Hello all, it with great pleasure that I can announce the finding of a majority of the original files for the flash game, "Sacred Seasons 2". Sacred Seasons 1 & 2 were flash games released in the late 2000s and early 2010s respectively. These games were MMORPGs, with class based combat and progression. The art style was also wonderful (more so for the second game), and the main reason I haven't given up this search. Fellow reddit user BenVenn (Venngeance) had contacted a moderator for the second game, and got a few thousand files in return. However, they have decided to not make the files public or to archive them. This serves as proof that is is possible to find the files, however I need some help to find them and that we are possibly one lead away. I have searched across several hundred backups on Archive.org and the Wayback Machine, however it is entirely possible that I have not searched for the right combination of words or crawled the right websites. The original servers were not backed up, meaning the Wayback machine is not necessarily a viable method of search. I have tried to contact the games head developer as well as the company behind the game, both to no avail. I have posted on DHExchange in hopes of someone actually sitting on the files. I think the best option is to take BenVenns approach and message some of the original moderators. Attached are the images I was sent as proof that the files existed. Thank you for reading this, and I implore you to please help this search. We are so close, I am sure. I just hope I can spark the same fire in others that burns so passionately within me, because I am not willing to give up.
Proof They Can Be Found
I will edit this with my current archive, when that is finished uploading to google drive.

Fantasy based
You were the princess of one of the wealthiest monarchies that the land has ever seen, which also made you a target for opposing monarchies who were trying to overtake your father. Your family was great infront of the people but behind the curtains life wasn't as great, you were the next to reign but your father was trying to rearrange into marriage with prince's from other monarchies for alliances. As much as you argued, he wasn't changing his mind. One day, you managed to escape your room and headed to the forest, a place where no sane human would go into for the beasts that live inside it but you didn't care. The atmosphere, the sound of nature brought you peace
Thay was until you heard something, a twig snapping? You turned around and saw something you'd see in a nightmare, a tall creature who's covered in moss, socket empty and teeth yellow and sharp. You heard its scream as it started to approach you and you were just frozen in fear. An arrow slipped through the air and into its arm before another strikes its chest making it run away "What do you think your doing in the forest? Don't you know how dangerous it is?" A voice spoke before your vision went blurry and everything went dark

Story from my first ever playthrough.
First ever New Vegas play through. Hardcore mode, I’m a big survivalist sim kinda girl.
I said “these deathclaws ain’t shit” and stealthed my way straight to the Strip at a very low level. Along the way I picked up Boone as my one and only companion.
I finally caught up to Benny. Intending to work with him to overthrow Mr. House, and having not played before, I chose the “forgive” option. But that Sinatra-loving cuntweasel runs away, then sics his goons on Boone and I. We kill them all and get a message from the legion that they’re holding Benny at their camp, Caesar wants to see me blah blah blah.
I’m too weak to go alone, but I know Boone won’t take the diplomatic route. So I go back to Goodsprings and gear up for the fight of our lives. Trudy died in the powder ganger fight, so I looted all her shit and got a payday. Bought doctors bags, stimpacks, armor piercing ammo, etc but I’m still fairly low level so there are only so many options. But I did find a chainsaw somewhere and tucked that away for later.
Now, we couldn’t go through the dam yet. We had to go around, to the legion river crossing. As expected, Boone attacked on sight. With great effort we killed all the legionnaires and freed the slaves, then crossed the river. He gives me a dialog saying “I think we both know this is a one way trip” and I’m like hell yeah brother, they took your wife bro, go get your revenge.
We fight our way up to the entrance of Caesar’s camp. I was legit worried Boone would kill the legion children but nah, he’s a good guy. We’ve been together a while now, having fought our way through a heretofore unexplored southern wasteland to find the crossing. He’s really grown on me. I know nothing about the game or where to find any companions — didn’t even have ED-E at the time. Just Boone and I. And he saved me so many times.
But I know I’ll have to be stealthy if we’re going to survive, so I have Boone wait just outside the gates and throw on some legion armor. I sneak in and scope the place out but eventually a guard spots me. I fight as best I can but I’m in a really tight spot, limb damage, out of doctors bags, no stimpacks left, low on ammo, about to die.
Guess who comes heroically through the gate, SOMEHOW. Idk if it was a glitch or what, but Boone just ignores my order to wait there and starts sniping everybody and drawing their fire away from me. So I take advantage and loot some bodies for more weapons/stimpacks and then I head inside Caesar’s tent, Boone right behind me.
It’s the hardest fucking fight I’ve ever had in a game but I’m fucking doing it thanks to that chainsaw ignoring DT.
We’re back to back chopping these dudes up when, midway through, I get hit with the Boone has died notification. I only survived thus far on massive amounts of luck, trial and error, and HOURS of gameplay within this camp. I’m halfway to killing Ceasar.
So I dont reload the save. Boone fucking died taking those bastards out 😭😭
After Ceasar and everybody else is dead I chainsaw Benny, find Boone’s body and drag it to Ceasars throne, then sit Boone there looking out at all the bodies and gore.
Never completed his quest, but felt like an appropriate ending for me.
Then found the note to his wife. A game had never fucking GOT ME in the heart like that 🥺🥺

Waking up in the middle of the night I find myself restless
So much has come into focus in the last few days. The station, my first steps on another world. It is all a bit overwhelming. Relaxing my thoughts drift off thinking about how I got here. A young girl on Europa, being selected for training after my aptitude tests, the Academy on Ganymede. Then as always my thoughts drift back to… her…
Lucy…
We started at rivals at the academy, we were from different worlds. Literally, me from Europa a wet ocean world remote and isolated, her an inner worlder from the hot dusty plains of Venus. We were water and fire.
The professors pitted us against each other from day one, based on our aptitude tests we were the top of the class. They split the class into teams and gave us challenges. I like to say I got the better of her, I was fast out the gate winning a few challenges. But Lucy turned back on me in a vengeance, she had a magnetism to her that caused our classmates to almost be addicted to her. People from my team would defect over to Lucy. Soon I found myself vastly outnumbered.
One day after Lucy and her team thrashed me again in a simulated strategy challenge. I left and I needed to be alone. I showered, went into the sauna. Replaying the moves again and again. How was I going to get the upper hand. She outnumbered me so much.
Everyone knew to leave me alone in the sauna. It was where I thought, relaxed, my place of peace. I was frustrated, I lean back against the wall and let me hands wander. Gently down my body, letting my stress evaporate as I tease myself…Then the door opened…. And it was Lucy. A cocky grin in her face.
We had been thinking about nothing but each other and we had both become obsessed. When that tension broke. Let me just say in a sauna fire and water combine to make something beautiful. Lucy and I did as well.
She moved towards me quickly, letting her towel drop, she was direct with a purpose. Grabbing the back of my head and kissing me deeply. I was shocked.. surprised... Excited..
I grabbed the back of her head and kissed her back. A deep need inside of me welling up, our lips slid across each other's as our tongue intertwined. I poured my life water of passion into her. She flared up and accepted my passion. Her hands exploring my body as I moved my knees between her legs.
Fuuuccckkk…. When she arched her back… so beautiful… MMM nnngghhhh an orgasm washed over me in my bed while I thought of Lucy.
Panting… even after all this time, separated by a waygate and unfathomable distance my body still yearned for her, I still yearned for her. Rolling onto my side I stare out my window into the vastness of space and the void. My fingers still ryhmically dancing on my pussy. Fingers sliding in and out
Your taught at the academy not to develop attachments, especially since the top prize, the highest honor of our training, to one day fly a deep space exploration through a waygate. Which would put us alone, in a different system. Like I am now.
Even if I power up my waygate in record time and rush home. Lucy is most likely gone. She was my alternate, meaning had I been unable to go this time she would have. It also means she most likely the deployed to her own system and would be gone before I returned. Likely I would never see her again.
Biting my lips and pressing a hand out onto the glass…yes…yes.. there
Fuck again….Fuucckkkkk LLLLuuucccCC
EeeeeeeeeerrrrrreeeemmmmmAAAAAA, a beautiful black haired woman orgasms in a bed identical to Emeras save the ambient lighting is blue inside of pink.
Fuck…. That was good. I find myself panting as I step out into the hallway of my ship. 2 days since the waygate, 6 months since I last saw Emera. Since she departed through her gate. Stars know if she still lives.
It was a rare happening, another gate coming online shortly after Emera’s departure. I thought I would be flying routine patrols around the system. Now I'm alone. Alone with my thoughts of her, and my AI Julia. Fuck. Why couldn't we have gone together. Why only one pilot to a ship. Who knows maybe she's thinking of me. Technically the systems we are in are closer together than home. That's something…
You're probably wondering if I was outnumbered and Lucy normally had my number in competition then how did I get to leave first. Yes, I did sleep with high command. That was only my closing argument though. You see Lucy had her magnetism that caused people to be addicted to her, she drew people in. But I was better at strategy and nuanced maneuvers.
The rules weren't strict on the teams, people defected all the time. Keeping your people together was part of the challenge. I decided to break that challenge.
No Battleplan survives first contact with the enemy afterall. Why not break the competition itself
My enemy wasn't Lucy, trust me we had been together enough at this point my heart swelled when I saw her. My enemy was the rules, and proctors.
There had to be two team in the academy for the lessons to work. But the rules only set a minimum not a maximum.
Lucy and her best 4 left her team, and me and my best 4 left my team. We formed a new team with Lucy and I at the head. The proctors were fuming. I was called into their offices again and again. Which is what led to me sleeping with a few of them to get ahead. It is always good to solicit a meeting with superiors, you can always be turned to your advantage.
In the Academy, there were 50 of us girls. The proctors let us keep our 3rd team, but declared no one else could join us. It was the ten of us vs double our number on both the other teams. Not ideal… but we had Lucy and I together. My how we shined
We out maneuvered, out paced, and out thought the other teams again and again and again..
Entering into the final the proctors split everyone up, eliminating the team. Just to try and stop us from sweeping the competition. Instead there would be 25 teams of 2 members each of our own selection. Lucy and I naturally selected each other.
We set down on a terraformed valley on Mars, all the other duos were around. The mission was complex. Gather knowledge, survive in the wilderness, there were simulator villages where we had to set up relations, and if possible eliminate other teams.
The gravity is different from what I'm used to, my body feels heavy. Sluggish, they train us on this and soon I'll adapt. But first landing it hits me like a weight. Ffuuuccckkk I murmur as I land my account ship on the surface.
Lucy always compares a new celestial body to a lover. Well for me Mars just grabbed my hair, slapped my ass and pushed in
Fuck I can't imagine landing on Earth. Triple this, fuck that give me my moon mother's oceans anyday.
I suck deep and hard on the control in my mouth and all three extract from me. I am about to get up from the control seat when I feel a palm in the small of my back
“Lucy not funny, let me up” I say
She giggles, and rubs my ass cheeks before her fingers rub against my lips
I moan biting my lip as I push myself against her hand
“I knew the gravity here would give a Moonie like you a good fucking, you're so wet my love”
Rolling my head back and forth..”quickly we have to debrief and set up camp” I moan
She smacks my ass again and her fingers deftly slide to work, one hand pinning me to the chair while she teases my sex, her thumb rubbing in perfect circles on my clit and her fingers pulling on my g-spot
“Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes uuuhhhhh my love it feel so good” shaking my hips back and forth I feel it building as I rock my hips on her hand
Squeezing….my leg….quivering… my voice squeaking… “uuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh ffuuuccckkk” I moan as I feel the orgasm wash over me…
Lucy slaps my ass playfully and licks her fingers… “let's go my love, stop playing around we have to set up camp” she giggles
“Oh!! You!!” I get up and rush after her slapping her ass when I catch up
Carryalls follow us out of the ship.. I immediately sent out the scout drones and assessed our landing spot. Allocating tasks and running diagnostics.
Lucy set about converting the ship to a shelter and arranging power arrays, and deciding on perimeter defenses
We were a perfect power duo. Our carryalls and scouts were soon all at work, and Lucy was finishing up the shelter
I needed to repay her, so I slowly walked up behind her. She heard my heavy steps in the gravity. Turning to look at me she beamed at me. My heart melted and grabbing both sides of her face I pinned her to the side of the ship. Our bodies intertwined and our lips locked.
She moaned at me giggling, pushing my knee between her legs, and we quickly undressed each other. Her mouth on my breast, as my hand glided down to her slick vagina.
Grabbing her chin roughly and up turning her head exposing her neck I sink my teeth into it as I push forward with my knee back and forth pressing my fingers in and out of her.
A deep moan emanates from her, licking my bite mark I kiss up her neck until my forehead is resting hers. Eye to eye, I watch the pleasure build in her. Thrust after thrust of my knee. My fingers pressing into her g-spot every time, my palms pressing and grinding onto her clit
“Cum for me my love, give me your sweetness, I want your water to be the first I drink on this planet” I breath
I feel her pussy tighten and grip my fingers. Her legs twisting around me… she goes silent… a flush rises in her flesh… we kiss deep, and long, and passionately as I feel her gush onto my hand as orgasm rapts her body..
I watch her eyes dilate and relax I kiss her gently again before kissing down, my lips brushing through her pubic hair tickling my lips. Opening my mouth and pressing my tongue in I drink of her orgasm
My fingers inside pressing to work again, she cries out as she rocks her hips grinding her lips to mine. As she gushes another orgasm into my mouth..
I can even taste and feel it now on my tongue…
Releasing her, and helping her up I grin
Walking awayz the top of my leotard open my tits out in the sun
“I'm up by one my love, and you taste so GGGGOOOOoooOOooddddDD” I giggle setting back to work.
Days and weeks pass Lucy and I set up our camp. Wefind nearby teams before they find us. We quickly fall on them in the night, clearing our immediate area, eliminating them from the contest. We bathe in a nearby stream, sun ourselves on the rocks, make love on the soft moss of the forest.
I don't know if I've ever been happier, ever been more at peace l than I was then with Lucy. Her and I… her and I against the world.
We make good progress setting up relations with 12 of the 15 villages. Our camp is well stocked. We receive updates from the proctors from dead drops. Seems out of the 25 teams only 8 remain. Lucy and I have eliminated 7 ourselves.
We need to be the last standing, triumphant together.. so that maybe.. maybe we can convince them to send two of us on a ship. Imagine the wonders, this wouldn't be temporary, but would become our life.
Lucy and I talk about it often. We can convince them. We'll defeat the others then refuse to turn on each other.
Our dream died that night…
We were naked, curled up in each others arms when the alarm sounded..all the alarms
Proximity alert for 14 signals… they had teamed up on us. 14 on 2 they were going to eliminate the front runners while they still could.
Fuck.
Lucy and I turned and quickly downed our emergency biotic vials just as a concussive blast hit our ship shelter.
“Fuck! They aren't supposed to attack equipment!” I yell
“The proctors must have sent them, they should be intervening with that!” Lucy says
“You're better in a fight, charge them and I'll flank” I yell
We nod at each other and we are off naked as the day we were born
Lucy bursts from our ship her shield bursting out in front of her
I dart out the side and task our scouts and drones to make dive bomb attacks on the intruders
I leap over a blast, grab a tree branch and swing. I land my legs on either side of the head. Of one the attackers, twisting my flip her over and knock her out. Back on the run, I see Lucy take out another one as drones dive in and out of the chaos.
Lucy blocks to her right and charges blasting herself high into the air, twirling before blasting herself downward tackling her target to the ground and eliminating her.
She's about to get blasted from behind when I take the attackers in the flank, knee to the solarplex. My hand on the side of her neck I thrust up hard with my knee. In the low gravity she turns and flies off into the trees as I raise my hands and blast another in the side.
She turns just in time to block my attack, when Lucy rockets into her side with her elbow

So i hung out with this guy yesterday and its the probably 6th time i've hung out with him but i've know him for years Not sure if im supposed to add our ages so just ask if curious! But i really really really like him and i THOUGHT. He really liked me too... so yesterday we get to his apartment, and instead of us going to his room and watching a movie just like he promised me we would do, he invited his roomate and his friends as well as his roomates girlfriend (Whom i dont know whatsoever but whatever) And so i was like ummmm okay? At first i had no issue with it.. i mean yeah its a small room so im touching shoulders with strangers but he's happy and i guess i was too? But what got me really and why im making this post even was when they all (Roomate, Girlfriend, Friends) got up to head to i think target, The guy im "talking" Too got up, closed the door behind him, did not even look or bat an eye in my direction as he walked up and off after everyone else did and i kid you not 5 minutes later i hear the door opened and close. Sooo he left... ? Ok! I dont know the area im in that well so i was uncomfortable and contemplating calling a friend and leaving, without telling him. I've been there no more than maybe 10 times like i said and why wouldn't he ask me to go? Why was i apparently not invited? Was it that important that you couldn't even tell me or speak up about it? Righttt... so There was also enough room in the car for me to go too, and yet Nobody said a word, and i know for a fact that i havent said nor have i done anything to throw him off THIS hard. I cried for hours about it when i got home this morning in my room because my stupid self spent the night at his apartment with him and got dropped off earlier by him, he hasnt texted me since then and wouldnt kiss me goodbye before i got out of the car. He made it awkward. And you're probably thinking "Ummm leave the dude obviously" but This guy was my best friend before he was anything else to me and i dont wanna lose him tbh. I was fine before him so i know for a fact i'd be fine after him and without him too. but Im starting to feel like Im the problem because so what if he wants to distance himself? Maybe im the crazy person here? But at this point i am rambling, so the moral of the story is that he went from being all over me 25/8, To basically not even wanting to touch me. I dont know wether to chase him or chase the door to leave whatever situation i've now realized that i got myself into. Again Any and all advice would be welcome because i just dont know if theres any other options besides leaving him but if he doesnt see where he already went completely wrong especially if he keeps up this act of "I dont want you near me" or "Dont fucking touch me" i suppose i'll see myself out because all that will do is just piss me off. Im sorry this is so long, Thanks so much for reading if you made it to the end lmfao. Also i hope i put this the right way so people understand it! Thanks again

I'm in my rewatch of season 2 before discovering season 3 and I needed to vent my feelings about the Sharma family.
The three Sharma women have their responsabilities in S2 mess and their own flaws. But they also have some excuses for their actions.
Kat SHARMA:
She had to take care of her mother and sister at a young age, putting her own dreams aside. She also developed a feeling of inferiority and a fear of not being part of this family now her father was no longer there and she was left with her stepmother and half-sister, both from nobility while Kat is a commoner.
So she gave up marriage, her dreams and focused on raising her sister to allow her to have the luxury life and marriage she deserved. However, by doing this, she projected all her regrets and expectations onto her younger sister, turning/raising Edwina into the perfect debutante: always in control and perfection who never shows her true personality (and who didn't have one really), only seeking to please others and find the perfect rich husband.
Thus, Edwina has become self-centered while remaining naive, inexperienced and with the pressure of finding a good husband (being sheltered by her mother and her sister who project their own expectations and regrets onto her).
Kat shaped her sister this way, which is a disservice. Then, behind her back, she has reciprocal feelings and desire for Edwina suitor and never protects her sister from this. On the contrary, she even pushes Anthony to maintain his engagement under the pretext Edwina would have developed feelings for him. Her guilt, feeling of inferiority and of owing something to her sister push her to condemn Edwina to a miserable life. If her suitor proposes to her only to escape his attraction to her sister and continues to desire Kat behind her back, what future does Edwina have with Anthony if not a life of sorrow?
The same goes for the grandparents' money. Even though Kat had to take charge of her family, she had no right to hide from her mother and sister that the grandparents who disowned the mother would give their money under certain conditions. Mary had the right to know and decide whether she wanted to reconnect with her parents. Edwina had the right to know and decide whether she wanted to inherit from her grandparents on the terms they set. Hiding something so important from them was a mistake. Kat projected her own fears onto her family without even trying to find out what they wanted. She has an inferiority complex due to her status as a commoner and didn't want her mother and sister to be dragged down but it was not up to her to make the decision.
Mary SHARMA: She made the choice to run away with a widowed servant who already had a child rather than marry a man of her rank. She chose to become Kat's stepmother and live a more difficult life. However, when her husband died, she collapsed (which is understandable but not if the child who was not hers had to become responsible for her). She let her eldest daughter become responsible for their family at a young age, having to manage their financial life and her younger sister's education. Mary has completely renounced her parental authority to leave Kat the caretaker of the family. Kat yearned for love, for a family and overnight, she decided to raise her sister so that the latter had this life and no longer her.
As a mother, Mary should have seen her eldest was sacrificing her happiness and dreams for her younger sister. Kat was afraid of not deserving this family, of not really being part of it, of being responsible (now that her father is no longer there) for the precariousness that these two noble women suffered. And Mary, as a mother, should have realized what Kat was thinking, reassured her and helped her instead of having an attitude that, in many ways, was that of a stepmother and not a mother.
Mary knows Kat wants to return to India as soon as Edwina is married to become a governess. What mother would accept being separated from her child in another continent who would live a solitary life even if the child says she wants her freedom? And when we know Kat has simply resigned herself to this existence because she doesn't think she has a place in her noble step/half-family and not because she truly desires this life, it's revolting that Mary doesn't realize Kat's desperation.
Mary failed as a mother to Kat, she failed as a mother to Edwina, and she failed as a widow because her husband would never have tolerated seeing what his two daughters were driven to become.
Edwina Sharma:
She is young, very young and has no life experience. Her mother and sister never prepared her for the hardness of life, the cruelty of this world, the lies of men and, quite simply, the responsibilities of a life as a wife. She lives in the bubble her family created for her: transformed into an accomplished young girl who adapts to her audience, always saying the right thing, smiling and obedient. She learned not to make waves, to always try to please, not to enter into conflict, not to make a stand for those she love (like at dinner when she greets her grandparents with a big smile without worrying about the suffering her mother had because of them). In many ways, she is oblivious to the suffering of others and their problems because she was raised to be the center of attention, being the youngest and her family only hope to secure wealth.
She was raised to be the perfect wife and so she dreams of being one and only thinks about finding the ideal husband according to the image she has created for herself. When she meets Anthony, he is handsome, the most popular of the suitors and he pursues her with great ardor which, in her limited, inexperienced child's mind, means that he values ​​her a lot. He has a great title, great wealth, is handsome and wants her as his wife. It doesn't take much for Edwina who, at that moment, is not looking for love (contrary to what Kat, projecting her own aspirations, tells her).
She has learned so much that marriage is the ultimate goal that she doesn't even take the time to realize the situation she's getting herself into: she sees Anthony as he tries to make himself appear to her and not as he really is. Even when there were signs: the duplicity of Anthony who sent a friend to distract Kat, the unbridled passion of the Bridgerton siblings while playing (which isolated Edwina who didn't understand that nobles let go of maners like this, she who always learned to stay in line).
She is particularly cruel in her words towards Kat at the last part of the season and she never should have say that. But she is a teenager whose world has just fallen apart, betrayed by the person she trusted the most and the man she was going to entrust her life to. Her sister was more than a sister, she was her teacher, mentor, friend and guardian.
Kat raised her, put into her head everything Edwina thinks about marriage and life. She's the one who put this burden on her shoulders and turned her into this diamond but betrayed her like this because Kat was never honest. If the latter had told her family her fears, her aspirations, their financial problem etc... Edwina could have acted differently. But Kat never gave her the chance. She pushed her down this path then betrayed her by acting against everything Kat said: she said she wants freedom and not to get married but she developed feelings for her sister's fiancé, she said Anthony wasn't an acceptable suitor and tried to dissuade Edwina from marrying him but in fact Kat had developed feelings for him and find him acceptable. In Edwina's eyes, Kat is a hypocrite who put pressure on the child she was because she couldn't have that for herself but ended up compromising everything anyway because deep down, Kat hadn't given up on having what she wanted Edwina to have. And, in many ways, she is right. Kat failed as a big sister and made many mistakes even if the main fault lies with the parent: Mary.
Conclusion:
For me, of the three, Edwina is the least to blame. She is a child, unlike the other two, who developed flaws because of the way her mother and sister raised her. Many brothers or sisters say horrible things in a moment of anger. Even though it's horrible and she shouldn't have, one of the main causes of their problems is precisely that Kat sees herself as her half-sister and has decided to distance herself from her family, causing all those problems. Edwina is betrayed, humiliated, heartbroken, her reputation may be shattered, her future ruined. I think in this situation, even though it's horrible, it can be excused that she calls Kat her half-sister, pinpointing the root cause of the situation they find themselves in.
Kat is to blame for the choices she made, her indecision, the mistakes she continued to make, and her weaknesses. She raised her sister to marry a rich man while trying to belatedly remind her to marry for love (because that's what she would want for herself). Her indecision in the way she raised and married her sister, her lack of courage and her choices caused all this mess. However, she suffers from the trauma of her father's death, from having the feeling of having to owe it to her mother and her sister to meet their needs because they are noble, unlike her. And, in many ways, if she came to have such a complex it's because her mother did not give her enough trust and a place in her own family. So I understand her doubts and fears, I understand, admire and respect the sacrifices she made. But I also don't excuse her attitude towards her sister and some choices she made. Her indecision between wanting to secure wealth and seeing her sister marry for love as Kat wanted for herself, between wanting her sister's happiness but wishing her own happiness over hers had terrible consequences and could have ruined her sister's life.
Mary is the main culprit in all of this. Her lack of discernment, her weakness at the death of her husband, her longing for the luxury of her birthright, all this was noticed by her eldest who had to provide for the needs of Mary and Edwina, renounce her own life, keep quiet her feelings and thoughts, and spend 10 years preparing a secure life for them of which she would not be a part of.
This blended family suffered from a cruel lack of communication, a lack of listening and attention and a lack of trust. Each of these women locked themselves in their own bubble, in their own suffering, their own problems and expectations and they all missed out on what the others were going through.
My regret is that the season decided to drag out this drama for so long without giving the audience and characters enough time to resolve this mess in a more appropriate and interesting way, allowing for real character development and a real lesson to learn from this situation.
P.S : Of course, since my post is about the Sharma family, I am not discussing Anthony who has a huge share of responsibility in the story and who should also have had more time to redeem himself and deserve his happy ending

A nightmare I don’t know how to explain. In need of spiritual help.
I am a white 19 year old female who was born and raised in Eastern Kentucky. I had moved to the Northern part of Florida with my verbally and mentally abusive ex fiancé back in September. One day, he had cheated on me and we had broken things off in November and ever since then I have been having on and off nightmares that I have no idea how to explain. Recently, I tried dating again only to be lied to and cheated on again. The time I finally get rest, I have a nightmare. This one I needed to talk about because it freaked me out so badly.
Today (Sunday, May 19th, 2024.) I had fallen asleep with my VR headset on because I was up so late trying to stay up to hang out with some of my friends who live in Europe. Due to timezones, I always try to stay up for them. Though, my dream I just have no idea how to explain.
I have never once experienced a tornado. Yet, in my dream I was about to. It started off at my old house I was always so freaked out from because of haunted negative energy I felt within being in that house. My parents wanted us to go ahead and get into the van (my older siblings were there, we haven’t spoken in over 3 years). My oldest we will call Ciara, my second oldest we will call Jesse, and my youngest we will call Kaitlyn. Ciara was sat left side of me in the second row of seats, meanwhile Jesse and Kaitlyn were sat behind me and Ciara in the third row of seats. We started to head down a road towards the gas stations while it started to pour down rain. Ahead of us, there was a tornado forming, we pulled over and was about to get out before the tornado was going right for us. Once the tornado had passed us (minor damage to the van, main damage on my end). I couldn’t shut the door that had been damaged on my side, so I decided to open the door to get out and make sure the other cars were okay. Once I got out of the van, I went and checked on a few people before lying on my back in the middle of the road, feeling the cold feeling of the rain on my skin. A little boy came by and asked if ai was alright, I replied, “Yes.” Before they ran off. I noticed a few elderly people walking to a tornado shelter, I am assuming more could be happening in the future.
Then a transition. I don’t know how I got there but I did. It seemed like a basement of some sort, my family wasn’t with me. I was alone with 3 individuals who I never seen before, nor do I remember seeing their faces. The male was about in his mid 20’s with dark brown hair and seemed to be asian, I assume the youngest two (6-8 and 10-12, both brown hair and asian) seemed to be his younger siblings. The floor didn’t seemed to be a little flooded but not too bad, they seemed to be showing me around to different things in their basement. First they took me to the far left side towards the window and showed me how they drink water. The window seemed to be what was letting the water in, causing the flood. They took what seemed to me a makeup brush and held it out and started to suck the water from the brush. They stated after every use they would bleach it? and then wash to make sure it would be clean for next use. Then they took me back to the ramen spot and asked if I was hungry, which I stated, “Yes.” Then they went ahead and showed me they got water from the window to cook the ramen. Once they got back to the gas stove it seemed like. They then let the ramen cook before plating it all for us. They seemed to say some stuff in a different language I never heard before beginning to eat, me on the other hand I didn’t touch the food, which now I am thankful for. As they began eating, I seemed to be walking without intent (almost as if being nosey) towards the rusty door that seemed to be locked with a barrel bolt door latch at the top. It had a name on it, which unfortunately I can’t remember. I then unlock the door and see a woman on the ground crawling at me screaming for help before I shut the door back and lock it out of sheer panic. She was bloody and beaten up, looked like a zombie of some sort. The one thing that stood out to me about the room was it didn’t look familiar, the only thing that seemed off was a male behind her, standing tall and unharmed. Once I turn around after locking the door the three individuals stared at me, as the female who seemed to be between 10-12 said, “She saw her.” Instantly, I then woke up.
What does this mean..?

It was half past nine when my shift at the diner ended. It’s not any place specifically you’d know, though you’d be forgiven for confusing it for a Waffle House given the abundance of cheap, greasy food and drunk clientele. The only thing distinguishing our location was that our doors closed at ten.
It was a cold night in October. The winds felt out of place for the fall season with the sharp way they bit into my skin. Usually, the low temperatures in Grant tended to hover around the mid-fifties. Tonight felt particularly frigid even bundled up in the warm confines of my jacket.
I hurried through the lot outside the diner, passing by several vehicles. When I made it to my car at the far end, I was quick to put the key in the ignition.
My car was a special edition Subaru Legacy. The only thing special about it was that it was only by the grace of God that my radiator and engine were still operational given the car was a little over two decades old.
When you turn the key, the engine would knock. My father said it was indicative of worn-out bearings. Could be an engine getting ready to declare sayonara before it crapped out one final time and departed for car heaven or perhaps car hell given its rough condition.
I knew little about that though; all I knew was that as a poor college student I was having a difficult enough time as is scrambling to make ends meet with a part time job at a diner. Regardless, whatever the solution, the answer involved money. Money I, notably, didn’t have.
The smart thing to do would be to purchase another used car; though in this economy that sort of thing is far easier said than done.
An even harder task than figuring out the financing for a replacement vehicle was getting this stubborn thing to turn. The engine threatened to exhibit life but would stop short of properly starting.
It was about the fifth round when my engine found the energy to fight the good fight on this frigid night. The engine knocked fiercely, reverberating inside the hood for a few seconds before the noise steadied itself.
I sighed in relief and backed out of my parking spot in the back of the lot.
As I left, I couldn’t help but notice something out of the corner of my eye. A man, a very rugged specimen of the male sex adorning a blue baseball cap and a grizzly beard, was approaching my vehicle at a brisk pace. Where I was the only one stationed at the back of the lot, it seemed odd he was coming my way.
I turned my head to acknowledge him. That’s when he began to break out into a full-on run.
My heart raced almost as fast as my car. I slammed the pedal down and sped out of the lot, the tires screeched loudly along the pavement as I veered to a sharp right.
​
I was lucky the road didn’t carry heavy traffic around this time of night. Where my eyes were focused on him, I was damn near lucky I hadn’t plowed directly into someone.
I sped along the highway and tried to rationalize why this lumberjack looking fellow had charged me. News reports of human trafficking came to mind, but it wasn’t really anything you heard much about in a place as remote as Grant Alabama.
For crying out loud, we physically were so remote one of the miniature cities within Grant was called Bucksnort. We were about as far from the Big Apple, or any real semblance of civilization, one could get.
After a minute of driving, I slowed down, especially when I heard something in the engine rattle. This car wasn’t designed for no races or wild chases. Not with the amount of age it carried.
Besides, I was alone. Safe.
At least that’s what I thought before I heard the blaring of a truck horn. An eighteen-wheeler was coming up behind me. Given I was the only other soul visible on this lonely two lane stretch of highway, it was clear they were honking at me.
I prayed to God and kept moving.
The big rig followed closely. We went down the road for two miles when suddenly my vision was obscured in a bright light.
The trucker was flashing his high beams. I could barely see when he hit me with them. I nearly swerved off the road when he did it.
After a few seconds the mounted flood lights on his vehicle relented and the blinding rays ceased their assault on my eyes.
I moved my car to the right lane to let him pass. He had no intention of doing so. His signal made that clear when he merged behind me.
Drops of rain began to pour from the sky lightly tapping my windshield.
Plop…plop, plop…plop.
My car didn’t handle well with slick roads. Fortunately, I wasn’t too far from home. Maybe another seven miles.
The fiery orange glow flooded the cabin of my car and I yelped.
I fumbled in my purse. One hand on the wheel, one digging desperately for my phone. With my visibility being periodically robbed, I was already a hazard on the road. Might as well risk compounding the issue if it meant I could get in contact with the police.
When the high beams vanished, I managed to pull out my phone and dial 911.
​
The operator answered after two rings. “911, what’s your emergency?” The man that answered the call sounded bored out of his mind, like he’d rather be anywhere else on a Saturday night.
I didn’t care if he was bored, entertained, playing with himself. As long as he could send someone out that’s all I cared about in the end.
“There’s a maniac tailgating me,” I said.
The operator’s voice clipped. Though from what I could understand of the roboticized sound coming out from his end of the line, I could tell from his tone he remained unenthused. “Ma’am, you’ve called an emergency line.”
​
“Y-you don’t understand! I was leaving work and this man started chasing me. I-I think he’s trying to hurt me.”
The operator fell silent for a few seconds. For a moment, between the rainy weather and the flaky signal, I thought I’d lost him. His voice reemerged seconds later. “Where are you?”
I rattled off the highway number I was driving on and told him my home address.
“I’ll get an officer dispatched in the area. ETA should be around ten minutes.”
Ten minutes. Six hundred seconds. Toss whatever metric you wanted to use to measure it out, with that big rig riding close behind me and the driver intermittently blinding me when they felt like getting their rocks off, it might as well have spanned an eternity. I was going to be lucky I didn’t crash into a guardrail or land myself in a ditch.
“Make that around fifteen minutes,” the operator clarified, his crackled voice twisting the knife deeper into me with his update.
I made the turn off the two-lane highway. I didn’t signal when I did it. I was hoping the sudden movement would have had my unwanted friend in the big rig blow past me.
“Ma’am?”
For a moment, I believed it worked. No more blinding lights. The only sound was the operator fishing for a response and the pitter patter of rain on my windshield.
My sigh of relief became a choking noise lodged inside my throat as I saw the eighteen-wheeler backing up. It didn’t turn on a dime, but he was moving fast enough.
The road up ahead winded with hairpin curves. I didn’t know how long I’d have until those lights were upon me. Till he was upon me.
The phone clicked and the call abruptly ended.
I cursed under my breath while my engine knocked like an irate person trying to beat down a door. My Subaru was rapidly approaching its limit. I had to think fast.
These were my options: I could risk speeding and hoped the engine would hold out till I made it to the house, or I could continue driving at a steady pace. If the first option proved successful, he might not see where my vehicle would vanish. If it didn’t, my car might leave me stranded. That’s assuming I didn’t wreck myself taking a turn too fast.
The other option would be safer, but I’d be visible to him. Though with some of these curves I feared if he hit me with the high beams again, I’d be at risk of crashing. Where the area of road ascended, one wrong turn would mean a long journey down.
It would mean certain death.
Taking a sharp intake of breath, I pulled out my phone and called my husband. The only answer I got was his voicemail urging me to leave a message at the tone.
“Billy, there’s a lunatic after me. I’ve called the cops. Please…please be ready. I’m only two minutes away.”
It wasn’t the most inspiring call to action. My husband wasn’t Billy Badass. He was more like Billy the Stamp Collector. Benign hobbies. Soft spoken. Wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Still, I was counting on his presence to deter Mr. High Beams behind me. It was a desperate ploy, but it was all I could think of on such short notice.
I made the turn into the dirt trail that led to my driveway. As I was pulling in the porch light flickered to life. Maybe. It might have been those high beams. They illuminated my cab in a flood of light once more obscuring my vision.
The door to the house opened and a figure ran out of the entryway. My husband from what I could discern of the silhouette. Our dog Jasper, a black schnauzer with more bark than bite, darted out the door. I couldn’t see the little guy, but I heard him.
I stopped the car and shoved open the door. I bolted out of the seat, nearly tripping over my own feet with my frantic departure.
Jasper started barking up a storm, even before the big rig came to a standstill.
The door of it opened and the bearded man stepped out of the vehicle.
Strangely, my dog paid the trucker little mind. Jasper’s eyes remained fixated on my Subaru. He began to snarl.
“Get away from the car,” the man bellowed. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at an angle, almost like he was aiming at my vehicle.
Was this how my life was going to end? Shot dead when I was at the finish line, where I was supposed to be safe?
My husband Billy babbled. “S-sir, please. You don’t have to do this.”
The trucker shook his head. As he did, the sound of sirens began to blare in the distance. He didn’t answer us. Instead, he lowered his gun into his holster and stood still as a statue all while my dog continued snarling and barking at our vehicle.
When the police came, guns drawn, he remained calm.
“I’m not the one you want,” he said. “The car. Search the car.”
Even to this day, I still remember in vivid detail what happened. When the police opened the rear driver door, there was a gaunt looking man back there crouched in the floorboard with a knife clenched in his hand. The wide, manic look lingering in his eyes remained far colder than the frigid winds blowing around us.
The trucker explained later that he saw the man inside my vehicle wielding the blade. He must’ve snuck inside before my shift ended. Once the driver realized what was going on, he’d tried to intervene.
Every time the person in the backseat had attempted to overpower me, to harm me, the trucker turned on his high beams. It scared my unknown passenger. The sight of the light made him hide.
The police hadn’t offered much in the way of details concerning who my stowaway was; given the six inches worth of blade he held, not much imagination was needed to map out what the strange man planned to do to me.
I learned on that cold, lonely October night to never judge a situation wholly by appearances. I was grateful to that truck driver. If it weren’t for his persistence, I would probably not be alive today to share my story.

I I guess I'm looking for validation that this is textbook, and I am looking at this correctly. I guess that is the effect of being gaslit - you don’t know your reality is really your reality. But I am here, and asking for help, because I will need to see him for the next 12 years (our kids go to the same school). This will be in passing and at events, but I am traumatized, still recovering, and just scared. I am looking for some insights because I spent about 2 months trying to fit my story into a box of emotional and narcissistic abuse…. But it's not that....I see that now. If you are able to share tidbits of knowledge, or point me in the direction of more clarity, I would appreciate it so much. Thank you so so much.
I am going to write out the cliff notes. I imagine a lot of you can fill in the parts I leave out as from what I read on here, it’s typical.
I met him walking my kid to school. He walked the same way every day. Over time, we became friends, and I learned he was trying to leave his marriage. Once he did, the relationship happened fast – too fast. He seemed so 100 percent sure of me and it was odd. I often looked disheveled walking to school and tired….I am not sure what he saw in me. But, I felt sure of him too, but wanted to go slower. I tried to slow it down, but at the same time, didn't. I am responsible for that. I felt like a hamster on a wheel after a few weeks and was able to tell him that I need the weekdays for myself, for my work, and for my kid. He seemed to respect that.
But he often romanticized the first few weeks together....even in the last days.
Quickly, I started to notice the emotional dysregulation. There was a lot going on for him: moving out, going through the divorce, parenting, work….so I understood it. I was also still getting to know him. Then severe trauma responses and triggers started happening. They would lead to these large child-like reactions with a lot of tears and anger. I didn't understand it but knew enough to know he had trauma to work through, and perhaps was feeling it for the first time. Each time this happened, there was nothing I could say to help or get him out of it, he would blame me a lot and say I was the cause, and he expected me (without saying it) to be there for him 110% even though I couldn’t. And truthfully, I didn’t want to….I wanted him to be able to handle that for himself or realize it was an issue. I didn't have the tools to deal with it and suggested he try deeper therapy. He agreed.
When he first met with the therapist, she told him it is like a virus takes over his brain and he is convinced in those moments. That was music to my ears at the time. But that is the last time I felt that way.
After a few months of this cycle continuing, I started detoriating. First my mental health, and then my physical health. I couldn’t breathe. I felt like we couldn’t go a few days without him reacting to something small. I wrote in my journal many times “there's no amount of validation I can give this person.”
I didn't point it to excessive adoration and validation, I could not see that really, but if he texted me 5 things and I responded to all 4 logistical ones and ended with "love you too" I was chastised. If I was driving and did not respond to an “i love you,” I was called out for it. At the end of October, I told him I needed the weekend to clean my apartment. It happened to be 60 degrees that day and of course, I would have preferred to be outside, but I am an adult and could not blow off my commitment to myself to clean. That day he messaged me 18 times that me missed me. He kept inviting me out. I kept asking him to stop, because clearly I would prefer to do something else than clean, but needed to. The missing was excessive. I didn’t even know what he meant. We lived next door to eachother. That night, I had to work, and he was upset with me because to him, it was optional and I should have chose to see him.
There were so many moments when he wanted so much comfort I couldn't provide. We were both single parents. That kind of affection goes to my kid....and I couldn't give it to him in that way. He would even want the affection when he hurt me.
He would see my daughter freak out at me and then say that I don’t love her enough, and he would joke they are the same….
It wasn’t a joke?
As time went on, and his therapy went on, and he felt validated by the therapist, the blame came on more and never left. It started in August, and even when I'd get an apology, it would be for the impact (what I'm responsible for) and not his intent. He'd argue with me over seeing his intent clearly. I'd say I don't care about your intent, you're killing me. It didn’t matter, nothing did.
I never felt like we could repair any incidents. As the blame went on, I really questioned myself. I wondered if he was right. What if I don't love enough? What if I don't receive love well? I've been in therapy for 20 years and know I have limitations but I'm not an asshole…
I felt coerced a lot of the time.
I felt he wanted me to change a lot....he wanted me to be less blunt, more loving, more balanced, work less even though he was awful with money, have sex when sick, injured or mentally dead from the day, always be happy to see him, don't be affected by the trauma responses and don't try to talk to him about it, don't take space and if I do, prepare for some kind of punishment, love him and miss him endlessly, do everything together, if I am dysregulated, he wanted me to regulate with him….
I noticed I started taking precautions to keep myself dafe. I didn’t realize I was setting boundaries to prevent the abuse but I was. I’d say I was busy when I wasn’t. I wouldn’t accept or ask him to get me from the airport, knowing I would not be 100% happy after a flight and that would cause a fight (as it did). I didn’t ask for help, and when I did ask for help, I would expect the help to not happen. I did not communicate anything he did “wrong” (like, you said you would drop off quarters for laundry on monday….do you have them?)
There were a lot of moments we would have deep conversations and I felt like we were getting somewhere, that he heard me.
I'll fast forward to the end because this is already way longer than I wanted….and it’s sad that I know it could be so much longer.
In the last month, he reacted and blamed me for everything. There were at least 5 major incidents. After the last one, I told him I was done. It was really bad and left me spending $50 to uber home in the snow, when I could barley walk as is (I had a herniated disc in my back and could barley walk). That month, I lost health insurance, and after begging for time to just take care of the injury, he told me we need intensive couples counseling. I had asked to just continue our therapist until we could change. That wasn't enough. The next weekend he asked me to go to a Gottman weekend. I said I couldn't leave my kid to do that right now and needed to take care of my help.
After that snow episode, that was really bad, laced with blame in the unpacking, I said I'm done, I can't do it. I was crying uncontrollably. I was scared. I really did not know who I was speaking to. After an hour, right when I needed to leave, he snapped out of whatever mindset he was in and told me he'd do anything, that he would work on anything, to please stay. I had to go, I could not think anymore. So in desperation, the only thing I asked for was to go alone on a trip with my daughter. He was scheduled to come with us. I said I needed time just with her. He agreed.
And honestly, he held up his end of the bargain....until he didn't.
3 days before the trip everything fell apart. I worked 12 hours that day and at the end of the day, went to pour water in a cup at home. It was the only time we had together before I left for the week. He hugged me from behind while I was pouring the water (....remember herniated disc in my back). I asked him to please stop and just let me have a second to pour the water.
He said "there's no turning back from this" and got his stuff to leave. I was floored. I was so upset because I knew where this was going - the blame game. He left, wouldn't come back, and then continued to blame me for the next 2 days about how I was an asshole the days before, only spent time with him out of obligation (not true), and rewrote history. I had a stomach bug all weekend and could not eat, but still tried to hang out as much as I reasonably could, and that was not enough.
The water incident was Wednesday, Thursday he had therapy and reinforced the blame, and I ended up leaving without saying goodbye. It was a week. I wanted to believe this relationship could survive a week. But I was clear with him days before: I am working up until I need to leave Friday so I can have real time off with my kid. He was upset I did not find him to say goodbye, even though he made no attempt to make peace earlier. But of course, my fault.
That night, he claimed down. Was nice. But it was a trap. After 12 hours of him being nice in text he said he was only doing it hoping I felt remorse and realized how wrong I was. He told me over and over he wouldn't see it differently. He said he read the transcript of our texts to 2 therapists and his friends and it’s clear: I am wrong. May be important to name here that we are both in our late 30’s.
I said that I want to work this out and I'll talk when we can actually discuss it and I'm willing to hear his side but not willing to blindly take all responsibility. He nailed me on every response, telling me how wrong my response was and what I should have done differently.
I was with my kid and could not talk. When I said "why are you doing this now, you know I can’t really respond" he told me to stop avoiding.
That night, he ghosted me for the first time in the relationship and I panicked. I called him a few times. No answer.
The next day, despite him never doing that to me before, he called me controlling for calling.
At 7am the next morning he told me our relationship was over in a text. This man, who 7 days before was professing his love and understanding of me ended the engagement in a text. This of course continued with a back and forth. I asked him to please stop. To please pause and talk to me when i'm back in 5 days. He told me to fight for the relationship or it was over. I said “I am just waking up with my 7 year old, in a hotel, please stop.” I asked him to attend couples therapy in 3 days to talk this out. He said “you accept all responsibility and change your behavior or we are done.” I asked if he was willing to talk and he said the problem was my perception and that it's wrong, so unless I change we are done. I knew this wasn't ok but I was so blindsided I did not know what to do. He agreed to go to couples therapy Thursday. We barley talked. There were a few more messages of him telling me he needs to know I can live a drama free life and celebrate his love and see it all as beautiful (almost verbatim). At this point, all I wanted to do is keep the dial down. I pushed back saying, “I cannot teach my daughter that someone can just tell her that her emotions and feelings are wrong, I hope you will be willing to talk and we can get on the same page.”
He agreed to go to couples therapy, and then didn't show up. He texted me 10 minutes before saying he was not going. I begged and pleaded. But he had the couples therapist to tell me he wasn't going to go. He had her tell me. I lost it. I lost my mind. I had been reeling for days. Not sleeping. Putting on a fake smile all day with my kid while I was dying inside. Staying up late to cry, process, read, figure out wtf was going on…
I called him about 10 times and of course, he told me it was inappropriate. He then picked up and gave me 10 minutes. He again wanted me to take all responsibility for everything. I was so shaken, I just fawned. I said ok. When I'm back I hope we can talk but if you want me to accept blame for now, fine.
Everything was calmer for 2 days until we were heading back and he texted me something along the lines of "don't fool me" I was like wtf? He said "there's no turning back. There's no other chances." I was like wait what? And then it was "don't make me look like a fool" I had no idea what was going on. I was like "um what is this?" He essentially was reinforcing his stance: I am to blame for everything in the present and past. If I try to talk to him about his side I'm wrong. I need to repent and one wrong move (defined by him) is a misstep and there's no room for error (his words). I was like....I will be in a relationship based in reality, and I will own my part and parts, but i will not be in something that i'm to blame for everything. That is not healthy. I have also been in abusive relationships before.
He then stopped messaging me. Didn't care that we got into flight issues. Didn't care we made the flight back. That night he came over and was a victim. Claimed in the 5 days I was gone he found himself. That he wasn't focused at work because of me and now he is. He wanted to try to be together. I had no idea what reality I was in. We slept together. He left. And told me we'd talk the next day. All of this felt so weird but I was just hoping he would snap out of this and back to reality and we would be able to talk. But I also knew this had to end at this point.
The next day, he didn't answer me all day. This was the opposite of behavior I ever experienced from him. Did not respond to texts or pick up the phone. We had a training appointment and he had the trainer tell me he wasn't coming. I broke down in tears. I begged him to just answer a text. He didn't. He drove by me while walking the dog and did not stop. I emailed him, expressing my confusion, telling him this is not what we agreed to. He blocked me. That night I got an email from him letting me know he was moving 10 min away. He lived next door in another apt building. He actually assured me the day before he “was not going anywhere.” In that email, he listed out the calls and texts I sent and how inappropriate it was. He never said we were done. He said taking space, needing space…so in my head I was confused but see it now.
I was inconsolable. I didn’t respond.
But here is the issue I am still in: I needed to see him dropping his kid at school the next day. I will need to see him for the next 12 years unless I move.
The following Friday he stood next to me at a school event. I purposely stood in the back to have space and be able to leave if I needed to. He went next to me. When I told him he should sit, he said he didn't want to make it obvious to his ex wife. I asked him to speak that Friday. He said ok but he was moving. I cried instantly. Already? I said ok.
On Saturday am, I saw the truck pull up and left the house. I called him that Saturday. I was blocked.
The next wednesday he asked me for a series of logistics in a text. None of which I handled yet. Wanting me to cancel flights and settle up money spent together. No mention or responsibility for all the money wasted on tickets we will never use. But then…in the text, asked for my engagement ring back.
I responded to logistics. Not the ring
He then called me 3 hours later because something went really wrong in his legal case. He wanted me to understand and validate him. I did....I just turned off my feelings for a moment. At the end he said, so about the flights. Can you handle it? "If i cancel it for you and your son i also have to do it for me and my kid. It's all on the same reservation" "well if you can go and not make sexual advances on me then we can try to go together.” I was like wtf? I could not have sex for months due to my injury. But he wanted to. Was this way of setting up blame that if we DID sleep together I would be to blame? I was like “I will cancel it for all of us.”
He then ran down more logistics and I said honestly you didn't seem done. I don't understand what you're doing. He said "im done" i hung up the phone.
He asked me for the ring again that night in a text. I said no, I need time to process this.
Everything since then has been a transaction. If i have a genuine emotion, he gets upset that i have it at all. He continues to sit next to me at school events because he claims he does not want his ex-wife to think we are done (this is insane to me….). I realize now that if it is a “good” interaction he is happy. If I am sad, then it is a “bad” one.
He never told his son we broke up, and shamed me for telling my daughter.
Recently he asked me a question and I was annoyed, and he said "can you not be mad at me?" I said “no, I can't not be mad at you…”
In the last 3 months, he’s said "I don't want to confuse things" has come up a lot. I don’t know if he is saying that to me or himself.
I have been so stuck trying to understand how I could not take space at all from him, to being totally discarded. I know he went back to spending, and drinking, but I don’t think he is seeing anyone.
He only responds when he wants to. He ignores other things. I never was able to get an MRI for my back because the claim went through a DR he set up for me and he never sent me the info when I asked.
I got the money back he owed me, but still lost so much money.
He told me he missed me one time.
I don’t know who this person is.
I will have to see him for the next 12 years while the kids are in school unless I move. I am not going to move just to avoid him, but I need to heal so I can be strong enough. I don’t know if he is going to try to come back. I have been in therapy and am getting clearer about what brought me into this in the first place.
Any clarity you can help me with, on this, and what may come from here, would be really helpful. It will help me direct some of my searches and begin to piece things together to process in therapy. I have severe anxiety when I run into him at school.
I have never had to heal from something like this before. At first, I thought it was healing from a narcissistic discard….this feels like so much more.
Does it sound like he will want to come back?
Is there ever closure?

HUGE TW! This has no happy end (yet), but I need to get this off my chest...
I have a love hate relationship with my father and I feel guilty about it.
Thinking about all what my dad had done, I feel Like he is a master manipulator towards me.
My dad only hit me once, but even before I was born until today, he is violent towards my mom. However he is extremly loving and caring towards me. This violent behavior on one side and this perfect father on the other side really messes with my head. I asked my mom many times, why she didn't leave my dad, and she always replied with that he was taking good care of his family (family meaning everyone but her).
She keeps finding excuses for his behavior, that he had a traumatic childhood, he was beaten often in the military and so on. I do feel bad for him in this regard, but my mom is not the one that caused him harm. Why do you harm her?
I remember vividly as a 3 year old kid, when he fell into his rage again and broke the TV with an axe. I was sitting under the table in the living room, hiding behind the table sheets. I remember how my mom was lying on the floor and he kept kicking her, I screamed and tried to pull him away. I remember screaming at my dad to just leave, but instead he just calmed me down, showed how good of a father he is for next couple of days.
I was never afraid of my dad, I was always afraid for my mom. I remember when my mom broke the car, so I rushed home to wait for my dad and told him it was me, because he would never get angry with me.
I remember when he broke her laptop so she couldn't Skype with her family who lives far away. I bought mom a new one and again yelled at my dad. "Stop crying, she has a new one already."
I remember so many things that are unspeakable and I always ask myself why. How can the best mom and the "best dad" be the worst husband and wife together?
Of course everything behind closed doors. When family and friends arrive, we're the perfect white picket fence family.
And now many years later, I don't live at home, things seemed to have quite down. I come home, everything is nice, everyone seems happy and I finally think that the horror is over. I mean he's older now, surely there's no rage left.
No.
My mom came to my house last week telling me, that the horror never ended, and that he just threatened to kill her. She wanted to leave him and he said "the only way you're leaving is with your body in the ground"
She also told me, that she tried to kill herself once.
My heart is breaking.
I'm shocked, I'm scared, I'm at a loss, I don't know what to do. This is no life for her, I want her to be happy, she cannot grow old and look back at this horrible life, wondering about if things could've been better.
I need to help my mom, but I'm so scared for her, I don't know where to start.
Logically I need to hate my dad, but emotionally I don't and it's killing me inside.
If you can take away anything from my story, abusers never change, never ever. This has been going on for 35 years already, leave as soon as you can and never look back.

Yesterday I got into a Lyft because I’m to move the summer dorm where all students will be housed for summer semester. When I loaded all my belongings in this dudes car he proceeded to the destination: Delaware State. Although I noticed he was quite frantic looking at the road then his phone. I noticed the directions taking me behind a building instead of directly down the highway to my school. -I stayed on the phone with my cousin -I screenshot his license plate and sent it to her and my mentor - I verbally spoke but didn’t curse or blamed him. I stayed calm and made light out of the situation. It was very easy for this ordeal to go wrong and I could’ve kept quiet and had been taken anywhere with me and my belongings. 🙏
P.S. we spent nearly 10 min getting down the road with complete silence. When I saw the directions we’re going in another direction I spoke. The whole time I had my cousin on the phone in my ear and we were silent. Until I said something that’s when he made it clear he was on the phone with someone (a lady). Almost like they wanted to hear what I would say when I noticed the directions were wrong.
How were the directions changed if Lyft has the appropriate destination through the app?
-Why was he on the phone while doing Lyft? -Why when we were going the wrong direction the lady on the phone started to speak? -Why we’re they speaking in their native language when at the time I’m petrified because of his directions? -why do I constantly have the feeling of being targeted at school?

Live Results
Live Stream
We're back for a big Sunday of racing in absolutely BEAUTIFUL conditions! Most of the small boat titles have been awarded, and congrats to all newly-christened National Champions! I'm at NE Regionals again today so somewhat limited for time, so I'm keeping it to the Novice 8+s and Varsity 8+s and 4+s. In we go!

WN8+ (10:51 am)

Powerful showing from Purdue as they claim the championship! They took a half boat length lead off the start and stayed in control through the whole race. UCSB gave them no room to relax as they retained contact through the whole race, but Purdue would not be denied and crossed the line with their coxswain on UCSB's bow seat. The race for third was super compelling, with Bowdoin racing out to an early 5-seat lead on Illinois. Camera angles made it hard to tell, but somewhere in the third 500, Illinois hit Bowdoin with a move that Bowdoin simply could not respond to and took a lead heading into the last 500, and Illinois held on for the rest of the race to round out the podium. Great racing all around! Now let's see if Purdue's male counterparts can bring home the gold on the other side.

MN8+ (11:04 am)

Strong start by Coast, taking roughly half a length lead on the field through the first minute, but Purdue absorbed the blow and and had taken a two seat lead through the 1000m. By around 1250m Purdue had a bow-to-stern lead on OCC and looked to be in full control of the race for gold. Cameras focused mainly on the leaders so it was hard to tell, but it looked like a tight race for third between Minnesota and UC Davis with Bucknell just a bit off the pace and USC off the pace. Entering the last 500, Minnesota and UC Davis were in a dead heat for third while OCC and Purdue's positions were mostly unchanged. Entering the red buoys, UC Davis had maybe a one seat advantage, but Minnesota looked to be winding up one last killer sprint. UC Davis managed to hold onto their slight advantage for a bow deck win for third! Purdue finished off a dominant campaign with national title, OCC close behind ~4 seats back, and UC Davis absorbed late charges from Minnesota and Bucknell to take bronze, with Minnesota finishing 0.2s back and Bucknell 0.17 back of Minnesota!

WV4+ (11:18 am)

MV4+ (11:32 am)

M2V8+ (11:45 am)

W2V8+ (11:58 am)

MV8+ (12:36 pm)

WV8+ (12:43 pm)

I feel like my life has been turned upside down.
My fiance has known me a very long time. He knows that I have a history of very bad mental breakdowns, including psychosis, along with suicide attempts. I have also had fake accounts used on me and been doxxed and harassed a lot online in ways that have been proven and shown to others. (These aren't what I'm seeking advice on, but provide context for what he did.)
I am very prone to paranoia after having a lot of crimes and mistreatment against me as a kid and young adult. My fiance knows this. I have suspected before that he might have been involved in some of it, but I was hoping it was just my paranoia talking. My friends agreed with me on that. I couldn't shake my aching suspicion, though.
A little over a year ago, when I was trying to move on from my now-fiance (after he initially rejected me and was with someone else), I got a massive crush on one of my coworkers. I posted on an anonymous forum that I wanted someone to pretend to be my coworker. One of the accounts that added me knew way too much, leading me to think it really was my coworker.
The account told me he'd be moving in with me. I was convinced it was really him. I prepared my whole apartment, but realized the account ghosted me. I got mad at my coworker, but began to have doubts about whether the account was actually him. He said it wasn't. I thought he was gaslighting me, but couldn't prove it.
I had a mental breakdown and quit that job. I couldn't stop obsessing about the situation. I called with my then-fiance about it and he helped calm me down. Later, I made a different post for a different potential online partner to try to distract myself while I set up a another career path.
A guy added me from that post. He was very suspicious from the beginning, but I couldn't tell reality from paranoia. I was pretty sure he was after me and recording me.
Long story short, he made things so much worse. He was also very cruel, like I would have to fight him off of having sex with me once or twice, he yelled at me, and he tried to gaslight me into thinking I committed a crime that I didn't. (The police had to tell me more than once that I didn't do it.)
The abuse piled up. He had the code to my apartment and continued to be aggressive end after I left him. I ended up with a bmi of about 15 and had to move to a different state.
I pressed me fiance about whether he had been behind any of the fake account stuff. He had denied it in messages, but he was now in person, and I felt more comfortable pressing him harder on it. He ended up confessing that he was not only behind the account that tricked me, but behind the private investigator I "dated."
He knew I had a history of psychological problems. He had this private investigator gaslight me continuously about not investigating me or being an agent during the sexual "relationship." He could see me deteriorating from all of this. He exploited my mental weakness for weeks with this private investigator.
Is this a fixable situation? How do we get out of this? This is one of the worst things anyone has ever done to me. I don't think he's remorseful at all. He says I would've ended up in jail or worse had he not "intervened," despite having no evidence for this and him having actively caused and worsened the situation.
TL;DR: Now-fiance admitted to hiring a private investigator to have a sexual relationship with me under false pretenses and continually gaslight me. He feels no remorse and says I should be thanking him. How can we move past this?

It was early in the morning if i had to guess it was probably 2-3 and I "woke up" from these crazy dreams. When I say "Woke up" I mean like i was awake but trying to fall back to sleep. As I was doing that I heard someone at my door saying something i couldn't understand. I started to hear pounding at my window. And keep in mind i'm still in the position I was to sleep, At first i didnt even try to move Because I just thought it was my dad coming to check on me. But I was wrong. I heard a voice very close to my ear and it kind of for some reason was sounding like my uncle. But my uncle lives a couple hours away. the voice stated "I have a gun up to your head..." and I felt like I actually was feeling the hand gun. I tried to move and open my eyes but my chest was heavy and i just was shaking and I couldn't. The pounding at my window was still occurring and the man/thing stated "If you dont tell me what happened on..." I couldn't understand anything after that until everything just stopped. I still couldnt move but I could open my eyes. My door was closed and there was no one in my room nor outside my window.

It has been 20 years since the first calamity struck Earth. A massive wave of solar radiation from a nearby star known as Prometheus 673B showered our solar system in 2025. Electronics have been rendered useless for months, giving humanity the glimpse of what life was like long before. But that was merely temporary. The true effect of the solar flare came in the form of an illness, that afflicted roughly 10% of the current population. Unlike anything we've ever seen, the illness did not kill, rather enhanced the afflicted. For the first time in human history, the term Esper was used seriously. Dubbed the Awoken, those afflicted with illness that stemmed from the solar flare of Prometheus, gained the ability to manifest their own thoughts into reality, with varying degrees of success. At first, nations and laws, society as whole, was not prepared to deal with these new humans and their abilities. Crime ran rampant for a while.
Five years after the incident, the world banded together in a unified front, known as the AMA, The Awoken Management Agency, a world wide agency tasked with handling and controlling the Awoken, allowing humanity to once more function as a whole. Satellites have been sent out as far Earth's gaze into space could reach, to watch our for any other potential cosmic events that may occur, like the one that happened with Prometheus back in '25.
Now, 20 years since the first incident, the satellites have picked up another major cosmic event on the horizon, this time coming from the Aquila constellation. Is humanity ready to withstand whatever cosmos has prepared for it?
[]
"Kenji. Wake up! You'll be later for your lectures, again."
The young man groaned, slowly turning to his side in bed, looking at his mother that stood at the doorway. "I'm up, I'm up."
Yawning and stretching, he sat up in bed, running his fingers through his hair, before turning to check the small clock on his nightstand.
"Wha? Late? Mom, it's only 8. Lectures don't start until 10." He sighed.
"Oh well. No need to cut it short, right? Plus, I've made breakfast." His mother replied and went back downstairs.
[]
AMA Information Database:
Kenji Aoto. Age: 21 Category: Type 1 Awoken Ability: Embodiment. The unique ability of Kenji Aoto, unlike other Awoken of the same type, allows him to alter his own body based on how he feels. Most Type 1s change their environment around them, rather than themselves. Type 1s are classified as such for having abilities that considered non dangerous to the general non awoken population.
[]
"We've got a lot of promising talent this year huh?" Nathaniel said to his daughter, as the two looked down at the auditorium full of students. The dean of the university was preparing his usual welcoming speech, as the assistants tried to quiet down the murmurs of the students.
"Yeah, we sure do." Clara smiled, not taking her eyes off the scene. "Quite a good number of Awoken too."
"Anyone interesting in particular?" Nathaniel asked.
"No, not really. They all have the standard abilities you would expect out of a type 1. Same level of control to boot." She responded.
"Well, I look forward to being their professor." Her father smiled, inhaling deeply. "The smell of youthful energy, so amazing. I can still remember your first day as a freshman."
Clara blushed a bit, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. "Shouldn't you be down there giving your speech, Dr. Offset?"
Nathaniel rubbed the back of his neck with a slightly embarrasses laugh to boot. "Oh don't call me that. Ahem, yeah. I'll be going now. See you later for lunch?"
"Of course dad." Clara smiled, giving her father a little wave as he left the teacher conference room.
[]
AMA Information database:
Clara Harris. Age: 32 Category: Non-Awoken (regular human) The lead ambassador for Awoken rights and unification in the AMA. Daughter of the lead researcher in Awoken development and the head teacher of the Awoken department in Nagoya University, Japan, Nathaniel Harris.
Nathaniel Harris. Age: 55 Category: Type 2 Awoken Ability: Offset. Acquired during the first Prometheus flare, the ability of Dr. Offset (he thought the name was cool when he was in his 20s), allows him to offset numerical values. Though touching an object is not required to use the ability on it, the potency of the ability greatly improved when he has direct contact with it. This also extends to, in theory, numerical values pertaining to objects and their position in space, relative to Nathaniel. Meaning he can move objects or parts of them relative to where he's standing, by changing their coordinates, however there were no recorded instances of him doing so. Examples include: Increasing or reducing the temperature of a beverage by direct contact. Increasing or decreasing friction on a surface of an object temporarily by touching it.
In his youth, Nathaniel attempted to become a sort of hero, once his powers kicked in, but due to the very low potency of his abilities, he never really managed to make the cut as one, despite being a type 2. Type 2s are classified as such due to having abilities that could be considered dangerous, powerful or harmful for the general non awoken population.
[]
Location: Russia, Siberia. Time: 22:37 Facility: Maximum security prison for Awoken criminals in Russia, cell block 5.
Theodore laid in his bunk, staring at the ceiling. Each of his breaths released a soft cloud of vapor, that commonly occurs when someone is in a cold environment. In his case, the vapor was a byproduct of his ability, rather than the cold cell we was in. A thug with a love for violence, turned bank robber when his abilities fully developed, Theodore terrorized Russia and the neighboring countries. It wasn't until the AMA was finally assembled and operational, that he was arrested and sentenced to multiple life sentences in this highest security prison that Russia had at a time.
Even after being sent behind bars, he kept up his antics, becoming a nightmare for the guards and inmates alike. No man that was placed in a cell with him would last more than a few days before demanding transfer. Some even lost their lives to the former thugs whims, before their transfer requests could be approved. Hence Theodore has been placed in solitary, a cell designed with all the tech necessary to nullify his ability. There he spent the last 10 years of his life.
Despite being a type 1, an awoken with abilities that were not classified as dangerous to the general population, Theodore managed to use them to their fullest extent. His blessing of temperature manipulation, was a curse to everyone around him.
He looked outside, at the night sky, through his small cell window. Apparently, there was a big stellar event, similar to the one 20 years ago, that gave him the powers he now has. He heard guards and other inmates talk about it, how AMA is now prepared for such an event.
Theodore closed his eyes, imagining what this aurora would look like. The memory of that night, when Prometheus 673B's flare struck earth still fresh in his mind like it was yesterday. The otherworldly mixture of reds and yellows and greens. Like a primordial fire that was lit across the night sky.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps outside his cell snapped him out of his memory.
"Huh?" He adjusted in bed, to see who was outside his cell.
A man, in a white cloak with golden details, stood outside his cell. Theodore was confused. The man was not one of the guards, he was bare footed and did not wear any uniform. And no way he was one of the other inmates, no one had the capabilities to leave their cells without being let out.
"Hey, who the hell are you? How did you get here? The guards letting us out or something?" The criminal walked over to his cell door. The bars were made of material that could withstand sudden changes in temperature without bending or breaking, preventing him from getting out.
The man said nothing, he didn't even turn towards the convict, he merely stood there, hood covering his as he looked up at the night sky through the decorative windows on the buildings roof.
"Hey asshat! I asked you a question. How the fuck did you get out of your cell? C'mon man, don't be a dick, let me out too." Theodore grabbed the bars and rattled them.
The cloaked man finally turned towards him. The convict was stunned, only for a second. The man has a beard and long hair, both as white as his cloak. But his eyes, they were as blue as the midday sky. He could have sworn energy seemed to pour out of them. Before he could say another word, the figure before him extended his hand at him, and with a snap of his fingers, a bold of lightning struck Theodore square in the chest. The convict was send flying, back hitting the wall opposite the cell doors.
[]
Location: Brazil, San Paolo. Time: 16:37 Facility: Remodeled Taubaté Prison, cell block 3.
Vitor sat on the bench press, just finishing a set, looking over the prison yard. Even behind bars, his connections did not dwindle. A former petty drug dealer, Vitor Alves quickly rose to power and influence once his powers awoke. He employed other Awoken with criminal tendencies as his own personal task force to drive all other competition into the ground. Once he held the entirety of San Paolo's drug empire in his hand, he set his sights farther. We wanted the entire city for himself, believing that no one could challenge his claim to that right.
With the help of the AMA, the Brazilian government swiftly put his plan to rest, and Vitor behind bars. The fight between the Awoken under Alves and the AMA/Brazilian forces was indeed a bloody one and resulted in a good number of civilian casualties. The drug lord was sent to Taubate, where he would spend the rest of his life. The prison was remodeled, per AMA standards, to be fully equipped and capable of holding Awoken criminals.
Despite having powers of temperature manipulation, capable of increasing temperature to lethal amounts, Vitor did not believe that to be his strongest ability. Money, influence, connections, those were real power, what truly carried him to the top of the criminal world.
Even now, as he sat on the bench press, doing a few reps before looking over the yard, Vitor was not powerless in the outside world. He waited on his informant, his connection to the outside, to appear so he could delegate orders to what was left of his followers and empire on the outside.
He wasn't sure if it was something he ate, or the heat from the pounding sun. Maybe it was even that sky flare that he heard AMA guards mention. Something indeed felt off, his vision seemed a bit blurry. As if the entire prison courtyard was moving slowly right before him. But the informant should be there soon, so Vitor decided not to go back to his cell just yet.
The other inmates, guards, even the basketball that the inmates played hoops with, suddenly slowed down to a halt. Through the statue like crowd, a single figure moved over to Vitor. His feet were bare, his body and face hidden behind a hooded cloak. The drug lord could only see his white beard and his eyes, as they seemed to be glowing a faint blue glow. Before he even got a chance to speak, the man extended his hand towards him and with a smirk, snapped his fingers, sending a bolt of lightning straight into the mans body, causing Vitor to fly several feet and collapse on the ground.
[]
"Ugh... What the fuck man?" Theodore cursed, as he regained his consciousness. Slowly, he got up to his knees, his head pounding like he was struck by a hammer. The cell felt colder than before. Looking around, he saw the entire cell frozen, every surface covered by a thick layer of ice. Bed, toilet, the cell doors, frozen solid. And the ice shifted. With every movement of his hands, the ice followed.
"Could it be?" The inmate whispered, focusing his mind, channeling his ability. Ice began to form in the palm of his hand, morphing freely. With a single wave of his hand, the frozen bed shattered into bits and pieces. Theodore inhaled, getting up to his feet, head still in pain. But the realization was crystal clear. He could now freeze things without having to touch them, manipulate what he froze, as well create ice out by freezing the water in the air. With a grin plastered across his face, Theodore thanked the mysterious man, of who there was not a single trace left, and decided that he's busting himself out of prison.
[]
"WARNING! WARNING! WARNING. PRISON BREAKS DETECTED ACROSS MULTIPLE AMA FACILITIES!" Blared the system on screen at the Awoken Management Agency in Nagoya. Other HQs across the globe received the same warning.
"What the hell is going on?" Clara said, running into the monitoring hall.
"I don't know. Prison breaks, across multiple locations world wide." Kaito replied, his eyes not leaving the monitors as he fired up the surveillance drones on the impacted locations.
"The main facilities that were absolutely totaled are Siberia and San Paolo." He continued.
"Think it could be?" Clara asked.
"Not possible. The protection against solar flares was at full power. Not a single particle should have hit the ground. I mean, we didn't lose any tech, unlike last time." Kaito shot her question down, pulling up the drone feed of the two prisons.
Taubate was in flames. The entire facility seemed to be entirely engulfed in a raging fire. The Russian counterpart held no better either. The entire prison was torn apart by massive glacier like formations, that seemed to jut out of the ground.
Clara, Kaito and other technicians presents stared, slackjawed, at the live drone feed. Something like that was not possible, no Awoken held that level of power. Not even if multiple Awoken united, could they produce that level of destruction across such a large area.
"Wait wait! What's that? Zoom in on one of the glaciers!" One of the technicians said, pointing at the big monitors.
Kaito's fingers flew across the keyboard, as the drone moved closer and the video on screen zoomed to its maximum. On one of the glacier formations, sat a man, clearly an inmate based on the jumpsuit he was wearing.
"Running identification." Chimed the computer.
"Inmate 4012: Theodore Ivarovski. Age: 36. Category: Type 1 Awoken. Ability: Low drop. His ability allows him to significantly drop the temperature of anything he touches, almost instantly."
"He's a type 1. No way in hell that he could pull of something like this." Clara said, eyes glued to the screed. "He must have re-awoken, there is no other explanation."
"Clara, in the last 20 years since the Prometheus, there was never a single instance of that happening. Some Awoken do push their abilities past the initial capabilities, but that's usually the end of it. It's a conspiracy theory." Kaito mumbled.
"Then how do you explain THAT?" She said, pointing at a massive piece of ice that was quickly forming above Ivarovski, before being sent flying towards the drone and cutting off the live feed.
[]
(Howdy y'all. This is a bit different from my usual write style, with a more manga like story/narration instead of the standard story/novel format I do. I hope you like it, I came up with it months ago, but due to time constrains with work I haven't gotten around to writing it. Based on how it's received, I may continue this along side Sand & Steel. You can read S&S on here:
Royal Road
Wattpad
Scribble Hub
Hope y'all have a nice day.
-M.W.A.)

Hi everyone, this may turn into a long post as I write this out and (admittedly) vent some frustrations I currently have (sorry in advance if that's not allowed).
To start off, between my SO and I we have 2 dogs, 3 cats, and a bunny. Someone at work stated a family member of theirs couldn't hold on to their two cats, so they were looking to re-home them, or they be sent off to the shelter by the end of last week. I felt bad, as I wouldn't want to give up my animals if I was put in the position that this person is in (basically they moved, but due to certain life events they had to move in with their parents who said no to the cats). So I offered to hold on to them so they wouldn't end up in the shelter, and they would be returned to their owner once they find a place they can stay at that will allow them to have cats.
The issue at hand is that my GF really doesn't want them here, claiming they could have some issue like a disease or something, which to q degree is understandable, but I'm keeping them separated from our other animals for the time being (even though the owner has stated they are healthy and is trying to send paperwork). She stated she also feels disrespected (more on this further down) that I would go forward with this without her approval (I did mention a few times about the cats, so it wasn't completely out of the blue). As such, she is threatening to break up with me over this if they are not removed from the home (she's also threatened throwing them outside and making them street cats, which obviously isn't good).
I'm upset that I'm trying to be a good person but am being forced to not be allowed to do so (I figured since we already have 3 cats, what's 2 more for some time, considering cats are low effort in my opinion).
Now for some juicy details that you redditors may enjoy reading. As I've stated earlier, she feels disrespected that I would move forward with this decision, without talking to her more about it. I honestly didn't think it would be a big issue since we both love animals. Growing up, whenever I visit my home country, if there was an animal that needed to take care of, I'd end up giving away a good portion of my vacation looking after said animal. And if I couldn't look after it for some time for whatever reason, a portion of my mind was constantly preoccupied wondering if they were ok. For my gf, as an example, she guilt trip me into taking in a pet rat that we we unprepared to take in (this was the only reason why I was against it, as neither of us had the money to buy a proper enclosure), as she was concerned that someone would end up buying it as snake food. This obviously made me feel bad, and we ended up getting the rat (ended up passing away, so it's currently not in the picture). She's has also stated that she wanted chickens, which I also don't mind, as roosters crowing and hens clucking remind me of my grandparents' farm. I'm hesitant on that only because I'd need to put in the time, energy, and money into making an enclosure for them (can't just have them running around in the backyard). So you can see why I thought she wouldn't mind looking after 2 cats who we are indirectly ready to take in due to having our cats. I have my suspicions thay she's jealous/insecure about it being another female's cats, as she asked a question or two about the scenario that in my opinion didn't pertain to the cats directly (more on this layer)
The issue I have with her claiming she feels disrespected is I feel like I bend over backwards for her, while also letting her walk all over me, to the point where she claimed I have/had sex with my mom (she did not say this directly to me, she stated it to certain family members who have relayed it back to me) which such a thing has never occurred. She also believes I have done something to the our animals. The first time she stated that if she found out I ever did something to the animals, she'd find someplace to go and take all the animals and I'd never find her. Another time my dog was pooping, and she asked why his rectum looked like that (again, pretty much claiming I did something to my dog). The most recent claim she's made is I went out to walk my dog, and ended up talking to one of our "neighbors" (they live behind the house that's directly across the street from us) and I admittedly stayed for a very long time. She tried calling me, but my phone was on silent for some reason, and I ended up missing her call. She sent me a few messages, the first 2 claiming she was going to call the police and file a missing person report (understandable considering how long I've been gone, and the fact it was around 11 at night), but then the following messages claimed she hopes my dog doesn't come back raped, and the message after that asked if I was "getting fucked by Dan" (I don't even a Dan where we live). She's also claimed I did something to her dog, as she thought her puppy looked prolapsed during her period. So as you can see, there's been a lot of claims by her of me supposedly sodomizing the animals which I want to make clear has not happened.
To make matters worse, and possibly the cherry on top, she claims to have taken some photos that pertain to me that she claims she will post online if we ever break up so people know the real me (I won't get into too much detail, but it is of a sexual nature that luckily doesn't have me directly in it, but nonetheless wouldn't be a good thing to be put online if she goes through with it). I haven't seen these photos directly, but I'm going to assume the worse and believe they exist. I believe this falls under the category of blackmail, bit I'm not sure, as she hasn't used it as leverage to get me to buy her things or do things for her, etc.
I'll admit that I maybe haven't been her perfect boyfriend. I did try however I could, even going above my means to try to please her, which I am am now literally paying for (something I'm currently working on). I also will admit that I have spoken about her to my family members behind her back, although they claim that I'm not speaking ill of her if what she does/says is true (they have witnessed how she is first hand, so they know I'm not talking out my ass about certain things). Am I crazy/in the wrong to think "the audacity of the bitch" when she says she feels disrespected, when she has claimed all the things above?
For some chocolate drizzle: I had a surgery a few months back that I was healing from, and I was laying in the bath tub letting the shower head hit me, just trying to relax a bit, when she comes into the bath to rinse off her dirty feet almost right above my incision (it was basically an open wound with some glue over it).
This is all excluding the constant accusations I get from her about cheating on her. She wants access to my phone (I have somehow managed to stick to my giluns and not give it to her) and I have shown her my text messages a handful of times, and she never finds anything because, well, I'm not cheating on her. I'll admit that I have some sensitive information on my phone that I don't want her to have access to the primary one being bank accounts, and I don't want her seeing my degeneracy on reddit (thank you anonymous browsing lol)
That's it for now. Again, sorry for the long post that turned into a venting/advice session. I have the right of mind to either move into an apartment by myself for some time and letting her figure out what to with her animals and try to get away from this mess. Or better yet, let her be mad over the cats, and break up with me for wanting to help someone out, and potentially take her to the cleaners legally if she goes through with posting the photos about me. I don't want to take legal action against her and potentially ruin her future, as I understand she hasn't had the best life growing up, but I'm also tired of letting her get away with whatever she wants.

This mission is my favorite type. I hear a lot of people complain that it is too hard, but I believe its actually one of the easiest when you have the right strategy. Using this method you can pretty consistantly beat 9s assuming none of the bugs/glitches happen to you.

THE LOADOUT

All players should choose this loadout
-Armor: since there will be little movement in this mission, and a whole lot of explosions, I reccomend bringing either heavy armor, or "Democracy Protects" armor.
-Primary: for Terminids, I would reccomend the Breaker Incendiary, or the Scythe if you don't have it. For Automatons, use the Scorcher, or the Scythe if you don't have that.
-Support: for Terminids you will want to bring EATs and/or the Recoilless Rifle since bile titans can only be killed with Anti-tank. For Automatons you will want to bring the Laser Cannon, the Autocannon, or the Anti-Material Rifle. Personally I would reccomend the Laser Cannon since it shreds Hulks and Striders to pieces, and does do damage against tanks too.
-Strategems: for both factions, you want to bring both the regular mortar and the EMS mortar. This leaves 1 slot left for an "extra" strategem. Fill this with: EAT (automatons), Orbital Laser, either rocket or autocannon sentries, Eagle 500kg, or 120 Barrage. DO NOT EVER BRING THE 380 BARRAGE TO THIS MISSION.
A good combo for Terminids worth noting, however, is to bring the QuasaRR AND EATs. Shoot once with the former and spam the latter to kill.
From my experience, it may be helpful to have one player bring majority red strategems to deal with heavies that get too far.

SETUP AND STRATEGY

From the moment the game starts, you want to be calling down as many EATs as you can in a location close to or in front of the first door (closest to the generator). Closing the doors on this mission on level 9 does little to no good, and only prevents you from shooting back. Always place your mortars behind a wall where the enemy cannot get to them easilly. If you brought AC/rocket sentries, place them close to the 1st doogenerator so they can kill Bile Titans/Striders just in case they get too far. On the "spiral" map, my favorite area to place them is behind the L shaped wall by the landing pad. When the mission starts, your mortars should be killing all the "fodder" enemies like Devastators and Raiders. You can help this out by shooting explosives (Autocannon, Scorcher) into the dropships before they drop the enemies. You want to stay close to the first door in order to give heavies time to walk, since it takes a while for you to kill them (Bile Titans are FAST). You want to be placing your full attention on heavies whenever they spawn. If you brought EATs for Automatons, use them first to destroy the big cannon on top (it can snipe the generators on the spiral map) then destroy the machine guns using your Laser Cannon, rendering it harmless. Use the laser to focus on the eye slit to kill it. When facing Terminids, ALWAYS shoot bile titans in the head.

BUGS/GLITCHES

Unfortunately while this is the most fun mission type, its also the most broken. Some notable bugs to look out for is:
-On the "Spiral" map, dropships/bug breaches can sometimes spawn on the landing pad, giving them a straight shot to the generators
-Factory Striders on the "Spiral" map can snipe the generator off spawn and can also snipe the generators through the open section of the wall. This is why you always prioritize destroying thier cannon first.
-If players join or leave during the mission, there is a chance progress will freeze and you will he softlocked.
I hope this guide has been helpful! This is my favorite mission type because it feels like a "tower defense" corridor mission. I really hope Arrowhead will add more of these types of missions in the future, as it perfectly encapsulates the feeling of "defending" a planet.

I think a lot about signals. Signals that show people what groups they belong to. Signals that hide the truth. Everybody uses signals to blend, entice, or trap.
Grandma Pearl died not long after her stroke, and I've been making bad decisions ever since. Maybe my expectations are too high, or I'm just an idiot. Either way, I ran away from the group home to be with people who called themselves my "family." They were the wrong people. They used the words family, brother, sister, and love like lock picks, stealing trust, and taking self-respect.
The only person I remember using the word family correctly was Grandma Pearl. She was a small woman who toured the US as an actress before settling with Granddad above their theatrical rentals shop. I was three when the car accident took Granddad and Mom, so I don't know if they used the word "family" correctly, but I hope they did.
I was never as outgoing as Grandma, but that didn't bother her; she taught me how to watch people. How to see their signals, and how to listen. When she died. I forgot a lot of those lessons for a while.
They called it a "family". The "family" moved product. That product could be goods, drugs, or people.
The uninitiated, like me, were distracted with food and a dry place to sleep, but it didn't take long to see behind the curtain. Things got too intense with the new "family" and I ran.
I ran back to my old neighborhood. The buildings were familiar even if my home was gone. The old theatrical shop had been turned into a microbrewery.
After an appropriate amount of self-pity, thirty minutes, I wandered the alleys, picking up cans or scavenging for bits and pieces that could be recycled, used, or bartered.
I recognized old faces, but I tried to stay out of sight. It was safer that way.
The only place I allowed myself to be seen was the old Lutheran church on the park's far side. Most people who might have known me had aged out of the congregation or died. It was worth the risk because St. Lazarus had a food pantry in the basement and gave out lunches most days, so I wasn't always hungry, which was nice.
I found a dry spot near the library to sleep, which seemed like a stroke of luck until it wasn't.
I had the contentment that came with being in a familiar place. Little bits of comfort let me believe, for a moment, that I wasn't a screw-up and hadn't trusted the wrong people. That moment scurried away when Stick found me.
Stick was a scary asshole. He technically wasn't in charge of the " family," but he made it work. He got things done. I have no idea how old he was. He was all corded muscle and could clock in between twenty and fifty. He looked half-starved and moved like a stalking predator, even with his limp.
His left leg was stiff. The knee didn't bend, and anytime he sat, his left leg would be splayed to the side like a kickstand on a bike. The leg was why he walked with a cane. The cane and how he used it was why we called him Stick.
I don't know why he took the time to track me down. It's not like I was wanted. Maybe it was that I had become property. Property shouldn't just wander off.
Sometimes, you feel a person before you see them. The air is different. When Stick was around, the air felt dead and motionless. I knew I was being watched before I opened my eyes.
Stick was sitting on a milk crate, his bad leg cocked to the side and his forehead resting on his cane. I pushed myself out from beneath the ductwork of the HVAC unit I had been sleeping under and slapped the dirt off my jeans.
"I thought that was you," Stick said as his sharp grin curved up to his unblinking dark eyes.
Stick wanted my discomfort. I'd seen him play the intimidation game too many times. He'd act too friendly, and then when you were good and worried, quick movements, a hand around the back of your neck, and violence would be next. Then he'd act like the whole mind fuck was a big joke, like you were friends, and isn't it great that you can joke around with someone who "really" cared.
It worked, too. If you were the unfortunate focus of Stick's attention, you would be grateful when he smiled and said, "Just a joke, kid. Don't be so sensitive." I'd seen the pattern enough times to know Stick trained people like dogs with his hot and cold game. I didn't like the game, or the fear, so I changed the pattern.
"Hey, Stick, did you come to help pick up cans?" I asked, making sure my smile reached my eyes. I was trying to be pleasant while ignoring the burning nervousness in my gut.
It was still dark out, but I could see Stick's expressions well enough.
Stick tapped his cane on the sidewalk and squinted at me skeptically before answering. "Just checking on my little brother."
We were not related.
Stick liked to call the uninitiated his little brothers or little sisters. He forced intimacy into his language. I didn't argue the point. Interactions went best with Stick when you agreed with everything he said.
"Thanks, man," I complimented, trying to sound genuine and ignorant as I stepped forward and offered him my hand.
Stick didn't move, but I could see that this conversation wasn't going as planned for him, and I forced myself not to react to his confusion. I couldn't break character, or he would know I was playing him.
Stick tapped his cane on the ground twice, grasped my hand, and stood. He watched me. I held his stare, but in an open, naive, guileless way that I had perfected in front of the mirror as grandma gave acting advice while she put her face on.
I once asked Grandma Perl why anyone would practice acting stupid. She pointed her mascara brush at me and, in her ditsiest Minnesota Nice character, said, "It's easier to be forgiven when people think you're a little dumb, don't ya know?" Like with most things, Grandma was right.
Before I understood what had happened, Stick pulled me into his side and slung an arm around my shoulder.
"You don't have a name yet. Everyone gets a name, but they don't get to pick it." He paused and gave me a Cheshire cat grin. "I have a name for you, little brother. You are going to be called Slide." Then he held my chin and forced eye contact." Your name will be Slide because I have never seen anyone slide out of shit faster than you. I can't tell if you do it on purpose or not, and I've been watching. I watch everybody. You do, too. Hell, this might be the first time I've ever heard you talk. So let's celebrate your name, Slide." Stick's smile slipped as he pulled me out of the alley. "We'll go do something special."
I stayed silent, knowing full well what was coming. Being named meant doing something you could never take back. It was public and would put you in prison if the police ever took the time to look for you. It meant severing yourself from your life before and relying entirely on the "family." I had been absent each time naming seemed to be in the cards, but I couldn't duck out this time.
There was only one place to go at this time of night that would have an impact, the Bodega.
The Bodega was a red hole in the wall with a glass door papered over with grocery ads years outdated. Canned salmon two for one seemed to be the dominant theme. Although there were two large windows, one on either side of the door, you could barely see in. The right window was a tapestry of cigarette promotions. The left window displayed the only swath of uncovered glass with a view of the interior. From the outside, the view was of tobacco, lottery scratchers, and Old Lady Imitari.
Old Lady Imitari owned the store. She was a short, dark-haired woman who always wore a long floral tank top. Grandma Pearl loved the old woman but said Imitari looked like an old man's thumb all the years she had known her, and Grandma moved to the neighborhood with Grandad thirty years ago. Imitari was a local legend even then because the Bodega was open twenty hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year, and no one else worked in the store. Grandma used to make an extra strong coffee called Barako and chat with Imitari sometimes when work in the shop was slow.
I would sneak out at night and try to catch Imitari sleeping. No matter the time, I never caught her snoozing, and she always saw me peeking at her through the window. I know she saw me because she would uncross her arms and wave her flyswatter at me.
All these memories flicked through my mind as Stick smiled his too-wide smile and pushed me into the Bodega.
Imitari flicked her fly swatter at me in acknowledgment, and her attention returned to the small TV she had nestled beside the cash register, which seemed to be the old woman's only real tether to the world outside her shop.
The inside of the Bodega was just a long hallway with shelves of convenience foods, drinks, home supplies, candy, and cold meds covering every available surface from floor to ceiling. The only break in the tunnel of products was the glass counter at the back corner of the store; Imitari presided over her mini domain by casually ignoring her shoppers. I tried to make eye contact with the old woman again as Stick pushed me to the back of the shop, but after her initial acknowledgment of our entrance, Imitari's eyes stayed focused on her TV.
As casually confident as possible, I walked to the cooler and grabbed an iced tea. "Want a drink," I asked over my shoulder, my voice unusually steady, given the electric current of anxiety flowing through me.
Stick sneered and tapped his cane twice on the ground. His eyes found all the security cameras in the tiny store, a frown creasing his angular features.
I followed his line of sight and finally realized what had bothered him. The cameras were fake. They looked like security cameras, but they weren't. There were no wires or lenses, just rectangles and circles in a security camera shape.
Stick took a deep breath and tapped his cane on the ground again. " There… is … so… much… here… to… see… but… no… one… is… watching," he said with a singsong. Then his sneer turned into a cruel smile.
I knew Stick wanted an audience for what he would force me to do. The fact that the security cameras were fakes meant that whatever was going to happen would now have to be significant. An event that the neighborhood wouldn't be able to ignore. My stomach twisted with the thought.
Stick waggled his eyebrows at me. He had been watching. He had seen my thoughts, and we both knew he had something terrible in mind.
The cane twirled in Stick's hand and then tapped twice on the shop tile.
"I think I want a little bit of this," Stick said, gesturing wildly with his cane, sending a row of soup cans tumbling to the floor. "And a little bit of that," Stick added as another wild gesture sent cups of ramen spinning and knocking glass bottles of hot sauce to the floor.
I stood paralyzed, unable to run. I was trapped with nowhere to duck away to. I didn't want Stick to hurt Old Lady Imitari, and I didn't want Stick to hurt me, either. The truth was, he would hurt both of us no matter what I did. That was just the way Stick was. I'd seen him. I'd seen him show us who he was every day.
Then I realized Imitari hadn't moved. She was watching her TV and chuckling at the sitcom as if nothing had happened.
Stick glanced at me, confused. I almost felt sorry for the sociopath. His night was not going to plan.
Imitari chuckled at her TV again, and a crease formed in the middle of Stick's forehead, letting me know that he was beyond angry. He was calm, dangerous, and vicious. People had been left for dead when Stick got this way.
Stick raised his cane and flipped it so the handle jutted like a pickax. He was going to attack Imitari.
Somehow, I moved. I didn't do much, but when I slid forward and grabbed the back of Stick's shirt, the cane missed Imitari, and the sharp handle punctured the thick glass top of the counter just above a roll of Lotto scratchers.
Old lady Imitari slowly looked up into Stick's eyes and smiled. Her wide, gentle frown was replaced with a look of joy and something else, something primal, something hungry. Her pupils were blown, and I had the uneasy feeling that I was watching someone be served their absolute favorite meal.
Before Stick could pull his cane from the punctured glass, Imitari casually reached forward, grabbed the cane, and pulled the wirey man forward. Small, old, and wrinkled, Imitari stared into Stick's eyes and overpowered him.
Stick fell forward across the counter. He tried to push himself back, but Imitari's hand clamped down on his wrist like a vice.
Bones ground together as Imitari pulled Stick's hand to her mouth, and with a swift, subtle movement, she bit off the tips of Stick's pinky and ring finger like she was sampling a cookie.
I jumped back next to the cooler as a thin spray of blood arched toward me.
Stick screamed and thrashed, but Imitari's small form was static and immovable. Stick was a fly in a trap. No matter how much he struggled, punched, poked, or kicked, he could not break the old woman's hold. Then, slowly, she took another bite.
It was strangely fascinating watching the frail form of this old woman I had known for years take bite after bite out of Stick. This man, whom I thought of as a predator, a hunter, an enforcer, was crying and begging while an old woman, who looked like a wrinkled thumb in a floral top, quietly devoured him.
I was surprised by the lack of blood after the first spray. I'm sure it was Imitari's crushing grip that stanched the flow of blood. The flesh of Stick's arm looked white from the pressure.
Hand over hand, Imitari pulled Stick forward. Bones cracked as she gripped higher on Stick's arm, clamped down with her long leathery fingers, and fed the flesh and bone, one concise bite at a time, into her open smiling maw. It was rhythmical in its simplicity: chomp, crunch, chew, chew, swallow. Over and over, the pattern continued until the begging stopped.
Stick wasn't dead. He gave up. Not struggling, he laid over the glass counter like a rag doll. He watched me glassily as Imitari took bite after bite, and I knew he wasn't there anymore. Whatever made Stick Stick had either curled up and hidden in a dark corner of his mind or had been devoured with his arm.
The old woman seemed displeased that her meal had stopped struggling. She shook him, but he flopped, and his head lulled from side to side. Imitari frowned, let go of Stick's arm, and pushed down on the limp man's back. Blood gushed from the ragged stump, and Imitari lowered her mouth and drank from the wound like she was sipping from a garden hose.
Stick didn't move. He just grew pail, and eventually, his panicked, shallow breaths ended, and the blood stopped flowing.
Then Imitari stood. With a quick tug, she pulled Stick's body over the counter and let it flop to the floor at her feet. Her eyes closed. A contented smile bloomed on her face as the explosive sound of crunching and cracking bones echoed through the small shop.
The deafening sound of crunching stopped, and only the buzzing of the drinks cooler reverberated through the small space. Imitari opened her eyes and watched me, a broad smile still on her lips. At that moment, I realized I could hear the drinks cooler so well because I had crawled into it, wedged between the glass door and the shelves.
Imitari held me with her gaze as cords of pink flesh lowered from the ceiling and efficiently tidied up Stick's mess, lapping up blood and hot sauce, placing cans on shelves, and scooping up cups of ramen with whip-like tendrils. Then, the cords of flesh nudged me forward, and I stood before Old Lady Imitari.
The thing that I had always thought of as a stern old woman handed me Stick's cane. With the same benign smile I remembered from buying red hots from it as a ten-year-old, it waved me away with its flyswatter, and the cords of flesh pushed me out the door onto the sidewalk.