Handyman plumber near me

hi so i’m taking the mcat for the 3rd time now and i’m getting really anxious about how it’s gonna go. When I was doing my practice tests i was getting 510+ but then when the real deal came, i didn’t even break a 500. This happened twice. And now i’m starting to think like what if it happens again? Is it all worth it?!?!? It seems like after putting so much time and effort, it’s just not working out!
For my first take (it was second year summer, studied 3 and a half months but was working and took orgo in the summer) - I heavily focused on content for the first 1.5 months since it took a long time for me to get through the material. I had a strong understanding for chem but everything else was pretty new to me - I did about 10 practice tests (all of AAMC + Blueprint FL and Diagnostic tests) all ranged around 505-515 - I bought uworld and did some questions but didn’t end up finishing all of it. - I did the JW cars daily but that’s about it until I reached AAMC material - I found that I didn’t review my practice exams properly- I didn’t make any anki cards and gave up on having a log system of tracking my mistakes - I did the miledown anki but i started like only one month before my exam and i don’t think it worked the best
For my first retake (third year summer): - I studied full time for 3 months and took about 12 practice exams. All ranging 510+ and in the range i wanted. - I didn’t make anki cards for my mistakes but I reviewed the exams with more time - I finished all the uWorld questions and thought it helped me - I didn’t memorize the physics equations properly so i did my chem section on the actual exam, I freaked out and started guessing for all the questions - I also tried doing JW daily and did about 3-4 passages a day. - I also did a bunch of Jack westin questions to solidify my knowledge but i started doing this near the end of content review
Right Now (my SECOND RETAKE): - Studying for 2 months only - Doing 3 passages daily for CARS, made my own anki flashcards while going through Kaplan textbooks, did 30 questions on Jack Westin for each chapter i did while doing content review. After that, I reviewed my anki flashcards every day. Occasionally i would read the miledown review sheet for stuff i was confused on. Tried watching youtube videos to solidify any hard concepts. Focused on memorizing all physics equations (i also just finished taking the second physics in april so i remember stuff from it) - For the last month, I’m just grinding by doing questions from the AAMC and really trying to know every single question they ask and the reasoning behind it - I’m reviewing the Anki miledown deck and set a deadline so I can finish it before my test date. Which means i’m doing about 1000 cards a day :( But i’m finding Anki to be super helpful - I’m continuing to do 3-4 passages a day for CARS - I think i have to do about 8 practice exams only - I’m also going through the miledown review sheet and kaplan review sheets to make sure i am remembering everything - Unfortunately all of this takes me about 10-12 hours of studying a day. Somehow idk how i’m not burnt out yet but i’m just telling myself that i’m giving this my last try
Does anyone have any tips on anything I should do or change ? My goal is a 510+ ideally a 515. I have been getting it during my practice tests but i’m scared that going from less than a 500 to 510+ seems unrealistic. Ugh this has been a long journey and to everyone struggling too i’m rooting for you guys ❤️

We rescued a dog from our local humane society about a year and a half ago. His name is Cooper and he’s a large mix breed ( DNA shows the largest percentage is 34% Pyrenees). We got him when he was 8 weeks. He’s very smart, and was receptive to basic training (potty training, sit, stay, etc).
We did great at socializing at first but one afternoon we were at a neighborhood restaurant on the patio during low rush time ( he was 4 months at this time) Coop was asleep under our table and a woman walking her dog on the sidewalk lost control of her dog and the dog got ahold of Cooper’s muzzle, thankfully missing his eye but obviously leaving us shaken up. Our young daughter was present (she was 6 at the time) and she had a big hand afterwards in following vet orders for recovery. I think this is when she and Cooper became close. We continued to bring him to our family’s homes and interact with family members and their dogs (we’re a big dog family haha) but we became hesitant (me mainly) about taking him out elsewhere.
Since then he’s been great… except for when we have guests over. We’ve had two close family friends (both adults) over who brought their large dog. He was GREAT with their dog. No issues whatsoever. But when our friends were near our daughter (now 8) he takes an aggressive stance and will snip at their hands. The two friends finally asserted “dominance” with a firm “No!” And he was completely fine after that, even falling asleep laying across them on the couch.
The biggest issue is when our daughter has her friends over. He’ll snip at the friends hands if they hug our daughter and this cannot happen. We’ve obviously interjected, redirected, separated, everything we know and have read to do.
Cooper is an amazing dog otherwise but he’s 80lbs and this cannot continue. He’s always stopped on a command and will back off but at the one time he may not listen… that’s what scares me. Any advice at all would be so helpful. We’re looking into professional training, but I thought I’d start here first.

So I’m interested in reading the shining, Salem’s lot, pet sematary, revival, cujo, the girl who loved Tom Gordon, dr sleep, and it.
Like, those are the stories by Stephen king that call to me the most (plus Carrie but I’ve already read that), but as someone who absolutely adores animals, specially dogs, im a bit nervous about going in and reading these books only to find scenes that will emotionally destroy me.
In the case of pet sematary, I know the cat dies, I just don’t know how bad his death is, and whether he suffers a lot or not. If the cat dies quickly and mostly painlessly, I don’t have a problem with that.
In cujo I know the dog gets rabies and in the end he dies. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that specific story. I think it might not affect me as much because cujo becomes basically a monster, and it’s like the same idea behind someone you love turning into a zombie. It’s not them anymore, so in my mind, cujo is more like a zombie dog than a sweet Saint Bernard, but idk. Has anyone who loves dogs, read that book? If so, how did it affect you?
Last but not least, I heard there’s a scene in IT where Patrick whetever-his-name-is puts a puppy in a fridge and lets it asphyxiate. Is this true? Does the dog suffer a lot? Is it a quick scene or does it take its time explaining gruesome details like maybe hearing muffled whimpering as the dog begins to die? Is there any other form of animal cruelty in the book? Should I avoid IT if I’m easily triggered by animal cruelty?
As far as the other stories go, I have no idea if there’s animal cruelty in them, and I’d like to know which of these books has animal cruelty, and how much of it is there?
If any of you remember how these scenes play out, and would like to tell me, I’d appreciate it since it doesn’t affect me nearly as much if I know I’m just gonna read that specific scene without all the background. It’s like watching the specific scene of a jump scare knowing that the jump scare is coming. It doesn’t scare you. It’s sort of like that when I know that the scene I’m gonna read is animal cruelty and there’s no background to have made me invested. It doesn’t affect me as much that way.
Anyway, this is turning into a very long post so just thank you all for your help! Have a great day! :)

Little back story, was new bike day last Friday. Upgraded to a Fuel 7 from a Marlin 6, had the Marlin for 2 years but just until the last couple months never even had it on a trail. Started going out with some homies and decided it was time to go full suspension.
First trip to the trails on it with the boys the day after and I’m riding like a moron, Mr confident. Hit a small kicker to a flat, ended up way higher in the air than usual and came down hard. I think I landed and rolled a little ways but maybe I didn’t, either way ended up washing out and slammed hard on my hip. Knocked the wind out of me, didn’t lay there at all just got up to make sure I didn’t fuck myself up too bad (probably a dumb move but didn’t wanna be the dude laying on the trail).
The boys gather around me, check me over, pull the weeds out of my helmet, straighten my bars out. I’m hurting bad though, back feels super janked, jumped back on the bike and pedal out the rest of the opener loop trail. Back at the truck it’s only getting worse, sit out the rest of the ride.
Get home and cleaned up, pain isn’t nearly as bad but I know work is going to suck the next day (I’m a carpenter so fml). Got through the last couple days but I’m still pretty stiff and don’t have full range of motion bending and what not. Off to the chiropractor this coming Saturday.
Anyways I’ve thought about the crash quite a bit because MTB has been all I’ve done recently and I’ve become extremely passionate about it. The main thing that keeps coming back to me is take it fucking easy. I’ve maybe been on the trails 15 times total, I’m not a pro or a YouTube or even a seasoned rider. Every trip out can just be fun, I don’t have to make insane progress each ride.
I’m sure I’ll crash more times but hoping they don’t all take me out of commission like this one has. Also, investing in pads ASAP.

That being relationships. I only ever had one and it wasn’t really an actual relationship if we’re being honest but I kind of feel like I’ve missed something semi vital, especially when I listen to adults talking about teenage relationships and see my friends have them but I just kinda didn’t.
I feel like I’ve missed out on the experience of teen love and making the mistakes now when I’m young and learning what’s right for me and making mistakes now, and that it’s going to make my time so much harder.
Thing is I don’t want a relationship for the sake of having one, and while I’ll admit there are some pretty girls in my year at school I don’t know any of them nearly as well as I could, and the one girl who I do know quite well and I also think is pretty doesn’t see me the same way and is dating someone else (luckily I don’t think she knows of my feelings) so yea.
Life’s weird man, I keep trying to tell myself I’ve got more of it ahead and I’ll meet the right person someday but it’s becoming harder to convince myself of it.
There’s another rant I can’t send to my friends and no one will read for you

I am 29 years old, I have been a West Ham fan since I knew what football was, my father grew up in the east end of London and shared his love of the club with me.
West Ham was my first love, the constant in my life, through the ups and down of my time on this earth West Ham has been there and through the ups and down of the club, I have been there, unwavering in my love and support.
These past couple of years have been a dream I never though I would live with this club, tragically my father passed away 4 years ago but when I watch West Ham now I still feel him with me, this club is my only remaining connection with the man I loved.
Tonight was the most amazing and emotional night of my life, I am wearing my fathers 1980 FA cup final scarf that he got at the game and I know he would be speechless and ecstatic if he could see what we have achieved in this moment.
I’m so happy for all of us, enjoy this moment, we 100% deserve it, this is one of the rare occasions in life that will be with us forever, I leave you with:
I'm forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air, They fly so high, Nearly reach the sky, Then like my dreams, They fade and die. Fortune's always hiding, I've looked everywhere, I'm forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air.
Come on West Ham!!!!!!!!!!

Looking for a very good or better condition iPhone 14 pro/Pro Max.
I would prefer black or purple color.
I would need it to be unlocked or usable on the AT&T network.
I am near 07927
please put a pm in before messaging me.

Hello,
About 2 years ago I went to the Gamestop near my home.
I purchased a copy of "Mario Kart" as a gift for my brother-in-law, for their Nintendo Switch.
The pencil-necked, greasy, smelly cashier who looked like Napolean Dynamite's brother checked us out and he asked if we wanted an "insurance policy" for the game. He failed to mention that this would cost extra. He mumbled this under his dorito breath between trying to upsell us on some funko pop/amiibo crap and I was trying to telegraph to him that I was visibly annoyed and didn't want to be offered anything else. It seems like his social skills were not able to catch this when I told him we weren't interested.
My wife was with me at the time so I was not able to go back into the store to yell at the sniveling punk you hired and instead had to leave it at that, but I've been avoiding GameStop locations ever since this happened some 2 years ago and shopping at Best Buy instead.
I cannot contain my absolute rage any longer at how I was scammed by one of your employees. He was a balding, greasy, skeleton of a man and I would call his parents and scream at them too if I could.
Please take steps to make sure your customers know your bullshit insurance policy costs money rather than mumbling it to me between their mouth breathing and charging me for something I'll never use.
Fuck. You.
I've tried finding a picture online of your socially inept, shampoo-avoiding, frail employee who scammed me but nothing I've been able to find on balding comes close to the amount of grease he had nor resembles a rat as much as he did. If you need any other descriptors to help find and fire this ""man"" who couldn't even look me in the eyes, I believe he has also never touched a woman and probably made your store stickier as a result of his time there.

I’ve been out of work for 5 months at the end of this month because I left a career (HR) that wasn’t right for me
Even though I wasn’t sacked, it’s been way too long since I’ve worked, so I was wondering if having an unemployment gap of nearly 5 months means it’s virtually over for me ever having a proper career again?
Do I need to lie on my CV to get back into proper work, or do I have to give up and spend the rest of my life working menial jobs?
This BS situation is starting to get me down now

Hanazuki and Miyuki hadn't returned.
That didn't bode well. And although Impero retained her lazy, almost laid-back disposition, one could see the unease crinkling at the corner of her eyes, her brow dipped into a frown as she mulled over what happened – before, after only a brief delay, sent out a team to check up on them.
The main fleet was starting to become a bit stretched, however. Although they were several dozen in number over half of them were spread out in a forward fan shape as they progressed towards their main objective. As such only four could be spared to go hunt for their missing Destroyer duo – a party consisting of four cruisers; two light and two heavy. Enough firepower to handle most of what the island had thrown at them thus far, but not so much that it granted them overconfidence.
Not that she'd ever fall prey to overconfidence, Birmingham thought to herself.
The red-haired cruiser wandered through the forest with fast strides, her jog slowing as she took a moment to assess her surroundings. She was near the junction where Hanazuki and Miyuki had gone – a fact confirmed when she spotted the bushes nearby had been trampled by rudder-ended boots, the tracks still fresh. However there was no signs of a struggle, indicating that if there was anything wrong then it happened deeper into the forest.
Birmingham glanced behind her. Boise followed close behind her, shy and skittish, whilst a step behind was Maya and Ashigara – two Heavy Cruisers from the Sakura Empire. She could appreciate Maya's seriousness about the matter, especially with her skilful swordsmanship, but she was a little more sceptical about Ashigara's. Though a Myouko-class cruiser she seemed rather skittish in this environment; chasing shadows and flinching at every distant shell fired. She wasn't scared per se, but it was clear that the nigh-suicidal onslaught of monsters had rattled her slightly.
As if sharing the same thought Maya looked back at her companion, nudging her. ''Relax. Stay focused.''
Ashigara started a little but hurriedly nodded; drawing in a cleansing breath and managing to regain some of her nerve. Birmingham hummed at that and looked ahead, silently leading her companions further into the woods. It wasn't long until the land descended into a natural basin, and a quick search yielded results, albeit not the ones they were hoping for.
Torn clothes. Broken bits of rigging. Even blood, in some cases. The girls had been attacked here, of that there was no doubt, but the absence of bodies was unnerving.
''Either they managed to escape and went further in, or they were dragged off.'' Maya made her thoughts clear, staring pointedly at Birmingham. They had to go further.
Grimacing Birmingham nodded her assent, continuing to lead her small sortie group ahead. It almost felt weird leading two Heavy Cruisers, given flagship roles usually went to the capital ships, but she wasn't complaining – maybe Impero thought she had better commanding skills. That, or the carrier was just too lazy to do an in-depth assessment of their skills and just gave her the role on a whim. Which, considering they needed to find their missing comrades ASAP, she supposed was somewhat warranted. Find the injured first, bicker about command roles later.
Shaking her head to dispel the thought Birmingham focused on the other end of the basin, reaching it soon enough. Vines, moss and other bits hung from the slanted rock but it felt surprisingly firm, refusing to budge when she tugged and emboldening her to use them as climbing tools – grunting as she hauled herself up bit by bit. The others followed her carefully, making sure not to overload the edge of the basin lest their combined weight cause the dirt and stone to crumble, but in the end they all reached the top of the basin without issue.
''Where to now...?'' Boise spoke up, her face-mask muffling her voice somewhat.
'Where to indeed.' Birmingham frowned, looking about. Unlike before there was no convenient trail of blood, just a vast green in all directions, broken up only by the thick wood of the trees.
Ashigara broke the quiet. ''Do you think they went down to the coast? It's not that far, and if they got on the water they'd be safe from the monsters.''
''Possibly.'' Maya conceded with a frown. ''But if so, then they would've given us a signal of some kind.''
''Maybe they did, but just after we left?'' Ashigara floated the idea.
Birmingham frowned, however; her eyes scanning the grass in the opposite direction of the ocean. Now that she looked closer she could spot finer details she'd initially overlooked; the grass trudged down by monster footprints, partially hidden by the overgrowth. When she did a little loop around their area though she noticed a second trail, one that went towards the ocean.
''Two paths.'' Birmingham voiced her thoughts grimly. ''...this almost smells like a trap.''
''Doubtful.'' Maya weighed in, thumbing the handle of her katana idly. ''These monsters don't seem to have enough intelligence for that. Ambush? Yes. Luring in with footprints? That's too advanced for them.''
Birmingham had to agree with that. Though some of the monsters that had attacked them showed intelligence, it was of the more bestial kind. Encirclement, probing attacks, wave attacks, that sort of thing. Primitive and basic but effective in some sense; if they kept it up for long enough they'd eventually run out of ammo, not that the monsters could know that. Still, something like luring stragglers away from the main fleet felt a bit too above their intelligence level.
''Should we split up then?'' Birmingham murmured. ''The whole reason Impero sent us together was for you to support us...''
''True.'' Maya sighed. ''Still, I'd rather not have to backtrack and look in two places at once, especially when their lives on the line. Every second we spend here is another that could be their last.''
A grimace marred Birmingham's visage and she nodded. ''Fine. You go check the one nearer the coast, we'll go further inland. Ripple fire into the sky if you find them, we'll meet back up here, or fall back into the basin if attacked.''
''Sounds good to me. Good luck.'' Maya turned and fast-walked down the other faint path. ''Ashigara, let's go. You take the lead.''
''R-Right!''
Birmingham watched the Heavy Cruiser go, almost wanting to go back on her word and stick with them – but she quashed such feelings. Time was of the essence here – what did safety matter if they only found Hanazuki and Miyuki's remains? Nodding at that she spared a sharp look at Boise, earning a shaky nod from her peer, before as one they fast-walked towards the deeper parts of the forest.
'Please be safe, you two...'
X-x-X
Boise wasn't sure how long they'd been walking. Five, ten, fifteen minutes?
The forest around them grew slightly thicker but otherwise it remained identical to the section of forest before it. From time to time they'd pass near a river but monsters seemed to lurk near it, either for a drink or drawn in by the sound, she didn't know. Regardless they kept their distance and sneaked around what monsters they could, both to avoid detection and to save ammo.
Just as Boise was beginning to worry that their search was fruitless, though, they discovered something new – a burrow. That in itself wasn't the weirdest thing – the monsters probably had to sleep somewhere – but what was notable was that a Lizardman crawled out of the depression in the ground and skittered off into the forest, no doubt to look for more prey. The pair of them stayed still in a bush, not a breath escaping them until the yellow-scaled Lizardman was long out-of-sight, allowing the pair to breathe freely.
''S-Should we check it out...?'' Boise tentatively asked. The idea of going into a burrow was a highly unsettling one, especially if the monsters came back, but after searching for so long this was the most likely place for Miyuki and Hanazuki to have been taken to.
Birmingham grimaced, then nodded. Quiet as she could she crept out from their hiding spot and crouched low as she crossed the tiny clearing. The burrow was just next to a tree; the thick roots spreading out in all directions and with some foliage hanging over it like camouflage, doing little to hide the depression in the dirt that went down like a slide. It was about as slippery as one too; her footwear struggling to get a firm grip on the dew-covered grass, forcing her to get down on her hands and knees and crawl down.
Darkness quickly engulfed her as she passed under the hanging roots, only the dim gloom of the sky outside to light her way. As her eyes adjusted though she was surprised to see this was not some tiny dirt burrow fit for a single, but an entire, expansive room that networked into others. Shy of about six feet high and probably about eight or nine feet wide in diameter it was unsettlingly spacious, though then again considering the size of the Lizardmen she supposed they'd need a bigger burrow than a traditional lizard.
However she could hear something. A distant noise, faint but repetitive. Breathing? No, it was sharper than that. Wheezing. Wounded? Maybe.
Grimacing Birmingham rose to her feet, waiting for Boise to join her before she began to trek towards the leftmost tunnel. It was painfully narrow, forcing her to de-summon her rigging just to fit through, not that her rigging would do her any good underground. She'd sooner bury herself alive than kill anything outright. The thought sent a chill up her spine but she tried to ignore how defenceless she was right now – she'd been in situations like this. Situations where firepower wasn't enough, so stealth wasn't just an option, but a necessity.
The tunnel grew slightly narrower, eventually tapering off but with dirt piles around the floor, as if it was still being excavated. However Birmingham's main focus was on the suspicious sound, her footsteps slowing and growing quieter as she neared the edge of a doorway; the arch having nothing to hide her as she poked her head around-
-and found Hanazuki and Miyuki.
Naked.
With Lizardmen on top of them.
The sight made her freeze up, shocked silent. For a long moment she just stood there and watched as the two lizards mating-pressed the naked Destroyers into the dirt; harsh smacks of flesh mixed with their animalistic grunts. However while Miyuki was worryingly silent, unconscious, Hanazuki was not – soft, defeated whimpers escaping her every time the Lizardman pressed its cock down into her depths, squelching its fluid out of her but not pushing any of its eggs out.
Birmingham got over her shock quickly though, anger soon to take root. Was it because these monsters all seemed to be male, was that why they'd taken two Ship-Girls and... bred them? To repopulate their numbers? The prospect was worryingly high but Birmingham soon crushed such thoughts; silently walking out into the small, enclosed space, one just big enough for her rigging to manifest.
She wouldn't be able to shoot it, but that didn't mean she was defenceless. Far from it.
Rearing her right hip back she tensed – and then just as the leftmost Lizardman raised its head she swung, smashing the side of her rigging into its head. Its skull dented inwards and the creature fell to one side, thrashing, but she wasn't looking at it anymore; her eyes darting to the right Lizardman. It noticed her and had the benefit of her being a foot or two away, pulling its glistening cock from Miyuki's abused folds as it stood.
Then Birmingham was in front of it, punching it straight in the throat. The humanoid staggered and clasped as its throat, gargling in surprise, but its moment of surprise was enough for her to smash her rigging into it and knock it down. It was dazed but far from dead, forcing her to stomp down on its head – gritting her teeth as she put every ounce of strength into it.
Thud-!
Thud-!
Thud-!
'Die dammit!' She could hear the other Lizardman, injured but alive, rising back to its feet.
Finally one more brutal stomp crushed the creature's skull in properly. She felt sick as blood and viscera spurted up her shin but anger and fear was a good deterrent; keeping her last meal down as she spun – just in time too, as the other Lizardman staggered over to her, claws out and a snarl on its dented face, bone poking out from between uprooted scales.
Until Boise stepped in, squeaking as she rammed into its side. It hit its head on the dirt wall and fell between Miyuki and Hanazuki, snarling and shifting, but a solid kick to its skull from Birmingham made a disgusting crack sound, and its head went limp, Broken skull, snapped neck, she neither knew nor cared. All that mattered was that it was dead.
Birmingham released a heavy breath. ''Thanks.''
''I-It's fine.'' Boise answered but sounded shaken. Birmingham didn't blame her – whether because of her own actions or the sight of Hanazuki and Miyuki, this was just... just a mess.
She squirmed as she felt blood dribble down into her shoe. 'Don't think about it, get these two out and signal Maya. Move.'
Her own orders helped motivate her and she hurried over to Hanazuki, leaving the unconscious Miyuki to Boise. When she knelt by the pink-haired fox-girl she winced at the array of still-bleeding cuts marring her body, be it on her medium-sized breasts, along her stomach and sides or even on her hips and thighs; the creature's claws clearly having held her many a times. She pointedly ignored looking at the overflowing whiteness leaking out of the Destroyer's pussy too, instead taking her cape off and draping it over Hanazuki.
''We'll get you out.'' Birmingham said shortly as she tied the cape.
Hanazuki tried to say something but was too overcome by emotion – relief, fear, anxiety and shame, all of it twisting into a sobbing mess that tugged on Birmingham's heartstrings.
Alas just as she scooped the fox-girl up she heard it – movement, outside the burrow. The sound made her nearly curse and she hurriedly evaluated her options. Only one way in or out, using her guns would likely bury them alive – and for all Ship-Girls were lauded for their strength they still needed to breathe – whilst the Lizardmen had no such issues; equipped with claws that were well-suited to cramped spaces like these. And with them carrying Hanazuki and Miyuki they wouldn't be able to fight beyond maybe a kick at best, and she hardly doubted that'd be enough to do anything but baffle a Lizardman.
She drew in a breath and hissed through her teeth, pulling Hanazuki close to her chest. If they were going to escape they couldn't find – and couldn't hide either. No, they needed to run. To brute force their way through. No riggings, no weapons. Just sheer momentum to blitz past them.
''Boise.'' Birmingham whispered, watching as the bustier cruiser gently cradled Miyuki. ''When I leave this room we run. Don't stop to fight, don't try and help me if I fall, just charge straight past anything in your way until we get to the surface. We can't fight them down here.''
Boise gave her a worried look and she felt Hanazuki clutch at her, but when the bustier woman hesitantly nodded Birmingham moved – fast-walking into the hallway and darting down the corridor, building speed as she gave up stealth and just charged. The noise attracted attention and she heard skittering-
-and then a Lizardman was there, leaping from its hiding spot with a snarl. It didn't get the chance to grab her before Birmingham ran bodily into it, Hanazuki crying out in fear as she was squished between them – before her momentum knocked the monster onto its back. Birmingham didn't stop to attack it though and kept running, reaching the slope out and running up it-
But she'd forgotten. It was slippery, uneven. Boots wouldn't grip easily, especially going up.
So when her boots slipped out from under her Birmingham couldn't deny the jolt of fear that shot up her spine, losing her grip momentarily until she grabbed at the uneven mass of dirt and grass, nearly dropping Hanazuki had the Destroyer not been holding onto her so tightly. Using her newfound handhold she propelled herself up further, hearing Boise behind her-
''Hwah?!''
When Boise screamed in fear. Birmingham jerked her head to one side, looking back, and very nearly cursed as she saw Boise be dragged back by her shin – the Lizardman she'd left behind already recovered. Instantly her plan was in tatters; if she kept going she was leaving Boise and Miyuki to their fate, and if she stayed she'd likely be blocked off-
Too late; another Lizardman at the top of the slope lunging down at her. Birmingham had no choice but to fall back, throwing Hanazuki to one side and hearing the fox-girl land with a pained yelp, but she ignored that for now – her attention fully on the monster lunging down at her, landing just shy of her thanks to her momentum throwing her back. However by the time she stood it was there, throwing itself at her faster than she could summon her rigging and snatching her wrists, pinning her down.
Panic rose up within her, memories of what happened to Hanazuki and Miyuki mere minutes ago flashing through her mind. With force she kicked her legs out, hitting the monster's stomach but the scales killed most of the force, its hissing snarl sending a chill up her spine – and a pained cry fled her lips when it tightened its hold, threatening to crush her wrists with its strength.
Then it suddenly shifted both her arms up, pinning them together with just one hand – freeing its other and allowing it to rake its claws down her front. Cloth gave way frighteningly easily and soon her dress was in two parts, splitting open down the middle and laying bare her dark blue underwear, the thought heating her cheeks up. However that same embarrassment turned into fear as she saw the Lizardman's cock swell between its leg, long and thick, prompting her to try and kick it in the groin – but the creature had enough sense to block such attacks, ripping her panties off at the same time.
'No...' Birmingham felt dizzy as her nether regions were exposed to the damp, musky air, her struggles becoming even more vicious as the monster leaned over her, the tip of its dick rubbing against her folds.
Rubbing, not penetration. Teasing her. Taunting her.
Birmingham gritted her teeth, her breathing short and fast as the bulbous tip of its shaft rubbed against her pussy lips, went high and rubbed up her groin before coming back down again. Her struggles did little to stop it but it gave her some minor amount of confidence, of control; her legs closing as much as she could with it between them, hips lifting and falling as she kept it away from her private parts as best she-
The tip teased her opening – and Birmingham screamed as it suddenly went in. It felt thicker than she expected, parting her virginal walls and hilting inside her in a single, harsh thrust, knocking the air out of her. The pain came a second later but she barely had a moment to soak it in before the monster yanked its cock halfway out only to slam right back into her deflowered pussy, forcing a shout of pain out of Birmingham.
She struggled once more, kicking and twisting and flailing, but the Lizardman just snarled in her face and kept moving, roughly burying itself into her. It didn't care that her legs flailed on either side of its hips, that her hips lifted and fell unevenly in some attempt to make its dick slip out – it just kept pressing its body down against hers and mated with her, thrusting its thick girth into her and making Birmingham cry out in pain.
''Gh! Mnph-!'' Biting her tongue until it bled Birmingham threw her head from side to side, enduring the stabbing pain in her loins – the deep, repeated impacts to her cervix as the Lizardman had its way with her.
As it defiled her.
She tried to push it out, to ignore it as best she could. Even when the Lizardman hissed and snarled in her ear Birmingham didn't give it the satisfaction of hearing her cry out, her teeth on her tongue as she took the pounding – its meaty cock spearing between her despoiled petals and hilting in her innermost parts, sending jolts right up her stomach and banging her head on the dirt, but she didn't react. She just laid there and took it like the good little broodmare it wanted her to be, waiting for an opening, a chance to knock its lights out and get help.
She felt it throb inside of her quickly, its shaft swelling against her sore insides and its tip kissing her depths, the realisation hitting – and no sooner had it before the Lizardman snarled and impregnated her. A flood of warm fluid poured into her depths, thick and sticky like semen but lacking sperm. In their place though she felt many tiny eggs push up into her womb, nestling against her depths in a torrent, nearly making her sick as she realised she'd been claimed, just like the others.
Even if she escaped this hole, the monster's seed would remain within her, making her its unwilling mother for its brood.
Birmingham was torn from her thoughts though her wrists were released – and no sooner had they been freed did a meaty hand grab her hair, yanking her upright. The cruiser cried out in pain but it gave her some weird clarity, feeling more than seeing space behind her. Her opening. She called upon her rigging and it manifested, finally having the space, her guns trained and ready to fire-
But she never saw the Lizardman behind her. The moment it spotted her rigging it attacked with vigour, seething out a wet breath as it raked its claws through her turrets, instantly incapacitating them. Birmingham flinched and tried to fire but her guns wouldn't operate – and to her despair they were reduced to metal scraps within seconds, literally ripped off of her. The only reason she wasn't pulled back with them was the iron grip on her hair, and the dick she was still impaled upon.
As if to remind her of that the Lizardman holding her sneered in her face, shifting both hands to her hips and holding tight... and Birmingham froze as she felt a second cock poke her ass.
And then she screamed as the other Lizardman eagerly buried its cock in her ass – up until a third, sneering Lizardman came up to her left, shoving its cock in her mouth and pulling her hair, forcing it to pleasure it as its kin began to fucked her other holes, using her not solely for breeding, but also their own animalistic pleasure.
Her fate, forever, sealed.
X-x-X
Boise was just climbing the slope, her pace fast, when she felt the clawed hand curl around her ankle.
Then suddenly she was yanked back down, Miyuki tumbling from her grip as she instinctively reached to grab onto something. Nothing was to be found, however, and soon she found herself thrown to the dirty ground – the Lizardman on top if her. Boise flinched back, crawling back, but the monster just grabbed her left thigh and forcefully lifted it up – its other hand going up her dress and grabbing her crotch.
Before with the harsh tear of cloth it ripped her panties off. Her heart skipped a beat – but unlike Birmingham she didn't have the fight, the fire, to keep moving. She froze up completely, paralysed with realisation and terror as the Lizardman got on top of her, and only when she felt something rub against her vagina did she snap out of it and begin to move-
''Agh!''
Then it was inside of her. Thick and solid it pushed apart her virgin insides, the pain sharp and intense enough to nearly make her black out for a split-second – her mind purged of all thought as the monster cock slammed into her, deflowering her. The shock lasted for just a few seconds though; banished the moment the monster dug its nails into her raised right thigh and began to fuck her properly; short, eager pumps burying it into her pussy.
''A-Ah! N-No, stop- mn!''
Her face mask muted her voice somewhat and gave it an echoing quality, making her pained cries all the more haunting as the monster pistoned itself into her, its flesh smacking against her own repeatedly and harshly. Through the tears in her eyes she spied multiple more Lizardmen returning, either drawn in by the sounds or the attack on their home, and to her despair a terrified Hanazuki was shoved up against the wall, her limbs flailing as he pleaded – before a thick, girthy cock forced itself into her defiled pussy, making her wail as the monster eagerly began to mate with her. Miyuki too wasn't spared, the unconscious girl rolled onto her front before the Lizardman began to mate with her prone-bone; smacking her small rear with every harsh thrust.
Boise was brought back to her own predicament though as another Lizardman knelt by her face. Its large clawed hand grabbed her mask without warning and pulled hard, lifting her head with it, prompting her to reflexively pull back... until with a harsh snap her mask's straps broke, causing it to fly off and to the side. Boise opened her mouth to cry out but before she could do that something touched her lips – and then something thick shoved itself into her mouth. Boise's eyes bulged and she cried out in alarm, the noise muted as the two Lizardmen eagerly began to spitroasted her on her side, their scales smacking against her flesh and filling the quaint burrow. Her thigh began to bleed from how harshly the monster gripped it but the pain was nothing compared to the ache in her loins, its dick slamming up against her cervix relentlessly.
''Mmph~! Mrph!'' Boise frantically flailed her hands about, trying to grab and push, desperation hastening her motions but hampering her aim.
Until eventually the Lizardman defiling her mouth just grabbed her wrists and held them down, snarling as it slammed between her lips, hurting her teeth and thrusting down her gullet, choking her. Her raspy, spluttering breaths did little to deter the overgrown lizard from face-fucking her though, bruising her nose with every harsh impact and sending stars flashing behind her eyes; not helped by the thick shaft plunging up into her womanhood.
Suddenly her left wrist was freed – the reason becoming evident as the newfound claw raked at her chest, ripping the cloth apart and revealing her large, squishy tits to the monsters. Boise barely had the time to feel self-conscious before her right tit was grabbed and squeezed harshly, forcing a muffled cry out of the cruiser as her tit was manhandled, her head shaking as best she could with a dick going down her throat.
Then suddenly she was forced onto her back completely, the Lizardman coming with her as it straddled her collarbone and grabbed her head with both hands, hissing in delight as it forced its meaty cock down her throat. Boise's eyes watered but she could do nothing but take it, her eyes soon screwing shut just so she didn't have to look at the monster's groin – acutely feeling its balls hitting her chin over and over again. The other Lizardman between her legs didn't relent either, its girth parting her abused folds and raking her tender insides with every pounding thrust, its cock smooth but uncomfortably girthy, stretching her virginal sex out with every thrust.
''Mn! Mmph! H-Hn-!''
Then suddenly the one between her legs hissed; and then came. Boise spasmed as she felt jets of warmth pour up into her womb, the foreign sensation terrifying – made all the more so as she felt numerous eggs pour into her baby chamber. The one mounted on her face though kept going, snarling and hissing as it face-fucked her, seeming to slow down even just to endure it.
The reason why though became evident as the Lizardman between her legs pulled out – and the one on top of her pulled its dick out of her mouth, got between her legs, and then plunged inside. Its clawed hands grabbed her hips and it savagely pounded her, fucking cries of pain out of Boise but no resistance beyond that – lacking the strength to. The will to.
And so when the Lizardman soon emptied its balls inside of her, hissing with primal satisfaction as it laid its eggs inside of her defenceless womb, Boise could only lay there, defeated and exhausted by the ordeal, her pussy sore and overflowing with white fluid.
The breeding process, continuing on.

The Great Hall stood tall against the cloudy day, expelling white smoke from the multiple chimneys on its thatched roof. The outer walls made of a dark gray stone and the overall brutalistic style of the building, gave the Great Hall a certain ‘Big Bad Evil Guy’s lair’ vibe. Upon further inspection, I noticed traces of mana weaved in between the stone which made me wonder if the whole building had some sort of protecting enchantment in place. It made sense considering the whole town was a bastion between the Farlands and the Ebros Kingdom.
Despite my initial assessment of the city, Farcrest’s marketplace flourished all around me. Food, weapons, tools, all kinds of crafting ingredients. No matter what direction I looked I found new things to identify. Other than the abandoned northern district, the city looked like a bustling trade center.
I continued walking through the street market towards the Great Hall.
Red banners with the Marquis crest, a man killing a wolf with a lance, hung from the inner walls. The gate was guarded by a small contingent of soldiers dressed in shiny armor and armed with long albarests. I was tempted to use [Identify] on them but remembering Elincia’s reaction, I refrained from doing it. I didn’t want problems before even starting my life in this world.
As I reached the closed gate, a guard blocked my path.
“What is your business in the Marquis’s Great Hall?” The guardsman asked, glancing at me with unfriendly eyes. The man inspected my appearance from head to toe and he didn’t seem to like what he was seeing. My clothing was humble to say the least.
“My name is Robert Clarke, Scholar from the City of Light. I’m here for a passage permit into the Kingdom of Ebros.” I said with a haughty voice. A good teacher was, in essence, a good actor, and I took pride in my classroom management.
As expected, my words seemed to pique the guard’s interest.
“Farcrest isn’t a border town, Scholar. How did you even enter the kingdom?”
The guard was unsure if he was really talking to a commoner or someone of high birth. Or maybe he thought I was a high level individual? It made sense that people with higher levels looked down on the weaker.
Considering Elincia’s reaction to the story about the teletransportation, I decided to continue with the same lie. If I had to guess, portals weren’t all strange in this world.
“A magic accident teleported me into the Farlands. There I was picked up by an Alchemist harvesting ingredients who brought me here to Farcrest.” I explained with a serious tone.
“Should’ve said that from the very beginning… sir. Portal magic is no joke.” He stuttered.
The guard swallowed the story.
“It is not.” I nodded.
The guard must’ve assumed I was the one responsible for the portal incident because his demeanor changed instantly. If I had to guess, portal magic was a high level technique.
“This way, sir.” The guardsman said, guiding me through a lateral door at the base of the wall and into a narrow and dark corridor. As much as I wanted to enter through the main gates, I assumed it wasn’t worth opening it for a single person.
We emerged into a cobbled courtyard by the side of the Great Hall where a small army of workers unloaded carts with crated goods under the attentive glance of an overseer. Regrettably, I couldn’t tell what was inside the heavy boxes.
“Trade seems to be healthy considering Farcrest is a frontier town.” I pointed out in a vain attempt to make the guard talk.
“It’s been that way for a while now.” He sparsely replied as we walked to a wooden building attached to the Great Hall. Outside the building, an angry middle aged woman dressed in a gambeson with the Marquis emblem was training a group of fresh recruits who barely knew how to hold a sword. The kids couldn’t be much older than Zaon.
Instead of walking towards the building, we approached the training group.
The soldier saluted and the woman knight raised her hand, stopping the frenetic swinging of the recruits. Her eyes were of a stark gray color and her lips were a fine line under her aquiline nose. Her skin was tanned and covered in small scars of a hundred battles. [Awareness] told me she was the don’t-fuck-with-me type.
“Captain, this man says he arrived at Farcrest via failed teleportation.” The soldier explained my situation.
“Another one?! I can’t believe this is the second time this year.” The Captain chastised the soldier as if it was his personal fault. Then, she turned around to face me. She was taller than me and her rolled up sleeves not only revealed lean and bulking muscles but a skin covered in scars. Those weren’t fashionable superficial scars but ones which distorted the skin and muscle.
“Tell me you are not from the Ansan Kingdom. It will cost us a small fortune to send you back.” The Captain said.
I understood that was my cue to speak.
“My name is Robert Clarke, a Scholar, and you don’t need to send me back to my homeland, Captain. I am more interested in traveling to the Imperial Library than returning.” I said with a small bow.
“I’m Captain Izabeka Kiln, leader of the city guard. I like you already, Scholar. People who complicate things are too common in these places.” The captain left the bundle of parchment and walked around the table to inspect me closely.
I made a mental note to not complicate things in front of the woman.
“Come on.” The captain left the group of disoriented recruits behind and walked towards the Great Hall. “We have to ensure you don’t have any suspicious hidden titles before giving you your passage permit.”
“Hidden titles?” I asked with a tremble in my voice.
“You have not been in a System Shrine before?” The Captain looked over her shoulder and gave me a confused glance.
I shook my head. Hidden titles could mean two things; there was a method to hide one’s titles from being identified or there were titles that could only be unlocked at a System Shrine. The second option made sense considering the lack of progress my class had even after twelve levels.
“I warn you, Robert Clarke, I’m a level fifty seven Knight, if you do try anything stupid I’ll crush your spine before you could even blink.” The captain said before addressing the guard who had guided me there. “You, maggot, look after the Scholar’s belongings. He is my guest.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The soldier said, extending his hand to me.
I gave him my backpack and nobody questioned the suspicious wooden shotgun butt protruding out. I felt naked without my weapon, however, the shells were safe inside my pocket.
“You don’t have a suspicious title do you?” The captain asked as we entered a beautifully adorned corridor with painted murals and ornamental banners hanging from the ceiling. The decoration was surprisingly tasteful.
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t think so?” I replied, remembering what Elincia had told me about locked titles.
We walked in silence through a carpeted corridor. The brass-framed windows reached the high ceiling and gave us a wide view of the interior gardens. There was a bush maze, fountains and clumps of all kinds of flowers.
We reached a glass door to a crowded balcony and the captain signaled the guards to let us through. On the balcony there were men and women dressed in expensive suits and dresses of vibrant colors. Broad rings of gold and precious stones adorned the noble’s hands while the women flaunted beautiful necklaces and earrings. If the Marquis was there, he was hidden among the crowd.
Captain Kiln took me to the side of the balcony, far from the noble clump and pointed down to the garden. Two men dressed in fencing attire were standing at opposite sides of the garden while the squires helped them with their padded jackets. In the middle of the fighting area an old man with braided hair and stern look acted as the referee.
“Have you witnessed a judiciary duel before?” The captain asked.
I shook my head.
“Then it’s your lucky day, Scholar. Sir Janus insulted Baronette Tirno during the last feast.” Captain Kiln said with a lupine smile.
“What did Sir Janus say?” I inquired.
“Janus said Tirno’s lovers during their days in the Ebros Knights Academy looked just like his mother.” Captain Kiln let out a tired sigh.
I glanced down at the dueling area. Baronette Tirno was a tall and slender young man of blonde curls and piercing looks. He wore a blue and black jacket with a crest similar to the Marquis symbol, so I assumed he might be related to the Marquis. Tirno moved with ease under the padded jacket and made a flourish with his rapier before blowing a kiss to the balcony. The gesture was answered by a wave of giggles and sighs.
For someone with a soiled honor, he was enjoying the moment.
Sir Janus, on the other hand, was a brutish looking man with the physique of a beer barrel. An unkempt bristly black beard covered his face and his small black eyes resembled the ones from a pig. Janus looked more like a well-armed murder hobo than a knight.
“Tirno has the reach advantage.” I said as the squire handed the rapiers to Janus.
“Good, you can use your eyes.” Captain Kiln said and I wondered if every woman had a similar level of sass in this world.
The referee, an old man dressed in a white and yellow tunic, stood at the center of the arena and cast a spell creating a golden dome of twenty meters in diameter. A second later the dome became translucent, barely blocking the view of the duelists.
“He’s a Fortifier. Any skill used inside the area of the bubble should stay inside instead of killing you. Well, none of them have magic classes but with high level combatants any extra precaution is welcome.” Captain Kiln explained.
Down inside the bubble, Tirno and Janus walked five paces away from the center, turned around, and saluted with the rapiers. Then, they adopted a fighting position I wasn’t completely familiarized with. It seemed they were going to start sprinting instead of fencing.
A sudden gust of wind rose, kicking up a dust cloud, and Tirno disappeared just to reappear by Janus’ flank. I gasped. Had he used a skill or was it his natural speed? Janus raised his sword and parried just in time. Then I noticed my mouth was wide open.
“Want to bet?” Captain Kiln asked with an entertained expression on her face.
“I don’t have money or valuables other than a quarter cheese wheel.” I babbled back, too entranced with the fight to pay attention to the woman.
The captain slid a silver coin down the railing and left it in front of me. I recognized a gambling addict that shouldn’t be gambling when I saw one. I glanced at the coin and then I looked down at the arena. The duelists were still testing each other. Baronette Tirno had an elegant style with quick transitions and nimble footwork. Sir Janus, on the other hand, stood like a heavy boulder in the middle of the yard.
“Two silver coins and I will tell you exactly how Lord Tirno is going to lose.” I said with a taunting smile.
The captain’s interest was piqued and soon after there were two silver coins in front of me and another two in front of the woman.
“I love to fleece know-it-all Scholars.” The captain said despite the fact she was betting against her own money.
I ignored the banter and focused on the duel. After the initial explosion of speed things had slowed down. Still, they moved faster than any HEMA practitioner or olympic fencer I had seen in my life.
I remembered Zaon talking about class growth. It wasn’t a surprise that the kid was apprehensive of becoming a Soldier when there were classes that could move like those two men. Not even with my Lv.5 [Swordsmanship] was enough to reach those speeds.
[Awareness] filled my brain with information. Tirno fought with deliberately elegant movements trying to find an opening on the opponent’s defense while Janus adopted a style similar to what I knew; he tried to control Tirno’s sword and deliver a strike without jeopardizing his own safety.
“Sir Janus is going to end the fight by stabbing the Baronette in the hand.” I calmly said, channeling all my fencing knowledge. Judicial fencing wasn’t about killing your opponent, although it happened frequently, but about incapacitating it before it could harm you.
“Alright, I’m going for Tirno.” The Captain said.
The balcony was in complete silence. Rapiers clashed, but none managed to control the weak of the opponent's blade to create an opening. The amount of stamina both men displayed was astounding, even compared to top tier athletes from Earth. If I were to train for a hundred years I could hardly reach their levels of speed and coordination.
Suddenly Lord Tirno put aside all attempts of defending and lunged forward, aiming at the center of Sir Janus’ chest. Sir Janus stepped back with a nimbleness uncharacteristic of a man of his span. To get away from Tirno’s blade, Janus raised both arms and pulled back his body. In that awkward position, Sir Janus counterattacked with a downward stab aimed at Lord Tirno’s hand and withdrew from the engagement to avoid Tirno’s afterblow.
However, the afterblow didn’t come. Lord Tirno’s sword fell to the ground as the man bursted out cursing. As he retreated to his side of the arena, I caught a glimpse of bright blood flowing from his right hand.
New word learned!
Words learned: 3,001/215,000
Rank: Talkative Teenager
I made a mental note to not mention that word in front of children.
“I lost.” Captain Kiln sighed, bringing me back to the present.
“Not yet, he’s going to continue. Look.” I replied as Lord Tirno’s aid bandaged the wounded hand. The noble man snapped at the squire to hurry up but no matter how much bandages he applied, they quickly soaked in more blood. Suddenly, sick of waiting, Lord Tirno pushed his squire back and retrieved the sword.
“It’s over.” Captain Kiln sighed again.
Down in the garden, Sir Janus repeatedly hit Tirno’s blade until it slipped from his bloody hand. Then Janus prompted his rival to retrieve his sword just to repeat the process. Three times Tirno raised his sword and three times Janus slapped it from his hand.
“What a shitshow.” Captain Kiln grunted just as Sir Janus disarmed Lord Tirno for the last time and chased him across the garden hitting the Baronette’s legs with the rapier’s flat side until he found shelter inside the Great Hall.
Sir Janus took a bow towards the balcony and threw his sword in the squire’s direction. The Captain slid four silver coins to my side of the handrail.
“Better spanked than dead.” I pointed out, pocketing the coins with a winning smile on my face.
“Sir Janus is a lowborn who reached knighthood because he was accepted in the Ebros Knights Academy. His position in the court is frail and yet he acts like an idiot.”
The squires cleared the garden and the nobles who had been observing the duel started vacating the balcony. I learned a couple more insults from overhearing their conversation, some of the nobles were fuming and I pictured them plotting against Sir Janus in the near future. A hurt noble’s ego was dangerous in this world or the other.
“Abei!” The captain suddenly called.
An old robbed man emerged from the group, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
“What is it, captain?”
The man had a shining bald head and a majestically bushy beard. Unlike the young man from the tower, Abei didn’t look like a cheap street magician but a full fledged sage.
“We have one of those portal hoppers. A Scholar.” Captain Kiln announced. “I thought you would be interested.”
In a single sentence, Abei’s face was cleared of all irritation. The old man made his way through the balcony with an eager stride and, unlike the captain, didn’t bother to measure me up with his eyes. Instead he jumped directly to the questions.
“Where are you from and how did you get here, young man?” Abei struck me like the kind of person who would look into a loaded shotgun’s barrel to satiate his curiosity.
“I’m Robert Clarke, humble servant of the City of Light. I arrived here due to a teletransportation accident.” I introduced myself, already expecting what will come next. The questioning.
“The City of Light? Never heard of that place.” Abei stroked his beard and looked around searching for an encyclopedia just to remember he was outdoors.
“And I never heard of Farcrest until I popped out here.” I replied with a shrug.
Abei nodded, understanding my predicament.
“You don’t seem to be scared for someone so far from home.” The man looked me directly in the eye. I was slowly getting used to being questioned.
“Three days in the Farlands is a hell of a cure for fear.” I replied.
The Captain gave me an approving nod. People of this world trusted too much in the System and too little in the common sense.
“Why am I being treated with such deference? I'm nobody after all.” I asked, eliciting a jolly laugh from the old man and I braced myself for a long story.
“People who are exposed to teletransportation spells usually are wealthy, noble or high level, so it's only logical to protect such individuals when the integrity of the kingdoms depends on them.” Abei explained. “Anyway, we need noble witnesses to grant you the permit. Let’s go to the audience room.” The man added as he invited me through the glass door into the Great Hall.
Before I could cross the doorway, Captain Kiln grabbed my arm and stopped me.
“Just don’t do anything stupid and things will go well. Understood?” The woman asked with a stern voice.
“Understood.” I replied, knowing perfectly well that doing stupid things, like jumping heads on into a dangerous world full of magic creatures, was exactly my specialty.
____________
First Prev Next (Patreon) Next
____________
Discord Royal Road Patreon

I recently joined this community to share my story hoping to hear some good advice/feedback from some genuine kind hearted people to fuel me on staying on the right track also to share and let people know that they arent the only person in this hard fight and battle against gambling. As i am still young i come from a family who basically had to struggle to make ends meet. So for me to save for a whole year working hard and then to gamble it all away in just a matter of 4months to me is just ludicrous. It all started after i took a vacation trip and came back to my hometown. When i got back i had to spend a couple more thousand on top of the money i had just spent on vacation in which i thought, what are some ways other then slaving myself at work again just to get this back? And sure enough i had the wrong friend in my ear telling me to place a bet. I think my worst thing was winning my first bet because after winning, when i would bet again and lose, i became numb and figured since i made a good amount off one bet that it would happen again and then when it didnt i began putting more and more money down and then losing that. By the way the money i was losing, i would have never in my life have risked gambling let alone spending it if i was in my right state of mind. To me losing 200$ was alot before i started gambling But after winning and losing 200$ it began to seem like a 1$ to me. And i think this is where the gambling disorder comes to play at. Its like my brain was altered. Altered me to lose a whole year of savings damn near half of my yearly salary. And currently i am grateful in this medical facility i work at they off bonus pay called incentive. I have now signed myself up to do doubles every single day working 16 hours a day up until july 15th just to attempt to make it all back in one month and hope to never make this stupid mistake ever again. I am currently down 13k and only make 35k average a year. I did the math and with me working every single day from now up june 7th until july 15th i should be able to make everything i lost gambling if not something close to it if i can just save my money and not gamble! My only advice to others out there is to never gamble. It isnt worth it. Gambling can literally be your worst nightmare as it has brought me to the lowest of the lowest point of my life currently. Not having money to barely eat daily nowadays, not having money to get up and go wherever i want and spend however much i wanted and not have to stress because i knew i had money left is driving me nuts. My whole plan for me saving all of that money for a whole year was to go to school i know that one day i will have to take responsibility in manning up and paying real bills other then just car insurance and phone bill so i was taking advantage of the grateful blessing that my mother was allowing me to still live with her without having to pick up any bills. But now i just set myself back and it feels like the world is on my shoulders. My whole motto was to work hard early on in my life so that i can chill in life later on. But now i just set myself back even more it feels like. The only part i can say is that with me losing my whole savings, is that i am not in debt with any credit cards, nor do i owe anyone money. No credit collections. So with me losing all of that money the only person i owe is me. 🙏 hoping i can turn this around i began to get worried and scared of myself because i have been doing things i would never do before i started gambling, like losing my whole paycheck and living paycheck to paycheck. This shit sucks but i know theres other possibly going thru way worst situations then i am. I pray for you if your reading this🙌. Love you.

I was only accepted into one of the PhD programs I applied to for this fall. Since it was my only offer, I accepted it.
I’ve had many many doubts from the beginning, but I told myself that the research and PI fits were very good (which is very true) despite being an unranked program in an area I am less than thrilled about living in. My doubts still have not gone away and this week have only been exasperated by trying to secure housing.
I have done massive amounts of work looking for housing and even flew across the country to visit some options and hope to feel better about the area. I found some good options and felt a little bit better about certain areas of the city. The school is located in a bad area and I’ve been told even by my new PI to avoid certain areas, so I did as safety is a huge concern.
Average cost of rent in the area for a 1 bed 1 bath is $1450. Which I can afford, but don’t meet the income requirements of 2.5-3x rent. Every apartment we visited and I have contacted since said that they do not permit co-signers (It seems like this was a recent change in the area bc many had said they were updated policies). They also said that I would be able to submit proof of funds which I have been saving (~42K) which should make me eligible to secure a unit.
With that in mind, I applied to an apartment 1390/mo just to be immediately denied even after we had talked to the leasing team there about my situation. I’m honestly at a loss at this point. So many things seem like bad omens and I don’t see how I’ll ever be able to get into a place to live if they all have these income requirements. I was nearly hysterical crying talking to the leasing agent yesterday so much that they probably think I’m crazy and wouldn’t want to lease to me at this point anyway. I’ve offered to pay many months upfront -literally anything to secure a unit and basically been told I’m SOL.
I have no idea what to do at this point and I’m honestly very close to telling them thank you, but I need to back out of my offer.
Student housing isn’t available since I have a dog and I’m not keen on having a roommate since I already have all the furnishings for a full apartment and honestly just need my space.

i’m so frustrated. i’ll start with i am very pro physical therapy, i love to learn how to safely move in my body for the long term. i’m not sure if this is a me problem or just a problem and idk if i have reasonable expectations, and would love some more opinions before i talk to my pt. it may just be a miscommunication.
i have explained to my PT that the main symptoms that would be good to address include being a little off balance, hand dexterity (was given to OT for that), and explained that regardless of how much i work out/am active i am always a little fatigued, even when i would teach multiple yoga classes in a day. i move a little slower than “average” for my age. this isn’t a new thing for me, as long as i can remember i have been a little slow moving, but she wants to address it.
i was hoping we’d do a couple sessions after the original assessment to help with the balance.
her session today pushed me so fricking hard. i was so sleepy on the way home to the point where i considered calling my dad to keep me awake on the phone lol. my eyes got hot and my eyelids puffy, my neck got hot and is now still hurting. i got home and puked a lot and laid in a dark room with a cold compress for a while and i’m just not sure if this is a “normal” experience for a thirty minute PT appointment. we didn’t even do anything absolutely absurd but she wouldn’t let me sit for even a minute. the temp in the room was also warmer than outside (66f degrees) and i don’t love that either. if i had a longer appt i would have needed to call for a ride bc i would have been near delirious.
her plan is twice a week for 12 weeksto get my endurance up to address my slower pace and to build muscle to help with the balance issue. i was willing to give it a try but in all honesty i don’t really trust her at this point after today.
so, sorry for ranting, i guess my question is: should i suck it up? am i over reacting/ is this normal? do i tell her to tone it down a bit or is this just the price of pt? she does work with neuro cases mainly so maybe i should just trust her? i just don’t have the energy or time to do the puking and needing to lay down for hours two times a week till september.
also, i had eaten and i had more than 40oz of water at that point in the day (mid afternoon), as dehydration would be something i would ask about if it was a friend in my shoes.

So I though after the Chad Daybell and other private lds study groups went awry, that lds Inc. Discouraged firesides or study groups outside of official sources.
My TBM cousins have gotten into kinda wonky self help stuff and recently posted on Facebook about Morgan Philpot coming near us for a "fireside".
I noticed right away it looked odd as the title and subject is obviously mormon ( "sign of the times ") but he was I na plaid shirt , no tie, and never speaks at actual church buildings. Which to me would make this not a fireside ?
Anyways, I found a link to said seminar on YouTube and watched a little but of it. Unable to shut my mouth half the time at the ridiculous shit he is spinning. Mormonism is already extreme, and anything that sits mormon adjacent just screams dangerous to me.
Wondering if anyone is familiar?

Little back story last Tuesday she was acting strange so I asked her what was up and that’s when she told me she was leaving. Said she didn’t feel the emotional connection anymore. So Wednesday we didn’t talk until that evening when I asked about my son. Then we get home and she’s talking to me like it never happened. Thursday I helped her dads girlfriend with some stuff and didn’t get home till late. Friday we both went to her dads and she was acting completely normal even invited me to dinner with them and it was like nothing had happened. Saturday is when we started moving stuff and she was acting the same way talking to me holding a conversation asking me to do little tasks for her anytime she needed it even though there was other people there. She was still including me in everything. So Monday I show up to her dads because he said I could borrow his weed eater. So when I show up she wasn’t to happy about it because I had forgotten to text her and let her know I was coming. But I finished with the weedeater and was taking it back and they wasn’t there so I decided to write a letter to explain how I was feeling about the whole situation and left it there for her to read. I get a text shortly after saying that her mind was made up and there was nothing I could do to change it. That destroyed me. But then yesterday when I got my son we was talking and she was headed to a bigger city near us to get party supplies for our sons birthday and I told her to be careful and said bye I love you and she said it back. But then when I turned around and said huh she had a oh crap look on her face (like oh no he heard me) then hurried up and said oh that was for our son and looked nervous. Then today I was getting off earlier than usual and I asked if I needed to get our son and she said that she would get him and that I could come and pick him up. I went to pick him up and she then was acting normal and holding a conversation then asked if I could fix her bumper on her car with a few zip ties. I’m just confused on the situation we had talked Friday before I went to work and I told her I was gonna keep trying and wouldn’t give up and change the things she had complained about and she said you can keep trying but don’t overwhelm me because it’ll just push me further away. I just need some outside input on what I should do. Should I keep trying or should I just give up. She was my whole life and the person I seen a future with and now I don’t know what to do

I am 67 years old and am at odds with my current ride, my ‘03 BMW R1150R. It’s fabulous, but I’m having a real problem dealing with the weight. This is bike #34 for me, and it’s not the heaviest I’ve ever ridden. I usages to have a ‘14 Honda Gold Wing F6B (bagger) I rode for 2 years until…cancer. I was diagnosed in summer of 2016, had surgery and 6 months of chemo. During the chemo days I flopped the F6B over at a stop light because of general weakness and some atrophy that was sneaking up on me. I wanted to cry…that bike was my best bike ever, and I just let it flop over. Two really nice men behind me in a ratty pickup truck jumped out and picked it up for me and helped calm me down. I rode the rest of the way home (South Florida) being careful to time all the lights to get home. That was the last ride on it for a long time. Eventually I had to do something. The chemo was long over, and I felt bad about it sitting outside in the heat even though I had the specific high end cover on it. After one of those nuisance hurricanes blew the cover into a neighbor’s yard, and feeling ongoing weakness in my legs, I became afraid to ride it. A dealer 30 miles away came and picked it up to service it and check for damage. This was fine, but when I went to fetch the bike, with my new Ranger Lariat and a U-haul, the dealer wouldn’t even show me my bike. This mega powersport dealer wanted my 5 year old F6B, and wouldn’t even roll it out for me to see. After some serious grumbling from me (I had patronized them many times before), I asked them to help me get it in the U-Haul. They balked and started to try to sell me a new bike. I still hadn’t laid eyes on my bike, and I had been there that day for nearly two hours. Because I knew my legs weren’t much improved, even after weeks of physical therapy, I suddenly decided that I might be willing to deal for something else, nice, flashy, and lighter. Two hours later I owned a 2017 Triumph Street Twin. That went into the trailer, and I never saw my F6B again. I wanted to cry again. I started on Hondas back in ‘71, had all those intervening bikes, and bought the Triumph without ever riding it. It went home in my trailer that was then loaded with all my goods so that I could move to the fantastic Pacific Northwest! It was 2019. Then came COVID. I was there to complete my emigration to Canada (new wife). But, many problems arose and the bike was parked in a storage unit, then a house I had to rent b/c I couldn’t bring all my stuff into Canada b/c my immigration process bogged down, and COVID came to kick everybody’s ass. After putting three hundred miles or so, the Triumph sat in a garage up a badly graveled road, so my fear of falling off of the bike was amplified even more. There it sat from September of 2019 until I finally got to enter Canada in May of 2020. But not the bike. More paperwork, and grief. The bike sat in Northern WA state for another year until I sold it thinking my riding days were up, and that I needed counseling or something about my trepidation on falling over again. TL:DR, right? However, I CANNOT NOT HAVE A MOTORCYCLE IN MY LIFE. So, having lost so much money on the F6B and the Triumph, I had to start saving all over again. That’s when I found the BMW for a great price. I got it, rode it home about thirty miles (US speedometer), pulled into the 30 degree slope up to get to our underground parking garage driveway that requires a 90 degree left turn to immediately drop down to the garage gate. Did you guess? I didn’t hit the driveway exactly, was nervous, and we went down right there, scraping the …. out of my left knee. Again, two house painters saw it and came to help me up. I wanted to cry. Got the bike down into the subterranean garage, and it sat while COVID was raging in Canada like everywhere else. I went down to the garage to clean it, pamper it, charging it up and running it. Then, as I was trying to get used to being married again, and some real anxiety, the BMW sat for a while until we were forced to move because of the rental crisis screwing us out of a place to live. June, 2022, we moved and I successfully rode the bike to our new location, on a hill, again. It has been down there ever since. It’s beautiful, old school cool, bright red and breaking my heart. So, here’s the real question: I need to sell it on and get something 100 pounds lighter. Because I’m really a Honda guy at heart, I’ve been looking for a used Hornet 600 or CB500F. I would rather have a four than a twin, though, and need something turnkey reliable, but not boring. I’ve lost 70 pounds, walk 7-8 miles every day, but my legs can stride but not push up or squat. The cancer and atrophy have left me needing to downsize my bike. In southern BC, I need to find my forever bike. #35 will probably be the last one, and my budget is shriveled to around $8,000 CAD. I’ve been trolling Kijiji, looking for a nice Honda, a Kawasaki W650, or whatever I can fit. I’m 6’4” so cruisers are out and too heavy. Sporty bike, less than 425 pounds, and one I can be happy with. Should have never let the Triumph go. I could ride it easily without any fear.

I'M SORRY, I'M DRUNK. To be fair, I'm still sober enough to know that I am definitely writing this and that my brain is still functional enough. But oh my god, guys, I'm sorry, I'm not kidding when I say I DESPERATELY NEEDED SOMEONE TO UNDERSTAND MY EMOTIONS, I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE FOR THIS AND NO ONE ELSE IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW HAS FINISHED IT TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
BUT MY GOD. I don't. What. Oh my god. Did anyone bawl and literally sob-cry at the second last episode? I don't know what to say, yet I have to let out some of my emotions or I'm gonna collapse like a supernova on the verge of becoming a blackhole I swear to God.
I started watching this randomly nearly 6-7 years ago. Things were so different back then. I ran out of steam and just never ended up finishing it when the last season came out. Yeah, it was a unique anime (imo, anyway, the premise itself is so fascinating, especially what the story grew into), but hey, there are a lot of unique shows I guess. But in general, as it tends to happen, life gets in the way and we all got shit to do.
Recently I thought, shit, why the fuck not finish this shit. I was supposed to watch it with a buddy, we finished the first season (again), but she got busy, I got busy, life happens.
Even more recently I thought, shit, fuck it, I'm gonna finish this goddamn thing. My friend was okay with it, we live drastically different lives and it's hard to get things in order for both of us to watch simultaneously, but she wouldn't mind and I'm fairly certain I did ask her if she's chill with me finishing it.
So again, I decided to finish it. I don't even know what to say. I don't binge, or at least I try not to binge as a result of preserving the emotions you may want to feel when going through any series. I had a relatively bad night last night, I had about 6 episodes left and half a bottle of whiskey (which is not empty because I'm not insane) and I decided to just finish it.
MY GOD. THE LAST BATTLE?!?!?!?! KAYANO'S POSSIBLE DEATH [hey hey, calm down put ur panties back on, I know there's the whole miracle of bringing her back, but I didn't know it would happen, and why the hell ruin the experience by being a smartass and going "oh hurr durr they're gonna bring her back" I decided I genuinely didn't know] THEM HOLDING KORO-SENSEI DOWN, HIM STILL EDUCATING AND THE FINAL ROLE CALL. Oh my god. I cried the whole fucking time, I'm not ashamed to admit it. THE WHOLE TIME, GUYS, I CRIED THE WHOLE TIME, I DON'T CARE. I cried. My god, that hurt. I don't. Fuck man, especially after the reveal of his backstory? and Kayano's backstory? and how far everyone got? The whole concept of E class being the underdog? The backstory of Principal Asano? The change in the entire school's behaviour with respect to E class? Everyone's hopes and dreams? I'm sorry, but Episode 24 almost destroyed me. Oh my god, Nagisa's ugly crying once the blow was dealt? The entire class, EVEN KARMA AND ITONA CRYING?!?!?!? I'm sorry I know this is probably a little extra, but I swear I'm aware of all these emotions and I'm feeling them all. It's so beautiful. This anime is so fucking beautiful. All the lessons. All the funny moments. All the solemn moments. All the moments of bonding. Those plot twists. The unique set up. The growth EVERYONE went through. No, I have 0 shame in admitting that a 25 year old man was just sitting here, drunk, crying and crying and crying. If I didn't have roommates, I would have cried just as hard as the entire E class. I would have shamelessly bawled like a fucking baby. No, I have 0 shame in admitting that.
I am a firm believer in learning of emotional intelligence through stories. I spent 20 years not being able to learn this from my family (a result of abuse and neglect, kudos to being a south asian I suppose), so the way I learned all this were through stories.
This takes the fucking cake. As soon as ep 24 was over, I immediately told my younger brother to watch it. I can't explain how much this anime means to me right now. My god. It's fucking beautiful. It's so fucking beautiful. It's almost perfect. I'm sorry, I dont. Fcuk. Holy shit.
IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THIS GODDAMN THING, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR YOU STUPID FUCK?????? GO WATCH IT, YOU GONNA WATCH DUMBASS SHIT ANYWAY, WATCH SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM. AND DON'T BE A FUCKING DOLT AND BINGE IT LIKE SOME NORMIE ASSHOLE I'm sorry please don't take any offense my drunken self may be dealing out to you. For real. This anime is amazing. It's not perfect, obviously, but it doesn't matter. It's so good. It will teach you so many things.
Rest in Power, Koro-sensei. You don't even really exist, but thank you sir, for everything, for all your wisdom, for all your sorrows, for all your pain, for all your mistakes, for all the things you wish you had done differently. When I watch your story again, and I know I will, I will try to remember every single goddamn lesson you taught us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Apparently I was shadowbanned from vent from some reason, even though I posted there maybe like once a long time ago, but it's not important. I don't know why I'm writing it, I know it won't help me feel better, I know that no matter how much words I'll spit from my mouth, my heart will be still covered in flames, in agony. I hate myself, I hate that I have audacity to feel bad, to feel tired, to say that I don't like something. I can keep this insanity going, telling how I was raised, about my "depression", even though I don't believe I have it, about my family. I'm not sure what I'm expecting. People are something awful, but amazing at the same time. I like talking to many people about hobbies, how I spend my time, about me, about them, but only in short term. Because I'm a shitty person, I cannot even keep anything going. I don't know how to keep others near me, don't know how to show I care. I tried everything, progress and further research is just futile, I don't see anything getting clearer. I lost my feelings, I lost a lot. I never cared about material stuff, but everyone said I should. I don't know how people just forgot about dignity, honor, symbolism of small actions, how they got rid of something that makes us human, a good human. Anyway, I'm too exhausted both physically and mentally to write more, I feel my pills slowly kick in

First time posting here as I am actually a visitor and not a resident. Something happened to me and my fiance on Kingsland Road in Hackey on our way to a concert this evening. A man came up to us from behind, said something, and gestured behind him. I looked back, thinking we might've dropped something, but nothing was there. Confused, I asked him "Sorry, what did you say?"
He then gave me this weird kind of smile and started saying something to me I didn't understand, he was definitely slurring. He started getting up close to me. Anyway, my fiance came between us and told him to back off. He immediately got angry and started squaring up to him, my fiance said "leave my fiancee alone" and he started snapping back bits and pieces "just one drink" and "are you gonna fck her? Are you gonna fck her?"
I got scared at this point and pulled my fiance and myself into a small kebab shop/takeaway at the side and luckily for us, one of the workers and another passerby helped us get rid of him, but it took 3 men yelling at him to go away to finally leave. I wish I remembered the name of the takeaway that helped us, but I just wanted to get away asap. All I know was it had a bus stop outside and was near the Earth Arts centre in Hackney.
It's left me quite shaken, and wanted to put a warning out there to other women, especially those travelling alone. He was maybe in his 30s or early 40s, I'd estimate 5'8ish, short dark hair, olive complexion. Wearing a sweater. That's all I remember. My fiance says at one point he saw him try to reach up under my skirt, but I didnt notice as I was too busy looking on the ground where he'd gestured to.
Please please be careful.

Hi reddit, I wish someone could help me(It's nearly imposible though), since is a difficult time to search my sister for myself (my age doesn't let me do it anyway, I'm 16 m).
I was born in Russia, in a town named Vladivostok, and so was my sister. We were both gave in adoption since our parents couldn't give us the best life. I was adopted by a Spanish couple who tried to adopt my sister too, but she was already adopted. I don't know where is she now, I don't even know her name. My Spanish family kept my Russian name (translated though; my name is Pedro, I don't know the Russian form)
Thank you if you stop to read this.