So my dear juniors, I thought of helping y'all with the diagrams that you need to practice for boards. They are just some diagrams that you need to pay attention to and if they don't come in the exams, don't come back at me saying I'm the same as that mausi wala 😭😭

1. Structure of Chromosome**
   
2. Mitosis (all phases)**
   
3. Plasmolysed Cell
   
4. Turgid Cell
   
5. Structure of chloroplast**
   
6. Structure of stomata
   
7. Structure of RBC**
   
8. Structure of WBC (all types)**
   
9. Structure of Platelets**
   
10. Structure of Heart (LS)**
    
11. Structure of Artery**
    
12. Structure of Vein**
    
13. Structure of Kidney (LS)**
    
14. Structure of urinary system**
    
15. Structure of renal tubule**
    
16. Malpighian Capsule**
    
17. Nerve Cell**
    
18. Reflex Arc**
    
19. Structure of Brain
    
20. LS of Eye**
    
21. Structure & Correction of myopic eye**
    
22. Structure & Correction of hyperopic eye**
    
23. LS of Ear**
    
24. Location and structures of all endocrine glands**
    
25. Male reproductive organs (all)
    
26. Female reproductive organs (all)
    
27. Structure of human sperm**
    
28. Structure of ovum**
    
29. Tubectomy**
    
30. Vasectomy** [** very important diagrams] YOU CAN RELY ON ME, I SCORED 99 IN BIOLOGY!! (still took pcm lmao)
    

PART ONE THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN
[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Sunday
Mason straightened at the sound of an incoming message on his phone, lifting the screen just enough to read it. Then he jumped to his feet.
Khai: I’m here.
“YES!” he shouted, slapping his hands together as he took off for the living apartment’s front door. He knew Khai wouldn’t have come the mortal way and, as such, fully expected him to be on the other side of that door rather than the massive entry door to the whole floor.
“Mas’n!” Maddy cried, causing Mason to skid to a halt. Both Maddy and Levi were sitting with their backs to the wall the living room shared with the half-bath, watching the big screen TV above Llyr’s chair.
Well, Maddy was. Levi looked partially lobotomized.
“Hey, guys! I didn’t expect you to still be here.”
“Lucas ducked out to grab us some supplies, though he should be back by now.” Levi patted himself down and must have realised he was only wearing boxers and a shirt … as in no pockets for a phone. He eased himself forward and gently balanced his weight on his medical boot before shoving up onto his feet in one move.
“You know, medically, that’s not doing you any—”
“Zip it,” Levi grumbled, waving his lecture aside.
“Where ya goin’, Daddy?”
“I’m just going to our room to get my phone and find out what’s keeping Uncle Luke.”
“Unca Lu-cas,” Maddy corrected, emphasising the second syllable.
The fact that a three-year-old could get it right and her father couldn’t had Mason snicker-snorting, though he quickly covered his mouth and nose with both hands to hide the evidence.
Levi’s filthy glare still said plenty. “Right. Uncle Lucas … and Auntie Charlie,” he drawled without looking back at her. He hobbled around the couch to the hallway. “Be right back, Peaches.”
Mason would’ve loved to stand there and chat, but his boss was at the door. He moved through the alcove and opened the front door. “You came,” he said, beaming up at his newest mentor a beat before stepping back to let him in. “Come in.”
Khai stepped into the apartment and removed his shoes without asking before entering the living room. “This is more like what I was expecting of Llyr’s residence,” he admitted, spotting and dismissing Maddy sitting on the sofa, who was staring at him wide-eyed.
“It’s okay, bunny. This is my boss from work.” When Khai didn’t answer, Mason nudged him. “Say ‘hello’ to Maddy.”
Only then did Khai’s eyes find the little girl. “Hello.”
“How in the world are you a father?” Mason muttered more to himself, then overcompensated with a huge grin. “He’s gonna help me study so I can get even smarter. Isn’t that cool?”
But Maddy’s eyes never left Khai.
Meanwhile, Khai focused on Boyd’s carving on the coffee table. “A housewarming gift from Kala?” he asked, gesturing to the piece.
“No,” Mason chuckled. “Though the big guy’ll get a huge kick out of knowing you thought so.”
Khai frowned and moved closer to the carving. “Are you sure? This is exceptional work…”
“Positive. Llyr gave him some … errr … special tools, so there’s no stopping him now.”
“Ahhh,” Khai said, with a nod of understanding, his eyes flicking once more to Maddy. “Well, your friend had better be careful. History is littered with people getting their hands on those types of special items or gaining some manner of assistance and then deluding themselves afterwards into thinking the outcome was their own. Look at Jason and the Argonauts. He had no idea he had Zeus’ son in his crew when Hercules accompanied him on his adventures.”
Knowing all that information would flow right over Maddy’s head, Mason squinted at his boss. “That’s the golden fleece dude, isn’t it?”
Khai’s painful wince would’ve been funny under any other circumstances.
“Hey, I’m a vet. Not a mythological historian.”
“Anyway, please tell him not to believe the skill is his. It never ends well when they do that.”
Mason didn’t want to argue anymore, despite knowing Hell would freeze over twice before he’d say anything of the kind to Boyd. “Did you want some lunch before we start?” he asked instead.
“No, I’m good, thank you.”
Mason turned his attention to Maddy, who was still staring at them like a deer in the headlights. “You stay right there, baby girl, okay? Daddy said he’ll be right back.”
“’kay.”
A few seconds later, Levi passed them in the hallway on their way to Mason’s room. “Hey,” Levi said, nodding at Khai before extending his hand. “Levi. Levi Dobson.”
“Khai Nasc—Khai Hart,” Khai returned, shaking his hand without exerting any other emotion.
Levi grinned, obviously catching the slip. “I figured you had to fit in somewhere to be allowed into the inner sanctum.” He glanced at Mason. “Luke said he was—Lucas! I mean Lucas said he was on his way back.”
Mason smirked and nodded. “We’ll be in my room if anyone’s looking for us. Studying,” he stressed when Levi raised an eyebrow. Mason pointed briefly at Khai. “His wife is expecting, and his sister is my boss. So get your head out of the gutter. He’s here to help me study for my finals.”
“Nice,” Levi said, bobbing his head. “Sorry, in this household, anything’s possible.”
“You have no idea,” Mason muttered under his breath as Levi headed back into the living room. And speaking of oddities, he suddenly remembered Brock was still using his gaming system. “Before we go in, my youngest roommate is in there playing online games in the corner. But he’s truly in the inner circle and knows all about you and the divine, so you don’t have to watch what you say or use the phrase or anything because it won’t work on him anyway.”
“You have an interesting household, Mason.”
You have no idea, Mason repeated in his thoughts as he reached for the doorknob, opened the door and stepped inside. “It’s awesome, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He gestured briefly at the gaming machine on his way to his desk. “Brock, Khai. Khai, Brock.” He didn’t bother looking at Khai. “He probably won’t hear you, but just covering bases in case he’s in a lull between fight scenes.”
Khai didn’t respond to either of them, so Mason assumed he’d done something to know Brock was, in fact, fully submerged in his game. “Here, you have my seat, and I’ll go and steal another from Sam’s office.”
Mason returned a minute or so later, pushing Sam’s giant executive chair ahead of him.
“I thought you said Sam was against wealth.”
“Yeah, well, he’s drowning in it, so it’s a case of sink or swim.” Mason twisted it beside his own and was about to sit down when Khai lifted himself out of Mason’s chair and slid into the new one.
“You sit where you usually do. I’m the only one between us who can stretch enough to reach everything,” he said in explanation.
A few minutes later, Khai showed him precisely what he meant by elongating his arm over the five-foot desk to take control of the Sectra table with fingers that sprouted dozens more to program an image of a feline’s shattered back leg and hip. With so many fingers working at once, Mason couldn’t ascertain what the parameters were before the image appeared on the screen.
“Okay,” Khai said, pointing at the display. “You have a distraught client in Consult Two, bringing with her a large Maine coon who was hit by her father’s plough while it was clearing snow. She’s had the cat now for over ten years, ever since her mother died.”
“That’s a low blow,” Mason growled at him.
“You were the one to point out the emotional element, Mason. Now, back to the board. You’ve done an initial check of the hip and found it broken in numerous places and the foot is hanging by the skin with the bone exposed at the ankle. After an x-ray and CT scans, this is what you see.” He refocused on Mason. “What do you do?”
Mason took a deep breath to clear his thoughts, putting himself into the roleplay. The x-rays showed the hip had been wrenched free of the spine, with the left side shattered in several places. His first instinct had been to end the animal’s suffering, but the owner’s connection became part of the equation. “How long ago did this happen? What does the bloodwork show?” Maybe there was a chance to salvage this. Maybe.
More buttons on the Sectra table were pushed, creating a fake bloodwork report that showed no sign of blood poisoning yet, which only meant the accident was recent enough to have not had that complication. More proof that he was a beloved pet that had been rushed to the clinic.
The rest of the information was far from good. “We need to find out how bad the damage is to the sciatic nerves in both hind legs.” He stood up and went over to the scan, pointing at the crushed bone and the subsequent mass on the CT. “It’s caught up in this mess, it could be damaged as well as pinned. If he’s really lucky, it might just be pinned, in which case surgery to release the pressure is an option.” He looked Khai in the face. “Right?”
Khai tilted his head. “Depends. What do you tell the owner?”
“The truth. Always the truth. We can’t tell the extent of the damage to the legs until we operate, though, at this point, it’s not looking good. In fact, I’d let her know before we proceeded that it was as bad as she feared and that euthanasia was a strong possibility.
“She needs to know that if she agrees to the surgery and we open him up and find the nerves in both legs are severed, no amount of work on our part will make a difference. I’d also tell her to stay close to the phone, for we’d need her to make that final decision.”
Mason’s heart ached under the weight of the news to an owner that didn’t even exist. “And then I’d offer her a hug because I think she’d need one.”
“How do you do that?’ Khai asked, breaking the illusion of the role play.
“Do what?”
“How do you engage so thoroughly with people … even ones that don’t exist? You act like you personally know them…”
“I put myself in their shoes, Khai. Or I put someone I care about in their shoes. If it’s an older woman, I put Mom there. If it’s a young kid – I picture my sister there. Either way, I make it personal.”
Khai hummed thoughtfully.
“What?”
“Just thinking how unfortunate it is that most of my immediate family are too old for this to be applicable…”
“Isn’t your wife—uh…mate—whatever you call them…isn’t she pregnant right now?”
“She is,” Khai said cautiously.
“Right. So, there’s your touchstone for pregnant women. You wouldn’t be blunt if it were her, would you?”
“I would,” Khai admitted. “Choi is a warrior. She’d rather have all the facts as soon as possible.”
“Even if the fact you had to relay was one of your other kids had accidentally been killed due to goofing off with their siblings while she was away?”
“That would then become a case of self-preservation. She would literally kill whoever had been tasked with watching over them and failed, even if it were me.”
“Your wife sounds scary.”
“She’s a blooded warrior, like all border veterans. Cross her at your own peril.”
“Okay, well, what about your kids? What if one of them comes in with a native pet that they’ve attached themselves to, and it’s been … I don’t know … bitten by a poisonous snake, and they want you to fix it.”
“Then I would.”
“I’m beginning to see what the problem is here,” Mason huffed in frustration. “C’mon, bossman. If you want to feel empathy for your clients, you need to see the heartache or the hope that that person has in your ability to cure their beloved pet and ask yourself ‘how would I feel if that was….’ And put in a name. It won’t take long for that stance to become a default setting because caring and healing is what we’re all about, right?”
“That may work here, but once I go back to the border, empathy isn’t a luxury I can afford.”
“Maybe not in the heat of battle, but once the emergency is over, a little empathy for those around you might bring you into a tighter team.”
“Why did you want to be a vet?”
Mason was startled by the question. “What do you mean?”
“You could make a lot more money going into human medicine, and your personality, for the most part, is well suited to psychology. Why did you choose animals?”
Mason’s grin was immediate. “Maybe because they can’t tell me no when I’m trying to help them.”
“Don’t deflect.”
Mason hadn’t meant to, but that had always been his go-to answer and no one had ever called him on it. Now that Khai had, he honestly wasn’t sure about the whys of his decision. Thinking about it now, he realised while farming was in his blood, it wasn’t what ignited his passion. “I can’t picture my life not being surrounded by animals, but I wanted more out of life than just raising them.”
“High IQ and EQ.”
“High enough, anyway,” Mason argued, lifting his chin towards the gaming console in the corner. “Brock over there is a real genius. If he sat for an IQ test, he’d probably reset the top score.”
Khai glanced back at the machine the young man had wrapped around him. “Perhaps that’s why he seems so intent on trying to decrease it with computer games.”
Mason snickered.
[Next Chapter]
* * *
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I’d love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work, including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!!

So far no lawyer will help me because I didn't need stitches.
Edit: Located in Delaware USA
Me: F23 Husband: M36
TL:DR psycho in love with my husband spreads rumors about him cheating with her, ignores his rejections, talks about wanting to fight me, and then leaves an aggressive dog outside to surprise me on a delivery to her house. received no help from the police, hospital or lawyers.
I'm going to start a year or two before the incident. Trust me it's relevant. My boyfriend (now my husband) and I worked at a convenience store together. He eventually got promoted to manager, but because the owner was a bit misogynistic I never got promoted despite doing everything in my job description and more.
For a while we managed to keep the fact that we were dating a secret, mainly to avoid drama. But then I made a few “friends” and gushed over him a few times to my friends. One of them spread the news. It didn't affect our jobs because he wasn't a manager when we started dating. But it started drama.
Eventually, I requested a transfer to get away from all the drama. He stayed at his store and I moved to a different one, hoping to finally be recognized for my skills and dedication. (I didn't) After I transferred, a new girl was hired at his store. I'll call her B (for B*tch).
B had a boyfriend. B was also on some substances but could be categorized as a “functional” addict. Because she never nodded out on the job. At some point, she developed feelings for him. I mean, I'm not shocked. He's really handsome and very quiet, so he's definitely got the air of mystery. But she caught feelings to the point of being crazy about it. She started rumors with my old friends that she was dating the hot manager. They informed her he's already got a girlfriend and that B is not even his type. She took his number from the contacts list and used that as “evidence” that they were dating since she had his number.
Then B would send him flirtatious texts and he would either ignore them or play dumb. She would show these off like they prove something. Eventually, he caught on and showed me the texts to get my opinion. I laughed and told him B was definitely trying to sleep with him. She had been trying to invite him to her house to chill because he “looks like he's got a lot on his mind” and suggested she could help take his mind off whatever it is. I explained what that meant in literal terms, and he sent her a text politely explaining that he was not interested in her.
She then sends a long text asking him out and sheepishly admits to having feelings for him, completely disregarding his text. It was as if she didn't even read it. When he showed me I was genuinely confused. So I told him maybe she didn't get it, and he should be more direct.
He was irritated with her and sent a rather harsh text reiterating his disinterest and threatening to get a restraining order if she didn't stop. This isn't just because of the texts. He was genuinely getting stressed out by the rumors she had been constantly spreading. He even quit his job and started working somewhere else. But since that convenience store was the only gas station close to us he had to stop there occasionally. And every time he stopped there and she was on shift, she would twist the whole interaction.
For example, a pack of gum was on the counter next to the register when he checked out. She asked if it was his, and he said no, and left after paying for his things. She then paraded the gum around the store bragging that he bought it for her.
She also told everyone there that I was the only reason she couldn't have him to herself, and I was actively stopping him from pursuing her. Sometimes she would tell people that she wanted to fight me, but I'm so skinny it would be like "snapping a twig" and not even worth the effort.
So his text may have been harsh but I understood. He ended up having to block her, and look for her car every time he got gas. If it was there, he would try to make it to work and get gas later when she was gone.
Sometimes I had to go inside when she was there. I assumed since I never met her in person she wouldn't know me just by looking at me. I was polite and friendly to her despite having a pit in my stomach and feeling shaky. I soon found out she definitely knew who I was because then I got a text from one of my old friends that she was telling everyone the b*tch keeping her man from her came in that day.
Every time I was near her I got a rush of adrenaline and anger. I wanted to jump the counter and teach her not to go after a man with a family. (we each have one kid from a previous relationship.)
We got married almost two years ago and that really made her ramp it up. Then she no-call no-showed a few times and got fired. Finally she was out of our general life. I ended up quitting the company and moved onto a restaurant with delivery in a different town.
I got a delivery to a familiar name. And it turns out it was her. When I got to her house she was waiting at the end of her driveway. She said "I was wondering if it was you when I saw the name." I laughed because I didn't realize the delivery app had my actual name. I had thought I set my name to Mrs. Jeepers, since I drove a jeep, and customers greeting me by name was a bit unnerving. Turns out I never hit save. To this day I can't figure out how to save the changes.
I delivered to her a few more times. The first three times she was waiting at the end of her dirt driveway. It's probably wide enough for three cars to park side by side and long enough for three to park end to end. Each time she would make the comment that she knew it would be me. Then one day she wasn't waiting at the end of the driveway. So I parked and began to walk up to the door. Each step was difficult as my feet were sinking into mud that smelled strongly of sewage. The whole yard and driveway was flooded, it may as well have been marsh. Or a swamp. I had to hold my breath and breathe sparingly. I didn't say a word to her when I handed the food over, because I would gag if I inhaled too deeply.
The next time I delivered I expected the issue to be resolved but no, the property was just as rank and flooded as last time. At least five deliveries were made to her door, after treading through disgusting mud.
Now is a good time to explain some of the perks of our delivery app! You can see the name of the driver, their location, eta, and you can leave instructions for the driver. Examples are as follows:
!CONTACTLESS! LEAVE AT DOOR
beware of dog, meet at x location/call on arrival
(description of hard to locate house)
Tip in envelope
dogs are loud but friendly
etc etc...
She never left any instructions. Nothing at all. And I always check because it's in the navigation app, and printed in bold on the top of the receipt right under the house number. Since she always told me she knew it was me, I knew she used the app.
The Incident
One day I get there, yard still flooded, and there is a dog laying down on the front steps. I check for instructions and I see nothing. At first I hesitate, but not because of the dog, because of the mud. It's deeper every time and I dread walking through it. It suctions my feet in. It feels like walking with weights. The dog is a white pitbull with the cutest pink nose, and It's laying down. No barking, no raised hair or growling. I am unfortunately a pitbull empathizer. I know they aren't naturally child eating monsters, it's usually dog fighters that breed them and raise them to be that way. So I begin to walk toward the steps. Confident that this dog is no threat. If you were expecting pizza, and used a tracker, you would keep your aggressive animals away from the door or driveway. Or at least leave instructions to call while still in your car so they can put the dog in.
I was too trusting.
My foot hit the first step, the dog is still laying down, now less than a foot away from me. It looks up at me and I say "hiii" in my baby talking dogs voice. As if the dog teleported I was instantly being attacked. The dog went only for the backs of my knees, biting and shaking its head. I was knocked off balance and tossed the pizza into the mud. I started to try and get away while this dog bit me repeatedly, and shook like it was trying to tear off a chunk of my leg. It was snarling loudly the whole time. I fell down into the mud because I couldn't lift my feet out of the mud fast enough to balance myself while I tried to escape. I managed to get upright before the dog lunged again, and eventually someone came outside and called the dog in. Then I was alone, and my legs were screaming in pain. I limped to my car rather fast, probably running off the adrenaline, and called the store.
my boss picked up and all I could say without crying was "I just got my legs f*cked up by a dog and I dropped their pizza, what do I do?! It hurts so bad." She told me just go to the hospital and they will deal with the customer. I typed in hospital and started navigating to the first result, as I was in so much pain it was actually hard to think of anything else.
You know that hard tendon thing on the outer side of your knee? I felt like mine was falling off. I felt like I could feel it bleeding and dangling. I called my husband and told him what happened, and that I was going to the hospital. Then I called my parents. Honestly I just needed someone to talk to, to distract me from the pain. It helped as much as drinking water helps a stab wound. I got to the hospital and wanted to call someone to help me inside because I was seriously struggling to get my legs to work properly. Every step my knees would give out and I ended up walking like a newborn deer. I looked and felt rediculous. I decided I didn't want to risk being overdramatic. Even though walking was incredibly difficult and painful, I was still mobile.
The hospital visit may aswell been a visit to the school nurse. I sat in the lobby crying for two hours. Then someone took me back, looked at it, and asked what happened. Then I was sent back to the lobby for another hour. Finally I was taken to the trauma unit where a doctor came in, looked at it again, and basically said "yeah that's a dog bite." As they were talking discharge I asked why my legs felt like they were asleep. Ever since the attack, alongside the pain was a buzzing sensation that wouldn't stop. The doctor said it was some kind of temporary nerve damage because of the bites to the soft backs of my knees.
They counted six bleeding bites, but since I was wearing some men's work pants, I had been protected enough to not need stitches. If I had been naked, the bite force would have been enough to rip the meat from my bones. They told me do not go up and down stairs, get up and down out of chairs, in and out of cars etc for at least a week or I could risk making the damage worse. So I was out of work for a week.
Someone had to take me out to my car in a wheelchair, and help me in. I drove back to work, and had someone help me inside so I could fill out the injury report for workers comp.
My first few days back I had to work short hours because I would get this exploding pain in the back of my Left knee, which took the most damage, if I was on my feet for more than an hour at a time.
ffw a few weeks and I get a letter from the store owner's insurance company stating that they will pay any related medical bills, but they won't be paying for my days out. I call the owner and explain what I read. He called them retarted and said he would make some calls to try and sort it out.
I have the MyChart app, and the hospital visit was logged by then. So I checked out the report and notes. There was a diagram of the location of the bites, discharge notes and other notes. I read the notes, and saw one that among other things said "no difficulty walking." I'm really irritated by this, and now I'm wondering if this is why workers comp is refusing to pay me for my time out of work.
Aside from this I called the lawyer my boss uses, and they apparently don't take injury cases, so they referred me elsewhere. After finally getting a call back from lawyer 2, and a long conversation, he told me he won't take my case since I didn't need stitches. He referred me to another lawyer that I have yet to call since Monday was a holiday and his office was closed. It's 5am where I am.
The reasons I'm getting a lawyer are because this incident was so traumatic that I freeze up anytime an excited dog barks at me or even walks in my direction. Also because the buzzing in my left leg has yet to go away, and I can't fully extend my left leg without pain behind the knee. It's been nearly two months. Plus I don't know if workers comp will come through and the week out of work caused me to miss a car payment. Now I'm behind and since I'm paycheck to paycheck, I don't have enough to pay twice to get caught up.
While talking to my mom about the incident, she suddenly had an angry expression, and told me "I think that girl did this on purpose." she put the puzzle pieces together with me, and now I have a new fear. This girl is really crazy, and I've seen it before. I'm genuinely scared she might try to hurt me in other ways now. She has been banned from our store as far as I know, but she knows where I work.
I want to get some kind of restraining order and fine her for the neglect, and emotional damages. Honestly she should be charged for animal abuse. There's no way her dog was that aggressive for no reason. I had tried to file a police report once I was out of the hospital and a little more clear minded. They said there's nothing they can do about it, and referred me to some kind of animal police. They said they could find out if the dog was vaccinated for rabies for me so I said yes please let me know. They never called me back either.
WTH do I do here? Everything is so messed up. It's like no one cares. Sometimes I space out and unwillingly replay the incident in my head. Once I delivered to a house that looked a lot like hers, and I suddenly forgot that I wasn't at her house, I wondered when her yard finally dried up. I wondered why we accepted her order. I thought she was banned. Then I heard barking dogs and froze up completely. It wasn't until the customer turned on their porchlight and opened their door that I snapped out of it and completed the delivery.
I'm messed up, mentally and physically, and no one is helping me. What should I do?

I got my cefaly about a month ago after a flair of 3 months of daily migraines, and so far after about 20 uses am only feeling sensations on the left side of my forehead/temple. (My migraines always hurt on both sides of my head and neck equally).
Also, for the first 15x I used it, I felt zero electrical sensation, but at about 60 sec mark on prevent mode my left temple/eyebrow felt like someone pushing on a bruise, hard, and had to level off there. Then suddenly the past couple days I feel the electrical sensation after 15 seconds (slowly intensifies as prevent builds up) (but mostly going straight up my forehead (left side only, not where it hurts). I'm putting the pads in a very normal place each time, like the diagrams. And sticking them hard.
I've tried: -new sticky pad -washing forehead more/drying completely -repositioning the sticky pads, even to the point where they're clearly too far to the right in hopes that the relevant right side trigeminal nerve branches are just weirdly far over? -had my partner try; he feels it on both sides
I'm wondering if anyone else had this experience but then eventually it got more normal/useful? Is this some kind of user error? Trying to figure out whether I should return it, if something about my migraines or anatomy just doesn't work for me.

For months now, my gas meter has not been submitting any readings at all, it says randomly that it has, and then, for months will not submit anything, the meters are about 3 m apart, the gas meter is in the hallway next to the front door, and the Electric meter is in a little cupboard on the same wall, it is absolutely stupid, I never had issues with getting readings with OVO, octopus tried to send me a reading of £300 once for it, and they are sending my bills at really random times, I have posted about this before, but it’s really starting to get on my nerves now, it has been happening for over six months, and Octopus still are refusing to replace the meter, even though they admitted that the meter was dodgy, they keep telling me that that they’ll get fined if they replace it, which is absolute nonsense, considering I’ve had suppliers in other properties, change them for less, this is really ridiculous now.
I have contacted them several times, and she said to me that if they didn’t get the data requested within a few days, then they would take action, it had been four days and there was no action, I said to her are we going to resolve this by replacing the meter, and she said no again, it is ridiculous now, they are again asking for pictures of my meters, I have already sent them this before, in the same exact Twitter conversation, I just feel like it’s pointless, they ignored me for literal days as well when I suggested it so I had to message twice I really can’t be bothered anymore, trying to fight them, I would even be willing to pay a higher variable tariff in another provider, just to actually have someone who will reply, I hated OVO but at least they actually did reply to issues, it feels hopeless, trying with Octopus.
It has been over six weeks as well since they tried to get the engineer, they said it would take a maximum of six weeks, it has been over and they still haven’t sent anything or given any calls as to whether they will come or not, and they can’t say what is happening, this is just out of hand now, I am paying a higher estimated direct debit in a one bedroom flat by myself, than my friend is in a three bedroom house with kids. i use 8KW a day and not even a kW of gas. Bills are sporadic and never happen at same time they just randomly send one week bills.
It is trying to estimate my gas usage but they aren’t sending bills for months. My gas meter is 3 meters high so I cannot read it, I am disabled. Meter readers from Octopus never turn up. I can’t just submit manual readings. I am frustrated.
I had to send their customer service a diagram of a gas meter for them to admit the inlet pipe is theirs. They kept sending me northern’s number after I repeatedly told them the surveyor from northern already had called out.
They finally admitted it was theirs after going back and forth, no apology. then they said to me that they could not adjust the flexible pipe into the gas meter, because it only works in a certain position, which I then had to send them again, pictures of actual gas meters from Google, and show them that the flexible pipe is, indeed, flexible.

This post is to share my experience having HIFU treatment for adenomyosis in October 2023.
Cliff notes version: It worked very well for me and I would do it again. Unfortunately, it’s not covered by insurance (costs $5k for the treatment itself plus travel expenses to Stanford). I did not know what to expect beforehand so the goal of this post is to tell you what it is like.
What were the results? Pre-HIFU, I had periods that were 8 days long, very painful (8/10 on a few days without painkillers), heavy bleeding, and low ferritin. I had leg and butt pain too on one side. A few days after my periods, I would feel like I was recovering from the period itself and my body felt tired and tense.
Post-HIFU, I have periods that are 5 days long with most days no pain and maybe one day of cramps/mild pain.
What is HIFU? HIFU is high-intensity focused ultrasound. It is used for a variety of issues such as prostate cancer in men and fibroids in women. More recently, it is used to treat adenomyosis.
Risks and preparation: I did have an IUD which I had to get removed prior to the procedure.
You can carry a pregnancy after HIFU. They did recommend giving your uterus a few months to kind of rest and recover before attempting pregnancy or getting another IUD.
The risks of HIFU are burns to the skin (see below re: hair removal, water bath diffuser) and potential nerve injury (this is why they won’t HIFU right next to the bowel or sciatic nerve, and why you need to be awake during the procedure—so you can tell them if you feel anything off).
What is the research on it?
https://www.emjreviews.com/innovations/article/fertility-and-pregnancy-outcomes-after-high-intensity-focused-ultrasound-ablation-for-uterine-fibroids-and-adenomyosis-a-review-j080121/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1350417715001534
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28437003/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7063290/
(Note: if you don’t have access, you can often find papers on Sci-Hub).
Where can you do it? It is more common in Asia. In the U.S., where I live, you can do it at Stanford and Mayo Clinic. I had mine at Stanford: https://mimric-prostate.stanford.edu/contact-us/
What is the process before the treatment? I was asked to send the MRI images of my uterus. Once they reviewed the images, I had a video chat with the doctor. We discussed my symptoms and based on the MRI images he said I was a good candidate.
There is also the consideration of lower abdominal fat, because the HIFU needs to be able to reach the uterus. I managed to lose ten pounds leading up to the treatment and unfortunately tend to carry my weight there.
The doctor did tell me that the procedure is painful and its a long day with being immobile on the MRI table for 4-6 hours.
Because HIFU is not FDA approved for adenomyosis, insurance will not cover it. Stanford charges $5k for the procedure (flat rate, inclusive). I paid and then scheduled the procedure for mid-October (I chose this). They don’t want you to be on your period while you have the procedure.
My husband and I traveled to SFO on the weekend prior to the procedure. I booked an Air BnB in La Honda for one week (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/512351680384577136?source_impression_id=p3_1716597759_TaJy2uHhzCR1fpdP), with the procedure scheduled for Thursday. You only have to travel to Stanford the day of the procedure. There are of course many options in Palo Alto, but I chose to stay in La Honda because of the peaceful surrounding (redwoods, ocean close by) and we planned to stay there working and hanging out apart from the procedure day. The place we stayed was great and I highly recommend it. It was peaceful and relaxing.
A couple days before the procedure, the coordinator will call you and give you instructions: for the fasting and bowel prep (see below), when to arrive, and to remove body hair between your navel and pubic bone. I did not do this properly and they had to shave me in the hospital. I think the best option would be a wax. MAKE SURE YOU REMOVE THE HAIR THOROUGHLY.
Day before the procedure: In order to protect the bowel and have the best visualization, you have to fast the day before and do bowel prep. If you’ve had a colonoscopy, it’s the same process. I went with the Miralax & Gatorade bowel prep process. I used this guide: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/21217-miralax-gatorade-bowel-preparation-instructions
Note: I am vegetarian and don’t eat fried or processed foods, which I have heard makes the process less intensive. Some people recommend eating more lightly/cleanly in the week leading up to the bowel prep day. I just ate normally (for me, this looks like plant-based protein at most meals, kale salad, rice, cauliflower, lentil soup, etc.).
Bowel prep specifics: Here’s what I did the day before the procedure: I woke up early and had some protein powder and water (I thought the protein would help me feel less hungry). Throughout the day and evening, I consumed a lot of water, otherwise I had some sugar-free Jello, and broth (using ramen noodle liquid without the noodles).
What I did for bowel prep:
12pm- take 2 dulcolax tablets with a full glass of water
2pm- mix 64 oz of Gatorade with the miralax (238 grams) until the miralax is completely dissolved
Drink 8oz of the Gatorade solution every 15 minutes until completed.
The guides tend to recommend two more Dulcolax tablets later in the day but I skipped it. The important thing is that you need to be cleaned out: when you use the toilet, no solid waste. I had to go probably 6-7 times but only the first time really had any solids. I heard this is somewhat up to diet, which might be why people sometimes recommend eating lightly in the days leading up to the bowel prep day. By the early evening, I was done and only went to the toilet maybe 1-2 more times before bed.
THE BOWEL PREP IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. IF YOU DO NOT FAST AND DO THE BOWEL PREP, THEY WILL NOT DO THE PROCEDURE.
Day of the procedure: I arrived at Stanford early in the morning, accompanied by my husband. Everyone was very warm and kind.
You’ll get set up in your hospital gown and socks, they start your IV, etc. A couple of the people who’ll be doing the procedure will come by to chat with you, verify you did the bowel prep and fasted, and answer any questions.
Next, you are brought down to the radiology department where the MRI is. There’s a small clinic room they roll you into on your hospital bed. Here, a few nurses get you ready for the procedure. They were all amazing. Here’s what it entails: 1) If you’re like me and you didn’t do a good job on hair removal, they’ll do that. This sucked because it involved shaving and rubbing alcohol. 2) Foley catheter for urine. This is because you can’t move during the procedure, so no toilet breaks. 3) Adhesive pads to prevent pain/irritation from being in the same position during the procedure. They are placed on the fronts of your shoulders, cheekbones, and forehead.
The doctors come in to brief you and check in. Here is when I learned that the procedure also requires the insertion of rectal gel—to protect the bowel.
They wheel you in to the MRI room. At this stage, you’re in the room with the females only. You remove your gown and get on the table, facedown, lowering yourself as if you are doing a yoga pushup, so that your lower abdomen is directly over the water bath. The women are helping guide you and make sure you don't fall off the table. Google for a diagram. It’s awkward but keep in mind these people have seen it all and are just here to help. Everyone is working together to facilitate you getting this cutting-edge treatment. It’s like a symphony.
They do some imaging to make sure you’re in the right position. If not, you’ll move and then they again verify with the imaging that you’re in the right position.
You are facedown, arms by your sides. They placed padding on my back, blankets for warmth, and used straps to compress me closer to the table and make sure you aren’t moving. I think this is also partly to compress abdominal fat and get the target area as close to the HIFU as possible.
Your right hand has an IV through which you receive fluids and pain medicine. In your left hand, there is a kind of joystick with a call button. If you need anything during the procedure you push this button and they check on you. I only pushed the button because I got itchy and needed someone to scratch my nose.
I had fentanyl and felt itchy, so they were able to switch to I think hydromorphone which has much less itchy potential.
AFTER YOU ARE IN POSITION, BE TOTALLY HONEST WITH THEM IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE—HEAD POSITION, WHATEVER—BECAUSE YOU MUST BE STILL DURING THE PROCEDURE.
The procedure itself: There are brief periods of “treatment”—consisting of zaps or sonications where they are actually doing the HIFU. These are painful; the doctor advised me to count through them (one Mississippi-two Mississippi-etc). They feel like strong menstrual cramps or perhaps contractions, and are painful but bearable, lasting no more than 10 seconds (probably less).
Unfortunately, there was an issue with the machine and I had to come back the next day. This post is already super long, so I’ll just say that it wasn’t their fault and they worked through the night to make sure it was ready to go the next day.
I went back the next day and it went off without a hitch. When it’s over, they do an “after” MRI and were able to get 90%+ of the adenomyosis tissue. They don’t achieve 100% because there may be parts that are too close to the bowel or the sciatic nerve—you don’t want damage to these, so they have to be conservative in those border regions.
You’ll be hungry afterwards. On the recommendation of a nurse, we went to Wildseed. It’s a vegetarian restaurant a short drive from Stanford and it was incredible. I still think of the chocolate cake. Afterwards, back to the Air BnB for fireside beers.
Day after procedure: I woke up in the morning feeling normal. We went to brunch (Alice’s Restaurant) and then walked on the beach. That night, we took a redeye back to NYC.
I think it would have been better to stay that night in CA, just because I was tired, but it wasn’t a huge deal. I did not have pain that day.
Week after procedure: It took me like 5 days to poop. That’s normal. The medical team checked on me and I had a video appointment with them a week after.
I got my period (on time) the week after the procedure. The first period is a wild card. I had one day of painful cramps but I could already tell it was working and my period lasted 5 days.
Other than that, I had no pain and felt normal.
I work as a researcher (office job) and was back at work on Monday. I did work from home half of that week and took it easy (didn’t go to gym). They advised me not to do HIIT-style workouts or heavy lifting for several weeks; I was mostly doing Barre and walking, so just stuck to that with no problems.
Today: I'm very grateful for the HIFU treatment. It really saved me and I would recommend anyone who has the means to consider it.

Chapter 27 - Return to Farscope
Previous Chapter
“Alright, Matriarch. This is farewell for now. If everything goes perfect, we’ll be back in roughly 40 or so days. When we get to JR692 we’ll send you guys a broadcast over the relay links. If you need to send us a message, prefix the message with ISCA. We’ll be monitoring the relay out there just in case.”
“Understood, Captain.” Kyshe’s face was stern on the screen in front of him. “We look forward to hearing back from you.”
“Trix, anything you’d like to say to the Matriarch before we leave the system?”
“Ma’am. Thank you for agreeing to give me this opportunity.”
“Of course, Trksehn. Good luck among the stars. And Captain…”
“Yes, Matriarch?”
“If you do well on this mission, Captain, I shall be sure to send you a list of your admirers here on the planet. There are a number I am told who think you far better looking than I myself do…”
Alex squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. This was the second conversation he’d had with Kyshe after Trix had revealed his appreciation of their species’ beauty, and Kyshe was thoroughly enjoying teasing the shit out of him over it. “Thank you very much for the offer, Matriarch, but I think that perhaps it’s extremely unnecessary.”
“A pity. But Captain…” Kyshe’s tone warmed up significantly. “I have been speaking at length with the other Matriarchs. Myself and the rest of the Avekin here look forward to your return.”
“Avek… ah. Ah.” Alex couldn’t help but grin at that. “As the self-appointed representative of Proxima and as a representative of all of Humanity, I swear we will do our utmost not to let you down. Farewell for now, Matriarch.”
“Farewell, Captain.”
The screen went blank and Alex let out an explosive sigh. He punched a button on his armrest and the all-hands signal sounded throughout the ship. “Alright everyone. Good job with everything on the planet. We’ve said our farewells and we’re officially heading back to JR692. Prep for Euler activation in, I dunno. Few hours. You all know the drill.”
Trix glanced over her shoulder at Josh. “He sounds weird. Is he OK?”
“Yeah. He was on his best behavior on the trip and whenever talking to the Matriarch. He’s not normally all formal and mild so now that we’re done being diplomatic and nice expect him to be a lot more…” Josh struggled for just the right word. “Informal?”
Par interjected over the intercom, “The word you’re looking for, Joshua, is ‘Immature’.”
Trix stifled a laugh as she turned back to her console. The autopilot systems were nearly identical to those of the shuttle, meaning that she could rely on them while she’d learn how to maneuver manually. “Where to, Captain?”
“Go ahead and put roughly two-fifty thousand clicks from the planet and we’ll open the gateway out there.”
“Uh…” She glanced over her shoulder at Josh. The command didn’t have any actual details, such as a heading. ‘Informal’ was apt right now.
“Just pick a course to an empty spot two hundred fifty thousand kilometers from the planet.”
Trix pulled up the navmap and picked a spot at random. Quite far from anything else. She punched in the autopilot and set accel to maximum, and the ship began smoothly gliding into the stars.
“Course laid in. What do we do when we get there?”
“Fire up the Euler cannon to open up a gateway into d-space so we can surpass the speed of light, obviously!” Alex gave her a grin as he slouched in his chair.
“Oh, sure. Obvious, is it?” Trix snorted at that.
“Sorry, just feels good not to watch every damn word I say.” The captain punched up the main display, and odd looking concentric rings appeared. “Okay, so we use a device called the Euler cannon to open up gateways in space. The cannon creates two polar opposite gravitic fields. A central anti-grav field, surrounded by a ring of hypergravity. The stresses these produce damage spacetime itself, and that damage manifests in the form of a tear. We call those tears gateways. They lead to d-space”
“So we’re destroying space itself. That seems incredibly safe. And what exactly is ‘D-Space’?” Trix glanced over at Josh who just shrugged and nodded.
Alex blanked out the display. “D-space is, uh, complicated. But basically think of it as a shortcut through space. If we travel a few thousand kilometers in d-space, we move tens of millions in real space. If you want to know the Whys and the Hows of it, Par can actually go into a fairly in depth explanation that relies heavily on a background of dimensional physics to make even the slightest bit of sense.”
Trix listened intently to Alex’s explanation, then yet again turned to Josh. “Any way you can translate all that for me?”
“Sadly, the captain’s basically dumbed it down as much as we can. We use alternating bands of gravity to distort space so far it breaks. That opens the ‘gateway’ to d-space. We don’t fully know what d-space is, but the theory all the scientists are going on is that it’s a dark-matter dimension that exists in congruence with our own. As the captain said, moving through d-space means traveling faster in real space.”
Josh pulled up a diagram on her screen. A small profile of the Arcadia moved along a line. A new line appeared, helpfully labelled ‘D-Space’. As the ship moved to the second line, an outline was left behind on the original. As the ship moved slowly through d-space the outline moved rapidly along the original line, until the ship moved back to its original line, far ahead of where it started.
Trix leaned back slightly as she watched the animation, and let her wingtips rest on the ground to either side of her. “So we rip open a hole in the universe, we go through, and we exit somewhere else. Do we have to, like, close the hole somehow?”
Alex shook his head. “Nah, they self mend fairly quickly. We have roughly 73 seconds to make it through the gateway before it closes itself. Plenty of time really, the gateway doesn’t appear too far from the ship and we’ll be moving fairly quickly so there’s little to no risk to the ship.”
Trix bit her lip. The way they phrased it, ‘tearing open’ space and letting it ‘mend’ behind them didn’t sound particularly safe. Still, she was the outsider and they knew their own tech so she simply went along with it. “Okay. So once we get to our destination, how will we know where we should exit?”
Josh glanced up at Alex, who just made a gesture back to him to do the explaining. “D-space and N-space interact in a single specific way, through gravity. We have gravitic sensors which we use to identify systems from a distance, and from up close we can match up the individual gravity sources like stars and planets. Even particularly huge asteroids. No two systems ever have the exact same gravitic configuration, so once we’ve been to a system we can always identify it afterwards.”
“Okay. If I’m understanding it right, we use a gravity cannon to rip a hole in space, travel through a separate dimension while looking for a place we recognize, then we return to normal space?” Trix didn’t fully understand the explanations they’d given to her, but it WAS her first day on the job so she tried to keep the skepticism out of her voice as much as she could.
Alex laughed. He could see the point she was making, and on its surface that did seem to be rather ridiculous. Still, reality is stranger than fiction. “Bingo. That’s exactly what we’re gonna do. Now, how long until we reach appropriate distance for gateway activation?”
Trix shrugged, and tapped at the controls on her console. “Looks like, at just under 10 ‘gees’ of acceleration, whatever a gee is, we’ll get there in just under 40 minutes.”
Josh jumped in before Alex could respond. “A gee is a measurement of acceleration. It’s equivalent to the amount of acceleration that our homeworld causes due to its gravity. Our top speed is ridiculously fast, but our acceleration is limited based on our gravitic inertial dampeners. We normally cruise around at 10g acceleration, but if we have to we can boost that up. Doing so gets VERY unpleasant as the ship’s gravity fights with its acceleration, so we avoid it outside of emergencies. And kudos to your math skills, Al. Even accounting for decel to transit speeds, we’re talking an hour at most. Where’d you get ‘a few hours’ from?”
“I dunno. Pulled it out of my ass?”
Trix and Josh shared a look, before Trix returned her attention to the console. “So what do I do in the meantime?”
Josh gestured to the proximity display. “Keep an eye on the surroundings of the ship. Anything shows up within Radar or Lidar on that screen. Anything smaller than one centimeter will be instantly vaporized by the particle shields. Anything larger than that, but smaller than ten centimeters will just be shoved out of the way. Anything bigger than ten centimeters the ship will automatically move to dodge. If it looks like we’re not moving quickly enough to avoid collision, engage the attitude thrusters to give it a boost.”
Trix went over each of the controls in turn, and nodded. “Easy enough.”
Alex snorted at that. “Well, we didn’t want to throw you into anything too difficult on day one. Once we’re into D-Space, we’re going to start you in on the book training for manual flight without computer assistance. Until then, enjoy the cakewalk.”
—--
Zelineth carefully watched the human’s ship as it left the planet’s vicinity. She fought to keep her temper under control - she had to do that often these days - and this time, thankfully, she succeeded.
It just made absolutely no sense. Starships were just inorganic machines in the sky. They came and went all the time. She could ‘see’ the occupants onboard (though often not entirely clearly, obscured by distance) yet the ships themselves were practically invisible to her. Until the Humans’ ship had arrived.
Unlike every other ship she ever saw, the Humans’ ship blazed in the heavens like a star. When she’d first announced the sight of a new star in the sky she’d taken all of her assistants entirely by surprise. Her insistence on looking for it caused massive confusion - astronomers and scientists turned their instruments to the sky, but they found nothing. They were looking for a ‘star’, not a ‘ship’. Compounding that confusion was the Matriarch’s ignorance of the humans’ arrival. With every other species in the galaxy she’d ‘seen’ their arrival, yet the humans had caught her entirely off guard.
It was a mistake that had cost her a great amount of faith both from her assistants, as well as the other Matriarchs. Coupled with her predecessor’s failure to warn of the Bunters’ treachery, it had brought the power that seers like her would normally enjoy to a distinct low.
The thought riled up her temper once more, and she cursed under her breath. The Sight had been used for ages by those who came before her to perform miracles. A seer made a timid young girl an Empress of a dynasty that lasted five hundred years. A seer unified warring factions to cease a thousand year feud and join them together. Seers were always present whenever the ages changed, whenever old kingdoms would crumble and new ones would ascend in their place.
But those days were ancient stories and myths now. The Bunters had gotten away with robbery under her predecessor’s nose. The Presh rat that leaked the details of the deed to the world had never been found. The Humans had appeared and she had exposed the secret of her existence to them. Each incident, by itself, would have been a blow. Together they formed a disturbing pattern that seemed to lead to a specific conclusion - that the Seers power was waning.
She’d been warned about the problems when her power first manifested, and she’d worked hard not to allow things to get worse while she herself was in power. Yet her blunder with the Humans proved that hard work wasn’t enough, and that particular incident stung. It should never have happened; but because she let her temper rule her she’d slipped up badly. A small part of her mind did point out that it was an unfamiliar situation - she’d never been surprised and caught off guard like that. How was she to be expected to respond?
She shook her head ruefully, and continued to watch the ship. First by the telescopes and satellites that watched it, and second by her sight. A ship that could be ‘seen’ by the Sight of Prophecy. Flown by a species that was all but invisible to that same Sight. Both were significant in their own right, and pieces of a much larger puzzle - of that she was sure. But with so little to go on, she knew that solving that puzzle would be impossible. She could not leave the gilded cage she resided in to seek out the other pieces, so she simply did what she did best. Sat there, watching, seeing as much as she could while waiting for the divine sight to show her what would be.
—--
“Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Kilometers reached, Captain.” Trix announced the moment the display ticked over. The past forty minutes weren’t exactly thrilling but it went fairly quickly.
Alex raised his seat back up to normal. “Okay. Decel to four-hundred fifty thousand kph. Josh, status on the Euler Cannon?”
Josh pulled up the diagnostic on his console. “Cannon shows green. Particle Shields are nominal. Thirty-Fifth gateway initialization beginning.”
“So explain to me what’s going on here while we’re doing it.” Trix said aloud, to either of the other bridge members present.
“Sure.” Alex pulled a pouch of gummy treats out from a pocket and opened it. “Transit velocity through a gateway is speed limited. We can’t travel slower than 300k kph or it'll close on us. We can’t travel faster than 500k kph because the particle shields can't handle the density. No reason to make a transit at the edge of the possible speed envelope, we give ourselves a fair amount of leeway. The cannon has to look good to make transit. Normally the Keplite core is good for around seventy-five uses before it needs replacement, so we track the number of uses. And the particle shields are checked thoroughly before we enter d-space because without them the ship would be incinerated in minutes.”
“Thanks. That’s very reassuring.” Trix monitored the velocity readout. It was ticking down steadily.
“Don’t worry, pilot. Yes, the consequences of a failure are dire. But we check and re-check the emitters constantly. We watch for fluctuations in the Keplite core and the tiniest variants are logged and checked by Ji and Min. Space is the most hostile environment imaginable but Humanity has spent hundreds of years designing ways to not just survive in it, but thrive with comfort. And spent hundreds MORE refining our technology to be safer, more convenient, easier to use. I won’t say not to worry about the details, because collectively it’s our job to worry about the details. Instead I’m just gonna say, trust in the systems that brought us here.”
“Yeah, yeah. Four-Fifty thousand kph reached.” Trix turned to face the main display.
“Alright. Josh, if you’ll do the honors.”
“Euler Cannon engaging.” A bright spear of blue-white light burst forward from the front of the ship, and Trix stared at the screen trying to watch and see ‘space being torn apart’. The tear was instant, however. One moment just a bright beam firing ahead and the next moment a gaping hole in nothingness opened up. She didn’t know what to expect - how do you have a ‘hole’ in emptiness? But the ‘hole’ that opened up was anything BUT empty. It was a bright, shining realm full of swirling patterns and chaotic movement. As the ship slipped through the opening she stared around her as the brilliant swirls of light surrounded the ship. As she stared at the edge of the display, she could faintly see the outline of the ship’s hull, and an odd almost rainbow-like effect where the particles impacted the shielding.
She was on her feet staring at the bright pulsing opening as both Josh and Alex watched her, smiling. “D-Space is incredible, isn’t it? I still remember the first time I saw this sight myself.” Alex shifted his gaze from the avian to the brightly swirling particles that lit every corner of the bridge. Showing someone the sight of the d-space transition for the first time often made Alex look at it from a fresh perspective, the old becoming new again.
“It’s incredible. I’ve never seen, or heard, or anything like this before.” Trix was awestruck at the sight, and Josh watched the readings on his display carefully as they left reality behind them. “That’s because only Humans have this capability. The FTL that you guys use is radically different.”
“Yeah, from what I understand there’s no ‘moving through another space’. It’s just instant. Here to there.” Trix sat back down, her eyes dancing around as she watched the lights of D-Space. “But I don’t know many details there either.”
Josh blanked his display and stood up. “We’ve spoken with a number of people on other ships and on Farscope station. They charge up an FTL drive, ‘jump’ instantly to another location, then charge it up again. The charging time takes a long while but the transfer is instant. How it works is a mystery to us, for now. A mystery we’re going to solve with your people’s help.”
“Speaking of Farscope station…” Alex gestured to Trix. “Change course to head there. Should be our previous departure point. It’s only about three earth days away.”
Trix shook herself out of her reverie, and her fingers moved rapidly over the console. “Course laid in. What are we doing at the station?”
“Just checking in on a friend.” Alex chuckled to himself. “Nevermind. So here’s the plan. I want you to spend six hours studying Piloting. After that, six hours up here on the bridge doing a shift of monitor duty. Then four hours of rec time, and eight of sleep. We run on terran clocks, so that’s a 24-hour day.”
The time display was easily visible on the corner of the flight console, making that easy enough to follow. “Does that start today?”
“Today we already did two hours on bridge so I’ll walk you through monitor duty and have you spend four more hours here to complete your shift, then you’re going to be studying piloting in your room. Par’s smarter than the rest of us combined and so he’ll be your teacher during those six hour study sessions. Tomorrow we’ll flip those so study first, monitor second. Monitor duty’s important but fairly relaxed so it’ll be a good rest period after.”
“Can I study while doing monitor duty?”
“Sure, so long as you don’t slack off. Just don’t get too burnt out. Inattention can be deadly out in space. Now, come over here and I’ll show you the duty monitor. While you’re on the bridge you can check this console to…”
—--
The pace the Humans had set for her training was grueling, to be sure. What helped is that nearly everyone had their specialities and were offering to aid her in her pursuit of learning to fly a multi-ton spacecraft.
Initially it was just herself and Par, and the digital being was incredible at cutting through the difficult language used to describe zero gravity maneuvering and rephrase the stilted, arcane language used by the training programs into her own native tongue. That alone made him invaluable as a teacher, but whenever they encountered a system or subject where another crew member had expertise, they were brought in to add their own personal touches to her education.
All the same the past three days were a tremendous mental strain, and when the captain said that there’d be no studying at all during the Farscope trip she’d breathed a sigh of relief.
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to run you ragged.” He patted her shoulder gently as he saw the strain. “Once we get out to JR692 the monitor duty will be so much simpler you’ll be downright bored. Since the ship’s not in danger of immolation in n-space, you’ll just be watching for stray meteorites and debris. If anything gets too close, you’ll be able to vaporize it with the ship’s laser point defense turrets. That always eases stress.”
She gave him a glare and he backed off. “Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to be too touchy. Personal space.”
“No, no, it’s not that.” She bit her lip and shook her head. “I didn’t mind being touched. I’m just really frustrated because I thought that it’d be much easier to learn to fly out in space. Back on Kiveyt it came so naturally I never really thought about how much time and effort has to be put into learning the actual ins and outs of thrust, vectors, counter forces, rotational forces…”
Alex sat down, not in his normal command chair, but in the empty chair next to hers. “Makes sense. Back in atmosphere you’re fighting friction, gravity, and wind resistance. Out here you don’t have to fight ANY of that, you're fighting against your own movements. On planet if you cut thrusters then you lose momentum and come to a stop. Here? You drift on.”
“Yeah. And, I knew that. I knew that space was frictionless and that we wouldn’t be deep enough in a gravity well for it to matter. But knowing it, and then actually EXPERIENCING it are so different. I thought I’d pick it up as fast as I did the shuttle.”
“That’s not uncommon. From what I’ve seen, you’re a born pilot in the air. You’ve got natural talent by the bucket, enough for me to feel pretty jealous. But that won’t help you when you leave the atmosphere. What will help is training, learning, education, and plenty of practical experience.”
Trix pushed her wings against the back of the console behind her, leaning back against it. “I guess I’m a bit worried I won’t be good enough at space flight. When you told me I could learn I thought I’d just pick it up instantly and be amazing. But really I can’t do much more than just watch monitors and program in an autopilot course.”
“Maybe you won’t be great at it. Maybe you will. The point of bringing you along was to find out if this is a fit for you, and if it’s not then no pressure. We’ll drop you back off at Kiveyt with a pocketful of silver.” He grinned and tapped the console with his foot. “Between the aircar race and the story of going into space with us, I bet you’d have the guys lining up outside the Hab waiting for a chance to meet you.”
Trix smiled at the thought, and reached over to lightly tap the captain’s arm with a closed fist. “I’d have to have a raffle to let them in!”
“Or hire an assistant to help you screen out all potential applicants.” He lifted his hands above his head, as if holding up an invisible frame. “Seeking adrenaline junkie suitor for best pilot on the planet. Must be well hung and willing to worship me day and night. Inquire within. ”
“Well hung?”
“Shit. Sorry, human expression. Uh…” Alex fought to think of what to respond with that. “Kind of an off color remark. Ignore it and replace with just ‘attractive’ I guess. Anyway, point is, no matter what happens you’ve got lifelong friends here. Still, it’s only been a few days, so let’s give it a bit longer before we make any definite judgements?”
Trix nodded and pushed back forward, away from the console behind her. “Alright. Thanks again, Captain.” She tilted her head as she looked over at him. “I don’t know much about starships but how often is ‘cheering up the crew’ a Captain’s official duty?”
“It’s not. But this isn’t a typical ship, and I’m not a typical captain.” Alex stood up and walked a bit closer to Trix. “I’m not really an expert with anything around here like the rest of the crew. I can’t fly without using the autopilot, I can’t run any of the med systems manually. Par and Ma’et use the computer systems as a literal playground and to me they’re an incomprehensibly complex mess. Everyone around me has been hired to perform specific duties because I’m mediocre at them. So what CAN I do?”
Trix hesitated at this. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Was she supposed to comfort him now? Luckily he just kept talking.
“What I can do is ensure that everyone here has everything they need to perform at their peak. Your job may be to fly the ship, but my job is to do everything in my power to make your job as comfortable and easy as possible.” He turned around and walked up to the Captain’s Chair on the bridge. “Since I can’t out-fly, out-fight, or outdo anyone else my job is to make theirs easier to do by making sure they have the support they need to do it well. So if you need any support or if there’s any way I can help you out, don’t hesitate to speak up. That’s what I’m here for and I promise you if there’s anything within my power to help you, I will.”
Trix gazed up to the captain on the Dais, and nodded. “Will do. Thanks, Alex.”
—--
The gateway opening up 300,000km from Farscope was a surprise to those monitoring the area around, and immediately the command center erupted into a bustle of activity. The moment they realized that the Humans had returned the mood in the command center dropped, and Bunters and Cetari alike scurried around frantically as orders and updates flew around.
In a way it was worse than the panic and chaos from the Humans’ first visit. The fact that they now knew what the gateway was and what it meant eliminated the terror of the unknown. But that fear was replaced with confusion and uncertainty - which had just as horrible effects on the workers. The fighter wings were scrambled into space at nearly the drop of a hat, and they flew hastily to take up a position between the station and the incoming ship.
The ship in question was filled with just as much confusion at the hostile response.
“The fighters are lining up in a defensive formation between us and the station.” Josh remarked.
Trix gazed up at the screen at the near perfect line of fighters. “Did you do something to make them upset with you when you were here before?”
Alex nodded at that. “I mean technically we did kill like, forty people. In self defense of course. They stabbed Josh in the back, literally, and were trying to do the same to Ma’et, Ji, and Me. We took offense to that.”
“You were OK?” Trix mentioned to Josh, who nodded. “Got rapid treatment on-site and rushed to the medbay here. I got fully patched up. Would not recommend the experience though.”
“Still, though, we acted in defense only. They were investigating it but I am sure we did nothing that warrants a response like this. If we did, they'd have said something about it.” Alex mused. “They’re still not responding to the comm request?”
“Nope. After they wouldn’t respond to the comms, we tried Radio again but they’re not listening in to that either.” Ma’et’s digital voice came from an overhead console. It was still jarring for Trix to hear her speaking through the ship. At first Trix thought she was just using a communicator to speak remotely, until a digital avatar had appeared on her console. That was when Trix learned about ‘Neural Interfacing’ and the ability for Humans to actually interface their brains directly with the ship itself. The thought was anything but comfortable.
“Pilot, bring us to two hundred thousand kilometers and reduce speed for station keeping.”
“Yes, Captain.” Trix punched in the commands and watched apprehensively the fighters that floated silently in space.
“Incoming from the station, Captain.” Ma’et brought up a large square in the center of the main display screen.
“Incoming Human Ship. Halt all movement and state your intentions.”
A decidedly gruff Cetari spoke in universal on the screen. Alex glanced at the others on the bridge with him, then pressed the audio button on his console. “Farscope Station, this is the ISC Arcadia. Our intentions are to dock with the station for a personal visit.”
“Just to dock? That’s all? Nothing more?” The voice had an odd, incredulous sound. “After what you did before?”
Alex crossed his arms and idly tapped a finger against his bicep. “That was just self defense, Farscope. We only fought back after we attacked first. We weren’t here to start a fight then, and we’re not here to start a fight now.”
The Cetari glared back at this. “Thousands have perished and you claim you aren’t here…” he cut off, glaring angrily off to the side. “No, don’t read me the regulations, you…” the audio cut off as he began yelling silently at someone else in the room with him. Finally he began swaying left and right while making silent motions with his mouth, before the audio cut back in.
“Arcadia. How long will you be staying.”
“Not long. A few hours at most. We’re here for personal business. We’ll be out of your hair quickly and out of the system within a day.”
“Fine. Permission to dock granted. You have six hours on the station. Then I want you back aboard your ship and headed outsystem.”
The audio and video both cut away and the bridge crew looked back and forth at one another. “What the hell was all THAT about?” Alex commented.
“He said thousands died. Maybe we missed a pathogen in our scans?” Josh bit his lip. If that was the case, it was on him. He was the one who did the screening, he was the one who proclaimed them safe to be around others. If he’d missed something, then every single one of those thousands of lives were gone because of him.
“They wouldn’t have let us board again if that was the case.” Alex shook his head. “Something’s screwy here. Let’s move fast. Trix, bring the ship in to twenty-five thousand kilometers of the station, and put us in station keeping. Then come down to the hangar bay. You’re gonna pilot the shuttle over there. Josh, full med loadup on the shuttle, and load up the weapons rack while we’re at it. Let’s be ready for anything. ”
—--
Trix gazed out of the shuttle’s pilot screen at the fighters that were ‘escorting’ them to the station. She wished she knew more about their capabilities. She was learning by the day how formidable the ship she was on was, though the Captain went to great lengths to assure her that fighting was the last resort for them. He often called them a ‘glass cannon’ which seemed an odd simile.
Being surrounded by those armed and armored ships was nerve wracking, but it was the docking maneuver itself that had her the most intimidated. One thing that she loved about the Humans’ ship was the artificial gravity. Unlike other ships out there, it didn’t require a spin in order to allow her to walk normally. It could be adjusted up or down (though down could be dangerous as none of the corridors or quarters had particularly high ceilings) at will and made working and living incredibly comfortable. The station, however, lacked that artificial gravity and required a constant spin instead. So the simple docking maneuver was actually lining up the shuttle to a relative halt to a constantly-moving object as a frame of reference.
“C’mon, feathers. You’ve got less than a week on the job and this is a tricky maneuver. There’s no shame in letting the computer handle it.” Ma’et had been supportive as usual, but Trix still hated having to use the automatic systems as a crutch.
The systems brought them in and Ma’et darkened the screen before the dock came into view. Trix looked over at her questioningly, but the smaller woman just shook her head. “Captain’s orders.”
Trix just nodded and watched as the computer took full control, leading the shuttle up onto the landing pad and touching down. She was about to stand up and move to the back when Ma’et stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. As the onboard gravity disabled she felt a brief vertigo sensation as her body transitioned from ‘artificial gravity’ to ‘rotational’. The transition didn’t take long, and Trix took a deep breath. “Thanks.”
“No worries. Al nearly toppled over when we landed here the first time. It’s a weird sensation.” Ma’et stood up and the two walked out of the cockpit into the shuttle interior.
“Okay, everyone. No fun music display this time. Let’s just get out there and check in with security.” Alex clapped his hands and then admonished Trix. “Stop playing with it. It’s a highly sensitive piece of equipment.”
Trix was trying to adjust the transparent breath mask, and ignored the captain entirely. “It was made for a species with a massive nose. I don’t HAVE a massive nose, so it sits weird on my face.”
Ji nodded. “It’s also made of high-grade reinforced polycarbonate and it’d take more strength than she has to break it.”
Trix made another adjustment, and sighed. “It’s uncomfortable.”
“Well without it, we’re gonna be almost the only ones who understand you. Remember, most of the population here are Bunters, Cetari, and Fwenth.” Amanda clicked her tongue at the younger avian woman. “Best not to appear rude after the welcome we were given outside.”
Alex reached over and punched the hatch open. With no pomp and circumstance, it opened rapidly and the shuttle ramp extended down fast and silent. Given their welcome to the system he wasn’t very surprised to find that security had surrounded the shuttle. With guns out. Thankfully none were actively aimed at the passengers, and he confidently stepped out of the shuttle while glancing around for the person he’d known would be meeting him here.
He noticed her more or less immediately. The bright white of her feathers stood out quite starkly in the hangar bay, and the moment his feet touched the deck plating of the docking bay he turned to greet her with a massive smile and a raised hand. “Hey there, Sophie. Long time no-”
“Auntie? Auntie Sffffheeno?”
Trix immediately bounded forward, startling literally everyone in the docking bay. Half of security were reaching for their weapons as the young lady burst forward directly to the chief, but the chief’s eyes widened at the sight. “Trksehn??”
The two ran together and embraced tightly. The security agents froze in place, watching the two avians holding one another close. “Trksehn! It’s been ages! What on earth are you doing here? Why are you with the humans?”
“Auntie, I’m their pilot! We met back on Kiveyt and they came to the Noarala and I was assigned to be their guide, and I started talking to them about the aircar and…” Trix’s words were stumbling over one another as the rest of the crew joined them.
“Calm down, feathers. Let your aunt breathe a little.” Ma’et had a massive smile across her face as she reached out to pinch one of Trix’s wings. It had the desired effect as the young woman clamped her mouth shut immediately, before mumbling an apology.
“Well. I assumed you two would know each other, same Teff and all. I can’t say that I expected THAT energetic response though.” Alex chuckled and extended a hand to the security chief.
Sophie grasped the hand and squeezed it warmly. “Your time on Kiveyt went well, Captain? Well enough that you’ve absconded with one of our most promising youths?”
Alex squeezed back and nodded. “Went extremely well, though it was also incredibly eventful. Unfortunately while we made quite a few friends, let’s just say that Kyshe is still rather wary about us.”
Sophie’s face fell. “Ah. I should have expected, after her mother…” She shook her head, and her wings. “We should speak. In depth. But not in the middle of a docking bay surrounded by armed guards.”
Josh glanced around at the security. “What happened here? That Cetari on the comms said thousands died?”
Sophie’s expression turned grim, and she shook her head. “It’s a very long story. Let’s get off the pad first. There’s a VIP lounge here in the docking ring we can use for privacy.” She gestured to several of the guards, who immediately ran ahead to prepare the room. “I’ll only keep a few of the guards inside, the rest will have to stay nearby for protection.”
“Protection.” Alex mused. “Ours or yours?”
—--
Next Chapter

I’m in the middle of doing pre reqs and I think I’ve found a method that sort of works for me.
I’m adopting a strategy where I am going in the chapters for the pre reqs and writing out the chapter objectives as a long sort of study guide on Google word docs. I turn them into questions and answering them almost like a lab worksheet.
I’ll mostly watch YouTube videos to cover topics which I hope will equate to lectures in nursing school.
I then turn those into flash cards on Quizlet so I can repeat them to remember them better and that way I can review and study on the go.
Whatever I don’t seem to remember well I revisit and supplement with reading or more videos and add to my notes.
It seems this method has been working well for me. Mind you my classes are online and self paced with no guidance from a teacher at all.
I also make word documents with images of important diagrams like the anatomical position, structures of cells or locations and names of bones for topics that are more about memorization rather than understanding concepts.
I am a very visual learner so having these on hand to review in case I forget the anatomical term for the hollow back of the knee or something or which cranial nerve does what helps me a lot.
I currently use this method for myself at my job as a medical technician and it’s helping things to stick. Repetition repetition repetition!

23F. I am not sure of my exact weight but I know that I am not overweight, and admittedly my lifestyle has been quite sedentary with scattered, short bursts of physical activity but nothing consistent.
For the past few years I have had pain in my right hip flexor but nothing unmanageable. Within the last 7-8 months I’ve developed sciatic nerve pain. And for longer than I can remember, I have had pain on the right side of my upper hip/lower back area. The last part I’ve often contributed to how I sit, usually with my back rounded and tilted towards my left side, especially if I am writing.
In the last 2 months the pain has gotten much worse and to the point it sometimes feels like my leg will buckle out from under me. My job sometimes requires me to be on my feet a lot and I have been working a lot of extra shifts, I notice the pain is worse after I’ve done a double. Being on my feet a lot definitely aggravates it. The upper hip/lower back pain stays even when I am sitting down but the buttock and thigh pain go away. During a hike recently I had to be supported by someone else to make it to the end because the pain got so bad to the point of tears.
Pelvic X-Ray came back unremarkable. Where do I turn from here? Is there other imaging I should be asking for?
Diagrams with pain location markings

Previously, on Hell’s Kitchen…
The final 10 were given a challenge not seen in over a decade, creating their own menus in the revival of Red vs Blue Menu Night. While the blue team worked together, with a strong concept provided by Melody, the red team found themselves being led by Thomas, whether they liked it or not. However, as the chefs were returning to the kitchen to begin cooking their dishes, disaster struck, as Travis re-injured his ankle, and had to be taken to the hospital. Despite being down a man, and Grace feeling shortchanged by not getting anything on the menu, the blue team’s cohesive selection still managed to impress Ramsay and his special guests: three previous winners of Hell’s Kitchen. The red team’s menu had mixed results, which led to friction between Thomas and some of his teammates
In service, the blue team’s menu had the edge in popularity, but thanks to poor communication between Grace and Carole, the kitchen ground to a halt multiple times. Meanwhile, the red kitchen managed to push out their food in a timely manner thanks to strong teamwork on entrees. With the red team named the winners of service, it was time for the blue team to nominate two chefs to send home.
At elimination, though, everyone was in for a shock when Travis, who had been one of the early favorites, returned and announced that due to injury, he would be leaving Hell’s Kitchen for good. Ramsay still insisted on hearing from the blue team’s nominees, who were Grace, Carole and Melody after they failed to come to a consensus. But with Travis’ dream of becoming the next head chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak in Vancouver, British Columbia already having come to a heartbreaking end, Ramsay gave everyone another chance to show him why they were the chef he was looking for, but assured them that he was not taking any more excuses from now on.
https://reddit.com/link/1ctwn9g/video/oifsieupww0d1/player
And now, the continuation of Hell’s Kitchen…
After witnessing the shocking withdrawal of Travis from the competition, no one was in a celebratory mood as Ramsay dismissed them to the dorms for the night. Carole said in her confessional that he had been the main one supporting her in the blue team, and now it felt like she was truly on her own. As the blue team returned to the dorms, a very upset Melody unleashed her frustration, saying that Travis did not deserve to go home tonight over either Carole and Grace, and they needed to cut the bullshit and start thinking and working as a team. Lauren said in her confessional that it seemed like something snapped in Melody tonight, as she was well and truly fed up with the drama, which definitely made two of them. Even so, after noticing that Melody was sitting alone and nearly in tears, Lauren went over to comfort her, as Melody admitted that she hated to have to talk that way to her teammates, but she was sick and tired of the drama. Lauren assured her that it had to be said, and was proud of her for stepping up. Meanwhile, Grace said in her confessional that Melody seemed to be losing her composure, and would hopefully go down in flames soon.
On the red team’s side of the dorm, Faye was also feeling sadness over the way Travis had gone out, as she admitted to Michael that it reminded her too much of her own exit last season, only at least she had made the choice to walk away, while Travis never had one. Meanwhile, another chef had mixed feelings on the sudden turn of events, as Thomas said in his confessional that Travis had been a strong chef and a good person, and while losing him would cut the competition down, he would have rather seen him go out with dignity. Ramona and Everett, meanwhile, continued to stick closely together, with Ramona saying in her confessional that it felt good to have the security of the immunity pass, because she and Everett were definitely the most likely to be nominated if service went wrong, though she admitted she would feel some guilt if he went out because of it, but this was her career and future at stake. Everett said in his confessional that he couldn’t afford to worry about what might happen if he went up on the chopping block, and was just focused on trying to help the red team win.
The chefs were still trying to take in all the events of the night, but finally, tiredness overtook them, and they turned in for the night.
Challenge
The next day, the final 9 came downstairs to find Ramsy waiting for them, as well as a detailed diagram of a cow. Ramsay explained that he still had not forgotten the disaster that was Steak Night, and that was why, for this next challenge, he wanted to give both teams a chance to prove how far they had come by preparing dishes using five cuts: ribeye, top sirloin, hanger, flank, and striploin. Thomas said in his confessional that the red team had no business fucking this up, as they had several chefs who were strong on the meat station in services, while Lauren was nervous in her confessional, as she wasn’t sure about Grace or Carole. Since the blue team had one less member, one chef would have to prepare two dishes, which Lauren volunteered to do. With their instructions having been given, Ramsay told the chefs that their time started now.
The chefs rushed into their respective kitchens and quickly tried to sort out who would be responsible for which cuts of steak. In the blue kitchen, Lauren decided to take on the hanger and flank steak, while Grace took the ribeye, over Carole’s objections, and Carole was left with the striploin, while Melody took the top sirloin. Grace said in her confessional that she fought for this ribeye and she was going to carry her team to victory whether they liked it or not, while Carole said she would’ve felt much safer if anyone else were cooking the ribeye besides Grace. While Carole still seemed undecided on which direction to go with her New York Strip, at least one chef already had her dish planned out, and that was Melody, who went into detail in her confessional on how she wanted to plate her top sirloin. Meanwhile, Lauren was working hard to manage two separate cuts of meat, saying in her confessional that taking on the extra workload could either make her look really good in front of Chef Ramsay or totally blow up in her face.
In the red kitchen, Thomas was on the top sirloin, Ramona had the ribeye, Faye had hanger steak, Michael had flank steak, and Everett had striploin. Ramona said in her confessional that she had to deliver on the ribeye, as she already had the most losses of any chef here, and didn’t need to add any more to her resume with black jackets approaching. Thomas was confident that he could handle the top sirloin, as he said in his confessional that no one still here should have any issues cooking meat, and he would be disappointed in himself if he didn’t achieve perfection on this dish. Michael noticed Ramona seemed to be having some trouble with her ribeye, and tried to offer some advice, but Ramona said in her confessional that she had to do this alone, and told him she had it under control. Michael was annoyed, saying in his confessional that this was still a team effort, and it was no time to let egos get in the way. Meanwhile, Faye and Everett were seemingly in good spirits, with Everett saying in his confessional that meat was where he felt the most at home, and if he failed at this challenge, he might as well go home now, while Faye said in her confessional that it was nice to see Everett so energetic, and she hoped his dish could match that.
With the time nearly up, the chefs put the finishing touches on their dishes as Ramsay called out the final seconds and told the chefs to bring their plates to the pass. Ramsay then announced that he would be joined by a special guest judge for this competition, who was a familiar face to viewers of MasterChef: Ramsay’s former co-host on that show, Graham Elliot. The chefs were starstruck, with Melody saying in her confessional Graham was the best, and easily her favorite judge on MasterChef…after Ramsay, of course. After exchanging a warm greeting, Ramsay said it was time to get down to business, starting with the battle of the flank steak. This round would pit Lauren against Michael, with Michael saying in his confessional that this was his first time going against Lauren in a challenge, and he knew it wouldn’t be easy to take her down, given how consistently strong she had been. After tasting Lauren’s dish, both Ramsay and Elliot had high praise, saying the meat was tender and nicely cooked, although Elliot did say he might have done something different for the garnish. Lauren was second-guessing herself in her confessional, but In the end, both judges gave it four stars out of five. Michael said in his confessional that as expected, Lauren put up a good dish, but he was confident in his as well. Indeed, Michael’s flank steak was also found to be nicely cooked, and despite the somewhat simple presentation, Ramsay said this was a great start for both teams, as again, both he and Elliot each gave it a four.
With the score tied at 8, it was time for the battle of the hanger steak. Lauren stayed where she was while Faye brought her dish up to the pass. Elliot was impressed that Lauren had cooked two dishes for the challenge, although he noted that the hanger steak could’ve used a little more cooking time, which Ramsay agreed with, saying that was the one thing holding it back, and Lauren kicked herself in her confessional, as she said she should have been able to stay on top of it. Elliot only gave it a three due to the undercooked steak, though Ramsay said it still delivered enough flavor to get a four. Faye’s dish also got mixed reviews, as both chefs praised the cook of the meat, but questioned her garnish choices, with Ramsay pointing out that the presentation seemed slightly off. Elliot said she got the most important part right though, and gave it a four, to which Ramsay agreed, which put the red team ahead 16-15. In the third round, the teams’ ribeye dishes went head to head, for which Ramona and Grace stepped forward. Unfortunately for Ramona, her ribeye was badly overcooked, and Ramsay took her to task for serving something practically inedible to him and his guest. Ramona groaned in her confessional, as she couldn’t believe she had fucked up this badly. Both judges gave her a one, and Ramsay said she was lucky to get even that. Grace’s dish got mixed reviews, with Ramsay saying the presentation was shocking, while Elliot noted that the ribeye again was overcooked, though not nearly as much as Ramona’s. Ramsay said this was not what he expected from these chefs at this stage of the game, and gave Grace a one, but Elliot was more generous and gave it a two, as at least it had some flavor.
With the scores now tied at 18, it was time for the battle of the top sirloin, as Thomas and Melody brought their dishes forward. Melody’s dish earned praise for it’s stylish presentation and garnish, and after tasting the steak itself, Ramsay noted that it was cooked perfectly, and said this dish was a strong four, but Elliot went a step further and said it deserved a five, which made Melody giddy in her confessional, as she never could have imagined hearing those words before. Next was Thomas, with Elliot again noting the stunning presentation, and after tasting, he said that these two had really raised the bar today. Ramsay agreed and said it was the best pair of dishes yet, and this time, he would be giving out a five. Elliot agreed, giving Thomas a perfect score, which he took with a calm smile in his confessional, as he said Melody gave him a good run, but he never had any doubts. With the red team now back in the lead 28-27, it was time for the final round, as Everett and Carole would face off in the battle of the New York Strip. Everett went first, with Elliot saying, after a long pause…that the strip was absolutely delicious. Ramsay agreed, also praising the presentation, and said this was one of Everett’s best dishes yet in Hell’s Kitchen, as that deserved a very strong four. Elliot gave the same score, bringing the red team’s total up to an impressive 36, meaning Carole needed close to a perfect score to keep the blue team in it. Everett was absolutely fired up in his confessional, saying this was just the boost that he needed, and there was no stopping him now. Meanwhile, Carole presented her dish, which got good marks for presentation, but as Elliot sliced into the strip, he said it looked undercooked, to which Ramsay agreed, and said it was a great shame. Though it was only a formality, both Elliot and Ramsay gave the dish a two, giving the red team a 36-31 win.
Reward / Punishment
Ramsay thanked Elliot for helping him judge the challenge, and once he had left, Ramsay turned back to the chefs and congratulated the red team on winning the challenge, in particular praising the efforts of Everett and Thomas. He then said they were in for a fun reward, as he was sending all of them off for a day of paintball, followed by dinner at an exquisite LA steakhouse. Ramona was relieved in her confessional, as she knew she could have blown it for the red team with her ribeye, while Everett was ecstatic to have redeemed himself in this challenge, as he said in his confessional that he was still a beast at cooking meat. While the red team ran off to get changed, Ramsay turned his attention to the blue team and said that for today’s punishment, he had decided to put it towards a good cause by volunteering them for community service, which meant picking up trash on the side of the road. Grace moaned in her confessional, as she said that they always seemed to save the worst punishments for her. Ramsay reminded Melody that she still had that punishment pass, and offered to let her use it. Melody replied that she was never a paintball type of girl, and would rather help out the environment. Ramsay accepted her choice and told the blue team that they too would be changing…into their stunning orange uniforms.
The red team came back downstairs, and Michael joked in his confessional that it looked like Hell’s Kitchen had turned into a prison, while Faye apologetically said goodbye. While on the way to the paintball ground, the red team talked amongst themselves in the car, with Thomas saying that no one else was going home from the red team, and Michael agreed, saying they were all getting black jackets. Faye wondered aloud who their biggest competition might be from the blue team, but everyone quickly agreed that Lauren was the strongest. Ramona said in her confessional that she knew everyone was sleeping on her, but she would simply have to prove them wrong in service. Later, the chefs arrived at the paintball ground, and Faye said she hoped none of them would go easy on her just because she was a woman. Everett joked that she had nothing to worry about there, and the team ended up having an enjoyable afternoon, with Ramona and Everett trying to team up against Thomas, but he was able to shoot both of them. Michael said in his confessional that it felt great to just get outside and let loose without having to do some exhausting punishment. As evening approached, the red team were then taken to dinner, which Everett said in his confessional was some of the finest quality steak he had ever tasted, though not quite as good as the home cooking back in Oklahoma, which got some laughs from the others. Faye said that the next winner was sitting right here at this table, to which the others enthusiastically toasted, and the chefs continued to bond as a team over their meal.
While the red team were living the good life, the blue team were working in the hot sun to ensure that the environment could do the same. While the others tried to get on with their task, though, Grace’s constant complaining quickly got on all of their nerves, as Carole said in exasperation in her confessional that they were all well aware of the fact that Grace didn’t want to be here, and she didn’t need to broadcast it every five seconds. Lauren joked with Melody that she wouldn’t mind going on that paintball reward just to take a few shots at Grace, which Melody said in her confessional was tough to argue with, as even her optimistic outlook was being challenged right now by Grace’s incessant whining. Carole said in her confessional that she and Grace were definitely the most vulnerable on the team, but as long as Grace kept this up, she was making the decision easy for everyone, and as far as Carole was concerned, that was perfectly fine. Despite having their patience tested, the blue team worked through their physically exhausting community service and, for the most part, left feeling that at least some good had come of it.
Back in Hell’s Kitchen, the blue team arrived first and tried to unwind in the dorms until the red team returned later in the night. Grace quickly became annoyed with the red team talking about their reward, while Ramona said in her confessional that she didn’t mind rubbing it in her old rival’s face a bit. Lauren said in her confessional that the red team could have this one, as she was keeping her eyes on service. As the night dragged on, another topic came up, that being Travis, as everyone on the blue team aside from Grace admitted to missing him, and Lauren jokingly said even the punishments just weren’t the same now. Faye sympathized, as she said it was tough to watch a chef who had put everything on the line and pushed through an injury go out like that, even if this was a competition. Thomas agreed and said that everyone here deserved a chance to fight for their dream, as for these chefs, it was a potentially life changing opportunity, and he knew he would be devastated to lose it. Michael said in his confessional that it was no time for fucking around anymore, as they all needed to cook like it was their last night in Hell’s Kitchen.
The chefs chatted amongst themselves for a while longer before finally trying to get some sleep.
Pre-Service
The next day, the chefs went downstairs to begin prep, as Ramsay said that this was the stage in the competition where he wanted to see the best begin to shine, and warned that there would be nowhere to hide for chefs who were struggling to keep up. With that, he told the blue team that despite being a man down, he expected absolutely nothing less than a stellar performance, and told the red team not to get too comfortable with their challenge win, as they still needed to be locked in for service. With all nine chefs seemingly read to go, Ramsay allowed them to get started on prep.
In the blue kitchen, Melody and Lauren were in good spirits, though Melody admitted she still missed having Travis here, despite the fact that the blue team was all women now. Carole said in her confessional that the ladies should have no problems taking this service, as while she didn’t mind the format change, having all girls on one team was how it was done in the old days, and it would be even better if Grace was gone. Grace, meanwhile, seemed to be in a bad mood after her ribeye flopped in the challenge, as she said in her confessional that it couldn’t have been as bad as Ramsay said, as much as she respected his opinion, and refused to acknowledge Melody’s attempts to talk to her. Melody said in her confessional that nobody wanted Grace here, but the least she could do was try to reach out, as futile as it seemed. Lauren said in her confessional that in order for the blue team to win tonight, they needed Carole and Grace to step up big time, as she and Melody couldn’t do all the work here.
While the blue team was hoping for a miracle, the red team seemed loose and ready to go, with Michael saying that he had a good feeling about tonight, as there were no excuses for losing to the blue team now. Ramona said to Everett that this was their redemption night, with Everett agreeing and saying they were going to kick some culinary ass, and Faye said it was great to see both of them committed to bouncing back and leading the red team to another win. Everett replied that Grace was going home tonight for sure, which got some laughs from the others, as Michael said in his confessional that this was the one thing he was sure literally everyone else could agree on. Thomas, though, said in his confessional that everyone being this hyped up actually worried him, as he hoped they weren’t getting distracted and forgetting that they still had to earn the win. Michael encouraged him to lighten up, as they had a virtual all-star team here, but Thomas still maintained his serious demeanor, with Ramona saying in her confessional that this guy seriously needed to get a hobby.
Ramsay reminded the chefs again that he was looking for these chefs to show him why they deserved to become the head chef of Gordon Ramsay Steak, and with that, he called out to Marino and told him to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner Service
Guests began to enter Hell’s Kitchen by the dozens, as it was once again the center of the culinary world for tonight, filled to the brim with celebrities and Hollywood elites. It was not long before orders began to make their way back to both kitchens.
In the blue kitchen, they were looking to Grace on appetizers and Carole on fish to give the blue team an early edge, while Lauren was on garnish and Melody was on meat. Early on, Grace managed to successfully deliver her first table of lobster tail risottos and capellini, with nicely cooked tails from Carole along with an acceptable order of scallops. Carole said in her confessional that they absolutely needed to keep this up, as both of them were effectively cooking for their lives right now. Unfortunately, communication issues cropped up again, with Grace not talking to Carole and bringing up her dishes without waiting for Carole’s scallops. Ramsay called out for the scallops, saying food was dying at the pass, and demanded to know why the fuck they couldn’t just work together as a team. Carole did eventually bring up the scallops, but they were raw, much to Ramsay’s disgust, and Grace said in her confessional that Carole just needed to get out of here as she clearly wasn’t cutting it. Despite these issues, and an overly salty risotto from Grace, the blue team did manage to finally start getting appetizers out into the dining room, with Ramsay even praising Grace’s risottos at one point, and telling her that’s what she could do if she would focus more on cooking than starting shit with her team. The blue team did eventually complete appetizers and began working on entrees.
In the red kitchen, Everett was working appetizers, while Michael was on fish, Ramona was on garnish, and Thomas and Faye were together on meat. Everett was glad to be working closely with Michael again, as he said in his confessional that they made a good team in the last service on meat. Early on, that familiarity seemed to be paying off, as Everett and Michael worked in sync with each other on the first few tickets and got their orders out in a timely fashion. Things did get bumpy, however, when Everett served mushy, overcooked capellini, and started dragging on orders, while Michael served overcooked scallops due to them getting mixed up on their times. Michael said in his confessional that they needed to get it together quickly, as they couldn’t afford to be falling behind so early in service. Meanwhile, Ramsay wanted to know where the energy was, as right now, Everett was going quiet and not responding when asked for times, and nothing was going out. Michael urged Everett to wake up and fight through it, and Everett did manage to get his next attempt at the capellini accepted. In his confessional, Everett said he was trying his best to keep it together, and admitted he had been thrown off his game, but he was far from done. With Everett’s newfound determination, the red kitchen finally had some life again, and after Ramsay praised both Michael’s scallops and Everett’s risottos, the two of them managed to get their rhythm back and serve the rest of their tables.
In the blue kitchen, they looked fo Melody to lead the way from the meat station, and thanks to strong communion between her, Lauren on garnish, and Carole on fish, they managed to get their dishes to the pass for the first table, but Carole’s turbot was undercooked, which left the entire order waiting for her, but she was able to recover quickly on her second attempt. On meat, Melody said in her confessional that it was pretty overwhelming to have to serve all of the blue team’s customers by herself for the first time, but despite dragging a bit on orders, she managed to push high quality Wellingtons and New York Strip out into the dining room consistently. Lauren, meanwhile, seemed at home driving tickets from the garnish station, and the blue team was finally starting to settle into a groove. Melody did serve a rare New York Strip, while Carole served raw turbot, but both were able to bounce back, and entrees were soon flying out to grateful diners. Melody and Lauren once again had no problems communicating and working in sync from their stations, with Lauren saying in her confessional that she and Melody could probably run the kitchen by themselves. But it was Carole who once again held up the kitchen when she inexplicably fired off halibut despite it not being on the ticket, which got her schooled by Ramsay for not paying attention to the ticket when he was standing less than five feet away. Despite this, the blue team managed to complete the rest of their entrees, and were soon ready to get started on desserts.
The red team was starting on entrees with Thomas and Faye on the meat station, and Faye said in her confessional that with meat being a station she felt comfortable in, she hoped tonight could be the night she stood out for the red team. On the first ticket, she and Thomas managed to serve beautifully cooked Wellingtons and New York Strip, along with nicely cooked turbot from Michael, but Ramona was holding the table up by dragging on garnish. Though she eventually managed to bring it up, Ramona would continue to drag on her section, frustrating her team, but especially Ramsay, as he kept calling out for times, with Ramona becoming flustered and not responding to her team. Ramona said in her confessional that the nerves were absolutely getting to her right now, and she seriously needed to bounce back. Meanwhile, Faye ran into some trouble on her Wellingtons, as she undercooked them for one table and said she would need several minutes for a refire, though she was able to recover. Thomas also had a rare mistake as he served undercooked New York Strip, and Ramsay said he didn't expect that from the executive chef. Thomas kicked himself in his confessional, saying that could not happen again, and he did manage to serve a beautiful New York Strip on his refire. However, on the next ticket, Ramona served a pot of runny mashed potatoes, and also seemed lost on what was actually going, as she couldn’t recall the ticket when Ramsay asked her. Ramsay had seen enough and took her into the pantry, asking her what the fuck she was doing, and if it was some kind of joke to her. Ramona insisted it wasn’t and said it was just nerves, but Ramsay replied that she needed to shake those nerves right now, or he would send her out the front door, immunity pass or not. Ramona said in her confessional that it was do or die, and she did manage to finally serve acceptable garnishes. Faye was still dragging on Wellingtons, which frustrated Ramsay, but finally, the red team managed to complete their remaining entrees.
Both teams finished their desserts in good time, and Ramsay told them to clear down.
Post-Mortem
Ramsay had the teams line up and started by saying that this was still not the complete performance he had been looking for. For the blue team, appetizers had been underwhelming, but they improved on entrees. For the red team, it was a decent start on apps, followed by a nightmare on entrees. However, he noted that one team in particular had a slight edge, and that was the blue team, as despite their issues, their customer comment cards gave them a satisfaction rating of 90%, to 84% from the red team. Ramsay said that the fiasco on entrees cost the red team this service, and told them to think long and hard about which two should be going up for elimination tonight. With that, he dismissed both teams to the dorms.
Back in the dorms, the red team’s deliberations were kicked off by Thomas, as he said he hoped everyone could agree that Ramona had dropped the ball tonight on garnish. The others seemed to agree, with Michael saying it was her worst performance in a while. Ramona only half-heartedly fought back, as she said she was better than this, and knew she still deserved to be here, but said if they wanted to put her up, it was their choice. In her confessional, she said she knew that immunity pass wouldn’t last forever, and it was better to get her bad service out of the way now, than during black jackets. With the first nominee having been an easy choice, the second would be more challenging, as Everett acknowledged that Michael and Thomas both had great services despite each having a mistake, and didn’t deserve to go up, which left either him or Faye. Thomas said that he felt Faye had struggled on meat, and that Ramsay rightfully had high expectations of both of them, due to his experience and her being a past chef, so he would vote for her. Michael, though, said that he had to vote for Everett, as he was just too inconsistent at this stage. Faye seemed torn but said she had to vote for Everett, even though they were friends, as he had struggled the most of the available options. Ramona was left with the deciding vote, and said in her confessional that it was impossibly difficult, as Faye had been a mentor for her here, while she had also bonded with Everett.
On the blue team’s side of the dorm, everyone was pleased to have won service and avoided having to send anyone home…well, almost everyone. Lauren admitted to Melody that it sucked having to put up with Grace for another day, while Melody tried to get her to think more positively, as if they were winning with Grace on their team, Ramsay definitely had to be taking notice. Lauren smiled and said she was definitely right about that, and the two of them continued chatting together while Carole sat off by herself and pondered her future in Hell’s Kitchen, In her confessional, she said she was damn lucky that the blue team won tonight, as she and Grace would have gone up otherwise, and that could have been it for her and her dream. Meanwhile, Grace felt that she had done well, and could have done even better without Carole getting in the way, saying in her confessional that it would be nice to get rid of dead weight, but she would settle for seeing someone from the red team go home.
Elimination Ceremony
The red team entered the dining room anxiously and lined up before Ramsay, who said that this was supposed to be the best five on the red team, but instead, it looked like two completely different teams, and while he didn’t know what the hell was going on, he was going to get to the bottom of it. With that, he asked Thomas for the red team’s first nominee and why. Thomas announced that the red team had nominated Ramona, due to her terrible performance on garnish, and being the weakest chef on the team. Ramsay asked for the second nominee and why. Thomas hesitated briefly before announcing that…the red team was nominating Everett, due to his declining performances and up and down service on appetizers. Before getting to any elimination pleas, though, Ramsay told Ramona to step forward and had her hand over the immunity pass. As she did so, Ramsay said that if not for the pass, Ramona would have gone home tonight, and urged her to take advantage of this second chance, before sending her back in line. Ramona appeared visibly shaken as she went to rejoin the red team. Ramsay said that the red team now had 30 seconds to talk amongst themselves and come up with another nominee. In the huddle, the chefs quickly determined that Faye would go up, as she had been their other consideration. As they broke the huddle, Thomas announced that Faye was the red team’s new nominee. Ramsay accepted this and told Everett and Faye to step forward.
Deliberation music
First, Ramsay asked Faye why she should stay in Hell’s Kitchen.
Faye: “My time away from Hell’s Kitchen gave me a whole new perspective on cooking, it made me realize why I’m doing this. It’s for my family, it’s for me, I can’t imagine doing anything else. That’s why I’ll never give up on myself or my team.”
Ramsay asked Faye if she thought she was a better chef than Everett.
Faye: “...Everett is a fighter, chef, and a good teammate, but yes, I do believe I’m stronger than him in terms of consistency and leadership.”
Ramsay moved on to Everett, asking him why he should stay in Hell’s Kitchen.
Everett: “This competition is a marathon, chef. I’ve had my ups and downs, I’ve had my stumbles, but I feel like I’m just on the cusp of hittin’ my stride.”
Ramsay said he had been waiting and waiting for Everett to emerge, and it seemed like he was trending downwards.
Everett: “I’ve had a slump, chef, I ain’t gonna deny that. But I’m fightin’ through it. I know I can be your next head chef.”
Ramsay asked Everett if he thought he was a stronger chef than Faye.
Everett: “Chef…”
Dramatic music
Ramsay waited on Everett’s answer, and after a tense moment, he finally spoke…
Everett: “Chef…at this time, no, I can’t say that I am.”
Faye glanced over at Everett in shock, as did everyone else from the red team, and even some of the blue team.
Ramsay: “I appreciate the honesty. Please, give me your jacket, your time is done in Hell’s Kitchen.”
Elimination music
Everett handed over his jacket and shook Ramsay’s hand.
Everett: “Thank you so much for this opportunity, chef.”
Ramsay: “Let me tell you something, young man, you have so much passion and fightback within you, I’ve seen it throughout this competition. Unfortunately, I didn’t see enough of it in service, or just now, but I hope you can find it again, because you are bloody talented. I wish you all the best.”
Everett thanked Ramsay again and waved goodbye to his team as he exited Hell’s Kitchen.
Everett’s comment
“Oh man…when I first entered Hell’s Kitchen, I never thought I’d be walkin’ out the door like this. I thought I was headed straight for the top, no problem. Each day was like this crazy mixture of anxiety, thrills, and drama. I fought, and I fought, and I fought for my place, until, I guess I just couldn’t fight no more. I’ll always have good memories of my time here, but I sure as hell wouldn’t do it again! (laughs)

With Everett’s elimination, Ramsay told Faye to get back in line, and addressed the chefs collectively as the final 8, saying that tonight should be a reminder to each of these chefs that a downward spiral at this point was unacceptable, as things were not going to get any easier. With that, Ramsay told them all to get some rest, because tomorrow, he was going to start separating the chefs from the cooks.
As the chefs went back to the dorms, several of them had confessionals. Thomas said that Ramona was definitely a bigger liability than Everett, but hopefully losing her immunity would wake her up. Michael said that it sucked that Everett left when he was far from the worst tonight. Ramona was clearly still shaken from the experience, as she said she felt awful about Everett going home when she had a worse performance, and knew she had to bounce back tomorrow or it would all be over for her. Melody said that between Travis and Everett, watching their fellow chefs go home was just getting more and more difficult, but she knew there were still seven more between her and the grand prize. Grace said none of these chefs were on her level, and she was going to keep being herself and kicking ass in the kitchen, regardless of her team’s hate for her. Lauren said that with only four on each team, there was nowhere left to hide, and everything they had done up until now was just the warm up for the real tests that lay ahead.
​Placement
https://preview.redd.it/rpdx9533yw0d1.png?width=2447&format=png&auto=webp&s=52806b2d14807ba57be90bfa8261368e2dbea4cb

Went well, I think better than the first. Went through VES. He noted Back degenerative disc disease with intervertebral disc syndrome with right and left lower extremity radiculopathy in the sciatic nerve,. He asked me way more questions than the first. I told him some days I piss in a bottle laying down which is true.
One thing that did throw me for a loop is the ROM he had be at 60, Not sure if that is total or what. But my forward flex is literally a tilt until I feel pain. I soo wanted to ask him, but didn't. He was next to me typing so I could read his screen. I looked at diagrams and all that as far as ROM (learning here) I prob bent 20 or less since I am in the midst of a decent flare up. Anyhow, not gonna mess with that, just need to get this shit approved.
He did order another x-ray which he says is a waste of resources given my current records. But said VA requires it.
Anyway thanks for the input, I'll update further when I gte more info. X ray on the 20th
edit: this is a supp after submittng a buddy letter, was denied the first time, since they needed more of a connection.

My nesting partner Amanda (f) and I (m) have been together for getting close to a decade. For a few different reasons a long time went by where neither of us were looking for other partners, so it's just been us for a hot minute. We've been trying to reconnect with old friends and make new ones this past year, and in the past month one of those connections lead to a dating relationship for me with Cate (f). In some of our processing conversations that Amanda and I have had to transition from hypothetical to being an "active" poly couple, Amanda realized that she's been feeling stuck in her life and not totally sure who she is these days. She wants to do some exploring to figure out what she wants next for herself beyond just being part of our relationship.
This feels good and healthy to me and seems like it would be so even if I hadn't started dating Cate. I want Amanda to be the best version of herself she can be. But it's also spooky because I've been in relationships where "I need to find myself" meant starting a slow-breakup. She's offered me assurances that she wants to pursue some of her passions and that in most cases if it's something I'm also interested in I'm welcome to join in some of those things, and that helps. She has also reassured me that while there are no guarantees in life, she can't imagine a life that she wouldn't want to be sharing with me. I realize there are no guarantees in relationships, so I'm sitting with my nerves and embracing them for now while I encourage her to figure out what makes her heart happy in this new season of life.
The advice I'm looking for is what others here found to be good, healthy ways to cross the bridge from a heavily interconnected couple with just one shared world to having slightly less of a 100% Venn diagram overlap but still having a deep connection. I want to encourage and enable her to find what makes her happy, participate in some of those things where they are things we might both be passionate about or find enriching, and give her space to be her own person while not feeling like I'm just fully letting her go or being fully let go myself. It's an odd emotional space to be in after so long only dating each other and I want to navigate it as best I can for both of us.

Waiting a while to see a cardiologist... still a couple weeks out.
I have been having heart palpitations, and when they are more frequent, I feel like I constantly have to burp. Stomach feels fine, but i'm still burping a lot. It is sometimes triggered by doing a lot of excersize (ie, bouldering for a few hours).
Palpitations picked up quite a bit two weeks ago when I did a very strange bouldering move that resulted in a sharp pain down the side of my neck. I thought I pulled a muscle and that it would be sore for a while, but the pain went away after 15-30 minutes. That night I had an episode of quite a few palpitations with the weird feeling of always having to burp. Looking at a diagram of the neck, the pain could definitely have come from the Vagus nerve.
Has anyone had symptoms similar to this? Does it seem like a possibility? Thank you!
I was also working out a lot 5-6 days per week (rock climbing 3-6 hours per day) for about a month leading up to this, so my very first thought was that my electrolytes were severely depleted or that I really over-exercised.

Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the NoP universe.
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I'd also like to thank u/xskipy10 for their awesome fanart of the main cast as well as their recent Tohba meme and their fanart of Michael baysitting. You're work is a treasure!
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Thank you as well to u/Accomplished-Golf-59 for his take on Michael, Teylim, and Tohba in his submission for the Banner Art Contest, and u/Spacer_Catgirl4969 for their awesome music video featuring a pixel-art Dohkar in his bar. Be sure to give ALL of these awesome creators your love and support.
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And let's not forget u/Guywhoexists2812 who has been an awesome source of memes as well as sick pixel art, such as THIS and THIS!!!! And even THIS!!!!!! And how could I forget THIS!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!
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Today, we join Michael, Khornel, and Tohba as they finally make it to safety, just in time for the attack on the Five Meadows Exterminators Guild Office to begin.
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First
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Previous
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Songs Mentioned/Used: Sweet Home by YONGZOO
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Memory Transcript Subject: Khornel, Krakotl Civilian Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 15, 2137
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We were only halfway back to the central plaza when I heard the sound of a rumbling engine and tires start coming up from behind us. My nerves had already been fried, but I still managed to quicken my pace.
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“Michael! We have company! Behind us!”
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We both looked back only for a moment. It was another one of those enormous vehicles from before. I’d never seen anything like it. It surely wasn’t an exterminator vehicle, but it was still big and loud enough that I didn’t want to risk it either way.
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“There! Into that alley!”
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Michael pointed ahead of us and off to the right. I was all too happy to oblige. We sped into the alleyway and ducked behind a dumpster. We knelt there for a while, waiting with weapons at the ready for the vehicle to pass. Either they didn’t notice us, or it simply had more important things to worry about, since it seemed to completely ignore us and keep driving down the road.
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Again, it was a massive vehicle. Eight wheels lifted the enormous carriage of metal off the ground. A large cannon was mounted to the top of the vehicle, and two giant, unmistakable letters were painted onto its side. I was too stunned to speak. Luckily, Michael managed to do it for me.
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“What the hell is the U.N. doing here?”
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“M-maybe Dohkar called them? H-he was working for The Magistrate for a while, wasn’t he?”
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“Yeah, but I didn’t think he had this kind of pull. That’s not just a jeep full of soldiers. That’s a fucking APC.”
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“APC?”
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“Armored Personal Carrier. Whatever’s going on with The Guild right now must’ve been worth calling in the BIG guns…literally…”
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My mind went back to that massive cannon on top of the “APC”. If THAT was the kind of vehicle used for PEACEKEEPING, I didn’t want to know what the humans were bringing to bear in the actual war.
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Suddenly, I realized that the APC was headed in the same direction we were. Even if they were humans, I was still a bit apprehensive about being anywhere near that thing.
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“Sh-should we find another way around? Or maybe hide out someplace else?”
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“No. Dohkar’s is still our best bet. I don’t know what the U.N. is doing here with THAT kind of firepower, but I DO know Dohk won’t let anything happen to us, and especially Tohba. And right now, Tohba is all I’m worried about…”
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He gave a worried look over his shoulder at the wicker pack on his back.
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“Mind…checking in him?”
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I nodded and holstered my sidearm before peering inside the pack. After moving the blanket aside, I was able to see he was still alright and asleep. Though, I could tell from his shifting that he certainly wasn’t sleeping soundly, and not just because of all our running. The poor thing had been through more in one paw than any child should have to in their lifetime. There was no way he wouldn’t have nightmares about this paw.
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“Physically, he’s fine. But…this paw is going to stick with him, Michael…”
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“…I know…”
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After waiting for a while to be sure the APC was gone, we left our hiding spot and continued making our way to the plaza. Thankfully, the rest of the trip was quiet. However, once we actually got to the plaza, we were stopped in our tracks. I was right. That vehicle WAS going in the same direction we were. Human soldiers with combat gear and bright blue helmets had the entire plaza ok lockdown.
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“Hold it! Who are you two?”
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Michael and I immediately put down our weapons and surrendered. A lot of not so pleasant memories from our time in Twilight Valley began playing in my mind.
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“E-easy officers. I’m Michael and this is Khornel. We’re friends of Dohkar. He owns the bar right over there.”
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“One of the soldiers lowered his weapon slightly while the other held a finger to his earpiece.
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“I got a human and a Krakotl here saying they know the bartender. Are these the two he sent out?”
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…
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“Right.”
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After another moment, he turned off the earpiece and turned his attention back to us.
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“Alright, you two. As of right now, you along with the other civilians in both the bar AND the clinic are temporarily under U.N. protection, at least until the current situation is over. I’m going to need you to surrender your weapons and follow us.”
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With some trepidation, we handed over the pair of firearms.
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“What’s in the pack?”
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Michael set down the wicker pack and pulled Tohba out, still asleep and wrapped in the blanket.
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“This…is my little brother. He’s who we were sent out for. We managed to find him…but…Tey’s still missing. We think she was taken by the exterminators…”
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The soldier gave a sympathetic look before continuing to lead us towards the bar.
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“Understood. We’ll get her, kid.”
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Once we got inside the bar, I was amazed to see all the activity around us. Throughout the whole dining area, human medics and assistants were helping anyone else who was injured and serving food to those who weren’t. Once we were somewhat settled in a booth near the soundstage, the soldier escorting us went into the back area. After a moment, Dohkar sped out into the dining area, looking around frantically until his gaze landed on us.
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“MIKE! KHORNEL!” THERE YOU ARE!”
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“Dohk…”
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We got up just in time as he crashed into us, wrapping us in an embrace. Dohkar didn’t hug often, almost never, so I could tell just how worried he was about us. Once we pulled away, he looked around for a moment, concern returning to his face.
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“Where’s…Teylim? Is she-“
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“Gone… They took her, Dohk.”
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“Damnit… DAMNIT!!! Wha- What about Tohba?”
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Michael gave a nod before reaching for the wicker pack. The little one finally woke up again as he was pulled free from the blanket.
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“Unca…”
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“Oh, There you are, Pup...”
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Dohkar let out a massive sigh of relief as he took Tohba from Michael’s arms, holding him close. After holding his godson for a while, Dohkar looked to the both of us. The look he gave us was one I rarely ever saw from him.
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Pride.
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“You two did fantastic. I’m sorry I had to send you both out there, but you handled yourselves well AND brought Tohba back. If Teylim were here, I know she’d be proud of you.”
​
Once he handed Tohba back to us, I decided to take him for a while. I…felt the need to hold something when Ms. Teylim was brought up again.
​
“We…ARE going to save her, right? Th-that’s why you called the U.N.?”
​
The desperation in Michael’s voice was apparent. Dohkar responded with a paw on Michael’s shoulder.
​
“I didn’t call them. Tevis did, after I gave him a decent chewing out about it. We’ve already got a plan to raid The Guild Office. The majority of the medics and volunteers will stay here along with a few of the soldiers, while the rest of our forces go to set up a staging area outside The Guild Office. We were right about to leave, actually.”
​
Michael almost immediately stood up.
​
“Then let’s go! ‘Nel, you stay here and watch To-“
​
“No.”
​
Dohkar’s prideful tone was immediately replaced with cold, stern, direction.
​
“. . .What?”
​
“You’re NOT coming with, Mike.”
​
“Dohk, PLEASE!”
​
“My decision is final! You two have already been put through more danger than anyone should in their entire lives. I refuse to put either of you at further risk. I’d think someone who took a plasma bolt to the head would have more appreciation for living to play another day.”
​
Dohkar began to walk away with many of the soldiers and Intarim guard in the bar. However, that clearly wasn’t a good enough answer for Michael, who began stomping after him. I got up from my seat as well, if only to stop him. I didn’t like this either, but as much as I didn’t want to admit it, Dohkar was right. We were way out of our depth here. Still, that wasn’t stopping Michael from causing a scene.
​
“They have TEY, Dohk! You can’t expect me to just sit here and-“
​
Whrp-prrrck!!!!
​
In one swift movement that my eyes almost couldn’t keep up with, Dohkar’s tail whipped upwards and wrapped itself around Michael’s wrist, before yanking him down to his knees. Before he could react, Dohkar caught him by the pelt collar and pulled him close, until the two were face to face.
​
The entire room was silent, just watching the small exchange. Dohkar’s previous tone was all but gone now. It was clear that while he was sincere earlier, he was holding a lot back. Every last bit of frustration, anger, and fear he was feeling burned in his eyes as he starred Michael down.
​
“I don’t expect it. I DEMAND IT. I ORDER IT!”
​
Dohkar growled the words out through gritted teeth. He’d said those words to us before, when he first tried kicking us out of the investigation. As angry as he was though, this time…I think I understood what he meant.
​
“I’ve already had to watch you almost die, Michael. TWICE! Do NOT…make me watch it again.”
​
It’s not that he just doesn’t want us doing anything…
​
It’s that if he were in our place…right here…right now…he wouldn’t want to stay behind either…
​
But he still orders us to anyway, because we all know that’s for the best, even if we don’t like it.Once Dohkar let go of his shirt collar, Michael fell backwards, just barely catching himself with his hands before staring back up at Dohkar.
​
“You’re. Staying. Here. And watching over Tohba and the others. That’s an order. Am I understood, son?”
​
Michael gritted his teeth, clearly wanting to say something…but in the end, he looked back down in defeat.
​
“…Yes, sir…”
​
“Good.”
​
With the conversation seemingly over, everyone returned to what they were doing, and the soldiers began to leave. Still, once Dohkar had turned to join them, Michael still managed tri speak up one more time.
​
“Dohk?”
​
“Ape, my decision is-“
​
“I know. I just… Here.”
​
Dohkar turned as Michael pulled something out of his pocket. It was his old music player, still damaged from the paw of the concert. I’d forgotten he even had it.
​
“For luck.”
​
Dohkar finally calmed down and gave a tired sigh as he went to grab the player. But as he reached for it, Michael grabbed onto Dohkar’s wrist and pulled him into one last embrace.
​
“Mike! What are you-“
​
“You’d better come back, alright? I… I can’t lose anyone else…”
​
Oh, Michael…
​
That was finally enough for me to step forward so both Tohba and I could join in the goodbye hug, wishing Dohkar luck. At the end of the paw, he WAS all we had left. This entire time, while Ms. Teylim had been the one to house and feed us, he was the one who worked to keep us safe. And now he was leaving us behind on a mission he may very well not come back from.
​
He was all we had, and we didn’t want to lose him, too.
​
Dohkar gave one last sigh as he returned our hug, reassuring us that everything would be alright.
​
“I WILL come back, and I’m bringing both Teylim AND Clem back with me. I swear it. You three just promise me to stay safe until I do, alright?”
​
“Yeah. Okay…” “We will…” “Okay, Unca…”
​
“Thanks, Pups. That…means more to an you know. I’ll be back. I promise.”
​
And so…Dohkar left…and we were alone again…
​
Memory Transcript Subject: Michael Ruiz Andrews, Human Refugee Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
​
“I said, no! Do you have any idea what they’re going through right now? THAT is probably the last thing on his mind!”
​
Oh good. She’s at it again.
​
It was impossible to mistake ‘Nel’s voice on the way back from upstairs. Now that Tohba was officially clean with fresh new blankets to use for a bed, I was finally starting to feel at least a little better.
​
At least, when I’m not thinking about Mom…
​
Once I got back to the dining area, I finally saw what all the ruckus was about. ‘Nel was busy arguing with one of the townsfolk, one of the mothers who brought their kids here if I was recognizing them right. All the while, a U.N. soldier was doing his best to de-escalate.
​
“What’s going on?”
​
The Venlil stepped in to talk to me themselves, much to ‘Nel’s annoyance.
​
“S-sorry, human. It’s just… it was just an idea. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
​
“It’s fine. What’s this about?”
​
“Well…it’s well past the point of getting late for most of us, especially the pups. And I thought…maybe…some music could help get the children to sleep and…raise spirits a bit… It was a dumb idea. Nevermind.”
​
“No. It’s fine.”
​
“Michael, are you sure about this? I mean…after everything that’s happened, I…”
​
I gave ‘Nel my best attempt at a grin, doing my best to reassure her. She really did have my back, even if she could be a bit overprotective about it.
​
“Relax, ‘Nel. I don’t mind. In fact… I could use a way to get my mind off things for a little while. I’ve still got a set to finish, after all.”
​
“Only if you’re sure…”
​
“I am…”
​
It took a minute for everyone to get her the kids together. The relief workers had brought in extra blankets for everyone just in case, so we’d payed them all out in front of the soundstage. Kids of pretty much every species I knew were curled up and snuggled next to each other. I’ll admit, the sight did help my mood a bit. Especially Tohba, who was curled up right in the center of all of them.
​
I cradled Teyrin in my hands. The more I held and played her, the better she seemed to fit in my grip. It started to feel…natural. She wasn’t Dad’s guitar, that was for sure, but she was mine. And I’d make sure to do her and her former owner justice.
​
Breath…focus…and let my soul do the talking…
​
My fingers plucked away at the strings, forming a calm, solemn, almost nostalgic melody. Ironically, Teyrin only having five strings instead of six made her perfect for this song. Her more airy tone echoed through the room, filing it with my somber tune…
​
What does my soul say?
​
On the calm lake... In the cold breeze…
​
Want to go back, to my sweet home…
​
I’d just found it…but now…
​
Landscape of the past… The air of the Earth…
​
It’s not natural anymore…
​
It was gone again… My home… I’d finally started calling it that…and now it’s gone…
​
I looked down at all the kids, at Tohba, and remembered why I even agreed to sing this…
​
I could use some sleep…
​
Hide my small hope…
​
Ooooh, miss our sweet home…
​
Can we go back with you?
​
I wanted it back. I wanted it all back. But…even if we get Mom back…our home…where will we even stay?
​
And what about ‘Nel?
​
Even the peaceful sky…and singing birds…
​
That was given in those days…
​
‘Nel’s in the saw boat. Where will her and her Grampa stay? We can’t fix all the damage done in one day.
​
I’ve been trying to…fill all this emptiness…
​
But my heart is still so dark…
​
What are we going to do?
​
Focus… Just keep singing…
​
I could use some sleep…
​
Hide my small hope…
​
Ooooh, miss our sweet home…
​
Can we go back with you?
​
I could use some sleep…
​
Hide my small hope…
​
Ooooh, miss our sweet home…
​
Can we go back with you?
​
Why did any of this have to happen? I just…wanted to go back…
​
I could hear the soft clapping of the parents, and the small yawns and snores of the kids…even Tohba…but I didn’t bother looking up. Maybe it was because of just how tired I was…or maybe it’s because I didn’t want the kids to see me crying…
​
I just want to go back home…
​
Memory Transcript Subject: Dohkar, Venlil Bartender Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
​
It was a short drive to the FOB, as the humans were calling it. Once we got out, squads were already being organized. While I wasn’t fully brought into the fold, I was at least allowed to join the raid purely on my knowledge of the office’s layout. I knew this building like the back of my paw, so I would be joining one of the squads that would be clearing the main office.
​
Once I was fitted with gear that was my size, I marched over to join my squad. A human soldier was already there, barking out orders.
​
“You Dohkar? I’m Lieutenant Davids.”
​
“Yes, Sir.”
​
“Good. Let’s get you up to speed.”
​
I followed the human as he led me towards the rest of the squad.
​
“Has there been any sign of movement inside the building?”
​
“We’ve spotted a few of the bastards peeking at us through the windows, but nothing more than that. Any attempts at communication we’ve tried so far have gone unanswered and ignored. In a perfect world, we’d have already established communication and negotiated them out of a hostage or two, but they just won’t talk to us. The one radio we sent through the door was immediately burned.”
​
As much as I hated to admit it, nothing he said really surprised me. Albiel isn’t one to negotiate unless he’s the one with the advantage. And while he DOES have hostages and the patients in the facility as leverage, he absolutely wouldn’t trust the humans to keep up their end of any deal they’d make. And so long as the rest of us were working with them, we were tainted as well in his eyes.
​
There was no chance at a discussion here. We’d be taking this building by force, or not at all.
​
“Has Tevis decided on a time yet?”
​
“Yep. Here.”
​
Davids brought up a diagram on his holopad that showed a map of the building and a timer set for a quarter claw from now.
​
“In an hour's time, our squad will board one of the APC’s while Tevis’s squad boards the other.”
​
I nodded along as he recited the plan. I already knew most of it, but now that I was here, I could meet the men I’d be fighting with. During the planning stage, we’d already figured that the front entrance would be a fortified nightmare to try and take.
​
The narrow doors leading into a wide open room meant they could fire on us from multiple angles as soon as we entered. And the long secretary’s desk could be used for cover against us. It would be akin to suicide and we knew it.
​
So instead, I’d pointed out several spots in the building where the walls were thinner, weaker, and more importantly, closer to our targets. Using the APCs, we’d…make our own entrance points. From there, our squads could perform their individual missions.
​
There were two main squads who would be clearing the building. My squad, led by Lieutenant Davids and myself, would enter near the main barracks, where we’d proceed through the rear portion of the building and track down a VIP: Albiel.
​
Meanwhile, Squad two, led by Tevis and his Intarim guard, would enter closer to the main office and focus on finding his investigation team as well as whatever they’d discovered that got them captured. Once both objectives were complete, our two squads would link up and begin clearing the monstrous facility, which was easily double the size of the office area. We’d need all paws on deck to both secure the facility and safely evacuate the patients and hostages.
​
And hopefully along the way, find Teylim and Clem…
​
Teylim…
​
My mind went back to Mike and the others I’d left behind. It tore at me to leave them, but I had to.
​
I’ll bring them back, Pups. I swear it.
​
And I’ll finally make that monster Albiel pay!
​
The rest of the “hour” was spent meeting my squad mates, getting my gear in order and boarding one of the massive metal hulks called “APCs”. Once I was strapped securely into my seat, I had to fight to keep my nerves in check. This was it. This was the moment we’d finally bring down the Guild. Not with proof and courts, not with words and deals, but with force, plasma, and metal.
​
Once we were all strapped in, Davids began giving his speech to the men.
​
“ALRIGHT PEOPLE! YOU’VE ALL SEEN WHAT THESE BASTARDS ARE CAPABLE OF! THEY WON’T HESITATE TO BURN! US! DOWN! LET’S MAKE SURE THEY DON’T GET THE CHANCE! WE GO IN! WE TAKE DOWN THEIR BOSS! AND THEN WHAT?!”
​
“SHORE LEAVE, SIR!”
​
“YER GODDAMN RIGHT! NOW LET’S FREE THIS TOWN!”
​
“YES, SIR!”
​
And so, mission clocks and watches were synced, weapons were checked and loaded, and the APC roared to life.
​
“All readouts green. Ready when you are Squad 2.”
​
“Copy that. All systems green on our end.”
​
After a moment, Tevis’s voice was heard over the radio.
​
“Mission clock is go. All units move in.”
​
“Copy that. Mission is go.”
​
With that. Davids slammed a fist into the wall between us and the driver’s seat.
​
“LET’S ROLL!”
​
The grip on my weapon tightened as I felt the vehicle move beneath me. I could tell right away that we were in position once it started moving backwards. Since the main door was in the back, that meant we’d have to go through the wall…backwards.
​
We began gaining speed.
​
For Teylim… Protect the herd!
​
Faster…
​
For Clem… Protect the herd!
​
And faster…
​
For Mike, Khornel, and Tohba! PROTECT THE HERD!!’
​
“BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!”
​
BOOM!!!
​
The wall crumbled, the door opened, and the raid began. It was time…to end this…
​
FOR FIVE MEADOWS!!!!
​
PROTECT THE HERD!!!!!
​
“MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!”
​
Next

Black Sheep Family
Interlude 9
Date Night: Valentines
The Evening of the 17th of February, 2079
Agatha Quain sat at the back of The Divine Comedy Club , a cheap laugh restaurant that prided itself on having “discovered” a few good comedians. Currently Agatha was debating whether she was gonna toss an illusionary tomato at the racist piece of shit on the stage or at her boyfriend for not checking the schedule. Jack was just staring at the stage like the man had signed his own death warrant, not because of Agatha, but because the man was hellishly ripping into the Rana at the front of the stage. He was about to stand up and go get a manager when a short, wide man stepped on the stage, both teens knew he was Dominic Carcelli, a member of the Carcelli crime family, and a man whose family made heavy donations RHED, or the Rana-Human Education and Defense funds.
Carcelli made a swift grab for the microphone and nodded to a man off to the side. “Hey sorry about that folks, lets say we get some actual fuckin’ talent up here, yeah?” He covered the microphone and shouted off stage, “Who else we got back there that ain’t stupid enough to provoke half the damn city.”
A timid voice called out.
Carcelli rolled his eyes. “On behalf of management, as an apology, I’ll be covering mozz sticks for everyone, sound good?”
Agatha followed the mobster’s gaze to a taller, more severe looking man with salt and pepper hair and a groomed goatee. He also had a top hat at his side and a pocket watch clearly sitting in his breast pocket.
“Thanks for your patience folks.” Carcelli waited for the new comedian to come on stage. “Hey, what’s your name buddy?”
“Tommy Kallewski.” The young man said.
“What’d you think of that palooka before you?” Carcelli asked as he handed the comedian the microphone.
“You mean the guy who couldn’t grow up past the seventh grade?” Tommy snorted. “I’ve never heard worse jokes, and my material is fart jokes mostly.”
Agatha snorted and almost lost her drink through her nose. Jack barked and slapped the table. Most of the audience burst into laughter. The old man in the back grinned and sipped his drink as Carcelli joined him.
“So.” Jack snorted as the comedian’s jokes started to take off. “Sorry I didn’t check the schedule.”
“Anyone with a last name of ‘Dick’ that’s that old shouldn’t be labeled a comedian. Especially with that material.” Agatha rolled her eyes and leaned over and kissed Jack on his forehead. “You’re forgiven.”
“Thank you.” Jack smiled and took her hand.
They watched, laughed and listened for a few minutes. Jack was obviously enjoying the potty humor that Tommy was dolling out faster than most people could process. Then the free mozzarella sticks came and the two teens smiled as they tried to share a single stick between them. They laughed and dropped it as they failed.
“So, does your family need anything done while you’re out?” Jack asked.
Agatha sighed, “Yeah. Saw that coming. I think we’re good. Could use someone to look after the gardens.”
Jack nodded, “Not the cat.” He said.
Agatha snorted, “No gramps has the cat.”
“I can help with the gardens.” Jack nodded, “Dad’s upset he’s being put on a desk.”
“He’s the best leader dad has until we get back.” Agatha shrugged. “Even if he doesn't think so.”
Jack nodded. He smiled at her and held up another mozzarella stick.
“You’re doin’ it wrong.” Carcelli’s slight scarred face stared at them. “You’re breaking it early, you gotta have them in your mouth and then pull.”
“Thanks...” Agatha looked the man over.
“Hey, I know who your pops is and I don’t start shit. I run legit businesses and ain't no law says I have to call the cops on my customers. In fact Dross city has Neutral Ground laws.” Carcellie smiled, “Relax, we ain’t enemies.” He flicked the ashes of a half smoked cigar into his hand.
“Fair.” Agatha nodded, “Dross does have no smoking laws for restaurants though.”
“She’s right,Dominic.” The tall man said as he walked over. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, I am Dwayne O’Donnelly.” The man’s heavy Irish accent was crisp and reminded both teens of older actors from the past. “Please enjoy the show and the food.”
“You own this place?” Agatha asked as she turned to look at the man as he stood directly behind Jack.
Jack was frozen and locked into place as he scratched his nose.
“I do.” Dwayne smiled, “One of my many investments in the city.” He turned to Carcelli, “I must go, please enjoy your meal as well.”
Dominic nodded and walked back to his table and put his cigar out in a half filled glass of water.
Dwayne smiled, “You’ll have to forgive the young Carcelli, he sometimes forgets I prefer a more laid back setting for my places.”
Agatha stared at the man, trying to see past his form and to something of less physical substance. She hadn’t been training with Illidae as he Master for long, but he had taught her how to activate her Soul Sight. What it showed her shocked her into just nodding silently. The man nodded and smiled before he left.
“That man smelled of danger.” Jack let out a breath. “Like metal and molten glass.” He noticed Agatha staring in shock and reached over to touch her hand.
“We need to follow him!” Agatha shot up to run, but Jack grabbed her, making sure not to tear her lace gothic dress..
“What did you see?” Jack hissed, “We can’t just chase a guy like O’Donnelly.”
“It was darkness, pride, hatred and rage.” Agatha said. “He’s one of them. He’s a Revenant.”
Jack paused then nodded, “Man, we need to plan for date night interruptions.”
Jack quickly got the bill and paid for their meal which they hadn’t even gotten to eat, he did ask for it to be packed as they would return for it. When they got outside they hopped onto Jack’s motorcycle and were off.
---B)(S)(F---
Danny sat nervously at the Pizza Hat. He had just finished a movie, The Terrible Trio Strikes Again!!! The third Strike!, with Heith and both were sitting nervously at the both. Both teens were clearly unsure how to behave and both knew Danny likely had other thoughts he was focused on.
“I hope the movie wasn’t a terrible idea.” Heith sighed, “I know the shit with Cassandra is bad, I just know I’d want someone to distract me if Sofie were in a similar situation.”
Danny looked up in worry, “No it was a good movie, and I appreciate the break. I just can’t stop thinking about how I could have stopped him for sure and now...” He put his head in his hands. “I think he’s not dead. I think Salem’s right.”
“The nosferatu guy?” Heith clarified, “The one who fought vamp-bitch?”
Danny chuckled, “Well for once an accurate statement if worded for a poor reason.”
Heith snorted, “I’ve met the woman, that’s personal bias.”
Danny smiled as a pizza and a large shake with two straws was put in front of them.
“Did we order that?” Heith blinked as she looked at the super-tall shake that had a mountain of whipped cream and two cherries on top.
“On the house.” The server winked. “You two have a fun date night!” He rolled backwards on his shoes and danced away.
“Man...” Danny sighed, “Dross City, we got’em all.”
Heith nodded and blinked, “Well it is chocolate.”
Danny nodded, “I’m fine with sharing.”
“Good.” Heith smiled as she put a piece of their pizza on a plate. “I never understood why...” She paused, “Is dad appropriate anymore?”
Danny shrugged, “I mean in some twisted way he cared, right?”
“Not about us.” Heith sighed, “Not how your family cares for each other, it was more possessive.”
Danny nodded, “Well then what is to you?”
“The Lab doctor who grew us.” Heith snorted in a laugh that signaled a sense of relief. “But I never understood why we couldn’t get pizza. This stuff is better especially when it’s not school based.”
“My dad would call that blasphemy.” Danny laughed. “How is Sofie doing?”
“She’s dealing better than I am.” Heith nodded, “I still have nightmares with him ripping off his face and that robot’s face.” Heith sighed, “He did give her an amazingly realistic snobby attitude.”
“I don’t know how people get attracted to that.” Danny sighed, “Has to be purely physical.”
“Or they’re the same.” Heith sighed. “Am I doing better?”
Danny tilted his head a little. “Heith, I’m the son of a rich as shit family. Both of my parents are independently wealthy and the only reason I had my job was boredom.” He laughed, “I’m not sure I can judge spoiled and bratty and stuff like that accurately.”
“Fair, but am I less bitchy?” Heith asked, “I don’t know. Forget I asked.”
“In terms of what I’ve seen, yeah, you’ve improved. You’ve learned and even though you still call me devil-boy, you’re not pissing Agatha off with it so I guess it’s okay?” Danny shrugged.
“Well she calls Jack ‘puppy’.” Heith said flatly.
“She’s called him puppy since we were four.” Danny explained, “She’s the only one he lets call him that.”
Heith paused, “Noted and remembered.”
Danny nodded, “And it’s not like she won’t sometimes get on his nerves with it.”
“Fair.” Heith nodded and sipped on their shake, then made a face. “That’s bad.”
Danny sipped on it as well. “Yeah I don’t think it was mixed right, too much chocolate mixed in.”
“Oh well, it’s free.” Heith smiled, “But don’t worry about Burlin or Gravitas or whoever the fuck he was or is. We won the day, now you focus on your sister.”
Danny nodded and sighed, “Thanks. I don’t know why but I feel like I messed up there.”
“I feel like I messed up my whole life with him.” Heith said with a grimace, “You’d think you’d see something that would scream ‘supervillain’!”
“To be fair, GLOBAL is classified as a villain organization.” Danny said, “We don’t know their endgame so unless it’s global domination, I doubt it’ll be classified as Super.”
Heith blinked. “That’s the difference?”
Danny shrugged. “Classifications are based on motivations and power levels mainly. Criminals want survival and the stuff that helps with that; cash, gear, et cetera.” He pulled out a napkin and drew up a small diagram. “Villains have some ideal or goal, they feel they have a purpose or society is the one in the wrong. Super-Villains want power, to rule and to run things. It’s why guys like the MechAnimals and the psychotic Animals are both considered criminals, but Pharaoh is a Super-Villain despite mostly being a crime boss. We know he wants the world under his control and crime is his means to an end.”
“And The Fog is a criminal because they just sell their services. Man-Tick is a villain because, why?” Heith asked as she took another piece of pizza.
“Fun fact about Man-Tick, he funds his research into breaking his curse via mercenary actions, but his goal isn’t complete reversal, it’s to make more like those animal-hybrid people GLOBAL made.” Danny explained, “My best guess is they stole his work, because that man would not be quiet about being successful.”
“And that makes Jet Fission a Super-Villain.” Heith nodded, “What about the Nazi Zombies?”
“Armageddon Level Threat.” Danny nodded, “Isn’t this first year stuff? Dad taught us this when he came back, Anna already knew it.”
“You’d think, but it’s a Senior class.” Heith gave a huff, “How many Armageddon Level Threats are there?”
“Bleak and his Crew is currently the only one, but Fission can slide into that as well.” Danny took his first piece of pizza. “I keep forgetting how greasy this isn’t.” He sighed.
Heith snorted and shook her head. “Well thank you for the lesson. If you need someone to talk to until then, I’m just a chat or call away.”
Danny nodded, “Thanks.”
“So why’d your dad let you take the van, isn’t it like your only car since that fancy one of his got stolen and wrecked.”
Danny chuckled. “He got it replaced pretty fast. Scared the shit out of those car thieves though. Spent an hour crying about the best metal baby.”
Heith stared at Danny in confusion.
“It was his first car, one of the only things he’s had any material love for. Mom says I’ll understand when I get my first car.” Danny explained with a light sigh of contentment.
“But you can fly.” Heith said.
“I can, but sometimes you gotta move someone else. Also I don’t go that fast, just above the average running speed.” Danny shrugged.
“We need a re-match.” Heith sighed, taking deep of their shared shake.
“Have you suddenly developed the ability to hit incorporeal things?” Danny shot back, “Because I can still do that.”
“I’ll find a way. Found a way to block Guire’s stupid shocks.” Heith said with a slight tinge of annoyance.
“Ah, give Guire a break, kid’s in just as bad a situation as you were, only he can’t run and the best guy to help him is a bit distracted helping my sister right now.” Danny sighed.
“What do you mean?” Heith asked.
“Guire’s dad is a former cop. Currently head of Security at Sun-Tech. Dad got him fired for beating his wife, but he’s got too many friends still on the force. Dad can’t make any moves to help Greg, Bubbles is trying now.” Danny took another slice and a deep sip. “It’s really fucked up.”
“I can break his face.” Heith said, “No one could mad at me after what I’ve been through.”
Danny almost choked, “God, no. Please. Just don’t give him so much shit.”
Heith crossed her arms but nodded in understanding. “I’m kinda full.”
“Me too, too much popcorn.” Danny laughed. “Want to take it home to Sofie?”
Heith nodded and they waved to the server who promptly trolled back over to them.
“Take home for the rest please.” Danny said, “And hey, where’d you get the shoes?”
“Customs on myshoedrip.net.” He smiled, “Used to be popular in the early millennium, called Heelies. I’ll get you a box and cup for the shake.”
“You take the shake.” Heith said as she stood up to pay.
“I got this.” Danny smiled.
“I got it, I kinda put you in the asking position.” Heith smiled.
“Half then.” Danny offered.
“You pay for the shake.” Heith smiled.
Danny nodded, then remembered it had been a free shake. “Hey...”
“Too late you agreed.” Heith smiled and went to the counter to pay.
As the two stepped outside he couldn’t help but notice a motorcycle speeding by with a very elegant gothic dress on the rear end.
“Aggie?” Danny paused and stared.
“She wears dresses?!” Heith’s jaw dropped.
---B)(S)(F---
Alan and Endara were at one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, a professed neutral ground where criminals could come to safely dine so long as violence was not reported. It was a Carcelli restaurant, but Alan wasn’t going to hold that against them tonight.
“So...” Endara looked at the menu. “Should we be here?”
Alan looked at her and sighed, “I made the reservations, Cassie told us too.” He threw his arms up in defeat, “I just can’t help but feel like a shit-heel here.”
“Same...” Endara sighed. “Maybe order a dessert and take it home?”
Alan smiled, “Okay, but we have to eat a meal or Anna will get Stephen on both of us.”
“She does do that easily.” Endara smiled, “Her mother’s care in her.”
Alan nodded, “So my lovely fire engine of brute force...”
Endara broke into laughter, then collected herself. “Thank you, you know just what to say. My lovely dumbass.”
“I do try.” Alan smiled, “Oh. Manicotti.”
“You hate anyone else’s manicotti.” Endara gave an accusatory glare.
“That’s not true, just people who don’t know how to make it. This is an Italian place, if they can’t make it I’m going to be upset.” Alan smiled. “You just stay out of their kitchen.”
Endara snorted and looked the menu over. “Oh, they make big meatballs here.”
“Good evening.” A man said as he approached, “My name is Trevor and I will be your server tonight.”
“Well Trevor, ever had the Manicotti?” Alan asked.
“Yes, my favorite short of the chef’s favorite ravioli.” Trevor smiled.
“I’ll take that.” Alan smiled, “House’s best red wine, for the holiday past.”
Trevor nodded, “And you Mrs. Quain.”
“I’ll have the spaghetti and meatballs, can I ask for just three extra large ones?” Endara asked.
Trevor nodded, “We can do that.” He then took their menus and bowed before leaving.
“Well, let’s enjoy the night.” Endara smiled, but paused as she noticed Alan looking up and past her.
Endara turned to see the massive frame of Polar Bear grinning down at her. He raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.
“No harm meant.” He said as Mud Dauber stood by his side.
“I always thought you two made an odd couple.” Alan tried to laugh. “We good?”
“Yes.” Polar Bear nodded, “I wanted to thank you for your kindness last we met.” He bowed his head. “It is rare when we have a hero remember we are human too, mostly.”
Alan did a brief scan of the man’s surface thoughts and nodded to Endara. Endara then relaxed.
“And I have no interest in taking on you and your wife. Even with Freya’s help, we would lose.” Polar Bear laughed.
“You would lose, I would flee.” Freya snorted.
Polar Bear looked slightly wounded as he stared at his partner, then he nodded in the affirmative and agreed with her.
“Well, you’re welcome, but right now we’re on our Valentine’s date.” Alan smiled, hoping to dissuade any further conversation.
“Da? So are we!” Polar Bear laughed, “But we will leave you to yours.”
Freya pulled on his scarf and Polar Bear bent down to listen as she whispered in his ear.
Polar Bear winced, “I know this is probably a bad time, we have heard of the attack on the school and that you have an injured child; but our leader has a proposition.”
Alan felt his jaw drop as he felt the idea pass from Polar Bear’s screaming and nervous mind.
“Too loud Isaak.” Freya hissed, “Remember he is a telepath.”
“Right. Sorry.” He pulled an envelope from his very carefully crafted vest and handed it to Alan. “It isn’t much as of now, but we have hopes.” Polar Bear smiled as he once again bowed and led Freya to their table.
“Well...” Endara watched the two MechAnimals sit at their own table, “At least you can tell they’re in love.”
Alan nodded as he put the envelope away. “We might have to step up Anna’s therapy.”
Endara blinked, “What?” Then she realized the implication. “They’re that desperate?”
“Pharaoh may have cut off other sources.” Alan sighed, “Or the Animals really messed them up.”
Endara nodded, “What about the psycho?”
“Let’s worry about that after we save our daughter.” Alan sighed. “And part of that is eating a meal to bring home a huge chocolate mousse.”
“I was thinking, instead, what about stopping for ice cream?” Endara smiled.
“Anna will want what she always wants.” Alan sighed and telekinetically lifted his phone from his pocket and sent out a message to the family. Then he got a reply that made him pause and stand up.
“Agatha or Danny?” Endara asked with a sigh.
“Take a guess.” Alan sighed as he went to a non-emergency exit. Then he dialed Agatha’s number, when she didn’t answer he sent another text and waited.
The door opened and Mud Dauber came out and lit a cigarette, then noticed Alan. He felt genuine shock from her, but didn’t let her distract him. Finally he got a response and sent a quick demand for her and Jack to get home. Then he leaned against the opposite wall and sighed, partially sinking down.
“Are you all right?” Freya asked, “That’s a stupid question. I’m sorry.” She walked over and offered her hand.
Alan paused and took it, using her to help himself stand.
“Eldest decided to do something ridiculously stupid.” Alan sighed, “Thank you.”
Freya nodded and Alan went to go back in, but paused.
“If he’s serious, tell him to hold out as long as he can. We’ll be out of the country for a bit.” Alan explained.
Freya nodded, “You know I met your newest. She’s a sweet kid, I hope it's not her that’s hurt.”
Alan paused and let a bitter laugh echo in the night. “Hurt is an understatement. That bastard started to tear her apart from the inside, and something else decided to continue it.” He growled.
Freya nodded, and watched the door close, but Alan remained outside.
“You have kids?” He asked.
“I wish I could. Early childhood cancer.” Freya smiled, “And Isaak’s DNA may not carry over.”
Alan nodded, “If you and he are serious and you all really mean this, hold on. Then maybe consider adoption.”
Freya nodded. “We’ll try.”
Alan cleared his throat. “You have a nice Valentine’s dinner.”
“You too.” Freya smiled.
Alan joined his wife once more.
“Was she a problem?” Endara asked.
“Nah, just a smoke break.” Alan nodded.
Endara leaned in, “So what broke you?”
Alan went to argue but smiled, just as he could make her laugh, he could never lie to her.
“Agatha tried to chase a guy she thought was a revenant.” Alan smirked with a slightly mad glare.
“Why is our daughter blessed with both of our impatient and impetuous natures?” Endara laughed and brushed her hair back.
“Luck.” Alan smiled.
Then their meals were brought out and Alan immediately went to dig into his manicotti. He just as quickly frowned.
“Bad?” Endara asked as she cut up her meatballs.
“I think I’ve been ruined.” Alan smiled, “Best damn manicotti I’ve had.” He looked at Trevor. “Compliments to the chef.”
Trevor smiled, “I shall inform him.”
Endara nodded as Trevor poured their wine for the night.
“Trevor, how big is the biggest mousse you’ve got?” Alan asked.
Trevor paused briefly, almost concerning Endara as she watched him quickly stop pouring. “Pretty darn big, but that's for catering. We have a twelve ounce one for take home.”
“Dang that won’t satisfy a house full of teens.” Alan sighed.
“We can put it on a cake or a pie.” Trevor suggested.
“Ohhh.” Endara smiled, “Can we get one to go?”
Trevor nodded and looked at Alan.
“If you would.” Alan said, “And anything else she wants.”
Trevor nodded and stepped away.
Endar smiled at her husband as she remembered a specific order she had put in with a private call. Alan found it moments later as he split open a manicotti to find a jewelry box that he telekinetically plucked out. He stared for a moment then looked at Endara.
“You would.” He sighed and opened it.
Inside was an infinity loop with Endara’s birthstone in the center and the stones of the entire Quain family, including Daniel, Jazz and Alan and Stephen’s original adoptive parents.
Alan smiled and sat it down.
“Surprise.” Endara smiled.
Alan nodded, “They cooked it in the manicotti.”
“What?” Endara blinked.
Alan laughed, “Thankfully it only messed up one.” He scraped the offending manicotti to the side. “Someone’s gonna get in trouble for that.”
“Well, hopefully they can learn.” Endara sighed and slowly laughed at the scenario.
Soon both Quain parents were laughing and making jokes about pasta jewelry.
/////
The First Story
[Previous Interlude]() //// [Next Interlude!]()
Arc 1 - Black Sheep Family - Arc 1, First Chapter
Arc 2 - Paradigm Shift - Arc 2, First Chapter
Arc 3 - Gravitas Rising Arc 3, First Chapter
Arc 4 - The Director’s Chair Arc 4, First Chapter
Arc 5- The School War Arc 5, First Chapter
Spotify
/////
Credit where Credit is due:
Kyton & Cassandra Adams are © u/TwistedMind596
Obsidian is © u/Ultimalice
Ixton the Blade of the Wielder is © My friend Forged of Souls who does not use reddit
Furnace is © my friend Matt who does not use reddit
Cedric Stein Meissner aka Tesseract is © my friend James, who does not use reddit.
All other characters and Dross City are © u/TheSmogMonsterZX
////
Perfection: Kinda heavy for an interlude inn’t?
Wraith: Well interludes are the parts that can't fit into the normal stories. He never said they wouldn’t contain any important details.
Smoggy: I believe I said I would try, and honestly I just couldn’t get Alan and Endara’s dinner anywhere at the end of Arc 5 or at the start of Arc 6. So it goes here and if I need to refer back to it, we treat it like a comic book and link to the story at the end.
Deadpool: I’m BACK and I brought boxes for all!
Smoggy: Glad to have you DP.
DM: What?
Smoggy: I’d like to send you some place nice, warm year ‘round and plenty of hot ladies to flirt with.
Deadpool: ...Really.
Wraith: (taps Scythe against the floor) He means hell.
Smoggy: I mean Hell.
DM: Ahhhh...
Deadpool: How about, like some place I can help teen heroes fight bad guys?
Wraith: We’ve already tried that with another version of you.
Smoggy: He still sends them Christmas Cards. So hell, or leave us alone.
Deadpool: You know I think it’s been fun here, but I miss home.
Perfection: (leaning over Deadpool’s shoulders) Smart choice. (vanishes with Deadpool)
Wraith: Why can’t they all be that reasonable.
Smoggy: Luck, insanity? I dunno. Time to focus. I got some SpellJammer stuff to make!
DM: Stinger!
Smoggy: Wha-
---B)(S)(F---
The Evening of the 16th of February, 2079
Jazz pulled her motorcycle up to the curb of the well maintained SkyView Apartments. She was almost up to the door when she heard voices out back laughing and shouting, so she went around to see what was going on. She found the person she was looking for with two of his friends, one of which was a personal hero of hers.
“Holy shit!” Jazz quickly saluted Samantha Canning.
“I’m retired and from what I understand, so are you.” Samantha smirked, then gave a quick salute.
“Jazz, what’s up?” Salem asked without looking up from the fire on the grill.
“They’re giving that poor little girl some bad news and I didn’t want to hear it.” Jazz sighed, “Figured I’d make you have some fun.”
“Some fun?” Sawyer looked at his friend, “You got a Super Nintendo?”
“Nah, figured we’d go beat up some thugs or something.” Jazz smiled. “Salem invite only though.”
“That’s fair. He needs more friends.” Samantha smiled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Salem looked up with a glare.
“That you’re an old curmudgeon with few friends and most are kids.” Sawyer smirked.
“Pot, meet the kettle.” Samantha smirked.
“I got friends.” Sawyer laughed, “Just no one else likes’em.”
Salem rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his whiskey mixed with blood. Then he stood straight and stretched before staring directly at Jazz.
“I got a strict curfew of twenty minutes before dawn.” He set an alarm on his phone. “Won’t crash or anything, just don’t want to dust.”
“Man, have you ever crashed?” Sawyer snorted in annoyance.
“Nah.” Salem nodded, “Can’t let the sun win at everything.” He grinned. “All right Artigan show me what you consider fun!”
“Get your helmet, you ain’t ridin’ with me without one.” Jazz smiled.
“I am not a seat warmer.” Salem glared.
Jazz crossed her arms. “My bike.”
Salem snarled, but stomped off and returned, but with his own bike and a leather helmet.
“You just...” Jazz laughed, “Can that thing keep up?”
Salem’s head tilted.
“Oh, now she’s done it.” Samantha laughed.
“They’re going to be mangled in a mess on the news.” Sawyer laughed, “Anna will kill them both. Then maybe Cassie.”
Samantha laughed and picked up her whiskey.
“Take my couch Canning, cops won’t care who you are if they smell that shit. Doesn’t matter that you’re not drunk.” Salem said as he continued to glare at Jazz.
Jazz continued to smirk, “Well come on old timer. We got some red to paint.”
Salem let a low growl escape his lips.

i had too many pressures and health issues that contributed to it the pressures disconnected me from myself and what i wanted ot do because i was constnatly forcing myself to do things i didnt want to do and i felt like i was losing sense of self. before i'd recall memories and like meditate myself into a coherent sense of self and bc of the pressure it was like i was getting fragmented i was blamed for my health issues, gaslit that they weren't real, doctors also didnt know what was causing them, besides being blamed and judged for my intuition and interests. i burnt out but was forced to keep going despite it, my health issues worsening, also i had to kinda fight to do what i needed to do for my health. id imagine bad situations and possibilities that i could encounter and how to act in them and solve them, including how to talk myself out of potential harassment and beatings. this would be related to masking and bc of all the pressures while being gaslit, over time my sense of self was getting so distorted bc i was filling my mind with what would other people think and their perspectives, i became more of a mask than an actual person. emotions were becoming more of something to perform to appease and entertain others, which also took a lot of strain esp trying to reconcile it with my genuine emotions and twist them around it, and esp bc i was trying to manipulate my micro body language. i forced myself to exercise when i shouldnt have - various reasons i shouldnt have, and it actually contributed to my healt issues. i felt dizzy when doing push ups like smth was weighing on my brain but i forced myself to keep going despite it until one time i felt like smth hit me in the head been prone to boredom since a kid, maybe especially my circumstances and when i wouldnt be able to do smth i found enough meaning and or stimulation the boredom id feel like it would start killing me and or turn into rage. im also HSP + OCD and good memory and my health sisues or whatever would be things related to me being in pain and not healing as fast as id like too long and the pain would distract me from enjoying my life and doing what i need or want to do so id feel like i was rotting, kinda dumb why i have to explain pain is bad, id also feel like smth was taken out of me somehow, and was concerend any setbacks i'd have from pain could affect me long term, say smth bad happens to me again and bc of the previous pain holding me back im less developed and less able to handle and maintain myself thus sink even further back. and i'd feel like i'd need to rebuild my sense of self again after traumatic events which would take time and effort. id be surprised at how much rage and force people would use about mundane problems or non problems, bias problems, esp bc i was ofc conscious that i can be biased and try to think first and hold my rage back anyway. reminds me of genuinely entitled toddlers who think the world revolves around their emotions, and people as now strong men, who instead of having self control, aggrandize their entitlement and rage. this itself enraged me, besides mayhbe absorbing it from them, bc those people are fundamentally telling you that they, their needs and thoughts are fundamentally more important than yours and you, and they are deserving and you are not. up to that point in sevearl cases i'd already like for instance noticed if i i forced myself to exercise it would build up rage that can be hard to control, and i thought only a man who has enough self control and awareness and intelligence and perception should be that strong to avoid mistreating others. yet most strong men i found were exactly the opposite and sometimes narcissistically humble bragging about being nice or doing something for someone sometimes, again reminding me of a toddler who never got validation and now feel like they're something by getting a fake sense of respect. or maybe they grew up with parents who were indulging their selfish entitlement instead of reprimanding them when needed. ive also watched vlogs where men have said they learned they could produce a lot of force if they just let themselves get angry that they learned as kids and just started abusing it becuase it made them feel powerful. the only INFJ i knew irl was prolly borderline and the other possible one must have had some issue bc he somehow thought being kinda early-mid teenager he figured his relationship would last for life and broke his heart when it didn't, and it surprised me bc at the time i thought "why are people at this age thinking that they love someone when they barely know anything, barely know themselves and anyone else, esp with the interacitons ive seen of them??" i kept reading toxic things on the internet but also hearing them on the irl including mysognisitic, victim blaming, disabled blaming, drug addict blaming, homeless blaming, trauma blaming, basically everything that's narcissism and pride against vulnerable grups and arguing with it in my mind non stop overclocking, mirroring and maybe absorbing them even, bc id also try too argue from their standpoint to argue them to my point, while wanting to avoid conflict. bc of health issues + the stress i started developing hyperinsomnia, not knowing what it was too. it was rotting my brain to try to keep myself awake and i was losing my sense of self and reality further. during psychopathy the negative thoughts were possessing me and replacing me so much instead of thinking about the negative thoughts and aruging with them, they were posessing me/all i had, like i had them and nothing else, also i wasl osing memories and vocabulary (both related to ASPD (worse verbal intellignce + a lot of ppl say they start losing memories when they figured they could block how they feel), ways of expression. i was trying to on purpose develop Se, physical strength and motor coordination, awareness of environment by hearing and sight, which contributed to people's words and what i saw written getting direcrtly imprinted on my brain and mind and echoing in them bc of how much i was repeating it to argue and be aware. dogs, drunkards and my dad screaming randomly during night, would wake me up and keep me up for hours, bc of my hypersensitivity i was developing and how anxious my mind was but also bc of other health issues that contributed to hyperinsomnia. i was also bulding up aggression in me to be able to defend myself bc of lacking force in my body. for some reason i started losing fine motor coordination, my drawing lines were shaky and i couldnt control them much anymore, iwas driving the pen/cil too hard down and couldnt control it, i also started physically breaking things on accident bc of how hard my grip was which was also caused by muscle tension and strain. i saw about an autistic INTJ who became a psychopath when in his late teens he was assaulted and maced outside his eyes covered in blood while getting hit in the face and he said he started seeing despite being blinded (during the fight not like blind blind) and won, he became a psychopath and assaulted a random person at one point for no reason and started using weed to calm himself down. but hes higher IQ than me, doesnt have my health issues and is much more physically fit, so i was concerend if this happenned to me even if i won i wouldnt be able to function at all afterwards. well for me the violent urges were initially and i wanted them to be towards particular people, but for some reason bc i was losing my sense of self and reality and memory access walled off, my urges were not towards any person or animal in particular, i was just sizing up everything and had thoughts about what it would be like to attack them cuz i didnt feel real, i had some will or sense of self resisting it and had to try very hard to resist it all, it s hard to explain what happens in that kind of fragmented mind. like my urges i didnt feel like were mine but "I" was idsappearing and had to fight to restrict them bc it wasnt waht i wanted but how can i want anything if "I" am not. at some point i became so exhausted i became desperate and invited God into my body and it somehow made me manic and like wntin to kill my parents so i had to restrain my own body and translate myself out of that mindset which are very few words to describe how arduous and scary that was. they wanted to kick me out or make me get a job or go to uni but they were gaslighting me about my health issues and my life was getting so bad i didnt know how to function anymore i started getting aggressive towards them in expression i was also forced to explain myself at some points about vulnerable things, i didnt like how they pushed me around and controlled my life thne violated my emotions and health. i started looking at muscle anatomy diagrams and trying to understand how fvareity and small muscles worked in the face head neck tongue and eyes to recalibrate my use of them bc they were causing tension and hyperinsomnia and other healht issues including psychopathy, and i was wathcing people's expression in reality and on videos trying to undertand how they use their muscles, what thoughts they have and trying to imaggine them in my brain and copy muscle activations + use that in creative ways to generate my own emotions relative to theirs and start being able to generate a self that's stronger and can contrl my violent urges better over time. i didnt understand other people or myself in regards to them and often thought maybe im wrong, why am i contradicting so much of what everyone else does, is the problem with me, esp bc i keep getting told if most ppl disagree with me then maybe im the problem (no turns out a lot of the time they were and actually developing narcissism is related to losing your own sense of self identiy and integrity to comply with insane external demands (while i dont pretend to be perfect, and i think some narcs are imposing demands on themselves out of insecurity)). i learned to guess psychopaths, autism, and other personality disorders and personality tpyes by facial and body structure, muscle function and activity, which is why different people hgave different mannerisms and postures, expressions and even voice related to personality, personality types disorders and illnesses. warning, to have proper control of myself my identitty and my emotions and be stable, it can be difficult if your not properly wired and ur body isnt properly aligned bc i became hypersensitive/hypermirroring of other people that i'd get lost in them and their isssues and their mindsets too, ironically by trying to mirror them to wake up and wire my own emotions and personality, this is why im saying proceed with caution and i hope u find better ways and wiring to deal with your issues than me, bc i dont want to misguide someone into getting lost. itengrity of mind seems to be related to integrity of body. the reason i felt like i lost smth significant and part of my thought processes, when doing push ups, was bc i had somehow forcefully misaligned my bones to compress parts of my brain and blood vessels in my brain that made it feel like headachess, dizziness, nausea and darkness, and i was attempting to shift my bones, release and rebuild my brain while reamining in control. other potential issues like cervical instability from being hit, has been already scientifically correlated to depression and cluster B personality disorders (i can link you a youtube vid about it), and also cavities bc they can cause nerve damage and even brain infection, which may mess up the muscles and alignment in your body by affecting the brain but also direct,y the muscles and whatever's happenign around your teeth and jaws to shift you out of balance, and this is related to poverty and criminals becoming irritable and low IQ. how is a psychopath impulsive yet planning and calculated simultaneously? for me part of that aws an impulse to like get satisfaction right, and bco f hwo i was stuck the most basic way to do it was materialistically so i concluded it would invole joining a comp0any and manipulating my way towards the top, while it was also clear that the top must be full of sociopaths and narcissists who have no qualms about exploiting others and ive found info about that + socioaths who did the exact thing i was thinking of doing, except ofc i didnt want to actually ruin random people's lives, but it was hard to resist and fight against that too. so i was stuck in that kind of mindset, constantly having some extreme urges yet thinking of ways to avoid doing the wrong thing, be it bc im trying to restrain myself or bc im trying to achieve smth and if i go to prison or ruin my reputation or whatever i will not get what i want. even if its a long term goal its still an impulse in that theres a force driving you to it and holding you stuck/that is the only thing you see. for example when you have many feelings and see many things, you can think about them in variety and make more "conscious" choices and psychopathy is also kinda related to the unconscious. well i also concluded if i wanted to avoid terrible things, while not getting kicked out on the street or forced through abusive circumstances anymore, whijle i also have to care for other people, i needed magico r spirituality at this point, and i was asking the universe for answers if there was smth else, cuz i wasnt sure at that point, but i was getting more and more answers and started getting into spirituality and wichcraft. eventually i also concluded that the conspiracy theories are real because i also met a lot of psychos who were using wichcraft spirituality and esoterics + those rich explotative sociopaths, and bc i started understanding the symbols and signs, i started seeing them everywhere and drawing more connections and information. eventually i also started seeing patterns suggesting that witchcarft is evil + other sins and the spirituality we are taught is false/deceptive (tho that was kinda clear to me in ge beginning, i just thought ppl were kinda foolish and mistaking the information, a lot of it is actually also used to manipulate and deceive you and fake on purpose) and bc of bad things happening one on top of the other that i related to sins and witchcraft i became christian.

Hi docs!
For the past year or two, I’ve been experiencing fiery nerve-like pain that starts from mid thigh and shoots down my leg, just above the ankle… it’s accompanied by momentary leg weakness. The pain doesn’t last long, typically less than a minute. But it happens often, up to several times a day. If I’m standing, I’ve learned to shift my weight to my right leg when these episodes come on (no rhyme or reason) to prevent from falling. As when I don’t shift my weight, and these episodes come on, I’ve fallen from the weakness. I’m unable to bear weight on that leg until the pain and sensation stops. Though these episodes also occur when sitting or laying.
I had a spine/lumbar and pelvic MRI that was otherwise unremarkable except for some cysts on my ovaries (I was diagnosed with PCOS over a decade ago so that was nothing new).
In addition to the episodes of pain/weakness, there’s one particular spot just above the knee that is incredibly sensitive to touch, and if I’m standing (bearing weight on both legs) and something hits that spot i.e kids, my dog jumping up, etc, my leg completely gives out from under me and I fall. I don’t know if it’s related to the nerve-like episodes or not. But both issues affect the same leg.
I really don’t want to go back to my doctor and be like “I know we did testing that came back normal but I’m still having these issues” because honestly I don’t know what more they can do for me. But I want to know if anyone has ideas as to what could be the issue and if it’s something that can be fixed, or if I just have to continue dealing with it.
I’m a 31 year old female, history of RA (I don’t know if this is RA related or not), and will attach in the comments of my MRI results & a diagram where I’ve circled of the spot that causes my leg to essentially come out from under me when touched.