broken, and have no idea what to do next. The only saving grace is that Sara has agreed to treatment and will not be in my life for the foreseeable future.
Final Update Dec 26, 2015
Hi everyone!
I thought I would make a final update (to my original post and update) as I received a lot of messages over the last few days wondering how I am over the holiday period.
Once again, I'd like to thank you all for the outpouring of support I've received over the last month. The number of messages, links to help, and offers for a shoulder to cry on were overwhelming and touching. I apologise if I never got round to replying to them all, the last few weeks have been a blur. But I am eternally grateful nonetheless.
So, after my conversation with my mom (where I found out she had known about Jake and Sara) I went back to square one. I switched my phone off again, and retreated back into my hotel for a further 5 days. From the comments on my last post, I should clear up one thing: my mom hadn't known about Jake and Sara from the very beginning. Rather, Sara had told her about it at the time of Harry's sudden departure (meaning she had known a couple months before I did).
Eventually, I decided enough was enough and decided to call work. My boss wasn't angry, or even surprised, to hear from me. My mom had called him after our conversation and told him there had been a family emergency and I would be unavailable for the forseeable future. He advised I take to the end of the week, but would have to come to a meeting if I required any more time off work than I had already given myself. So my job was safe(ish) and I'm back at work and trying to get on with things.
After this, I went back to my parents. Sara was also home but holed up in her room. I went in to see her and she was up painting. As a number of you guessed, it is likely she has BPD, although my parents are waiting on a second opinion. She is going to counselling weekly, and seems slightly better. She broke down in tears when she saw me and we had a long long talk, where she spoke to me in depth about how truly consumed she was by her and Harry's toxic relationship. She understands it's for the best that it's over, but she describes the pain as "unrelenting: it hurt when he was with me, and it hurts now he's gone".
I know alot of you will feel disappointed that I haven't cut her or my mom out of my life for good. I still feel resentment in the pit of my stomach when I think about it, but truly, I blame Jake more than anyone else. Jake was with me for long enough to see some of Sara's behaviour. She's not well and he still chose to do what he did. It is a slow process, but she's my sister and I can't cut them out of my life forever. It will never be the same again, but maybe that's a good thing.
My dad, who had been newly informed on the proceedings, drove to my apartment and gathered some clothes and an overnight bag. Jake was not home, and my parents have not heard from him since I left. I have no idea where he is, and neither he nor his family have attempted any contact with me since this came out. His social media profiles have disappeared, and I have not attempted any contact with him, his family, or his friends. I began the slow process of telling my friends last week. I did not explain what happened, other than to say Jake was not the person I thought he was. They have all assumed cheating, but there is no reason for them to know who was involved.
I have switched back and forth between staying with my parents and sleeping at my apartment. I sleep on the sofa bed as the memories are too painful at the moment. I am in the process of looking into selling the place, however, this means contacting Jake at some point in the near future as the apartment is joint owned. I will cross that bridge when I feel a bit stronger.
Christmas day was a strange and sad one for both myself and Sara. But we spent it as a family, and for the few hours we were sat around eating and watching movies the pain was dulled even a small bit. As we were flicking through the various movies and TV episodes we'd recorded, I came across a scene that stuck with me, a scene that ended with the words: "la familia es todo".
I still spend most days with a hole in my heart, it hurts more than anything I've ever felt in my life...but it's getting better. I know I've got a long way to go, but for the first time I'm confident I'll get there.
Thank you for reading and here's to 2016.
tl;dr: Jake has disappeared without a trace. Sara is in treatment. My heart still hurts but I'm finally starting to get better.
THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP
DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7

We have put together this Weekly reoccurring Clan Recruitment Megathread and there also is the Diablo4Clans subreddit where you can meet and look for new & more allies.
Stay awhile and listen to find clans to join in the fight against the Burning Hells and the evils that lurk within Sanctuary...
​
The purpose of this weekly reoccurring thread is:

• for Clans to advertise themselves here to new potential members
• for people to find the right Clan for them to join
• and to also provide a few Harm Reduction Guidelines for new players that can help avoid getting scammed when looking for a new clan

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Clan Recruitment Thread Rules
If you want to advertise your Clan in this weekly reoccurring thread,

• fill out the form below and submit it as a comment with the required information about your Clan and post it in this thread.
• You are welcome to add your own fluff/flair to the form to make it more personal, but please stick to the list below.
• ONLY ONE COMMENT PER CLAN PER WEEKLY THREAD.
• Comments that do not include this form will be removed.
• Potential clan members are welcome to respond to your top level comment and you’re welcome to answer from their response.

===================================

Clan Recruitment Form

• Clan Name:
• Clan Description (give us at least two sentences describing your clan):
• Clan Discord (only use the shortened .gg link):
• How members can sign up:
• Why you should join (Give us at least 1 paragraph):

Please note that making Clan Recruitment is only allowed in this weekly reoccurring thread, so that the subreddit and peoples feeds do not get flooded with threads that advertise clans.
However, on the new Diablo4Clans subreddit Clans can be advertised via new threads.

===================================

Harm Reduction Guidelines
How to spot shady Clans and Practices
This section here is intended as a “Harm Reduction FAQ” with a few guidelines on how to spot shady Clans and Practices to avoid getting scammed.
A List of Shady Practices that one may encounters in dubious Clans

• The offering of a services/items/geaetc. in exchange for real monetary / payment is a major red flag.
• Paying for Level Boosts and other services that promise quick progression in exchange for payment - legitimate clans don’t charge for helping their clan members level up.
• Paying for a specific Legendary Item, especially when asked to pay for Legendries that did not already dropped or that dropped while you where not there – Legendries can only be traded in-game for the first 2 hours after they dropped and only with those players that were in the group when the Legendary dropped.
• Being asked or pressured into sharing your Blizzard Account Password, even when the request seemingly comes from an Official Blizzard Account or Employee. Blizzard Employees will never ask for your password.
• (Being groomed or pressured into) paying for a Higher Status or Position within the group / clan, (e.g. like being Moderator of the Clans discord, Facebook group, Lieutenant of a Clan, etc.) and/or having to pay for keeping that status / position.

​
Scams and Shady Practices to be aware of in General

• Everything that requires sharing of personal information, especially credit card numbers, or social security numbers (even if something is offered in return "for free")
• Advertisements for buying T-Shirts, Mugs, etc related to various franchises (not just Diablo), from ads that may pop up, either in the in-game Chat, discord or even reddit, These are scams designed to get your Credit Card Information. ( link to reddit thread that explains the scam <--)
• Suspicious links and downloads from there, as some downloads may include malware

If something like this occurs, especially if your are being pressured into doing one of these things (even if the person is appearing as a Blizzard Employee or portrays himself to be a Federal Official), it is best to just leave and to not argue, as scammers will likely just continue to pressure or trick you.
​
Furthermore, consider enabling the two-factor authentication via the Battle.net Authenticator, as it also is a good additional protection for your Blizzard Account ( Link to Blizzard's Battle.net Authenticator <--)

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Question Thread!
This thread is where you can ask questions about joining, training to become, testing, disqualifications/qualifications, and other questions that would be removed as individual posts per Rule 1.
The answer to almost every question you can ask will be "It depends on the department". Your first step is to look up the requirements for your department, state/province, and country.
As always, please attempt to resource information on your own first, before asking questions. We see many repeat questions on this sub that have been answered multiple times.
Frequently Asked Questions:

• I want to be a Firefighter, where do I start: Every Country/State/Province/County/City/Department has different requirements. Some require you only to put in an application. Others require certifications prior to being hired. A good place to start is researching the department(s) you want to join. Visit their website, check their requirements, and/or stop into one of their fire stations to ask some questions.
• Am I too old: Many departments, typically career municipal ones, have an age limit. Volunteer departments usually don't. Check each department's requirements.
• I'm in high school, What can I do: Does your local department have an explorer's program or post? If so, join up. Otherwise, focus on your grades, get in shape and stay in shape, and most importantly: stay out of trouble.
• I got in trouble for [insert infraction here], what are my chances: Obviously, worse than someone with a clean record, which will be the vast majority of your competition. Tickets and nonviolent misdemeanors may not be a factor, but a major crime (felonies), may take you out of the running. You might be a nice person, but some departments don't make exceptions, especially if there's a long line of applicants with clean records. See this post... PSA: Stop asking “what are my chances?”
• I have [insert medical/mental health condition here], will it disqualify me: As a general rule, if you are struggling with mental illness, adding the stress of a fire career is not a good idea. As for medical conditions, you can look up NFPA1582 for disqualifying conditions, but in general, this is not something Reddit can answer for you. Many conditions require the input of a medical professional to determine if they are disqualifying. See this post... PSA: Don't disqualify yourself, make THEM tell you "no".
• What will increase my chances of getting hired: If there's a civil service exam, study for it! There are many guides online that will help you go over all those things you forgot such as basic math and reading. Some cities even give you a study guide. If it's a firefighter exam, study for it! For the CPAT (Physical Fitness Test), cardio is arguably the most important factor. If you're going to the gym for the first time during the hiring process, you're fighting an uphill battle. Get in shape and stay in shape. Most cities offer preference points to military veterans.
• How do I prepare for an interview: Interviews can be one-on-one, or in front of a board/panel. Many generic guides exist to help one prepare for an interview, however here are a few good tips:

1. Dress appropriately. Business casual at a minimum (Button down, tucked in long sleeve shirt with slacks and a belt, and dress shoes). Get a decent haircut and shave.
2. Practice interview questions with a friend. You can't accurately predict the off-the-wall questions they will ask, but you can practice the ones you know they probably will, like why do you want to be a Firefighter, or why should we hire you?
3. Scrub your social media. Gone are the days when people in charge weren't tech-savvy. Don't have a perfect interview only for your chances of being hired gone to zero because your Facebook or Instagram has pictures of you getting blitzed. Set that stuff to private and leave it that way.

Please upvote this post if you have a question. Upvoting this post will ensure it sticks around for a bit after it is removed as a Sticky, and will allow for greater visibility of your question.
And lastly, If you're not 100% sure of what you're talking about, leave it for someone who does

Author's Note:
7700 words, broke Reddit's character limit, so you know the drill. Will be split into two parts, both posted today. Enjoy!
​
--
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"Stop! STOP!"
The terror in Kismet's voice rose higher as death drew nearer. He fled from Rob's grasping hand, but a Purge Divinity-infused fingernail managed to graze him, carving out a scoop of divine essence as if flaying a mortal's skin.
Kismet let out a screech as the Purging energy added to his growing collection of scars. A dozen small holes now dotted the surface of his mana-body, looking like he'd been pockmarked by wasting disease. Each wound represented a moment where the god had narrowly escaped with his life.
If those injuries had been inflicted by any other ability, then he could have rejuvenated himself in the time it took to blink. Purging energy was not so kind as that. It was purifying wrath in the shape of a Skill; their vengeance given form. Whatever divinity it touched, it extinguished.
As if cleansing the universe of a sickness that had infected it for far too long.
The BERSERKER continued his unrelenting advance. In response, Kismet threw up a frantic barrier of mana. It was strong enough to deflect one of Ragnavi's Annihilation beams–
And Rob blasted through it like paper mache. His charge sent broken shards of energy scattering across the divine realms. More mid-air rifts tore open, the HUMAN's aura strangling the surrounding area in a vice grip of power. Purge Divinity seemed to glow with light emanating straight from the pits of hell.
None of which was anywhere near as unnerving as the murder contained within his piercing gaze. When Kismet met Rob's eyes, he saw the end of eternity fast approaching.
The god's next barrier was just as frantic. However, this one was not comprised of mana, but of solid matter. Kismet summoned the hardest, most dense substance known to the mortal realms, then transmuted it into something that otherwise could only have been forged inside the heart of a dying star. It was many times more durable than the impossibly tough walls of an aberrant Dungeon.
So when Rob demolished it with a single punch, he actually had to put a bit of elbow grease into his windup.
Another wall materialized in front of him. He crushed it, then the one after, and the one after that, lashing out with bestial ferocity. The BERSERKER plowed through Kismet's hastily-built defenses like a bulldozer of fists and savagery. Rob was knocking them down as quickly as the god could make them, relishing the sensation of being able to vent his anger on targets that weren't fucking running away.
Then the twelfth wall fell – revealing a monstrous, spiky, fanged behemoth concealed behind.
Rob paused, momentarily taken aback at the sight of a mundane creature within the divine realms. 'Mundane' in relative terms, anyway. This monster was on par with a newborn Blight, radiating power that would have sent ordinary fighters sprinting for the hills.
It was also barely cognizant of its surroundings. The monster stared at him with unblinking, vacant eyes, just the tiniest glimmer of awareness present in its gaze. Rob noted that segments of its flesh were bubbling, as if the creature was fresh out of the oven and still needed to settle.
He couldn't help but feel a modicum of pity. This was yet another thoughtless creation, condemned to existence by an uncaring maker. Even monsters deserved better than that.
Rob caved the beast's head in before it could realize that it was alive. Pity was not the same as hesitation, and this was the only mercy he could afford to grant right now.
Didn't matter. Kismet's pawn served its purpose. In the brief instant that Rob spent getting over his initial surprise, the god had teleported to safety. He was already planning his next stunt that could buy him a few precious seconds of survival.
The HUMAN grimaced as he turned to give chase, unable to suppress the burgeoning sense of unease growing within his chest.
It almost didn't seem fair to feel that way. Rob knew he was winning – at least on the surface. Any outside observer would've bet their life savings on him, especially after the show of overwhelming superiority he'd just displayed. Kismet had been at a disadvantage before Never Forget Your Rage's recent upswing, and now it was no contest. Rob was confident that he would still be stronger even if the eight gods merged into one super-deity.
He also knew that he was living on borrowed time.
Whenever he moved, or activated a Skill, or even breathed...the sensation was there. Strength accompanied by incongruous frailty. Like background noise that kept getting louder with every action he took. His body felt close to pulling itself apart, as if his very molecules were a hairsbreadth away from coming undone.
It was different from Soul Instability. Whereas that threatened to collapse his soul, this frailty was an affliction of the flesh. The longer he fought, the more his physical form was at risk of popping like a balloon.
Such was the price of constraining godlike power within a mortal shell.
"Stay back!" Unaware of the turmoil fermenting in his assailant's mind, Kismet threw up his hands and...inverted...space? Rob didn't have a name for what he was seeing. Rather than stopping to puzzle out this latest brand of divine bullshit, he sent out a pulse of Purge Divinity, canceling whatever esoteric effect Kismet had been attempting to produce.
His Purging energy scraped against the divine realms like a cheese grater. Five rifts immediately tore open near both Rob and Kismet, with the god anxiously retreating from one that appeared just inches away from him. A low rumble echoed around them, and for a moment, they felt struck by an abrupt feeling of vertigo – until the realms gradually stabilized, righting once more.
For now.
Rob eyed the rifts with a detached, clinical gaze. An endless sea of mana resided behind them; the bedrock of the system itself. While he recognized that the rifts tearing open was bad news, he also couldn't really muster the energy to care. Between his overflowing rage, overtaxed body, and overburdened soul, minor details like the impending destruction of reality were hard to give much focus.
There was a way to fix all of that, of course. Rob couldn't outright deactivate Never Forget Your Rage – not without losing its bonus stats. But he could attempt to ease the storm of fury in his heart. By lessening his anger to more reasonable levels, Never Forget Your Rage would put less strain on both his body and the divine realms.
The notion forced a peal of hideous laughter to claw out of his throat. Lessen his anger? He'd have better luck trying to douse a volcano with a garden hose. No. For a wildfire that had grown this out of control, the only thing to do was stand aside and let it burn, burn, burn.
Until naught remained.
"I said stay back!" Kismet bellowed. He lifted his arms into the air. "Begone!" One moment later, Rob's vision was filled with scorching light. An apocalyptic geyser of mana burst forth from underfoot, intense and searing. It stripped the flesh from his bones in no time flat, powering through Almighty Resistance with pure, unmitigated violence.
And it still wasn't fast enough. Rob flickered a Purge Divinity shield for just an instant, allowing him to escape the geyser with his upper body – and most of his HP – intact. Lifesurge swiftly patched him up, leaving both combatants right back where they'd started.
Slowly, Kismet lowered his hands. They were shivering. "What are you?" he whispered. "Why are all my efforts in vain?"
To be honest, Rob was mildly impressed that Kismet had held on for this long. The god's combat efficacy was increasing as time passed, improving from panic-spamming teleports to more inventive maneuvers – as if he was learning how to fight on-the-job. He'd also stopped draining the other gods to supplement his power, having found an alternative source of fuel: mana seeping out from the sporadically-opening rifts.
It was the one silver lining to fighting an implacable BERSERKER so powerful that he fractured reality. Whenever Rob utilized Purge Divinity, more rifts opened up in the realms, and more mana leaked out from inside. The gods had invested that energy into the system millennia ago, and it typically would've been off-limits until they closed up shop and left Elatra. Kismet was making use of it now, absorbing the extra mana to strengthen himself, like a lifeline barely keeping him afloat.
The god's tenacity was...calling it 'admirable' would be going too far, but it did warrant a sort of begrudging respect. As someone who'd tangoed with multiple Blights, Rob knew what it was like to square off against a frenzied beast that could end him with a touch.
Being the scary one was a nice change of pace.
In exchange, Kismet had graciously donned the role of their battle's Combat Class user; fragile, outgunned, and pulling improvised maneuvers out of his ass for a chance at victory. The god could finally feel what it was like to be vulnerable. How exciting! Rob was more than happy to assist. Learning experiences such as these only came around once an eternity or so.
Flippancy aside – while Kismet still possessed room for improvement, this was the most that could be asked of a deity who hadn't seen combat in literal eons. His biggest fuckup had been taunting Rob in the wrong ways, but he couldn't have known about Never Forget Your Rage, that was an excusable oversight. By all other accounts, Kismet was performing adequately.
Even so...
"YoU aRE noTHinG."
The sound of Rob's voice caused two fresh rifts to open up. Kismet flinched, casting a teleportation spell out of pure reflex. Without pause, the HUMAN resumed his hunt.
Nothing. Perhaps that statement was hyperbole – yet it rang true nonetheless. While Kismet may have been a creature of supreme divinity, on the field of battle, his pedigree meant nothing. In the face of an implacable, unstoppable foe, his power was worth nothing. Very soon, he would be nothing, consigned to oblivion by Purging energy.
Rob couldn't help but unfavorably compare Kismet to the final Blight. Weren't these supposed to be two sides of the same coin? Each one-half of an original transcendent Will? Yet the Second Will had brought Rob to the edge of despair...and Kismet was fleeing like a cornered rodent. It was difficult to reconcile the two divinities as theoretical equals.
Although he knew that was an unfair comparison. Rob had fought the Blight before learning Limit Break and Never Forget Your Rage. Kismet wasn't weak.
The HUMAN was just far too strong.
If he rematched the Second Will today, he would beat it to death with his bare hands.
"Look at what you've wrought!" Kismet swept an arm out, gesturing towards some of the many rifts that Rob's presence was tearing open. "Do you understand what will transpire if you persist in this folly?! If the divine realms shatter, then so will all of Elatra! You are on the brink of destroying everything which you have striven to protect! Cease this–"
"CAN'T."
In a flash, Rob dashed forward and scooped out a chunk of the god's mana-body with Purge Divinity. Before he could do more, Kismet shrieked with pain and teleported away, leaving the BERSERKER to crush his prize between five clenched fingers.
"FoRCed mY HAnD." He located Kismet again. "NO GOING BACK."
Stopping wasn't an option. If the divine realms crumbled and Elatra imploded...well, that would be a faster end than what the gods had in store for its people. At least this way their deaths would be quick and hopefully painless – and his friends wouldn't be turned into Skills tortured for all eternity.
Still, Kismet did have a point. Destroying reality wasn't exactly the ideal outcome. There had to be a way to speed up the conclusion of their fight. Rob was certain he would win if given enough time, but he couldn't guarantee it would be before either his body or the divine realms collapsed.
{Ascend.}
Like a snake slithering through a minefield, Leveling High skirted past the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions raging within Rob's mind. He attempted to tune out its voice, yet Humanity's curse refused to be denied, the static loudening until he was compelled to respond. Quit distracting me, he snapped. In case you haven't noticed, I'm FUCKING. BUSY.
{You seek to ensure victory over those who rule above,} Leveling High continued, without missing a step. {As do I.}
Then sit back, shut up, and–
{Ignoring your deficiencies will not make them disappear. This body is...feeble. Incomplete. Unfit to wield the power contained therein. Like a polished sword attached to a brittle hilt, liable to snap in twain at any moment.}
Rob grit his teeth. He couldn't deny Leveling High's assertions. Normally he'd just tell it to piss off, but considering how much was at stake here...
With a feeling like he'd sat down to deal with the devil, Rob sighed. Then what do you propose? That we upgrade my body somehow? I don't think putting more points into Vitality would help, even if I had any to spare. Me being so juiced up on stats is half the problem.
It shook its head. {You have far surpassed the limitations of mortality. Strengthening your power further would be akin to pouring water into an overflowing cup.}
So we...what, increase the size of the cup?
Static akin to laughter echoed inside his head. {We do away with it entirely.}
An icy chill began creeping up Rob's spine, as if the cold hands of fate were working their way towards his neck. He recalled a system notification from days before – 'Your Race has morphed from Human (?) to: Ascending HUMAN'.
Not Ascended. Ascending.
Weeks-old memories came surging to the forefront. 'The Heartkiller is closer to our form of life than those you call friends,' the Blight-child of Elysium had once said. 'As long as you continue to live, eventually, you will become an existence with the power to crush the Others and free the Skills from their shackles. You are no longer one of the Ephemeral. Now, you are a cocoon, metamorphosing into something grander. When you emerge, you will be as the Eternal.'
The Blight-child had laughed at him, then. 'After joining us, preserving these worlds will no longer be your desire.'
Rob grimaced. Denied, he flatly told Leveling High. Whatever you're about to suggest isn't happening.
It scoffed at him. {Your prejudices blind you. Do you think the gods have need of physical bodies? Does it hinder them in any capacity? No – the opposite. By definition, infinity cannot be constrained. Discard this useless flesh, and your conquest of the divine realms is assured.}
Maybe you didn't hear me when I said–
{By all means. Spurn my counsel...and condemn your friends to death. Shall their lives be worth it, in the end?}
Rob sucked in air through clenched teeth.
{Ascend.} Leveling High purred with anticipation. {You are bound by a prison of meat, bone, and blood. Break free. Finish what has already begun. Gaze upon the tapestry of infinity in all its dreadful splendor. Seize victory not as a Human, but as a completed, transcendent HUMAN.}
With a scream to drown out the static, Rob chased after Kismet again and again. The god was in full-on panic mode, eschewing offensive attacks in favor of perpetual retreat, focused wholly on keeping the BERSERKER as far away as possible. He would teleport the instant that Rob laid eyes on him, frantically stalling for his life.
It was – quite unintentionally – providing evidence to Leveling High's claims. If Kismet was on the defensive, catching him would take time they might not have.
I... Rob narrowed his eyes. How would I finish Ascending, anyway? It isn't like I can just flip a switch and make it happen.
{Incorrect.}
He blinked. WHAT?
{You have long since achieved the qualifications for true godhood,} Leveling High explained, in a lecturing tone. {There is no milestone that remains necessary to achieve. Rather than needing to overcome some hurdle of strength or power, the obstacle barring your path is more...arbitrary. Self-imposed.}
Humanity's curse seemed to peer into his soul. When it spoke next, its voice was filled with disgust. {You remain mortal because you wish to do so – both consciously and subconsciously. The Ascension of a nascent deity has been obstructed by cheap sentimentality.}
Rob almost started an argument over its usage of 'cheap', but he exercised restraint, keenly aware that there was bigger fish to fry. Can't do anything about the subconscious. I am \not* activating Melancholy Resistance.*
{Nor should you,} Leveling High remarked, shuddering at the prospect. {A grand statement of intent will be sufficient to shift your mentality. I believe...yes.}
The static churned like a hive of buzzing wasps. {When you next tear off a piece of the leader god's mana...even if just a sliver...devour it. Gorge yourself on their essence.}
Bile threatened to rise to the top of Rob's throat. Seems excessive, he mused, trying and failing to keep his tone lighthearted. To become a god, I eat a god? Wouldn't that make me a divine cannibal?
{You ARE a cannibal.} Leveling High's voice wavered, its veneer of helpfulness slipping to reveal the madness that lay beneath. {What do you think you've been DOING for nearly a YEAR? You kill, ingest your prey's Experience, and MAKE THEIR POWER YOUR OWN. This world is one of consumption and parasitism – devouring a god's essence is merely a more HONEST variant of THE SAME actions.}
...You clearly weren't paying attention during Diplomacy's PR lessons. Rob pursued Kismet once again, pressing his fingernails into his palms when the god hurriedly teleported away. There is such a thing as being too straightforward. If you want people to listen to you, then maybe dress up your words so they don't sound so horrifying.
{BUT AM I WRONG?}
Rob had no answer to that.
Bolts of divine mana peppered his skin. Kismet had barely managed to squeeze an attack in-between his escapes. The bolts ricocheted off Rob's skin like ping-pong balls, leaving minor scrapes and nothing more. It wasn't anywhere close to bypassing Almighty Resistance and his massive HP pool.
Yet it also reminded him of the mana-spears that Kismet had sent towards the rest of Riardin's Rangers. His Party members only possessed a shared, diluted version of Almighty Resistance, and their HP was a fraction of his. If Kismet aimed another attack of that caliber at them...how many would perish, right then and there?
Was Leveling High correct? What point was there to sentimentality if it just got his friends killed?
In truth, Rob knew that it didn't really matter if he completed his Ascension. Based on what he had planned for himself after the gods were dead, little would change either way. Still...he also knew that Ascending would be a one-way trip. No take-backs. If he went through with it, a fundamental part of him would be irrevocably altered.
Something twinged in a corner of his mind. It wasn't Leveling High, or his rage, or any of the other emotions currently dominating his headspace. This was a familiar friend; perhaps Rob's #1 most trusted confidant since he'd first set foot in Elatra. One that had rarely ever steered him wrong.
Paranoia.
And at the moment, it was telling him to be very careful before jumping into the deep end.
Ten teleports.
{What?}
Give it ten more Kismet teleports, Rob said. If I haven't dealt him a serious injury by then....I'll do what I need to do. He grimaced as Kismet vanished before he'd even finished the thought. Ten starting now.
Leveling High's static quieted. It resembled a patron at a restaurant who'd ordered their meal, and was waiting patiently for the main course to arrive.
Rob didn't waste time being offended over its nonchalance. Free of distractions, he immediately swept his gaze across the divine realms, pinpointing his quarry in a micro-instant. The BERSERKER dashed forward, pushing his body as far as he could, layering Rampages on top of Dexterity that made the laws of physics want to curl up and weep.
Kismet was prepared. He'd drawn more mana from the fractured rifts, quickening his speed and reactions. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep his head above water, not yet outpaced by their continually escalating arms race.
The HUMAN struck, the god fled, and both were left in the same position as before.
{One.}
Rob turned on a dime, charging without needing to look. He'd heard the moment that Kismet's teleport ended. It afforded him a split-second head start.
A gravity well suddenly appeared below his feet, as if a miniaturized black hole was weighing him down. Apparently, Kismet had set it up ahead of time as a just-in-case trap. Rob pierced through the spell's area of effect before it could ramp up to something dangerous, but his pace was slowed by a hair in the process, and his prey escaped.
{Two.}
You know what? Screw this. Rob whirled away from Kismet's newest location and blasted straight towards one of the lesser deities that his Party members were fighting.
He'd been too hung up on getting even with a hated foe – when there were seven other juicy morsels for him to play with. This way, Kismet would either sit back and watch as his allies were massacred, or the god would be forced to act instead of running like a goddamn cowar–
Sense Mana alerted Rob to magic gathering behind.
Pivoting, he leapt into the air. Rob superimposed himself in front of Kismet, bodyblocking the rainstorm of destructive mana that was about to be unleashed upon Riardin's Rangers.
Due to his swift response, the attack was released early. A simple Purge Divinity shield prevented him from incurring any damage. Rob still felt no sense of triumph as the mana dissipated around him. He just wasn't fast enough to kill the lesser gods and protect his Party at the same time – or at least not fast enough that he should gamble their lives on it.
Kismet disappearing a moment later didn't help matters either.
{Three.}
Frontal assaults weren't guaranteed to succeed, and targeting the other gods was a no-go. Could he take Kismet by surprise? Increase his Dexterity?
Rob contemplated mining Never Forget Your Rage for more stats, but swiftly vetoed the idea. His body was already struggling to hold itself together. Putting additional strain on a shaky foundation seemed...unwise.
Plus – at the risk of eating crow in the near future – he didn't actually think it was possible to feel angrier at the gods than he was right now. Seriously, what was left?
He hated them for sending him to a fantasy deathworld. He hated them for tormenting his friends and family. He hated them for being partially responsible for the Blight. He hated them for what they'd done to Elatra and Earth. He hated them for all the lives they'd stolen. He hated them for being the living embodiments of indifference and cruelty. He hated that they fostered good PR among the people they oppressed. He hated how monsters of such craven hypocrisy were also immeasurably powerful. He hated the sensation of divine mana crawling on his skin. He hated the unsettling sound of their voices. He hated their bizarre formless appearances. He hated them for being pompous pricks. He hated whenever they tried to relate to him. He hated whenever they didn't.
Most of all, he hated that they were still alive.
Even if he found out that they'd personally antagonized him since birth or some petty nonsense like that, it wouldn't measure up to the litany of transgressions they'd committed thus far. The blazing inferno within his soul could burn no hotter. Should burn no hotter. For his sanity's sake, if nothing else.
Kismet teleported. It wasn't in response to anything. He'd merely anticipated some sort of action – and was then baffled afterwards when he noticed the rampaging BERSERKER standing quietly in deep thought.
{Four.}
Rob advanced. While he didn't have a plan yet, he'd also learned that if he gave Kismet the slightest amount of breathing room, bad things tended to happen.
Can any of my Skills give me an edge? Unfortunately, he didn't think so. As usual, his lack of ranged options was biting him in the ass when it mattered most. Almost everything he could use required getting in close – which was the whole freaking problem – and none would be more effective than Purge Divinity, regardless.
Maybe I could set up a Waymark point, then catch Kismet's teleport with one of mine...no, that won't work either. The odds of him popping in next to a random Waymark point are slim. Could fill the battlefield with lots of Marks, but even then I have to consider the Skill's activation time. With my current Dexterity, it'd honestly be faster just to run at him.
The vast majority of his abilities simply weren't up to par in a clash with divinity. Limit Break, Purge Divinity, and Never Forget Your Rage had been specifically designed by the Skills to facilitate deicide. Something like Power Slash couldn't possibly compare to jailbroken stats and a touch of death.
As an act of defiance against his own logic, he cast Enmity, the only ability that could feasibly hit Kismet at range. The god casually shrugged off its effect before promptly escaping.
{Five.}
Like a frustrated animal, Rob snarled and gave chase. Just need to keep trying. Kismet isn't perfect.
{Six.}
Sooner or later, he's going to mess up.
{Seven.}
He's going to mess up.
{Eight.}
HE HAS TO MESS UP.
Suddenly, Kismet transformed his right hand into a blade of mana. With one harsh motion, he sliced open his own left arm.
By now, Rob had conditioned himself to never stop moving forward, even if something shocked him – which this sight very much did. His mouth dropped open, and Leveling High paused in the middle of eating its metaphorical popcorn. They still kept advancing without an iota of hesitation.
And ran straight into the mana cloud leaking out from Kismet's wound.
Rob blinked, opening his eyes to a wonderful day. The twisting plains looked dazzlingly beautiful, with fauna and plantlife lit by rays of effervescent light from the twin stars shining above. People cheerfully went about their day, happily shaking their trunks in shows of greeting, or rattling their scales to initiate merry games.
All was at peace.
Until – in unison – everyone froze. The tumult of life went quiet in an instant, replaced with pensive silence.
As if they'd been struck by the creeping, pervasive sensation of being watched.
A sound rang out. Half of them immediately fell over dead, fluids gushing from their ruined bodies.
The survivors could only lay there, crippled and in pain, as more people slowly rose into the air. Invisible fingers seemed to pluck them from the ground – and then began ripping off their limbs, one at a time, like a child dissecting butterflies–
Rob dragged himself back to the present.
It had taken much less time than before to recognize what was happening. Now that he knew what to expect, experiencing the remnant souls' lives wasn't so different from the dreamlike quality of an Attunement vision. Although...realizing that he'd witnessed the end of a world preceding Elatra did cause his thoughts to hitch for a single moment.
Which was just enough for Kismet to forge a spear of mana, then send it plunging through Rob's eye, skull, and brain. Its tip was forged to shred anything it touched, no matter how durable or Resistant.
The god whooped with glee – only to wince as the HUMAN's sole reaction was a long, drawn-out sigh. With an air of exasperation, he reached up and yanked the divine spear free with a nauseating splorch.
His eye had been reduced to a seeping red mess. He closed its eyelid. When he opened it again, the orb within had already Regenerated, now sporting an unamused glare.
It was something of a unique moment. Mid-battle events didn't typically leave both combatants feeling disheartened. The all-powerful god was losing faith that he could ever hope to stop Rob's onslaught...
And the BERSERKER didn't know if he could justify continuing on like this. His body still felt like it was pulling itself apart; if anything, the sensation was growing more pronounced as their battle progressed. While Kismet would make a fatal mistake eventually, Rob couldn't guarantee that he would last long enough to capitalize on it.
Unless he followed Leveling High's advice and–
With a howl that shook the divine realms, Rob launched his stolen spear at Kismet. His aim was true, yet it sailed through empty air, the god's afterimage tauntingly fading away.
{Nine.}
Final chance.
​
--
​
Link to Part 2

My husband and I bought our house about 7 years ago, and slowly have been renovating it. It’s an old 1930-40s style, and we’re keeping it as original as possible while fixing what the last owner did (rented it out with cheap fixes and “upgrades”)
The floors are all beautiful hard wood-however we haven’t started on the kitchen yet. After digging down through 8 (COUNT EM’ 8!!!) levels of linoleum in a hidden 1x1 square just to check what we’re dealing with, we reached the original hardwood floors.
The linoleum was never glued, so it looks like it will just peel up. But now the question is; how do we seal the floor for cooking, and busy family stuff?
Do you use normal sealant in a kitchen? Do we get special sealant? Do we cover it in some thick floor goop? I just want to make sure we don’t give it water damage or mess it up.
Any suggestions welcomed! Thank you!

So been seeing lot of statistics going around of chances of channel actually be successful in anyway and it kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Was something like 10m out 100m channels get successful or something like that and was made by someone who said after ten years of channel he made so he knows better but when I asked about the channel got nothing.
Another things that bothered me is this. How much of those channels actually try make it successful? Yes I know there's a lot of content creators that are trying make something of themselves and I'm really happy with that but how much 100m channels is actually trying be successful vs just doing it out pure fun. Mean not everyone is trying build up a channel following a niche or hobby they want create from ground up. Most are just posting for the memes, with friends, or just blow off stress.
Like back when Harlem Shake was popular by almost everyone (even Simpsons did it) me and couple friends was thinking when hanging out "Let's have some fun in doing that". We did it even there was like four of us and was planned to be on YouTube but never heard anything about it. There's also my brother way, way, waaay back when YouTube was young (2005-2007) he made Beatles video involving pictures to match the lyrics where line that says "I'm the Eggman" it was Dr Robotnik and he posted it just for fun.
What I'm getting at is chances success by look at all channels as if they're all competing seems kinda inaccurate data since not every channel is trying do anything with YouTube. It's not a job or hobby they want do it's just... there. Kinda same with Facebook, Tiktok, or (if you remember) Vines. It's kinda place for all people to do whatever and honestly that's a good thing to know that. Kinda loosen some that stress you know?

A father in a Facebook group reports that the mother of his children will not let him see his child unless he has sex with her.
Here is my response in the hopes that it helps other fathers and their children, and to protect parents from exortion, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Those doubting the authenticity of reports such as this are invited to join fathers groups on Facebook and observe how sadly common such posts are there.
I'm not an attorney and this is not legal advice.
You wrote:
(Above)

What Is Domestic Violence?
Does your partner ever….
Insult, demean or embarrass you with put-downs?
Stop you from seeing your friends or family members?
Make all of the decisions without your input or consideration of your needs?
Tell you that you’re a bad parent or threaten to take away your children?
https://www.thehotline.org/is-this-abuse/

All victims have equal access:

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of actual or perceived ...sex..be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination underany program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under [VAWA]"
https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ovw/legacy/2014/06/20/faqs-ngc-vawa.pdf

Denying a parent access to their child unless they perform a sex act may be extortion:

(c)Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication containing any threat to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person of another, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
18 U.S. Code § 875 - Interstate communications
18 U.S. Code Chapter 41 - EXTORTION AND THREATS
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/875

A victim cannot freely consent under threat of being denied access to their children.
You are a victim of sexual assault or rape.

Abuse & Incest National Network
1-800-656-HOPE (1-800-656-4673)
Advocates are also available to chat 24/7.
National Center for Victims of Crime
1-855-4-VICTIM (1-855-484-2846)
National Sexual Assault Hotline: Confidential 24/7 Support
https://www.rainn.org/resources

Please be aware that some men and boys have experienced a hostile and sexist response from RAINN. I may consider contacting them with a witness present.

https://www.reddit.com/MensRights/comments/8votzd/hello_rape_crisis_hotline_im_a_man_and_id_like_to/

Consider an emergency motion to change custody to prevent the abusive parent from using access to the child for the puroposes of domestic violence. Illinois but other states are similar:

When There Are Grounds for An Emergency Motion
When considering restricting parental responsibilities the court will consider additional factors and the factors set out below will give you an idea of what the court deems an emergency:
Abuse, neglect, or abandonment of the child;
Abusing or allowing abuse of another person that had an impact upon the child; Use of drugs, alcohol, or any other substance in a way that interferes with the parent’s ability to perform caretaking functions with respect to the child; and Persistent continuing interference with the other parent’s access to the child, except for actions taken with a reasonable, good-faith belief that they are necessary to protect the child’s safety pending adjudication of the facts underlying that belief, provided that the interfering parent initiates a proceeding to determine those facts as soon as practicable.
https://gatevillerealestatellc.com/emergency-motions-to-modify-child-custody/
Children Over 14
If your child is over the age of 14, they are able to testify in court as part of your custody battle unless the judge finds that doing so is not in the best interests of the child. They must also state the reasons for the prohibition on the record. Although a child over the age of 14 is likely to be allowed to state a preference regarding custody, the final decision still resides with the judge.
https://www.oceansidedivorcelawyer.com/articles/2023/june/can-my-child-testify-in-my-child-custody-case-

Please keep us updated.
I wish you the best of luck in your search for justice.