u/AnotherBogCryptid

Hi all. Single mom here.

My daughter’s 2015 Jeep Patriot stopped running about 6 months ago. A few different people have promised to help fix it, then never showed up for us.

It’s currently stored in my garage.

I need to know what’s wrong with it and how to fix it.

Are there any mobile mechanics that can tell me what’s wrong and how much it might to cost to repair… and whether it’s something a person who’s never done more than change a tire could do at home safely?

How much does a mobile mechanic assessment cost?

I don’t want to have the car towed to a bunch of different shops, either, so if you know of someone honest, affordable, and good quality (they don’t have to do this work quickly), I’d appreciate any recommendations.

Thanks to everyone in advance.

I am once again mourning a book that had an absolutely fantastic premise and then proceeded to trip over its own feet for 400 pages.

Plot: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Continuity: ?????
Cultural sensitivity: 🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️

I WANTED to love this book.

The setup is SO GOOD. Two warring countries try to broker peace, one side immediately breaks the agreement, and the FMC gets tricked into becoming a troll bride instead of the princess she was supposed to accompany. Then she has to navigate an entirely different culture while trying to salvage peace after the deception is discovered.

Amazing. No notes. Inject that premise directly into my veins.

But the execution?

Sigh.

By chapter six we're told that the FMC/MMC pairing is supposedly the first time a troll has ever mated with a human. Cool. Except the book then proceeds to describe >!what sounds suspiciously like generations of trolls abducting human women and forcibly impregnating them. So... first time where? First consensual time? First documented time? First time the author remembered what they wrote?!<

Then we get the >!bloodline purification plotline.!<

I'm sorry, the WHAT?

Every time it came up I physically recoiled. >!The entire thing felt like fantasy eugenics wrapped in a decorative bow. It was giving blanqueamiento. It was giving anti-Blackness. It was giving "why did nobody stop and think about the implications of this?"!<

And then the continuity issues.

The trolls are apparently obsessive neat freaks but somebody has carpet in their entryway.

The MMC lives in a centuries-old family estate that housed multiple generations and somehow there's only one bed.

The FMC says the trolls have never given her reason to fear them despite the fact that a few chapters earlier she was convinced they were going to literally rip her apart. Which, honestly, was not an unreasonable concern because they almost did.

At one point we're told she's the type of person who lets things roll off her back, despite the fact that her childhood abuse trauma is actively shaping nearly every decision she makes for the first half of the book.

And can someone explain why we're suddenly talking about whalers in chapter 38? Did I black out? Did the author?

There are also random spelling and editing issues everywhere. Creek becomes "creak." Sentences appear to have escaped from entirely different books.

The spice was... fine. Perfectly serviceable. I actually enjoyed a lot of the troll culture-building. The jewelry traditions, the community focus, the emphasis on protecting and honoring your partner? Great stuff.

You know.

When we're not doing >!eugenics!<.

Or >!rape!<.

The villain is aggressively one-dimensional. Every scene feels like the author spinning a wheel labeled "What New Trauma Can I Inflict Today?"

And OH MY GOD can we talk about the MMC constantly describing the FMC as tiny and "the size of our children"? Then drooling over how he wants to stick it in

Sir.

Jail.

I enjoy size differences as much as the next romantasy reader, but I do NOT need the comparison point to be your hypothetical offspring. Every time it came up I aged five years.

The worst part is that I'm probably going to read the sequel because the underlying story is genuinely interesting.

Unfortunately, I'm struggling to figure out who I'm supposed to root for.

The >!genocidal maniac!<?

Or the >!eugenicist rapists!<?

Choices. Choices.

Tired of being forgiving

I really hate the people who go around demanding forgiveness and understanding on behalf of people who have hurt their romantic partners. It drives me insane.

“People make mistakes.”

“You should set an example for your kids and forgive them.”

“They were just having a bad day, you wouldn’t throw away your marriage over just a few moments!”

Like people think there’s something sacred and magical about tolerating bullshit for decades and that it’s some kind of virtue to have a long-lasting relationship, regardless of its quality.

No. Absolutely not.

You get one opportunity to live this life you’ve been given. You never get your time back. Once you inch closer to death you can’t inch back and undo it. Do not waste your time - your very life force - on people who can’t even treat you well because of their own BS.

There are more than eight billion humans on this planet. We should be encouraging people to find a partner that actually likes them enough to care if their partner is safe, comfortable, supported, and well-loved.

So many people want to use past relationship hurts and mother/father wounds as excuses or explanations for their behavior but don’t ever stop to ask themselves why being hurt made them want to hurt others - especially their partner - instead of making them want to ensure others - especially their *partner* \- were never hurt by them, since they know how bad it feels to hurt by someone you’re supposed to love and trust.

I’m not sorry. I don’t trust people who hurt others because they were hurt. Because the other option there was to make the world better, not worse, and they made their choice. Maybe that’s just who they are deep down inside.

So forgiveness? Sure. I’ll forgive you only because I can’t afford to waste energy carrying that hate around my heart. But forgiveness doesn’t mean stay. Forgiveness doesn’t mean grant access.

Why are people so opposed to someone prioritizing their own wellbeing and peace over the comfort of the person that hurt them?

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Does anyone know the location where they filmed this scene in True Beauty?

Episode 9 | @≈17m