Bible verse tattoos on arm

Hi all! So I currently have a fine line tattoo of two hummingbirds on my upper arm and I know I would like to get another tattoo in the future and I was curious as to what I should get that you think would go well with my hummingbirds? For reference I would get another tattoo on my forearm of the opposite arm. TIA!

"Reality? To me that was reality. I don't know about this place. What makes you certain you won't find yourself tied here, trying to explain yourself to people who look like you? I was pretty sure that was reality. Now, well now I just don't care. This is all a dream, so do whatever you want to me. I'm not kissing the cross. Just light the pyre." Shawna told the nogs. They shuffled forward on their trunklike legs, one of them offering her a cross with a figure of a crucified nog with a golden crown and its lips puckered.
"I said I'm not kissing it. Burn me." Shawna grimaced at the horrid little nog. The nogs shrugged in unison and lifted the buckets of icy cold water at their feet. One by one they walked up to her and doused her in cold water, soaking her t-shirt and hair and making her shiver and blow water off her lips while the rest ran down her chin.
"Is she dead?" One of the nog asked.
One of them shuffled forward and waved its hands back and forth in front of her staring, lifeless eyes. "No reaction." the nog confirmed. They'd done it, they'd finally slain the Wicked Witch of the Stars. Some of the Ethgar were saddened, crying big sticky nog tears that left streaks on their faces.
Shawna held perfectly still, trying not to laugh. They really thought she was dead, they thought they'd burned her alive with their buckets of cold water. Stupid nogs, just a few moments longer and she could break free from their braided bonds and be on her way, richer than John Godson.
"I just worry her soul wont reach the Likeliness, We should hold the jesus-nog to her lips, just to be sure." A nasty little Ethgar suggested.
"We should all just shuffle off." Shawna tried some ventriloquism.
"Who said that?" Ethgar were asking each other. The nogs suddenly all looked back at Shawna, their little devil eyes glowing in the starlight.
"Oh fiddle cakes!" Shawna swore.
She didn't usually use such foul language, but she was at her wits end with the Ethgar. First, their ridiculous test of faith to learn about Red Raven, and the treasure of the Seven Wonders. Then she had to climb Mount Velvet while nogs slung biffy sludge from their blow tubes while singing insults to her. With her knuckles bloodied and fitz in her hair, she'd reached the summit only to be accused of heresy, for she'd forgotten to remove her shoes. She'd have to climb the whole mountain again, just as penance.
After the six recitals of the Bindinfingin's half a dozen holy books, the extinct lizards granted her a one-hour library pass in their sacred underground grottos. Was it enough time to memorize enough of their holy scripture to be able to compete in the junior nog bible quotation contest and become a wearer of the golden crown of the most kissable-crucifiable? It was, because Shawna really applied herself and memorized no fewer than three verses, which was two more than any junior nog had ever quoted. With the golden crown on her head, she could at last learn the last part of the legend of Red Raven, and find out where the treasure was hidden.
Wealth unimaginable, seven wonders, that's a lot of moolah.
Bindinfingin ghost-holograms followed her around with sad expressions. The long dead intelligences expected better of her.
"We've waited your return for fourteen thousand trine. Red Raven will you not reveal at last the eighth wonder? We have so waited to know the final answer." The Bindinfingin said to Shawna, but she ignored them. They almost sounded like they thought she was someone else and that the treasure was one of those 'the treasure was the adventure' or 'the treasure was really just friendship' or someshit.
Shawna wasn't going to eat an adventure-friendship treasure, not after the nog figurine got smoochies from her. "Jesus, give me the strength of patience not to kick all these nogs."
"Do dead humans talk?" A nog asked.
They began arguing and discussing whether humans could talk when they were dead. Shawna put her two cents in, insisting that she could indeed talk while she was dead.
"Thou shalt not speak to the dead." A nog zealot drew his putty maker. Others pulled out their blow tubes, spit ball launchers and bald makers. One or two had forgot to pack weapons to the witch burning ceremony, but scooped up some dirt into their empty buckets.
"Thou shalt not fart from thy mouth." Shawna said in the dark, mimicking a nog-sounding voice. Then, as she blew a raspberry, the nogs went berserk. They had divided into two groups, each with opposing religious views, although none of them were sure what religious view the group they were divided into was seeing. The sound of the raspberry was like a starting bell, and within minutes the nogs had annihilated themselves, dead nogs scattered everywhere. The last of them finished itself off. Nogs were perfectionists.
"Now for that treasure." Shawna said gleefully. She followed the path through the empty nog village and found their sacred grotto. It was unguarded, and at last, she'd done it, found what she was always told wasn't even real.
"Reality, Shawna." A familiar voice said from the silent swamps all around.
"Who said that?" She asked.
"Reality is the treasure. I just want you to come back to me. I know you're in there. I can feel you dreaming."
Shawna shook her head. "I know what's real."
A few glowing bugs floated lazily on the air past her, going off to some hollow log to party. Shawna felt watched, like someone was holding her hand. It was going to be good, when she didn't find the treasure, what a weird feeling. Shawna shook it off. The treasure was hers.
"You think you can take my treasure?" The space pirate captain's hologramatic ghost stood in her way.
"So, you're Red Raven. Notorious brigand, mutineer and baroness. I'm here for your treasure, I knew it was real, I knew it all along." Shawna smirked. "The aliens, they worshipped you, but I know you're just a criminal." Shawna told her. "You even almost had me fooled with the Bindinfingin holograms making this sound like some sort of morality scam."
"Yet you made it all the way here." Red Raven smiled, proud of Shawna.
"Of course I did. You think I don't know what's real and what isn't?" Shawna laughed.
"The treasure is real. You just have to go through that door and accept what's on the other side." Red Raven pointed. "It's the treasure."
"See? You're still trying to psych me out. I'm abouts to be richer than John Godson. Sick of this." Shawna grabbed the handle, but something felt wrong.
"Just go through." Red Raven urged her.
"I can't." Shawna felt her eyes watering. "I just want to stay here. I'm not ready."
"You'll never be ready to be rich like John Godson. Nobody ever is. Just go in there already. I gots to get my wings, Shawna." Red Raven made 'go on in' gestures, shooing Shawna with the backs of her hands waving up at her.
"If this is any kind of treasure that isn't money, I swear I'm coming back here for you, and even though you're dead, I'll choke you out anyway." Shawna told Red Raven.
"Yes-yes, all that. Now go through already, the hour draws late." Red Raven seemed to have unlimited patience, despite her efforts to urge Shawna into the treasure behind the weird creepy disembodied door floating in the swamp. The door that looked suspiciously like her bedroom door as a child, growing up. Not liking this one bit, no sir.
Shawna took a deep breath, closed her eyes, turned the handle and went through.

If you’re supposed to place your left hand on the book and your right hand in the air, what do you do if you’re missing one of said arms?

Hi :)
Today it's the Pentecost, I see a lot of thread here about people who are a bit lost, others questionning their faith, or unhappy that they are atheist in this sub (which is good as it should be open to everyone).
Can we try to use this post to share why we love God? Or what Bible verse we love?
I personnaly love this verse when I'm struggling in my life:
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
I pray that the God's of love spirit find on this beautiful Sunday!

I have an ex bf, he's a total narcissist . We broke up like 2 years ago already. We've only been together for less than 1 year when I found out he was cheating on me with his exgf prior to me. They were together for 10 yrs.
After i broke up with him, he pestered and harassed me into getting back with him. It got to the point that I went to the baranggay and police cyber crime to try and file a VAWC case. I didn't go through with it in the end since i had to go to his province to file it which is far from me. So i just blocked him on everything. He of course still finds a way to harass me.
He got back with his ex of 10 yrs and he would still email me asking for forgiveness. I forwarded those to the gf but I guess it's ok with her since she didnt break up with him. Lol.
Then after some time, they broke up and he now has a new gf who's a single mother. But this ex bf still emails me begging for forgiveness, telling me I'm still the one, sending bible verses, etc. For those thinking why cant i just block his email, there's no blocking feature in email, you need to buy premium service for that. And I've had that email since forever, it's my full name and all. Linked to everything.
I know that he really regrets losing me bec I was his greatest love. Chos. Prior his 10 yrs gf, binasted ko sya. Hehe.. and when he came back for me, i thought he was the one, my TOTGA. But boy i was wrong. Cheating is my no.1 non-negotiable and he knows it.
So now, on to my question. ABYG if I dont tell the single mother about his current bf's panloloko. I am soo tempted to expose him, but at the same time, scared that he might harass me again if they break up. At least now paemail email lang and occasional random calls from strangers. Btw, while i have a new main phone number, i still cant let go of my old one kasi it has over 8k free text to all networks which i use for work.

The past month or two everything has felt dead when it comes to God. A lot of things piled on, and I’ve reached a point with depression and addiction issues that I’ve given up trying to get better. I’ve given up repenting because I know I’ll do the same thing day after day after day because I can’t stop myself and I don’t want to stop anymore.
At some point I lost joy and anything outside of my interests/career passion/hobbies. Going to church feels like a task I have to drag my feet through. Bible reading feels like empty words on a page, and prayer is just saying words into a void.
It feels like I’m the one person God has stopped loving or caring about. I mean I get it, I stopped loving or caring about myself too.
I don’t want to be a Christian anymore. It feels like my brain is constantly split in two, battling with nihilism and sin every freaking second and I’m exhausted. I don’t have faith God is gonna cure my depression or remove my addiction anymore.
I’m tired of pretending or doing bare minimum things to try to fool my family that I still believe what they do, let alone other Christian friends. At this point I read Bible verses out of habit every night, maybe some sort of paranoia that something bad will happen if I don’t.
I would really like to not exist anymore. Least that way I could catch up on some sleep I’ve lost the past four years.

Hello everyone
Here is why Good Friday is called Good Friday, what sin is and who sinners are.
Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?
In the case you don't know why Good Friday is Good Friday is it's the day that Jesus died for all of humankind’s sin.
What is sin?
Sin is a thing that if done would be in violation of God's law also it is the thing that separates us from God.
Romans 6:23 mentions: “for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” there is no such thing as a sin that doesn't result in not going to heaven.
Also, the word death in this context doesn't mean to cease to exist, it is referring to separation from God.
Who are sinners?
all of us! as mentioned in Romans 3:10,23; Isaiah 64:6 and Psalm 51:5. We are sinners because of the fact that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, this is mentioned in Genesis 3.
What did Jesus go through on the Cross?
He went through unimaginable suffering as he was dying on the cross for our sins. We all deserve what Jesus went through on the cross and we too deserve to pay for our sins in the fires of hell(Psalm 7:11, 9:17; Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8; James 2:10; Jude 1:7; 2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9)
Jesus knew that there needed to be a price paid for all of humankind's sin.
the last things that he said before he died was in Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing” and in John 19:30 where he said “it is finished”
After He said that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit, then, he was then buried in a tomb and 3 days later God with the power of the Holy Spirit rose Jesus from the dead, As mentioned in 1st Corinthians 15:6 “After that, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.”
In accordance with 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4, John 3:16,17, and Romans 5:8, He shed His precious blood, dying on the cross for our sins, He was buried, and rose again 3 days later.
Someday He will return, when? That I don't know, only God knows when He is going to return as mentioned in Matthew 24:36 which mentions: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Mark 13:32 has this message as well.
Also, Matthew 24:44 mentions: So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man(Jesus) will come at an hour when you do not expect him” Luke 12:40 carries this message as well.
Furthermore, when Jesus died on the cross he not only paid the price for mankind's sin, he also took the weight of God's Wrath on him as well. He died on the cross so you can be Saved and go to Heaven.
Why did Jesus Christ go through all the suffering that he went through?
It is because he loves you so much, The love He has for you and us all isn't comparable to the love that for instance your parents have for you, John 3:16 Mentions: ”for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”
Also, when Jesus Rose again, he defeated Death, Satan, the world, hell and sin. John 15:13 also mentions: “Greater love has no man than this, to lay down one's life for one’s friends”
It is his literal liquid and precious blood that cleanses and washes our sins away(Hebrews 9:12, 24; 12:24; 1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, along with Ephesians 1:7, 2:13; Colossians 1:14,20; Hebrews 9:22, 10:19; 1 Peter 1:18&19; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5)
Here are some Important things to know about God, Jesus Christ and Salvation
Jesus was born of a Virgin(Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23)
He never sinned(2nd Corinthians 5:21 and Hebrews 4: 15,16)
He is the Lord almighty(John 1:1-3,14 John 10:33; Revelation 1:8, 19:13)
The Godhead incarnate(Colossians 2:9 and 1st Timothy 3:16)
The Godhead exists as Three Persons, namely God the father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit(Colossians 2:2, 9; Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 1:20; Acts 17:29; 2nd John 1:3; Matthew 3:16-17; 1st Timothy 3:16)
Now how salvation works it is through Faith you have salvation and works(Faith = Salvation and works), As mentioned in verses such as Galatians 3:2, 1st Corinthians 1:21, Ephesians 2: 8-9, Romans 4:5, 5:1 and 11:6.
Jesus is the only way to Heaven.
He mentioned in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life no one comes to the father(God) except for me”
Acts 4:12 also mentions: “ Salvation is found under no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Jesus too mentioned in Matthew 9:12-13 “On hearing disk Jesus said it is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick”(Verse 12) “but go and learn what this means I desire Mercy not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners”(Verse 13), Luke 5:31 -32 has this message as well
Now, here are some things about Hell
Jesus Christ made it so that you can be saved from hell and so you could be in Heaven with him for eternity.
Who was Hell made for?
Satan and the devils, not for us humans, but the truth is that if someone rejects Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior then there is no other place for them to go.
John 8:24 mentions: “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”,
Luke 13:3 and 5 mentions: “ I tell you, no!, but unless you repent, you too will all perish”
Part of Mark 16:16 states: “.... but, whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Part of John 3:18 states: “..... but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only son”
Revelation 20:15 states: “Anyone whose name was not found found in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire”
Amongst the kinds of people listed in Revelation 21:8 include the Unbelievers, these kinds of people along with the others listed there will be thrown into the lake of fire.
Here are some things for people who don't think that Hell is real
And now for the people who don’t think that Hell is real, what if you end up realizing that you are wrong? What if Jesus was telling us the truth? Are you really willing to take that risk and gamble with your soul? Please think about it. Because at some point it will be too late. Also, I’m not intending to scare you with this, I’m wanting to have you saved from hell. Furthermore, you only have one life on earth to decide on where you will go for eternity. Hebrews 9:27 mentions: “Just as people are destined to die once and after that to face judgment”
When is the time to repent?
Now!, is the time to repent of unbelief and believe the Gospel, tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone.
God is calling us to repent, Acts 17:30 mentions: “ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”
Acts 3:19 mentions: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”,
Acts 2:38 mentions: “Peter replied’ repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’.
Mark 1:15 mentions,: “The time has come” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and Believe the Good news!” Matthew 3:2 also mentions this.
Luke 15:7 mentions: “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:10 also has this message as well.
Here are some more salvation related things and a salvation prayer below:
Acts 16:31 Mentions they replied,” believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved you and your household”
John 6:47 mentions: ‘Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.”
Romans 10:9 Mentions if you declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.
Romans 10:13 also mentions for, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”.
Also, you must be born again as mentioned in John 3:3, 5, and 7.
Now, here is a prayer to say to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior:
The exact words are not what matters in your prayer to accept him, but what you mean is what matters.
This is the prayer to say:
“Heavenly father, God, I know that I am a sinner in need of your forgiveness, I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and you raised him from the dead 3 days later, I want to turn away from my sins and to live a Godly life, Please come into my heart Jesus Christ, I now accept you as my Lord and Savior, I am willing to follow you as Lord of my life from this day forward, please fill me with your Holy Spirit, in Jesus name I pray Amen.”
Lastly, here are some things that you will need to avoid:
1. Abusing God’s grace, it is not a license to sin,
Romans 6:1-2 mention: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”(Verse 1), “By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”(Verse 2)
2. Being a lukewarm Christian,
Revelation 3:16 mentions: “ So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
What luke warm would look like for instance is hardly or never doing the following: Praying, Reading your Bible and going to church service. It can also be like this, spending one hour in the church and another hour in the club, one hour praising and another hour swearing, one hour in the light and another in the darkness, one hour with the Lord and another with Satan. Take both the cup of the demons and the cup of the Lord(1st Corinthians 10:21). It’s either God or Satan or either Christ the king or the kingdom of the world.
3. Denying Jesus before others, Matthew 10:33 mentions: “But whoever disowns me before others. I will disown before my Father in Heaven.
4. Depend on your own works to save you and/or be a false follower of Christ. Matthew 7-21 - 23 mentions “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me that day, ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Luke 13: 25-27 has a similar message.
Here are some reasons that I share my faith with others are these:

1. I don’t want to spend eternity without them
2. The book of Revelation lists some horrifying things that are to come that I would not wish on anyone, even my worst enemy
3. I don't want them to go to hell.

Here is the doc for the thing that I created as well:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FMK14LoH0iKIpMkxNNfSDao35QowJZHxkDEtI_Xuk8A/edit?usp=sharing

AITAH for breaking ties with my cousin sister
I moved to different country 9 yrs ago when i was 20 yrs old...My cousin sister and me had a very beautiful bond since i was a kid and basically she did my upbringing as a kid like part of it and then got married and went abroad 20 yrs ago when i was 9/10 yrs old...After moving to abroad,I lived at my cousin sister house with her husband,children and father-in-law for 2 and half months.My BIL helped me in getting my 1st job here.My cousin sis(then 38yrs) and BIL(maybe 39) are quite older than me
So the story goes that i was about to be 20 yrs old and was in a different country so learning everything took me a while.I use to work 12 hour shift and BIL use to come to pick me up from work.My BIL and me never got along.At nights,whenever me and my cousin sis and BIL,her in laws use to discuss about certain topic like life,what to do next etc so generally my views use to be different than my BIL and we never got along...We use to fight on small things like why i went to my room after 12 hour shift and didn't sit with them at 1 am,didn't wakeup at 7 am to make tea for everyone,got tattoo made on my arm and was judged for it, etc
I come from abusive family(my mom and dad got seperate before i was born).I never got emotional support from my family,felt absense of my dad alot and didnt knew what family look alike or felt like...I was my mom's emotional support since i was kid and had to deal with her mental breakdowns .So coming back to story my BIL was finding rooms for me so i got a room near their house accidently...At times,i use to visit them and again due to having different views about certain things,I was told to leave their house..One time my BIL cussed at me on phone for some reason and i couldn't stop crying and told my family about it.I was still told that I am wrong at this by my family.I might have also not been a good guest which i don't deny.
I moved to different city and visited my sis after 3 yrs...on 3rd day,got in fight with cousin sister cause i came from work from night shift at 3 am and slept at 4 am but i didnt wakeup in the morning at 7 am or 8 am or 9 am to help my sister so BIL was pissed at this and i was told to leave the house by my cousin sister.I was going through difficult phase at that time because of my relationship with my then bf(now ex) and had nowhere to live.I lived at hotel for 2 days and found place to rent on 3rd day.
Moving forward 4 yrs later my sis was terribly ill and had operation and i didn't go because of my work and i didn't get leave even...I was not on good terms with BIL so didn't call him and i had this weird feel like i was scared to call my BIL...and i talked to my sister later after few days but whenever i talked about coming over to her house after the operation,she would disconnect the phone.I prayed to god everyday for my sister's good health literally but i couldn't get past the things how their behaviour was when i was going through the worst period of my life and had no one to rely on.I don't have any siblings.
Now my uncle is coming here from back home and today on call with me, i was made to feel like i am the black sheep of my family...I was told to either marry within 1 yr or afterthat nobody in the family is going to ask about it,cut ties with me and i can do whatever i want.I was told that i was wrong to not visit my sister when she had operation.
I just don't know with whom to talk to about my feelings.I had toxic childhood and my bringing up was litterly like having mental breakdown.I Don't have any family support in any way but i made some good friends along the way...It took me quite some time to get hold of myself mentally...
So am i wrong here for breaking ties with my cousin sister and BIL or AITAH??? Thanks for reading

Hey there just wanted to share my experience a week later to show people what to expect and how I’ve handled my situation
7 days ago I was messaged from an account with 400 followers and roughly 200 following, account was on Instagram and was supposedly a 19 year old girl from Nevada with bible verses in her bio
She texted me, I was suspicious and somehow she managed to convince me it was really her and even sent photos holding up 4 fingers which I thought for sure would let me know I was being scammed - but after asking a few ways of photo verification I was convinced as my requests were fulfilled
Yada yada yada we exchange pics and I get hit with the ultimatum of send $800 or have my pictures sent to my family and friends (they had screenshots of my following from tiktok, Facebook and instagram).
I’ve never been in this situation before so of course I was frightened but I felt the best thing to do was convince them I genuinely had no money, I managed to convince the scammer I only had $150 in my account (I have 2 bank accounts and this one had $200 in it so I transferred $150 into an empty savings account to show) and I stupidly sent the money. If I knew then what I know now I would not have sent the money. After sending the money my phone died and when I turned it on I came back to multiple threats and more screenshots of the scammer making group chats with many family members and friends. After reading up on what to do and looking through this subreddit I decided to block on both instagram and my phone number (I gave them my phone number as they wanted to talk over messenger instead)
After blocking, I changed my profile picture to black, changed my account name and deleted my bio, I also deleted my tiktok as I don’t really have a need for it anyways
It took 4 days for them to reach out again over a different phone number except it was a different person and they had no clue about my situation as they thought I was still in school and they were threatening things to do with the principal of the school (I’m 22 lol)
I immediately blocked and haven’t responded - I went to instagram to check if I’d been messaged again there and turns out the original account that scammed me had been deleted so that was a plus
I asked some friends who were supposedly in the group chats and they said they never saw a request so I believe somehow they fake the group chats even if it’s on instagram
But yeah it’s now been 7 days since the initial text, it took about 4 days for me to realise they have nothing over me and if I don’t comply there’s a very high chance they’ll do fuck all so even though I can’t be 100%, I feel 99% certain they won’t do anything
TL-DR ;
I sent $150, blocked and reported and nothing came from it Was messaged days later from a different scammer with my pictures and immediately blocked The people they made group chats with to threaten me have assured me they haven’t even seen a message request As stressful as the situation is, these people think of us as dollar signs and if we block them and give them no feedback - we turn into question marks and question marks are worth fuck all to these people so they move on
My best piece of advice I can give after doing research and experiencing it myself ; Block, report and don’t even respond to the messages I sent them money, I also blocked them and will continue to do so with confidence they won’t do anything
Stay safe everyone and trust me when I say no girl just wants to exchange nudes for nothing, it’s either a scammer or it’s a cruel prank xoxo

So back in 2022 I dropped out in Junior High in my country in SEA because I was in a ACE Junior High School which was self paced I hated school back then and was at maybe 6th grade level math because of that and how advancing needed me to memorize Christian Bible verses which I sucked at then I took 2 years to earn a GED in March this year with a total score of 632/800 I want to major in Computer Science but I don't know how to get on the path into applying for Uni or College in the US and qualifying for majoring in it
Background: Born in Arizona with US Citizenship with a dual citizenship of being Thai have lived outside the US for around 15 years of my 18 years of life

The past month or two everything has felt dead when it comes to God. A lot of things piled on, and I’ve reached a point with depression and addiction issues that I’ve given up trying to get better. I’ve given up repenting because I know I’ll do the same thing day after day after day because I can’t stop myself and I don’t want to stop anymore.
At some point I lost joy and anything outside of my interests/career passion/hobbies. Going to church feels like a task I have to drag my feet through. Bible reading feels like empty words on a page, and prayer is just saying words into a void.
It feels like I’m the one person God has stopped loving or caring about. I mean I get it, I stopped loving or caring about myself too.
I don’t want to be a Christian anymore. It feels like my brain is constantly split in two, battling with nihilism and sin every freaking second and I’m exhausted. I don’t have faith God is gonna cure my depression or remove my addiction anymore.
I’m tired of pretending or doing bare minimum things to try to fool my family that I still believe what they do, let alone other Christian friends. At this point I read Bible verses out of habit every night, maybe some sort of paranoia that something bad will happen if I don’t.
I would really like to not exist anymore. Least that way I could catch up on some sleep I’ve lost the past four years.

"You gotta know that there's an art to it, Ezra," Hitch said, cutting another piece of duct tape.
The sleeves of his weather-beaten coat were shoved all the way up his arms, to stop the fabric from falling over his knuckles while he was working, and goosebumps lined his skin. He was strapping a rubber chicken to the back of his truck, over the lens of the shattered backup camera, with the legs pointing down so that they hung a couple inches above the ground. There were dents in the hood from the crash last week, and scratches along the door from scraping into a curb. The chicken, hopefully, would keep him from breaking anything else.
"You can't go cheap," Hitch said. "The cheap rubber chickens only make noise when pressure lets go. That's no good. As soon as I back up into something, I want this chicken to be screaming like it’s in the depths of hell."
“Sure thing,” I said in a monotone, leaning against the side of the truck.
There were scrambled electronic parts piled in the back of the truck, the innards of a radio, a broken computer, tangled wires, a couple loose pairs of earbuds. He found the parts in alleyways or bummed them off his friends for a couple bucks or stole them from the vacation homes that were left empty for most of the year. Then he sold them for a profit at the scrapyard. Hitch had bounced between minimum-wage jobs for a while after high school, spending a couple months as a bagger at the grocery store or as a seasonal worker at the farm two hours down the highway. He'd never stuck with it. At the very least, the scrapyard got him enough money to eat and occasionally spend a night in a motel when he got tired of sleeping in his car.
Hitch pressed the last piece of tape in place and grinned up at me. "I've got something for you, duck."
The nickname came from when I’d broken my leg as a child and waddled around in a cast until it was healed. I hated it with a burning passion, and I glared at Hitch with the ease of twenty-one years of practice. He had a duck tattoo at the base of his thumb that he’d gotten in a back-alley shop as a teenager. He said that he’d gotten it to remind him of me, and the fact that I hated the nickname was just a bonus. It was shaky-lined, with an uneven face, but he loved it anyway.
The handle stuck when Hitch tried to open the door, a consequence of the rust collecting in the crevices of the car and running down the sides like blood from a cut. The car groaned when the door finally popped open, a metal against metal screech that had me flinching away. Hitch dug through the cluttered fast food containers in the passenger-side footwell, eventually coming up with a crinkly paper bag. He waved away the flies buzzing around the opening of the bag and held it out to me.
The last time Hitch had brought me food, I’d gotten food poisoning because he’d left it out in the midday sun for two days. The donut was squished slightly, and the icing was stuck to the bag. I still ate it, grimacing at the harsh citrus flavor. Taking Hitch’s food was an instinct engraved from the days when Dad had given us a can of kidney beans for dinner and Hitch had drank the juice, leaving the beans for me.
I rarely went hungry anymore, three mostly square meals a day and granola in my pockets just in case, but habits didn’t die easy.
These days, Hitch only brought me food when he wanted my help, like when he saw a place he wanted to hit but was worried about doing it alone.
I got in the car, like I always did.
We drove past the cluster of seafood-themed restaurants with chipped paint decks, the beachfront park where there were always shifty-eyed men sitting under the slide, the single room library where all the books had been water damaged in the flood last year. The change was quick as we drove across Main Street, heading closer to the beach. The roads were freshly paved, the concrete a smooth black except where the sun had already started to pick away at it. The three-story homes lining the sides of the street were crouched on elegant stilts, with space underneath for a car or three. Most of the garages were empty, with the lights off and curtains drawn in the house. Come summer, the streets would be swarming with tourists and vacationers, but until then, most of the buildings nearest to the beach were unoccupied.
Hitch stopped as the sun started to go down at a house that was leaning precariously out towards the beach, tilted ever so slightly, the edge of its foundation buried in the shifting sand of the beach. It certainly looked deserted, with an overgrown yard and blue paint peeling off the door in sheets.
Hitch took his hammer out of the backseat, hoisting it over his shoulder. It was two feet of solid metal with rags wrapped around the head to muffle the sound of the hits. Hitch squared up, bending his knees and holding the hammer like a baseball bat. Before he could swing, though, the door creaked open on its own, the hinges squeaking. The house beyond was dark enough that I could only make out general shapes, glimpsing the curve of a sofa to the left, what was maybe the shimmer of a chandelier on the other side.
Hitch lowered his hammer, looking vaguely disappointed that he didn’t get to use it. “That’s…weird as hell.”
“Maybe the deadbolt broke, maybe they forgot to lock it, it doesn’t matter,” I hissed, checking our surroundings for other people again. “Just hurry up and get inside before someone calls the cops.”
Hitch flicked the lightswitch on the wall, and the lights flickered on. They were dim, buzzing audibly and blinking off occasionally. The walls were plastered with contrasting swatches of wallpaper and splattered with random colors. There was neon orange behind the dining table, a galaxy swirl in the kitchen, and on the ceiling there was a repeating floral pattern covered in nametag stickers. Each of the stickers was filled out with The Erlking. Chandeliers hung in every room, three or four for each, and rubber ducks sat on every table. A miniature carousel sat in the corner along with a towering model rocket.
Sand was heaped on every surface, at least a couple inches everywhere. It was piled in the corners and stuck to the walls, and it covered the floor in a thick blanket. Our hesitant steps into the house left footprints clearly outlined in the sand.
Hitch took a cursory look around and headed immediately for the TV mounted on the wall. “Look out the windows and tell me if anyone is coming.”
I shook the sand out of the blinds and pulled them open, then had to brush sand off of the window before I could see anything.
Hitch was quick, practiced at finding and appropriating the things that were worth taking. He came back to me with an armful of electronics and chandeliers, dumping it at my feet before turning to head deeper into the house again.
There was a thump, somewhere upstairs, and then footsteps, slow and deliberate. Hitch froze at the threshold of the room, then ran for the door with me just ahead of him, sand flying out from under our feet.
My hand was almost brushing the doorknob, close enough that I could see the light from the streetlamp outside streaming in through the cracks in the door. My fingers touched the wood and it gave under my touch, becoming malleable and warm. I yelped, stumbling backwards, and the door started to melt. The paint ran down in thick drops, pooling at the bottom of the door, and the wood warped like metal being welded. The soft edges of the door ran into the walls until there was no sign of an exit ever being there.
“Well, well, well,” said a cultured voice with just an edge of snooty elitism. “What do we have here?”
The man was well over eight feet tall, with long black hair covering his eyes. He was wearing a yellow raincoat with holes cut out of the hood to accommodate the deer antlers jutting upwards from his head. There was sand settled on his shoulders and hovering around his head like a halo.
“Who the fuck are you?” Hitch said, inching towards a window.
He smiled, just a little bit, and his teeth shone in the dim light. “I am the Erlking.”
Hitch nodded, and seemed about to respond. I grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards the window. I could feel sand in the wind roaring against my back as the Erlking growled in anger, the grains scraping harshly against my cheeks.
We were almost to the window when Hitch was ripped away from me, and I came to a startled halt. The sand had formed long grasping arms that pressed Hitch against the floral wallpaper. His wrists were held tight, and as I watched, a sandy hand wrapped around his mouth and forced its way between his teeth. He gagged, and sand trickled out of the corners of his mouth.
The Erlking strolled towards him, not seeming to be in any sort of rush. “You know, I’m not very fond of your yapping.”
He made an idle gesture and the sand wrapped around my ankles, tethering me in place.
“I yap all the time,” Hitch said. “Three-time olympic yapper, that’s me. Best to just let me go now and save yourself some trouble.”
The Erlking tapped a manicured nail against Hitch’s mouth, hard enough to hurt, judging by the way he flinched away. “But why would I ever let you go when I’ve gone to this much trouble to catch you and your sister? It’s so hard, these days, to find people that no one will miss.”
Hitch struggled against the sand, trying to escape and failing. “What do you want with us, then? You just said it, we’re nobody.”
“I’m fae, dear one,” the Erlking said. “I get my power from my followers. And I think that you two will make lovely additions to my flock.”

He flicked Hitch's nose and Hitch gasped. Feathers started to form on his arms, popping out from under his skin in a spray of blood.
Hitch pushed off the wall, using his bound hands as a fulcrum, and his knees crashed into the Erlking’s stomach. The Erlking fell backwards, wheezing, and the sand around my ankles loosened.
Hitch made desperate eye contact with me as feathers shot up his neck and jerked his head towards the window. The message was obvious. Run.
The last thing I saw before crashing out the window and into freedom was Hitch’s body twisting, his arms wrenching into wings and feathers covering every inch of his skin. By the time I landed on the concrete outside, he was a small black bird, held tightly in the Erlking’s hands. The whole building was sinking into the ground, burnished-gold sand piling up over top and streaming from the windows.
Thirty years later, I saw Sam’s Supernatural Consultation and Neutralization written in neat, looping handwriting on a piece of paper taped to the door. The tape was peeling at the corners and the paper was yellowed with age, but there was obviously care put into the sign, in its perfectly centered text and looping floral designs drawn over the edges in gold marker.
I knocked, hesitantly, drawing my woolen coat closer around my shoulders. I’d bought it as a fiftieth birthday gift for myself, and I took comfort in the heavy weight of it over my shoulders.
“Coming!” someone called from within the depths of the office.
There were a couple crashes, and the sound of paper shuffling. Eventually, the door was opened by a young woman with ketchup stains on her shirt and pencils stuck through her hair.
“Hi, I’m Sam, I specialize in supernatural consultation and hunting, how may I help you today?” Sam said, customer-service pep in her voice. She stood in the doorway, solidly blocking entry into the office.
“My name is Ezra, I’m for a consultation. I emailed you but you didn’t respond?” I shifted in place, suddenly feeling awkward.
“Oh! Yeah, I lost the password for the email ages ago. Sorry for the bad welcome, I get lots of people thinking I’m crazy or pulling a prank and harassing me.”
She ushered me into the office, clearing papers off one of the chairs to make room for me to sit down. There was a collection of swords along one wall, all of them polished to perfection, several with deep knicks in the metal which indicated that they’d been used heavily.
“So what can I help you with?” Sam asked again, more sincere this time.
“Thirty years ago, my brother was turned into a bird,” I started. I’d told this story so many times that it barely felt ridiculous to say anymore. I was used to the disbelieving looks, the careful pity. But Sam just nodded along, face open and welcoming.
“I’ve almost given up on finding him, at this point,” I said. “But I saw your ad in the newspaper, and…here I am, I suppose.”
“Here you are,” Sam echoed, smiling. She pulled one of the pencils out of her hair and took a bit of paperwork off of one of her stacks, turning it over so that the blank side sat neatly in front of her. “Tell me everything.”
I told Sam everything, and she wrote it all down, pencil scratching along the paper.
The last part of the story was always the hardest to tell. “I left him there. I ran and I didn’t look back.”
I had been to dozens of detectives and investigators over the years, once the police had dropped Hitch’s case. I’d been to professional offices with smartly-dressed secretaries and met scraggly men in coffee shops. All of them had given me the same look, pity and annoyance all mixed up into a humor-the-crazy-lady soup. Sam, though, just seemed thoughtful.
Sam leaned forward and put a hand over mine, carefully, like she thought that I would pull away. “Sometimes you have to leave people behind.”
I tightened her hold on Sam’s hand and drew it towards me, like I could make Sam listen if only I squeezed tight enough. “But that’s why I’m here. I don’t want to leave him behind.”
“Okay then. I’ll do my best to help you.” Sam agreed, finally. Then she paused, and said softly, “You know…I think I met your brother once. He might have saved my life. He’s certainly why I started in this business.”
“Really? What happened?” I asked.
This is the story that Sam told me, related to the best of my abilities:
It was a new moon, so the only illumination came from the stars gazing idly down and distant porch lights shining across the scraggly brush of the dunes. Sam’s neighbors were decent people who cared about baby turtles, so the lights were a low, unobtrusive red, and the ocean sloshed like blood. Sam walked on the beach almost every night, drawing back the gauzy pink curtains and clambering out her bedroom window. She didn’t often bother to be quiet; her mama worked the late shift and came home exhausted. As long as Sam got home before the sun, her mama would never find out that she paced the shoreline and dreamed of inhaling sand until her lungs became their own beach.
The sky was lightening. The sun would come up soon, and that meant Sam’s time on the beach was over. She needed to get back to her real life, go to her fifth grade class and stop that nonsense, as her mother would say. Her mother loved to say things like that, pushing Sam into her proper place by implication alone.
“She’s a good kid, of course, but she’s a bit…” Her mother would trail off there, usually getting a commiserating expression from whoever she was talking to. Sam always wondered how that sentence would have finished. She’s a bit strange, maybe. She’s a bit intense. She’s a bit abrasive. She’s quiet enough but when Jason tried to steal her pencil in math class, she stabbed him in the hand so hard that the lead tattooed him.
Her mother was better, for the most part. The days of her stocking up the fridge, and leaving a post-it note on the counter, and leaving for days at a time were gone. But Sam still stepped around the place on the kitchen tile where her mother had collapsed and caved her head in, even though the bloodstains had been replaced with new tile.
“Your auntie got an abortion, you know,” her mother had said from her place on the couch, slurring her words. “Pill in the mail and then bam, no more baby.”
She had clapped her hands together to illustrate her point. Her mother jerked forward and grabbed Sam by the wrist, then, staring up at her until Sam met her eyes.
“I love you, you know? But sometimes I wonder…” She settled back onto the couch. “Yeah. I wonder.”
She’d gotten up, then, back to the kitchen. She’d been stumbling, a shambling zombie of a woman. The ground in the entryway of the kitchen was raised, ever so slightly, and her mother went down hard. Her head cracked against the tile, chin first, and she didn’t move.
Sam had been the one to call the ambulance. She had stared at the scattering of loose teeth on the ground while she waited, and considered what her life would be like with a dead mom. Not so bad, she thought, and immediately felt guilty for it.
Her mom was better, now, for the most part. But Sam still stepped around the place on the kitchen floor where she had collapsed. There was still a matchbox hidden under her bed with the gleaming shine of her mother’s lost teeth, two canines and a molar. It was nice, having a piece of her mom to keep. Even if she left again, Sam would still have part of her.
Sam sighed, and turned away from the ocean. As she faced towards the low dunes further up the beach, she saw a sandcastle sitting nestled among them. It was such a strange sight that her eyes skipped over it at first, almost automatically, disregarding it because it was so out of place.
Sam found sandcastles out on the beach sometimes, usually half-collapsed and on the verge of being washed away by the waves, but she had never seen anything like the sandcastle in front of her. It was life-sized, something that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Scottish highlands, with spires shooting up above her head and carefully etched out bricks lining each side. The front wall was dominated by an arched set of double doors, twice her height, with a portcullis nestled at the top, ready to be dropped. All of it was lovingly detailed, down to the rust on the tips of the towers and the wood grain of the door. It was made out of wet, densely-packed sand, held together impossibly. It had not been there two hours ago, when she had come to the beach.
There was a bird sitting on the overhang of the door, small and black.
As soon as she took a step towards the sandcastle, the bird shook out its feathers and swooped down towards Sam, landing at her feet with a little stumble.
“Hey, kid, get out of here,” said the bird.
Sam closed her eyes, very deliberately. When she opened them, the bird was still there. Sam considered herself a very reasonable person, so she immediately drew the most logical conclusion. The bird was, she was almost certain, a demon.
“Trust me, you don’t want to run into Mr. Salty, the queen bitch himself,” the bird said.
“Mr. Salty?” Sam inquired, polite as she knew how to be. She edged to the side, trying to get a good angle to kick the bird like a soccer ball.
The bird did something similar to a wince, all its feathers fluffing up then settling back down. “Ah, don’t call him that. He’d turn you into a toad.”
The bird gestured with its head, towards the looming sand structure. “That’s his castle. He’s in there, probably scuttling along the ceiling or some shit because that’s the sort of weirdo he is.”
Sam nodded, encouraging. She pulled back her foot and lined up her shot, the way she’d seen athletes do on TV. She aimed right for its sharp beak and let loose. The bird saw it coming, its beady eyes widening, and it cawed in distress. It flapped away, avoiding her kick only to fall backward into the sand in a scramble of wings.
“What’s your fucking problem?” it squawked. “I was trying to help you!”
“I don’t need the help of a demon,” Sam yelled, trying to remember the exorcism that her mama had taught her once, because her mama believed in being prepared for anything.
“I’m not a demon,” the bird said indignantly.
It was at about that moment that Sam gave up and just decided to roll with it.
“What are you, then?” Sam asked.
The bird shuffled its clawed feet, looking about as awkward as it could, given that it didn’t really have recognizable facial expressions. “Technically I’m a familiar of the Erlking, prince of the fae, but I prefer to be called Hitch.”
“You can’t blame me for assuming, though,” Sam said. “Ravens do tend to be associated with murder.”
“Hey, excuse you,” Hitch said. “I’m a rook, not a raven. Ravens are way bigger.”
“Sure,” Sam said, not really paying attention. Her eyes had caught on the details of the sandcastle, and she was transfixed by the slow spirals of the sand, the strange beauty of it. She found herself stepping towards the great doors, lifting a hand to knock, and as she did, the sand warped in front of her eyes, heaving itself towards her with bulging slowness. The door creaked open before her, revealing a vast, empty room. Just before she stepped inside, she felt a piercing pain in her foot, and she yelped, leaping backwards.
Hitch pecked her again, really digging his beak in. “Don’t be an idiot.”
Sam glared at him, rubbing her foot. About to retort, she finally really took in the room inside the sandcastle, and her words died in her throat.
There was a body just past the threshold of the door, face down and limbs hanging limp at its sides. Long hair splayed out in a halo around its head.
“Don’t,” Hitch warned, suddenly serious. “Just leave, kid, I mean it. I’ve seen too many people go down this road and you don’t want to be one of them.”
Sam ignored him. She made her way across the beach, slipping with every step. The sand felt deeper, piling up around her feet in silent drifts. She picked up the nearest stick and poked the body with it through the door, ready to leap back if anything went wrong, staying firmly outside of the sandcastle.
This close, Sam could tell that it used to be a woman. Her head wasn’t attached to her body. It hadn’t been a clean amputation, either. Her upper body was bruised, with chunks taken out of it, and the bones in her neck hung mangled, not connected to anything.
“Well, I warned you,” Hitch said, defeated. “I did warn you.”
Sam nudged the head with the end of the stick, nudging it over so that she could see the face. Her mother stared back at her, torn to pieces, breath still wheezing from her lungs. She wasn’t blinking, just gazing forward with glazed eyes. Sweat dripped down from her hairline.
Sam screamed and dropped the stick, tripping over herself in her haste to get away.
Her mother’s eyes were wide and pleading, and she was mouthing desperate words at Sam. Her vocal cords were broken to bits, and the only sound that came out was a strained groan.
The head rolled, inching closer to Sam like a grotesque caterpillar.
Her mother gasped for air, torn lips fluttering. Finally, comprehensible words came out. “Help. Help me, daughter.”
“That’s not your mother,” Hitch said, quiet.
Sam knew that. Her mother was sleeping back at home, and anyways her mom had never asked for her help. She had an aversion to accepting charity, as she put it.
“Okay,” Sam said, shaking all over. “Okay.”
She backed away from the sandcastle, not looking away.
“Failure,” her mother hissed as she stepped away. “I never wanted a daughter like you.”
The sun came up over the horizon. The sandcastle, Hitch, and her mom all disintegrated into sand as the light hit them.
The beach, the next night, was almost exactly how I remembered it. The beams of our flashlights sent light bouncing across the dunes, illuminating the waves, and I imagined faces in the foam of the waves.
“I’ve been back here a hundred times. There’s nothing left,” I said.
Sam took the car key out of her purse and pointed it at the sand, adjusting the sword slung over her shoulder in order to do it. The key had belonged to Hitch; Sam had requested an item of his, and it was the only thing I had left. She rested the key on the sand and drew a circle around it, inscribing symbols around the borders.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Sam shrugged. “Not much, really. I’m…I guess you could say that I’m knocking.”
The key laid inert on the sand for long enough that I was just about to give up and go home, admit to myself that Hitch was dead and that I was a fool to believe that Sam could actually help me. Then a building started to take shape, flickering in and out like it was struggling to get away. With a pop of displaced air, the sandcastle settled into existence.
Sam banged on the entryway. Nothing happened. She did it again, harder, and scowled when the door still didn’t open.
“We demand entrance, under your honor,” Sam yelled. There was a hard rush of wind, and I gripped Sam’s arm to keep my balance, but the doors cracked open reluctantly.
The inside of the sandcastle consisted of one enormous hall, the roof arching up out of sight. Rafters crisscrossed from wall to wall, and a cobbled path led further into the building, but other than that, it was completely empty, except for the birds. There were thousands of them, perched on the rafters or hopping along the ground. They parted in front of Sam and I, and reformed behind us, leaving us in a small pocket of open space. They were all black-feathered, with sharp beaks and beady eyes.
The Erlking sat on a throne at the end of the hall, lounging across it with his feet up on the armrest. He watched them as they came forward, the soft caw of the birds the only sound.
“I am here to bargain for the life of my brother,” I said, with as much dignity as I could muster, before the Erlking could say anything.
The Erlking ignored her, tilting his head to look at Sam. “I remember you. I almost got you, once.”

Sam glared at him but didn’t respond.
“You want your brother,” The Erlking said to me, and he almost sounded amused. “Then go get him.”
As if by some sort of silent signal, every bird in the room took flight at once, and their cawing made me think of screams. I covered my head against the flapping of their wings, and my vision was quickly obscured by the chaotic movement of them. I found myself on my knees, just trying to escape them.
A hand met my shoulder. Sam urged me to my feet, and together we ran for the edge of the room, where the swarm was the thinnest. We pressed ourselves into the corner and the swarm spiraled tighter and tighter at the center of the room. It went on until there seemed to be no differentiation between the birds, all of them fused together into one creature.
When the chaos died down, the birds had become one mass, with wings and eyes and talons sticking out of its flesh, thrashing and chirping. Human body parts stuck out of it, bulging out from the feathers. It was hands, mostly, with a couple knees or staring eyes. The bird amalgamation had no recognizable facial features, but there was one long beak extending from the front of its head. Most of the body parts were concentrated around the beak, and they peeked out from where the beak connected with muscle, or grew from the tongue, nestled between the two crushing halves of the beak.
It turned its beak down and crawled forward, using the hands to balance. The fingers scrambled over the ground. I was afraid of centipedes as a child, and I felt that same crawling dread when it started moving.
“Holy shit,” Sam whispered, which was rather disappointing, because I had been hoping that at least one of us knew what to do.
The creature turned, a lurching movement that crushed some of the hands underneath it, and started heaving itself slowly towards our corner.
“Better hurry up!” the Erlking called from his throne.
It was blocking the exit, by then. The shifting body of it had moved to block us off. It ambled towards us and I tried to sink further into the corner.
As it approached, getting close enough that I could smell the stink of it, I saw a flash of a tattoo on one of the hands. I leaned in, trying to find it again, like looking for dolphins surfacing in the ocean. And again, I caught a glimpse of a duck tattoo, the tattoo that Hitch had gotten on his hand as a teenager.
I ripped away from Sam’s death grip and ran for the monster.
I fell to my knees in front of it, wincing as I impacted the ground, and reached into the nest of hands. I could feel them tearing at my forearms and ripping into me with their sharp nails, but I kept going. I pressed further in, up to my shoulder in a writhing mass of limbs, aiming for the spot where I had last seen that tattoo.
The hands were tugging at me, wrapping around my back and hair. They were pulling together, trying to draw me completely into the mass of them. I was aware of Sam at my side, anchoring me in place and bashing any hand that got too close with her sword or the sparks that leapt from her hands with muttered words. But I didn’t think it would be enough. They were too strong, and there were too many of them.
I was up to my waist in the hands when something grabbed my palm. I felt the way it clung to me, and the calluses on its palm, and I knew that I had found my brother.
I flung herself back. The hands didn’t want to let me go, and they fought the whole way, but slowly, I made progress. I kept hold of Hitch’s hand in mine the whole time, gripping it as hard as I could. I finally broke free, Hitch with me, and Sam was immediately charging the creature, able to use her sword with much greater strength without being worried about injuring Hitch. She swung it forward, and it sliced through the wrist of one of the hands. It fell without a sound, red sand flowing out of it. It deflated until it looked like dirty laundry, just a piece of limp flesh. The creature shrieked, scuttling away enough that the door was finally accessible. The three of us ran for it, Sam and I supporting Hitch between us.
I looked back as I left and found the Erlking staring right at me.
“Interesting,” he murmured, his voice carrying impossibly across the vast space between us.
The sandcastle collapsed behind us, the great walls falling in on themselves. We were out in the morning sun, the sandcastle disappearing as we watched. Hitch was on the ground in front of me, as young as he’d been thirty years ago, when he was captured. He started laughing, feathers puffing out of his mouth. He laughed until he cried and I hugged him in the way that he’d held me when I was young, in the times when my life had been defined by hunger and fear.
Hitch left, afterwards. He scratched at the pinhole scars covering his body, where feathers burst through his skin, and pulled his long sleeves down around his wrists. He didn’t know where he was going but he told me that he needed time
I had spent thirty years worth of time without him. I wanted to grab my brother by the shoulders and beg him to stay. But he flinched when I hugged him goodbye and he refused to go near sand and he stared distrustfully at the birds chirping in the trees. Hitch needed to go away and I loved him too much to stop him.
I sat out on the beach every morning. I felt the sun on my face and I waited for Hitch to come home.

Hey 20m here from California, im 6’2 and covered in tattoos over my chest, I have a good amount on my right arm but I want to fill up a sleeve haha and maybe get more on my legs.
I like cool spooky tatts or anything kinda freaky lol. Give me your best suggestions I can show my tatts I just want more suggestions and any opinions.
Dm with age and sex and lets chat!

Condemnation and judgment are the PUNISHMENT of sin. The execution of judgment is punishment. Taking offense to a Christian who speaks the word of God because a bible verse "struck the wrong chord" in your spirit doesn't mean you are being judged by them. True followers of Christ more than anyone understand forgiveness. It is not that we are perfect, it is that Jesus rescued us from our sin and we choose to turn from it. We still stumble in sin from time to time but the difference is we now strive for righteousness. Receiving Jesus Christ breaks the slavery to sin and binds you into the slavery of righteousness. Just as Jesus sees our hearts not our sin, true believers are no different.
I say true believers because many people use Christianity as a justification for hate speech, thus having tainted the reputation of true believers. We are called to speak the Truth in the hope of conviction which leads to repentance. And repentance to salvation. The truth, while may sting, is not judgment nor hate speech, it is directly from scripture not our own conscious.
John 8:3-7
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Casting a stone at her is the judgment only someone WITHOUT sin can enforce. Thus, God is the only righteous judge of man wholly justified to dish out punishment.
Conviction is NOT condemnation. If you experience conviction through followers of Christ speaking the True word of God, it is for your benefit. The LORD saved me on the brink of death and He is doing the same when we feel convicted. We shouldn't take offense, instead be glad the LORD has given us grace and opportunity to turn away from our sinful nature. Sin once full-birthed, brings forth death. The gospel is GOOD NEWS and should give us all so much hope. He is coming to our rescue as the time grows nearer and nearer. There's only so much he can do without us allowing Him into every aspect of our lives.
John 8:9-11
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
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So, I've been reading the Bible. And recently I've been reading about what Paul wrote. So he mentioned about being dead to the law. And. Today that question seemed to stand out.
Did some digging, and read a article. And it was talking about how, some things in the old testament. Being mainly the covenants are not to be followed, and we should focus on the new covenants.
That the old covenants or old testament shouldn't be disregarded, but to be used to teach. I think in Timothy it mentions that verse.
So. That made me think. Didn't Paul say in Romans that the law is uplifted by the faith. But it hit me. The law. Is lifted. By the Faith. To me, at least. The way I understand it. Is that by being justified by the faith, things that would be good would come naturally. But I feel there's something missing to that thought. Or I could be wrong. What do you all think?
Should we follow the law. Paul mentions he is dead to it.
And to me. We are to be justified by Jesus.
So. If the law is dead. How should we do good? There are some things mentioned that we should do in the new testament. And some things that stood out to me. Are parts of Romans. And about being good and loving to one another.
So I'm left a bit confused. But happy I'm going to learn something new.
Thank you :D

Hey guys,
So I'm trying to find a note-taking app that fits my needs, but it seems to be a rather uncommon feature. Whenever I take notes, I always take them in reference to a passage, either a chapter, a single verse or a couple of verses. The problem is, it's always really hard to find those notes again when I reread the passage later down the track. I've looked at a number of bible study apps, but all of them only allow general note taking, and not note taking that is linked to a specific passage. Simply put, I want an app where I would be able to highlight a verse, and see all of my previous notes on passages including that verse (e.g. full chapter studies, single verse studies, or passage studies). Does anyone know any apps that allow something like that?

Hey! I’ve been tattooing for about 6 years now and I’m finally nailing positioning. However- theres one I particularly struggle with, and cant find any solid info about this and it’s tattooing larger women. The main problem is I am a relatively small person (5’2) with shorter arms and legs. I have several lovely plus sized clients who want across the chest tattoos but positioning is rather difficult for me to figure out. I feel like im struggling to reach certain spots because of possibly my chair height or my height.. but then comfortably positioning myself to tattoo across the chest or in the center (esp. ladies with DDD+ breasts) has been so challenging and taxing on my body (hopefully nobody is offended by this- Im trying to be respectful and specific). Any advice for positioning in this very specific area would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Long story short: i’ve lived in dc for the past 25 years and am looking for a drastic change of pace. Willing to go to other continents, currently have USA and IRE passports. Accounting bachelor’s and master’s with 2 years experience and speak ENG, ESP, GER, and JPN. Got to therapy to address underlying issues and make myself better. Have 2 tattoos on right arm and cover them up on a regular basis.
Hi there guys, hope you all are doing well.
So i ended up having a quarter life culminate up to a point where Ive started going to therapy about myself. I got fired back in February as an accountant and have struggled to get another job in the same field. So at this point, im willing to take a lesser paying job in order to move somewhere else, it doesnt matter what, and i can do serving/bartending and willing to do hard labor. Ive always had my identity as living in Washington dc for a long time, but now im at a point where i’ve gotten sick and tired of where I currently am in my life, and I feel like a part of that is the environment which I have grown up and learned in. And I 100% believe that i love it is due to the area which ive grown in and the culture of that area. But part of me thinks that ive gotten too comfortable and im not actively pushing myself to be better
i’ve taken two vacations this year to different countries both Japan and Canada, specifically Montreal. I really enjoyed my time with both of these places and part of me feels like I romanticize too heavily about living there. whether it’s because of how I currently am or if I want something better.
That being said : I have dual citizenship with Ireland and America along with family over there. I don’t want to claim that i know but i believe i would be able to get a work visa in a european country easier than solely with my USA passport. I currently speak Spanish, German, and Japanese and actively study languages as a hobby. Im willing as well to learn French if some opportunity comes up for it as well. that being said, I really enjoy the environment of Montreal and I feel like I fit in well here. Theres this unique feeling to it that i really like like its almost european and i think thats something i really like about the city. My problem us im not sure entirely what i want, other than realizing where maybe I feel stuck and want to go to a different place.
So where would you guys do if you were me? Thank you.
So where should I go? Thank you.

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Finding Hope in Uncertainty: Unlocking Jeremiah 29:12-13’s Promise

Do you ever feel like you’re sending out SOS signals into the void, wondering if anyone up there is listening? If so, you’re not alone. Many of us have been there, especially in our most trying times. But, what if I told you that there’s a promise, nestled within the ancient texts of the Bible, specifically designed for moments of doubt and uncertainty? Yes, Jeremiah 29:12-13 holds a timeless assurance that might just change the way you view your struggles and doubts.

The Heart of the Message

Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” These words are part of a letter sent by Prophet Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon, offering them a glimmer of hope and a future promise. But it’s not just for them; it’s for anyone who seeks a deeper connection and understanding in their spiritual journey, promising that sincere prayers and search for divine guidance are always met with open ears and an open heart.

Unpacking the Promise

These verses underscore two key actions: calling/praying and seeking. Here’s why they are incredibly relevant today:

• Active Engagement: It encourages us to not be passive in our faith, but to actively engage with it, reaching out to God in times of need.
• Promise of Receptivity: It guarantees that when we do reach out, we’re not ignored. Our efforts to connect are met with divine attentiveness.
• Pursuit with the Heart: The emphasis on seeking “with all your heart” adds a beautiful layer of sincerity and depth to our search for God, making the journey as important as the destination.

This passage, therefore, isn’t just about seeking answers during tough times; it’s a blueprint for nurturing a relationship with God that is based on mutual communication and sincerity.

Practical Steps to Heed Jeremiah’s Call

So, how can we apply Jeremiah 29:12-13’s promise to our daily lives?

1. Be intentional in your prayers: Set aside specific times for prayer and meditation, focusing your thoughts and intentions towards communicating with God.
2. Seek with sincerity: Engage in your spiritual practices with an open and honest heart, willing to find and accept the guidance offered.
3. Be receptive: Sometimes, the answers come in ways we don’t expect. Stay open to recognizing the subtle ways in which God might be responding to you.

By integrating these steps into our routines, we invite a more meaningful, two-way conversation with God into our lives—one where we speak and seek with the assurance that we will be heard and found.

Embrace the Promise Today

In our fast-paced, often unpredictable lives, it’s comforting to know that there’s an enduring promise waiting for us within the pages of Jeremiah 29:12-13. This scripture doesn’t just offer a fleeting sense of hope; it provides a tangible pathway to forming a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with God. So, why not take a moment today to call and seek? The promise is clear: He will listen, and you will find. Let the journey of heart-led seeking transform your spiritual walk, starting now.
Looking for more insights and guidance? Keep exploring, praying, and seeking with all your heart. Your journey is uniquely yours, but the promise of being heard and found is universal. Embrace it, and let it guide you through the uncertainties of life with faith and hope.
If you want to want to research more Bible Answers on your own, please try our Bible Answers GPT. It’s easy to get lost in the interesting responses you’ll find… every search is like a new treasure hunt 🙂
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When I’ve looked for what people think the hidden track Damone, is about, they usually say that it’s either about Chino’s girl cheating on him, or him getting friendzoned/rejected.
Despite this I’m pretty sure the song is about Chino’s wife not wanting to have sex with him, similar to Dai the Flu.

Sleep in this hole
Stinging in your eyes
Ashamed
For you 'cause

So the first verse starts with a very haunting “Sleep in this hole”. This could mean many things, but for my theory it represents his wife agreeing to let him have sex with her, basically saying he can enter her body or whatever.
Then the line “Stinging in your eyes” is about how while they’re having sex, she’s either tearing up or crying. Pretty grim.
Then he is “ashamed for you (her)”, probably meaning he’s ashamed of both himself and her (he takes quite a while while to say "for you" so I think that he really is ashamed of them both, and the lyric kind of functions as him saying two things), as he doesn’t feel like his partner desires him, an integral part of any marriage.
For this first chorus:

So far, I've been down, that's true

So this likely, imo, means he’s been down to have sex but it could also mean he’s been down (bad) lol.
Second verse:

Shake in lie
About to fall
Ashamed
For you 'cause

“Shake in lie”, could easily mean his wife makes up a lie in order to not be intimate with him. A maybe more interesting theory would be that his wife basically keeps lying that she wants to have sex with him (maybe the shake part is her shaking in anxiety while she agrees, or shakes her body, sexually in order to make him think she wants it or something), but either doesn’t participate much or breaks down during the middle of it.
“About to fall”, meaning either him, her, their marriage, or all of it is about to fall to pieces/collapse due to this.
Main chorus:

So far, I've been down, that's true
Except for your arms
You start, stand still and shove regret back at me

"Except for your arms" could mean many things. Maybe she doesn't hold or touch him while their fucking, I'm not sure.
"You start, stand still and shove regret back at me" likely means that she agrees to have sex, starts, but she doesn't participate at all, or breaks down, and he regrets even trying, making him ashamed of himself, and her.
Bridge thing:

Why (what's up)
I just ask you why (what's up)
One, two
Why (why)
Why (why)
Why (why)
If I ask you why (what's up)
If I ask you why (what's up)
One, two
Why (why)
Why (why)
Why (why)

I think this whole passage is either about him asking her "Why, what's up", either because she cried while they were fucking, or she doesn't want to in the first place.
Third verse:

Soon I'll be in you, laughter sigh
I'm so ashamed for you 'cause

So all the lyrics say that he says "So I've been you", but unless there's official lyrics released for this song somewhere that I can't find, I'm 99% sure he says "Soon I'll be in you". This, followed by "Laughter sigh" is likely him at first being excited to have sex, followed by him reflecting on the situation after she rejects his advances again, and laughing because it's so ridiculous it's funny, before coming back to reality and sighing.
Fourth verse:

This feeling gets old, and so do your eyes
This is why, I hate you 'cause

So, the feeling of her not wanting him gets so old that the lack of intimacy causes him to stop loving her as he begins to hate her. The "so do your eyes part" could mean many things, but it probably means that her eyes don't have the life or love in them that he used to see.
Idk, I think this makes by far the most sense and I don't think it's really the accepted meaning. Such a fantastic song. Chino must of had to deal with so much intense pain in his life, some of these songs are so tortured.

Context: Me(26M) and her(27F) met in our common friend's birthday (simple get together and drink), the venue is somewhere in Ortigas and I forgot the place because I'm from Cavite but it's his house. At first I honestly turned on by her because of the sex appeal (almost 5 feet long haired with tattoos on her both arms) but I'm too shy and nervous so my friend helped me to know her.
After that, my social battery went out so I find some place that I can recharge. I bought some cigarettes and got myself a drink and just sat down outside the house while they are business drinking and talking. I freaking love the moon so bad and while drinking (also recharging my social battery) I can't help but to think about life. All of a sudden she just pop out in my back saying "Can I have some cig ?" So yeah I gave her then she just sat beside me asking what's my deal in life, how did I know our common friend, etc.
Honestly my brain isn't functioning very that time because I was tipsy (on the verge of getting drunk) and I'm just smiling like a fucking idiot while she was talking, and then she asked me "what's wrong ? Are you messing with me ba or what ?" And I replied "no, it's just you are so fucking cute while you talk". And yup, after few shots I was definitely drunk and kissed that girl. The last thing I remembered is that we're making out in the back of her car, after that we go inside the house like nothings happened.
The party ended around 3-4 am I think and I kinda want to go home because I have something to do, didn't know that she's waiting for me outside and asked if I want to come with her and get another drink somewhere. Me being a self-destructive human being I came along, we arrived at this bar (around cubao) and drink few bottles of beers. I puke like a fucking looser after that and she just laughing at me, some puke got on my shirt and pants so she offered me that I just stay at her condo. Okay whatever, after I washed myself and the clothes I went to her sofa to sleep. I thought she's sleeping too but things got out of hand, yes we do the deen on her sofa. At first I was scared because I didn't bring any protection in me but she assured me that it's fine coz she's taking pills for her PCOS.
After that scary pregnancy thing, we do the deed few times. Until it wears me out, myself slaps me hard as fuck ! Aside from recently break-up with my girlfriend I have personal issues (and mental issues) that I need to resolve and yes PANGIT MAGING ESCAPE ANG FUBU/ONS/FWB/ETC. After a few days of not talking to her, I found the courage to talk to her personally and end the FUBU set up with her. At first she begged, but I stopped her, I kinda traumatized with people who beg in front of me coz I remembered myself.
After few weeks of cutting her off, she called me and wants to meet again and I said no, do you think that I do the right thing ?