Mobile mechanics near me

OK hi so today was ight. I stayed up all night listening to random music and then fell asleep around 8am, i woke up around 1pm and went to my cousins room to play this one rpg together on roblox. My mom came to pick me up and then we drove back, got jack In the box, and now I'm Bing chilling listening to my near 30 hour playlist

Platform(s): PC Windows
Genre: First Person, Single Player, Indie, Psychological horror, Atmospheric
Estimated year of release: I played it around the pandemic, so maybe 2020
Graphics/art style: Dark ambient, night time, simple but kinda realistic, would say close to Inside the Backrooms but in a home environment. Maybe similar to the movie Monster House too. Sorry, this is the hardest topic for me to remember precisely.
Notable characters: You play as a child. I don't remember you being able to see yourself. There is also the intruder. You could see him at the door. He was a very average men, like the gmod npcs, but darker and I think he had brown jacket. Could be wrong though.
Notable gameplay mechanics: The game simulate a police case about a intruder. You play as the child and has to do little things like make lasagna, eat, watch tv and walk around. During those things, events will happen. The door bell will ring, a man will go upstairs when you eat the lasagna watching tv, and on your way back to your room you can choose to stay under you bed and wait for the police or go to your parents room and get jumpscared and die? Either way the game will end.
Playtime: Around 30 min - 1 hour.
Other details: Warning: I will spoil everything I remember about the playthrough of the game here. The house was a 2-story house, the first floor being where you had the kitchen and the dining room, and the 2nd floor where you had the parents room and your room, each one on each side.
The playthrough goes like: You are in your room, its night time, I don't remember exactly what you have to do, but after that the door bell rings, you can go downstairs and see a man standing in front of the door, you then ignores that and go make some lasagna, then you have to eat the lasagna while watching tv, during that scene you can see a man going upstairs (you can only see his foot), and then when you finish the lasagna you have to go to your room. When you go back to your room, you hear a window breaking, then you have the choice to hide under your bed and wait for the police or go outside your room to see your parents' door open and a shadow of the man cast on the wall by their bedroom light. If you try to go downstairs, you will get jumpscared by an entity and the game will end. If you stay hidden in your bedroom you will hear police sirens after a while and the game will also end.
i think the game is a part of a series of games about police cases.

My BF assaulted me while he was drunk. (I said no. He didn’t stop. I said NO. He said something along the lines of, “well I guess we can stop if you really want” and I went into a frozen state but continued saying no and cut my leg trying to squirm away).
He claims he must’ve been blackout drunk and doesn’t remember any of it.
He’s apologized but claims he’s broken to pieces about it but honestly doesn’t seem nearly as broken as I am.
Anyone else’s abuser claim amnesia?

HERE are some pictures and videos taken by me or others over the course of the last year and a half. THIS is me this week yat my current size (273 pounds) ahead of seeing my family this weekend.
My local university was conducting a medical study on the affects of different diets on weight gain. I signed up and was chosen and the potential money to be made was very appealing. The first two months of the study involved simply eating at a calorie surplus on a premade diet to see how it affected my body’s weight gain. After taking measurements after these initial two months, if my body’s measurements represented any kind of high percentile outlier, I would be selected to potentially continue for the entire 1.5 year study focused on a particular area of the body. Of all of the participants, my abdominal girth was at the highest percentile ratio of girth compared to weight/height, so they selected me to participate focusing on abdominal weight gain and to see how severe it could be.
They paid me about $3,000 a month and had all of my food paid for as I followed a specific premade diet plan that changed every 2 or 3 months to study the affects these specific diets had. Some were dairy heavy, carb heavy, specific types of meats only, mixing in alcohol consumption, specific supplements, etc. I’m incredibly busy in my life with work right now and having a free premade meal plan plus so much extra cash was too good to pass up. So I decided to continue for the entire 1.5 year study.
Fast forward to now, having finished the entire trial, I am starting to have some serious regrets. I’ve put on nearly 115 pounds since last January and I never expected the results to have me looking like this. Honestly, I think even the researchers themselves were really shocked by my result. My ratio of abdominal girth to height/weight is at the highest percentile of the study, their entire student body, and anyone who has participated in the study before. I gained most all of the weight in my torso, which they are severely attributing to genetics and simply the effectiveness of the tailored diets they had me following.
I obviously look ridiculous now. I haven’t even been able to keep up with buying a new professional wardrobe for work (as you can tell my the pictures and videos linked). I was gaining an average of 7 pounds a month, some months being just 3 pounds and some being an entire 15 pounds in a month. So many things are difficult… I break a sweat going up one flight of stairs, I can hardly put my shoes or socks on, fitting into restaurant booths is nearly impossible, getting in and out of my car or off the couch takes preparation. People stare at me in stores or on the street. I had a homeless guy ask me “Jesus Christ, what the fuck? Are you pregnant, dude?” once. My coworkers are polite but make comments here and there.
I haven’t seen my family since early in the study when the weight gain wasn’t very noticeable. I’m seeing them in this weekend for a reunion, and I cannot even imagine what they are going to say. I didn’t tell them I took part in this because I knew they wouldn’t approve, but now I wish I had because how am I going to prepare them or explain to them why I look like this now and how it happened so fast. I’m worried to fit on the plane on the way there and having to travel. I’m so nervous to see them. And honestly would like any genuine opinions of whether or not I’m blowing this out of proportion or if they are genuinely going to be shocked. Maybe I can hide it better if I find the right clothing. What do you recommend I do? Tell them ahead of time? Be honest with how it happened? Just pretend everything is ok? Will they bring it up? Can I hide it somehow?
TLDR: I’ve gained a ton of weight doing a medical study at a local university and my family has no idea I’ve participated nor that I look like this now. I’m seeing them this weekend and also going to a family reunion. How do you recommend I can best handle with the shock of looking like I do now? Should I tell them ahead of time and be honest, even if I think they will judge me for having taken part?

My manager has been playing games with my schedule for months and definitely not been giving me the same oppurtunities for hours(giving associates ahead of me days to pick their schedule, and then breaking out the “well union says you get two hours” rule on my day off after they pick) that other associates have been getting and the other day i saw an email from the store management reminding her that “again you cant write him up for anything you wouldnt write anyone else for but i think hes given you enough reason to”
Even though as a clicklist associate my entire job is numbers based and my numbers are better than nearly everyone else i work with, im still frequently the target of conversations and chats and coachings that other associates never seem to recieve. And when i try to ask anything about this its always “we cant talk about other associates.”
Who can i contact to see if an even hand is being applied to the whole department

i think there’s a part of me that’s very uncertain about him, especially being nevermets. we’ve known each other for 11 months now and we just celebrated three months together, we met online on a sexting site and we’re nearly 9000 miles apart. if i had any doubts about him he would do his utmost best to convince me that he’s trustworthy, and it works, but the fog lifts again weeks later and we’re back to the same issue. he’s not the most good looking guy in the universe, i will admit that. sometimes little things he does turns me off from conversations, like how his responses aren’t as intellectual as mine. sometimes i don’t think we match at all just because of one little thing we can’t agree on, sometimes i think we have a compatibility issue because of some differences like certain things we believe in for example i do believe acab whereas he does not, and sometimes all i can muster are dry responses because the overthinking cuts me so deep and it overwhelms me. our values aren’t too far apart, we can agree on many things, but there are still minuscule differences that may shake some rocks right now but could turn into a landslide later on. i know that nobody is perfect, but it makes me feel extra terrible because in his eyes, according to him, everything about me is perfect, he accepts my flaws as they are, but for some reason i just can’t get past his. he’s forgetful, he misses message notifications, he’s unorganized, he has a spine injury that prevents from literally doing anything, he could improve more on the looks side. why can’t i move past those when he’s ready to move past my big share of flaws? i want to love him so bad, and i want to give him everything i have, but sometimes it’s hard to give because of all the overthinking that consumes my head. i know damn well that he’s not just built on flaws, he has a kind heart, he cares so much more than i want him to, he could be a professional gamer if he tried hard enough, some days all he can do is breathe, and i’m so so proud of him for that. i’m grateful for his existence and he’s the best boyfriend i’ve ever had because for once somebody is treating me right. but out of all my exes, i’ve never second guessed him the way i do, i’ve never had trust issues this terrible. he’s not even my first nevermets relationship. so why the fuck do i feel all of this? every time this happens, i hurt him, and i want to fold into myself forever because of what i feel. he doesn’t deserve it. i don’t want to break up with him, i want to find a way that will conquer all of the negative things i feel about him. do i feel this way because we’re really not compatible? have my relationships in the past been so bad that i will do anything to self-sabotage because i’m scared of how this will end? do i even really love him? am i just a terrible overthinker? i want to be a better girlfriend for him so bad. what do i do? we’re on a break right now to let ourselves breathe. by the end of the week i need to figure out if this is something to pursue or not. our relationship has done nothing but make me happy, had there been any problems it’s almost always because of my overthinking. i don’t know what to do anymore. i need help

As the title says, it feels like the mechanics (Ahsa's Gifts, modifiers at different depths, optional challenges) lend themselves incredibly well to being part of a rogue-like experience.
With a little more added and expanded, something like this I feel would be a really interesting addition to Destiny.
Something I've felt for a long time that's been missing from this game is an "endless" survival type mode, or at least one that incrementally increases difficulty and rewards the further you go through it, so this makes me hopeful going forward that Bungie will learn into these kind of mechanics a little more.
What does everyone think of something like this? Would a Roguelite experience add or detract from the overall experience?

I
The day turns holy as though a god moved through it,
Wanderingly, unknowing and unknown,
Led by the sky as a child is led by its mother.
But the sky of an island is a wandering sky.
It seems bewildered sometimes, it seems bewildered as we are since the loss of our island.
Oh yes, yes, we’ve lost our island.
​
Time took it from us,
Snatched it out of our hands as a fresh runner snatches out of a spent runner’s hand the bit of white cloth to continue
​
Still
We live on the island, but more as visitors,
Than as residents, now.
​
Still we remember
Things our island has sought us: how to let the sky go
(As a bit of white cloth to continue)
And other things of a smaller, more intimate nature.
Our island has been a school in which we were backward pupils but, finally, learning a little such as:
Lies die, but truth doesn’t live except in the truth of our island which is a truth that wanders, led by the sky
As a child is led by its mother, and the sky wanders, too.
​
II
I dreamed one night without sleeping that when I returned,
That night to a northerner island,
You put on the clothes of a god which was your naked body and moved from window to window in a room made of windows, drawing, closing the curtains, your back turned to me, showing no sign that you knew that you were building an island: then came to rest, fleshed in a god’s perfection beside me.
​
Even then,
I knew that to build an island is not to hold it always, but longing was so much stronger, yes, even stronger than the dread of not holding, always.
Perhaps it would have been better if I had touched only your hand,
Or only leaned over your head and clasped it all the night through.
But longing was so much stronger….
​
​
III
Our travels ranged wide of our island but nowhere nearly so far as out silence now enters the bare and mountainous country of what cannot be spoken.
​
When we speak to each other
We speak of things that mean nothing of what we meant to each other.
​
Small things
Gather about us as if to shield our vision from a wide landscape untouched by the sun and yet blindingly lighted.
​
We say small things to each other carefully, politely, such as:
Here’s the newspaper, which part of it do you want?
Oh, I don’t care, any part but the funnies or ads….
​
But under the silence of what we say to each other, is the much more articulate silence of what we don’t say to each other,
​
A storm of things unspoken,
Soiled, reserved, appointed,
Ticking away like a clock attached to a time-bomb:
crash, fire, demolition
​
Wound up in the quietly,
Almost tenderly,
Small, familiar things spoken.

By now, you've all heard the news that beginning next month, Reddit will begin charging for usage of their API. For a brief summary of why most redditors agree this is a terrible decision, see the pinned post on OOTL, as well as u/iamthatis's communication with the Reddit administration on ApolloApp. I'm not of the opinion that Reddit is not justified in charging money for a service they formerly provided for free. Rather, I'm stunned that they see it as appropriate to charge such an exorbitant amount. The intention here is clear: they don't want to make money from third-party apps and services; they want to get rid of them.
With all that said, I've decided to leave the Reddit platform. I don't know where I'll go instead, but maybe this is a wake-up call to take a small step back from social media. I don't post much here on Reddit, but I spend at least a couple hours a day browsing it, time that I bet could be used better elsewhere.
I'd rather not leave this subreddit abandoned, however. Over nearly a decade, we've built up a pretty decent community here. This has become a nice little place for customers and employees of Harris Teeter alike to share their thoughts and experiences. Hell, we're even in the top 20% of all subreddits by size now. I would like to hand the subreddit over to someone who can maintain it in my absence. I'll admit, the job doesn't entail much. Most days I just check for spam and upvote every new post. We very rarely even get any reports.
That being said, if you're interested in taking over, message me privately or through modmail. I expect to make a decision before the end of this month.

Hello again, I'm in an inpatient treatment program right now which is going quite well, it's hard but I am recovering and I am fighting to get better. My problem is that recently an new patient got admitted and she makes it so hard to gain weight.
She post a lot of pictures on Instagram of her very very sick body, and she very happy with how thin she is. She will make comments when the other patients and me eats after the plan, and boost about how she cheats with her meals and exercises in secret. All of this has been so hard and made eating almost impossible for me, but today she commented on my weight and asked why I was still in treatment, as she found me to fat to be in the program anymore. I am still a long way from nearing a normal weight, and I know if I leave the program I would stop eating again as I do not yet have the strength to manage my recovery alone. How do I stay positive and deal with this kind of person? Any advice?

Over the past three years, because of covid and everything that’s been going on, I became extremely depressed and suicidal and considered ending it multiple times. Around two or one year ago at this time, I was at my lowest point. My relationships were all strained, my grades were low, everything was going wrong.
Over the past year, however, it was like a miracle happened. Slowly I became happier. I made many new friends, started getting near perfect grades, mostly got rid of my social anxiety and felt happy for the first time in forever. But I find that despite all this, I’ve grown even more impatient and tense than I ever was. I find that the smallest things throw me off and ruin my day. Despite the new people and connections in my life, I feel lonelier than ever. I feel so tired and everyday. And I feel like I’ve lost all my passions and motivation. I find myself considering suicide every day.
I really don’t know why I feel this way. Maybe I’ve gotten used to being happy and can’t handle anything else. The only thing keeping me going is the possibility of getting rid of my depression, but how can that happen if nothing satisfies me?

We took my dog to a new vet today for an ear infection. There was nothing wrong with our old vet, we just wanted a second opinion, because he's had this reoccurring issue and the medication only works for so long. He's a three year old German Shepherd mix, he's a big boy with a deep bark- but you can clearly hear the difference in his playful bark and one that's threatening. He's never had a history of biting people- any injuries my partner or I have gotten have been accidental (rough housing and playing around. Not him snarling up and attacking us.)
When we first walk him in, its a new place and a VERY small room. He barks at the nurse (vet-tech?) but calms down very quickly. It was just in greeting. She had no problems with it, and once we let him get used to her he was fine walking around and sniffing while we spoke with her about his history. Before anything was even looked at she tried to sell us heartworm and flea prevention- for almost $200. This should have been our red flag to leave, looking back.
I tell her that he's a really protective dog (and now that I'm pregnant he really doesn't let people near me) so, we wouldn't mind stepping out of the room if he got too anxious. She said it was fine, they would do all the examinations in a back room any way. This should have been red flag number 2, but the other vets have taken him to the back for lab work and things before, so we didn't think too much of it. We handed over the leash and he trotted off happy to explore what was behind the closed door.
We could hear voices and everything in the back, so we know he didn't even bark while he was back there. But, the actual vet came back not even five minutes later with two assistants. The dog ran right to us, tongue lolled out and tail wagging. There was no issue until all three of them crowded up around him in the corner and he started trying to back away. The vet asked us if we could "manage" pulling his ears back because she couldn't get a look in the back. I told her that he's never had an issue before, he just doesn't like flashlights or anything near them they freak him out. And she rolled her eyes and said she didn't come at him with a flashlight. (Okay?) So, we did as asked, and with her on the other side of the room, she just goes "yeah, they're red." No shit sherlock I could have told you that? But as were holding him, one of the trainees comes up, eye level forcing a lick mat in his face (without consent from us by the way). He barked, of course. Hes being restrained, crowded and prodded at. It wasn't even a growl. It was just a bark. The vet starts freaking out at the trainee "Don't make eye contact! Just back out of the room slowly! Someone is going to get hurt!" Meanwhile he's calmed down, leaning into my partner's petting.
She then says my partner has to take him out. And my complacent partner does as told. Now she turns to me. She asks me more about his ears and I tell her the issues, and how the ear drops we currently have seem to irritate him. I tell her that he does better with pills and thicker liquids, like the steroid given the last time he had a severe issue. She rolls her eyes and says that there's nothing other than this ONE ear drop that will treat the issue. Then moves on from my concerns without anything more about it. She's too focused on telling me that he's a dangerous dog with mental issues. That one day he's just going to start lunging at us unprovoked or we'll never be able to take him out because he'd just attack random people. (Meanwhile this entire time he'd never snarled, never growled, his hackles never even raised. He was just nervous and we explained that several times. The other vet had no problem getting him calm for an ear exam. He's fixed. He's had shots and all his vaccines. He grew up with children and we have a revolving door of friends he knows and trust that he's excited to see. He stayed in doggy daycare for a weekend. He's part husky. He screams sometimes?)
With my temper raising I decide to stay quiet other than my eye rolls and bitch face. She never even touched my dog. She never even got near him. How would she know his temperament?
So I left with a $180 bill, the same exact medications, and a prescription for TWO anxiety medications to sedate my dog daily with? Am I wrong? Is my dog considered a danger here or is this vet the danger?

Finances are complicated, it used to be easy, but as I've gotten older, and well my finances have improved. I feel I'm not putting my money to work, I know the options in front of me, but I'm struggling to pull the trigger on one method or another.
So I want to get some professional assistance. I won't go into anything too detailed, but for context. I have good amount of savings in a 4.6% p.a savings account. I have 10% of that value sitting in stocks. I work full time, and also make a good side income, nearly equal to my full time employment. (It should grow considerably this year). I'm married, with one dependant. Currently renting and am mid thirties.
So who do I want? An accountant, a wealth manager, a financial advisor, hell do I get a mentor?
I'm struggling with direction. And just want to make sure I don't mess it all up as it complicates itself.
Thank you in advance, mods I hope I followed all the rules. Lots there to read lol 😂

Rick had expected that taking an entire tribe to Sinco would be slow. Who wouldn’t? It was a whole tiny village after all, one nearing a handful hundred.
But the Orcs, and by extension all the other maidens, had more than one surprise in store.
When the tribe had set off, they’d done so with a grand demolition. The moment everything of value had been picked up and packaged, the village was then torn to shreds by anyone willing to take part in the little destruction-derby.
Following this, the tribe would split up into hut-family units.
Every “family” would be made of one human and multiple maidens. The maiden with the highest standing within the family unit (almost always an Orc) would be in charge of carrying and protecting the human on their back. And the rest would handle the luggage and supplies that “family” unit would take with them.
And from there, they would break into a jogging pace that, to a human, would have been a dead sprint.
Rick had the distinct “honor” of being carried by Urtha since Monica’s job as the chief meant it was her job to be at the tip of the metaphorical spear. Meanwhile, Rick was left seated on a sort-of-backpack the tall Orc carried.
Kiara flew overhead with the handful of other flying maidens that’d been woken up from the boxes. Leaving Eva and Dia to carry their belongings. It left an unpleasant aftertaste in Rick’s gut.
The smirk Dia kept shooting his way as he petulantly crossed his arms and resigned himself to being glorified luggage. “I could at least be playing the drums to mark the pace or something. It’s not like we’re being subtle or quiet.”
“Humans have no place drawing attention where danger lurks,” Urtha said, the only one present that wasn’t even winded. “Less so the Father.”
“Some feral might think you are a cheesy snack.” Dia, huffing as she pushed herself, still giggled.
“The tribe is tense enough already.” The Orc shook her head. “We rarely bring this many weaklings with us.”
“One of many changes to come.” Rick held the sigh, mostly because he was holding on to the chair to keep from falling over. He didn’t want to think about it, but once they reached Sinco, things would get complicated.
They were effectively marching out, seeking to conquer a city. Whether it be through actual warfare or maneuvering, they weren’t sure just yet. They just knew that they were prepared for the former if the latter didn’t work out. The reports had come in: Sinco was not in a good place. The constant presence of highly aggressive ferals had been chipping away at their defenses.
The only hope the city held was that they would receive reinforcements from Aubria.
Rick would get there faster.
It was in these thoughts that he pondered throughout the day. The tribe traveled and rested too often to the Orc’s liking. There was much friction to be had, and the humans were guarded like the treasures the tribe considered them to be.
When night came, a singular large hut was made for the humans, and the maidens would sleep in rotations. There would be small songs and minor stories that were shared, small moments of comfort. But they were all held under the looming watchfulness of the tribe.
Because they were at their most vulnerable. One missed feral deciding to make a stand could mean a human getting hurt. Rick had to begrudgingly respect them for that. As much as he loathed being treated like some kind of porcelain doll, there was no room to question that the maidens were going the extra mile for everyone’s safety and survival.
Though they would sometimes go a bit overboard against the maidens that “slowed down the tribe”. His role mediating such disputes had become his main role throughout the following days.
One morning, as they were preparing to set out, he heard it.
It started with a scream, then a yelp, and then a rush.
By the time Rick realized what was going on, Monica was upon him. Drenched from head to toe and stinking of salt and seaweed. The massive maiden was looking at him with a smile that threatened to split her head in two.
“Rick!” She hovered over him, dripping water all over. “Come! Come!”
“Is everything alright?” He asked from the discomfort of the portable chair he was currently occupying.
“COME!” she insisted, hopping on her feet and skittishly looking back, aiming her ear in the direction she’d come from. “Quick!”
“The tribe is not heading that way.” Urtha pointed out.
Rick considered it for a second. “Are there any problems shifting course to travel nearer to the sea?”
“It is a bad idea. For many reasons.”
Her words brought nods from Eva and Dia, to which Rick could only respond with a shrug. “Ok, then we could call for a break for the day, give everyone a chance to properly unwind, and I’ll go with Monica.” He pointed over at the feline that was bouncing on her heels, just barely holding back from reaching out and yanking him into her wet embrace. “Seems like the chief is very excited about something.”
“I bet its food,” Eva said.
“Urtha?” Rick waited.
The Orc glanced over at the crowd. “We will set camp for the day. We cannot afford to lose any of the weaklings.”
That was as good as he could’ve hoped. Rick nodded and was immediately snatched by Monica’s fuzzy paw. The maiden picked him up, putting him over her shoulder and trotting through the shrubbery and trees with little regard for who might be following.
Rick got himself a face full of leaves, flinching and batting them away. “Hey, wait, the branches-”
The Sabretooth yanked him into her arms and broke into a full sprint. Dirt and rocks burst forth from where she stood as air whipped about them. Her fang-filled smile only grew. Monica’s eyes were only focused forward. Rick, meanwhile, was trying to avoid swallowing bugs. The insects that kept flying about appeared to prefer smacking against his face.
There was a moment of clarity, light, and blue.
And with a splash, he was underwater.
Rick made the mistake of gasping, swallowing sea-water, wildly flinging his arms to get himself to the surface. Monica yanked him out of the water, leaving him feeling like a half-drowned cat as he coughed and spat.
“LOOK!” she proclaimed, dropping him on the sandy beach as she hurried towards the crashing waves, kicking at them and sending sprays of foam high into the air. “Rick! BIG!” She waved wildly, rushing her way into the water, then back out.
“That’s the sea.”
“Monica see!” With wide arms, she tried to point at all of it at once.
“No, it’s a new word. Sounds similar.” He combed his hair out of his face with his hands, removing his shirt. “Sea. S-E-A. Big, wet, and salty.”
“BIG WET!” Monica was cheering and splashing, kicking her way up and down the shore, jumping into the waves and coming out a dozen meters away and then making her way back to the shore.
“It’s the sea.” He couldn’t help but smile, watching as she slapped the water with her huge paws, creating a billowing tower of water and foam to rise at least a dozen meters into the air.
He put the low-end terrifying notion of how much force was packed into that strike and kept an easy-going smile.
“It’s the ocean.” The voice called from above, Kiara leisurely drifting down and sitting next to him. “Too far away from anything or anyone. Few ships go through here.”
“So chock-full of dangerous ferals?”
“Just like everywhere else.” Her eyes weren’t on Monica. The Succubus’ gaze appeared more focused on trailing the waves as they crashed into the shore. “Likely they’ve been scared off, though. The rush must have eaten everything available near the shore.”
Rick looked at the waves, then at her. “How can you tell?”
“There’s nothing in the waves.” She pointed. “Usually there’s at least the odd Sprite.”
“Maybe Monica scared them off.”
“Doubtful.” Kiara shook her head, turning to eye him with a slight smirk. “You’re drenched. Maybe you’d want to take your clothes off?” Her gaze trailed over him in a distinctly predatory way.
“You’re hungry, huh?”
She leaned closer, hand reaching over to caress his shoulder. “Maybe a little more than that…” Gold eyes locked to his, her hand gently pushing his back into the sand, the Succubus moving in closer so that she could pin him down.
Rick grinned. “Careful with the splash.”
The momentary confusion turned to shock and horror as she was yanked away and flung into the sea. Monica stared with ample amount of self-satisfaction as the Succubus swore and sank into the waves. “No horny time.” The feline declared, looking at Rick with a dangerous glint in her eyes.
“I understand.” He raised his hands, playing the role of innocent bystander.
“Play time.”
His eyes widened with concern. Uh oh.
She reached down, pulling him up by the shirt. “Rick train swim.”
“I know how to swim.” He quickly proclaimed, grabbing hold of her claws as her arm tensed. “BUT!”
Monica hesitated, looking at the water, then at him with narrowed eyes. “But?”
“Don’t throw me like you did Kiara or I will break,” he said, quickly relaxing a little as he pointed up into the air. “Throw me a little up. Gently, into the water.”
She eyed him for a moment, and with a flick of her tail, caught a stone. “Like this?” She grasped the rock and gently tossed it into a high arch that fell into the sea with a little plop.
“Yeah, just like-AAAAAHHHH!!!”
He was flying, body spinning in the air as gravity quickly lay claim. Rick did the only thing he could think of, curling into a ball, drawing breath, and plunge. He was underwater in the next instant, bubbles and light, with the sandy bottom still within sight.
It was down there that he spotted Kiara looking up at him with a smirk, a bubble wrapping her head. The conspicuously naked Succubus used her wings to swim up at him, catching him in her grasp and pulling him down.
Rick clutched his mouth, trying to keep his breath.
Kiara’s amusement was apparent as she held him by the shirt, looking at him with a mischievous twinkle. The iron grip remained, and he could see what her plan was, so he leaned into her, breaking the surface of the bubble with his face.
The breath was cut short with the kiss.
Then she shoved him away, waving off and winking as she swam further away from the shore. The speed she was moving with clearly was one not meant for him to follow, so Rick didn’t, going up to the surface.
Monica was waiting for him, excitedly grinning from ear to ear.
“Again!” he declared the moment he stepped on the sand. “But this time not from the shirt or it might rip.”
By the time others were reaching the beach, the duo had figured out a way to make the launch procedure safer… ish. Mostly in that the victim of choice would stand on Monica’s palm and curl into a cannonball, so that she could then throw.
And the maiden had quite the throwing arm.
The couple of Goblins that showed up excitedly joined in. Then came the Orcs, Mousegirls, and Doggirls, and by the time Urtha had shown her face, the various tribe members had a line of eager volunteers to be thrown into the sea. While the Orcs were competing with one another to see who could get their cargo the furthest from the shore.
Dia caught sight of the glare before Rick could even speak up. “I’ve set up a rotation of guards with the ones keeping watch over the tribe,” the healer proclaimed. “And the water maidens are working as lookouts.”
“Do you think that would placate me?”
“Do you want to play in the launch games?” Rick asked, giving Dia a warning look. “I bet you’d give Monica a run for her money.”
“She is stronger.” Urtha spoke after just a moment of observation, shaking her head. “I would need to wait for her to tire.”
He looked at the Orc as she remained near them, but didn’t sit. He could almost taste the tension within her, that knot of uncertainty. “Would you like to build a sand castle, then?”
“A castle of sand?”
“Exactly that.” Rick sat up. “Just wet sand and more sand, and make a castle with it.”
Urtha’s thick brows furrowed. “That… sounds childish.”
He shrugged. “Sand is fragile and crumbles easily if mishandled. Consider it a test of skill.” A sly smile followed. “Or are you scared a little human will be better at it than you?”
With a scoff, she stomped her foot once. “Show me.”
“I’ll join in!” Dia said. “It’s been a while since I’ve played mud-walls.”
“The what now?”
“It’s a game we healers played when little helped give us finer control over our power.” She crouched down, grabbing a handful of wet sand and proceeding to carefully lay it down in the shape of a very thin tube. A tube no thicker than a straw, and tall enough to reach her knee. “The trick is in pushing the water away at the right time.”
Rick and Urtha shared a worried glance.
Two hours later, things had escalated… a little.
It turned out that the Orc’s ability to make wood nearly as tough as steel could be applied to sand to just enough of a degree that Urtha had made a box tower about two meters on the side and five tall. Rick, working with a knife, carved out details on the tower.
Mostly windows and bricks.
Dia, on the other hand, had built a miniature replica of the fortified city of Balet. Devoid of any details, the city was a configuration of boxes roughly knee height.
It was when some maidens that had tired of the Monica-Launcher™ had gathered to watch that things escalated. With Mousegirls quickly getting recruited by Dia so that they could turn the sand boxes into detailed houses, and Urtha recruiting other Orcs so that they could put together a second tower.
Somewhere along the way, Sheel had shown up to set up an impromptu grill service.
Rick got his fill as he watched the competition unfold, recovering his energy and feeling exhausted in a good way. He caught sight of Kiara emerging from the sea, sans clothes. The Succubus took one look at the gathering, and eventually locked on to him.
The alluring blue-haired Succubus shifted her walk, tucking away tiredness and presenting only assuredness and grace. Her ample hips swayed with a mesmerizing rhythm, tail punctuating every step with a flick. The maiden made a show of pushing her sky-blue hair over her shoulder, presenting her bare chest for him to drink in.
There was a twinkle of enjoyment in her golden eyes when his gaze locked on to her body. A sly smile played on her lips, seductive and coy.
As she reached him, the succubus knelt down and whispered in his ear, her voice soft and alluring. “Is this spot taken?”
Rick felt his throat dry, and he coughed a little. “Sure.”
Kiara grinned wider, taking his lap, tail reaching under his shirt to caress his chest. “It is very comfortable.” She punctuated her words by grinding against herself against his crotch a little. “You seem thrilled to see me.”
He wrapped his hands around her midriff, pulling her against his chest, ignoring the slight discomfort of her wings. “Be warned that Monica is looking our way,” he whispered. “Engage and you will get launched. She’s gotten great at it.”
The tail twitched. “Noted.” Her tone was begrudging. “I meant to ask, are you familiar with… this? The sea? The ocean? The depths?”
“I’ve been on my fair share of boats, and went diving in a reef once.” He admitted freely. “And I’ve flown over the clouds in one of the most boring technological marvel my world built.” A little chuckle followed. “But I think you were meaning to lead this somewhere else?”
Kiara shifted, staring over her shoulder for a moment. “I’d like to hear more about your world sometime.” Her voice held an edge of hesitation to it, and Rick had the distinct impression she was trying to hold something back. “But yes, I was meaning to lead the conversation to this.”
The tone was gone; the look was gone, replaced by smug satisfaction as she held up a blue gemstone. The object was the size of a pearl and a deep, glimmering blue.
“An impure elemental stone.” The Succubus declared. “Take it.”
Rick obliged, lifting it to get a better look. Light wavered and refracted within the sphere, adding a shimmer that made it look as if there was a tiny sea contained within. Twisting and shifting the stone did not make the illusion of change, making the little sphere appear like a looking-glass of some sort.
The refracted light swayed and shifted against his palm like an aurora.
“It’s… this is really impressive.” He declared after a moment, glancing back at her.
“I stumbled onto this while looking for something else. It has some minor value, but is mostly useless since it has a very low purity.” She shrugged her lithe shoulders, trailing his jaw with her sharp nail. “Consider it compensation.”
He frowned a little. “Compensation for what?”
She shrugged, beating her wings once and hopping on to her feet. “I will go get myself a change of clothes and a snack.” She turned to leave. “You’re more than welcome to join.”
Rick could only chuckle. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m exhausted right now.”
“Have it your way.” The maiden vanished into the thicket, sauntering off to the tribe. “If you’ve got nothing better to do, pay some attention to the little leech. Wouldn’t want her to feel neglected, now would we?”
Where had that come from? Rick watched her go, taking a moment to stand up and check that the little get-together was going nowhere. From there, he turned his focus inwards and sought the bond to Eva. It was tougher than he’d expected, especially with the noise from all the other bonds trying to drown out everything.
He found her sitting on a rock, at the very edge of the sandy shore, staring off at the setting sun. The maiden had her knees tucked against her chest, body covered under her black cape, only her red eyes and pale face exposed to the sunlight.
She noticed his approach, but didn’t react.
Rick took a spot next to her, not quite within arm’s reach. “You’ve avoided talking with me. Anything I should worry about?” His question caused the intended result. Eva looked at him with wide eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. I know you don’t like small-talk, and this is just about the most important subject I could think of.”
The Fledgling turned away. “True.” She acknowledged. “I cannot answer your question, sir.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Can’t.” She hugged her knees, turning away and towards the horizon.
Was she hesitating to take a stance, or was she unsure of what stance to take to begin with? Rick nodded a little. “If it’s any consolation, it’s weird for me, too.” He lay back on the stone, looking at the orange clouds above. “Especially with how stiff you’re acting.”
“The Wildling-King calls me his property, and then complains he is treated with the due formalities?” Eva glared.
“Point taken.” Rick sighed. “I just expected that you’d learn from the others.”
“I cannot compare myself to the monster that is Monica or Kiara, nor consider myself to hold a fraction of the trust you give Dia,” she summarized. “I am a Fledgling. Anywhere within the kingdom, a slip of the tongue, a mistake, or a perceived fault would earn me severe punishment.” The maiden glowered, then sighed. “I myself have given such for less.”
“So you don’t know what to expect from me, but will avoid talking with me about those expectations.”
The glare intensified. “I would trust you of all would understand the matter is not that simple.”
“You’re not calling me sir.” He replied with an arched brow, watching her flinch. “I don’t want to insult your intelligence, but it seems like you’re intentionally running on a groundless hypothesis. So my question would be, why have you kept at it?”
She deflated with a sigh. “I don’t know.”
Rick reached out, ruffling her hair. “Well, while you think about it, how about spending some actual time together with the others? Brooding didn’t get you the answer you were looking for, so how about trying to change the pace a little?”
The glare intensified. “I was not brooding. What do you take me for? I am older than you! I was the head of a noble house of great prestige!” She shot to her feet, glaring, lips curling into a snarl.
Rick stepped closer, directly into her personal space. “Evangeline.” He declared, his tone holding only the barest edge to it.
The Fledgling flinched, looking away, hands hiding under her cape. “You are right.” She spoke, deflating. “I… am Evangeline now.”
She moved to kneel, to lower herself, but his hand on her chin held her in place. He raised her gaze so that they would meet eyes. “The only line you stepped over was baring your fangs at me. Nothing else.”
He wanted to step away, to turn around and go to the beach with the others. But something else held him in place as he looked down to those ruby red eyes, the way she trembled against his palm, how she inhaled deeply and her eyelids fluttered. The maiden leaned into his touch, taking a hesitant step closer.
“Th-this…” Eva stammered, swallowing.
Rick leaned closer. “This is your chance to step away.”
She didn’t.
The Fledgling followed the gentle tug of his palm, raising herself to her tiptoes, leaning into the kiss. She froze, opening her mouth a little and scratching his lips with her fangs in hunger. They pierced, only enough to draw a drop of blood, only enough to make him flinch.
Eva recoiled, eyes wild, face beet read. “I, no, I-… This isn’t…”
The maiden vanished into the shadows before he could say anything. He could sense her quickly making an escape through the darkness. The human was left mostly amused at the reaction, chuckling as he took the long way back to the others.
He could understand why Kiara found entertainment out of teasing the Fledgling. Idly, he wondered if they could exchange some notes.
​
----
​

Hello, I'm back, kinda.
Things have been a monumental mess over on my end. Lots of things happened over the past couple months.
I'll be clear: Reddit isn't a convenient place to post stories. Yes, there's a community, but the website is very clearly designed for other kinds of content creators. Story writing is more of a "Despite" thing. Combined with the upcoming policy changes ^{(what with the site being sold off and wanting to coerce users into their App, at the cost of all else}), I don't think I'll be sticking around.
The story will continue being regularly posted over at Royalroad and Scribblehub.
There's practically a full volume already posted over there. Seriously, as a writer I can't stress enough just how monumentally important the post-scheduler is for me. My life is far too chaotic and sometimes I spend weeks without time or energy to prepare the posts, and then just dump 15 of them into the auto-loader.
I will try to get the next full volume (up to chapter... 62?) posted here throughout the next couple weeks, and unless something changes, I'll mostly stick to those other sites from there onward.
See you guys around, and thanks for sticking this long with the story.

[First]
[Standard Patreon Link].

i play scorpion in towers of time and the augments i use let me have near infinite bar. i’m making this post to see if anyone knows a kombo with him that can be used if he had infinite bar, like what’s the highest you can get with infinite bar? (i use searing rage) the kombo i do is either a 4hellport, or a f34 f34 bf1amp f34 bf1amp, and end it with 212 or f34 df3amp. i can amplify easily 6 or so times. i just want to know if there’s a higher kombo that can be done with him without environmental interactions or konsumables and stuff.

Platform(s): Mobile
Genre: Mystery
Estimated year of release: early 2010s
Graphics/art style: 2d anime visual novel style when in dialogue
Notable characters: The cheating boyfriend was a blond dude
Notable gameplay mechanics: It was a clue gathering detective game where you went through your boyfriend’s Japanese loft apartment and slowly realize you were being cheated on by looking through his stuff. It was made by a company who develops escape room games so it played like that. Most of their descriptions were awkwardly translated.
Other details: I distinctly remember looking at books in his room and the player’s character remarking that the bf was so diligent.

Today every person in the world tries to save whatever is harming him. There is a lot of time on every person. Nobody has so much time to do any work that he or she does for months or months Today's time is going on fast at very fast pace. Problems in the person's home or any problem, it is a common one, can anyone ever have trouble for whom, for whom we use dark magic on the help of the astrologer, whether you are in India or out of India, everybody is black Use magic to do evil for any good, but for most people it is good if someone has made you a black magic, even if you Even if you get rid of jars, it will affect you very badly as it wants from there, and you yourself will not realize why it is so bad with me that all this happens with the influence of black magic. Is there. If you have met a good man, you get near a good astrologist, then only a few moments of this dark magic will get away from you. Today, the practice of black magiceverywhere in the world is the black magic, a composite pattern of souls. Inside the dark magic, the work that is going to work in them is souls. The soul is never stable, so that can do anything anywhere, it is a supernatural power that is beautiful It is created only by the use of black magic to control the human being very well but nowadays people have started using it wrongly which is harmful to our nature, we must not do anything at all Even if God has provided us, then it is for goodness that people want to destroy this world by misusing it, if goodness of something Sector is given if it Will evil will certainly end.

As the title says, I’m nearly 30 and not dated anyone, I’m a British Pakistani (not the typical type) lol
My parents used to tell me don’t speak to girls or interact as it’ll lead onto Haram (forbidden) stuff. I understand it from their perspective. But I’m having real difficulty in finding someone to date/get married to.
Some of my friends who’ve got married to other Pakistani girls, their wife’s seem to be quite controlling and our friendships have changed. So basically I’m now left on my own don’t speak to much of them maybe like 1 or 2.
I’d say I’ve a quite private person and don’t share my life online etc. I’ve tried using a few dating apps but they’re a waste of time in my opinion as apps are just after money. I’m a loving person but people I’ve trusted before have hurt me so makes it difficult for me to meet and interact with new people.
I’m not really sure where to start even looking I really want to and need to settle down.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated