Pumped metal nyt crossword clue

Willing to bundle for the items I want.
GT: MADDL007
——Weapons for trade——
AA/50crit/25 Plasma Rifle
AA/50crit/25 Crossbow {mule}
B/E/Break The Dragon 3% Explosive 419 Range (Legacy) {mule} [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
B/50crit/15crit The Fixer
B/50crit/15crit Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/15crit Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/25 Handmade [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
B/E/1A Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/25 Radium Rifle
B/50crit/25 Railway Rifle {mule}
B/50crit/FR Railway Rifle
B/E 50 Cal Machine Gun (2 Star) {mule}
B/50crit/Break Gatling Plasma {mule}
B/50crit/25 Harpoon Gun
B/E Light Machine Gun (2 star) {mule}
B/FSS/Break Chainsaw
B/FSS/1S Death Tambo {mule}
MUT/E/25 Handmade
Q/E/DRWA The Fixer
Q/AP/25 Handmade
Q/E Handmade (2 star)
Q/E Handmade (2 star) {mule}
Q/E/Stealth Handmade
Q/50crit/FMSWA Railway Rifle {mule}
Q/E Railway Rifle (2 Star)
Q/FFR Tesla Rifle (2 Star)
Q/50crit/25 Flamer {mule}
Q/E/1P Gatling Gun {mule}
TS/50vhc Alien Blaster (2 Star)
TS/AP/Stealth Alien Blaster {mule}
TS/LD/Break Alien Blaster
TS/E Handmade (2 star)
V/FFFR Alien Blaster
V/FF25 Gatling Laser
V/E Light Machine Gun (2 star)
V/BASH/FMSWA Minigun {mule}
V/25DAM/1S Chainsaw {mule}
V/40PA/Block Chainsaw
V/AP/RW Chainsaw
Enclave Plasma Rifle #1 w/ Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #2 w/ Stabilized Splitter, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #3 w/ Aligned Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Standard Sights
Enclave Plasma Rifle #4 w/ True Flamer Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight x2
Enclave Plasma Rifle #5 w/ Stabilized Flamer Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #6 w/ True Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight {mule}
Fancy Pump Shotgun AA/LD/DRWA
Fancy Revolvers: Assassin, Berserker, Executioner, Mutant x2, Troubleshooter x3
Tesla (no scope) Level 50 {mule}
Dross, Pearly Peepers, Red Fireworks Mine, Troglocide
——Plans & Recipes for trade——
Plan: Assault Rifle {mule}
Plan: Backpack Armor Plated Mod {mule}
Plan: Backpack High Capacity Mod {mule}
Plan: Backpack Insulated Mod
Plan: Backpack Refrigerated Mod
Plan: Barbed Walking Cane {mule}
Plan: Bear Arm
Plan: Bear Arm Heavy Mod
Plan: Camo Backpack
Plan: Deathclaw Gauntlet {mule}
Plan: Hatchet Electro Fusion {mule}
Plan: Large Ultracite Shard {mule}
Plan: Nuka-World Cowboy Duster {mule}
Plan: Pitchfork Flamer {mule}
Plan: Poker Set {mule}
Plan: Protective Lining Raider Underarmor
Plan: Radioactive Barrel
Plan: Scorchbeast Queen Plushie
Plan: Sheriff’s Hat
Plan: Shielded Lining Marine Underarmor {mule}
Plan: Spiked Walking Cane {mule}
Plan: Tomb Stones
Plan: TV Aquarium {mule}
Plan: T-60 BOS Elder Paint
Plan: Ultracite Calibrated Shocks
Plan: Vintage Water Cooler
Plan: Wild West Show Entrance Sign
Recipe: Cutting Fluid {mule}
Recipe: Formula P {mule}
Recipe: Fried Scorpion On A Stick {mule}
Recipe: Healing Salve (Mire) {mule}
Recipe: Nuka Cola Dark {mule}
Recipe: Stimpak Diffuser {mule}
——Armor & Other items for trade——
UNY/1L/WWR Metal Chest Piece 51DR 11ER {mule}
UNY/1L/WWR Urban Scout Armor Chest Piece {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/1P/WWR Urban Scout Armor Right Arm {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/1S/WWR Leather Left Leg 21DR 51ER {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Combat Armor Right Leg 27DR 37ER {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Forest Scout Armor Right Leg [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Urban Scout Armor Right Leg [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
UNY/HungeWWR Urban Scour Armor Left Arm {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
W/AP/WWR Raider Left Leg 17DR 8ER
Ultracite Jet Pack Helmet Level 50 {mule}
50K+ Ultracite 5.56 Ammo
All 8 Holotape Mini Games
All Non-Rare apparel available - just ask
Misc Items: ask me for my list
———
———
——Items I want——
B/50crit/25 Fixer or Handmade
Q/E/25 Fixer or Handmade or Railway
TS/50crit/15crit Alien Blaster
TS/50crit/25 Alien Blaster
V/40PA/40PA Chainsaw (Will consider other third star: prefer Break, 90rw, or any of the +1)
Baseball bats level 45 - indigo, pink, yellow
Enclave Plasma Gun Aligned Flamer Barrel Mod (one or multiple)
UNY/AP/WWR Forest Scout Armor Chest Piece, Left Arm
UNY/AP/WWR Urban Scout Armor Left Leg and Right Arm
Plan: Meat Tenderizer
Asylum Worker Uniform Forest
Asylum Worker Uniform Red
Asylum Worker Uniform Yellow
Blue Ridge Caravan Gas Mask (will pay caps)
Blue Ridge Caravan Uniform (will pay caps)
BOS Jumpsuit
Fasnacht Brahmin Mask
Fasnacht Buffoon Mask
Fasnacht Crazy Guy Mask
Fasnacht Deathclaw Mask
Fasnacht Demon Mask
Fasnacht Fiend Mask
Fasnacht Hag Mask
Fasnacht Loon Mask
Fasnacht Raven Mask
Fasnacht Winter Man Mask
Forest Camo Jumpsuit
Forest Scout Armor Mask
Leather Coat
Prototype Hazmat Suit Level 50
Radicals Face Mask
Responder Fireman Helmet
Responder Fireman Uniform
Tattered Field Jacket
Traveling Leather Coat
Urban Scout Armor Mask
White Powder Jumpsuit
I’m really only after the items listed above, make me an offer. No caps, flux, or junk offers please.

Part 1 of the Evil That Lies Within arc begins.
[Previous] Part 022 [Next]
<==--------===-=-===--------==>
/- - Flight of the War Witch - - \
\ =>>>>><0> 023 <0><<<<<= /
\ - - - Patron of the Arts - - - /
=----=====----=
Voice Log Entry number: 81-3, Timestamp: 02-15 (estimated (guesstimated)(aintgotacluestimated))
Bit into the -second- year here. Yeah. Still getting used to that. Think I am going to just start counting days as they pass here rather than doing the mental gymnastics needed to convert fifty hour days and two-hundred day seasons into Earth days and years. A 'season' here being about four-hundred and sixteen days long. Give or take a few days. Considering everything else on this world is artificial - I have a feeling the variance in the season timing is intentional and probably oscillates. Not enough pattern data yet to know for sure.
Still no handle on why time feels... compressed here? I have settled into a sleep schedule of about sixteen of the twenty-five hour night - and it feels like a restful eight hours. The dragon folk tend to sleep twenty hours. I use the extra time to practice with my magic sword. My MAGIC SWORD! yeaaaaaah!
This Grand Bazaar is so fun! It is like an enormous ren-fair if ren-fairs were into greeco-roman fashions. Speaking of. Baroness Clade was all ga-ga over some new dresses from the outer ring of the gathering. These were pretty interesting as the floor length skirts billowed out. This was pulled off by weaving the whole thing from wire mesh instead of chain-mail. Or used metal struts connected to a belt to give the garment shape. Just more example of how their textiles diverged from ours due to the radically different materials on hand. No mammals, no wool, a ridiculous abundance of metals. Oh yeah. And freaking magic.
I have to keep reminding myself that this is all on an enormous scale. It takes me about three hours to walk the outer ring. (oh-so much longer because we are window-shopping...) My walk speed is forty-eight kph. So yeah. Its big. And this thing lasts a ten-day. Though the tenth day is when alot of folk start packing up. Some far earlier if they sold out their wares quicker.
Found out what the wigs are made from. Dragon hair. Found a stall selling wigs and turns out dragons with nice hair use a hair growth spell to grow it out and harvest it regularly. Can not do it frequently. Something about needing time to replenish. But it is a business here for dragons who like other hair colors.
If you are willing to hang around a few days there are crafters and brewers who can whip up during the event some basic magic items. Mostly little widgets that do not do a whole lot. Or quick-craft stuff like arrows with basic targeting enhancement enchantments. Potions can be gotten in a day. I nabbed a few "Healing Potions" because they should work on my nominally organic parts. Least that was what I expected. Guess what? That's right. I'm WRONG! Kinda-sorta... Its Complex!!!
We swung around the Druid section of the magic ring at Ghinda's request and got the lowdown on the problems of fixing me up as it had apparently unbeknownst to me, been prying on her mind ever since we met. She would prod me now and then at the keep to do some 'tests', but never said what for?
This for...
She had been talking at length with one of the higher ups in the rankings of nature lovers. This guy looked ancient! Yet strong at the same time. My chest and veins felt a little tingly near him. Guessing that was the more plant based parts of me responding? In any case he was blood red and had these curly corkscrew horns like a ram. Rings everywhere! Fingers, horns, tail. Don't wanna know where else! And holding this staff that was like twenty meters tall! Wood. Like a whole tree. Topped with a turquoise orb and an, ahem, orbiting ring of, er, rings with different elements in the rings where a finger would go. Standard Earth, Air, Fire, Water. But between those were Magma, Smoke, Ice (how'd he get that even???), and Mud. Really impressive looking. The length of the staff was carved with arcane runes and banded in gold. Guy really liked his ring motif huh?
So first glance at me is that dismissive "Fuck off technology." attitude and I'm like "ooooh Imma gonna -show- him somethin!"
But then he does a double-take and starts to look at me funny. Like he is looking -through- me, inside me?
Then he starts to get excited.
Then really excited.
Then -oh fuck! What did I do this time?- excited.
Turns out he could clearly sense all the plant-life inside me comprising my life support systems. A fifteen meter tall enclosed micro-ecology. He was just ooohing and ahhing at the near perfect balance of my internal workins. And so an hour or more passed while I tried to explain in fantasy terms the incredible effort that went into the CyberDyne project and the botanist who made the breakthrough in sealed life support systems. They read it all as a neo-Druid creating a self sustaining eco-system. Something Druids of this world consider a work of art or a religious experience in a way. Due to how the whole world is in a way just that. Self contained and perpetual.
He was really interested in the mini forest that makes up my lungs. Probably because they are not of this world and at a guess are pinging his nature sense. He asked me if he could get a clipping. And I said "Not on the first date."
He got all purple in the face and then laughed and laughed.
So he confirmed that basic healing incantations like [Balm of Life] will kinda-sorta work on me. But due to my, ahem, Golem nature and my botanic parts, I'd get more oomph from a simple [Repair] incantation for my cybernetics and [Botanica's Blessing] for my plant based systems. A healing potion was going to do me little good then - and would be only a -third- as effective. argh! ah well. I can use it in the others in an emergency. Stuff makes triage look like leeches and poultices. hmph. Magic.
From all this I did though get some advice. Mainly to look up a Master of Alchemy to whip up some specialized healing draughts. Cost a bit more. But better than needing the magic equivalent of a Pit Crew to heal me up. Not like I intend to get perforated again. But with these Coalition jokers out there. I have a bad feeling I am going to be in the eye of the storm. Least they pointed me at someone here to talk to about that.
Noon will be dinner with the local nobility. The Baroness suggested I dress well so I guess I will be stowing the Regalia and going formal. Good thing packed the clothes for this. Kinda nervous. Aside from meeting the mayor of Dynamiton City, I have never really had to deal with the higher ups.
Forescout Valkyria signing out.
=----=====----=
Valkyria, with much assistance from Roscida, disengaged her Regalia and a few plates to slim down to a less aggressive profile. Then her ward helped her to get dressed and don her wig. Together they met up with Dasos and she resupplied more goggles to sell and for the morning the Gorgon swapped out with the Ki-rin girl so Dasos could do a little shopping herself.
Wandering the stalls and merchants she was updated on the sales of the goodies and stoning potions. "huh, more sold than I expected?"
Dasos nodded while munching on a glazed tyra leg as she walked beside the War Witch. "The Grand Bazaar is an opportune time to sell and spread word. And word is spreading."
She glanced sidelong at the Gorgon. "Feels good to be making a difference?"
This got an emphatic nodding. "Very much so. The look on peoples faces. Especially the expressions when learning the low cost. After thousands upon thousands of days we are not shunned and driven off."
"In time the cure will be found and you all can go back to living normal lives."
Dasos was keen to buy a new dress for herself after a lifetime of living in rags and whatever they could scrounge or steal. Well the metal equivalent of rags. Dragon clothing was very durable overall.
-<>-
As noon rolled around they saw the Gorgon back to her stall and Roscida joined Valkyria in meeting Baroness Clade at the castle gates. The structure was tremendous and some of the taller minarets reached high into the sky perhaps a quarter of a kilometer. The gate guards were armored and looked alot like silver versions of Valkyria. Though without the stiff wing covers. Each was armed with a huge halberd, a pole arm some twenty meters long with a spike pointing upwards, an axe head facing forward and a hook facing back.
Baroness Clade did the introductions and then they were escorted inside by an attendant and Valkyria got to gawk at the decorations, all on a cyclopean scale. Fifteen meter tall statuary adorned some halls. tapestries and stained glass windows were common and there were quite a few paintings. The elder Clade encouraged the guide to elaborate on some of the depictions.
"Here is show the mounted battle of the Phantom Swamps some two-hundred thousand days past."
The white and gold cyborg ran a quick calculation and figured that to be over a thousand years ago by Earth time. "So you even domesticated a thunder lizard?" She was looking at the huge diplodocus that was being ridden like an elephant and was about as large.
"The diplo in the center? Yes. They are native to the great swamps of the lowlands. A few daring souls have trained them for war. But they are difficult to manage. Bron are even harder to tame and for reasons unknown once every few seasons a bull will ascend the plateaus and go on a rampage until either driven off or put down." So explained the attendant.
Valkyria studied this for a time, taking into account the gigantic scale of this battle depicted. Spells were flying, knights with glowing weapons were cleaving into each-other, and a pair of trebuchets mounted on the diplodocus were lobbing stones at some sort wall of earth some mage had called up. The painting had tiny little details in it down to links in armor and little fine inscriptions on weapons and standards. "Who are they fighting? Looks formidable? Are those a pair of Golems? I see hinged joints?" she questioned.
"Indeed m'lady. Ta Matia tis Mageías, The Eyes of Vraja, were a mageocrocy that formed formed around a renowned vraja college of Solomonari to the west between here and the Ki-rin lands. They grew in power and then began expanding. They employed Golems and Elementals in large numbers and were a force to be reckoned with. The painting depicts the final battle on the borders of what would become the Principalities." pointed out the attendant.
"So what became of them?"
Baroness Clade answered that. "Everyone turning against them and internal fraction caused the eventual collapse as they suffered a series of defeats after some initial victories. A faction within the Eye was against violence and secretly aided the unified people opposing the expansion and so inside and out the cracks formed. Finally they could take no more and sued for peace when they realized the horrible loss of knowledge that was happening as one after another fell. They reorganized and police themselves rigorously now as a true college of study and wisdom. That was all some half a million days ago."
The War Witch gawked as she did some calculations. Over two-thousand eight-hundred Earth years ago. "And it is still going today?"
A nod from the elder dragoness. "Indeed. I myself studied there for six-thousand days and graduated well in my class."
Valkyria did not comment on needing to go to magic school for thirty-five years before getting out was a bit mind blowing. "Seems all that study payed off!"
"Twas not that long. Curricula has advanced since those early days. Back then one was expected to study for a full ten-thousand says!" the Solomanari waved it off as if decades meant little in the greater scheme.
This got the cybernetic human in a draconic looking variable frame to wondering just how long these people lived. Something she would have to ask later. She had some clues already based on the ages of Roscida and the younger Clade, which reminded her. "So will Clade and the Baron be arriving in two days?"
"Correct. My husband and daughter wish to do some shopping while the event is close."
After that they met up with Princess Lykofos. This woman was tall and a rich royal purple with blue scale trim. She was dressed in an ebony gown set with hundreds of diamonds so it looked like a starry night twinkling as she moved. Her long hair was a night blue with a streak of lighter blue like a comet trailing down one side. "Ahh. So this is the mysterious stranger I have heard so much about in so short a span?" she addressed the War Witch with a pleasant rumbly voice.
"That is probably me if it is something weird yea, M'lady." she replied.
The Princess' smile grew. "I would not call selflessly aiding the people of the land weird Lady Valkyria. You have performed a deed long thought impossible in bringing back to us our brethren thought forever lost. That alone is worthy of high praise. I also hear you were instrumental in completing my cousin's elemental collection, yes?"
Valkyria looked from one to the other questioningly. "Cousin? So you two are related?"
Baroness and Princess shared a laugh. "Oh indeed. Though Procidens here takes more after her seaside blood while I take more after our inland kin." she then walked along with the group and plied the cybernetic visitor with questions. "I observed you on the streets yesterday. But you were much bulkier and not dressed?"
"Yes. I removed my Regalia as it is cumbersome for formal affairs."
That got a smile from the Princess. "We have lost a few chairs to knights insisting on attending in full dress armor. So your mercy upon my furniture is appreciated!" Glancing at the figure of the strange being she asked. "I understand that you are lost and far from home, with no hope of ever returning. Let me assure you on behalf of the Principalities of the Comet as a Princess of my realm that you are more than welcome in our lands. I wish only that you might have seen us in less troubling times..."
"I would like to think the same if one of you ever ended up in my world. And sadly I am no stranger to troubling times back home. It is how I became as you see me now." So replied the War Witch in thanks to her gracious benefactors. Then she was treated to a lavish dinner and various deserts afterwards. The main course were various soups, some meat stock and some vegetable, all with tyra egg mixed in like a sort of egg-drop soup. Then there were roast uta in some sort of glaze and seasoning with no Earth equivalent. It was faintly sweet. A rarity for dragon cuisine she had learned over the course of her stay. Sugar producing plants were rare in the qualities needed to make it even remotely viable. So she guessed what she was tasting was probably honey.
This got her musing as to what sorts of bugs were in the environment. But she had thus far held off on that question. She certainly had not seen any other than a little flitting thing she guessed was a dragonfly the size of an Earth eagle. A speck at her scale; and butterflies, or the prehistoric equivalents of, with bright single colors in stripes rather than patterns. The wing edges were flat rather than rounded.
As usual she got some amusement from the reactions to her eating. "So how bad has the Coalition been in the last season? I hear the realms bordering on the Coalition have had a few incursions. But nothing big since that ambush on Clade?"
Princess Lykofos nodded contemplatively. "Not officially no. But there have been two attacks deeper into the Principalities that were not made public."
"To keep the enemy guessing what happened to the squads?"
"Correct. Your case was impossible to keep quiet on. That and it was agreed that the nature of your advent would perplex and confound the Coalition well and good. The various Princes and Princesses have been quietly deflecting inquiries about you ever since. And keeping abreast of who is asking these questions. We have designated you a War Witch, though it is rather obvious your nature and incantations function outside the norm. Obvious to those of us with a broader knowledge of the mystic arts."
Valkyria nodded between tossing trees dipped in some manner of broccoli-esque sauce into her maw and munching. "Figured that would be the case really. Trying to mesh what I can do with what you people can had been a challenge to put it mildly." she admitted.
"We appreciate the effort on out behalf. Were I pressed to classify you, based on the information thus far gathered, I would probably lean to that of the Fusillade. An as yet rare outgrowth of Artifice focused on long range strikes. Alchemists are another calling that is much better known due to it's utility." so described the Princess.
"I will stick to War Witch for now to keep the enemy guessing" so smiled slyly said War Witch while taking a bite from a uta drumstick. After that she tried some pie which was remotely similar in flavor to a lemon meringue pie. Made from a thick rinded fruit called a citron. They were about the size of grapes to her and looked like yellow fragment grenades. The actual usable part was the size of a pea inside. "Somewhere on Earth an agriculturist is having fits over the quantities needed to eat round here." she chuckled. Apparently the rinds were fed to styra as they loved it.
After dinner the party retreated to sealed chambers with guards posted round. The Princess sat down in a comfy looking chair and her demeanor got notably more serious. "Now for the more pressing matter we invited you to visit today. There has been a death at the Grand Bazaar."
Baroness Clade looked concerned. "Another?"
Princess Lykofos nodded solemnly. "Another inventor of enchanted items."
This seemed to be an ongoing thing so the white and gold dragoness asked. "I take it that this is one of several? How many?"
"Six thus far. All crafters working on some new wonder. All found dead of what appear to be natural causes. But their inventions missing and soon to show up in Coalition hands. This can not be coincidence. We have tried communing with the spirits of the dead. But to date none have ever seen their slayer and thusly can not place name to this mysterious spy in our midst. We would like to ask if you can assist us in any way with this mystery. Perhaps someone outside the problem can uncover a clue we are missing?" The Princess then laid out the six assumed murders so far.
"The first was several seasons ago. About one-thousand days. An inventor working on a repeating ballistia was found dead in his home and the prototype missing. less than a season later the Coalition is being armed with a new repeating ballistia. The shape is different. But the function and timing are suspect." she sighed and then continued. "Next was a craftsman who was working to produce a more refined healing draught. Found dead and the formula gone. We suspect the Coalition is now issuing it to their soldiers. Third was a friend of mine that I had patroned for years. She was working on a new armor enchantment for the Lightning Knights. Found hanged in her bedroom. Apparent suicide. I -know- better. Tellingly. We questioned her spirit and she remembered nothing of that and was as perplexed as we were. This invention has not yet surfaced in the Coalition to our knowledge. The next three have each coincided with a Grand Bazaar and yesterday we found another crafter dead. No vraja residue and incantations to detect poisons showed nothing. His creation is missing."
"Is the body still on hand?" asked the War Witch.
"Yes. Though we checked thoroughly." replied the Princess. "Also the Ruling Prince sent us an investigator who has been following the case since the second occurrence. He is here now. We wished to speak to you alone before bringing them in."
"If vraja showed no traces then we have to think outside the box. And working with a professional would be a boon I bet. They know vraja?"
The purple and blue dragoness bowed her head and so they retreated to the castles equivalent of a morgue. "Yes they are a practitioner of the arts. "We checked for signs of covert violence. Assassination is rare, but not unheard uf in some less reputable kingdoms."
Here she was introduced to a male red dragon with black scale trim. He looked curiously at Valkyria as she looked over the body laid out on a stone slab pending last rites or other arrangements. "M'lady. I was not expecting you to come down so late." he deferred to the Princess.
Valkyria took some samples and ran some basic tests with her onboard analysis systems. These were not medical grade. But she took some readings anyhow just in case something showed up. "No foreign elements in the blood. But there is an elevated carbon trade in the lungs. hmmmmm." She redid her tests and focused them as an idea began to percolate to the fore. "Has anyone tried contacting the spirit since you have that option?"
"Not yet. It is a taxing incantation and requires five special candles to perform. We have some in stock but supply is limited and the dead tend not to answer exactly coherently. And you can not use the incantation on a spirit again till many days have passed." so explained the red dragon.
"Got it. Makes sense then. Lets see. Here's the results on the test and... ah-hah. Well I can save you some candles."
"Oh?" Both the Princess and the Baroness asked as one.
"Exotic tallow fume traces in the lungs. Someone used that communicate with the dead incantation ahead of you. Maybe to prevent you from finding out something? Or just waste limited resources?" explained the mechanical visitor.
The investigator nodded thoughtfully. "Though that does not explain the lack of clues as to cause of death?"
"Right. But we know from this that the spy is versed in the arts and is using it to cover their tracks. huh. Question. Would an incantation to cure poison work on a corpse? And would it leave any traces of vraja?" she asked thoughtfully.
"A [Counter Poison] incantation would leave faint traces of vraja in the system."
"Ok. Are there any incantations that mask vraja presence?" she followed up.
This surprised the gathered practitioners of the art. "Why no? How would that even work? To use vraja to conceal vraja. That would leave traces itself."
"Would it though?" mused the cyborg. Then she waved it off. "Just a thought. Was there any vraja trace found on the one that hung herself?"
"Why... no there was not?" and a dawning horror of realization shone in the Princess' eyes. "You mean..."
The War Witch looked down at the cadaver and then to those gathered.
"Yeah. Your spy is an inventor too."
<==--------===-=-===--------==>

Yenndo is just there and that alone makes him such a mysterious entity in the game he appears in. The way he just materialises in your office when the camera is up makes you wonder if he just wandered in or is a more spectral opponent like Golden Freddy. I don’t think anyone has a clue what this metallic mess of wires is meant to be yet, but this makes Yenndo a more compelling character due to his lack of explanation and mysterious background, along with his overall lack of appearance in the series of games, as well as his overall more scary design, being the most bulky endoskeleton in the series and towering over possibly all other endoskeletons we are ever shown in the series. His mechanics within Sister Location Custom Night make him a incredibly interesting character in the game, as he drains your oxygen with a rapid pace. It begs the question of how he is capable of this, leading for more speculation on his abilities and character. Is he just an Endoskeleton, a forgotten prototype, or something more sinister than we could possibly depict thus far with the little information we have been granted on this entity within Sister Location?
The fact that Yenndo’s mere presence within Sister Location presents us with a conundrum that may never be solved, and his character, obscure as it may be, may be forgotten by many, fans and theorists alike.
I feel Yenndo needs more appreciation within Sister Location and the franchise as a whole, as so he doesn’t end up a form of lost media within the games history.
But seriously, what is Yenndo? Any thoughts?

I wanted to jump off another post I just saw about pixel hunting and expand it to see what else players generally love and hate about playing adventure games.
What are 2-3 things you hate to see in adventure games and what are 2-3 things that you think help enrich the experience? I'd be curious to see what different people think.
I'm at a point in my own game that I'm revisiting systems that I've developed and trying to step back and look at them objectively. Sometimes you can get a little lost in the weeds working on your own thing and starting a discussion with others on the subject can be helpful.
My game is an espionage adventure game set in the 80s that can probably be best described as if Metal Gear and Alpha Protocol had an Adventure game baby. In general, it more or less follows the general adventure game mechanics but approaches some things, like puzzle design, a bit different. For example, in place of a traditional inventory where you store items and combine them, you have a scanner that finds and stores clues you find in the environment. These clues can unlock new hotspots and dialog options that lead down different narrative paths. Some clues are only available a certain time intervals and you have to pay attention to animations in the background to know when you can see/hear the clue.
My goal the next couple of weeks is to really refine my gameplay loop and use discussions like this to inform any needed tweaks.

Hi, since October last year I am dealing with the chemical and food sensitivity that started after mold issues in the rental apartment and treating it with antifunal sprays and paint. My syptoms are neurological and include back/legs/arms nerve pain and burning, brain fog, anxiety, muscle pain, difficulty breathing, fatigue, a lot of acne on the neck back and face, itchiness. As my doctor didn't have any clue what is going on I've went to a bioresonance practicioner for a diagnostics on Sensitiv Imago device and showed severly overburdend liver (lead, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, mycotoxins, cytomegalovirus), inflamation in the nerves of the back/arms/legs (heavy metals, mycotoxins, aflatoxins, pesticides, fungicides etc.), the same toxins with additional nitrites are found in te brain. I was amazed that it confirmed the MM info on chemical sensitivity. Since then I am doing Lemon water, CJ, HMDS, ALA, celery force, 5-MTHF, glutathione, l-lysine, vitamin C, lemon balm, nettle leaf, olive leaf, zinc, milk thisle, avoiding no foods, eating low-fat plant based. Every 2 month I go for a control and the liver is less overburdend (only heavy metals but lower, however the process or removing the metals is a bit slow), levels in the nervous system and brain are also lower except cadmium. I need to admit that my symptoms are sometimes better and sometimes worse but got much worse last 2 weeks as I had a miscarrage.. If you have some advice for me on how to recover MCS or neurological symptoms or your experiences, please share 🙂

Willing to bundle for the items I want.
GT: MADDL007
——Weapons for trade——
AA/50crit/25 Plasma Rifle
AA/50crit/25 Crossbow {mule}
B/50crit/15crit Thirst Zapper
B/E/Break The Dragon 3% Explosive 419 Range (Legacy) {mule} [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
B/50crit/15crit The Fixer
B/50crit/15crit Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/15crit Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/25 Handmade [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
B/E/1A Handmade {mule}
B/50crit/25 Radium Rifle
B/50crit/25 Railway Rifle {mule}
B/50crit/FR Railway Rifle
B/E 50 Cal Machine Gun (2 Star) {mule}
B/50crit/Break Gatling Plasma {mule}
B/50crit/25 Harpoon Gun
B/E Light Machine Gun (2 star) {mule}
B/FSS/Break Chainsaw
B/FSS/1S Death Tambo {mule}
MUT/E/25 Handmade
Q/E/DRWA The Fixer
Q/AP/25 Handmade
Q/E Handmade (2 star)
Q/E/Stealth Handmade
Q/50crit/FMSWA Railway Rifle {mule}
Q/E Railway Rifle (2 Star)
Q/FFR Tesla Rifle (2 Star)
Q/50crit/25 Flamer {mule}
Q/E/1P Gatling Gun {mule}
TS/50vhc Alien Blaster (2 Star)
TS/AP/Stealth Alien Blaster {mule}
TS/LD/Break Alien Blaster
TS/E Handmade (2 star)
V/FFFR Alien Blaster
V/FF25 Gatling Laser
V/E Light Machine Gun (2 star)
V/BASH/FMSWA Minigun {mule}
V/25DAM/1S Chainsaw {mule}
V/40PA/Block Chainsaw
V/AP/RW Chainsaw
Enclave Plasma Rifle #1 w/ Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #2 w/ Stabilized Splitter, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #3 w/ Aligned Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Standard Sights
Enclave Plasma Rifle #4 w/ True Flamer Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight x2
Enclave Plasma Rifle #5 w/ Stabilized Flamer Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight
Enclave Plasma Rifle #6 w/ True Automatic Barrel, Stabilized Stock, Reflex Sight {mule}
Fancy Pump Shotgun AA/LD/DRWA
Fancy Revolvers: Assassin, Berserker, Executioner, Mutant x2, Troubleshooter x3
Tesla (no scope) Level 50 {mule}
Dross, Pearly Peepers, Red Fireworks Mine, Troglocide
——Plans & Recipes for trade——
Plan: Assault Rifle {mule}
Plan: Backpack Armor Plated Mod {mule}
Plan: Backpack High Capacity Mod {mule}
Plan: Backpack Insulated Mod
Plan: Backpack Refrigerated Mod
Plan: Barbed Walking Cane {mule}
Plan: Bear Arm
Plan: Bear Arm Heavy Mod
Plan: Camo Backpack
Plan: Deathclaw Gauntlet {mule}
Plan: Hatchet Electro Fusion {mule}
Plan: Large Ultracite Shard {mule}
Plan: Nuka-World Cowboy Duster {mule}
Plan: Pitchfork Flamer {mule}
Plan: Poker Set {mule}
Plan: Protective Lining Raider Underarmor
Plan: Radioactive Barrel
Plan: Scorchbeast Queen Plushie
Plan: Sheriff’s Hat
Plan: Shielded Lining Marine Underarmor {mule}
Plan: Spiked Walking Cane {mule}
Plan: Tomb Stones
Plan: TV Aquarium {mule}
Plan: Vintage Water Cooler
Plan: Wild West Show Entrance Sign
Recipe: Cutting Fluid {mule}
Recipe: Formula P {mule}
Recipe: Fried Scorpion On A Stick {mule}
Recipe: Healing Salve (Mire) {mule}
Recipe: Nuka Cola Dark {mule}
Recipe: Stimpak Diffuser {mule}
——Armor & Other items for trade——
UNY/1L/WWR Metal Chest Piece 51DR 11ER {mule}
UNY/1L/WWR Urban Scout Armor Chest Piece {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/1P/WWR Urban Scout Armor Right Arm {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/1S/WWR Leather Left Leg 21DR 51ER {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Combat Armor Right Leg 27DR 37ER {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Forest Scout Armor Right Leg [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
UNY/AP/WWR Urban Scout Armor Right Leg [high end apparel bundle or armor from my want list only please]
UNY/HungeWWR Urban Scour Armor Left Arm {mule} [armor from my want list only please]
W/AP/WWR Raider Left Leg 17DR 8ER
Ultracite Jet Pack Helmet Level 50 {mule}
50K+ Ultracite 5.56 Ammo
All 8 Holotape Mini Games
All Non-Rare apparel available - just ask
Misc Items: ask me for my list
———
———
——Items I want——
B/50crit/25 Fixer or Handmade
Q/E/25 Fixer or Handmade or Railway
TS/50crit/15crit Alien Blaster
TS/50crit/25 Alien Blaster
V/40PA/40PA Chainsaw (Will consider other third star: prefer Break, 90rw, or any of the +1)
Baseball bats level 45 - indigo, pink, yellow
Enclave Plasma Gun Aligned Flamer Barrel Mod (one or multiple)
UNY/AP/WWR Forest Scout Armor Chest Piece, Left Arm
UNY/AP/WWR Urban Scout Armor Left Leg and Right Arm
Plan: Meat Tenderizer
Plan: Ultracite Calibrated Shocks
Asylum Worker Uniform Forest
Asylum Worker Uniform Red
Asylum Worker Uniform Yellow
Blue Ridge Caravan Gas Mask (will pay caps)
Blue Ridge Caravan Uniform (will pay caps)
BOS Jumpsuit
Fasnacht Brahmin Mask
Fasnacht Buffoon Mask
Fasnacht Crazy Guy Mask
Fasnacht Deathclaw Mask
Fasnacht Demon Mask
Fasnacht Fiend Mask
Fasnacht Hag Mask
Fasnacht Loon Mask
Fasnacht Raven Mask
Fasnacht Winter Man Mask
Forest Camo Jumpsuit
Forest Scout Armor Mask
Leather Coat
Prototype Hazmat Suit Level 50
Radicals Face Mask
Responder Fireman Helmet
Responder Fireman Uniform
Tattered Field Jacket
Traveling Leather Coat
Urban Scout Armor Mask
White Powder Jumpsuit
I’m really only after the items listed above, make me an offer. No caps, flux, or junk offers please.

•••LOOKING FOR•••

• CH AP Sent Heavy Metal RL
  
• CH AP Sent Heavy Robot RA / RL
  
• H AP Sent Marine RA
  
• MS AP Sent FSA RA
  
• OE AP WWR Heavy Metal LL / CP
  
• Uny +1s WWR Heavy Combat LL / RL
  
• Uny +1s Cav Heavy Combat CP
  
• Uny +1s Cav Marine RL
  
• Uny +1s WWR Wood RA
  
• Uny AP WWR Heavy Combat
  
• Uny AP WWR Heavy Leather RL / LL
  
• Uny AP WWR Trapper LA / RL
  
• Uny AP CAV Heavy Metal LL
  
• Uny AP FDC Heavy Metal RL
  
• Uny +1i WWR Heavy Robot LA / LL / RL
  
• Uny +1i WWR Heavy Metal CP / RA
  
• Uny +1i Sent Heavy Metal LA / LL / RL
  
• Uny +1i Sent Heavy Combat LA
  
• W +1s WWR Heavy Leather CP
  
• W AP Sent Heavy Combat LA
  
• W AP Sent Heavy Leather LA / CP
  

_•••WEAPON TRADES•••_

• AAE15r Lever Action
  
• AAE25 10mm Pistol
  
• AAE25 Pump Shotgun
  
• AA2525 Fixer
  
• Ari50c25 Handmade
  
• Ari50c25 Fixer
  
• AriE25 Fixer
  
• Ber2525 Raidum Rifle
  
• Ber50c25 Handmade
  
• B50h25 Railway Rifle
  
• B50c15c Railway Rifle
  
• B50c15c Fixer
  
• B50h25 Fixer
  
• B2525 Fixer
  
• B2515c Handmade
  
• B2590 Gat Gun
  
• B2515r Gat Gun
  
• Exe2590 Flamer
  
• I50c25 Compound Bow
  
• QE25 Pipe Rifle
  
• Q2515r Cryo
  
• TSE90 Gat Gun
  
• TSE15r Pump Shotgun
  
• TSE25 Lever Action
  
• TS50L15r Fatman
  
• V50h25 Fixer
  
• VE25 Fixer
  
• V2525 Handmade
  
• VE25 Railway Rifle
  
• V2525 AR
  
• V50c25 10mm Pistol
  

_•••MELEE TRADES•••_

• AASS+S Meat Hook
  
• BSS90 Chainsaw
  
• ExeSS90 Chainsaw
  
• ExeSS+S DCG
  
• JSS+S Chainsaw
  
• VSS+S Pole Hook
  
• VSS90 DCG
  
• VSS+E Chainsaw
  

_•••ARMOR TRADES•••_

• Uny AP WWR USA CP
  
• Uny +1i 15dwb Trapper CP
  
• Uny +1i lockpick Trapper LA
  
• Uny +1i Trapper LL**
  
• Uny +1i Trapper RA**
  
• Uny +1i Trapper RL**
  
• Uny +1i Posion Marine CP
  
• Uny +1i Frost Marine LA
  
• Uny +1i FSA CP**
  
• Uny +1i FSA RL**
  
• Uny +1i 15lld FSA RA
  
• Uny +1i USA CP**
  
• Uny +1i Stim USA RA
  
• Uny AP FSA LL**
  
• Uny AP Fire FSA LL
  
• Uny AP Frost FSA RA
  
• Uny AP USA CP**
  
• Uny AP USA LA** ×2
  
• Uny AP USA LL**
  
• Uny AP 50b USA RA
  
• Uny AP USA RL**
  
• Uny AP Marine LL**
  
• Uny AP Heavy Metal CP**
  
• Uny AP Heavy Metal RL**
  
• Uny +1i Heavy Metal RL** ×2
  

••••POWER ARMOR••••

• Ari AP WWR Ultracite RA
  
• Assn AP Sent T51b RL
  
• Assn AP CAV Raider LL
  
• Assn AP Sent Raider RL
  
• Assn 7led Sent Raider CP Lvl15
  
• Assn AP Sent X01 CP
  
• Assn AP CAV X01 RL
  
• Assn +25f CAV X01 RA
  
• Assn 7led WWR X01 LA
  
• Assn +1L WWR X01 LA
  
• Assn +1L WWR X01 LL
  
• Assn +25c WWR Ultracite LA
  
• Assn +25f WWR Ultracite LL
  
• Assn AP WWR Ultracite RL
  
• Auto Stim AP Sent T45 LL
  
• Bol AP AWR Ultracite RA
  
• Bol 7Led WWR Excavator LL
  
• Bol AP FDC T45 RA
  
• Bol AP FDC T45 RL
  
• Bol AP CAV T45 LA
  
• Bol AP CAV T45 RL
  
• Bol AP FDC T60 LA
  
• Bol +1i Sent X01 LA
  
• CH AP Sent Excavator CP
  
• OE AP Sent T45 RA
  
• OE 25e Sent T45 CP
  
• OE 7led Cav T45 CP
  
• OE 7led Cav T45 RA
  
• OE +1s Cav T45 RL
  
• OE +1p FDC T45 CP
  
• OE +1i FDC T45 LA
  
• OE +25rr FDC T45 RA
  
• OE +1e AWR T45 RL
  
• OE +1L AWR T45 LL
  
• OE +25rr WWR T45 RA
  
• OE +25c WWR T-45 RL
  
• OE +1s WWR T45 RL
  
• OE +25f WWR T45 LL
  
• OE h&t WWR T45 LL
  
• OE +25p Sent T-60 RA
  
• OE H&T Sent Ultracite LA
  
• OE 7led WWR Ultracite LA
  
• OE AP WWR Raider RA
  
• Trb AP FDC Excavator CP
  
• Trb AP WWR Excavator LL
  
• Trb +25rr WWR Excavator LA
  
• Trb +25p Cav Excavator LA
  
• Trb +1s Cav Excavator RL
  
• Trb AP Sent Raider CP
  
• Trb AP Sent Raider RL
  
• Trb AP Sent Ultracite RA
  
• Trb 7exp WWR Ultracite RL
  
• Van AP CAV T-60 RL
  
• Van +1p WWR T-60 RL
  
• Van +1L WWR T-60 RL
  
• V 7led WWR T-60 LA
  
• Van AP Sent Raider CP
  
• Van AP Sent Raider RA
  

_•••APPAREL TRADES•••_

• Responders Fireman Outfit
  
• Responders Fireman Helmet
  
• BOS Jumpsuit
  
• White Powder Jumpsuit
  
• Hag Mask
  
• Demon Mask
  
• Brahmin Mask
  
• Buffoon Mask
  
• DC Mask
  
• Crazy Guy Mask
  
• Raven Mask
  
• Winter Man Mask
  

Also have junk/caps & ammo, feel free to ask if nothing above is of interest but be specific. Thanks

By Fin
“Holy crap.” James Talbot stepped back from his handiwork. It was beautiful. It made him want to scream.
Talbot was a chemist, the modern form of an alchemist, and he’d discovered something as wondrous and terrible as the most extreme postulations of his forbearers.
This was it. The culmination of all his works. This is what he’d fought for decades for, why he’d abandoned connections with everyone he’d ever known. But now it was all worth it. He would reveal the Masterwork at the Grand Chemistry Convention. It would steal the show, and he would be revered beyond every other human being who had ever lived.
It had taken Talbot long enough to assemble the Masterwork that he’d shed the title of ‘young’, not to mention most of his non-gray hair. Although it was hard to tell whether that was from aging or from what he’d beheld in his long sojourn. He was only 45, after all, and the rest of his body still held firm from decades of outdoorsmanship.
Talbot stood before a wall, upon which was painted the most intricate design any human had ever seen. It was a diagram of… unknown things. A chart of runes, maps, and artfully painted lines. There was no text in any living language on the diagram, but the harmony within the full tapestry visually sang, imparting something unfathomable in a way that Talbot could somehow fathom. The man who’d made it, who’d studied it for 15 years, barely understood it himself. But he knew that it was the ultimate solution to the entirety of philosophy, containing the answers to every question humanity had ever seen fit to ask. It had existed in his notebook for a while, in bits and pieces, but today had been its first full assembly, and it was magnificent.
He had to keep it hidden, or someone would take it from him.
He retrieved a tarp and threw it over the wall, nailing it in at the top so it hung down to cover his designs. Just to be sure, he moved his desk to block the wall, then locked the door to his office when he left for the day. James Talbot was more excited than he had ever been, and he celebrated that night with a fireplace and a large bottle of whiskey.
Of all the people at his office to commit espionage, Talbot never would’ve suspected the night janitor. This may stem from the fact that he also never suspected the night janitor to be part of a massive secret organization dedicated to keeping humanity as ignorant as possible in matters of the Higher Order.
But no matter what Talbot suspected, Tim Willis was indeed part of this society, and after he’d entered Talbot’s office with his master key to do some routine cleaning, the obvious secrecy surrounding the wall at the back of the room worried him. So he moved the desk out of the way, lifted the tarp, and inhaled sharply.
This was bad. A tapestry of the Higher Order more complete than any he’d seen before, or any reported by the other Censors of the Agency for the Preservation of Humanity.
Willis quickly replaced the tarp and desk. As soon as he’d locked the room, he pulled out his phone and dialed the number for an Alexander Talc.
Talbot arrived the next morning with a song in his heart and a latte in his hand. The former died horribly as soon as he entered his office only to find someone sitting in his chair, and the latter died horribly as it fell from his fingers, limp in shock.
The person in question was a short, slight man who wore thick glasses and a dark gray suit. He was sitting on Talbot’s office chair, facing the now uncovered back wall with all of its eldritch calculations. Talbot’s desk had been moved to the side of the room, left askew with the tarp crumpled up on top.
As Talbot entered, the stranger spun the chair around so he was facing the chemist, a broad smile on his face. He was undeniably attractive, in a delicate sort of way.
“Ah! You must be the aspiring alchemist?” He spoke softly and cheerily, but with an unnerving edge. Talbot couldn’t identify any specific aspect of his voice that disturbed him, but upon further consideration he concluded that it was the incongruity of the situation, the warm friendliness of his tone grating against Talbot’s unease.
Talbot took a step back, shaken. “I don’t… what-”
“Quite an impressive display here. You’ve managed to glean a quite large amount of knowledge about the Higher Order, especially considering you’ve never consulted us at the APH.” He pronounced it phonetically, like Aff.
“What are you-”
Talbot heard a click from behind him, and turned to see Tim Willis, the night janitor, closing and locking his door. He could barely register the betrayal.
“Ah, yes. Tim is working for me. For us. The Agency for the Protection of Humankind really frowns upon anyone attempting to learn the Higher Order.”
Talbot, finally able to form a full sentence, asked, “What’s the Higher Order?”
“You know what it is, of course, although you may not have heard the term. It’s what we call the mechanics of the very fabric of the universe itself. The questions about ‘why are we here?’ and ‘is there a god?’ and all the stuff like that. All theoretical philosophy, basically. And you, apparently through sheer dumb luck,” He turned to admire the mural again, “have managed to find more of it than any human being ever, including us! Quite impressive. Big hand.” The man slow-clapped for Talbot. The small sweet-looking man being sarcastically condescending was jarringly incongruous.
Talbot felt a surge of anger, and it helped him produce a full sentence. “Dumb luck?!?” He advanced on the man. “My Masterwork is the product of 20 years of research and experience! This is the greatest thing anyone has ever done, and how dare you say I achieved it through dumb luck!”
The man raised his hands placatingly. “Okay, okay!” He chuckled. “Years of research, whatever. You found the Higher Order. That’s where we come in.”
“Why?”
“Ah. Well, you see, the reason that no one’s found the entire Higher Order is simple. It’s because we stop them.”
Talbot was incredulous. “What?! Why would you stand in the way of progress like that?!” As a scientist, the possibility that there could be anyone actively against gaining knowledge was incomprehensible to him.
The man grimaced, as though he was about to break some terrible news. “Well… there are some parts of this tapestry you’ve assembled, specifically here...” The man pointed at a small segment of the diagram, a thick horizontal line with four thin lines crossing perpendicularly that turned into five lines on the other side, “That grants access to some other planes of existence. Planes of existence that are home to some very dangerous things. And due to some logistical aspects of the Higher Order,” He gestured at another segment of the diagram entirely composed of square symbols, “if you muck about in their domain, they are able to muck about in ours. The Law of Equivalent Interference.”
“But… how would our finding answers count as ‘mucking about in their domain’? If we knew the danger, we just wouldn’t go there.”
The man was silent, then answered Talbot’s question with a question. “Tell me, Talbot. If humans discovered another dimension, do you really think they’d be able to stay out of it?”
“Fine. But then why do you have to censor the whole thing? Why not give them the benign parts that would still forward human progress by centuries?”
“Because the Higher Order is like Algebra. Or a logic puzzle from Highlights magazine. If you give someone smart enough just a few clues, they’ll eventually assemble the whole picture. Which we desperately want to avoid.”
There was a long and heavy silence.
“Ok.” Said Talbot, wrapping his head around the new information. “So the APH stops people from finding the answers to these questions so our world isn’t destroyed by Fourth Dimensional entities?”
“Exactly!” The man nodded, delighted at Talbot’s comprehension. “Well, they’re technically Fifth Dimensional. The existence of time in our reality means that this is the Fourth Dimension.”
There was another silence.
“Sorry, what was your name again?” Talbot asked.
The man looked utterly devastated. “Oh no! I can’t believe I was so rude!” He vaulted the desk and approached Talbot, stopping just short and shaking his hand. “Alexander Talc, Class 2 Censor Operative for the APH.”
“Censor as in… ?”
“Yes, I censor things. People too, if necessary.”
“So what,” Talbot asked, “You’re here to kill me?”
Talc gasped. “What?!?! No! As if we’d be so barbaric! We’re here to recruit you.”
Talbot’s eyes widened. “Wait, really?”
“Of course! You know more about the Higher Order than any human outside of the APH, and probably more than a majority of those inside of the APH. Your expertise could be vital in preventing a breach in our reality!”
“What would this job entail?”
“Well, we’d need you to fake your death, change your name, burn your research-”
Talbot recoiled.
“Now I know that sounds like a lot,” Talc backpedaled, “But allow me to let you in on a little secret.” He leaned in conspiratorially, then glanced around as though to make sure nobody was listening. Satisfied, he whispered, “The dental is off-the-charts.”
Talbot shook his head. “What happens if I don’t take the job?”
Talc winced. “Things get considerably less pleasant. I have to call in a Class 3 Purge Operative, and that’s always a hassle.”
Talbot chose not to inquire into the purpose of a ‘Purge Operative’.
Talc gently laid a hand on Talbot’s shoulder. “It’s a lot to take in, I know. How about we move to some place more hospitable and you can think it over?”
Talbot nodded, his mind elsewhere. Talc gently guided him out of the room, Willis following and closing the door behind them.
Talbot stared down into his conical paper cup, filled with water that tasted plasticy. The three men were in the lobby of Talbot’s workplace, leaning against a table adorned with donuts and a water cooler.
Talc bit into a day-old bear claw as Talbot swirled his water and considered the situation.
If he accepted the offer, he would be shipped off to another state, away from his home in Bedford, where he would join whatever on earth APH was. Talbot hated the idea of working for an agency whose entire purpose was to destroy knowledge. On the other hand, if he didn’t accept the offer, they’d likely kill him.
Purge Officer…
Would working for the APH really be so bad? Talbot liked Talc enough. Maybe they could be friends. Or… more than friends. And if the APH truly wanted Talbot to be able to suppress the Higher Order, he’d have to know the Higher Order. Which meant research. He could essentially continue on exactly as he was.
Except he would never be recognized as the genius he was. Talbot involuntarily crushed his paper cup as he realized that, if he took the offer, he’d never win a Nobel prize. He’d never present at the Grand Chemistry Convention. He’d never write a revolutionary scientific paper. He would be forgotten.
He knew what he had to do. He couldn’t say no, or he would be killed. He couldn’t accept, or he would be forgotten, which was worse. He had to escape.
But how? This was some sort of world-ruling secret agency. They probably had eyes everywhere. What could he possibly do to get away?
His eyes wandered towards the stairs. The stairs that led to his office, which held the key to every single natural law.
Talbot tossed his cup in the trash, then approached Talc.
“I think I’m ready to make my decision. But first, can I go to the restroom?”
Talc nodded. “Of course! Take all the time you need!”
Talbot nodded and jogged toward the restroom. In the tiled floor under him, he saw Willis’s warped reflection following him discreetly.
He entered the single restroom and quietly opened the window. He could see Willis’s shadow under the door as the man hovered just outside.
Talbot waited a couple seconds, then flushed the toilet, turned on the sink, and silently crept through the window. He fell a few feet to the alley below, and had to suppress a grunt.
Now what? He needed to escape, but his notebook was still upstairs. All his research was in there, and he couldn’t leave it to the APH.
The only ground level entrance to the building was the main lobby door, which was directly in Talc’s sightline. However, who said he had to enter on ground level?
Talbot’s gaze rose to the old fire escape above him. The bottom of the structure was a platform that lined up with the second floor. A ladder was folded up on the platform, an old rusty latch keeping it from reaching ground level. Talbot couldn’t reach the latch from where he was on the ground, so he looked around for a solution.
He had a bum throwing arm, so he couldn’t toss anything up to break it. Unless…
Talbot considered Talc’s words. The very mechanics of the universe itself... He felt a flare of pride as he realized how little Talc truly understood.
The sigil that granted access to the Fifth Dimension was just one of several such Seals. Over all Talbot’s years of study, those portions of the Higher Order were the most applicable. They did not just show universal aspects of reality. They represented those aspects. They were symbolic, and like all symbols, they were powerful.
They were simulacra of natural laws, and could be manipulated in order to manipulate those laws themselves. It allowed anyone who knew the Seals to weave a sort of magic, ignoring the laws of time, space, or gravity by sketching and then destroying the corresponding runes, temporarily destroying that Law’s influence over oneself. Talbot’s hypothesis was that there was a single Greater Seal for each law that controlled that law anywhere and everywhere. If that one was found and destroyed, the laws of reality would change forever.
For greater, wide-scale application, Talbot had scrawled in his notebook, The Greater Aspects must be located and manipulated.
Talbot dropped to the ground and dragged his finger through the alley gravel. He assembled the rocks into a facsimile of a tiny part of the Higher Order, one that he’d experimented with a lot. He looked around for a suitable vessel, settling on a rock. He poured all his mental energy into the stone, and used his hands to scatter the pebbles that made up the Seal of Velocity.
The rock sprang from the ground and soared upwards, clanging against the ladder before anticlimactically falling into a dumpster. From inside, Willis banged on the bathroom door and said something indistinct. Talbot’s second telekinetic toss hit the ladder before falling onto the platform itself. He broke another Seal, and his third throw smacked into the latch, splitting the rusted thing and shooting the ladder downwards.
It made a lot of noise, and Talbot could hear Willis pounding on the bathroom door inside. He seemed to be breaking it down, as Talbot heard wood split with a crunch. Talbot quickly mounted the ladder and climbed up to the platform, trying not to think about the alarming creaking sounds the old construction was making. From there, he took the stairs two at a time, spiraling up and up until he reached the sixth floor.
Six flights of stairs only had him a bit winded by the time he reached his floor. He tried the door to the inside, and found it unlocked.
Talbot entered the hallway outside his office quietly. He considered how this would play out. Willis and Talc would be storming up here at any moment. He had to move quickly.
Talbot entered his workroom, dragging his desk over to block the door. He took a moment to gaze forlornly at his Masterwork, because he would never be able to take it with him. All the same pieces and diagrams were in his notebook, but the full Masterwork was a thing of beauty, one that he would never behold again.
He snapped a picture of it with his phone. It wasn’t the same, but it’d have to do.
Talbot grabbed his notebook, its leather-bound pages bulging with decades of research. Some of the sheaves of paper stuck out at odd angles, newspaper snippets and glossy photographs glued into the most faithful companion Talbot had ever had.
Was there anything else he needed?
The door began to rattle.
Talbot grabbed a sheet of blank paper from his desk and rapidly sketched as many Seals as he could. He had an idea of how he could escape, but he needed to harness his work to do it. Using the Masterwork as a reference, he scrawled the Seal of Time, the Seal of Space, the Seal of Gravity, and, after considering it, the Seal of the Fifth Dimension.
Just in case. He thought.
With a crack, his door burst open, shoving the desk out of the way. Talc and Willis stood there, the latter looking enraged, the former strangely calm.
“Talbot, this doesn’t have to happen this way.” Talc appealed, but Talbot was done listening. He would not be forgotten. He would be immortalized, through his work.
Talbot ripped a corner off of his Seal sheet, and glanced down at the Seal of Time. With a glare at Talc, he stuck it in his mouth and began to chew.
Talbot disappeared with a pop, as Willis lunged towards where he’d just been.
Willis stopped short, then turned to Talc. He was noticeably upset at losing their quarry.
“What do we do now?”
“Well, we follow him.”
“How?”
Talc approached the Masterwork. “It’s simple. I’m sure Talbot understood that time travel doesn’t work the way everyone thinks it does. Cause and Effect are inextricably linked, and cannot be put out of order. Traveling through time actually just creates another dimension, a splintered facsimile of your original where things play out differently.”
“So… to follow him do we just use the Time Sigil?”
“Seal, Willis. And no. That will just create another splinter plane. Now that the reality has already been established, we need to follow him. Using this.”
Talc’s thin fingers traced the outline of another Seal, one Talbot hadn’t thought to inscribe.
“There are many ways to traverse the Multiverse.” Talc said, “Using Seals to rip open the barriers between planes is one of the simplest.”
Talc sketched down two copies of the seal, then separated the two and handed one to Willis. The two locked eyes and nodded in unison. They both rent their sheets in half and disappeared.
Talbot didn’t ‘land’, per se, but he still felt off-balance when he blinked into existence in his office. He staggered, but caught himself before he could fall. The world felt… different here.
Out of everything Talbot had discovered, Multiversal travel was his least considered. He’d been too cowardly to experiment with anything but the Space, Gravity, and Velocity Seals, so this experience was new to him. Naturally, as any scientist does when faced with something unfamiliar, he started taking notes.
Effects of Time/Universe Traversal:
–Slight nausea. Somewhat noticeable. Temporary?
–World overall feels discordant. Silence sounds different than back home. My tinnitus is in another key. Feels like I don’t belong.
–Different frequency hard-coded into every reality?
Before he could assemble an entire thesis on the underlying resonance within the multiverse, he realized with a start that he had to get out of here. Talc and WIllis were likely following him, and even if they weren’t, there were copies of them in this dimension.
Talbot had willed himself about 10 minutes back in time, and it seemed like that’d worked. His Masterwork was complete and the desk and tarp were off to the side. The trio were likely downstairs in the lobby, where Past-Talbot was thinking over the pros and cons of their offer. At least, he thought so. Time travel seemed to create a splintering reality, one that maintained consistency with his original up until the point where he showed up. There were plenty of unfamiliar worlds out there, but the Seal of Time created one quite familiar. Right now Past-Talbot-
Past-Talbot doesn’t sound right. Pretty soon it’ll be my present, then my future. How about Talbot-2?
After settling upon a name to call his double, Talbot exited his office and left through the door that led to the fire escape, in too much of a hurry to close it. He scrambled down the stairs, knocked the latch off the ladder, climbed to the ground, popped open the bathroom window, and climbed inside. Right as he got his arms through, the door opened.
Talbot-2 walked in, then stopped short as he saw himself dangling halfway through the window. Talbot put a finger to his lips, and indicated Willis-2 with his eyes. Talbot-2 silently shut the door, locking Willis-2 outside.
Talbot-2 opened his mouth to speak, but barely got out one word. “What-”
“I’m you, from the future. Well, not from your future, but from a future.”
Talbot-2’s confused expression was replaced with excitement. “So the Time Seal Worked?! Fantastic! What’s it like?!”
“I’d tell you all about it, but I’m currently stuck in a bathroom window and being hunted down by two government agents. Although I don’t actually know if they work for the government…”
Talbot-2 pulled him through the window into the bathroom. “Sorry.”
Once he was in, Talbot glanced at the door behind Talbot-2.
“Okay. Here’s the thing. Some version of Talc and Willis will be here any minute. Whether mine followed me from the future or not, yours will catch on soon. We need to get out of here, and get the Masterwork to somebody else.”
“Wait, which Talc and Willis will show up?”
“One of them… or both of them. It doesn’t really matter! Do we know anybody we can send our notes to?”
Talbot-2 considered it. “Davis?”
Talbot frowned, and opened his notebook to an early page.
Dr. Wilson Davis
–Spineless fool. He calls himself a chemist, but refuses to venture outside the conventions of the industry. No true scientist works a cushy chemical production job! We journey! We endeavor!
Talbot shook his head. “He’d never publish something like this. If they tracked him down, he’d probably take their oppressive offer.”
“Johnson?”
Dr Monica Johnson
—Chemist and conspiracy nut. Super gullible, but generally a good person.
“She’ll believe anything.” Talbot said. “...Which is actually probably a good thing in this case. If she thinks it’s real, she’ll distribute it, and she’s earnest enough to leave my- our name on it.”
Talbot-2 nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Actually, it sounds like an idea, not a plan. What is our plan?”
Talbot thought for several seconds. “Here’s what we do. You pretend to accept their offer, and do whatever they tell you. If all else fails, you’ll get a cushy job working for the government. Meanwhile, I get this,” Talbot indicated his notebook. “To Johnson, and then…” He paused.
Someone knocked on the door.
“And then?” Talbot-2 prompted in a whisper, glancing behind him.
“Then… I’ll figure something out.”
Talbot-2 nodded. “Alright. Are we ready to go?”
“I think so.” Talbot replied.
Talbot slipped out of the window, and Talbot-2 opened the door to greet Willis-2.
The man peered around him. “Who were you talking to in there?”
Talbot-2 shrugged. “Myself. You know, crazy scientist stuff.”
Talbot dropped to the ground, then produced his sheet of Seals. He picked out one specific design, a circle bisected by a thin line. On one side of the line, a stylized forest thrived, and on the other a pictographic city loomed. Talbot ripped the Seal of Space from his paper and stuck it in his mouth, once again disappearing with a pop.
Talc and Willis appeared in Talbot-2’s workroom, and quickly exited. Both spun in the hallway outside, and both spotted the wide-open door to the fire escape. They both moved down the rickety metal construction and found themselves in an alley behind the building.
“See that?” Talc pointed at the window.
“Yeah. Did he go in through it?” Willis asked.
“Of course. But if he used the Seal of Time to try to come back and alert himself, I’m guessing he came through here to talk to him…self, but he couldn’t have left. The only point at which he was in the bathroom, you were right outside. He popped in, popped out, popped another Seal.”
“Is there any guarantee that he came back to alert himself? He could’ve gone to any point in time.”
“I know his type. The out-there intellectual. He’s been burned by everyone but himself. He’ll only trust himself. And if he came to himself before we’d arrived, he wouldn’t believe him.”
“Sorry, who wouldn’t believe him?”
“Him! Aren’t you-” Talc took a moment to consider the context. “You know what, nevermind. The point is that this reality’s Talbot is now in league with our Talbot, and that’s not good.”
“What do we do?”
“Well firstly, we need to cut it down to one Talbot. Two is too many to deal with.” Talc pushed on his earpiece, then spoke. “Hello? Can you hear me, Talc?” There was silence, until something dawned on him. “Ah, dammit. I can’t call my own earpiece.” He adjusted something on his earpiece. “Willis! Do you copy?” Willis heard Talc both from right next to him and through his earpiece. He didn’t hear the reply, but his earpiece buzzed as its exact copy broadcast something. Willis took his earpiece out and squinted at it, curious about the exact Multiversal properties that bonded it to its clone.
“Yes, this is Talc. But not your Talc. Listen, Talbot ran off to this dimension, and we believe he’s working with your Talbot. We need to meet up, then dispose of the dupe.”
Talc listened for a response, and Willis’s earpiece vibrated as his double presumably replied.
Talc turned to Willis. “Alright. They’ll meet us back in Talbot’s office. There we can get rid of the redundant one and track our quarry.”
Their quarry was currently depositing a large package of brown paper in a big blue mailbox.
Talbot paused as he lowered the boxy parcel. This was his life’s work, his notebook and all his scattered papers, and was the second-most important thing he owned, next to the wall that contained the Masterwork itself, which was likely being dismantled by his enemies at that very moment. This was the last 20 years of his life, and he was about to gamble it away to a crazy woman on the off-chance that his legacy might live on. Talbot wished he’d spent more time with reasonable scientists, if only to expand the pool of people he could mail his book to.
With a deep breath, Talbot released the book, wincing at the gentle ‘paff’ sound it made when it fell onto the envelopes at the bottom of the box.
His job complete, Talbot slipped the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and disappeared into the afternoon.
Guns are inelegant, Talc told his subordinate often. They’re loud, messy. Tools of thugs and soldiers, not agents of a higher purpose.
But there’s a downside to not carrying a gun, Willis countered silently. The difference between shooting a person and being forced to kill them more intimately is palpable, and not often a positive.
Willis considered this as Talbot-2 stopped struggling and finally went limp in his arms. Willis released the garotte from around the man’s throat, then lowered him to the floor of the office.
An irritated sigh came from behind him. Willis turned to see Talc shaking his head and walking toward him.
“No, you need to finish the job.” The man said. He kneeled, took Talbot-2’s forehead in one hand, his chin in the other, then jerked his head to the side, snapping his neck.
“If you stop garrotting when he goes limp, he’s just unconscious.” The other Talc, Talc-2, stated.
Willis nodded, numbly. He didn’t really hear the man.
“I know this is hard,” Talc said, shifting into a gentler tone, “But this is all for the good of humanity. If we let these ideas run wild, we’d all be dead.”
“Worse than dead.” Talc-2 added helpfully. “Our very essences would be consumed by dark beings from beyond our world.”
Willis nodded again. He’d heard it all before. So why did he still find it so hard to hurt people?
“So where’s the other one?” Willis-2 asked, seemingly unaware of his double’s predicament.
“That’s the big question, isn’t it.” Talc-2 mused, “However, before we can ponder it, first things first. We need to get a CC team in here to handle that wall.”
All four men were familiar with the APH Cognito Containment Teams, mysterious individuals in surgical masks that took away artifacts of forbidden knowledge to be stored or disposed of.
Talc-2 clicked his earpiece, then said a series of numbers and codes that were unintelligible to either Willis. He finished by saying, “Please send a Class-4 CC team. Over.”
He turned to the others. “They’re on their way. We need to secure Talbot’s place of residence.”
“Do we know that’s where he’ll go next?” Willis-2 asked.
“Not necessarily,” Talc-1 responded, “But it’s quite likely he’ll at least stop there to retrieve personal effects before going somewhere else.”
Both Willises nodded, almost in sync. The logic made sense. They would lock down Talbot’s house first.
All was silent in the small house several miles outside of town that Talbot called his abode. Then frantic footsteps sounded from outside, as someone ran up the footpath leading to the front door. Then, a faint scratching as Talbot scrambled to fit his key into the lock. A quiet clacking came next, as Talbot’s cat descended his cat-tree and approached the door to see what was happening.
Talbot swung the door open and gently pushed the cat out of his way with his foot.
“Sorry Ozzy,” he muttered.
He produced his debit card and snapped it in half, having extracted all the money from his account before arriving here. He pulled several thousand dollars from his pockets and shoved them in his wallet, his backpack, the pocket on the inside of his jacket, and his shoes.
He grabbed a spare toothbrush and tube of toothpaste from the master bathroom, shoving them into the backpack as well. He was going on the run, for god knows how long.
He paused as his eyes fell on his set of keys. He wouldn’t be taking his car or his house, so they’d likely not be necessary.
But I might as well just in case. Talbot grabbed the jangling key ring and slipped it into the inside pocket of his pants.
His cat mewed at his feet. After a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed his carrier and bowl, both monogrammed with a matching ‘Ozymandius’.
He knew bringing Ozzy was objectively a bad choice. It was impractical and stupid. The cat was loud, and would slow him down. But Talbot couldn’t bear leaving his baby here to be subjected to whatever evil ideas Talc and Willis had in mind.
Talbot coaxed Ozzy into his crate, then picked up the cat and donned his backpack. He took one last look around his house before he opened the front door and was immediately grabbed by both Willises, one of which held a chloroform rag over his mouth until he went limp.
Talbot awoke with a start. He glanced around, disoriented, and immediately registered that he was in some sort of interrogation room. His chair was metal, and bolted to the floor. Before him was a table, and above that table a blinding light mounted on the ceiling shone directly into his eyes. On the wall across from him, very much breaking the theme, was a ‘Hang in there!’ poster and a wall-mounted hand sanitizer dispenser.
Talbot tried to stand, only to find that his wrists and ankles were strapped into the chair. He strained against the bonds, cursing as the straps held strong.
He thought he heard faint snickering.
He turned to glare at the mirror to his right. “What are you planning to do to me?!”
Silence.
“What are you planning to do to my cat?!?”
More silence.
The Talcs and the Willi were standing behind the one-way mirror on Talbot’s left, looking at the back of his head as he shouted at no one. Talc looked mildly amused at Talbot’s complete misunderstanding of the room’s orientation.
Willis-2 glanced at Talc-2, who shrugged and motioned for Talc-1 to enter the larger room. Talc-1 did as asked.
The door at the front of the room opened, and Talc stepped out. He took a seat across from Talbot, and cleared his throat.
“First off, the most important thing. Your cat will be well-cared for, no matter the outcome of this conversation. Great name, by the way.”
Talbot refused to thank him for the compliment.
Talc cleared his throat, and there was a long silence.
“What about my first question?” Talbot asked, his voice trembling.
Talc sighed, then reached below the table.
Several seconds later, he came back up, notably with some difficulty. He slammed Talbot’s notebook down on the table. Next to it, he laid the sheet of seals Talbot had used to traverse space and time.
Talbot was stricken. “How did you-!?”
“Find this? Simple deduction. I’m frankly insulted that you didn’t consider that we’ve been tailing everyone you know for months. Johnson was the only person you could send this to.”
“What did you do to her?!”
“Nothing! We’re not the bad guys here, Talbot. We pulled the package from her porch before she ever got involved. We’d never hurt anyone.”
“Then where am I?” Talbot spat, then rephrased. “I mean… where is the version of me from here? Wait, are you from here or there?”
“I’m from there, assuming you mean your original reality. And Talbot-2 is fine. He’s in the next room.”
Willis winced behind the mirror.
“You never actually answered my question.” Talbot said quietly.
Talc pursed his lips regrettably.
“Well… here’s the thing, Talbot. What I’d like to do is offer you a chance to redeem yourself. I’d like to let you join the APH and help us protect humanity. But you’ve made it clear that that’s not what you want, and if we let you into our fold now, we’d forever be looking over our shoulders, wondering whose side you were truly on. And we can’t just let you go, no no. Your theories would largely be regarded as crackpot, but there are ways to prove these things, and you would certainly find them.”
Talbot swallowed. “Couldn’t you just… you know… erase my memory?”
Talc stifled a laugh. “Unfortunately, this is not Men In Black. Actions have consequences. There are no take-backs. And I’m sorry, Talbot, but this is it for you.” Talc stood, turned on his heel, and left.
“Why the hell’d you wake him up just to tell him that?” Willis muttered behind the glass.
“Hey, wait!” Talbot screamed at him as he departed, but there was no response.
Talbot tried to stand again, but slammed back into his chair as the bonds held.
Willis entered a few minutes later, holding a syringe. He winced at the sight before him. Talbot was hunched over, resting his head on the table. His shoulders were bobbing as though he was sobbing quietly.
Willis approached Talbot and tightened the strap on his right wrist. He moved around him and reached for his left hand, only to see that the strap had been sawed apart, and Talbot’s hand was free.
Willis grabbed his elbow, but Talbot struggled against the man’s grasp. The scientist was trying to keep it firmly on the table under his face.
Frustrated, Willis grabbed Talbot’s head and lifted it back, so he was sitting up straight.
As he beheld Talbot’s face, Willis felt a bolt of fear lance through him. The man was smiling, but it was not a happy smile.
It was the smile of a trapped animal that knew it would take a limb before it went down. With his eyes, Talbot indicated downwards. Willis slowly lowered his vision to the stainless steel tabletop. In Talbot’s hand was a housekey, the teeth worn down from sawing through the leather strap and scratching a symbol into the table. Right under his hand, the surface was pockmarked with the Seal of the Fifth Dimension.
Willis lunged for Talbot’s wrist, but it was too late. The alchemist brought the key across the symbol, carving another scratch to break the Seal and the boundaries between their reality and one far darker. Neither man had time to scream.
Talbot felt himself slip free of the chair, and out of the leather strap around his wrist.
Willis’s grip loosened, and it felt like he was flung across whatever intermediary pathway connected the fourth and fifth dimensions.
Part Two posted promptly!

For someone who has a clue- So we have a large metal griddle outdoors and my dad unfortunately wiped it down with Lysol disinfecting wipes including the main part that you put the food on. Is this permanently contaminated or if we wipe off the Lysol it will be okay?

Female age 40. Smoker. I do not drink or use drugs.
-I have access to all of my blood work and can promptly answer any questions you may have.
Past Medical Hx Past Medical History:
. Anxiety - no meds
. Arrhythmia- PSVT - atenolol 2x per day
. FH: migraines - no meds
. History of palpitations-Controlled with Atenolol
. Incomplete abortion (multiple)
. Morbid obesity (HC)
. OSA on CPAP
. Panic attacks - no meds
. PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) - metformin
. Vitamin B 12 deficiency - biweekly injections
. Vitamin D 3 deficiency - daily D3 pill
. GERD - daily proton pump inhibitor
. Superficial blood clot in 2021 - no treatment was needed
. Dust mite allergy - daily allergy pill and nose spray
. Vertebral segmental dysfunction diagnosis with an X-ray at the chiropractor. I get small, low impact adjustments.
. 40mg prednisone. (For symptoms listed above) Was on 60mg but needed to drop down due to heart rate in the 140s
https://imgur.com/a/sxyWdIl
https://imgur.com/a/Q1mxEsa
https://imgur.com/a/OfY0BEJ
https://imgur.com/a/uW2z2ek
https://imgur.com/a/vO4JSAV
https://imgur.com/a/tVvqHUZ
Dear people of Reddit, I need you. My medical team is struggling to diagnose me. I need ideas to bring to the table, because apparently whatever I have is not very common. I am located in Minnesota and will absolutely take a recommendation on a professional to see.
Over the past few weeks I have seen 8 or 9 different doctors between the emergency room, my GP, a OBGYN, breast specialist, nurses, a PA and a dermatologist, I even saw a hematologist due to unusual blood work. No one knows what is wrong with me, how to diagnose me or how to treat me. But they all agree something is very wrong. Originally they thought Lupus and then the ER said vasculitis. When I saw my GP on Friday he asked me what I had found on google and started taking notes. I’m shit terrified.
If anything I list or show in pictures looks like something you recognize please drop the name. I am open to all ideas!
Last year when things were bad…. but not even close to this bad I was cleaned by endocrinology. This year I was cleared by allergy. I also have a clean MRI/CT scan of my head.
My baseline of health never feels awesome. I’ve always been someone who felt “sickly” and run down. But I deal with it and don’t complain. When I have these “episodes”. Some symptoms are short lived and less bothersome than others. Unfortunately everything seems to be happening at once and I can’t function.
I am currently on 40mg of prednisone to try to control some of this while we look for answers.
-My breasts are turning purple. Blood vessels are bursting and I experience swelling and pain with this.
-vulva swelling with distended veins.
-I have problems with spikes in blood pressure and heart rate that can’t be explained and I was often told it is anxiety. It comes with a burning feeling in my chest and back. It is usually self limiting to hours and they don’t have a known trigger.
-my hands swell and turn red and purple if I get too warm or too upset.
-I don’t sweat anymore. Being hot makes me feel very sick and my face turns bright red. My skin feels like it is burning. It takes multiple ice packs and hours in front of an air conditioner to cool down to a regular temperature.
-I get stretches of unexplained chest pains. Sometimes I will feel like inside of my chest itches. Sometimes it will feel hard to breathe.
-I get stretches of unexplainable abdominal pains. Sometimes hours and sometimes weeks. I sometimes feel like the pain is generalized to a specific area like around my spleen or around my stomach. It will hurt worse if I touch the area. Sometimes it is full abdomen pain. During my last uppelower I was told there was unexplained esophagus inflammation. I have had episodes of delayed gastric emptying with vomiting during these periods.
-I get weird rashes on my arm if I go outside or get too hot. They are small round dots that turn in to open sores. They do not hurt or itch. They heal as white or purple marks. They just started last year.
-I get swelling in the left half of my face and have very limited sensation in the left cheek. With this I get what I am guessing is swelling in my tongue that causes deviation. The tongue deviation being linked to swelling is just a guess and my personal guess. Doctors have no clue(I was originally told this was anxiety)
-I get what feels like swelling in my inner ears. I feel and hear crunching and popping. Soon this pressure builds and I get feelings of being lightheaded, dizzy, smelling burning, vision changes, and cognitive decline.
-I get pain and stiffness in my neck, wrists, fingers and toes. I have numbness and tingling in my left arm with limited sensation and what feels like limited strength.
-I get lesions on the sides and back of my tongue and what feels like bumpy rashes on the roof of my mouth. This was something I noticed right before the tongue deviation started.

Female age 40. Smoker. I do not drink or use drugs.
-I have access to all of my blood work and can promptly answer any questions you may have.
Past Medical Hx Past Medical History:
. Anxiety - no meds
. Arrhythmia- PSVT - atenolol 2x per day
. FH: migraines - no meds
. History of palpitations-Controlled with Atenolol
. Incomplete abortion (multiple)
. Morbid obesity (HC)
. OSA on CPAP
. Panic attacks - no meds
. PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) - metformin
. Vitamin B 12 deficiency - biweekly injections
. Vitamin D 3 deficiency - daily D3 pill
. GERD - daily proton pump inhibitor
. Superficial blood clot in 2021 - no treatment was needed
. Dust mite allergy - daily allergy pill and nose spray
. Vertebral segmental dysfunction diagnosis with an X-ray at the chiropractor. I get small, low impact adjustments.
. 40mg prednisone. Was on 60mg but needed to drop down due to heart rate in the 140s
https://imgur.com/a/sxyWdIl
https://imgur.com/a/Q1mxEsa
https://imgur.com/a/OfY0BEJ
https://imgur.com/a/uW2z2ek
https://imgur.com/a/vO4JSAV
https://imgur.com/a/tVvqHUZ
Dear people of Reddit, I need you. My medical team is struggling to diagnose me. I need ideas to bring to the table, because apparently whatever I have is not very common. I am located in Minnesota and will absolutely take a recommendation on a professional to see.
Over the past few weeks I have seen 8 or 9 different doctors between the emergency room, my GP, a OBGYN, breast specialist, nurses, a PA and a dermatologist, I even saw a hematologist due to unusual blood work. No one knows what is wrong with me, how to diagnose me or how to treat me. But they all agree something is very wrong. Originally they thought Lupus and then the ER said vasculitis. When I saw my GP on Friday he asked me what I had found on google and started taking notes. I’m shit terrified.
Last year when things were bad…. but not even close to this bad I was cleaned by endocrinology. This year I was cleared by allergy. I also have a clean MRI/CT scan of my head.
My baseline of health never feels awesome. I’ve always been someone who felt “sickly” and run down. But I deal with it and don’t complain. When I have these “episodes”. Some symptoms are short lived and less bothersome than others. Unfortunately everything seems to be happening at once and I can’t function.
I am currently on 40mg of prednisone to try to control some of this while we look for answers.
-My breasts are turning purple. Blood vessels are bursting and I experience swelling and pain with this.
-vulva swelling with distended veins.
-I have problems with spikes in blood pressure and heart rate that can’t be explained and I was often told it is anxiety. It comes with a burning feeling in my chest and back. It is usually self limiting to hours and they don’t have a known trigger.
-my hands swell and turn red and purple if I get too warm or too upset.
-I don’t sweat anymore. Being hot makes me feel very sick and my face turns bright red. My skin feels like it is burning. It takes multiple ice packs and hours in front of an air conditioner to cool down to a regular temperature.
-I get stretches of unexplained chest pains. Sometimes I will feel like inside of my chest itches. Sometimes it will feel hard to breathe.
-I get stretches of unexplainable abdominal pains. Sometimes hours and sometimes weeks. I sometimes feel like the pain is generalized to a specific area like around my spleen or around my stomach. It will hurt worse if I touch the area. Sometimes it is full abdomen pain. During my last uppelower I was told there was unexplained esophagus inflammation. I have had episodes of delayed gastric emptying with vomiting during these periods.
-I get weird rashes on my arm if I go outside or get too hot. They are small round dots that turn in to open sores. They do not hurt or itch. They heal as white or purple marks. They just started last year.
-I get swelling in the left half of my face and have very limited sensation in the left cheek. With this I get what I am guessing is swelling in my tongue that causes deviation. The tongue deviation being linked to swelling is just a guess and my personal guess. Doctors have no clue(I was originally told this was anxiety)
-I get what feels like swelling in my inner ears. I feel and hear crunching and popping. Soon this pressure builds and I get feelings of being lightheaded, dizzy, smelling burning, vision changes, and cognitive decline.
-I get pain and stiffness in my neck, wrists, fingers and toes. I have numbness and tingling in my left arm with limited sensation and what feels like limited strength.
-I get lesions on the sides and back of my tongue and what feels like bumpy rashes on the roof of my mouth. This was something I noticed right before the tongue deviation started.

Female age 40. Smoker. I do not drink or use drugs.
-I have access to all of my blood work and can promptly answer any questions you may have.
Past Medical Hx Past Medical History:
. Anxiety - no meds
. Arrhythmia- PSVT - atenolol 2x per day
. FH: migraines - no meds
. History of palpitations-Controlled with Atenolol
. Incomplete abortion (multiple)
. Morbid obesity (HC)
. OSA on CPAP
. Panic attacks - no meds
. PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) - metformin
. Vitamin B 12 deficiency - biweekly injections
. Vitamin D 3 deficiency - daily D3 pill
. GERD - daily proton pump inhibitor
. Superficial blood clot in 2021 - no treatment was needed
. Dust mite allergy - daily allergy pill and nose spray
. Vertebral segmental dysfunction diagnosis with an X-ray at the chiropractor. I get small, low impact adjustments.
. 40mg prednisone. Was on 60mg but needed to drop down due to heart rate in the 140s
https://imgur.com/a/sxyWdIl
https://imgur.com/a/Q1mxEsa
https://imgur.com/a/OfY0BEJ
https://imgur.com/a/uW2z2ek
https://imgur.com/a/vO4JSAV
https://imgur.com/a/tVvqHUZ
Dear people of Reddit, I need you. My medical team is struggling to diagnose me. I need ideas to bring to the table, because apparently whatever I have is not very common. I am located in Minnesota and will absolutely take a recommendation on a professional to see.
Over the past few weeks I have seen 8 or 9 different doctors between the emergency room, my GP, a OBGYN, breast specialist, nurses, a PA and a dermatologist, I even saw a hematologist due to unusual blood work. No one knows what is wrong with me, how to diagnose me or how to treat me. But they all agree something is very wrong. Originally they thought Lupus and then the ER said vasculitis. When I saw my GP on Friday he asked me what I had found on google and started taking notes. I’m shit terrified.
If anything I list or show in pictures looks like something you recognize please drop the name. I am open to all ideas!
Last year when things were bad…. but not even close to this bad I was cleaned by endocrinology. This year I was cleared by allergy. I also have a clean MRI/CT scan of my head.
My baseline of health never feels awesome. I’ve always been someone who felt “sickly” and run down. But I deal with it and don’t complain. When I have these “episodes”. Some symptoms are short lived and less bothersome than others. Unfortunately everything seems to be happening at once and I can’t function.
I am currently on 40mg of prednisone to try to control some of this while we look for answers.
-My breasts are turning purple. Blood vessels are bursting and I experience swelling and pain with this.
-vulva swelling with distended veins.
-I have problems with spikes in blood pressure and heart rate that can’t be explained and I was often told it is anxiety. It comes with a burning feeling in my chest and back. It is usually self limiting to hours and they don’t have a known trigger.
-my hands swell and turn red and purple if I get too warm or too upset.
-I don’t sweat anymore. Being hot makes me feel very sick and my face turns bright red. My skin feels like it is burning. It takes multiple ice packs and hours in front of an air conditioner to cool down to a regular temperature.
-I get stretches of unexplained chest pains. Sometimes I will feel like inside of my chest itches. Sometimes it will feel hard to breathe.
-I get stretches of unexplainable abdominal pains. Sometimes hours and sometimes weeks. I sometimes feel like the pain is generalized to a specific area like around my spleen or around my stomach. It will hurt worse if I touch the area. Sometimes it is full abdomen pain. During my last uppelower I was told there was unexplained esophagus inflammation. I have had episodes of delayed gastric emptying with vomiting during these periods.
-I get weird rashes on my arm if I go outside or get too hot. They are small round dots that turn in to open sores. They do not hurt or itch. They heal as white or purple marks. They just started last year.
-I get swelling in the left half of my face and have very limited sensation in the left cheek. With this I get what I am guessing is swelling in my tongue that causes deviation. The tongue deviation being linked to swelling is just a guess and my personal guess. Doctors have no clue(I was originally told this was anxiety)
-I get what feels like swelling in my inner ears. I feel and hear crunching and popping. Soon this pressure builds and I get feelings of being lightheaded, dizzy, smelling burning, vision changes, and cognitive decline.
-I get pain and stiffness in my neck, wrists, fingers and toes. I have numbness and tingling in my left arm with limited sensation and what feels like limited strength.
-I get lesions on the sides and back of my tongue and what feels like bumpy rashes on the roof of my mouth. This was something I noticed right before the tongue deviation started.

Even though I knew that it was probably just going to be a hookup, I still wanted to look nice. I spent a lot of time agonizing over the outfit that I’d wear. The black dress showed off some cleavage (not that I had much), but it didn’t really seem very me. The floral blouse and skirt combo on the other hand was much more my speed, but I didn’t know if it looked too frumpy or not. I didn’t really want to show up to my first casual hookup looking like somebody's grandmother.
​
Then there was the choice of underwear. I didn’t own anything that sexy, so I’d bought something just for the occasion. It was comfortable but I didn’t really know if it was me or not.
​
I guess if all went to plan, my clothes weren’t really going to matter, were they? They were probably going to be in a puddle on the floor pretty early into the night, but I still wanted to look sexy. I wanted to make a good impression! Maybe if I did, it might lead to something a little more lasting… I doubted it, but… well, a girl can dream, right?
​
I’ve never had a lot of luck with dating. Putting myself out there isn’t easy. I want to do it! But I just struggle. The moment I try to talk to someone, my voice dies in my throat and I immediately run out of things to say. I struggle to make eye contact. It’s not an attractive look. I’d always imagined that someday my love life would just work itself out and that I’d meet the perfect girl in some charming little meet cute. But by the time I was 32, it still hadn’t happened yet and I was starting to doubt that it ever would. I think that’s why the ad I saw a few weeks ago really got to me.
​
‘Life’s too short to wait for someday! You deserve to find someone! Sign up today and feel the butterflies!’
​
I’d seen worse advertisements for dating sites before, and considering the headspace I was in, signing up for another one didn’t seem like that bad of an idea. Besides, ‘Butterfly’ was supposed to connect queer girls to queer girls and well, I just so happened to be a queer girl so why not give it a try? It’s not like I had a lot to lose. Although I can’t say I did a whole lot better with online dating than I did with in person dating. I just never seemed to know what to say and most of the conversations I had fizzled out pretty quickly when I either got nervous or ran out of things to talk about. I’m an accountant with no social life. Unfortunately I’m exactly as boring as I sound.
​
Then I met Dominique… and she seemed to be able to do the talking for both of us.
​
I matched with her about a week or so after I’d joined up, although I admittedly didn’t think our conversation would last that long though. Dominique was pretty upfront about what she was looking for.
​
“I’m just in town for a few weeks. So I’m sorta looking for a summer fling, you know?”
​
Honestly, I didn’t know. I never really saw myself as a ‘summer fling’ kind of girl. But despite how clear she was on what she was looking for, Dominique was sweet, she was charming and she was easy to talk to, so I let things play out just to see where it went. I mean, I may be a socially awkward introvert but I’ve still got needs! And judging by her pictures, Dominique was a very good looking woman. She had the body of a goddess, tall and tanned with messy red hair, nice arms, and a full set of abs. And while I was pretty sure that she would snap me like a twig if she so much as put an arm around me, I still couldn’t say no to her.
​
When she’d asked if I wanted to meet for dinner yesterday, I hadn’t been able to stop myself and even though I knew that this was probably going to end in meaningless sex, I was okay with that. I ended up unable to pick an outfit and sent a picture of both to Dominique, asking which one she liked more.
​
She picked the skirt and blouse combo, so I went with that. Then, with my heart racing so fast that I could almost hear it and with my legs a little shaky in anticipation of just where this night might lead, I called an uber to take me to meet her.
​
***
​
“Dina! I’m so glad you could make it!”
The way that Dominique greeted me honestly made me blush a little. She already had a table at the restaurant and she stood up to pull a chair out for me. I don’t know how she pulled it off, but she was somehow even hotter in person, with sun kissed skin, hair tied back in a messy bun and warm smile that almost made me melt.
​
“Y-yeah, I’m sorry I’m late!” I said.
“It’s fine! I actually got here a little early,” She said. “I actually kinda love this restaurant. So I might have had a second reason to be excited for tonight!”
“You’ve been here before?” I asked.
​
“Yeah, my sisters and I always go whenever we’re in town. We love Thai. You ever been here before?”
“Once or twice,” I admitted, watching as she sat back down across from me. As she did, I noticed a tattoo on the back of her right hand. It sort of looked like the zodiac sign for Sagittarius, with the point of the arrow resting on the knuckle of her middle finger.
​
“You’re into astrology?” I asked.
“Oh? Yeah, kinda.” Dominique said, “It’s more of a family thing. My sisters and I all got one.”
“Sounds interesting, how many sisters have you got?” I asked.
“Twelve. One for each sign,” Dominique said caually, before correcting herself. “We’re technically not all related, it’s just sorta a… I dunno, like a found family kind of deal, you know? None of us really have anybody else, so we mostly just call each other sisters since it’s basically what we are, and we call our Mother our Mother because… well… you get the idea, right?”
​
“Found family?” I repeated, before stifling a laugh. “That actually sounds kinda wholesome.”
“Yeah, it is for the most part. We’ve been through a lot together. They mean the world to me,” Dominique said. “What about you? Got any family?”
“Eh, yes I don’t keep in touch with them,” I said. “My parents and I sorta stopped being on speaking terms after I came out of the closet… liking girls wasn’t part of ‘Gods Plan’ I guess.”
“Oh… I’m sorry to hear,” Dominique said softly. She reached over to put a hand over mine.
​
“It’s fine! They made their choice! If they never talk to me again, it’s their loss, really!” I said although I couldn’t hide the flush in my cheeks. “So… um… your family, do they…”
“They’re all pretty supportive. And I’m not the only one who’s not exactly straight,” Dominique replied. “One of my sisters even got married a few years back… Vera. She’s the Gemini, funnily enough. Now her wife is also Gemini. I mean, if the shoe fits, right?”
“Really? Sounds like you’ve got a very interesting family,” I said.
​
A waiter showed up and took our drink orders before she could reply to that. Dominique ordered herself a beer, I just got water. Alcohol never really agreed with me.
“So… do you do this kind of thing often?” I asked, when the waiter left.
“Dating? Yeah. I like meeting new people,” Dominique said. “You?”
​
I laughed nervously.
“Not really… this is… um… this is my first time out in about a year, actually. I’ve never really been good at this sort of thing and I’ve never really done anything… you know… casual, before…”
“Well hey, good on you for getting out of your comfort zone, a little!” Dominique said.
“Thanks… I’ve got to ask… these kinds of dates… I’m not implying I’m expecting you to do anything but… you mentioned… I…”
​
My words completely and utterly failed me at this point, and honestly, it was kinda impressive that I’d managed to last so long with her. But here was the inevitable moment where I went and royally fucked it all up. Good job, Dina!
​
Dominique just smiled at me, though as if my flustered babbling didn’t put her off in the slightest. Her hand was on top of mine again.
“Hey… we don’t need to do anything you’re not comfortable with, okay? If you just wanna have dinner, then we’re just gonna have dinner. We’ll see where the night goes, alright?”
“A-alright…” I squeaked, still not entirely convinced that I hadn’t just blown it with her. Her hand was comfortably cool on top of mine, and she gently ran her thumb over my knuckles.
​
I’d been half expecting her to be a little more… I don’t know… straightforward with what she wanted but she made me feel like she really cared about me! Like I really mattered to her! She made me feel so warm and soft and she made my heart race and I just wanted to kiss her and feel her arms around me and… oh God, I was so fucking red!
“Sorry, too much?” Dominique asked, lifting her hand away from mine.
“N-no! Just enough! Just fine! A-okay here!”
​
Was I coming on too strong? Was I not coming on strong enough? How exactly did I let this woman know that I was very interested in kissing her without coming across as a fucking psychopath? She just chuckled, although the waiter brought us our drinks before she could put her hand back over mine.
​
I may have drank my water a little too fast.
“So… you’re an accountant, right?” Dominique asked. “What’s that like?”
“Boring,” I said. “Really… really boring. I mean, I find it interesting. I’ve always sort of had a head for numbers and everything, but most people find it boring, I guess.”
​
Case in point, the people at the next table were leaving. Oh God, I hoped I hadn’t just ruined their dining experience. The people at the table behind us were leaving too, and I caught Dominique eying them warily before her attention returned to me.
​
“Well, maybe it’s not interesting to everyone but, we need people with a head for numbers in the world. My sister Claire’s always been like that. It’s part of why Mom has her running a lot of the family business. Me? I’m more personable. I do better in sales.”
“Is that why you’re in town?” I asked.
“Yeah, meeting up with a client. I probably shouldn’t get into the details, but it’s mostly just a distribution thing. I don’t really need the money, but I like to travel and I like to feel like I’m contributing, you know?”
​
“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your family business?” I asked.
“Jewelry, clothes, fashion items. Stuff like that. It’s more of a luxury brand, I guess but it pays the bills. I’ve been looking for other oppotunities, though. I figure it might be time for a change of pace. Do something a little more… altruistic, I guess? I mean, jewlery really isn’t the business you get into when you want to save the world.”
“I guess not. What did you have in mind?”
“I dunno. Something… helpful…” Her voice trailed off as she watched the customers at another table quietly get up and leave. The restaurant wasn’t empty yet. But there were only a small handful of people left, sitting alone at a few tables. All of them men, all of them well dressed.
​
Something felt off about this… although I couldn’t exactly tell just what. It almost felt like the men in the restaurant were sitting there, watching us. Dominique looked around at them, before her attention shifted to a man coming out of the back of the restaurant. He appeared to be middle aged, with a full head of thick hair and a large moustache. He wore an expensive suit with a black vest underneath it, and a bolo tie. He sort of reminded me of a cowboy.
​
I saw Dominique’s eyes narrow, but she didn’t say a word.
“That’s funny…” The man said coolly, “Alturism ain’t really common in your kind.”
He stopped by our table, before fixing me in a cold glare that made my skin crawl.
​
“You’d best git, girl. Your date and I have some business.”
I looked back at Dominique, who looked more annoyed than intimidated.
“So can I not just have a night out… or is that against your religion, or something?” She asked.
“Your very existence is against my religion, vampire.” The Cowboy replied.
​
Vampire?
​
I looked over at Dominique. She looked like a lot of things, but a vampire wasn’t one of them! She sighed, and hardly seemed to notice as the other people in the restaurant who’d been watching us rose from their seats.
​
“You know what, my sister Claire told me that this was going to happen… she fucking told me. And you know what I said? I said that you guys wouldn’t be stupid enough to try anything, especially after the other recent ass beatings you got from her and Eris. But here I am, eating my words… good grief…”
Dominique shook her head before looking at me and putting on a sheepish smile.
“I’m so sorry about this!” She said, “I really didn’t think that this was going to happen. You should probably just go.”
​
From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the men surrounding us taking a gun out from his jacket, and felt my heart skip a beat.
​
They were here to kill her.
​
And for a moment the restaurant went silent.
​
They were waiting for me to leave… and it would have been so easy to do it. So easy to run, and let these men… these vampire hunters kill Dominique. I mean, if she really was some kind of creature of the night, that was probably what was best, right?
​
Right?
​
“Well?” The Cowboy said impatiently, “Get a move on, dyke!” I noticed a gun in his belt too.
I felt my entire body tense up… but I couldn’t make myself move. I couldn’t leave her to her fate.
I wouldn’t.
​
Whatever she was, in the short amount of time that I’d known her, she’d been nothing but sweet to me, nothing but kind and understanding and goddamnit even if she’d only done that to get me alone so she could feed on me… hell, I’d probably welcome it.
“N-no…” I said, “You leave her the heck alone!”
​
I caught Dominique raising an eyebrow as I stood up, looking the Cowboy dead in the eye. He looked moderately surprised, before looking back toward his companions and scoffing.
“Welp… you heard her boys. Looks like we’ve got collateral.”
​
I saw him go for the gun and felt my heart stop in my chest. It briefly dawned on me that I’d just tried to talk back to a man with a gun, and that this was about to go exactly as badly as expected.
​
But before he could even get the gun out of his holster, I saw a flash of movement. Dominique lunged at the man with almost blinding speed, grabbing him by the arm and slamming him down into the table between us. The Cowboy hit it hard enough for the table to actually break and he landed at my feet, still alive, but probably no longer entirely sure exactly what day of the week it was anymore.
​
I heard a few guns go off, but Dominique appeared between me and the shooters. I saw one of them collapse dead to the ground, his head burst open like a watermelon and I really should have been more horrified by that than I was.
“She’s a Di Cesare you idiot! Don’t shoot!” I heard someone else cry, although Dominique had moved to subdue the next man before they could do anything else.
​
She moved quickly, grabbing a bowl of pad thai off one of the empty tables and smashing it against his head, before using a shard of that same bowl to open the throat of the next man. They struggled to try and stop her, but Dominique was too fast. The next closest man was grabbed by the shirt and pulled toward her. She sank her fangs into his throat and immediately dispelled any lingering doubts I’d had that she was actually a vampire. She was very clearly drinking that mans blood, and when she was done she kicked him into the last two of his friends who were still standing.
​
“Somebody get the goddamn Malvian stake!” I heard one of them yell, and from the back, I saw two new men coming out, one of them holding something that looked like a stake made out of a pinkish ice. Dominique turned her head toward them, before grabbing one of the nearby chairs and hurling it at the men. Then, her mouth still covered in blood, she ran for me, grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door.
​
I really wasn’t in any state of mind to fight her, considering the fact that I’d just found out that vampires were real, and watched one kick the shit out of an entire resturant in the span of about three minutes. As Dominique pulled me down the street, toward a sporty red Dodge Challenger, I barely even had time to adjust my glasses before she’d unlocked the doors and was getting inside.
“C’mon, they’re gonna be following us,” She said.
​
I blinked in mild disbelief at the absolutely madness that had just seemed to happen around me before realizing that my legs were already carrying me into the passenger seat of Dominique’s car. The engine roared to life, as she tore out onto the street, while Guns and Roses screamed out over the speakers.
​
Five minutes ago, this had not been the direction I’d figured that this date would go in.
​
It’s amazing what can happen in five minutes.
​
I looked out through the rear view window to see the men that Dominique hadn’t just killed shuffling out of the resturant, onto the street. The Cowboy was among them, and I saw him staring at our car as we sped away.
“Sorry about this,” Dominique said. “I really, really didn’t think these jokers would actually have the balls to take a run at me.”
“Who the heck even are those people?” I asked.
​
“Oh, just some assholes. Long story short… they think they’re the Knights Templar and really hate anything that’s not human,” Dominique said. “They’re not a big fan of a lot of humans either… and my family may or may not have a four hundred year long blood fued with them.”
“Oh…” I said, “Is that all? The rest of your family, you’re all… you’re all…”
“Vampires? Yeah. Sorry… it’s not really the sort of thing you bring up on a first date,” Dominique said, sounding a little embarrassed. “Technically, my sisters and I are a cut above your average vampire. We were actually witches first. The vampirism came later. It’s sorta a whole thing… I can tell you about it later, if you want.”
​
“A vampire witch…” I said, trying to wrap my head around exactly what the hell that was. I couldn’t so I gave up and tried to focus on another one of the millions of questions racing through my mind.
“Were you going to eat me?”
“What?” Dominique asked, “No! I mean… okay, to be fair I probably would have asked after I told you I was a vampire. But just so we’re clear, no. I don’t really feed on the girls I date unless they tell me I can. It’s sort of an ethics thing, you know?”
​
“So where do you normally get your blood?” I asked, a little bit suspicious of that answer (and for good reason.)
“I mean, lots of different ways. There’s a lot of us out there, you know? Thousands at least. Maybe even millions. We’ve got infrastructure. It reduces the need to hunt. Gives us access to either living donors, or blood from a source that’s reasonably fresh. I guess most of us do still hunt for fun, and so long as we don’t leave bodies we don’t really get in any trouble for it. But I generally prefer something a little more personal.”
​
She looked over at me and took note of the look of utter confusion on my face.
“I’m probably not explaining this all that well, am I?” She asked.
“I have no idea,” I replied honestly, “So… you’re not going to kill me, then?”
“No Dina, I’m not going to kill you… hell, I’m actually kinda impressed! That was pretty ballsy of you, standing your ground back there!”
I had no answer for her as to why I’d done that, and I may have just caught myself mindlessly blushing again.
​
From the corner of my eye, I noticed a pair of SUV’s coming up behind us in the side view mirror and looked back at them. They weaved violently through traffic, trying desperately to catch up to us and though I couldn’t see through the tinted windows, I knew who was behind the wheel.
“Jeez… they’re really determined today…” Dominique said under her breath.
“Why exactly do these people hate you again?” I asked.
“About four hundred years ago they tried to kill my sisters and me for being witches, and we kinda responded by becoming vampires… then after they killed one of us, we may have killed a bunch of them in turn, and they never really got over it,” She said. “Like I said, it’s a whole thing.”
“Yeah… clearly…”
​
“I’m kinda impressed that they’re still trying. My sisters and I went out of our way to be hard to kill,” Dominique said. “We kinda cursed ourselves, so that anytime someone wounds us, they get hurt instead. Attribution on the spell can be a little sketchy at times, but it works for the most part. Although that stake they had looked like it’d cut right through the spell… guess they’ve gotten smarter.”
The SUV’s were catching up and Dominique watched them closely as they drew closer.
​
“So, they can’t kill you without that stake, right?” I asked, hoping that meant that we weren’t actually in any danger.
Dominique’s brow remained furrowed.
“I mean it would help… dunno if the spell would help me survive a car wreck, though.”
Her tone implied that she was starting to have second thoughts about the whole ‘getting into a car and driving away from them’ plan.
​
“I don’t suppose you know any witchy things that will get rid of them?” I asked.
“I just might…” She replied, “Here, take the wheel for a moment.”
“W-what?”
She didn’t wait for me to take the wheel, she just let it go and forced me to grab it. I watched as Dominique bit down hard on her finger, drawing blood before reaching up toward the windshield to start drawing some sort of sigil on the glass in her own blood.
​
I kept my eyes on the road, trying to keep us from hitting any of the cars we passed, so I didn’t get a particularly good look at the sigil.
“What’s that supposed to do?” I asked although Dominique didn’t respond to me.
​
The streetlights that we passed started to flicker violently. I watched as Dominique pressed her hand into the center of the sigil, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The streetlights around us dimmed, then grew brighter, almost to the point where they were blinding.
“Bruciare,” I heard her say under her breath.
​
The lights grew even brighter, before one by one they started to burst. The explosions from them were blinding, as sparks showered down on the road around us. I heard something that sounded a little bit like a deafening thunderclap, but I couldn’t see a thing! I felt Dominique grabbing the steering wheel from me as we veered into another lane. I looked back to see what was left of one of the SUV’s sailing through a shower of sparks, its cabin looked as if it had exploded, with little left of it but twisted metal and angry flames.
​
Dominique smirked as she saw the totaled SUV, before focusing on the road again.
"Electrical rune. Hell of a shock, right?" Dominique said.
​
Oh, so the magical vampire just deep-fried the religious Knights chasing us with lightning. That was all. I mean, I might have thought it was a little too much but clearly all logic had gone out the window now and insanity had taken hold. I briefly wondered if perhaps I was actually just hallucinating all of this and drooling on the table back at the Thai restaurant while the real Dominique called for a doctor. Or maybe I'd just embarrassed myself so badly that I'd gone completely mad and this was all simply my delusion with which to escape from reality. Who could say, really?
​
I saw the second SUV weaving through traffic behind us. I guess watching their friend explode hadn't dissuaded the driver at all, since they were still coming right for us. Dominique's eyes were on the road. I didn't know if she'd noticed them or not. The SUV sped closer to us before suddenly slamming into our side and the entire car lurched violently as Dominique tried to right it.
"Asshole!" She spat. "Dina, the wheel!"
​
This time I was ready. I grabbed the wheel as Dominique prepared another rune. The SUV was coming to ram us again. They dipped into oncoming traffic to build some distance between us, before suddenly veering closer to try and ram us again.
​
I jerked the wheel to the side, slamming Dominique's car into the SUV before it could hit us and keeping them on the wrong side of the road. Even through the tinted windows, I could see the driver glaring at me... and it wasn't until the last second that he saw the oncoming truck I'd seen about a minute ago. I actually heard him screaming from inside his car the instant before the truck hit him.
​
I wasn't really sure how to feel about that and decided that I'd probably need to process the complex emotions that come with having just killed a man later.
​
Dominique was looking at me with a look of utter bewilderment. She looked back at the truck, then back to me.
"You said to take the wheel!" I said!
"Yes... Yes. I did." She replied, before taking the wheel back from me. She took a hard turn onto a new, slightly less busy road. Around us, I could see some quiet warehouses, telling me we'd ended up in the more industrial part of town.
​
For a moment, everything was quiet, and we sat there in silence, my heart still racing from experiencing my first ever car chase.
"So… I'm guessing you just want me to drop you off somewhere, huh?" Dominique asked.
"Actually…I could still really go for something to eat," I said quietly just embracing the madness. I was hungry. I had not eaten yet. Might as well fix that!
​
"Wait, really?" Dominique asked. "Well… shit, what's around then?"
"I'm really not picky," I said. "What do vampires eat?"
"Whatever we want. The blood is more of a nutritional thing. We only really need it every few days or so We still need to eat otherwise."
"Really?" I asked, "So what happens if you don't drink blood?"
"You basically just waste away," She said, "And usually you go a little bit crazy… it's never happened to me, but I've heard things. It's not pretty."
"Jesus… yeah, that does sound pretty awful," I said. "Wait, was Jesus real?"
​
Dominique shrugged.
"I dunno. I'm only about 400 years old, give or take. Christianity was a thing long before I was born."
"Right… sorry," I said.
"It's alright! I can tell you a lot about the history of Venice and Brazil though!"
​
I was about to take her up on that when I noticed a new set of headlights behind us.
"Oh hell… are there more of them?" I asked, almost exasperated at this point.
"Seriously, how many people do they have?" Dominique asked, "This is getting stupid!”
“How do you deal with this on a daily basis?” I asked.
“Funnily enough we don’t, they usually leave us alone. I heard that somebody’s jonesing for a promotion though and figured they’d take another crack at us… guess they forgot how badly all of their previous attempts went.”
​
The final SUV sped closer to us, and Dominique pumped the brakes, letting him shoot past us. She jerked the wheel hard, pulling into the parking lot of some nearby warehouse, and I saw the SUV desperately trying to make a U turn. I clamped onto the passenger side grab handle (I didn’t actually know what they were called before I sat down to write this. I’ve always called them the ‘Oh Jesus Handle’) as Dominique did a donut, spinning her damaged car to face the entrance to the parking lot she’d just entered. She watched intently as the SUV followed her in, before revving her engine like a complete and total psychopath and rocketing toward the SUV.
​
Normally I would have voiced some concern over her absolutely reckless driving skills, but at this point all I could really say was something that sounded a little like: “OHMYGAWHA ARE OH GAAAAAHHH!”
​
The SUV jerked to the side, trying to avoid being hit by Dominique, who turned her wheel suddenly, doing a wide donut around the SUV. Her tires squealed against the asphalt as the SUV tried to avoid her, heading toward the factory before making another hard U Turn to try and face us again. I could see some muzzle flashes through the SUV’s window and heard the sound of bullets striking the body of the car. One of them must have hit a tire, since Dominique seemed to suddenly lose control and the overpowering smell of burning rubber filled my nostrils. The car spun, and Dominique gripped the wheel tightly, trying to control it. She looked up at the SUV, which was coming around to ram us.
​
Her eyes narrowed.
“Out,” She said.
“But what about-”
“Out!”
​
Before I could say a word of protest, she’d hit the brakes, stopping her spin.
“Go!”
The SUV was speeding toward us. I didn’t want to leave her, but every self-preservation instinct I had was telling me to move! I looked Dominique in the eye. She had a stern, somewhat determined expression. I trusted that she knew what she was doing.
​
I mean, I don’t think I really had a choice but to trust that she knew what she was doing… I got out of the car, running as fast as my legs would let me as Dominique sped away.
​
The SUV followed her, veering to pursue her as her battered car tried to circle around the SUV again. The destroyed front tire of her car smoked and screamed against the asphalt as she made a hard turn, letting her car fishtail. The rear end of it slammed into the front of the SUV, sending it slightly off course, toward the warehouse.
​
Dominique hit the gas again, driving up alongside the SUV and slamming her car against theirs, trying to force them toward the wall. The SUV tried to turn, but couldn’t do so fast enough.
​
Both cars hit the wall and crumpled.
​
I felt my breath catch in my throat.
​
For a few moments, everything went silent. I stared at the cars, waiting for some kind of movement… and when the door of the SUV opened, I felt my heart sink.
​
I watched as the Cowboy dragged himself out of the drivers seat, before his legs gave out from under him. He collapsed onto the pavement, breathing heavily before trying to pick himself up. His hat tumbled off of his head, and he paused to grab it, before gripping the side of his totaled SUV to try and stand again. I saw his eyes shift toward me, although he didn’t say a word. We stood there for a moment, staring at each other from across the parking lot before he reached back into his car and took out the stake I’d seen earlier. The one that Dominique said could probably kill her.
​
He looked back at me, before limping around the back of his SUV, heading for Dominique’s car.
​
I was running for him before I even knew what I was doing. I grabbed at his jacket, trying to hold him back, stop him from getting closer to her. He growled in frustration before slapping me hard across the cheek and sending me crashing to the ground.
​
“Enough!” He snarled, “Enough…”
He glared down at me, and for a moment I thought he was going to use that stake on me.
But he didn’t.
​
“I don’t know what the hell you think you’re trying to protect, girl… but that thing in there… that isn’t a goddamn person. It’s a fucking plague. I dunno why you motherfuckers try and defend these things. They ain’t human! They ain’t people! Not anymore. Killing it… it’s God’s work, girl. And you don’t stand in the way of God’s work. You understand that? He always wins, girl. God. Wins.”
“Fuck God…” I rasped, trying to pick myself up again. “A-and fuck you, Mister!”
​
The Cowboy just laughed breathlessly.
“Ah hell… welp, shoulda known better than trying to reason with stupid, I guess.” He said, before taking a step toward me. I stumbled back, as his gaze fixated on me with a single minded, murderous dedication.
​
Dominique’s engine roared to life. The Cowboy froze, looking back at it with wide, terrified eyes. I took the opportunity to run, getting out of the way before Dominique’s car jerked backward, slamming into the Cowboy and sending him back to the ground with a cry of pain. Dominique’s car door flew open, and I watched as she stumbled out. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth and she had a few minor cuts on her face from where her windshield had shattered. Her hair was a mess.
​
But she was alive.
“Leave the girl alone… jackass…” She spat, as her car door came off entirely.
The Cowboy brandished the stake he had at her, holding it between them as if it was going to shoot out some kind of death beam that would instantly kill her. Although he didn’t seem to have the strength to actually use it. Dominique stared down at him, before looking back at her fallen car door and grabbing it, dragging it toward him.
​
The Cowboy watched as she came, and I saw a grim resignation settle over his face.
“There’s gonna be more of us, Di Cesare…” He hissed, “So long as your motherfuckin’ family is still alive, we will never stop coming for you. You hear me? God wins, vampire! God… wins…”
“Yeah, you guys have done great so far. This is the closest you’ve come in what, over 200 years? Nice work. I’m sure God’s gonna be real proud of you,” Dominique huffed as she approached. She gingerly kicked the stake out of the Cowboy’s hand. He meekly tried to reach for it, although I grabbed it off the ground, keeping it away from him as Dominique stood over him with the car door.
​
He looked up at her, trying to remain composed but I could still clearly see the terror in his eyes.
“Hail Satan, asshole,” Dominique replied, before lifting the car door and bringing it down hard on his head. I didn’t watch as she killed him. But I heard his skull cracking and from the corner of my eye, I saw his body twitch before going limp.
​
Dominique tossed the broken piece of the car door aside, before looking down at the body, and giving an exhausted sigh. She looked back at her totaled car, frowning and taking a moment to quietly mourn it before leaning against it and letting out an exhausted groan.
​
After a moment, I stepped over the body of the man she’d just killed and stood beside her.
“So… wanna go back to my place?” I asked, looking up at her.
Dominique looked back over at me, and for a moment we just sort of stared at each other.
​
***
​
About thirty minutes later, I was back at my apartment, on my back with Dominique on top of me, having the most intense orgasm of my life. My fingernails dug into her back as she kissed me over and over again. I could still taste my own blood on her lips but I didn’t care. I could see stars and there wasn’t a single coherent thought in my mind.
​
I vaguely remember screaming her name as she sank her teeth into me again, and oh God, why did nobody tell me that getting bit by a vampire felt so fucking good?
​
I felt a little dizzy, but in a good way as Dominique kissed the small bite mark she’d left on my neck. My entire body trembled as she lifted her hand from between my legs, smiling knowingly as she kissed me one more time. I held her close, losing myself completely in this moment, and savoring the sensation of her arms wrapping around me. It was exactly as nice as I’d hoped it would be, and as we basked in the afterglow of what had easily just been the best sex of my life, I felt content.
​
Dominique kissed me on the head, before checking on the bite mark again.
“Still doing okay?” She whispered to me.
“Y-yuh…” Was the only response that I was really able to get out.
“Good.”
​
She kissed me again before playing with my hair and fixing my glasses, chuckling softly as she did. I curled up beside her. Her body was cool to the touch, but she pulled the blanket over us so we’d be warm. I closed my eyes, feeling sleep calling me and quietly wished that Dominique would be staying in town for a little bit longer.
​
Oh well.
​
I had every intention of making the most of our time together.
​
***
​
It’s been about a week after Dominique left, and since then I’ve found myself back on Butterfly. I didn’t think I’d have much success there… especially after what happened with Dominique, but strangely it’s been going pretty good, lately. It’s hard to say what’s changed about me, but I’m finding that I’m having an easier time talking to people lately.
​
I guess once you’ve survived a car chase with a bunch of religious fanatics, talking to strangers online doesn’t seem as scary anymore.
​
I’ve even got another date lined up for tonight! Her name is Piper, and while I don’t think it’s going to be as crazy as my first date with Dominique was, I’ve still got a good feeling about it. For the first time in a while, I feel like things are going to work out for me.

So I just started a really good job working with metal but waiting for first paycheck is killing me. so I'm doing online surveys n stuff trying to get by. It would help me greatly if I could get a gas station receipt showing how much you spent at the pump. It's picky about the gas station, Conaco, NomNom, Chevron, Loves are some. But yo actually a picture of any receipt would help me get points that eventually add up to cash. Anyone care to Help a brother out?

“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” ― Diane Mariechild

Ever since my childhood, my mother used to share with me life stories of women who stood out in their field and achieved, which made me wonder, what makes women powerful?
As I grew up, I found my answers in the women I saw in various categories of my life.
The recently announced Padma Shri awards made this thought resurface again as awe and inspiration filled me to the core looking at the women achievers.
Like a bouquet of fresh flowers spreading its fragrance, these women are the inspiration and pride for humanity.
Despite age and other differences and disadvantages, they tirelessly contribute to the cause they believe in and create growth in varied spheres of life.
This pulls me back to the quote I read recently by Diane Mariechild,

“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.”

Though this quote means great things, often to the untrained, inequality towards women mind, it might sound like this – Make a family, give birth, nurture it and see it grow.
But let me tell you my friend, the winds have changed. We, the womanhood who have been looked down upon and used for the selfishness of this society, have emerged out like lightning bolts on a grey sky.
We possess the power to create, nurture and transform visions, projects, communities and global solutions.
So, what makes women powerful to do this? To create, nurture and transform.
7 Roaring Qualities about Women that make Her Powerful to Create, Nurture and Transform
We seek the answers from archives of the powerful past, the modern day developments and uproar to the futuristic visions we envision.
As the feminist scholar Carolyn Heilbrun defined it,

“Power is the ability to take one’s place in whatever discourse is essential to action and the right to have one’s part matter.”

And women have always had that ability to have her own place in the folds of history from family to ruling an empire.
Coming back to the modern day reality, what makes a woman powerful in itself is a very electric question we should ask ourselves and our fellow women.
1. The Key is Self-Awareness

“What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.”

These precious words of Helen Keller are our first clue to understand what makes women powerful.
One common trait seen in most successful women is that, they know who they are, they are completely aware of themselves, their personality, strength and weakness.
This pumps up confidence and boosts self-esteem. It makes you ready to face anything.
Sharing a part of poem I wrote under women rising,

“Women, you are the fire you are waiting for. Look inside the universe within you, become one with it and let it run wild like the tough streams.”

2. Self-Respect and Acceptance builds the Base to Create, Nurture and Transform
Across the internet we come across stories of nervous teenage girls and women of different colors and shapes being trolled for the way they look and act.
Millions of women are still sucked into the sinkholes of embarrassment while the beauty market makes a fortune out of their fears.
How many times have we read, waxing makes you feel confident in beauty ads?
But powerful women never buy these stories, they out rightly know who they are and what they are worth. They accept themselves and validate their self-esteem.
The power to create something starts from here.
This reminds me of “The Phenomenal Woman” by the most powerful Maya Angelou.

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies… It’s in the reach of my arms, The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.

3. The Suppression Lit Us Up
Continue reading…

It was a dark and dangerous night in the Midnight desert, with the Soulfang serpents lurking around, waiting to sink their fangs into a victim to consume their soul.
Luckily, though there was an oasis in the desert, and a new group, Team Zym, was safe inside of it. Two members of this group had been there before, but the rest hadn’t.
“This place is beautiful!” The young King Ezran exclaimed as he took in the oasis; a lush green area contained in a huge magical shield.
“Yes it is,” Ezran’s older half-brother, Callum, agreed.
“Yeah, but we should probably get some rest,” Rayla said.
After their failure to get the clue to the location of Aaravos’s prison from Rex Igneous, the group had gone back to Katolis to think. They had realized that the next clue to Aaravos’s prison was in the possession of the Archdragon of the Ocean, but they needed a guide to that dragon. And while Callum and Rayla had travelled with Nyx the Skywing, they had learned that she knew a lot about the ocean. So they had travelled back into the Midnight Desert to try and find her, but they had had no luck.
So Team Zym had gone to the Oasis and now they settled down to sleep.
Ezran, Bait and Zym slept next to each other.
Rayla and Callum on the other hand, lay apart from each other.
Rayla sighed as she wished she could sleep next to Callum. During their journey to return the Dragon Prince to his mother, they had fallen in love and shared several kisses, but later, Rayla’s lingering anger and grief over the loss of her parents and her mentor at the hands of the ruthless dark mage Lord Viren had led her to leave Callum to seek revenge. She had lied to him that they would look for Viren together, and then left him on his BIRTHDAY of all days.
Callum had already forgiven Rayla, but things were still awkward between them. They both wanted things to go back to the way they were, but they both knew they needed to rebuild the trust between them again.
But it wasn’t just the awkwardness, something else was happening.
Rayla and Callum were both eighteen now; officially adults. They still felt deeply for each other, and something new unfamiliar feeling had awakened within them. A nice warm feeling.
Looking Callum, sleeping so peacefully now, Rayla wanted more than anything to be lie down beside him, but she restrained herself.
Rayla knew that the awkwardness between her and Callum was her fault. She may have had good reasons for leaving, but that did not change the fact that she had deceived and abandoned him. Regret pierced Rayla’s heart as she thought of how her own desire for revenge had almost cost her the one last person who truly loved her. I was so obsessed with revenge that I almost lost him for good, she thought.
Rayla needed to think, and she couldn’t think clearly staring at her handsome prince mage. So she stood up and walked to another place near the edge of the oasis. She sat down upon a log and looked out into the desert, letting her confused thoughts flow through her head. She wanted more than anything than to get back with Callum, but how could she regain his trust?
Furthermore, she couldn’t think of a way to deal with these strange new warm feelings of hers. This… lust. She wanted Callum in a way she had wanted no one before.
Rayla was a beautiful Moonshadow Elf; a type of elf that drew power from the magical energy of the moon. As an elf, she had four fingers on each of her petite hands, dark violet stubby horns and pointed ears that peeked out from underneath her hair. She was slim and willowy with shoulder-length white hair, light pink skin, and purple eyes that had indigo tear-like elven markings underneath them. She wore a braid on the right side of her head. She also wore a form fitting teal and navy bodysuit secured by a black vest, dark brown straps, and a dark brown belt embellished with a silver brooch. The outfit was topped off with thigh-high navy blue boots and bracers. Now that she was eighteen and officially an adult, Rayla’s body had become a bit curvier, and her breasts had grown a little larger and perkier. And with the maturing of her body came new feelings.
A sudden touch on Rayla’s hand startled her. She looked up, expecting to see Callum. But it wasn’t. It was Stella, the female cuddlemonkey she had found and adopted while hunting Viren. “Oh, hey Stella,” Rayla cooed, giving the little primate a gentle touch on the nose. Stella chirped gently, looking at Rayla with huge eyes.
Rayla sighed. “Ah, I don’t know what to do Stella. I want Callum to trust me again, and I… I want him, but I don’t know how to get back with him.”
Stella gently nuzzled Rayla’s four-fingered hand. “Thanks, Stella, but there are problems you can’t nuzzle away,” Rayla said gently, appreciating the gesture, but knowing it could not make her problems go away.
Rayla’s thoughts drifted back to Callum; his handsome face, his powerful magic, and she felt the strange hot feeling in her body again. It seemed to burn like a fire in her skin. What could she do with these feelings?
For a long time, Rayla just sat there, thinking her strange thoughts and feeling her strange feelings.
Then, quite suddenly, Rayla became aware that Stella was not beside anymore. “Stella?” She asked, looking around. When Rayla look over her shoulder, she gasped, her purple eyes widening in shock and horror.
Standing several feet behind her was a huge, green creature, dressed in armor and with a green face like a pig. It was holding Stella tight in its hands and keeping one hand tight over the cuddlemonkey’s mouth to keep her from screaming.
“Hey, let her go!” Rayla cried, leaping to her feet and reaching for her butterfly blades. But before she could even touch them, two long, strong, green arms swung down and wrapped a large, white kerchief around Rayla’s mouth, sealing it shut.
“HYRAGMMMHHGAMMMMPH!” Rayla sputtered incoherently through her gag. Instinctively, she grabbed it and tried to pull it off, but the creature that was pulling the gag against her lips was too strong. It tied the gag behind the nape of her neck in a VERY hard knot, sealing her mouth tight shut and muffling her voice. “LHH MHH GHH!” Rayla whined through her gag. “LHH MHH GHH! MMMMMMPH!”
The creature behind Rayla seized her arms and forced them behind her back. Then, there was a jingling sound something made of metal and had chains was whipped out. Next moment, there was clicking sound as a pair of iron shackles was slapped onto Rayla’s slender wrists. “OWRMPH!” Rayla gasped through her gag as she felt the cold metal snap onto her wrists. That HURT! She thought.
Rayla was quite helpless now; with her mouth tightly gagged, her wrists cuffed behind the small of her back, and her shoulders held tightly by the creature behind her, she couldn’t move. “GHH OFHH MHH! LHH GHH! MMMMMMMPH!” Rayla whined through her gag, wriggling and thrashing will all her might, but the creature was too strong.
Rayla was able to take one last look at Stella before the creature forced her to turn around, revealing itself to be yet another big, green, armored, two-legged creature with a boar-like face. Before Rayla could do anything, the creature raised its right hand, curled it into a fist, and PUNCHED Rayla square in the forehead!
“OWRMPH!” Rayla grunted through her tight gag as the creature punched her so hard that her white-haired head buckled under the blow. Rayla straightened up. She felt stiff and then dizzy. Her purple eyes rolled in her head and her vision went foggy. Then, very slowly, the beautiful Moonshadow Elf fell to the ground, blacking out before she even hit it.
The two Gamorreans looked down at their new captive with satisfaction. They had been sent by their master to hunt for new slaves, and they had found one.
They looked at each other and smiled in their own hideous way. “Jabba will be pleased,” they said in unison.
To be continued...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These item only swap for weapon on this list
- V 50C FR EPF swap for V FSS 25LVC Ripper
(Refined Beta Wave Tuner , True Flamer Barrel , Stabilized Stock , Reflex Sight)
- V FSS 1S Board swap for V FSS 25LVC Board
- AA FSS 25LVC Bear arm , V FSS 40LD Chainsaw swap for V FSS 25LVC Sheepsquatch club
- All Armor pieces swap for Uny +L WWR Raider (except RA) , Uny AP Sent/Cav Wood RA ,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm also looking for V FSS 25LVC Death tambo, Knuckles, Boxing glove
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Heavy Energy Weapon
B 50C 15VCF Cryo
B 50C FR Cryo
B 50C 25LVC UGL
Ber 25FFR 90RW GP
Exe 25FFR 15C UGL
F 25FFR 25LVC GP
F 25FFR 25LVC UGL
TS 50C 90RW GP
J 25FFR 25LVC GP
J 50C FR Pepper Shaker
- Ranged Weapon
A bad roll Dragon (419 range only)
Ari E FR Lever Action
AA 50H 25LVC Tesla
AA 50C 15VCF Railway
AAE SF Handmade
AA 50C 250DR Handmade
AA 25FFR 250DR The Fixer
AA 50C SF The Fixer
B 50C 25LVC Tommy
B 50C 25LVC 10mm SMG
B 50C 25LVC 50cal
B 50C 25LVC LMG
B 25FFR 15VCF Handmade
B 25FFR 15VCF The FIxer
BE 15VCF Railway
BE 15VCF LMG
BE 15VCF Pipe Revolver
B 50C 15VCF Gatling Gun
B 50C 15VCF Handmade
B 50C 15VCF The Fixer
B 50C 15VCF AR
B 50H 15VCF The Fixer
B 50H 15VCF Handmade
BE 15VCF 10mm pistol
BE 25LVC 10mm Pistol
B 25FFR FR Minigun
B 50H 50BS AB
IE FR Lever Action
I 50C 15VCF Crossbow
J 25FFR FR 50Cal
J 25FFR 25LVC Minigun
JE 15VCF Hunting Rifle
J 50C 25LVC Crossbow
J 25FFR 90RW LMG
J 25FFR 15VCF Laser Rifle
J 25FFR 15VCF ULaser Rifle
J 50C 15VCF Laser Rifle
JE 15VCF Pipe Revolver
J 50C 15VCF Pipe Revolver
JE 15VCF Combat Shotgun
JE 15VCF DB Shotgun
J 50H FR Handmade
J 50C 15VCF Lever
JE FR Pump
J 25FFR 15VCF Gamma
JE 90RW Minigun
J 50C 25LVC Railway
J 50H 25LVC Railway
J 50C 25LVC The Fixer
J 25FFR 25LVC Tesla
J 50C 25LVC Tesla
Q 50C 25LVC 50Cal
Q 50C FR Radium
Q 50H FR The Fixer
Q 50C 250DR The Fixer
Q 50C 250DR Handmade
Q AP 25LVC Handmade
Q 25FFR FR AR
Stalker 50C 25LVC The Fixer
TSE 25LVC Pipe Revolver
TSE FR DB Shotgun
TS 25FFR FR Gatling Gun
TS 50limb 25LVC AGL
TS 25Aim 50DR AGL
TS 25FFR 25LVC Missile Launcher
TS 25FFR 25LVC The Fixer
V 50C 25LVC 10mm SMG
V 50C 25LVC Railway
V 50C 25LVC Crossbow
V 25FFR 250DR The Fixer
- Enclave Plasma Rifle
Med 25FFR 25LVC EPR (Standard Capacitor , Stabilized Splitter , Stabilized Stock , Reflex Sight)
V 50C FR EPF (Refined Beta Wave Tuner , True Flamer Barrel , Stabilized Stock , Reflex Sight)
- Melee Weapon
B 40PA 40LD Tenderizer
J FSS 40LD DCG
V FSS 50BS Powerfist
V 40PA 1S Powerfist
V 40PA 1S Sheepsquatch Club
- Armor
Uny WWR pieces:
Uny +C WWR Raider RA
Uny +P WWR Wood LL
Uny +P WWR Wood RL
Uny +S WWR FSA LL
-
Other pieces:
List 1
Auto Stim AP Sent Combat LA DR: 20 20 Heavy
Auto Stim AP Sent Raider RA DR: 22 10 Sturdy
Bol AP Cav Trapper RL
Bol AP Sent Combat RA DR: 12 12 Light
Bol AP Sent Marine RA
Bol AP Sent Robot LA DR: 13 13 Sturdy
Bol AP Sent Trapper RL x2
OE AP FDC Robot CP DR: 24 24 Light
Uny AP AWR Trapper RL
Uny +I Sent Trapper LL
Uny +I AWR Metal LL DR: 26 6 Sturdy
Uny +S Sent Wood RA
Uny +S Sent Raider LL DR: 22 10 Sturdy
Uny +S Sneak Leather CP DR: 21 59 Sturdy
Uny +S Sent Combat LL DR: 15 15 Sturdy
Uny AP Sneak Raider CP DR: 42 15 Light
Uny AP FDC Metal CP DR: 51 11 Light
Uny 25RR FDC Raider LL DR: 28 13 Heavy
Uny 25RR Sent USA RA
Uny 25EDR Sent USA RL
Van AP Cav Combat RA DR: 12 12 Light
Van AP Cav Leather CP DR: 16 45 Light
Van AP Sneak Raider CP DR: 42 15 Light
Van 7LED WWR FSA RA
-
List 2
Uny 25PR Sneak Marine RA
Uny AP AWR Trapper RL
Uny 25PR Cav FSA LA
Uny 25EDR Sent FSA LL
Uny 25PR Sneak FSA RA
Uny AP JWR Combat RA Heavy
Uny 25EDR Sent Metal RA Heavy
Uny 25RR FDC Raider LL Heavy
Uny +S Sent Wood RA
Uny +I Sent Trapper LL
Uny 25RR Sent USA RA
Uny 25EDR Sent USA RL
Uny +S Sneak Wood CP
Uny +S Sneak Wood RL
Van +C WWR FSA CP
Van +I FDC USA RL
Van 25EDR WWR Marine RA
Van 25PR Sent FSA LA
Van 25PR Sneak FSA LL
Van 25EDR Sent USA LA
Van 25FR FDC USA LA
- PA
Ass AP Sent Ultracite Torso
OE 7LED Sent Raider Torso
- Plan
Pepper Shaker x2

Female age 40. Smoker. I do not drink or use drugs.
-I have access to all of my blood work and can promptly answer any questions you may have.
Past Medical Hx Past Medical History:
. Anxiety - no meds
. Arrhythmia- PSVT - atenolol 2x per day
. FH: migraines - no meds
. History of palpitations-Controlled with Atenolol
. Incomplete abortion (multiple)
. Morbid obesity (HC)
. OSA on CPAP
. Panic attacks - no meds
. PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) - metformin
. Vitamin B 12 deficiency - biweekly injections
. Vitamin D 3 deficiency - daily D3 pill
. GERD - daily proton pump inhibitor
. Superficial blood clot in 2021 - no treatment was needed
. Dust mite allergy - daily allergy pill and nose spray
. Vertebral segmental dysfunction diagnosis with an X-ray at the chiropractor. I get small, low impact adjustments.
. 40mg prednisone. Was on 60mg but needed to drop down due to heart rate in the 140s
https://imgur.com/a/sxyWdIl
https://imgur.com/a/Q1mxEsa
https://imgur.com/a/OfY0BEJ
https://imgur.com/a/uW2z2ek
https://imgur.com/a/vO4JSAV
https://imgur.com/a/tVvqHUZ
Dear doctors of Reddit, I need you. My medical team is struggling to diagnose me. I need ideas to bring to the table, because apparently whatever I have is not very common. I am located in Minnesota and will absolutely take a recommendation on a professional to see.
Over the past few weeks I have seen 8 or 9 different doctors between the emergency room, my GP, a OBGYN, breast specialist, nurses, a PA and a dermatologist, I even saw a hematologist due to unusual blood work. No one knows what is wrong with me, how to diagnose me or how to treat me. But they all agree something is very wrong. Originally they thought Lupus and then the ER said vasculitis. When I saw my GP on Friday he asked me what I had found on google and started taking notes. I’m shit terrified.
Last year when things were bad…. but not even close to this bad I was cleaned by endocrinology. This year I was cleared by allergy. I also have a clean MRI/CT scan of my head.
My baseline of health never feels awesome. I’ve always been someone who felt “sickly” and run down. But I deal with it and don’t complain. When I have these “episodes”. Some symptoms are short lived and less bothersome than others. Unfortunately everything seems to be happening at once and I can’t function.
I am currently on 40mg of prednisone to try to control some of this while we look for answers.
-My breasts are turning purple. Blood vessels are bursting and I experience swelling and pain with this.
-vulva swelling with distended veins.
-I have problems with spikes in blood pressure and heart rate that can’t be explained and I was often told it is anxiety. It comes with a burning feeling in my chest and back. It is usually self limiting to hours and they don’t have a known trigger.
-my hands swell and turn red and purple if I get too warm or too upset.
-I don’t sweat anymore. Being hot makes me feel very sick and my face turns bright red. My skin feels like it is burning. It takes multiple ice packs and hours in front of an air conditioner to cool down to a regular temperature.
-I get stretches of unexplained chest pains. Sometimes I will feel like inside of my chest itches. Sometimes it will feel hard to breathe.
-I get stretches of unexplainable abdominal pains. Sometimes hours and sometimes weeks. I sometimes feel like the pain is generalized to a specific area like around my spleen or around my stomach. It will hurt worse if I touch the area. Sometimes it is full abdomen pain. During my last uppelower I was told there was unexplained esophagus inflammation. I have had episodes of delayed gastric emptying with vomiting during these periods.
-I get weird rashes on my arm if I go outside or get too hot. They are small round dots that turn in to open sores. They do not hurt or itch. They heal as white or purple marks. They just started last year.
-I get swelling in the left half of my face and have very limited sensation in the left cheek. With this I get what I am guessing is swelling in my tongue that causes deviation. The tongue deviation being linked to swelling is just a guess and my personal guess. Doctors have no clue(I was originally told this was anxiety)
-I get what feels like swelling in my inner ears. I feel and hear crunching and popping. Soon this pressure builds and I get feelings of being lightheaded, dizzy, smelling burning, vision changes, and cognitive decline.
-I get pain and stiffness in my neck, wrists, fingers and toes. I have numbness and tingling in my left arm with limited sensation and what feels like limited strength.
-I get lesions on the sides and back of my tongue and what feels like bumpy rashes on the roof of my mouth. This was something I noticed right before the tongue deviation started.

It was a dark and dangerous night in the Midnight desert, with the Soulfang serpents lurking around, waiting to sink their fangs into a victim to consume their soul.
Luckily, though there was an oasis in the desert, and a new group, Team Zym, was safe inside of it. Two members of this group had been there before, but the rest hadn’t.
“This place is beautiful!” The young King Ezran exclaimed as he took in the oasis; a lush green area contained in a huge magical shield.
“Yes it is,” Ezran’s older half-brother, Callum, agreed.
“Yeah, but we should probably get some rest,” Rayla said.
After their failure to get the clue to the location of Aaravos’s prison from Rex Igneous, the group had gone back to Katolis to think. They had realized that the next clue to Aaravos’s prison was in the possession of the Archdragon of the Ocean, but they needed a guide to that dragon. And while Callum and Rayla had travelled with Nyx the Skywing, they had learned that she knew a lot about the ocean. So they had travelled back into the Midnight Desert to try and find her, but they had had no luck.
So Team Zym had gone to the Oasis and now they settled down to sleep.
Ezran, Bait and Zym slept next to each other.
Rayla and Callum on the other hand, lay apart from each other.
Rayla sighed as she wished she could sleep next to Callum. During their journey to return the Dragon Prince to his mother, they had fallen in love and shared several kisses, but later, Rayla’s lingering anger and grief over the loss of her parents and her mentor at the hands of the ruthless dark mage Lord Viren had led her to leave Callum to seek revenge. She had lied to him that they would look for Viren together, and then left him on his BIRTHDAY of all days.
Callum had already forgiven Rayla, but things were still awkward between them. They both wanted things to go back to the way they were, but they both knew they needed to rebuild the trust between them again.
But it wasn’t just the awkwardness, something else was happening.
Rayla and Callum were both eighteen now; officially adults. They still felt deeply for each other, and something new unfamiliar feeling had awakened within them. A nice warm feeling.
Looking Callum, sleeping so peacefully now, Rayla wanted more than anything to be lie down beside him, but she restrained herself.
Rayla knew that the awkwardness between her and Callum was her fault. She may have had good reasons for leaving, but that did not change the fact that she had deceived and abandoned him. Regret pierced Rayla’s heart as she thought of how her own desire for revenge had almost cost her the one last person who truly loved her. I was so obsessed with revenge that I almost lost him for good, she thought.
Rayla needed to think, and she couldn’t think clearly staring at her handsome prince mage. So she stood up and walked to another place near the edge of the oasis. She sat down upon a log and looked out into the desert, letting her confused thoughts flow through her head. She wanted more than anything than to get back with Callum, but how could she regain his trust?
Furthermore, she couldn’t think of a way to deal with these strange new warm feelings of hers. This… lust. She wanted Callum in a way she had wanted no one before.
Rayla was a beautiful Moonshadow Elf; a type of elf that drew power from the magical energy of the moon. As an elf, she had four fingers on each of her petite hands, dark violet stubby horns and pointed ears that peeked out from underneath her hair. She was slim and willowy with shoulder-length white hair, light pink skin, and purple eyes that had indigo tear-like elven markings underneath them. She wore a braid on the right side of her head. She also wore a form fitting teal and navy bodysuit secured by a black vest, dark brown straps, and a dark brown belt embellished with a silver brooch. The outfit was topped off with thigh-high navy blue boots and bracers. Now that she was eighteen and officially an adult, Rayla’s body had become a bit curvier, and her breasts had grown a little larger and perkier. And with the maturing of her body came new feelings.
A sudden touch on Rayla’s hand startled her. She looked up, expecting to see Callum. But it wasn’t. It was Stella, the female cuddlemonkey she had found and adopted while hunting Viren. “Oh, hey Stella,” Rayla cooed, giving the little primate a gentle touch on the nose. Stella chirped gently, looking at Rayla with huge eyes.
Rayla sighed. “Ah, I don’t know what to do Stella. I want Callum to trust me again, and I… I want him, but I don’t know how to get back with him.”
Stella gently nuzzled Rayla’s four-fingered hand. “Thanks, Stella, but there are problems you can’t nuzzle away,” Rayla said gently, appreciating the gesture, but knowing it could not make her problems go away.
Rayla’s thoughts drifted back to Callum; his handsome face, his powerful magic, and she felt the strange hot feeling in her body again. It seemed to burn like a fire in her skin. What could she do with these feelings?
For a long time, Rayla just sat there, thinking her strange thoughts and feeling her strange feelings.
Then, quite suddenly, Rayla became aware that Stella was not beside anymore. “Stella?” She asked, looking around. When Rayla look over her shoulder, she gasped, her purple eyes widening in shock and horror.
Standing several feet behind her was a huge, green creature, dressed in armor and with a green face like a pig. It was holding Stella tight in its hands and keeping one hand tight over the cuddlemonkey’s mouth to keep her from screaming.
“Hey, let her go!” Rayla cried, leaping to her feet and reaching for her butterfly blades. But before she could even touch them, two long, strong, green arms swung down and wrapped a large, white kerchief around Rayla’s mouth, sealing it shut.
“HYRAGMMMHHGAMMMMPH!” Rayla sputtered incoherently through her gag. Instinctively, she grabbed it and tried to pull it off, but the creature that was pulling the gag against her lips was too strong. It tied the gag behind the nape of her neck in a VERY hard knot, sealing her mouth tight shut and muffling her voice. “LHH MHH GHH!” Rayla whined through her gag. “LHH MHH GHH! MMMMMMPH!”
The creature behind Rayla seized her arms and forced them behind her back. Then, there was a jingling sound something made of metal and had chains was whipped out. Next moment, there was clicking sound as a pair of iron shackles was slapped onto Rayla’s slender wrists. “OWRMPH!” Rayla gasped through her gag as she felt the cold metal snap onto her wrists. That HURT! She thought.
Rayla was quite helpless now; with her mouth tightly gagged, her wrists cuffed behind the small of her back, and her shoulders held tightly by the creature behind her, she couldn’t move. “GHH OFHH MHH! LHH GHH! MMMMMMMPH!” Rayla whined through her gag, wriggling and thrashing will all her might, but the creature was too strong.
Rayla was able to take one last look at Stella before the creature forced her to turn around, revealing itself to be yet another big, green, armored, two-legged creature with a boar-like face. Before Rayla could do anything, the creature raised its right hand, curled it into a fist, and PUNCHED Rayla square in the forehead!
“OWRMPH!” Rayla grunted through her tight gag as the creature punched her so hard that her white-haired head buckled under the blow. Rayla straightened up. She felt stiff and then dizzy. Her purple eyes rolled in her head and her vision went foggy. Then, very slowly, the beautiful Moonshadow Elf fell to the ground, blacking out before she even hit it.
The two Gamorreans looked down at their new captive with satisfaction. They had been sent by their master to hunt for new slaves, and they had found one.
They looked at each other and smiled in their own hideous way. “Jabba will be pleased,” they said in unison.