[←Chapter 63] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 65→]
In a rare moment, Sorore was actually having a nice dream, a normal one, one could even say. She was back home, in that moderately seized house in Erratz, laying on her mother’s lap. She could even hear the gentle sound that the needle made as it went in and out of the cloth. It was peaceful, pleasant, surrounded by familiar sound and smells, though her sight was blurry and confused.
It was not to last, as the sound of rushing water overtook all else, until she was forced awake by its unrelenting pace. When she sat up, rubbing her eyes in the broad bed, she released that it wasn’t the sound of water, nor was it relegated to her dreams. There was a commotion outside people talking in hushed but harsh tones.
Neither Lillian, nor Aya were within the room, and she wondered if they were having an argument. That wouldn’t be good - she’d watched them have the spat earlier, and that dispute didn’t need much worsening. Sorore crept to the door to the outer hallway - she loved how they slid to create whole new rooms. It was something she’d have to think about more she decided as she pulled it open and realised several things at once.
One, there were a whole lot of armoured figures in the hallway, at least four, maybe half a dozen. Two, the balcony door was open, and Lillian was currently arguing with one of them, Aya standing by looking like a mining explosive had gone off right next to her. Three, her brother and Niche had just emerged out of the room beside, and Niche was about to draw his sword at the sudden intrusion.
For a moment, she panicked, her mind going completely blank. Her mind raced with visions of bloody aftermath, and a chase through the city, back to the dinner she’d had with all those nice people.
“Oh, hello!” she blurted, drawing the surprised stares of several of the men, “who might you be?”
There was an instant of shocked silence between all parties.
“Nobody do anything!” called the man who was out on the porch, “We are representatives of the sand-shell legion, on behalf of the matriarch of the Eisen. We have come to retrieve her granddaughter.”
Niche lowered his hand from his sword belt, but Sorore could tell that he was ready to fight on a moment’s provocation. She also noticed that Kieren, in the same gown she’d worn to the square was standing in the stairwell. The woman looked so nervous Sorore thought she might fall over and down the stairs.
“Let’s move to a less cramped area,” said the captain, in a tone that brook no argument.
Eventually, it was sussed out, though not without considerable resistance on part of the paladins, that they were to meet in the great hall. As they sat, they were brought simple drinks of milk and honey, flavoured with something else that Sorore could not quite place. The two paladins looked like pacing cats, constrained on their chairs, arms crossed and eyes hard.
“Under no circumstances can we give one of ours into you custody,” said Lillian, locked in a match with the captain.
“Within the city, you are under the authority of the guard, no matter who you are. If the matriach has sent for this girl, then we have our orders.”
“As do we, captain,” said Niche, “to protect and guide each of these young women and… man, unto the holy lands of Angorrah.”
One of the guards flanking the captain whispered something in his ear.
“She’s not going to like it,” the captain said, then heard something else.
“Very well. Bloodshed before the Festival would be unwise. We have enough of that already. Right then, one of you paladins, assuming you are who you say you are, shall come with us and the lady to be received by the Eisen. I cannot say it’s likely you will have a happy reception. They will expect you to come unarmed.”
The paladins were bristling at the implied threat, and several hands were already dangerously close to their sword belts. Sorore gripped the mug that she was being offered, before Aya sat up and proclaimed to the group.
“Leave two of your men with us, then,” she said.
The captain’s eyes furrowed.
“I don’t wish to second guess you, my lady,” he said, “but why would I do that?”
“Trust,” Aya said, with a side long look at Lillian, “simple. If you leave your men with us, you can’t simply waltz off with me and my friend. Plus, it gives us men who know, and can quickly get around the city, so they can find you whenever they need to.”
The captain considered, and nodded.
“Very well my lady. Two men will be left for the disposal of your party members. But you shall have to come with us, immediately.”
“Me as well,” said Lillian.
“As you wish,” he said, “but you must disarm yourself. That is non-negotiable.”
Lillian was fuming, but unbuckled her belt and handed her armaments to Niche. The legionaries surrounded them, and departed with them out the front of the pyramid. They were left in front of the roaring fire, Kieren sitting beside them holding a considerably more full glass of the amber coloured alcohol.
“You said that this-” Niche began, his face reddened, “you sold us out!”
“Sold you out?” said Kieren incuriously as she swirled the glass around, “sold you out?”
The woman slammed down the glass on one of the nearby table, somehow not breaking it in the process.
“Maybe, you should of told us that you had the granddaughter of Aystara godsdamned Eisen in your retinue? No, forgot that little detail?”
“Okay, can we get this over with?” said Frare, picking at his nails.
“What?” said both the paladin and the trader, staring at the temerity of the youth.
“Blah, blah, we’ve all kept things from eachother,” he said, “so let’s all move on. Who is this ‘Aystara’? Why is she important?”
While Niche gaped at the casual ease from which Frare dismissed the turbulence, the trader seemed to settle.
“Only one of the two most powerful people in the city, young man,” she said, downing a shot from the glass, “between her and Edmund Poutash, it’d be easier to list what they don’t own. The docks, the schools, the farms… if you want an import or export licence? You go through her. You want to own a ship bigger than a rinky-dink fishing boat? You go through her or Potash.”
She finished the glass, and reached for the decanter, and stopped herself.
“And you waltz into the city, and conveniently forget to mention that you have her granddaughter, who hasn’t been in the city ever, if I remember correctly. To say she’d be furious that you didn’t bring the young lady before her immediately would be an understatement. And worse, you dragged us into it.”
“She must be awfully mean - you had nothing to do with us. You just hosted it.”
The woman blinked at the boldfaced remark, and Sorore delivered a good kick to his shins to drive the point home.
“No, no,” she ultimately said, “no I don’t think she’ll do anything to our family, if she believes us. She’s not unreasonable. At least, so I’ve heard. I’ve only met her once, and that was for a brief time. As for what she’ll do to you...”
She gave a pointed look at Niche.
“You tried to hid her granddaughter from her, maybe unintentionally, maybe not. If I were a betting woman, which I’m not, I would say that means trouble. If you want my advice-”
“I don’t,” said Niche, crinkling his noise.
“Don’t be stupid,” said Frare, before he howled at another kick.
Sorore’s face was burning with indignation and embarrassment. This was all too much.
“If you want my advice,” Kieren pressed on, “you’d go find and talk to your commander immediately. I could fetch for him if you wish - I know where Amicio’s home is.”
Niche, through narrowed eyes and clenched teeth, acquiesced.
“Good, now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some letters to send,” she said, “of course, though this has earned you no small amount of displeasure from certain peoples, we’ve been instructed to provide you with house and board for as long as it takes to sort this out. You are still welcome guests and you will be treated as such.”
The tepid truce struck, the children were sent back up to their rooms. Sorore tried to sleep, and managed no more than half an hour before she was woken by her brother.
“The commander’s here,” he said, “he wants to talk to us.”
The commander, looking very tired, but light of step than Sorore had ever seen him, waited by the fire. He was talking with Kieren and the two remaining legionarries in the fast-paced trading tongue of the city, but stopped when he saw the girl come downstairs.
“My lady,” he said, “it seems there’s been a huge misunderstanding.”
She realized that it was his manner of dress which was throwing her off. Instead of his usual worn and thoroughly practical travelling clothes, he wore the long flowing silks of orange and cream. It suited him, matching his calm personality.
“What misunderstanding?” she said.
“Well, we had no idea that our own Aya was the granddaughter of Aystara Eisen herself. I was surprised as anyone. Of course, I knew she was an Eisen, from her mother.”
He looked at Kieren, who looked like she was about to fall asleep.
“But I never imagined that she was a direct descendent of the main house. I thought she was part of the branch, not necessary to cause any fuss, especially during the preparation of the festival. Ah!”
He slapped his head to indicate his shock at the realisation.
“What a terrible mistake I’ve made,” he said, patting the woman’s arm, “this is all on my horrendous lack of judgement. Here’s what’s going to happen, one of these gentlemen and trader Amicio will be vouching for me at the gate. I’m going to the Eisen estate and having a friendly chat with the matriarch, to clear up this misunderstanding.”
Sorore felt at last some suggestion that someone around the city knew what was happening and what they were going to do.
“Here’s what I need you and your brother to do,” Naia said, “I want you to wait and enjoy the hospitality of the madame of the house.”
The term seemed to flatter Kieren, who flushed at the complement. Or that might’ve been the drink, Sorore wasn’t entirely sure.
“Niche, you take care of them. I expect that I might be at the estate for the rest of the night, and possibly onto next afternoon. Things are always so chaotic around the Festival. There’s no reason for you not to attend the festival opening tomorrow, if you can.”
“You want us to attend a festival?” said Niche in disbelief, “right now?”
“Well, not right now, it hasn’t started yet,” said the commander, “but, if Kieren would graciouslly agree to take you as guest of honour, you’d have excellent seats. If that’s not too much to ask, especially after our little debacle.”
Kieren nodded, and affirmed that she wouldn’t mind at all, if the matter was going to be soon cleared up. Sorore was now certain that it wasn’t just alcohol.
“Great. You’re all taken care of, now I’d better explain myself. If you wouldn’t mind,” he said, pointing to the quarter full glass, which Kieren handed to him. The commander downed it all in one, rolled his shoulders, and smiled.
“Don’t worry. It’ll all work out in the end,” he said, “in fact, I would say to enjoy yourselves, as much as you can. And best go back to bed, unless you want to be sleeping during the festival, which, I assure you from experience, you do not.”
Before they could say anything, the commander had swept by them, vanishing out of the front of the pyramid.
“You should heed him,” said Kieren, picking up the decanter and the glass and moving towards the kitchens, “if you’re stuck here for the time being, you might as well enjoy it And that starts with getting good sleep.”
“Last time you said that, we woke up to armed guards,” Niche said flatly.
“Well, I assure you, I’m not boring enough to do that a second time. It would be assassin’s from across the streets, who approach over the rooftops.”
“Do they actually exist?” asked Frare, suddenly excited.
“Oh, I’m sure,” said Kieren as she stowed away her drinking equipment, “but not tonight. Go get some sleep sir paladin, and you two young ones as well. You’ll need it.”
Sorore was cajoled up the steps, Frare coming up after her. Niche seemed placated enough for the time being, though he was clearly unhappy with the outcome. The pleasant dreams neglected to revisit for a second time, but at least the sleep was uninterrupted. When Soroe next awoke, it was a young handmadein, pulling open the screen doors.
“Good morning, my lady,” she said, “how did you sleep?”
“I- well enough, I suppose,” she said, stretching and yawning, before quickly covering her mouth.
The maid had the presence of mind not to notice as she revealed the bright sunlight streaming through the open balcony.
“It must almost be midday!” Sorore exclaimed, leaping out of the bed as she tried to straighten herself.
The maid chuckled as she finished opening up the room.
“Not to fear, my lady,” she said, “it’s customary to sleep into the early afternoon. The Festival does not start until just before sunset, afterall. In fact, you might be earlier than many of the household.”
“Oh,” Soroe said, feeling rather foolish, “Um. Well, I guess I’ll get dressed.”
“Of course. I’ve left out some clothes for you. Madame Kieren suggested that you try clothes from our city. I hope you’ll love them. Do you bathe?”
Sorore wrinkled her nose at the prospect. What kind of question was that?
“Of course I do,” she said.
“Well, there’s a place to bath at the bottom of the pyramid. If you wish to bath alone, you should go now - I’ll bring you clothes for you to change at the waterfront.”
“You bathe together here?” Sorore said
“In the mornings and evenings,” she said, “we do not bring water up into the house if we cannot avoid it. To the stone goes the sea, and to the home goes the sky.”
She looked around, then leaned in with a smile.
“Also, water is very troublesome to carry up all those flights.”
“So just come down to the waterfront?” she said, gathering up what spare things she needed.
“Just follow me, my lady,” said the handmaiden, picking up a pile of clothes and leading her down the stairs.
They emerged onto an inset pool carved into the pyramid interior. A smooth stone deck, with benches and chairs and stacks of towels, as well as several large paper screens, presumably for changing. Sorore was glad to see they were alone, at least for the time being.
At the handmaid, Kiroe’s, direction, she stripped down naked and plunged into the pool. The water was a perfect temperature - cold enough to dispel the last of the grogginess, warm enough to be pleasant to float in. She swam around for a bit, constrained by the relatively small volume, while Kiroe prepared her outfit on the deck.
“Do you mind if I join you?” came a voice from the other end.
Kieren slipped out of a thin morning dress and stepped into the water. Sorore swam over and came to stand beside her.
“Is there any news? About Aya and the commander?” she said, a little too quickly.
Kieren, who’d been sinking into the water with a sigh of contentment, opened one eye.
“Straight to business? Perhaps you are better suited to the city than I thought.”
Sorore tried to smile, but her concern was betrayed, judging by the woman’s softening of expression.
“My knowledge is limited. My uncle is serving as our representative for now. Sounds like your commander was at least allowed to make his case to the Eisen. He made note of one other companion of yours.”
“Oh? Who?” she said, pushing out into the pool, feeling the water surge over her shoulders.
“A man in black clothes,” she said, “who hides his face behind a mask. He was there for the meeting.”
“The mage?” said Sorore, before considering that she maybe shouldn’t have mentioned it.
“A mage?” said Kieren, before submerging herself in the water.
She tossed her hair back as she came back up, spraying water in a neat arc.
“Well, that explains his odd demeanour,” she said, “now, regrettably, that’s all the time I have today for bathing. I will see you at the festival.”
“Hello cousin! May I join- oh,” came a voice from the steps leading out.
It was Ivers, dressed in nothing but a loose robe, which was already half-way off his body, sculpted with muscle from hauling rope and tackle. Sorore stifled a gasp and turned away, trying not to redden.
“I can come back later,” he offered.
“Do you mind?” Kieren said to Sorore, “if you do, it’d be best to finish soon and let others bathe.”
“No, no,” she said, waving her host away.
Kiero had warned her, after all. It would be best to become accustomed to the strange ways of this beautiful city. Besides, it’s not like she hadn’t bathed before in the company of men her age back home. She cursed herself for being so self-conscious, and forced herself to turn around.
“Are you sure? I can leave if you want, it’s not-” Ivers began.
“No, it’s fine. It’s fine,” Sorore said, smiling at him, “it’d be good to have companionship.”
“Well, then, Ivers, I trust you’ll behave yourself,” said Kieren rising from the water.
“Of course, cousin,” Ivers said, casting his eyes to the floor.
Sorore tried not to take a wicked pleasure at the blush that crept across his dark complexion.
“Oh, one more thing,” whispered her host, bending over to the girl, “it’s considered polite to not look when they’re outside the water.”
Kieren laughed at Sorore’s own furious blush as she made for one of the poolside changing screens.
[←Chapter 63] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 65→]

Hi all,
It's about that time again! For the fifth year in a row, here is my (unsolicited) overview of Roma's squad, current mercato, potential signings, and loan dealings.
Every year I try to give these a theme - last year, the name of the game was versatility: getting players who could cover multiple roles as we had a severely reduced squad due to FFP rules. We saw exactly how that came to bite us both in the league - where we were LITERALLY playing the kids to give the first teamers a break - and in the EL Final, where forced substitutions left us going into Penalties with no designated penalty takers.
With no expectation of squad reductions this season, the name of the game for this exercise is depth - our first team is good, VERY good even, but the question is "what options do we have on the bench or in rotation that can keep that level of quality?" and the answer this season due to injuries (Wijnaldum, Kumbulla), transfers and personal issues (Zaniolo, Karsdorp), or registration issues (Solbakken) has been categorically no. Simply put, it is not fair to put the weight of expectation on Benjamin Tahirovic (who is too young to purchase Alcohol in the United States) because our midfield of Matic and Cristante cannot play every game. Pair that with the long term injuries to Kumbulla and Abraham - both of whom will not be back until 2024 - and we need bodies, plain and simple.
Our current FFP situation also means that we will likely need to end this mercato in the black - which means relying on free transfers, loans, and spending money VERY judiciously.

Transfer Dealings Done

Now to our credit, we have gotten a head start on at least two players:
Houssam Aouar: Aouar is a gamble in my honest opinion. A few years ago, this man was the Robin to Nabil Fekir’s Batman, and while I don’t think either of those players has had the career they had hoped to have, on his day this man can be unplayable. Emphasis on the “on his day”. On good days, Aouar has Jordan Veretout’s work ethic, and Jeremy Menez’s feet. On bad days, he has Veretout’s feet and Menez’s work ethic.
On the positive though, he can play (like Pellegrini) both in the center midfield as an 8, or more attacking as a 10. This can give us options off the bench to either rotate or change a game as necessary.
Evan Ndicka: Now this one I’m very happy about. Ndicka is left footed, very physical, but very intelligent as well which means he has a good eye for a pass as needed. He reminds me quite a bit of Antonio Rudiger in that he fits a very similar profile and played for a Bundesliga club at a similar level. I have no reservations - I think he will be a hit, but like Aouar will benefit tremendously from a full pre-season.

Squad Breakdown

NOTE - I am not including loan players who have returned to their respective clubs (Wijnaldum, Camara, Llorente)
Goalkeepers
Pietro Boer - Let’s start with the easy one: Boer is a third choice keeper that is home-grown at club. Useful for registration, costs us peanuts, has never complained. Keep.
Rui Patricio - From the easy to the hard one: Rui’s decline this season has been sharp, but consistent. His great saves remind us that, once upon a time, that’s a solid goalkeeper, but that has been paired with just… odd mistakes - not Robin Olsen bad, but pretty bad nonetheless. This is no longer a starting International Goalkeeper (that honor goes to Diogo Costa nowadays). He would still make an excellent second-choice goalkeeper at a top club - which might be a good selling point as he still has admirers in the Premier League. Sell.
Mile Svilar - I really wanted to love Svilar. Football Manager Stans rise up, because ALL of us have signed Svilar at one point or another. Svilar still strikes me as potentially a very good keeper, but he has been unable to dislodge Patricio from that starting berth. I think he will end up staying around, and I hope he can prove himself to everyone in a starting role next season. Keep.
Defenders
Gianluca Mancini - We start with Mancini because as of right now, he is the only defender that looks certain to stay. He is definitely the second coming of Materazzi in temperament… if not in talent just yet. He still as a few years on his contract, Mourinho likes him a lot, and he provides leadership on and off the pitch. Keep.
Chris Smalling - While Smalling has been our best player (not just defender) at quite a few points this season, I am always concerned about long-term performance with him. I think he should be renewed - his play has merited that - but if I said “leader at the back, wins everything in the air, incredibly useful on set pieces” I haven’t just described Smalling… I’m also describing one Federico Fazio. Players like Fazio and Smalling are incredibly reliant on their physical attributes - but that physicality at older ages is one major injury away from disappearing completely. Renew him - but no more than two years. Keep.
Marash Kumbulla - Ah, the anti-Smalling. If Chris Smalling’s play has merited him to receive a contract renewal, Kumbulla’s definitely has not. However, due to his ACL injury, Marash is staying for another season in Rome… even if he probably shouldn’t. Keep.
Roger Ibañez - Now comes the other shoe. Roma needs to raise 30 million euros by the end of June to comply with their FFP agreement with Uefa. Failure to do so will likely hamstring us again in the coming Europa League, especially without Champions League money. With Abraham’s injury, and Ndicka a done deal, the clearest place to monetize in the squad is with Roger Ibañez. Our relationship with Roger has been a love-hate one, where we love his grinta and his ability to score in crucial moments, but his brain-farts have cost us on the pitch… repeatedly. Sell.
Full-Backs
Rick Karsdorp - It’s unclear what Karsdorp’s situation with the manager is. On the one hand, Karsdorp was reintegrated into the squad after his falling out with Mourinho and did continue to play, but how much of that was convenience and a “wait until the summer” mentality rather than anything truly genuine. Karsdorp is also currently recovering from an injury, which he should be fit from before September. He has a contract until 2025 - I’d consider him out the door should we receive a good offer… but I doubt we will. Keep.
Zeki Celik - I think it speaks volumes that Mourinho at times has preferred to play Spinazzola or Zalewski on the wrong side rather that give Celik the start. I don’t know if this has been due to poor form, injuries, or simply needing another season to “gel”. Regardless, I don’t think selling Celik at this point will accomplish anything. Keep.
Matias Viña - Remember him? Bournemouth has not exercised their option, so Viña is returning to home base. Unlike other loan moves, however, his time with the Cherries was fairly solid - including an outrageous goal against Chelsea. Why he’s not being renewed, I’m not sure but the Premier League exposure definitely helped us if we choose to cash in. The question is… should we? We are crying out for depth and Viña is a textbook “depth” option. I think we should approach this like Karsdorp - if we get an offer, consider it, otherwise Keep.
Leonardo Spinazzola - On paper, this is our best fullback. In practice, all of us know that the best ability is availability and Leonardo has just… not been there when needed. He is also - critically - the wrong side of 30, which in this position can cost you that turn of pace that is needed. I think, like Ibañez, this is a player we should cash in on now, especially as he enters his final year of contract. Sell.
Nicola Zalewski - Fortunately, this one is easy: Nicola has the distinction of being both young and home-grown, takes no space in registration, and Mourinho loves him. Keep.
Midfielders
Nemanja Matic - Boy was I wrong about Matic. I expected him to be too slow and lumbering for Mourinho’s game, but instead was exactly the midfield veteran we needed - a tall, Serbian Roy Kent. At his age, there is no-one realistically coming in for him, and his contract was automatically extended. Keep.
Bryan Cristante - The unsung hero of this season, Cristante has been consummate professional we all know he can be. Unless we get outrageous money for him (doubtful), this is a Keep.
Edoardo Bove - Like Zalewski, he has been the cream of the crop of youngsters brought through by Mourinho. The argument here is not - should he stay or should he go, but rather should we keep or should we loan. Bove does need minutes… but in his defense, this season he’s gotten them and earned them on the pitch. Keep.
Benjamin Tahirovic - I feel so bad for Benjamin. He was thrown into the fire and while he didn’t do poorly… he didn’t do well either. Like Bove, he needs minutes… unlike Bove, his play hasn’t warranted giving them to him. If there was ever a player who needed a move to Sassuolo, here he is. Sell (with Buy-Back Clause).
Ebrima Darboe - I feel really bad for Darboe. He had the breakout season of his life only two years ago, but has been heavily hampered by injury for the past year and a half and is only returning to training… now. So what do we do with him? He needs minutes to gain back fitness, not just for us, but him and his sharpness. I doubt Sassuolo will bite, but I think a newly promoted team or an Udinese might. Loan.
Gonzalo Villar - Yep, he’s coming back. Like Viña, Getafe is not exercising their option to buy - he never even put on the jersey! - and like Karsdorp he also rather publicly fell out with Mourinho. In this case, though, the falling out was quite a bit more justified, as Gonzalo has proven himself to be both mentally and physically frail, while being technically gifted. There is value in this player, but no team has really been willing to take a risk on him. He has spoken publicly about a willingness to prove himself to Mourinho - I’d be willing to give him that chance, if anything due to a lack of options. Keep.
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
Lorenzo Pellegrini - Do I need to discuss this one? Keep.
Paulo Dybala - Recent statements have really put the speculation to rest: Dybala appears to want to stay in Italy and in Rome specifically. Keep.
Stephan El Sharaawy - He has demonstrated a willingness to be a servant for the club, even agreeing to a pay-cut with his renewal package. Keep.
Cristian Volpato - See Tahirovic. He desperately needs the minutes his potential deserves. There has been a lot of chatter of him going off to Sassuolo and I think it makes the most sense. Sell (with Buy-Back Clause).
Ola Solbakken - Had his minutes cut drastically by the registration shenanigans due to Zaniolo transfer, but was solid in the league and has room to grow. Keep.
Justin Kluivert - Once again, Kluivert is returning to home-base. While I would like to see us make use of him, he has made it categorically clear that he doesn’t want to be here. Bournemouth are said to be interested, but I see him potentially doing quite well in France or Spain. There’s a particular club in Spain in particular who I think might bite… but more on them later. Sell.
Carles Perez - Like Kluivert, Perez is also returning from a loan (I’m seeing a pattern here), but unlike Kluivert I don’t see anything worthwhile that Perez might bring to this team. Sell.
Strikers
Tammy Abraham - Up until recently, he was the most likely in the squad to be monetized with West Ham and Aston Villa both interested. His ACL tear scuppered that plan, and is now likely to stay in Rome for one more season. I hope it’s redemption for him after a fairly poor season. Keep.
Andrea Belotti - SPEAKING OF POOR SEASONS! I cannot explain exactly what has happened to Belotti, but I’d guess that his poor form in the league is more due to a poor team form than his own. The service and creativity behind him was simply lacking, and without Abraham’s physicality to win long balls he was kind of left to his own devices, pressing defenders and midfielders as needed… which he did. His automatic contract extension was activated, however, so expect to see Andrea in Roma colors next season. Keep.
Eldor Shomurodov - This is a weird one… although this signing has been odd from the get-go. Shomurodov’s loan is likely not going to be made permanent by Spezia - especially if they get relegated - and this season he has been completely been cut out by N’zola’s heroics in front of goal. That said, Abraham’s injury means that there is a good chance Shomurodov will be playing in Roma colors next season - especially if we cannot get a striker in. Keep.

Squad Needs

To my mind - this is including the Aouar and Ndicka transfers - this team needs at least one more player per role.

1. A Goalkeeper to replace either Rui Patricio as first-choice keeper, or Svilar as second-choice keeper.
2. An additional Left-Back to replace the departing Spinazzola - preferably left-footed to provide a different kind of player to Zalewski.
3. An additional fullback as coverage for both wings (either footed).
4. A deep-lying playmaker who can give coverage for Cristante, either to rest or when he is needed as an additional defender.
5. A rotation defender who can slot in to give coverage for the injured Kumbulla.
6. A versatile attacker who can play both at striker, and as a second-striker alongside Dybala for coverage.

Targets

Let’s tackle these in order, shall we?
Goalkeeper
Emil Audero - Audero has been Serie A’s most unsung hero for a few seasons, keeping a mediocre Sampdoria side up when they clearly didn’t deserve to. Sampdoria’s financial woes can be very helpful to us, however, as we could essentially pick him up for a song (ie 6 million or less). There will likely be a bidding war for both Vicario and Carnesecchi this summer, but I’d rather go for solid and less flashy between the sticks.
Dominik Livakovic - This is a PSA: Livakovic still plays for Dinamo Zagreb… somehow. This is a world class, internationally rated goalkeeper that is entering his final year of contract. If we can beat the competition, this would be a great pickup.
Center-Backs
Kostantinos Mavropanos - With Stuttgart facing a relegation playoff, it’s possible that one of Europe’s best young(ish) center backs might be available for a significant discount. With the legacy that Dellas and Manolas have left with this club, having a Greek defender back at the club feels… right!
Diego Llorente - Played on loan with us for six months and impressed when he played. With Leeds just relegated and the player pushing to stay in Rome, it’s possible we get a good discount (there is no way we should spend 18 million on him though).
Fullbacks
Cristiano Biraghi - Biraghi is entering his final year of contract at Fiorentina and has been a solid option everywhere he has played. More defensively minded than Spinazzola or Zalewski, but still willing to run down the left and play a cross - he leads la Viola for progressive carries. Importantly, he is left-footed so he gives us a different play down the left than our two current left-backs.
Kai Wagner - If you don’t rate MLS, feel free to skip but Kai Wagner has been the one of the league’s best left-backs - former Schalke player before moving to Philadelphia and really exploding. Was set to join Leeds but their relegation changes that completely. Their loss is our gain - his contract expires in December, could be an excellent pickup.
Adrien Truffert - Had a breakout season for Rennes last season, who have an excellent eye for talent in recent years. Truffert has been marketed as being available for 15 million this summer - which is perhaps more than we’re willing to spend, but if Spinazzola is sold for a comparable fee, then this might be a solid like-for-like replacement.
Sergio Reguillón - His loan at Atletico has come to an end, and it’s looking like Reguillon is hitting the market once more. Mourinho is supposedly a big fan and they’ve worked well together before. This would likely be a loan, and only after Levy pays up for Ibanez as he’s likely to pull shenanigans. Still - this could be a great, essentially free, pickup.
Wilfried Singo - Last one on this list, Singo’s has had a great few years for Torino but has publicly come out and said he will not sign a new deal. This would be a solid alternative to Karsdorp as they play relatively similarly.
Midfielders
Youri Tielemans - This has been discussed quite a bit - Tielemans is available on a free this summer, and is pure class at deep-lying playmaker. My only concern is that he does not play as defensively as Mourinho might like, but this is still a great player and a great opportunity we should not let slip.
Florian Grillitsch - Like Tielemans, Grillitsch is available for a free this summer. Unlike Tielemans, however, Grillitsch has not had a great season after his move to Ajax this season - mainly due to injury. That said, this is a physical player who can play well with his feet - very much in the mold of a Strootman.
Nikola Moro - Moro has been an unsung, unspoken of, hero of Bologna’s season with Serie A leading stats for progressive passes, carries, and successful through balls. He is currently on loan with an option to buy from Dinamo Moscow and it seems increasingly unlikely that Bologna will use that option. We should absolutely make an offer as Moro has shown himself to be an excellent and reliable midfield option.
Davide Frattesi - Let’s try this again, shall we? This is likely going to happen this summer - with a players plus cash mega deal with Sassuolo. This is not quite the profile I outlined but would provide a dose of dynamism to a rather sluggish midfield.
Strikers
This one is complicated - because the profile I outlined doesn’t exist at our price-range. In an ideal world, we would take advantage of the absurd situation at Chelsea and pickup Kai Havertz on loan as that fits the criteria exactly - Striker and Attacking Midfielder in one (Richarlison also comes to mind). So here’s my best choices although none of them is exactly perfect for what we want.
Sheraldo Becker - One of the lynchpins of the Union Berlin cinderella story, Becker is explosive when he gets going and fits a counterattacking team perfectly. Becker is very publicly available for a cool 20mln this summer, but may be able to be negotiated down as this is last year of contract. The issue is that Becker is more a wingeattacking midfielder than a striker. He has played there in a pinch but it doesn’t play the most to his strengths.
Alfredo Morelos - Morelos has just left the Ibrox at the end of his contract looking for a bigger club, but no-one has bitten yet. He is an out-and-out goal scorer, who played as an 11 in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Here, the problem is the reverse - can he play at second striker as a Raumdeuter-type player?
Mauro Icardi - Here we are again, linked with Mauro Icardi for a price as close to “free” as is possible. Is it worth it to bring the Icardi soap opera to a powder keg like Rome? Honestly… if there’s one thing Icardi does, that Icardi always does, is score goals, something we desperately needed this past season. Again, like Morelos though, can he play alongside a number 9 as a second striker?
Last one, which I’m including purely for the banter of it but…
Mario Balotelli - WAIT stop don’t Alt-F4 this just yet. Hear me out. Mourinho is one of the few coaches to get Balotelli to act like an actual footballer, and he has a great rapport with Stephan El Sharaawy. I think these two things in combination might get one last gasp out of Italy’s last truly great talent, with the added benefit that he can play both the positions I outlined above. Sion has crashed out of the Superleague in Switzerland after losing their playoff, so Balotelli will likely leave on a free. I would go for a gamble on him with an Adriano-esque behavior clause that lets us tear up his contract for behavioral issues.
Also, for what it's worth, he's fairly good at Penalties. Which I bring up... for reasons.

Conclusion

Well... that was a long read, kudos for making it to the end. This summer looks to be another summer of transition - but there is a lot to this squad that is salvageable. After the Final, a lot of us were perfectly willing to blow up the team and start over, but that's not my take here. We were let down in that final by our squad depth - when preparing for penalties Mourinho looked at a bench that had Volpato, Tahirovic, Camara, Karsdorp and two goalkeepers - not exactly a stacked bench full of specialists. We can talk dirty play, bad refereeing, and poor penalties all day though, but what killed us at the final hurdle and indeed all season was our lack of depth. Rebuilding the squad is not a way to achieve that. I look forward to your comments and thoughts, and hope to see a good mercato!

22 year old female here. Ive been dating this guy who's 22 as well for a couple of months now and I've grown fond of him. He's a really sweet and amazing guy and I definitely want to go further with him but his closeness with his mom is sort of creeping me out.
Apologies in advance for the long post.
Ive never really been close to my parents. Ive had issues with them during my teens and left home when I was 18. I eventually reconciled with them, but I still maintain a distance with them.
I met my boyfriend a couple of months back. He told me about his story where his dad was abusive to him and his mom, and they both had to run away from him and move to another country. He told me that his mom meant alot to him and he really loved and adored her. I found it sweet at first, especially knowing how his mom raised him up on her own and knowing about her struggles.
Only after we started spending more time together did I start seeing how close they were. My biggest issue initially was they both shared a one bedroom apartment. His mom used the bedroom, and he told me he slept in the hall. I asked him why he didn't get his own place and he said that they had a lot of loans to clear out they were doing this due to finances.
Sometimes, he would stay over at my place during weekend's and he and his mom would speak on the phone 4 to 5 times a day. And on an average, their conversation would last for 15 minutes. I on the other hand call my parents maybe twice a month and our conversation wouldn't go longer than 5 minutes.
Another day, we stopped by his place since he had to pickk up something. He said he neede to use the washroom. His mom was in the shower that time and he just casually walks in uses the toilet. I asked him what was that about . He just laughed and said mom spends ages in the shower, so she just closes the shower curtain so that she doesnt close the door so I can use the toilet.
I kind of was ok with all this, but what really creeped me out the most was 2 weeks back. It was his moms birthday and she had planned a trip for just the two of them for a couple of days. I couldn't call and text him during the trip ,just a few occasional messages that was it. I didnt bother too much and give him his space. He was back the following weekend and I aksed him how was the trip. He just said it was alright they spent sometime at the beach and did some site seeing.
He was at my place the next weekend, and I did something that I shouldn't have done and feel horrible. We had a couple of drinks with some friends and he crashed at my place. He was drunk and fast asleep . He mom had tried calling his phone, and I saw many missed calls and messages. I got a little worried, so I tried to call his mom back from my phone, but my battery was dead. I decided to text her from his phone, but as soon as I opened his chat with his mom, I came across a photo of her in an extremely skimpy bikini which was definitely something I would expect a mom to wear infront of her son. I assumed he had taken it, and he shared it with her.
After calling her and telling her that we were ok, I was curious and went into his gallery. There were few photos from the trip in his gallery, but none of her in any bikinis. So I again went into his chat with her and saw a ton of other pics of her in similary revealing bikini. I figured he had deleted them from his gallery. What caught my eye was a photo where there was a bathtub next to the window, and she was in it looking outside . Her back turned towards the camera, and she definitely didn't have any clothes on. She had replied back with a wink . A part of me wanted to go through the rest of the messages, but I knew it was wrong.
I haven't been able to get it off my mind and I'm not sure if im over reacting or of this is normal. I dont want to confront him regarding this and come out looking as a creep. I dont have anything against his mom and she seems great and we've never had any issues as well.

I am currently a 22 year old female, but when I was 19-20 years old and in university I had a roommate for my sophomore year that completely ruined any hope I had for developing a friendship.
For some context when I was a freshman I did not have a roommate so going into sophomore year I had no idea what to expect in a roommate situation. The girl I was assigned to live with freshman year never showed up so I ended up staying in the double dorm room alone. I did not mind this because I am a very independent person and I like my privacy.
So come sophomore year, I take an empty bed in another double dorm room after my original choice was not going to work for me. I went into things with an open mind and we discussed who would bring what and who would have which side of the room, etc.
She seemed nice and was quiet, introverted, and did not smoke, drink, etc, just as I had hoped she would be. I am exactly the same way and was really hoping to room with someone I could get along with because I very much hate confrontation.
For the first little bit things were fine because we spent so much time unpacking, settling in, buying textbooks, roaming campus, and hanging out with previously made friends. But then things started happening that made me start to wonder about her.
For additional context I was a psychology major and she was an art student at our university. Our course loads were extremely different because while I had more papers, presentations, tests, etc she would have more drawing, animating, and creative assignments.
I have always been a night owl and tended to schedule my courses to start mid morning (like 10am and forward) versus 8am because I like to sleep in a bit. I did not mind that my roommate was not that way and was constantly having to be at the studio to draw and varying times, however, her sleep schedule was incredibly odd and effected the way I was able to live in my own dorm room.
She would eat, shower, and prepare for bed starting at like 6pm and be ready to lay down by 7:30-8:00 which meant that the lights would go off at that time. I would be forced to sit in my dark dorm room using my laptop with my earbuds in completely silent at that point. I could not talk on the phone, type too much on my laptop, or make any audible reaction to whatever I was watching. Like I mentioned I absolutely do not like confrontation so whenever she asked if she could turn off the lights at 8pm I always said yes. (I would not go to the Library or common room because I was typically in my pajamas at that point and going out on campus after a certain point alone made me nervous).
Eventually between 10-11 I would go to bed and sleep through the night until about 5 in the morning when my roommate would get up to start her day. I always tried to be considerate when my roommate was sleeping but she did not do the same for me. She would type on her DESKTOP computer keyboard (which is super loud) before leaving the room, throw things around while packing her things, slam the door when coming in and out, and even bump into my bed shaking the whole thing when finally leaving the dorm room for the day. It would wake me up and most times I would not be able to fall back asleep. I would become very annoyed and had to schedule downtime for myself during the day when she would not be there to catch up on my sleep (no matter how hard I try to go to bed early my body had a certain schedule).
I dealt with this for the entire semester until the time came for us to head home for thanksgiving break. I was so happy to have a few day break back home in my own bed. I had a great break and then headed back to school to begin unpacking from the little vacation we're given.
When I entered my dorm room my roommate's father popped up from laying in her bed, where he was apparently sleeping under her covers with his shoes off. He stared at me not saying a word and got on the phone embarrassingly (I'm assuming he called my roommate but she spoke a different language than English with them so I do not know what exactly was said). Shortly after my roommate and her mother enter our room (presumably from doing laundry because my roommate was holding a detergent bottle). They stared at me as well without saying a word. It was awkward.
As I turned to my side of the room to begin unpacking I realized that her parents had left all their belongings on my desk, under my bed, and on the floor on my side of the room. Her mother scrambled over to retrieve her bags from under my bed, coat/purse from my desk, and charger from my wall outlet. I was so beyond shocked that they invaded my space without asking.
I felt the ultimate disrespect because our room was already not that big so I valued my space very much. I used all of it for my stuff and the fact they piled their stuff on mine was super annoying.
Anyways after they moved their stuff I unpacked my stuff and they left shortly afterwards. I did not have to share my room with her for much longer because shortly after Covid hit and we were sent home to finish the semester online.
A word of advice: respect your roommates space and respect their schedule if it doesn't match up with yours.

My mom took me to lunch with her friend and her friends baby. throughout lunch the baby was being a fucking nightmare, climbing on the table, smearing cheese on the walls, and trying to grab my food, and sticking its spit covered straw in my salad, and generally just being loud and gross. we were in a booth and then my moms friend changed her baby's diaper on the seat. in the car ride back, we went in my moms friends car, and i had to sit right next to the baby. it kept grabbing my shirt with its spit covered sticky hands and tugging, throwing toys at me, and drooling all over. I leaned away and tried to ignore it. halfway through the car ride I was so grossed out, I was almost crying, and since I was in the back smushed between a baby carriage and a toddler seat (toddler wasnt there today, it was with its dad), I couldnt move, and I was just so grossed out and cramped I started getting claustrophobic. fortunatley my moms friend noticed i wasnt doing so great so my mom and i switched seats, so i was in the front. she asked what was wrong 5 or 6 times, and I said nothing was wrong, I was just a bit tired, and when she and mom kept asking I said something along the lines of 'im sorry, im tired, im just done with the baby, took a lot of energy out of me, especially because i was almost eating lunch in fear because he kept trying to grab my food, and kept grabbing me in the car.' When we got home mom started screaming at me, how much i offeneded her friend, how rude and terrible I was, and how ' It isn’t about you, all people care about is how you treat their kids, you need to learn it isn’t about you, it has nothing to do with you, my friends come from how you make them feel I am really disappointed that you can’t see outside yourself.'. I don't get what I did wrong, I hate kids and my mom knows it. I am crying right now because I almost always cry when people yell at me. I still feel kinda gross and sticky from being around a baby. i wont feel clean until i shower

I'm a 28F currently dealing with a revenge obsessed ex-boyfriend (36M) who has been stalking me online for at least 2 years now and is hell bent on destroying my life. Basically I was his first GF in 7 years at the time and prior to the girl before me who cheated on him he claimed he never had a GF except girls who thought he looked like Harry Potter in middle school. He is 36 and doesn't have a lot of experience with women so the break up is apparently still difficult for him to process even though its 3 years later and we have not spoken except me asking him profusely to stop doing this stuff.
At the time we were dating a few years ago I was dealing with some identity issues during our relationship which I was honest with him about, (identified as bisexual at the time, but was questioning my sexuality). We had some disagreements about it and he would always ask why he couldn't stay over early on in the relationship (~1 month into it). I ended up breaking things off with him after roughly 4 months because I felt like we weren't compatible and also because I had lost my job at the time and was dealing with personal issues on the side (severely depressed, was in therapy for it).
We were friends for a short time after the breakup until things started getting VERY weird. He began circling the road next to my apartment several times per hour EVERY DAY. At the time I considered it strange but had a limited knowledge of technology other than basic CS classes I had taken in the past. The internet would randomly shut off for 30 mins - 1 hour for no reason. I would later find out in the logs the router was being hit with DOS attacks several times per day.
I would also see my documents on Google Drive opened by strange usernames of fake accounts, and eventually had a remote access trojan on my laptop after he sent me photos of us through Google Photos which I suspect he used to infect my computer. He would backspace while I typed, open and close windows, click random things on the screen, and straight up mess with me for several hours per day every day for MONTHS.
Then eventually the computer crashed and would never start again. It was a $1500 Macbook Pro. My new car also mysteriously got something poured in the fuel tank and after a few weeks and several hundreds of dollars of new parts no mechanic could fix the car. My apartment was broken into repeatedly with subtle signs of forced entry but nothing stolen. Examples: Pry marks on the inside of the front door, side door and back door, personal care items like body wash, underwear or bras stolen or moved, coming home to find personal documents like medical records, tax records, and bank info layed out on my bedroom floor shuffled around. I filed police reports each time it happened but couldn't prove it was him.
My car has also been broken into a few times now with my dashcam broken off the mount, hidden under the passenger seat, stick figures taking a dump drawn on my windshield, and nails in my back tire and spare tire. I believe he put a GPS tracker on the car because I have heard someone outside opening and closing the car door but nothing was stolen. So far no mechanic has been able to find a tracker and I couldn't either.
I had to stop using the wifi at my apartment because every device I use on that network gets hacked (multiple different laptops, 2 kindles, and 3 cell phones). I found a keylogger on my M1 Macbook Pro (~$2000) which he also placed persistent malware on and I can not get rid of despite wiping the hard drive 8 times since this January. He defaced my professional website I was trying to use to get a job twice (first time put a pic of nude child and set his hacker username as my bank account number, added a redirect link which I stupidly clicked on and then it downloaded some sort of spyware or RAT onto my device, 2nd time he put up 2 women doing the deed also nude).
He has had remote access to this computer for an unknown amount of time and I can not afford to replace it. My cell phone also booted up into safe mode the next morning and the background was changed on my work/school email account. I tried taking my computer to a repair shop and they claimed if he does have a RAT on it, it is likely hidden on the recovery partition and they weren't able to find it or get it off my computer. This is a $2000 M1 Mac and he already destroyed my previous Macbook Pro which cost me $1500.
I also had to buy a new cell phone after I kept getting creepy phone calls and phishing texts from unknown numbers. When he put the new keylogger on my computer recently I saw where he made a folder which he named the digits of my new phone number. I had just bought a brand new Samsung Galaxy and he already got the new phone number for it and hacked it. He kept enabled the camera and microphone and while I was eating turned on the camera and started recorded me while I was eating. I factory reset the phone and he was still able to control the camera and mic on it.
I have reported him to the FBI IC3 unit 6 times now in the last year and now he is getting cocky about it and knows he will get away with it so he keeps doing it. He knows I am broke with no money and can't afford a new computer, to move away, or to keep buying a new cell phone every month and he seems to get off on trying to destroy my whole life. I have not spoken to him in 3 years now and we do not talk at all. I sent him a FB message telling him to stop explaining to him I have been going through a lot since my sister died a few years ago and just want to be left alone. He keeps doing it and won't stop.
He also recruited my crush who I never mentioned to him to help him with the hacking (my crush is a system admin) and now my crush won't speak to me at all and hates my guts. I have no idea what he said to my crush or how he got them to come after me but they have been going full on nuclear and won't stop. I caught him staking me out a few days ago at the gas station across from a wifi hotspot I was using where he was just sitting there for an extended period of time watching me. Then when I started drive near him he inched his truck like he was thinking about if he was going to follow me or not. He also knows when I come and go at night and drives by my apartment minutes after I get home at different times.
This guy seems to think I owe him something and has a serious problem. He just keeps doing all this and will not stop. While I am not the type of person to do anything crazy back, the police have done nothing and in terms of the hacking there is not a lot they can do. What can I do to at least expose this guy. I don't think he is ever going to stop until he kills me and this has got to stop.

Thanks to an inheritance from my Grandparents I was able to get myself a really nice car. It's not new but certified pre-owned and I have been excited about it for weeks. It was in another state so I had to jump through some hoops to get it, like sending them documents, getting insurance set up, that sort of thing. Anyway, my dad has been a big help. He's run me out to the DMV, not a long drive but further than I could go on foot during my lunch break and got me added on to his car insurance for the time being. Like I said, he's really helped me out.
Today was the day the car arrived in town. Since the residential roads are too narrow I had to pick it up at a dealership in town. I asked my dad if he would meet me there so that I could pick up the car and he agreed to walk there and drive the car back. A little more detail, I don't have a license currently, and that's why he's been helping me out. The walk from the house to the dealership is only about 25 - 30 minutes and he's very active so it wasn't a big ask.
I asked him to meet me at the dealership, thinking that he would meet me at the front door and then we would find where my car was. I checked if he had arrived and he said he was a few minutes out. Next text from him says he is with my car and the driver who dropped it off, "Where are you?". The truck my car was on was behind the dealership and my dad saw it and picked it up. He didn't look for me and it took about 15 minutes to find them.
He wrapped up talking with the driver once I got there and the driver just tossed me the keys and paperwork. Once we got in, I told him that I had expected him to meet me out front. He said that he saw the truck so he went there and didn't think it was important. Then he got frustrated when he couldn't work the keyless ignition and demanded I find the owner's manual to look it up.
I got flustered and stepped out of the car for a moment. When I stepped back in and told him I wasn't sure I could deal with this, he snapped that he had walked out here as a favor to me and was not walking home. I managed to catch the driver who showed him how it worked and we drive home in silence.
It might be silly, and I hadn't told him, but it was important to me to be the one that picked up the car. That I bought a car from start to finish by myself. I wanted to get patted on the back, and sit in the drivers seat pushing the buttons. Instead I got yelled at for not knowing how to start it.
I can take things too personally so I wanted to check, Am I The Asshole?

I'm a 28F currently dealing with a revenge obsessed ex-boyfriend (36M) who has been stalking me online for at least 2 years now and is hell bent on destroying my life. Basically I was his first GF in 7 years at the time and prior to the girl before me who cheated on him he claimed he never had a GF except girls who thought he looked like Harry Potter in middle school. He is 36 and doesn't have a lot of experience with women so the break up is apparently still difficult for him to process even though its 3 years later and we have not spoken except me asking him profusely to stop doing this stuff.
At the time we were dating a few years ago I was dealing with some identity issues during our relationship which I was honest with him about, (identified as bisexual at the time, but was questioning my sexuality). We had some disagreements about it and he would always ask why he couldn't stay over early on in the relationship (~1 month into it). I ended up breaking things off with him after roughly 4 months because I felt like we weren't compatible and also because I had lost my job at the time and was dealing with personal issues on the side (severely depressed, was in therapy for it).
We were friends for a short time after the breakup until things started getting VERY weird. He began circling the road next to my apartment several times per hour EVERY DAY. At the time I considered it strange but had a limited knowledge of technology other than basic CS classes I had taken in the past. The internet would randomly shut off for 30 mins - 1 hour for no reason. I would later find out in the logs the router was being hit with DOS attacks several times per day.
I would also see my documents on Google Drive opened by strange usernames of fake accounts, and eventually had a remote access trojan on my laptop after he sent me photos of us through Google Photos which I suspect he used to infect my computer. He would backspace while I typed, open and close windows, click random things on the screen, and straight up mess with me for several hours per day every day for MONTHS.
Then eventually the computer crashed and would never start again. It was a $1500 Macbook Pro. My new car also mysteriously got something poured in the fuel tank and after a few weeks and several hundreds of dollars of new parts no mechanic could fix the car. My apartment was broken into repeatedly with subtle signs of forced entry but nothing stolen. Examples: Pry marks on the inside of the front door, side door and back door, personal care items like body wash, underwear or bras stolen or moved, coming home to find personal documents like medical records, tax records, and bank info layed out on my bedroom floor shuffled around. I filed police reports each time it happened but couldn't prove it was him.
My car has also been broken into a few times now with my dashcam broken off the mount, hidden under the passenger seat, stick figures taking a dump drawn on my windshield, and nails in my back tire and spare tire. I believe he put a GPS tracker on the car because I have heard someone outside opening and closing the car door but nothing was stolen. So far no mechanic has been able to find a tracker and I couldn't either.
I had to stop using the wifi at my apartment because every device I use on that network gets hacked (multiple different laptops, 2 kindles, and 3 cell phones). I found a keylogger on my M1 Macbook Pro (~$2000) which he also placed persistent malware on and I can not get rid of despite wiping the hard drive 8 times since this January. He defaced my professional website I was trying to use to get a job twice (first time put a pic of nude child and set his hacker username as my bank account number, added a redirect link which I stupidly clicked on and then it downloaded some sort of spyware or RAT onto my device, 2nd time he put up 2 women doing the deed also nude).
He has had remote access to this computer for an unknown amount of time and I can not afford to replace it. My cell phone also booted up into safe mode the next morning and the background was changed on my work/school email account. I tried taking my computer to a repair shop and they claimed if he does have a RAT on it, it is likely hidden on the recovery partition and they weren't able to find it or get it off my computer. This is a $2000 M1 Mac and he already destroyed my previous Macbook Pro which cost me $1500.
I also had to buy a new cell phone after I kept getting creepy phone calls and phishing texts from unknown numbers. When he put the new keylogger on my computer recently I saw where he made a folder which he named the digits of my new phone number. I had just bought a brand new Samsung Galaxy and he already got the new phone number for it and hacked it. He kept enabled the camera and microphone and while I was eating turned on the camera and started recorded me while I was eating. I factory reset the phone and he was still able to control the camera and mic on it.
I have reported him to the FBI IC3 unit 6 times now in the last year and now he is getting cocky about it and knows he will get away with it so he keeps doing it. He knows I am broke with no money and can't afford a new computer, to move away, or to keep buying a new cell phone every month and he seems to get off on trying to destroy my whole life. I have not spoken to him in 3 years now and we do not talk at all. I sent him a FB message telling him to stop explaining to him I have been going through a lot since my sister died a few years ago and just want to be left alone. He keeps doing it and won't stop.
He also recruited my crush who I never mentioned to him to help him with the hacking (my crush is a system admin) and now my crush won't speak to me at all and hates my guts. I have no idea what he said to my crush or how he got them to come after me but they have been going full on nuclear and won't stop. I caught him staking me out a few days ago at the gas station across from a wifi hotspot I was using where he was just sitting there for an extended period of time watching me. Then when I started drive near him he inched his truck like he was thinking about if he was going to follow me or not. He also knows when I come and go at night and drives by my apartment minutes after I get home at different times.
This guy seems to think I owe him something and has a serious problem. He just keeps doing all this and will not stop. While I am not the type of person to do anything crazy back, the police have done nothing and in terms of the hacking there is not a lot they can do. What can I do to at least expose this guy. I don't think he is ever going to stop until he kills me and this has got to stop.

Clara is six years old, but she has dwarfism and comes in at 1‘5“ and 17 pounds. Ok. I’m sorry in advance because this is sort of long.
Just like any child, she is wanting her independence. Normally this isn’t an issue at this age, but she is only about an 18 month old in terms of physical development, other than that, everything else is normal. But we are facing a few challenges.
Do y’all have some ideas on our I can help my Clara be able to reach the restroom and the kitchen sink so she can wash her hands by herself? We have tried various combinations of stepstool’s and faucet extenders with no luck. It would also be great if she could see above the countertops, or even reach them.
As far as the restroom goes, everything is way too big for her and we pretty much just have to help clear out with everything in there. We did think about remodeling the bathroom and switching all the fixtures out to child sized, these would last her a long time And wouldn’t need to be replaced probably until she reaches her full height, and even then it might be the perfect height for her still. But we would be remodeling one of our main guest restrooms, so if we did that would adults still be able to use everything in there just fine?
She also struggles climbing up/down the stairs. I guess it’s not the biggest deal, but given her age she wants to do it independently instead of me having to carry her. She can do it by herself, but it’s done ittle kid style and it takes a while, plus it takes a lot out of her. (I don’t even know if there is a solution but anything helps) right now it is just a huge task for her, it takes a lot of effort for her just to climb up one step. The handrail is way too high for her to reach and we also have to watch out that she doesn’t fall through the banisters.
Also do you have any suggestions to help her be able to turn on and off the lights? Right now we are having to do it for her because she isn’t tall enough to reach the switch.
Also when she is sitting at our kitchen table, we can barely see the very top of her hair when we are sitting across from her. Our table is a normal sized one, but relative to her it is huge. I imagine a small for their age 2 year old sitting at a regular sized table and chairs. Ideally we would like to get her sitting up high enough to see over the table and be able to rest are arms on it and eat with us comfortably, All the while being able to get in and out of the chair by herself. She honestly needs a highchair in order to be at the right height, but she is six years old, I think she’s a little too old to be in a high chair.
What should we do about this when we go to restaurants? Usually when we sit at a booth or a chair, we can’t even tell she is there. And we have tried using the boosters they provide but that just raises are high enough to barely be able to see over the table.
What car seat should we be using for her? We are getting her a different car seat and I wasn't too sure which one to get. She is six years old after all, but also 18 pounds. And the height of a toddler. She wants to have with all of her peers have in the car, but I was telling her that due to her weight/height that might just not be possible. Part of me thinks she still needs to be in a rear facing car seat, but I know for her it won’t be cool with a six year old has to be in a rear facing. what is something I could get that would best accommodate what she wants versus what would be the safest?
Also she badly wants to be able to get in and out of the car by herself. But the thing is, She is tiny, and even if she somehow reached the door handle, she isn’t strong enough to open/close it. Plus she is so tiny that I have to put her in her rear facing seat as well as take her out. Remember, this wouldn’t be a big deal but she is six years old, I doubt much can be done about this, but any ideas?
When we go out, this could be to the store, on a trip, etc. At 1'5", Clara quickly gets worn out trying to keep up with us if she is walking, even when we slow down for her. Normally we just put her in a baby carrier,or put her in a kiddie stroller. But she has started to complain about it because she is six years old and wants to be independent, she doesn't want to be carried around or placed in a stroller, so what should we start doing when she gets worn out when she's out with us?
And when she is walking around, especially in public. People aren’t expecting a tiny little toddler sized six year old at times. Is there something she could have/where/hold to be more noticeable, a few time is it she has gotten bumped into out in public because she wasn’t seen.
And lastly, any ideas on how she can be able to reach the door knobs and open/close them by yourself? The handles on the doors are too high for her, plus she isn’t strong enough to open or close them.
Again, normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but she is six years old. not two.
I’m so sorry for how long this is and I think you very much for taking the time to read it all. Do y’all have advice on all of these issues?

They called it a Scryglass, the pun being very much intentional.
It was a mirror inscribed with magic runes that could be touched to match with a signature. We had effectively reinvented the telephone, but with the benefit of visuals to go with it. Even though it reflected the room behind me, I didn't show up, nobody showed up.
I tapped the runes indicated, and the Scryglass shifted to show a Human, who looked surprised.
"Holy shit, it actually worked." She remarked. She scrutinized me. "I was led to believe your Imperator would be speaking with us."
"I am Imperator Ruuk Stingtail." I stated. "My death was not exaggerated, the Gods simply had need of me. The short of it is that our High Priest was a saboteur for Tiamat, and had been using my brother, the acting Imperator, as a puppet. He is still at large, unfortunately, having escaped with Tiamat's intervention." I paused. "If you have a seat, please take it, I cannot guarantee this will be a quick call."
A chair was brought in, we both sat in our respective spots.
"Might I know your name, Human?" I asked.
"Staff Sergeant Catalina Rosaria Cortez." She replied. "We understand this Tiamat infiltrated our number under the alias of Tiana Martel."
"How much do you know of Tiamat's involvement in events?" I asked. "I ask mainly to ensure if you are missing any information, you can be apprised of the details."
"We don't know a whole lot." Sgt. Cortez stated. "We've been flying in the dark here for a year."
I nodded. I gave a rough overview of events as I remembered them, with Bahamut filling in the gaps that I had forgotten. A few of my Council looked uncomfortable when I mentioned we had once been Human, a fact I had already forgotten.
"For the purposes of interacting with us, approach any situation with the understanding that most- if not all of us- do not remember ever being Human. It's a detail even I find myself forgetting."
She nodded. "To be honest with you, we have had some trouble remembering that as well. I've gone over past reports, and it's clear that our memory is being affected as well, the blockades were enacted because we had come to the conclusion that you were invaders, rather than residents."
"That is alarming." I remarked. "Kashak! Alert the Circle that the Humans are experiencing the same loss in memory."
"The 'Circle'?" Sgt. Cortez asked.
"Our Circle of Mages, recently founded. They are a group of Sorcerers, Warlocks, Clerics... Anyone who has an interest in studying magic. It is their mission to find a way to properly contain the Divine Essence of Kurtulmak, and if possible, bring him back so the transformation of Humans into Kobolds can be controlled."
"Do you believe a God can be brought back to life?" She asked.
"I was." I replied. "Why not him?"
"Please tell her that, while I appreciate some of her men giving homage to me, it is unnecessary." Bahamut stated. "I am not the one containing the Divine Essence, it is the faithful who remain who keep it gathered."
"You can tell your men they don't need to pray to Bahamut." I said, she looked surprised, and a little confused. "While he appreciates it, he's not the one who's keeping the Divine Essence contained. Those of us who stubbornly continue to worship Kurtulmak are keeping it from spreading."
"I see..." She said.
"That being said, nothing is stopping them from continuing." I said. "As the new head of his Temple on Earth, I am... restructuring things."
"You took over the Temple." She said. "Making you the sole authority in your nation."
"If it makes you feel any better, I literally have Bahamut watching over my shoulder, there's nothing like a lawfully good Deity whose entire thing is Justice to provide some oversight."
She laughed, meaning my attempt at humor worked. "Sorry." She said. "That was rude of me."
"It was intentionally a joke." I said, easing her guilt. "The purpose of these Scryglasses- yes, I'm told it's a pun- is to ensure quick communication in the event things start going wrong."
She nodded. "So I was told." She said. "Is there anything you're expecting from us?"
"A rough overview of current events." I said. "Having an evil Dragon Goddess show up and lay waste to an entire town's worth of Kobolds certainly didn't go unnoticed, and that's not going into if she targeted the city over."
She nodded. "Things have been tense." She said. "Your actions led to what is effectively an unscheduled restructuring of our entire government."
'She means the citizens of her nation saw the open mistreatment of your people as the final straw, there was a violent uprising that led to the death and imprisonment of everyone in the higher echelons of government, and a provisional government is currently handling affairs while the situation is resolved.' Bahamut helpfully explained.
"So, you have your own issues on your end as well." I stated diplomatically.
"Tiamat attacking did not help matters." She said. "We still get some dumbshit activists trying to cause problems, thinking we're holding you hostage."
"Do you have any means of contacting them?" I asked.
"In theory, yes. They don't really listen, or pick up."
I nodded. "Contact them, simply tell them Imperator Ruuk is interested in speaking with them. After all, it is in both of our best interests to keep this situation contained."
The relief in her eyes was palpable, I had just lifted the weight of an entire world off her back. "I will do that, Imperator Ruuk." She said.
"Thank you." I tried to think of anything else that came to mind. "Keep me apprised of anything unusual happening on your end, I will have people stationed near this Scryglass to ensure you won't be waiting too long in the event you need my insight."
That was all that needed to be discussed, I ended the connection and sat back in my seat.
'It takes strength to speak with those you hate.' Bahamut stated. 'I am proud of you.'
I nodded. "Compromise." I said. "If I can't do that much, then I show I won't even follow in my God's footsteps."
There was no time for sitting around, ruminating on things that didn't directly serve getting us back on track.
"Hail, Imperator!" A few of our recent additions called out to me, there was still fear in their eyes, but they most certainly respected me. We got the foundation for even having a reservoir built. We all elected not to have indoor plumbing, we'd gotten used to chamber pots and the Druids were efficient at turning our waste into fertilizer, their ability to cleanse of it disease meaning there was no point in doing anything otherwise.
Instead, we elected to have the water go into strategically placed wells, with water created to test them out and ensure we would get flooded if a little too much water came in.
Thanks to the efforts of the Artificers and Druids, we had a system that would accommodate a proper reservoir, with future plans to have one made and installed. As we were patting ourselves on the back and celebrating our efforts, someone came running up to me. "Imperator! We need your assistance! Elgo snapped, we don't know what to do!"
"Show me." I said.
The Circle of Mages were situated in what I called the Arcane District, and considering the sounds coming from within, I knew the situation was serious. I ran past confused and concerned mages and headed for the far door.
Beyond it, I saw Elgo running around, grabbing paper and scrawling on it, paying no mind to the things he was knocking over. He was talking to himself, muttering frantically under his breath in a mixtire of Yipyak and English, as well as a few other languages I didn't recognize.
His hand seized a pen and he began drawing circles and diagrams on each page.
'Leave him be, Ruuk.' Bahamut stated. 'Give him some space.'
I shut the door, not really questioning what Bahamut knew that I didn't- not yet, at least. I looked at the other Mages. "Give him space." I said. "If it persists longer than a few days, then we get involved."
We didn't even need to wait the full day, Elgo came out of the room carrying a bunch of pages loosely bound together with string, which he brought over, slammed on a table, and began pointing at things and jibbering madly.
"Elgo, Elgo." I said, reaching out to him and trying to calm him down.
"No, Imperator, you do no understand-" He slipped into another language, emphatically trying to communicate something. I looked at the others. Anyone know Comprehend Languages?"
This seemed to snap Elgo back into reality. He looked at me for several moments, then stepped away, taking the bound-together papers and a cup of water. "This will explain it." He said, thumbing through the pages until he landed on one. This time, he spoke slowly and deliberately, half of his words were understandable, while the rest were not. It took him a full minute.
He flung the water, which twisted and roiled in the air before splashing against the ground. I watched in awe as the water then began to rise up, taking a humanoid form.
"Wait, you awoke as a Sorcerer?" A Warlock asked.
"No, he's our first Wizard." Arix stated. "Those papers in his hands? That's his spellbook. That insane babbling we heard? It's not insane to him."
Elgo nodded, "Yeah." He said. "It's, ah, a water elemental, kuutravai rukata vos aquan capable of, well, anything that water is capable of, like kavata tuugra shalai with its mass derived directly from the elemental plane of water."
"You could have just said 'magic' over and over again and we would have gotten exactly the same information out of that." Arix said. "What even is that language you're speaking?"
"He is speaking the Primordial tongue, the language of Elementals, the First Words of Asgorath." Bahamut spoke through me.
"Oh, you're familiar with it?" Elgo asked.
"Bahamut is." I said. "Mind filling us in on what he said?"
"The concepts are far more ancient than any modern languages can adequately convey, yet simplified, they can put out fires and smash things." Bahamut replied.
Elgo winced. "That's not really a good explanation." He said.
"It is not incorrect. You will have to learn how to convey these concepts in simpler terms, especially as you will need to teach those who will come after you." Bahamut retracted, and I felt a little drained. "Elgo, congratulations on your Awakening, I'll get an Artificer to make you a proper spellbook so you don't have to worry about your pages falling out." I looked pointedly at the page that was flopping to the floor. He quickly snatched it up.
"For the record." Bahamut spoke again. "He is the equivalent of a 'level ten', in your terms."
I blinked, Arix asked, "How?"
"I think it's because I've been spending my every waking moment trying to figure out how magic works." Elgo said. "I've studied scrolls and magic items, asking about specific runes and arrays. Today, it all just... clicked." He paused. "In fact, I feel like I have a greater grasp of our situation, maybe. I'll need more paper, more time to observe things."
I nodded. "Get on it, and report to me directly when you've finished. Your knowledge will be needed on my Council."
He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, Council. Wait, Council?" He looked at me.
"Every time a new Class is awakened, they are given a spot on my Council." I stated.
He looked distressed. "But there's so much I need to focus on, I can't be bogged down with politics! There's the matter of how we're going to gather up the Divine Essence and contain it, because even if we aren't showing signs of anything wrong with us, there's no telling what long-term effects we'll begin to display. I mean, there's gradual yellowing of everyone's eyes, and I'm fairly certain that isn't jaundice, not to mention the rapidity of cognitive degradation compared to the normal rate- more specifically in the region of the brain that governs memory, on top of everything else that's going on and I don't have the capacity to really do that."
I blinked, speechless for a moment. "As Councilor, you will have the authority to delegate." I stated firmly. "And having my ear on any problem you find or any solution you come up with will ensure they are handled immediately."
"R-right, I didn't think about that."
"That being said, I am going to require you to accompany me tonight, if you are as well-studied as you think you are, you'll be able to help us."
He nodded.
I put things in motion to get him a proper spellbook made, then continued about my day. By the time of the ritual, he'd already copied everything into a nice, leatherbound book, and he looked significantly less scatterbrained.
We prepared the ritual, which he observed quietly.
"Several issues." He said, after we finished. "First and foremost, the people who can't use magic are superfluous, they can just sit over here and pray and it would probably be just as effective."
A few of my fellow faithful started yelling at him.
"Quiet." I stated, they all went silent. "Elgo is here specifically to address anything he sees as not working or being counterproductive. Go on, Elgo."
"Right. Second, you're just throwing herbs in there, you need a proper incense, considering you're trying to worship a dead God back to life, frankincense, myrrh, and dragon's blood resin would be more effective, and these things can be purchased from any spiritual shop- I'm sure there's plenty in the next town over, we'll just have to contact the soldiers and get them to agree to get the materials."
"I have a means of communication, go on."
"Oh? I'll have to see it." He remarked. "Third, that's just a basic brazier full of wood you got from the ground. I understand you're desperately trying your best, but you're not getting anywhere if you're half-assing it. You're going to need- at the very least- something that actually matches what Kurtulmak likes. Not to mention getting wood that has the properties you need."
He looked thoughtful. "Fourth, you have his spear, you have armor that he made, yes? Use them. You have the best possible implements for- at the very least- gathering the Divine Essence into something that can hold it."
"Is that everything?" I asked.
"Everything that makes sense at least." He remarked. "Anything else, we're going to have to adjust."
I nodded. "Then let's make this a priority, if we're just wasting time now, we'd better use it so we aren't." We came together and- pooling our understanding- we came to a plan that could work.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cuts and gashes, the dead fighting the dead, culling the weak so the strong remained. The souls we slew would remain dead, irretrievable.
In the distance, a voice calls out to me.
​
[Navigation for 'Dragon Rising'- [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]]

Yesterday I took my son fishing. He wanted to go to a nearby lake that we haven’t been to in quite some time. It’s not known to be a great area. For some background, the last time we went, about a year ago, a car drove by and screamed “Nice ass!” at me while I stood there with my young son. This kind of garbage behavior is unfortunately expected in the area. It’s also known to be a late night hook up spot as well as a late night drug deal location. Due to the lake’s reputation, I had made a deal with my dad that I wouldn’t stay there past 4pm without him. On to the story:
My 12 year old son (who looks much younger than he is) and I pulled up at our favorite fishing spot, a small pond on the opposite side of the road as the lake. Almost immediately, an older gentleman approached us asking if there were fish in the pond. I replied that we had just gotten started, so nothing yet, but that we had caught fish in the pond on plenty of other occasions. He thanked us for the information, and returned to his spot on the other side of the road.
About fifteen minutes later, another younger man approaches the older man with a dog. I can see and hear them chatting, but they’ve made no move to involve us in the conversation, which I’m glad for. I just want to enjoy a day with my son. Unfortunately, the water in the pond was incredibly low and murky and I could tell we weren’t going to have any luck. I tell my son to pack it up and we’ll try another spot on the other side of the lake.
As we begin packing our gear into the trunk, the younger man yells over “sorry if my dog and I ran you off!” I tell him it’s no problem, and we were simply moving to a better fishing spot. He then starts telling me how nice it is to see a mom taking her kid fishing, how you don’t see that very often, etc. I get this a lot, so I’m pretty used to it. We have a short conversation about it as I pack up and I then move towards the driver’s side doors to depart.
Before I can leave, the younger man starts up another conversation, this time asking me how old I think he is. This feels strange to me, but I’m nice to a fault sometimes, so I answer his question. I tell him I’m a horrible judge of age, but maybe 25? He tells me he’s 38 and I’m too kind and I laugh it off saying something like “I work with teenagers, so they always guess me well above my age just to be mean.” He asks where I work and I stupidly tell him my city. Turns out he lives there too and starts going on and on about how he got a free apartment on such and such street because his baby momma kicked him out of their house. I think he’s talking about some kind of government assistance program. Weird flex, but ok man.
At this point, I’m standing by the car door with my hand on the handle and my son is already in the back seat. This guy can’t take the hint and starts telling me all about his awful baby momma and how women are supposed to be submissive, quiet, and do what they’re told. He specifically said “I mean, it’s cool that you can bait a hook or whatever, but you’re still a woman.” Now my alarm bells are blaring. This guy struck up a conversation by commending me for doing a typically “dad” thing with my kid. Now he’s putting me down for the same thing. He’s gone from being overly friendly and complimentary to agitated and ranting.
I should have been rude and just got in the car and left, but I’ve unfortunately been conditioned, like many women, to be polite even when we’re uncomfortable. Instead, I start making comments in the hopes he’ll see I’m not some meek submissive woman who’s going to agree with him. After all, I’m a tatted up chick with an eyebrow piercing, and two lip piercings. I don’t exactly look like a submissive little housewife. I guess I was trying to make him just as uncomfortable as he made me in the hopes he’d leave me alone.
After he says women shouldn’t be loud or opinionated, I tell him “Oh, well you wouldn’t like me at all.” He tries to backpedal saying “I mean, it’s ok to be loud I guess, but don’t try that with your man, ya know?” I say “my man doesn’t tell me shit. I do what I want.” This kind of back and forth goes on for a while before he finally shakes his head and says “I just don’t understand what kind of woman would act like that.” I reply “a strong one.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, the older gentleman yells from his spot on the bank, “YEAH! SAY THAT AGAIN HONEY!” This distracted the creep long enough for me to hop in the car and lock the doors. I still don’t feel safe though. Unbeknownst to creepazoid, only two of my car doors actually have functioning locks, but at least they’re the two on his side. I put the key in the ignition and turn. No dice. Nothing. Of all the times for my car to act up, it chooses now.
Panic has now set in. As I repeatedly try to start my car, I can see him out of the corner of my eye. He’s taken notice of my car troubles and is trying to get my attention. As he takes a few steps towards my car, the engine finally roars to life and I peel out of there. Only then do I let my composure crumble and have a long talk with my son about what just happened.
To the older gentleman who took notice of my discomfort and provided a distraction, I’d gladly meet with you again any day.
To the younger, misogynistic creep, I don’t know if I was actually in any danger from you, but my gut said I was. Let’s never meet again.
Oh, and to my dad, I’ll make you a new deal. I’m never going to that lake alone again, regardless of the time of day.

Like the title says, we’ll call him Carson. The story is a little long, forgive me.
(A little backstory, I have been diagnosed with PTSD from witnessing violence and screaming growing up.)
Carson and I matched on tinder and the first ‘date’ was at the local pride festival and parade over last Saturday and Sunday. It went amazingly! Since then, we had seen each other every single day. Things seemed to be going well. I could tell Carson was pretty stern with his dog, even in ways I didn’t personally agree with. And there were other weird things like how he stole a few items from the store when we went together to get stuff for dinner, and how he litters out his car window. Jump to today, we had planned for me to stay the night. Carson texts me that he’s mad because his dog Fido ate up the mat at the bottom of his kennel. Carson wanted me to go to Home Depot with him to get plywood. Of course, Fido had to go with us since the kennel was out of service. So, Carson opened the back of his car and let Fido up. I was sitting in the passenger seat. Apparently Fido went a little too far up and his head got close to the front seats. This pissed off Carson pretty bad for some reason and he starting screaming extremely loudly and hitting Fido over and over again. Carson tried pulling Fido back to get him away from the front seats, but as any abused animal would, he froze, waiting for the beating to be done. This made Carson madder. He climbed in the back and tried pulling on Fido’s neck, which Fido defended by nipping at Carson. At this point, Carson threw Fido out of the back of his car and near the back of his garage. Keep in mind, Carson’s garage door is completely open and the apartment complex can hear everything going on. Carson got back in his car once he got Fido back in the vehicle. I was already outside the car. I opened the passenger door and told Carson “I will be heading home”. Carson replied “Why?” My response, “Because I don’t like how you hit him. I’m getting my stuff and heading home.”
I got my stuff and headed home. He texted me ten minutes later asking if I actually got all my stuff because he’ll be blocking my number. The absolute audacity. This man commits a felony in front of me, and one of the most despicable felonies at that, and he has the audacity to tell me he’s blocking me.
Like I mentioned, I have PTSD. I had immediately called my best friend once I got to my car and on my way home I had to end the call early because I started having flashbacks to Carson beating Fido, the most precious, and sweetest dog I’ve ever met. I also went through the usual routine for people with PTSD, fear, extreme emotions, shaking, confusion.
The first solid relationship lead I’ve had in months and he’s a fucking dog abuser. I’ll be reporting him once I meet up with my friends.

Introductions. Shuttle Engineer Drivtet Ol'gashi POV
I was working on some routine maintenance of the Black Spots shuttle when the Captains voice came over the ship wide intercom.
Ping "All crew report to assembly in bay 3. There is critical information that has just been relayed by GC high-command. I have been given permission to show all of you just what we found 4 rotations ago on that unknown wreckage." Ping
All noise in the normally busy shuttle bay had ceased following that announcement. Quickly packing away the inspection sheet I was working on, I proceeded to the doors with my fellow crew.
"What do you think that recording was?" I turned and looked down to see shuttle pilot Fen'hozy hopping up beside me. Fen'hozy is a Kanhiv one of the smaller races being only 2' feet 6" inches tall, with short coarse tan fur, and powerful hind legs that are used to launch them into the air. He was nervously tapping the claws on the fingertips of his wings against the floor.
"I don't know, but by the sounds of it the captain is about to show us." I reply trying to calm his nerves.
When we discovered the wreck 4 rotations ago the specifications that came through scans were absurd. Being a member of the engineering crew I was part of the team that was assigned to study the crafts scans when not doing regular tasks. For starters the ceilings were 10' feet tall, 2' feet taller than the tallest know sentient race, the Phyth. Then there was the material composition of the ship. Metal alloys far denser than we have ever made coming from materials so strong our hottest welding equipment barely made it glow. Whatever made that ship was something the GC isn't fully prepared for.
"What do you think destroyed it?" Fen'hozy asked, snapping me from my thoughts.
He was right. What could destroy something our best tech can't even cut through?
"I don't know. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been the Vizan. If it was then there is no way we would have lasted this long against them." I replied, "Hopefully, we will get some answers from this assembly."
I picked up my pace towards bay 3, forcing Fen'hozy to switch from his quadrapedal walk to upright hopping 'run' with his wings tucked neatly against his sides to keep up. We quickly pull ahead of the group leaving the shuttle bay with us.
"If you're gonna run there mind if I just hitch a rid on your back. You know I can't keep up if you go any faster." Fen'hozy remarked, struggling to keep pace with my brisk walk.
"Sure, so long as you promise to clean out the shuttles docking port for me tomorrow." I cheerily replied.
"Done!" He shouted, hopping high into the air towards my back. "I've seen how clean you keep that shuttle it will take me all of 5 tacks to do." He said, landing on my back with a quiet whomp. Holding onto my shoulders with his clawed fingers and proping his hind paws against my hips, I leaned forward and started jogging down the corridor.
We reached bay 3 well ahead of most with only the Captain, bridge crew, and research department present. The bridge crew sat on stage behind the Captain, sullen expressions shadowing their features. While the researchers sat in the front row were restraining their excitement with visible difficulty. The tension was already palpable with the brooding expression on our Captains normally stoic face.
Letting Fen'hozy drop to the floor we made our way to some seats on the far side of the bay. The standardized stools were not very comfortable but were built to accommodate many different body types. I plopped myself onto a stool while Fen'hozy hopped up onto the one next to me resting back on his haunches. Seated like this with him sitting upright we were almost eye level.
"You know, as scared as I am for what this species may be. I can't help but be excited for a new potential ally. Especially with the technology we have already seen." Fen'hozy voiced my own thoughts as if reading them right from my mind.
"I couldn't agree more. Especially about the technology if we had access to some of the materials they use I would put credits on turning the tide of this war." I stated smugly. Our shiny golden metals were nothing compared to the stark grey and black materials that ship was composed of.
We chatted aimlessly for a few tacks while the rest of the crew arrived. It seemed we didn't have to wait long as more and more cautiously optimistic crew members filled the seats. I could catch snippets of conversation all seeming to denote a level of excitement based around what we discovered. If it wasn't for the still sullen Captin and bridge crew I suspect the low chatter would have been a full roar of excitement.
"What do you think has the bridge crew so worried?" Fen'hozy asked, breaking me from my thoughts on the room. Looking back towards the stage where Captain Yillfit Carver stood awaiting the last of the crew. I take a moment to study his expression before answering.
"Well he has always been rather stoic by his species standard, I've only ever seen him make that face when talking about his friends lost on the battle field." A voice clicked from behind us before I could answer. Both Fen'hozy and I turned to the newest addition to the conversation. A Goshran swarmed over the stool making barely audible scratching sounds as the workers of the coloney were busy handling all the needs of their 'body'.
"Well you would be the one to know." Says Fen'hozy, "How long have you and the Captain served together Security Chief Grivla?"
"We have known eachother sense the academy." Grivla clacked in response, "We didn't see eachother for 4 cycles after the academy. Finally meeting again on a Ho'vat battlefield. Our two units had been cut in half by the Vizan, so deciding to work together under Carvers lead. We managed to hold our position until relief forces were able to arrive and take over. I've been serving under Carver ever sense."
"I'm a little surprised to see you down here and not up on stage with the bridge crew?" I nudge, hoping she will have some information as to why they look so sullen.
"Well my assumption is that they have all already seen what we are about to be shown. I just came from my rest shift, if that's their response I think it won't be all good news. Either way I haven't seen anything yet, meaning whatever this is was played over the bridge then immediately deemed of critical importance for the entire crew." Replied the Security Chief.
Sharing a nervous glance with Fen'hozy I turned my attention back to the stage.
Not 2 Tacks later the doors closed behind the last of the crew. The entire crew of the Black Spot all 350 of us stood or sat waiting for the Captain to begin.
After a moment of silence filled the room the Captain began.
"Thank you valued crew of the Black Spot for assembling so quickly.
I know some of you are on rest shift and will be allowed to continue it once we are done here. In fact, all crew will be given half a standard rotation to rest and deal with the news." He stated.
A subdued applause greeted his statement. The excitement in the room quickly fading. Before my thoughts could run away with me the captain resumed his speech.
"As you are all aware, our mission is to find and confirm what has caught the attention of the Vizan.
"We have succeeded in the first part, now we just need to make contact and confirm the status relayed in the message that we sent back through subspace." He assured.
"The GC senate has translated and reviewed the footage recovered from the wreckage we discovered and to say it has confirmed some of our worst fears would be an understatement.
"I have been given permission to show everyone aboard the Black Spot exactly what we will be heading into in the coming rotations. Without further fanfare Comms Officer Renfai, would you do the honors?"
Stepping back from the front of the stage with a small flourish of his manipulator tentacle the Captain ushered Officer Renfai forward. Sliding up to the front of the stage Comms Officer Renfai appeared sad and disconnected from everything around him.
Lifting his eyestalks to look at the gathered crew he began, "Fellow sentients, the message we recovered from that wreck is an old warning and a plea for future aid.
"Through the confirmation of time stamps on the message and Vizan activity we believe the wreck has been adrift in that nebulae for roughly 250 standard cycles. Far longer than was initially estimated due to lack of any kind of wear to the ship.
"This should be kept in mind as we have no idea what the current situation is in this section of the galaxy. I'll now play the full translated message before turning things back to our Captain to answer any questions and give us the plan moving forward."
With a wave of his prehensile tail the lights dimmed and the back wall of the stage lit up showing an image of an unknown sentient. The recording bagan to play.
"Hello. If you are receiving this, this is Capt. Fos of the USSF Nutcracker.
"I am a human, and our United Systems of 14 species are under attack by an unknown threat. If found please, bring this message to my family on Earth."
Co-ords attached
"Before that, I must give a warning for any who discover this ship. We were unprepared for this threat, and they couldn't have timed their appearance for a worse moment.
"The United Systems haven't always been such, in fact it wasn't until these 'husks' attacked that all 15 known sentients finally set aside our differences to come together and fight back. A mutual enemy does wonders for setting government priorities." The Human shook his head, looking to the floor.
Taking a steadying breath he continued. "We were too busy fighting with eachother to pay attention to unknown space. From outside known space these 'Husks' came, they launched a simultaneous attack across every inhabited world and system we knew of. Being too preoccupied at the onset of this, plague our respective militaries struggled to push them off our worlds. Over 100 coloney worlds were lost, unable to receive reinforcement in time." A collective intake of atmosphere could be heard throughout the bay.
Before anyone could voice their concern the Human lifted his eyes to stare directly into the camera.
"It took the complete extinction of the Motuck before the remaining 14 of us came together." He spat.
"They had pled for help broadcasting to anyone that could hear. Humanity couldn't just leave them to extinction all alone. At the time humanity was fairing the best having pushed the Husks completely from 6 of our 8 systems, we sent what we could spare." His voice softening as he spoke. "We were too late. The last bunker on their homeworld had been breached.
"The final transmission coming just two hours before our response fleat dropped into the system. The fleat was met with a fresh Armada of Motuck ship husks coming from their homeworld.
"The Motuck were gone. Our Government at the time not wanting to fight our former friends made the decision in line with the last wishes of the Motuck Ambassador.
'I would rather my system be wiped from existence than let my entire people become you!' Were his last words in that final message and subsequent detonation of the shelter." The human spoke with a cold detatchment.
"We glassed the few remaining former Motuck worlds. The Motuck home system was fully colonized with both mines and terraformed worlds. We decided to collapse the star erasing the Husks completely from the sector with minimal losses on our end." A faint buzzing could be heard from the video but nothing could be seen on screen.
"My ship the USSF Nutcracker was sent on one such mission to an unrecoverable Gorchev system. Just before our localized gravity collapse could destabilize the star and initiate a supernova the Husks hit us.
"The supernova has been successfully induced and will occur in approximately 20 minutes. I'll be dead before then, we have moved to the edge of the system but will remain here. 95% of the crew has been killed or consumed by the Husks, I've rigged the reactor core to vent into the ship when I hit this button." The Human held up a small black box with a grey button on the top.
"That should incinerate anything living on the ship. This message will be tethered to the Blackbox, transmitting to anyone close enough to hear. Please go to Earth and help us save all the people of the Milky way.
"We will not go quietly into the night and I pray that you won't either." At those words the human appeared to shrink.
"A final message for my wife and daughter." The buzzing got suddenly louder and a light begun to shine on the humans face.
"Sorsha my sweet girl, don't worry daddy will always be watching over you. Marry, I'm sorry I won't be there with you when you get old. I love you both more than can be expressed. I'll miss you." Taking his eyes off the camera to look off screen he pushed the button. A loud rushing of air could be heard before the video cut out, freezing on an image of the human looking sadly into the camera.
—Authors note—
Hey everybody!
Thank you all for reading! I was blown away by how well the prolouge was received, I wasn't expecting such a positive response and would have been happy with just having feedback on my writing. As it is I am blown away and will strive to do my best going forward. I'm doing this by myself in my free time please don't expect every update to come this quickly, I will be aiming for at least one part a week for as long as I can keep the ideas flowing. Once again any constructive criticism is more than welcome! I look forward to lore discussions over on my page. Thank you again everyone for reading!

I am just venting into the void of cyberspace. I have already started seeing a therapist and I have a few very dear friends that I lean on when I need them.
I (34m) have been married to my wife (34m) just shy of 10 years. We started dating in collage but have know each other since before high school. Looking back on things now I realize that I just wasn't mature enouph to get married when I did. Our relationship has foundered on our lack of communication and perpetual neglect.
Backstory
We met in grade school but, later attended the same 2 year university. My wife aggressively perused me after we reconnected in collage and I was in love. I can remember that I have always had a burning desire to be in a fulfilling and passionate relationship with a partner and equal. I was raised in a very conservative family and so I rarely if ever perused a girl/woman frivolously even during my teenage years. Naturally, when we married I had only ever been intimate with a single long term girlfriend in high school before my wife. My wife's mission in life was to have me and thus is where my immaturity first lead me astray, I had not learned how to be cold and hard when needed and, I was terrified of dying alone. Our dating relationship was rocky, my wife has been extremely manipulative and abusive from the very beginning but, I could not see it. My wife used every asset at her disposal to keep me and we had a very passionate and intimate relationship full of physical and emotional ups and downs. Everyone in my life that knew the two of use could already see the writing on the wall but, I would not listen. I was clinging to my one, and only chance from my perspective, at having a life long loving partner and friend. After a time I proposed and then things started to change, even though she did not have the ring I had effectively become hers and she no longer needed to peruse and conquer me. The intimacy stopped and the passion faded and my burning desire to be with her was left unrequited. I thought that it was just a phase before we married but, alas after only sharing our wedding night together our physical relationship ended.
Marriage
A few months before we married I took my first job after collage and moved a few hours away to start working. We married a few months later and moved in together in a 2 bedroom apartment about 1 hours commute from my first job. The first year of our marriage was very hard. My new wife would not reciprocate my advances and she also started to loose interest in me romantically. She would accuse me of only wanting sex which cut so deep, to this day I do not think I could be intimate with her again even if she tried to initiate, we have slept in separate beds, except for rare occasions, ever since. My wife had attained her prize and now she was looking for something else to do with her life and I was left on the shelf. I was never violent and I did my best to be mindful of her needs and the few times we have had real conversations about our relationship over the years I have attempted to incorporate the feed back to better meet her needs. I am not a perfect person, far from it and I have neglected stuff around our homes over the years the biggest one being the cleaning and our pets. I pay for everything, and put in most of the mental and emotional work of our marriage, she has been attending collage to get advance degrees so someday she can start a career and contribute to our family, this is the challenge she chose for her life after a year or two of me saying we could not afford stuff that she wanted. She demands many material things where as I can get by with very little and so over the years we have almost always been broke as I try to keep up with her demands and I have spent very little of all the money I have made in this life on myself, I have always and continue to saving for my retirement though.
Today
I have finally come to understand that my wife will never want me the way I wish she did and will never attempt to meet my needs no matter how many times I attempt to tell her what those needs are. I have been a fool, thinking that if I was only good enouph she would desire me. I know that she does care about me in her own way but, it is not enouph for me. I am unwilling to just dump her and walk out the door, she should be finishing collage soon and starting a career. Once she has a full time job and a means to support herself, I am done and gone.
Sometimes I sit on a bench in a park looking at the big city we live outside of and burn with a desire to rip the world into oblivion down to its very atoms. The pain of being lonely in marriage is so terrible, I have no words to adequately describe it. I am still terrified of dying alone but, I now know that I would be better off single and able to look for a person that could truly be my partner than I am spending energy attempting to breath life back into this dead relationship.
I am willing to share more of my story, I have glossed over many many details in this very short summary but, I didn't want to try and write a book in a single post. Thank you all, who read this to the end, it means more to me that I could ever possibly convey to you with words or actions.

I work as a housekeeper in an upper-scale hotel & resort. For context, I live in an VERY dog friendly rich tourist town. Nutters love to show off their dogs, and are encouraged to do so. Almost every shop will even have water bowls in/out of the store front. You can’t walk down Main Street without being slobbered on, witnessing dog scuffles, and seeing dogs seated at upscale restaurants. Anyway, my hotel does not allow non service dogs, but you would not believe the amount of people who somehow sneak little yappy dogs in (or you would, because dog nutters.) Tourist season is coming up, and of course there’s no way they could enjoy vacation without planning around a dog. I’ve been lunged at by dogs while working, only the small ones but it makes almost no difference to me. Dog hair covering every surface in rooms, barking all day, growling at the door when you walk by. It’s just inescapable, even at work. The only thing we can really do is keep an eye out for which exact room has the dog, because we can’t start knocking and claim they have a dog (when it could actually be the room next door. This hotel is huge on customer service.). It’s just so incredibly selfish, they have absolutely no regard for anyone but their “fur babies”. I have awful dog allergies, and even just cleaning in a room with dog hair will make me start wheezing. Once again, “no real proof” to charge them a fee for it according to my higher ups. What made me write this post today was a dog in the employee only section of the hotel. Leashed surprisingly, but that didn’t stop the owner from letting it slobber all over my hand and arm, resulting in itchy burning hives. I really wish I could say I’m being dramatic but unfortunately I’m not. Just wanted to vent about living in a dog nutters world. I could go on and on, but I’m just glad this reddit exists. I was starting to feel like I was a bad person because I don’t like dogs.

Quick note: this post is long and all over the place sorry if its hard to read, but anyone who does get through it thank you.
Hello everybody, making this post because I’m in a very bad place right now mentally and i just need some guidance because i feel uncomfortable talking to my family about it.
I’m a 20 year old (m) and since January I’ve been unemployed. Since 14 I’ve had a job and bought everything for myself, school clothes, food, car, you name it, mostly because i hate leeching off family but also to be independent to help my (at the time) single mother out.
At 17 right after graduating high school i got a labor job in paying around $16 per hour cash with tips and i had that until December 2022. Saved a lot of money and even bought my second car when my first started having issues.
I quit that job because I wasn’t going anywhere with it and I tried sales. Door to door sales. And as some of you might of guessed this didn’t last long… 2 days in fact. If you want me to go into detail about why it didnt i will respond but the quick answer is that i read so deep into and thought i had an understanding of what it would be like, and when i actually started i dreaded it so much that on my second day i even set two appointments and still was not happy at all. So i left.
And here we are in June and i have yet to get a job.
Now since january i started my fitness journey which has been such an improvement to my life and im very glad im stuck with it. Eating healthy, working out, free time. Sounds great until you realize eventually again i will need a job to keep living.
I live with my brother who has a house and i pay rent every month along with phone bills and car bills about 1k a month. I order food a lot because i only cook eggs, chicken and rice, and such so avg monthly costs probably around 1.2-1.3k. I have 20k in the bank. Not sure if thats good or just eh but point is im running out and i cannot motivate myself to even look into a job.
My whole perspective on life has done a 180, i remember being a kid saying “im gonna be rich” yata yata, and now i dread the thought of working any job..
Obviously this isnt the right mindset to have but it truly is how i feel. Anyways I keep putting off the idea of a job because I don’t want a job that isn’t going to be a career for me. Working retail until i “figure out” what i really want to do seems terrible especially because i dont even have a job now and still have no idea what it is i would want to do for the rest of my life.
I pretty much wake up eat go to the gym come home shower and spend the rest of the day/night inside playing xbox, or attached to technology depressed about my life but not doing anything about it.
I am the most lost i have ever been in my life. Roast me, criticize me, or give advice, anything to help me please i really want to be motivated and stop being a p**** but 6 months later and nothing has changed

I'm a 28F currently dealing with a revenge obsessed ex-boyfriend (36M) who has been stalking me online for at least 2 years now and is hell bent on destroying my life. Basically I was his first GF in 7 years at the time and prior to the girl before me who cheated on him he claimed he never had a GF except girls who thought he looked like Harry Potter in middle school. He is 36 and doesn't have a lot of experience with women so the break up is apparently still difficult for him to process even though its 3 years later and we have not spoken except me asking him profusely to stop doing this stuff.
At the time we were dating a few years ago I was dealing with some identity issues during our relationship which I was honest with him about, (identified as bisexual at the time, but was questioning my sexuality). We had some disagreements about it and he would always ask why he couldn't stay over early on in the relationship (~1 month into it). I ended up breaking things off with him after roughly 4 months because I felt like we weren't compatible and also because I had lost my job at the time and was dealing with personal issues on the side (severely depressed, was in therapy for it).
We were friends for a short time after the breakup until things started getting VERY weird. He began circling the road next to my apartment several times per hour EVERY DAY. At the time I considered it strange but had a limited knowledge of technology other than basic CS classes I had taken in the past. The internet would randomly shut off for 30 mins - 1 hour for no reason. I would later find out in the logs the router was being hit with DOS attacks several times per day.
I would also see my documents on Google Drive opened by strange usernames of fake accounts, and eventually had a remote access trojan on my laptop after he sent me photos of us through Google Photos which I suspect he used to infect my computer. He would backspace while I typed, open and close windows, click random things on the screen, and straight up mess with me for several hours per day every day for MONTHS.
Then eventually the computer crashed and would never start again. It was a $1500 Macbook Pro. My new car also mysteriously got something poured in the fuel tank and after a few weeks and several hundreds of dollars of new parts no mechanic could fix the car. My apartment was broken into repeatedly with subtle signs of forced entry but nothing stolen. Examples: Pry marks on the inside of the front door, side door and back door, personal care items like body wash, underwear or bras stolen or moved, coming home to find personal documents like medical records, tax records, and bank info layed out on my bedroom floor shuffled around. I filed police reports each time it happened but couldn't prove it was him.
My car has also been broken into a few times now with my dashcam broken off the mount, hidden under the passenger seat, stick figures taking a dump drawn on my windshield, and nails in my back tire and spare tire. I believe he put a GPS tracker on the car because I have heard someone outside opening and closing the car door but nothing was stolen. So far no mechanic has been able to find a tracker and I couldn't either.
I had to stop using the wifi at my apartment because every device I use on that network gets hacked (multiple different laptops, 2 kindles, and 3 cell phones). I found a keylogger on my M1 Macbook Pro (~$2000) which he also placed persistent malware on and I can not get rid of despite wiping the hard drive 8 times since this January. He defaced my professional website I was trying to use to get a job twice (first time put a pic of nude child and set his hacker username as my bank account number, added a redirect link which I stupidly clicked on and then it downloaded some sort of spyware or RAT onto my device, 2nd time he put up 2 women doing the deed also nude).
He has had remote access to this computer for an unknown amount of time and I can not afford to replace it. My cell phone also booted up into safe mode the next morning and the background was changed on my work/school email account. I tried taking my computer to a repair shop and they claimed if he does have a RAT on it, it is likely hidden on the recovery partition and they weren't able to find it or get it off my computer. This is a $2000 M1 Mac and he already destroyed my previous Macbook Pro which cost me $1500.
I also had to buy a new cell phone after I kept getting creepy phone calls and phishing texts from unknown numbers. When he put the new keylogger on my computer recently I saw where he made a folder which he named the digits of my new phone number. I had just bought a brand new Samsung Galaxy and he already got the new phone number for it and hacked it. He kept enabled the camera and microphone and while I was eating turned on the camera and started recorded me while I was eating. I factory reset the phone and he was still able to control the camera and mic on it.
I have reported him to the FBI IC3 unit 6 times now in the last year and now he is getting cocky about it and knows he will get away with it so he keeps doing it. He knows I am broke with no money and can't afford a new computer, to move away, or to keep buying a new cell phone every month and he seems to get off on trying to destroy my whole life. I have not spoken to him in 3 years now and we do not talk at all. I sent him a FB message telling him to stop explaining to him I have been going through a lot since my sister died a few years ago and just want to be left alone. He keeps doing it and won't stop.
He also recruited my crush who I never mentioned to him to help him with the hacking (my crush is a system admin) and now my crush won't speak to me at all and hates my guts. I have no idea what he said to my crush or how he got them to come after me but they have been going full on nuclear and won't stop. I caught him staking me out a few days ago at the gas station across from a wifi hotspot I was using where he was just sitting there for an extended period of time watching me. Then when I started drive near him he inched his truck like he was thinking about if he was going to follow me or not. He also knows when I come and go at night and drives by my apartment minutes after I get home at different times.
This guy seems to think I owe him something and has a serious problem. He just keeps doing all this and will not stop. While I am not the type of person to do anything crazy back, the police have done nothing and in terms of the hacking there is not a lot they can do. What can I do to at least expose this guy. I don't think he is ever going to stop until he kills me and this has got to stop.

Here's the true story of my first time. I've kept this to myself for weeks and have to get it out.
Backstory, i'm 40 yr old straight male. I've been curious every since my early 20s. It started when I first got my own place. Shy early 20s kid in really good shape but single a lot of the time. Like anyone with privacy for the first time, i started going online. This the early 00s of internet so long before reddit, social media, grindr and all these other ways to explore. My new thing was going in chat rooms and c2c with people. My intentions were of course to find some sexy housewife to have some random fun with, but more and more it was guys messaging me. I didn't mind, if these guys wanted to enjoy watching me jerk off, it's no bother to me. Then they would want to show me there cam, I would say what the hell and watch it even though it wasn't something i was interested in. Over time, watching guys jerk off really started turning me on.
Over the years i my porn tastes would change from women only, to adding some dicks into the mix. I was still to shy to hook up with a guy but I would try to put myself in the situation. I would go to the gym and after working out, i would hop in the shower thinking something might happen with another guy, i would go in the jacuzzi naked, sit in the sauna, but nothing every happened. So my urge would just linger. Eventually i met a woman and committed, very happy, 15 years went by but this curiosity would always be in the back of my mind. Over time, as our passion waned, i would spend my porn time more and more looking at dicks. It was so hot. I loved looking at older guys with thick cut cocks, dicks in gloryholes, big muscley alpha men. I fantasized about sucking one, that's what i wanted so much. I'd think up dirty scenerios, having a married by dad that would play with, being in jail and having to suck off my cellmate, dirty truckers in a gloryhole. I bought a dildo on a wknd work trip and the feeling of having it in my mouth sent a rush through me. I knew I was finally mentally ready to actually go through with it.
Coming out of the pandemic, i decided to take a break and took a solo vacation to a tropical resort. Along with this being a needed gettaway, the situation would have me in the best opportunity i have every had to fulfill this fantasy. By myself, in this tropical resort full of bi guys on the downlow. Also now Grindr existed. No having to somehow pick up a guy at the resort, if someone was out there that wanted the same as me, they were a swipe away. Once i landed and was in my room, the first thing i did was download the app. I was curious at how many guys would be online. I was happy to see a few were, so I had everything i needed, at 40, the only thing stopping me was me
After a couple days trolling, i finally got up the courage and responded to a couple chats. One guy immediately stood out. He was an older guy, i'd say late 50s/early 60s. White, stocky build, and a nice, but difficult to judge penis in the pics he sent. He told me he wasn't at the resort but had a place just down the beach. It was a rented resort house in a gated community. I knew my nerves and comfort was the number one thing holding me back. So to counter that, i laid out exactly what i wanted to do. I didn't want any chat or smalltalk, didn't even want names. I just wanted to come over, give him a blowjob, and once I was done, be gone. Full anonymity, just wanted to experience a dick. Whenever I thought about my ideal first time, it would have been a gloryhole. Just being able to experience a penis without any connection to who it belongs to was what i wanted. So to get as close to that as possible, i asked him to wear a covid mask. I know it's stupid but it's what I though I needed.
He was on board with everything. He said his wife had left to go back to NYC so he was along for the next couple days. He invited to meet me at the beach by my resort the next morning and we would walk to his place, which was like 15 min away. Having a 15 min chat with this guy was completely against everything i asked for so I said no, and told him i'd get back to him. I was still a little unsure, so as i was enjoying my next day in the sun, i decided to take a walk along the beach, 15 min was more like 30 but i found his place exactly has he described, it eased my nerves more, and I decided I wasn't going to let this opportunity get by me and spend the next 20 years staring at a computer screen thinking "what if".
I went back to my resort and messaged the guy back. Said he was available in like an hour. I told him i'd see him then. IT WAS HAPPENING. I grabbed a water bottle and half filled it with vodka. I needed some liquid courage for this one. I got dressed and started walking. Passing all of the families and couples lying in the sun, none of them knowing I was on my way to my first gay hookup. I make my way to his house, walk up the driveway and knock on the door. This balding stocking white man, with a bit of blonde/grey fur wearing only a towel opens the door. He leads me down a hall to a living room that has a big couch and a big screen tv that's playing porn off his laptop. Classy guy for sure. My heart is beating out of my chest. He tells me to take my clothes off, I do it, even though i'm just giving him a bj but whatever. He takes off his towel and out flops this gorgeous thick cock. I quickly drop to my knees. I am now an inch away from touching a penis for the first time ever. I'm taking it all in, he smells freshly showered (hot), his balls are shaved but he still has a thin trimmed bush (hot!), he's circumcised (sorry but hot!!!). I take it in my hand and immediately put his half hard head in my mouth. I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT!!! I'M SUCKING A COCK!!. I ask him to sit on the couch so i can get more comfortable. I put a cushion on the floor and knees between his legs as he sits back and puts the covid mask on.
I get my first real look at this hard cock, it's big. I don't mean in some insane porn way, but i never tough that all dicks are going to be thick and this was at least 7 inches. It was truly beautiful. Before i had a moment to think, i had it in my mouth. I was stroking it with my lips and tongue, i pushed it as deep as it could go. I was purely focused on his dick nothing else. I looked up once and he was watching the porn, i glanced over and the porn was pretty shitty. Some bad euro looking bisexual stuff i think. But i didn't care, all that was on my mind was sucking his dick. I kept going for what felt like 30 seconds but was probably like 10 minutes. I licked the shaft, sucked the balls, did everything i could. After some time i feel him tense and he makes a grunting sound. I didn't even think about what I would do when he came, that wasn't in my head at all, but suddenly i felt this rush of warmth fill my mouth. OMG, this complete stranger is cumming in my mouth! What the fuck do I do? I'll be straight up, i had to fight the urge to swallow it. Having this man cum from my blowjob sent such a rush through me, my body was immediately wanting to swallow it. But that was a bit much even for me, so after he emptied in my mouth (i made sure I sucked out ever last drop) i spit it into a towel nearby.
I sit bad and see the aftermath of my work. This slowly receding pipe wet and shiny, this dad bod man leaning back panting with a mask on. I stand up and start putting my clothes on. He stands and can just muster out "grrrr that was hot". "Fuck year it was" I reply. I get my shorts and shirt on, we walk to his front door, i throw my shoes on and walk away. Nothing else was said or needed to be said. As I walk along the beach back towards my hotel, that rented house grows smaller and smaller. Every image of what I went through is rushing through my mind. I walk past all the people enjoying their vacation, the locals offering me weed, None of them away that i have some mans cum on my lips. My heart is exploding in my chest, i just want to get back to my room. For what feels like a hour, I finally get back to my hotel room, i rush through the door and say to myself "did you really just do that????". I jump in the shower and use some mouthwash. Laying back in my bed, i have this unbelievable weightless feeling. This desire i've thought about for decades that I never thought I would have the guts to do, has been done. It was everything I could have every wanted it to me. I layed back in bed, pulled my own cock out and slowly made myself cum with the images of the man I took to calling "Mr Silver". THe rest of my day was a bit of a blur, i relaxed by the pool, I got dinner, I smoked some weed. Then that night, I got curious again and went back on Grindr and saw another guy suddenly message me. It took me 20 years to have my first penis, was I going to get a second just hours later?..........

She has always made me feel uncomfortable. since she knew I was pregnant. But I was always kind of conflicted before. her crazy obsession with this baby was and is still really overwhelming to me. And some of her behaviors, like her reluctance to give the baby back to me when she was crying or hungry, definitely made me uncomfortable. However, we did have a good relationship prior to the baby, so I was hesitant to completely throw the MIL away lol.
but this story is the moment that broke me- A little over a month ago, our baby was sick. JNMIL wanted to come over on the weekend. They live an hour and a half away. We said not this weekend, she's sick and would rather limit contacts until she's feeling a little better. She said okay.
The weekend happens, and she shows up at her house. Obviously unannounced. And explicitly not invited. I take the baby and I hide in the bedroom. Partner is currently in the shower. JNMIL walks in the front door, starts roaming around the house, and saying things like "where did she go?" referring to the baby and I who she 99% likely saw looking out the window.
We hid in my locked bedroom until partner was out of the shower. He got them (JNMIL and FIL) outside and told his mother that we said no visitors so she can't see the baby and they have to go home. His dad was shocked, clearly had no idea that we told her that they are not invited. She got really upset with us. They left.
A couple of days after they left, my partner texts JNMIL explaining that what she did was super disrespectful towards us and our position as the parents. She refused to acknowledge this, tried to guilt trip us, and then insisted she was never trying to see the baby in the first place? Crazy. All I wanted from this conversation was an admittance of being wrong on her part.
She has asked to come over every weekend since. And we have said no. But this weekend I feel like we should let her. I do want my baby to have a relationship with this person. I absolutely loved my grandparents. The lawn portion of our yard is around an acre large and we bought this house last year so we only have a push lawnmower. I'm debating going to mow the lawn if we let them come over is that I don't have to see her face.
Needed to rant. I feel like I'm going crazy with all of these strong feelings that I can't seem to let go.

??: You will not win.
Mia is running through a long hallway with a shadow chasing her. She slams her body through a set of double doors, which leads to a giant pit that she falls in.
Mia: AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!
???: You can try to run, but you won't escape me.
Mia keeps falling before landing on soild ground. She hears the voice from all over.
Mia: Who...who are you?
???: I go by many names. You may call me
The person walks out of the shadows, looking exactly like Githinji but with blue eyes and blue fire instead of red.
???: The Corrupt.
He reaches out towards Mia.
The Corrupt: And you're my next target.
Mia jolts awake, breathing heavily and sweating. She immediately jumps out of bed and runs to the bathroom. She splashes her face with water multiple times and looks at herself in the mirror for a few minutes. After she calms down, she showers and dresses herself. When she walks out the bathroom, she pauses to look at Trunks. She hesitates but goes over to him.
Mia: Honey?
Trunks: Hm?
Mia: Do you want to go out somewhere? I need some time to feel better.
Trunks: Of course. Where do you want to go?
Mia: Anywhere works really.
Trunks: Gotcha.
*Mia and Trunks go out to the living room. Rikain and Nina have already left, Lucina holding a note from them that says how they had to get back to their time before their father got worried. The only one who hasn't awoken is Grovyle, but they leave him be and go on their walk.
Lucina: This is nice. We haven't gotten to spend much time together since...you know.
Silver: Yeah I misses hanging out with you guys. I'm glad you're feeling better Mia.
Mia: Thanks.
Trunks: So, what do you guys wanna do here?
Silver: Ice cream!
Silver floats over to the ice cream stand. The other 3 roll their eyes and follow him to the stand. Meanwhile, back at the house, Grovyle is woken up by a crying Rose. He goes to investigate, and finds The Corrupt in the room. He immediately uses Leaf Blade and swings at the Corrupt, who disappears into the shadows.
Grovyle: Who are you? What are you doing here?
The Corrupt: I am the Corrupt, and you seem like a nice appetizer.
The Corrupt comes out of the shadows from behind Grovyle, pulling him back and engulfing him in the shadows. When he releases Grovyle, his personality is completely changed. Like a heartless version of himself.
The Corrupt: Go my child. Kill them.
Corrupted Grovyle: Yes, father.
Back at the mall, Lucina and Trunks are still eating their ice cream. Mia is resting on Trunks's shoulder while Silver is on a sugar rush. Suddenly people start screaming and running in the opposite direction. Seeing this, the Saviors grab their weapons and head towards the danger. They find Corrupted Grovyle wreaking havoc.
Trunks: Grovyle? What are you doing?
Corrupted Grovyle:...
Grovyle suddenly leaps forwards at Trunks, who dodges the attack. Before he can react, Grovyle turns back around and slices Trunks with leaf blade, knocking him back.
Trunks: AAAH!
Mia: Trunks!
Grovyle turns his focus to Lucina and Silver and jumps at them. Silver steps in front of Lucina and tries to use his telekinesis but nothing happens.
Silver: What the?
Grovyle backhands Silver into the shadows and starts to attack Lucina. Right before she is pushed into the shadow, Mia and Trunks attack Grovyle, knocking him off balance. He jumps at them, but they easily dodge. However instead of turning around, he goes to the shadows where he threw Silver. He stands there for a few seconds until Silver walks out. However this Silver is different. This Silver is tinted in a red color, reminiscent of Githinji's hellfire. This Silver is seemingly ready to kill anything and everything in his path, just like Grovyle. They are...corrupted.

Last night I was taking a bath and someone started knocking at my door. I came out and my downstairs neighbor told me their bathroom ceiling was leaking. They said it wasn't much water and it hasn't happened before. I went back and checked around the outside of the tub and water heater for moisture or leaks but didn't find anything so I'm guessing it's a pipe.
I submitted a maintenance request thinking they'd respond in the morning but no one did. I tried calling the office phone and no one answered. There's no after hours or emergency line for me to call. Now they're closed and it's the weekend.
So like... what do I do? I kind of need to use the shower at some point. I guess I could clean up in the sink for now. I've been on the other side of this situation several times (with other landlords) and the leaks were never even addressed so I'm not feeling super optimistic. If they don't do anything about it, am I liable for the damage to my neighbor's apartment if I continue using my shower?