Hi all,
Question here - my grandmother needs help turning on her system this year. She usually hires someone, but they can't come out until the end of June, and she's concerned about her yard and garden. I've read several posts here, watched YouTube videos and am familiar with the layout of her system, having taken care of her pool and sprinkler zones for the last 4-5 years, so I'm fairly confident.
My worry lies in the fact that it's a shared system - everyone in the neighborhood shares with one other neighbor. Her neighbors are great, but once I open our valves, drain, etc (note: we're the ones with the well and tank in our yard) - can someone let me know what, if anything, I need to do in their yard? I'd assume maybe they have valves that need to be opened, but I haven't found any info and don't want to poke around. Thank you!

Hi guys,
What do you guys prefer wearing while going to: 1: the beach 2: swimming pool 3: Jacuzzi (hot tub) 4: Sauna / steam room
I’ll go first. I’ll wear speedo or the skimpy triangle swim suit on the beach, in swimming pool and hot tub. In sauna / steam room I will wear nothing, just sit on a towel and have another towel cover my private area (you knew it 😏)
How about you guys?

So my girlfriend was acting really strange, right? And then she invited me to a coffee shop, but she doesn’t drink coffee usually. So it hit me like a karate chop when she told me she had a little news for me. She said she was seeing another man, who sang in a Kid Rock cover band? Then out the window, I saw children trapped in a burning building! So, I ran into the blaze and I pulled them from the flames, then I stopped a robbery and rescued a cat stuck in a drain. So, my ex-girlfriend she saw the whole fricking thing then told me she wants me back, and I'm like, "Nah, go and be with fake Kid Rock!" And everyone clapped! You should've seen it! Everyone clapped. Gotta believe it. And everyone clapped, I swear it's true. And everyone clapped! You believe me, don't you?

Mahito is one of the most powerful characters in Jujutsu Kaisen with highest room for potential I see downplayed so imma say why I think not only would he surpass Jogo, Ryu, Uro, Yuta, Geto, Yuki, etc but he’d eventually rise above the ranks and surpass the levels of even Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Sukuna.
From day one we see Mahito able to fight a highly skilled combatant like Kento Nanami and example grade 1 sorcerer able to fight in tandem with the much stronger, faster, and more experienced Naobito in Shibuya and with a martial arts master like Yuji Itadori. Mahito was still a new born posited as already very close to attaining a domain expansion something her shortly managed. Mahito fought Yuji, Aoi Todo, Kento Nanami, and somewhat fought Satoru Gojo.
He mastered 0.2 domain expansion, done black flash meaning he should’ve found the core of cursed energy, and found the true shape of his soul. And that’s Mahito who’s been alive for what should not be more than a few months. So can Mahito improve? I hear many people say Mahito has reached his limit and uhh… no. He hasn’t.
Mahito found the true shape of his soul but even he immediately states that he isn’t done evolving until he is done killing Itadori. And there isn’t any evidence that Mahito finding his souls true shape is the end of evolving his soul and there are many many more aspect in jujutsu Mahito could develop. All the full potential deniers kinda just say this with their only argument being “but duhh soul” we’ve seen most characters like Gojo, Yuta, basically everyone in the series just have never developed the soul. The only two who have are Sukuna and Mahito and Sukuna is at the top not just because of his soul. Point is Mahito had reached his full potential and had no room to grow is entirely made up unsupported head canon.
So let’s start with what Mahito can improve? Well first of all when Jogo and Hanami pick up on domain amplification then Mahito should as well. Mahito’s shown to be quick to adopting abilities for himself and recreating them with his own cursed technique and domain amplification would serve as only a positive for him. Mahito also needs more experience so I say pick it up wherever he can. Dagon, Jogo, Hanami, Kenjaku. Listen to whatever advice no matter how small they may give as Kenjaku especially is great for learning everything you can about jujutsu.
Mahito’s abilities are also perfect for mastering jujutsu. Sukuna has 4 arms and a mouth? Why doesn’t Mahito get 4 mouths and 8 arms? All these arms can one shot normal people and weaker sorcerers with a touch and stronger sorcerers dead in a few blows.
And Mahito limited himself by only hunting humans. Why not go after fellow cursed spirits or jujutsu sorcerers? Imagine a transfigured human but instead being a random hobo from Shibuya it was Nobara, or Todo or even Nanami. These transfigured humans could possibly even still have their cursed techniques. So imagine fight Mahito but you need to worry about a transfigured Todo’s boogie woogie, combined with Nanami’s ratio, and Nobara’s attacks with her nails. This massively increases the lethality of someone like Mahito who’s already was pretty high.
Now sure I’ve suggested a lot of stuff but this would expend a lot of cursed energy right? I mean would Mahito even have the reverses to say he could even do all this? Yes. Mahito in shibuya used a domain expansion and used idle transfiguration over 1000 times combined with taking multiple black flashes from Yuji and having to withstand other attacks we know burn through his CE and another soul attack from Nobara. All this should’ve burnt through Mahito’s cursed energy reverses and yet he didn’t run out until the very end with Yuji’sast black flash. The only other characters whose cursed technique usage is reaching that high is Gojo who is thanks to the six eyes and Sukuna. Now I obviously don’t think Mahito’s well is as deep as Sukuna but still it’s a massive amount. The ONLY character I’d say has a chance of having deeper than Mahito and honestly the disaster curses in general is Yuta. And let’s be real Mahito’s CE pool should only get deeper as he grows.
Now then. How would Mahito get these humans? Let’s assume he won his fight with Yuji. Everyone in Shibuya damn near is free for the taking. Aside like Kenjaku, Sukuna’s femboy and eventually Yuki everyone is up for grabs. Imagine instead of killing Nanami and Nobara that Mahito saved them for later as transfigured humans. He could go around Shibuya and honestly the only reason I’d say he shouldn’t go for EVERYONE is the fight likely left him drained so that’s a bad idea at this moment. Still I think a few should be fine.
He could stumble upon grade 1 Kusakabe, or cursed corpse Panda, on the outskirts he may run into Shoko or Yaga, if he waits the Kyoto students and Utahime are all up for grabs. Now once again if he goes after all of Shibuya he gets cooked as he’s low on energy but since Yuji is likely dead and Todo likely transfigured by Mahito. Once Mahito heals up nobody is gonna stop him.
That’s great and all but how does Mahito get stronger? Well best he can do is wait until after he’s healed and face everyone possible. Most aren’t a threat to him and if he’s smart and stays away from special grades he will grow in power and experience and can create new burning vows to boost other stats. Like his Frieza ass form in canon was kinda useless for anyone not Yuji as defense hardly matters for Mahito. So why not advance it to other binding vows some for speed, power, some that get rid of rivalry for other stats. It’s perfect for Mahito maybe he even can make binding vows so his clones can use idle transfiguration.
So right now.. Mahito is almost entirely immune to all forms of attack that don’t come from a domain, Sukuna and a very small number of other characters. He’s got crazy versatility and should have pretty damn good skill and experience as well as general knowledge on jujutsu. Now all well and good and honestly with all this I can see Mahito beating special grade level combatants. People like Yuki, Toji or Geto sure he can beat them. But Mahito’s potential is significantly higher than Jogo who Sukuna says could be comparable to Gojo. Meaning Mahito would most likely flat out surpass Satoru Gojo in power and be closer in level to Sukuna that’s useful considering he and Sukuna have damn near the same mind set. Something we know is important for development.
Mahito knowing the soul better than anyone in the series means he’s got the capacity to over anyone get a stronger soul and Sukuna. And Mahito can endure soul attacks from Yuji so if he grows enough he’d eventually be strong enough to take hits from Sukuna even if they hit his soul.
And I get what you might be thinking. Sukuna and Gojo are bad matchups for Mahito specifically. And sure but this is a Mahito with an army of transfigured humans of normal humans, sorcerers, and cursed spirits, he has an experimental and selfish mindset, and the capacity to make binding vows and copy or base moves off what he sees. Imagine Mahito doing a soul version of the world slash, or Fuga, or red, or blue.
The only character I think has any shot of beating him aside Sukuna and Gojo him is likely Takaba who is specifically an extremely bad match for Mahito as I doubt he’d let Mahito open a domain and his attacks resonate in the soul and Mahito surely can’t figure out how his CT works at least in my mind.
For the domain expansions: Mahito can try refining his domain. We don’t know how this is done but you know who likely does? Kenjaku. And Mahito could likely do what Sukuna did and make a binding bow to make it open barrier. Making his domain a bad matchup for Gojo.
Like how does anyone actually fight this thing. He’s less of a curse on humanity and more of a walking calamity or if you prefer… disaster.

Or are the drain holes alone enough? I read about all kinds of stuff people put over the drain holes at the bottom of their pot. What if I put nothing over the drain holes except the soil?

Hi,
Looking for ideas for what to plant in the back yard. The area is on the west side, directly adjacent to the house, and under the shade of a silver maple. A pretty shady site in northern IA, zone 5. Well drained soils, slightly sandy / gravely.
I’m looking for something native, shade tolerant, and perennial. Any ecosystem services are a welcome benefit. Woody shrubs are preferred but most of what I can find for this site is going to be a little larger than what I’m interested in. Flowers, or any type of ground cover is better than red mulch IMO.
What I’ve come up with so far: Aronia berry That’s all I’ve got 😊
Thanks for any input

Hi, I'm planning to take swimming lessons and I want to practice sana whenever gusto ko and I want to do it regularly na rin. Meron ba kayong alam na indoor or covered pool na pwede mag pa member and how much if meron? Nag inquire kasi ako at ang mahal kung per swim ang bayad 600 for 4hrs ganern or 500 for 2hrs
Note: Near QC po sana🫶
Thank youuuu!

I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/TA031544
Originally posted to AITAH
AITA for Expecting Sex on a Date Night with my Wife?
Editor’s Note: added paragraph breaks for readability
Trigger Warnings: emotional affair, infidelity, depression, verbal abuse, betrayal
Original Post: March 31, 2024
My wife and I generally have a great relationship. Last night, however, I learned from my wife that she has been on a sex strike for most of the last month due to some comments I made following our last date night (which was about a month ago).
As background, I arrange a date night each month for the two of us. I plan a dinner somewhere nice, arrange a babysitter, feed our three kids dinner, and otherwise handle all of the logistics so that all she has to do is show up. Typically, we will grab drinks somewhere after dinner (sometimes meeting up with friends for the drinks portion, and other times going just the two of us).
Earlier this month, I planned an evening out and we had a fantastic dinner together. After dinner, I proposed that we go to a nearby wine bar, but my wife (who had been texting with the wife of a couple we are close friends with), asked if we could go meet up with them for drinks instead. I was fine with that, so we headed towards a nearby bar that they had proposed. However, the other couple's dinner ran later than ours, and by the time it ended, the wife was tired and decided she wanted to go to bed. As such, her husband ended up taking her home and then joining us at the local bar they had proposed.
Around 11:45 we had to leave to relieve our babysitter. My wife was having fun and didn't want the evening to end, so she invited our friend over for another drink. I told her I was fine with that, but that I was hoping to be in bed by 1:00 a.m. (as background, I do the morning shift with our three kids every day and they get up early). My wife promised that we'd be in bed by then.
Our friend came over, we opened a bottle of wine, put on some music, and we're all having a good time. 1:00 comes around and he gets up to go, but my wife tells us we can't leave, as she is vibing. I stick around for another 10 minutes or so and then decide to call it, as I was getting pretty tired. My wife tells me she will be up in another 10 minutes. I get ready for bed (which takes about that long) and don't hear her coming, so I go to bed.
Around 3:00, I get woken up by her coming into our bedroom (she was drunk at this point and made a lot of noise). I'm now wide awake, and if that happens, it usually takes me a while to go back to sleep (in this case, it took me until around 5:00, which was fun when the kids woke up at 6:30). Anyways, at this point, since I'm now wide awake, I ask her if she'd want to have sex (probably not the most romantic, I know). She declines, as she is tired and wants to go to sleep. Fair enough, I don't push the issue, and and she immediately falls asleep.
However, I can't sleep now due to being woken up, and sit there and stew for a few hours (mostly frustrated at being woken up but also annoyed at how the evening went overall). My first mistake was sending her a text (while she is asleep) saying that her actions that evening were hurtful and that it felt like I planned this nice evening, only for her to end up spending the later part of it with someone else (and not like that - I am 100% confident they were just listening to music and chatting).
The next morning, she came downstairs apologetic. However, I made the mistake of mentioning that her actions made me not really want to plan these extravagant date nights anymore, as she had broken her promise about going to bed at a reasonable hour and then ruined my sleep (not the first time this has happened on a date night). Then (and this is where I may be the asshole), I added that this was at least the fourth date night in a row where the night had ended with us not having sex, and that in my mind, a good date night ends in sex. I also added that this one was particularly offensive because it felt like she abandoned me at the end of the night.
These comments really upset her, and she said they made her feel like I only appreciate her for sex. She added that date nights should be about having fun and enjoying her company, and that I should assume we won't have sex on date nights. Honestly, I have some sympathy for her perspective about enjoying each other's company being the most important part of a date night, but I also don't think it is unreasonable to feel a little let down after planning a romantic evening, especially since it had become a pattern, and particularly where she effectively choose to do something else rather than have sex with me. So Reddit, what do we think? AITA?
Updates: Well, this surprisingly took off. A few responses to commonly asked questions:

1. Why involve friends on date night? Because she asked - it wasn't what I had planned, but I do try to make her happy.

​

1. How often do we normally have sex? 2-3 times a week, which is honestly pretty good for having three young children, although the distribution tends to be a little uneven (i.e. we might have it 5 times one week and then only once the next). I also try to be a generous partner, and almost always try to get her off first (unless she just asks for a quickie).

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1. How did I not notice the sex strike that was going on for almost a month? I intentionally took a week off from initiating in an effort to show I wasn't just about sex, and then I caught a severe case of COVID at the end of that week, and then she got her period, and then we went on a trip (where sex is hard with small kids). So even if she hadn't been intentionally withholding, there wouldn't really have been an opportunity for it. Just a really unfortunate series of events that happened one after the other. We also did slip in a couple of sessions in there where she initiated (in what she called "moments of weakness") - frankly, we both like sex, but she is sometimes willing to hurt/penalize herself to prove a point. Also, we've had 4 or 5 stretches in the past where we have gone many months without sex due to childbirth / major surgery / depression. I do truly care for my wife, and I'm willing to play the long game.

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1. Why are you not worried about your wife being with a male friend late at night? We're very close to this couple, and they are probably over at our house at least once a week. The husband in particular is close friends with both me and my wife. His wife works very early in the morning, so she pretty much always goes to bed very early. As such, he is often left alone at night, and he frequently ends up at our place (where we play drink, play board games or cards, listen to music, play guitars, etc.). It is not at all unusual for him to come over and stay late at our place, as my wife and I stay up much later than his wife. It was only weird (and frustrating) because my wife invited him over on a date night. Our friend is also a really solid guy - he's probably the safest person I could think of to hang out with my wife who is a guy. I know the optics aren't great and that if I were a third party I'd probably think something shady is going on - just knowing the people involved, it's not something I am concerned about. I'm confident our friend intended to come over for just a drink - he did in fact try to leave, and he had even called an uber - my wife grabbed his phone and cancelled it. And I do think they did just lose track of time. We had a brief power outage the day before so our living room clock was not working.

​

1. What happened on the other three dates? On one, we had met up with a large group of friends at a bar after dinner and we were all having fun. Unfortunately, one of us had to relieve the babysitter. I kindly offered to go home and let her stay out with the crew (many of our friends stay out late - most have family or a full-time nanny that can do overnights). She ended up staying out until after 3:00 and was blackout when she got back, so I helped her get into bed and called it a night. On another, we got into an argument over something stupid at dinner and it killed the mood. On the third, she just was very tired by the time we got home and wanted to go to sleep (which is totally valid - I didn't complain or push it). This wasn't really a pattern of any specific behavior on her part - I was more just frustrated that circumstances seemed to always conspire to prevent the ideal date night from occurring, and this one being foiled was definitely her fault.

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1. Why did your wife stay up so late? My wife is a bit of a night owl. Her ideal schedule is probably to stay up until 12 or 1 and then sleep in until 9. And on the weekend when she is having fun, she would easily stay up until 2 or 3. This is something that we have argued about in the past, as once she gets going she doesn't like to stop (which she admits isn't the best), which always leaves me needing to be the responsible one. I've told her in the past that I'd gladly stay up until 3:00 with her if she agrees to do the morning shift the next day, but she has always declined on the basis of that not being enough sleep.

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1. How is your division of labor? I work a high pay, long hours job, and my wife is a SAHM. When I'm at work I'm obviously gone and she takes care of the kids. When I'm not working, I probably do 60% of the household labor and she does 40% - I try to do the heavy lifting with the kids when I'm home because taking care of three young kids is exhausting, and I know she appreciates the break. In particular, I do the morning shift, which we both view as the worst one. She is definitely appreciative of all the household labor I do, and has stated she recognizes that I do more than any of our male friends.

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1. Is your wife a good mom? She's a fantastic mom - really, truly fantastic. She puts in a ton of effort making our kids' lives fun and full of whimsy. She's all their friends' favorite mom since she's fun and cares about them. She goes 100% when taking care of the kids, which I think is why she sometimes parties perhaps too late and doesn't want the night to end, as taking care of kids really is draining, especially if you go max effort.

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1. How is your relationship otherwise? We both do thoughtful things for one another. I make her coffee every morning and leave a note for her next to the mug. She helps my mom with tech support (which is a true act of love - I did it for years and hated it). I buy her flowers about once a week and will randomly surprise her with small gifts. She will buy me less frequent (but larger and more thoughtful) gifts. If you take sex out of the equation, the relationship is great (and until a few weeks ago I would have told you that was great too).

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1. Are you an unreliable narrator? I hope not? I think if you asked my wife what happened, she would agree with essentially everything I've said. I think she would probably just add some additional background information, the big one being that we have had arguments about sex in the past. We had a bad argument about 9 months ago that led to about a month-long hiatus after I complained to her that we never had sex while on vacation (and we probably take 10 or so trips a year, although many of them are just for long weekends). Her view was that we usually have kids in a room directly adjacent to us (and often other adults, since we typically do an AirBnB with friends or go to a friends' vacation home), and that she would be mortified if our kids or friends heard us. It's honestly a valid point, and she convinced me of it (I stopped trying on vacation unless she initiates (which she still does periodically)), but she did feel that I was ungrateful in light of all the normal sex we were having, and that she needed to reset expectations so that sex was special rather than a usual occurrence. I get the sense that her current sex strike is essentially the same thing.

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1. Is this fake? Unfortunately, no. I'm very much a real human. Beep boop beep boop.

​
Update: We had a great discussion last night (and some great sex) and are fully reconciled. I apologized for making her feel like I was primarily valuing her for providing sex (it's not true, but my comments made her feel that way) and not appreciating how much sex we were already having. She apologized for ruining the last date night. She spoke to her sister about it yesterday and her sister told her inviting someone else over on your date night was really stupid.
So in the future, she said she wants date nights to be just the two of us - we can do meet ups with others on other days. This was what I was going to ask for but she beat me to it. I also promised not to complain about sex (even where, like in this case, it was not the primary complaint but part of a larger complaint) and not to send grumpy texts while she is sleeping (and instead just talk to her in the morning). So communication wins again!
TLDR: I planned a nice date night. We ended up meeting up with friends after dinner, my wife invited one of the friends back to our place to keep partying, and when I tried to end the evening, told me to go to bed and kept partying with the friend before coming up at 3:00 and drunkenly waking me up.
We got into a fight over this the next morning, and I told her it was hurtful that on a date night she decided to hang out with a friend to finish the night rather than come to bed with me, and that a date night should ideally end in us having sex, not hanging out with others. This did not go over well, as it made her feel that I was only valuing her for sex, and that I was ungrateful for how much sex we do have (which is admittedly a lot for a married couple with small children).
AITAH has no consensus bot, OOP received mixed reactions
 
Update Apr 26, 2024
Whelp, I posted about a month ago about how I was upset my wife invited our friends back over to our house at the end of a date night, and she and the husband ended up hanging out until 3:00 a.m. after I went to bed at 1:00. A lot of people suggested they were having an affair, and that I was blind to not see it. I swore and swore there was no way, I trust both of them, etc..
Turns out, Reddit was right. I was unpacking the car and my wife had left her phone in there, and when I picked it up a text from our friend flashed across saying how he wanted to kiss her and asking her to tell me she needed a night out and should go out to the bar with him.
I know its an invasion of privacy, but we know one another's passcodes, so I opened her phone and checked their text chain. She had been deleting his messages but they were still in the deleted messages folder, and it wasn't great. They've been going on dates during the day when I'm at work, and he has said very suggestive things to her. I confronted my wife about it and she claimed it was purely an emotional affair, that she knew he loved her, and enjoyed the attention, and that she had been dealing with severe depression (which is true) and it was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't me.
That she still loved me - it was just very flattering to have the attention. I don't know whether that is all true or not, but I honestly do think she is telling the truth - she pretty much argued it wasn't that big of a deal because they didn't do anything physical outside of him kissing her once, and in her defense the suggestive texts all came from him. So I don't know where we will end up - just reality shattering because I would have never thought either would betray me like this.
TLDR: Reddit was right - they were having an affair.
Relevant Comments
OOP on how long the affair might have been going on between his wife and their friend

OOP: I think it had only been going on for a couple of months. In retrospect there were a number of signs, but I brushed them off. The only one that had really raised any alarm bells was when she washed a piece of lingerie that she hadn't worn for me in like 4 months, which raised the question of why she was doing that. I actually made a joke question about it and she mentioned she had thrown it at the hamper months ago and it had fallen behind (which honestly could be true). But now I'm thinking that wasn't the case.

 
Update #2 - April 30, 2024
This is an update to my prior update post at: Update: AITA for Expecting Sex on a Date Night with my Wife? : AITAH (reddit.com)
I had a true heart to heart with my wife two days after I learned of the emotional affair, and we are surprisingly in a really good place now. She apologized profusely, and her description and timeline of events is not as bad as I had feared. It is also consistent with what my former friend (we'll call him Rick) told me when I interrogated him (and I asked him first, before my wife would have really had a chance to collaborate on a story in the event she wanted to do so). It is also consistent with what my wife's sister has told me (she views me like a brother and is a true ally).
As backstory, Rick and his wife have been going through marital issues for quite some time. We were aware of this. About 6 months ago, things really went into a tailspin, and he started talking to my wife almost as a therapist (I know this sounds weird but my wife is really good at listening to people's troubles and providing insight - she does this for a bunch of friends (admittedly essentially all women)). It started out like once a week or so, and gradually increased from there.
By a couple of months ago, they were talking regularly (i.e. several times a week), but still only covering totally P.C. topics. My wife's sister actually confronted my wife and warned her that she thought Rick had fallen for her and that she needed to be careful. My wife was convinced that they were just good friends.
The night of the infamous date night was actually still in this period - my wife admitted that the optics looked bad, but she really was just having a good time (and was frankly pretty drunk and not thinking clearly). She did say though that after that night she realized that he might have feelings for her (and that in retrospect it was pretty obvious). She felt bad about the date night fiasco, and has been much better in that regard (and she also reduced her alcohol consumption).
About 6 weeks ago, we went on a ski trip with 5 other families (including Rick and his wife). It was a horrible trip for him, and he and his wife fought a lot. One of the nights, he got pretty drunk and asked my wife to meet him at the bar at our hotel, since he needed to talk. While there, he told her that he loved her and wished that he had married her rather than his wife. My wife just told him "I'm sorry". I had been putting the kids to bed when this went down and came down and inadvertently interrupted them right after they said this (I do remember some weird vibes in retrospect).
My wife admitted she should have told me right then and there, but that she didn't want to blow up the trip for the whole friend group, as if she told me she was worried that I might make a scene. He then didn't say anything problematic for another week or two, and she chalked it up to him just being really drunk and really sad, and hoped things could just go back to normal.
Unfortunately, Rick's marriage took a turn for the worse about a month ago, and it seems pretty clear that they are getting divorced. My wife (who suffers from severe depression) also went into a depressive period around this time, in large part due some familial issues. This was timed very poorly, as I recently launched a new division at my company and have been working 60 hour week for the last three months or so.
Both Rick and my wife felt isolated and lonely, and Rick started calling my wife virtually every day. They also started grabbing lunch once or twice a week (I guess he would meet her for lunch on his lunch break). The vast majority of their interaction was them talking about life, but he started saying inappropriate things in person like "you're the most beautiful woman I know" or "you're gorgeous". He also started drinking heavily, and he would send suggestive texts when drinking (which my wife claims she would just ignore). The time he kissed her I was actually home - the three of us had been hanging out and I went to use the restroom.
I asked her why she didn't tell me or shut things down, and she admitted it was a mixture of not wanting to blow up our friend group plus her enjoying the attention and compliments, even if she had no interest in the guy. She chuckled a little bit when I asked if she had slept with him (for reference, R is probably 150+ pounds overweight, which is one of the major strains in his marriage, whereas my wife is a true 10/10). Basically, she was depressed, needed someone to talk to, and since I was so busy with work, she found that emotional support elsewhere. She admits that it was really wrong, and has agreed to take a bunch of actions to prevent this in the future.
For me, I still struggle with why she would do some of this - e.g. if he texts that you should come over and join him in the shower, and you respond why don't we do a lunch date instead, from my view that is pouring gasoline on a fire (by showing you still want to meet with him), whereas she thought she was steering things away from problematic situations (something shady can't happen in a public setting). She said he came by the house a couple of times during the day (including once when our son was home with her), but that she really tried to steer things to public settings once she knew he loved her. It also does hurt a bit that in one of the texts R asked if they could do a lunch date and she says no, my husband (me) is working from home today, with a sad face.
But we're going to make it work. We are going to do couples therapy and she wants to do individual therapy, and she also started working part-time to keep her busy on something else. We can't go fully non-contact with R, but now all communication has to include me. I am also going to work on being more emotionally present, even when working a ton, and I told her that if she is having a depressive episode and needs to talk to someone, she can always call me - her mental well-being is more important than my work (she was afraid to call during the day since I am very busy and would call R instead). I also promised to work on being happier and more positive - I am usually a very cheerful person (which is something she loved about me), but I had been pretty grumpy and miserable over the last few months due to my job being crazy. So a little blame does rest with me (I'm certainly not perfect, although I'd never cheat on my partner).
I know most of you will probably roll your eyes and say I'm being a push-over, but none of you know how amazing my wife is. She has a magnetic personality and is the life of a party. She is also one of the brilliant people I have ever met. Shes a great mom, and my best friend. And finally, she's a bombshell - when she is dolled up, most heads turn when she enters a room. If you've ever seen Wedding Crashers, she is (in both personality and appearance) eerily similar to Isla Fisher's character (although she is better looking than Isla). I honestly can't blame R for falling for her - but I can blame him (and call him a piece of shit) for acting on it.
Dumb? Maybe. But my wife is too amazing to let go over this without a fight, especially when she seems committed to fixing things (and actually apologetic - including for getting defensive the night I discovered it).
I'll do an update in a few months. Hopefully things will be positive.
TLDR: The affair wasn't as bad as I thought, and we're going to work through things.
 

DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP

I remember seeing a game show in the late 2000’s and I’m trying to recall what the name was.
The contestants were all stuck in a futuristic, spartan building (blue lighting) and they had to agree at a conference table on who would win the prize pool. The longer they argued, the more the prize pool drained. Ring any bells?

Hi everyone.
I have been a paralegal/legal assistant for almost 2 years now. I’ve been going through a lot mentally/personally, and honestly, I have been making a lot of small mistakes. I’ve been beating myself up over every little thing.
Today, one of the attorneys on my team had a hearing today. Unfortunately I put it on the calendar for the wrong time and they missed the hearing. I’ve been having issues with the calendar so I’m not sure if it’s because of that or if I was just going too fast and didn’t pay attention. I normally look over the calendar weeks ahead to make sure the hearings are going forward, but the attorney attending the hearing was covering for the attorney I originally scheduled this for, and the person covering had their own assistant. So I didn’t look at the hearing to double check. Either way, the hearing was missed.
Since I’m mentally fragile this really took a hit on my confidence at work. How do I stop beating myself up over this? I got so freaked out - I touched up my resume and started applying to other places. Impulsive, I know, but I am just so embarrassed and anxious about ever making a mistake ever again.
I know everyone makes mistakes, but with how many I’ve been making, it’s been making me feel drained.

2 weeks later Lauren and Greyson drove up to her new home with boxes and whatever she hadn’t sold. Lauren had walked through her empty home and said goodbye to each room wondering if she was making the right decision. The house was pretty much sold already and Lauren reminded herself to keep going.
“Audrey will come around Ma. She really will miss you and she doesn’t want to change. God forbid she tell you right out that she is going to miss you. “ Greyson said. Lauren hadn’t spoken to Audrey directly since she had told the kids she was moving. She had come over at one point to get some furniture and mementos and had been snarky the entire time that Lauren had been in the house. Lauren had had quite enough of it and went to the backyard to smoke until Audrey and her man of the week had taken off. They hadn’t even come out to tell her they were leaving. Lauren had had another good cry after that and then made herself margaritas with her mixer and called Natalie to come over for a good farewell bitch session. They had gotten tipsy and talked about ungrateful kids and sent nice little waves to Grace who huffed at them.
“Well, maybe she will and maybe she wont. She always favored your father and I never told her she had to pick sides but all the same she felt like she had to. The divorce was harder on her than it was you older two.She was only 8.” Lauren said lamely.
“I think Cora and I were just glad you guys weren’t fighting. Dad was great with us but he treated you terribly the last few years you were together and it was just so much easier to not hate him when you guys weren’t around each other. Audrey was definitely his favorite though and any time she came over he just made sure they did everything she wanted because he was afraid she’d hit puberty and would decide she didn’t like him anymore. Like Cora.”
“Well that makes sense. How’s you-know-who?” Lauren asked changing the topic.
“Miranda? Alright I guess. Her mom picked Liam up last night for the weekend so I could help you, says she called a month ago and sounded good. I don’t know if that means anything or not but I don’t think she is going to come back wanting to be Liam's mom. At least not any time soon. I don’t really care, she had him and that was the deal. That’s all I asked for. I’d have supported the other way too but I really hoped she’d just let me keep him. She told everyone who asked she didn’t want kids. Everyone. I kind of wonder if she’ll want to meet him and be afraid to because everyone will expect her to be someone to him.” Grayson drummed his fingers anxiously. Lauren couldn’t understand this arrangement that Grayson and Miranda had. She kept wondering if it wasn’t some form of depression or something but Grayson insisted it wasn’t. He’d had Liam all to himself from day one and never complained.
“You think taking this was too impulsive? The job? I didn’t even do a face to face interview. It was on that skype thing. Eric set it all up. It’s legit but maybe I should’ve driven up first to check it out. Maybe I’m just running scared.”
“Maybe it was but taking risks makes your life exciting. Besides, I hate thinking of you alone in the house waiting for something bad to happen.” Grayson patted her leg. “Besides you said there were discounts on cabins and I’d like that. Plus unlike the last job, if Liam gets sick he can hang out with you when he can’t go to daycare.”
“I would like that.”
They pulled onto a winding dirt road and drove another 10 miles. The woods on each side of the road pressed in on them. It was a nice feeling. It was quiet out here and Lauren appreciated it. She had thought she would be more scared to be alone out here but she found herself looking forward to it now. Settling down and maybe a beer.
The GPS took them toa large sign marked Camp Thellgar in front of a fork in the road, one marked OFFICE and the other marked CAMPING. They turned into the OFFICE fork on the left. A man sat on the porch at the first building they came up to. He shaded his eyes and stood as they approached. Lauren took a shaky breath.
“Does my eye still look weird?” Lauren asked Grayson.
“Nah, the makeup covers whatever is left. It looks a little off I guess but I don’t think anyone would guess why. You’re old, he’ll think you had a stroke more than likely” Grayson teased. Lauren let out a high pitched laugh and took a deep cleansing breath.
“Hi I’m Steven Connor, you’re Lauren Jackson I hope.” Steven stuck his hand out for her to shake.
“I am indeed. Nice to meet you, you look different in person.” Lauren said laughing. He did, he looked older than he had on the computer, tired maybe. Steven shrugged. “This is my son Grayson, he’s helping bring my stuff up for me.”
“Right, good of you to help your momma. Come right in here. This is the main office, just off of what will be your cabin. Initially they were one in the same but years back we decided the caretaker could use some more privacy when we added more cabins in. The cabins have only been part of the deal for about 15 years, before that it was just the tent sites. No electricity on those. They’re a little easier to maintain. This time of year we mainly get people who want to use the tent sites, families out for a day hike. Summer rolls around and you’ll be pretty busy. We hire help from the nearby towns, you’ll let them know what to do but you’ll need someone in the office most of the day. There’s an alarm here that will pop up on your phone, when synced with the app of course, that way you can be out on the grounds. There’s an ATV for getting around a little easier. You’ll be in charge of taking reservations and handling the payment, cleaning up the campsites when they leave, looking in on them to make sure they’re kept up. Same with the cabins. Do a thorough cleaning and dust once a week. Aspen Cunningham, that’s the girl from town, she’ll be up every other day to assist with cleaning out the cabins. Here’s the card for Aspen, the card for a maintenance guy we use, Roger, and my card if you need to get ahold of me.” Steven led her from the office which was a small front room with a storage room behind it. Off of that there was a door with a good lock that led into a small house. It came in by a small half bath and then stairs leading to 2 bedrooms upstairs and a full bathroom. Next to the stairs a door led into a small living room with a few bookshelves and a dated TV, past that a kitchen with a dining area. It was cozy and Lauren was in love immediately.
“The last guy was pretty organized, we have our own binder we put together for new employees, he made his own as well. I skimmed through it, mostly a heads up on common maintenance issues. There’s a copy of maintenance performed on each cabin and site that also goes in the main book that’s stashed in the office.” Steven handed her a heavy worn binder.
“I’ll go ahead and start bringing in your stuff mom.” Grayson said backing out the main front door that didn’t lead into the office. Lauren followed Steven into the office and he showed her where anything she could need to find would be. She watched a safety video that featured Steven’s family, made when Steven was a kid. His smiling face running around in the background.
Grayson hung out for a while after Steven left. Lauren was overwhelmed and felt exhausted. She wandered through her new house while Grayson made her spaghetti. She laid on the bed. It was firmer than she was used to but it was ok.
After they ate Grayson hesitantly left. Reminding her to call if she needed anything, asking if she was sure she wanted him to leave. Lauren had a feeling he would’ve spent the night if Miranda’s mom didn’t have Liam. There was a firepit in the backyard so she got a fire going and sat back watching the flames while she drank a beer. She thought about getting stoned but it felt too new here and she was afraid of freaking herself out. The noises of the woods were relaxing. It felt quiet. Quiet was exactly what she needed.
The next few months went quickly, Lauren got in a groove of checking all the sites in the morning and doing general maintenance. Aspen, the girl who cleaned, came up twice a week not every other day like Steven had said. She was a sweet girl and spent a few hours dusting and vacuuming the empty cabins. Lauren and her got along really well and Lauren was grateful for the company. Summer came and Lauren was busy, she barely left the office it seemed. If it wasn’t reservations, it was families asking for maps of the trails or information on the town below. It was a nice busy. Lauren had expected the cleaning to be worse than it actually was, most people cleaned up after the campsites before they left. Fall came and the people started to slow down, most of the people she saw were people hiking the trails and less camping By November she was slow again.
One day her phone went off alerting her to a visitor in the office. She jumped on her ATV and headed back up. There was a small run down car waiting when she pulled up. Lauren ran her hands through her hair as she entered the door. 4 middle aged women stood waiting patiently.
“Sorry, I was a little further out today, how can I help you? Cabin?” Lauren asked, coming around the desk.
“Where’s Jim?” One woman with darker hair asked.
“Jim? Was he the man before me? I’m afraid he doesn’t work here anymore. Just me, I’m Lauren. Regulars?” Lauren grabbed the binder from underneath the counter and flipped through until she came on regulars. Scanning the list she found a November regular, along with a few other months. “Ok, here we are. It says the Helgas, tentsite 42. Yes?”
“That’s right, what happened to Jim? I'm surprised to see that he’s gone.” The dark haired woman handed over her credit card and tapped on the table anxiously. The other women moved around like they were trying to look as if they weren’t paying much attention.
“Not sure. No one really told me and I didn’t think to ask. I’ve been here since late spring, right before the summer rush. “ Lauren felt like she was being judged by the women.
“We’re particular about our privacy.” One of the women from the back said, trying to sound casual.
“That’s no problem, I won’t need to come by until you leave.” Lauren assured them.
“Jim left the entire area alone. I mean, we prefer to be left completely alone.” She clarified. Lauren was taken aback but nodded. After they left and had driven off she looked back down at the binder.
Helgas
Camp site 42
November Full Moon
December 21
March 21
Require all sites in the area empty. 3 day reservations. Noise level low, some disturbances.
Lauren closed the binder. She’d flipped through it before but obviously hadn’t retained much information. It occurred to her that this wasn’t in the main binder. She picked up the company binder, flipped through until she found regular reservations. Nothing helpful from the last 10 years. She booted up the computer and pulled up the spreadsheet. There it was. Reservations, regular. A list of people and campsites and cabins. The program was designed to automatically block off the areas that were supposed to be reserved. Campsite 42 was not on the list for today. Maybe because it was a full moon reservation and not a specific date? Lauren flipped through December and it wasn’t in there either. She sighed. Lauren went to the main screen and added in the December reservation and it stopped her. Ok. So it's here somehow. Or it wouldn’t have stopped her. But it doesn't show up. It’s hidden. Lauren crossed her arms and dropped her head down. She wasn’t completely computer illiterate but she really didn’t know how to see this. The last guy, Jim? Jim. That guy must’ve done something to the computer system. Why would he have done that? He did all the reservations. Unless he didn’t want the company itself to see. They could log in through the main office and see what was going on up here. There was another location they owned and the computer program was designed to work with that one. Lauren shook her head and sighed. Maybe she could get ahold of Steven and ask about Jim.
Lauren opened Jim’s binder again. There were only a few regulars that didn’t have reservations that showed up in the company system. By the time she was done it was dark outside. Lauren sighed and shut everything down. She locked up the office displaying the note to ring the doorbell. The doorbell that alerted her phone to a visitor that would need checked in. Lauren wasn’t worried about it, not in November. It was warmish for November but still cold. No one hunted up here because it had too many people walking up the trails, further out maybe but they would rent a cabin ahead of time if they stayed up here and on the weekends.
Lauren went into her kitchen and got a jar of chili out of the fridge. Cora had made some and sent it home with her after Saturday dinner a few weeks ago. It was easy to heat up. She got a glass of wine and started a fire in the fireplace to warm the house up. She turned the tv on and laid across the couch until she could smell the chili. She’d had a bus day and found herself drifting off before she’d finished eating so she cleaned up and took herself to bed.
Lauren found herself awake in the forest. Barefoot. It was silent. Completely silent. Lauren cautiously spun around trying to get her bearings. She saw movement off to the right. Her heart stopped, she looked over trying to make sense in the dark. Something moved next to the trees, an animal? Lauren took a step toward it without thinking.
Someone or something stepped out wearing an animal skull. Deer? Lauren couldn’t think through her fear. The clothes were baggy and run down. Like a t shirt over loose black pants tied up with a rope and black cardigan. With a black long jacket.
“Who are you?” Lauren asked, dazed.
“I should ask you the same thing. Where is the keeper?” The thing asked, but it wasn’t said aloud, she heard it in her head.
“I-I don’t know. I just got hired here a few months ago. My friend's friend helped me get the job.”
“Then the Keeper sent you here.” The thing insisted
“I don’t think so, the man before me, I didn’t know him.”
“I see. What did they tell you about this place?” The thing asked, circling her. Lauren realized it was tracing her with a skeletal finger.
“How to take reservations and how to clean.” Lauren murmured, trying not to look as scared as she felt.
“I could tell you.” The thing offered. Lauren felt her anxiety rise up and suddenly felt like she needed to be gone. She shouldn’t trust this thing, whatever it was.
“Um, no thanks.You could-could tell me who you are though.” Lauren said instead
“I’m insulted is what I am. You’ll have to figure out who on your own.” With that he was gone and she was in bed sitting up breathing hard. The raspy voice still echoing in her head.
Lauren blinked. A dream. It was a dream. But it had felt real. She checked her feet and saw that they were clean. A dream.
Lauren’s whole day was off after that. Everything looked sharper almost and she found herself pinching her arm to make sure she was actually awake. She avoided the tent sites circling around with the Helgas but found herself inspecting the rest of them carefully, unsure of what she was looking for. After that she rode down to the cabins and did a quick inspection, checking the windows for torn screens and the doors for any sign of break in, double checking the lock. All good. Lauren was done early and decide to walk one of the trails to shake off the oddness. There weren’t a lot of trails she hadn’t already walked so she picked one of the harder ones and grabbed her backpack with snacks and water.
In the months since moving up here she had grown stronger from the work and the access to trails. Anytime she felt herself slipping into a depressive episode or started thinking too much she would go on a long trail and try to exhaust herself. At some point she had started running in the mornings although had stopped in the last few weeks because of the cold and how long it took the sun to rise. Lauren ran a few miles awkwardly with the backpack and then slowed. There was a not well used trail off to the side. She was certain she was still on the company's property but had not seen this one before so she cautiously went off the main trail and headed down it. It didn’t take long for it to grow darker with the trees overhead. There were still nature noises but they seemed almost muted. Lauren pinched her arm just to make sure, it definitely hurt. She was definitely awake. Lauren pulled her camera out of her bag and began snapping pictures of the area around her, partly to remember where she had come from and partly because she was in awe of the area around her. It was beautiful out here and the trees made her feel small and light. She checked her phone and saw that it was nearing dark. She stopped and drank some water before turning around. Lauren moved at a brisk pace as she headed back and almost missed the flash of light off to her left. But as such she had just managed to catch it and it stopped her in her tracks.
“Hello?” Lauren called out, if it was a hunter she had run into, which she didn’t think it was, not as close to the campgrounds as they were, but if it was she wanted it clear they were dealing with a person. No one answered her though. She hesitantly stepped off the trail and walked toward it. She couldn’t think of anything that would flash out here. Cameras? She wasn’t aware of any out here but it had never occurred to her to ask anyone. Regardless, she should check to see if it was a camera before she asked about there being any. She came to a massive tree. She craned her head back and light hit her eyes so that it was difficult to make out the top of the tree. The branches started low giving her a compulsion to climb upwards. Off to the side of it the roots rose up seeming to form a circle. Lauren took a few pictures of it without thinking. She got as many different angles as possible. She had seen roots that came out of the ground but had never seen one that formed a perfect circle. Lauren looked around and realized that it was dark now, she checked her phone and saw the battery was almost drained. She had been here for 3 hours. Lauren blinked and shook her head. 3 hours? That was impossible. She started shaking and spun around when she realized how silent it was, even for night time.
SNAP
Lauren gasped and took off running. She didn’t think about anything other than heading back in the direction she had come. Adrenaline coursed through her and she felt like she was running faster than she had before. It was dizzying how sharp everything was and how fast it seemed to go by her. She hit the main trail and kept running. She could feel her energy start to dip and she pushed herself harder. By the time she emerged from the woods she fell on the ground sobbing and gasping for air. She grabbed a fistful of grass with one hand and put her other palm to her mouth to stifle the sobbing, screaming sounds she was making. It felt like an hour of laying on the ground trying to collect herself. It was one of the Helgas that found her.
“Are you ok? Ma’am? Guys! She’s out!” Lauren heard the thinner of the group yelling for her friends to come help The 4 of them lifted her to a sitting position and tried to get her to respond. Eventually Lauren started to come to and her breathing returned to normal.
“What happened? “ The dark haired one asked firmly,
“N-n-nothing. I-I-I don’t know. I was in the woods and I heard… I don’t know. I’m so sorry, I have no idea what came over me.” Lauren stuttered. Trying so hard to reign her emotions back in. “Nothing, I just lost track of time there and I guess I got myself spooked. I have quite the imagination. What are you guys doing here? Was there something you needed?”
“We came up to see if you were ok, we were doing a little night hiking and saw you running and we followed you.” The dark haired one said. Lauren thought she was lying but didn’t know why she thought that.
“I could use some wine honestly, would you 4 like some wine?” Lauren felt like she was drunk as she walked back to her back door, the short one linked her arm in Lauren’s and walked with her steadying her.
“Wine sounds nice, we have some back at camp, we could get ours and bring it back.” She told Lauren in a soothing voice. A mom voice.
“Nonsense. I always stock up in town, I have plenty. I’ll get a fire going and-”
“We can get the fire, you get the wine and Addy here will help you bring out the glasses.” The dark haired one gestured to the short one who smiled and headed toward the door to open it for Lauren.
Lauren had 2 wine glasses and used regular glass cups for everyone else. She grabbed a couple bottles of red wine she’d gotten clearanced out after Halloween, the bottle had a blurry outline of trees and Lauren had felt it looked so magical she’d bought 6. Of course it wasn’t her favorite so now seemed like a good time to try to offload a little.
“I’m Lauren by the way, I know that’s Addy, who are the rest of you?” Lauren asked as she and Addy passed out glasses and poured wine in front of the fire.
“I’m Sara. “ The dark haired one said taking a generous drink from her cup
“I’m Therese.” The blond smiled and waved,
“I’m Rian.” The thin one said, pronouncing it Ree-ann.
“Is this a girls trip? I hope I didn’t mess anything up.” Lauren asked, pulling her blanket from the house tight around her. The fire was nice and warm but not warm enough to fend off the November chill.
“You didn’t mess anything up, honestly we were hoping to speak with you anyway. We knew Jim fairly well, I guess as well as you can know someone you only see 3 times a year. He had a pretty good idea of what he’d signed up for when he started but we got the feeling you didn’t and we were curious.” Sara said, watching Lauren’s face intently.
“I guess I don’t. I’m not sure what you mean.” Lauren said, wondering if they were crazy. The witchy types who came out here to dance naked in front of a fire and sing before going back home to suburbs and corporate lives with toddlers and teenagers. Lauren had dealt with those types over the summer but not very many.
“Well how did you get the job?” Therese asked, spinning the wine in her glass like she’d already had a few before they started.
“A friend of a friend. I was looking to make some changes in my life and he thought I would be a good fit here.”
“The Keeper?” Sara asked, leaning forward.
“I don’t think so. He just seemed like a regular guy. Who is the Keeper? “ Lauren asked nervously. The woods looked darker and it occurred to her that she didn’t know if she could beat them back in the house if she wanted to run. Then she remembered the Keeper comment from her dream, now hazy but still there.
“The Keeper doesn’t do a whole lot from what I can tell, not directly I mean. He just keeps information and contacts who he needs. He got Jim hired on, we don’t know much about him, we’ve personally not seen him ourselves. We’re not sure if he changes every so often but as far as we know it’s been the same person always. These woods are full of magic you see and not all of it is good magic. “ Sara explained. “We come out 3 times a year to make a blood sacrifice to Eglas. He or She, is a … something. Hungry mostly. Instead of one person we use 4 or 5 sometimes. Same amount of blood and no one dies. Occasionally one person will donate more for a favor but it’s not often.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Lauren said dumbly.
“He/She said they came to visit you last night. They said that you didn’t know much about your job. Eglas seemed very angry so we came to help you” Rian told her.
“There’s not much to your job. You keep the grounds maintained and then you make sure that we are able to do our work. I don't know what else is in the woods but I know about Eglas. My family has for at least a century come out and offered blood to keep Eglas satisfied. When they started settling the area, they disturbed a lot of spirits. Eglas was curious and found the taste of human blood to be… good I guess. Eglas would go into homes and take people, in the beginning it was a lot. Most families fled the area, but the ones who stayed came to Eglas one night and offered to give him what he wanted if he backed off. Or she, really Eglas has no real gender. It’s a fairy or demon, I’m not sure. Either way, Eglas was satisfied with a person a year but that got old quickly, not a lot of people lining up to do that obviously, they really weren’t getting a lot out of that deal back then, they could farm the land peacefully and that was it. One day a young farmer offered himself but when it came time he talked Eglas into changing the deal, a little from the strongest men in town. Eglas got the best there was and it was willingly. Eglas threw in the part about 3 times a year since the body wasn't included in the deal. That’s the lore anyway.” Sara told her story well, moving her hands and body, changing her pitch like a natural born storyteller.
“I think fairy because it makes the most sense with the woods and the deal making. You don’t have to believe us yet, you will eventually, but we come out here and do our ceremony and leave.” Addy told her.
“That sounds, nice.” Lauren said hesitantly. She drank more and could already feel the events of the afternoon fuzzing away.
“He’ll come to you again tonight, you’ll know who he is now. “ Therese said, smiling nicely.
“And you’ve done your ceremony already?” Lauren asked, trying to see if there were cuts visible. The girls nodded and Addy pulled her pants down showing off a long cut on her thigh. Lauren hissed through her teeth at the sight of it.
“Oh it’s not so bad. It hurts but it always heals quickly like it was never there. “ Addy assured her.
“Jim knew about this? “ Lauren asked, remembering a note in the binder about them being .
disturbing or something
“Yes, he did.. He knew before he started though. It kept him safe. We were a little worried that leaving you to the wolves so to speak, that you wouldn’t survive.” Rian explained.
“I’m afraid I’ve worn myself out. I think I’ll go to bed.” Lauren said, getting up carefully. The women were nice company and Lauren couldn’t think of the last time she had sat around the fire with anyone, but the conversation made her nervous. They looked at each other and nodded.
“We leave early tomorrow but I’ll leave my card on your door, you can call if you need anything.” Sara assured her.
Lauren didn’t get into bed as much as she collapsed into it. Her legs ached already and she knew that she wasn’t getting around much tomorrow. Between the wine and adrenaline wearing off, Lauren was able to fall asleep quickly.
She was out in the woods again. She must be dreaming because she wasn’t hurting.
“Do you know who I am?” The creature asked in her head again. Lauren couldn’t see the creature but didn’t feel the need to look for it either, just stood waiting.
“Eglas.” Lauren answered out loud. There was a chittering sound that somehow sounded pleased.
“Smart woman. I have been watching you.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.” Lauren said dryly.
“You have questions.” Eglas stated.
“I can find answers.”
“I can give you answers if you ask me. It’s easy.” Eglas encouraged.
“Nothing is ever free and I have no intention of indebting myself to you. Accidentally or otherwise.” Lauren said, making herself clear. Eglas chuckled out loud and Lauren heard a swooshing through the trees. Lauren involuntarily shuddered.
“Have it your way, but you know where to find me.” Eglas said.
Lauren woke up the next morning as sore as she thought she would be. She managed to drag herself out of bed and to the bathroom and pulled on sweats that could pass as clothes. She thought that was the advantage of getting older, no one expected as much fashion wise. Lauren considered sitting on the stairs to go down but pushed through each painful step until she was in the kitchen. Ibuprofen and a freezer meal with a bottle of wine and she headed to the living room. She’d be close enough to answer any visitors if they came but she could sleep on the couch or watch tv. Lauren couldn’t find anything interesting on tv, or not enough to block out the clear dream she’d had last night that seemed to stick to her. When the ibuprofen kicked in she felt good enough to sit up, she looked around the room and noticed the bookshelf was getting dusty again. There were books on the shelf that had come with the place but Lauren had never really looked at them before. After flipping through movie selections and still not seeing anything she could find any interest in she got up and wandered over to the shelf. Reading the titles she figured out why she hadn’t wanted to read them before. History of the area mostly. Then a book about ghosts in the area, that sounded like it could be interesting. When Lauren was a kid she devoured books about ghosts. Next to it was a book without a title, it was slim and blended with the other books well. Lauren grabbed it as well, mostly curious. She settled back on the couch and pulled the blanket around her. The book was interesting, the usual ladies in the woods and drowned men, children warning of danger. Then there was a chapter that mentioned Elgas.
TRANCHLURE
He arose from the mud, hungry,ravenous.
He crept through the trees and on the strange mist observant first.
When the people came and Eglas fed He found a way to satiate the hunger and then slept for years and was awoken
He massacred the nearest town and those who lived in the woods found a way to drive him back into the caves, not dead but mostly sleeping until someone falls into his cavern, never to return.
Was it about Eglas? She didn’t think so.
Lauren went into the office and grabbed the binder that mentioned the Helgas. Even the binder was coded though obviously.
With her limited knowledge though she was thinking that they were groups of worshippers coming to celebrate differently. Lauren wondered if she could order some books on astrology to understand it better.
She opened up another book on fairies, but this had highlighted sections. A recipe for some kind of tea to see fairies. In the side there were some notes on things to leave out around the forest, offerings for the spirits. Lauren traced the handwriting and wondered if it was Jim who had written it or someone else. Apples was what it said.
There was a ring telling her someone was here. Lauren got up again carefully and headed in to the office. A man with a sleepy toddler on his shoulder stood waiting. He looked haggard and nervous.
“Cabin?” Lauren asked softly.
“Uhm, yes please.” He said.
“Any preference? You kind of have your pick this weekend.”
“Something toward the back.”
“Alright, cabin 15, more towards the middle honestly but it branches off so it’s a little more secluded?”
“Yes sounds fine. ‘
Lauren handed him his keys and a small map and sent him on his way, she then hobbled back to her couch. Sighing, she went back to the original book and started a story about a woman who had gotten lost in the forest and run into a sprit offering wishes. A wispy in between soul. Lauren noted that the spirit could be found by a landmark she knew. Slowly she started to doze.
Again she found herself barefoot in the forest.
“Hello again.” He or she whispered in her head
“Hello. Why am I here again?” Lauren asked dreamily.
“Because I am a generous soul. The man came today to ask for a favor from the fairies, he bought his offerings but he failed to realize he had put his daughter in danger. She’s gifted, she’s why he knows to come here. She’s also hit the magician and witches' radar, he needs protection.”
“Ah, and why do you care? There’s always a price.”
“I’ll protect her, for a price, obviously, just a little blood offering. From him if that isn’t clear. I need you to go and tell him my offer before his daughter is spirited away. Awaken now.”
Lauren woke up suddenly, she was annoyed and irate at being ordered around. But she got up and found a card that Sara had offered her the night before. Nervously she rang the number.
“Hello?” Sara answered.
“It’s Lauren, are you far away? “ Lauren asked, wondering how her rational world had changed in such a short span of time.
“Not far at all, maybe a mile.”
“Eglas, came to me, he wants to offer his services to a new camper here.”
“We’ll turn back around immediately.”
A few hours later Rian stood at the office smiling.
“It’s been taken care of, I didn’t realize what you being here meant. You’re the new Keeper.” Rian looked on at her with admiration.
“I don’t think so.” Lauren said firmly.
“You are, whether you know it or not, that’s why you’re here. Eglas might’ve told you that was why he was coming to you but he told us.” Lauren didn’t like the culty feeling she was getting off of Rian right now.
“Well, I don’t know what that means, I’m a caretaker, a well paid caretaker. Not a Keeper for things I don’t believe in. “
“I don't know much about the Keepers, but I have a very strong feeling that you should find the person who sent you here and ask some questions. I don’t know as much as the other girls about the magic in the forest but I do know that the fairies have an affinity for ceremony.”
After a few days of thinking, Lauren finally made a call to Eric. Eric was due up today.
Eric came to the regular front door instead of the office door.
“You’re the Keeper.” Lauren said without saying hello.
“Yes. Jim was a Keeper as well, but he… Well he isn’t anymore. You are up for the position obviously. I’m assuming you brokered a deal for someone out there if you figured it out. Which is accepting the position.”
“I don’t know about any of this. Eglas came and told me a girl was in trouble. I offered protection through another group that I know offers blood sacrifices. I feel like I’m too old to be any sort of Keeper. “
“Well it’s in your blood. That’s part of the reason you were chosen. The night you came to me I had a day of signs, then I heard about Jim. I was thinking of sending another established Keeper to this area and then I saw you. One big sign. I watched you for a few days and then I made the decision to send you up here. You have done very well so far. “
“Is there like a meeting for this? An instructional booklet? “
“I’m guessing Jim left a book of notes behind. He was good about notes in his day and when he realized he was coming to an end he told me he would leave things behind for whoever came next. I’d just look for books and binders.”
“But I don’t understand it.”
“Well you’ll have to learn fast”
“Rian said there was likely a ceremony.”
“There is an introduction. You’ll spill your blood by a great tree that connects all of the mountain. You’ll be recognized and the creatures will know to come to you.”
“What kind of fairy tale is this?”
“The kind that you’re a part of. “
“If it’s in my blood shouldn’t I know something?”
“I guess not.”
Lauren stood in front of the tree on the next full moon, freezing and nervous. The Helgas joined her for emotional support. Lauren held a sharp knife and sliced her hand to let the blood flow over the ground. Energy started from the ground and worked its way up her feet and through her body. With her feet firmly planted it felt as if she came up out of her body and rose above the trees, like looking through a microscope if she concentrated on a certain area she could see everything going on. At first she thought she saw people, but it was much too late for that. They were creatures. They roamed and played. I could see everything.
Welcome to Camp Thellgar

Despite this all happening within a few months, this is a very long story. I apologize in advance but there are a lot of details. This all took place about a year ago. I (20F) and my longtime best friend (20F) (let’s call her Jenny) decided to move in together after she came home from her freshman year of college. We had planned this during our senior year of high school as we had been best friends since elementary school. The summer between high school graduation and college my parents agreed to let her move in with me as they knew her very well, loved her and treated her as their daughter. We did this because she did not feel welcome in own home and felt her parents were too overbearing and mean to her.
Even searching for apartments in our area with her was a nightmare and I did most of the work. While the area we live is by no means expensive it is not cheap either especially as kids with not very well paying jobs. I was working full time while she worked a few hours a week for minimum wage (about $8/hour) which was a conscience choice on her part. She insisted that she did not want to pay more than $4-500 per month for rent. But she wanted things like a gym, pool, close to her work, etc. I told her that was unrealistic as even the places that would be close to that amount are the sketchiest places in town and would not offer those kinds of amenities. I convinced Jenny to agree to a nice apartment complex that did come with certain amenities but would cost about $650/ month for each of us. I had to pick up working hours with my dad on the side in order for the complex to approve us because she did not make virtually any money at the time.
We were set to move in when she came home in May. In April I received a call from the complex saying they had an apartment available right away if we were interested. I told her about the call and explained I was fine to wait for the top floor apartment (which was the one we both wanted) but she told me to accept the offer as she was coming home for 2 weekends in April to spend time with her boyfriend and pack, and told me she wanted to start moving things in before she officially moved back. Reluctantly, I agreed. And here begins the majority of the issues. Jenny in particular was very cheap. No I don’t mean frugal I mean cheap. She once, during high school, drove our friend group to her place of work to get Icecream we each ordered and she got hers for free because her friend was working at the time. She put it all on her card despite me saying I could pay in cash. She then calculated the price of what her icecream would’ve been into what everyone owed her. Meaning we paid for our own and also paid for hers despite getting hers for free?? She did things like this all the time. She called it the “friend tax” or said we owed her for putting it all on her card. That being said she told me that she should only have to pay for 6 days of April’s rent as she would only be staying there for 6 days. This despite it being HER idea to move in sooner. I am a recovering people pleaser so I agreed. She also sent me money for rent late so I had to pay an extra fee. She would not pay it.
The majority of issues revolved around 5 things: me “not being considerate of her”, my boyfriend Marcus (19M), her boyfriend Carl (19m), my cat, and her entitlement/health issues(a good portion of which I do not believe were as severe as she said, purely because of how she acted). Here is a list of some of the things we argued about:
She took advantage of me making more money than her ie, every time we went to the same place we drove my car so we would “use my gas and not hers” (including to her boyfriend’s house, because we were all friends and hung out).
Marcus and I accidentally fell asleep in a blanket fort we had built in the living room. She told me I was “not aloud to have sleepovers”.
She argued Marcus should pay for part of her rent if he would be spending the night over(he was already helping me pay for groceries which she was using as well).
Jenny complained about my cat going in her room but refused to close the door and open a window because it was too “stuffy”.
While agreeing before hand that I would have the bigger room and she would have the covered parking, she insisted that I pay more of the rent because I got the bigger room because her Carl’s brother “said so”. Even though she also got both of the storage closets in the main space to use for her things.
She claimed to have misophonia which if you don’t know is a condition in which you have physical reactions to certain sounds,ie, chewing, dripping water, taping pencils, etc. Except she claimed it went so far as to have smells also affect her and that her main reaction is anger. That being said she texted me angry one morning because I had made tuna fish sandwiches(one of her favorite foods she eats all the time) at about 2am after I got off work and she could still smell it in the morning at about 5am when she got up for work. She then told me I was “not aloud to make food when I came home from work”.
She told me I had to get my cat spayed because she was too loud when she was in heat. Her and her boyfriend Carl then harassed me for weeks about getting my cat spayed even though she never bled.
She kicked my cat’s butt right in front of me. Not hard but it was deliberate and she even said out loud she meant to do it “to teach her a lesson”.
I had explicitly told Jenny and Carl “Do not. Under any circumstances. Let my cat outside on the balcony.” She then sent me a picture and video on Snapchat while I was at work of her and Carl with my cat outside on the balcony. When confronted she said it was ok because her boyfriend’s family has outdoor cats and he said it was ok.
She got mad when my cat got zoomies because it triggered her.
She got mad when I told her repeatedly if she leaves things out on purpose knowing my cat will get into them. I will not pay replace the items when they do not belong in main areas, ie the earplugs she wore to sleep.
She was upset that Marcus and I were not as religious as her and Carl. (We grew up religious) She told me I was confused because I didn’t agree with her on certain things, And was always comparing our boyfriends
Marcus had bought a 12 pack of coke to leave at our apartment which I told her not to drink. She and her friends then took multiple and didn’t even drink them?? They all wasted about half of each can. She would not pay to replace them.
She was upset that I spent time with my boyfriend when she was home Instead of her. I tried planning times for us to hang out but she was usually hanging out with her boyfriend or other friends whenever I was not working.
Always left the AC/lights on when she was not in the room or not even home.
Told me I loved my cat more than her because I had told her I was responsible for my cat’s life as a pet owner and I was not responsible for her life as a friend.
Her and her boyfriend argued over the stupidest things. I had to buy our dish rack because they spent 10 minutes in Walmart arguing over a $4 difference. We both wanted the bigger one but her boyfriend said she didn’t need to spend $4 extra dollars on a bigger one. He did not live there. At any point in time. He literally made her cry in the isle.
She wanted my boyfriend to pay part of her rent any time he stayed over so I told her I would charge her boyfriend anytime he spent the day there (which happened often) because what’s the difference between day and night? It’s not a hotel.
Her and Carl insisted that I pay for a new couch because they didn’t like the one I brought with me.
Carl rearranged things in our apartment to how “he liked them” (kitchen cabinets, the fridge, the couch, etc)
Her boyfriend often spoke of how he had a crush on me first but then year’s later decided he liked her.
Carl also spoke openly about how he thinks if she ever died he would pursue dating me/ if we were the last 2 people on earth he would want to repopulate the earth with me.
He tried very hard to convince her not to go to college (which was 3 hours away) and implied that he couldn’t live without her. I had to be the one to convince her to go to school which is something she worked very hard for to get good grades.
He was “allergic to spicy”?? and. A bunch of other “health issues” he had as well. He was also incredibly cheap. He made her pay him back for half of a soda they split. He also made her cry about that, that day.
Then were all the issues with her proposal. I will list them quickly. He boyfriend tried to convince her she could not get a ring more than $50 because she didn’t need it and that she needed to pay for half of it. (I told her that was not ok) She said she wanted me and her sister there at the engagement and no one else. He decided to do it on a family vacation in front of his parents/siblings where me and her sister1 could not attend. He had a supposedly “recovered” c*orn addiction. He told her he didn’t want her family at the wedding but that if they eloped his family would be there. She always complained about her parents’ marriage because they got married young and yet here she was doing the same thing. And many more.
Now all this being said, I am not a perfect roommate either. I did few things that were wrong of me and I apologized for them and tried to compromise. For example I left my car in her covered parking space overnight because I didn’t know she would get home before me. I also did not tell her a couple of times my boyfriend stayed the night and I understand not knowing a man you don’t know very well is sleeping in your apartment would be frustrating and upsetting. For that we agreed that I would text her to let her know when he was staying the night. I said. Some mean things when I was frustrated as well not calling her names but calling her selfish/entitled, etc, and was not as understanding as I could’ve been.
At a certain point I told her I did not want to live with her any more and that I wanted to move out. This was mid June. I told her I would offer my half the lease to her boyfriend first and that if he didn’t want it she could either take over the rest of rent, move out too or I would sell my lease to a random stranger. She decided that she wanted to move out and I would stay. Because she was breaking her lease she had to pay a $300 move out fee. Which Jenny and Carl both tried to get me to pay in exchange they would leave a bunch of random shit they didn’t want and had gotten for free, ie a broken “desk”, tv stand and a table. I told her I would rather buy all my own things than pay for her to move out. She and I both had to sign a paper saying we both agreed to terms of breaking a lease which included that if she moved out she revoked any right to claim any portion of the deposit and was not responsible for any damages after she left. After she left I examined her room and bathroom she left and insane number of pinholes and sticky stuff all over the mirror in the bathroom from stickers she had put up. Not much but I took pictures as proof anyway. Surprise, they ended up leaving the garbage desk anyway. She was supposed to move out on June 30th. But she told me she was staying till July 1st so that her family could hold a pool/birthday party for her little sister2 and then would help her move out. I adore her little sister2 so I agreed.
She had told me that she was going to tell Carl’s parents to let her move in with them. Obviously they did not agree and she had to move in with her parents. Far away from her work and even further from her boyfriend. A few weeks later I was at the county fair where I saw her parents and her little sister2. They called me over and were very excited to see me. They asked for my side of the story. I told them everything. Everything about her boyfriend, the engagement, how she had been treating me. They told me their perspective as well. They had no idea about anything. Especially the engagement, they found out when she came home from the vacation. He had not even spoken to them about it and neither had she. They also only found out she needed a place to live just days before she moved out. Meaning she knew for 3 weeks she was moving out but was hoping to force Carl’s parents to let her move in. They both apologized for their daughter and said they were embarrassed of how Jenny had treated me. I also spoke to her sister1 after the fact, who told me that Jenny refused to tell her anything. But told her I was being a bitch. I was also like a daughter to her parents, and another sister to her siblings so I’m not surprised they didn’t believe her.
We did not speak after she moved out. The time passed for our lease to end and she sent me a text asking for her half of the deposit back. I told her I would not be sending her any money and to never contact me again. I have the document she signed showing that she had no legal right to the deposit. I figure it will cover a portion the rent she should have paid in April. Although I am over it now, it did hurt a lot that she threw away a 12 year friendship over stupid shit like that. But overall I am glad she showed me who she was before I included her into things like my wedding and my future children’s lives. So am I the asshole for not giving back her portion of the deposit? Or really for any other part of this story?

Hey all -- I posted about my seized driver side door lock about a month ago and I wanted to update: I got it unlocked!
I think what I did was drain a capacitor in the door module.
What I mechanically did was:

• Take the cover off the inside driver door arm rest.
• Unplug the electric gang plug from the underside of the arm rest
• Let the car rest for 3 weeks
• Plug the electrical back in
• Start the car
• Press the inside door unlock button

When I heard it unlock, I immediately pulled the fuse for that door lock and drove it to the shop.
My car is a 2010 Fit Sport, so only the one external key. I was unable to get the car to fail over to manual to let me physically unlock the lock. I believe that even though there is a key it only activates a switch and then logic in the door actuator unlocks the lock.
I was able to get into the car originally because a lockout technician was able to hit the inside door lock button with a tool he had. That unlocked all the locks except the driver's door, so I've done a lot of crawling across seats.

Came home today to a sizable puddle (pics are post cleanup) in my basement which appears to be from water seeping through the wall/floor joint. The water is leaking all along the joint in the second pic, probably 6 feet or so.
Yesterday I turned the sprinkler system on for the spring, and the pipe going up on the left is what feeds to the sprinkler system so I feel like it is related. The pic from outside shows that pipe going through the exterior wall, pool of water in the main valve well (not sure if it’s supposed to do that or if that’s an issue?) and the white pipe to the right of it was sweating on the outside. The sprinkler system was programmed to run at 4 am so 14 hours ago.
I dealt with some similar leakage last year but it was limited to the area I patched up with hydraulic cement and was due to a sprinkler zone that watered the plants right there. Ive had that zone turned off since last spring so this seems to be different issue than that zone.
I’ve since shut the water valve going to the sprinkler main which has drained the water from the main valve well, and while the water is still seeping through, I am hoping that once the saturation lightens up that should hopefully stop.
I don’t really have the time or handy skills to fix this myself so wondering 1) is this something I can troubleshoot/try to fix on my own fairly easily? 2) if not what type of professional do I call? Do I call the sprinkler system company? A plumber? Exterior waterproofing company? 3) how fucked am I in terms of $$ depending on what the ultimate issue could be? I live in North Jersey if that helps.
Thank you in advance