So I was playing in a pro-am this week at a nice club with 3 members before an event the club hosted. It’s a nice club with a good membership and I look at it as a practice round before the event. Win/win. Anyway, this year I get three buddies. Not great players, but they hit and move and laugh so I have no issues. Anyway, we play the first hole and one guy (let’s call him Larry) says to me, as he stretches down and touches his toes, “I haven’t touched my toes in years, must have been the big breakfast and lunch I had today, gravity is pulling me down. We laugh and move on. We get to the second green and all end up around the hole putting for whatever. Larry putts first and misses, then misses, then scoops it and shuffles off. As he’s walking away he says, “god, my stomach is killing me!” Uh oh. No big deal, I assume he’s going to the woods to do his business, donate his undies and maybe a towel before being back in business. I putt out with the other guys and as we are walking back to our carts Larry is standing there, looking the same way my 2 year old looked when he soiled himself, the kind of half surprised half sad kinda look. Anyway, Larry was covered. Looked us dead in the eye and said, “guys, I don’t know what to say, but I just shit myself!” This poor guy had it coming from everywhere. Tan shorts not tan anymore, white socks, no sir, white footjoys, nope. It was a brown murder scene. Larry tells us that he has to leave, so we take his partner off the cart and move his junk into my cart and Larry hops in to drive off. Now, I assume that Larry only told the cart guys that he was sick and had to go home, because the carts guys spin around and bring the cart right back to us for Larry’s partner, covered in shit. His partner looks at the cart and says, “I think this cart is going to need a detail, can I have another?” Poor cart guy realized what happened and had to sit in it and drive it back in.
About an hour later we checked in on Larry. Two more blow outs on his ride home. He said that he probably just needed to throw his car away.
All in all it was a good day with three of us, but poor Larry has a story that every member of his club will never stop talking about.

Little backstory: It all started 9 months ago with the start of the educational year . So in my uni, my specialisation that has less than 20 people studying first year, along with one other, are separated in a building far away from the main faculty. At first I wasn't really paying attention to any of my colleagues cuz I was kinda sick with a flu, couldn't attend lections, than it was catching up to the material, working to pay my rent as I was behind on payments and overall, well, didn't have the energy to even remember their names, let alone take interest in anyone. After about a month and a half tho I came to my senses.
That's when I noticed V (21F) who was in my specialty, first year like me. True, I noticed her looks but I'm not the type of person who goes for just that so I kept my distance. I caught some snippets of her personality over the next weeks and she caught my interest tho. On the "day of the uni student" (it's a day where we have no lections, clubs are cheaper, essentially just a day for uni students to party) I decided to ask her if she was coming to the thing we had planned, she had other plans tho but invited me to join if I have nowhere to go later in the night, after I did the same. So I pulled up and tbh, she spun my head despite both of us being both on drugs and drunk. Now, few days later I decided to ask her out, we'll, 3 times actually. I have a rule where since I usually ask out on activities 24~36 hours ahead of time, I ask 3 times total. 1st denial is normal cuz uk, maybe she can have made plans already. Sec9nd is a "sh*t happens" type thing and if she says no a 3rd time - I take the L and move on. Well, the first time she had plans, second time she just ignored my invite straight up and 3rd time I was left on delivered for 2 days. Pretty simple, pretty common, I take the L and go. I noticed her being awkward around me so I texted the usual "hey, dw, I got the hint, we good" type thing (cuz I know alot of mfs that don't give up and put the girls in really uncomfortable positions). She immediately swung in with the half-assed excuses, for me not to be mad and whatnot...typical "I'm down for friends cuz I don't have many, but nothing more". Which was fine by me cuz I also had just moved in the town and didn't have much people to hang out. About January she started being more relaxed around me, we started spending more time during lections cuz were both smokers and our breaks are rare and miniscule. And I got to know her better, both the good and the bad side...which although I was well aware of her not being interested in me, spun me in a loop of thinking about her daily, seeing her in my dreams, all that romcom bs jazz. About 3 months ago, after we kept making plans together without any of them coming to fruition for months, be it cuz of her or me, after her sending mixed signals almost every time we saw eachother, I decided during the usual drunk-all-by-myself-and-thinking-about-her state to just give up on any and all hope that she sees something in me and completely erase her from my mind. And I did, or so I thought.
Whats the best way to move on from someone - put urself out there. And so I did - made a Tinder, made a Bumble and started swiping. Was the swiping successful - absolutely. We're the girls looking good - yeah, but their personality would suck. Lame conversations, boring dates, nothing interesting despite going out with a new one almost every day, let alone all those who'd I never go out with for one reason or another.
Then, M (22F). As soon as we matched she hit me up trying to seduce me...which was a record book worthy failure. But I really needed someone to drink with, so I told her I don't have that type of interest in her but we can get wasted if she's down for that. So yeah, I went to her place, fell in love with her baby dog and we started drinking. Honestly she was a vibe. Great drinking buddy, great Co.pany and when she inevitably got hella drunk and I had to pull out my bartender psychology 101 book during her trauma dumping, I realised she is alot like me. We've had similar lives in quite alot of departments and frankly we both could and did understand eachother to the point we could guess the sentence of the other one. Now, I know what ure wondering. No, despite her trying to initiate it for approximately 3 hours, I didn't sleep with her. I stayed till few hours after sunrise, put her to sleep and left. Now, she is a great person and she did caught my interest, but I am not really sure I should do anything in that regard. Maybe I should just leave things like that? Idunno...
Enter F (22F). Last Saturday I went to a concert with a friend, got to meet some folks from his other friend group, got drunk, got high, lost him for about 40 mins and since he would reply just went on with a friend group of on3 of his friends to another place (it's a standart for me, happens almost every time I go to an event, call it being extremely extroverted if u will). Well, she was in that last group and she took interest in me, just as I did in her. She went as far as stealing my lighter so I hang out with her again and she literally asked me if "I'll just stand there or give her a kiss". Cool, right? Someone who knows what they want...Here's the catch - she is the "emotions dictate me" type of person. AKA, has issues...big time. The "wants to be touched but don't touch me" type. The "I feel like shit during the afternoon so my entire day and night are ruined and u can't do anything about it" type. If we count the night we met as a first date, then Sunday was our second one. I invited her, she agreed, then she had a mood swing, then some friend convinced her to go out and she invited me aswell cuz she "really wanted to see me again". OK, that's a Chinese monument red flag but I'm down for that and I went. Spent the whole night trying to cheer her up, I couldn't. Made the mistake of trying to kiss her at one point, which was a mistake aswell but im bot good on defining what type of issues someone has in just 2 days, just that there are some and yeah that made things worse. We did get to talk over text, and she said she is down for trying it again, cuz "maybe the bar wasnt a good idea", which she did say a multiple times on the date, despite denying my numerous followup suggestions to go somewhere else or just end the night. Now she is saying she needs time to trust me again cuz she felt I was somehow aggressive in my approach and so on and yeah, the next time we get to hang out would be soon but is still undefined.
Here is where the plot thickens - We joked about never hanging out with V and she said we should do it in about a week and few days cuz we have a long gap before the last exam. M msged me that we should hang out soon and that thing with F can only happen then or it'll be a really long time and I'm not really willing to waste my shot, while I'm still in town as I'd be traveling abroad for at the start of next month and then I have things to do back home...
Now I have interest in F, M is acting a lil too friendly towards me despite being pretty cold of a person as far as I know (as well as knowing damn well she won't get an ons or fwb from me) and V is somehow enetering my head again despite my months-long attempts to get her out...What should I even do at this point...Its not like my previous relationships have been any good despite always being with women about 3~5 years older than me and they knew what they wanted. Meanwhile I have V sending mixed signals for months, M being weird around me and F with her issues...I am lost beyond the meaning of the word...

A thread for new collectors to ask basic questions of the community.
Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here.
For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in the Bootleg Megathread.
NSFW & Spoiler Guidelines

For Self Posts: include a bolded NSFW note next to links in that post.
For Links to sites/images: If the figure is NSFW, or the website has any NSFW content (including ads) be sure to tag your post NSFW and use the appropriate link flair.

Bootlegs
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops

Retailers:
AmiAmi HobbySearch Mandarake (sells rare figures) Good Smile Company Online Shop (often has exclusives) Good Smile Company US shop Crunchyroll Shop Hobby Link Japan (aka HLJ) Solaris Japan (MFC partner) BigBadToyStore (MFC partner, US retailer) Big in Japan (also has proxy service) Tokyo Otaku Mode Right Stuf FigureHaven Archonia (EU) Yorokonde (EU) Figuya (EU) Dekai Anime (UK) Gamersheek (UK) Jungle
List of retailers on MFC
/AnimeFigures' List of Retailers
Community Guide to Shopping in Japan

Blogs/News:

Nekomagic (News/Previews) NyaaFigurines (Reviews/Releases) Kahotan's Blog (News/Reviews) Figma Blog (JP)

Buying & Shipping

1. What’s the best place to buy my anime figures from?
That’s going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, there’s a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Don’t be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if you’re unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices you’ll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.

Unregistered SAL: Sometimes referred to as uSAL, is usually the cheapest method. It does not come with any tracking or insurance. Usually takes up 2-4 weeks for delivery.
Registered SAL: Sometimes referred to as rSAL, is insured for the declared value up to 6,000 yen. It comes with a tracking number and usually takes 2-4 weeks for delivery.
EMS: This method of shipping is much faster than either SAL options, usually arriving within a week of shipment. EMS shipments are insured for the declared value up to 2,000,000 yen.
Airmail
E-packet
Surface: Shops don't offer this very often. It's an actual cargo ship and slow as a result.
DHL: Becoming more available as an alternative to EMS on AmiAmi and other sites. Can be less expensive than EMS and of comparable speed, but may be more reliant on the specific geographical area being shipped to. The price is also determined by the size of the box. Offers their own tracking.

3. I placed two+ orders for figures at different times. Will my items be shipped together, or will I have to pay shipping twice?
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:

Amiami: You can combine orders here, as long as the orders ship in the same month. It doesn’t matter if the item is new or preowned. Any preorders that are set for that month can also be combined with other orders for that month. However, be aware that if the preorder gets delayed, Amiami will remove that item from that month’s shipment and place it on a new order. To combine orders on Amiami, use the “Combine Orders” feature under “My Account”.
Hobby Search: Hobby Search will let you combine orders that release in the same month, but you cannot combine in stock items with preorders. If you want to combine multiple preorders, or multiple in stock items, you can do so using the “Order Recombination” feature on your account page.
HobbyLink Japan: At HLJ, you have the option to send paid orders to their “Private Warehouse”, where you can store them for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to ship the items, you simply select which items to ship and HLJ will combine them into one shipment for you. To use this, just select the “Private Warehouse” option as shipping when you order.

If you’re unsure about whether or not a shop we haven’t listed will combine your orders, please refer to their individual FAQs.
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if you’d like. A few with that option are:

Big in Japan (Japanese store)
Tokyo Otaku Mode
Anime Island
Crunchyroll

Keep in mind that overseas stores will likely get the figure a few months after Japanese ones, so pay attention to the release date stated on the website you are buying from so as to avoid that confusion.
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Here’s a quick rundown:

Australia: 10% GST is now assessed up front.
Canada: Minimum declared value for charges is around CAD$20 for regular shipments, and CAD$60 for gifts (gifting something only seems to lower the declared value by about CAD$40, not deplete it completely). When using Amiami, try their Small Air Packet option. It comes with tracking, gets there in about the same time as EMS, and is better at avoiding customs.
European Union: As of 1st July 2021, VAT has to be paid on all goods imported from outside of the EU. Retailers are supposed charge VAT for purchases under €150, however many Japanese retailers currently do not, so VAT will be charged when your order arrives in the EU. Orders that are >€150, VAT and duty will be charged by your local customs.
UK: As of 1st January 2021, VAT is to be charged by retailers for orders <£135. However, customs isn't currently charging VAT on parcels valued at <£135, even if the VAT hasn't been paid. Goods >£135 will have their VAT and duty calculated and charged by customs.
Mexico: Minimum declared value for customs fees is USD$300 for shipments by post, and USD$50 for shipments by courier.
United States: A shipment has to have a declared value of USD$2,000 before customs starts hitting you with fees, so you most likely won’t have to worry about them at all.

6. The figure I want is an exclusive, how do I go about ordering one outside of Japan?
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but it’s easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:

Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item you’re looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesn’t accept foreign credit cards, or you’re having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:

Big in Japan (Won’t proxy for Yahoo Auctions)
From Japan

Again, be sure you thoroughly read through each sites proxy instructions.
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. They’re most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread that’s always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. What’s a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if you’re worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If you’re curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the “Releases” section on a figure’s entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! What’s the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the “Shops” section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, you’ll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you don’t know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the “details” in that figure’s listing.
11. Amiami has a figure I’m interested in labeled as “For sale in Japan only”. Does this mean I can’t order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiami’s English site has that warning on many items, and it’s mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so don’t expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesn’t want foreigners buying a certain product, they won’t even list it on their English site.

Displaying Your Figures

12. What display cases do you recommend?
If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:

Detolf *
Klingsbo
Billy (Often used with Morliden doors and glass shelves.)

*If you decided on a Detolf, you might find that there is a lot of wasted space. Here are a few tutorials on raising the shelves or and adding extra ones in.

If you don’t live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your country’s equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikea’s Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights don’t get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyone’s figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:

Plastic picture cubes
Card Deck Boxes
If you’re feeling adventurous, try making your own!

Check your local hobby store for the first 2 options, or your local hardware store if you want to make your own.
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:

Keeping it sealed can actually damage your figure. PVC figures usually have something called plasticizer in them, and that plasticizer needs to be able to breath. If a PVC figure isn’t exposed to oxygen, after a period of time the plasticizer starts to break down and form a sticky substance on the surface of the figure. Simply opening your figures and taking them out of the box prevents this from happening. If you happen to find plasticizer goo on one of your figures, Kahotan has a handy guide for dealing with it.
Unlike some other figure markets, keeping an anime figure sealed won’t raise its value by a whole lot. In fact, because of the plasticizer problem mentioned above, your figure could actually be in better condition if you open it versus keeping it sealed.

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

16. What are "scales" and "prizes"? What is the difference between them?
Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.

"Prizes" are generally more simply produced figures which are intended to be given as prizes for playing arcade games. They are inexpensive and lack the detail of scale figures, though some prize figure lines have standouts which may approach lower-end scales in quality. That is uncommon and often depends on the individual figure.
"Scales" are called such because they are nominally designed to be proportional to the dimensions of the character which they are based on. They are generally of much better manufacture and materials than prize figures, allowing for more detail in painting, accessories, or complex poses.
"Trading" figures appear in gashapon machines or as blind boxes on shop counters, often as sets which include multiple characters. As suggested by the class name, the randomness encourages trading. They are usually very inexpensively-produced, though as with prizes, some series are better than others.
"Non-scale" encompasses a variety of other categories. It is often used to describe poseable figure lines such as figma and Nendoroids.

In recent years producers such as Good Smile Company attempted to further bridge the gap between prize quality and scales by introducing figure lines which are intended to be moderately-priced while retaining a higher level of detail than the typical prize figure, to varying levels of success.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:

Alter
Max Factory
Good Smile Company
Kotobukiya (usually hit or miss for people. Use your best judgement based off of the prototype)
Flare
Stronger

18. I really love “series X / character X”- how can I check if any figures were ever made for it?
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if you’re looking at a figure’s MFC entry, most of the text under the “Details” section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.

Keeping Up with New Announcements

20. How can I keep up with figure news (announcements, updates, etc.)?
Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:

Neko Magic
Alter’s Blog (In Japanese)
Kahotan’s Blog (Only GSC and their sister companies)

Many figure companies are active on Twitter, so following them there is recommended for quicker news.
To use MFC for this I’ll quote question #9.

If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.

Most companies have one or more Twitter accounts. Some examples: Good Smile Company sales, Good Smile's USA branch, Max Factory, AmiAmi Hobby News.
21. Everyone’s excited about something called Wonfes….. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that I’m really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search “WonderFestival 20xx_[season]” to see all items announced at that event.

I'm from south-east europe.. . I've been looking for chats/friends. All the good stuff. I'm into music, anime/manga/youtube, ,video games, history and animals. I'm mostly into old music and into ton of sports as well like tennis/basketball/football/swimming... Also like to hike and do kayaking as well.
Send me a chat and tell me about your day/life/things you like/what brings you here, or whatever you want to talk about :)) Got 1 exams left and stuck at home nowadays srudying for exams,so got ton of time to text. Just looking for friends from diffeent places and idc about time zone cuz I generally sleep late. Also would be cool to have workoout/progresa buddy too

My home has a very chill, Eastern, meditative vibe and I’m trying to furnish the rest of it! candles, lamps, beautiful rugs, wooden tables, artwork, plants all welcome! I am happy to share my fruits, shop, any other items I no longer want with you!
LMK if you would like to donate or trade, friends!

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I said how about a date she said can athletes Washington DC they're going to transfer me and she was right about that and I seen her want you to be seen doing her thing so I asked the web to your mom she said her mother died in the car crash her father it was bad so huh and I looked in the Google I see your mother's day and new pictures with you and your mom why you have to lie to me she said I didn't mean it like that I said my aunt died this is not good anyway that's okay forget about it so she called me last time when she send me I have a life insurance problem I still cannot help you with that I'll give it too much already Amazon gift cards too much apple $100 she said has $700,000 if you help me take this out the briefcase will go straight to your apartment so buddy will bring it over there he will keep $50,000 she's already talked to my lawyer mr. Beth and Greg I'll tell you my husband that's a really nice house okay I got up at 6 in the morning to brushing you and then I'll pay them can the lady from Western Union saying this looks like a scam you should never done this I said I know the lady of course I know the lady is FaceTime just lady we talked in the phone the man that lady was writing but she knew name I'll pay $485 I went home I'll show the picture of the receipt and everything my ID picture she said you going to get your money sweetie I promise you two days later she text me back how do you pick up how you pick it up so she call me FaceTime me she said to me play we got scammed I said by who she said about this man I'll talk with my lawyer mr. Branson Gray she say this lawyers a black guy he was scanning us how she really she said don't worry about it you with your money don't worry about it you want some money now say yes give me $485 right now she's have to go to work I'll call you back later and she called me back like nothing happened like nothing happened she said to me to give me a gift, and I'll set you crazy I don't got no money $485 + with my $50,000 he promised me that's how I'm going to the carnival Samba call to talk don't talk to me no more so and then she text me she said don't do that please my lawyer is here if the Bronx and Greg are you show me pictures of him I was talking to him texting back and forth which I got your money here on I want to know stuff about you awesome 43 years old open New York City I'm married to this lady I want to do the best thing for her he said good okay that was kind of funny the one you have been catching this lady she wake me up at 6 in the morning 6 in the morning 5 in the morning she's a reporter Hershey Kiss out but that man Mr Baston gray we was just texting that sounds just like her that text me that man doesn't sound very professional it sounded like huh trying to be a lawyer by profession I told her stop doing this I know this is you you going to hurt your family going to hurt your friends you going to get yourself fired from a call the cops in that yard on you he said to me I'm sorry so why are you doing this you shall forget about it forget it I'm sorry I said one more 50,000 she show me pictures of the money and a briefcase lots of pictures of fake waste my money she's not dropping my dick come down she told me videos some guy open a briefcase that was fate I reported to Fox fine she said she text me back she said to me you reported to Foxfire yes a yes I did and just the beginning and then she said don't do that please imma get your money today's date she still texting me she thinks it's a joke Yoshi has different emails seen using different faces of the people and she said it's a lot of hackers out there hacking us not me you the ones doing this to me I'm entitled to that money I want my money my paycheck was $3.67 okay from Chase I don't have no job I was my life savings I told him before Thanksgiving I can have no turkey this lady down the hallway she did my mom turkey I was so embarrassed me but thank you God thank you for that lady this lady doesn't care this lady he's going to pay for this he's going to jail for this she's always calling me sugar plum sugar plum somebody called me last week saying stop calling me stop calling me I said to the lady I'm not calling you she said hell yes you are you loser that got to be one of my friends but I'm going to get them back I got a big surprise ball New York on talk talking to the Washington cops hopefully FBI will be part of this because this is happening worldwide this smell funny if you think about it what's going on these days it's a lot of sick people out there that's my story you don't got a camera so I could show you pictures

Hello there stranger, I am Valerie, Val to my friends and lovers, and I am here to well… sell you on me as a potential friend/partne(video or board) gaming buddy/roommate/person you’d like to fuck. This is fundamentally, kind of an “open letter” ad, its going to be lengthy; get a drink and a snack. :)
I am, to be frank, very trans, and more than probably neurodivergent (ADHD). I am very happy to meet people responding to this ad; so please, say hi if the following you’re about to read interests you.
I recently moved out here to the Capital Area (I am over in Schenectady, hello!) and I am really looking for local people (I.e within an hour; or otherwise reachable by CDTA bus service in some capacity); the closer to Schenectady, the better. I grew up over in Texas, and lemme tell you, I am loving the weather here compared to Hell’s busted freezer (that was a quip).
Whoever you are; I want you to know a bunch about me so that you can get a sense of who I am; what I ask from you is a few things, if you’re looking for just general friends or gaming buddies, I don’t mind whoever you are, say hi, the door is open; if you’re looking to date/or something like sex; that’s gonna be subject to some requirements.
First off; no matter who replies; I expect you to specify what ad you are replying to (from which subreddit and for what you’re looking for), just so I know you bothered to at least read my expectations for responders. Secondly, if you’re looking to date seriously, I expect you be 24 or over and younger than 35. If you’re looking for something casual, I expect you be at least 21 years old; just a maturity thing.
Okay! So let’s begin; I am Val, I love to cook ( I am okay at it but I LOVE IT) and I like making handmade things like décor and sewn things (clothes, pillowcases, plushies etc). I am a high level strategy video gamer (500-1000+ hours in tons of different strategy games each, probably a combined 10k+ hours in all my strategy games I’ve ever played), and I just generally enjoy board gaming; doesn’t matter what, I have fun. ^{_^}
I really love “earth tones” and monochromes (browns, greens, whites, blacks); I feel like they look best on me; and personally I love greens and pastel pink in all occasions. If you asked me “Oh Val, how’d you get your name” I am sad to say, I don’t have a very interesting story; I am literally just Val, I picked it out of a hat practically and I’ve been loving it ever since.
On the travel side I really want to head out and explore whole bunch of the country; or I guess, at least the bits that are still safe for trans people to head out and explore; I also want to visit a bunch of Europe someday, especially the Netherlands and specifically Amsterdam, it seems like an utterly beautiful and forward thinking city and my little urban planning nerd brain can’t help but love the idea of seeing it in person.
Personally I’ve watched a ton of anime; there’s not a single isekai released between 2000 – 2021 I have not watched at least a bit of; I am utterly obsessed with the genre and love it to utter death. I also generally like mecha anime; my favorite one of those was “Gundum: Iron Blood Orphans”.
Currently I am working just a humble retail job but I am headed out back to college this coming Fall to start on the pathway to becoming an Engineering Technician. I want to work with mechanical stuff personally since it seems the most interesting me on a personal level; plus, I feel like learning more about it could let me get into more complex craft projects at home, which really appeals to me.
Someday I want to work on a “starship bridge” gaming rig I.e a setup where you convert a whole room into a “working” bridge of a space ship complete with lights, mechanical prop bits; sliding doors, and custom fixtures to bring the whole cohesive experience together into something that makes you feel like you’re on the set of a science fiction movie.
I love the Fall; I am literally so happy to finally live in a place where leaves actually, you know, fall. Its such a radical concept from living in a place where essentially the trees are some shade of green all year round; with winter being barely cold enough down in the part of Texas I lived (South Texas) to be worth a damn to change any leaves to any color other than greenish-yellow. Is it weird to be this excited about dead plants? I think so, but I am rolling with it!
I think I’ve mentioned I like making food? Okay listen to me closely: I love making soups, stews, stir fries and curries as far as “real food” goes; but I am a big candy maker. Lollipops, taffies, hard candies, chocolates just about anything you want; I’ll bring in. I live to feed other people (and my) sweet tooth. Oh, baking is also fun: ever had real chocolate ganache filled/frosted cupcakes? I can make them for ya.
Real talk moment: I… I am afraid honestly that we’ll meet up and I won’t really “fit” compared to in text. Lemme tell you something: I am a scatter brained ditz who couldn’t focus to save her life; I’ll forget important things, let stuff slip past me, have a hard time paying attention; all that classic “ADHD” flavor. Its not me not caring; my brain literally just won’t let me be normal; and I am really sorry but that’s not a “fixable” thing, I will probably get on medications for it in the future; but its a fundamental part of “me” and my brain all the same, its part of the package with me.
Anywho! I am very pet positive; love cats, love dogs; lizards are cuties; I am “okay” with creepies and the crawlies, just keep them away from me; and I absolutely am mesmerized by fish; feathery friends are welcomed, I am personally a fan of pet chickens but I know most people keep something “traditional” like a parrot or a parakeet, and that’s totally fine. I love animals, there was a point in my life where I thought perhaps that I would even like to make it a career, but nowadays I’ve matured and realized I get too attached to do that as a job.
Oh! Come into this prepared with the knowledge that I love the holidays; no not “those” holidays. ALL OF THEM. I am big in particular into Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day and Halloween but I get really into celebrations so you know, if you want that kind of energy in your life, well you know where to find it. I love to decorate; love to participate; love to just experience the joy of those special days of the year. And by the way, I count Birthdays; I will, if you ask, throw you a party even if its just the two of us.
So… dreams right? That’s a one we can get into: have you ever dreamt big dreams? I have two. I want to find a partner who I can be utterly spoiled by #1; and who I can spoil back with my loyalty, acts of service and just generally love for them. I want to start some of kind of business someday; even though I am getting into something technical, food is a life long obsession of mine; I am leaning towards some kind of hand made candy making company that does online orders to be honest; it seems like the most “unique” thing since customizing candies is a remarkably fun process’ that’s #2.
If you’re not okay with someone that gets off topic a lot; forgets things all the time; talks about; gets distracted and just generally isn’t “all there all the time”, you’re not gonna like me, period. I zone out often and a lot and you’re just kinda going to need to either be ready to deal with it, or anything we do isn’t going to work out; that’s the bag with me, sorry in advance for asking you to carry it; I promise I’ll make it worth your while though.
I am the kind of person that will do anything for those in their “sphere” if only I had the means; you earn my love, or trust, or care, or attention and I’ll do just about anything other than focus for more than a minute to repay it (that’s really hard). Just how I am.
In case you’re wondering: I am happiest with a partner that’s very emotionally open; who knows how to communicate well; and who truly enjoys the things I enjoy and I enjoy a lot of things so as long as there’s some decent behavioral overlap, we’ll get along just fine!
Okay, little lightning round to round this off: I wear glasses, I want to get into custom soda making, I love to garden, I write science fiction and fantasy stories, I have a dream car, I want to own an Rv to take regular vacations in, I want to name a dog “Sumo”, I want to get more into console gaming generally, I am ridiculously excited for Starfield, space exploration excites me to no end just in general.
So yeah, this is the Val experience; like, I am kinda all over the place in a ton of different ways, don’t come into this expecting “OMG you’re ADHD? So quirky” kinda tropes; I am very much kinda… missing a screw somewhere (but there’s nothing wrong with that, its just a part of who I am).
So yeah! Come on down and say hi; and remember to specify what you’re responding to and what you’re looking for with me, I am taking all responders.

No one? Yea I kinda don't either. Mostly. It depends on what you are working on.
Anywhoo... I'm looking for an online chat and/or gaming buddy.
About me, I'm 45, married, twins, and in the central US. Everything at home is good, just looking for someone to bullshit with. I'm good talking about life, or science, or whatever sounds good to you.
If you like to see sub-par gaming, I am probably a safe choice. I play whatever looks fun, like Rimworld, Valheim, 7 Days to Die, No Mans Sky, Satisfactory, visual novels and lots of other casual games. I'm not hyper competitive and am just looking to enjoy myself and unplug for a while.
So if you are looking for someone to talk to, or, like me, you like to stuff drop pods full of cocaine-fueled rhinos and launch them at other settlements, hit me up.

The Big List Disney codes are split & do not include the GP portion, but the DMI points are included. All Sony titles include points as long as the title is eligible. Please only redeem the portion of a code you are paying for. Prices are firm for now. I accept Cashapp, Venmo, Zelle, Fb pay & PayPal F&F. Comment & pm if interested. Thanks!

🦝

$4 4K UHD

Allied [2016] (Vudu)
Ant Man & The Wasp (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Beauty & The Beast [1991] (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Captain America: Civil War (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Despicable Me [2010] (iTunes/ports)
Guardians Of The Galaxy (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Halloween [2018] (MA)
Hell Or High Water (Vudu)
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (iTunes)
Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (Vudu or iTunes)
Sting, The [1973] (iTunes/ports)
Terminator: Dark Fate (Vudu)
Top Gun (iTunes)
Toy Story (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, The (Vudu or iTunes)
🦝

$5 HD

Bram Stoker's Dracula + Mary Shelly's Frankenstein double feature (MA)
Dentist 1 & 2, The (Vudu)
Elysium & District 9 bundle (MA)
Inside Llewyn Davis (MA)
Jerry & Marge Go Large (Vudu HD or iTunes 4K)
Rescuers: Down Under, The (MA + 150 points)
🦝

$4 HD

Alien3 [Theatrical] (MA, iTunes or Google Play/ports)
Alien: Resurrection (MA, iTunes or Google Play/ports) or both for $7
Company Of Heroes [2013] (MA)
Ever After: A Cinderella Story [1998] (MA)
How To Train Your Dragon 1 & 2 bundle (MA)
Jungle Book, The [1967] (MA + 150 points)
Legion Of Super-Heroes (MA)
Lilo & Stitch (MA + 150 points)
Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch (MA + 150 points)
Lion King 1 & ½, The (MA + 150 points)
Men [A24] (Vudu or Google Play)
Minions + Minions: The Rise Of Gru double feature (MA)
Nightmare Before Christmas, The (MA + 150 points)
Step Brothers [Theatrical & Unrated] (MA)
Transporter, The [2002] (MA or Google Play/ports)
🦝

$3️⃣ Movies

#$3 4K UHD
American Assassin (Vudu)
Avengers: Age Of Ultron (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Big Hero 6 (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Birth Of A Nation, The (iTunes/ports)
Captain Marvel (MA + 200 points)
Everest [2015] (iTunes/ports)
Frozen II (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Hocus Pocus (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Interstellar (iTunes)
Midway [2019] (Vudu or iTunes)
Moana (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Rambo: First Blood (iTunes)
Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (iTunes)
Transformers: The Last Knight (Vudu)
Zootopia (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
🦝

$3 HD

Batman & Superman: Battle Of The Super Sons (MA)
Black Widow [2021] (MA + 150 points)
Book Of Life, The [2014] (MA or iTunes/ports)
Chicago [2002] (Vudu, iTunes or Google Play)
Cosmic Sin (Vudu or iTunes)
Cruella (MA + 150 points)
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (MA + 150 points)
Dolittle [2020] (MA)
Drive [2011] (MA + Sony points)
Encanto (MA + 150 points)
Eternals [2021] (MA + 150 points)
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (MA)
Joe [2014] (Vudu)
Jungle Book, The [1967] (MA only/no points)
Legends Of Oz: Dorothy's Return (MA)
Les Misérables [1998] (MA)
Lightyear [2022] (MA + 150 points)
Lilo & Stitch (Google Play/ports)
Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A (Google Play/ports) or both for $5
London Has Fallen (iTunes/ports)
Moonlight [A24] (Vudu)
Night At The Museum [2006] (MA)
Northman, The [2022] (MA)
Peter Pan [1953] (MA + 150 points)
Phantom Thread (MA)
Place Beyond The Pines, The (iTunes/ports)
Rescuers, The (Google Play/ports)
Rescuers: Down Under, The (Google Play/ports)
Shang Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings (MA + 150 points)
Sleight [2017] (iTunes/ports)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (MA + Sony points)
Still Alice (MA + Sony points)
This Is The End (MA + Sony points)
Thor: Love & Thunder (MA + 150 points)
Top Gun (Vudu)
Unholy, The [2021] (MA + Sony points)
Wedding Ringer, The (MA + Sony points)
🦝
All codes are $2. Prices are firm for now. Please only redeem the you are paying for. Any Disney codes are split. MA/iTunes Disney will include points but not the GP redeem. All Sony titles include points as long as the title is eligible. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I accept Cashapp, Venmo, Zelle, Fb pay or PayPal F&F. Comment & pm if interested. Thanks for checking out my list.
🦝

💲2️⃣ HDX

12 Years A Slave (MA)
21 Jump Street (MA + Sony points)
2 Guns (MA or iTunes/ports)
Action Point (iTunes 4K)
Adventures Of Tintin, The (Vudu or iTunes)
Age Of Adaline, The (Vudu, iTunes or Google Play)
Alien Covenant (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA/GP)
All Eyez On Me (iTunes)
Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Road Chip (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Amazing Spider-Man, The (MA)
Amazing Spider-Man 2, The (MA + Sony points)
American Girl: McKenna Shoots For The Stars (MA or iTunes/ports)
American Reunion [Unrated] (MA or iTunes/ports)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Vudu or iTunes)
Annihilation [2018] (Vudu)
Ant Man (Google Play/ports)
Apollo 13 (MA)
Arrival [2016] (Vudu)
Assassin's Creed (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Bad Boys For Life (MA + Sony points)
Bad Grandpa (iTunes)
Batman, The [2022] (MA)
Battleship [2012] (iTunes/ports 4K)
Beauty & The Beast [2017] (MA + 150 points/iTunes option is expired)
Beguiled, The [2017] (MA or iTunes/ports)
Big Wedding, The (iTunes)
Black Panther (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA + 150 points)
Black Widow [2021] (Google Play/ports)
Book Club (Vudu)
Boss Baby, The (MA)
Bourne Identity, The (MA)
Bourne Legacy, The (iTunes/ports 4K)
Brian Banks (MA)
Bridge Of Spies (Google Play/ports)
Cabin In The Woods, The (Vudu/GP HD or iTunes 4K)
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (MA)
Case For Christ, The (iTunes/ports)
Chi-Raq (Vudu)
Choice, The [2016] (Vudu)
Contraband (iTunes/ports)
Cruella (Google Play/ports)
Daddy's Home (Vudu HD or iTunes 4K)
Darkest Hour [2017] (MA)
Deepwater Horizon (iTunes 4K)
Despicable Me [2010] (MA)
Despicable Me 2 (iTunes/ports 4K)
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (MA)
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (MA or iTunes/ports)
Divergent (iTunes 4K)
Divergent Series: Insurgent (iTunes 4K)
Django Unchained (Vudu)
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Google Play/ports)
Dragonheart: Battle For The Heartfire (MA)
Duff, The (iTunes)
Dying Of The Light (Vudu)
Edward Scissorhands (MA)
Emoji Movie, The (MA + Sony points)
Ender's Game (iTunes 4K or Google Play HD)
Epic [2013] (MA or iTunes/ports)
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (MA)
Ex Machina (Vudu)
Expendables 3, The (Vudu 4K)
Fast & Furious 6, The [Extended] (iTunes/ports 4K)
Fifty Shades Darker [Unrated] (iTunes/ports 4K)
Fifty Shades Of Grey [Unrated] (iTunes/ports 4K)
Finding Dory (iTunes/ports 4K or HD + 150 points)
Flight [2012] (Vudu or iTunes)
Frozen (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA + 150 points)
Gambler, The [2015] (Vudu or iTunes)
Gemini Man (iTunes 4K or Vudu HD)
Ghostbusters [2016] [Theatrical & Extended] (MA + Sony points)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (Vudu HD or iTunes 4K)
Girl On The Train, The [2016] (iTunes/ports 4K)
God's Not Dead 2 (iTunes/ports)
God's Not Dead: A Light In Darkness (MA)
Gods Of Egypt (Vudu/GP HD or iTunes 4K)
Good Day To Die Hard, A [Extended] (MA or Google Play/ports)
Grace Unplugged (Vudu)
Greatest Showman, The (MA)
Grey, The [2012] (MA or iTunes/ports)
Hacksaw Ridge (Vudu or Google Play)
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters [Unrated] (Vudu or iTunes)
Hardcore Henry (MA or iTunes/ports)
Hateful Eight, The (Vudu or Google Play)
Haunting In Connecticut 2: The Ghosts Of Georgia, The (Vudu)
Heat, The [2013] (MA)
Heaven Is For Real (MA + Sony points)
Hell Or High Water (Vudu or Google Play)
Hercules [2014] (Vudu HD or iTunes 4K)
Hidden Figures (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Home [2015] (MA)
Home Alone (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA/GP)
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (MA, iTunes or Google Play/ports)
Hope Springs [2012] (MA)
How To Train Your Dragon 2 (MA)
Hugo (Vudu or iTunes)
Hunger Games, The (iTunes 4K)
Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The (iTunes 4K or Google Play HD)
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part, The (iTunes 4K)
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, The (iTunes 4K)
Huntsman: Winter's War, The [Extended] (iTunes/ports 4K)
I Can Only Imagine (Vudu, iTunes or Google Play)
Ice Age: Continental Drift (MA)
Independence Day: Resurgence (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA/GP)
Interstellar (Vudu or Google Play)
It's A Wonderful Life [1947] (Vudu)
Jackass 3 [Theatrical] (Vudu or iTunes)
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (Vudu)
Jarhead 2: Field Of Fire [Unrated] (MA)
Jason Bourne (iTunes/ports 4K)
Jaws (MA)
John Wick (iTunes 4K or Vudu/GP HD)
John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum (iTunes 4K)
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (MA + Sony points)
Jungle Cruise (MA + 150 points)
Jurassic Park III [2001] (MA)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (MA)
Kick-Ass 2 (MA or iTunes/ports)
Killer Elite (iTunes/ports)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Kung Fu Panda 3 (MA)
Last Stand, The [2013] (Vudu, iTunes or Google Play)
Last Witch Hunter, The (Vudu/GP HD or iTunes 4K)
Lee Daniels' The Butler (Vudu)
Legend Of Hercules, The (Vudu/GP HD or iTunes 4K)
Little Mermaid, The (Google Play/ports)
Logan (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Lone Survivor (iTunes/ports 4K)
Longest Ride, The (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Lorax, The [2012] (MA or iTunes/ports)
Love & Mercy [2015] (Vudu)
Luca (Google Play/ports)
Lucy (iTunes/ports 4K)
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (MA)
Maggie (Vudu)
Marauders (Vudu)
Marvel's The Avengers [2012] (Google Play/ports)
Mechanic: Resurrection (Vudu/GP HD or iTunes 4K)
Mindgamers (MA)
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (iTunes 4K)
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (iTunes 4K)
Mountain Between Us, The (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Mr. Peabody & Sherman (MA)
Mud (Vudu)
Mummy, The [2017] (iTunes/ports)
Murder On The Orient Express [2017] (MA)
Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Noah [2014] (Vudu or iTunes)
Non-Stop [2014] (MA or iTunes/ports)
Now You See Me 2 (iTunes 4K)
Other Woman, The [2014] (MA, iTunes or Google Play/ports)
Overlord [2019] (Vudu)
Oz The Great & Powerful (MA + 100 points)
Pain & Gain (Vudu)
Paper Towns (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Paranormal Activity [Theatrical] (Vudu or iTunes)
Paranormal Activity 3 [Extended] (iTunes)
Paul [2011] [Unrated] (iTunes/ports)
Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (MA or Google Play/ports)
Peter Pan [1953] (Google Play/ports)
Pet Sematary [2019] (Vudu)
Pirate Fairy, The (Google Play/ports
Pitch Perfect (iTunes/ports 4K)
Pitch Perfect 2 (iTunes/ports 4K)
Planes [2013] (MA + 150 points)
Possession, The [2012] (iTunes)
Prometheus (MA)
Purge: Anarchy, The (iTunes/ports 4K)
Purge: Election Year, The (iTunes/ports 4K)
Quiet Place, A [2018] (Vudu HD or iTunes 4K)
Riddick [2013] [Unrated] (MA or iTunes/ports)
Ride Along (MA or iTunes/ports)
Ride Along 2 (iTunes/ports)
Risen [2016] (MA + Sony points)
Rise Of The Guardians [2011] (MA)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA + 150 points)
Russell Madness (MA or Google Play/ports)
Safe [2012] (Vudu or Google Play)
Safe House [2012] (MA or iTunes/ports)
Saving Mr. Banks (Google Play/ports)
Secret Life Of Pets, The (iTunes/ports 4K)
Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, The (MA)
Selma (Vudu or iTunes)
Sicario (Vudu 4K, iTunes 4K or Google Play HD)
Silver Linings Playbook (Vudu or Google Play)
Sing [2016] (iTunes/ports 4K)
Sinister (iTunes)
Sleepless [2017] (iTunes/ports)
Snitch (iTunes 4K or Google Play HD)
Snow White & The Huntsman [Extended] (iTunes/ports 4K)
Space Between Us, The (MA or iTunes/ports)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (MA + Sony points)
Star Trek [2009] (iTunes 4K)
Star Trek Beyond (iTunes 4K)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA + 150 points)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (iTunes/ports + 150 points)
Straight Outta Compton (iTunes/ports 4K or HD MA)
Super Buddies [2013] (MA + 100 points)
Ted [Unrated] (MA)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows (Vudu HD or iTunes 4K)
Terminator: Genisys (Vudu HD or iTunes 4K)
This Is 40 [Theatrical] (MA or iTunes/ports)
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To preface my boyfriend is incredibly sweet, attentive and loving. We overwhelmingly have positives in our relationship, but are having a situational communication snafu about our stuff coming together in the apartment he is renting/we will be renting together soon.
He and I have discussed for a few months that he wants me to move into his apartment when my lease is up soon. Very exciting step as we are also discussing getting engaged before the end of the year.
The apartment he is renting came to him fully furnished because his close family member had lived here and left all of this furniture/kitchenware when he got married (his wife didn’t want his stuff/had a fully furnished place—then my boyfriend started renting it the next month after moving from out of town). None of the furnishings are items that my boyfriend purchased (besides some kitchen stuff we will absolutely keep). This family member lived here for 10+ years and honestly the amount of stuff left over from them is overwhelming. I’m talking my boyfriend just moved his clothes/shoes in. I’ve worked with him to clear out items in his own closet, but the closet/room I am supposed to move my clothes and desk into are still not a workable space to start that project on my end.
Every time I bring up something that would be helpful to make me feel more at home when I move in, it’s met with resistance and a change in mood (short responses, saying he feels like he’s “just here” and has no say despite me saying he does and explaining that it’s just a few changes, etc). I’m talking asking if we can turn the bed in the guest room a different direction to fit my desk and move the printer to another room will make him moody.
I also purchased a lot of my items over the years that I’m planning to move in (nothing crazy but rugs, my desk, newer towels, some kitchen and organizational stuff), so I feel like the items that were left here should either go to the person who left them or, if they don’t want it, go to a donation center because I actually bought/chose my rugs/decor and planned to use it long term. The person who left them also has multiple furnished rental properties he can bring stuff to and put to use. If I had it my way it would all go, but I’m trying to meet in the middle somehow.
This apartment doesn’t feel like a home to me, it feels like we’re just living with someone else’s stuff they didn’t want. I’m trying to make it a bit more home-y to me with some fresher decor by slowly moving stuff starting with the kitchen to not overwhelm him, but I don’t know if I should just change a few things and ask for forgiveness after at this point or what.
This may be a factor in his reaction too, but my partner didn’t grow up with very much and his parents came to this country with nothing and I think it’s hard for him to let go of stuff that still functions (even if you never use it) —which I get and am sensitive to. He also is very nostalgic (we cooked in that pot growing up that my mom gave me, type of thing). We are financially at a point though that he can update a few things/part ways with it for newer stuff (that I already have/we aren’t purchasing). I’m a purgeminimalist and he’s more nostalgic. I also work in areas where change happens constantly so I’m more fluid/it stresses me out less.
How do you communicate that things are changing in the home soon if the other person is rigid about it in a way that’s constructive. We can’t hold onto this family members stuff forever and honestly it’s putting a strain on our communication during a time that should be exciting and I find myself getting upset at his reactions.
TLDR: boyfriend won’t let me change anything in the apartment that is furnished with stuff his family member left. His reaction to me wanting to replace these things with my stuff I purchased over the years is putting a strain on me feeling like this place will be my home too.
Edit: more info in comments

Advent Home
trigger warnings
rape, suicide, physical abuse, emotional abuse.
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legal_affairs/more-former-students-sue-over-alleged-abuse-at-boarding-school/article_db70c152-c8db-5711-82dc-52e3d26303ab.html
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/WEST-VIRGINIA.pdf
note: Several organizations share a name with the Advent Home. I am specifically referring to the now defunct group home near Calhoun, Tennessee.
We talk a lot today about trauma in a way I don't remember it being discussed even in the broader cultural consciousness when I was young. Mental health was just viewed differently. Adventists have always had a weird relationship with mental health, but I think rarely more strange and harmful than the ideas of Dr. Senior and the Advent home. Through most of this I will use fake names but as Dr. Senior's name is intrinsically and publicly tied to the school he is my one exception. Also, if any reading this had the misfortune of also attending the school, you will know we were told to call him Dr. B or Dr. Blondel but we are adults and his title was Dr. Senior.
I've wanted to write about this for some time and this will likely be a first draft of a larger discussion. Psychology isn't my field of expertise and I've never felt I found the right platform to talk about such a niche subject but finding the Ex Adventist sub and with more being said about mental health I at least feel qualified to discuss where I feel Adventism was used to twist psychology into something harmful by Dr. Senior.
Before I continue, I wasn't there for the worst of what was to happen nor did I receive the worst of what happened in my time there. I also cannot entirely claim innocence of some of the emotional bullying that was tolerated if not encouraged. I hope I have grown since then and have learned from mistakes I made when I was 13 and do believe I am largely innocent of the physical bullying and certainly the sexual assault.
First, I want to address the lawsuit. As I say, I wasn't there for most of this as by 2014 the Advent Home and Miracle Meadows seem to have become much more closely related, swapping students to hide them from law enforcement and deposition. The school closed around 2014 , the time a lawsuit was filed. More lawsuits have since been filed and the director of the sister school miracle meadows was imprisoned. I will link the lawsuit and articles above. As the events detailed in it represent a massive escalation from what was happening while I was there, but I do think the events described are merely the codification of the policies being unofficially implemented on a smaller scale in my time. In short it lays out regular forced sexual assault by students and staff, duct taping students in rooms for days if they were violent and forcing them to study the bible for days at a time as punishment. Thinking back, I can see how the deference to authority and refusal to treat mental health as anything other than a religious failing could lead to the behavior detailed in these allegations. To be clear I am linking the allegation and articles below though I wasn't part of any of these trials and don't know which charges exactly stuck.
Even though the school is closed and from what I can tell Dr. Senior is retired, I think there is a larger discussion to be had about how the Adventist Church handles mental health and firebrands. So, what was the Advent Home? The Advent Home was a young men's reform school begun by Dr. Blondel Senior in Calhoun, Tennessee. There isn't much left to find on it as it shut down around 2014 and never had a great online presence. I suspect a lawsuit around the same time was to blame, as, if any of its allegations were proven, it would have cost the advent home, Dr Senior, and the conference a lot of money and embarrassment. More on this later.
The Advent Home advertised a range of services from treating ADHD and general misbehavior to serious developmental disorders and outright criminals. Basicall, he wanted it to be everything from a more structured middle school to a juvenile detention center, and predictably, it would fail at both.
I don't know how my mom found out about the Advent Home, but I know her reasons for sending me. A nasty divorce between my parents caused me to lose interest in schoo, so I barely passed 8th grade, and I had started listening to Eminem. That's it. it seems so laughably tame but that's all it took for Dr. Senior to be able to convince my mom that this behavior would escalate and the only recourse was his school which was built on and advertised correction through a strict adherence to Adventist principles. Every student came with fundamentally different problems. Some, like me were struggling scholastically while several had been ordered there by courts for violent offenses and several had what I cannot give another name other than a complete stall in mental development (one student thought and acted like a toddler, mentally and emotionally well below his age).
We were all, however, given the same treatment regimen, Maturation Therapy. This I will argue is the root of the problem. Dr. Senior claimed to have gotten his PHD in psychology from the University of Jamaica. I am not going to cast aspersions on this institution, but if he did have this degree he missed some crucial lessons and did not keep up on developments in the field. Dr. Senior had identified 70 ideals he believed every young man should emulate as he matures. I could not possibly list them, but they ranged from keeping a clean room, respect for staff to whether you used harsh language to how often you prayed. These would have made for fine rules for a religious correctional facility, but this was the entire treatment plan. Each of the 70 points would have you ranked 1-5, and you graduated by achieving a 4.5 average. 230 points overall. An important note here is all of these points were external. There was no mention of healing trauma or discussion of past actions. We were seen as immature children and by forcing mature behavior our other issues would right themselves. Right? In short, Dr. Seniors idea of therapy was entirely about becoming presentable, respect for authority, and respect for God. I want to go through these because in each I see a failing not only of the school but Adventism's handling of mental health in general. Also while I cannot speak to the lawsuit I will be linking it below as I believe sexual assault survivors and I want to say what these points contribute to how this environment may have developed.
His entire idea of personal growth was based on becoming outwardly his idea of a respectable man. He was willing to cross any number of boundaries violating others' religious taboos, disregarding the desires of the parents and showing no interest in the students as individuals. We were broken and needed only to be put in his mold and recast. One student was Rastafarian and his father wrote a letter explaining their faith and why he shouldn't cut his hair. His father had barely left town when the boy was forced to get his hair shorn off. Our 'civilian' clothes were confiscated on arrival and sorted for how appropriate he felt they were. Anything he didn't like we would get back when we left. I never did. As for speech we were strictly regulated on what words we could say. Cuss words, and even adjacent words like darn, would result in a loss of points and thus longer before we would be able to go home. Instead of psychological healing, his priority was always to make us look healed on the outside.
The most egregious example of this was a boy I will call Zach. Zach had a severe developmental disorder that in my opinion Dr. Senior was woefully ill-equipped to treat but that never dulled his confidence. Because of his neurodivergence Zach was habitually unpresentable. Zach would frequently have food dripped down his shirt, throw temper tantrums in public areas and speak loudly about bodily functions that would have been amusing from a four year old but Zach was almost 14 and just beginning puberty if you get my meaning. At every turn, Zach was not met with treatment but ridicule. To the Advent Home staff, he wasn't sick, he was misbehaved and punished severely for it. We all had to run up to 3 laps of 1/3 of a mile as discipline regularly, but Zach's condition often racked him up more laps than could be humanly run. at one point, a new staff member refused to allow Zach to eat at all until he completed a number of laps I doubt would be humanly possible, let alone for a confused neurodivergent. One of the proudest moments of my life is that I stood up for Zach and pointed out, whatever punishment was meted out, food was an illegal method of punishment in the state. My shame, however, is how often I joined in the ridicule and bullying of Zach when the staff made punishments for his misbehavior punishments for all of us. As I say, I hope I have grown.
Dr. Senior saw scruffiness and cultural differences very much the way the Dursleys from Harry Potter did. These were not the markers of young men expressing themselves or of cultural differences but of moral failings to be stamped out or hidden until they faded into normalcy. We didn't need to discover ourselves, we needed to learn the joy of conformity
The real problems would come with his reliance on authoritative structures. Both the staff and students had clear hierarchies within them. New students would be Group Members, GM, while you could be promoted to Assistant Group Leader, AGL, a Group Leader, GL, with a possible Super Group Leader SGL at the top All leaders had the authority to report misbehavior and physically restrain violent students. Here, we start to see the problems. What constituted violent behavior was entirely up to the authority figure, and unless there were witnesses who ranked equally, Dr. Senior would implicitly believe the higher ranked individual. Keep in mind that some of these kids had real criminal records, and as I've established, we were not getting our problems treated.
I want to use one student as an example. I'll give him a fake name (James) as I hope he's reformed and also should not be judged entirely on his actions when he was 16 but these are actions I either witnessed or saw the fall out of so believer their veracity. I was walking by him one day. he had been given a job he didn't want to do. Instead, he was sitting talking to a group he bullied but passed for his friends. He called out to me to do the job for him. I laughed and kept walking. he took offense and deciding I had disrespected him, chased me down, hit me, tackled me into the gravel road, and held me there until I begged to be released. Those words; I beg you to release me. I was cut, bruised, crying and bleeding. James was unharmed, but when I told Dr. Senior, he believed James because he was a group leader and I a lowly Group member.
One of the students who had been sitting on the steps with James, who I will call Sam, would get caught performing oral sex on James only a few months later. James assured Dr. Senior Sam had asked practically begged to do it, and here again, James authority had him taken at this word. They both received punishment, but Sam got the lion's share as he had initiated and must be gay. I firmly believe James pressured Sam into this, and likely not just this once.
Dr. Senior said the word "manipulative" more than anyone i have ever known. often as we lowly students tried to explain actions or avoid discipline for petty offences, he would accuse us of manipulating. In hindsight, this is how he viewed the relationship between those with power and those without. There were those the system had put in power and those below who now would try to manipulate those who had the power. from the bottom of the ladder, he was incapable of seeing sincerity or pain. only manipulation. To be clear, I don't know how much of the reality reached Dr. Senior's ears, but enough had to he had to be actively ignoring warning signs in favor of authority. I talk about this to show how Dr. Senior felt strongly that respect for authority was essential regardless how abusive the authority figure might be. Hold on to that too.
The final point is religion. It should not need said, but Dr. Senior wanted all of us studying the bible and practicing a very conservative faith even for SDA. This is fine(ish), but he also believed that Christ had predictable healing powers and that mental health was only a failing of the individual to have the faith necessary for healing.
We were all encouraged to discontinue any medications we might be taking. For me, with ADHD and Ritalin this was probably fine, but for one student with borderline schizophrenia this led to several violent episodes he was blamed for despite the staff convincing him to get off his meds. A diabetic student was eventually pulled from the program after his 4th hospitalization when he was allowed to opt out of his insulin/ blood sugar checker. Christ, as a placebo alongside medicine, is silly but fine, but as a replacement for lifesaving drugs, it can have dangerous consequences, and Dr. Senior refused to see this. In Dr Senior's mind, I believe, these boys weren't sick, they were failing to let Jesus in to heal them and that's what needed to change.
Furthermore, behavioral incidents were often met with explicitly Christiaan remedies. Issues of bullying and cursing would require not time out but a scripture reading. sometimes alone sometimes publicly, along with a public admission of what we did. This was done at a weekly meeting when Dr. Senior came down from his literal house on the hill to play mediator and in no metaphorical sense moral arbiter of our actions. in essence, he got to play God for 2 hours a week.
The most heinous example of the use of religion however was, Mr. V who I believe saw jail time. This man was a thousand walking red flags. He went to boys' rooms to pray alone, and he insisted on a separate bible study with a group of boys he was particularly close to. Outwardly, however, he was fanatically religious, and this was enough to assuage Dr. Senior of concerns. Mr. V was the guy who when the pastor said kneel for prayer he would stand with his arms to heaven, when the pastor asked for a moment of silent reflection he would exclaim AMEN! every five seconds, He played moral police intervening in behavioral issues after considering a matter settled if a student agreed to a private prayer session (yup, nothing sus here). Dr, Senior employed and sung the praises of Mr. V's work even as this concerning behavior began to escalate to the point that some students, formerly in his inner circle, began to actively distance themselves from him but were unwilling to discuss why.
Dr. Senior could not, however, ignore when Mr. V took a kid off campus without telling anyone to a small mountain cabin to "diet" for three days. Only once the police were involved could Mr. V. 's behavior no longer be ignored and his religious authority be given priority. If you are wondering Mr. V gets a fake name because, while I am telling the truth to the best of my knowledge, we were never told the full story. The student in question was withdrawn before he was willing to talk about it, and Mr. V was not seen again. I don't know what he was charged with or what stuck but I think we can put the pieces together.
Fortunately, other than some more bullying and getting through a nasty flu with nothing more than pepper water as medicine, I graduated. Yeah, shocker, he also didn't like doctors. The shock of seeing how normal people practiced Adventism after a year of this cult like fanaticism has a lot to do with why I'm on this sub and not the SDA sub, but I got off easy. For the criminals and really troubled kids recidivism was high, with several being in a proper prison weeks or months after. Several would turn around and be back at the Advent Home in months because the behavior never stopped, they just learned to act like it did. But the real harm was a boy I'll call Dan. He had depression when he arrived, it was never treated but pushed down. He pushed it down so far he became the best of us. he was very nice and a bit of a mentor to me. he worked hard and became SGL (the highest one remember) with one of the highest scores that an Advent home graduate had had. One year after leaving the school, he committed suicide by diving into an empty pool. Only then, did I realize he wasn't fine. He was never fine. He had mastered acting fine. The furthest I got in Psychology was a single college course and some youtubers (and the small bit of real therapy I've had) but even with this, I can see how Dr. Senior was out of step with the psychological practices even of the early 2000s. He was so much more focused on appearance and behavior than he was ever interested in the root cause, his system often became a new trauma rather than treating an old one. An excessive respect for authority led to abusive behavior being overlooked if not encouraged, and Jesus was treated in a professional setting as a supreme healer despite real medical issues. I saw these issues in the church I left, and my mom and extended family still practice in. This is why I really feel compelled to write this. People like Dr. Senior may seem like an Adventist version of Godwin's law. "Oh, yeah? If we can look at Jesus to heal, it'll end up like the Advent Home!" (Or Miracle Meadows) I know this sentence has never been uttered by anyone but me and maybe Sam, hope you're ok buddy, but the fact is Dr. Senior is the end stage of the ideas put into their most harmful practice, and some like Dan paid with their life.
Finally, through all of this, I remember how Dr. Senior was treated by outsiders. Entire churches prayed for his good work to continue, meetings were held for him to teach others to copy his program, he was featured multiple times in the herald and other Adventist publications. Like Mr. V his religiosity was a shield despite all the red flags, and like Mr. V he was given the respect and admiration that came with his position all the way up until there were consequences. It isn't that no one could see there were problems. He flew his red flags high. Its that the church didn't want to see the problem and didn't care until the outside world took action.
Please, if you take anything from this, look out for your SDA relatives who struggle with mental health. The church sure won't. But on a larger note, I hope this to be part of a larger discussion about bringing awareness to the churches failing on mental health and how they overlook monsters in their ranks who just haven't embarrassed them yet. Dr. Senior never sexually assaulted a kid as far as I'm aware, but he enabled and protected abusers in service of pushing his ideology all while the church sang his praises. Disclaimer: At no point in this do I feel I deliberately lied or exaggerated, but these are 20 year old memories of a traumatized 13 year old who was never given the full story. I tried to leave hearsay out, but I did find out what happened to Dan through the grapevine, though from someone I believe completely. If there are minor inaccuracies, I do apologize, but I believe I have been accurate in the larger points.
Names are changed for obvious reasons, though my change style switched cause I am bad at coming up with names when stressed, my D&D group will confirm, and this is stressful to write about even now.
The Advent Home I attended is shut and a very attractive hotel now. My research showed he partnered closely with miracle meadows, which is also now shut. If by chance Dr. Senior is still practicing somewhere, or has appointed a successor, please persuade family to look closely and critically at his practices before signing anything. He used to complain kids were manipulative but, as with all projectors, he was the master manipulator. He convinced people to consent to incredible things. I believe everyone can change if they want and as far as I know he had the education to do good work. Instead, he chose to ignore that education in service of his biases. Unless he has updated his treatment, please at the very least accompany his work with another well regarded psychologist.

Buddies wife is a smoke show. Petite body. Has 4 kids but it’s still all good. Great tits. I’ve seen them he’s shown me on pictures. Recently at a baseball game that I coach our suns game. She sat right behind home plate in a short dress and smiled at me the whole game and kept flashing me her panties in her dress. She acts off around me. My buddy and I joke all the time about swapping. I know mine won’t but…

Ten beers later, Zak was throwing up in the fancy washroom out back. For such a big, beefy motherfucker, he could never hold his liquor well, especially back in our teens when we would sneak into Dad’s alcohol drawer and chug.
“So much for ‘not getting drunk on the job’,” I elbowed Sighar. “These drinks got me feeling a bit better, maybe I’ll fuck someone up in the semi-finals. Those chumps ain’t got shit.”
“Yeah, I’ll watch you come out in a stretcher, again.”
“Like how I broke your nose?”
She pushed me on the arm, embarrassed. “Shut up,”
“Anyways,” Zak said, wiping his mouth as he came back. “Be ready to evacuate this whole joint in case we decide to go through with this.”
“Like you just evacuated your bowels?” I laughed.
“I’m fine, thanks.” He popped an Advill. “If you don’t get paid for the bullshit you did, I’ll send you a check in the mail for a couple hundred grand.”
“Thanks, big brother. I’ll take that over the few million in cash Giovanni’s going to send me.”
Someone purposely bumped into me, pushing something into my hand. It was a note, written in cursive handwriting that took me a solid minute for my wasted brain to unscramble.
It read ‘head to Giovanni’s office immediately’.
“Hey, something just came up. Go do your little RICO case, I gotta go talk to my ‘boss.’ Real bummer.”
I groaned as I grabbed my crutches and slowly trudged out of the bar, into the bustling corridors as I found the nearest MSMAT employee, a masked-up hulking dude holding an assault rifle.
“Yo, you know where the boss’s office is?”
Without saying a word, he pointed down the corridor, towards a double-door office at a corner.
“Thanks, big guy.”
I dragged myself over, pushing the doors open as Giovanni, sitting in his massive office chair in his furnished, oversized office sighed and blew a ring of smoke with his cigar.
“What’d you want to talk about?” I asked.
“You know what the fuck you’re here for, buddy.”
“Which is?”
“I specifically told you not to win. I didn’t expect you to, but maybe the gods of war are on your side. Now, I know how injured you are, but I also know how stupid fighters can be. If you decide to fight before the semi-finals, I’m going to revoke your entire paycheck, millions of dollars.”
“Let me go once,” I said. “I’m not in fighting condition anyways, but I want to try one more time.”
“Listen, it’s not that I care about you or your health. Certain circumstances came up, and I didn’t do a proper background check on you, which proceeded to my decision that you will not be allowed to fight in this tournament anymore.”
“So that’s it? Just one more.”
“Did you even listen to me, Rocco? You’re permanently banned from this competition.”
“Why though?”
“That’s none of your fucking buisness. If you’re so invested in fighting one more time, I’ll let you fight one of our special fighters as an opening exhibition round before the semi-finals really begin. It’s separate from the main tournament, so even if you win you won’t be moving up, and you’ll only get paid twenty-thousand dollars for this. Think of it as something like the exhibition opening match you had with that Angler.”
“Great,” I said. “Tourney starts again in a few hours anyway, I’ll be fine. Just a little nap and all the broken bones will be fixed.”
“Have it your way,” Giovanni shrugged. “Remember, no rules, no referees. The opponent you’re fighting with will fight you to the death.”
I stood up, reaching my hand out as he begrudgingly shook it before I chopped my way out, grinning as I made my way back to the bar.
“Well, looks like you’re going to die.” Sighar sighed as our glasses clinked together.
We were back in the bustling bar, where I ate a few wings, planning to head to the hotel room and pass out in a minute.
“Yeah, but I feel like I owe it to myself.”
“No, you’re literally going to die.”
“Come on, my leg’s only half fractured.”
“Why do you even want to fight anyway?” She asked.
“Because, I’m on a roll, and I don’t feel like just quitting. Even if I won’t make it into the semi-finals or whatever, I still want to go one more time. And, I hear my next opponent is ‘special’.”
“You’ll probably be fighting one of the creeps from the basement level.”
I scoffed. “Those fucking oversized crabs won’t do shit. Besides, no rules means no rules, if it really gets out of hand I can pick up a broken chunk of concrete and bash the bastard’s head in.”
“Yeah, and if you start getting pieced up, your brother will probably shoot it. Try not to get in a striking match with whatever it is, just choke it to death or stomp it out.”
“Good to know, I’ll head up to my room,” I sighed. “Time to get that ‘rest’ you’ve been talking about.”

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