[excerpts from columnist Paul Schroeder's "Does Alien and UFO Disclosure reveal a Human-Hungry God?" 2015).
Many Ufologists are convinced that reptilian aliens, in overhead craft, duped ancient Jews and thus the whole world, about the nature of God. The same reptilian God depicted in ancient Mayan, Indian, Aztec and Chinese carvings, a sharp-fanged, winged saurian, was the self-same “God”, a reptilian Draco Moth-man, from Heavenly UFOs (the skies were called, ‘Heaven’ by ancients).
This diabolical God of the Mayans, who demanded a religion of human sacrifice, that provided its favorite dish, a still-beating human heart, is the same bloodthirsty and ruthless God of the Hebrews who insisted that sacrificial blood be religiously spilled onto all four corners of the altar.Demonologists well know that ritualized killing towards spilled blood, opens the door, a portal to dark force entities. Would an all-loving spiritual being God harshly impose dietary laws, for its harvest of human “food”, and insist upon biblical regular requirements of murder?
The alien corner-stone, of Earth’s civilization, is human sacrifice.
Muscular, winged, sentient, highly technological, upright standing to eight feet tall, scaled reptilian alien beings, with webbing between their claws, yellow/red cat-like eyes, upright saurian ‘monitor lizards’, Mothmen, alien reptilians who looked upon us, as we fancied veal, were the Gods of Nordic and Greek myths and the Old Testament Bible. It was a chilling story I was to hear repeatedly, echoed elsewhere, throughout the UFO and abductee community, not unlike one Rod Serling’s,”Twilight Zone” episode,”To Serve Man”, where our importance as a race in the Universe, to other aliens eyes, is that of a delectable condiment. Like the ‘chosen’ children of Israel, chosen abductees are subjected to harsh tactics and controlling motives, seen not as a sentient race, but like the ancients, as a human crop to harvest.
Ancient prophets, Isaiah, Mohammed, Ezekiel, Moses, Saul (Paul) and Jesus were ‘ascended’ into craft, to later suffer psychological distress, having met “God, or the Devil and His Angels”. Ancient alien abductions recorded in the Old Testament, reflect ontological shock after superior beings with miraculous technology identified themselves as,”God”, worshiped by Hebrews who called the skies above, ‘Heaven’.
In the Garden of Eden tale are clear reptilian fingerprints, alien advanced technological surgery with Adam put to sleep and a ‘rib’ removed for cloning and genetic manipulation to create a human-alien hybrid, the status of modern man and modern woman. It was the Ark of the Covenant, an alien mechanical contrivance, that called out to Samuel, a box that acted as a weapon and as a communication device, that called him and spoke with him and Moses.
Their technology still looks like magic to us, even 5000 years after the Old Testament’s documented encounters with this deceptive and cruel alien pretense of “God”.
Modern abductees report that during their abductions on board craft, they sometimes see this ancient fearsome alien “God”, a reptilian alien race of beings, who radiate rage and hatred, the alien overlord of the many alien races who frequent the crossroads of Earth for salvage, and to abduct humans, saurian beings who command the pilots of our skies’ UFOs.
It is criminally laughable, to us, today, that ancient human cultures throughout the ancient world wrongly mistook highly technological alien beings, who landed in craft, from the skies, as “Gods”, but Mayans, Chinese, Aztec and Israelite societies were clearly, purposefully duped by these beings, told that they were the one, true God of the Universe.
Small greys, the alien beings most people can easily identify, are subservient creatures who do all the heavy lifting towards abductions and medical procedures; they act in unison like robots, and are simply no more than mere work beings, designed, created and labeled, by reptilians as, ‘synthetic work beings’. We, too, are creatures of reptilian design, upright simian creatures who knot neckties and ride public conveyances..
As for me, to my mind, for most people on Earth to live unburdened by an insatiable curiosity to comprehend the mysteries of the motives and tactics of these pilots of UFOs in our sky’s universe, is in itself, quite an amazing thing. Knowing that the aliens reside in a different reality explains why this whole UFO phenomenon is so slippery; we exist within a matrix of other realities all merging in one spot: the mind.”
Aliens and their craft exist.
My expanded consciousness and psychic abilities are mere outcome of my lifetime of contacts with them.
We still foolishly believe that we were ordained to this Earth, by God, but now some of us know that we are someone else’s experiment, considered someone else’s quite valuable ‘property’.
The sad legacy of mankind’s religions’ origins, far from ancient people who were duped by identical creatures, is today, for those few in the governments’ ‘know’, a trade off for alien technology, cheap wampum offered for our destiny and invaluable souls.
Alien technology, recovered from downed discs and other craft, or given outright, has, in America, inspired Skunkworks to give us the ability to reverse engineer alien technology:
lasers,fiber optics, nuclear power, cold fusion anti gravity, (using mercury )microwaves, ultrasound weapons, stealth technology, nanotechnology, transistorsweather control, microchips, time travel, mind-control technology, specialized surgical tools, cloning-genetic engineering and psycho-electronic.
Most recently, governments scramble to deduce ‘smart skins’ of craft which like chameleons, alter shape and color according to environments, as an alien craft becomes brown against a bare mountain, and then blue, against the sky.
All of these magical technologies, successfully studied, reverse engineered and imitated, are a puerile substitute for equanimity between our species.
We have technology to be thankful for, because of Klaatu, (“The Day the Earth Stood Still”, alien character) though he is the complete opposite of the charming, handsome, gracious, elevated spirit in film and in book.
He, in reptilian form and in grey form, instead sees us in much the same perfunctory way, that we see chickens, and thus no equanimity.

I’m not good at posting on social media, but I remember reading a story like this 5 years ago that gave me hope to keep pursuing my dream and I want to pay it forward.
Applicant profile

• ORM male, non SES
• 1st time applicant
• 1st generation healthcare worker with no connections to other doctors, hospitals, or med schools
• 3.4 uGPA - 3 Fs, 3 Cs in the first 2.5 years. 5 of these were prereqs (they had us in the first half not gonna lie). I retook all the Fs and one of the Cs and got 3 As and 1 B.
• Bio major. If you care, my undergrad was a somewhat prestigious school, and very STEM heavy. 5 years undergrad + 3 years SMP + 1 gap year. The SMP did not offer any linkage.
• 3.6 SMP gpa.
• 507 MCAT with 124 CARS (1st attempt, but could've done better).
• 480 clinical hours as a pct on a med surg floor - 980 by the time of my interview
• 200 hours as a secretary at the hospital (non clinical)
• 1400 research hours across 4 biochemistry/genetics labs and 3 middle author publications. ~2400 hours by the time of my interview and a poster presentation at an international conference right after the interview, which I included in an update letter
• 12 shadowing hours with a DO - 30hrs by the time of interview with 3 other MDs / DOs
• ~60 hrs tutoring + TA at my undergrad
• No listed volunteering hours (red flag).
• No listed clubs or leadership positions (red flag)
• Rec letters (in a committee letter from my SMP) from: a DO I work with, my grad school pre med advisor / PI, professoformer PI, psych professor. I didn't read them but they were probably all pretty good.
• No X factor that I'm aware of
• My interview was mid. Got asked pretty generic questions and I gave pretty standard answers. I'm just a boring dude.
• I have a very financially supportive family - I wouldn’t be where I am without their help.

10 MD secondaries submitted. 0 II
13 DO secondaries submitted. 1 II -> WL -> A ……at an OOS school with the highest average gpa of all the DO schools I applied to (>3.7, one of the “Big 5” DO schools)
Surprisingly, I wasn’t immediately screened out by any of the schools pre-secondary. Secondaries were submitted from mid-July through October. I tried to submit the MD ones sooner than the DOs. The secondary for my only A was sent around late July or early August IIRC. I received an II at the end of February and got off the waitlist in May.
​

So here’s my story

My first F was in gen Chem 1 because it was my first semester in college and I was immature and lacked self-discipline. I also got a C in intro to bio that semester. I later retook these classes and got As in both, and I got almost all As in the next 2 semesters. My spring sophomore and fall junior semesters were when things fell apart. I won’t get into the details but a mix of physical+mental health issues and unfortunate events in my social life made me lose focus, resulting in Fs in bio III and a university required rhetoric class, as well as Cs in orgo I & II. Then I was put on academic probation and “separated” from my university for 2 semesters.
At this point I was pretty devastated and started to consider switching career paths because I didn’t even know if it was still possible to get into any medical school with my grades. I ended my 3rd year with a 2.96 cumulative gpa - a number forever ingrained into my head. Even if I got all As the rest of the way and stayed a 5th year, my gpa would only be a 3.4, which would still make it very hard to get in. But I realized in my time off that nothing will be nearly as fulfilling to me as practicing medicine. I also knew that my grades in the past year were not indicative of my true abilities, I was just in a difficult situation. So I addressed all the issues that held me back in the past, and even started counseling as I prepared to start my premed track again.
Also, this was around the time when I started to focus on becoming a better person as a whole. Not that I ever had a history of doing anything seriously immoral, but having the time to finally be alone with no distractions granted me opportunity to be more introspective and think about the ideal person I wanted to be, rather than the person others wanted me to be. I remember browsing through a Reddit post some years ago asking suicidal people what quotes keep them going, and one reply that hit me hard was “one day someone’s going to need you, and you better be there for them”. Over time, I realized that the most important quality of my "ideal self", among others, is that I should always be available when people need me, and to put the needs of others above my own. I think this perspective I developed back then helped keep me motivated and focused on my path to become a physician, and still does to this day.
One of my biggest improvements after coming back was my work ethic. I came to terms with the fact that I simply am not as intellectually gifted as most of my peers. If they studied 6 hours for an exam, I would need to study 25 hours for a similar grade, and if that’s what it takes then so be it. If I were to be a doctor, my patients aren’t going to feel bad for me because I’m slow; what really matters are the results. With redemption on my mind I loaded my schedule for the next 2 years with rigorous medicine related classes such as immunology, dev bio, genetics, biochem, anatomy, etc. (I also retook the classes I failed and did well). I went to every lecture, every supplemental session, and spent almost every day of the school year studying at the library from ~5pm - 2am, and 11am - 2am on weekends. There were times when I didn’t take a day off for several weeks. One year during finals, I wouldn’t sleep more than 2hrs a night for the entire week because I studied so much. I also changed my studying methods to rely less on brute force memorization, and more on attaining a deep understanding of concepts. Luckily it all paid off. Disclaimer: I would NOT recommend this work schedule for anyone. I just hated myself at the time, threw away my social life, and am strangely good at working while sleep deprived and hungry. Please take care of yourself.
​

Noteworthy parts of my application

When applying to medical schools I used my past failures as a testament of my persistence and resilience. It’s not like I could’ve hid my hideous grades anyway so might as well try to turn it into a strength. It ended up becoming a talking point in all my 1:1 interviews too. Some were impressed with my growth, although 1 still seemed a little concerned.
Another strength of my application was conveying how much I love working in healthcare through my experience as a PCT. The job is already hard enough having to take care of patients with dementia, C. Diff, incontinence, terminal cancer, COVID, diabetic ulcers, GI bleeds, hip/knee fractures, violent psych disorders, patients that are rude and non-compliant, etc. But I worked through the pandemic which was a complete shit show for months on end. The patient: nurse/PCT ratios were so ridiculous that it was honestly unsafe working conditions at times. Lots of people were quitting too which made things even harder. But this heavy workload, stress, and chaotic environment motivated me even more to show up everyday. I always thought to myself “at least I’m here. I can’t image how bad it would for the nurses and patients be if there were no PCTs”, and that if someone had to suffer in this position, I’m really glad it was me and not someone else. Looking back, however, I think my PS sounded too “woe is me” and when preparing for a re-app I was planning on scrapping that one completely for a more optimistic one.
I do regret not talking more about research in my PS and secondaries, however, as that was by far the EC that I spent the most time in, it’s something I’m kind of passionate about, and I probably understand it better than most applicants. Perhaps I would have gotten more interest from research-heavy MD schools if I did.
I never explained the cause of my poor grades that year, I only cited “personal issues” which in retrospect probably hurt my application. With this wording, it’s easy to assume the worst, like having a drug addiction or debilitating mental health issues, which was not the case. I should have said “I had distractions and lost focus”.
​

Advice for future applicants

If you dug yourself a hole as deep as I did, your first and foremost priority is to take care of your mental and physical health, which is more important than your gpa. Taking time off from school to fix yourself and recalibrate is a much better option than maintaining your downward trajectory and risking even worse health and grades.
Secondly, be very careful about continuing premed. I took a huge risk by sticking to premed, and just because it worked out for me doesn’t mean it’ll work out for everyone else. You should consider going all in on your path only if:

1. You know exactly what went wrong and have a realistic plan on how to fix it. Be honest about your capabilities and weaknesses when making a plan. Ask yourself, if you were to retake classes you did poorly in, would you be confident in getting As in most if not all of them?
2. You know with 100% certainty that you want to be a physician more than any other career after considering all your options. This may be obvious, but the earlier you jump ship, the less money and time you’ll waste on a journey going no where.

You should at least know if you even want to work in healthcare. I’ve never heard any one of my coworkers say they had a good day at the end of a shift. This work is not fun and the money and clout (however much you think there is) alone are not worth it. My personal justification for choosing healthcare is that working in a hospital has been the only place where I feel like I fit in. I’ve never been good at making friends, always crawled my way through school, and it’s hard to find hobbies and interests. But being on the floor, helping my patients and the team, is comforting for me, in a way. I feel like giving away parts of my life so that others can live theirs is what I was meant to do. I’m at baseline a lazy person, but at the hospital I feel like I have endless energy even after a 16 hour shift.
Don’t be discouraged by others’ success. “Comparison is the thief of joy”. Not gonna lie, seeing some sankeys of an applicant with 4.0 & 528, 7 first author pubs in no gap years, 6000 clinical hours, CEO of 3 companies, and an A for every single T20 school made me feel like a loser at times because my application was not even the same league. But keep in mind - 1) you don’t have to go to a top ranked school to be a good doctor, and 2) the path from point A to point B is different for everyone. For some, it’s short and straight; for others, it’s slow, bumpy, loopy, and goes backwards at times. But getting to point B in the end is what matters most. Medicine is not supposed to be a competition. So just be happy for them and focus on improving yourself. We’re all going to be called Dr. ___ in the end anyway.
Don’t listen to everything that people say, especially if they haven’t even applied to medical school - such as premed advisors. The only time I ever talked to my undergrad premed advisor, he pulled out a chart with a bell curve showing the likelihood of a med school acceptance based on GPA and MCAT. He pointed to coordinate (0,0), approximately, and said “you are here” and that was pretty much the entire conversation. Take everything with a grain of salt, even from successful applicants. My friend who’s an M3 said my application had too many red flags, that I won’t get in with any community service, and that I should’ve waited another year to apply. Which honestly wasn’t even bad advice, but I ended up proving her wrong anyway.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this but I actually stopped talking about premed stuff irl, which improved my mood. When meeting new people I just told them I'm planning on going into research and teaching (which is still true), because if I mentioned premed, a lot of the ensuing conversations were just annoying asf - like when they ask me what my gpa is, or give me unprompted, unwarranted advice. I also kinda took a step back from my premed and med school friends because I already spend a lot of time each day worrying about my application, and the last thing I want to do is talk about it more in my free time. Another reason is because some friends would lose respect for me if I told them about my academic struggles. And personally, I absolutely hated when people told me to give up on med school, which happened a few times.
MD schools with relatively low average stat ranges are a little deceptive. I naively applied to them thinking they would be easier to get into but now I know it's not the case. Usually these schools just care more about "fit" and less about boasting high stats, and you can often tell what they value in their secondary essay questions. For example, Rush and Tulane seem to like applicants with a ton of service hours, and experience with addressing health disparities and helping underserved communities. UIllinois likes engineering students, so it’s no wonder their average GPA is lower. So even if I had better stats, I'd still probably have no chance of getting into these schools. You can also figure out good fits by going through sankeys of applicants with similar stats and ECs as you, and see which schools they had success with.
If you’re a high stat applicant that is wondering how I got in - I don’t know either. There is definitely always an aspect of luck (and unfairness, in my opinion) in the application process, and obviously I was very lucky. A lot of people have fantastic applications, do everything right, and will make great doctors one day, but still don’t get an A this cycle. Also, some adcom members are just chemistry professors, PIs, and people with an MBA degree, who hardly know anything about practicing medicine, and it’s crazy that they’re the ones deciding who’s going to be in the next generation of doctors. Just keep applying, and definitely apply to schools based on mission fit, not just their stat ranges.
​
There’s more I want to say but my post is already super long. You can DM me if you have any questions. I'm no expert in anything but I'll be honest and I'll try my best

Hey all! So I’m wanting to eventually get into firefighting with the city of Edmonton or Red Deer. To make my application more competitive and get a good taste of what the medical first responder portion of the job would look like, I’m wanting to volunteer with St Johns Ambulance. My current work schedule is a 15 days on and 6 days off rotation. Would I still be able to volunteer with SJA when I’m on my days off? Is this a good route to take to build up some experience that the departments are looking for? Would love to hear what you all have to say! Thanks:)

CW: Birth Trauma, Medical Trauma, NICU Parent, PPD, and boundless joy
Hi all, FTM (35F) of a wonderful, perfect 3 month old baby girl.
This will be a long post but I wanted to write somethings down for my own processing and to simply share some of the things that we've gone through since LO arrived. My intention is not to scare or trigger anyone but rather share my story in the hopes that others might find some normalcy and support.
If you're anything like me I was scouring the internet prior to delivery. LO was ultimately delivered at 41w1d and I was HUGE. I'm 5'3" and I had gained over 50 lbs almost entirely in my belly. I was curb walking as much as possible and I did all of the things - eating dates, raspberry tea, exercises, stretches - anything to get baby to come on her own. I was having contractions for weeeeeks but nothing that ever escalated into true labor. I was exhausted despite my entire pregnancy being pretty textbook. There were no red flags at any point despite having done all of the standard tests and ultrasounds. Everything was pointing towards an easy delivery and healthy baby.
I was very done with pregnancy and, against my original plans (a theme), I decided to get induced. Went into the hospital on the evening of Feb 27 and had cervidil (sp??). It's supposedly more chill than pitocin. Things started happening around the morning of Feb 28. I was having real contractions and things were moving! The midwives were stoked that I responded so favorably without pitocin. Then things really started to ramp up. I was in triage waiting to be transferred to L&D (another theme) and was having really intense contractions. I finally (against what I had initially wanted) decided to take a narcotic. I needed a break and I was many hours away from full dilation plus I couldn't get an epidural until I was in L&D. Oof huge mistake. My contractions were just as intense as ever except during the in between I was having hallucinations. Luckily I had experienced drugs similar before so I knew what was going on but it worried my partner a lot (another theme). At this point I'm vomiting, my nurse is trying to get me transferred asap, my doula shows up and is trying to help me, and I'm wavering between screaming pain and having wild (and hilarious?) hallucinations.
Finally I'm cleared to transfer to L&D. Puke cup in hand, my nurse is running with me barely sitting in a wheelchair. I was so hot at that point that I remember it felt like a welcomed cool breeze. Partner is chasing behind us with far too many pieces of luggage in tow. We burst in the room and I was demanding to sit on the toilet but mostly was so blinded by pain I didn't really know what was going on or what I needed. Once again the doulas did their best to help me calm down and get through it. One of the nurses looked me dead in the eyes and was like "You can sit on that toilet but DO NOT push." I'm like 6 centimeters at this point and I couldn't believe the sensations pulsing through my body. I had wanted to wait for an epidural but I knew then that I needed it asap. I was able to miraculously sit still and felt the numbing cold take over. It was amazing. The next few hours were spent hanging out and getting to know the doulas. The nurse told me that my contractions were off the charts. Apparently they were lasting for two minutes and were shaped like a plateau instead of a gentle curve. My midwives were great and everyone was very encouraging and happy with my progress. I was almost fully dilated and we decided to burst my waters.
I was excited. There was A LOT of amniotic fluid. Unfortunately it was brown which indicated that baby had passed meconium which, given how over due I was, wasn't out of the ordinary. It also meant that NICU staff would be present for the delivery once the time came. I was finally ready to start pushing. Minutes turned into hours. My baby's head was through my cervix but she seemed stuck. 4 hours went by with no progress so we made the difficult decision to have a C section. It would be another 2 hours before an OR would open up so I just had to wait. By this point the epidural was wearing off and I was having break through contractions but I couldn't do anything with them because we knew the baby wasn't coming any other way.
This is where things really go south so stop reading if you need to <3.
Once I'm finally in the OR it's like 4AM. I'm strapped and straddled on the operating table and I can't stop shaking. It was terrifying. My partner is there with me but all I remember is fear. I also remember double checking with my nurse that NICU staff was in the room. The surgeons then test to see that I've had enough anesthesia which I hadn't so they had to give me fentanyl so things could get a move on. Eventually I felt no pain, just the movement of the procedure. I was laying there waiting to hear my baby's cries and to finally have her on my chest. I felt a lot of movement in my abdomen and I remember asking "Is that the baby? Is she dancing?" and the anesthesiologist said "No they're delivering your placenta and performing a fundal massage to prevent hemorrhage." This is when I knew something was really wrong. Those are the things they do after the baby's been born but I didn't hear my baby nor did I see her. I begin asking what's going on, I ask my partner if he can see her. He can't. All he can see is a lot of movement from different doctors. They finally tell us that she needs to be admitted to the NICU. I ask to at least see her and she's wheeled by me in a bassinet already swaddled and en route. We found out much later (when we were ready to hear what happened) that when she was born she had aspirated a lot of meconium and wasn't breathing. Her APGAR score was a 3. She was immediately intubated and it took around 10 minutes to resuscitate her (miraculously she didn't suffer brain damage).
Afterwards we were taken into a recovery room. We had been awake for over 24 hours at this point and were exhausted, devastated, and confused. We didn't know what happened and were waiting for news while I had to endure more fundal massages. A NICU doctor came to my bedside to inform us that they suspected she has having seizures, was at high risk of a blood infection, and may have some kind of genetic issue. We were in hysterics. Just totally beside ourselves. The nurses that had been with us came to say goodbye with tears in their eyes. They knew we had been traumatized and I think they may have been too.
They told us they were waiting for a postpartum room near the NICU to open up so we were just waiting. At this point, my baby was still very abstract to me. I was much more concerned about my very exhausted partner who had witnessed all of the trauma that happened. And was still carrying all of our stupid bags that I had packed. I sent him to the NICU to go see the baby. She was on oxygen and in an incubator. Her face was swollen from being stuck in the birth canal for 6 hours. I got to see her a few hours later but I could only touch her cheek. As I was leaving she was being hooked up to an EEG to check for seizures. We finally, after many hours, were moved into our postpartum room where I insisted we both take a nap before returning to the NICU. By this point we had delivered the news to our friends and families and let people know to please not reach out. It's hard to communicate the complexity of feelings we had. It was so devastating yet he and I felt so bonded together. Nothing else mattered but the three of us.
I'm told the weather was beautiful that day. I hadn't even considered a world existed outside of us. I didn't remember an outside until days had gone by. He pushed me in my wheelchair to get some food one morning and I saw the sun. I didn't remember there was a sun or that other people were just going about their days.
While LO was in the NICU she had every test under the sun and all of them kept coming back favorably. She wasn't having seizures, her brain looked great, her heart looked great, etc. Except there was still a question of a possible genetic issue but no one knew for sure. Her eyes were bulging but it could have been because of birth trauma or she just sort of looked like that. It wasn't until she had her hearing test that something went wrong again. I found solace in knowing failed hearing tests are pretty common and we'd just have to wait to meet with an audiologist for confirmation. During our stay I became a breast pumping machine. It was the only thing I could do on my own to help. I was immobilized from the C section and I felt so very hopeless that pumping was the one thing that gave me some satisfaction. LO had a significant tongue tie so latching proved impossible. My partner bonded with the baby immediately - he did the bulk of her care while in the NICU. For me, however, it took time. It's hard to admit but if I'm being honest it took me a few weeks to really fall in love and bond with her. I think part of it was the delivery and because I wasn't physically able to do the bulk of her care in the NICU. Also, I was in a grieving period. I was grieving the labor experience I hoped for and I was grieving the child I thought I was going to have.
After 5 incredibly long yet miraculous days we were both discharged together. We had a long list of follow up appointments but we didn't care. We were going home and it was a beautiful day. We laugh/cried the whole way home.
Close friends and both of our parents were there when we arrived home with an overwhelming amount of food. We were grateful. But also, hearing the excitement from others was really difficult for a long time. It took awhile for us to appreciate being congratulated. It felt like a stab every time.
That first week we had a number of doctors appointments. When she went to get her tongue tie snipped, her ENT discovered that she didn't have ear canals. Her external ear was fully formed but her middle ear was a closed pit. There were a lot of tears that day. It was the first time something was decidedly "wrong" and it was the first time there was a strong hint towards a genetic issue.
I don't remember the sequence of events and diagnoses - it was an emotional whirlwind. We learned that she has two chromosomal deletions of which the symptoms and severity vary greatly and we won't know the full extent of her disabilities for years. She does have conductive hearing loss (though I generally say she's deaf because its true and its a little easier to explain) and will be receiving a bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA). We're also invested in learning ASL so that she will have access to both spoken and signed language. She has strabismus (lazy eye) and ptosis (droopy eye) as well as craniosynostosis. She will be undergoing intense skull surgery later this year. Despite all of this she is thriving.
During the early weeks of postpartum I was not well. My partner had no time off and my family, while good intentioned, didn't really know how to talk about or meaningfully support a special needs child. It became clear that I needed some medical intervention so I enrolled in intensive therapy and began taking SSRIs. It may have saved our lives. I was not well and I knew it. I was struggling to bond and I was so devastated by her health outlook on top of all the normal lack of sleep, breast pumping stress, and lack of familial support that I needed to actively make a change. I did and I'm glad for it. I'm in a much better place now!
The love and joy I feel towards my child is unbelievable. People say that children bring joy to your life and it's really true. I love her with my whole heart. I am and will probably always be saddened by some of the trials she will be forced to endure in this world - her life will not be easy. But I am so committed to being at her side every step of the way. I love her totally and completely. Its hard to explain in words the depth of love I have for her. She's not what we imagined but no child ever is. Prior to her being born we always said we'd love and support her no matter who she became and that remains the case.

5-9/175 Non smoker, very healthy up until a non-related afib issue, low dose metoprolol, ventolin, vimovo. Canada. Shortage of family doctors here, so I don't have one. I kind of have to do my own investigation, and prompt the clinic doctor or wait until it's bad enough to go to emerg.
About 2 months ago, I started having notable left ankle pain, where I had previous tib/fib surgery and hardware. I had most of the hardware taken out in 2013 by the original surgeon (now retired) because the screws were coming out and causing irritation, but two screws remain as shown in the early xray below.
Older xray; https://i.imgur.com/atncCZy.jpg
My first thought was that there was a possibility that one of the two screws were backing out and irritating the posterior tibial tendon, but there seems to be more going on.
There is no swelling or redness, but tendon is extremely sore to touch under the tib, and lifting the foot or turning the ankle in.
If it were just the one area, that might be easier, but the other issue that cropped up, is that overnight or even just sitting, the ankle stiffens significantly and is extremely painful to walk on, like all the joints on the top/mid ankle have frozen and become inflamed.
Almost like being arthritic, but strange that it would come on suddenly, and does not seem like the tendon pain would accompany that.
For 10 mins each morning I do slow up down ROM flexes with that ankle so I can get up and walk when I get out of bed, with less pain.
I've fallen down a bunch of times at work, so have to be cautious in areas that require balance, and am definitely cautious going down stairs. The consequences of not paying attention earlier landed me with significant falls and bruises all over my right lower leg, which took the brunt of my impacts. This is very unusual for me as I am active and very fit for my age.
Our medical system is such that the clinic doctor told me to try and track down the surgeon (who is retired since) So I am at a point where I have to try and gather as much info to try and figure out what potentially is going on.

English is my second language, my apologies if anything sounds off.
I (29F), as a child (between the ages of 8 and 12), used to experience what I’d call “hallucinatory states of trance”, and I’m still trying to figure out what the hell they actually were.
It could happen multiple times a day. It would always go like this : I started feeling a heavy sensation in my sinuses, close to what it feels to breathe in some water when you get thrown in a pool, but not as intense. Then immediately after, I’d get into this second state or daze, where all my senses were numbed. I literally felt disassociated from my body and I could say things to people around me without wanting to, as if someone else was taking command of my body and mind. If I was standing, I needed to get a grip or sit down or else I would fall down. At that stage, I would start to see all sorts of weird shit in my head, it was like someone was playing movies on a screen inside of my mind and forced me to watch them. Needless to say the images/movies made absolutely no sense, kind of like very absurd dreams, if you will. All of this could last up to (I think) one minute, from my point of view anyway.
I remember that one time very clearly, as it was my most intense episode. I was at my graduation party in 6th grade (around 11 years old where I live) and I started to feel that heaviness in my sinuses so I rushed to the bathroom. I sat down in a stall and I saw a bright red sky, a giant sun, and a little blonde girl with pigtails running along a very wavy white fence. Even as I am remembering this episode I’m getting a bit of a headache.
Following this incident, the episodes then gradually got shorter and less intense, until I only faintly felt, from time to time, remnants of the heavy sinus feeling. I can still vaguely feel it sometimes, for a fleeting second.
I told my doctor about it one day and she had no clue what it was. Nobody else I’ve spoken to experienced anything like this either.
I have no preexisting medical condition. There is a bit of a mental health history on my mother’s side (bipolar disorder and depression), but nothing else I can think of.
Any idea, theory or explanation would be greatly appreciated, otherwise this will remain a mystery.

Sometime last month, my mom (age 47) went to a dermatologist to get one of the small lumps examined under her skin. The doctor didn’t think it was cancerous, but she wanted to get an extracted to rule it out. During the extraction, she said that the mass was red throughout which caught her by surprise.
My mom says that they haven’t grown in size and has had them for a while now, but she has been growing more of them, all same size with definite edges. Hard to the touch, painless and non movable. Can’t provide any photos since my mom is horrible looking at anything medical and nearly passed out in panic when having it removed.
My mom’s been uneasy since she can’t find anything online that matches its description. I know she’ll get the answer eventually, but I want her to know at least some idea as to what it may be.
Thanks, and sorry if it’s not allowed to post on others behalf. Nothing says so in the rules

Just before the pandemic, one day I started growing one of my nails in one hand, almost as a game. I decided then that I would like to see how it looked with some polish. I bought one dark red polish and a remover to try with one nail and make sure that everything could be cleaned after playing for a little while. I loved it, and the same first day I decided to paint all the rest of the fingers in that hand, and immediately the other hand too. It was a point of no return. I started buying then all type of colors, light and dark, in red/blue/green/yellow/purple/black or white, brilliant and mate top coats, metallic and holographic, plain or glossy. Every day I wanted to try something else new. After that it came trying other things, rings and bracelets, gloves, shaving the legs for hoses of all kinds, a lot of women clothes, leggings, lingerie, high heel shoes, and even false breasts and wigs. I enjoy now home working everyday dressed up whenever I can, or keeping my nails polished as much time as possible. I started going out with my hands painted to do some errands, shopping or medical visits, at the beginning edit just brilliant top coat, today in nude colors. It all started with one single nail that I decided to grow. Sometimes I wonder, what could be next?

A multi-level issue here and I don’t even know how to explain it all without a novel. I will TRY to keep it short. I just feel like I am getting zero wins, I leave work happy and come into a home that drags the joy out of me. I used to be a healthy balance of optimistic & realist, feet on the ground kind of guy. Now I find myself quick to anger, short bandwidth at work, and just all around more negative. I am at the end of my rope here and I am miserable. A man shouldn’t seek to be blissfully happy but he should seek to not be miserable.
I’m 36 (M), she’s 33 (F). Two SK’s 13 and 12. We have a beautiful son together who is incredible and perfect! But he and I are in a bad situation thanks to some poor decisions I’ve made. Or maybe I got duped I don’t know.
Met in Feb 2020, Married Nov 2021. I’ve always been picky and never met anyone good. She checked all the boxes. Aligned values, health, humor, she has hobbies, she had work ethic, wasn’t self obsessed, etc. She looked at me and listened to me like no one ever had. We’re both fit and she is gorgeous. It all felt right and great!
Didn’t meet her kids for 4 months, was weary about it but we felt like such a great match for each other that I wanted to try. The time spent with them of course was sparse since she usually came to spend time with me when they were at their bio dads. They were respectful and well behaved, very fun, when the time was spent. Anytime I went to their house it was spotless clean. Before we got married there were some red flags I chose to justify…she bit my head off a few times for stupid things. Kids were bad. Just some subtle clues. It’s hard to gauge the reality in those moments.
We get pregnant Feb 2022, planned. Things are still alright but this was the month some of the truth started coming out, honeymoon phase ends too soon. Kids become extremely messy, do the opposite of what their told, hyper desperate attempts for attention, interrupting, breaking things around the house, sneaking food not for them in their room, just suddenly all at once changing. This is BEFORE they found out we were pregnant (we waited 3 months to tell them which would be late April 2022). So I started worrying what was ahead but remained optimistic.
I make a very good amount of money, 7 figures some years. Which I never really brought up in a bragging manner, this wasn’t a sugar mama situation. I had a beautiful loft and nice things, but I don’t think any of them know the extent of the work I’ve accomplished. I own 2 e-commerce businesses and as of the last few years buy / sell commercial real estate. Her kids started asking for more and more things, demanding, expecting. Pitching fits when they don’t get them (I have to assume their dad is in their ear on some of this…). I bought us a beautiful home to live in…they weren’t living large when I met them.
Bio dad was invisible until March 2022 (she left him btw). The oldest brought us all these issues that were going on at her dads, which my wife reacted to by calling him and shouting (which seemed justified at the time). It started a complete war, he was constantly changing the rules and just creating chaos. Met a woman from Iraq who lived here for 20+ years but wanted to bring them to Iraq for their wedding. Ended up in court again. I PAID FOR IT ALL BECAUSE I WAS PRESSURED AND HAD NO CHOICE. She / we lost and they went to Iraq. They came back fine but all that damage was done. And then entire year of 2022, when it’s supposed to be a beautiful time of my first child, most days its 30-50% about the bio dad and all the conflict and chaos. That pure time was taken from me, from us. I don’t want to be selfish but I feel I am in last place.
TURNS OUT SD12 lied about everything that he was doing toxic or bad she got an iPhone on her bday and we read her texts where it all caved in. We confronted she admitted. Fast forward now we learned she is a compulsive liar and almost everything she says or does is a lie in effect. She is matching all the traits for antisocial personality disorder. She made up a SLEW of things about me (saying I screamed at her and verbally abuse her) to her dad and my mother in law. ALL untrue but it’s given me even more battles and riffs for my wife and I, her parents treat me differently now. Bio dad never mentioned it…I have to wonder if he knows it’s untrue and just rolls his eyes.
SD11 is a whole mess. I am not exaggerating the only things she speaks are bragging, whining, or being MEAN as hell…almost always interrupting and won’t stop talking even if she’s being fussed at for it. EVERYTHING she does is for attention even negative. She falls on purpose, she breaks things on purpose, she is ALWAYS sick, always coughing, she laughs overly hard at things that aren’t funny (no she’s not autistic). Even when you give her tons of attention for two weeks the well just gets deeper and then she needs MORE. It’s like a drug to her, completely untamable situation. She’s also very overweight, and knows how to get away with over eating. Yes it’s sad she’s doing it but I have no control so now I am venting on reddit about it. She eats very slow and gets 2nds 3rds 4ths over the course of 1.5 hours. She asks for dessert every night, the answer is NO, she asks again 5m later, NO, and the 3rd one another 5m later YES. If the answer continues to be no, she will wait until we’re asleep and sneak it upstairs. I have caught her in the act and told my wife, she blew it off. I counted her calories…she’s 4.5 feet tall and will regularly eat 3,500+ calories then whine all night about her stomach. She shits her pants at school, she does not have a medical condition we checked. Wife is aware and says “poor girl” because she’s very large but will only create solutions temporarily.
Bio dad is a pretty standard charismatic narcissist. Is nice, creates issues but acts like the other person is the irrational one, refuses to see his fault in the matter, doubles down, etc. He has no boundaries and knocked on our door and would walk in. I would have to tell him let’s go back outside. Eventually yelling at him and telling him to never do it again. One time during the Iraq chaos I come home to them yelling at each other in the yard and had to run up and tell everyone to shut up. Told my wife to go inside and followed her in. Then he left.
She then started a fight saying I should support her more, no one sees what she’s been through with him, etc etc. I felt like I was just a punching bag for her anger which is fine sometimes. She’d probably apologize later. I just nod and agree, wait some time then hug her…she says “I don’t know what the hell you’re doing…” then we don’t talk for 3 days. Completely stone walled. He says things to get under her skin, and gets the anger and reaction he wants (Narcissistic). When I tell her to approach it differently to get the result she wants, after some back and forth it ends in a fight. She says I don’t support her and I don’t understand what she’s been through and how hard it is.
I start bringing up issues about her kids, or the amount of time spent talking about their bio dad, in a calm and productive manner (I extensively researched how to positively communicate with an emotional wife, and either way was raised with good comm skills). Within minutes it’s “You don’t know shit about raising kids” and “You’re so mean and abusive”. As I try to de-escalate she finds anything and everything to latch onto that’s better…very standard crap like “OH so I’m derailing now…NO YOU’RE JUST NOT GETTING IT”.
No matter how big or how small the issue is, it turns into a massive blow out, she pulls out the most hurtful big guns she can think of. Issue is never resolved or communicated. I am stonewalled for 1 to 7 days. I never lose my cool and always think about the things I am going to say. It’s literally impossible to put my foot down calmly, irrationally, sweetly, anything. Because no matter what she plays mental gymnastics and as I am trying to de-escalate and get back on topic, while taking pretty hurtful blows, a door will be slammed and it’s all over. She finds a way to blame me and move on.
For the record I never bring up my money contribution to the matter, she quit work a few months before having our son, and hasn’t worked since. Which I prefer because she doesn’t have to and being a mom is a full time job and she has many side hustles on Etsy to keep her true to herself and centered (or so I think). This means I pay for A LOT of the SK’s stuff and with my situation the last 2 years I am really beginning to resent EVERYONE involved. I get no thanks, no appreciation. In fact during fights, despite never bringing up money, which has been a MASSIVE value adder for all of their lives, my wife tells me she doesn’t need any of it and it means nothing to her. WELL YOU ALL REALLY APPRECIATE THE SPOILS OF IT ALL. Even though I worked 12-14 hour days for 10 years to get where I am at, no handouts, it’s all devalued as a contribution to the marriage and written off. Sad.
After being stonewalled she will eventually hug me and say I don’t want to fight with you, I love you. And I will say me either, we don’t have to, I just want to work this out and we’ll be happier for it. I get either “I love you, I would never cause you problems or hurt you!” Or “I just want to enjoy our night / weekend whatever time it is together.” It’s never the right time. A lot of avoidance or kicking the can down the road. Then she is really sweet and great for 3-4 weeks, then it slowly goes back to biting my head off and getting a tone. I stay silent to keep the peace for a few weeks then I can’t take it anymore so I stand up for myself and stand my ground. Same thing happens over again.
Oh we went on a great lavish vacation early 2022, after the first one that was a nightmare…I was pressured into one more. And then I said no more for 3 years. Which turned into a massive MASSIVE fight with her telling me to move out at the end, then after a few days trying to act like that didn’t happen. Now I am being pressured into buying a new home since we outgrew ours.
So I am dealing with a marriage of very poor communication, AND I have the LEAST interesting kids ever (sorry but its true), they have zero skills, cannot have a conversation to save their life (all they do is ask me how my day was and when I answer with a sentence or more they just stare at me), no manners, no obedience, but they both act so sweet and cordial when I enter the home, and they immediately say sorry when we get onto them, but then they go right back to doing it. They lie, they fake things for attention, they can’t even walk behind us without bumping into us. Some of these things you’d expect from a 5 or 6 year old but now 10+. They are just really showing non pro-social behaviors and even seeing their friends leave them in the dust. And from the moment we had our son, I dislike them more...
My wife’s parenting style is a little reactive at times. She yells at them but doesn’t seem to understand root causes and how to go upstream to solve. She expects greatness but doesn’t know how to put in the time (their dad is a bigger issue). Her mom was really mean and toxic toward her growing up so with that it’s she really understand how to give and accept love or communicate calmly. Wife says all the time she doesn’t like the two girls, and how bad they are, and how hard she tries but no matter what they're awful. So she sees it. And when I try to make suggestions shes avoidant or it ends up in a fight. She’s an INCREDIBLE super mom to our son though. Which is great…
I realize this group is mostly women, and they will say her behavior is pre or post pregnancy. It’s not...there were watered down / held back situations that happened before all that. I even was considering leaving then we got pregnant. Yes it was planned but you can hold onto hope and have reality slapping you in the face at the same time.
Okay so it was a novel sorry. I am sad to think of leaving the marriage because we have an 8 month old who deserves better than this…I feel like I am putting in so much work into the marriage. I am reading books. I am in therapy myself which I have never done. I look at myself to see if I am the problem. I brought SO MUCH love and yes, financial value, to the relationship. I am getting none of that in return. She is keeping me on the line with temporary conditional love and wild sex that all gives me hope, I have always been above that but here I am. I feel like the root cause of my wife’s problems are solvable in time, but the step kids I dont know if I can do that any longer. It's just a tornado and theres been no growth. Thanks to those who read this much, I know it was chaotic.

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Chapter 27 - I Guess a Bathhouse Episode was Inevitable
Last Time: Having attained at least some measure or personal safety, the party recovered from their wounds in a forest clearing. Aiden awoke from his nightmare-troubled sleep to see everyone waiting. They had found a fortuitous ally in the form of Alex, a teamster who had happened upon them during their flight from Tripit, though they were away retrieving the party’s belongings. The day passed peacefully enough, and good news was had when Oxcard awoke from his sleep. In the relative quiet, plans were made for what the party would do going forward. Aiden, Laran, Leor, and Oriwyn would follow Arcadia and Oxcard as they made their way to Diareen, a distant trade city. In addition to following them, Aiden made Arcadia and Oxcard the offer to join their party. The two siblings deferred their answer but acquiesced to the party joining them on their trip, and thus it was that they set travel that night at a much more leisurely pace than they had been forced to take the night before.
We had been traveling for about three days. During the first, all of us had been jumpy. Many small clumps of people lined the roads that led from Tripit, little communities that arose in order to be near Tripit or which persisted despite the meteoric growth of their larger neighbor. Any time someone glanced over at us, I felt like they were going to report our whereabouts to Daisy and we would need to flee into the darkness. Luckily, however, there were no incidents and we began to be able to fully relax.
Oxcard was making a good recovery. He still rode in the cart more often than not, with Oriwyn often joining him to minister to his wounds as best she could. It quickly became apparent that he knew more about treating injuries than Oriwyn, so her attempts quickly turned into lessons. Arcadia normally walked nearby, chatting pleasantly with Oxcard whenever he otherwise didn’t have anything to do - I had noticed she didn’t talk to the rest of the party as much, but given the circumstances I figured that her joy at saving Ox merited a little bit of single-minded focus.
It felt strange to lead the group with nothing really going on. We had too many injuries to really try to train, and we wanted to spend as much time as we could traveling to put some distance behind us just in case someone was following, so we barely acted like an adventuring party. In general, it felt more like we were a group of backpackers who had run into each other and decided to stick together rather than an adventuring party on a quest for future glory.
All in all, I couldn’t say I really minded it.
In the quiet times after we’d made camp but before I fell asleep, I would occasionally check Lorna’s pocket mirror. The first time I did, I was unsurprised to learn we had all leveled up - I was level six, Laran and Leor were level seven, Oriwyn was level eight, Arcadia was level five, and Oxcard was level six. In addition to that, I had increased in bond with everybody. After such a harrowing venture, it felt right.
About midway through the third day of travel, Alex called out to us all, suddenly excited.
“I thought this looked familiar! See the weird tree that looks like it was hit by lightning? And that pile of boulders over there that kind of looks like a bunny? If we take the side road we’ll find in about ten minutes, then we’ll get to YaDa’s!”
I had no idea what Alex was talking about, so I shot a look around to the rest of the party. They seemed equally as mystified, so I decided to take one for the team.
“Uh, YaDa’s? What is that?”
Alex slapped a hand to their heart as if they’d been offended.
“You don’t know of YaDa’s? It's the finest combination inn, general store, and bathhouse in all of Tal!”
I snorted with laughter at Alex’s mock indignation. The place certainly sounded interesting - even after only three days on the road, I could do with an inn, a general store, and a bathhouse. If they all happened to be in the same building, then that was all the better for it. I did have one question though.
“I think we’re interested, assuming it won’t cause us too much delay. That being said, why is someone trying to run a business out in the middle of nowhere? Sure we’re not too far from Tripit and we’re on a decently large road, but I can’t imagine that enough people pass through to make it fully worth their while.”
Alex just shrugged and smiled.
“The owners seem to do just fine for themselves! Maybe it’s because they tend to get a lot of repeat customers. I’m not the only one who looks forward to my path taking me by YaDa’s - in fact, I stop pretty much every time I’m going to or from Tripit!”
I nodded along as Alex continued to ramble about some of the amenities of YaDa’s. Everyone else seemed interested too, so it wasn’t much of a decision to declare we would stop in and rest the remainder of the day. Everyone’s mood got an immediate boost and we all moved faster - even the pack animals pulling the cart seemed excited. Soon enough we found a simple wooden sign next to a side road, which Alex directed us down.
The sign had three pictograms on it - a coin purse, a plate of food, and a steaming bath. As I looked at them, my brain started to work out what order I wanted to do the actions they represented in.
Oriwyn’s eyes were bright and wide open as we came down the path. Already, a building could be seen in the distance. It was large for how little else stood near it - a big, blocky building that matched what I thought an inn should look like was flanked by a smaller, blocky building and a large geodesic dome. I blinked a few times, startled by the shape. It looked like triangular panes of glass rested on a wooden substructure, making a shape that I always associated with retrofuturism. Leor looked interested too - maybe she had some interest in architecture?
As we approached, Alex rumbled their wagon to a halt.
“You six - sorry Brams, seven - go ahead and run in ahead of me. I have an understanding with the owners so I’m going to hitch Peggy and Gary up in the stables before I try to get settled. Someone should be working the front desk - introduce yourself, they’re friendly!”
We thanked Alex for their insight and made our way into the building. We entered into a slightly small space - it wasn’t cramped, but it definitely felt small for what I associated with the entryway for an inn. A few plush chairs were arranged around a fireplace on one wall and a desk stood at the far end. It was currently unoccupied, but I saw a small hanging bell and a hammer on an iron stand on the desk. Shrugging, I took point and walked up to the desk. I glanced around but couldn’t see anyone, so I picked up the hammer and tapped the bell. The resulting noise was surprisingly loud and the answer was almost instant.
“So sorry! Be with you in a second!” came a deep but feminine sounding voice. Sure enough, after a short time had passed, a door opened and a woman stepped through.
To call the woman tall felt almost like an understatement. It seemed like she needed to duck under the doorframe - my best guess is that she was six foot eight or taller. She was built in a way that suggested the Ghost of Christmas Present to me - red hair and all - and when she walked behind the desk it looked comically small before her. She appeared to be human, but I wondered if giants were a thing in Tal - if they were, she definitely looked the part.
“Welcome to YaDa’s!” she said, smiling brightly. She swept a hand up to herself by way of introduction. “My name is Ya, and Da is around elsewhere, and together we run YaDa’s! I don’t think I recognize you - is this your first time?”
Leor was the one who stepped up to answer, which surprised me. I shifted back a little to let her take point.
“Yes, this is our first time, though you came highly recommended by our associate Alex. I believe they should be joining us soon!”
Ya beamed behind the desk.
“Oh! Alex is a good sort - glad to see them back! Their favorite room is even open right now - unless they’d be staying with you?”
“We hadn’t discussed how we would be doing lodging arrangements, but I assume Alex may want some peace and quiet after having us unexpectedly tail along for a few days. What sort of accommodations are there?”
Ya ran a quick count on our number. “For six? We have suites that can take six, or you could do three rooms of two. Honestly, it’s cheaper if you’re all together, and we have a harder time filling the big rooms anyway.
It was at that moment that Brams began to try to scale Ya’s desk. With a scrabbling sound and some snorting, he made his presence known. Ya looked down, looked a little surprised, then reached over the desk and held out her arms. Brams gladly stopped scrabbling and flopped into the proffered embrace, so Ya lifted him and placed him on the desk.
“My my, aren’t you a strange one, little creature! Can’t say I’ve seen your like before…”
Brams made a snorting sound that seemed almost indignant and shook himself. His tail wiggled with the end of the shake, then he sat and stared up at Ya. There was a moment’s silence and Brams looked very intent - all of us leaned in a little, as it seemed like Brams was about to do something. A violent sneeze burst from his muzzle, making us all jump, and the moment was over. Ya smiled at him and tousled the hair on top of his head with her huge hands.
“Well, sorry for not including you in the count. I’m sure that the room will fit seven, though you may need to squeeze a little. Follow me!”
With that, Ya pulled a bulky key from a pocket in her pants. She bent down and unlocked a drawer in the desk, withdrawing a smaller key. As she handed it to Leor, she gave her some instructions.
“Now this key is enchanted. After we’ve opened your door, you’ll have ten minutes to make as many copies as you’ll need. Just take the key, leave it on an open spot of the table, and make sure nobody looks at it for about a minute. When you look back, there’ll be a second key on the table. Take the key and give it to someone - have them put it out of sight - and repeat it until you have what you need! When you’re done, stroke the first key and tell it thanks and it’ll stop duplicating itself.”
I chuckled - hotel key cards had nothing on what I’d just seen. Sure the whole system seemed a little convoluted, and there was a part of me that wanted to keep summoning keys for a few hours just to see how many I could make, but it still felt really cool. In a way, it felt like proper magic, like in a fairy tale.
It was amazing how quickly parts of Tal had become passé to me. I figured since I’d been living in Tal for a while, it was natural that I'd done my best to try and fit in, which would explain how I so quickly became inured to the magical wonders of the world. After all, it seemed like my life was going to continue on as it had been for the foreseeable future. Still, sometimes something small would hit me over the head with a sudden feeling that I was somewhere different from Earth.
Over time, that feeling had been less and less negative.
We followed Ya as she led us to our room. She had to slow a little, as Arcadia made it a point to walk in front of Oxcard and walk slowly so he wouldn’t try to keep up with the tall woman and possibly re-open his wounds. Despite the delay however, we made it to our rooms fine before too awful long.
Our lodgings were simple but spacious. Beds lined two of the walls, creating a corner for sleeping that stood opposed to a clear space with some tables, chairs, and what appeared to be a simple wood-fired stove. A stack of small firewood sat in a basket and thick quilts covered the bed, and overall the whole place gave off a very cozy feeling.
We wasted no time in thanking Ya and starting to get settled in. Arcadia, Oxcard, and Oriwyn took the three beds on one wall while Leor, Laran, and I took the remaining. Leor busied herself making keys, though had some trouble because Oriwyn kept trying to sneak a peek of the key when it split, causing the magic to not work. Eventually though, each of us had a copy - we even made a copy for Brams and tied it around his neck loosely with a piece of ribbon, figuring that it would be a good backup. Leor had an odd look on her face when she began to stroke the key and tell it thank you, which got the rest of us laughing. The key shivered in her hand and let out a contented sigh, which made Leor drop it. Oxcard started laughing so hard that he doubled over in pain, but there was no damage done and the mood stayed high. I decided I should address everyone and come up with something of a game plan.
“Well everyone, it looks like we have some R and R time on our hands! What do people want to do?”
What followed was a pleasantly lively discussion. Arcadia, Laran, and I really wanted to see about the bathhouse side of things, while Oriwyn and Leor argued that they were hungry. Oxcard stayed quiet for most of the deliberation, offering noncommittal answers if ever directly asked about anything, which I found a little strange but which I didn’t press on. The whole time, Brams ran laps around the room, flapping his wings as he jumped from bed to bed. I noticed he seemed to be getting just the littlest bit of a glide going as he leapt over the longer stretches - I would bring that up with Ori later. It also seemed like a positive development that the movement didn’t cause him pain, despite the healing scar on his wing.
Eventually, a plan was settled on. We would go to the general store to see if they had bathing clothes and something to eat. If they did, we would make our purchases then head to the bathhouse, which we assumed was the glass-encased dome structure. If we couldn’t find something that worked as a snack, we agreed we would get a proper meal before swimming. Our plan solidified, Oriwyn calmed Brams down enough so that he stopped running laps of the room, and we headed back to the front.
When we got to the store, we found someone we hadn’t seen before. By the look of her, she seemed to be Ya’s daughter - she hadn’t inherited her mother’s prodigious height entirely, but still stood roughly six feet tall. As we all walked in, she perked up immediately.
“Hello! My name is Yada, and I run the general store here! Have you ever visited one of our shops?”
So many things hit me at once I had trouble figuring out what to focus on first. The first thing I came to grips with was that this person’s name was likely a combination of her parents’ - it wasn’t that hard to imagine, but it still felt weird. The second was that there were multiple shops. Obviously the concept of a chain of stores wasn’t foreign to me, but they were a concept I thought I had left behind with Earth. Curiosity overtook me, so I decided to press for a little more information.
“No I can’t say I have - where are they?”
Yada puffed up behind the desk and looked proud of herself.
“Oh they’re around! Pick three out of the four cardinal directions from Tripit, and there you’ll find a branch of Yada’s General store. My siblings - Yadayada and Yadayadayada - run those two stores, but I was the one who started the whole thing and got this shop made! Mom and Dad really mostly care about the hospitality part of things, so I was free to make the business as I wanted it.”
Leor snorted and bluntly asked Yada a question that I had to admit had occurred to me too.
“Yada, Yadayada, and Yadayadayada? Good thing your parents didn’t have more kids or that would get unwieldy. Are they not very creative people?”
I may have phrased things a little more delicately, but I was still curious of the answer. Luckily Yada laughed it off and didn’t seem to take any offense.
“No, they’re good hosts but not the most imaginative when it comes to naming. We always joked it made it easy for people to remember who was the oldest - take the number of syllables and divide by two!”
Leor just raised her eyebrows but Arcadia burst out laughing. I don’t think I’d heard her laugh like that before. Oriwyn looked at her and slowly began to chuckle along, slowly crescendoing to full-blown laughter as well. I managed to keep a straight face until I glanced over at Laran, who looked utterly mystified. Ox was smiling - the first time I’d seen him do so in the short and intense time since I’d met him - and even Leor was giving a disdainful look, which was tantamount to a grin from her. When everyone calmed down, we thanked Yada for the introduction and got to the business of shopping.
There were sandwiches wrapped up in little paper bags, which we all bought one or two of. Oriwyn, Leor, and Oxcard immediately wolfed theirs down while Laran, Arcadia, and I went to a small table set off to the side and had a more leisurely time of things. As we ate, the other three began to look at the wares of the shop.
Oriwyn immediately found little baubles and spent a good while combing through a small chest of brooches. While she was doing that, Oxcard went to some shelves that had what looked like medical supplies. He came up to Arcadia with an armful and asked for some money, which she hurriedly fished out and gave him. Finally, Leor seemed to be focused on a small collection of clothes. She held up a garment and wandered over to a mirror to see how she looked in it. It didn’t take me long to figure out it was some sort of bathing suit.
I was really, really thankful that Tal had the concept of bathing suits. Part of me had been quietly dreading the prospect of skinny-dipping with five people who were barely more than strangers to me. The fact there was some reasonable expectation we would all be clothed was a relief.
After we finished our sandwiches, we all went to look at the bathing wear. Yada wandered over and started talking about things, going over what was popular where and who had suggested certain styles. I did what I normally did and grabbed the first pair of anything that reasonably looked like it would fit me, and it seemed Oxcard did the same. Arcadia was the next to choose, then Leor. Laran and Oriwyn were debating extensively amongst themselves, going over minute differences in material and cut that I wouldn’t have even thought to look at, so we left them to it and told them to meet us in the bathhouse. They agreed, so we set off.
When we entered the glass dome that hosted the baths, I saw that I had been right. A wooden frame created triangular ledges that held up glass panes. Some of them seemed to be missing from strategic places, creating a cross breeze. Still, the glass held in a large amount of steamy air, and we quickly picked out a large pool to claim as our own. There were only two other bathers, and they were off in a much smaller pool off to the side, so we had plenty of choice. We saw some booths off to the side and went to get changed.
As we gathered by the pool, my head idly studied what bathing suits we’d all chosen. I had gone with what was familiar - a pair of baggy trunks that had a cinch at the waist so they wouldn’t fall down. They didn’t have the weird inner netting that I was used to in place of underwear, which felt a bit strange and loose, but otherwise they were comfortable enough. Oxcard seemed to have chosen much the same as me, but where mine were dyed a green color, his seemed to be wholly undyed. I wondered if they had been the cheapest pair available - that might track with what little I knew about him and Arcadia.
Speaking of, Arcadia was wearing what looked like a sports bra and spanks. I’m sure there were women back home who would have killed for her sporty build, though given her life I’m sure she hadn’t come by it in a way that was in any way pleasant. The last to emerge was Leor, and I had to stop myself from laughing. She looked like a candy cane, wearing a red and white striped one-piece bathing suit that made me think of the old-timey Victorian bathing suits I saw guys wearing in movies and read about in history books. The lower part nearly came down to her knees, and given her beard and candy-cane coloring I got the impression of one of Santa’s elves on holiday. The mental image was doubly funny given that Leor was very definitely a dwarf, but I managed to hold myself together regardless.
We all slipped into the water - it was warm and inviting - and had just started to chat when we heard the bathhouse door open. We waved at Oriwyn and Laran as they entered, and they quickly went and got changed in the hutches we had vacated. It was with some curiosity that I watched for them to exit.
Oriwyn wore a loose, draped garment that seemed to be gathered at specific places to preserve her modesty - it looked vaguely Greek to me. I only had a few seconds to observe the cut though, because she immediately took a running start and jumped towards the deepest part of the pool. Brams immediately followed, offering a secondary splash nearly as large as Oriwyn’s as he splashed down. He began to paddle around the pool happily, having tucked his wings up and out of the way, while Oriwyn surfaced, shooting a cheesy grin at Leor - who she had splashed severely with her entrance - and took a place along the ledge at the edge.
When Laran came out, my face turned a little red. Now I wasn’t a prude, and over the years I had seen several men in very, very revealing swimsuits, but Laran’s suit was drawing my eyes in a way that I felt like they hadn’t been drawn since I was going through puberty. He wore what appeared to be folded fabric instead of trunks like Oxcard and I had found - some distant memory thought it looked vaguely Roman in Earth terms. It was a dark burgundy and not even that revealing, but something about seeing him in it brought back the bashfulness I had experienced when he’d run around the edge of the house shirtless the first time I met him. He seemed to be thinking the same way as I saw his cheeks darkened, but ignored his self-consciousness and walked over without comment to join us in the pool.
We all relaxed in the warm water, trading the occasional bits of small talk. After a while Alex walked in and we waved, but they seemed bent on going to a particular pool on the opposite side of the room. After a while of discussing nothing important, Arcadia cleared her throat to get our attention.
“Excuse me? I don’t want to be too formal or anything, but Ox and I have been talking about your offer and I figured we should share what we decided.”
My heart nearly froze in my chest. My curiosity on if they’d join us had been burning away at me for the whole trip so far, and it seemed like it was going to be answered. Of course we would survive without them, but with what all we’d been through I very much wanted them to accept. Also, part of me wondered if I felt that way because their refusal would mean our group wasn’t worth joining. I tried to push the sudden jumble of emotions down and focus on what she was saying.
“We talked it over and decided we’ll join you. I didn’t have a much better plan long term, and you’ve already proved you’re trustworthy. So, assuming you’ll still have us, we’d like to join.”
Arcadia looked a little nervous while Ox remained hard to read. I felt a sudden soaring in my heart, but Oriwyn beat me to accepting the offer.
“Yes! Of course! We never rescinded the offer after all, plus we work well together!”
Arcadia looked pleased, and I thought I saw the ghost of a smile on Oxcard’s face. Leor smiled too, while Laran suddenly shot to his feet.
“This calls for a proper celebration! Wait ‘ere!”
With that, he got out of the pool and raced off. In short order, he returned with two wine bottles and a few glasses. He eagerly began passing them out, Leor enthusiastically helping get things uncorked and poured. When we all had our glasses, Laran raised his in the air.
“A toast! To new allies an’ a new team! May we do well, do good, and do well for ourselves in so doin’!”
He said the words as if he’d heard them before - I wondered from whom for a moment but abandoned that train of thought quickly. Everyone readily agreed to his toast and raised their glasses, myself included, before taking hearty drinks of our wine. It was a sweet, almost citrusy flavor that bordered on too sweet for me, but its flavor cut through the steamy air of the bathhouse well. I enjoyed it and it seemed everyone else did too. As we lowered our glasses though, we all got quite a shock.
“Cheers! Now where’s my glass?”
The voice came from Brams, who was happily paddling in the center of the pool. Laran choked on his wine, shooting a little out of his nose. Leor just stopped and stared into her glass, looking for an explanation there. Oxcard and Arcadia looked at the rest of us, vaguely confused, but it was Oriwyn’s reaction I really wanted to see.
She sat on her ledge in the pool, a broad smile across her face. I could see a hint of surprise in her eyes, but still she flashed her smile to the rest of us.
“Why are you all acting so surprised? Did you think I was talking to Brams just for fun?”
Elsewhere: The captain of the river barge stood eagle-eyed at the front. It wasn’t like he needed to steer very much - just about anybody could control a riverboat when it was being pulled by horses on the bank - so his attention was much better spent keeping an eye out for threats. He looked to the side - the group of three mercenaries he had hired to accompany his boat and walk by the horses trotted along, weapons sheathed and chatting amicably. He couldn’t blame them really, given that they’d been going for a full day and a half since he’d picked them up without trouble. Still, he knew this stretch of the river and knew he should expect trouble. He scanned the gently rippling surface of the river again, a sudden feeling of discomfort settling over him. A disruption caught his eye, and he let out a cry. The bubbles that caused the disruption began to surface more violently, making the calm stream look like a pot of water at a roiling boil, and the captain cursed his luck. He’d been a fool to try and make his run when he did, but he felt like he’d had no choice. Now he was going to pay for that specific incautious decision - all he could hope was that he didn’t pay too dearly in either coin or life.
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Chapter 27 - I Guess a Bathhouse Episode was Inevitable
Last Time: Having attained at least some measure or personal safety, the party recovered from their wounds in a forest clearing. Aiden awoke from his nightmare-troubled sleep to see everyone waiting. They had found a fortuitous ally in the form of Alex, a teamster who had happened upon them during their flight from Tripit, though they were away retrieving the party’s belongings. The day passed peacefully enough, and good news was had when Oxcard awoke from his sleep. In the relative quiet, plans were made for what the party would do going forward. Aiden, Laran, Leor, and Oriwyn would follow Arcadia and Oxcard as they made their way to Diareen, a distant trade city. In addition to following them, Aiden made Arcadia and Oxcard the offer to join their party. The two siblings deferred their answer but acquiesced to the party joining them on their trip, and thus it was that they set travel that night at a much more leisurely pace than they had been forced to take the night before.
We had been traveling for about three days. During the first, all of us had been jumpy. Many small clumps of people lined the roads that led from Tripit, little communities that arose in order to be near Tripit or which persisted despite the meteoric growth of their larger neighbor. Any time someone glanced over at us, I felt like they were going to report our whereabouts to Daisy and we would need to flee into the darkness. Luckily, however, there were no incidents and we began to be able to fully relax.
Oxcard was making a good recovery. He still rode in the cart more often than not, with Oriwyn often joining him to minister to his wounds as best she could. It quickly became apparent that he knew more about treating injuries than Oriwyn, so her attempts quickly turned into lessons. Arcadia normally walked nearby, chatting pleasantly with Oxcard whenever he otherwise didn’t have anything to do - I had noticed she didn’t talk to the rest of the party as much, but given the circumstances I figured that her joy at saving Ox merited a little bit of single-minded focus.
It felt strange to lead the group with nothing really going on. We had too many injuries to really try to train, and we wanted to spend as much time as we could traveling to put some distance behind us just in case someone was following, so we barely acted like an adventuring party. In general, it felt more like we were a group of backpackers who had run into each other and decided to stick together rather than an adventuring party on a quest for future glory.
All in all, I couldn’t say I really minded it.
In the quiet times after we’d made camp but before I fell asleep, I would occasionally check Lorna’s pocket mirror. The first time I did, I was unsurprised to learn we had all leveled up - I was level six, Laran and Leor were level seven, Oriwyn was level eight, Arcadia was level five, and Oxcard was level six. In addition to that, I had increased in bond with everybody. After such a harrowing venture, it felt right.
About midway through the third day of travel, Alex called out to us all, suddenly excited.
“I thought this looked familiar! See the weird tree that looks like it was hit by lightning? And that pile of boulders over there that kind of looks like a bunny? If we take the side road we’ll find in about ten minutes, then we’ll get to YaDa’s!”
I had no idea what Alex was talking about, so I shot a look around to the rest of the party. They seemed equally as mystified, so I decided to take one for the team.
“Uh, YaDa’s? What is that?”
Alex slapped a hand to their heart as if they’d been offended.
“You don’t know of YaDa’s? It's the finest combination inn, general store, and bathhouse in all of Tal!”
I snorted with laughter at Alex’s mock indignation. The place certainly sounded interesting - even after only three days on the road, I could do with an inn, a general store, and a bathhouse. If they all happened to be in the same building, then that was all the better for it. I did have one question though.
“I think we’re interested, assuming it won’t cause us too much delay. That being said, why is someone trying to run a business out in the middle of nowhere? Sure we’re not too far from Tripit and we’re on a decently large road, but I can’t imagine that enough people pass through to make it fully worth their while.”
Alex just shrugged and smiled.
“The owners seem to do just fine for themselves! Maybe it’s because they tend to get a lot of repeat customers. I’m not the only one who looks forward to my path taking me by YaDa’s - in fact, I stop pretty much every time I’m going to or from Tripit!”
I nodded along as Alex continued to ramble about some of the amenities of YaDa’s. Everyone else seemed interested too, so it wasn’t much of a decision to declare we would stop in and rest the remainder of the day. Everyone’s mood got an immediate boost and we all moved faster - even the pack animals pulling the cart seemed excited. Soon enough we found a simple wooden sign next to a side road, which Alex directed us down.
The sign had three pictograms on it - a coin purse, a plate of food, and a steaming bath. As I looked at them, my brain started to work out what order I wanted to do the actions they represented in.
Oriwyn’s eyes were bright and wide open as we came down the path. Already, a building could be seen in the distance. It was large for how little else stood near it - a big, blocky building that matched what I thought an inn should look like was flanked by a smaller, blocky building and a large geodesic dome. I blinked a few times, startled by the shape. It looked like triangular panes of glass rested on a wooden substructure, making a shape that I always associated with retrofuturism. Leor looked interested too - maybe she had some interest in architecture?
As we approached, Alex rumbled their wagon to a halt.
“You six - sorry Brams, seven - go ahead and run in ahead of me. I have an understanding with the owners so I’m going to hitch Peggy and Gary up in the stables before I try to get settled. Someone should be working the front desk - introduce yourself, they’re friendly!”
We thanked Alex for their insight and made our way into the building. We entered into a slightly small space - it wasn’t cramped, but it definitely felt small for what I associated with the entryway for an inn. A few plush chairs were arranged around a fireplace on one wall and a desk stood at the far end. It was currently unoccupied, but I saw a small hanging bell and a hammer on an iron stand on the desk. Shrugging, I took point and walked up to the desk. I glanced around but couldn’t see anyone, so I picked up the hammer and tapped the bell. The resulting noise was surprisingly loud and the answer was almost instant.
“So sorry! Be with you in a second!” came a deep but feminine sounding voice. Sure enough, after a short time had passed, a door opened and a woman stepped through.
To call the woman tall felt almost like an understatement. It seemed like she needed to duck under the doorframe - my best guess is that she was six foot eight or taller. She was built in a way that suggested the Ghost of Christmas Present to me - red hair and all - and when she walked behind the desk it looked comically small before her. She appeared to be human, but I wondered if giants were a thing in Tal - if they were, she definitely looked the part.
“Welcome to YaDa’s!” she said, smiling brightly. She swept a hand up to herself by way of introduction. “My name is Ya, and Da is around elsewhere, and together we run YaDa’s! I don’t think I recognize you - is this your first time?”
Leor was the one who stepped up to answer, which surprised me. I shifted back a little to let her take point.
“Yes, this is our first time, though you came highly recommended by our associate Alex. I believe they should be joining us soon!”
Ya beamed behind the desk.
“Oh! Alex is a good sort - glad to see them back! Their favorite room is even open right now - unless they’d be staying with you?”
“We hadn’t discussed how we would be doing lodging arrangements, but I assume Alex may want some peace and quiet after having us unexpectedly tail along for a few days. What sort of accommodations are there?”
Ya ran a quick count on our number. “For six? We have suites that can take six, or you could do three rooms of two. Honestly, it’s cheaper if you’re all together, and we have a harder time filling the big rooms anyway.
It was at that moment that Brams began to try to scale Ya’s desk. With a scrabbling sound and some snorting, he made his presence known. Ya looked down, looked a little surprised, then reached over the desk and held out her arms. Brams gladly stopped scrabbling and flopped into the proffered embrace, so Ya lifted him and placed him on the desk.
“My my, aren’t you a strange one, little creature! Can’t say I’ve seen your like before…”
Brams made a snorting sound that seemed almost indignant and shook himself. His tail wiggled with the end of the shake, then he sat and stared up at Ya. There was a moment’s silence and Brams looked very intent - all of us leaned in a little, as it seemed like Brams was about to do something. A violent sneeze burst from his muzzle, making us all jump, and the moment was over. Ya smiled at him and tousled the hair on top of his head with her huge hands.
“Well, sorry for not including you in the count. I’m sure that the room will fit seven, though you may need to squeeze a little. Follow me!”
With that, Ya pulled a bulky key from a pocket in her pants. She bent down and unlocked a drawer in the desk, withdrawing a smaller key. As she handed it to Leor, she gave her some instructions.
“Now this key is enchanted. After we’ve opened your door, you’ll have ten minutes to make as many copies as you’ll need. Just take the key, leave it on an open spot of the table, and make sure nobody looks at it for about a minute. When you look back, there’ll be a second key on the table. Take the key and give it to someone - have them put it out of sight - and repeat it until you have what you need! When you’re done, stroke the first key and tell it thanks and it’ll stop duplicating itself.”
I chuckled - hotel key cards had nothing on what I’d just seen. Sure the whole system seemed a little convoluted, and there was a part of me that wanted to keep summoning keys for a few hours just to see how many I could make, but it still felt really cool. In a way, it felt like proper magic, like in a fairy tale.
It was amazing how quickly parts of Tal had become passé to me. I figured since I’d been living in Tal for a while, it was natural that I'd done my best to try and fit in, which would explain how I so quickly became inured to the magical wonders of the world. After all, it seemed like my life was going to continue on as it had been for the foreseeable future. Still, sometimes something small would hit me over the head with a sudden feeling that I was somewhere different from Earth.
Over time, that feeling had been less and less negative.
We followed Ya as she led us to our room. She had to slow a little, as Arcadia made it a point to walk in front of Oxcard and walk slowly so he wouldn’t try to keep up with the tall woman and possibly re-open his wounds. Despite the delay however, we made it to our rooms fine before too awful long.
Our lodgings were simple but spacious. Beds lined two of the walls, creating a corner for sleeping that stood opposed to a clear space with some tables, chairs, and what appeared to be a simple wood-fired stove. A stack of small firewood sat in a basket and thick quilts covered the bed, and overall the whole place gave off a very cozy feeling.
We wasted no time in thanking Ya and starting to get settled in. Arcadia, Oxcard, and Oriwyn took the three beds on one wall while Leor, Laran, and I took the remaining. Leor busied herself making keys, though had some trouble because Oriwyn kept trying to sneak a peek of the key when it split, causing the magic to not work. Eventually though, each of us had a copy - we even made a copy for Brams and tied it around his neck loosely with a piece of ribbon, figuring that it would be a good backup. Leor had an odd look on her face when she began to stroke the key and tell it thank you, which got the rest of us laughing. The key shivered in her hand and let out a contented sigh, which made Leor drop it. Oxcard started laughing so hard that he doubled over in pain, but there was no damage done and the mood stayed high. I decided I should address everyone and come up with something of a game plan.
“Well everyone, it looks like we have some R and R time on our hands! What do people want to do?”
What followed was a pleasantly lively discussion. Arcadia, Laran, and I really wanted to see about the bathhouse side of things, while Oriwyn and Leor argued that they were hungry. Oxcard stayed quiet for most of the deliberation, offering noncommittal answers if ever directly asked about anything, which I found a little strange but which I didn’t press on. The whole time, Brams ran laps around the room, flapping his wings as he jumped from bed to bed. I noticed he seemed to be getting just the littlest bit of a glide going as he leapt over the longer stretches - I would bring that up with Ori later. It also seemed like a positive development that the movement didn’t cause him pain, despite the healing scar on his wing.
Eventually, a plan was settled on. We would go to the general store to see if they had bathing clothes and something to eat. If they did, we would make our purchases then head to the bathhouse, which we assumed was the glass-encased dome structure. If we couldn’t find something that worked as a snack, we agreed we would get a proper meal before swimming. Our plan solidified, Oriwyn calmed Brams down enough so that he stopped running laps of the room, and we headed back to the front.
When we got to the store, we found someone we hadn’t seen before. By the look of her, she seemed to be Ya’s daughter - she hadn’t inherited her mother’s prodigious height entirely, but still stood roughly six feet tall. As we all walked in, she perked up immediately.
“Hello! My name is Yada, and I run the general store here! Have you ever visited one of our shops?”
So many things hit me at once I had trouble figuring out what to focus on first. The first thing I came to grips with was that this person’s name was likely a combination of her parents’ - it wasn’t that hard to imagine, but it still felt weird. The second was that there were multiple shops. Obviously the concept of a chain of stores wasn’t foreign to me, but they were a concept I thought I had left behind with Earth. Curiosity overtook me, so I decided to press for a little more information.
“No I can’t say I have - where are they?”
Yada puffed up behind the desk and looked proud of herself.
“Oh they’re around! Pick three out of the four cardinal directions from Tripit, and there you’ll find a branch of Yada’s General store. My siblings - Yadayada and Yadayadayada - run those two stores, but I was the one who started the whole thing and got this shop made! Mom and Dad really mostly care about the hospitality part of things, so I was free to make the business as I wanted it.”
Leor snorted and bluntly asked Yada a question that I had to admit had occurred to me too.
“Yada, Yadayada, and Yadayadayada? Good thing your parents didn’t have more kids or that would get unwieldy. Are they not very creative people?”
I may have phrased things a little more delicately, but I was still curious of the answer. Luckily Yada laughed it off and didn’t seem to take any offense.
“No, they’re good hosts but not the most imaginative when it comes to naming. We always joked it made it easy for people to remember who was the oldest - take the number of syllables and divide by two!”
Leor just raised her eyebrows but Arcadia burst out laughing. I don’t think I’d heard her laugh like that before. Oriwyn looked at her and slowly began to chuckle along, slowly crescendoing to full-blown laughter as well. I managed to keep a straight face until I glanced over at Laran, who looked utterly mystified. Ox was smiling - the first time I’d seen him do so in the short and intense time since I’d met him - and even Leor was giving a disdainful look, which was tantamount to a grin from her. When everyone calmed down, we thanked Yada for the introduction and got to the business of shopping.
There were sandwiches wrapped up in little paper bags, which we all bought one or two of. Oriwyn, Leor, and Oxcard immediately wolfed theirs down while Laran, Arcadia, and I went to a small table set off to the side and had a more leisurely time of things. As we ate, the other three began to look at the wares of the shop.
Oriwyn immediately found little baubles and spent a good while combing through a small chest of brooches. While she was doing that, Oxcard went to some shelves that had what looked like medical supplies. He came up to Arcadia with an armful and asked for some money, which she hurriedly fished out and gave him. Finally, Leor seemed to be focused on a small collection of clothes. She held up a garment and wandered over to a mirror to see how she looked in it. It didn’t take me long to figure out it was some sort of bathing suit.
I was really, really thankful that Tal had the concept of bathing suits. Part of me had been quietly dreading the prospect of skinny-dipping with five people who were barely more than strangers to me. The fact there was some reasonable expectation we would all be clothed was a relief.
After we finished our sandwiches, we all went to look at the bathing wear. Yada wandered over and started talking about things, going over what was popular where and who had suggested certain styles. I did what I normally did and grabbed the first pair of anything that reasonably looked like it would fit me, and it seemed Oxcard did the same. Arcadia was the next to choose, then Leor. Laran and Oriwyn were debating extensively amongst themselves, going over minute differences in material and cut that I wouldn’t have even thought to look at, so we left them to it and told them to meet us in the bathhouse. They agreed, so we set off.
When we entered the glass dome that hosted the baths, I saw that I had been right. A wooden frame created triangular ledges that held up glass panes. Some of them seemed to be missing from strategic places, creating a cross breeze. Still, the glass held in a large amount of steamy air, and we quickly picked out a large pool to claim as our own. There were only two other bathers, and they were off in a much smaller pool off to the side, so we had plenty of choice. We saw some booths off to the side and went to get changed.
As we gathered by the pool, my head idly studied what bathing suits we’d all chosen. I had gone with what was familiar - a pair of baggy trunks that had a cinch at the waist so they wouldn’t fall down. They didn’t have the weird inner netting that I was used to in place of underwear, which felt a bit strange and loose, but otherwise they were comfortable enough. Oxcard seemed to have chosen much the same as me, but where mine were dyed a green color, his seemed to be wholly undyed. I wondered if they had been the cheapest pair available - that might track with what little I knew about him and Arcadia.
Speaking of, Arcadia was wearing what looked like a sports bra and spanks. I’m sure there were women back home who would have killed for her sporty build, though given her life I’m sure she hadn’t come by it in a way that was in any way pleasant. The last to emerge was Leor, and I had to stop myself from laughing. She looked like a candy cane, wearing a red and white striped one-piece bathing suit that made me think of the old-timey Victorian bathing suits I saw guys wearing in movies and read about in history books. The lower part nearly came down to her knees, and given her beard and candy-cane coloring I got the impression of one of Santa’s elves on holiday. The mental image was doubly funny given that Leor was very definitely a dwarf, but I managed to hold myself together regardless.
We all slipped into the water - it was warm and inviting - and had just started to chat when we heard the bathhouse door open. We waved at Oriwyn and Laran as they entered, and they quickly went and got changed in the hutches we had vacated. It was with some curiosity that I watched for them to exit.
Oriwyn wore a loose, draped garment that seemed to be gathered at specific places to preserve her modesty - it looked vaguely Greek to me. I only had a few seconds to observe the cut though, because she immediately took a running start and jumped towards the deepest part of the pool. Brams immediately followed, offering a secondary splash nearly as large as Oriwyn’s as he splashed down. He began to paddle around the pool happily, having tucked his wings up and out of the way, while Oriwyn surfaced, shooting a cheesy grin at Leor - who she had splashed severely with her entrance - and took a place along the ledge at the edge.
When Laran came out, my face turned a little red. Now I wasn’t a prude, and over the years I had seen several men in very, very revealing swimsuits, but Laran’s suit was drawing my eyes in a way that I felt like they hadn’t been drawn since I was going through puberty. He wore what appeared to be folded fabric instead of trunks like Oxcard and I had found - some distant memory thought it looked vaguely Roman in Earth terms. It was a dark burgundy and not even that revealing, but something about seeing him in it brought back the bashfulness I had experienced when he’d run around the edge of the house shirtless the first time I met him. He seemed to be thinking the same way as I saw his cheeks darkened, but ignored his self-consciousness and walked over without comment to join us in the pool.
We all relaxed in the warm water, trading the occasional bits of small talk. After a while Alex walked in and we waved, but they seemed bent on going to a particular pool on the opposite side of the room. After a while of discussing nothing important, Arcadia cleared her throat to get our attention.
“Excuse me? I don’t want to be too formal or anything, but Ox and I have been talking about your offer and I figured we should share what we decided.”
My heart nearly froze in my chest. My curiosity on if they’d join us had been burning away at me for the whole trip so far, and it seemed like it was going to be answered. Of course we would survive without them, but with what all we’d been through I very much wanted them to accept. Also, part of me wondered if I felt that way because their refusal would mean our group wasn’t worth joining. I tried to push the sudden jumble of emotions down and focus on what she was saying.
“We talked it over and decided we’ll join you. I didn’t have a much better plan long term, and you’ve already proved you’re trustworthy. So, assuming you’ll still have us, we’d like to join.”
Arcadia looked a little nervous while Ox remained hard to read. I felt a sudden soaring in my heart, but Oriwyn beat me to accepting the offer.
“Yes! Of course! We never rescinded the offer after all, plus we work well together!”
Arcadia looked pleased, and I thought I saw the ghost of a smile on Oxcard’s face. Leor smiled too, while Laran suddenly shot to his feet.
“This calls for a proper celebration! Wait ‘ere!”
With that, he got out of the pool and raced off. In short order, he returned with two wine bottles and a few glasses. He eagerly began passing them out, Leor enthusiastically helping get things uncorked and poured. When we all had our glasses, Laran raised his in the air.
“A toast! To new allies an’ a new team! May we do well, do good, and do well for ourselves in so doin’!”
He said the words as if he’d heard them before - I wondered from whom for a moment but abandoned that train of thought quickly. Everyone readily agreed to his toast and raised their glasses, myself included, before taking hearty drinks of our wine. It was a sweet, almost citrusy flavor that bordered on too sweet for me, but its flavor cut through the steamy air of the bathhouse well. I enjoyed it and it seemed everyone else did too. As we lowered our glasses though, we all got quite a shock.
“Cheers! Now where’s my glass?”
The voice came from Brams, who was happily paddling in the center of the pool. Laran choked on his wine, shooting a little out of his nose. Leor just stopped and stared into her glass, looking for an explanation there. Oxcard and Arcadia looked at the rest of us, vaguely confused, but it was Oriwyn’s reaction I really wanted to see.
She sat on her ledge in the pool, a broad smile across her face. I could see a hint of surprise in her eyes, but still she flashed her smile to the rest of us.
“Why are you all acting so surprised? Did you think I was talking to Brams just for fun?”
Elsewhere: The captain of the river barge stood eagle-eyed at the front. It wasn’t like he needed to steer very much - just about anybody could control a riverboat when it was being pulled by horses on the bank - so his attention was much better spent keeping an eye out for threats. He looked to the side - the group of three mercenaries he had hired to accompany his boat and walk by the horses trotted along, weapons sheathed and chatting amicably. He couldn’t blame them really, given that they’d been going for a full day and a half since he’d picked them up without trouble. Still, he knew this stretch of the river and knew he should expect trouble. He scanned the gently rippling surface of the river again, a sudden feeling of discomfort settling over him. A disruption caught his eye, and he let out a cry. The bubbles that caused the disruption began to surface more violently, making the calm stream look like a pot of water at a roiling boil, and the captain cursed his luck. He’d been a fool to try and make his run when he did, but he felt like he’d had no choice. Now he was going to pay for that specific incautious decision - all he could hope was that he didn’t pay too dearly in either coin or life.
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THIS IS NOT A HATE POST, THIS IS NOT A DIVISION POST, THIS IS NOT A POST ABOUT TRANS PEOPLE, THIS IS A POST ABOUT MEDICAL ETHICS
If I call my dr and say I want my legs and arms removed do you think its ethical for them to give me the green light in 20 min without even attempting to explain the risks and outcome? How about if I sounded like I had no idea what I was even asking for and asked if my arms and legs could be reattached later if I changed my mind? In every other situation dr's use discretion, ethics and common sense to decide if that operation is appropriate.
If I claimed I believed with all my heart I needed a shoulder replacement and yet nothing from medical records could show something wrong with my shoulder would an ethical dr replace it? Would insurance cover it? Of course not. That was the point of his video, not to bash trans people. Everyone these days is so blinded by hate for a political party and surrounded by people who just tell them what they want to hear that they have lost all their common sense and are all edge with no point.
Health care providers and the insurance companies are willing to operate on you just because you asked without at all explaining the risks to you, even if you clearly don't know what you are talking about (he asked the person if his testicles could be reattached!) and they have no interest in your current mental health status**.** Someone in complete psychoses? They don't care, they wont even ask, they will just do what that person says and charge them for it. All they want you there for is the procedure so they can charge you for it. There is no other medical practice that is allowed to throw basic medical ethics out the window which is why it is a big deal. It goes against the basic medical ethics of beneficence, which "requires that the procedure be provided with the intent of doing good for the patient involved" How could they possibly be doing that without making any kind of attempt to explain the risks? How could they do that when the person is clearly showing that they don't even know what they are asking for? He literally asked the person if it could be reversed! That clearly would be a sign that the patient is hesitant about their decision or at least is extremely uneducated about what they are asking for. That should be a huge red flag to the health care provider that this person needs more information and if they were practicing good medical ethics they would be checking to make sure the procedure would be "good for the patient involved."
Honestly I'm expecting this post to be taken down immediately since reddit seems to only care about the opinion they agree with. But an open forum that silences the voice of those who disagree with the majority in that forum is not an open forum so if by the tiniest chance there is someone who actually cares about having an intelligent conversation and not just bashing me for my opinion keep that in mind when this post disappears. They don't care about having real discussion, they just want you to hear what they want you to hear, which is why I never comment on reddit anymore. Mod Bot-"to all others who spread hate and try to divide us, no quarter shall be given." There it is, if you try to influence anyone to think differently than they want you to their comments will be removed.
Hope I'm proven wrong tho! Much love too all communities represented here

Hi all,
I posted last week about my remission from Erythromelalgia and I wanted to give more backstory. I’ve received some DMs and felt I should give a broader context.
My EM symptoms began about 8 years ago in my face and ears typically unilaterally at night after a long day of working on my feet. I dealt with it for years by icing my face (which I later learned was wrong) and showing my doctors pictures of my swollen, red, burning, hot-to-the-touch fingers, feet; elbows, knees, ears, and face. No luck with diagnosis or help for many years until I saw the Mayo Clinic for something unrelated and got a name. No treatment but a name.
My flares were always caused exclusively by the typical: heat and exercise. They were worse in the evenings. Burning not to the touch, numb, painful, swollen, pins and needles torture. Every single day.
I read up online and learned about lidocaine cream which I was using up until the point that I simply couldn’t take it anymore. Living in Florida my EM was ruining my life. I couldn’t go outside, could hardly walk around or stand up without triggering a flare-up, and on a complete prayer I just asked my GP for help.
Saw a rheumatologist and luckily he had a patient who also had EM. We tested for every autoimmune under the sun and nope, negative, just EM! He started me on 25mg of Topiramate 3x a day and we switched now to 100mg of extended-release Topamax (taking 3 pills a day is hard).
3ish months now and I’m in total remission. No redness, no swelling, no horrible pain in the heat or when exercising. Literally a miracle. I’m 5’5” and female for the record — 28 years old and approx 130 lbs.
Now, here is the main reason I’m making this post, I want to say that as much as this medication has provided me much-needed relief, this is a challenging medication. The side effect profile is intense. It has been hard for me to be on. 25% of people in clinical trials discontinued use due to adverse reactions compared to the 10% of people on placebo.

• Fatigue (15% of people)
• Constant pins & needles in my hands (51% of people)
• Significant weightloss / anorexia (15% of people)
• Significant changes to my taste (15% of people)

If you don't drink enough water you're at a high risk of kidney stones. It can cause confusion and dizziness, I mean it's nicknamed "Dopamax."
I had someone write to me and say they know someone with this condition but it’s not that painful just red — how did I get treatment? I would NEVER recommend this medication if you are not in pain. Frankly, I’m not a doctor but I’m not even sure that it can be EM without the pain.
So please if you’re browsing this subreddit for answers, do not seek out treatments like mine unless you’re doing a serious risk vs benefit analysis.
I will never stop taking Topamax because it has given me my life back, but I would not recommend it unless you need serious relief. I don't post any of this to scare anyone -- if you are in the situation I was in -- literally scared to hold hands with another human or hug them, nervous to go for an evening walk, and you don't know what to try next, I would 1000000% recommend giving Topamax a try if your doctor is on board. But, do consider that everything has risks and benefits!

I moved to Arizona to follow my partner in their career endeavors and just started at a new private hospital, but certain things have caught my eye and are making me uncomfortable. I am unsure of the laws/regulations of AZ and have been trying to find some answers with no luck. I have looked on the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board website and the AVMA website.
My background: 25 (M) Vet Tech student and in the final stages of finishing my program. A good amount of experience in large and small animal husbandry/medicine and my most recent job was as a VA and tech student with the "candy company" for 2 yrs in California.
In my first 2 days of working at the Az Private hospital I have witnessed:

• "tech assistants" inducing and intubating patients for anesthetic procedures with a CVT or DVM present in the clinic but not closely monitoring.
  
• not using sterile lubricant on ET tube for intubation
  
• removing IV catheters and sending home patients when temps are 98° F
  
• free access to the keys for the controlled drugs cabinet.
  
• "tech assistants" performing CVT appointments for Vx and other Tx.
  
• "tech assistants" filling out controlled substance log books
  

There is only one CVT on staff currently and the goal is for me to finish my schooling and become the second on staff.
I am unsure if the laws are just that different from where I was in California or if these are legitimate major red flags.

Co-Authored by me and u/Research-Apart, a big thanks to u/Acceptable_Egg5560 for letting us use Tarlim, and for helping write him
Well that took a while, hope it was worth the wait, the next chapter shouldn't take as long
CW: >! Gore and violence !<
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____________________________________________________________________________________
> Access File: Hybris (9)
[OPENING FILE]
Notice from Department of Extrasolar Records: These records were discovered in a floating black box data recording in the Gliese 832 system. These transcriptions contain the memories of prominent individuals who were directly involved with the events detailed below. The components of the transcription technology used are under review by the Department of Xenotechnology, and any transcriptions found within the data logs will be transferred directly to the Department of Extrasolar Records for further processing.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Memory transcription subject: Tarlim, Venlil Civilian
Date [standardized human time]: April 4, 2143
I don’t know how long I was in hiding for, I just remember hearing the screams of people outside before falling asleep when it all died down. I got up from the floor and peaked out of my closet to see if there was a break in before leaving it entirely. I checked my front door to see if the locks were still locked and, luckily enough, it was still intact. I set out a sigh of relief before walking back to my living room and slumping back down on my couch. I took my medication as I picked up my datapad from the floor, hoping everything that happened earlier was just a bad dream. The first thing I noticed was that my pad spat back an error message. That was strange, the infrastructure was too developed to not have net access in the middle of a city.
Glancing up towards the window, I noticed a strange red hue coming from behind the curtain. I set my pad down on the couch as I got up and walked to the window. I could feel my paws begin to shake as I grabbed the curtains. Anticipating the worst, I hesitantly opened the curtains and peaked outside. It was worse than anything I could have expected: The remains of dead Venlil littered the street below as more continued to pile on. Orange blood coated the surrounding building walls as mutated Venlil ripped apart anyone they got their paws on. One of them eventually came across a mother and child attempting to hide underneath the surrounding rubble. It didn’t hesitate to attack the woman before another mutant came by to try and steal its catch. They fought each other relentlessly, trying to keep her in their grasp. Their claws tore deeply into her skin and muscles as they fought, causing her to scream from the unimaginable amount of pain. She took one last look at her child and yelled at him to run before her throat was torn off.
The child ran for his life, dodging around rubble and mutants and for a brief moment, I thought he might make it! Then a mutant Krakotl swooped down over him, a barbed tendril emerged from its beak and stabbed the pup in the shoulder. Screaming in pain he was lifted into the air as the mutant flew off to Protector knows where. As I swept my gaze across the city, similar scenes played out: survivors ran through the streets, slipping on pools of blood as they were pursued by packs of mutants; doors and windows were smashed to pieces as people looted for supplies; buildings were engulfed in flames as malfunctioning fire traps and improvised weapons were set off; mutants of every conceivable species rampaged through the city, attacking everyone they could find.
I fell to my knees as I vomited from the sight of the massacre outside. The blood, the gore, it was too much! My consciousness was escaping me as my heart pounded in my chest. I was hyperventilating, I was going to die, everything swirled around I was, I couldn’t-
Focus.
Breathe.
Calm.
Forcing the tirade of emotion back I shakely I got back up and looked back outside, only to lock eyes with one of the mutant Venlil. Its head turned to stare at me, its eye solid black with streaks of red running through it. For a moment, we simply stared at each other, before it started to run towards my apartment complex in a strange loping gait. It was picking up speed with every step and soon ran on all fours, galloping over rubble and trappling eviscerated corpses. I stumbled away from the window and ran to my door. There was no spehing way that I was fighting that thing. Right when I unlocked it, I heard the shattering of glass behind me. In the corner of my eye I could see the monster clambering through the window, shards of broken glass tearing at its flesh. I went through the door as fast as I could as it regained its posture. The moment I closed it behind me, I heard a loud thud behind me, signifying the mutant had attempted to lunge at me, ‘How the speh did it reach my window!? I’m four stories up!’ I thought before running down the hallway.
As I ran down through the hallway, I could see the place was in ruin: the walls that lined the hallway were torn and covered in streaks of Venlil blood as the lights above flickered unrhythmically. I zigzagged from door to door, looking for somewhere to hide, but every apartment was locked. I soon heard the bang of a door being knocked off its hinges from down the corridor. I felt my heart pounding, threatening to burst out of my chest at the exertion, but I pushed on. I briefly considered the elevator upon reaching the end of the corridor, but realized power to it was most likely cut. I ran to the stairwell and raced down it as fast as I could, taking two or three steps at a time. I could hear the creature burst into the stairwell as soon as I reached the first floor. That thing was fast, too fast.
I ran through the hallways of the first floor and saw that most of the apartments had already been broken into. The people who used to live here are either dead, mutated, or in hiding. I could feel my legs starting to ache from running so fast for so long, but I couldn’t stop. I could feel my quads beginning to tear underneath my skin as my heart pounded vigorously. I could try to hide in one of the open apartments, but what difference would that make? I would just be waiting to die. I can’t keep running like this, I need something to defend myself with.
As the pain within my legs began to set in, I decided to run into one of the open apartments anyway to escape that thing. Upon entering, I ran through the ruined apartment and went straight into the bathroom to hide. I closed and locked the door as quietly as possible before taking stock of the room. Compared to the rest of the apartment, hell the rest of the complex, it looked disturbingly normal. I looked around for a few moments to see if there was anything I could use in case that thing does find me, but there was nothing. Then I noticed a window looking out onto an alleyway. I went to the window and fumbled at the latch and pushed it open. Quickly crawling my way through, I stumbled slightly as I hit the ground. Looking around, I spotted an abandoned shipping crate sitting against the wall. I shifted my weight and prepared to run when I heard the cracking of splintering wood behind me. I sprinted down the alleyway and slid behind the crate without bothering to look behind me. There was more cracking and splintering and the twisted pants of the mutant. Cautiously peeking around the crate, I saw it stepping out of the window frame. The shattered remains of the window sitting on the floor below it. It stalked down the alleyway towards me, its eyes scanning for any sign of its prey. Ducking back behind my crate, I frantically searched for anything I could use to fight. As I shuffled further behind the crate, I felt my paw brushed against a discarded wrench. someone had likely been performing maintenance on the exterior pipes and the wrench had been left behind. Gripping it tightly, I got myself into a crouching position and prepared to move at a moment's notice…
After a moment of silence, I heard a woman’s voice, “Tarlim, are you there? I heard a window break from around the corner,” she said
My ears peaked up at the voice, could that be…
“Barlen?” I said quietly.
“Barlen, keep your voice down!” I called out, I didn’t want her to get killed.
“Sorry” she replied, more quietly this time.
“There was a mutant crawling around here,” I told her.
“I saw it, it went the other way, it must have seen easier prey,” she responded.
I let out a sigh of relief and slowly got up to my feet, leaning against the crate, the wrench hanging loosely at my side.
“Thank the protector, it’s good to see a friendly face…”
I looked up, and sitting on the crate, was the creature.
“It’s good to see you too,” it said, perfectly mimicking Barlen’s voice.
Its three petaled mouth opened wide before pouncing at me. In a stroke of luck my body twisted and smacked it across the head with the wrench in my hands. It was hit so hard so quickly, I knocked out a couple teeth before it fell limp next to me. I took a few steps back before repeatedly hitting it in back of its head with the wrench in my paws. I don’t know how many times I did it, I just kept going until brain matter was exposed.
When I was sure it was dead, I fell back against the wall and sat down as I dropped the wrench next to me. I could feel my heart beginning to pound from exhaustion as I tried catching my breath.
Thoughts began to race through my mind as I stared at my paws in horror. This thing was not only incredibly fast and agile, but it was also capable of replicating voices. ‘How did it know Barlen’s voice, and how did it know it would work on me?’ I thought for a moment before remembering the press release prior to all of this. They showed a living planet, no bigger than a large moon, sitting motionless in the sky above as it formed an eye. I still remember the feeling it gave me: the horror was so great, I tried to convince myself before falling asleep that none of this was real; all of this was just a bad dream and I needed to wake up, but I knew that wasn’t true. I slowly turned my gaze up towards the sky and saw that thing looking down at us, looking down at me.
What if the reason why the mutant was able to figure out what voice to use to draw me out was because it wasn’t on its own? What if all those infected aren’t senseless monsters, but they were that thing’s puppets. They all bend to its will without question, and I have a reason to believe it can see through their eyes too.
The sound of distant roars quickly snapped me back to reality as I sat with my blood covered paws. Picking up my bloodied wrench, I slowly made my way down the alleyway and out into the street. I could feel my heart screaming in pain at the recent exertion, not once have I ever pushed my body so hard in my life. Carefully peering around the corner of the apartment complex, I scanned the street before me. It was completely deserted and any possible living thing that was here is either dead or in hiding. I took one last look around before leaving the backstreet. Creeping between overturned cars and mangled corpses, I kept my eyes peeled for any more of those mutants nearby. I was in such a fearful state, I could feel my body tense up at every unidentified noise and shadow. Twice I spotted mutants prowling the streets, but I was able to avoid them by staying hidden. Eventually, I circled back to my apartment building after making sure the coast was clear. I kept my eyes peeled and listened closely to my surroundings as I made my way upstairs. I can see all the damage that thing left behind as it chased me. I’m glad I was able to kill that thing when I did because if it had caught me I would be more than dead. I eventually reached my apartment four stories up and looked in from behind the door frame. The room was a mess: shattered glass and ripped curtains littered the floor as my window remained permanently open; my furniture was broken and torn into as everything else beyond the living room remained untouched. I looked in the dining room and saw my pack was still sitting on the table. After checking my bag to see if my pills were still there, I quickly searched for any food and water before making my way back outside. I needed to find somewhere safe.
As I crept through another back alley, I tried to remember the directions for the shelter. We were supposed to memorize their locations in the event of a raid, but I had for some reason not been included in the regular drills. Fortunately, they were not that hard to find, which seemed like a possible design flaw in retrospect. My musings were interrupted when I felt my pad vibrate in my pack. Confused, I reached in and pulled out my pad. I was honestly surprised it was getting a signal now. I looked at the alert and it says as follows:
“This is an emergency message sent to any and all remaining survivors of Dawn Creek and abroad: all emergency shelters within the surrounding cities have been compromised and any surviving Venlil are to find a place to hide and a weapon to defend yourselves with. These creatures are incredibly strong and agile and will do everything in their power to kill you no matter the cost. If you want to survive, you must follow these steps to the word:

1. When it is silent and a mutant nearby, stay still and hold your breath. These things have incredibly sensitive hearing and can hear your breathing from up to six tails (12 feet) away.
2. Stay out of sight and make sure they don’t see you. It is said that all of these creatures are somehow connected telepathically and function as a hive mind. If one of them sees you then they all know where you are.
3. Do not listen to them. If they fail to find you, they will mimic the voices of your close friends or loved ones in an attempt to draw you out. If you hear a familiar voice, do not respond.
4. When faced with a mutant, you must kill or maim them if you want a chance to escape. If you don’t then they will continue pursuing you. These things do not get tired and can chase you for miles without end.
5. If you survive an attack with an infected Venlil and they manage to breach skin or their bodily fluids enter your body in any way, it is recommended that you self terminate for the safety of the herd. It is estimated to take an eighth of a claw before whatever substance in said fluid enters the brain and converts you from the inside out.

May the protector save us all.”
I silently stared at the screen in mute horror after reading the last line. Every shelter in the area had been compromised and anyone taking refuge there was more than likely dead. Just how many died unable to escape as their friends and family were torn apart? The Arxur, on some level at least, killed for food, but these things didn’t do any of that: They don’t eat what they can and leave whoever left is alive to make more meat, they eviscerate any living thing they lay their eyes on in the most painful way possible. To say they’re as bad as the Arxur would be putting it lightly. These things are far worse than anything any species has come across. I looked up at the sky for a moment as I held my pad in my hands. Its eye staring down at us from above as it watches these creatures it has created mutilate my people.
‘If this thing is truly as powerful and dangerous as Tarva says, then just how old is this thing? How many species before us have been mercilessly slaughtered by it without a second thought?’ I thought to myself as I stared at the planet above.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps from down the road. I felt my heart skip a beat before running to hide behind a turned over car. I pinned back my ears and cautiously looked over the side of the car and saw a small group of exterminators in their suits scouting the area. Not once in my life have I felt so happy to see them. I got out of hiding with my paws up to show I wasn’t infected. Upon seeing me, they put up their flamethrowers on the ready until one of them recognized me.
“Tarlim!? You’re alive!?” One of the Venlil exterminators exclaimed as he took off his mask.
“Treven!?” I exclaimed in response.
‘Of all the exterminators I could have run into, why him?’ I despondently wondered.
“I honestly thought a freak like you would die first. Seems like I was wrong,” Treven said mockingly, “How did you survive anyway?”
My grip on the wrench tightened. Even after everything that had happened, they still couldn’t let go of their prejudices.
“I don’t know. I guess I was lucky,” I replied simply.
Treven scoffed, “Was it the same luck that almost cost me everything?”
I stood silent at his response. I couldn’t believe that after everything he was still acting like this… this… stupid, selfish PRICK!
“Everything we've ever cared about, is gone.” I said, struggling to control my voice.
I spread my paws out, gesturing to the destroyed city around us.
“We’re facing down hordes of biologically impossible creatures controlled and created by an entity unfathomably more powerful than anything we’ve ever seen before!”
I noticed just then that I had been slowly stalking towards him, the wrench trembling in my paw.
“And your main concern is your SPEHING CAREER!?” I shouted.
Even now, this asshole still blames me for something HE did to himself. It was infuriating that this selfish speh was mad at me for losing his job even though they were the ones who almost killed Malcos!
I was about to shout again until one of the other exterminators, a white Venlil, came by and slapped Treven in the back of the head; the blow was hard enough to send him stumbling. Before he was able to respond, his mouth was covered by their coworkers' paw to keep him from speaking. It felt somewhat good seeing Treven put in his place, but I was confused on why. It wasn’t until he moved away from Treven when he decided to stay quiet and marched towards me with an annoyed yet fearful expression in his swaying tail. I was grabbed by the wool around my neck and pulled down to his line of sight before he started loudly whispering.
“Are you trying to get us killed!? We are literally at the ground zero and your shouting might have given away our position!” He quietly exclaimed, “We already had to deal with a horde on our way into the city and lost almost everyone. The six you see used to be a group of over two hundred exterminators!”
My heart sank after realizing what I had done: Not only did I possibly make our presence known, but this small group before me used to be multiple station's worth of exterminators. I was at a loss for words at my cluelessness and kept my mouth shut after I was let go. The Venlil in white soon signaled everyone in the group to continue moving forward and to keep their eyes peeled.
As we continued moving through the streets of Dawn Creek, we eventually heard the crunching of bone and sound of flesh being torn off from around the corner. The noise sent a chill up my spine and was extremely discomforting. I glanced at the exterminators surrounding me and saw them show a more fearful expression than me. If it was true that this group used to consist of a hundred exterminators, then they likely bore witness to seeing their comrades be torn to shreds first hand. Seeing something like that would be hard to live down, especially when the people you love are the ones being mauled to death.
The thought of what these people went through to get here changed how I saw them for a moment. Knowing what he had to witness, I began to rethink how I saw them when we crossed paths. I felt bad for them for a moment until I heard that loud crunch again, but this time it was louder.
The leading exterminator looked around the corner before continuing down the street. It was strange how empty the town was considering it was crawling with infected just a claw prior. They might have found new hunting grounds since this place is absent from life, but considering one of them has already seen me and the group there should have been at least a pawful chasing after us by now. They know we’re all alive, yet refuse to take action. Something is going on and I have a feeling it might pop up soon.
The sound of crunching became progressively louder as we quietly walked. The leading exterminator raised a paw, then slowly peered around the corner where the sound had come from. He stiffened suddenly, his entire body froze up before desperately diving back behind cover. Another exterminator, the mute one I think, grabbed him by the arm before he could collapse. The leader walked up to them, careful to not make any sounds that could attract attention.
“What’s wrong? What did you see?” he whispered to the point man.
He simply pointed back towards the crunching sound as his arm shook with fear. The leader’s tail swished in annoyance as he moved to the corner. Curious for myself, I followed closely behind him to take a look at whatever was out of view. He shot me a look of annoyance when I brushed up against him, but he didn’t object to me seeing. We both peered around the building towards the street with my face almost sitting on top of his head. My breath hitched in my throat as I saw what was standing there: feasting on a Mazic in the middle of a trashed shop was a massive, grotesque, monstrosity of a Venlil. It stood over 5 tails [3 meters] tall with tendrils of red flesh that shot through its bare skin. The muscles on its body were so large it seemed like they were on the edge of bursting out of its skin, and its enormous paws looked like it could wrap around my head with ease; its legs looked like they were about to explode from the sheer mass held within them. Not only that, but what separated it from the other infected was its face: it was the only one I have seen so far that didn’t have a split face like the others. This one was different for some reason; regardless, I didn’t want to get this thing's attention.
Placing a paw on the leader's shoulder we made our way back to the rest of the group. One of the exterminators walked up to us.
“What’s happening?” she asked.
“There is some kind of super mutant up ahead, we need to find a new route,” the leader whispered back.
“Well where are we going?” I interjected, “all the shelters have been taken out.”
“Before we found you, we sent out a distress signal in hopes anyone will come for us,” The leader responded, “We never got a response so we focused on trying to find a way out.”
“Do any of you have a map so you know where you’re going?” I Inquired
“No, unfortunately. Our pads ran out of power half a claw ago and we don’t have any physical copies, so we don’t know which streets to follow” The leader replied solemnly.
“I lived here for years, so I might be able to help you escape. Just follow me.”
I stepped out from around the corner only to see that the same monster from earlier was now towering over me. I slowly turned my gaze up from its bare stomach and looked at its blood covered face: it bared its large, razor sharp teeth as it stared at me with its circular pupils. I could tell one thing by just looking that it wanted only one thing, to feast.
My heart jumped upon locking eyes with it. I slowly backed away as my whole body trembled with fear. I tried to speak to tell the others, but I was too focused on the beast before me.
“Tarlim? What’s wr-” he cut off, most likely from seeing the creature now stepping out from behind the corner…
Everyone else began backing away after laying their eyes on this thing. Everyone was silent for a few moments until one of the exterminators began running and screaming. When the spell broke, the monster leaned forward and roared at us, causing nearby rocks and windows to tremble from its immense volume. Within a split second, it charged forward with its size hiding its speed; we dove out of the way as it rushed towards the running exterminator. The leader and Mute grabbed their weapons and tried to shoot at the monster, but it wasn’t enough to slow it down. Charging forward at an impossible speed, it soon reached the fleeing exterminator and grabbed the screaming Venlil with its massive paw. With a sickening crunch, it bit down and tore off a chunk of his head. The screams soon turned into senseless noises before it took another bite. His body soon went limp after his brain was completely destroyed. Once he was finally dead, the beast quickly chewed through the rest of the body until there was nothing left. The mutant stood still for a moment, its wet panting the only sound on the empty street. We all stood still ourselves, staring at the monster in horror. Then, swiveling around on its foot, it turned to look at us. Its red pupils glistened with overwhelming bloodlust as it stared from afar. It reared its head back and roared again before charging at us. The rest of our herd showered the creature in a hail of bullets as I frantically looked around for a way out. Spotting an industrial plant down the street, I quickly ran towards it and pried the doors open. The heavy machinery would make it harder for the beast to maneuver, I hoped.
“Quick in here!” I shouted towards the others.
As soon as I shouted, I inadvertently got the creature’s attention. Locking its red pupils on me, it charged towards me. I ran away for dear life into the facility only to feel its paws grab my leg with its vice-like grip. Before I could even attempt to free myself, it threw me across the street like I was nothing. I spun in the air for a few seconds until I landed on top of one of the turned over cars.
Upon impact, I felt some of my ribs break as both glass and torn metal stabbed into my skin. I lifted one of my bloodied arms and saw multiple pieces of glass sticking out of my wool with some of them big enough to go through the bone. I tried to scream out to the others for help, but the pain I felt from just breathing alone was already too much to bear. I looked over at them as they began running away from the scene. I saw the beast get down on all fours before pouncing towards the group with great speed. Despite their distance apart, it was able to close that gap in less than a second. One by one, it killed and tore them asunder with its large, powerful claws and razor sharp teeth until there were only the mute and leader left.
I managed to fight through the pain and get up from the wreckage with blood still dripping from my wounds and flowing down my body. I took a deep breath and shouted as loud as I could in their direction. It stopped what it was doing and looked towards me from afar. It stood on its hind legs and looked at me with a somewhat surprised expression.
“HEY! OVER-” I was quickly cut off from coughing up blood as I fell to my hands and knees, “over here!”
The internal damage done was too severe for me to push myself any further than I already have, but I needed to give the others time to leave. I got myself back up and locked eyes with the mutant.
Right when I did that, it did something strange: rather than run, pounce, or even roar, it quietly walked up to me with its blood covered claws at its side. I was confused about what was happening and I didn’t know how to react. Should I attack, should I run, what could I do that wouldn’t provoke it? Once it was within range, I reacted impulsively and hit it in the face with my wrench. Although I was able to cause a slight bruise, its head didn’t move an inch and the wrench was now destroyed.
‘Oh speh’ I thought for a moment before getting grabbed by my neck and lifted into the air.
I struggled to set myself free as I repeatedly bashed the deformed wrench into its arm. I could feel my windpipe get actively crushed as it slowly tightened its grip. I eventually dropped the wrench and started doing whatever else I could to set myself free: I kicked, clawed, and hit the beast as hard as I could, but to no avail. As I reached the edge of passing out, I heard a voice.
“Tarlim, look at me,” it said calmly with a deep, raspy voice.
I looked around for a moment before hearing it again, but this time it was in front of me.
“I want you to look at me, Tarlim,” it said once again.
I soon realized where it was coming from and who was saying it once I looked at the mutated Venlil. It was that creature who was speaking.
“You did everything you could to try and get out alive, but you failed,” he said serenely “Now you’ll die knowing everyone you ever knew and cared about is gone.”
My eyes widened when it spoke. I tried to respond, but I wasn’t able to say a single word.
“I had fun chasing you and those exterminators, Tarlim, but now it's time to move on.”
Its mouth opened wide, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth layered on top of eachother. My vision was fading rapidly, and my body went limp as I accepted my fate. Just before I completely lost consciousness, I heard the faint roar of a ship's cannon and the crushing force around my neck vanished. I felt like I was sinking through an ocean as I fell to the ground, dull spikes of pain ripping through my shattered body. I tried to look up to see what had happened, but everything was too heavy, too dark
I just
Wanted
To
S l e 3 ppe..4!u
[Subject consciousness lost Memory transcription ended]

My husband and I have been together for almost 15 years. I will admit to making a lot of stupid financial decisions, believing at the time it would keep us united. Here's my dilemma. My husband and I started dating at 17. When we were 19, we lived together, and he had some serious health issues come up. Being that neither of us had health insurance (live in a red state, no expanded medicaid). I foolishly took out student loans to pay our housing bills and his medical cost. I did continue college but wracked up 30k in debt. My husband is in the trades and makes good money. He always told me he was paying on the loans. I didn't find out this was a lie until I discovered he was cheating with sex workers. I found out about the student loans because a year earlier, my dad had died and left me 51k. We agreed it would be used to pay off the student loans. So, my husband spent my inheritance on cocaine and sex workers while keeping my student loans in forbearance, gaining interest added to the principal. Now my loans are at 39k, and my inheritance is gone. It gets worse. Me believing my student loans were paid had the "remaining " amount put as a down payment on a house. When we bought the house, my husband's credit wasn't great, but mine was good. He said it was because my loans had been paid. So once we moved into the house, I got a renovation loan 20k to make the house more livable. It's a major fixer-upper. All of this is in my name. I'm a receptionist making 40k before taxes. My husband is an electrician making 86k. I moved out when I found out about the cheating and spending all of my inheritance leaving all the debt in my name. We've only been married 7 years, and to get spousal support, it has to be 10 years or more. I calculated that when student loans come due, I won't make enough for the mortgage and my loan payments. My husband is arrogant and trying to convince me that even if I declare bankruptcy, the student loans and mortgage will be out of my price range. Currently, the house is unsellable without taking a loss because it needs structural repairs that we had decided to save for and fix over time. The 20k I borrowed went to making the bathroom functionable as it needed a bathtub, water lines, and kitchen appliances. I'm also scared that if I declare bankruptcy and walk away from the house and 20k loan, no landlord will rent to me. I have a large dog. Currently, my dog and I are staying with a friend, but I don't want to be a burden and need to figure something out ASAP. PLEASE any help/advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm scared to death!

I'm a 35 year-old male, 5'7" and weigh roughly 200 pounds. I've never smoked, rarely drink, and used to take Marijuana edibles periodically. I've had asthma my entire life, as well as severe atopic dermatitis, both of which have been well managed for close quite some time. I was also diagnosed with a left bundle branch block and ulcerative colitis in 2019.
Current medication list: Advair Metoprolol (new) Dupixent injection Imdur (new)
Sorry if there are spelling/grammar errors, I'm on mobile. In the past 3 months, I've had numerous health conditions pop up seemingly out of nowhere. First, in early March, I developed a constant ringing in my ears, sometimes accompanied by what I can only describe as a beating or bubbling sound. I also developed off and on headaches. Initially my pcp thought it a sinus/ear infection and prescribed antibiotics, but the issue didn't resolve. He then noted that it could be TMJ disorder, as from what he could see, there were no issues with my ears themselves.
Around the same time, I had an instance if tachycardia in which my rating HR went from 70 to 150± and wouldn't go down, prompting me to run to the ER (never had tachycardia before). Hospital did an Ekg which they said looked normal, with no lbbb showing. I see my pcp for a follow up and he refers me to a cardiologist. 3 weeks prior to my cardiologist appointment, I'm sitting at my desk playing Red Dead Redemption 2, when out of nowhere my HR goes through the roof (160+), my limbs go cold, my chest starts hurting, and my left arm goes numb. I call an ambulance, my HR is 170, my BP is 180/110, my o2 is 98%. They do four Ekgs between arrival and drop off at the hospital, and my lbbb is present on two of them. All blood tests come back normal, tropopin is well within normal range, and they send me home stating something likely triggered my lbbb.
I have two similar incidents before seeing my cardiologist (although I don't call the ambulance). My cardiologist found it odd that my lbbb is showing up intermittently, and orders me to wear a Holter monitor for a week which ended up showing no arrhythmias, bradycardia 7% of the time and tachycardia 7% of the time. She says this is good news. The following week I take a nuclear stress test, which I've linked below. My cardiologist noted that they couldn't rule out artiifacting or some other part of my anatomy restricting flow, so I'll need to do a CT angio and echo, both of which will be next Friday.
https://imgur.com/a/ZTvwL4h
The same this is all happening, my gastro issues have gotten really bad as well. My colitis was well managed before the pandemic and getting in to see my doctor has been a nightmare. My stomach has been constantly bloated for nearly 3 months, my voice has been essentially gone for that same duration, my stool is dark and thin when I'm finally able to go, and there's often blood ok the paper amd/or in the water and I can feel hemorrhoids when I wipe. I haven't had much of an appetite the past five weeks, and I've lost nearly 30 pounds (I weighed 232 at an appointment in April).
Is there anything that could be causing all of this to occur simultaneously? I'm seeing my primary again on the 23rd and am hoping that there's some recommendations for tests I should ask for or specialist I can be referred to as my life has been turned on its head recently. I felt great prior to March, other than being heavy. I should note that prior to the pandemic I weighed 180 and gained 50 pounds over the last few years.

Since miscarriage is such a fuckin taboo subject I’m bringing it to the Reddit community to get some insight.
I am currently going through an incomplete miscarriage. I went for my 10 week ultra sound and we discovered that fetal growth ended at 8.5 weeks. We were sad it ended obviously not how we expected the appointment to go. We emotionally are ok that we feel at peace that it just wasn’t meant to be. Physically I am a hot mess Express. The appointment was may 8th when we found out. I am a firm believer I want my body to do things as naturally as possible. So no meds no dnc. Early morning May 14th it cut loose I started cramping gushing passing softball size clots. It last a couple hours and I thought ok that was it. I spotted after that until may 20th. Y’all we went round two! Even more rude and violent then the first time. This has to be the end right? Lol….. may 22 I had another ultra sound that revealed still “products of conception” present so still tissue. Sweet 😑 Thursday may 25th I had my midwife call in a script for me for Methylergonovine. I took that all doses for the 24 hours it made me stop spotting and that was it. No cramps, no passing any tissue nothing. May28 the little clots I did start passing was black like here now I think I’m sepsis infection the grudge looking shit black. Nope the meds withheld passing so it was just old tissue. Next day things started turning red again and passing very small red clots and spotting again. June 1 round three happens out of no where like wow I can’t believe how much came out of me no cramps just lots of large clots and gushing. After a couple hours tapered off. Friday morning told my midwife she sent script for Cyotec/Misoprostol Friday evening I got it filled and took it and yet again …. Tons of clots, gushing and cramps. So this has to be the end right???? Nah. I spotted a little after that Sunday night I passed couple decent sized clots so I’m like ok we still going at it. June 8th I have yet again another scan and it comes back STILL TISSUE LEFT. June 9th still passing some small clots after getting my guts beat with the ultra sound wand yesterday. My midwife said she’s at her end point she has never seen anything like this she’s passing me to an OB and suggests DNC. I am still dead set against the DNC…. So my question is to anyone else with super mega long incomplete miscarriages what’s everyone’s story? Did you opt for DNC? Did it eventually naturally pass? I feel fine I don’t feel sick no fever I’m working. I loaded 200 bales of hay, went to two rodeos during two episodes so I know I’m an extreme case of fuck you fuel I’m not caving to the medical establishment. I have a call to OB to see if there are other options. But what’s everyone’s taboo natural story?

Sorry, this is a bit of a two-part post.
I (24F) have had all sorts of pain consistently in my fingers, wrists, forearms and elbows for the past 4 weeks. On a couple of occasions, I also had knee pain but that did not stick around for long. I have been off work since I have not been able to use a PC for long without the pain getting worse and I am in the process of hopefully figuring it out but I am currently between appointments and I am trying not to stress.
I got blood tests done earlier this week and my rhematoid factor came back positive (17IU/mL with max 14 norm) but my serum C reactive protein level and my erythrocyte sedimentation rate are both normal. For some reason they did not check me for anti-CCP. The orthopaedic specialist I saw said that I should go see a rheumatologist (and now I am waiting for my appointment and stressing a bit).
I went for that blood test just after having a cold and I was wondering whether this could influence RF? Hell, can a RF positive mean something entirely different?
​
For the most part, I am experiencing only pain (for the past week or so it has just been aching, as if I have strained my arms/wrists/fingers) - no redness, swelling or movement restrictions (as far as I can tell.. if there is, it is minimal but my range of motion has been checked by more medical professionals in the past month than I remember at this point). My lifestyle prior to this has been very PC-centered as I have a desk job and my main hobby is PC videogames. Like I mentioned, I have been off work for over a week now because of this and I have been avoiding playing games or doing anything similar like before. Since I stopped doing my usual activities, the pain has been a lot more manageable to the point that I decided to see just now whether I would be able to work/play or not. Well, I could immediately tell that it's not good and it got a lot worse in just 10-15 min... and better again within 10 min after I stopped.
So my question to this subreddit is - does this happen with RA at all? Can an activity immediately flare up the pain like it happened to me?
It was very depressing and disheartening to be honest, knowing that even after a full week of rest, I cannot go back to my usual activities and work.
So I would appreciate any insight and any experiences you can share while I just sit and wait until my appointments. Thank you.

If reading about potential side effects could bother you... please stop reading here.
My kid (14) was officially diagnosed with ADHD-C a little over a year ago. We knew it forever, but we had gone to 3 different experts who advised against medication. (Part of the problem was that he falls into the 2E category and did exceptionally well on whatever cognitive assessment they could throw at him. Long story short, Covid lockdowns worked out best for him b/c in person school was a disaster for him due to distracting other students, annoying teachers with constant interruptions, etc. He's been full time remote since.
However, when the kid came to me and said he really needed something to help, we went to an ADHD clinic, where we knew they wouldn't hesitate to offer medication. Our insurance forced us through the circuit of ALL the stimulants. Concerta, Vyvanse and one other were all not good for him. They made him tired and then he had a hard crash in the afternoon where he became moody (understatement). Ultimately Adderall kinda worked (20 mg XR). I say kinda b/c it still makes him tired, but he is able to concentrate better, didn't have a major crash, got all A's in his first year of high school, but he really doesn't like taking it, b/c it makes him tired, so he doesn't take it when not in school.
A few months ago I noticed one evening his feet were BRIGHT RED (as if sunburned). He told me it had been happening for a while (basically since he started Adderall) but they didn't hurt or anything. His regular pediatrician was out of town, so we got an emergency visit with another doctor in the office who checked his BP, etc. She felt it was just due to Raynaud's phenomenon and colder weather and to wear thicker socks and keep an eye on it. We set up an appt for his regular doctor and followed advise.
His pediatrician also said Raynaud's and b/c his other vitals were normal it was nothing to panic over and just to keep an eye on it.
We noticed in mainly happened at night and not so much during the day. We also discovered that if he put his feet up, the redness IMMEDIATELY went away and would return if he put his feet down. He had a month break from school (starts again next week) and while his pediatrician did not think the redness was related to Adderall, we talked and he agreed we should keep watch while he was completely off Adderall for a long period of time.
It has improved a lot. Rather than his whole foot getting red, it is now just the tips of his toes, etc. Same thing. If he puts his feet up, it goes away immediately. I'm waiting to hear back from his pediatrician, but he is out of town and likely won't be back for a couple of weeks (he does doctors w/o borders stuff).
Has anyone had any experience with this either as someone who has taken Adderall OR a parent whose child has? Is this some common, normal thing I shouldn't worry about or is it (as my internet searching found) a potentially permanent serious medical issue?
He starts classes on Monday and I am really reluctant to give him medication that could cause long term harm, but, I know it helps him concentrate and not become enemies with every teacher.
Thoughts???