Title. A bit of detail, I am doing the letters quest for queen Abuk-I, I have successfully retrieved the letters and came back. Now the castle doors are locked with a level 255 lock and no guard to open them. I came back multiple times during “business hours” with no change. I forced the door open using command console and found none of the npcs inside besides the knights and the dungeon enemies underneath. Am I missing something or is the castle just broken? If so any suggestions on how to fix? Thanks in advance.

I have an hour left of work and I always get sorta lonely after work so I figured why not make some new friends and maybe some long term friends!!
I’m into gaming, the outdoors, photography, cars, and more but I’m open to talk about anything!
Give me an introduction so I know who I’m talking to!!

Books sat all around the Choir, who were mental hospital patients magically shaped as ravens. I was the first to take human form, as my raven's eye spotted what I hoped was ours. It was one book among many, but it was also Circe's diary. As a man I could thumb the pages.
I frowned, realizing it was just a record of all of her lovers. An impressive body count of seventy-seven, I noted her notation on the last page. Then a chill ran through my blood. The sorcerer in me knew something about them.
"Cory, what sort of magic can be divided into parts, among lovers?" I asked.
"I have no idea, my Lord." Cory looked at the book. "A diary?"
"Yes. Circe's diary, but I suspect it is more than that. She had a second use for these creeps. I bet we could find something." I decided. The fortunate find was only a promise. I had no idea if there was useful magic or not. Whatever magic she had hidden would be worth hiding, obviously.
The others shambled past me and Cory in their open straight jackets and bathrobes and hospital gowns. They had all sorts of weapons: clubs, a broken bottle, a claw pincher and an uzi. I had my staff, carved from the unstable and formless magic between worlds into a proper weapon.
We needed our weapons, dried zombies stood in our way, shuffling among the books. Magical slaves, living corpses. They were still dangerous and had to be destroyed.
For a moment the dead stood in our path, their eyes shimmering blankly in the shadows. They regarded us, the intruders, then began to shuffle towards us. I felt a chill of revulsion at the sight of corpses walking and gagged on their stench. I'd seen far worse, but one never truly gets used to such things.
A loud rapid clapping noise and the merry tinkle of bullet casings erupted from the uzi. It was pretty ineffective. The rest of the Choir brandished their weapons and strode forward like the maniacs they were. Even Scarlet was in the mood to kill something and she tore apart more than one of the shambling dead.
She looked at me and I caught a gleam in her eye of psychotic delight. Some nervous feeling always rose up in me since the first time I had met her. Somehow the shift from a helpless hitchhiker to a hook handed murderer always caught me off guard.
When we'd finished killing the dead we sorted our way out from the books. We had come in through the open window of the room of the manor that held so many books. I'd noticed the old diary right away and begun to read it while the ravens shifted from void travelers to humans.
Time seemed distorted. How things played out always felt surreal as we partially entered entirely different worlds than our own. There was always a dreamlike perspective, as though I were merely an actor under observation rather than a participant. I often had to remind myself of the grim reality I was trapped in.
I had lost count of the rare artifacts we had stolen for Aureus and the worlds we had invaded and brought death and horror to. I loathed all of it, feared there was no salvation after my numerous misdeeds. What choice did I have?
I led the Choir through the manor, watching myself do so.
There were other servants, just as ghoulish as the dried zombies. We killed everything we met until we got to the master bedroom. The safe was too big to take with us.
"Cater?" I asked our safecracker. She was also totally nuts. Her wild eyes rolled around and beheld the safe as though pretending she hadn't noticed it. Her fake response of joy wasn't really fake, she was actually happy.
"Gots." She whispered and went to work on the safe. The Choir stood around breathing too loudly for her and drooling. Eventually she got it open and took out the green gem. It sparkled evilly. Circe's Emerald.
"Let's go." I said and we all returned to the books and found the ġedwimor was shimmering visibly where we could revert to ravens that could fly home. We leapt through it and into flight. Our rave cast the shadow of one great bird. The magics welcomed us, living and enchanted creatures that we were, and insane. Across worlds and time we flew back to our home.
At Dellfriar we arrived. Except I had finally found my way out. Aureus somehow knew before I did that I held the key to my escape. It was in Circe's Diary that the clue existed. There was more to her spell than turning the enlightened into ravens.
I dreamed of the unkindness of ravens watching me. Cory asked me in the dream:
"How many pigs are on her island?"
I began to count them and I took a step with each number. By the seventy-seventh step I was asleep again, within the dream. I looked at my sleeping form in the dreamscape, surrounded by pigs and watched by ravens. I was looking down from a great distance, it suddenly seemed, and then I was looking up from far below.
"Where are we?" I asked Cory. I stared at my crow and he seemed to be smiling. It was the dream that made it seem so.
"Seventy-seven steps to the bottom, my Lord." Cory advised me. "And each must be counted."
"Those were pigs." I pointed out.
"Pigs that were once men. Each of them descended further, marking a fraction of the way. Love is a journey, a dreamy journey, ever downwards." Cory chirped.
"What about the exact number?" I wondered. To a crow, numbers were more symbolic than literal.
"It's just a number of stairs leading into the dream lands. It means nothing." Cory sounded playful. Cory had learned that numbers were literal to humans. It amused him that I was confused.
"But the number of Circe's lovers?" I asked.
"Of course, they are permanently under her control. They made a bargain, surrendering their bodies. Each of them counts as the descent to the bottom. Their blood and hers is mixed. The blood of her lover's, her blood, they are helpless to her will." Cory explained. I was glad I had read so many books with my crow that we both knew the answers when we met in Dream.
"Where is she?" I sat up from the blue clouds and looked around. As I focused I found I was on an island. What I imagined Circe's prison to look like.
Someone spoke to me:
"You use my spell on yourself. A wereraven, part of a rave of lunatics just like yourself. You have stolen my emerald?" I heard the soft voice of a delicate female. I turned around and saw her there. She was staring at me, her eyes looked curious and a little hurt.
"I stole it for Aureus. They're making a weapon, and your emerald is a suitable component." I explained.
"Aureus?" Circe seemed somehow both amused and irritated at-once. "Neither a man nor a woman. Neither a human nor a creature of magic. Not a young soul nor an old one."
"The same." I sighed in sympathetic exasperation.
"You work for me now. You will steal my emerald from this weapon. You will seal Aureus in a moment stolen from the wheel upon which the ages turn. A moment among the aeons that never was and never will be." Circe smiled strangely for me. I sensed that to her victims she seemed irresistible. I found her charms to be crocodilian.
"You are right." I agreed with her. "We have searched for a long time for a way to defeat Aureus."
"Was the answer..." Circe started to ask a question and then paused for emphasis: "Right in front of you all along?"
"We thought that dying might be the answer. If we were dead we couldn't serve Aureus." Cory sounded cheerful and perky, like he was telling a very funny joke.
"Life." Circe swore. "Life is the answer. You are life from me. You wield my powers with ease, Greatson." Circe's smile looked maternal. It occurred to me that I was immune to her charms because I was her descendant only after I heard her say those words.
"You're my Lord's ancestor?" Cory cleverly surmised. "No wonder he is so valuable to Aureus. I thought it was strange that such a powerful sorcerer required help from my Lord!" Cory cawed with hilarity. The revelation held layers of humor for my crow, who felt like explaining further: "You know, because it is so funny. My Lord would be the last choice of most competent magic users. We've routinely made mistakes that could only be made during the hour that is reserved for amateurs!"
Circe tried to hide her amusement. "I'm sure my Greatson is learning. Even I managed to make a few embarrassing mistakes in my youth."
"Really?" I asked.
"No." Circe smiled. "I'm just trying to make you feel better."
"We shall know the plan?" I interrupted. Circe was standing before me, the short distance between us meant nothing in Dream. She looked serious as she drew upon my eyelids. I could watch her do so with my eyes closed.
Then I awoke in the dream I had descended from. I was again among the pigs and the ravens. From there I shook myself awake in the real world. For a moment I was tempted to shake myself again. Fear that I might wake up in a higher place from which I wouldn't be able find sleep made me hesitate.
"Do you recall the dream we have had, my Lord?" Cory asked.
"About Circe being my great grandma? With a few more 'greats'?" I answered rhetorically.
"Yes. She put a spell on you. Can you see anything that you couldn't?" Cory asked.
I blinked and looked around. For just an instant, out of the corner of my eye, I could see Aureus somewhere else in Dellfriar and busy with the artifact's assembly. Several components were still missing - though.
The theft of Circe's Emerald and the escape from Dellfriar had many outcomes. There is only one that I survived. Only one version that can be reassembled from the chaos of so many worlds collapsing inward, so many realities becoming undone. Circe was right, it was only life - the deepest magic I knew of.
Inspiration came with my new perception. I could see the path ahead of me. I could see that there was only one version in which I survived and escaped. If I had done anything differently, the butterflies of death would have touched me.
I saw the window of opportunity and I knew every step I had to take. I took my bag and my staff, collecting the implements of my magical heists into the bag. I clicked my tongue and my crow alighted upon my shoulder.
With a cunning plan in mind, I ventured into the heart of Aureus's lair alone. The dimly lit chamber was filled with intricate machinery and arcane devices. I could sense the pulsating energy of Circe's Emerald, beckoning to me from its secure pedestal.
Taking utmost care to avoid detection, I stealthily maneuvered through the labyrinthine corridors, relying on my years at Dellfriar as a master thief. The shadows embraced me, concealing my presence from any wandering guards or surveillance systems that may have kept sentinel.
As I reached the chamber, I surveyed the room for any potential traps or alarms. It seemed Aureus had grown complacent, perhaps underestimating the audacity of a lone infiltrator. With a wry smile, I knew this was my moment to strike.
Silently, I approached the pedestal housing the emerald. It radiated a mesmerizing glow, casting ethereal patterns on the walls. Carefully, I retrieved a set of specialized tools from my bag: a combination of lockpicks and arcane implements.
I began to work my way through the security measures protecting Circe's Emerald. Each lock and enchantment posed a challenge, but my skilled hands moved with precision and finesse. The emerald's aura seemed to dance in anticipation, as if recognizing the touch of someone who understood its power.
Minutes stretched into eternity as I delicately dismantled the final obstacle. With a soft click, the emerald was finally free from its confinements. Holding it delicately in my gloved hand, I could feel the vibrant energy coursing through my fingertips.
But my mission was not yet complete. I had to make my escape undetected, evading any Choir or enchantments that may lie in my path. The emerald, now securely concealed within a specially crafted case, remained a beacon of power.
Slinking through the shadows, I retraced my steps, navigating the treacherous corridors with the precision of a phantom. Every movement was calculated, every sound muffled, ensuring that my presence went unnoticed.
As I emerged from the depths of Aureus's lair, a surge of adrenaline coursed through my veins. I had accomplished what seemed impossible: an audacious heist of Circe's Emerald from under the nose of a powerful adversary.
With the emerald secured, I vanished into the night, leaving no trace of my daring feat behind. The power of Circe's Emerald now resided in my possession, a relic of immense potential. Its fate, and the choice of how to wield its formidable magic, rested solely in my hands.
Little did Aureus or The Choir suspect that their plans had been quietly usurped. The heist had been a success, an act of cunning and skill that would alter the course of their intricate dance. In the shadows, I contemplated my next move, knowing that the emerald would grant me the power to shape destiny itself.
As I reached the top of the castle, a gust of wind tousled my hair, carrying with it the whispered echoes of Aureus's approach. I could sense their presence, their energy tinged with frustration and anger. It was clear they had discovered the theft of Circe's Emerald and were now in hot pursuit.
Just as I was about to invoke the ancient spell, the very same one that had allowed Circe's spellbound to transform into ravens and traverse the realms, Aureus materialized before me. Their form exuded an aura of authority and power, yet beneath the surface, I could sense their desperation.
"You dare to steal from me?" Aureus's voice reverberated with a mix of fury and disbelief. "That emerald holds powers beyond your comprehension. Return it to me now, and perhaps I shall spare your wretched existence."
I stood on the edge of the castle, the vast expanse stretching out before me. Time and space awaited, ready to be conquered by the wings of the raven. With unwavering resolve, I met Aureus's gaze and spoke with conviction.
"The emerald has chosen a new path, away from your grasp," I declared, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "Its power will not be wielded by your hands, for it belongs to a greater purpose."
Aureus's expression twisted into a mixture of rage and desperation. Their outstretched hand reached for me, a last-ditch effort to prevent my escape. But I was quicker, fueled by the magic I now possessed.
With a swift motion, I uttered the incantation, and my form transformed into that of a raven. Wings extended, I took flight, the wind carrying me away from the clutches of Aureus. The space between worlds beckoned, an ethereal gateway to new realms and infinite possibilities.
As I soared through the threshold, I glanced back, witnessing Aureus's desperate grasp falling short. Their fingers brushed against the empty air, and with a cry of frustration, they plummeted into the void, disappearing into the abyss between worlds.
In that fleeting moment, I felt a mixture of triumph and sadness. Aureus, once a formidable adversary, now lost in the vast unknown. But my purpose lay beyond their reach, and I knew that I carried the weight of Circe's legacy upon my wings.
Across worlds and time, I journeyed, guided by the whispers of ancient knowledge and the power of the emerald. As I soared through realms, I vowed to protect its magic, to wield it for the greater good, and to ensure that Aureus would never threaten the balance again.
The adventure had only just begun, and I embraced the uncertainty that lay ahead. With the wind beneath my wings, I charted a course through the tapestry of existence, carrying Circe's legacy forward, and leaving Aureus to face the consequences of their insatiable hunger for power in the ever-shifting space between worlds.
"We have but one flight, there will be no way back to Dellfriar when we land." Cory interrupted my musings. "Where are we going?"
I smiled at the question, for it was obvious. Cory was always there, upon my shoulder. For me there was somewhere I wanted to be:
"We are going home."

Very sexually active with my boyfriend. Missed my BC pill I think 2/3 weeks ago. I have been feeling so bloated and fatigued and nauseous 24/7 lately. (That has been going on for a little longer than missed BC) As soon as I passed the big blood clot, I have felt better. Detailed symptoms below, is it possible I had a miscarriage????
Tuesday - brown paste like discharge - immediately was alarmed bc I have never seen that before Friday at midnight - UTI symptoms out of no where, it was terrible for 3 straight hours. Peeing blood, sometimes I couldn’t go but then sometimes I went a decent amount (as if my bladder couldn’t empty it all) Got Azo and a little relief , subsided a little bit Saturday- horrible cramping for about 15 mins- never had it that bad Sunday- went to urgent care said numbers were off the chart, glucose in blood dx with UTI given antibiotics. No pregnancy test. Sent urine out for further testing, haven’t received results yet. Sunday pm- period should start , put tampon in , when I took it out it was dark brown almost black. Not the full tampon covered, not even half No bleeding when I didn’t have tampon in, it was not a regular period at all Monday morning bright red watery on pad - 2 teaspoons Went pee- red stringy mucus/clots ALOT and LONG- have never seen anything like it Wiped again and it was bright bright red Cramps Tuesday am- LARGE clot passed. It was dark red/maroon and a big blob. Am-little blood (tiny worm like clots like small tissue ) like during uti Am- ketchup color maybe a little lighter like discharge in underwear not a lot Pm- dark brown maroon discharge in underwear just a little Pm- back to red discharge just a little
Can’t even call this a period it’s spotting

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I genuinely feel like he doesn’t understand that an ed is a mental illness too. It consumes you and that’s all you can think about. I feel like he doesn’t care at all no matter how hard he tries to help (but i think that’s just me overthinking it). He said that this is an easy addiction to overcome and it’s not that difficult, okay? But not when it literally drains you for the entire day. He doesn’t understand that this is something you can’t control. I hate myself for seeming like i’m just antagonizing him and thinking that he’s being ignorant about it. I get that he’s upset because i turned out like this but i think he’s being too aggressive about it. He threatened to not speak to me for a week if i didn’t eat 2-3 meals and i complied but didn’t follow through which he got mad about. Saying that i was being stubborn and that i didn’t want help. Eventually i opened up to him more and he tried to help again. Recently I told him I was afraid of relapsing and he told me to stop being scared and that this isn’t life threatening at all, saying that it’s the exact opposite. It’s the fact that he said if i relapse that i’m a loser. I have never felt this hurt over a statement ever, in fact i think that’s probably one of the worst things i’ve ever been told. I sat there and cried for 2 hours, that’s how hurt i was. I have never been this attacked by someone who cared about me. I feel like i’m just being the over dramatic one and that i’m viewing this in a negative way. I still choose to speak to him because of my attachment.

Vell Harlan and the Doomsday Dorms Book 3: Just a Moment
At the world’s top college of magic and technology, every day brings a new discovery -and a new disaster. The advanced experiments of the college students tend to be both ambitious and apocalyptic, with the end of the world only prevented by a mysterious time loop, and a small handful of students who retain their memories.
For the past two years, Vell Harlan has been caught in the loop alongside his best friends, Lee and Harley, and with their help he’s been able to survive every disaster the universe has thrown at him. But as Vell enters his third year, Lee and Harley are entering their fourth (and final) year at the Einstein-Odinson College. With a ticking clock counting down, the trio must cut through the chaos of killer crickets, haunted phones, and naked sorcerers to try and solve some of the mysteries plaguing their lives -including why all these butterflies keep following Vell around...
[Chapter 1 (Book Two)][Previous Chapter][Patreon][Cover Art]
On his first day at a new school, freshman Samson Onwe is shocked to find that he is now caught in a deadly time loop -and that his twin brother isn't. At the risk of alienating his twin, Samson is seeking answers from a certain group of students who share his newfound awareness...
The gang of strangers made a good first impression, at least. They had their own secret lair. Lee asked Samson if he wanted a cup of coffee before they got started, which he managed to refuse. The last thing his nerves needed right now was caffeine.
“Very well then. No one else seems to be showing up, so I think I can get started.”
Harley and Vell were currently taking their turn manning the deja vu booth, but none of the other new students had shown any inklings of awareness of the loops. Samson was their only new looper this year, it seemed.
“To make a long story very short, Samson, this school is in a time loop,” Lee began. “Every day that classes are in session, some event of apocalyptic scale happens, and mass death and destruction follow. Then, time loops back to the beginning of the day, and it’s up to the small handful of us who remember to prevent that disaster.”
She paused in her explanation for a moment to let Samson’s brain process things.
“Every day?”
“Every day of classes, yes,” she confirmed. “Though some apocalypses are less apocalyptic than others. Sometimes it’s only a handful of deaths, or even just one.”
“How- What is- When-”
“Give it a minute, dear, it’s always a bit shocking,” Lee said. “To answer some of those questions you half asked, no, we don’t know what causes it, nor do we know why students seem to be randomly selected to be aware of the loops. What we do know is that if we don’t actively endeavor to change things, the world will repeat the exact same events of the first loop.”
Samson nodded along. That was the first thing he’d heard that made sense, at least.
“And, perhaps most importantly, especially to you, those who aren’t randomly selected to be aware of the loops, cannot, ever, under any circumstances, be made aware of the time loops,” Lee said. “We’ve seen the consequences firsthand, and they are disastrous. Any non-looper who becomes aware of the loops is inevitably driven insane by the knowledge.”
“So...my brother...”
“Can never know,” Lee said. “I’m sorry.”
“Well, what do I do? Can I just say ‘no thanks’, opt out?”
“Only by leaving the school,” Lee said. “As far as we know only students can be aware of the loops, so once you’re no longer a student, the awareness ends.”
“Hell no. I worked too hard to get here,” Samson said. He and Ibrahim had spent hundreds of hours studying as hard as they could to ensure they got to go to the best school on the planet together. Neither would be walking away from that.
“I understand. Then you’re going to have to embrace the oddity, and the secrecy,” Lee said. “Do you have any questions?”
“Not right now, but once my brain catches up, probably,” Samson said. It was a lot to take in all at once. “Is that all you know about the loops?”
“Yes. Though, well, as you might’ve guessed from the fact that we have a robot among our number, there’s a bit more going on here than just the loops,” Lee said. “Things get very complicated very fast around here.”
“More complex than the literal apocalypse on a daily basis?”
“Yes.”
“Well shit,” Samson said. “Like what?”
“For my part, I’m the daughter of Noel Burrows, and I might have some mild psychotic issues in relation to my father,” Lee admitted. “I’ll leave others to explain their own personal issues in time. Both for the sake of their secrecy and the fact your eye is twitching a bit.”
The tide of information and strange circumstances had left Samson a bit twitchy -along with the fact the clock was still ticking.
“Could we deal with the rodent problem? I think I’d be able to cope better if I didn’t have that hanging over my head.”
“Of course. I believe Hawke and Kim—the two you met at the booth earlier—should be dealing with that as we speak,” Lee said. She withdrew her phone to get an update and put it away just as quickly. “Let’s catch up and help them handle it. Seems the zoologists are being touchy.”
***
By the time Lee and Samson had caught up to Hawke and Kim, Harley and Vell had also joined the party. A party which currently was attended mostly by rodents.
“Okay, I get the experiment,” Vell said. “Make a woodchuck able to chuck wood, reference the old tongue twister, score a few, uh, science journal headlines, I guess, and some easy publicity. But why so many?”
“Yeah, it’s ‘how much wood would a woodchuck chuck’, not ‘how much wood would three-hundred and fifty-seven woodchucks chuck’.”
The zoology lab was currently full to bursting with hundreds of woodchucks in cramped cages, nestled between piles of loose timber and planks of wood. Samson kind of wanted to interrupt this experiment just for the sake of getting those animals out of the cages. They looked cramped.
“The essence of science is repetition,” the lead scientist said. “To properly determine how much wood a woodchuck would chuck, we’re going to need to establish a mean quantity of wood chucked.”
“Well you’ve definitely got a mean quantity of woodchucks, but not the kind of mean you’re thinking,” Harley said. “Maybe you should stop wondering what a woodchuck would chuck and start wondering what a woodchuck should chuck.”
All this rhyming was starting to give everyone involved a headache.
“We know what we’re doing, thank you,” the lead scientist chided. “We’ll have these woodchucks chucking wood in no time.”
“No one doubts that, we just doubt whether giving rodents ballistic properties is a good idea,” Lee said.
The zoology team lead refused to yield, and Lee didn’t feel like pressing the issue. As they so often did, the loopers were just going to have to sabotage the experiment. Lee called for the retreat, and the loopers, Samson included, returned to the lair. Samson did get a cup of coffee this time. It turned out to be damn good coffee, too.
“For those of you who haven’t been properly introduced, this is Samson, our newest looper,” Lee said. The other loopers gave a few awkward waves.
“Oh, uh, shit, are we doing introductions,” Samson said.
“Well, not officially, as we do have a bit of a deadline,” Lee said. “We’ll have to grab dinner and chat later, but right now we should focus on the woodchuck issue. We do have just three hours now. Ideas?”
“We could do like, an actual animal rights complaint or something,” Hawke said. “All those animals in cages have to be breaking some kind of rule, right?”
“Possibly, but the Einstein-Odinson can be a bit lax about those kind of things, frankly,” Lee said. “Innovation requires risk, so they say, including to animals.”
“Fuckers. Before we go further, new guy,” Harley snapped. Samson stopped sipping his coffee and sat at attention. “Any chance you got a super specific bit of knowledge or something that would help us with this?”
“Uh, I don’t think so. I’m in computer engineering,” Samson said. “Should I have some kind of superpower?”
“Nah, you’re good, I was just hoping,” Harley said. “Sometimes the day does get saved by us knowing a random piece of trivia, though, so speak up if that ever happens.”
“Will do.”
“Can we use Botley to sneak in, cut open a few cages, and sneak out?” Vell suggested. “It’d probably only take a few loose woodchucks to cause chaos.”
“Been a while since I did a prison break,” Harley said. “I like it! Can we chalk that up as Plan A?”
“Sounds perfectly sensible to me,” Lee said. “Samson, why don’t you go with Vell and Harley? You can get to know them, and Botley while you’re at it.”
“Works for me,” Harley said.
“Just don’t sit on him like you did me,” Vell said. “Or at least ask first.”
Harley did ask, but Samson turned her down.
***
“So she’s just-”
“Out cold,” Vell said. Harley had started manually piloting Botley’s body, a process that involved her physical body effectively being put into a coma. Samson seemed a lot more confused about than Vell had been on his first day. At least she was lying in bed instead of on top of Samson.
“Isn’t this only supposed to work with like, animals and stuff?”
“Botley’s technically alive. Like Kim.”
“Right. And how does that work?”
“If I knew, I would tell you,” Vell said. “Get used to hearing that, it’ll happen a lot.”
“Is it that bad?”
Vell lifted his shirt slightly to expose the circular scar around his waist. At this point, he knew the secret would get revealed sooner or later, so he decided to just get it over with.
“When I was twelve I got cut in half by a train accident,” Vell said. “A secret Goddess named Quenay resurrected me by putting a weird rune on my back, and in my first year two people here kidnapped me trying to study it. It gets weird.”
Samson spent a solid thirty seconds staring at Vell like he’d just grown a second head. Vell turned to showcase the glowing rune on his back, just to confirm his own story.
“What the fuck?”
Vell nodded along with the expression of shock. It was nice to get a new person’s perspective on his circumstances now and then. Helped him stay anchored in how truly insane it all was. Samson hadn’t even heard the finer details yet, like how one of the people to kidnap him had been Vell’s girlfriend at the time. Or how he was being stalked by chronologically impossible purple butterflies, like the three flocking on a windowsill right now.
A longer, even more chaotic explanation was briefly staved off by the return of Harley’s consciousness. She woke up, and shortly after, the tiny mechanical body of Botley appeared next to her in a poof of smoke. She rubbed his round head and congratulated him on a job well done before turning her attention to her human guests.
“Caused a little chaos, but no guarantee of anything,” she said. She took a look at Samson’s face before continuing her debrief. “Oh, I know that look. You tell him about your rune already?”
“Hiding it’s never done us any good, so why not?”
“Honesty is the best policy,” Harley said with a nod. “Except for all the lying and secret keeping we have to do about the time loops. Honesty is the best policy except when it would drive people literally insane, how about that?”
Hearing that only reminded Samson that he would have to lie to Ibrahim about all of this very soon, and that made an already confusing day even worse. He lied to his brother all the time, of course, but about dumb things like stolen snacks and misplaced video games. Never about anything important.
“Looking rough, Samson,” Harley noted. “Can I call you Sam? Sammie?”
“Samson, please,” he said. Harley nodded.
“Well, Samson, let me tell you about a little thing called a coping mechanism,” Harley said. “Food, booze, sex- pick your poison and have as much of it as you want, because there’s no consequences for anything you do on the first loop!”
“That sounds...unhealthy.”
“It is! But long term mental health is a slow process, and having some easy stress relief in the meantime sure helps you get there,” Harley said. “A bandaid ain’t much, but it’s better than bleeding.”
“Harley knows what she’s talking about,” Vell agreed. “Uh, both in the sense that she’s pretty good at the whole mental health thing, and that she has a lot of sex as a coping mechanism.”
“Open invitation to join me in that, by the way,” Harley said. “Just ask.”
“I’ll think about it,” Samson said flatly. He didn’t know what to think about that offer, or anything else he’d heard from these ‘loopers’ so far today. All this chaos would have been overwhelming in the best of circumstances, and being far from home and separated from his brother was far from the best circumstance. Possibly the worst circumstance, even.
For now, Samson bid Harley and Vell goodbye and tried to track down his brother. As they were unused to being separated in the first place, it took a while for them to track each other down.
“There you are,” Ibrahim said, as the two finally crossed paths. “What have you been doing all day?”
For a brief second, the phrase “helping a bunch of lunatics in a time loop disarm three-hundred rodents” flitted through Samson’s head, but he never dared to say it out loud.
“Just got wrapped up in some school stuff,” Samson said. “You know how it is.”
“I don’t, actually, what-”
“Duck!”
In spite of the warning, Ibrahim didn’t duck, so he got a log to the head. A loose woodchuck chittered madly and than grabbed a stick, chucking it in a random direction, before running off. Apparently some of the woodchucks Harley had set loose were already chucking wood.
“What the fuck was that?”
“A woodchuck.”
“Yeah, I could tell,” Ibrahim said, as he rubbed a sore head. “What animal was it?”
“It’s a woodchuck. That’s what it’s called. Also a groundhog, I guess.”
While Ibrahim continued to wonder what the hell was going on, Vell sprinted around the corner, looked around, and spotted Samson.
“Samson, hey, did you, uh, see-”
Samson pointed in the direction the woodchuck had fled, and Vell went running that way. Ibrahim watched the quick exchange and squinted at Samson.
“What the hell is going on with you, Sammie?”
“It’s...it’s nothing,” Samson said. “Don’t worry about it. Also, duck again.”
This time, Ibrahim listened, and the stick went sailing over his head.
“Do I need to start wearing a helmet?”
“Probably not,” Samson said. If the apocalypses were even half as bad as described, a helmet wouldn’t do much good.
In the background, Vell snatched up the wood-chucking rodent and started carrying it away before it bit him. Samson tried to ignore the tiny rodent screeching in the background as Ibrahim tried to talk about his day. He began to wonder if he’d survive a year of this.

Hello! Basically a first time dog owner here.
It’s been over ten years since I’ve owned a dog so I’m a little out of practice. I’m looking for some advice and tips on how to introduce a dog to a cat and vice versa.
My boyfriend and I have been wanting a dog for quite some time. We recently came across a very sweet 5 year old German shepherd mix. We’re not sure what she’s mixed with, but she’s definitely smaller than other female German shepherds I’ve met. We are currently fostering her for a week before we finalize (or not) the adoption. It’s been 3 1/2 days since we’ve brought her home.
I adopted a cat 4 years ago. She is now 13 years old and quite a grumpy (but sweet) old lady. She 100% does not get along with other cats, but has lived with a Pomeranian before and had no issues. She is quite used to being the spoiled rotten, only child. I had a friend who needed a place to stay for just one night and she has a purebred German shepherd and Doberman. My cat did not get a whole lot of interaction with them, but was not super scared or angry towards them. So I have the feeling she wouldn’t mind dogs as long as they don’t mind her.
Currently, we have a very tall baby gate on our bedroom door. Over the past couple of days I’ve draped a blanket over it and raised it by a few inches every day. The cat stays in the bedroom most of the day with her food and litter box. I open the cat door on the baby gate when the dog is napping in a closed room just to let her have some freedom. At night, the dog sleeps in a kennel in the bedroom. I leave the baby gate completely open so that the cat can come and go as it pleases all throughout the night. The cat seems to be very brave and curious when the dog is sleeping and/or in the kennel.
After the first night, we opened the kennel to leash and let the dog out. We failed to find and secure the cat before doing so. The cat was actually standing just outside the baby gate. The cat and dog made eye contact, the dog came a little closer to the cat, and the cat ran. A slight chase ensued. No one was hurt, but the cat was shaken up. The dog definitely felt guilty. That all happened within two seconds, I swear.
We’ve been very diligent about keeping track of the cat and making sure the dog can see, but cannot get to the cat ever since. I’ve purchased another cat tree and created another hiding place in a closet in another room for the cat as well. I do not want the cat to feel cornered or trapped. If another chase occurs, I want her to be able to get away from the dog.
We have not seen any signs that the dog has predatory tendencies. She is just very curious. We took her on a walk past a friends house the other day and their cat happened to be outside. The dog did the same thing, but backed off quickly after the cat hissed and did not seem interested after that. We’ve also been sitting down with one animal on either side of the gate (dog leashed) and practicing distracting from one another a couple of times a day.
I’m looking for any more tips or advice on how to make this process as seamless as possible. Everyone else I’ve spoken to just seems to believe, “That’s just what cats and dogs do.” Did we blow it after the first night? Does it sound unlikely so far?
We’ve really fallen in love with this dog. We understand a week is not nearly enough time for animals to adjust to each other. But I do not want to go through with this without the tiniest kernel of hope that our household can be civil one day.
A little more background info - my boyfriend had a dog before he met me that actually caught and unfortunately killed his neighbors cat. The dog was put down. That was about 6 years ago. I’m afraid his PTSD from that occurrence is hindering this process. Also, we both work from home so we have been home and one of us will be home 24/7 for the foreseeable future.
Sorry for the info dump. Please ask for more details if needed.
TIA!!

There are so many great looking fighting games that are coming out and I'm not sure which to get and sink my teeth into. Theres also one that's been out for about 2 years now I've been looking at but I want to wait until I see the next two games. I'm fairly new to traditional fighting games, my only experience being Mortal Kombat 9 and X split screen with family and friends. Some Mortal Kombat 11 experience, but I've always been extremely casual and button spammy in them and never took the time to get good. However, I'm now looking for a traditional fighting game that is active on Xbox. I have 3 choices and an honorable mention. My 3 choices are: Guilty Gear Strive Mortal Kombat 1 Street Fighter 6
and the honorable mention is Tekken 8. The reason Tekken is an honorable mention is because I'm open to the idea of it becoming a choice, but I'm not too keen on the 3 dimensional movement. My brother plays Soul Caliber and it was always a bit weird how there was a third direction he could move in, but if anyone has any opinions and are capable of changing my mind I'm willing to consider Tekken 8 as a choice. Please let me know out of the 3 choices which I should get into. I want to put several hundreds of hours into learning it and becoming genuinely skilled at the game rather than mashing buttons. I'd also prefer it if any responses that push me towards Mortal Kombat 1 don't include my previous Mortal Kombat experience as a reason for choosing it, as I don't think my prior experience was much of anything but button mashing. Much appreciated to those who give their input!

I was in a dungeon and had fully cleared all the rooms around me and completed a little mini event. There was 100% no monsters around.
I added in my skill point and then opened my menu to try to find my quest log.
When I minimized the menu two seconds later I was dead and the butcher was standing on top of me. Aside from there having been no sound, I was in a totally empty section of the dungeon not even moving.

1. Can the butcher spawn out of nowhere even when your character is not moving?
   
2. What are the odds this would happen in a two second window I opened my menu?
   
3. Why was there no sound effects from him spawning or hitting me?
   

Don’t mind dying, genuinely just curious. Played thousands of hours of HC d3 and d2. This just seemed off.
Thanks!

Hey all! I've been working as a pizzaiolo for 2 years in different restaurants, I'm planning to open my own little neapolitan pizza stand in local festivals this summer. I'm trying to figure out how to organize my dough balls in order to keep them usable throughout the day. In the places I've worked we have refridgerators that are solely used for dough trays. We take them out an hour or two before use but if they wait about 4 hours outside they become overfermented and at some point they become almost impossible to use in a busy service. I'm planning to use a recipe with poolish and not let the doughs cold ferment at all because I won't have a large enough fridge in a small festival stand. If there's anyone with experience or ideas I would be very happy to hear.

Hundreds of Active Players on and off Daily - Known Custom RSPS since 2012 3K+ Custom Items - 80+ Bosses - AutoDonations - Daily Updates GambleBots Fullscreen Giveaways ::Market & Much More Discord: https://discord.com/invite/676qxygEt5 --------------------------------------------------- Active Players: https://gyazo.com/4bd8517282a901db66fa037a3404ceb0 30-50+ Players Always Online

in a matter of one hour my phone flash stopped working, it caused my camera tp not work either (it keeps saying the falsh is in use by another app so it cannto initiate) I thought this was a hardware issue, but my youtube stopped working at the same time; which totally baffels me. i have restarted the phone several times, i have even done a factory reset
i cannot uninstall youtube, i was able to force stop, factory reset, and update the app. but it simply opens the white page and will not load anything. other video apps work fine, music and sound works fine, anything linked to the camera, flashlight, and youtube just stopped working at the same time.

This subreddit will be joining in on the June 12th-14th protest of Reddit's changes that will essentially stop 3rd party Reddit apps from 1st July 2023.

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens third-party mobile apps used by tablets and phones as well as by people with disabilities. A few such apps are Apollo on iPad/iPhone, Reddit is Fun on Android, RedditSync, BaconReader.
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price for their API for apps from being free to $12,000 per block. The iPad Apollo developer (a single person) estimates it will now cost around $20M per year to run his app. This compared with similar API costs from other providers, imgur for example, in the few hundred dollars range.

Why does this matter?

Reddit has grown because of you, its users. We post here, we comment here, and some of us, manage and mod these subreddits. We are all unpaid users of this social network but we are what makes it work.
Apps are essentially way to use Reddit on phones, tablets and even websites.

1. Reddit are working toward their IPO and they are ensuring that ad revenue only comes through their own app, as 3rd party apps will be stopped from making ad revenue.
2. 3rd party apps will be prevented from accessing some content on reddit, which only will be available to the official app.
3. Mod tools are not satisfactory in the official app and 3rd party tools are used by most mods as a way to effectively manage their subs and block spam, harassment, etc
4. The official Reddit app is not suitable for people with disabilities, whereas some third party apps provide better experiences to these users access with screen-readers and other tools.

What's happening?

On 12th June, many subreddits will be going private or protesting this policy for up to 48 hours, or even beyond. This isn't a choice made lightly. We do what we do because we are users of Reddit, and believe these changes will be determinantal to us, you and everyone. We hope it will send a message that this is not acceptable.
We want Reddit to continue and succeed...but, not like this. Not like this.
So this sub will be made private on 12th June and you will not be able to see or make any posts.
For more information, you can read an open letter from mods and users here: https://www.reddit.com/ModCoord/comments/13xh1e7/an_open_letter_on_the_state_of_affairs_regarding
I hope you understand this action as I believe it is important to take a stand. Feel free to reach out to me, or ask questions of other mods.
-c.
​
Other information:
What We Want
Don't Let Reddit Kill 3rd Party Apps!
Reddit is killing 3rd-party Apps (infographic)
Reddit to the Visually Impaired: "You no longer have a voice on this site."
How Reddit Became the Enemy - w/ Apollo Developer Christian Selig

TL;DR Ive been conacted by a prospective parent to tutor their child. They want to pay me a lot of money up front by check, but claim their attorney mistakenly added their child's nanny's paycheck to the amount sent to me and requested i deposit the check and pay the diff to the nanny. Im hesitant to label it a scam because of the specific details of conversations we've had about scheduling and about how they got my contact info. Feeling a bit dumb about it right now and external opinions requested. I will answer any questions I can.
I'm a graduate chemist who tutors chemistry to make a bit of extra cash. I usually tutor on a college level (think general chemistry through to higher level organic chemistry) but was recently emailed by a "parent" looking for a tutor for their child and that their nanny would be bringing them for lessons. This person said they got my contact info from the chem department (my email info is also on the departmental tutoring site).
They say their kid is homeschooled and will be requiring chemistry and wanted a tutor / teacher to give them a run down over the summer. Kinda weird but not unheard of I guess. I was open to the idea, so they asked me my price / hour, and said they were willing to pay for 1 month in advance (12 sessions). Wouldnt be the first time ive had a parent of a student do something like this so i didnt think too much of it. They suggest specific times their child can meet, and we talked scheduling, and that was it until after the weekend.
Some small red flags have recently popped up though. Firstly, this person emailed me this morning saying that they had their attorney send me the check today (my first thought was who sends checks via attorneys, but i grew up dirt poor and maybe im just ignorant to the lives of the affluent). They follow this up by saying that the "attorney mistakenly and added the nanny's pay to the sum of my check by mistake". And asked that I deposit the check, and then give the difference to the nanny when she conacts me but that I can do it after the check clears.
This set some alarms off for me because I dont want to be responsible for someone else's paycheck. Additionally, Ive called my bank to ask about when a check clears, I was told that I'll have access to the funds after 2 days, but im not sure if that mean the check has cleared? Im not sure if this is a red flag but I was not able to find anyone with this person's name on linked in, facbook, or google.
I told them (not a lie) that I dont bank where I live and that my bank wont allow mobile deposits over a given amount, and asked that they send a new check for the correct amount.
They basically just said "oh okay, ill let you know". At this point I know I probably sound naive, this has quite a few red flags, but part of me is hesitant because of all the specific details, how they got my conact info, and our conversations about scheduling. They even went so far as to say that a time ive suggested wont work for their "child" to meet. Im getting a lot of mixed signals and some external opinions would be helpful.

Well like your favorite stray cat I am back but this time with a cute little mouse I caught just for you!! Isn’t it cute?!
To preface: this is in no way medical advice outside of what I experienced and just want to help other who may also be dealing with this.
As you know I’m on round 2 day 6 of my A/C treatment. I have been feeling very off, I asked about mental health, I asked about food and I got amazing responses. I was still struggling tho, what was wrong? Normally I would have bounced back by now, right?
I noticed I had been having problems breathing, walking and I was dizzy quite a lot. As a medical professional and a very bodily aware person I knew something was off.
I reached out to my doctor looking for advice and his amazing RN got back to me and told me to come in for fluids. I happily obliged because yes, I probably do need fluids, since my gut is all but a slip and slide.
I went in feeling like a big bag of moldy sausages, weird, gross, kinda smelly and bloated AF.
They took my blood to run labs, as they should. They hooked me up to fluids and kept them wide open until labs got back.
Low and behold my potassium was low. It wasn’t the worst, trust me I’ve seen some bad ones but it was low enough that they decided on an infusion of potassium.
After four hours I left feeling 50% better physically and 90% better mentally. Sometimes our bodies are saying things, sometimes we get so lost in the thick of it we forget to be the squeaky wheel.
We are so caught up in “being strong” we ignore minor pings that could cause bigger issues. Be an advocate for yourself but also mitigate the small things to keep the wheel from being too squeaky ☺️😉
From one squeaky wheel to the next, I hope you all know how proud I am you, you are fighting a battle and you are doing a damn good job 👏🏽🫶🏽