I am a writer, and I have been role-playing for some time. I would like to create a story with somebody I would find a harmonious and creative connection. I am also happy to discuss your ideas and we can come up with something together.
The main premise is:
(Not much is known about me. But research leads you to learn how I own some of the biggest companies in the world. Primarily in Bio Engineering, Green Technology, Robotics, and Aeronautics.
There was an incident in my home. You, as a young reporter, on the hunt for a career-making, Pulitzer award story, manage to get a job on my personal staff, under the guise of my new secretary. The position was vacant because my secretary was unlived by assassins, clearly targeting me).
The story can go in any direction, but the main premise would be, a conflict with the Vatican, and the cult, within the organization of the Holy Mother Church, Opus Dei.)
This is planned to be a long-term, articulate, detailed story with elements of romance and it is to be filled with the discovery of the conspiracy spanning the whole world and going back to the early days of Christianity.
I do understand life happens, but I will do my best to be consistent with my replies, and I would desire the same from my story partner. I am located in Western Europe, but I tend to adjust to time zones as much as I can.
If interested, feel free to text me, and we can talk more in detail. I tend to role-play on Discord.
In my view, the length of paragraphs is irrelevant, the flow of the story is what counts. The magic is in the style, cooperation, and how descriptive and imaginative the story partner is, combined with the creative connection the two share.

I think for the most part my hardships have passed. I had one very blessed and beautiful day that was marred by thoughtlessness on the part of a family member, but otherwise my month is looking up!
Thank you all for the outpouring of support after I had a really rough month last month. It's very refreshing to have a community that I've only been a part of for a few months be so generous and rally around me. Again, thank you!
These thank yous are all stream of thought as I'm opening them (I've saved them all in a pile for a big "giant warm hug" of mail all at once).
u/ninajyang - Thank you for the awesome postcard and the thoughtful quote. I really appreciate it!
u/thecaledonianrose - I feel like you chose the most appropriate card for the moment. I definitely need to just kick back and enjoy a rest in quiet spot with a loved one (maybe not hay - darn my hayfever!). The stickers are awesome and thank you for the tea! I especially love the wave sticker you chose for inside the card. That's totally my vibe!
u/Adoreible95 - Thank you for the kind words. The stickers were spot on and I loved them. The vow renewal was amazing and we had a great time.
u/wabisabi_sf - Thank you for the amazing postcard and the beautiful envelope! I was almost afraid to open it! After seeing some of the letters I've gotten, like yours, I definitely need to step up my stationary game!
u/StrawberryForestLady - I love the Bee Mail! And the Bee Joke! Thank you so much for the beautiful card.
u/mypetitmal - Thank you for the cool postcard! Life has eased a bit and I think I'm feeling a little better about the outlook. Cool postage!
u/rennbrig - You almost made me cry. Thank you. This is incredible and I love it.
u/ninajyang - TWO pieces of mail!? Thank you! You all are amazing!
u/HEYMORGANM - The sea is my happy place. I'm starting to realize it's part of who I am and I need to fully embrace it. Thank you for the postcard. It's beautiful.
u/GreetingCardShark - I love that I'm still getting Rex Yofay's mail! My apologies that Rex sold you a one-humped camel that only produces two-humped lumps. Sometimes the camel business goes that way - they perform for their owners and thus you'll need to butter him up a little if you want those elusive single-hump lumps. Thanks for the mail!
u/primaryloon - Thank you for the kind and thoughtful letter, and a gorgeous card! The old postage is awesome too!
u/manyfishonabike - I feel very blessed to have received not one, but TWO postcards from New Zealand, addressed to Rex Yofay's Cat Cafe and Yoghurt Bar. I'm sure my postmaster, who actually left me a note and held some of my mail until I met with her, is thoroughly enjoying seeing Rex's mail coming through my mailbox. I do apologize for the mix-up with the gremlins and the feeding and the time zone - totally my fault, I'll refund you at once - however, I don't think there's much I can do about the impending doom that will be visited upon us by the Great Ka-Nui-Akea. Best of luck avoiding that mess!
u/TyeDyeAmish - We're huge fans of Buzz Lightyear in my house (or at least one of us is - the Supreme Leader of the third house on the left, our iron-fisted 4-year-old). Thank you for the mail and the encouraging words! You're right, I've been through a lot and this is but a hiccup!
u/GizmoDOS - This postcard is subtle, and in the wrong hands could have been overlooked and underappreciated. I love all things space and really appreciate your kind words and this amazing postcard! Thank you!
Representative Helfrich - Sorry your town hall announcement got mixed into my RAoC mail and thus I missed your event. I wish you were nearly as interesting as the many other folks who have sent me mail in the past few weeks.

So I signed up for the MSF basic rider course (2 6 hour days) and attended my first class today. This was my first time ever riding a motorcycle, and I’ll admit it didn’t go great.
We went straight to the range and I did OK on the basics. I started struggling during the exercise where we were riding in a straight line just using the clutch and trying to find the friction zone. I kept stalling and losing balance, and at one point I dropped the bike. Nobody else was having the same problems. This was around 2 hours into the class and at this point the instructor counseled me out.
I’m not sure where to go from here. I don’t own a bike and I’m obviously not ready to repeat the MSF course. I can’t tell if the mistakes I made were common beginner mistakes or if there’s something wrong with my fundamentals. I was the only one struggling but I was also the only complete beginner in the class (we all shared our experience level). Its pretty disheartening and I don’t want to give up but my instructor basically made it sound like there’s no hope for me lol. Any advice?

My ideal lady would be someone who wants to be praised, showered in attention and affection. A girl who knows how to ask for more if needed. Someone who loves daily tasks. Understands that online would require both of us to set clear boundaries and have open communication. These are things that take time and would require investing time an emotions towards.
We both had needs and it’s important that this girl he emotionally mature to be able to relay what is needed to progress . But age requirements are also a must be between 30+ with some exceptions.
Must be in the following time zone PST-EST speak English , bonus if you speak Spanish too.
I am demisexual let’s build a bond first. Body positive ie i like all shapes and sizes so don’t limit yourself here . The personality is number 1 for me we have to vibe in order to progress into any dynamic talk.
POLY/ENM WELCOME 🤗
Me : I’m a bigger guy details in my bio. I’m outgoing , flirty, funny, adventurous. I love to meet new people , travel , drink whiskey . 420 friendly. I love to work out although I’m still a little bigger . Well rounded educated and professional.
My kinks and are not limited to this list :
-Orgasm Control -Orgasm Denial -Light impact play -anal play -Light bondage -Vaginal stretching -Daily tasks -Public show off -Oral -light chocking -pulling hair -Edging -light degradation -Praise -daily tasks
If things go well in chat we can move to telegram. Please send a chat with your age and your ideal dynamic !

I'm big on saving up money for myself and lately I've done right in on investing and creating investments myself. I'ts my first time to deal with this on my own cause i dont want my parents to know that i have such money and would purposely invest this for my own growth extending beyond my college life into adulting itself. however i lack the steps necessary to take that huge steps and i am keen onlearning things that any advice would be very welcome. Here are my Concerns:
- which best debit cards out there i can utilize for my situation in which i can put money into and be a fore front for doing investments specially in stocks or dealing with brokers. - and can i use a debit card for other purposes like for travelling and for online payments/shopping?
- any advices would be very helpfull specially when it comes to taking that huge steps for i am getting out of my comfort zone and would love what i have saved up to grow. thank you and sorry for my weak post composition!

You want to put -Force to the GY, and have either Alpha or Omega on the field spell zone to recycle your stuff. I don't want the mill to work with something like tearlaments, so GN spell card mill is turned off until you can remove any non-ritual monster in your GY.

1. GN-Field Alpha Field Spell (1) Any time you ritual summon a monster this turn, you can shuffle from your GY, a number of card(s) whose amount is equal to the level of the monster you ritual summon instead. (2) While you have no main deck monster, except ritual monster, in your GY: If this card is removed from the field; excavate 5 cards from your deck, add 1 "GN-" card to your hand, also send the remaining cards to the GY.
   
2. GN-Field Omega Field Spell (1) Any time you ritual summon a monster this turn, you can shuffle your banished cards, whose amount is equal to the level of the monster you ritual summon instead. (2) While you have no main deck monster, except ritual monster, in your GY: If this card is removed from the field; excavate 5 cards from your deck, add 1 "GN-" card to your hand, also send the remaining cards to the GY.
   
3. GN-Force Beta Quick Play Spell card (1) While you have no main deck monster, except ritual monster, in your GY; excavate 5 cards from your deck, add 1 "GN-" card to your hand, also send the remaining cards to the GY. (2) You can banish this card from your GY; Ritual Summon 1 Ritual Monster in your GY by banishing monsters whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster from your hand, field, or GY. You can only use each effect of "GN-Force Beta" once per turn.
   
4. GN-Force Gamma Quick Play Spell card (1) While you have no main deck monster, except ritual monster, in your GY; excavate 5 cards from your deck, add 1 "GN-" card to your hand, also send the remaining cards to the GY. (2) You can banish this card from your GY; Your opponent ritual summon ritual monster from either player's GY by tributing monsters from their field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster. At the end of this turn, send the ritual monster summoned by this card's effect to the GY. You can only use each effect of "GN-Force Gamma" once per turn.
   
5. GN-Force Delta Quick Play Spell card (1) While you have no main deck monster, except ritual monster, in your GY; excavate 5 cards from your deck, add 1 "GN-" card to your hand, also send the remaining cards to the GY. (2) You can banish this card from your GY; ritual summon 1 ritual monster from your GY by tributing ritual monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster. You can only use each effect of "GN-Force Delta" once per turn.
   
6. GN-Force Theta Quick Play Spell card (1) While you have no main deck monster, except ritual monster, in your GY; excavate 5 cards from your deck, add 1 "GN-" card to your hand, also send the remaining cards to the GY. (2) You can banish this card from your GY; ritual summon 1 banished ritual monster by banishing ritual monsters whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster from your hand, field, or GY. You can only use each effect of "GN-Force Theta" once per turn.
   
7. GN-Drive Tau Continuous Spell card (1) When this card is activated, While you have no main deck monster except ritual monster in your GY; excavate 5 cards from your deck, add 1 "GN-" card to your hand, also send the remaining cards to the GY. (2) When a ritual monster(s) or "GN-" card is banished; shuffle a card from the field to the deck. (3) When a ritual monster(s) or "GN-" card is shuffled; banish 1 card on the field. You can only use each effect of "GN-Drive Tau" once per turn.
   

In all successful organizations, the workforce is accountable for their actions. To have real accountability as part of your company's culture means that you have a genuine efficient team working towards their goal. Accountability means you have trust and honesty in your company, reducing tensions and risks. Achieving accountability may be simple, but it is challenging.
The importance of accountability in the workplace is about creating a proactive atmosphere where each is responsible for their actions. Imagine that you have a project where you have a team working. The team comprises many different individuals with different skills and experiences. Somehow the project starts to derail from its usual course, but no one is taking responsibility for correcting the mistakes. If you have an accountable team, everyone will jump in to provide solutions and manage the errors that have already occurred.
Accountability is essential in the workplace to achieve your goals, and it also empowers your employees when they think they're part of the culture and responsible for success.

Habits for success and to achieve accountability

Achieving accountability is all about practicing good habits and behavior. In your company, you need to have a culture that values accountability. Here are certain habits for success that successful companies practice.

1. Organization – A habit of any successful Company is about having "organization." The employees in the company plan the tasks before they take action. The company makes room for priorities and goals. Each company has its to-do list provided to the employees so they can get ready for the week.
2. Me time – Every successful company provides opportunities to the workforce so that they can relax in a stress-free zone. Give them opportunities to meditate and develop habits to help them take a breather or balance their stress.
3. Proactive – Employees in all successful companies are proactive and make it a habit to take action whenever their plans do not go as per their expectations.
4. Personal care – Companies should ensure their employees have time for their responsibilities. Also, allow them to meet other successful people and discuss and communicate their problems.

Accountability as a practice

There are several other habits that one can take up to achieve success in their life. This includes waking up early, communicating, and also reading. However, practicing accountability is about taking responsibility for your own life. Pay as much attention to your personal life as you do to your professional. A balance has to be created to help you reduce the stress in your life and create good habits.
As an employer, the best way to implement accountability is to –

1. Provide a clear definition of the expectations to your employees. Make them understand what they are accountable for and the consequences of their actions.
2. Set as many goals as possible for every group of your employees and a time limit. Make sure that every employee is monitored and that they are delivering on time. Provide feedback on their progress and also compliment them on their work.

i dont wanna explain my autism to someone who just wants me to mask to mental death. i dont wanna argue my existence into validity. i dont want to be misinterpreted. i dont wanna lie to save myself from seeming rude. i dont wanna take off my headphones for the 1000th time to listen and respond to small talk that makes me feel like an npc speaking from a small selection of prewritten vague and neutral dialouge options. i dont wanna be told to step out of my comfort zone when i do that every fucking day, just not in the way they want; because the way they want makes me feel like im not myself and like nothing is fun or the same, like everything is nothing but dull and gritty and emotionless. i hate how if i dont wanna be around people i get forced into loud overwhelming situations that leave me feeling drained with nothing gained. i just feel empty and overwhelmed at the same time

I'm a laid back and easy going male in my mid 40's seeking a young adult female interested in dating and casual fun. Not looking for anyone underage, ideally seeking someone in their mid to late 20's. Wouldn't mind at the minimum finding a concert and/or gaming partner!
I'm into live music/concerts (rock/emo/metal preferred), festivals, sporting events, hiking/running, video games (Twitch affiliate), board games, whiskey or wine, and dining out.
I live close to Vandy so I'm very central to downtown Nashville and would love to find someone within a 25 or so mile radius.
Will provide pics or more details - I'm very open and honest and hope you are too. I'm 6' tall, 220 lbs, some scruff, attractive, professional.

Good morning, GT7 community.
I’ve been mired in a B SR for quite a while now, trying to move it up. I’ve been doing a ton of (practice for position) laps on whichever GR.3 or 4 race (A, B or C) that’s relatively quick and without pits.
My current strategy to “get better” is to shoot for speed on the practice laps - chasing fast ghosts and replicating their racing lines/shift points/braking zones - while going for consistently in races.
It seems I’ve plateaued in SR using this strategy. My pole times are not dropping much, if they drop at all, in practice. I can typically move up a position or 3 in races where an externally-induced catastrophe doesn’t happen, but that doesn’t seem to move the needle on my SR much.
So, looking for a bit of advice on how I should proceed with training myself. I’m quite aware I have a lower ceiling than the top ~5,000 drivers, but I feel like I have a lot more potential than where I’m at.
Happy to get flamed; “you’re overestimating your own ceiling, bruh.” But I’d rather have constructive criticism/advice.

Part 26: https://www.reddit.com/Viidith22/comments/141nvay/my_roommate_is_slenderman_part_26/
(Terry)
I awoke an hour later, brain pulsing. I was in the back of the van laying on the floor, “The prodigal son returns, welcome back you crazy son of a bitch!” Tucker laughed.
“Took on a god face to face. Pretty sure the only one with bigger balls than that would be Abraham. Though, balls didn’t save you.” Doc said, looking up from his book.
“Took the last core I had, but at least I can say I’ve killed a god now.” Tucker snickered with a smirk.
“Concentrated light, can’t say it’s what I would have thought of, but it was effective.”
“Yeah, wasn’t effective portably until we came across some anti-matter from a crashed–”
“What?” I tried sitting up but failed.
“Right.” He stood, propping up the left row of seats, and pulled out a black case. Flicking it up he aimed it down at me, “Anti-matter annihilation laser. Think you can piece it together.” There were about five lenses that each shrunk, narrowing the barrel to a tip. Everything but the lenses was coated in a vanta black paint, “Each lens reduces the energy state while also–”
“I couldn’t give less fucks if I pulled them out of Doc’s patients. You killed him with that thing?”
“Yup, his head’s probably gettin' breathed in from the wildlife out here.” He clicked the case shut, put it back in place, and sat.
“And the data is intact?”
There was a brief pause, “While it is, I feel it’s important to be more concerned about yourself. You have major skull fractures, a concussion, you’re missing your face flesh, your back had to be clotted to avoid you bleeding out, and you are severely low on blood. You should be sleeping right now.”
“I just, I had to know.”
“Knowing you, you’ll be back on your feet in–”
I passed out again before he finished talking.
---------------------------------------------
When I awoke, I was on my bed, Sepratine was applying herbs to my face, “Ho–”
“16 hours, Doctor Sadist and Rachel are busy. You really ought to be more cautious, this isn’t one of your video games.”
“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. You heard from Jones?”
“No, apparently he passed out at the wheel after he parked. The Sadist said they’d be out for a while. He’s having Rachel look them over once she finishes a project she’s working on.”
“Shouldn’t you be helping her?”
She put her mortar down and sighed, “Flip onto your side, I need to replace the bandages on your back, then you need to eat.”
She finished tending to me in silence, then went to cook. The whole time, I just wanted to get up and finish everything. But even if I did, the data wasn’t fully recovered until it was sifted through. So I resigned to wait until the detective got back to me.
Sepratine came back a while later with a plate toppling over itself and a glass of water. Not to get too detailed, but both were empty in a matter of… 30 seconds or so? “Now get back to sleep. Your face should be back to normal in another day, and your skull is still fusing back together.”
“Let me know when Jones has the info.” She stood, taking my plate and cup.
“Someone will I’m sure. Get some rest, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t. You were reckless enough… Whatever, goodbye.”
-------------------------------
When I came to again, my face was dry, the medicine Sepratine had put on felt like a cracked desert, leaving a green crust behind. I stood, heading to the bathroom to wash my face. I took my meds, then removed the bandages from my back. Heading back to my room, I grabbed my phone, seeing several missed calls and texts. I immediately opened the message from Jones.
Call me when you wake up, I’ve got it, you’re not gonna believe where it is.
The phone rang four times, “Eh? Terry, that you?” He yawned.
“Yeah, what’s the deal?”
“You remember when you first met me?”
“No.”
“Well, I was headed to a town down in southeastern Oregon, one that wasn’t on any maps. And you’re not gonna believe this shit, but Tenyit Lane, the place I went, that’s where he’s being held.”
“So you know where I need to go?”
“Yeah, the place is a hot zone for organizations. There’re at least seven that I’ve recorded since I first went, and that’s not including–”
“And?”
“Well, point is, there’s security everywhere, people are gonna be everywhere, and the police and government officials are gonna be too busy counting bodies to care about one missing person.”
“Send me the coordinates.” I took a picture of my wall, putting the phone back against my ear.
“I’ll do you one better, I still have an old map to the place, I’ll send it over.”
“I don’t care what you say, I am paying you after this.”
I was already out the door, wearing nothing but a hoodie and sweatpants. I started the car, threw on EDM, and headed down to find Joseph.
------------------------------
A grey smoke rose in the night air above the town. I had a good ten miles left on the empty road before getting to the one stop on the entire strip. As I climbed the mountain, I turned my windshield wipers up more and more. The road was coated in a light crust of white, the speckles dropping ever so carefully in the light wind.
As I rounded a bend, I saw a flicker of headlights through the pine trees. Rounding the next one, I saw the lights again, this time coming around their own turn, before heading in my direction. The snow picked up as I met the gaze of the other driver, it was her.
I screeched to a stop, whipping a U-turn that nearly sent me into the rails. I stopped, having noticed her car was pulled over to the railing too. I jumped out of my car, running over to her, and grasping her in my arms, “I thought I’d killed you Tresca!”
Setting her down, my brain fully processed its surroundings. The person in front of me was Joseph, he was a bit shocked, but the rest of him reminded me of how he looked when we first met, “I-I’m sorry, I just–”
“Look, Terry. Honestly, it’s great to see you, great to have clear evidence I’m not crazy, great to know all those fun ass memories at the apartment were real. But…”
“I’m just so glad you’re okay.”
He smirked, but his eyes were hollow, “Yeah, okay…”
“I mean, you’re alive though!”
“Terry, this isn’t going to work.” He looked up, “I can’t ignore what you said when you saw me.” He looked back at me, nervous, “I read up on you, it was intrusive, and I’m sorry for that, but I can’t keep being a replacement. I need to live my own life, I need to get away from all this, I…” His eyes filled, but refused to streak, “I want to live a life away from all of this. I know a normal life isn’t really an option anymore. But I still wanna do what I can.”
“You… read my files?” I glanced at my phone, thinking about the picture I’d taken before leaving, “Which ones?”
“Your old life, hers too. Once I got ahold of my files, I decided to do some digging. I was me, but not I guess, I had to get an understanding of who the people I used to know were. I know about Tresca, I remember your conversation with Maerod.”
“I…”
He waited for a while, a few cars flew by us before he took the rope, “I will never regret the time we had. We had fun, we had some adventures and even a few emotional tipping points. Without you and everyone else, I’d probably have a slab of a ruck on top of me now. I don’t feel like dying anymore, but I also don’t feel like living. I’m sorry, but… I need to find my life out there.” He threw his arm up, gesturing around, “But if I stay with you, I’ll never get that chance.”
I tried to maintain myself, for seemingly the first time, taking Joseph as a person in. His overgrown brown hair, his blue eyes, broad shoulders, bland outfit. “You look different from before.”
“I feel different.” He shot a breath out his nose.
I staggered, “Let me grab something from my car before you go. You mind coming with?”
He nodded, gazing up at the grey sky. Several more cars flew past us as we made our way to mine. When we got there, I pulled out a small bag,
I reached into my car, pulling out the contract, “This was the guy that placed a hit on your wife. He’s dead now.”
A car flew by, lighting up his face to reveal his frozen face, “Y-you mean it? Who killed him?” He snatched the paper from my hand, looking over the entire sheet.
“The detective put on her case, the original guy is my understanding. Goes by Jones, he’s a P.I. now.”
“Really? Where is he?”
I cleared my throat, “You su–”
“Positive, where is he?”
I rubbed my arm, but looking at his hopeful face, I caved, “Apex Investigation Office, downtown Albany.”
He hugged me, “Thank you… Seriously, this…” He cried into my stomach for a time before pulling back and recomposing himself. Rubbing his nose dry, he turned around.
“Wait!”
He stopped, turning his head to me, “Yeah?”
I held onto my phone, debating to show him the picture or not. We stood still as two more cars flew by, followed by one with sirens. I pushed my phone back into my pocket, “Where are you going?”
He turned back to his car, holding up the contract, “To repay a debt. You’ll get yours too one of these days.”
Sitting in his car, he drove off without another word.
I sat in mine, pulling the phone from my pocket, and opened the gallery. I had one recent picture, it was one of the walls in my room, one with several posters. All of which were had drawn anime style portraits of Tresca. “Maybe Abraham was right, and maybe, Joseph has the right idea too.”
----------------------------------------
(Joseph)
Epilogue:
I dried my face as I left him behind, unsure of what to do first. I sat with music blasting for the first hour, mind flashing through the events like a slideshow. When I eventually came across a convenience store. It was a 24/7 place, the kind that had hot dogs on the roller for days at a time, and the only people that worked there couldn’t get a job anywhere else.
I pulled into a parking space and picked my phone off the passenger seat. I’d already decided I’d go to the detective’s place last. But I’d never been to Rachel’s before, and I didn’t remember her phone number. “What if I?”
I dialed a number, letting it ring a good five times when “Chad’s Cads how can I help you?”
“God, tell me that isn’t the name of your shop.”
“Joseph? Is that you bro?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while, good to hear from you.”
“Where the hell have you been man!? Terry’s out look–”
“It’s all sorted now. I don’t mean to be callous, I promise I’ll catch you up to speed later. But do you have Rachel’s number?”
“Oh, yeah. Everything good dude?”
“Yeah, she apparently told Terry to have me see her when he found me, so…”
“Oh for sure.”
“So can you send me her number?”
“Oh right, yeah. Good luck bro, come by when you have time. I wanna see how strong you are.”
“Sounds good Chad.” I hung up, smiling. A minute or so later, I had her number.
“Joseph?” Her voice was smooth.
“Hey Rachel I…”
“Chad messaged me.”
“Gotcha, Terry said you wanted to see me?”
“Yes, there’s a lot you need to know biologically if you want to pass for human.”
I sighed, rubbing my side, “Where should I meet you?”
“I’ll send you the location, Sepratine will be here too.”
“Oh, yaaaaaay.” She was alright, but she always had a whole bag of chips on her shoulder.
“See you soon. Oh, and did you happen to feel an aching in your right side at any point?”
“More than you know.”
“How frequently?”“Well, I was starved for a few days at one point, aside from that though I’d say a couple times a week if not more?”
“...Was that the entire time you were gone?”
“Not entirely sure, the first month or so is still kind of hazy, but since I was moved into town yeah.”
“...Okay, just… See you when you arrive.” Click
“I thought Doc was supposed to be the cryptic one of the bunch,” I smirked, a tear forming in my eye. “Goddamnit.” I wiped it, clicking the address she’d sent me, and heading on my way. Only after I picked up some gas station food.
-----------------------------------
“Oh my.”
“It’s me.” I did jazz hands, wearing a faux smile.
“Your soul is much… larger than I anticipated. Come inside, I’m sure you’re hungry.”
A whiff of cedar and sweetgrass slapped me in the face, “Wow, that’s… pungent.”
“Apologies, my sense of smell isn’t very strong, and Sepratine is….”She took a sharp intake of breath, closing the door behind me.
Looking around, the house seemed pretty standard, aside from the greenhouse in the living room, “So uh, what’s this you got goin here?”
“Take your shoes off please,” She did the same, “Creating chemicals from what’s in the air is taxing, it’s more convenient to just have the plants you need on hand.” She headed toward a door down the hall, “My equipment is downstairs.” She opened the door and I followed.
The air was a solid 80 or so, with humidity so thick it was like snorkeling, pollen so strong it activated allergies I hadn’t had since I was five. “Quite the quaint home you have here.”
“Oh right, sorry again.”
“No, you’re good, I’m just gonna need a few boxes of tissues is all.”
“Oh Jo–Joseph, my gods, you’re… wow. Different is a word, what happened to your soul?” Sepratine was turned to us, standing in front of a table with apparently every plant unknown to man of it.
“That’s kinda why I’m here.”
“Oh right, don’t mind me, just running a few experiments, Rachel has the perfect climate down here for a few plants.”
“Alright Joseph, hop on the bed.” Rachel stood in front of a wooden table, I couldn’t help but notice vials and jars stacked neatly on a counter that circled half the room, as well as a set of tables that held assorted plants with different lights hovering over them.
I sat on the table, “You need me to turn my head and cough?”
“No, first I need you to eat. It’ll be easier if you’re digesting food.”
She headed to a small closed-off area, then came back, plate in hand. Mostly just leafy greens. Maybe some kind of bean too?
“Go ahead, this should pass through you at just the right speed for me to catch it.” She turned, heading to another room, “Oh right, when you’re done I’ll need you to take off your shirt and lie down.” Then she headed through a door.
A few minutes passed and I finished the salad. Putting my plate on an open section of a counter and throwing my shirt to the side, I laid down, “Sepratine, you know anything about Vampirism?”
“Only rumors, they’re rare, so you’re the only one I’ve met.”
“Rarer than what you are?”
“Dryads are uncommon for sure. But given my personal experience, I’d say you’re one of a kind.”
“Awwwe, thank you.” I said sarcastically, “But is that all? They’re rare?”
“You’re here for Rachel because they’re rare. She’s met something like five, even got to do a lab experiment on one of them, saw how their stem reacted to stimulus. She’s the closest thing to an expert I can think of.”
Rachel made her entrance with the smack of the door on the wall, “Alright, don’t worry Joseph, I’m not going to cut you open today, I just want to see how large your stem has gotten. Based on your soul, you might be around half to ¾ vampire. But the only way to tell for sure is to see the size of your stem.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, but everyone else I’ve met who knows about it has been a psychopath. What’s a stem?”
“Oh, kind of like a parasite is my current understanding.” She picked up a large metal plate, pressed it against my stomach, and used a metal rod to probe my right side.
“Come again?”
“Well… it’s more like a symbiotic relationship? Consider it another organ, only it’s wrapped around a portion of your large intestine. A full vampire has them fused, and it becomes an addition. But a partial, you can still see where they are two entities.”
“So you can cure me?”
She scoffed, “No.” Putting the plate and rod away, she pulled out a roundish object and squeezed some kind of gel onto the end before rubbing it against my right side. “If it’s removed, both entities die. You’re a symbiote now, you each rely on each other. In return for giving it nutrients, it gives you cells that allow you to regenerate anything short of half or more of it. They’re akin to stem cells, but enhanced. It extracts your DNA and replicates what it needs to to keep you alive for as long as possible. That’s the working theory I currently have anyway.”
“So I have a parasite in me?”
“A symbiote, you two aid each other, there are only benefits for each of you. Not to mention the enhanced soul… which I’m not entirely sure what causes that yet. Though the more vampirized you are, the more spiritual power a vampire seems to have. Considering that’s how it’s been with the last five, it’s only an assumption. But if that is the case, I am curious about the correlation.” She put the device down, handing me a towel, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see the images I got back. Time to see how far along you are.”
Patting me on the stomach, she walked out of sight, and I wiped my side down. Sitting up, I hopped off the table, picked up my shirt, throwing it back on. Then, it was dark.
---------------------------
My eyes shot open, I was upright on the hardwood table, eyes darting around for the threat.
“Relaaaax, you’re fine.” Rachel and Sepratine stood beside me, and I loosened up, wired as hell.
Standing, I regained my balance, “Which one of you knocked me out?”
“Neither.” Rachel said, offended, “You fainted, you had several nutrient deficiencies, and call me crazy, but I don’t think you were willing to hear what I had to say.”
I mulled it over, a burst of panic surging when I thought about the thing inside me. But I managed to push it back into its little jar. Which I promptly placed back on the shelf with the rest of my emotions. “I’m fine.”
“Yes, now. But I have to be honest with you, the ultrasound came back more worrying than I expected. You’re only about ¼ so far. Your soul is far larger than any of my calculations suggested.”
“Right on.”
“Joseph, you have far more potential than I expected. While I advise safety, occasionally fasting may build up your soul to around as strong as Smudge.”
“Cool beans.”
“The issue is that you have an extremely high-functioning stem. You’ll need extremely nutrient-dense foods with extremely specific nutrients to maintain yourself as you are, let alone grow stronger. I’ll have what you need, but if you don’t want to go on a killing spree every few days, you’ll need an extremely strict diet.”
“How much is that gonna run me?”
She sighed, rubbing her eyes, “Quite frankly, I’ll charge you what it costs me. I don’t want you going on a murder frenzy. You’re my friend, but that’d also guarantee your death. As not only an alchemist, but a scientist, I can’t allow that. I’ll charge you at the end of each month. How does that sound?”
“Cool, do you have an estimate?”
“Joseph I feel you are hearing me but not listening.”
“No, I’ve got it.”
“This will be in the ballpark of 1500 dollars a month, and that’s alongside normal meals. Which should help you not only maintain but build up. The pain will feel like you’re being digested if you get to the point of dangerous starvation. Now, repeat everything I just said back to you.”
When I did from start to finish, she rubbed her face, “Alright, you can pick up your supply weekly from here. For now, though, I have something that should hold you over until next Friday, when I’ll have the actual supplies.”
She helped load a few milk crates into my overstuffed car, and when I went to start my car, she gestured for me to roll the window down. “Yes?”
“There are places you can get help you know?”
“I think I can handle the vampirism thing.”
“Joseph…” She stared at me, tugging at my bucket of guilt, tipping it ever so slightly.
“I’ll be fine. Thank you Rachel.” I flicked the button up and the window went with it as I pulled out of her driveway in the suburbs of West Salem.
-----------------------------
“Joseph?” The familiar guy behind a desk just across from me stared, eye agape.
“D-Detective? What uh… what happened to your erm… you?”
“Long story. What happened to you?”
“Long story.”
He chuckled, “Guess you were in that town for a while. What are you doing here?”
I held up the contract, “I’ve got a debt I needa pay.”
-------------------------------------
Author’s Note:
Hey guys, 4Shot speaking. Holy FUCK guys. This has been my longest-running series, it’s been 3.5 years in the making. Hell, it was the series that got me into this whole writing shebang. It feels weird to be saying goodbye to Joseph, given this series has been with me since the start. I’ve seen my ups alongside this story, and those who read or listened to the poker scene in my detective series will know I’ve had my downs.
Though, it’s not exactly the end. I have one final series I’ll be writing to wrap everything up. Those who have followed my first three may notice a trend. And yes, the final series will be a continuation of Jones’ tale. It’s been a long time coming, and I hope to complete it before february, which is when I’ll be taking an extended hiatus. I’ll be back, but I have some things I want to do first. This entire unraveling story will have been a part of my life for over 4 years by then, something like that is hard to just let go, and I have some life I wanna experience. So I may be gone for around 6 months to a year when I’ve finished the Detective’s story.
I’m glad so many of you have enjoyed my stories. I honestly never expected to go anywhere with any of this, thought I’d give this series up around part 3, and writing would just be another dead hobby of mine. But here we are. Honestly, there are a lot of people to thank, but the main people are my boy TeeStache who got me into writing, NaturesTemper who picked up my terrible rough draft of this series, and Viidith who first found my detective series and asked to narrate it, and proceeded to narrate my Lighthouse series.
It’s been a crazy ride out there, and I only intend to make it crazier in the future. Thanks again guys, cheers.

I'm a 35 year old person, in the EU, who would really love some new connections/gamer buddies. The way life goes you grow up, people change, move on and suddenly you find yourself lonely. I've tried this before, but can't seem to find anyone who's sorta in the same situation, being an older gamer & parent who genuinely wants real friends & connections. But I'm not giving up finding those solid connections!
I grew up on games like Resident Evil & Dino Crisis, moved on to more social games like Raft, Stardew, Valheim, League of Legends, etc. The list goes on and includes anything from cute casuals to demanding horror. My great love is DnDing. I played for years with a group I loved, but life happened. Gotta admit, some of my fondest gaming memories are either DND related or Resident Evil 5 related. Have had a lot of fun over the years.
I like people who are goofy, nerdy, weird and genuine. I am bad at small-talk and I tend to overshare when I'm nervous. I can't be the only lonely gamer who's lost kin. I'd love to make friends who have busy lives, but get that need to reach out and chill with a friends/small group from time to time. Who one can rant a bit to, and provide a listening ear back, all while having fun and enjoying our gaming session. No drama, just being real and having some proper chill.
If you're in the same boat, hit me up with a message.
MorganKaines#4603
Obs, I can't really do this if you're time-zone is too vastly different from mine. If you are US based then it won't work, sorry bout that.

Hi team Euro accountability, I hope you’re all well! For anyone new who wants to join today, this is a daily post where you can track your goals, keep yourself accountable, get support and have a chat with friendly people at times that are convenient for European time zones.
Check-in daily, weekly, or whatever works best for you. It’s never the wrong time to join! Anyone and everyone are welcome! Tell us about yourself and let's continue supporting each other. Let us know how your day is going, or, if you're checking in early, how your yesterday went! Share your victories, rants, problems, NSVs, SVs, we are here!
I want to shortly also mention — this thread lives and breathes by people supporting each other :) so if you have some time, comment on the other posts! Show support, offer advice and share experiences!

I started watching porn back when I was in 2nd grade. Ive been watching it for a long time. And up until recently I didnt really see a problem with it. Everyone i know men and women alike watched porn. All my past relationships they watched porn and had no problem watching it with me. In my current relationship its been a problem. She considers porn to be cheating while i dont. We had problems in our relationship where we separated for a little while partly because of the porn and a plethora of other shit, and she was with someone else. I never got with anyone else. I say that to say its hard to have empathy in a situation like this. On one hand theres plenty of benefits to not watching porn. And i know that and im not blaming her for my porn addiction neither because I had it long before she showed up. But it is frustrating. The porn addiction hurts her, moreso than it does me, and I understand why completely. Its hard to have empathy in this type of situation today, and i think thats why its been so hard to quit. On one hand its hurting her bc she feels she cant compare to onlyfans women. On the other its like how she feels now was how I felt when she did what she did. And no im not using porn as a way to get back at her, getting her back was never my intention it just so happens that Ive let this addiction fester for a while. And then its like porn is everywhere, you legit had to go through hula hoops to see shit like that and nowadays its being sold to you thru your screen, instagram twitter, hell even here. I try to keep clean, mostly because of her because I do care about her, but also because I know what porn is doing to me. But it’s times where im so stressed, and its either a panic attack or a relapse. A couple weeks ago it was me coming here to look at porn threads. Last week Friday it was a panic attack in one of the bathrooms of my jobs facility building. And she finds out I relapsed and she gets so angry. As a person I'm very quick to anger but i also practice escapism. So i either lash out or I go somewhere else until I'm not angry whether that be physically going into another room or just mentally being somewhere else, usually i choose the latter. I say this because whenever I watch porn in a way it’s something tht I've been doing so long that its my comfort zone for any negative feeling I have and when everything becomes to much its extremely hard to resist the urge. Lately I've been able to, in the past not so much. Whenever me and my girl argue about this or shes throwing jabs about my porn preferences (real basic shit, not an extreme fetish or something) It makes me want to relapse not out of spite but I feel as though thats all Im seen as is my addiction and the more I try to change that the more stressful shit becomes the more i done want to try and I relapse. I guess my main struggle is that while knowing porn is destroying my relationship, i constantly wonder if quitting is even worth it. It's always going to be brought up, and sometimes I feel like Id be better off and happier alone. Theres just not enough incentive for me specifically to quit and thats where I'm just stuck at. A constant cycle of me trying to quit and failing. And then i think about what even is the end goal? To never watch porn again? Or am i simply just going to try and beat my record of when I relapsed last. I really just need some strong advice.

Wanted to post a pole but couldn’t.
I believe it would be a more drastic effect if we coordinate the different time zones to start the boycott by each user at the same time globally instead of everyone’s local time.
What do you guys think? Upvote/downvote your choice.

Hi.
For context, I’m a 14 yr old girl and my father is 42m. My mother is 41f, and I have four siblings, age ranging from 13 to 6 years old.
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Backstory:
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My entire life I’ve always lived in a semi-broken home because of my father. His father abused him when he was a child, and his father was also abused by my dad’s grandparents. Aside from just generally being mistreated as a child, my father was also diagnosed with a chemical imbalance of hormones in the brain, which causes major mood swings. This can cause him to lash out at the smallest of things, and has generally made him an unpredictable loose cannon. You never know when he’s gonna scream or mock you for something you did that he deems wrong. We only recently discovered that this is hereditary.
​
I’ve only recently started piecing together the fact that what I live in is not normal.
My father and mother have “fights”, which usually last an hour or so. I say “fights” In quotations because it’s just my dad yelling at my mother, telling her she doesn’t care about him and probably wants to cheat, and she’s just waiting for the day that he dies so she can collect his life insurance and run away with the first eligible male she can get. (Yes, he actually claimed all of this during a screaming fit once. Why? Because she was a little bit late bringing him a sandwich from a fast food joint.)
​
My mother is genuinely the sweetest person on the planet, and would let you use her back as a rug so you didn’t get your feet wet. She’s like a doormat in that, and in many other ways. The way that my sperm donor decides to treat this woman kills me, but as a 14 year old child, I can’t do anything about it. He takes meds for the chemical imbalance issue, but if he forgets, there will be hell to pay for it. And even when he’s on them, he still acts like she’s slapped him in the face and called him stupid every time he thinks she’s looked at him funny.
My mother deals with anxiety majorly because of his behavior, and this “I pay bills, so I deserve more respect than you. Plus, I got a dick, so I get to be the boss!” mentality has started to weigh on her and her mental state. My 13 year old brother has started to believe my father when he goes on these tirades, and I don’t know how to convince him that, number one, no, even if she got his order wrong, that does not demand spitting, screaming and an ‘I’m the man of the house!!’ In the face. My other three siblings all have started to fear my father, and rightly so. We all know he’d never physically hurt us, but his constant whining like a man-child, demanding respect and not even trying to earn it, has turned our home into a war-zone when he’s angry.
He acts like a child with too much power and an entitled attitude, and I don’t know how to stop it.
I feel like I‘m trapped inside a habitually angry house with an equally angry family.
How do I retain my sanity while still trying to figure this shit out? How do i live in a house I can’t feel safe in? And most importantly, how do I keep my mother and my siblings safe from the raging hatred my father spews?

Taylor Swift was ‘letting off steam’ with Matty Healy following ‘stifling’ Joe Alwyn relationship
“Everyone who really knows her has been saying all along that this was a fun, good time thing that would last as long as it lasted and would be no big deal once it was done,” an insider told us following news of their breakup Monday.
“It’s all stupid,” they said of the media frenzy surrounding the former couple.

“She will not be writing albums about this one. It was a summertime thing. Does everyone have amnesia about Tom Hiddleston? Jesus Christ.”

The insider further noted that Swift “can’t have a good time with anyone without the press marrying her off to them.”
“Then when she moves on, they have to basically have her file for divorce,” they added.
Simply put, Swift was just looking for a fun time after her “stifling” relationship with Joe Alwin, whom she split from in April after six years of dating.
“She’s allowed to let off some steam and sew [sic] her oats afterwards without people claiming first that she’s ‘head over heels’ and then that she’s ‘breaking up’ with the guy. It’s not a breakup. It’s a natural evolution of a fun little thing whose moment is over.”
On Monday, a source told TMZ that the “All Too Well” singer was “single” again — just one month after going public with Healy.
The pair sparked dating rumors in early May after the 1975 frontman was spotted at Swift’s Eras Tour show in Nashville.
In fact, the “Somebody Else” singer even appeared to be buddy-buddy with Swift’s dad, Scott, at another one of the six shows he attended.
TMZ confirmed on Monday that Swift was “single” again following the pair’s whirlwind romance.
Soon after, the pair brought their budding romance up north to New York City, where they were spotted “cuddling and kissing” at an exclusive members-only club.
Although the pair never directly addressed the situation, Healy hinted at their relationship while performing at a music festival in Scotland.
“Is it all a bit? Is it sincere? Will he ever address it?” he asked the crowd. “All of these questions and more will be ignored in the next hour. Ladies and gentlemen, this is The 1975.”
Neither Healy nor Swift has ever directly addressed their romance — or split.
Meanwhile, Alwyn was reportedly “distraught” over Swift’s new romance.
Around the same time, Swift told concertgoers in Massachusetts that she “has never been this happy.
However, the same couldn’t be said for Alwyn, who reportedly felt “slighted” and was “distraught” that she moved on so quickly.