Confessions of a dollar tree addict

Feeling super depressed.... Not able to control my addiction
I am an addict of 10 years but for the last year .... I was gradually able to control my surf addiction.
But for the last 2.5 months ....my addiction has gotten out of hand .
I get a lot of intrusive thoughts ( regarding me being a failure, death of family members , going crazy ) ....and that's all because i couldn't tame the beast
I want to stop my addiction But feel so depressed in the start that I dont know what to do .
Can anyone give some tips regarding being mentally strong in this process .
i always ran to the Comfort of internet whenever my life was tough since the age of 12 .
I am 24 rn.
Accountability partner will be helpful

I recently got rid of a borer in my apple tree by using a can of compressed air upside down for a quick spray or two. Worked like a charm.
Now my question is- there's a two and a half inch long borer sized tunnel in my tree. Will my tree heal? Do I need to do anything else?
Edit: It's in the trunk, not a branch.

Hi. There was a woodpecker nest in a dead tree that just crumbled and fell to the ground. There has been 1 nestling in it. It looks like it has most of its adult feathers but it can only hop around and not fly yet. The whole nest was destroyed in the fall. Both parents are checking out what's left of the tree. Should I worry about the nestling on the ground? I don't think it was time for it to leave the nest yet.

I am a 21 year old male. I love to dress well and take jewelry on me to drive others attention on myfelf. I can hardly feel emphaty, and even if i do i always think how great person i am. U generally look down on people, get bored of them, and deep down i hate all of my friends, but i can ask them to do favors for me. I get sexually aroused if i see my muscular body in the mirror, or if i do some morally questionable things (lieing). I usually get ahead easly and even if i didnt do my task properly no one blames me. People find me nice, smart and good looking. dont really have problem with women, and i am addicted to sex, especially bdsm. I know i am nice to people and i am sure i dont abuse amyone, so i dont wanna change.

I hunt monsters for an international anomaly research center
Part 1
I’m just going to go out and say it. Monsters are real and I’m going to tell my stories about them:
First, Vampires. Vampires like humans come in many shapes and sizes, and unlike what some have stated they are relatively different from the stereotypical Dracula vampire. One of their primary differences is they could be more pretty. They’re not Twilight or Dracula-looking vampires but rather more closely resemble Nosferatu. A fully infected vampire is bald with no eyelashes, eyebrows, or hair atop the head, along with no other bodily hair. They also have much more prominent canines and begin to lose their other teeth making their speech very hard if not impossible to understand. Their eyes start to change and turn yellow resembling closer to that of a nocturnal animal rather than human eyes, and their faces often become more animalistic looking. Some individuals have even sprouted pointed ears.
Now there is a caveat to vampires and their symptoms. A vampire does not have to have all symptoms to be considered a vampire. The only universal changes are the teeth and eye changes. The rest depends entirely on the individual. Vampires can also vary due to the cure. Now people being turned into vampires cannot be cured, but a full vampire can be cured mentally. This is due to the fact that our brains deteriorate so quickly when we are turned that we’d be brain-dead if we were turned human again.
Now I should probably address their abilities as it seems pop culture has added many that aren’t true. First off vampires are not immortal. They actually live typically shorter lives due to the toll the disease can have on the body. Second, they are naturally more robust and faster than humans. However, this is due to a lack of restraint and they will often hurt themselves in these shows of apparent supernatural strength. Third, they do have sensitive skin that burns easily however they won’t burn to death in sunlight. Fourth, they cannot turn invisible in any manner although they are very stealthy. Fifth, they cannot disobey gravity in any manner. Sixth, the drinking of blood does indeed strengthen them to a great degree for a short time. Seventh, they don’t transform not in any form or manner. I’ve encountered many vampires in my time. Most vampires tend to slowly become feral the longer they are infected. To the point, they become forest creatures that are often mistaken as wendigos. Eighth and lastly they are invulnerable to a degree. They function similarly to Achilles; they are invincible except for one spot. This spot for vampires is always the chest right where the sternum is. If you can land a clean shot there you can kill a vampire.
My most recent encounter with a vampire was that of a vampire in Idaho. We’d been getting reports of many disappearances in Idaho that sounded suspiciously like vampire activity, so I was sent in to investigate this matter.
I loaded the railgun and checked all my gear. I had everything I needed. I looked over at the pilot and gave him a thumbs up then I strapped the backpack and duffel bag on. The doors to the plane on one side opened and I stood next to the opening at the plane. I gave one last nod to the pilot and then jumped. The wind tossed me around and I rocketed down to the forest below. If you had asked me just a year ago I would’ve been terrified but now nothing scared me. I’d seen so much worse things than heights. I kept my eyes on the forest below as I fell faster and faster getting closer and closer to the ground then. Pop! Www Wish! The parachute caught my fall yanking at my body. Then slowly I lowered the 100 feet separating me from the ground. Most would call me crazy for the stunts like that I pull, and maybe I am crazy to take a monster to hunt monsters after all. Maybe I just pull those stunts because some sick part of me wants to be afraid of the things I fight. I don’t really know I’m not really into character study anyways.
I unbuckled from the chute which was now tangled 20 feet up in a tree, and fell to the ground. I would’ve landed on my feet but a line got tangled flipping me and causing me to fall straight on my helmet with a loud Crack! After recovering I unclipped the bag and backpack and got everything set.
I strapped all the extra gear to my belt and vest then plugged the tube attached to my gun into the gas canister on my back. Then I checked the small gps I had on me. The cave was half a mile away through the fields. I switched on my night vision and I started jogging for the point. It really wasn’t far at all maybe a five-minute jog and I was there. It was a large rocky hole in the middle of a field. There was a tiny rough dirt road leading up to it with a small dirt lot around it. Parked in the lot was a very old tan Ford truck. Sticking out of the hole was an old rusty ladder with a cage around it. I walked over and looked down into the cave. There was probably a 30-foot drop into the large chamber. So I squeezed into the caged ladder and started making my way down. The space was cramped and the ladder was shaky, but I reached the bottom with little incident. The walls of the cave were covered in graffiti of all colors and small circles of rocks looking like makeshift fire pits littered the cave floor. Along with the rocks were beer bottles. They were of all brands, colors, and sizes and they were scattered around it as well.
I scanned the room and saw two tunnels leading in either direction. After a momentary pause to think I went for the larger and more traveled one. The tunnel quickly opened onto another large and very tall chamber although this one did not go to the surface. This chamber was also almost pitch black even for the night vision. I reached up to my helmet and switched the light on. Instantly the second chamber was flooded with light. This chamber had a large high ledge overlooking it and like the other was covered in graffiti. I walked through the chamber and into the tunnel once again. This section of the tunnel was large and long.
I walked along its sandy floors as the tunnel opened into a third chamber to the right of the chamber was a high ledge that looked like people had crawled up on it. I climbed it to see if anything was up there but just more graffiti. I looked around the rest of the chamber and saw another similar but much large ledge. It looked empty as well so I just kept going. The tunnel leading out was low but wide so I had to crouch down in order to go through. The tunnel took a tight turn to the right as the ceiling slowly and gradually got higher. The floor of this section was covered in lots of large sharp rocks and not flat and sandy like the rest. Slowly I made my way through this section until the tunnel was tall and normal again. I walked down it for a while only for it to get low and tight again. I squeed through an especially tall section into the smallest chamber so far. This chamber had a slight turn in it and once I made the turn I saw the first sign of the missing people.
Fresh cans sitting on rocks, a backpack leaning against the wall, an expensive camera is next to the backpack, and a few jackets and water bottles are set on the rocks. I started scanning the room to see where’d they gone. I saw two holes leading to the same place. They were about 2 ½ feet tall and 3 feet wide. That’s when I caught on to the sound just beyond the holes. It was faint but it sounded like a sucking-smacking type noise. I knew that sound I’d heard it a hundred times before. It was the sound of a vampire feasting.
I grabbed a tool from my belt that looked like a bulky glow stick and cracked it open. Blinding amounts of light erupted from it, so much so that my helmet immediately tinted. I threw the glowing stick into one of the holes and instantly screeches of pain and terror came from the room. Good, I thought. It must’ve hurt the thing. After a couple of seconds, it came crawling out of the other hole. The one I hadn’t thrown the stick through.
The creature was absolutely disgusting and horrifying to look at. This vampire looked like a crossbreed between a naked mole rat, a bat, and a person. Its eyes were yellow with slits for pupils. Its face was wrinkly and closely resembled that of a vampire bat. Its mouth bore four large fangs with additional smaller fangs. Its ears were pointed and much larger. The top of its head was bald and smooth just time the rest of the body. I saw its face was covered in blood as it looked up at me. The rest of its body was fairly normal besides some noticeably large claws on its five fingers.
It screeched with anger again when it looked up into my light and started scampering away the way I’d come. I grabbed another light stick and threw it where the vampire was going. It yelled in pain and terror and turned around back into my light. I could tell it was trying to make a decision, so I took the chance and shot at it. I hit it in the throat the large stake for a bullet bounced off and clambered on the ground. The vampire smiled and then rushed toward me. I almost took another shot but it was too fast.
It slammed into my legs toppling me to the ground. I heard the sound of ripping fabric and then quickly I threw myself atop the vampire trying to wrestle it to the ground. I tried but it was stronger than me and eventually threw me off. It backed away studying me then in a blink it dove for my throat its teeth sinking through my armor and barely piercing my flesh. I pulled my knife, shoved it off, and then made a stab at its chest. It pierced the skin but the thing scampered away so fast it didn’t kill it.
The light stick was starting to go dim and before I threw another the vampire started darting down the tunnel. I chased after it but it was faster than me. I knew that. My only hope was that this thing didn’t know how to climb up a ladder. I crawled through the tight sections and sprinted through the tunnel. Suddenly I entered one of the chambers. This was the one with the ledge on either side. I scanned my light on and around both ledges but it wasn’t there.
Just as I was about to walk into the second chamber I remembered something. It had a large ledge just above where I was about to walk in. I picked up a large rock and threw it into the chamber. I heard the vampire shuffle and almost jump off the ledge, but it seemed it realized before it was to jump. It hissed in frustration but stayed up there. I stood there trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I just walked into the cave backward so I’d be facing it when it jumped for me. Just as I thought it did, and I shot. The stake bullet pierced the vampire directly in the center of the chest, and it was slammed into the rocky face.
The stake bullet had pierced it in such a way the vampire was now pinned to the stone wall by it. Despite this tremendous injury, it yelled in pain and finally spokes its first words
“Mors tua tarda erit.” It sputtered out in a barely understandable voice.
It was Latin and it roughly translated to “your death will be slow.” Right after it said that it pushed itself off the stake breaking even more of its chest. Vampires didn’t die quickly or slowly this one would die soon I knew that but he’d put up a fight until he did.
He lunged at me slashing through my armor and tearing my arm open. He dove for my throat sinking his teeth in again. For a quick moment, I felt its fangs begin to suck the blood from my body before I grabbed my knife and started stabbing it in the stomach. Since I’d hit the mark it was now just as vulnerable as any human. It pulled away and I raised the gun and made two quick shots at its face.
The vampire collapsed backward dead. I hauled myself out of the cave and told my team over my phone the job was done. In just 5 minutes they had the whole investigation team out there. Turns out that thing had managed to drag 22 people past the small hole it had been in. All the corpses were identified and a quick cover story was made.
I had to take the antidote, but I was fine. This isn’t even the worst time I had with a vampire. This one was a walk in the park compared to some of the others I’ve had to deal with. But anyways I’m running out of time so I suppose I’ll tell you all more about that next time, and please tell me what kinda cryptids you’re wondering about because I guarantee I’ve probably fought it. Anyway over and out.

NE Pennsylvania, trying to figure out a bird I seen on my morning walk today. Very wooded area, it was in a tree branch making calls that sounded like a kitten wailing. It was around the size of a Robin, grey with a black beak.

I hunt monsters for an international anomaly research center
Part 1
I’m just going to go out and say it. Monsters are real and I’m going to tell my stories about them:
First, Vampires. Vampires like humans come in many shapes and sizes, and unlike what some have stated they are relatively different from the stereotypical Dracula vampire. One of their primary differences is they are not pretty. They’re not Twilight or Dracula-looking vampires but rather more closely resemble Nosferatu. A fully infected vampire is bald with no eyelashes, eyebrows, or hair atop the head, along with no other bodily hair. They also have much more prominent canines and begin to lose their other teeth making their speech very hard if not impossible to understand. Their eyes start to change and turn yellow resembling closer to that of a nocturnal animal rather than human eyes, and their faces often become more animalistic looking. Some individuals have even sprouted pointed ears.
Now there is a caveat to vampires and their symptoms. A vampire does not have to have all the visual symptoms to be considered a vampire. The only universal changes are the teeth and eye changes. The rest depends entirely on the individual. Vampires can also vary due to the cure. Now people being turned into vampires cannot be cured, but a full vampire can be cured mentally. This is due to the fact that our brains deteriorate so quickly when we are turned that we’d be brain-dead if we were turned human again.
Now I should probably address their abilities as it seems pop culture has added many that aren’t true. First off vampires are not immortal. They actually live typically shorter lives due to the toll the disease can have on the body. Second, they are naturally more robust and faster than humans. However, this is due to a lack of restraint and they will often hurt themselves in these shows of apparent supernatural strength. Third, they do have sensitive skin that burns easily however they won’t burn to death in sunlight. Fourth, they cannot turn invisible in any manner although they are very stealthy. Fifth, they cannot disobey gravity in any manner. Sixth, the drinking of blood does indeed strengthen them to a great degree for a short time. Seventh, they don’t transform not in any form or manner. I’ve encountered many vampires in my time. Most vampires tend to slowly become feral the longer they are infected. To the point, they become forest creatures that are often mistaken as wendigos. Eighth and lastly they are invulnerable to a degree. They function similarly to Achilles; they are invincible except for one spot. This spot for vampires is always the chest right where the sternum is. If you can land a clean shot there you can kill a vampire.
My most recent encounter with a vampire was that of a vampire in Idaho. We’d been getting reports of many disappearances in Idaho that sounded suspiciously like vampire activity, so I was sent in to investigate this matter.
I loaded the railgun and checked all my gear. I had everything I needed. I looked over at the pilot and gave him a thumbs up then I strapped the backpack and duffel bag on. The doors to the plane on one side opened and I stood next to the opening at the plane. I gave one last nod to the pilot and then jumped. The wind tossed me around and I rocketed down to the forest below. If you had asked me just a year ago I would’ve been terrified but now nothing scared me. I’d seen so much worse things than heights. I kept my eyes on the forest below as I fell faster and faster getting closer and closer to the ground then. Pop! Www Wish! The parachute caught my fall yanking at my body. Then slowly I lowered the 100 feet separating me from the ground. Most would call me crazy for the stunts like that I pull, and maybe I am crazy to take a monster to hunt monsters after all. Maybe I just pull those stunts because some sick part of me wants to be afraid of the things I fight. I don’t really know I’m not really into character study anyways.
I unbuckled from the chute which was now tangled 20 feet up in a tree, and fell to the ground. I would’ve landed on my feet but a line got tangled flipping me and causing me to fall straight on my helmet with a loud Crack! After recovering I unclipped the bag and backpack and got everything set.
I strapped all the extra gear to my belt and vest then plugged the tube attached to my gun into the gas canister on my back. Then I checked the small gps I had on me. The cave was half a mile away through the fields. I switched on my night vision and I started jogging for the point. It really wasn’t far at all maybe a five-minute jog and I was there. It was a large rocky hole in the middle of a field. There was a tiny rough dirt road leading up to it with a small dirt lot around it. Parked in the lot was a very old tan Ford truck. Sticking out of the hole was an old rusty ladder with a cage around it. I walked over and looked down into the cave. There was probably a 30-foot drop into the large chamber. So I squeezed into the caged ladder and started making my way down. The space was cramped and the ladder was shaky, but I reached the bottom with little incident. The walls of the cave were covered in graffiti of all colors and small circles of rocks looking like makeshift fire pits littered the cave floor. Along with the rocks were beer bottles. They were of all brands, colors, and sizes and they were scattered around it as well.
I scanned the room and saw two tunnels leading in either direction. After a momentary pause to think I went for the larger and more traveled one. The tunnel quickly opened onto another large and very tall chamber although this one did not go to the surface. This chamber was also almost pitch black even for the night vision. I reached up to my helmet and switched the light on. Instantly the second chamber was flooded with light. This chamber had a large high ledge overlooking it and like the other was covered in graffiti. I walked through the chamber and into the tunnel once again. This section of the tunnel was large and long.
I walked along its sandy floors as the tunnel opened into a third chamber to the right of the chamber was a high ledge that looked like people had crawled up on it. I climbed it to see if anything was up there but just more graffiti. I looked around the rest of the chamber and saw another similar but much large ledge. It looked empty as well so I just kept going. The tunnel leading out was low but wide so I had to crouch down in order to go through. The tunnel took a tight turn to the right as the ceiling slowly and gradually got higher. The floor of this section was covered in lots of large sharp rocks and not flat and sandy like the rest. Slowly I made my way through this section until the tunnel was tall and normal again. I walked down it for a while only for it to get low and tight again. I squeed through an especially tall section into the smallest chamber so far. This chamber had a slight turn in it and once I made the turn I saw the first sign of the missing people.
Fresh cans sitting on rocks, a backpack leaning against the wall, an expensive camera is next to the backpack, and a few jackets and water bottles are set on the rocks. I started scanning the room to see where’d they gone. I saw two holes leading to the same place. They were about 2 ½ feet tall and 3 feet wide. That’s when I caught on to the sound just beyond the holes. It was faint but it sounded like a sucking-smacking type noise. I knew that sound I’d heard it a hundred times before. It was the sound of a vampire feasting.
I grabbed a tool from my belt that looked like a bulky glow stick and cracked it open. Blinding amounts of light erupted from it, so much so that my helmet immediately tinted. I threw the glowing stick into one of the holes and instantly screeches of pain and terror came from the room. Good, I thought. It must’ve hurt the thing. After a couple of seconds, it came crawling out of the other hole. The one I hadn’t thrown the stick through.
The creature was absolutely disgusting and horrifying to look at. This vampire looked like a crossbreed between a naked mole rat, a bat, and a person. Its eyes were yellow with slits for pupils. Its face was wrinkly and closely resembled that of a vampire bat. Its mouth bore four large fangs with additional smaller fangs. Its ears were pointed and much larger. The top of its head was bald and smooth just time the rest of the body. I saw its face was covered in blood as it looked up at me. The rest of its body was fairly normal besides some noticeably large claws on its five fingers.
It screeched with anger again when it looked up into my light and started scampering away the way I’d come. I grabbed another light stick and threw it where the vampire was going. It yelled in pain and terror and turned around back into my light. I could tell it was trying to make a decision, so I took the chance and shot at it. I hit it in the throat the large stake for a bullet bounced off and clambered on the ground. The vampire smiled and then rushed toward me. I almost took another shot but it was too fast.
It slammed into my legs toppling me to the ground. I heard the sound of ripping fabric and then quickly I threw myself atop the vampire trying to wrestle it to the ground. I tried but it was stronger than me and eventually threw me off. It backed away studying me then in a blink it dove for my throat its teeth sinking through my armor and barely piercing my flesh. I pulled my knife, shoved it off, and then made a stab at its chest. It pierced the skin but the thing scampered away so fast it didn’t kill it.
The light stick was starting to go dim and before I threw another the vampire started darting down the tunnel. I chased after it but it was faster than me. I knew that. My only hope was that this thing didn’t know how to climb up a ladder. I crawled through the tight sections and sprinted through the tunnel. Suddenly I entered one of the chambers. This was the one with the ledge on either side. I scanned my light on and around both ledges but it wasn’t there.
Just as I was about to walk into the second chamber I remembered something. It had a large ledge just above where I was about to walk in. I picked up a large rock and threw it into the chamber. I heard the vampire shuffle and almost jump off the ledge, but it seemed it realized before it was to jump. It hissed in frustration but stayed up there. I stood there trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I just walked into the cave backward so I’d be facing it when it jumped for me. Just as I thought it did, and I shot. The stake bullet pierced the vampire directly in the center of the chest, and it was slammed into the rocky face.
The stake bullet had pierced it in such a way the vampire was now pinned to the stone wall by it. Despite this tremendous injury, it yelled in pain and finally spokes its first words
“Mors tua tarda erit.” It sputtered out in a barely understandable voice.
It was Latin and it roughly translated to “your death will be slow.” Right after it said that it pushed itself off the stake breaking even more of its chest. Vampires didn’t die quickly or slowly this one would die soon I knew that but he’d put up a fight until he did.
He lunged at me slashing through my armor and tearing my arm open. He dove for my throat sinking his teeth in again. For a quick moment, I felt its fangs begin to suck the blood from my body before I grabbed my knife and started stabbing it in the stomach. Since I’d hit the mark it was now just as vulnerable as any human. It pulled away and I raised the gun and made two quick shots at its face.
The vampire collapsed backward dead. I hauled myself out of the cave and told my team the job was done over the phone. In just 5 minutes they had the whole investigation team out there. Turns out that thing had managed to drag 22 people past the small hole it had been in. All the corpses were identified and a quick cover story was made.
I had to take the antidote, but I was fine. This isn’t even the worst time I had with a vampire. This one was a walk in the park compared to some of the others I’ve had to deal with. But anyways I’m running out of time so I suppose I’ll tell you all more about that next time, and please tell me what kinda cryptids you’re wondering about because I guarantee I’ve probably fought it. Anyway over and out.

I’ve been in a committed relationship for a few years now, we’re planning to get married. Even though life is good now, my partner mentions wanting to have children at some point in the future. And while having a family with him is the best outcome I could think of for my life, it’s not very realistic. And i’m afraid it’s a bad idea.
My childhood was very traumatic. I suffer from CPTSD and a schizoaffective disorder. I went through a heroin addiction, I had a suicide attempt and I spent a lot of time in psych ward and rehab. And I’m an amputee. And I’m barely 30, I’m just starting to recover and live my life how you should live it.
I’ve done some messed up things in my past and I made bad choices. I’m still learning to take care of myself and manage my life. I don’t think i’ll ever be in a place where I deserve and can take care of a child. I’m really scared I inherited my father’s horrible person genes or something. I just don’t see myself as a good dad and I’m afraid of being in the presence of a child, let alone raising one.

Hello there,
I'm a 35-year-old entrepreneur who started a cannabis company four years ago with just a modest investment of forty dollars. This year our business was valued at a million dollars and we're excited to expand to five more locations over the next two years.
As we've never sought outside investment before, I am seeking guidance on the most effective way to locate compatible investors who are interested in becoming partners for this new venture. Based on the numbers, I'm confident that significant returns can begin in a short period of eighteen months, should the opportunity be explored with the right investor.
I am hoping to secure an amount of 500k in investment and propose that investors receive their investment back, plus up to 20% of total business profits per year over a period of five years, depending on the amount of their investment.
Because I already own some of the necessary assets and reside on a self-sufficient property, I'm willing to offer a part of the profits in exchange for saving time.
I am currently seeking assistance from this sub in connecting with investors who understand the opportunities that marijuana agriculture businesses offer and are interested in partnering with this dynamic company.
And if you're an investor who is interested in partnering with us and understand the potential it offers, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at your convenience.
Constructive criticisms are welcome and appreciated.

Hi, I made a friend last year who was really kind and I loved hanging out with them! But this year they've changed. We were in a team sport together and everytime I missed they would tell me I sucked. They also got addicted to this anime game and don't talk to me during break time in school! They sit against the wall for the wifi and I just stand there next to them, doing nothing. Makes me feel really bad. The only reason they talk to me is when I steal their phone. When I ask them to get off their phone they don't respond and sometimes kick me. Once I teased them that their best friend was beside them (I tease them by saying this random kid is their best friend) and they thought I was talking about myself to which they replied "your not my best friend." and it really hurt me. They have changed so much over the past year. Every mistake I make is now an L or something. Once they also told me that their parents wanted me to come over but she doesn't want me to. Once during Javelin and shotput they told me that I sucked. Now don't get me wrong they are also a bunch of great qualities. They help me and do work with me. They've always been with me. I don't want to lose a friend. I feel like their new behaviour has been making my behaviour like theirs. I don't want to be like that. I don't know if this is considered friendly behaviour or just straight up bullying. Thanks guys! (sorry for the long paragraph)

Mistakes

On 15th May 2023, I was filming part 1 Q&A video of 24th May Q&A. 24th May Q&A video was filmed on 15th May 2023 because got many many questions. So I divide into different days different parts. On 15th May 2023, I made a big mistake. The place where I film, sometimes the NEA, they will pour the stupid bottle on the floor, got a lot of stupid idiot mosquitos then come to my place. That time I didn't bring this call the mosquito thing, the insect, the one call what. That time 15th May 2023, I never bring this thing. So after that, I put this thing (shieldtox) everyday inside my bag. Because sometimes I film the Q&A here, the NEA. I don't understand why they want to put the bottle of mosquitos. Then the mosquito fly here, I feel very frustrated. So after that, I tell myself, every-time I film Q&A, I must put this one inside my bag. So on 15th May 2023, I forgot to bring this. Then what happen ? A lot of mosquitos fly here fly there very dulan. As I want to hit the mosquitos, I accidentally hit the tripod stand. The tripod stand was with the phone. The tripod stand with the phone dropped down on the floor. Lucky the phone never spoil. If the phone spoil then honggan already. Because the phone I need to use for Q&A. So this was a fucking fucking big mistake that shouldn't have happened.
On 20th May 2023 (Saturday), my fans that time he message me say he want to treat me KFC. He order KFC to send to my house. That time I was seeing a doctor at Polyclinic. I was going for the X-Ray. After the X-Ray, I was at this void deck writing the 4D/Toto, then my this fan message me, going to order the KFC to deliver to my house. So I see the delivery time, its around 1.26pm. I was thinking I can reach home early by 1.10pm. So by 1.10pm, I can reach home already. That time my fan got tell me to tell my family/my parents. That time I never tell, I thought I can reach home early. Because if I tell my parents my fan want to treat me KFC, my parents will be a bit suspicious because my parents don't trust. Even that time I went out with Eddy Low, I have to tell my parents that this is my working colleague. Because they don't believe. Because you know I got a lot of haters. So my parents they don't trust people. They will felt that this is a guy. This guy is a hater. Trying to pretend to be my fans. They don't trust. I have to say he is a working colleague. So I made a mistake. I never go and call my parents say got food delivery coming. So that time when I reach home around 1.10pm. Just nice. Few minutes ago, the food delivery guy just left and my parents thought order the wrong one then they tell the delivery man they never order KFC. Then the delivery man go off then I was shocked. The delivery man call my fan. My fan say the address never wrong so ask the delivery man to return. But of course the delivery man have to go to other places to send first. So as a result, wait more than 30 minutes and I apologize to the delivery man. So its a big mistake because I should have call my parents on the phone when I was writing 4D/Toto that there is a delivery man coming but didn't. Luckily the delivery man got return but wasting a lot of time. So this is a mistake that shouldnt have happened.
The next mistake I make on 21st May 2023, I didn't go and check my notifications with the PLRD. Monday night, I cannot work because I got two notifications. Then after that I got to call the agency the next morning. Total got 2 agencies still holding my name. So I called the 2 agencies to cancel my notifications. What happened ? 24th night. Supposed to can work already. Then I go to look for adhoc jobs in the security whatsapp group. Then the agency check say I got two notifications. I was shocked. Then the next day, I call the agencies. Both agencies they forget to cancel. You see on the 23th May, I call them. The notifications in order to cancel need to wait for 24 hours later. So on Wednesday morning, I should have called the PLRD to check with them whether my notifications have been cancelled or not but I didn't. I think cannot be two agencies both also forgot to cancel. Confirm got one agency will cancel one. In the end, both also forget. Its a mistake that shouldn't have happened. When you work security officeguard, one person can only maximum two notifications. That means my name if lets say got two agencies, you cannot go and work adhoc job. Because your name got two agencies already. So you need to take out one of the agencies or best if you take out both agencies, the notifications so that your name is not under them then you go and work adhoc job. Ah then only you can work.
It was on the 25th May 2023, when I go to the toilet at home, while carrying the phone and the notebook, my notebook/datebook and the YouTube photo slideshow. The photo slideshow for example, I write the NXT champion Kurt Tay take selfie blah blah. That is called the photo slideshow book. I use the color ink pen to write the words. For example, the almighty WWE champion Kurt Tay take photo with fans. That is called the photo slideshow book. So this book and the date book, I accidentally drop inside the toilet bowl. Its a mistake that shouldnt have happened.
I made another mistake. It was on the 25th May 2023. 24th May 2023, my wife was off. When my wife was off day, its a bit hard for me to do the wrestling pose because she at home. She see me do the wrestling pose, she don't like. But however, 25th May 2023, my wife was working and I after eating, I forgot to do the wrestling pose because I was wearing the Almighty Bobby Lashley T-shirt but I forgot to do the Bobby Lashley wrestling pose after eating so this is also a mistake.

What the difference between the new and old Kurt Tay ?

Sometimes people will think. Got difference meh. Whats the difference ? Let me explain to you. The new Kurt Tay will have more confidence. My confidence level will reach above the sky level. My confidence will be a few million times or even a few billion time more confident than you can ever imagine. And I will be a few million times or even a few billion time smarter than you can ever imagine. Not only that. Sometimes in the past, you see my videos have to wait for a few days, never post. This thing will never happen again when the new Kurt Tay arrive on 4th June 2023. You see last time on certain days, there are fans take photo with me, sometimes I never get to post them. There are a lot of them which I never post on my YouTube channel. This thing will never happen again. Got fans take photo with me. Confirm guarantee plus chop, I will post them on my YouTube channel. And you will not see my food videos how come few days never post. Every day the food photo slideshows/videos will post on the date itself. No more wait for few days never post. No. Unless, this selfie eating videos, I might post on the next day. Because the selfie eating video is fucking long. Sometimes must take even 2 hours. So if I go to work, if I use the phone to upload the selfie eating videos, it will waste a lot of data. That one I will wait after work then I go home and use my wifi to upload. Other than that, the other videos you confirm see will post on the day itself.

Why don't you want do property agent ? Can earn a lot of money you know. Complete one transaction can earn $10000 in commissions. Didnt think of that ?

This is a very very good suggestion. If really one transaction can earn a lot of money, I think I will go and try. Thank you for the advice but then I hope the job got at least some basic. If the job totally dont have the basic, what happen if you have 0 transaction then how ? That means that whole month, you got no money at all. You got $0 earnings. If got $0 earnings then will honggan already. So I want to make sure got at least some basics. Not totally depends on commissions. If really can earn so much from transactions, I think I will actually quite interested. I think I will call to find out more because who don't love money. I love money but of course must guarantee have some basics also. What happen if I got zero deals ? I got try before last time. Do like the sales everything. Its not so easy to get people to buy your product you are promoting all these. Its not so easy. I want to make sure that everything is OK.

What are your birthday wishes ?

My birthday wishes every year is the same. Of course I hope that I can strike Toto first prize become a millionaire. I really have been dreaming to become a millionaire. Its my birthday wish. I want to become million dollar man. Money Money Money Money. Other wishes. I wish my family got the healthy. Myself healthy also. The third wish is actually that is quite impossible. I want to have Doraemon magic pocket. Because got that magic pocket, you basically can grant any wishes you want. You can have time travel machine blah blah blah. The Doraemon magic pocket.

If that someone promise to forgive you if ask you to crawl on all fours in public, will you do it ?

Answer is No. Last time is Yes. But also must see situation. Because if I not famous online celebrity, I got no problem doing that. But I am a famous online celebrity so it will be inconvenient. But now the answer confirm is No because I really very disappointed in someone.

I curious what your wife reply to you (referring to voice message to my wife where I was working at Raffles Institution Junior College)

I was working the traffic marshall. That means the car jam, I need to marshall the cars, to go as fast as they can. The RI, usually the parents will drive cars, the students got off from the cars and I so super super famous, a lot of students recognize me and approach me and take photo with me. That time so many fans. I went inside the guard house to take photos with my fans, RI students. Later on, so many fans, I keep on go in go out. In in out out. The supervisor can see. So I go inside, the view they cannot see. Later on the supervisor see why I keep walking in and out then she come and take a look. Then she say how come you taking photos with the students. Then she say "are they your relatives" ? Then I say "yah yah yah. my relatives" I also don't know how to explain because she don't know me. But then a lot of students they know me. This supervisor say cannot go inside to take photos. Then I say "Ï stand here. They take photos with me can or not" ? Then she say "cannot. you are on duty". After that around 7.50am, still got a lot of fans want to take photo with me. Then I tell my fans to wait say supervisor not happy already. I am SSS but I only work there adhoc 1 night only. After that I tell my fans have to wait until 8am when I finish work. 10 more mins. Some can wait. Some cannot wait. I actually missed out quite a lot of fans to take photo with me. So 8am, once finish work, a lot of fans rush to take photo with me. I so super super famous. After that I went back to the guard house, there is this one man which I think is the management. Because he wearing civilian clothes. He was instructing the security officers what to do. His face was very black color. Because I think he saw what happened. How come this security guard got so many students want to take photos with me. So this incident I got tell my wife. So Mr Meow is curious what my wife says. So my wife says "I should have tell my fans that I am working now. Cannot take photos." My wife say the management his face black black color. Its understandable that he is angry because I am doing security work. So my wife say should have tell my fans that I am working. Cannot take photos. So my wife say that I will kenna complain. Maybe the management will complain to the security agency. But the thing is a lot of fans will feel sad. They will feel disappointed when I rejected them when their idol (me). When they cannot take photo with me (their idol), they will feel very very disappointed. They will feel very sad. So I try not to make my fans disappointed which was why I agree to take photos with then. You see for famous online celebrity like me, its actually quite hard to work in school where I need to work road traffic marshall. Then got fans recognize me all these. I also not suitable to work security at MRT station. Imagine I doing security at MRT then people say "Kurt Tay Kurt Tay" So many people want to take photos with me. Because I am public figure. Certain security job like public area. I so famous. Its a bit hard. Its inconvenient.

If male and female JC students want to engage your BDSM services, will you say yes ?

This one must see if they got underage or not. I am not sure BDSM if there is a age requirement. I know sex there is a requirement. BDSM. I think its best at a legal age lah. To avoid conflict. If lets say students, its best if its 18 years and above. The legalized age. So if got male and female want to engage me as the male master, as long as they are legal ages, that should be fine. Must see situations first. Answer is Yes and No. If underage then cannot.

If the male and female JC students want to become your master and mistress to punish you, are you OK or not ?

For guys confirm is No. For guys, I can only become the master and not the slave. For girls, I Ok to be the master and slave but then must see if they are legalied age or not.

Hello everbody
​
I'm looking for advice. I think my boyfriend (M, in his late 20ies) might be in the closet. I'm thinking about how I can support him in the best ways. If he were fully happy in the closet, I would not say or do anything. But he has recently started to work on his stuff and he figured out that hiding parts of himself is a big topic and bottling up emotions had him suffering much.
​
When I first met him, I thought I found a new queer friend. We were friends for a while and I was really convinced that he's queer too, because he knows a lot about queer topics and I felt we realted to each other a lot. Also, most of his close friends are queer. So it was to my big surprise when he told me after a while that he's actually just an ally. Shortly afterwards, he confessed his feelings for me and we started dating. Very now and then, he cracks a joke about how he's not gay at all and that it was silly of me to think he could be. But to me, the gut feeling that he might be queer never went away. When he was showing me pictures of his dog who died some years ago, we also stumbled on pictures of him when he was 19. He was with his then-girlfriend at pride and both were in bi colours. He said that it was to support her because she was bi. I also stumbled upon an old instgram profile of him from some years ago where he had a post celebrating pride and saying something among the lines of "you fall in love with a person, not a gender". The last thing was very recently when we were watching tiktoks together. I have a lot of queer creators in my feed and there was a video of a bi man in the gym with some lines about being bisexuality. I noticed that he was weirdly staring, so I asked him what's up. He shrugged his shoulders, and when I replayed the video he said that if he were attracted to men, this guy would be on the top list. But he then quickly turned around and told me to forget what he said. The other day, I was having lunch with a mutual friend we're both close to. She actually asked me the exact same thing: Do I think that y boyfriend is a closeted bi man who's hiding part of his identity. She made very similar observations like me.
​
I want to support him because I think he's bottling something up. I don't doubt that he's attracted to me, and I would consider myself a "safe" person to come out to because I'm queer too (I'm a bisexual nonbinary femme). But of course I don't want to pressure him into anything, and of course there is the possibility that he's being true to his feelings and he is indeed just an ally.
​
I'm also wondering: If he was out some years ago, what made him go back into the closet. I know that his family are homophobic, but he has very minimal contact with them, and otherwise he's surrounded by queer people (including me) who would support him.

Just recently came in possession of a 1 person scissor lift, trying to think of some hustles i can use it for, was thinking tree trimming but there’s cheaper easier alternatives than that - I then thought about commercial sign maintenance? Anyone have any ideas? Thanks

Are there any guns with similar trigger pulls/grips to a 2nd generation Five Seven that are chambered in .22 or 9mm? I'm trying to find a good way to get more practice without spending hundreds of dollars each session

--- Table of Contents ---
Autumn 4986, 16 Aoimoth
Shon and Nangran hobbled their horses at the base of a steep hill deep in the woods north of Hamerfoss. They'd left at fourth bell, before any of the other Squires had woken for their morning run, and it had still taken them hours of riding through narrow trails to reach this place. At least they hadn't run into any monsters. The snow that had dusted the landscape during the night lay thick here, crunching underfoot and occasionally flopping noisily to either side as it fell from the tall evergreen branches.
Shon adjusted the strap of his sword across his chest and reached his left hand back to brush shaking fingers over its hilt. He'd been glad when the Paladins insisted he take it with him. To them, it marked Shon as a representative of Hengist and the Temple. To Shon, it was a sign of his hard work and resolve. Having it was a comfort.
Nangran started up the hill, and Shon hurried to follow. The smith hadn’t spoken a word since they set out, not even to try and ease Shon’s anxiety, for which Shon was grateful. Master Daunas had tried to sound confident as Shon saddled his borrowed horse, and The Major General had offered him encouragement as they mounted. Neither realized how much that just drove home the desperation of the situation in Shon’s mind.
The smith pulled his heavy cloak tighter, and Shon looked away. He hadn’t bothered to wear his cloak. He'd never really felt chilled in the winter like others seemed to. Now that he knew why, he wished he had. Cold continued to swirl around him, enhanced by his worries. If he could just block those emotions, the power would never have been a problem to begin with.
The trees thinned the higher they climbed, disappearing almost entirely as they crested the top of the hill. The clearing looked over the treetops, offering an unimpeded view of the horizon. Forest all around, with flatland to the south and rocky mountain peaks to the north. Only a handful of small trees grew in the clearing, and in the middle stood a little ramshackle hut only slightly larger than an outhouse.
Nangran threw his arm out, stopping Shon from walking past him, "Don't touch anything. And don't be surprised if he says no right off."
Shon nodded, trying to swallow down his fear so it wouldn't be seen in his eyes. Dropping his hand, Nangran started forward again, finishing, "Be honest, but not insulting." The instructions, -or perhaps advice?- seemed like common courtesy, which made Shon wonder why quiet Nangran had bothered to say anything.
As they drew closer to the little shack, Shon could make out a sign on the door. He squinted to read it and had just made out 'No Soliciting' when the door swung open, banging against the wall and sending birds into flight. An old man, so thin he looked like a skeleton with yellow skin pulled tight across its bones, stormed out. Wearing nothing but a loincloth, he was shaking a thick stick at them that glinted with red rubies in the low autumn light.
"I already paid my dues for this decade! So you can take your request and shove it-" Shon’s hand instinctively reached for his sword, but Nangran just crossed his arms over his barrel chest. The old -virtually naked- man stopped yelling mid-rant and lifted one shriveled arm to shade his eyes as he squinted at them, "Eh? Flintchest, what’re you doing way out here with a blasted mage in tow?"
Rather than answer, Nangran started forward again, he didn't much care for talking, let alone shouting. Looking from Nangran to the loincloth man, Shon slowly lowered his arm, but still took position to the left and just behind the Smith as they approached the crazy man with the glittering club.
"No mage." Nangran said as he came right up to the strange old man, "Squire." he glanced over his shoulder at Shon and finished, "Sorcerer."
The old man spat on the ground and moved his squint to Shon. Running his eyes from the top of his black head to the tip of his polished boots and back, exaggerating the movement before he stopped at the Squire’s cold blue eyes.
He spat again, then barked "Where's your familiar?" scanning first the ground at Shon's feet then the sky above his head.
Shon blinked at him, furrowing his brow in confusion at the question. The mage snapped his fingers impatiently, "Your familiar! All Sorcerers have a familiar."
Nangran came to his rescue, "Just woke last night," he said shortly.
The mage spat again but didn't argue, "Well, come in then." Shon looked sideways at Nangran, but the Smith had already begun following the skinny old man into the shack. Shon hurried to catch up.
Inside, Shon's eyes were assaulted with a sparkling rainbow of colors. The room they'd entered was considerably larger than the outside would suggest, with plush carpet and a stuffed high-back armchair in front of a blazing fire in the opposite wall. Shelves full of exotic plants, glowing glass jars, and glittering stones filled every available space, reflecting off one another and setting streaks of light to dance on the floor and walls like sun rays through crystal.
There was too much to take in, so Shon focused on their host. The old man was slipping into a thick robe of deep purple velvet. He'd hung the club on the wall beside the door, which looked just as decrepit on this side as it had on the outside.
"Make a habit of greeting visitors half-naked and swinging an old fireball wand?" Nangran asked as he slipped out of his cloak.
"Keeps the conversations short." the old man replied tersely, tying his belt and turning to his guests. With boney knuckles on boney hips and glare firmly planted on his wrinkled face, he snapped, "Don't bother getting comfortable, Flintchest; you'll be leaving soon enough."
The Smith ignored him, hanging his cloak on the hook that had presumably held the mage's robe. "Got a favor to ask," he said, but the old man was already shaking his head,
"More like a favor to cash in. That's the only reason you're in here and not smoking in a hole outside."
Nangran ignored the threat and motioned from Shon to the old man and back. "Archmage Ivelm." The mage looked Shon up and down again as Nangran made the introductions, “Squire Shon.”
"Not much longer, I'd say." Ivelm said to Nangran as he finished his second examination, "It's to the Guild with this one. Too much magic." he turned his head and spat in a brass can by the door. It rang out with a loud ‘ting!' and Ivelm sniffed, looking down at Nangran again, "What do you want, Flintchest?"
"Need a seal. So the boy doesn't freeze Hamerfoss more than it already is." the smith crossed his arms, watching the mage and somehow still seeming completely at ease.
"Eh?!" Ivelm exclaimed, leaning far forward. Shon had to try hard not to crinkle his nose as the old man brought his face close enough that Shon could smell Ivelm's breath. Garlic, the mage ate a lot of garlic…
"So… you don't want to be a mage, do you?" he demanded, glaring down his nose at him. Shon shook his head and would have answered with a 'no ser.' except the mage continued, "Rather swing around some hunk of metal like a brute?"
Shon blinked stupidly, and Nangran cleared his throat, "Watch what you say about my swords, old man."
Ivelm ignored the smith as soundly as Nangran had ignored the Archmage, and continued to Shon, "The powers of the universe are at your fingertips. Blood blessed with the strength of the elements, and you wanna throw it all away," he threw his arms into the air, still uncomfortably close, "And for what? Some illusion of an honorable death by the sword?"
Shon didn't know what to say. He looked past the affronted mage's face, only an inch from his own, to Nangran. But the smith gave no sign he was going to help. Shon’s future depended on convincing this strange old man, this Archmage, to help…
Shon wasn't the type to try and convince anyone of anything, but the least he could do was explain himself. Shon stepped back from the mage to address him from a more comfortable distance. "I chose to dedicate my life to perfecting my art, and my art is martial combat," he said. Ivelm wrinkled his nose, his mouth twisting as if he were going to spit again, but Shon continued, "magic would be better served in the hands of someone who wants it badly enough to work for it. Like I've worked for my martial skills."
Ivelm leaned away from Shon, his eyebrows lifted into his frizzled gray hair. Shon looked to Nangran, hoping for some sign that this was a good response. The smith smiled from behind the mage.
"Soooo…" Ivelm drew the word out, "You think only those who dedicate themselves to strict study and practice should wield the power of the universe?" he leaned forward again, turning his head and fixing one eye on Shon like a bird. As if trying to catch him in a lie.
Shon nodded, confused, then asked, "Isn't that what it takes to effectively wield magic? Focused study?"
Ivelm didn't answer the question, instead turning his face to examine Shon with the other eye, scanning him up and down yet again. The old man had looked him up and down so much Shon wouldn't be surprised if the next question were about his hair or boots.
But Ivelm didn't ask another question. Instead, he stood straight and spat into the brass can with another ringing 'ting!' "I like this one," he said, turning his back on Shon and facing Nangran, "But it's too much." he shook his head, lifting his hands in helpless surrender, "Too much power, and ice at that. Stubborn element that one. And it's so finicky to block just elemental magic..."
Ivelm continued talking but Shon heard very little of it. A hole had opened in his gut, and it felt like his heart was racing his stomach to fall into it. But Nangran just rolled his eyes at the mage, interrupting, "Used to be the name in new magic items... made shackles to hold Archmages." he squinted at Ivelm, who had frozen mid-head shake, "Must've gotten rusty out…"
Ivelm snapped his fingers under the Smith's nose to stop him talking, "The mind does not rust, Flintchest!" he huffed, one bare foot tapping under his robe, "Not like your swords and shriveling muscles." Nangran just stared stubbornly, his thick, muscled arms still crossed over his broad chest.
The mage continued to tap his foot, his nose in the air. But as the silence stretched, Ivelm looked down at the smith, who continued to say nothing. The silent battle of wills ended when Ivelm threw his arms up in disgust and shook a finger under Nangran's nose, nearly hitting it, declaring, "I'll show you. I'll make a gem especially for this lad, and you'll see the mind only continues to grow sharper!"
He spun on his heel back to Shon, who had just made out the smith's returned smile from behind the mage when the old man snapped his fingers in Shon's face, making him jump. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come here so I can take some measurements!" Ivelm swung around again and marched across the room to a large workbench with plants and gems scattered across it. Shon scrambled after him, praying his thanks to Hengist and suddenly feeling light enough to float. His anxieties dropping away and melting like snow in summer.
***
It was already noon, and no one had come to see Her. She jumped up to grab the bars of Her window, pulling Herself up to peak out but seeing nothing but new snow and tree trunks. She was full to bursting with nervous energy, amplifying every sound and sensation. Footsteps sounded outside Her door, and She dropped from the window, sprinting across the room and resting Her ear on the wood.
“Ran, recheck the lab. Brom, with me.” Archmage Morndancer spoke with his strange alternation between draconic and common as he passed Her door without stopping. She could easily make out the swish of their robes on the stone hall leading away. Three people, Brom, Ran, and Archmage Morndancer. And yet the scurrying of too many feet to be only the two apprentices and Archmage Shaloon, sounded from the floor above. There were strangers in her tower again. Many strangers. Something was happening, something big…
She ran to Her window again, just for something to do, seeking some way to burn off some of the anxiety of not knowing what was going on around her.
A roar from down the hall, a roar of pain, sent ice washing through her veins. She slammed into the door at full speed. Pounding on the wood, She called out, “Brom?! Ran?!” Nothing. Then a yip cut short, followed by barking and yowling.
She shook the handle with both hands, rattling the door on its hinges, “BROM! RAN!” Something was happening to Her treasures, something terrible… The door handle began to glow, the metal warping and sagging as it melted. The knowledge that She would be in more trouble than She had ever been in before was nothing compared to Her terror. She wrenched the handle back with all Her might, splashing molten metal across Her bed, lighting fires that flared in her panic, and sending smoke to curl up to the ceiling.
She didn’t care. She shouldered the door open and ran.
“Red?!” She passed the first open door but couldn’t stop as Ran called out to Her. Reaching Her treasures' room, She tried to stop but slipped, slamming into the ground with a sticky splash. A final whining bark started a buzzing in Her ears as She stared, transfixed, at Her hands. They were painted red. Warm and sticky. The overpowering stench of iron nearly made Her gag as She looked up to see Morndancer toss aside a glittering golden wolf pup, the body flopping limply over the corpse of its mother and siblings.
Her world went red.
***
The last sample was taken care of, but something roared with enough ferocity to shatter glass.
Morndancer's head snapped around in time for him to fall back, shielding his face with his hands as the Firewyrm exploded. White-hot fire engulfed Her and spread out to the stone floor and walls. His robes began to smoke, the new fire protection spells woven into them being overpowered by the sheer ferocity of the blaze.
Brom had no such spells, and he had only managed a single step towards the girl before he fell to the ground, writhing for only a moment before lying still. The Archmage heard Ran scream from the hall before the journeyman stumbled past the door, flailing wildly. Barely discernible as human inside the flames.
The Firewyrm moved towards him, stepping through Brom’s head, turned to ash, and blown up to dance in the air on the same heatwaves causing the girl's hair to wave wildly about Her. She didn't seem to notice, Her face was expressionless and her eyes glowed as red as the scales across Her cheek. Morndancer tried to snap his fingers, but the golden collar around Her neck melted, Her clothes burning off and leaving Her naked and terrible in the flames.
His robe was burning now, and only the pain of that could pull his eyes from the Firewyrm as he pointlessly tried to beat the fires off. He fell back, hitting the wall, which drooped, sagging and dripping molten stone onto his head and face. Then he fell further back, into a gate that opened behind him.
Shaloon pulled him through the portal and into the library three stories up. The Firewyrm roared again and the tower walls shook with the force of it. The gate closed, but Morndancer continued to burn. He could hear screaming. Was it him? Was he screaming? Fire burst up the spiral stairs in the middle of the room, and apprentices, both their own and many sent from the central and western Talon, scrambled about in a panic, some even leaping from the windows.
Shaloon cursed, holding out her hand and summoning her sword again. She had to draw the circle five times before a second gate finally formed, and she dove through it, pulling Morndancer along with her as it quickly closed. An apprentice reached through, and his arm fell at Morndancer’s feet, miles away in the sitting room of his manor back in Smildna.
He laughed. Shaloon slapped him, and he laughed. Ronni, his daughter, burst through the door, her own daughter, only a year old, perched on her hip, and still, he laughed. “What’s wrong?! What happened to him?!” he barely registered his daughter's words and continued to laugh, rolling around on the ground in mirthful madness.
“The Firewyrm She…” Shaloon started, but Morndancer yelled over her in draconic,
“She is true! She is pure! She is rage! The children will come and raise the grandchildren! We have only to await the coming of those Chosen!” the room faded around him, becoming washed out and gray then finally black as he continued to laugh and shout, “They take those who slew them and use them to raise themselves anew…”
He couldn’t feel his burns or the hands trying to settle him. He saw only darkness and stars. And the eyes of his Master boring into his soul from the outer planes.
***
Shon couldn't remember ever feeling so drained in his life. He'd been tired before, exhausted even, but it had never felt quite like this. The eccentric Archmage Ivelm had ordered him to 'empty his energy' into stone after stone. Measuring the weight, color, and temperature of each. Making notes in chalk directly on his table and talking to himself. Shon was shocked the first time he saw the smooth rock handed to him change from a translucent white to an onyx as black as his hair, but by the time they'd gone through the twentieth stone, Shon had decided to stop counting.
Ivelm, however, seemed to get more and more excited with each one. Giving Shon reason to suspect the mage may be taking the energy for himself. After what felt like hours, Ivelm finally stoppered the potion he'd mixed with the most recent jewel, glowing a soft pale blue, and stepped back from the workbench, bony hands on bony hips.
"It can be done." Ivelm swiveled to face Nangran, "He's strong, I don’t know how he managed not to manifest until now, but it's all focused in one elemental direction." he rubbed his chin and looked at the ceiling, completely ignoring Shon's arched eyebrow. "It has a bit of divine flavor as well. But I suppose that shouldn't be surprising for a training Paladin." The mage stopped musing and glared down his nose at Nangran, who had made himself comfortable in the oversized wingback chair by the fire, "It will have to be a lot bigger than a piece of jewelry would allow."
The smith just hummed and sipped at his mug. When had he gotten a mug? Shon looked from one old man to the other. It was apparent Ivelm wanted Nangran to ask him for details, but the ever stoic smith said nothing.
Shon was tired. His limbs felt heavy, and the weight of his simple uniform felt more like platemail. He was just about to ask what the Archmage meant, to hurry them along, when Ivelm threw his hands in the air and said, "You'll need to find somewhere to put it. I would recommend that." he pointed at the hilt of Shon's sword over his shoulder, continuing, "If the lad is insisting on swinging a metal stick around instead of harnessing the ultimate powers of the universe then that same stick might as well sap the power literally as well as figuratively." Shon arched an incredulous eyebrow but Ivelm wasn't paying attention, finishing, "I can get it down to about an inch and a half orb. At the smallest. If you want something different, say so now."
Nangran set his mug on the ground and stood with a grunt and a groan. Shon just wanted to go home and sleep for a week, so when the smith reached for the hilt of his sword for a closer look Shon hardly noticed, until the squat smith jerked it down to eye level. Shon swung his arms like a drowning man and stepped wide to prevent himself from falling over.
"Quit wigglin'," Nangran grumbled, studying the sword's pommel with a professional eye. "One and a half'll do, preferably in a tear…"
The mage snorted and continued to ignore the struggling half crouched Shon, his voice dripping sarcasm as he addressed the smith, "Shall I wrap it in silk for you as well?"
"Na." Nangran let go of the sword, and Shon stood straight, lifting his leg to shake out the knee. "Drop it off when you’re done." the Mage snorted again but didn't counter.
None of them were interested in extending the visit, so Nangran grabbed his heavy cloak and shrugged it on while Shon waited by the door. "It will be at least a fortnight," Ivelm called from his position by the workbench, not about to walk them out.
Nangran grunted his confirmation and opened the battered and decrepit door, letting the wind and early autumn snow blow in on their way out. Shon followed numbly, his eyes unfocused as he walked, and ran right into the much shorter man. Nangran hardly moved as Shon bounced off of him. He was squinting into the distance, one large hand shading his eyes. Shon stared at Nangran for a moment before following the direction of his gaze over the tree line.
Smoke. A LOT of smoke. The black clouds billowed violently into the sky, occasionally lit from below by sparks shot high into the air.
"Elm!" Nangran shouted. Shon had never heard the man call so loudly. The Archmage must have also been shocked because the door to his hut swung open and he stuck his head out to look to either side, eyes wide.
"Flintchest, what?" but he soon saw what, "But, that's the old chemist's tower… What?" he stood in shocked confusion for a heartbeat before turning back into the hut. Shon looked from the shack to Nangran, but before he could say anything, the mage was back, struggling with two long rods, one blue with what looked like waves painted all around, the other black and studded with diamonds.
"Don't just stand there!" Ivelm snapped at the two as he finally managed to slip the blue rod into a sheath at his side. He then pointed the diamond rod at the space between two close-growing trees. Shon heard him say something unintelligible, and one of the diamonds shot out of the tip of the rod to hover between the trees before expanding into a portal.
Beyond the magical gate, Shon could hear the fire roar. It sounded how he imagined the burning hells might sound, but as he followed the two men through, he realized his imagination was tame by comparison.
The smell of burning flesh and hair choked him as they stepped clear of the gate's magic. The heat smashed into them like a wall, and all three brought their arms up to shield their faces. Around them were the charred remains of what looked like humans, their faces buried in the mud as if they'd been trying to run from the blaze. Shon had to swallow the bile that rose in his throat and focused instead on the fire Ivelm had said was a tower.
It was completely engulfed in bright flames of all colors. Squinting through the light, he could see the stone walls melting like wax. The arch of the doorway sagged in the middle, and Shon's eyes went wide. Someone was in there.
He would've had to shout over the roar of the flames, but it didn’t matter; Ivelm was already raising the blue wand, jerking his fingers in strange ways and mouthing words impossible to hear. Water shot out the tip of the wand with the force of a ballista and hissed against the glowing stones.
It wasn't possible. It must be a trick of the flickering flames. But the figure turned its face to them, long hair whipping about as it took steps in their direction.
"Don't just stand there, boy!" Ivelm screamed. "They must have a fire-resist spell; those things don't last forever!"
Nangran grabbed Shon’s upper arm, pulling him a step closer to the fire and down so he could shout in his ear, "Freeze a path."
Shon swallowed. He was so tired, literally drained. He didn't know what to do or how to do it. But the figure in the fire reached out to them only to pull away from a drop of molten rock. Shon fell to his knees, placing his hands on the ground and pleading silently to Hengist. He didn’t know what to do, didn’t know how to control the power. He tried picturing a path of snow between himself and the tower base, concentrating on it until the mental image overlaid the real world, as he did when imagining phantom fighters during practice.
Ice snaked its way from Shon's fingers towards the burning tower along his mental path, powered by the fear that he wouldn't be fast enough to save the person inside. The water from Ivelm's wand helped carve the way, and Shon grunted physically as he struggled to push mentally. His breathing came heavy and ragged. He could feel the fire melting the edges of the ice as if it were a part of him. Still, he fought back and forced it to continue to form into solid sheets moving closer and closer to the figure still trapped in the tower.
Wherever the ice formed solid, it stayed. The fire drawing back from it until, finally, it reached the doorway. He urged the ice to climb up the doorframe, to hold it in place and keep it from falling, from moving at all.
Shon was seeing double. He struggled to focus on the figure and flinched as they stepped onto the frozen path. The ice hissed and melted under their bare unsteady feet, he could feel it... feel them, their heat, on his ice.
It was a young woman. Or an older girl. She was naked; her clothes burned away by the fire. Her long hair was being blown forward by the heat of the burning tower, obscuring her face. As she moved closer, Shon could make out strange red stripes snaking around her body, standing in stark relief against her pale skin.
Ivelm stepped in front of him then, throwing Nangran's cloak around her shoulders as she crumpled to the ground. Nangran himself knelt beside Shon, resting one massive hand on the Squire's back. "You can stop, lad…" his voice trailed off, and Shon felt an emptiness open in his chest. No one could have survived that, not if they hadn't already made it to the entrance like the girl. As if to punctuate the thought, Shon managed to focus his eyes only to see the tower's entrance wall fold and collapse in on itself, the stones flowing like soft wax.
--- Table of Contents ---
Sorry for the double post today. I wanted to keep Ch 14 & 15 together.
Thanks for making it this far, you are the real MVP

Considering most arcade-like places use RFI chipped cards for transactions instead of tokens or cash, how possible would it be to buy a blank RFI card off Amazon and then edit it to have infinite credits? Not trying to get prizes or anything, just looking to play ski-ball with some friends and not have it cost 20 dollars for 5 plays.