Groveller Puns

Surely you wanna max out the volume as much as possible?

Im in the market for a true groveller for tiny surf that has decent performance, any ideas?

Hi guys. What do people think of using a high volume short board as a "first" shortboard?

I surfed a lot 10-years ago and was an average surfer, used an old 6' 4 hand me down shortboard. Stopped when i moved to the mountains and was too busy with work etc. Came back to surfing for a year and have been using a 6'6 mod fish with a fair amount of volume. Get lots of waves but it's a slow turner and feel i'm not progressing anymore.

Looking at moving to a smaller board and getting back into some faster/dynamic manoeuvres.

Don't want to drop right down and lose out on waves and paddle power just yet. 175lbs, 5 foot 9.

1. Thinking of a 5'10 or 5'11 Pyzel Gremlin which would have volumes of 33.9L or 34.9L.
2. Alternatively a Lib tech Puddle jumper HP in maybe a 5'8 (33L) or 5'10 (36L).
3. Firewire Helium Evo 5 '7 - 33.9L

Using the board in north east england (where i live) with trips to cornwall and portugal over summer (usually travel with just one board). All being well i could consider a step up performance board to start a quiver in winter with bigger waves.

Any thoughts?

N.B. I'm aware someone will say - "stick with a 60L longboard for x amount of years before thinking about it". However long boarding is not really for me. As a wakeboarder/snowboarder - short boarding is much more what i'm aiming for.

Thanks!

Context. I work in an inner city ED and was on triage that morning. Waiting room is packed. 50 minute wait for triage. I come out of my room to give the healthcare assistant my blood cards.

Patient on the corridor: I've not eaten and I really want some toast, can you make me some?

Me: I'm sorry but I cant do that atm, I've got a lot of patients to triage and I cant leave it unmanned.

Patient: asks me literally the same thing as if I'd never spoken

Me: like I said, I'm sorry, I cant do that because I need to continue traiging.

I continue with triage. 10 mins later, nurse in charge (NIC) bursts in.

NIC: you need to apologise to that patient on the corridor.

Me: excuse me? What for? Because I couldnt make her some toast? I wasnt rude

NIC: she didnt like the way you said it, you need to apologise.

Me: I've done nothing wrong. I will not grovel to a patient over toast. This discussion isnt worthy of our time

NIC: she's crying and asked her mum to fetch her home

Me: she's an adult, that's her choice. I've done nothing wrong and I will not apologise. If you want to debase yourself for toast, you're welcome to.

Why are we expected to grovel to a patient over a bit of toast? Why should I apologise because she wanted toast immediately and I was not able.to do it? I cannot stomach that level of servility. I'm beginning to think vocation is toxic AF and its shafting us all

I've been contemplating buying a used FW Sweet Potato to double my quiver size.. And was curious as to how much more volume a groveller board would require over a day-to-day shortboard? If any?

I ride a 5'10" FW Hellfire daily, which is just under 30 litres. The 5'6" Potato I've been offered is 37 or so.. This to me seems loads, but it is a decent price..

How do your small wave toys compare to your regular shortboards?

Thanks folks..

So I picked up a Lost Couch Potato this summer and got a set of Futures F8 Alpha fins for it. Ride it as a quad mostly, and absolutely love how fast and loose it is. If it’s 4’ or bigger I’ll ride it as a thruster for a bit more hold, but am always left disappointed, like it’s too much hold. Board feels like won’t turn at the bottom to get back up the wave. Back foot is on the tail pad, so I don’t think it’s my foot placement.

Am I fucked up? Anyone else just like the feel of a quad better?

What makes it harder/easier for grovellers on big days/small days?

I weigh 185lbs and surf really small mushy bullshit. I have a five fin setup so first what thruster setup do you like. Second, what quad setup. Thanks

I'm using a mini simmons as a groveller. In mush it goes up to over head high. For anything hollow it's not so good. Hollow waves are pretty much the only thing it doesn't do.

So I'm thinking of a board to pair with the mini simmons. But I want a bit of crossover in what both boards can do. I want this bigger wave board to work OK but not great on normal waves.

I'm thinking: 6'6ish (I'm 5'10, 77kg) Nose rocker not extreme but more than modern HPSBs. Normal tail rocker. 35litres (2 less than my groveller) Wood! Boards like this tend to get snapped. Some extra weight to reduce that chattering effect would be handy. A lot simpler than thinking about using flex for dampening. Pintail or fish tail even? Longer rails.

I want it to be OK from chest up to DOH but no more. Being able to move this thing around a lot is less of a concern - I'm looking for something that helps in big waves but would also help a beginner in medium or even medium-small waves.

What do you think?

The local surf shop has 2 options for me... a secondhand ci average joe 5'5 or a new firewire baked potato 5'7 obviously the ci is a bit cheaper being secondhand but actually not much cheaper.. which would you choose?

Took a wide nose egg/groveller shape (5'5 x 21 1/4) for a first surf today and it was not a pretty sight. Was 3-4ft but pretty full at high tide.

Maybe I'm more used to wide-ass-thinner-nose combo, but my back foot would just not end up on the tail pad. I automatically popped up mid board!?! And if I did get back i felt like I was breaking and did not get enough speed for getting in early at the drop.

Any advice for dialling in this type of board? Is the problem that I'm used that just a bit of pressure on front foot goes a long way ?

frustrated.

Just bought myself a JS Pier Pony and would like a sock for it..

Anybody know of any short (the board is 5'4" x 21.75") fat board socks?

I've had a quick browse, but it was exactly that, and nothing really stood out.. Anyone have any personal experiences or advice?

Please help me and tell me your favorite shifter romance series!!

I love shifter romances, and I need more. I like the passion, the power, the dynamics of a pack (or lack thereof.) I like strong heroines, I like repenent alpha-holes, I like twists on the tropes. Any and all. Not a huge fan of RH and I need a content warning if there's sexual assault, but other than that, I'm open to variety!

Loved:
Werewolf Dens series by Kelly St. Clare
The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells (loved loved!)
Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole

Good:
Shadow Beast Shifters by Jaymin Eve (I like the rejected trope)
Broken Bonds series by J. Bree (not usually a fan of RH but really liked this...though these made me sweat too much with the drama lolol)
Soul Bitten Shifter series by Everly Frost

Meh:
Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (not enough steam, too slow burn)
G.A. Aiken books (just can't seem to get into them but open to taking a second look)

Edited to add: I've definitely searched this trope a ton on this sub, but feel like I usually just see the Kate Daniels series recommended over and over 😩

I’m insatiable for this trope.

So, same as I have posted before. Looking for a book where H severely fucks up and has to grovel and earn h’s forgiveness.

I’ve read a lot of recommended books from here… The Unwanted Wife, A Husband’s Regret, Claimed by the Horde King, Unbreak my Heart, Before Jamaica Lane, Lady Gallant, The Divorce, One Eighty, Smokey, Lady Luck, Stoned, Ghosted, Kiss an Angel, Goalie, 4 Years Later… I can seriously go on and on.

One book I absolutely LOVED was Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein. Holy fuck. This book scratched all my itches - ex bully doing all he can to redeem himself.

Another book I loved (and I may get some flack) was Virtue & Vanity by Astrid Jane Ray. There is SA and H severely misjudges her until he realizes how bad he fucked up and grovels… but I really didn’t like how much of a doormat FMC was. That kinda annoyed me.

Would absolutely give you a big fat smooch if you recommend a book where an old bully (PREFERABLY MALE) is making it up to the FMC.

Would give you a big fat smooch, especially to your ass, if you recommend me something sci-fi like aliens.

And y’all, I want something so satisfying. Nothing where the FMC forgives and forgets easily, that’s my biggest pet peeve. I want MMC to hurt, bro.

Please no super doormat FMCs… I don’t mind a little bit of a doormat but nothing like “uwu okay” as she gets slapped again lmao. and I am guilty for this but I prefer for the FMC do have done literally nothing wrong HAHAHA.

I love a good shifter romance and I recently realized why: the MMC can be really fucking dumb and it still makes sense to me (because he's a wolf and shit.) Great dialogue—which I LOVE—is not necessary.

And that's the basis for my post, because The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells fucking delivered. The believable back and forth, the arguments, the groveling—all of it was well written in a way that surprised me from a shifter romance. It didn't feel cheesy at all and I found myself trusting the author to deliver on each scene, especially between the two main characters. That's rare for me.

Plus

The amazingly believable FMC (not an alpha female, not out to "prove" herself, lives with a disability, extremely competent and smart)

The immensely satisfying groveling (it's like, half the book, which felt very appropriate for what he did)

And the incredible way that the wolf shifter trope was written (the characters would sometimes be overtaken by their animalism while in human form, but it took me a minute to realize what was happening because the characters themselves didn't even realize—it was a very cool way to weave the shifter aspect in)

all lead me to HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to those who like shifter romances.

10/10

I couldn't put it down & didn't get enough sleep last night

I recently read {Tyrant Alpha’s Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells} and really enjoyed it. I tried Becoming His by Albany Walker but only made it 25%. On the heroine’s first night seeing Him after he rejected her years ago she sleeps in his bed and cooks him dinner. He’s already calling her baby and other pet names while he tells her that even though he slept with tons of other women he didn’t love them like he loved her. To me, that made her seem pathetic and they were acting way too cutesy considering he supposedly broke her heart and they were virtual strangers. If I’m missing something and the book somehow improves, let me know.

Please give me a book with some good grovel and a heroine with a backbone.

Buckle up - this is a little long and rant-ish but I’d love to see who shares the same opinions as me. I tried to make this a spoiler-free as possible. The only thing I'm giving away are tropes.

Okay, I'm not proud to admit - I'm one of those compulsive romance readers who spends more time looking for books than actually reading. These past couple of years I've become EXTREMELY picky and always end up re-reading my favorites because it seems like my perfect book doesn’t exist (I've even seriously considered writing my own book at this point TBH).

I'd first like to thank you all, this sub has definitely led me to some amazing books that I would’ve never read had I come across it on my own (The Love Hypothesis is one example that immediately comes to mind).

HOWEVER

There is one book I wanted to specifically discuss with this sub. It’s one that I swore I’d NEVER read. I'd casually seen it on a bunch of Good Reads lists before joining this sub and I'd always dismissed it.

Like I previously mentioned, my tastes have become extremely picky these past couple of years, to the point where I immediately reject anything that’s not contemporary romance written in single-POV.

I'd spend endless hours looking through the highest rated enemies-to-lovers/marriage of convenience/trillionaire/single-pov/etc book lists on GR. I’d always end up exhausted and would just end up rereading my favorites - at least I knew they would never disappoint me.

It’s important to note I’d always seen one specific God-forsaken book at the top of each list. I’ve become such an elitist with my tastes (I swear I’m trying to change) that eventually I would scroll past it just on principle - in my eyes, being published in 1996 essentially made the book a historical romance (I’m so sorry).

Why would I EVER read a book that was published a year before I was born?

Fast forward to another blurb-binge one night on GR, I decided to consult with some professionals and visited this sub. I eagerly typed into the search bar one single magic word. It's something that all humans crave from time to time, but a common addiction some of us seriously struggle with here. I’d been experiencing serious book withdrawal symptoms and I REALLY needed a good fix:

GROVEL

As I browsed through all of the popular posts, I became more and more angry. I know Natasha Anders is the queen of grovel but FUCK I ALREADY READ THE UNWANTED WIFE SIX TIMES I NEED A NEW HIT.

That’s when I not

Feels like the guy always gets off easy in these books which I why I avoid them - but when they hit, they hit hard!

Would prefer no cheating or sexual contact with any other women in the book.

My own recc would be BULLY by Jessa Kane.

Let’s talk GROVEL, y’all. This is a popular request, a niche in the romance genre, and several fab threads have been had here lately regarding grovel. Also, a lot of rants.

I’ve read the threads, the rants, and the recs. I’ve also, as a result, read a good deal of books that were described as having “good” or “satisfying” grovel. Some of them resonated with me. Others… not so much. And that’s cool. Expected. Everyone’s preferences are different, after all. However, with some of the books I’ve read recently, not only was I not satisfied by the grovel, but I didn’t see grovel present at all.

Obviously, my definition of what makes a grovel a grovel must be different than other folks. Which leads me to the question: what is a grovel? How is it different from an apology or a grand gesture?

If you had to define it, what would you say a grovel is? What’s the formula? What are the ingredients?

Somebody’s messed up, they’ve abandoned their other half, betrayed their trust, and/or selfishly caused them unbearable (and entirely avoidable) pain…. now what?

These are things I’ve come up with for me:

1) There needs to be genuine remorse. Not just regret, but remorse. The groveler must feel guilt, sorrow, and then meaningfully change their behavior. A lot of grovelers say things like “I know I’ll have to earn your trust back” — well, okay, yes. Also, no fucking shit. But let’s see it. Through actions, not just words. Talk is cheap, lip service is easy. Let me see that trust earned back on the page.

2) The groveler has to suffer. Ideally commensurately with the SO they’ve hurt if not more. I want them to feel devastated, experience actual pain, and acknowledge that it’s their own damn fault for feeling that way, no one else’s. If some of the suffering is karmic, that ain’t bad either.

BUT, and this is important, THESE TWO THINGS AREN’T ENOUGH. At least, not for me. A lot of “grovel” books I’ve read have had the hero do something awful, often over a long period of time/a majority of the novel, then realize his mistake and express genuine remorse within one scene. The heroine then gets back with him. That’s not enough. It’s also (to me) an apology, not a grovel.

So what else makes a grovel a grovel?

3) Time. Or, more specifically, rejection of the groveler over time.

The apology should be prolonged. The SO done wrong should not forgive the groveler within one scene, and they certainly shouldn’t get back together with them a