You ever wonder why you cough or gag when you poke around your ears? I mayyyy have the answer to that 😊
I'm a busy gal, just looking to wind down. Let's talk, let's flirt - - hopefully you're mature, funny and don't mind being a bit geeky!
A bit about me, I enjoy keeping fit - - this girl doesn't skip leg day 💪I also love eating, spicy food anyone? FPS shooters are my jam (no one can hide from my sight 🕷️)
What brings you to this odd anonymous space? What food cravings do you have? Where is your erogenous zone 👀? What fears do you wish you could deep dive with a kind soul?
I look forward to getting to know you tonight. Tell me your fav pizza topping in your opener. Pix get a better chance 😉

I’m taking 5mg for 3 days now and felling it like a small dose of MDMA. Nasal speaking, I’m eared, dry mouth… Is that ok for first couple weeks?

Male 30 5’3 150
Medications Concerta 27mg Lexapro 20mg Couple weeks off mirtazapine.
Experiencing symptoms since 2021
Bright red flushing of neck and face, sometimes accompanied with heat other times not really.
Shortness of breath, feeling pressure in chest feels hard to breathe.
Heat intolerance. Unbearable.
Drenched night sweats
Tongue pale swollen and tingles on and off.
Pain upper left ribs/ upper abdomen ( can’t really tell where it’s coming from) Ribs are often sore to touch aswell is underarms
Diahrea Was extremely frequent but hasn’t been as bad lately. Hard to hold urine and stool lots of pressure down there. Pee is abut slow to come out sometimes it takes awhile to start and then is a weak stream
Horribly itchy scalp rash
Tingling and itching sensations on head, feet, legs.
Dry throat, dry cough
Pain and itchin under arms with no rash
Become very tired after minor activity
Often blood pressure is abit low well I’m not sure it’s often 107 sys over 48. Not sure if that’s normal or not.
Only known triggers are heat, exercise , caffeine possibly. After eating possibly hard to keep track.
I’m absolutely desperate I don’t know what to do it’s been years doctors haven’t really done anything for me. To be fair I’m horrible with doctors I get so nervous. I truly feel like I’m being neglected at this point. I’ve had friends with way less symptoms be seeing all sorts of specialists for stuff. I don’t know if it’s how i present my self or what but they seem to not take me seriously. Everyone in my life who knew me before this all started can see a stark difference in my appearance and ability’s. i used to be very active and work full time. Now I need to sleep for 5 hours after minor activity and can’t be in any heat what so ever. Out of breath. How can I explain that I generally feel fucking sick. Like I feel ill
Please any ideas I don’t even know what kind of doctor I need to see. I can’t take it much longer. I don’t know if these symptoms are all related but the most troubling symptoms is the flushing, heat intolerance, night sweats, rib pain , shortness of breath

hey!
here’s what I look like
I’m in the midwest, in the middle of my phd, using the sacred few hours of sleep I got to scroll reddit while binging on the trashiest reality TV and early 00s MTV music videos
tbh, since moving here I’ve been aching to meet people that aren’t related to my professional or academic sphere, and rarely got the time to do much outside the lab, so, here I am, it seems meeting people online could be good bet :o
some random trivia

• my work is on machine learning and proteins
• love running and cycling, pretty much any heavy cardio activity
• love playing soccer but suck at it
• love signing but suck at it
• love drawing but suck at it
• I only sing in spanish, because I got a thiccc accent and feel a bit self-conscious singing in english
• expert in early 00s shitty pop music
• best disney movie is ratatouille
• most overrated disney movie is up
• love dancing cumbia and bachata… and actually do not suck at it! lmao
• can move my ears on command
• have lived in 4 countries, 6 cities, 2 continents
• I’m trying to get into video games. help? I have a swtich, xbox, and pc
• not a fan of scifi or fantasy :(
• once got jump-scared by a possum while riding my bike
• knows two and a half languages
• love crafts (specially origami) and playing the accordion

here are two truths and a lie

• I was personally invited to a fancy rooftop party by a google hotshot, but bailed on it
• a mexican bill saved my life while I was stranded in serbia
• I was suspended from middle school for burning a whiteboard with body spray and a lighter

If you're interested in talking, send me a line about yourself!

Adopted this kitten 2 weeks ago from a local rescue. Male, 12 weeks, 3lbs, FIV negative, Vaccinated for everything except Rabies (scheduled)
We took him to the vet 3 days after adoption where he was prescribed ear drops for a fungal infection in them. I mentioned concerns about how he has never had a solid stool since bringing him home, but the vet said his stool sample came back normal and told me it would get better as he ages.
He has been an otherwise normal cat, eating, drinking, and playing constantly, but despite finishing the recommended course of ear drops, his infection is still visibly present.
Additionally, he has still not had a single solid bowel movement, constantly has eye and nose excretions, and has just begun coughing and sneezing tonight.
I’ve scheduled another vet appointment in a few days, but I’m unsure which tests I should ask for. I’m wondering if they misdiagnosed the type of infection he has because of its persistence through the antibiotics, or if his other problems might be related. They already tested his stool, but I don’t think constant diarrhea is normal? I don’t want to miss anything important, and just get told to “wait it out”, so any suggestions on tests would be helpful.

I’m 31 years of age, graduated in 2010 and took about a 9 to 18 months break before starting college. 2011 was when I began going to community college and was very happy to begin a new chapter in my life such as starting school but this time getting paid for my hard work and focus through financial aid.. next thing you know my oldest brother died in 2012 and it completely ruined me. I was about 19 at the time and didn’t drive until 20.
I was so happy before I heard the bad news from my mom calling me while I was at in n out with friends, crying while telling me that my brother had been shot. (I always wondered how my life would’ve been if I never picked up the phone or call while I was out eating with friends). This scared me for life and it’s why I don’t really enjoy in n out I should. It changed me forever.
I then got a job with some friends about a year after the tragedy but for some reason my mom told me not to tell people like my uncle that I was employed. I always wondered why but now thinking back by being raised by narcissistic parents, it’s all a control thing.
For instance my mom doesn’t work and was collecting ssi and welfare benefits. Me being young and finally having a sense of independence I was very proud of myself but I never understood why my parents never clapped for me..
When my father got home I guess they told each other about what I had going for myself and she insisted that I didn’t work because it would affect our housing situation and rent. This made me very sad because I was never able to reach my full potential and felt limited.
I always viewed life in the sense that you’re either working or going to school or you aren’t doing much with your life. With that being said, my narcissistic parents didn’t want me to work… therefore I took the school route because I was smart enough to do mental labor instead of physical to generate income. So from 2012-2016 I just kept going to school to keep myself busy and not focus on what had happened to me and my brother.
This was when shit but the fan and I took too many units and financial aid wouldn’t credit me for it anymore. I basically dropped out in 2016 because myself school stopped paying me. It was around the same year that Wells Fargo gave me a student credit card with a 500 $ limit after opening a bank account to buy things online. I then taught myself about stocks and when a friend of mine told me about Robinhood. From 2016 til about COVID started I didn’t go to school and was unemployed.
When Covid hit, this was when my little brother started college and motivated me to go back to school. Around this time was when I signed back up for financial aid and took courses online and was very happy and surprised when they allowed me to acquire more funds from school.
I started getting money from Covid because this was when colleges received aid through Covid relief programs. During this time I finished school and graduated in 2021. I also started working and got my first job as an Uber eats driver a few days after Father’s Day in 2021, this was when I told my sister because I was very happy. I guess my dad was ear hustling and started eavesdropping and was upset that I had a job once again.
After finishing school with 2 undergrad degrees, I also had left over money and this was when I decided to get braces. I remember asking my dad if I should get them and he said were will you get the money from. I never told him I had been saving.
He smokes cigarettes and never brushes his teeth and had teeth falling out due to his bad oral hygiene. He got jealous when I got braces.
A few days ago, it’s been about 12 years now since I had my first job and incident occurred he hands his phone over and wants me to request paperwork from Edd so we can continue to get housing benefits.. I’m on the phone talking to this girl about my living situation and told her that I’ve been stagnant and in the same position I was when my brother died because even if I get a job after I graduated with 2 degrees, it would interfere with how my dad gets benefits from welfare or low income housing.
This I don’t understand because my whole entire life, it felt as if I’m trapped here with my parents that won’t me work..
I’m 31 years of age, super traumatized by my parents and have ptsd from what happened to me. This is why me and my dad never really talked.
Now I’m 31 years old, with 2 degrees and just confused and disappointed because how am I supposed to leave the nest if my parents won’t let me work while living with them due to our shitty situation where my dad doesn’t make enough money and we have to ask for government assistance to cover rent..??
I also got my wisdom teeth removed sometime in September and it was one of the dumbest decisions I’ve ever done, I have braces but never trusted the process and went and got my wisdoms out simply because my insurance covered it..
Each day I’ve been regretting life and thinking about what I could’ve done different instead of removing two healthy teeth that I was eating or chewing with. On top of that, I’m in about 3-4k debt but won’t have any money to pay it off because I lost leverage trying to make capital tons off my scholarship money.
My teeth are bad again, my confidence is super low and I’m balding now, and I hate my dad.
It’s been months now, I don’t even wash my clothes anymore and have been neglecting my oral health due to depression. I’m in debt, parents won’t let me work.. and been suicidal everyday due to removing healthy wisdom teeth that I used to eat with.. I still have my bottom 2 and each day when I brush my teeth and eat I’m reminded by my dumb decision.
Not only has my bite and teeth feel weird but my right sinus has closed and nose/face have changed significantly because I keep losing bone where the teeth once were.
I lost ocular dominance, and the ability to breathe properly out of my right nose and I’m pretty sure it has caused me brain damage due to lack of oxygen. Before bed I have to hold my right nostril to the right in order to breathe properly.. I also have forward posture from tmj and symptoms of icr. Wisdom teeth removal creates jaw surgery and I’m afraid that I’ll need it in order to feel normal and breathe properly again..
Past 2-4 months I’ve been in the er twice and they dismissed me saying that I have anxiety and never reallly helped me and idk if I can take it anymore.
I’m losing hair, lost 2 functional teeth that I thought I didn’t need.. my mouth has gotten smaller, lips have changed and become super weird. Things I used to enjoy like smoking weed,eating and drinking doesn’t feel the same. I’m numb to everything and this is. Dry dangerous because what I used to do for fun, I can no longer do.
I miss singing, smoking weed and having a good nights sleep or rest without any complications. I know that there’s nothing I can do to get my wisdom teeth. and it’s why I been feeling suicidal everyday… I’m no longer happy, no longer leave the house and my parents don’t even talk to me Anymore because they don’t believe my complications.
This is too stressful and I’m in pain and just wanna end it all but don’t wanna leave my family with another dead son. But the way things are going I know that if I do suicide, they will try and tell everyone that I’m crazy and make it about them and pretend that they loved me. I feel dead because I have no reason to live anymore and I just want my teeth back..

Timestamp https://imgur.com/a/804sHoW
Buy two things and get the third thing half off. Shipping is 5 bucks or free if you buy more than one thing. Thanks in advance for looking.
Monogatari stuff
Bakemonogatari Key Animation Volume 1 $45 (Box is a bit scuffed from previous seller, a 3 volume set of animation frames from some of the first episodes of the show)
Bakemonogatari Character Production Note Red Ver. $45 (book comes in a red sleeve)
Buy both for $80
Colorful Dreams by Vofan (monogatari illustrator)$20
Monogatari series Heroine Art books set of 8 $190 (Hitagi, Mayoi, Tsubasa, Yotsugi, Nadeko, Kanbaru, Shinobu, Karen & Tsukihi some come with obi, some do not.)
Buy all the ^Monogatari books for $270
Spare Hitagi and Shinobu art books not part of set $35 (scuffing noticeable om hitagi)
Senjougahara Good smile figure (bought 2nd hand, the attachments do not work and the packaging has some dried glue leftover from the previous owner trying to glue the stationary together.) $75
Hajime Ueda Style Figures of Senjougahara and Hachikuji $150 each, $270 together
Aviot Monogatari series ear buds (purple ver.) $145
Video Games Overlord Escape from Nazarick $28
Yuru Camp Have a Nice Day switch Limited Edition (comes with figure, game and extras) $145
Manga + LN sets
Berserk Deluxe 1-11 $333
To your Eternity 1-19 complete $125
Haunted Bookstore LN 1-6 $36
The duke of death and his maid 1-6 $45
Mob Psycho 100 1-13 + reigen $115
Madoka Magica omnibus + different $25
Fullmetal Alchemist Fullmetal editions 1-18 Complete + 20th Anniversary book $260
Vivy Prototype LN 1-3 $25
Vampire Hunter D omnibus 1 $11
Toilet Bound Hanako Box set $55
Flying Witch 1-11 $77
Is this a Zombie? 1-8 complete $100
Mashle 1-12 $75
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K 1-26 (Japanese bound set, well worn and used) $70

I can't calm down
May 11 I'm having fast heartbeat that makes me cause shortness of breath
May 15 I have runny nose and cough , sinus/head pressure
May 18 feels like my jaw near ear is paining like a TMJ and still heavy head pressure
May 20 I'm having muscle twitches all over my body even at my Right face I am panicking so hard and head ache.
Until now it's happening to me
Could I have rabies? I didn't take tetanus toxoid Only anti rabies 3rd dose since may 4 . What if this is tetanus???? ir rabies developing. .. idk I can't have a peaceful day without thinking abt rabies since my 1st dose I am really aware to my body and what I feels everyday...

Readily, dear Hermesianax, most honoured of my many kinsmen, and in due order will I expound the forms of savage creatures and their deadly injuries which smite one unforeseen, and the countering remedy for the harm. And the toiling ploughman, the herdsman, and the woodcutter, whenever in forest or at the plough one of them fastens its deadly fang upon him, shall respect you for your learning in such means for averting sickness.
Now I would have you know, men say that noxious spiders, together with the grievous reptiles and vipers and the earth's countless burdens, are of the Titans' blood - 10 if indeed he spoke the truth, Ascraean Hesiod on the steeps of secluded Melissēeis by the waters of Permessus. And it was the Titan's daughter who sent forth the blighting scorpion with sharpened sting, when she compassed an evil end for Boeotian Orion, and attacked him after he had laid violent hands upon the immaculate raiment of the goddess. Thereupon the scorpion, which had lurked unobserved beneath a small stone, struck him in the ankle of his strong foot. But Orion's wondrous sign is set conspicuous, fixed there amid the constellations, 20 as of one hunting, dazzling to behold.
You for your part will easily chase and dispel all creeping things from farmstead and cottage, or from steep bank, or from couch of natural herbage, in the hour when, to shun parching summer's fiery breath, beneath the sky you make your bed on straw at nightfall in the fields and sleep, or else beside some unwooded hill or on the edge of a glen, where poisonous creatures feed in multitudes upon the forest, or beside the levelled perimeter of the threshing-floor, and where the grass 30 at its first burgeoning brings bloom to the shady water-meadows, at the time when the snake sloughs the withered scales of age, moving feebly forward, when in spring he leaves his den, and his sight is dim; but a meal of the fennel's sappy shoots makes him swift and bright of eye.
You may expel the hot and harmful doom that snakes bring, if you char the tined horn of a stag, or else set fire to dry lignite, which not even the violence of a fierce flame consumes. Cast also upon the fire the foliage of the male fern with its cloven fronds, 40 or take the heated root of the frankincense-tree mixed with an equal measure of garden-cress; and mingle the fresh, pungent horn of a roe, putting an equal weight of it in the balance. Burn also a portion no less heavy of the strong-smelling black cumin, or else of sulphur, or again of bitumen. Or you may ignite in the fire the Thracian stone, which when soaked in water glows, yet quenches its brightness at the least smell of a drop of oil. Herdsmen gather it for themselves from the river of Thrace which they call Pontus, where the Thracian shepherds 50 who eat ram's flesh so follow after their leisurely flocks. Again, the heavy-scented juice of all-heal stimulated over a fire, and the stinging nettle, and cedar cut with saws and ground to dust by their many-toothed jaws, produce in burning a smoky and repellent stench. With these means you may clear hollow clefts and couches in the woods, and may sink upon the ground and take your fill of sleep.
But if these things involve trouble, and night brings bed-time near, and you are longing for rest when your work is done, then gather to yourself among the eddies of some rushing river 60 the water-loving, leafy mint, for it grows in plenty by streams and is fed with the moisture about their edges, as it delights in gleaming rivers. Or you should cut and strew beneath you the flowering willow, or the strong-smelling hulwort, which has a most offensive odour; so too have viper's bugloss and the leaves of marjoram, aye, or of wormwood, which grows wild upon the hills in some chalky glen, or of tufted thyme from pasture-lands : tenacious of life it draws sustenance from a damp soil, deep-rooted, ever furnished with hairy leaves. 70 And you should mark the pale spikes of the low-growing fleabane and of the agnus castus, and the pungent stinking bean-trefoil. Likewise cut the rough twigs of the pomegranate, or else young and flourishing shoots of the asphodel, and deadly nightshade, and the horrid hypericum which injures the herdsman in the springtime when his cows are poisoned by eating the stalks; and further stems of the heavy-scented sulphurwort whose very odour scares snakes and chases them away should they approach you. so place some of these by you wherever you make a casual couch in the fields; others where snakes lurk, and a double quantity at their holes.
80 Now make in an earthen vessel or an oil-flask a paste of juniper berries and anoint your supple limbs - or of the heavy-scented sulphurwort; or else pound thoroughly in oil the dried leaves of fleabane from the hills, and likewise the healing salvia, adding the root of silphium, which the grater's teeth should grind small - many a time too have noxious creatures fled in terror from the scent of a man's spittle. But if you rub a caterpillar from the garden in a little vinegar, the dewy caterpillar with a green back, or if you anoint your limbs all about with the teeming fruit of the marsh mallow, 90 then you will pass the night unscathed. Also cast in and rub down in the stony heart of a mortar two leafy sprays of wormwood mixed with garden cress - an obol's weight is suitable - and with a pestle pound therein to smoothness a handful of fresh berries from the bay; then mould into rounds and put to dry in a shady, wind-swept spot; when dry break them in pieces in an oil-flask, and you can anoint your limbs with it at once.
If however you can cast snakes coupled at a crossroads, alive and just mating, into a pot, and the following medicaments besides, 100 you have a preventive against deadly disasters. Throw in thirty drachmas' weight of the marrow of a freshly killed stag and one-third of a chous of rose-oil, - essence which perfumers style 'prime' and 'medium' and 'well-ground' - and pour on an equal measure of raw, gleaming oil and one-quarter of wax. These you must quickly heat in a round, bellying pot until the fleshy portions are softened and come in pieces about the spine. Next take a shaped, well-made pestle and pound up these many ingredients in a mixture with the snakes; 110 but cast aside the vertebrae, for in them a venom no less deadly is engendered. Then anoint all your limbs, be it for a journey or for a sleep or when you gird yourself after work at the threshing-floor in summer's drought and with pronged forks winnow the high pile of grain.
But if you should chance to come upon biting creatures when your skin is un-medicined and you are fasting - that is the time when disaster strikes a man - you may readily save yourself by our precepts. It is the female snake that attacks with its bite those who encounter it; besides, it is thicker right down to the trailing tail, 120 and for that reason the doom of death will come more swiftly. But chiefly in summer must you be on your guard against harmful snakes, observing the rising of the Pleiads, those smaller stars which graze the tail of the bull in their course, when the dipsas either sleeps unfed with the young it broods, lurking in the recesses of its hole, or when it makes eagerly for its feeding-ground, or when therefrom, sated with the forest, it goes sleepily to its lair. Beware of meeting at the crossroads the dusky male viper when he has escaped from her bite and is maddened by the blow of the smoke-hued female, 130 in the season when, as the male covers her, the lustful female fastens upon him, tearing him with her foul fang, and cuts off the head of her mate; but forthwith in the act of birth the young vipers avenge their sire's destruction, since they gnaw through their mother's thin flank and thereby are born motherless. For alone of snakes the female viper is burdened with pregnancy, whereas oviparous snakes of the forest warm a membrane-enclosed brood. Beware too when the viper, having doffed the wrinkled scales of age, comes abroad again exulting in his new-found youth; beware when, after escaping in his hole from the trampling feet of deer, 140 he darts in fury his limb-corroding venom at men; for red deer and roe cherish a special anger towards long reptiles and track them down, exploring on every side stone-heaps, walls, and lurking-places, following hard after them with the dreadful breath of their nostrils.
Furthermore the snow-capped crags of Othrys too bear deadly serpents, and hollow gully and rough crags and woodland scaur, where haunts the thirst-provoking seps. It has a varying hue and not one alone, ever taking the colour of the place wherein it has made its hole. 150 Those that live in stony ground and cairns are smaller but fierce and irascible: no bite of theirs can fail of effect on man, but is malignant. Another's body is like a land-snail; yet another has scales of greenish hue which variegate its huge coil; and many there are that frequent dusty places and make their coils rough by wriggling in the sand.
Consider now the murderous asp, bristling with dry scales, the most sluggish of all snakes. 160 Its form is terrifying, but when in movement, it uncoils its weight slowly and ever seems to wear a fixed look in its drowsy eyes. Yet when it hears some strange noise or sees a bright light, it throws off from its body dull sleep and wreathes its coil in a circular ring upon the ground, and in the midst it rears its head, bristling in deadly fashion. Its length, horrible beyond that of any other of earth's creatures, measures a fathom, and its thickness is seen to be that 170 which a spear-maker fashions for a hunting-spear for fighting bulls and deep-voiced lions. Sometimes the colour spread over its back is dust-like, sometimes it is the yellow of a quince and sheeny, at other times an ashen hue, but often, when it grows dark with Aethiop soil, a smoky brown like the sludge which the many-mouthed Nile in flood pours into the sea, as it dashes against the waves. Above the brow over the eyes there appear, as it were, two calluses, while its eye beneath them glows bright red aloft over its coil and its dust-coloured neck swells up as it hisses continuously, 180 when in the violence of its wrath it fastens death upon wayfarers who meet it. It has four fangs, their underside hollow, hooked, and long, rooted in its jaws, containing poison, and at their base a covering of membranes hides them. Thence it belches forth poison unassuageable on a body. Be they no friends of mine whose heads these monsters assail. For no bite appears on the flesh, no deadly swelling with inflammation, but the man dies without pain, and a slumberous lethargy brings life's end.
190 Now the ichneumon alone escapes unharmed the asp's onset, both when it comes to fight and when it breaks on the ground all the baneful eggs which the deadly serpent is brooding, as it shakes them out from their membranes by biting them and crushes them in its destroying teeth. The form of this snake-tracking creature is that of the puny marten which seeks the destruction of domestic fowls, snatching them from their perches as they sleep, where they roost upon a beam or foster their feeble chicks, keeping them warm beneath their breast. 200 But when amid Egypt's rush-grown water-meadows they join with the wriggling asps in a fearsome struggle, forthwith the Ichneumon leaps into the river, strikes the slimy bottom with its paws, and rolling its small body smears its limbs at once with the mud, against the time when the Dog-Star's heat has dried its fur and made it so that no fang may rend it. And then it either springs upon the frightful head of the reptile with the flickering tongue and bites it, or seizing it by the tail, sends it rolling into the weedy river.
You would do well to mark the various forms of the viper. It may be long, it may be short; 210 for so Europe and Asia breed them, but you will not find them alike. Thus, in Europe they are smaller, and above the tip of their nostrils they are horned and white, those, that is, beneath the mountains of Sciron and the Pambonian steeps, Rhype, and the hill of Corax and hoary Aselenus; whereas Asia breeds snakes a fathom long and even more, such as are about rugged Bucarterus or are contained within the strong headland of Aesagea and in Cercaphus. The front of their heads is flat, and at the trailing end of its coil 220 the creature wriggles a stunted tail which is abundantly rough with dry scales. And this way and that through the brakes it strays with sluggish coil. But every male viper is seen to have a pointed head. In length he is sometimes larger, sometimes short, and in breadth of belly he is slimmer, while his tail stretches tapering away, and may be flattened towards the end of its trailing length or rubbed smooth of scales. But the eyes in his face turn blood- red when he is angered, and as his forked tongue flickers rapidly, he lashes the end of his tail. 230 Wayfarers call him the snaky Cocytus. Two fangs in his upper jaw, as they spit poison, leave their mark upon the skin, but of the female always more than two, for she lays hold with her whole mouth, and you can easily observe that the jaws have opened wide about the flesh. And from the wound she makes there oozes a discharge like oil or, it may be, bloody or colourless, while the skin around starts up into a painful lump, often greenish, now crimson, or again of livid aspect. At other times it engenders a mass of fluid, and about the wound small pimples 240 like slight blisters rise flabbily from the skin, which looks scorched. And all around spread ulcers, some at a distance, others by the wound, emitting a dark blue poison; and over the whole body the piercing bane eats its way with its acute inflammation; and in the throat and about the uvula retchings following fast upon one another convulse the victim. The body is oppressed also with failures of sense in every part, and forthwith in the limbs and loins is seated a burdening, dangerous weakness, and heavy darkness settles in the head. Meantime the sufferer 250 at one moment has his throat parched with dry thirst, often too he is seized with cold from the finger-tips, while all over his frame an eruption with wintry rage lies heavy upon him. And again a man often turns yellow all over his body and vomits up the bile that lies upon his stomach, while a moist sweat, colder than the falling snow, envelops his limbs. In some cases his colour is that of sombre lead, in others his hue is murky, or again it is like flowers of copper.
You would do well also to learn of the crafty cerastes, who attacks like the male viper, which he resembles in equality of size. 260 True, the viper is hornless, whereas the cerastes boasts sometimes four horns sometimes two, and his dust-coloured skin is rough, and it is his habit to sleep in the sand or in the ruts down a road. The viper writhing himself darts swiftly forward on a straight course with the long winding of his belly, whereas the cerastes rolls on with clumsy movements of his middle, meandering on a crooked path with his scaly back, like to the dinghy of a merchantman dipping its whole side in the brine when the wind is contrary, 270 as it forces its way to windward when driven back by the south-westerly gale. When the cerastes bites, the disfiguring wound turns callous all around like a wart, and livid blisters like drops of rain move round about the bite, dimly discernible to the eye. True, the man in whom the deadly cerastes strikes his mischief-working fang goes through less acute pain, but nine suns of suffering does he behold. And in either groin and the hams the trouble festers persistent ever, while his skin has a livid appearance. 280 And from their suffering little strength is left in the joints of those afflicted, and with difficulty do they escape death.
Next I will tell you what marks the blood-letting snake, which always sleeps in rocky ascents, making a small, rough lair under a hedge. There it has its lurking-place when it has gorged its fill. It equals a footprint in length, but as to breadth it dwindles tapering from the fiery head down. At times it is of a sooty hue, or again a reddish brown. It narrows moderately at the neck, and its tail is sharply compressed 290 and stretches flattened from the middle onward. In its forehead beneath its snow-white horns are planted two eyes, of which the irises are somewhat like those of locusts, and on high rises terrible its devouring head. And with an oblique and halting movement it ever steers its little body on its brief journeys from the middle of the back like the cerastes, scraping its belly over the earth, and with its scaly body it makes a slight rustling as though crawling through a heap of straw. But when first it bites, a swelling of dark, unhealthy hue rises, and a sore pain freezes the heart, 300 and the stomach's content turned to water gushes out, while on the first night after, blood wells from the nostrils and throat and ears, freshly infected with the bile-like venom; urine escapes all bloody; wounds on the limbs break open, hastened by the destruction of the skin. May no female blood-letter ever inject its venom into you! For when it has bitten, all together the gums swell from the very bottom, and from the finger nails the blood drips unstaunchable, while the teeth, clammy with gore, become loose.
If the tale be true, Bane-Helen coming from Troy was angered with this species 310 when her company beached their vessel by the tumultuous Nile as they fled before the dread onset of the north wind, what time she beheld Canobus, the helmsman, swooning on the sands of Thonis; for as he slept a female blood-letter, on which he had pressed, struck him in the neck and belched forth its deadly poison into him, turning his rest to ruin. Therefore Helen crushed the middle of its trailing shape, breaking the ligatures of the back about the spine, so that the backbone started from its body. From that day forward the blood-letter and the crooked-roving cerastes alone of snakes move haltingly, oppressed by their injury.
320 You would do well to recognise the form of the sepedon, which in other respects resembles the blood-letter in appearance, but it steers a straightforward path; moreover it is almost without horns, and its colour, like that of a carpet, is spread over a rough surface. Its head is heavy, but its tail appears short as it moves, for it curls the end like the rest of its body. Truly the wound of the sepedon is deadly and agonising, and its black, destroying poison pervades the entire body: upon the parched skin everywhere the hair withers and is dispersed like the down of a thistle when it is rubbed. 330 For from the head and the brows of the man who has been bitten the hairs break off and from the eyelids the dark lashes perish, while round spots bespeckle his limbs and leprous eruptions swiftly spread a chalk-like rash.
Again, the form of the dipsas will always resemble that of a small viper; yet death will come quicker to those whom this grim snake assails. Its thin tail, darkish throughout, grows blacker from the end forward. From its bite the heart is inflamed utterly, and in the fever the dry lips shrivel with parching thirst. 340 Meanwhile the victim, bowed like a bull over a stream, absorbs with gaping mouth drink past measuring, until his belly bursts his navel, spilling the too heavy load. Now there is a tale of ancient days current among men how, when the first-born seed of Cronus became lord of heaven, he apportioned to his brothers severally their illustrious realms, and in his wisdom bestowed upon mortals youth, honouring them because they had denounced the fire-stealer. The fools, they got no good of their imprudence: for, being sluggards and growing weary, they entrusted the gift to an ass for carriage, 350 and the beast, his throat burning with thirst, ran off skittishly....

Hey all I had a microdiscectomy/hemilaminectomy on my L5-S1 on 5/14, so I'm only 8 days post op.
It's been going pretty well so far. But today and yesterday I started feeling pain exactly where my herniation was. My incision is right in the center of my.spine on the bottom, but this pain is over to the right. It hurts when I cough or sneeze. Unfortunately I also got into a huge (verbal) fight with a family member tonight, and there was a lot of yelling, and I felt my back throbbing while yelling, and right after the fight, I was so worried that I reherniated. Also because my right leg (original leg affected) started getting pretty numb and achey in my right foot and calf, and some tingling in my right thigh and butt. To be fair, this pain/sensation in my leg (not my back) was there this morning before any of this happened.
My nerve pain was pretty much gone when I woke up from surgery last week, and have had only intermittent nerve pain/sensation every so often, along with slight aching/throbbing in my foot. So I'm having a hard time deciphering if this is just the healing process or if yelling/coughing/sneezing did this. I wouldn't say the pain in my back is necessarily a 10/10 but maybe like 4 or 5 at the moment?
I already called the Dr last week when I felt some pretty intense nerve pain, so I don't want to seem like I'm paranoid. Even tho I am lol.
What do you all think? Thanks!

I really like my glasses, however, i feel like the screen is positioned a bit too high up.
Ideally, my eyes, when in neutral position should see the top of the screen, but with rokid i se the center of the screen which makes me open my eyes wider and look ever so slightly upwards.
This also make my eyes dry faster.
Anyone else has this experience?
I can somewhat resolve this issue by changing the angle of the glasses using my hands to keep the ear tests a few centimeters above my ears. So... Maybe make ear rest angle adjustable?

Previous case
The infected deer are starting to become a real problem. That being said, as the title suggests, the worms are the least of my worries.
(If you're not familiar with what Orion Pest Control's services are, it may help to start here.)
On my drive home a few nights ago, I saw the reflection of eyes in the distance. As I slowed down, I discovered a buck standing in the middle of the road, head bent over gray fur.
It was eating an opossum. Or, more accurately, the worms puppeteering it were coiling around the opossum, their mouths leaving huge holes in the poor animal's fur as they dragged it between the deer's open jaws.
Like the infected doe I'd encountered before, the buck’s stomach was pulsating as the worms moved. Its fur was unruly, the white patch over its throat stained with layers of dried blood.
My stomach fluttered in disgust at the way the parasites protruded from its mouth. God, those worms… Steeling myself, I snatched my toolbelt off of the passenger seat along with the shotgun and went out to take care of it. Unfortunately, I only had regular shells that time. After the incident at the farm, I hadn't had the time to restock on salt shells. They would've made this process much faster and easier.
I just had to shoot it in the head, then pour salt on each worm afterwards. Same as before. No problem, right?
The sound that the worms made as they devoured the opossum made my skin crawl. The sliminess of their skin as they slithered around each other combined with the wet tearing of flesh and fur. Whatever you're imagining, I assure you that the noise was far more nauseating in real life.
Before the worms or their host had a chance to notice me, I took aim and pulled the trigger. The side of the buck's head exploded. It let out a deep, guttural groan as the worms dropped from around the trapped rodent.
The buck then lowered its antlers at me. Fuckfuckfuck! I sprinted for my car as it charged me, the worms flopping around as they were dragged across the road by their host. I got out of the way just as the buck's antlers pierced my G6's hood. It shook its head violently, my little car shaking along with it as it tried to get its antlers free.
Why was it so much more aggressive than the doe? Had it been infected longer?
Just as I raised the shotgun again, I felt something brush against my foot. I was so glad that nobody was around to see me yelp like a coyote as I expertly flailed away from the worm that had taste-tested my boot.
There was an ear-splitting, metallic groan as the buck got its antlers free. I stepped away from the worms as I fired again. The buck fell to the side, causing the worms to lurch to the ground like cut ropes. Heroically, I backed away from them even more as they began to convulse, fumbling with shaking hands to get the salt out of my toolbelt.
The area around me became much brighter as another vehicle made its way down the road. I got off to the side to lower the chances of getting hit, then otherwise ignored it as I finished the job by seasoning the parasites, grimacing as they writhed against their salty demise.
From behind me, I heard the oncoming vehicle start to slow down. I had just finished salting the final worm when the driver completely slowed to a stop. Glaring against the headlights, dread pooled in my stomach as I recognized the old, boxy blue Ford pickup. I'd seen it parked at the mechanic's shop every time I've had to go over there.
What was he doing here?
Coincidences don't exist in this line of work. I hadn't seen the mechanic since that day he'd turned me into a dog. I'd went out of my way to try to avoid him, which in hindsight, I probably could've been more subtle about.
It occurred to me to run. A frightened, primal impulse. But if I'm right about what the mechanic is, that'd be a horrible idea. They take cruel delight in hunting their prey down. Not knowing what else to do as my heart raced, I made sure that the buck and the worms were dead, shooting the infected animal in the head one last time. It didn't move. Neither did the worms.
The truck's door creaked open, then slammed shut. And with the sound of his boots on the gravel, I said a quick prayer, hoping that whatever god heard me would be a merciful one.
The mechanic grimaced at the dead worms, “Hoo, those things are nasty.”
All I could think of to say in my state was, “…Yeah.”
Brilliant, right?
He clicked his tongue, then walked over to my G6, shaking his head. “It sure did a number on this.”
For the first time, I got to see the extent of the damage that the buck had done to my poor little car. The hood was crumpled and riddled with several small holes. I had left it running, but after the attack, the engine had gone quiet. My dread worsened as I noticed that some sort of fluid was pooling beneath the front of the car.
The mechanic popped the hood, absent-mindedly nudging a dead worm out of the way with his heel as he examined my suffering car.
“Yeah, that's the fuckin’ radiator.” The mechanic commented. “This thing ain't going anywhere.”
You've gotta be kidding me.
I'm not a car person. I didn't know if he was messing with me or not. I stammered, “Are… are you serious?”
He closed my hood, “You see me laughing, puppydog?”
Prick.
“Please don't call me that.” I said, keeping my voice as even as possible.
He snickered, “What would you like me to call you, then?”
I replied, “Let's go back to ‘stranger.’”
He pursed his lips, “But we're really not strangers anymore, now, are we?”
I didn't like that he'd taken enough of an interest in me to want to use something other than a generic nickname for me. I didn't trust this. Not one bit.
The mechanic patted the G6's hood noisily before stepping over a worm to stand in front of me, “Well, I can tow this thing to the shop, then start workin’ on it in the morning. In the meantime, why don't you let me give you a lift?”
Oh, FUCK no.
“Thanks, but I have people I can call.” I replied, eyes on his chest to avoid his gaze.
He chuckled, “You really don't like accepting help when it's offered, do you?”
That was a warning. Don't push it.
Doing everything in my power to keep my voice calm, I asked, “Will you expect something in return?”
With a grin, he replied, “Just the pleasure of your company.”
I don't like this.
As much as I would've preferred to take my chances walking home and dealing with literally any other atypical animal that could be prowling the night, I was too afraid to wear the mechanic's patience any thinner.
He either read my mind or my thoughts showed on my face because he then added with a smirk, “You can bring your gun, if that'll make you feel safer.”
Unable to shake the feeling that I was going to the gallows, I reluctantly climbed into the passenger seat of his truck, flipping the safety switch on the shotgun before setting it on the floor against my leg.
The interior smelled pleasantly of black cherries. I'd expected the stench of motor oil. He wordlessly nativated the truck in front of my broken down car, then jumped back out again to hook everything up.
While he was busy with that, I quickly texted Victor and Reyna, ‘broke down. mechanic found me. taking me somewhere. not sure where yet.’
For good measure, I also shared my location with them. Afterwards, I jammed my phone back into my pocket, then peered into the side mirror to watch the mechanic. He was pulling on the chains he'd attached to my G6, testing their tightness. He looked like he was almost done.
My phone buzzed, but I didn't dare take it out again.
The mechanic climbed back into the driver's seat with a sigh. As the old pickup started down the road, my unease kept building. I felt like I shouldn't move or breathe too much, for some strange reason. This might sound dramatic, but I would've felt safer being trapped in a cage with a hungry lion. At least a lion would just shred me and be done with it.
I reminded myself that I was still wearing my toolbelt. He'd let me take the shotgun. I didn't know how effective salt, shells, or a silver blade would be against him, but it was slightly reassuring to know that I wasn't completely defenseless. Just slightly. The fact that he'd let me keep all of it told me that he didn't consider me a threat to him, even while armed.
The mechanic glanced at me, “I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I was on my way to Dillon's when I found you.”
Dillon's is an old 50's style diner that’s about a half hour walk away from my apartment. It's cheap, greasy, and gets the job done, especially when you're hungover.
The mechanic looked and sounded deceptively friendly as he spoke again, “Though, I am glad that we ran into each other! There's something that I've been wanting to discuss with you.”
That couldn't be good. I stared through the windshield, only looking over at him occasionally to avoid any possibility of him catching my eye.
The mechanic continued, “You remember when I told you the other night that you impressed me? I meant that. And humans don't normally impress me much, so… make of that what you will. However, you also tried to get smart with me and that is the shit I hate. You can be as polite as you want, but insolence is insolence, no matter how much you try to sugarcoat it.”
Even though his tone remained light, the nervous pit in my stomach grew into a gaping chasm. Was he still angry? And if he was, what did that mean for me?
The mechanic side-eyed me briefly as if he expected me to say something.
My phone buzzed in my pocket again. One of my coworkers tried to call me.
Another thing yinz need to know about dealing with the Neighbors: never use the words ‘I'm sorry,’ the reason being that an apology is an admission of a debt to them. If you have to atone for a transgression (and it is highly recommended that you do so), your phrasing matters.
I hoped that humbling myself would appease him, “My actions were a waste of your time and I absolutely regret them. It won't happen again.’
The mechanic snickered, “See, that's just it. You're so… fuck, what's the word I'm looking for? I heard it just the other day and it reminded me of you. Oh, right! Unctuous. You ever hear that word before?”
I told him I hadn't.
“It means someone who's insincerely polite. They tell you what you want to hear just to get what they want. Sound familiar, pup?”
He'd never been this ruthless in our interactions before. I needed to be careful.
Feeling my mouth get dry from impending panic, I shook my head, “That's not it. I just try to watch what I say. I don't mean for it to come off as disingenuous.”
Throughout this whole conversation, his smile stayed in place. He was enjoying making me squirm. As much as it killed me to give him that satisfaction, I couldn't hide it: even without that banjo around, I was terrified of him.
He replied, “You see why I'm glad we ran into each other? This is something that's been on my mind for a bit. Coulda gotten it outta the way a whole lot sooner, if you hadn't been hiding from me.”
I knew better than to insist that I wasn't avoiding him, especially since I was already on dangerously thin ice. And we were still far enough away from town that if he were to decide to pull over right then and there, no one would notice what happened to me until it was too late.
Swallowing back my nervousness, I asked, “What happens now?”
“That whole nasty business two weeks ago didn't need to happen. All you had to do was find your boss, which you already wanted to do anyway. But instead, you decided to be a smartass. From now on, don't get smart with me and just do your job. That ain't asking for much, is it?”
Trying to get more saliva in my dry mouth to swallow again, I hurriedly nodded, “No, it's not. I’ll do better.”
“Glad we're understandin’ each other, pup.”
Despite the mechanic's relaxed demeanor, I still didn't feel safe in that truck. We were getting closer to town. My phone didn't stop vibrating. I just hoped that he was taking me to where he said we were going.
There is a bit of conflict in our records as to whether or not the Neighbors can lie. Some sources state that they can only speak the truth, others say that they are able to be just as dishonest as humans. Either way, it's best to operate under the assumption that their intentions are to manipulate.
The mechanic then cheerily asked, “Now that we got that unpleasantness out of the way, I gotta know, how'd you get so good with a gun? I've seen ol’ blue eyes shoot, and that man can't hit the broad side of a barn, so I know he ain't the one that taught ya.”
Military records are public. If he learned even something as miniscule as my last name, it wouldn't be hard to identify me or my mom from there. The Neighbors have been known to seek out the family members of those who've slighted them. Entire bloodlines have been destroyed in this manner. I've seen it happen before, but that's a story for another time.
I can't stress this enough: never let a Neighbor learn your name.
I struggled to find a balance between being vague enough to protect myself, but detailed enough to satisfy him, “I wanted to learn how to defend myself when I was younger, so I found some good teachers.”
I must've missed the mark because the mechanic shook his head and chuckled, “You're doing it again. That annoying indirect shit. Why don't you try giving me a real answer, for once?”
Feeling my heart flutter, I muttered, “Armed forces.”
That was still vague. I didn't specify which of the armed forces. He could deduce when I served based on my age, but even then, that was still thousands of soldiers to sort through. Hopefully, that would be enough to protect us.
“Thank you for your service.” He said, his tone slightly mocking.
He could taunt me as much as he wanted. At least he accepted that answer. I just hoped that I wouldn't face any repercussions for being too vague earlier.
More streetlights were appearing. We were in town, getting closer to Dillon's. Assuming that he had been telling the truth about our destination.
This was the longest drive of my life. If the truck hadn't been going so fast, I would've been tempted to tuck and roll. And again… if the mechanic is what I think he is, he'd probably love it if I gave him the opportunity to chase me.
I had to know for sure, though. Just so that I knew how to properly deal with him.
Doing my best to sound meek (not hard, in the moment), I tried to word my question carefully, “Are you a Wild Huntsman?”
Once again, not taking the risk of typing or saying the ‘S’ word, especially since I haven't heard from that one person that commented that term on my last post.
Speaking of… are you still alive and in one piece, u/Holiday-Space?
The mechanic laughed, “Too afraid to say it, huh? Come on, I dare you!”
“No thanks.”
One of you is bad enough. Don't need any of your hunting buddies to show up.
The mechanic shook his head at me as he snickered, “Coward.”
Up ahead was Dillon's old purple neon sign. To my relief, the mechanic pulled into the parking lot. With it being so late, there were only two vehicles there besides the mechanic's truck (not including my comatose G6.)
Anxious to get out of there, I reached for the handle only for the door to swing open before I could grab it. The mechanic was holding the door open for me. I hadn't even heard the driver's side open.
See why I didn't try to run from him?
It took a lot of effort to sound sincere as I said, “What a gentleman.”
He nodded towards Dillon's, “After you.”
Even though the idea of having to spend more quality time with the mechanic made me want to crawl out of my own skin, I felt marginally safer in public. He wouldn't risk exposing himself when he has a shop to run. At least, I didn't think he would.
The girl that seated us blushed the moment she saw him. For her sake, I hope he doesn't ever decide to take advantage of her crush.
I was so keyed up that food was the last thing on my mind. It took our poor, flustered waitress asking me twice before I could order only a glass of water.
After she walked away, the mechanic leaned forward, forearms resting on the table as he said in a low voice, “You know, you don't have to act like a hostage, right?”
Wasn't I though? He did take me there against my will, after all.
I whispered, “Why am I here? What else do you want?”
“I already told you. I want your company. We're just talking. That's it.”
If that was true, then why go through the effort of intimidating me? Granted, he didn't have to do much. My mind raced as I tried to remember anything helpful that the boss could've told me. I recalled then that Victor had said that the mechanic couldn't do anything to him while he was still alive. There must be some sort of condition that has to be met.
The waitress scurried over with the mechanic's coffee and my water, turning an even deeper shade of red when the mechanic flashed an admittedly charming smile at her. When her eyes met mine, she looked somewhat embarrassed. It occurred to me then that to someone on the outside of all of this atypical nonsense, it probably looked like I was his extremely anxious and somewhat disheveled date.
Christ. Just kill me.
Now that I had humiliation to add on top of all of the other negative emotions I was experiencing, I sipped at the metallic-tasting ice water, grateful to give my parched tongue some relief.
As the mechanic added at least ten sugar packets to his coffee, he said, “Try to relax a little, alright? If I'd wanted to hurt you, I coulda taken care of that out on the road.”
Was that supposed to be reassuring?
After a deep breath, trying to lessen my nerves, I uttered, “You… want a little coffee with your sugar?”
He snorted, “Judge me all you want. It's like a drinkable candy bar.”
I stared down at my paper placemat that doubled as a menu. The last thing I wanted was to meet his gaze. It was harder to avoid it when seated together in a small booth. In retrospect, I think that's what he was counting on.
He'd said something alarming about Victor that made me reflexively glance up in shock, aiming to just look at his chest again. I don't even remember what he'd said.
The phone ringing in the kitchen… Mom kneeling down to hug me, making my shoulder wet… My father glaring at me through bullet proof glass…
I shook my head, blinking. What? Fingertips on my chin, leaning in as if to kiss me. The mechanic's eyes are hazel.
Our garage spray painted ‘MURDERER’... A fist pummeling my nose in the school hallway… My black kitten Maisie trotting towards me… That recruiter’s shit eating grin… Sargent Wilcox screaming, ‘Come on, you useless fucks!’... Yelling for a medic as I held my hands over Oliver's bleeding stomach…
Wait… what happened? A warm, gloved hand over my eyes. My cheeks were wet. When did I start crying? As I came to my senses, I recognized Reyna’s perfume.
The mechanic's voice made me stiffen. It's tone was sultry, with a menacing edge to it, “And who might you be?”
“No one.” She replied hurriedly, her voice bearing a slight quiver. She then whispered to me, “Let's go.”
Even though I couldn't see him, I could tell the mechanic was smiling as he told us that he'd see us later.
Due to our height difference, (I'm 6'1 while Reyna meets the requirements for the Lollipop Guild) her hand uncovered my face naturally as I stood up to leave. I refused to look in the mechanic's general direction. We rushed out. I could tell he was watching to see which car we'd go into. Fortunately, Reyna had the foresight to park behind the building.
I should also mention that Reyna had disguised herself. She wore red heart-shaped sunglasses and a scarf over her head, like a starlet from the golden age of Hollywood. She even wore platforms to try to appear taller. While it wasn't very discreet, it would hopefully keep the mechanic from recognizing her. Once we got to her Monte Carlo and peeled out, she ripped the sunglasses off.
Glancing into the rearview mirror for the what felt like the eighth time as Dillon's faded away behind us, Reyna frantically asked, “What did he do to you? I walked in and… you were just…”
He'd flipped through my mind like the pages of a book. I told her as much. She asked me if I was okay. I wasn't sure.
“We’re going to my place.” She informed me, checking the mirror again. “Vic and I agreed it's probably safest since the mechanic knows the least about me. And I'd love to keep it that way.”
I nodded, still unreeling from having my memories dug into, “Sounds good.”
Further on down the road, she noticeably stiffened when she saw a pair of headlights come up behind us. I reminded her that he didn't know what her car looked like. She didn't speed up, keeping the car at the speed limit to not draw attention to ourselves.
The headlights got closer. Turns out, it was just some impatient idiot with a lifted Dodge Ram truck. We both let out groans of relief when the ugly, oversized vehicle passed us.
“I never thought I'd actually be glad to see a pavement princess.” Reyna commented with a nervous laugh.
She then suddenly asked, “Is the mechanic an incubus?”
Feeling the beginnings of a headache behind my left eye, I answered, “I wish. That'd be a lot simpler.”
“Ah, okay. Wonderful. Lovely. And uh, don't worry about answering everything I say. I'm just kinda talking because I don't know what else to do, so if you want to ignore me, feel free.”
I ended up calling Victor, putting him on loudspeaker so that Reyna could hear.
He answered on the first ring, “What happened? Are you alright?”
I caught him up on everything. After I was done, he sighed, “Okay. If you don't mind me asking, when he got into your head, what did he see?”
“My sperm donor getting arrested, me getting beaten up in middle school, bootcamp, and a buddy dying after an ambush in Afghanistan.”
“Was your name used in any of those memories?”
“No.”
“Okay. That's good at least. I'm sorry you were forced to relive all of that.”
I didn't know what to say. Thankfully, Victor saved me from having to respond by continuing, “I was afraid of this. When a Hunter takes an interest in someone, especially someone that they can't take right away, they start off with trying to break the target down. Using fear and intimidation to make the person feel isolated, sometimes even driving them insane. The mechanic is trying to start that process with you.”
What he was saying checked out with everything that I'd researched about The Hunt. They are said to be attracted to bereavement, often pursuing those who've experienced a great loss or heartbreak. They interpret it as weakness. The more vulnerable their victim is, the easier it is for The Hunt to devour them. That explained why the mechanic had gravitated towards some of the most traumatic experiences of my life.
I'd read somewhere that they find brave, good-natured people especially appetizing, even though they're the hardest for The Hunt to take. By being unable to cry out when I was transformed, I think I’d unintentionally convinced the mechanic that I was that type of person. And it made him hungry.
Victor bitterly informed us, “He's not going to chase you tonight. He has your gun and your car. He knows you’ll go to him.”
Slowly, the fear became replaced with anger. And spite. The mechanic could disarm me and use my worst moments against me, but I resolved then that I wouldn't let that fucker intimidate me. I wouldn't give him what he wanted.
If he wanted to think I was something special, I'd give him something fucking special.
“Vic, can you get her things so that she doesn't have to deal with him?” Reyna asked.
Before he could answer, I shook my head, “No. I don't want the mechanic to think that I'm afraid. I mean… I am but he doesn't need to know that.”
Victor warned, “By confronting him, you could make the hunt more thrilling for him. That might encourage him to be more aggressive towards you.”
I shrugged, “I'm screwed either way. At least this way, I'm screwed on my own terms.”
For the first time in a long time, Victor sounded like he might've been smiling. I haven't seen him smile since before he showed up with that bandana covering his slit throat. “We can start by finding a hagstone. That's easier said than done… but, something's telling me that there'll be one at Beaver Run. Check there.”
According to our records, draugr have a limited ability to see the future. Maybe that ‘strange feeling’ was actually a premonition. It certainly wouldn't hurt to check.
“Tomorrow morning, while the mechanic is at his shop, it's hagstone time.” I announced.
“I'll help.” Reyna offered, but then quickly added. “Unless you need me to cover for her tomorrow, Vic.”
“If you wouldn't mind doing a half-day, that'd be best.”
“Okay, can do!”
Victor wished us luck, then hung up.
Forgive me, but I'm going to go off on a brief tangent: Reyna has a pet skunk. Her name is Fireball. I'm mentioning this because that little skunk was basically free therapy after the night I'd had. And in all my days of having to dig the little guys out from under people's houses, I never really had a chance to appreciate how cute they are.
“She can't spray.” Reyna assured me when the little critter trotted over to sniff me. For those that aren't aware, skunks are typically quiet, but when they do vocalize, they sound like weed whackers.
Reyna stared down at Fireball, “What are you ‘meeping’ at?”
Fireball stomped at her, then jumped back. In the wild, they do this when they're trying to intimidate predators, so if you encounter a skunk and they do this, it's best to back off. However, in Fireball's case, they might also stomp when they're feeling sassy.
Reyna put her hands up in an annoyed gesture, “What's with the attitude?”
The skunk stomped again. Reyna huffed, “Jeez, you act like you're starving to death. You still have food in your bowl, idiot! Just because you can see a little bit of the bottom doesn’t mean it's empty!”
After we quadruple-checked to make sure that every entrance into Reyna’s apartment was salter, I settled down on the couch to get some sleep. At one point in the night, Fireball ended up curled up in my lap. That healed me.
The search for a hagstone wasn't going to be an easy one. They're stones with holes in the middle, normally found near bodies of water. In the old tales, these stones are valuable tools against the Neighbors for a variety of reasons, one of them being they can protect against curses and ward off evil. They also have been said to allow humans to see things that would normally be hidden to us when looking through the middle of the stone.
In other words, if our records were accurate, it was the key to leveling the playing field when it came to the mechanic.
I was in the river not long after the sun rose. Even though the water was cold this early in the summer, my spite kept me warm. I dug through the riverbed for hours until I came across a white stone with a large hole in its lumpy center.
Good to know that Victor's newfound draugr intuition was accurate.
I have the hagstone hanging on a chain around my neck, tucked under my shirt. I wasn't sure what effect the hagstone would have on the mechanic. At the very least, maybe I could see what he actually looked like.
Later that afternoon, Victor called to tell me that my car was done. Moment of truth. Even with the hagstone, I wasn't looking forward to being in close quarters with the mechanic again. But I reminded myself that I wasn't going to let that sadistic fuck frighten me into hiding again. No more avoiding him.
The mechanic greeted me, boyish grin in place, “Long time no see, pup!”
Feeling the weight of the hagstone as a comforting weight around my neck, I said, “I was told that my car is done. Think I left my shotgun in your truck, as well.”
“You did. You left in such a hurry. Probably had a lot on your mind, I imagine.”
Fuck you.
He set my keys on the counter, along with my shotgun, then leaned forward to rest on his forearms, “Come and get ‘em.”
I didn't know if the hagstone would keep him out of my head and I wasn't about to find out the hard way. He already knew more about me than I was comfortable with. I kept my eyes low.
As I approached the counter, he suddenly stepped back, eyes narrowed. Unfortunately, he didn't lose that grin. That was a shame; I was hoping to wipe it off of his face.
The mechanic let out a short laugh, “I see you came prepared.”
I sounded braver than I felt, “Of course I did. Now, how much for the repairs?”
His smile turned mysterious as he gave me my total. He didn't come closer to the counter while I stood by it; I had to back up for him to be able to run my card. After that was done, he set it on the counter next to my other belongings, leaning against the back of some old clunker he had lined up to work on.
As I hurried to get my things, the mechanic suddenly asked, “You can't tell me that you ain't curious.”
“Curious about what?”
“‘Bout what I really look like.” He smirked, folding his arms across his chest. “Go on. Take a peek.”
As tempting as it was, it wasn't hard to deduce his ulterior motive, “You just want to know where I have the stone hidden.”
He chuckled, “Yeah, that's true. You got me there. But wouldn't you like to know what you're really dealing with?”
“I already do. I don't need to see a monster to know it's there.”
Judging by the way his eyes slitted, he did not care for that comment. I knew I was probably going to regret that later. He already wanted to hunt me for sport. What did it matter if I clapped back at him just one time?
His voice lowered, “When your heart stops, puppydog, you better pray the devil finds you before I do. You'll crave Hell before I'm through with you.”
Hoping that he couldn't see my hands shaking, I grabbed my things and got out without another word. The G6 was working even better than it had before the deer incident.
After that interaction… I think I'm going to look for more hagstones. And I'm going to restock on salt shells.

Synopsis:
An engineer in another world—blending science and magic to achieve greatness in a world where skills and levels reign supreme.
—
Ethan was just a plain old engineer, but everything changed when he was reborn into a world of skills, levels, and magic. With his advanced knowledge far ahead of the time period he finds himself in, this new reincarnated life will be much different than his last, especially because he can construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct runes—something no one else can do.
But with royal politics, looming tax collectors, a mountain of debt, dungeon incursions, cults, and hostile fantasy races mixing together into a cocktail of bullshit that threatens to bury his dreams; Ethan must bridge the gap between steel and sorcery to grow stronger. — Runecrafting is slow burn. — What to Expect: - Weak to very strong progression - Hardcore wish fulfillment - A balance of action, kingdom building, and runecrafting. - MC will trigger an industrial revolution, revolutionize magic, modernize agriculture, communication, commerce, textile production, education, transportation, sanitation, weapons manufacturing, leisure & entertainment, and medicine.
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Chapter 06

• 1 -

There were fifteen wolves in total, their white fur stained with dried blood as well as ash from the forest itself as their maws opened to reveal sharp teeth. There were several gashes on their body and one of them seemed to be in a really bad state.
Roland had a tight grip on his sword. Roland spotted Ethan’s head poking out. “Lord Theodore, please hide inside!” Roland yelled. Ethan didn’t respond, however. Is it dumb that I want to fight?
The guards were surrounding the beasts and held their swords ready. However, the wolves weren’t attacking. Instead, they snarled and bared their fangs, but didn’t lunge.
They weren’t attacking. They were protecting. And that changed Ethan’s thoughts almost instantaneously. At the center, a female wolf, bigger than the rest, growled in pain. Blood trailed down her fur and a gash ran across her body. It was a wound that seemed to be bleeding a lot, but she kept it covered with her paw, snarling whenever anyone got near. Ethan stared from his carriage. The situation seemed to have taken a turn, but not a bad one, at least, not yet. The guards were ready to attack, but the wolves didn’t. And Ethan was certain that the guards would kill the creatures unless he ordered otherwise.
Ethan stepped outside. Roland and the rest of the guards were alert as they glanced at him.
“Wait,” Ethan said, his voice calm. “Don’t attack.”
The wolves immediately relaxed, albeit only slightly. Interesting. They understand me?
He stepped forward and walked to them. “Can you understand me?” He said.
“Lord Theodore!” Roland yelled, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back. “Please step back.”
“Wait,” Ethan replied, holding up a hand, his eyes focused on the wolves. The guards didn’t move. The wolves snarled at him and bared their fangs, but didn’t make a move. “I’m not going to harm you.” Ethan raised his hand. “Calm down. You’re hurt, right? I can help you.”
The wolf’s snarl faltered. She looked at Ethan with a confused gaze, then growled again. Ethan, too, was confused now. Could she really understand him?
“You can understand me, right?” He said. “I need to know.”
“Lord Theodore, what is happening?” Roland asked.
“Shh. Be quiet, Roland. I’m trying to communicate,” Ethan replied, raising a finger, and silencing Roland.
The female wolf snarled, looking at the guards and baring her teeth. Then, her gaze landed on Ethan, and her snarl was gone.
“She can understand me. I think.”
“How?” Roland asked.
“That’s not important,” Ethan replied. [Myriad Tongue]... I didn’t know it stretched to animals—no, beasts as well...
Ethan stepped forward; his hand extended towards the beast. “I won’t hurt you.”
The wolves growled and bared their fangs at him. The female growled, then they stopped. Ethan neared, then knelt a couple feet from the biggest wolf. The gash on her chest stained her white fur, the blood flowing and dropping to the ground. The creature was panting.
“What happened?” Ethan asked.
The beast looked at him. Her eyes held strange intelligence. It’s a magic beast, obviously she’s intelligent.
“Can I look at your wound?”
She growled and bared her fangs, causing Roland to slash his sword at the ground in a line. The intention was clear, neither side could pass, or a confrontation was inevitable.
Ethan held up a hand. “Stop, Roland.”
“But Lord Theodore—”
“Stop.”
Roland didn’t respond.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” Ethan frowned. “If you want me to help, let me have a look.”
The wolf stared, her red eyes piercing, her ears folded and tail stiff.
The tension was thick, and everyone waited. Then, she removed her paw from her wound. The cut was deep, and the fur around the gash was charred. It seemed that it wasn’t a natural wound. Ethan could guess it was the result of magic. The cut’s too deep, and we don’t have a [Healer]...
Suddenly, the wolf spoke, “{I don’t want healing, human.}”
Ethan blinked, surprised. Her voice was deep, yet feminine. It wasn’t the type to scare children, but it wasn’t soft, either. More surprisingly, he could indeed understand her.
“What happened to you?” He asked, glancing at her, wondering how [Myriad Tongue] worked. He knew he was still speaking the common tongue of Nur—Leineh—and that the wolf was still growling, but he could understand that growl.
She looked at him, “{That is none of your concern.}” Then, she looked below and moved her muzzle to the ground, and moved something. In a few seconds, a small pup appeared from beneath.
Ethan widened his eyes, “A baby!”
“{You are to take care of him,}” she said—no, she ordered him.
“What?” Ethan said, taken aback.
“{You will take care of him},” she repeated.
Ethan was flabbergasted.
“{You’re touched by the light, and the light has guided me to you,}” she said, then growled. “{I trust the light. However, if anything happens to my Wynd, know that your death will not be painless.}” Saying so, she looked down at her pup, and nudged it forward.
Ethan was still flabbergasted.
The female wolf looked at him, her red eyes piercing, and the snarl in her voice gone, replaced with a soft tone, “{Please.}”
The pup was still far too young to know what was happening so it curiously tilted its head toward Ethan. Its red eyes stared into his, and it yapped.
“I...” Ethan blinked, about to deny.
The [Quest], Guardian of the Wild, has arrived.
“I...” He repeated, and then stopped to look at the [Quest].
~Guardian of the Wild (Uncommon)~
You have encountered a pack of magical wolves led by a gravely injured female. Through a surprising twist of fate, you understand their language through [Myriad Tongue] and learn of their plight. The female, gravely wounded by a magical attack, entrusts you with her newborn pup, Wynd. She believes you, touched by the “light” (the nature of which remains unclear), are the best hope for Wynd’s survival. Why and how, and many other questions, however, remain unclear.
Objective:
● Take care for the young wolf pup, Wynd. (Uncertain Duration)
Rewards:
● The eternal gratitude of a magical wolf pack. (Potential Ally)
● Unlocking the secrets of the “light” may grant unknown benefits. (Uncertain)
● Levels
● Skill Tokens
● A chance to get an invitation to [???]
Failure:
● Should Wynd come to harm, the wrath of these magical wolves will be swift and merciless.
● You may lose the trust of the pack, and of [???], potentially putting yourself and others at risk.
● You may lose the interest of the “light”
Would you like to accept the quest?
YES NO
So, this is what’s been coming since I arrived in this world? Are these wolves related to my arrival? Or whoever this “light” is? Why’re they injured in the first place. Does it have anything to do with that humanoid creature? I do recall Roland saying that the humanoid creature was fighting wolves. It seems likely, given these wolves’ injuries, but what happened after? Is that humanoid creature dead? If not, where did it go? Should I be worried? What if it attacks Holden?
His mind churning with multiple questions, Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll take care of him.” He said, and mentally selected ‘YES’.
She stared at him for a second, then turned to the pup and licked his forehead. “{Thank you},” she said to Ethan. “{And now, I have to go.}”
Ethan’s lips parted, but she didn’t let him say it. Black tendrils of shadows enveloped her and the other wolves, then they all disappeared.
...
After Ethan entrusted the pup to Roland, who was also surprised and confused. Regardless, they all set back on their journey. The pup slept most of the way, curled up in Roland’s arm.
“What a strange encounter,” Ethan murmured.
He glanced at the wolf. It had a white coat and a black streak on his head. He was cute, though he still drooled a lot, and that was gross. However, it wasn’t hard to accept.
“Lord Theodore,” Roland said. “How were you able to have a conversation with the beasts?”
“I’m not sure,” he lied.
Roland looked at him. Ethan shrugged.

• 2 -

Back in Holden Town. The gates opened, and Ethan could see people move aside as they drove their carriages to the estate. They all looked at him with respect and bowed—more out of fear than respect, really. Theo hadn’t been a respectable fellow, but he’d certainly been one to be afraid of. This kind of reaction had taken Ethan off guard for the first time, but now, he didn’t quite care. When he entered his manor, he immediately wanted to head for the one thing he was craving—a bath.
Before that, however.
“Lord Theodore, what of the pup? Where should I put it?”
“The pup?” Ethan paused for a second, then walked and extended his arms out, “Give it to me.”
Roland was surprised but obliged and gave Ethan the young wolf, “If I may ask, why are we keeping the beast?”
Ethan made a thoughtful noise, his gaze focused on the baby wolf as the pup yelped at being given up to the stranger, but after a little while, he sniffed a little before settling in Ethan’s hold, his head finding itself a comfy. It was strange to think how quickly the creature had accepted his place there. Ethan chuckled a little, his voice becoming gentler than Roland had ever heard it as he took care to keep the wolf upright against himself.
“This is no ordinary pup.” His gaze shifted from the animal onto Roland. “That wolf, she could talk with me. I do not know how, but the fact is that she could.” Ethan gave Roland the lie he’d concocted. “She was intelligent, not a beast. And she entrusted her son to me.”
“A Beastkin?” Roland made a surprised noise. “On this part of the world?”
“Beats me,” Ethan said. “Regardless, she could talk. And I...” Ethan sighed. If he wanted to have a good life here, he needed someone he could trust in, and Roland had proved to be capable enough as well as trustworthy enough. Roland had taken care of Theo, even though the bastard was a worthless scum of a human being.
“Yes, my lord?” Roland asked.
“I got a [Quest].”
Roland’s eyes widened, his voice louder, “A [Quest]!?”
“Hush, be quiet, now, be quiet, Roland,” he said and patted the pup gently on his back, murmuring to soothe the waking animal. [Quests] were a rare phenomenon and the rewards were always worth the trouble, or so he’d gathered from Theo’s memories. He just hoped his decision wouldn’t come back to bite him in the future. “So, I will keep him, at least until she comes to claim him. Which she will.”
“My lord, you would require specialists... [Beast Trainers], I don’t believe we have many in town, only a few. Or else, a [Druid] perhaps? But finding one is not easy—”
“A [Beast Tamer] is fine. We don’t need much, just someone to take care of him.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Ethan spent the next hour in a bath.

• 3 -

The pungent smell of wood ash filled Ethan’s nostrils as he peered into the large cask. Lye, a strong alkali traditionally made from wood ash and crucial for soap-making, needed to be extracted from the ash. With a grunt, he grabbed a thick wooden paddle and plunged it into the gray mixture, stirring it vigorously. This was the beginning of the leaching process—a crucial first step in his soap-making endeavor, where lye is coaxed out of the ashes by boiling them in soft water and then allowing the water to seep through the ash.
Thus, this wasn’t just about mixing; it was about coaxing that exact lye out.
Across the room, Roland watched with a furrowed brow. “My lord,” he finally spoke, “what precisely are we engaged in here?”
Ethan straightened; wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “Patience, Roland,” he chuckled. “This is the art of soap-making. We’re separating the good stuff—the lye—from the leftover ash, like sifting gold from sand.”
Roland’s expression remained dubious, his gaze lingering on the murky concoction in the cask. “Ah, I see.”
“Yeah, once we’ve extracted it properly, it will be the foundation for our very own soap. It’ll be my very first masterpiece—gentle on the skin, fragrant, and oh-so-satisfying to use. Blight-repellent properties would be a bonus, though that still depends on Jack. He hasn’t graced us with his findings yet.”
“Indeed, my lord,” Roland replied, a hint of worry creeping into his voice. “Master Jack has been... unresponsive lately. He insists we leave him to his work and promises to report back when he has something concrete.”
“I see.”
With the leaching process nearing completion, they left the cask to settle, its contents swirling like a slow, gray storm. The next step awaited.
“Did you manage to save the fat from the recent butchering?”
“Yes, my lord, I took the liberty of asking the cook to—”
“Excellent. No time for formalities, bring it here!”
Roland scurried away, returning moments later with a large, heavy wooden tub. Inside, a mound of white fat, glistening faintly. “My lord,” Roland said. “Got all the rendered beef fat you requested,” he said, holding up the tub. “But are you certain it’s for…” he trailed off, gesturing vaguely towards the tub.
“Absolutely, Roland,” Ethan replied with a smile. “The fat needs to be rendered first, which means melting it to remove impurities. Then, we can boil it to separate the tallow, the perfect white fat for soapmaking, from the glycerin, a byproduct with its own uses. I need the white, creamy layer that forms on top, and the clear liquid underneath.”
Roland appeared to be confused regarding the terms he used, so he spent the next few minutes explaining the boiling process to Roland.
...
The next day dawned, and the routine began anew. It needed to be repeated after all. The charade of noble life continued as usual, and as the day waned, Ethan returned, Roland in tow.
“This should suffice,” Ethan declared. “The impurities have settled at the cask’s bottom. Now, we only need to collect the lye water, combine it with fat, and voila—soap!” Noticing Roland’s confusion, he offered a brief scientific explanation. “The interaction creates saponification, a chemical reaction that transforms fat into a solid surfactant.”
Roland raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”
“Precisely,” Ethan confirmed with a grin.
The following morning, Ethan followed his usual routine, attempting to maintain focus. Yet, his steps carried him back to their quarters with a scale, a bag of oatmeal, and a water jug in tow.
Soap-making time had arrived.
For a superior tallow soap, the fat and lye mixture needed a specific ratio—which took some experimentation—to the combined weight of tallow and glycerin. Ethan meticulously measured and combined the ingredients, allowing the mixture time to undergo saponification, gradually forming a solid bar of soap.
Once the reaction finished, he introduced the scentless oatmeal. Its purpose was threefold: to provide a gentle scrub, enhance the lather, and leave the skin feeling soft—pure luxury. Finally, a few drops of a floral scent, along with the vibrant red dye extracted from a flower’s petals, were incorporated. With a final stir, the mixture was poured into a cake pan lined with wax paper.
Given the limitations of their tools, Ethan had essentially performed a rudimentary form of alchemy to create this supposed pinnacle of soap. He had never really been much interested in learning soap-making, but he thanked his science teacher sincerely. Had it not been for her enthusiasm, Ethan wouldn’t have been able to make soap today.
A few hours later, Ethan admired the beautiful pink soap atop his hand.
“Finally,” he said with a smile.
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My 9 month old kitten is getting so spoiled he hardly eats his dry food! I started out giving wet food in the morning and evening, just a spoonful, as a treat. Then it because half a can morning and night, and now it's half a can 3 times a day! And now he hardly even nibbles at his dry food, although I leave it out all the time in a dispenser so he can eat whenever he wants. I get a lot of healthy wet food from the nearby grocery discount store, but it won't necessarily always be available, and I don't want him to rely on that if I can no longer afford it. It's bad enough I'm paying $30 a bag for the Purina One+ Kitten food! Also, the wet food seems to put too much weight on the cats, and I don't want him to get fat. He's already 11 pounds, which is average, but he's a pretty small cat. He doesn't look fat, just feels solid when we pick him up. The wet food also occasionally gives him a tummy ache. So how do I get him to eat more dry food, and not beg for wet food every time he sees me?

Hi everyone, wondering if anyone else has developed a cough from taking their Vyvanse? Sorry for TMI but my doctor has told me the cough is caused by an oral yeast infection 🤢 and I’m starting to think this could be from the dry mouth Vyvanse gives me. I was told to use a medicated liquid to treat it but it keeps coming back… I try to drink water all day to avoid the dry mouth but it doesn’t seem to make a difference to the coughing. At this point I just tell people it’s my allergies to avoid grossing people out from coughing so often lol. Any advice?

Well it's done, took me awhile as I was finishing the outline(I'm stupid that I didn't finish it first, was a bit excited too write this idea to you all)
And also I have to mention a fanfic called Smoke and mirror as the guy mentioned my fanfic I might aswell mention another fanfic crossover about statsector that is being created at the same time. Quite a coincidence.
Well anyway feedback is always appreciated as I'm quite new to this writing thing.
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Memory Transcript Subject: Cenci, The Great Explorer of the Forest
Date: [standard human time] September 27, 2136
As the gentle water brushed against my legs, I gradually regained consciousness, like waking up from a good rest during a school day but wanting to sleep some more. Suddenly, a warm, coarse sensation hit me, like hot sand scattering across my fur.
Opening my eyes, I was greeted by a sight both mesmerizing and heart-wrenching: the Wirtwood forest across the river was ablaze in vibrant hues of orange and red, its towering trees engulfed in flames that danced and flickered in the night sky. It reminded me of an ancient painting I once saw, capturing the fiery beauty of the northern hemisphere's forests.
Tears welled in my eyes as I lay on the muddy ground, the distant crackling of fire and the gentle flow of the river forming a haunting melody in the background. I stayed there what felt like hours, but it was propobly only a few minutes, I wanted to cry but I forced myself to rise, holding it in, I turn away unable to bear witness to the devastation unfolding before me.
Wiping my eyes with my left mud-covered arm, a sharp pain shot through it as my face touched the area. I quickly foundy arm is bruised but is relieved to find it wasn't an open wound, I took a moment to soothe the spot.
After soothing the pain, I surveyed my surroundings. I spotted the brightened, darkened greens of the forest mingling with the fiery glow of the inferno. A towering river wall had swaying shadows, and nearby, a slope cuts through the river wall like a deep scar. But my attention was drawn to the riverbank, where many beached trees lay lifeless and rotting on the muddy shore. On the ground was the unmistakable sight of the white, fire-resistant exterminator suit—Big Brother—laying among the wooded debris. Rushing to my brother's side, I found him lying on his side, his suit torn and damaged.
With difficulty, I removed his backpack from its strap and carefully dragged him onto the drier ground near the river wall, mud clinging to his suit as I dragged him there. After ensuring his comfort, I scrounged through the backpack for something to drink as I felt a bit parched. I found the bag dry inside, probably just waterproof—nothing too surprising as exterminators usually use this brand of bag for long expeditions. After finding a bottle, I took a swig of water, put the bottle back, and leaned the backpack against Kalip before climbing up the slope and venturing out into the darkened forest in search of shelter and aid.
Navigating through the dimly lit trees, I soon came across a rusty fence with gaping holes, a sign of neglect and decay. Finding an entrance large enough for me to pass through, I ventured deeper into the forest, guided by the faint glow of the moon above as the flames cant pierce through the forest.
I can't stop worrying about Big Brother as I walk. Will he be almighty? I didn't look properly. Why didn't I look properly? I stop myself from thinking about Kalip by looking around the forest as I walk, naming every tree and plant. Oh, is that palicintino? Oh, that's rare. Oh, is that...
I walk through the forest, trying to remember the names of plants and animals on the trees. I wish I had my book on animals and nature. It's probably burnt and turned to ash, all its knowledge, my knowledge, all gone. Now I've made myself sad by remembering my book diary.
I eventually emerge from the forest, wiping some tears from my eyes, and see something quite disappointing, yet also, I hope, my salvation: an open-pit mine. Its effect on the surrounding environment makes my heart wrench, but thankfully it has only been in operation for [6 years], so its destruction has not been widespread. I can still see trees within the fenced-in parameters that the company has created, and even from the top of the big hill, there are still some trees standing defiantly. The company calls itself "The Mud Diggers," if I remember correctly. It's mainly a mining company, sometimes doing burrow construction.
I walked to the edge, looked around, and saw abandoned, enormous vehicles that carried unrefined dirt containing tiny ores, probably titanium, as their netsite says. These ores could be harvested and made into usable materials. I noticed one wrecked and destroyed vehicle at the bottom of the mine, near a large stack of industrial boxes and some inactive floodlights. The floodlights seemed to be pointing at a metallic dome in the middle of the mine.
Wait, is that a white metallic dome? I had to rub my eyes to see if I'm imagining things, but lo and behold, the metallic dome is still there—ancient and majestic, well, I think it is, but there seems to be no rust on it from what I can see. It has some blue discoloration in some spots. Are those rust? No, it's more like some kind of scars. High temperature? Did it crash from space? It also is not reflecting the moonlight as I would expect. I'm surprised I didn't notice it before because it's the most conspicuous thing in the mine, even more so than the abandoned mining vehicles.
The metallic dome is has some big blacked windows like its burnt to a crisps, some are cracked, some are broken showing it's inside but I can't see much from where I am at this distance.
There are many boxes and tents near the big dome, and some kind of trailer that has many solar panels and antenna, probably a mobile research station.
I look elsewhere, like at the other side of the mine. There is a building that has a large refinery outside of it. That refinery would refine the titanium the mine harvest, which is then transported to the city of Flatville on the plain east of here, where it's then mixed with chromium and,or vanadium for use in ships' hulls or armor and engines, respectively.
I shake my head and laugh at myself for remembering such things from lessons in school. Well, I've always been a curious prey, trying and learning everything at least once, even if my brother would scold me for it as it was "un-prey-like" behavior. Bah! I would usually ignore his chastisements and advice on that kind of topic.
I compose myself by rubbing my face. I look around some more for something to put a roof over our heads. I turn my gaze to the left and see a tall metal tower with a trailer right beside it. It is quite close, so I feel like I made an idiot of myself for not finding it before the metallic bluish dome below the mine.
Although it is quite more intriguing than something that could put a roof over my head tonight.
I walk toward the trailer, dismissing the signal tower looming over it. In front of it is a tent with some metal industrial boxes like the one's near the white dome. I look inside one, but its contents seem to be missing. There is also a plastic table with plastic chairs, some toppled over, and there are half-empty alcohol bottles strewn across it and on the ground. I guess they were in a hurry or just had a party, or both. As water starts sprinkling the ground and hitting my spiky head, I look up and see dark clouds encroaching on the bright moon. I hurriedly run to the trailer, pull open the door, and enter it, taking refuge from the impending rainstorm.
Inside, there was a messy room with many boxes sprawled around. I guess this is the stuff the boxes have. The dark room was only lit up by the moonlight shining through the windows, though it was getting dimmer and dimmer. There was a lot of equipment I couldn't identify in such darkness. Luckily for me, an open box was right in front of me, highlighted by the moonlight from the window-door. Inside were some industrial flashlights. I picked one up and turned it on, lighting up a portion of the room and revealing some things I couldn't see before.
Like the many communication equipments and consoles, and would be beeping and booking if the power is on.
There was something else that also piqued my interest: a door with a bed symbol on it, unlike the others, on the other side of the room. There was also a standard industrial light switch right next to it instead of the more common touch-sensitive switches—quite low-tech but reliable and simple. I approached it and tried to flick it upward, hoping it would turn the lights on, but sadly it didn't. So I flicked it back to its original position and opened the door.
It leads to a dark room with a single window. I flooded the room with light, revealing a bare-bones barrack with four beds, each with its own footlocker. Nothing personal can be seen anywhere, and it is quite clean—quite the opposite of the room behind me. I noticed another light switch right beside me and tried to turn it on, but like the light switch behind it, it did not turn on the light in the barrack as expected.
I wanted to look around some more, but as the moonlight disappeared and the droplets hit the window pane, I remembered that I had left Big Brother outside where a rainstorm was brewing. I scrambled out of the trailer, the rain becoming stronger with each step, which made me run faster toward the river where Kalip lay unconscious. Using the flashlight to guide me through the dark forest where the forest canopy blocked most of the falling droplets, I retraced my steps, but I had to rest when I reached the fence, calming my burning lungs and pounding heart. A gojid is not made for running fast or long those are predatory traits, or so my teachers told me. After a short rest, I continued jogging the rest of the way and reached the river but got lost for a bit as the slope was not where I expected it to be. I quickly found it, though. The rain was now pouring its even more powerful torrent down on me, hitting my spines like tiny pebbles.
As I walk toward the slope, I see the rain dousing the raging flames of the forest fire from the other side of the river, extinguishing the flames and making the area look like a wasteland—a wet, black, desolate wasteland.
I reached the slope and pointed the flashlight down it, where rainwater was running down and turning it muddy and slippery. I carefully climbed down slowly and, thankfully, I was able to descend the slope without any problems. Going back up would be a problem, though, but I'll ignore that for now. I need to find Kalip.
I quickly found Kalip where I left him but he is awake, sitting and hugging the backpack while the rain made him wet, and its droplets seeping through his exterminator suit.
Slowly approach him, pointing the flashlight away from him so as not to startle him. However, he didn't even see or notice me as I got closer, even when I knelt beside him with the flashlight shining in his field of vision.
I tried to tap his shoulder to get his attention, and my movement this close to him seemed to make him notice me. A gasp came from his mouth as he looked at me as if he were seeing a ghost. His spikes bristled in fear, and his face showed loss and disbelief, but joy came afterward. In an instant, he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me and not caring about the possibility that he would injure himself on my spikes.
The rain poured down, hitting us. No sound came from either of us. It was silent except for the pitter-patter of droplets splashing on the muddy ground.
I just sat there, surprised and immobile, my paw up, the flashlight pointing up, held by Kalip's strong and firm arms. His body was shivering. I didn't know what to do in this situation. I had never seen him like this. I would always be the first to hug him when something bad happened, not the other way around.
His hug became tighter and tighter, before he let go of me as fast as he hugged me, he look at me and touch my rain soaked cheeks and rubbing it affectionately.
"Im glad y-your alright" he said, his voice wavering but firm, his body shivered from the cold, his green eyes lock into my abnormal ones, his ears dropping a bit.
"I-I'm... I'm alright, brother, but we need to get out of the rain now. You're cold. I found somewhere with a roof over our heads," I said, conveying that I didn't want to smell like a wet Gojid with my ears. I stood up and extended my arm to pick him off the dirty ground.
"Good, because I feel pain everywhere" he said, regaining some of himself as he grins a bit. Even though his tiredness, he grabbed my paws, which I pulled him up after, he stood up though a bit wobbly.
"Give me the backpack, Big Brother. You can't walk properly with such a burden, especially with your injuries," I said, extending my paw as he tried to balance himself.
He was going to say something before grunting in reply as he balanced himself. Then, without much fuss, he willingly gave me the backpack, which I grabbed.
I tried to help Kalip walk, but he waved me off and used his ears to say, "Lead the way." I was a bit worried about his ability to walk properly, even with the backpack on my paws, "You sure, brother?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm sure now. Lead me to where we'll find shelter," he said, waving me off again. Despite the pain he was enduring, he started to walk to the slope.
"It's in the mine that harvests titanium. There's a trailer near where I entered it," I shouted as I caught up to my limping brother, who had stopped at the base of the slope.
"The titanium mine?" he said as he waited for me.
"Yes, the mine that Aunty hates," I said as I caught up with him.
"Ah, that mine, I saw it before the..." He fell silent and still, his face showing pain, sorrow, anguish, and misery in a single moment. But he shook his head; his eyes showed determination replacing the previous emotions, he looks back at me nodding his head and went to climb the slippery slope as if he is not injured.
Just now, knowing how much pain his heart is in right now from losing so much after the devastation, I made sure he didn’t fall and roll down the slope, as that’s all I can do at this moment.
Even with the flashlight’s light, I slipped multiple times before we reached the top. We entered the forest, where its dense canopy gave us some reprieve from the rain.
He rested his shoulders against a tree, rubbing his left shoulder as he looked around the dark forest. I suppose that burst of energy tired him out. He looked at me with worry, likely wondering if there were night-stalking predators prowling about. I saw an opportunity to raise my brother's spirits, albeit at his expense.
"There is no predator at this season brother, the big ones that want to eat us that is, as the greatest explorer and discoverer of the forest, I should know" I proclaimed with pride, pointing the flashlight into the forest, and sweeping it around, to prove my point.
He rolled his eyes with irritation at my proclamation but had a slight smile. I guess that works. Good job, me, for being a bit of a narcissist, but he was still worried as his spikes bristled as he looked around for anything out of the ordinary.
"There are still probably predators stalking around, even if they are small. Cenci or not, we still must be careful; they eat meat." He said as he unclipped his holster and took out his modified laser pistol with his right paw.
I just rolled my eyes at his cautious behavior and walked deeper into the forest. I looked behind me and saw Kalip walking, his left arm hanging in the air, while being alert and ready to shoot any poor thing that would come out of the many bushes near our path.
Thankfully, nothing happened when we reached the rusting chain-link fence, which I entered through the hole I exited, but Kalip had to duck through.
"Is your left arm okay, brother?" I ask with concern.
"It's fine, Cenci. It's just painful to move too much," he replied without much worry. It probably wasn't the first time he'd broken one of his arms, as one time he'd come home immobile for a month after an intense cleanup expedition on the other side of the planet.
we walk a bit more and finally reached the open-pit mine where the forest opens up.
I tugged on his right shoulder and pointed to the trailer with the blinking tower. "There's the trailer!"
We dashed toward the trailer. As we entered the open, the rain hit us again. Its door was still wide open when I burst out of it. We entered the trailer, safe from the rain and cold. Kalip was the last one to enter, and he slammed the door shut behind us.
Kalip sat down with his back to the door, resting himself from the short sprint. A sudden light came from the windows, lighting up the entire trailer. I quickly covered my ears with my paws, barely muffling the boom that soon reached my covered ears. But big brother wasn't fast enough and got startled, and the most unexpected, cutest yelp came from his mouth.
I just looked at him before I had to cover my mouth, suppressing the laughter that was ready to burst out at any moment. He glared at me and pointed his claw, but his mouth formed a smirk. I guess he found it funny that he made that unexpected noise too.
"Don't laugh at me," he said with irritation as he stood up. "I'm tired, wet, and in pain."
He explored the comm room. A wet, squelching sound is heard with each step he took as he made a trail of water because of the damaged exterminator suit sagging some of the cardboard boxes. He stood over a nearby inactive comm console and tinkered with it.
I calmed myself by rubbing my cheeks and steadied my breathing. Composed and no longer on the verge of laughing my tail off, I picked up another flashlight where I had found the first one, inspected it to see if it had a battery, which it did, and approached Kalip with a fully charged flashlight.
I placed the flashlight on the console he was inspecting. He thanked me before asking if there was anywhere for him to lie down, as his injuries were causing him pain. I directed him to the barracks, telling him to rest but not to sleep, as I was going to find something to treat his wounds. With a roll of his eyes and a flick of his ear in agreement, I handed him the backpack before he walked off and disappeared into the other room. His limp seemed to have lessened in effect from his walking.
With him in the barracks, I explored the other two rooms. One was a bathroom where the operators would usually clean themselves or relieve themselves. It had everything a bathroom would have: a toilet, a sink with a mirror, and a shower. However, there was a compartment on the wall that would usually contain a medical kit. This meant there should be one in one of the many boxes on the floor.
The other room was probably going to be used for storage, as there were many shelves for containers and boxes to be placed on. However, it is empty except for the shelves themselves, a mop, and a mobile bucket.
I return to the comms room, closing the door behind me. I look around the room once more, looking at boxes for labels or markings that say they contain some kind of medical supplies. After a while, I find a pile of boxes with the iconic green paw symbol introduced by the medically inclined Zerulians when they entered the Federation, a symbol of health and healing. I cut the tape that holds the top cover of the cardboard box with my claw. As the symbol suggested, there are many pill bottles, most of them painkillers. I open and eat one, putting the opened one aside for Kalip. I set the box aside and open the other one beneath it.
This one has what I was looking for: gauze and bandages. I inspected one of the gauze pads and decided they were what I was looking for. I returned the gauze and put the painkiller in it. I took the entire box and walked toward the barrack room where Kalips is. I nearly tripped on another cardboard box in the middle of the floor but was able to steady myself. I threw a few silent curses at it before continuing on.
I entered the barracks and saw Kalip, out of his exterminator suit, standing near the window. His eyes were closed, his laser pistol was disassembled and sprawled over the windowsill, his flashlight was extinguished, and his body was still. Rain and thunder flashed in the distance. His paws were on his chest, and he was praying, though his left paw was shaking, likely from the pain. I was a bit worried and angry because he wasn't resting as I had told him to, more worried than angry. I put the box down on a nearby bed where the backpack was also lying and silently snuck toward him.
I turned the flashlight off so as not to disturb him as I got closer until I was at a sufficient distance, and I waited patiently.
He finished his prayer, whispering his last words before looking out the window, to which I pounced by saying what I wanted to say. "Didn't I tell you to rest?"
He flinched as his spikes bristled before he turned around slowly, like someone caught eating the last strayu at night.
"Why are you just standing there and not resting as I told you to?" I repeated, my ear flicking with irritation.
"I was praying, Cenci, so don't scare me like that. Those are predatory traits," he replied quickly, calming himself by rubbing his ears.
I just sighed before motioning for him to follow, to which he obliged, still rubbing his ears.
I sat down on the bed where I had put the box full of bandages. Its soft sheets bent to my weight. I’m eating too much of the mushroom strauyu.
Opening the box, I took out the bottle of painkillers and offered it to Kalip. "What is it?" he asked as he took the bottle from me and inspected it. "Painkillers for the pain you're currently feeling."
He popped it open and took a bit more than I would recommend, but remember how tall he is. He thanked me before he sat down, waiting for the drug to take effect and soothing his shoulder.
At this distance, I can now see the full extent of his injuries outside his exterminator suit. Thankfully, it's not as bad as I thought, although there are still many small cuts, bumps, and bruises all over his body, his left arm having the most of them. "Can I see your arm, Brother?"
He gave me his clotting, injured arm without a word. He was silent as I looked for a way to bandage it properly, trusting me as I had done it before. I looked him over; his left arm seemed to have taken the brunt of the damage when we fell into the raging river. All seemed okay, meaning he would be fine, but I had to sling his left arm if I found something to sling it with until his wounds fully healed.
I took out a water bottle from the backpack and poured its contents onto his wounds. He hissed in pain, and I smirked. "Painful?"
He suddenly and temporarily stopped feeling the pain and gave me the most deadpan stare I have ever seen from him. "Of course it is, Cenci, why wouldn't it be?!?"
"Just asking," I said with mirth. I then used a bandage as a rag to rub the dirt, grime, and mud off his arm.
"It's a shame there's no ice here or even a freezer," I said as I started to bandage his arm without constricting it too much.
"Yeah what an absolute shame" he said with a bit of a sarcastic tone.
He returns to stare silently as I work as I shush him. I look into his eyes, which he didn't notice, which have this unfocused look on them, like he is thinking hard with a hint of being lost, usually about bad stuff. I don't know what he's thinking, and that worries me, especially after what happened on that riverbed. He can't stop me from questioning him about it.
As I finished bandaging him, I tightened it hard, making him yelp—now with a sound that I would expect from an exterminator.
"Why in the holy Cradle did you do this, Cenci?" he shouted as he frantically tried to loosen the knot in the bandage I'd made.
I slap his paw as it tries to untie my knot, and I loosen it myself. He glares angrily and tries to shout again, but I talk over him. "Are you alright, Big Brother?"
He was taken aback by my question "wha-what yes I'm alright. but what in the predators fang on my neck did you do that?" He said shimmering his anger.
"Your doing the THAT stare again and it's quite bad this time" I said putting a point on that, as I remembered the first time he had that stare, the time he got that long scar from his left eye to his right cheeks.
He was a bit speechless that I notice the unnoticeable, he scratch his face scar and whispered "I'm doing it again."
I waited as he reoriented himself, worried.
"I'm fine, Cenci. I'm just thinking about how we could get out of this somehow," he said, whispering the last bit. I highly doubt that's what he's thinking.
"Brother, what is actually going on in that mind of yours? I can't ignore what happened on the riverbed," I said, my eyes fixed on his.
He wavered, thinking of a retort, but relinquished what his true feelings were right now, he held and gripped my paw, closing his eyes "I- I'm just glad that your alright, I don't want to lose what is truly important to me"
It was silent in the room except for the droplets hitting the windowpane. I smiled and hugged him, careful not to pierce myself on his spines. It would usually be a shouting match for him to say what was on his mind, so he didn’t truly reveal all of it, but he did at least unburden himself somewhat. And he needed a hug—a hug from his sister.
He hug back this time not piercing himself on my spikes, "Thanks Cenci I needed that"
We exit out of our embrace feeling a bit better, "what do we do now? You said you have a plan."
"No, I was just making excuses. Do you have one?" he said, a bit embarrassed, his face a bit blue. Oh, is he blushing? That's rare. I would have taken a photo if I had my padlet.
I shake my head as I was not focusing on what he said, getting a weird look from Kalip, I think a bit on what he said, tilting my head side to side, either we could exit the mine first thing by daylight or explore the weird dome down in the mine, now I know where my minds is going, but I need to make an excuse for Kalip. There was many industrial boxes that could contain supplies and food, and the weird mobile lab.
With a plan and an excuse to convince Kalip to go on with the plan, I told Kalip about it, telling him the vast amount of food and supplies we could find from those unopened boxes.
"Hmm, I was thinking of leaving the mine, but your plan is quite sound. However, I know you're leaving something out of it. What is it?" he said, suspicious of my true intentions. Well, he caught me. I might as well tell him now rather than later.
"Well... I want to explore the dome," I said, fidgeting a bit. Kalip had this unsurprised look on his face, as if he had been expecting me to want to explore every nook and cranny of the mine to discover its secrets. Well, he was mistaken. I only explore old mines that have been built since before I was born.
He sighed and stood up. I was afraid he would not let me go near it. "Where is this thing?"
That caught me off guard, removing me from my thoughts. "Y-you mean the dome?" He nods. "Oh, at the bottom of the mine."
He stood there, thinking, I suppose, for a while before he spoke to me again. "Very well, then. We'll go explore it tomorrow, after we scavenge whats on those box you told me."
That made me shiver with excitement. Before I could shout with joy, he tempered my excitement by telling me to go to sleep. I countered that he should also go to sleep, but he said he wanted to clean his pistol before going to bed. He went to the windowsill, carefully taking the disassembled parts to the nearby bed, and started cleaning it with a rag probably torn from the bedsheets.
While he does that, I prepare my bed for sleep. The bed is rectangular, as is standard for the Federation so all species can sleep in it comfortably. However, the Gojids and Farsuls have circular beds because they like to curl themselves up. So, it took me a while to get comfortable enough to close my eyes and fall asleep. I am excited about the interesting dome, even if the world is falling apart. At least I have my brother; he will protect me. But I'll have to make sure he doesn't go crazy from the madness those murderous lizards created...
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Is it too long? You tell me.
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F22. was traveling for 70 days, on the last day I smoked a joint with my friend, & my throat hasn’t been the same since. It was April 29th, I feel like it should feel better now. Basically I took a few hits out of this joint & my throat felt like it was on fire, didn’t smoke when I was there until this point. I couldn’t smoke anymore because it hurt so bad so I went to sleep, woke up the next day with a cough & my throat a little sore but mostly this weird tickle, basically got worse & it was a pretty intense dry cough. Been coughing every day since, it gets really scary sometimes, I’ll be coughing & then all of the sudden I can’t breathe & it sounds like my throat is closing. I have slight allergies but nothing like this or anything that would last this long since my environments have been changing so much. It’s actually lowkey so terrifying sometimes. I have asthma & have had it since I was little, but it doesn’t feel related to that because I feel asthma in my chest more if that makes sense. I haven’t had to use my inhaler for 5 months, this is so different because it’s all in my throat. I also haven’t had any other symptoms of being sick besides a little fatigue. Also was sexually active on my trip, no signs of an std but maybe it could be oral? & that’s why I’m having throat issues? Not trying to be TMI just laying it all out there. Haven’t been sexually active since I got home. I live a very physical & healthy lifestyle & eat clean, plant based with occasional eggs. I hike everyday & do hot yoga even with my throat tickle & cough. Also I’m spitting up clear mucus. Anyways I don’t have health insurance & im just seeing if anyone has had experience with this?

1st photo was this morning and 2nd photo is right now. My ear has been dealing with a self inflicted wound for months now. Its way better than it was, but still doesn’t seem to heal correctly. And sometimes, it gets good for a minute then seems to act up again?? Its like its healed a lot, then refuses to progress and heal completely. Or it goes backwards.
The wound was caused from me severely picking at it, and for the half year I’ve only picked at it like a few times (and even then it was mostly just me rubbing off loose scaly skin). I wash it every time I’m in the shower. Sometimes I apply antibiotic ointment, a skin healing oil, or very rarely betadine.
Bc my mom pointed how my ear looked bad last night, this morning i touched around it and a huge chunk of dry skin came off. So after taking a shower and a bit later, I put gobs of antibiotic ointment to help. And just this past hour it started itching, and when i felt it ig some skin got mushy and rubbed right off.
I put some betadine on, and took a pic to see what it looks like. Most of the skin from this morning seems to be gone (idk if this is a good thing or really bad thing) but it also looks so red and inflamed?? Idk what do or what’s wrong with it anymore. Does it look like it’s infected, skin problem, should I go to a dermatologist or doctor??