Female bowling teams

Hello! I’m a vtuber that just hit affiliate status on twitch, my main question is about voice changers. I am a female with a female vtuber, but I have a deep voice for a girl. It’s close to veibae’s but sounds like I’m a squeaker so deeper than that. I usually change my voice by talking higher pitched and using baby language, but I still sound like a teen boy. I hate it and I can’t physically go more high pitched. What are y’all’s thoughts on this? Should I use a voice changer? If you DM me I’ll tell you my twitch name, I just don’t want everyone to know I have this issue. My next question is what other places besides TikTok and twitch should I stream on? Since I’m new, I have like no other vtubers to help me out. I’m currently making a new more high def model, which should come out this week, but if I want to make streaming a career (the other option is join the military) then what tips do you have for me? The reason I decided to stream is because in march last year I was let go for budget cuts, nothing personal the company just wanted an expensive podcast room and not a team of marketers or sales associates. With the lay offs I’ve struggled getting a job, and I love gaming and talking to people so I gave streaming a shot. I had a bet with my husband that I would reach 50 followers and become affiliate by the end of may, which I did, or I would look into new avenues of obtaining income like customer service or military. I do have a degree but whatever. The point is I won and I have to keep the momentum up, and I’m drawing blanks now. It sucks and I would appreciate some help with the questions! Thanks!!!
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Just wanted to let this out hahaha we just had this team building a while ago and the team introduced us to the other employees. Nung nasa bus na kami papunta sa venue, there was this one female employee na nagstand out. Let's call her "J". At first, di namin napansin kasi we were the newer people sa company and mostly wfh din kami kaya di namin kilala halos lahat ng tao sa company. (Note that this team building is around 4 days).
We had our itineraries going on and team building games and activities and at the end of the day, we had our free time to hang out with the different employees of different divisions and departments. I did get to meet new people and we hung out together and to be honest, it really is fun meeting new people din outside ng usual social circle.
Note: Our company has a pretty high amount of employees so around 100+ people were at the outing
The days went along great, I do see J around din she is with a different group of people during the itineraries and during the island hopping and it just hit me, I'm gonna talk to her and maybe ask if I could invite her out to go grab some coffee or dinner sometime soon. On the 3rd day's free time, the team and I all went to the poop for a quick swim, and naturally, the other employees who also wanted a quick dip were there. She was there along with her colleagues and si torpe, went around asking her colleagues na nakahiwalay sa pool about her but I never had the chance to talk to her kasi she was surrounded by her other colleagues. I told myself na okay, before we leave and prepare for going home on the 4th day, I'll talk to her, get to know her and ask for her socmed and maybe ask her out sometime.
Note: I've heard from her colleagues that she just got out of a long term relationship and she isn't really looking for someone at the moment.
So the 3rd day's night went by and we all headed out to the beach for a final team dinner and by the time we went back to the place that we were staying at, one of the employees na nakaclose namin dragged me to her and basically introduced us out of nowhere, hence the unexpected first impressions, introductions and stuff like that.
I finally got to talk to her but hooooooly shit yung puso ko sobrang bilis ng tibok HAHAHAHA I tried to make it less awkward by sharing some jokes and what we've experienced during the past 2 days. She was really fun to talk to and I can feel that her defenses are up and respected that and moved on with just getting to know her. A little bit more chatting and for some reason, it just hit me that I won't be seeing her for a while since I work from home and she works at the main office which is a bit of distance from where I live so I just asked her if she was active on any social media and she did say she had the blue app. We had some trouble adding each other kasi nakaprivate siya pero she did say na she'll fix the settings so that I could add her. A couple of minutes of more chatting, we agreed na it was pretty late and they had to pack pa for the next day since we'll all be returning.
Update on whether we got to be friends on the blue app, yup, I did get to add her and she accepted hahaha I sent her a chat saying that it was really nice meeting her and as of now, we're friends and I'm currently admiring her as she posts stories and stuff because goodness gracious, this woman is ✨️BEAUTIFUL✨️
We don't really have any proper conversations as of the moment but I do try to react to her stories every now and then.
I just want to say that, god fucking damn I really like her

Helllooooo again.
Let's not blame me for this ad, let's blame social media for deciding I needed a new crush. Please and thank you. And yes, I'm aware this is a long shot.
Ghost. From Call of Duty. That's who the internet decided I needed. And now I do in fact need it. So that's great.
I read too much, so I'm an easy woman to please.
I like my men, and women, tall, strong, dangerous and borderline toxic, sometimes simply toxic - but that's entirely fine. It's a story, no harm no foul.
Before we move onto the reason we are here, a little info and some rules:- - I am a 25-year-old female. I will not write with anyone under the age of 20. I would prefer it if you were closer to or above my age. - This will be 18+. I do not wish for a smut-focused rp, more story-focused, but there will be adult themes in here and I am also not against the former. So again. 18+ ONLY. - I have been writing for about twelve years or so, so I can write a fair bit, and will ask that it is not simply a few sentences. - I only write on discord in third person. - I am GMT time, but I am more of a night owl, so timing usually isn't too much of an issue. I don't sleep much anyways. So that should work out well. - OOC chat is not necessary, but it is something I enjoy. Being able to chat about normal stuff, about the story, send in things regarding it, that sort of thing. But it's not a deal breaker if you don't like that. - There is likely things I am forgetting right now, and I apologise. But please feel free to ask anything I haven't listed!
So, ideally, what I'm looking for is someone to write a version of Ghost against an OC. There are a few things that would need to change though. For instance his real name (or her name if you wanna write a female version of Ghost, just replace the he's with she's). I've known a 'Simon' and that would take away from the rp. So a new name (The name Greyson pops into mind, I don't know why. Well, I do know why, I like the name, but I don't know why here specifically XD)
I'm looking for a man that towers over her, is strong enough to crush another yet is gentle with her, the OC (Unless circumstance calls for it differently - I will not incriminate myself on this post so that one is left to you to figure out).
I want protective, possessive, jealous, borderline obsessive, dominant Ghost. Very 'don't touch what's mine lest you lose a hand or your life' sorta vibes. If it's not clear, I'd like to write the shorter, submissive female whos also a badass (And no, not god-modded. I hate that) My characters very rarely end up being the submissive (to the right person) type or the female, I'm a people pleaser. So I'd like to try stick to that this time.
I want all the angst, all the drama, the tension and romance. If you like torturing your characters like I do then we will mesh well.
As for ideas. I've got a few floating around my head. Ones that go from their first meeting, or they've known each other for a few weeks/months, even years. But that detail, among others, can be decided together as this is a story for both of us. Not just one, so I want to make sure it works and fits for us both. It doesn't have to be set within the COD universe, we can make our own. But I do like the idea of the same sort of work being done, because let's be fair, the team is a great one. Plenty of opportunity for drama within that sort of job. Also, what do you think Ghost's favourite flavour of cookie would be? (Yes, that's the password)
The only completely different addition I'd make, to keep with the theme of my profile and past ads, is I won't at all complain if he is either vampire or werewolf, just as a little add-on because that honestly is just perfection in my mind right there. It's not a necessity, but won't be turned down, at all, ever, in any universe.
I will ask for some forgiveness on this post, it's almost 5am for me, so it's going to be a bit messy XD But I promise that is not usually the standard of/with my posts.
I hope to talk to you soon if you made it through this mess!

• Asian female
• Bachelors GPA 3.6 from above average local uni
• 5 years in small local consulting firm, consultant level, served many blue chip client projects (can get a good recommendation from previous client holding global head position too)
• No international education / work ex, but most clients are multinational companies- extensive experience working their global teams
• Taking GMAT in 2 weeks, mock around 685 FE (equivalent to old 730-740), hope to have some improvement by the time i take it
• Extra curricular - 4 years in an entrepreneurship NGO, led 1 work stream for 3 years

Targeting EU MBA, hoping to get some scholarship. Prioritizing Spanish ones - IESE, IE, ESADE, open to French & British too

Calvin wins the Argentine Tango Round against Jacoby (and that lift tricks alone just won it!). The score is 4-6.
Tomorrow will be the last round for Jacoby and Calvin and next will be the Showdown between 2 Female Contenders from early seasons.
Round 10: Team Dance
Team Paso Doble (Jacoby) Jacoby: Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder - Week 6 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz8qpj
Team Freestyle (Calvin): The Skye Boat Song - Raya Yarbough (Week 7) https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4yxlki
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I hear the dripping again. The constant, drip, drip, drip of water. I blink my eyes open and try to focus to make sure I'm not in another nightmare. It sounds like another leak; this one might be the last. The last time I will hear it before the horrible conclusion to this ordeal. The last time hearing that telltale noise, before the true nature of that loathsome portal is revealed and whatever hideous dimension hiding on the other side breaks through completely.
The sound is growing louder, each drop has an exaggerated tone. It sounds like small explosions all trying to collapse the ceiling and engulf me in the dark abyss that I have already once been forced to endure.
I just can’t believe this could really be happening, it just can’t! It swallowed people up, the portal behind that damn leak. I don’t know what to do.
Just a short while ago my only problem would have been the water damage to my belongings. Indeed, such a mundane problem as a leak in the ceiling would just be a minor issue, nothing to fear except the repair bill. Yet I'm afraid it is a bit beyond that now. I shouldn't have waited this long I should have just left. Yet where could I have gone? Maybe I should have paid more attention to who I was talking to and what they were saying. All too late now I suppose.
I have been living in this apartment for close to six months. I had moved into this dingy complex, to a small studio apartment after I lost my job and had to find a part time position at significantly less pay. I tried to stay optimistic but even before the terrible reality of what I was stepping into was clear, I was still on hard times. I could barely afford this decrepit room as it was, and I had no family or friends to speak of that I might be able to move in with so my options were essentially non existent.
Considering the dire situation, I found the cheapest accommodation I could and what I found was my home and hell for the last six months, number 316 at the Greenfield Heights apartment complex. The amenities included paper thin walls to hear all the drug deals gone wrong, domestic violence and constant sirens of emergency vehicles blaring from all sorts of incidents. Topped off with a nice turn-down service of package and mail theft to boot. All of these problems though, feel small compared to the true horror of what the place had in store for me.
No, it wasn't exactly a paradise, but I had to find the cheapest place I could. I was barely making a fraction of what I was before at my old job, and I needed somewhere to get back on my feet. I told myself it was temporary and once I could get a better job I would get out of here.
When I had first arrived to look at the place, I had arranged a simple walk through with the landlord Mr. Jacobs a very unpleasant fellow who always looked perpetually angry and was constantly shouting in the halls and at the few miserable looking staff who worked here. We walked up two flights of stairs passing a wall of profanity laden graffiti tagged along almost the whole length of it leading up to where my future home was to be.
Mr. Jacobs opened the door and the rattling handle nearly fell off in the effort. We stepped inside and the dank room stank like a tomb. The tiny apartment was depressing and when he went to turn on the main light nothing happened. He scoffed and muttered a string of colorful language and grumbled that.
“Someone will bring a new light bulb; I told Rodney to check earlier that lazy piece of shit.”
I didn't want to press the matter since he looked pissed off, so we went in, and he showed me what little there was to see of the tiny apartment. We had to rely on the dim light of the bedroom to see elsewhere, since the main light was out. Despite leading the walk-through, it looked like Mr. Jacobs was distracted, he was looking at the ceiling in the corner of the tiny living room with a concerning grimace on his face.
He stared at it for a while and paused the tour, I found it a little weird. He finally looked back at me as if noticing that I was watching him stare at the ceiling and he shrugged and asserted that.
“You are going to want to get some buckets, when it rains heavily that part of the ceiling leaks. Can't seem to find out how since there's no leak on 416 above but bad luck on this one, I guess, that's the only reason the price is so low.” He shot me a grin that I could only describe as enthusiastically malicious. After the brief walk-through Mr. Jacobs turned around and asked very bluntly.
“You are not a troublemaker, are you?” His eyes narrowed and he looked very threatening suddenly. I assured him of my earnest intent and need for a place to stay, and he softened briefly, at least I think he did, it was hard to tell with him. He regarded me one more time and said.
“Good we don’t need more troublemakers, too many questions, always snooping around. If you have any questions try to figure it out yourself, this isn't the Ritz we don't take care of everything for you. You are going to have to make do as is. Something really bad like a fire then you can call, but for minor shit, best to just figure it out yourself. Rents due on the 1st by the way, no exceptions and no grace period anyone who bums out on their debt gets their asses kicked out next day, fuck tenant laws!”
He shot me another wicked smile and returned downstairs leaving me with the keys and just assuming I had agreed to move in. I was dumbfounded by the combination of his upfront hateful attitude and the subtext of certain things he had mentioned. What in his mind was a troublemaker? And what happened to those who asked too many questions? I couldn't believe I was going to have to live here.
In a better position I would have left immediately but it was either here or homeless. All the other places I had looked were too expensive, so I left and began packing my things. The whole situation was awful, but I had no choice, I moved in the next weekend.
Moving day was as bleak as my mood. It had been raining on and off again all day and seemed to start heavily just in time to when I was moving my boxes, almost as if to spite me. I started taking my stuff upstairs to my new room.
As I was taking the first box up the stairs, I thought I heard a gunshot. I rushed on in nervous tension and as I was approaching my door, I heard a voice call out in a tone that was actually friendly.
“Excuse me, it looks like you dropped something.”
I was surprised to see a woman standing in the hall with a look of friendly concern. As I looked down to see I had indeed dropped something from the broken box I was trying to carry upstairs.
“Hi, I'm Maxine, I am your neighbor in 315.”
I introduced myself and was relieved to have found a friendly face for a change.
“Hey there, I’m Greg, nice to meet you.” I held out my hand and she looked uncomfortable briefly and declined the handshake.
“Sorry, I’m getting over a cold I shouldn't, but it is nice to meet you.” She said with another disarming smile.
I was relieved to see someone who didn't look they were minutes away from killing me or someone else. Though the paranoid part of my brain was begging the question why such a seemingly nice person was stuck here. I considered asking her but figured it would be rude to pry about her situation, she might have been like me and just on hard times. I was embarrassed when I realized I was just standing there after saying hello and stumbled for words, but she spoke first.
“Well, it was nice meeting you Greg, stay safe and try not to let your spirits get down. It’s easy in this place but nothing bad lasts forever.” She smiled and waved goodbye. I looked down to make sure the box was secure and when I looked up to say goodbye she was already gone. I wondered how she was so fast. Nevertheless, I felt slightly more hopeful that things might be okay after all.
Another hour of moving boxes and my knees were on fire but the meager possessions I had were finally stuffed haphazardly into the tiny apartment. I was dead tired, but it was only 4 pm. I figured I had earned a nap though and went into the tiny closet that was supposedly a bedroom. No furniture fit besides my old mattress that took up the entirety of the space.
I laid down and started drifting off, the peaceful sound of rain started to get heavier and then I heard a new sound which woke me from my doze. A tiny dripping sound coming from the main room. I remembered what Mr. Jacobs had said about heavy rain and a leak and I got up quickly to make sure the water was not landing on all my boxes and getting everything wet.
I looked up in the corner of the room and sure enough there was a steady dripping onto one of the boxes below. I poked around and found the dishes box and took out a few pieces of tupperware and a bowl and set one underneath the leak. I thought for a moment about calling Mr. Jacobs but then remembered how he had given up on fixing this leak and realized it would do no good. I turned around to go back to bed when I heard an odd tearing sound like wallpaper being stretched to breaking point. When I turned around there was nothing there. I figured it was just my nerves and I went back to bed.
I slept for about two hours and despite the brief rest I had a vivid nightmare of drowning in a dark lake with no shores on any side. It was horrible, just sinking into a black watery abyss.
I was embarrassed as I woke up with a scream, but relaxed as I realized it was just a dream and no one likely heard or cared that someone in 316 was screaming anyway. I figured the rain and that damn leak had got me thinking about water and my negative mood may have contributed to a nightmare, so I brushed it off and went about trying to organize the chaos of boxes in some logical manner for this small space.
Later that night I had a cup of ramen for dinner and turned in early. I read a bit before bed, almost as if trying to postpone sleep for fear of sinking into that fathomless abyss again when I slept. Eventually I started to get comfortable and thought I may fall asleep when it started again.
Drip, drip, drip.
The leak had resumed, it sounded faster than before, and I thought it was strange that I could hear it so vividly. I got up to see if maybe it had overflowed or something and I was not prepared for what I saw.
The ceiling where the leak was had an odd lambent light near the center, kind of like a black light. It seemed to be pulsing in time with the drops of water. There was an odd type of density in the air too, like it was too heavy and thick. It was maddeningly humid as well despite the cold atmosphere of the room and outside. I was confused and kind of scared by the bizarre display. I just kept thinking to myself it is only temporary, as soon as I can leave I will, I can make it through anything short term.
I took a step further into the living room and noticed a wet spot on the floor. There is no way it could be all the way over here, the bowl on the floor was not even full yet. I suspected a leak might also be over in this spot now, so I looked up and screamed out loud. There was what looked like a face pressing through the ceiling with drops of water seeping from the thing's mouth. I turned to run and tripped on the wet floor and toppled over bashing my head into a wall and almost losing consciousness.
I was trying to stagger to my feet after getting knocked senseless and the memory of the face reminded me of my peril. I got to my feet and looked up in tense expectation. There was nothing there. No leak, no face, no glowing shifting portal. The only evidence of anything was a small wet spot on the ceiling about nine inches across. At that point I thought for sure that depression over my situation was causing me to go crazy and see things. I desperately wished I could be somewhere else just then, but it was late at night, and I needed sleep. I couldn't afford a hotel obviously, so I left my room and went outside to the parking lot to sleep in my car.
Another week went by with poor work hours, barely any food and bad sleep. Though the one bright side was the surprisingly good weather. Days went by and no odd events took place in my apartment. It was a struggle but at least with a little sunshine there was no leak to conjure up such terrible nightmares like what I had experienced before.
I ran into Maxine again on the way to the laundry room and couldn't help but ask if she knew of anything having happened in my room before I moved in, like anyone having seen anything weird or the like. She shifted uncomfortably and looked down, pausing as if not wanting to answer.
“I'm sorry, I don't know much. I had not been here for very long when the last person in 316 had left. I say left but I heard there was an accident of some sort. There was a lot of commotion and I had heard some strange rantings from the man before it happened.”
She took a breath to steady herself after the stress of recounting the story and looked away.
“I was away at work when it actually happened, apparently he had been found dead in the apartment, some say he killed himself, drowning. From what I heard he was a bad man, there are a lot of bad men that live here. The things that have happened that never got reported and the people that got hurt or worse, well.....” She looked away sorrowfully for a moment and resumed.
“Well, you wouldn't want to know. A coward like that would try and kill himself but I think something akin to justice may have caught up to him, something that this place might need more of. When you live with the stain of hate and violence it leaves something behind and perhaps sometimes the world finds a way to wash it away and right the wrongs. Anyway, I don't like to think about it. I have to run I have to get ready for work, sorry I couldn't help more I hope you stay safe and stay dry, you wouldn't want to get swept up too.”
She turned a corner and I saw a fallen cardigan. I bent down to pick it up and it felt wet, like it had been washed already. Not too weird if she just did laundry but her footprints were soaking wet as well. I grabbed the garment and rushed round the corner shouting out.
“Hey Maxine, you dropped this.” But she was gone. The wet footprints randomly stopped as well. How did she stop leaving them if her feet were wet?
A few more months passed with no leaks and only a few nightmares. My luck turned sour again for different reasons though. I suffered a severe back injury at work. Since it occurred while working, I got some workers comp so I wouldn't lose all my income. I did have to take time off of work, so I was forced to stay in my apartment all day and night recouping. To make matters worse it was getting into the season for spring showers and the forecast was heavy rain for the next week.
I was not quite bedridden but walking and bending over was very uncomfortable, I considered taking a drive somewhere, anywhere but here, but I couldn't manage the stairs again today and I knew I at least needed to actually rest for one or two of my days off.
So I was stuck in the apartment, watching the clouds gather and the skies darken. I placed several dishes under the leak spot in anticipation and I swigged some energy drinks and coffee. I would rest but I disliked the idea of sleeping any more than I had to, since I still feared those disturbing dreams in the water.
I tried to distract myself by watching some old DVD’s since I had no streaming services to watch. As I started to relax around late afternoon, I was shocked back into a frenzied paranoia when the storm kicked up in intensity and knocked the power out. I tried not to panic and knew I had some candles or a flashlight or two somewhere. I would have to get up though so I figured I would stay in the bedroom. I used my phone flashlight to find a candle and matches and hurried back to the bedroom just as the leak restarted and the drip, drip, drip was heard filling the bowls left out. I felt silly fleeing the leak like it was dangerous, I didn't know why that dream had affected me so much, but it felt wrong.
I sat in the dark and waited for the power to return but it did not, I fought sleep but even in my paranoid state I started to drift off. I was content that the door was closed at least, and it slightly muffled the sound of that constant dripping.
I awoke to the sounds of running water, the drip was replaced by a torrent that almost sounded like a waterfall. I was too afraid to move, but I had to see if my room was being flooded. I got up painfully and stepped down into ankle high water. Oh God this is bad, I thought immediately as I moved to the door to see what had happened, I heard a singular splashing noise, almost like someone stepping through the water.
My heart froze as I stopped just short of opening the door and focused on the sound. I heard the splashing again; it was definitely footsteps. I didn't know what to do I tried to think who might break in, a robber? Maybe it was about the flooding, maybe it was Mr. Jacobs after all?
I grabbed the candlestick and lit the candle. If I needed to, I might be able to use it as an improvised weapon, if it could be a murder weapon in clue then why not? I cautiously opened the door and there was a backwash of even more water on the other side, it almost knocked me off my feet. I stumbled through the door, struggling in the cold water, I knew it was impossible, but it felt like there was a current running through it, like I was standing in the mouth of a river. I finally stepped past the door and into the living room and almost dropped the candle into the oddly surging waters. The sight before me was both amazing and terrifying. The water was moving, it was flowing into a whirlpool that was at the center of the room but as it neared the center it inverted and seemed to be spiraling out from the ceiling rather than the pooled water on the floor in a sight that blatantly disregarded all laws of gravity.
The spectacle was so amazing I almost forgot the footsteps I had heard and until they resumed. My gawking was broken, and I saw large bursts of water splashing toward me. I heard an ear-splitting cry like the wail of a banshee and suddenly the ceiling where the leak was coming from, and the current epicenter of the vortex started to glow and after a moment it turned deep red and a new horror occurred.
The face I had seen in what I had hoped was a nightmare before was back. The ceiling seemed to shimmer now, almost translucent and I saw the horrible features of a hideous form. White pupil-less eyes stared down at me and a gaping screaming maw began filling with water tinged with red? No, it wasn't water, it was blood. The vortex began spewing blood all across the room and as I turned to flee in horror I was wrenched from my feet by the invisible force in the water and dragged kicking and screaming into the heart of the vortex. My last conscious sight that night was being pulled up into my own ceiling and into the bleeding maw of that avatar of bloody nightmare.
I woke up in the black abyss. The water was still mixed with blood, but there were no creatures. I was somehow buoyant and floated along in the shore less sanguine ocean. I drifted along unable to sink or to fully rise up. After what felt like an hour of drifting, I heard splashing and all of the sudden the sound got louder and louder. I looked around and saw the source of the noise, bodies were falling from the sky into the bloody ocean. First a few, then dozens then hundreds. A literal storm of blood-soaked featureless bodies came crashing into the water. I tried to evade them, but I could not dodge them all and I was buffeted by the limp forms of countless bodies until I was pummeled below the surface of the water. I couldn't breathe and as I tried to surface one of the bodies grasped my wrist and opened its eyes. On its previously featureless face, it now had oddly pulsating white pupils and it burst what appeared to be stitching on its mouth in order to scream under the water.
The sight and shock of that horrible scene woke me and I realized I was laying on my back in my apartment again. The flood water was lapping at my face, and I was breathing in and choking on the water on the floor. I lurched up as soon as I regained control of my body, spitting water and gagging from the quasi drowning I had endured. The water looked normal, no blood from what I saw, but the water itself was not a delusion or some trace of insanity it was there.
It was a bad scene, tons of my things were submerged, and the water damage was extensive. Somehow it had risen to almost two feet high. I had to do something, I didn't expect much from this place, but this was a severe enough situation that the crotchety old bastard Mr. Jacobs was going to have to fix something whether he liked it or not or they would be getting a lawsuit in short order. I figured some lawyers would take easy cases they knew they would win with no retainer needed if they got paid more at the end. So, it would not be a bluff I was dead serious, I almost drowned in my own apartment!
I staggered to the door and managed to open it, draining tons of water out into the hall, but I didn't care, I just needed some fresh air. My back was on fire, but nothing would stop me. I heard a voice calling out to me, it was Maxine.
“Hey are you okay? I saw all the water and hadn't seen you around is there flooding there?”
She asked with an odd look, almost like she knew the answer but didn't want to let on.
“Yes there is, it is pretty bad actually I was just about to call Mr. Jacobs to do something about it.
”Greg....” She paused for a moment then continued.
“You didn't see anything in there did you? In the water? Like something or someone familiar?” I was confused by the specific nature of the question. I was put off and unsure how she knew I might have seen something.
“I am not sure what I saw, why do you ask?” I responded.
“No reason, just be careful it can be dangerous if you do. Don’t worry if it is not where you belong, you won't get pulled in forever. Just be careful though, you don't want to risk it.” A flash of morbid glee was evident on her face for a split second and then it was gone. I was starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Pulled in? How do you know about the leak? And if you do what's behind it?” I ask with mounting suspicion evident in my voice.
“You know Greg, in many cultures the path between the world of the living and the dead is separated by only the slightest barrier, often a literal or symbolic body of water. Whether the river Styx, the lake of fire, the waters reflected at the feet of a Torii gate, it is often just potent waters. Like all bodies of water, when they are contained somewhere there can be leaks. Sometimes the water is not the only thing that seeps out.” She stopped speaking for a moment and fixed me with an intent stare that made me feel very strange. I did not know what she was talking about? Was she saying that portal leads to some sort of afterlife? Like heaven or more likely in this case hell?
“Did you just say....” And she cut me off, saying.
“Oh if Mr. Jacobs finally goes over there to fix your ceiling let him know I had a concern I needed to express to him as well, it's been waiting for a long time.” She smiled again in a creepy way that disturbed me.
“Ah yeah sure I guess I can do that.”
“Thanks! See ya later and hope you feel better, those accidents can be rough best not sleep on your side and to drink lots of water, the right kind though.” She winked at me and departed, and I was at a loss for what just happened. How did she know I had gotten hurt I didn't tell her, and what was that thing about the right kind of water?
My anxiety about the situation was increasing and I was disturbed by Maxine’s questions too, maybe she was not so sweet and trustworthy after all. After far too long being ignored and dealing with the first sodden, now moldering cloths boxes and other personal effects Mr. Jacobs finally scheduled a time to drain the last remnants of water and do something more concrete about fixing the leak.
I was waiting patiently for his arrival and there was a loud banging at the door. I greeted Mr. Jacobs and he grunted at me and without looking at me walked past and looked up at the hole in the ceiling. He had an odd air of what almost looked like fear or concern on his face.
After he walked in another larger person in coveralls and holding a toolbox did as well. There was a large tarp or something that seemed odd to bring to this sort of job, it almost looked like a big sort of bag. They were both looking at the hole in the ceiling and Mr. Jacobs turned on a dime and stared me down.
“It’s just been water leaking down, nothing else right?” I thought the question was odd and I hesitated to answer since I was thinking of those vivid nightmares. I think he may have noticed that because his face sank, and he glowered at me looking significantly angrier and more dangerous than before. Before I could answer he shouted at me.
“What did you see?! Did something come out of the hole? Was it a person?” He looked manic and deranged, and I looked at the other man in the coveralls and he stood silent holding a sledgehammer that had appeared in his hand and watching the confrontation unfold.
“I....I don't know I just saw the leak, what is going on what do you think I saw? My neighbor asked me the same thing earlier.” Mr. Jacobs eyes narrowed.
“What neighbor? I haven't had tenants in 315 or 317 in over a year.”
I was confused, maybe I had heard Maxine’s apartment number wrong, but how could she be my neighbor if she was not in one of those. This must be some kind of mix up, I figured.
“My neighbor Maxine she said she lives in 315; I just saw her the other day and she asked if I had seen something as well.” At the mention of the name Mr. Jacobs face turned white.
“You said her name was Maxine!? She said that? You saw her?!” He was screaming at me asking more questions about Maxine like she was on Americas most wanted.
“What does she have to do with this? I don’t know what the hell is going on.” I admitted.
Ignoring my question, Mr. Jacobs began pacing and holding his hand to his head. The man in coveralls spoke for the first time.
“Jack, we have to go, let's find the body while the leak and portal are still here and dispose of the loose end.” I gasped at the admission of both a body and that I was apparently a loose end to some sort of crime.
“I fucking know, alright make it quick, we are going to have to do two so let's go before more people start coming home and we risk someone hearing.”
I fell back against the wall in shock as the large man hefted the sledgehammer and started stomping toward me. I was unarmed and injured; I didn't know what I could do but suddenly the lights went out again.
The door slammed shut and as the three of us stood there in stunned silence a slow drip began to trickle from the ceiling. Each drop splashing off of the low standing pool of water. The large man went to the door and tried to open it but to no avail.
“Jack what is going on?!” The man shouted to Mr. Jacobs.
“I don't know just use the hammer. Kill him and then bust us out of here. Or just give it to me and I will fucking do it.”
They were going to kill me!? I had to think of something quick, so I stammered out.
“Wait! I don't know what is going on you guys, you don't want to kill me I really don't know anything. Let's just get out of here before the water gets much worse, I think something bad is going to happen.”
As if on cue the dripping stopped and a torrent of water was disgorged from the hole in the ceiling, which now held a horribly familiar glow and was pouring a blood red liquid into the apartment. There was a giggle followed by a blood curdling screech and the man in the coveralls with the hammer was wrenched up off his feet and dragged kicking and screaming into the water. Mr. Jacobs and I both watched as his entire head was forced under the water by some unseen force, The man was being drown and as he looked like he might kick up a splash of water landed next to him revealing a brief outline of a female form the eyes were white and it had a horrible smile on its face. Its unnaturally long hand was wrapped fully around the man's throat and was effortlessly throttling him.
Mr. Jacobs saw something or someone he recognized in the violent mist and started sobbing and begging for mercy.
“I didn't mean to, please. It was an accident. I would have been locked up. I couldn't lose everything, I had to.”
I sat in stark terror as the falling water from the ceiling became a storm. The millions of droplets highlighted the attacker, her form was terrible yet oddly mesmerizing. She strolled along towards Mr. Jacobs who was grasping at the door handle and tugging uselessly at it. He reached for the hammer when he was pulled toward the figure by a moving tendril of bloody water.
“Just a little bath Jack that's all it won't hurt......much.” He tried to scream but his head was submerged in the bloody water. I saw the sentient waves of ruinous liquid grasp each of his appendages and tear him limb from limb in a bloody explosion.
I screamed and stumbled away wading through the water into my bedroom and desperately pulled on the window to escape that way. I heard splashing footsteps and a soft pretty tune being sung by an ethereal voice. Then I heard a giant crash and saw a portion of wall collapse along with more of the ceiling and the sight before my eyes almost drove me insane.
There was a vortex of bloody water sucking the maimed bodies of those men into the hellish portal where the leak originated and at the center was the bloody figure smiling at me and waving a hand as I finally got the window to budge and fall out. I stepped outside and tried to descend the fire escape, but the surface was too slippery, and I fell. I screamed and plummeted down and thought I would land on my head and die. Yet as I fell my descent slowed and to my shock and horror, I realized the rainwater was mixing with the water from my apartment flowing out of the window and I was being pulled back up into my room. I tried to scream but I felt water fill my mouth. At some point in the nightmare ride I blacked out again.
That was the last thing I remembered before I found myself here again. As I listen to the leak once more, I wonder if it could have all been a bad dream? The water, the leak, the portal it is all too much it couldn't have been real. I will go into my dingy living room and see the water dripping into the bowl and realize it was all just a terrible dream.
Yet when I sit up, I notice an odd breeze and when my eyes focus in the dark, I see lights in the sky........the sky?
The ceiling is gone! I don't know what is going on here, but I know I have to get out of here now. I hear splashing footsteps again over the ever-present dripping and see in the sky now the light of the monstrous portal opening in the very clouds above!
It is too much I leap from the fire escape again. Somehow in my mad haste I survive descending the fire escape and I sit here now writing this impossible story in my car that I have been living in nearly a week after the fact.
I heard on the news the reports of a structural collapse at my apartment and the landlord being unavailable for questioning, presumed missing along with another man who worked at the apartment as a special contractor. I thought about Mr. Jacobs and the man in the coveralls and shuddered when I remembered them being drawn into that unholy portal in the ceiling.
Apparently, it had not been the only disappearance in the building either. Around a year ago there was a missing person's report for a Maxine Valoroso. I remember how Mr. Jacobs reacted to her name, and it made me wonder what really happened here before I moved in.
I don't know who or what Maxine was, maybe she was the same person in the report, changed somehow. Best I can guess Mr. Jacobs had known something about her disappearance, maybe he had killed her and somehow, she came back for revenge. She mentioned the water washing away people's violent lives and I shuddered when I considered her smile when talking about the last person in 316 and the overdue message she had to send to Mr. Jacobs. I didn't know if she was a ghost, a demon or what. I also don't know the extent of her reach or if she is satisfied with just those men and who knows how many others she had washed away from that room with that dread portal.
I suppose it doesn't matter to me anymore I am never going back there. I gave all my belongings up for lost and the building was condemned anyway after the landlord disappeared and the ceiling collapsed in several sections of the building. I think there are are terrible things they will discover if they ever really investigate the building. Perhaps they will find bodies, perhaps the bodies are all gone, sucked into that watery abyss, that eldritch gate to hell whose opening started with a simple leak.
If something like that can happen I just don't know, I don't know if anyone is safe anymore.

Apologies if this is a long post, but thank you for reading in advance.
I'm one of the few people who originally had high hopes for that Resident Evil Netflix series... until we got it...
All in all, this COULD work as a series, but like everything else in life, only if it's done right.
Let's pretend we live in a world of make believe where Capcom just gave me the live-action adaptation rights to Resident Evil and a big budget studio gave me an open checkbook and said "do what you want." One of my favorite aspects of the Resident Evil series is exploring the lore, along with the main plot of the series, so here's what I'd do...
First off, I would do an hour-to-an hour and a half long PREQUEL special - for now, let's just call it The S.T.A.R.S. of Raccoon City - that would solely focus on the S.T.A.R.S. team and follow a type of mission they would normally on. Timeline-wise, this would take place roughly three months before the events of the first Resident Evil video game and the special itself would be in the style of cop drama shows such as CSI or Law & Order: SVU - with Chris Redfield & Jill Valentine being the "Stabler & Benson" of the special, minus the obvious sexual tension. And because this would be a prequel movie, there would be no horror elements and no conspiracy theories about the Umbrella Corporation, as we would be meant to see everything through the eyes of the normal citizens of Raccoon City (with SLIGHT exception to Brian Irons, who we still see as a belligerent asshole and a bit of a pervert, just not to the extent of full-blown evil psycho that the games would reveal). The plot? I would say the mission we would see them is trying to diffuse a hostage situation with a few high-ranking Umbrella officials (including Dr. Nathaniel Bard from the Resident Evil 3 Remake) and Katherine Warren, the Mayor's daughter who some fans will know of her unfortunate fate in Resident Evil 2. At the end of the mission, this will lead into the events of Resident Evil's main story, which will kick off the series.
Oh and just a heads up... I know people will be mad at me for this, especially fans of this game in particular, but: No. Resident Evil 0 will NOT be canon in this series. I'm sorry, it's a narrative preference. Although there will be a couple of moments from the game that will make it's way into the canon here, such as Dr. James Marcus being somewhat responsible for the T-Virus leak in the mansion lab. But instead, have it to where (we wouldn't find out about this until maybe the 2nd to last episode of the season) he KNEW he was about to be assassinated and there was nothing that he could say or do to escape his fate. So instead, he just sacrifices himself by leaking the T-Virus himself in the mansion's laboratory, which would effectively kill him too, because if he's going down, he's taking the company with him. I find that a bit more gratifying than having him turn into a David Bowie-wannabe King of Leeches who sings like the blue alien from The Fifth Element.
Okay, tangent over. I would want the series to still be titled Resident Evil, but instead of "Season 1" or "Season 2", I would want there to be subtitles in the same vein as American Horror Story, or, as I mentioned previously, Law & Order and CSI. Like, I don't know, call this one Resident Evil: The Mansion Incident, or maybe something more clever than that, I'm all ears. I didn't call it The Umbrella Conspiracy because, while fans of the game know better, I wanted to avoid putting spoilers in the title for the new fans.
Now, for the Cast.
I'm a big sucker for casting somewhat unknowns or non-big-named actors for the lead roles to put them in more of a spotlight, but there will be a select few that I will use bigger name actors for, so here you go...
RESIDENT EVIL: THE MANSION INCIDENT CAST
S.T.A.R.S. TEAMS

• Kurt Ostlund ("Snowpiercer" Series, Timeless, & Mr. Young) as CHRIS REDFIELD - Male Protagonist, S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team Point Man
• Wallis Day (Batwoman, Sex/Life, Krypton, & Infinite) as JILL VALENTINE - Female Protagonist, S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team Rear Security & Entry Specialist
• David Harbour (Stranger Things, Black Widow, & Violent Night) as BARRY BURTON - S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team Weapons Specialist & Back-Up Pilot
• Sophia Lillis (It, It: Chapter 2, & Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) as REBECCA CHAMBERS - S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team Medic-in-Training / Rookie
• Anthony Starr (The Boys & Outrageous Fortune) as COMMANDER ALBERT WESKER - Lead Commander of S.T.A.R.S. & Alpha Team Captain
• Jimmy Smits (Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, NYPD Blue, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as CAPTAIN ENRICO MARINI - S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team Captain
• Matt Lintz (The Walking Dead & Ms. Marvel) as RICHARD AIKEN - S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team Radio Specialist & Field Medic / Rebecca Chambers' Trainer
• Sebastian Amoruso ("Avatar: The Last Airbender" Live-Action Series & I Know What You Did Last Summer (2021)) as FOREST SPEYER - S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team Sniper & Point Man
• Alex Wolff (Hereditary, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, & Oppenheimer) as BRAD VICKERS - S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team Pilot & Computer Specialist
• Daryl Sabara (The "Spy Kids" Movies & Rob Zombie's Halloween) as JOSEPH FROST - S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team Vehicle Specialist & Omni Man
• Nik Walker (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit & Blue Bloods) as DR. KENNETH J. SULLIVAN - S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team Recon Agent & Chemist
• Mark Webber (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World & Green Room) as EDWARD DEWEY - S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team Back-Up Pilot & Omni Man
• Leigh Whannell (Saw, The "Insidious" Series, & Death Sentence) as KEVIN DOOLEY - S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team Pilot

ALSO FEATURING:

• John Carroll Lynch (Zodiac, The Founder, Fargo, & American Horror Story: 1984) as CHIEF BRIAN IRONS - Senior Chief of Police, Raccoon Police Department
• Darius McCrary (Family Matters & Saw VI) as LT. MARVIN BRANAGH - Police Lieutenant, Raccoon Police Department
• Don Stark (That 70s Show & That 90s Show) as MICHAEL WARREN - Mayor of Raccoon City
• Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Batman & Robin, & Blast from the Past) as KATHY BURTON - Barry Burton's Wife
• Chris Owen (Major Payne, American Pie 1 & 2, & The Mist) as BEN BERTOLUCCI - Freelance Investigative Journalist
• Alyson Court (Original Voice of Claire Redfield in "Resident Evil 2", "Beetlejuice" Cartoon, The Big Comfy Couch, & X-Men: The Animated Series) as ALYSSA ASHCROFT - Anchorwoman & Reporter, Raccoon City News
• Will Sasso (MadTV, The Three Stooges, & Happy Gilmore) as ROBERT KENDO - Owner of Gun Shop Kendo & S.T.A.R.S. Weapons Supplier
• Brad Dourif ("Childs Play / Chucky" Franchise, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, & The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) as DR. JAMES MARCUS - Co-Founder and Head Researcher for Umbrella, Inc.
• Michael Emerson (Saw, Lost, & Person of Interest) as DR. NATHANIEL BARD, Head Researcher, Spencer Memorial Hospital & Umbrella, Inc.
• Wes Bentley (The Hunger Games, Yellowstone, Interstellar & Ghost Rider) as DR. JOHN CLEMMONS - Researcher for Umbrella, Inc.'s Chicago Branch
• Cory Michael Smith (Gotham, Utopia, & Transatlantic) as GEORGE TREVOR - Architect of the Spencer Mansion
• Bonnie Morgan (Contortionist Stunt Performer - Rings, From Where it Hides, & Hellboy II: The Golden Army) as LISA TREVOR - George Trevor's Daughter-Turned-B.O.W.
• Robert Maillet (Ex-Pro Wrestler - Sherlock Holmes, 300, & Pacific Rim) as TYRANT T-002

AND IN A POST-CREDITS SEASON FINALE CLIFFHANGER STINGER...

• Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham, The Walking Dead, & John Wick - Chapter 3: Parabellum) as DR. WILLIAM BIRKIN - Head of T-Virus Research, Umbrella, Inc.
• Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Riddick, & Oculus) as DR. ANNETTE BIRKIN - Senior Researcher, Umbrella, Inc. / William's Wife

Now I would do a lot of things similar to what the video games did, but with this being a series instead of a movie and hopefully with the companion S.T.A.R.S. special, we would have gotten to know a lot of these S.T.A.R.S. members before their inevitable demise and betrayal. Also, a series would also have enough time to shine a light on some B.O.W.'s that would feel too rushed in a feature-length film, and some of the lore that you read in the Files and Diaries in the games, and give some development to a lot of the lesser known characters, which would bring me to one MAJOR change I would make to add some surprising drama...
What if Barry wasn't the ONLY one working with Wesker?
That's where Forest Speyer and Kevin Dooley come in.
Considering Forest & Chris are such good friends, that would create one hell of a dynamic when it's revealed that Forest is a traitor (a willing one, at that) who's in it for the large sum of money so he can do what he always wanted to do: retire at a young age and live without being financially burdened in a quiet place. Kevin, on the other hand, has crippling gambling debt, hence why he joined with Wesker and Umbrella, although their reason for including him is in case they needed another pilot if Barry were to be... eliminated somehow. Have Forest fake his death with some blood and his dog tags (doesn't have to be HIS blood) to throw the others off his trail, have him be the one who shoots Enrico (it'd make sense considering he's a sniper) by having Jill get him out in the open in the Courtyard while running from Hunters... Forest shoots Enrico in the gut, causing him to fall behind and get torn to pieces and decapitated by the Hunters.
As far as Kevin & Forest's death scenes, I would have it to where they were already paranoid after Wesker revealed that he has no intention on bringing the combat data back to Umbrella, and once Wesker "dies", Forest and Kevin make a run for the boiler room - while Chris & Jill are distracted with the Tyrant - to activate the self-destruct sequence to finish Umbrella's orders. Kevin begins to have second thoughts, only for him to be pushed by Forest into a crowd of zombies and get eaten alive while Lisa Trevor comes in and bashes his head in. Forest... I took inspiration for his death based on Wesker's original death in the novel Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy by S.D. Perry: Forest activates the self-destruct sequence and then slowly, but violently get torn apart by Chimeras.
And of course, we get our canonical ending where Brad comes in, drops the Rocket Launcher for Chris (Jill will get her time to shine in the RE3 series) to destroy the Tyrant, and leaves with Chris, Jill, Barry and Rebecca. After some back and forth, Brad reveals that he went back to the R.P.D. to request Chief Irons to send in Raccoon City's SWAT Team to help extract the S.T.A.R.S., only for Irons to immediately call off the investigation, which prompted him to get into the R.P.D. Armory to retrieve the Rocket Launcher, fill up on fuel and come right back into the Arklay Mountains to find them. This leads to Barry revealing that Irons may know more about Umbrella than he lets on, leading to the grim realization from the survivors: no one in Raccoon City can be trusted...
Post-credits scene shows William Birkin on the phone with what appears to be the U.S. Army, apparently trying to strike up a deal about a new virus he's developing - doing it behind Umbrella's back. Annette comes in and berates him for doing this, reminding him that Umbrella has moles everywhere. William brushes this off as he once again relishes in his ultimate creation: the G-Virus. End of Season.
I apologize if this is too long, but I am such a huge fan of this series and I would love to see it done right in a live-action adaptation and, well, this is the best I could come up with.
What do you think? Would you do something different with the narrative? The cast? Might be a fun discussion. Want me to do the second game?

It was a strange time in the Imperium. The great crusade was winding down. Fighting was slowing down. More and more the acts of warriors were not needed. Many rejoiced such a time, others didn't quite know what to do with their newfound time.
The Primarchs were an example of the later. For more and more they were able to stay together for more then a few days. Especially days were there was no fighting to be done
“Well, other then fighting between sisters”. Echos through Morgenstern's mind as a commotion breaks out. “Freya by the noise” he says to himself
Turning the corner he finds a larger group then he expected.
Atalanta lays on the deck, head in the lap of her Rose as he plays with her hair. Its thicker then the last time you saw it, Rose helping her grow it
Freya sits at the table, mug ever present in her hand. Her Slayer sits on her lap, whether his choice or hers, he doesn't seem to mind. Doesn't seem to mind much anything
“Too much for the little one” Freya address the room in-between her barks of laughter. Only for a groan from the one in her lap
Magnolia sighs, shaking her head as Freya. Starlight reaches around, grabbing her chin and pulling her into a kiss before directing her back to the scroll she was reading aloud
Kassandra is brooding in the corner. She's been troubled the last few days, sick a few times. She hasn't shared what seems to be troubling her but whatever it is you do your best to help, knowing she'll come to you when she feels comfortable as she's done so many other times
Petra curses and straightens up a model sitting in front of her, her Velvet Glove is desperately trying to stabilize the house that they plan to build
The Detective is there, Alpharia sitting at his side, a surprise they don't like much attention. Both are sipping on whiskey, though you swear she changes what side she's sitting on whenever you look away.
Aurelia and her Little light are kneeling in the corner. Doesn't take the Detective to figure out their praying together.
Hestia and Ferrus are arguing over schematics, Wyrmheart and Anvil are comparing weapons that they had forged. Occasionally interjecting on their own love's side
“Must you slam the table so much? It ruins the soundness of the base” Petra says, helping her Glove stabilize their house
“Of course” Freya slams her mug down again, gentler this time “no other proper way to celebrate”
“Isn't it unwise to get drunk? Furthermore for a mortal the drink THAT much” Magnolia calls out from her perch “im not sure how many brain cells you can afford to kill off”
“And I wonder how you can lift your Starlight without your armor” Freya fires back
“It is loud” Atalanta says without sitting up. “I don't like loud”
“Teaming up on me now?!?” Freya leans back, mock outrage on her face “I'd expect nothing less from the witch, but you Atalanta?” She clutches at her chestplate “you wound me so”
“Be thankful for that size shrinking amulet” Magnolia says
Freya blushes as her hand goes to her throat, a low chuckle coming from Atalanta. The chuckle grows louder as all the shifting causes Slayer to fall out of her lap
Freya gasps and picks up her lover. Only for him to laugh and swish his cup noisily. “Got you again” he says “next time it's Mjod”
“That might even kill my Wyrmheart, and I have him on a lot of spices” Hestia reaches and pulls her Wyrmheart under her arm, ruffling his hair
“A worthy death” slayer says “second only to femoral artery internal bleeding due to shattered pelvis” a smirk on his face as Freya blushes
“solved that issue already” Petra says “bit of shrapnel broke his. Unless it can break adamantite his is staying in one piece”
Laughter echos through the room as Petra looks up, not fully understanding what's happening. A whisper into her ear from her Glove has her blushing “you are all perverts”
“Guilty as charged” Slayer and Freya say at the same time
“might have to get one of those” Atalanta and Hestia echo each other's thoughts
“Don't know how much artificial I want in Anvil” Ferrus looks at her hands, Anvil grabbing onto her
“I can literally alter my very body at any time, healing is almost trivial” Magnolia says over her scroll. Starlight turning as red as her
“honestly you should be ashamed” Aurelia stands up from the corner “that kind of talk shouldn't be done in public”
Everyone turns and stares at her, she blushes under the attention as Little Light comes and places a hand on her arm
Laughter echos through the room. As it settles down the table is cleared and cards are brought out
Everyone gathers around as hands are dealt out. One gap in the chairs
Kassandra still stands in the corner, unsure if she should join in or not. She hesitates, preparing to leave the room before she sees the empty spot st the table
“Come join us sister, just a friendly game no bets” Hestia calls out “I said no bets” she repeats as Freya moves to put some runestones on the table
“Alright, alright, no fun allowed I get it” Freya says placing the stones away
Morgenstern pats the chair next to him, a plead im his eyes
She accepts, staggering over to the table, she clutches the side as she sits in the chair “have too much as well?” Freya barks
“Just not feeling well” Kassandra mutters, taking her hand
The game plays, everyone loosing track of time until a growl echos through the room. Everyone freezes, hands falling to waists as chairs scrap across the floor.
Eyes go wide as primarchs step in front of their loves, looking for whatever dares to attack them
Seconds pass. Everyone still on edge, until another growl echoes through the room. Everyone turning and realizing it came from Kassandra
She's holding her stomach, pain on her face. Silence before Freya and Hestia start laughing “seems we need some food, what say everyone?” Hestia asks hefting her hammer over her shoulder
Assent sounds from around the table “excellent. I have a pot of chili simmering already waiting for this”
“I don't need my tongue replaced” come Ferrus
“I would like to not cook my brain” from Magnolia
“Sounds good” Atalanta grins
“I'll take that challenge” Freya answers
“Didn't we need to make a special pot to hold it?” Petra asks
“I've heard of the legendary Salamander chilli, id love to” Aurelia exclaims, clapping her hands together
“I'll take two bowls” Alpharia holds up two fingers
“Spicy sounds good now” Kassandra says, swaying a little as she closes her eyes, smile on her lips.
“Don't worry, I went easy on the spices” Hestia calls from in the kitchen. Returning shortly with a massive pot of chilli and bowls. Steam and spice drifting up from the pot
Bowls are passed out and the clinking of spoons envelopes the table. Hestia pulls a bottle out of her pocket, pouring a generous amount of hot sauce in her chilli, and a little less in her Wyrmheart's.
“Anyone want to try the Salamander famous hot sauce?” Hestia challenges the room
Freya immediately grabs the bottle, pouring some on her chilli and taking a bite. Her face blushes instantly as she swallows the bite. “Man that's hot” her voice sounding higher then usual as she grabs her mug and takes a deep draft, ending with a gasp
Ferrus raises an eyebrow and adds a little into her chilli. Petra adds a small amount. Magnolia passes the bottle along, gaging a little over just the smell. Alpharia takes the bottle, tilts her head A bit and then adds a small bit to her leftmost bowl. Aurelia hesitates before adding a dash into hers.
The bottle comes in front of Kassandra, already done with her first bowl she grabs the bottle and squeezes, sauce pouring into the bowl as she scoops more chilli onto it. Aggressively diving into the mix
“Careful there. That's strong stuff, the best” Hestia points with her spoon “got that as an engagement gift”
“I said I didn't know that was a sign of proposal!” Wyrmheart says
“Are you rejecting me?” Hestia grabs Wyrmheart and pulls him into her chest. She starts to sniffle “I guess I'll just have too…” sobs overtake her words as she squeezes Wyrmheart into her
Muffled words come from in-between her chest. After a tapping on her side she relents and he falls back gasping for air
Laughter from around the table, several elbows into sides from both Primarchs and their others. Only interrupted by a spoon clattering into an empty bowl
Kassandra leans back with a sigh, a faint red in her cheeks. A red that grows stronger as she realizes everyone is looking at her “I was hungry, it was good” she mumbles out, ducking her head into Morgenstern's shoulder
“How'd you eat that stuff? I could barely take half of that” Freya says pointing out at the sauce
“That stuff is really strong, there are even some Salamanders who wouldn't take that much” Hestia says with a hint of pride
“I'd say, strange cravings, and mood swings. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were pregnant” Magnolia chimes in
Only to see Kassandra push herself into Morgenstern's shoulder more
“Wait, why aren't you protesting” Alpharia says, from the left side of the Detective “you know it's not possible for us to get pregnant right?”
“I know dam well, couldn't even get that right in my life” Atalanta chimes in, getting a sympathetic rub on her arm
“We've looked into it, almost everything we had said it be impossible” Petra says “obviously we planned for much later, once this whole thing is over” she adds hastily
Kassandra turns and looks out at the room, her face paler then usual. She turns to Morgenstern she says “I got checked this morning with the apothecary”
“That explains the sickness this morning” comes his answer
“I figured it was just the warp travel, wanted to clean that up” she looks out the group
“Suprise”
The single word comes out like a bomb shell.
The Detective spits his drink, Alpharia taking the brunt of that blow as she falls. A muffled “WHAT” coming from the Detectives other side
Ferrus leans over yo Hestia “I think we might need that pelvis design” she says “no artificials” Anvil says grabbing onto her hands “for either of us”
Hestia reaches out and grabs Wyrmheart “looks like we might need to make a better bed” she says “way ahead of you” comes the answer, as he scribbles furiously on a sheet of paper
Magnolia looks surprised as Starlight whispers into her ear, her face turning a lot redder then usual “I don't think magic can do THAT much” she says
Atalanta slings Rose over her shoulder. Leaving the room all that is heard is “not leaving that bed until its done”
Slayer gives a salute to Rose, who answers with a thumbs up. He turns to Freya and grabs her collar, pulling her down and whispering into her ear “your not leaving the bed until its done either”
Aurelia gasps, rushing over to Kassandra and fretting over her. Congratulations running out as she starts listing everything that is going to be needed. Little light takes the time to talk to Morgenstern, before walking over to Aurelia and Whispering into her ear. She goes beet red at the words and covers her face, soft uwus coming from behind
Petra and Glove look shocked, simply looking into each others eyes and grabbing the others hand. Smilies blossoming on their faces as tears start running from their eyes “we can make it reality” they say as they hug
The excitement is felt quickly. Those that remained in the room quickly finding excuses to leave it. “I left my humidifier on, I dont want to damage my scrolls”. “My wolves need to be let out, my sitter just canceled”. “its time for our prayers”.”I'm needed in the forge”. “We have an early morning artillery barrage we need to be present for”.”I just got a hot tip on a case”. “Fulgrim needs to know about this”
Soon enough it's just Kassandra and Morgenstern left in the room. She sinks into his arms with a sob “I can't do this, I can't be a mother” she cries into his chest. “We can do this Kassandra. The two of us” he rubs her back “I promise you, together we will”
“What if they turn out like me?” She sobs, clawing into his back “what if I can't handle them?”
“If they turn out like you then ill love them just as much” he rubs her head “and i know you can. Your strong Kassandra, look at what you've become. You would have never done something like this before”
“No” she mumbles into his chest, the worst of the sobs seeming to have passed “and if you need help then I'll be there.”
She sniffles and pulls back, rubbing her eyes “promise?” She asks in a quiet voice
“I promise you my love, I won't let any harm come to you”
Check out my other works here
/////////////// Man that was interesting to write. Just a lot of characters and motives, think I did it fair justice though. Sorry it took so long, I've been having a little trouble writing and coming up with ideas. Not saying I'm done, but might have to slow down a bit

I (49M) recently started dating someone new (44F) TL;DR: She seems jealous of my friendship with a female coworker.
I’m an elementary teacher and usually one of the only men in my building. Currently work with over 80 women.
I have a close friendship with a female coworker who is only 3 years older than my oldest son. We are on the same instructional team, we like a lot of the same media, and we just really hit it off. We have been friends for two years When my fiancée and I broke up last year, this friend helped me considerably and her friendship is very important to me.
The new woman I am dating is amazing in so many ways, but she keeps bringing up my friendship with my coworker and seems jealous of it. Even though I am old enough to be her parent, my coworker and I have what I would consider a big brothelittle sister type of relationship. She has a very serious live-in boyfriend. They have been together for years, and I have gotten to know him pretty well. Neither of us is the least bit interested in the other romantically.
My friendship is non-negotiable. Just wondering how I should handle this issue with my new romantic partner, who I have been dating for just over two months?

Ik a guy who is linked to Shadab in England. Shadab has been to his house and everything and has even had photos with my brother. Believe me or don’t but the reason Shadab hasn’t been bowling good for the past year or two is a groin injury that he doesn’t want to rest for because he feels if he does then he won’t ever come back. He should understand when he is fit and performing no one can keep him out of our team.

Throwaway account because we’ve been fighting about this enough and if he knows I posted our business on reddit he’ll be pissed.
I (F28) have been married to my husband (M32) for four years and it’s been perfect up until recently. At the tail end of last year my husband completed his masters degree in his field and was offered his dream job back in January. He was ecstatic and I was ecstatic for him! He worked so hard through Grad School and he really deserved it. However, problems started a couple weeks into him working there.
He started coming home telling me about friends he made. He works in a female dominated industry so most of his coworkers are girls, which I had absolutely no problem with, but this one girls name kept coming up more than the others. Kylie (fake name) had been the one to train my husband and became his go to person and they started becoming more friendly. He would tell me funny things she would say throughout the day or how much he admired how she stood up to the bosses for coworkers when things weren’t going right. It bothered me a bit but I decided not to make a big deal because my husband didn’t JUST talk about her, he had other friends, but clearly she was his favorite and I made a mental note to keep an eye on it.
One weekend he had a work event and he invited me to go but I just didn’t really want to and told him to stay home with me and watch movies instead. He said it was mandatory for him to show up for the first part but finally agreed to come home instead of going out after with everyone. After about 2 hours my husband called me and checked to make sure I didn’t want to go out with them, I told him I was sure and asked when he was coming home. That’s when I heard a female speaking. I couldn’t hear what she said but I heard my husband respond “No i’m going home to watch movies with my wife.” he didn’t say it super nasty but he just didn’t exactly sound excited and that sort of annoyed me.
I asked him who the girl was and he said his “friend” Kylie. I corrected him said she’s his coworker not friend and he said “she’s my coworker and she’s my friend.” I said “fine go hang out with your friend since you don’t want to hang out with your wife” and hung up. I know It was kind of petty but I could just tell by the way she was talking to him that she has a crush on him and wanted him to come out with her and I felt like my husband wasn’t shutting it down in that moment.
My husband got home about 20 minutes later and we got in a massive fight. He was pissed that I hung up on him and I was pissed he was letting some girl he just met disrespect our relationship. He said he didn’t understand my problem with Kylie and offered to let me go through their messages on Teams to see there was nothing inappropriate. I took him up on his offer and found that they would sometimes send memes back and forth and she even confided in him about “a guy” she was dating who seemed to be ghosting her. I told him this was clearly flirting and told him he needs to shut the friendship down. We argued some more but he finally agreed to cut contact with her outside of just professional topics.
This was fine for a bit but honestly I started to think about it more and every day he was at work I was anxious wondering if he was talking to her or if she was trying to flirt with him again. Friday, he got home and I told him, very calmly, that I am not comfortable with him working with her and he needs to find a new job ASAP. He flipped out and called me controlling and insecure and said he had done nothing wrong and was already doing enough by cutting off his work friendship and he would not be giving up his dream job. I told him he can find another dream job and asked if he really wanted to give up our marriage for some woman he just met 6 months ago. He insists it’s not about Kylie but I just know she wants him and he’s clearly into her more than he should be. I don’t trust it. We’ve been bickering non stop since then and if we’re not bickering, he’s freezing me out. I sent him some job postings today and he completely ignored them.
I told my sister about this and she also thinks i’m being controlling and says it doesn’t sound like anything to worry about but I just know in my gut Kylie is a problem.
AITAH for insisting he give up his job because she has a crush on him?

Now that member renting is finally official (woohoo!) with Kang Hoon appearing weekly for the next few months, I wanted to compile a speculation of who else RM might recruit after. I know some others have made lists of guests they want to see as rentals, but this is mainly just a roughly ordered list of who I think might be one in the future.
~As a sidenote, I personally think that the RM team is probably looking at a kinda-young "crazy"-type female character that can really go the extra mile in the name of variety for the next rental, especially one that can fill Somin's shoes as well as bridge the gap between the current aging RM members and the new generation. Her departure has really left a glaring hole in the entertaining moments between members that Kwangsoo and her used to fill, before she took that role on solely. Female guests that display Somin-like qualities also have noticeably more positive reception from the fanbase than other ones (based on the rate of how quickly and how many people ask for them to be a rental member immediately after their appearance). As such, my picks will be pretty biased towards this idea, but I think somewhat reasonably so? I will still try to be as nonpartial as possible in my judgment.~
Feel free to discuss anything you disagree with!
LIKELY:
*Kwon Eunbi - A lot of people, both domestic and international, have already stated their desire for her to be a rental member, and honestly given everything about her it's pretty likely. A) On-screen, she's shown good chemistry with the other members as well as the ability to let go for variety moments (such as her betrayal in the first episode during the coin game), B) as a soloist idol, she isn't bound by group duties or responsibilities unlike someone like An Yujin, who is also a hot variety guest these days but has only been a regular cast of two seasonal shows (I'll get to her Waterbomb stuff later), and C) at 28 years (turning 29 this year) she's the perfect bridge between the older RM members and the MZ generation.
The main problem would be her idol schedule, especially the summer Waterbomb festival that she went viral for last year and is probably a mainstay in now. If they look for her, she'll probably be a rental during the Fall/Winter seasons to not coincide with that specifically.
*Jonathan - As a growing influencer on YouTube and a multitude of recent appearances, as well as above-average reception of each of his appearances, I think Jonathan is another likely candidate for a future rental member. While he's shown okay chemistry with Jongkook specifically (similar to Kang Hoon), he has also shown he's willing to create funny moments on his own (such as during the futsal game), and more importantly as a popular talk show host he will have great chemistry with a lot of future guests that RM invites. Again, as a growing influencer, Jonathan would also be a big bridge to the MZ generation that RM looks to tap into a lot.
Jonathan has shown that he's willing to come to RM when asked, which is why I put him in "likely"; ultimately, as his YouTube channel grows larger and larger, it is up to him to determine if he wants to or not. That being said, RM is a very uncontroversial show (except for that one 2017 fiasco) with a very large and loyal international fanbase, so there may not be too much consideration in that.
*Kim Do-Hyun - With a whopping 13 appearances (tied for 6th most with Son Na-eun and Heo Kyung-hwan), Kim Bong is by far the most-guested potential member on this list. After his retirement from the UFC, he's shown that he's looking to take his career to the variety/entertainment side, with 6 recent appearances on RM starting with Seokjin's break as well as being a contestant on the second season of Physical: 100. His character as a clumsy musclehead is also an interesting dynamic that could play foil to Jongkook's Sparta; this is especially noticeable on the TXT episode when Jee Seok Bong tried (and failed) to replicate KJK's windmill sweep move. He could also share the brunt of being the "bad" member with Jee Seok Jin, who has had to take on that role solely now that Kwangsoo and Somin both left.
I place him under the previous two, however, because reception to his appearances has not always been particularly positive, especially when there aren't any physical games. I won't include the tour episode as a case against him (because that was genuinely the most boring episode I have ever watched and I don't even know if Kwangsoo could've saved that), but he doesn't really have a member to lean on when it comes time to do bus chatting or talking games. While JSM integrated flawlessly into the RM cast, Sechan had the "underling of Jongkook" character for a while before he found his own footing, and right now it looks like Kang Hoon is also depending a lot on moments between him and Jongkook. Given that RM is very 50/50 these days if they're going to be physical or not, sometimes Bong might shine, and sometimes he won't.
UNSURE:
*Shin Ye-eun - As acknowledged by both RM team (in the weird special thing they did at the end of the year) and RM members (during Kang Hoon's first appearance as a rental member), Ye-eun is their number one pick as a rental member. However, I think it's difficult for this to come to fruition to realistically, as after her The Glory appearance she is slowly shooting up to be a top-tier actress as well and her schedule is extremely packed, as they've also previously mentioned in the 700th anniversary episode. Her agency has also shown a history of wanting her to keep more that traditional "actress image", like when they told her not to dance in her first guesting on RM (she did it anyway lol).
*Ji Ye-eun - Her first appearance was literally just days ago, so I hesitate to put her on this list: however, she has received a ton of positive reception to her guesting similar to Eunbi and the other Ye-eun. Her flirting with KH and crying after being complimented seemed to remind people a lot of a certain love frog, and in addition the PD team even played Somin's theme during her appearance (the only other time I know of was during Eunbi's second guesting). As an SNL actor, she has tons of experience in creating funny moments and doing a character for entertainment, and doesn't need to worry about "actress image" or anything like that. It also looked like the rest of the RM cast found her endearing as well.
The main roadblock, I think, is that she literally has one appearance so far. Although people were clamoring for Eunbi to be a rental member after her first appearance as well, she still came on a second time, probably for the PD team to test the waters. Also, unlike Eunbi, Ye-eun is not known whatsoever outside of Korea, and given the international fanbase of this show they'd just be asking for tons of negative reactions or even hate if they were to make her a rental member after one episode. That being said, if they keep inviting her and reception remains positive, she has a strong case to be a future rental member.
UNLIKELY:
*Any former member - I know, I know: a lot of people have expressed desire for someone like Kwangsoo or Somin to come back as a rental member (including the current members themselves, can't remember which episode), but unfortunately the reality is that a big reason why someone leaves the cast is to leave behind the variety image and build a name for themselves as an actor. Somin is especially unlikely since she just left not a while ago, and Kwangsoo has shown on numerous occasions to avoid RM as a topic (can be seen whenever he's on a different show with Jaesuk because Jaesuk will tease him about it). Also, coming back as a rental member would just cause a lot of fans to beg for their return to the main cast, and that's usually something you probably want to avoid when trying to get away from the RM image. As for Gary and Joongki....lol.
*Any former "famous" guest: Kang Hanna, Hong Jin-young, Lee Sang-yeob, Lee Da-hee, etc. - Of the most iconic guests on Running Man, Hanna is the only one to have appeared even remotely recently, and even before that it was almost a 4-year gap between her last appearance (702) and the one before that (509). Most of the best guests we know were here during a very different era of Running Man, and there is a reason most of them haven't shown up again in 4+ years. I know a lot of people wish for them to come back at least once, and there is hope given that Hanna just came back, but it also does need to be known that RM now is almost a completely different show than when they were first "famous" guests, and at this point we should just hope they even come back as guests, let alone rental members.
*Hong Jin-ho - While he has a similar number of recent appearances to Bong, I just don't see a world where he becomes a rental member. I'm not tryna sound like a hater, BUT: A) At 41, he's far too old to really bridge anything with the current generation, B) he hasn't shown any particular character other than the bad-pronounciation one, C) and his overall reception has been lukewarm at best, since he doesn't really add anything to the cast.
*Cha Tae-hyun - A very out-of-left-field pick, but he has stated previously (on KJK's channel or MYOB, I don't remember which) that he would be completely open to being a rental member. Of course, it was mentioned in passing so I'm not sure how seriously we should take this, and also as he hasn't shown up very recently as a guest it's not likely the RM team are considering him either. Consider this one to barely make the list, since no one has brought it up since.
That's all the people I have down so far! I'm open for discussion of any member placement you disagree with, or if you have another person in mind that you think might become a member in the future.
Edit: typo, formatting
Edit 2: expansion

Hello everyone. I need to know if I’m an absolute monster of a human being. Ok, explanation time.
I’m 18 years old. This happened months ago. I currently live with my parents in a trailer (I’m not finished high school yet). We park at long term visitor areas in the sticks; the license fees are more affordable than most trailer parks. In January we moved locations, and my parents made fast friends with the neighboring families. We had being crazy cat people in common.
I’m not very good with people. During middle school, I switched to homeschooling, which lead to me being pretty isolated, even before shit hit the fan in 2020. I’m a generally shy person, so I tend to avoid other people if I don’t know them well. Needless to say I hid from the neighbors for a good few weeks before being able to even say hi to them.
My mum befriended their 10 yr old son, who started coming over to our trailer more and more, probably for the free snacks. He was pretty friendly to me, but again, I’m extremely shy, and wasn’t in a very good place at the time, so I stayed glued to my phone, and far away from him.
The ice broke one weekend when it rained really badly, and our spot flooded. Like most kids with too much free time, he saw the muddy lake that had formed outside, and decided to play in it. It was pretty early in the morning; I woke up to my mum taking videos of him slipping in the mud, on the front porch. He kept on trying to convince her to join him, but she refused. I tried to convince her too, because the idea of my mother slipping around outside with a muddy ten yr old was pretty hilarious.
I guess I was feeling a bit more courageous that day? Because I ended up being the one in the giant mud puddle with him. We played for a while; we had mud races, mud wars, mud spa treatments. There was a lot of mud. Every where. His dad stopped by at one point, but left pretty quickly after his son started throwing mud at him, and my mum apologized for getting him so dirty.
After that I started feeling more comfortable around him. He was a good kid, smart and funny, and pretty kind.
He was friends with a few other kids nearby; my parents ended up getting close with these families too, because of the proximity, and also because everyone sort of knew each other, and were friends. These couple families parked together regularly during the cooler months of the year, went their separate ways to different places for the hotter months, and then met up again in the same place the next year.
My parents integrated very easily into this community, and encouraged me to do the same, since I was now friends with one of the boys. He introduced me to the other kids he hung out with. I think they were all trying to include me, which was honestly really nice. The group consisted of a ten yr old, an 11 yr old, a 15 yr old, and a 16 yr old who was brothers with the 11 yr old.
A few times a month I hung out with them. Since I’m 18, they often enlisted me to take them swimming, because their parents weren’t comfortable with them going without an adult. I was sort of the baby sitter? I made sure they didn’t die, and that the older boys weren’t being too harsh with the younger ones. It was a bit weird to be bossing around two people that were only a couple years younger than me, but I found a middle ground between being their friend, and also making it clear that I was the oldest, so any bullshit wouldn’t fly by me.
In a way I felt a bit less responsible than them. I couldn’t drive, when both of them could. I was being treated like I was the one that needed to be looked out for. Which, fair enough. I don’t seem like the kind of person that can take care of themselves in the outdoors. Most of the stuff they talked about, I was completely clueless about. Cars, wars, camping (I am an experienced camper,just not so much with trailers, only tents). They had to explain a lot to me. I was mainly incompetent to them?
I don’t know, I could handle myself just fine in the water and on hikes, but building dirt trenches and firing pre-made mud bombs at each other in the middle of the night? That’s the kind of warfare I don’t know the rules of.
This was also very new to me in the sense that pretty much all the social spaces I had been in during my teens were female dominated. I sort of… have a fear of men?
I’m a csa survivor, and also got bullied a lot during elementary school, mainly by boys. I had to get over a lot of my own fears just to be around the boys. Part of me thought they’d bully me . I totally assumed the worst of everyone. But the more I got to know them, I realized they were just people like me. Even the older boys, who had the general asshole tendencies of teenagers were good people. They respected me, even if there was mutual teasing, and never went too far, or crossed a boundary. I tried to do the same; I’m not really into superiority shit. I called them out when they were jerks, but treated them as equals.
So, does the whole, “am I a predator?” Tie into this?
I wasn’t very close to any of them, but I talked the most to the younger boys. The older two weren’t as comfortable with me, and I get it. Puberty is awkward. I think they both liked girls? So they were a little awkward with me. The 16 yr old couldn’t look me in the eyes for Christ’s sake; since he was the biggest and strongest, he’d often push or throw the other boys in the water because they couldn’t do the same to him. I never told them they couldn’t push me in; I got dunked a few times myself, but the 16 yr old never touched me.
Anyways, I got on most with the younger boys. They were a bit more empathetic, and didn’t think that indifference = coolness.
…but early on I noticed a pattern. When I was playing with them, and we were doing anything in teams or pairs, the other boys made a very clear effort to pair me with the 15 yr old. I didn’t mind it. He was the one person close to my age that could actually have a conversation with me. We didn’t have a lot in common, but we had similar humors, and he made an effort to look out for me.
I’m dense. I didn’t know a lot of boys. I only noticed something might be up when one kid (the 10 yr old) whispered to me while the others were walking ahead that the 15 yr old had a crush on me. Ok, I’ll just call him Jay from this point on. This feels like a science report or something…
I just kind of looked at him like, “sure. I totally believe that.” And we got interrupted. I thought it was a joke, you know? Implying that your friend likes the weird ugly girl? It had happened to me before.
But now the idea was in my head.
I think the adults were noticing it too, because that night when we were done playing (a very aggressive form of hide and seek), my mum reminded me very subtly (sarcasm) that I was an adult. I felt defensive and pissed, because she had encouraged me to hang out with them that day. I probably wouldn’t have if she didn’t push me too. I also hated the implication. Why the hell would I come on to these people? Two were literally 10 and 11? I was pissed that she thought I was that kind of person. It was also clear to me that the chances of any of them liking me were extremely low. I have a pretty shit self-esteem, admittedly.
A few months before then, I got my heart broken for the first time. I still wasn’t over my ex. All of them were off limits from the start, not even considerations. I had more in common with, and was more attracted to their mothers, Jesus.
Unfortunately for me the running joke continued. Jay denied it every time, and I was tired of being the butt of the joke. I acted normally, but the tiny possibility that he might like me popped up in my head. It was definitely flattering, if it was true, but if it was, I had already made up my mind that nothing was going to happen. I didn’t and still don’t want to date a 15 yr old? Especially, not that I need another reason, since we disagreed about some important shit. Whether the beliefs were genuine, or if it was edgy teen shit, it didn’t matter.
Here’s the point in the post where you can let out the breath you’ve been holding in; nothing happened. He didn’t confess any sort of feelings, and in the months that we knew each other, we didn’t touch, unless I was getting pushed (or pushing him) into the water.
Unfortunately though, I think I might’ve developed a crush on him. A had a very vanilla dream he cameo-d in, where I think we kissed? And I started to get butterflies around him. I was in heavy denial, because I’m still not sure if this is a reaction to being liked, or actually having feelings.
In April our little neighborhood dissolved, since it was finally getting too hot to stay. One by one we all moved to different places across the state. Don’t have his number, and I haven’t seen him once since. I’ll probably never see him again. I’m happy with this ending. But, whenever I think of him, the same feelings come up. I’ve been feeling really guilty. I know it’s way different than what happened to me, but I still can’t help but be like, “you’re a horrible person, a predator!”
So am I? Am I feeling something wrong?
Should I seek help?

Hi I'm currently a student in college with rudimentary experience in statistics (I learned basic Stata in econometrics), and I'm currently working on a personal research project.
I have a calculated score for each respondent (continuous, ranging from 1 to 5). I assume that this would be my dependent variable since I'm attempting to find the effect of other independent variables on their score.
Let's say I wanted to measure the effect of playing sports on this score.
One such analysis that I want to perform is comparing the effect on the score between females and males (I assume gender is a binary independent variable here) depending on whether or not the respondent played at a varsity level (also binary IV). What should I use? I thought about using a multiple regression, but I read online about interaction terms and remember it from class and I'm not sure if I need to take that into account either.
Another analysis is the same thing, except instead I want to use the data I have on whether the respondent played a sport at a certain level (I have 8 variables, each a yes/no response for played club team, varsity team, olympics, etc.). How would I perform this?

I hear the dripping again. The constant, drip, drip, drip of water. I blink my eyes open and try to focus to make sure I am not in another nightmare. It sounds like another leak; this one might be the last. The last time I will hear the leak before the horrible conclusion to this ordeal. The last time hearing that telltale noise, before the true nature of that loathsome portal is revealed and whatever hideous dimension hiding on the other side breaks through completely.
The sound is growing louder, each drop has an exaggerated tone. It sounds like small explosions all trying to collapse that ceiling and engulf me in the dark abyss that I have already once, mistakenly glimpsed at.
No, it just can’t be real, it can’t! It swallowed people up, the portal behind that damn leak. I don’t know what to do so I will lay out the facts and how I got to this point in this account, and you will see what I have experienced, you will see too that it can’t be real, it has to just be a bad trip or some hallucination. I will tell you, it's not like I can just leave I have nowhere else to go, it’s just a leak.
Just a short while ago my only problem would have been the water damage to my belongings. Indeed, such a mundane problem as a leak in the ceiling would just be a minor issue, nothing to fear except the repair bill. Yet I'm afraid it is a bit beyond that now. I shouldn't have waited this long I should have just left. Yet where could I have gone? Maybe I should have paid more attention to who I was talking to and what they were saying. All too late now I suppose.
I have been living in this apartment for close to six months. I had moved into this dingy complex, to a small studio apartment after I lost my job and had to find a part time position at significantly less pay. I tried to stay optimistic but even before the terrible reality of what I was stepping into was clear, I was still on hard times. I could barely afford this decrepit room as it was, and I had no family or friends to speak of that I might be able to move in with so my options were essentially non existent.
Considering the dire situation, I found the cheapest accommodation I could and what I found was my home and hell for the last six months, number 316 at the Greenfield Heights apartment complex. The amenities included paper thin walls to hear all the drug deals gone wrong, domestic violence and constant sirens of emergency vehicles blaring from all sorts of incidents. Topped off with a nice turn-down service of package and mail theft to boot. All of these problems though, feel small compared to the true horror of what the place had in store for me.
No, it wasn't exactly a paradise, but I had to find the cheapest place I could. I was barely making a fraction of what I was before at my old job, and I needed somewhere to get back on my feet. I told myself it was temporary and once I could get a better job I would get out of here.
When I had first arrived to look at the place, I had arranged a simple walk through with the landlord Mr. Jacobs a very unpleasant fellow who always looked perpetually angry and was constantly shouting in the halls and at the few miserable looking staff who worked here. We walked up two flights of stairs passing a wall of profanity laden graffiti tagged along almost the whole length of it leading up to where my future home was to be.
Mr. Jacobs opened the door and the rattling handle nearly fell off in the effort. We stepped inside and the dank room stank like a tomb. The tiny apartment was depressing and when he went to turn on the main light nothing happened. He scoffed and muttered a string of colorful language and grumbled that.
“Someone will bring a new light bulb; I told Rodney to check earlier that lazy piece of shit.”
I didn't want to press the matter since he looked pissed off, so we went in, and he showed me what little there was to see of the tiny apartment. We had to rely on the dim light of the bedroom to see elsewhere, since the main light was out. Despite leading the walk-through, it looked like Mr. Jacobs was distracted, he was looking at the ceiling in the corner of the tiny living room with a concerning grimace on his face.
He stared at it for a while and paused the tour, I found it a little weird. He finally looked back at me as if noticing that I was watching him stare at the ceiling and he shrugged and asserted that.
“You are going to want to get some buckets, when it rains heavily that part of the celling leaks. Can't seem to find out how since there's no leak on 416 above but bad luck on this one, I guess, that's the only reason the price is so low.” He shot me a grin that I could only describe as enthusiastically malicious. After the brief walk-through Mr. Jacobs turned around and asked very bluntly.
“You are not a troublemaker, are you?” His eyes narrowed and he looked very threatening suddenly. I assured him of my earnest intent and need for a place to stay, and he softened briefly, at least I think he did, it was hard to tell with him. He regarded me one more time and said.
“Good we don’t need more troublemakers, too many questions, always snooping around. If you have any questions try to figure it out yourself, this isn't the Ritz we don't take care of everything for you. You are going to have to make do as is. Something really bad like a fire then you can call, but for minor shit, best to just figure it out yourself. Rents due on the 1st by the way, no exceptions and no grace period anyone who bums out on their debt gets their asses kicked out next day, fuck tenant laws!”
He shot me another wicked smile and returned downstairs leaving me with the keys and just assuming I had agreed to move in. I was dumbfounded by the combination of his upfront hateful attitude and the subtext of certain things he had mentioned. What in his mind was a troublemaker? And what happened to those who asked too many questions? I couldn't believe I was going to have to live here.
In a better position I would have left immediately but it was either here or homeless. All the other places I had looked were too expensive, so I left and began packing my things. The whole situation was awful, but I had no choice, I moved in the next weekend.
Moving day was as bleak as my mood. It had been raining on and off again all day and seemed to start heavily just in time to when I was moving my boxes, almost as if to spite me. I started taking my stuff upstairs to my new room.
As I was taking the first box up the stairs, I thought I heard a gunshot. I rushed on in nervous tension and as I was approaching my door, I heard a voice call out in a tone that was actually friendly.
“Excuse me, it looks like you dropped something.”
I was surprised to see a woman standing in the hall with a look of friendly concern. As I looked down to see I had indeed dropped something from the broken box I was trying to carry upstairs.
“Hi, I'm Maxine, I am your neighbor in 315.”
I introduced myself and was relieved to have found a friendly face for a change.
“Hey there, I’m Greg, nice to meet you.” I held out my hand and she looked uncomfortable briefly and declined the handshake.
“Sorry, I’m getting over a cold I shouldn't, but it is nice to meet you.” She said with another disarming smile.
I was relieved to see someone who didn't look they were minutes away from killing me or someone else. Though the paranoid part of my brain was begging the question why such a seemingly nice person was stuck here. I considered asking her but figured it would be rude to pry about her situation, she might have been like me and just on hard times. I was embarrassed when I realized I was just standing there after saying hello and stumbled for words, but she spoke first.
“Well, it was nice meeting you Greg, stay safe and try not to let your spirits get down. It’s easy in this place but nothing bad lasts forever.” She smiled and waved goodbye. I looked down to make sure the box was secure and when I looked up to say goodbye she was already gone. I wondered how she was so fast. Nevertheless, I felt slightly more hopeful that things might be okay after all.
Another hour of moving boxes and my knees were on fire but the meager possessions I had were finally stuffed haphazardly into the tiny apartment. I was dead tired, but it was only 4 pm. I figured I had earned a nap though and went into the tiny closet that was supposedly a bedroom. No furniture fit besides my old mattress that took up the entirety of the space.
I laid down and started drifting off, the peaceful sound of rain started to get heavier and then I heard a new sound which woke me from my doze. A tiny dripping sound coming from the main room. I remembered what Mr. Jacobs had said about heavy rain and a leak and I got up quickly to make sure the water was not landing on all my boxes and getting everything wet.
I looked up in the corner of the room and sure enough there was a steady dripping onto one of the boxes below. I poked around and found the dishes box and took out a few pieces of tupperware and a bowl and set one underneath the leak. I thought for a moment about calling Mr. Jacobs but then remembered how he had given up on fixing this leak and realized it would do no good. I turned around to go back to bed when I heard an odd tearing sound like wallpaper being stretched to breaking point. When I turned around there was nothing there. I figured it was just my nerves and I went back to bed.
I slept for about two hours and despite the brief rest I had a vivid nightmare of drowning in a dark lake with no shores on any side. It was horrible, just sinking into a black watery abyss.
I was embarrassed as I woke up with a scream, but relaxed as I realized it was just a dream and no one likely heard or cared that someone in 316 was screaming anyway. I figured the rain and that damn leak had got me thinking about water and my negative mood may have contributed to a nightmare, so I brushed it off and went about trying to organize the chaos of boxes in some logical manner for this small space.
Later that night I had a cup of ramen for dinner and turned in early. I read a bit before bed, almost as if trying to postpone sleep for fear of sinking into that fathomless abyss again when I slept. Eventually I started to get comfortable and thought I may fall asleep when it started again.
Drip, drip, drip.
The leak had resumed, it sounded faster than before, and I thought it was strange that I could hear it so vividly. I got up to see if maybe it had overflowed or something and I was not prepared for what I saw.
The ceiling where the leak was had an odd lambent light near the center, kind of like a black light. It seemed to be pulsing in time with the drops of water. There was an odd type of density in the air too, like it was too heavy and thick. It was maddeningly humid as well despite the cold atmosphere of the room and outside. I was confused and kind of scared by the bizarre display. I just kept thinking to myself it is only temporary, as soon as I can leave I will, I can make it through anything short term.
I took a step further into the living room and noticed a wet spot on the floor. There is no way it could be all the way over here, the bowl on the floor was not even full yet. I suspected a leak might also be over in this spot now, so I looked up and screamed out loud. There was what looked like a face pressing through the ceiling with drops of water seeping from the thing's mouth. I turned to run and tripped on the wet floor and toppled over bashing my head into a wall and almost losing consciousness.
I was trying to stagger to my feet after getting knocked senseless and the memory of the face reminded me of my peril. I got to my feet and looked up in tense expectation. There was nothing there. No leak, no face, no glowing shifting portal. The only evidence of anything was a small wet spot on the ceiling about nine inches across. At that point I thought for sure that depression over my situation was causing me to go crazy and see things. I desperately wished I could be somewhere else just then, but it was late at night, and I needed sleep. I couldn't afford a hotel obviously, so I left my room and went outside to the parking lot to sleep in my car.
Another week went by with poor work hours, barely any food and bad sleep. Though the one bright side was the surprisingly good weather. Days went by and no odd events took place in my apartment. It was a struggle but at least with a little sunshine there was no leak to conjure up such terrible nightmares like what I had experienced before.
I ran into Maxine again on the way to the laundry room and couldn't help but ask if she knew of anything having happened in my room before I moved in, like anyone having seen anything weird or the like. She shifted uncomfortably and looked down, pausing as if not wanting to answer.
“I'm sorry, I don't know much. I had not been here for very long when the last person in 316 had left. I say left but I heard there was an accident of some sort. There was a lot of commotion and I had heard some strange rantings from the man before it happened.”
She took a breath to steady herself after the stress of recounting the story and looked away.
“I was away at work when it actually happened, apparently he had been found dead in the apartment, some say he killed himself, drowning. From what I heard he was a bad man, there are a lot of bad men that live here. The things that have happened that never got reported and the people that got hurt or worse, well.....” She looked away sorrowfully for a moment and resumed.
“Well, you wouldn't want to know. A coward like that would try and kill himself but I think something akin to justice may have caught up to him, something that this place might need more of. When you live with the stain of hate and violence it leaves something behind and perhaps sometimes the world finds a way to wash it away and right the wrongs. Anyway, I don't like to think about it. I have to run I have to get ready for work, sorry I couldn't help more I hope you stay safe and stay dry, you wouldn't want to get swept up too.”
She turned a corner and I saw a fallen cardigan. I bent down to pick it up and it felt wet, like it had been washed already. Not too weird if she just did laundry but her footprints were soaking wet as well. I grabbed the garment and rushed round the corner shouting out.
“Hey Maxine, you dropped this.” But she was gone. The wet footprints randomly stopped as well. How did she stop leaving them if her feet were wet?
A few more months passed with no leaks and only a few nightmares. My luck turned sour again for different reasons though. I suffered a severe back injury at work. Since it occurred while working, I got some workers comp so I wouldn't lose all my income. I did have to take time off of work, so I was forced to stay in my apartment all day and night recouping. To make matters worse it was getting into the season for spring showers and the forecast was heavy rain for the next week.
I was not quite bedridden but walking and bending over was very uncomfortable, I considered taking a drive somewhere, anywhere but here, but I couldn't manage the stairs again today and I knew I at least needed to actually rest for one or two of my days off.
So I was stuck in the apartment, watching the clouds gather and the skies darken. I placed several dishes under the leak spot in anticipation and I swigged some energy drinks and coffee. I would rest but I disliked the idea of sleeping any more than I had to, since I still feared those disturbing dreams in the water.
I tried to distract myself by watching some old DVD’s since I had no streaming services to watch. As I started to relax around late afternoon, I was shocked back into a frenzied paranoia when the storm kicked up in intensity and knocked the power out. I tried not to panic and knew I had some candles or a flashlight or two somewhere. I would have to get up though so I figured I would stay in the bedroom. I used my phone flashlight to find a candle and matches and hurried back to the bedroom just as the leak restarted and the drip, drip, drip was heard filling the bowls left out. I felt silly fleeing the leak like it was dangerous, I didn't know why that dream had affected me so much, but it felt wrong.
I sat in the dark and waited for the power to return but it did not, I fought sleep but even in my paranoid state I started to drift off. I was content that the door was closed at least, and it slightly muffled the sound of that constant dripping.
I awoke to the sounds of running water, the drip was replaced by a torrent that almost sounded like a waterfall. I was too afraid to move, but I had to see if my room was being flooded. I got up painfully and stepped down into ankle high water. Oh God this is bad, I thought immediately as I moved to the door to see what had happened, I heard a singular splashing noise, almost like someone stepping through the water.
My heart froze as I stopped just short of opening the door and focused on the sound. I heard the splashing again; it was definitely footsteps. I didint know what to do I tried to think who might break in, a robber? Maybe it was about the flooding, maybe it was Mr. Jacobs after all?
I grabbed the candlestick and lit the candle. If I needed to, I might be able to use it as an improvised weapon, if it could be a murder weapon in clue then why not? I cautiously opened the door and there was a backwash of even more water on the other side, it almost knocked me off my feet. I stumbled through the door, struggling in the cold water, I knew it was impossible, but it felt like there was a current running through it, like I was standing in the mouth of a river. I finally stepped past the door and into the living room and almost dropped the candle into the oddly surging waters. The sight before me was both amazing and terrifying. The water was moving, it was flowing into a whirlpool that was at the center of the room but as it neared the center it inverted and seemed to be spiraling out from the celling rather than the pooled water on the floor in a sight that blatantly disregarded all laws of gravity.
The spectacle was so amazing I almost forgot the footsteps I had heard and until they resumed. My gawking was broken, and I saw large bursts of water splashing toward me. I heard an ear-splitting cry like the wail of a banshee and suddenly the ceiling where the leak was coming from, and the current epicenter of the vortex started to glow and after a moment it turned deep red and a new horror occurred.
The face I had seen in what I had hoped was a nightmare before was back. The ceiling seemed to shimmer now, almost translucent and I saw the horrible features of a hideous form. White pupilless eyes stared down at me and a gaping screaming maw began filling with water tinged with red? No, it wasn't water, it was blood. The vortex began spewing blood all across the room and as I turned to flee in horror I was wrenched from my feet by the invisible force in the water and dragged kicking and screaming into the heart of the vortex. My last conscious sight that night was being pulled up into my own ceiling and into the bleeding maw of that avatar of bloody nightmare.
I woke up in the black abyss. The water was still mixed with blood, but there were no creatures. I was somehow buoyant and floated along in the shore less sanguine ocean. I drifted along unable to sink or to fully rise up. After what felt like an hour of drifting, I heard splashing and all of the sudden the sound got louder and louder. I looked around and saw the source of the noise, bodies were falling from the sky into the bloody ocean. First a few, then dozens then hundreds. A literal storm of blood-soaked featureless bodies came crashing into the water. I tried to evade them, but I could not dodge them all and I was buffeted by the limp forms of countless bodies until I was pummeled below the surface of the water. I couldn't breathe and as I tried to surface one of the bodies grasped my wrist and opened its eyes. On its previously featureless face, it now had oddly pulsating white pupils and it burst what appeared to be stitching on its mouth in order to scream under the water.
The sight and shock of that horrible scene woke me and I realized I was laying on my back in my apartment again. The flood water was lapping at my face, and I was breathing in and choking on the water on the floor. I lurched up as soon as I regained control of my body, spitting water and gagging from the quasi drowning I had endured. The water looked normal, no blood from what I saw, but the water itself was not a delusion or some trace of insanity it was there.
It was a bad scene, tons of my things were submerged, and the water damage was extensive. Somehow it had risen to almost two feet high. I had to do something, I didn't expect much from this place, but this was a severe enough situation that the crotchety old bastard Mr. Jacobs was going to have to fix something whether he liked it or not or they would be getting a lawsuit in short order. I figured some lawyers would take easy cases they knew they would win with no retainer needed if they got paid more at the end. So, it would not be a bluff I was dead serious, I almost drowned in my own apartment!
I staggered to the door and managed to open it, draining tons of water out into the hall, but I didn't care, I just needed some fresh air. My back is on fire, but nothing will stop me. I hear a friendly voice calling out to me, it's Maxine.
“Hey are you okay? I saw all the water and hadn't seen you around is there flooding there?”
She asked with an odd look, almost like she knew the answer but didn't want to let on.
“Yes there is, it is pretty bad actually I was just about to call Mr. Jacobs to do something about it.
”Greg....” She paused for a moment then continued.
“You didn't see anything in there did you? In the water? Like something or someone familiar?” I was confused by the specific nature of the question. I was put off and unsure how she knew I might have seen something.
“I am not sure what I saw, why do you ask?” I responded.
“No reason, just be careful it can be dangerous if you do. Don’t worry if it is not where you belong, you won't get pulled in forever. Just be careful though, you don't want to risk it.” A flash of morbid glee was evident on her face for a split second and then it was gone. I was starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Pulled in? How do you know about the leak? And if you do what's behind it?” I ask with mounting suspicion in my voice.
“You know Greg, in many cultures the path between the world of the living and the dead is separated by only the slightest barrier, often a literal or symbolic body of water. Whether the river Styx, the lake of fire, the waters reflected at the feet of a Torii gate, it is often just potent waters. Like all bodies of water, when they are contained somewhere there can be leaks. Sometimes the water is not the only thing that seeps out.” She stopped speaking for a moment and fixed me with an intent stare that made me feel very strange. I did not know what she was talking about? Was she saying that portal leads to some sort of afterlife? Like heaven or more likely in this case hell?
“Did you just say....” And she cut me off, saying.
“Oh if Mr. Jacobs finally goes over there to fix your ceiling let him know I had a concern I needed to express to him as well, it's been waiting for a long time.” She smiled again in a creepy way that disturbed me.
“Ah yeah sure I guess I can do that.”
“Thanks! See ya later and hope you feel better, those accidents can be rough best not sleep on your side and to drink lots of water, the right kind though.” She winked at me and departed, and I was at a loss for what just happened. How did she know I had gotten hurt I didn't tell her, and what was that thing about the right kind of water?
My anxiety about the situation was increasing and I was disturbed by Maxine’s questions too, maybe she was not so sweet and trustworthy after all. After far too long being ignored and dealing with the first sodden, now moldering cloths boxes and other personal effects Mr. Jacobs finally scheduled a time to drain the last remnants of water and do something more concrete about fixing the leak.
I was waiting patiently for his arrival and there was a loud banging at the door. I greeted Mr. Jacobs and he grunted at me and without looking at me walked past and looked up at the hole in the ceiling. He had an odd air of what almost looked like fear or concern on his face.
After he walked in another larger person in coveralls and holding a toolbox did as well. There was a large tarp or something that seemed odd to bring to this sort of job, it almost looked like a big sort of bag. They were both looking at the hole in the ceiling and Mr. Jacobs turned on a dime and stared me down.
“It’s just been water leaking down, nothing else right?” I thought the question was odd and I hesitated to answer since I was thinking of those vivid nightmares. I think he may have noticed that because his face sank, and he glowered at me looking significantly angrier and more dangerous than before. Before I could answer he shouted at me.
“What did you see?! Did something come out of the hole? Was it a person?” He looked manic and deranged, and I looked at the other man in the coveralls and he stood silent holding a sledgehammer that had appeared in his hand and watching the confrontation unfold.
“I....I don't know I just saw the leak, what is going on what do you think I saw? My neighbor asked me the same thing earlier.” Mr. Jacobs eyes narrowed.
“What neighbor? I haven't had tenants in 315 or 317 in over a year.”
I was confused, maybe I had heard Maxine’s apartment number wrong, but how could she be my neighbor if she was not in one of those. This must be some kind of mix up, I figured.
“My neighbor Maxine she said she lives in 315; I just saw her the other day and she asked if I had seen something as well.” At the mention of the name Mr. Jacobs face turned white.
“You said her name was Maxine!? She said that? You saw her?!” He was screaming at me asking more questions about Maxine like she was on Americas most wanted.
“What does she have to do with this? I don’t know what the hell is going on.” I admitted.
Ignoring my question, Mr. Jacobs began pacing and holding his hand to his head. The man in coveralls spoke for the first time.
“Jack, we have to go, let's find the body while the leak and portal are still here and dispose of the loose end.” I gasped at the admission of both a body and that I was apparently a loose end to some sort of crime.
“I fucking know, alright make it quick, we are going to have to do two so let's go before more people start coming home and we risk someone hearing.”
I fell back against the wall in shock as the large man hefted the sledgehammer and started stomping toward me. I was unarmed and injured; I didn't know what I could do but suddenly the lights went out again.
The door slammed shut and as the three of us stood there in stunned silence a slow drip began to trickle from the ceiling. Each drop splashing off of the low standing pool of water. The large man went to the door and tried to open it but to no avail.
“Jack what is going on?!” The man shouted to Mr. Jacobs.
“I don't know just use the hammer. Kill him and then bust us out of here. Or just give it to me and I will fucking do it.”
They were going to kill me!? I had to think of something quick, so I stammered out.
“Wait! I don't know what is going on you guys, you don't want to kill me I really don't know anything. Let's just get out of here before the water gets much worse, I think something bad is going to happen.”
As if on cue the dripping stopped and a torrent of water was disgorged from the hole in the ceiling, which now held an eerie lambent glow and was pouring a blood red liquid into the apartment. There was a giggle followed by a blood curdling screech and the man in the coveralls with the hammer was wrenched up off his feet and dragged kicking and screaming into the water. Mr. Jacobs and I both watched as his entire head was forced under the water by some unseen force, The man was being drown and as he looked like he might kick up a splash of water landed next to him revealing a brief outline of a female form the eyes were white and it had a horrible smile on its face. Its long-clawed hand was wrapped fully around the man's throat and was effortlessly throttling him.
Mr. Jacobs started sobbing, begging for mercy.
“I didn't mean to, please. It was an accident. I would have been locked up. I couldn't lose everything, I had to.”
I sat in stark terror as the falling water from the ceiling became a storm. The millions of droplets highlighted the attacker, her form was terrible yet oddly beautiful and she strolled along towards Mr. Jacobs who was grasping at the door handle and tugging uselessly at it. He reached for the hammer when he was pulled toward the figure by a moving tendril of bloody water.
“Just a little bath Jack that's all it won't hurt......much.” He tried to scream but his head was submerged in the bloody water. I saw the sentient waves of ruinous water grasp each of his appendages and tear him limb from limb in a bloody explosion.
I screamed and stumbled away wading through the water into my bedroom and desperately pulled on the window to escape that way. I heard splashing footsteps and a soft pretty tune being sung by an ethereal voice. Then I heard a giant crash and saw a portion of wall collapse along with more of the ceiling and the sight before my eyes almost drove me insane.
There was a vortex of bloody water sucking the maimed bodies of those men into the hellish portal where the leak originated and at the center was the bloody figure smiling at me and waving a hand as I finally got the window to budge and fell out. I stepped outside and tried to descend the fire escape, but the surface was too slippery, and I fell. I screamed and plummeted down and thought I would land on my head and die. Yet as I fell my descent slowed and to my shock and horror, I realized the rainwater was mixing with the water from my apartment flowing out of the window and I was being pulled back up into my room. I tried to scream but I felt water fill my mouth. At some point in the nightmare ride I blacked out again.
That was the last thing I remembered before I found myself here again. As I listen to the leak once more, I wonder if it could have all been a bad dream? The water, the leak, the portal it is all too much it couldn't have been real. I will go into my dingy living room and see the water dripping into the bowl and realize it was all just a terrible dream.
Yet when I sit up, I notice an odd breeze and when my eyes focus in the dark, I see lights in the sky........the sky?
The ceiling is gone! I do not know what is going on here, but I know I have to get out of here now. I hear splashing footsteps again over the ever-present dripping and see in the sky now the light of the monstrous portal opening in the very clouds above!
It is too much I leap from the fire escape again. Somehow in my mad haste I survived descending the fire escape and I sit here now writing this impossible story in my car that I have been living in nearly a week after the fact.
I heard on the news the reports of a structural collapse at my apartment and the landlord being unavailable for questioning, presumed missing along with another man who worked at the apartment as a special contractor. I thought about Mr. Jacobs and the man in the coveralls and shuddered when I remembered them being drawn into that unholy portal in the ceiling.
Apparently, it had not been the only disappearance in the building either. Around a year ago there was a missing person's report for a Maxine Valoroso. I remember how Mr. Jacobs reacted to her name, and it made me wonder what really happened here before I moved in.
I don't know who or what Maxine was, maybe she was the same person in the report, changed somehow. Best I can guess Mr. Jacobs had known something about her disappearance, maybe he had killed her and somehow, she came back for revenge. She mentioned the water washing away people's violent lives and I shuddered when I considered her smile when talking about the last person in 316 and the overdue message she had to send to Mr. Jacobs. I didn't know if she was a ghost, a demon or what. I also don't know the extent of her reach or if she is satisfied with just those men and who knows how many others she had washed away from that room with that dread portal.
I suppose it doesn't matter to me anymore I am never going back there. I gave all my belongings up for lost and the building was condemned anyway after the landlord disappeared and the ceiling collapsed in several sections of the building. I think there are are terrible things they will discover if they ever really investigate the building. Perhaps they will find bodies, perhaps the bodies are all gone, sucked into that watery abyss, that eldritch gate to hell that opened with a simple leak.
If something like that can happen I just don't know, I don't know if anyone is safe anymore.

read a book about year ago. I can’t remember the title of the book or the author, but what I can remember is bits and pieces of what the book was about. The main female character was in college to be a fashion designer while she was in college. She met a athlete he either played football or hockey. Can’t remember which one of those sports and she had a fashion show that she had to do for her class project and she decided to do a swimsuit collection, for her class project. She started to date or fake date the main male character and the professor decided to start hitting on her, but she turned him down and then he made her class time harder for her due to that she was using the athletes hockey team to do her Mail swimsuit designs on, but they She started to date or fake date the main male character and the professor decided to start hitting on her, but she turned him down and then he made her class time harder for her due to that she was using the athletes hockey team to do her male swimsuit designs on, but the professor change the date of the fashion show so her boyfriend’s team stepped in to help.

Salaam!
Hoping for some genuine advice here. I am a female in my early 30s, married, and with a toddler. I am of Pakistani descent (born and raised here, parents are immigrants). My parents live about 2 hours away from us, and my in-laws also live 2 hours away. We basically live in the middle ground due to our jobs. I have lived out of my parents house for about 4 years now. I am very close with them, but there are some issues with our dynamic that have recently begin to affect me much more now that I am married, a mother, and trying to have an independent life.
Before I explain our dynamic, I should state that my parents are actively trying to purchase a home right by us now in our city. They are retiring soon and really miss my son (their grandchild). They don't have any family in their town, so it makes sense that they should be closer to us. However, now that this is becoming a reality, my anxiety has spiked incredibly and I have come to the realization that I don't actually want them to live close by at this time.
I have a lot of guilt by actually stating this as I am Muslim, desi, and want to do right by my parents as they are getting older. The reason that I don't want them to live close to me is due to our dynamic. They are very loving and kind-hearted parents; but they are also extremely smothering, opinionated, have high standards, and controlling without realizing. I have been infantilized my whole life and I am still extremely infantilized by them when I am in their presence (whether visiting them or them visiting me). They do not view me as an adult whatsoever. I understand a child is always a child in their parents' eyes but they take this very literally.
You know how in desi culture, parents are very overprotective of their daughters but then when they get married, they can do whatever they want? Doesn't apply here. It doesn't matter that I am married with a child. Nothing has really changed in our dynamic together with my parents. Here are some examples of the things they do out of love and caring for me when they visit my home: they do not allow me to do the dishes, my mom cooks breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they clean both of our guest bathrooms, they dust, clean the kitchen floors, take out our trash, organize/pick up after my toddler, and essentially they do all of our household chores. They also do not let me leave the house after Magrib time and drive anywhere alone (even though my husband is fine with it) or drive on the highway when it's busy (even though I have done it so many times and again, husband is fine with it).
When I lived at home, I was very spoiled and was never expected to do household chores, so whenever they come visit me, they treat me the same way in my own home. I have tried many times to assert myself, argued with them about it, and my husband and I try to clean to an insane degree before they come and get as many household chores done before they arrive so that they don't do it. We would like for them to come and enjoy my toddler, just visit and leave, instead of involving themselves in chores when we are more than capable of doing them ourselves. My husband also feels uncomfortable by this and has stated that he feels like a "guest in his own home". I have asked them to please stop "helping" quite so much and suggest that we all tag-team and share the chores, but it doesn't work.
In the last 4 years since I have moved out, I have become so much more independent. I have learned how to cook and clean, work full time and manage finances, take care of a household, and become a wife and a mother. The issues that I have with my parents are fine whenever we see each other because they are in smaller doses and I try not to start arguments. However, I am extremely anxious about them living so close by because I feel like it will really impact myself, my marriage, and my ability as a mother. I feel like a small child in front of them again. I start to doubt myself and have low self-esteem in front of them. But when we live further apart, I feel that I can thrive and be independent and try new things.
Of course, as a Muslim and a desi daughter, I have a lot of guilt for feeling this way. For the most part, I have avoided a serious conversation with my parents on this but there have been times when I have brought it up, and the response has been the typical desi defensiveness and emotional blackmail (that I am ungrateful and that they do everything out of love and to help me, and to make my life easier). I am truly grateful for wonderful parents alhumdullilah but that does not mean that there aren't issues.
So Reddit - from an Islamic perspective and with the understanding of my cultural background, please give me some advice. JazakAllah Khair if you have made it to the end of this :)

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Demographics

• Gender: Female
• Race/Ethnicity: White/Hispanic (Puerto Rican)
• Residence: Suburban, OH
• Income Bracket: Upper Class
• Type of School: Private
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None

Intended Major(s): Literature
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): NA - school doesn't have grades or tests (Sort of Montessori lite- can answer questions in comments)
• Rank (or percentile): again, NA
• of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc: NA - school doesn't offer any of those
• Senior Year Course Load: Calculus, Museums, Filmmaking, Writing, Analyzing culture and society,

Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

• ACT: 34 both superscore and highest test (I took the act 4 times) - 35 English, 36 reading, 28 math (I HATE MATH), 33 science
  • Highest math was a 30 which I also sent in

Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.

1. Author of book published by subsidiary of penguin random house. grades 10, 11, 12 Year 6 hwk, 45 wk/yr
2. Extemporaneous Captain(12)/Debater Speech and Debate Team. grades 9, 10, 11, 12, 18 hwk, 28 wk/yr
   1. Competed at FL Blue Key Round Robin '23, States '23, XTOC '23, and NSDA Districts '23, no awards though
3. FoundeEditor in Chief, Annual literary magazine. grades 10, 11, 12. 2.5 hwk, 36 wk/yr
4. Leadership Board MembeVolunteer of local chapter of national org. Raised 10k for walkathon. grades 9, 10, 11, 12 - 4 hwk, 36 wk/yr
5. Varsity Golf- grades 9, 10, 11, 12, 18 hwk, 8 wk/yr
6. Homestay Participant, CIEE Seville Honors Program - summer before 12th, 112 hwk, 4 wk/yr
7. Creatoeditor of yt channel - grades 10, 11, 12, 2 hwk, 26 wk/yr
8. Teen Board President of local chapter of national org (different one) - raised 20k, grades 9, 10, 11, 12 1 hwk, 36 wk/yr
9. Pianist - Qualified to compete in the international competition American Protege, and played at Carnegie Hall five times. grades 9, 10, 11, 12, 2 hwk, 36 wk/yr

Letters of Recommendation
AdvisoEnglish teacher: 7.5/10- She is super nice and a great writer, but our connection wasn't the strongest
Math Teacher: 6.5/10- Great guy, but I also sucked at math for pretty much the whole year so idk what he put down about that
Speech and Debate Coach: 10/10- He asked me to become captain of team before interviews and said he would always be there for any recommendation I needed.
Interviews
Only interview was at Northwestern and it went perfectly. Guy even said I was a great fit. 10/10
I visited Columbia, Kenyon, Northwestern, Occidental, NYU, and GW
Essays
Spent five months reviewing and reviewing everything - also had essay consultant. I'd say for NU 10/10 and for the rest a solid 8/10
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
I did not apply for financial aid to any schools, but some gave me merit. Did not EA anywhere.
Acceptances:

• ED (Deferred then accepted RD) Northwestern - committed
• RD Bard (writing portfolio)
• RD Bates(writing portfolio)
• RD Bowdoin(writing portfolio)
• RD Carleton (writing portfolio)
• RD Fordham (with 25k per year)
• RD Kenyon (writing portfolio) (with 25k per year)
• RD Occidental (with 20k per year)
• RD GW honors (with 25k per year)

Waitlists:

• RD Colby (writing portfolio)
• RD Grinnell (writing portfolio)
• RD Hamilton (writing portfolio)
• RD NYU
• RD Swarthmore (writing portfolio)

Rejections:

• RD Columbia (writing portfolio)
• RD Johns Hopkins
• RD Williams (writing portfolio)

I have 2 female cats, both are around 13 years old. I have moved a few times with them over the past 5 years, and was expecting some behavioral issues, but those usually subside after a few days. I just moved from a small efficiency apartment into a 3 bedroom trailer home.
Cat A is small and extremely skittish, afraid of her own shadow type. I'm the only person she'll let anywhere near her, and the few times I have company they assume I only have 1 cat. Cat B is bigger and more chill, but might be bullying Cat A. Whenever either of them nears the other they start hissing and howling at eachother. Not sure who is the instigator.
The side effect of this is that Cat A refuses to leave from under my bed for 98% of the time, only coming out when Cat B is in the other room, at which point she'll come to sit in my lap. The problem is that because she won't leave her safe zone around my bed, she has started peeing on my bed so that she can immediately hide again. I don't know if this is because of the fighting, or because the litterbox is on the other side of the house now where used to it was like 5 feet away from any given point due to the small size of the apartment.
I try to keep the food within the same room as the litterbox to instill the knowledge of where it's at. I've been making sure to carry her to the food and water bowl a couple times a day to make sure she's getting out to eat and drink, but when I do she freaks out and hides until I leave the room. I see that there is a rule against questions regarding litterbox issues unless a vet has been seen. I have been unable to take her to the vet, due to recouping from moving costs, but I believe that this is entirely behavioral as I didn't have this issue before the move.
I posted this on cats and was given the suggestion of "Feliway Multicat" and was hoping to see if other people thought that might help, or might have other suggestions. If the mention of litterbox habits is inherently against the rules, please let me know and I will edit. I added it as supplemental information, as I'm hoping that the core issue is the fighting between the two.

I've just finished SUAR and wanted to leave my thoughts on how it's affected me.
Chapter 1 does a great job of establishing who the experts are and giving their credentials. So. Many. Credentials. Also sets up what the rest of the book will be about in TFVooDoo's classic, storytelling way. Definitely got me excited to keep reading.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4 provide factual information with sources after just about every claim. Goes into the science behind the exercises, relates them to actual events within SFAS, and even gives possible (not necessarily recommended) alternatives for some of them. These chapters ensured I know this is going to be a careful and long process. I've followed workout plans before (one of which the man himself beat my ass about), and they've never included me actually tracking this stuff. Just get in the gym, drink some water, eat, and that's it. They were never measured. Not to mention mobility and flexibility were never part of them.
Chapter 5 really brought to me the difference between unprocessed and processed food, as well as cutting through some traps of fad diets. The protein and hydration intake were very insightful, and I also like his awareness of sub-optimal places for food such as on campus or DFACs. I did find the bit about alcohol entertaining and also validating. I can't stand the taste of alcohol, much less the effects, so no problems from me there. Something else I found personally amusing was the phrase "You can't out-train a bad diet." When I was deployed, I overhead one of the Marine Raiders talking w/ the Navy CPO that was in charge of my team about fitness, workouts, diets, and he said verbatim, the same exact thing. Idk, if a GB and a Raider both said the same thing, maybe there's some merit to it.
Chapter 6 covers the one thing I have the least trouble with. I'm actually pretty good about getting 7-8 hours of sleep. Usually 9-10 on weekends. The only time's that really changes is whenever I have drill or other Army stuff to do, and even then it's rare. Little things like ensuring you get some sunlight, setting the mood for bed, limiting device usage, and even noise and temperature were all very detailed. Another validating thing here is already did a lot of what the book talks about here. My setup for just my bed is a memory foam mattress and pillow, and a memory foam & down alternative body pillow. I got that set up last month and have never slept better in my life. Minor rant since I mentioned the sunlight thing: I despise the sun. We've all got something weird about us. TFVooDoo's is his foot fetish, and mine is how much I despise the sun. I'd destroy it if I had the means. That's my real why. I'm gonna be a Green Beret so I can destroy the sun.
Chapter, fucking, 7. This chapter, took me 2 days to get through. It's a really long technical essay, and I caught myself too many times just floating through it without actually trying to understand it. So I went back and re-read it evert time I did that. I am very much looking forward to the mental exercises, and I like very much how each little section relates to what an SFAS candidate should have. Very surprising to me were the sections on empathy. I was not expecting this book to have anything like that AT ALL. It also did something very important, which was show me I have the ability and agency to make myself better up in the noggin and in my personality. I'm an introverted guy by nature, and something I'm always concerned about is my social batter. In my normal life, when that runs out, I can usually just leave or go somewhere by my lonesome to recharge for a bit. That doesn't look to be a good option at SFAS, so the mental resiliency building in this chapter will be very helpful to me.
Chapter 8. Not much to say, they're skills. I'll have to find somewhere to practice rope climbing. That's something I was able to muscle my way through in Basic. I don't intend to do that again. I need to learn technique. Few thing in here I've never heard of, should be fun to do on those rest days.
Chapter 9 was a good review for me of something I actually did do on TFVooDoo's advice: writing. I did write down my workouts, what I ate, how long I slept, how I felt physically/mentally, and even the time's I did or felt those things. Let me tell you, it is a BITCH to see your fuck-ups looking back at you in blue ink. But it is good to see progress made, and better decision-making.
Chapter 10, the last one. The Perfect Week Day 5 example is fucked up. The quality of sleep scale isn't there, the "M" on Mobility is missing, the entire row on Deadlift is missing, numbers and all. Squat and OHP are missing the lines under the numbers, the Nutrition box is black (I can say that) save for the gray calorie numbers, and "RESEARCH" got bisected. 7/10, too much water. It's one page, and it's an example page, so joking aside, I like it. Numbers look high, but I've been a professional week boy my entire life, so of course scary numbers look scary. Straightforward, I like the prompts, the summaries, the overviews, and the messages at the beginning and end of each week.
One of the same praises I have for SUAR and RUSU is the stories between chapters. I love them. They break up the seriousness of each chapter and make me want to keep going.
Something this book did for me, and I'm not sure if it's because of SUAR specifically or if it's just because it's A physical book, but it made me realize how little I actually read books these days. Especially physical ones. I used to read all the time as a kid. It was actually something I was bullied for funnily enough. Then somewhere in high school I stopped, and just went to play on my phone. The only book I've been reading recently is Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, and I don't even have a physical copy of that, I'm using Kindle to read it. Having a physical book in my hands is nice. I have to pay attention to it. So if nothing else, I've been reminded of the joys of reading a book, particularly a physical one. That being said, the reading list looks... long to say the least. But it's sure to keep me occupied for a while. I'll get through all but one of 'em. Given the language I'm already learning, I'm going to start with "SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome - Mary Beard"
Now for the suggestions seeking part. The biggest issue for me is going to be nutrition. Looking through my kitchen today, I got eggs, bacon, yogurt, bread, Chef Boyardee spaghetti & meatballs, cream cheese, PB&J, waffles and syrup, some meat lovers breakfast bowls, hot pockets, some beef patties, and some chicken patties. The Jamaican ones, not burger ones. I've got fam coming this week so most of that's gonna be eaten by my brother. Dude can down a truck. So, with all the space my fridge will suddenly have, I'll be out grocery shopping. There's a whole foods market near me I can go to. What suggestions do you lads and lasses have for a 5'9" ≈145lbs guy on what I ought to be getting when I go shopping? Or if you've just got meal suggestions, I'll go find recipes and learn to make it. Much appreciated, thanks for coming to my TED Talks.

I'm a 17-year-old female who has been playing volleyball since the seventh grade. I found my dream team with my best friends in a club, but after moving away, I had to switch to a new club filled with toxic coaches and unkind teammates, which left me traumatized and uncomfortable playing with new people. This negative experience made me play worse and fear judgment from others, resulting in a lack of motivation and worsening performance. I haven't played in about a year, and I miss it dearly. I'm no longer in contact with my old teammates and have no one around to play with, even casually. With volleyball tryout season approaching, I'm feeling sad and depressed. I'm wondering what I should do to reconnect with volleyball. Are there any open gyms where I can practice and play with others? If so, how can I overcome the awkwardness of playing with adults, as most girls my age are already in clubs? I'm open to joining communities or finding new ways to play with others, but I'm unsure where to start. I live near Orlando, so any local advice or recommendations would be immensely helpful. Thank you.