It's simpler to engage in behaviors like secretly monitoring their spouse's phone or even enlisting outside assistance from hackers when a partner cheats. Who am I, after all, to dictate how others choose to maintain their relationships? Prior to this, I was in a relationship where my partner's infidelity and the blatant lies I was being told nearly led me to lose my mind. I was curious to find out the truth, even if it was just to prove to myself that I wasn't crazy and that I had been right the whole time. You might possibly require the assistance of a hacker. To contact him, send an email to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).

So for context for the story, not literally today but not a long time ago. A couple friends and I took a small trip a couple hours out of our city to go camping and fishing for a couple days. It was a great time and good being out there, but not the point.
On our last day there, my two friends who were there with me were going to go down to a creek down the hill from camp, but agreed to be back at camp by the evening to eat whatever they caught, start packing up and heading home. I stayed up at camp.
While they were gone, a bit after when we were supposed to meet, I started to go look for them because I was worried they had gotten lost, but I couldn’t find where they were, and started to get nervous and kinda freak out. After about an hour or two, I was extremely worried about them as the sun was going down and we had no cell reception.
I went to the park manager for help, when another camper heard me and was willing to help me find them. We drove around trying to find them, but eventually we found them actually fairly close to our camp near the stream. If we weren’t able to find them, the park manager would’ve called the police.
Unfortunately, he also told me while we were looking that the season for fishing in that specific river was closed, meaning the fish we had caught were technically illegal. We didn’t know that, but when I found them we had to throw the fish back so we wouldn’t risk a fine. We should’ve known that before we went, but our mistake.
So now my friends are pissed with me, because I was really worried about them and I couldn’t find them, leading to asking for help from someone, leading to a police scare and almost getting my friends in trouble. Now I’m terrified that I screwed up my relationships with my friends, as these are some of my best friends. All because I was worried. TIFU
TLDR: I went camping and fishing with some friends, couldn’t find where they went, started to get worried about them when they didn’t come back when we agreed to, leading to the police almost getting called and getting my friends in hot water. Now they’re pissed at me.

Sold my business about 6 months ago and due to some other life events I'm now sitting on about $4M NW at 29 years old with about $3.5M being liquid. Nearly all of the liquid funds are sitting in an S&P500 index fund with just a bit still in cash.
I was recently approved for a PAL through Schwab at 2% + SOFR for a total rate of ~7%.
I was told how powerful a tool a PAL/SBLOC can be but I don't quite know how to put it to work for me. I have two cars already paid for, my primary residence is nearly paid off and I don't plan to upgrade or buy a second home anytime soon taking any sort of "major" life purchases off the table.
I don't want to become a landlord so that nixes any sort of real estate investment which seems like the most common route.
Any examples or guidance of what folks have done here to put a PAL to work for them to generate more income/investments?

Maybe it was the presence of human emotions of this sort… this ‘pity’ thing was kind of new to me. I know, I know, you might be wondering, ‘Didn’t you pity Suki?’ or ‘Didn’t you pity Jin?’ and the answer is ‘no’. Maybe if things got worse for them, but Suki was alive and Jin was still in school, they weren’t at what humans call ‘Rock Bottom’ yet, so why would I feel pity?
But stealing snacks and working for someone who loathes you to buy old bento while wearing dirty clothes and living in a body they had to know was kind of bad smelling? Maybe things could have been worse but… well if it got worse that didn’t mean they weren’t at rock bottom, it just meant that they were at rock bottom when somebody handed them a stick of T.N.T. like out of one of those old cartoons so they could blast their way down deeper.
So yeah, yeah I pitied the boy, which probably was obvious and probably made him feel worse. But then again he did pick on Jin and so I wasn’t too concerned about him feeling bad about eating pity-bento.
Jin showed up about two hours prior to closing, a smile on his face, he was clearly increasingly happy in the last few days, and this was no exception. “Thanks again, Kayobi! I’ll lock up!” He said and waited while I bought snacks for myself.
“Sure thing, see you tomorrow.” I promised, and went back to my apartment.
I immediately turned on the television and tossed my snacks on the coffee table sitting in front of my plushy, soft couch, and after a moment’s consideration I decided, after putting on my pajamas, I would make Asahi’s life just a little bit easier.
I gathered my dirty clothing and threw it into an old green laundry bag I’d acquired, along with a few single-use detergent packets, then put the little box of trash bags out on the countertop for him to easily find, right next to the dish soap. I had almost no dishes, but there were some plastic ones I sort of kept and reused.
And that was that. I teleported my snacks into my hand and flopped myself on the couch, leaving the door cracked open so that Asahi would know I was there and couldn’t later pretend he knocked and nobody was home or something equally absurd.
I did have my doubts about his arrival, would he show or not show? I looked at my chocolate cream cookies and my bag of melon chips and licked my lips. I chose to have a little fun with it.
I stacked up my cookies, ten high. Then I set out a few handfuls of chips on the table and checked my phone. He had ten minutes. “Alright, if he shows up, I eat you.” I pointed at the cookies. “If he doesn’t show up, I eat you.”
“Nooo…” I gave the cookies and chips voices, and messed around with making them protest their pending consumption.
“I’m sorry, cookies and chips, but you are made of deliciousness, and Kayobi must consume to be content. But worry not, for you will live on in memory, no matter what happens, bear it bravely, and you need die but once.” I said and made a dramatic half bow to my snacks before laughing at my silly game and turning on the show to watch a boy getting flung around by a lamia’s tail as he tried to bear her…superabundant…affections.
I liked this show a lot, the characters were fun with all their silly romantic hijinks, I really felt the haphazard struggles of the male lead, but of all of them, Smith was my favorite. Doing all she could to avoid work at every turn…
I don’t know, something about her just spoke to my soul.
So I watched the story unfold as he was nearly choked, accidentally did some no-no touching thanks to her poor directions while he was blindfolded, and otherwise just had his life turned upside down.
And while I watched I took a look at the food menu for a delivery place. Before I could order anything or even make a decision, there was a knock at my door.
It opened a crack, and I said, “If you’re a Yakuza hitman, I’ll murder you, but if you’re Asahi, good timing, come on in.” I didn’t bother looking toward the door.
“H-Hi… ah… Yakuza hitman?” He asked, his boldness was completely gone from him, and he now seemed a lot smaller to me as he slipped in the door without even opening it all the way.
I snorted and gave a dismissive wave, “It’s an inside joke, don’t worry about it.” I proceeded to reach for the cookies and popped the top one into my mouth, and while my left cheek was puffed out I said, “Here’s the deal, Asahi, I hate chores. So you can do them for me to pay me back. Start with my laundry, and by the way, there’s enough detergent for ‘extra’ loads. If you happen to use it all up while washing some of your own, fine. Don’t care, just get mine done.”
I then pointed to the green bag sitting against the wall. “But don’t do anything pervy with my underwear. I watch your shows, and this is not one of your ecchi programs.” I glowered at him, and the young man blushed a bright crimson in his face.
“I-I wouldn’t! I-” He tried to protest, but I cut him off.
“Don’t worry about it. After you’re done, there’s some dishes to do and some cleanup here in the living area. Get that handled, and by then, well I’m about to order dinner, if you want the leftovers, that’s fine. Then we’ll call it square for today. Questions?” I asked, and when his stomach rumbled, I threw another cookie in my mouth.
He was all but salivating. “Yeah… I… I got it.” He murmured.
“Then get to it, and I’ll see you in about two hours.” I said, and then went back to watching my show while he went to do my laundry.
The door closed behind him, and you know something?
I’d never felt so bad about anything in all my life. Never. Not once. I looked at the remaining stack of cookies and chips, “I am afraid, since the goddess of your world is kind of an evil monarch, there will be no clemency for any of you. Your sentence is to be carried out immediately.” I said to my food, and tossed them cookie by cookie and chip by chip into my mouth with crunch after crunch continuing until such time as the whole of my doomed snacktopian subjects were quite devoured.
But they hadn’t tasted good.
It was more like ashes in my mouth than explosive tastiness.
I felt like the Yakuza bosses by exploiting Suki and who knew how many others around Shinjai. Or like I’d kicked a damn puppy for chewing on a shoe. Alright, what Asahi had done was bad, but I’d already punished him and he’d seemingly stopped.
“Stars above… he is just a kid, don’t kick him while he’s already down, Kayobi.” I told myself and contemplated my now devoid execution square where all the chips and cookies were sacrificed on the altar of my divine laziness.
As I watched the protagonist start to drown in the mermaid’s pool, I selected an order for pizza from my phone. I ordered some from a local chain, Aoki’s, and one from a popular American one, Domino’s. I used a few coupons to get some freebies thrown in, and then that was that.
It was only a matter of time before that got here, and Asahi got back, and then maybe my food would stop tasting bad. Evidently treating people badly ruins meals, even if they deserve it. “Hmpf. Who knew?” I rolled my eyes at my own question, stretched out, and resumed watching the nigh invincible protagonist suffer every kind of indignant injury, and I laughed the entire time.

I’ve searched the sub and found a number of various “badass” “competent” or “powerful” FMC requests but not quite asking exactly what I’m looking for.
I don’t want the story of FMC learning her power, I want her confident in her abilities, she knows she’s a badass. I don’t want her known or feared for her power (if that fear from others comes as the story progresses I guess sometimes that can’t be avoided). I want MMC to just be puppy dog in love.
Picture this scenario:
Somehow FMC gets intertwined in whatever shenanigans MMC is up to, he doesn’t know how powerful she is, no one really does except FMC. She’s just out here living her best simple life. They get into trouble and without effort or thought FMC does some crazy feat of magic. Say they were captured or something and when FMC gets tired of being tied up (she could escape at any time) she just simply snaps and every one of their captors is asleep. MMC’s eyes bug out, he is shocked and in awe, and 100% into it. I want him to know his lady is powerful, to trust her, her decisions, and her power. He can be powerful too but I want her to be just OTT, and entirely casual about it. A perfect moment for me would be FMC and MMC are in BAD GUY territory, the BIG BAD is going to kill them, maybe they have a knife to FMC’s throat she decides she is over it and just wooshes the air from their lungs, the GOOD GUY GANG’s jaws drop, they are like “whhhattt” MMC is like “yea she does that” with a dorky grin. FMC picks up the knife and its hers now.
Bonus points for: -MMC is also powerful in his own way. -Himbo - Light in tone but not opposed to dark themes and such. -On the romantic side of things it would be cool if he wasn’t sure if she was into him that way but she just thought it was a given, even before they “get together”. Maybe at one point he thinks they will part ways b/c why would she still be with him, he turns to leave and she’s like “where are you going?” simply as though it were a given they’d be going on together. Or she buys them one room at an inn without any thought that they wouldn’t be sharing a bed.
Gender: Any combo MMF, MF, FF, and MM, FFM, etc is fine but I am primarily looking for MF in this instance. Genre: Just not normal earth as it is right now. I prefer Sci-fi and Fantasy.
Examples that fit the general vibe in some way that I’ve read: - Hot and Badgered (Pretty much fits perfectly) - An American werewolf in Space (Fits near perfectly as well) - The rising wave (hits a lot of the vibes) - Clean Sweep - The Bridge Kingdom (sort of hits some of the vibes) - When wishes bleed (sort of hits some of the vibes)
Books I didn’t like though they may fit in some ways: - Burn for me (I can’t get into Mad Rogan… he just isn’t a good love interest for me) - Magic Bites (Idk I just wasn’t getting into it, I DNFd) - A deadly education (I liked the story but the …rambling style through me off) - Born in fire (good story but couldn’t get behind the love interest)

My life before Earth was a dreamless sleep. A thing that is in a very real sense, a kind of death. I did not feel for the longest time, like I really existed. What I mean is… I was a tool that worked. Not much else. All of us were.
The dlamisa guiding the AI construction. The programmer who created new software. The geneticist who had to oversee the dying to identify useful genetic mutations that might be useful in improving our species ability to survive.
And the student who aspired to rise to the heights of government… yes… even those at our highest levels of administration, our ‘council’ was no different than I or anyone else. I have to say, I never thought I would give my species credit for this over humanity, but at least our senior leaders were as dead inside as the rest of us.
They weren’t exploiting us to bring happiness to themselves, they shared in our common hopeless trudging, whereas most human dictators freed themselves but enslaved their people.
The upshot to this of course was that my quiet revolution, that which was undermining everything of the last few thousand years, would, I believed, be as embraced by them as by everyone else.
I’m sure there were people investigating me by now, and while I doubted it even occurred to Livingston, I’m fairly certain that somewhere in the halls of power on Dlamias, somebody set me to this with the specific intent that I be killed by the Praeda. They, not having recognized the value of the changes radiating outward, would have seen the first hints of it, seen me as a disruptive outlier, and decided a dangerous mission was the best way to handle me without creating an interplanetary incident with an allied state.
Essentially it’s what they did with Bonny Red and all the other scouts. Send the problem elements to useful but dangerous jobs and sooner or later they’d be killed off and there’d be no more problem.
Understanding this terrified me to my core, and when Fauve arrived for dinner that evening, I addressed the Walkers and told them what I suspected.
“How sure are you of this?” Fauve asked, her eyes were narrow as she searched my face, Byron and Boatswain, were speaking silently through their expressions as she asked me, but I could tell they reached the same conclusion.
Michael, thankfully, had finished early and was enthralled in a virtual game and so, heard nothing from his room. William and Rebecca were quiet too, but I could see this definitely hit them hard.
“As sure as I am that I’m still going.” I answered. “This is exactly the sort of way my homeworld likes to deal with ‘problematic elements’. And I have been a very problematic element for some time now.”
“And we adore you for it.” Rebecca insisted, “But what does that mean for us?”
“Maybe nothing, maybe everything?” I sort of asked, and reached for my glass of wine. I drank half the glass and stared down into the dark red remainder. “If you pulled out, I could explain privately to the Presider, but to be honest, I think you all have a better chance at this than anyone.”
“Really?” William asked.
“Yes.” I said, deadpan. “There are probably a few thousand people who have any experience working with aliens. Only a few hundred total who live with them. Only one household has generations of multispecies experience, and besides that?” I pointed toward Rebecca, “A master of genetic science.” I pointed to William, “An engineer building the first space station in history to be able to construct designs from multiple species.” I gestured to Fauve, “A media expert who has been learning her trade more or less from the time she was fourteen and who has amassed knowledge on how to ‘connect’ with nonhumans.”
I huffed, “When you get right down to it, the Walkers have become outliers, anomalies on Earth, with a breadth of experience that make you indispensable… but this is dangerous. You’re venturing into a place where you’ll be met with great suspicion and probably a lot of hostility. I don’t want anything to happen to you, so normally I would say not to go.”
“Normally?” William asked.
I drank the rest of my wine and held out my glass, Boatswain grabbed the bottle closest to him and tilted the bottle over to refill it, the sloshing noise made my ears twitch with anticipation. If it weren’t for the somber discussion, my tail would have been wagging.
“Yes. If we fail, at least we have a good ship to escape in and the good Captain will be able to go nearly anywhere. At least this way, if things go wrong, we have a way to escape. But on a planet? We’re trapped.” I shook my head, and Boatswain reflexively let out a very defensive growl at the prospect of hostilities.
“You might be safer going, than staying…but you should go in knowing what to expect. From what Bonny Red says, the attacks are sporadic and focused on outlying and obscure areas, this is the same thing that happened when the war broke out last time. My people, and many others, started trying to weaken their neighbors in secret before the Rogue World would pass us by. If some species are doing that again, I doubt it will be nearly as hard for fighting to break out this time.” I drank half my glass and set it down.
Fauve, for her part, was sifting through her datapad, I wondered what she was up to, but I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“Wow…” She whistled and flipped her datapad around. “Even Chi’cagoa Rea didn’t look this bad.” She was looking at photo records of the old war, it was hardly classified information, and was well documented for the most part, but most of the information was very divided from one species to the next, each one concerned only with their side and their perspective.
It was only now after life on Earth and seeing their amalgamated records of perspectives that I realized the value of gathering all views of events together, and how myopic we really have been for a very long time.
“We’re still going, of course, am I right, mom, dad?” Fauve asked.
William was sullen for a moment. “Yes. Yes definitely.” His face was grave, his eyes steadily focused on the table, but not really seeing it. “The first ships will be ready soon, if violence does break out I can make sure Michael gets a spot on the escape ships, and he’ll be safe with Iskandar’s family. I suppose we could have him stay with my sisters or cousins but… better for him to be closer to the familiar.”
Rebecca made her own thoughts known soon enough, “If something happens to us out there, what then?”
None of us liked that idea, but it had to be addressed. Losing his entire family would be a horrible thing.
But at the same time, we had the best chance collectively of making sure that didn’t happen.
“Are we sure we shouldn’t just bring him with us?” Fauve asked. “Hear me out,” she said as her parents opened their mouths, she held one hand out from her body in a gesture for them to stop and listen. They did, and Fauve went on, “He’s in just as much danger here as he is there, the only difference is the time between one danger and the next. And there at least we have a ship to escape on, one that won’t leave him behind. What if he stays here and there’s a problem with construction? What if someone doesn’t give him a spot on a ship even if we reserve one. We won’t exactly be able to file a complaint now, will we?”
Her question was thick with sarcasm, and her point was as sharp as Boatswain’s teeth.
“The Red Spark is exceptionally well armed.” I added, “It’s also one of the fastest ships in the galaxy. She might be right, it might really be the safest place in all this. Plus it is technically a neutral ship, they’re less likely to fire on it.” I pointed out.
Of course I would be negligent in my duties if I didn’t properly discuss what happened at the dinner table from an academic perspective. Notably, the discussion took place away from Michael. He was still a young boy, lacking in maturity despite his relative sharpness. As such, parents often make decisions without consulting them, there are exceptions, and I will say that they would often talk to him about what he wanted and did not want for himself.
However, it was a matter of course that on issues far beyond a child’s knowledge that he would be ‘told’ what would happen and then have it explained. Discussing it away from him minimized confusion. I compare this to Fauve’s stubborn insistence on speaking to the press when she was fourteen.
The distinction of four or five years for human young is considerable, in the middle teen years, independence grows dramatically and decision making becomes that much more important for them. I had little doubt that, were Michael of the age now that Fauve was then, he would have been party to this discussion and his wishes would have carried great weight.
Further, it is noteworthy that it was William who first addressed the question of whether the family would go. Mild as he was, he was a more impulsive thinker, it seemed to me that in their marital relationship, William spoke first, and then Rebecca, after considering matters at greater length, would address the subject with thoughts of her own. Whether this was an echo of the patriarchal society of the past or of their impulsive versus deliberate personalities was impossible to say. But in studying humans I noticed that while impulsivity was common enough in both sexes, it was more pronounced in their males, not only in frequency but in grandiosity.
I theorize that this serves a similar function to the less intelligent animal life in which males must compete for attention from potential mates, such as by having brightly colored feathers or fur. Human males may therefore be prone to speaking or acting first in the hopes of garnering favorable attention.
Of course, they’re a cultured people, intelligent and with wildly varying personalities, thus I also note that the most effective mated pairs ‘blend’ their natures into productive ends. Rebecca’s tendency to speak ‘after’ him, reflected her preference to think for longer, but as on this occasion, she applied her thoughts to his to come to a viable solution.
Being family to me, I didn’t want to see them fight… but at the same time? The academic in me wishes they’d disagreed so I could gather more data on how they would have resolved such a profound disagreement.
Insofar as Fauve, her vocal opinion on the matter was heard by both parents, who at her bidding restrained themselves from interrupting her. Hearing someone out is of paramount importance to human society, and one of the most disrespectful things you can do to another is to refuse to listen to their words.
It said a great deal about the quality and amiability of their relationship with their daughter that they listened so closely to what she had to say. Too, it says something of her that what she had to say was so eminently sensible.
Of course, I still had to deal with the fact that somebody was trying to get me killed… if in a very ‘impersonal’ sort of way. But I had no intention of dying, and if anything, I was already thinking ahead as to how I might use this situation to further my rebellion, and bring about the destruction of everything I had come to loathe about our way of life.
In the end, they would thank me for it, of that, I was profoundly certain.

Hello! There was a good amount of interest on the potluck I posted a couple weeks ago and a request to share future ones, so here is our next summer potluck hosted by the Minnesota Transplants Discord!
This Saturday 6/10 starting at 4, we will be having a potluck at Beard's Plaisance, near Lake Harriet. While this group is dedicated to building community with transplants, anyone happy to hang out with a bunch of out-of-staters is welcome! Last time we had about 10-15 people and it was a good time. If you feel included to bring a dish for the potluck, that would be awesome, but you are also welcome to come as you are. I will have cold drinks, finger sandwiches, and plates/cutlery available.
The best way to get all the info you need on this event is to join our discord: https://discord.gg/kKRcK3zFn6 , but if you're interested and don't have discord, please give a shout here or send me a direct message and I will send you an update when I get to the park on where we are set up and what to look for.
Hope to see you there!

I am 17 years old with confirmed peyronies disease. I have seen my dick get slowly disfigured and shrink over time. Ive seen urologists who have diagnosed me with it. However recently it also apears I am getting corporal fibrosis. This is not the same as peyronies as peyronies takes place in one localized spot in the tunica vs corporal fibrosis where my entire corpus cavernosum is getting harder. I am extremely familiar with peyronies and I know everything that can be done. However i could not find much info on corporal fibrosis. Has anyone ever managed to restore their erectile tissue? If so what can I do to treat it?
I have not been officially diagnosed with corporal fibrosis but here is why i believe i have it. For one, i can feel my peyronies plaque. It is very hard but also localized. My corpus cavernosum especially on the right is getting weirdly rubbery and and stiff from the the tip to the base. It feels different than the peyronies plaque and is clearly inside the corpus cavernosum rather than on the tunica (or in my case the septum too). This rubbery/stiff feeling stretches from the tip to the base inside the corpus cavernosm. It is the most rubbery where the tip is, also where i have the most deformaty. The left side of my penis feels much less rubbery through my corpus cavernosum and seems to be way more squishy/flexible at all times. Also the side with nearly no deformaty.
All this being said if this is true then what i have thought has just been peyronies could be a combination of these two conditions. And it could potentially get better if i treat it as such. Online i could not find as much info on corporal fibrosis. Does anyone have any experience with it? Is it curable? If so does anyone know treatments? Any other info is cool too.
My erection quality is mediocre. I can get fully hard but ONLY through stimulation. Never otherwise. I also take cialis L citruline L carnitine.

I’ve been with the same family for 6 1/2 years. They have 5 kids, ages 5-14. The mom told me from the very start that she does not like sitters to be just sitting around when the children go to bed. She wants laundry done, the dishes done, the house just cleaned in general. I understand cleaning up after myself and the children, but there have been times when I have loaded up an entire dishwasher with dirty dishes and proceeded to hand wash the remaining sink full of them. None of it was mine. She has even asked me to put away her clean clothes when the kids go to bed. Sometimes when I arrive at the house, the family is gone running some errands, so she will give me the door code to get in and have me make everyone supper for when they arrive. They have a chef who leaves them with pre made meals once a week so it isn’t a whole lot of prep. Every couple of weeks, she will have me wash all the bedding and remake all the beds. I don’t think she realizes how much of a huge process this is, washing 6 sets of bedding and remaking them all (bunk beds included, which are the worst to remake). My general wages, which I have worked up to over the years, are $25 per hour; when bedding is involved, she usually tacks on an extra $40 to my check. I know this is difficult since I do way more than just childcare with her, but can somebody tell me if I am being underpaid? If so, I have a really great relationship with her, so I would like to discuss a raise.
Also, does anyone charge extra for last minute babysitting requests? Yesterday, I was booked with a family until 5 PM. The mother of the family I wrote about above said that her other sitter bailed and she needed me at 7 PM. I live in the mountains, so it’s about a 1.5 hour drive for me to get to her house. In these instances, would it be wrong of me to request that she provide me some gas money? I mean, it’s nearly 3 hours of driving total for a 4 hour job that I’m making $100 at. And I had no time to plan since I was given a couple hours notice.
Advice from caregivers and parents would be great!

Following humans is really easy. I can be a bird, a bug, a man or woman… I can be anything I wish to be, when I wish to be it, and with their ignorance of the wider Universe beyond their own world, and a total lack of magic in their hands… What do I have to worry about? What hope have they of keeping me out of where I wish to go, of keeping me from following who I wish to follow?
Exactly. Mind you I’m not one to abuse this ability, I don’t stalk Jin or Suki or the rest of the neighborhood, I would never abuse these gifts.
I just do what has to be done. So, I followed on, it was evening, it was dark, and I was miffed about my needing to do this instead of watching ghoul boy struggle through learning to use his new powers in yet another hero fiction that is surprisingly better than one would think.
I did have the relief of knowing that these were professionals, and so when they realized their phones were broken and their car wouldn’t stop ‘properly’ they actually didn’t drive with reckless disregard for anyone else.
Based on how the car slowed down on the road, they must have simply taken their foot off the pedal, then let the car ‘coast’ to a stop in a nearly empty parking lot.
To make a long story into a short one, when they’d borrowed a phone and called for help, I had an even easier time, because ‘that’ car would definitely belong to their specific organization. Professionals are predictable, they follow rules, even if only internal ones, and since the Yakuza were sort of ‘legal criminals’ it wouldn’t be that hard to figure out which gang was trying to extort my little town. Just find the organization who the car is registered to.
And if I had to go up one more level after this, I would.
Inside the vehicle I was following as it drove into the city, I could hear their conversation, in all its glorious consternation.
“...The tires were popped and the brakes were cut, one is one thing, but four tires and a brake line? Someone did that.” The driver. I recognized his voice.
“Nobody could have gotten around us, so then how…?” The passenger. He still believed it was an accident. I don’t blame him. And also, I couldn’t be blamed for mentally smirking. My current bird beak wouldn’t do that, but it was fine. I smirked inside my head and that was good enough.
The building they parked under was dark, and frankly a little dank, the rain from before left some moisture behind, I supposed. But more importantly, just to be cautious I landed behind a pillar, returned to myself, and cast my spell. [Y’tilibisivni] And then I sauntered out from behind the pillar and watched them exit the car.
They were still arguing with each other, the two idiots, that is, as I followed behind them and watched them get into the elevator.
A wicked impulse came over me, looking down at the glowing elevator button. I could have just disabled it, but… Instead I just pushed the button.
The doors were just about to close, and I got them to open.
They ceased arguing, looked around, saw nothing, and the taller of the two pushed the ‘close door’ button.
I remained outside and pushed the ‘up’ button again.
Again the doors began to open.
“Really?” He asked the Universe.
“Really.” I thought, and as the door closed again, I pushed the button a third time.
A fourth.
A fifth.
Until his face grimaced and he punched the panel with a shout. “Damn it!” He snarled, “Come on, we’ll take the stairs!”
“It’s a hundred twenty floors up!” His companion squeaked.
“And we’d have done twenty of them in the time it took to make that decision. Come on! The damn thing is busted.” He said as I… pushed the button again, forcing the doors to part one more time.
I, of course, had no intention of taking the stairs. I waited until they stormed into the stairwell, then stepped through the elevator, hit the button for the top floor, and leaned against the wall with my arms crossed and humming contentedly with a real smirk on my invisible face that held all the way up there and to through the very moment when the two emerged from the stairwell huffing and puffing and hunched over, with sweat dripping from their faces and staining what were admittedly very nice dark suits.
I crinkled my nose at the smell, but went into step as they walked over the rich scarlet rug that lead to a polished black set of double doors.
I slipped in behind them and watched as they approached a middle aged man in frankly much better shape than the old guy from before. He was at least as well dressed and was sitting on his heels with his legs curled beneath him in front of a low table that was fairly common in this part of the world.
In front of him was a bottle of expensive wine that was already half empty, and a paper he was writing on by hand. ‘A little more traditional than I expected but… tastes are what they are.’
“Why are you two here? What happened, eh?” He tilted his head back and glared at the sweaty pair, his nose crinkled just as mine had when the smell of sweat hit his nostrils.
“And why are you sweating? We have an elevator!” He snapped and pinched his nose shut.
“Didn’t… work…” The larger of the pair said and they descended to their knees, then down to all fours.
They then explained what happened, the tires, the breaks… I kind of thought the boss would lose his temper a little when they explained, but to my surprise, he was very calm about it.
“We’ll have it towed tomorrow, good work avoiding an accident I guess but… how did all that happen in the first place?!” He groused, mixing praise with visible annoyance.
I sat down at the table and waited until they were done. “I’ll get some other people out there tomorrow. You two… just… get out.” He rubbed his forehead and the pair hastened away as fast as they’d entered… perhaps a little faster, now that they’d had a few minutes to rest.
I waited until we were alone, just he and I, and until he rose to his feet and had his back to the door, approaching his desk near the window.
Last time I chose another world’s warbeast. This time, I decided to go with something more… local.
I stood, shifted into the form of a towering werewolf, something bigger, larger even than their myths, and the first moment he knew I was there was when my long furry fingers and sharp claws were coming around from behind him… and he saw my reflection in the glass.
He opened his mouth to scream, my free hand came up and I pinched his tongue with clawed thumb and forefinger, denying him the ability to do so. “Gahawahh gawhaaha” Was all he managed to get out, he shook his head, but bound by his tongue, he couldn’t really even properly protest. My dark fur was so close he couldn’t not see it, even in the dim light of his office. My hot breath wafted over his face and made him try again to tear himself free.
I squeezed, I could feel his body ‘crack’ just a little. ‘Hey! I brushed my teeth, damnit! My breath doesn’t stink!’ I thought, and now I was really annoyed. Bad enough they were taking up my free time, but now they add insult to injury.
“Stay. Out. Of. Shinjai.” He growled. “Did my message not reach you? Shinjai belongs to the devil. Did I come to your house, disrupt your day, make things inconvenient for you?!” I shouted and shook him around like a ragdoll. I released his tongue so I would not tear it out, and held him up so that he was level with my bright yellow eyes.
“You-” He started to protest, I shook him around again until he shut up.
“Did I?!” I demanded in a wolfish, rough, gravely voice.
“N-No.” He grimaced as I squeezed tighter.
“You may come to Shinjai… as people. Spend money, patronize their businesses. But commit no crimes, and never come as Yakuza. In the house of the devil… you do not demand water.” I then straightened, putting the claw on my thumb just beneath his chin, grazing his vulnerable throat.
“If I must repeat this to your boss. I already know where he is, I will bring down these buildings on your heads. The devil does not deal.” I growled, and squeezed again, his legs began to kick and flail… I was bluffing of course. With what I already had, and with a little help from one of our satellites, I was pretty sure I could get everything I needed to in short order.
“Tell me you understand… human?” I growled.
His head bobbed up and down, “Yes. Yes! I understand!” He gasped and wheezed as my grip tightened.
“Good.” I dropped him to crumple in a heap, and he remained on all fours while he hacked and coughed and his body trembled in a mix of horror and disbelief.
“What… does the devil… want with Shinjai… anyway? It’s just a poor backwater…” He asked and began rubbing his throat where my claw had been not but a moment before. The little red dot on his hand where he rubbed would serve as a fine reminder, I should hope.
But even so, he was braver than I expected, to be at a werewolf’s feet and still question me? I chose to reward his courage.
“A vacation. I work hard. I want to relax. Shinjai is good for that. Do not disrupt my vacation again.” I don’t know what compelled me to say that, I mean, I meant to reward him, so it wasn’t an accident, but even so, I could have come up with a better excuse.
But I got that little chilly feeling in my spine that warned me I’d just done something that would have unexpected results.
“I… understand. I will… make sure… everyone knows… Shinjai, is the place where devils rest… no one… will disrupt it.” The way he said it felt ‘off’ to me.
But I wasn’t quite sure why.
I dismissed it, the matter was settled for now, and if it got worse, so would I.
“Good.” I gave a generic answer as if I were pleased, and then gave him a fairly gentle thump on the head, putting him to sleep.
After I was ‘myself’ again, I went to the paper on his desk and scrawled a little reminder note. ‘Remember, do not disturb the devil’s rest.’
With that, I teleported away, and flopped on my couch and began watching high school girls fleeing zombies as the world began to burn around them. I fell asleep to their screams before the first episode ended.

i am lucky enough to have a theater near me playing oppenheimer in 70mm imax, though it doesn't sell the tickets in assigned seats, but general admission (meaning you can just walk right in and sit anywhere). i am curious about what some of you think of this system and if you would still purchase the tickets (i did btw because there's no way i'm missing out on this)

We could only listen while everything was explained to us, and… there was quite a lot. If you are really curious, the archives of our meeting were recorded by both the human Presider and by Livingston, who recorded the details of the meeting and their thoughts on the matter in their autobiographies.
The particulars are not necessary here.
With that understood, there are a few matters of relevance that I will mention and add my thoughts to.
First was the covert nature of the meeting. Given the nature of Rebecca and William’s work, not to mention the role of myself and Fauve’s media activities with the Barnum Cooperative, a secure ‘hard line’ was installed in the Walker household.
These ‘hard lines’ were exceptionally rare and were used exclusively for only the highest level business. The human Presider even had a single room expressly with nothing but these ‘hard lines’ leading to the embassies of multiple alien species. Those of us in the ‘Rapax’ category were, according to what I could glean from the news, spoken to most often.
Not that they told us in detail, but mentions of meetings and conferences with other species was still novel enough that it bore a mention, and at an off the hand ‘back of the napkin’ calculation I would say roughly seven out of ten such reports on a monthly basis involved meetings with other predators.
At least four out of ten from that total were with my own homeworld, unsurprising as we were the first species to discover Earth and humans…or encounter, if you hear the humans tell it. But more importantly trade was growing rapidly between us, so dealings were more frequent.
It all grew from there.
And now here we were on a hard line with the Presider and my world’s Ambassador Livingston and I was living out history again.
The details of this meeting that are relevant here, I will relay in their words.
“We will be dispatching one squadron of our warships to the Zenlu system, the world there… it doesn’t have its own name as far as we know, but according to intelligence it is fairly primitive. There are three predator species with thick space routes to it, the slenga, retarians, and triterons. They’ve managed to live two warp routes away from one another for three thousand years without fighting each other.” The Presider let that sink in, I wasn’t immediately familiar with them… but the system sounded familiar.
‘Probably something Bonny Red mentioned in one of her stories.’ I assumed, and he went on, bringing up the map and pointing to the location.
“The system is large enough to host a squadron from each of the Hundred Terrors and more besides, and we will be discussing the ‘recent events’ that have become a cause for concern.”
He didn’t need to explain what he meant, we all knew. Thanks to the increased cooperation between our two governments, we both knew that our automated probes, autoships, and a handful of physical worldbound or moonbound settlements had been attacked.
And if it happened to us both, and if it was happening to the ones we’d so recently classified as ‘Praeda’ then the chances were good it was happening on a far broader scale.
Who could blame anyone for the high tensions?
Truth be told, it makes me think all the fuss over my ‘games’ was a little…excessive.
“And while that is happening?” The Presider shifted his focus to Livingston, and as if they had prearranged for this moment the two spoke at the same time.
“You will be going too.”
“To Zenlu?” I asked. “And who? Me?” I put my hand over my chest. That was a lot of travel, plus… “But what about my doctorate? I mean, I haven’t even finished all my research? I still haven’t even seen a human male go through puberty yet, I’ve heard that is a very dramatic time and-”
“No.” Livingston interrupted.
“The rest of you…and you.” He leveled his finger at myself, then at the rest of the Walker family.
“And not to Zenlu. You will be going to the Sagittarii system star designation WR one-zero-two.” The Presider answered.
I noticed that it seemed like the Presider and my world’s ambassador were finishing each other’s sentences. There was no good way to ask however, whether this was because they got along as well as they did or whether or not it was because the two shared the exact same frustrations with various…
Shenanigans, and were just used to going back and forth in this way.
I suppose that knowledge is lost to science forever.
The Walkers looked at me as I sucked in my breath.
“What?” William asked. “Why does that matter?”
“That’s your designation for a star system, it’s the hottest star in the galaxy, about thirty-thousand light years from here, and it’s also a ‘thick space’ hub for the majority of the Praeda designated species in the known galaxy. Home to multiple space stations and it is considered to be neutral ground for all who go there. It’s where ‘The Common’ meets.” I explained, and William cleared his throat.
“What is ‘The Common’?” He asked.
“In your terms, Mr. Walker, you might call it ‘The Praeda Common’ like your old ‘League of Nations’ if I remember your history, a place where the many species can converse with one another to work out differences. However, unlike your League of Nations, only those evolved from prey species or ‘Praeda’ to use your term, are allowed as members. Rapax might visit, but only on one single, neutral ship.”
“I… I don’t understand. Why are we going? I have work and…” Rebecca started to object, but ceased when William’s hand found her shoulder. His touch with her was typically very gentle, and this was no exception. But I noticed that in conversation, they usually had a bit of separation in their space, and neither initiated physical contact until after the discussion was over…except if it was serious.
So when he touched her shoulder, she understood he felt something far more serious was afoot, and the Presider explained.
“It seems impossible, I realize this. Normally we would field armies of diplomats, normally we would start making negotiations early, we would do… a lot of things. But there is no precedent for this in recorded history, there is but one example I know of, and I’m using that as my inspiration… in the hopes that it might work.” He paused and drank a glass of water, and if I may say for the sake of history, he looked very weary.
Humans age faster than dlamisa, but in that moment, looking at their presider with his wrinkled face and weary expression, it seemed he’d aged fifty Earth years before my very eyes. I couldn’t help but pity him.
“I won’t make you go, I won’t even ask Livingston to order it of you, Bailey Walker.” He said, a strain like a taut string underlay his voice as he spoke. “But centuries ago, there was a time of great hatred, fear, and loathing between the people of this place, in the country that once stood here, and a place on the far side of the world. A land that lived behind a curtain of iron, both sides lived in terror of one another… both armed with the kinds of weapons that would eventually nearly destroy us. And there was a young human girl who wrote to their Premier, like their Presider. She asked him ‘if he would vote for peace or war’.”
The Presider chuckled a little, “The story goes that he actually wrote back. The story spread, and as it happened, the young girl and her family went to the far side of the world and met the people there, and her words echo down to me today. She said, ‘They’re just like us.’ It did not end the darkness, but it did thaw out the ice between the two a little. My hope is that if we send a handful of people, people we know want nothing but the best for us all… that maybe, if my colleague will pardon the expression, if we ‘humanize’ ourselves to them… then perhaps we will no longer seem like monsters in the darkness to their eyes or…whatever they have.”
I would later check in to the Presider’s story, it turned out he was right. Such an incident did truly occur in the nineteen eighties of their old calendar.
“Knowing that… will you go?” He asked.
“What if something happens?” Rebecca asked, “We’ll be trapped, what if they do us harm, or take us hostage?”
“It is…possible.” Livingston acknowledged, “But we will make it clear that this will be an act of war, and like your old ‘League of Nations’ they have no ability to compel the others to go along with anything. Plus you will reside on the safest ship in the known galaxy.”
“Wait-” I said, but just then a connection buzz rang out, and another face appeared on the projection.
“Aw’right ye land lubbers, ye listen up good, me an me crew’ve been right busy for a fair bit, but we’re in bound fer Earth and we’ll be there in half an Earth Orbit, little delay over me original plans but…shenanigans bein what they be, it cannae be ‘elped, savvy? So, are ye goin or are ye not?” Bonny Red said at once.
“I’ll go.” I answered.
A nod passed between husband and wife, and the two said at once.
“And so will we.”
And just like that, it was settled.

Hello there! My name is Elliott, and I'm thrilled to be a part of the exciting world of property sourcing and investing. I'm genuinely passionate about this industry and eager to connect with like-minded investors. Together, we can explore countless property opportunities, learn from each other, and create a prosperous future. Let's build meaningful connections, grow our knowledge, and achieve remarkable success in the real estate world!
I have just joined Property Near Me LTD who already have tons of property sales and investments under their belt and I am looking to spread that to new avenues hence joining reddit.
Please message me to connect. Especially if you are an investor as we have lots of opportunities or fellow sourcers looking to work together!

Fellow Hunters Join me today at 7pm BST/ 2pm EST/ 3am JST/ 11am PDT, Live on Twitch hunting varients while the end of gen 5 is near (HR 202, MR 6, AR 28) https://www.twitch.tv/dedzedofficial (Switch)

One household on our street seems to have a half dozen vehicles associated with it. Several large vans, plus a couple of cars, including one old car that they got running just long enough to move once when the county put a sticker on it, and then have left in a different spot. I suspect if the county put another sticker on it, they'd move it again.
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They park multiple big, ugly vans outside of my house on the street.
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I understand that in theory there are no limits on street parking (it doesn't "belong" to me just because it's in front of my house) but is there any rule about how many vehicles a household can park on the street?
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It seems ridiculous to me that one household can park a nearly unlimited number of vehicles all over the street.
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Anyone have any info or recommendations on this?

I have 3 dogs. A dachshund mix aspin (2yo), Belgian Groenendael (1y3m) and a Shih Tzu (7m). All female.
My bestfriend went to the UK and asked me to foster her 4yo Bully (neutered) who's in a boarding facility since I am already fostering her Shih tzu also 7m. Her shih gets along well with my other dogs because she was introduced as a puppy, I had her since March.
The belgian shepherd is reactive towards other dogs even though she's been socialized as a puppy. She has no problem with humans, anyone can approach her. She tends to be very territorial at home or anywhere near our house. She gets exercise and we play games daily. We had a kennel built for the bully side by side with my large dog, its divided by meshwire and concrete. I am planning to put plywood in the middle so they can still smell each other but not see each other.
I understand its gonna be a lot of barking from my dog mainly. The bully is submissive to his sister the shih tzu and even more now he is neutered but my dog is territorial and takes a while to accept other dogs.
How do you normally introduce two new adult dogs without much time?
Suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!

YOOOO HIIII! Migo here haha who is very much down on making friends online. I have online friends naman but I wanna experience again the thrill of meeting and talking new strangers online especially here on reddit. It's my first time using this, as someone recommended this app. But like, I am very much down on anything!!
I have a slight obsession on books but I stopped reading because college fcked me real hard. I am also taking a computer-related course so what if let's program together? Yea I do sound like a geek, I also play ML and a jungle main for this season. Pos4 bores the sht outta me so I wanna retri nalang haha. I also love sponty stuffs like galas, inumans, and meet ups cause fun starts when it's unplanned!
I reside near commonwealth but I'm from Caloocan, if you're near then please feel free to hmu! But ofc i don't limit naman the people who will slide on my dms, y'all are free to talk cause I'll do my best to engage the convo <3
I have no prefs on looks naman, as long as you're good as fck and we vibe well then i like u na! But if I would describe myself, I stand around 5'7 tall, slim or twinkish frame, pale skin, and I look like a nerd daw by my friends. IDK if that's a compliment or nah HUHU. I look cute naman (yes ily self mwaps <3)
This can be pure SFW or NSFW, I don't really mind. Hit me up for more deets? We can trade pics!

Relationships when one partner has been unfaithful might allow for behaviors like checking the other person's phone or even using outside assistance from hackers. Well, who am I to judge how others choose to maintain their relationships' sanity? Once upon a time, I was in a relationship that nearly made me lose my mind. My partner had been cheating on me, and I was being told lies right in front of my face. I was curious to find out the truth for myself, if only to prove that I wasn't going crazy and that I had been correct the entire time. You could also need to use a hacker's services. He can be reached by email at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). He is dependable and worthy of trust.

Hello there reddit - I made this account to more or less have for my venting and hopefully journey of recovery some day. Rather not attach it to my main account. I suppose it's best to start with some background info.
I am in my mid 20s, living with my parents while I go to school and save up some money. I don't have a car yet as well, this will be important later on. While I love my parents the older I get the more suffocating and overall toxic the relationship with my NMother has been.
My folks bought a new house recently and have been going back and forth between the new one and the old one moving our stuff to the new home. This included our beds, when we first moved them my mother had asked me if I wanted a new bed frame ect- I had asked that my old one be put up in my new room. She proceeds to belittle me and tell me to not complain later that she never bought me anything.
I ask her where that is coming from because I have never complained about not getting anything. And she goes to tell me that she's seen so many others do that. I tell her she's talking to me not everyone else and I wish she just talked to me and not shadow box these imaginary other people.
In all it was not a great experience to have on my birthday.
Fast forward in time we've moved, and instead of giving me my old bed frame. She tells me to put it downstairs while she later goes, with my dad's help, and sets up a new frame for my bed. She actively didn't the opposite of what I had practically begged for and I feel like she just asked me in hopes that I would have said yes because she was always going to do it. Just she could have hid it behind some generous act.
But to top it off she drags me out of the new house - where all my stuff is takes me with her to the old house. So I have to put all my work in my backpack and at the old house there's hardly anything in there anymore. But we have these thin throw mattresses that don't have much in comfort... or anything really but because I can't drive back home I am forced to sleep in what was once my room, on the floor. The last time was literally a week and I was nearly in tears from the pain in my back.
So I tell her that sleeping in the old house hurts my spine because I don't have a bed and she tells me - "Well mine has been hurting for the last 6 months too and I'm not sure if its the bed..." I was just there, sitting in the car helping her with her errands just wondering why and how my statement lead to her? I was talking about me. I am telling you this because I don't want to spend a week on the floor again and I can't say that or she will just scream at me.
I am once again left to wonder if she sees my as her child or just a pet she can drag around...