Memory Transcription Subject: Bosjin, Zeyzell Planetary Defense Corps
I lined up the xeno in my scope as I laid on a nearby snowdrift, waiting for it to move away from the group of civilians it and its allies had captured. The things had arrived in this town an hour ago were injecting them with what I assumed was their so-called “Cure.” I growled when a crying kit was ripped away from their parent and stuck with a syringe. The parent yowled in fury and leaped at the xeno, trying to clamber up its larger frame and clawing at its eyes. The Kolshian slammed the parent into a wall before raising its weapon.
May Maa scorch whatever twisted essence substitutes for your soul.
I squeezed the trigger, sending a single bullet into its brain. The other xenos whirled their guns around, looking for the sniper. I adjusted my aim and iced what looked like the leader. Xeno blood began to stain the snowy ground. Bullets rained down on my general position, forcing me to back away and crawl to a new vantage point. The filthy things had murdered my entire squad and dispersed their cure over entire cities. I’d been able to scrounge up an old gas mask from a now-destroyed armory, meaning that the things would either have to take the time to capture and inject a single soldier or, more likely, just kill me.
I circled around the group of xenos, using my pure white fur to camouflage myself. I was a phantom, striking quickly before retreating back into the snow. The snow and ice were our turf. We’d evolved to use it to our advantage. The xenos would have to pay dearly for every scrap they took from us. Reaching another secure position, I iced another two xenos before instantly darting away before they could react. That wide vision of theirs did absolutely nothing against a ghost of the snow.
“Predator!” I heard one of them call. “Stand down!”
I ignored it, scrambling a nearby frost-tree, taking care not to rustle the sparkling and brittle leaves. I raised the scope to my eye once more before I paused. One of the xenos was holding a rifle to the back of the kit’s head. Other xenos were doing the same to other civilians.
“Predator!” it called again. “Surrender or we will begin executing your people!”
The wind began to pick up, kicking up snow, making it harder for them to see. It would also distort the direction of my voice.
“You’re going to do it anyway, xeno!” I retorted, clambering down the tree and circling the group once more. Just because it was harder for them to pinpoint me, didn’t mean I was safe.
“You would take that chance, predator-”
The wind began howling, drowning out anything else it was saying. Flurries of snow began to batter the area. I chuckled. Snowstorms this strong were dangerous even to us. These furless xenos wouldn’t last ten minutes. I slung my rifle behind me and unsheathed my knife, edging closer to their position. Some infrared goggles would be handy right now, but I still had the advantage. My eyes, evolved to handle the icy debris, could see better than the unprepared things. I had heard that the Federation used climate-altering technology to suit their exact needs on every planet. The Unity also did such things on occasion, but only on planets without life. Pydoria Rusarth’s climate was more or less the same as it had ever been, ignoring the effects of (mostly) eco-friendly colonization.
The relative unpredictability of this planet’s weather patterns had thrown the things off guard. I paused when the first xeno silhouette came into view. It was raking its gun all around it in a paranoid manner. I snuck up behind it, taking care to stay in its blind spot and freezing whenever its gaze fell on my location. It was a bit undignifying to be crawling along my stomach like this, but the giddiness of being able to ice my home’s invaders made up for it.
I was right next to it. I raised my blade and slashed it across the back of the creature’s knees. It fell with a yelp that was quickly silenced with a cut throat. Leaving it to bleed out, I moved on until I caught sight of a few prisoners with a pair of xeno guards. The wind was screaming now, as if the planet itself was howling its pain and fury at those who dared attack it. I raised my rifle and fired, the gunshot muffled by the wind. One xeno went down and the other was too busy shielding itself against the unforgiving cold to notice.
The prisoners took notice of the fallen xeno and some of them took the opportunity to bolt away. The others turned to the still-living xeno and unsheathed their claws. A single Zeyzell against one of them wasn’t a fair fight. Half-a-dozen on the other hand? I relished the screams of the thing as seven furious citizens piled onto it, raking their claws across its eyes and extremities. This was the fate that all xenos deser-
Something’s behind me.
I whirled around when a patch of snow crunched only to take the butt of a giant gun to the snout. A cruel-looking Kolshian sneered down at me as it shivered from the cold.
“Not so dangerous now, are you, predator?” it mocked.
Its tentacle tightened on the trigger. I closed my eyes, resigning myself to my fate. I flinched when a gunshot rang and…
I opened my eyes. The xeno was looking at a hole in its chest in surprise. It tried to stumble away only for a second shot to rip through its skull. It fell down and I looked behind where it was to see the shape of a Zeyzell. It was taller and it wore some kind of battle armor that I’d only ever seen on… Deathwatch Guards. We were saved! Loud gunshots rang through the area as more of my saviors entered the fray.
I scrambled to my feet and stared at the Guard, my face reflected in its orange visor. They nodded at me before rushing back into the fight and I immediately tailed them. My mood fell a bit when I thought about why they were here. Usually, they stuck around people of high importance, such as politicians. If they were here, then their charges must’ve been killed. I shook my head. That didn’t matter. What mattered was winning this fight. And the next and the next until reinforcements arrived or we fell in battle.
I stared in awe as the Guard expertly dispatched three xenos before they knew what was happening. More Guards appeared, gunning down those who were trying to flee. Normal soldiers rushed to free the prisoners while the Guards worked. A bullet struck one Guard in the shoulder, sending them sprawling before it leapt back up and riddled its attacker with holes, their armor having saved it from anything worse than a bad bruise. Compared to us, these troops were practically demigods.
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Memory Transcription Subject: High Captain Bolhur, Zeyzell Fleet Command
I mused on Edo’s panicked orders to me as we hurtled towards Pydoria Rusarth. The Overseer had redirected the defense fleet to relieve Vajo’s dwindling forces and the xenos had pounced on the chance to attack. The redirected fleet was also on the way, hauling a Shield-class in tow which, combined with the identical ship I was currently standing on, and the thousand ships in both fleets would obliterate the invaders. I allowed myself a small chuckle.
Before the Kolshians stepped in, entire fleets scattered at the sight of these gargantuan warships. They each needed a trio of gigantic reactors in order to power its hundred railguns, nigh-unbreakable shields, and atmosphere scorching engines. The Kolshians might be brave enough to take one of them on, but a pair? Even the Arxur would fall before such power. I did wonder why we didn’t deploy all fifteen of them on the front lines however. With one or two at every major battle, the war would be going better for us.
“We’re nearly there, sir,” my navigator informed me.
“Charge railguns and bring us as close as possible,” I ordered.
I expected to see Pydoria Rusarth in the middle of burning, with every settlement wiped off of the map. Instead, I got the opposite. I gasped at the sheer size of the xeno fleet, much larger than the two thousand we were promised. And under the giant fleet was Pydoria Rusarth, completely untouched, at least from my perspective. Scans showed that not one antimatter bomb had been detonated on the surface. The xenos were occupying it!
I shook off my surprise. The second attack fleet would be here any moment and we needed to help clear a way for them.
“Open fire!” I shouted.
The xenos were caught off guard by our sudden arrival and couldn’t react in time to save themselves from thousands of simultaneous railgun strikes from my wall of ships. My flagship, the Vanguard, immediately followed up with a wave of plasma and kinetics, striking down hundreds more. The xenos adapted quickly however and regrouped closer to the planet, taking out a few of my own fleet. Most of their retaliatory strikes were directed at my own ship. Thankfully the Vanguard’s shields held up and we pressed the attack long enough for High Captain Treuts and the Annihilator to join the fight.
I could practically sense the xenos’ faltering morale as the two fleet-killing dreadnaughts bore down on them. They heavily outnumbered us, but we were the ones with the firepower. I contacted the fleet.
“Treuts, help me punch a hole in this location,” I said, marking the densest concentration of enemy warships in order to cause maximum damage to their fleet. “I want the rest of the fleet to surround the colony and squeeze the xeno formations. The moment we get through, deploy dropships to retake the planet.”
The fleet obeyed, spreading out across the planet, forcing the xenos to thin their own formation to counter, leaving the Vanguard and the Annihilator to fire upon a weaker defensive position. Two hundred railguns fired in tandem, obliterating a slew of xenos and we immediately followed up with a storm of plasma, missiles, and kinetics. Once again, I wondered why we didn’t use these mountains of steel more often. This was among the largest fleet of xenos we’d faced since the Battle of Earth, and only two being utilized to their fullest capacity was slowly but surely pushing the xenos back. I was sure we could spare a few from some of the Core Worlds.
The xenos launched a slew of missiles, most of which were shot down before they could reach us. Those that survived detonated a little way away from our ships. Readings showed a massive spike in electromagnetic radiation. They tried to EMP us.
“Any damage?” I asked.
“Shields took a small hit, sir, but are otherwise fine,” my sensors officer responded. “The hardenings worked. EMPs are mostly ineffective.”
“Sir!” my comms officer called. “The xenos are hailing us!”
“Amusing,” I chuckled. “They wish to beg? Too bad. Ignore it. They should have thought about dying before they came here.”
The xenos’ cries for mercy went unheeded as we pushed deeper into their formation.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Captain Vajartav, Kolshian Commonwealth Fleet Command
Our ultimatum went unheeded as the predators pushed deeper into our formation. As a member of the higher caste, I was given the privilege of not being as easy to spook as the lesser members of the Federation. And yet the sight of the twin giant warships bearing down on us without mercy filled me with terror. They had a seemingly infinite supply of weapons and breaking their shields might as well be the same as trying to batter down a brick wall with our bare tentacles.
“Fine,” I said, hiding my fear. “If they don’t want to listen, then we will just show them. Begin bombardment, two low-population cities.”
“But sir, our forces are still down there!”
“A necessary sacrifice. Do as I say.”
Two bombers broke away and burned towards their targets. Hopefully, this would buy us time for reinforcements to arrive. They should be here any second, but time was a precious commodity at the moment. The predators took notice of the bombers and fired some of their railguns. By some miracle, the bombers were able to swerve out of the way. Well, one of them. The other took a glancing blow and began to flounder in the planet’s gravitational field.
That was fine. A single destroyed city would give the same message.
“BRACE FOR IMPACT!”
I looked up from the feed of the ships and gasped at the sight of another storm of missiles hurtling towards the center of our formation. Towards me. Then the projectiles detonated. An instant later, the ship went dark and the engines stopped rumbling. We were dead in space. About to be literally. The vicious predators started systematically destroying every defenseless ship in their path. They would lose a city, but now we couldn’t send anymore bombers.
Where are those damn reinforcements?!
“Sir! Look!”
The navigator pointed out the viewport and I felt immense relief flow through me. It was a staggering sight, 20,000 warships here to sweep away the disgusting creatures that called themselves sapient. The gargantuan attackers instantly turned and opened fire with all of their railguns, hitting every target. It didn’t even make a dent. The predators realized they were outmatched and burned away from the colony, recalling their fleet as well. Our trap worked. Barely.
Our reinforcements began to envelop the predator fleet. As powerful as those fleet-killers were, they stood no chance against a fleet this size. Today was truly the beginning of the end of the Unity.
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Memory Transcription Subject: High Captain Bolhur, Zeyzell Fleet Command
“Shields are down to 50%!”
“The Annihilator’s shields are almost gone!”
“They’re blocking us from entering subspace!”
Panic and chaos bombarded my eyes and ears as the xeno reinforcements swallowed our fleet. Me and the Annihilator were barely holding them off and that wasn’t going to last for long.
“I want sublight engines and shields at full power! Carriers, create a protective barrier around yourselves and the flagships!”
At most, that bought us a few more minutes of survival before we were claimed by the vacuum of space.
Pydoria Rusarth was lost.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Admiral Ferlinn, Zeyzell Insurgency Command
“Exiting subspace now, Admiral!”
Zeyzell-10 blinked into view in all of its icy glory. The frozen planet orbited its tiny star in an irregular orbit, heating the planet enough for most of the equator’s ice to melt for a short time before swinging back into the frozen zone. That, combined with the high levels of volcanic activity under the frozen seas, was theorized to be how life took hold on a planet otherwise rather hostile to life as we know it. Some scientists even believed that life took hold multiple times before being wiped out by the unforgiving cold before it could evolve any further.
Life always seemed to find a way. Only now, Zeyzell-10 was about to see a tremendous loss of it. The fleet I’d taken to distract the Unity had no chance at taking the planet, but it was large enough to be considered a significant threat. With the Unity’s eyes on me and the fiasco at Pydoria Rusarth that Overseer Noctif was going to deal with, our primary fleet could snatch a few fringe worlds from Edo’s grasp. We would establish a foothold in the now mostly undefended Sectors Nine, Eight, and Seven on the opposite side of the border with the Federation and work inwards from there.
My orders were to make this battle as authentic as possible, up to landing troops if I could. It was unlikely I would even come close to doing so, given that I was now facing down untold thousands of warships and Weapons Platforms, three Shield-classes among them with only a couple thousand of my own ships. Not to mention those giant, hexagonal satellites hanging in low orbit. The giant contraptions were specifically placed to cause as little havoc to the ecosystem as possible while providing the maximum defense to Zeyzell-10. In the end, new weapons were impressive and all but the pinnacle of our quest to build up our defenses was this.
A global shield.
As with any impressive technology, it had its weaknesses and drawbacks. It could sustain heavy bombardment for a long while, but those satellites were vulnerable. If one went down, the entire area around it would go down as well, leaving a hole for invaders to pour through. I had my reservations about destroying even one of them in the unlikely event that I got the opportunity due to the cultural significance they possessed, but Edo’s reign would end in the destruction of our culture entirely if we didn’t put a stop to this.
“The fleet is hailing us, Admiral!”
“Accept it.”
The image of an angry officer appeared in front of me. I recognized her as High Admiral Jannob, the supreme commander of the entire Zeyzell Navy. Traditionally, High Admirals were always stationed in defense of Zeyzell-10, which is why Vajo, and before him Krobag, were put in charge of the war against the Federation. Although they called the shots, Jannob had the last say.
“What is the meaning of this?!” she snarled. “We were not expecting a fleet here! Identify yourselves or you will be fired upon!”
I answered calmly. A new idea came to mind. Perhaps I wouldn’t have to take on the entire fleet on my own.
“Hello, High Admiral.”
Surprise crossed her face.
“High Captain Ferlinn?”
“Admiral Ferlinn, as per the orders of Overseer Noctif.”
“Overseer Noctif is dead, traitor! All because of the xenos! Xenos that you should be fighting instead of your own people!”
“On the contrary, Overseer Noctif is most certainly alive, if a little worse for wear. No thanks to Edo.”
“Excuse me?”
I glanced down as a message from Noctif reached me. She was engaging the Kolshians over Pydoria Rusarth. I ordered my comms officer to send videos of Noctif that had been taken after the assassination attempt. Jannob watched the files with growing joy.
“She’s alive! That’s wonder…ful…” she trailed off as she realized the implications of this.
“Edo was the one who destroyed the Council Chamber. He blamed it on the Federation and used the attack he orchestrated to seize power. Edo is the traitor, not me.”
Jannob fell silent as she pondered the new information.
“Who will you stand with, Jannob?” I asked. “The man who is dooming the Unity, or the woman who only wanted what was best?”
Her eyes flicked back up to me, the now-familiar spark of rebellion shining within them.
“I stand with Overseer Noctif.”
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Memory Transcription Subject: Overseer Noctif, Zeyzell Insurgency Leader
The battered Shield-class was quickly being torn apart by the xenos. Every other ship in its fleet had been destroyed, including another Shield whose wreckage dominated the scanners. I observed the battle from the safety of the middle of my fleet. I was no military officer, but being here in person was important. High Captain Grencop was in charge of this battle, a battle that even I could see we had no hope of winning.
I contacted the dreadnought from my ship.
“Attention Unity dreadnought. This is Overseer Noctif. Hang in there, we are here to help.”
Grencop ordered the majority of his fleet to engage the Kolshians, drawing them away from the dying mountain of metal. The Shield gladly took the opportunity to punch its way through the Kolshians and reach our fleet.
“They’re hailing you, Overseer.”
“Let them talk.”
The High Captain of the Shield-class appeared, pink blood oozing through the fur on his head.
“Overseer Noctif?” he asked in wonder.
“Indeed, High Captain. It looked like you needed help.”
“H-How is this possible?”
“Not important right now, High Captain. Let’s get the hell out of here first.”
He rubbed his wound before flicking his tail in acknowledgment.
“Of course, Overseer Noctif. It’s good to have you back.”
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It was a short music video. The lyrics were Lizard doin push-ups he’s outta control Lizard doin push-ups he’s gettin swole He’s a hot stud With cold blood He’s a lizard doin push-ups

I’ve not been able to ~actually eat~ ice cream since the start of this illness and I’d missed it until…
I discovered mochi ice cream!!! seriously the little moons mochi ice cream that went viral a couple years ago are great.
Perfectly portioned, and the chewiness makes the calories feel ‘worth it’, so I’m able to keep them down!
In fact I’ve even started having them immediately after purging to get my blood sugars back to normal! yay.
The only downside is the price but I’m inclined to say it’s worth it for this win

Hi to all.
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I am 42 and new to TRT(no smoking, veery rarely alcohol consumption and 4 times a weeks gym goer).
I had many problems last 4-5 years (I do have also testicular atrophy on one side, developed in first half of 30s and reason is unknown unfortunately.) I did have testicular pain started in early 20s like once a month however in time it has become quite often like daily and more painful (caused many sleepless nights).
Last year I spoke to my GP about loss of libido, anxiety, ED, cold extremities etc(lots of other stuff ).. My Testosterone level was 330ng so he said I am totally normal and sent me back. After some time testicular pain was worse so went again. I was referred to an urologist.
First urologist told me that I need testosterone. He asked another blood test and ultrasound (atrohpy). Ultrasound was clean no cancer etc however test level again similar. The test result was seen by another urologist (I think the first doc left the hosp.)He said I am in the range and I have nothing wrong. Sent me back, he told me he will refer me to an endocrinologist. However this was in december 2022 and I have heard nothing back.
I was getting worse and also anxiety depression was hitting harder.
In february 2023 while I was visiting my family I have seen an endocrinologist back in my country. We did another test and the number again similar 350ng. He prescribed me testogel 50mg once a day . First 3 weeks everything was fine then shit hits the fun again. I upped to 75mg a day. Again I was fine for about 3 weeks then same happened. I upped to 100mg a day this time. Again I was happy for couple of weeks. After 3 months of gel I was getting shitter again so I had another test. My level was 339ng so my doctor prescribed me sustanon 250 3 weeks cycle this time. He said the gel does not work for me.
It took 4 days for me to feel the difference after the injection and in 2 weeks time until it diminished. Around 15th day anxiety has arrived and 17th day I was sooooo shit I had to inject the second one. I could not wait for 21 day. Looks like I will be doing every week 0.5ml for now on.
My pain vanished when I applied the testogel and came back around the need of upping the dose. Again pain went away after the 4th day of the injection and came back recently. I expect the pain to go away by tomorrow.
So when I get testosterone from outside and if its level is more than "something" my pain goes away. I have looked online a lot about my situation however could not find a thing.
Anybody there having similar issues??
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PS : I am on statins since last year and have very low red blood cells - under the lower limit- (I believe due to low test hopefully it will be cured soon.
Thanks in advance.
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Hello, first of all im new to this sub because i have been experiencing some issues whilst getting to know a girl and being not so expert in the field of dating or meeting women im fencing with a lot of thoughts and confusion towards this particular situation. I will try to put everything on context in order for you to understand as much as possible and to get some advice for a better turn around :).
So here it goes, in March i met a girl who was visiting my city becuase she has family there. She is my neighbour´s niece so she asked me if i could get her out to meet bars and so something else because felt a little bored (shes my same age 26). I took her out on a Tuesday and we repeated on thursday and friday. That friday was great, we talked all day and went for dinner and the kissed a bit. She told me that she expected more rapid response from me but oh what the hell. The next day i reached out texting her and she was cold, i didnt understand why tho. I reached again on monday because she was leaving on tuesday and i wanted to ask her what was wrong. Long story short she claimed that it was just a kiss and she was on vacation no more than that blabla. I asked if we could stay connected at least and she happily agreed. A couple of days later she dm me on instagram with some cat reels and we started talking, days passed by and we continue talking even more, we asked questions about us, things we liked or not, plans we will do in the future such as going art shows, food, coffees, etc. For 2 months we talked till no end and everything was great because i was going to move to the city where she lives (not because of her but my studies and work). I told her that i was moving and she didnt show a GREAT emotion towards that at the moment, but continued planning things for the future.
As in May i arrived to the city and of course we continued texting. One day i came across a coffe shop she told me and i said to her hey, i just happen to came across the place you told me about, want to come one day? She answered that weekend could not make it but next one surely yes. I was like ok no problem and continued talking as usual. That weekend came down and i invited her for saturday, she told me already had plans but if i wanted to move it to sunday and i agreed, after that we talked a lot that same day, i saw her texting me like she was very and eager to meet. That sunday came and hours before i texted her to meet at certain time because i finished a footbal match sooner than expected. An hour or so later she replied to me saying she had a headache and would text me a little later when she felt better. (i already began to think that she would possibly say no, and she did). She texted me the classic “oh you are going to hate me but” message and i said ok no problem, get well soon and we shall meet the next time. Days passed and i didnt talk to her again, she responded to my ig messages i left her on sunday (yes we talked mainly on IG but always talk about the date on WPP, crazy i know) She told me sorry for the delay and if i was ok, i replied her that i was fine in a cold (but not in the jerk way). We soon started to talk as before again and i propose on a wednesday a date again to what she agreed on a beer on saturdays night. When the day came up she told me that she could not make it for the night but instead offered me going to a 6pm coffe. I agreed but well, i must say i saw her with low to non effort for the date whatsoever, as it was like an obligation she had. I mean it was the first time we saw each other after 3 months and she was acting like whatever. The meeting lasted just 1:30 hs because she was in a hurry and tho i felt happy in that moment, i started to realize she didnt see it that way, she was weird, a little distant and not so eager after not seeing each other for almost 3 months. I took her near her house, it seems that she didnt want to let me know where she lives and told her that we eventually would talk during the week to that she said yes indeed. I did text her on tuesday about a food place she recommended me and i noticed some cold messages from her again, she took hours and hours to respond and made me feel like what happened? At this point i was already aware that something was happening. So enough of texting i offered a meeting again on saturday after a couple of messages and she said she had plans with friend for a birthday (back in the coffee shop she told me that she was already planning it but i forgot) However in any moment she counteroffered me so at that point i was ready to move on and stop trying. I replied the next morning saying that it was ok, no problem and at least we could fix another time. She never replied to this last message which happened a week ago. She still has me in Wpp contacts, she follows me on IG too but doesnt see my stories so she knows maybe i could reach her anytime.
I went for friends and family for advice and help, everyone told me that for them she seemed interested at the beggining but if she didnt make the effort of at least setting up another day for a meeting then she was not that into me. Im very sad at the moment trying to understand what could have happened, and the fact that she isnt capable of text me after knowing me for more than 3 months its driving me crazy!, its not like im a tinder match that she never got to met. I have been single for a long time, i love spending time for and to myself. Im a nice guy with job, hobbies and friends so its not like im trying to find a hole in my heart just because im bored, when i see someone worth i go for it. This might not be the right girl for me tho after all.
I ask here for any advice, help and whatever helps me cross this emotions of dissapointment because some days i ask myself if i should text her explaining myself what i feel (i already know what she doesnt want with me but i would like to stay in contact tho because we shared a lot of interests and was funny to be with her) but at the same time i know that i did nothing wrong. However i sadly have the hope that she will text me anytime and that feeling is the most difficult one for me to erase.

Today marks 10 years of the death of Iain M. Banks, so I was wondering that if should have he lived, he would have destroyed his gallbalder regardless because all of the frustrating stuff that has been happening these last years. I was very young when Banks died, so I didn't had even the remote opportinity to meet him, but I feel that he would have been very disappointed by the current state of our world.
It seems that the world since 2020 has stopped going into the "utopian" or at least "the Expanse" type of universe and full into the "Cyberpunk 2077", "Bladde Runner" or "Handmaid Tale mixed with the Hunger Games" types. I wonder if we are really on the final stages of the human species. When I was a kid, I was sold on countless science programs that the 2030/40's would be full of robots doing all of our jobs while we enjoy and do art, but in an ironic twist of things, we have things like glorified autocompletes like ChatGTP and Midjourney doing all the intellectual tasks, while the "automation safe" jobs are basically physically intensive trades or minimun wage jobs. They promised us open source, transparent AGIs and medical tech capable of letting us decide how we want to be, but now we have addiction machines of social media that feed young people a bunch of neoliberal consumeristic and swallow ideas at best and far right lunatic content at worst while the coporations feed us plastics and chemicals in almost everything we use.
Also, a lot of literature of the late 90's and early 2000's talked a lot about a more enlightened future, but now we have things like science books being banned in the USA, a literal theocratic party thinking burning fossil fuels and murdering the poors is the word of Christ and a bunch of warmongers in the defense industries salivating over a WW3 even if that means they need to lie about China (the same as with Vietnam and Irak). I feel lied to.
And in Great Britain, had Banks lived, I'm sure he would have gone with his threat of crashing a Land Rover into Sunak's house, since we are now seeing how they are copying the ideas of degenerates like Matt Walsh and Rowling to create a new and useless culture war against trans people and migrants to hide their own failures and to distract people from the real issues that are now too evident to be concealed (as if NY becoming literal hell this week because wildfires and El Niño that possibly will put us on 1.5° for the first time in history wasn't enough). And while I like the idea of having more Culture novels, I would feel more demoralised thinking on how new Banks novels (or even the current ones had they been published these days) would have been banned or even publically burned a bunch of tribalistic narcisists calling it "woke scum that teaches the kids how to turn into commie transes wanting to destroy the holy capitalist America".
I feel like I'm living on the first stages of the WW3 of Star Trek, but at the same time I feel like instead of a massive revolution and change to finally outgrow our chimpanzee brain, we will end like a bunch of squabbering savages fighting on a Permian-like Earth for the last resources, while we let our boys being used as cannon fodder for a bunch of psychopath billionaire warlords and our girls as cattle-brides for a bunch of violent and degenerate priesteses and sultan-kings. Or being slaves under a liberarian far right cyberdystopia. And even in the short term I cannot be sure that I won't be supplanted by ChatGTP because a bunch of geriatric CEOs or nepotism boys think using an eratic LLM is cheaper than employing a human being. Is difficult to remain positive and think our true future is The Culture instead becoming yet another victim of The Great Filter.

I’m a twenty one year old female and a few years back when I was eighteen I was completely in love with my friends brother. Like truly, madly deeply in love with him. The call your friend at two am gushing about how you and him had just hung out, how his touch was electrifying and the addition to that feeling.
My friend was supportive, he was twenty at the time and found it cute. Often teasing me and giving me unbiased advice.
For the longest time I thought the he felt the same. He could come through the drive thru at work, I knew his order and would always be at window to tease him with a drink in hand. All my coworkers knew, equally as teasing. It was embarrassing in the best way possible. I never thought a guy like him could ever think about me the same way, nobody had ever looked at me like that. I was alway the less attractive one, the second choice but for once I thought maybe I really could be someone’s first choice.
At the time I was unmedicated, I was aware of the severe depression I had but was too afraid to actually take the step to have a doctor vocalize it. When I got at text from him it was like the static in my brain cleared ever so slightly. My drug was the messages we sent, snapchats of mundane things or early morning bed head picks. I checked my phone religiously and pretend to send the wrong snap just to a response.
A few months of this makeshift honeymoon phase and things seemed to shift so sudden and felt much more one sided. Eventually he told me he didn’t want to be more than a friend and that leading me on is not his intention. Our interactions only seemed to deepen. Cuddled up on park benches and using data to watch Netflix in a park. Dancing in a tunnel while it rained. I would have gone all the way if he asked me.
He got a girlfriend and everything snapped. I didn’t know for months, pinning and practically begging for and ounce of acknowledgment. Unable to go cold turkey with little to no warning. When I did find out it was an accident. He was dating a coworker, one I had giddily gushed to about my feelings. I tried my best to give them space but that’s when things started to spiral in my mind. Those three am calls were filled with crying pathetically to you best friend.
Months of sending a random text every couple of weeks. Maybe you could still be friends because even if I can’t have you seeing you happy is enough. His responses never really came. The friendship with his brother falls out, as does the one with the best friend. There’s a rumour that his girlfriend is pregnant and I try to pretend I’m over him.
I see him randomly at work we talk a bit, catch up. It’s nice to see him. She wasn’t pregnant and they broke up. We chat a few days later.
Almost a two years have passed since that first flicker of feelings. We don’t talk at all and I’m moving in with my life from some intense events. Moved on from relationships I never got to mourn. I’m medicated, doing better.
One night I’m home alone and something inside me breaks. I haven’t been so secluded from people. I could always open a room and someone would respond. I was completely alone in the house for the first time in a year. I delete everyone off my social media, block and profiles I was holding onto with the last shred of my life. It wasn’t just him. It was everything from the last two years.
I’m twenty one now and have pretty much moved on. Occasionally I’ll wonder if he hears a song or a certain colour he thinks of me. Sometimes I wounded if I was the problem, had I scared him worse than he had done. Was I biased to my own delusion?
I wonder if it would be worth it to unblock him and apologize. If I really was the monster then doesn’t he deserve an apology, at the same time I worry it might open a can of worms we both would have rather kept sealed.
Honest responses only please, there is no need to sugar coat anything.

29f
Congenital heart disease
Congenital malformation of aortic and mitral valve
Ostium premium defect
Atrial flutter
Atrioventricular block (2nd degree)
Bicuspid aortic valve
Mitral valve replacement
Pacemaker (2nd battery, azure)
Epilepsy (left temporal lobe)
25mg atenelol x2 daily
300mg ER lamotrigine x2 daily
2mg folic acid once daily
81 mg Baby aspirin once daily
6mg warfarin daily but changes after INRs
Medical Marijuana
I am also missing both fallopian tubes and one ovary (1 tube and ovary blew up and were removed beginning 2020 and remaining tube removed in the beginning of 2022) my seizures started a month after the emergency surgery but I had auras since I was a teen..
I over heat a ridiculous amount. Even before the removal of my organs and seizures but it's definitely gotten worse since then. Sometimes it's a flash, sometimes it's a semi quick buildup.
A perfect example is this past winter. It was my first real winter since I was 11 as I lived in Arizona from 11 to 28. I admit, some of these days I was just running around playing in snow but that's not always the case. I would over heat in the snow and I had to start wearing less layers under my winter jacket to help cool off easier. I would occasionally open my jacket to cool myself off or just keep it open until I stopped feeling my sweat. When we'd get home from a walk, I'd have to start stripping my jackets on the way to the building door and I would still immediately start to over heat the second I walked in the door.
I can just be relaxing and start to get hot as fuck for no reason. I'm starting to end with cold water in the shower to help prevent myself from overheating as fast once I'm out but even then i occasionally still start sweating after I've dried off. I don't wear shirts at home because I sweat and just make them wet. If my clothes haven't been touched by sweat but i feel myself start, i rest my arms above me on the top of thw couch to dry. All of my sweating is at my armpits. Like 75% of the time I'm sweating and I fucking hate it. I have a cooling towel at home and work now since my work got them in.
What else can I do to help prevent it?? It's extremely uncomfortable living like this constantly. I brought it up to my PCP when I was going through atenelol withdrawals as i was heating up for a few days and was having a really bad day just before i came in. I had 5 seizures that bad day. Absolute max for me is 2. He didn't really say shit about me wanting to stop over heating and just took some blood but I never got called back so I assume the tests are fine.
I have an appointment with my gyno next month. Would they be able to help better than my PCP or should I revisit my PCP?

First, I love the game and its overall aesthetic. Cyberpunk-ish dystopian crime drama is a video game genre I didn't realize I needed.
My complaint is that some of the dystopian elements are exaggerated to absurdist levels. I can't take the setting seriously when the president is a democratically elected soft drink company. It doesn't work as a serious plot element because it's insane, and it doesn't work as a joke because it's played too straight. (Yes, I know there was that time your favorite candidate lost because people are dumb, etc. No, that doesn't mean people will elect Coca-Cola in 2024.) Other elements are just as absurd. The cultists who dismember their victims and paint runes in blood should be terrifying, but instead we get the capitalism-worshipping "Red Gums".
As a side note, I think the opening narration gives us too much information about the world. Given the theme of the game, I think it would make much more sense to let the player unravel the truth of the setting on their own. Don't tell us about rising sea levels directly - hide that info in a news article about an expedition to the submerged ruins of New York City. Don't tell us the nation is ruled by a mega-corporation. Let us figure it out for ourselves when we realize everyone's ID card has a corporate ID number. This is a game about solving mysteries - make the setting a mystery to be solved instead of handing it to us in a dry bit of opening text.

Im 23 male,eastern european, 179 cm tall and 77kg weight. Stopped smoking after 5 years 4 months ago. EKG,blood work and echocardiogram are good. Currently waiting on 24h holter results. Diet is not perfect but its fine,rarely drink alcohol. I dont exercise but i do walk often. Grandfather has angina and has had it since he was 45. Blood pressure 117/77.
First time something alarming happened which caused me to check my heart was around 2 months ago i was carrying a bag of clothes to the place that i wash them and i decided to go on foot im a fairly fast walker so i guess you could call it a bit of exercise. At some point during my walk around 20minutes in i started having pain in my neck, specificaly the front of my neck a bit to the left side of my throat. It was a sharp pain but it wasn't unbearable so i kept walking,when i got to the place i couldn't seem to lower my heart rate it stayed higher for what seemed much longer that it should. I thought it was because of the still at that time cold weather where i live.Ever since then i get random quick chest pains they never last more then a second or two and seem totally random. Fast forward to a couple of days ago i was again going for a walk and around 15 minutes in I again get the same sharp front neck pain but now it hurts even more than i remember i slow down a bit and it goes away very quickly. I get a bit alarmed at this and have a checkup with my doctor. Ekg is fine, echocardiogram finds a small prolapse but fine,blood work fine. Currently waiting on holter results and waiting for a stress test schedule. While literally walking back from returning the holter at the hospital i get the same pain again,now even more strong than last time. And this time not only in the front of my neck but also my back slightly to the right but mostly in the center of my back. The pain doesn't spread it feels like im getting stabbed in both places and again i slowed down a bit and it went away in a minute but it was a very intense pain. It doesn't happen when im not physically active.
Im on no medication and apart from this I notice that my palms are very spotty and red sometimes and that my hands are pale sometimes,but im very pale in general. I have a pretty bad deviated septum that im having surgery on next month.
I am very concerned and its ruining my mood and my work as i cant stop thinking about it. How likely is it that i have angina at this age? It's almost impossible to get to a CT scan or something similar where i live in state hospitals as there are many people waiting on one, and private healthcare is extremely expensive and i dont have the money for it. What should i do?

This mainly pertains to autism, but other mental disorders have this issue.
So many people today decide to self diagnose themselves with some mental disability. They do a google search, see one that kinda fits them, then decide that’s what they have. Basically they’re the meme of “I got a cough and google says I have cancer” but worse.
“We self diagnosis colds all the time” if someone says they have a cold I understand that means they’re sick but not majorly. But even then if you decided when you have a cold it’s hay fever instead and start telling people you’re allergic that’s not seen as valid.
“It’s just a professionals opinion” that’s like saying evolution is ‘just a theory’. Yeah it’s not a blood test but they have extensive knowledge and way more resources to assess people. Not everyone’s opinions on everything are equally valid; some have more knowledge than others.
“But the symptoms match up” people also forget multiple disorders can have similar effects. Maybe you have autism, but maybe you have ADHD and depression. Maybe it’s anti-social personality disorder.
“I was self diagnosed and then professionally diagnosed with it, so it’s valid” guess my broken clock isn’t broken because it was right twice today. By the same logic I can point out people where they were told they didn’t have it and thus it’s invalid.
“It’s ableist to say it isn’t valid” maybe I’m just a moron, but I’d debate boiling down a mental disorder to a couple things and randomly deciding to label yourself with it is more ableist.
Remember back in the olden days of the 2010’s when everyone self diagnosed depression? Did it make you take someone thinking they’re depressed more or less seriously? Did it help or damage the image of teens who are depressed?
Plus not to mention it hurts the image of people who actually are autistic. Now you see a bunch of “I’m autistic and I would never do this” acting as if it’s some cult. Yeah you wouldn’t have a meltdown over that, but you might over something else. They look at self diagnosed people, see how they’re mostly “normal” and assume anyone who isn’t like that is just an asshole.
To bring it back to depression, imagine if someone claimed they have depression because they got really sad. Then when you talk about your struggles, they invalidate them because “I have depression and I don’t do that”. And everyone calls you an asshole now.
That’s why I hate self diagnosing.

Previous Part
Well, things have officially gotten batshit.
When I called Mr. A and told him about the Vagrant’s actions, I could almost hear him go pale. Obviously, he had hoped this would never happen. He told me to say a certain phrase aloud: “Closed for Maintenance.” Just like that, the entire shop shifted. The glass door was covered with an enormous slab of some bizarre material that looked almost like obsidian, and come to think of it, looked an awful lot like a solid form of whatever the Vagrant’s skin was covered with. The same thing happened to the windows, and the lights in the shop turned on automatically. Finally, the warehouse door was sealed by one of the slabs.
There was no doubt in my mind that Mr. A had hoped and prayed this would never happen, but he always expected that it would. Despite his obvious fear, he managed to keep enough composure to tell me that these slabs were created from material taken from one of the Vagrant’s earlier intrusions. Using it, he had been able to create a full system that would drive the creature out. Then he told me with some hesitation that it was time for me to meet “Them.” Now, this was the first time he had decided to give them an actual name. According to him, they were called “the Proprietor.” Despite their innocent-sounding name, I had the sense that I had to be on my guard when it came to dealing with them, something Mr. A confirmed. “You’ve dealt with eldritch things before, lad, but trust me when I tell ya, this bloke’s on a different level. I can’t stress these instructions enough, lad: don’t ask them anythin’. Just listen, then wait until they’ve finished speaking. They’ll know why you’re there, and they’ll give ya answers, but they won’t be comfortin’.”
Well, I got what Mr. A was talking about after he had given me the instructions on opening a door to the Proprietor’s world. I’m not allowed to disclose how I made it appear, but a door that the shop previously didn't have appeared behind me. On it was a sign that read, “Proprietor’s Office. Staff Only. Violators Will Be Terminated.” A faint droning noise emanated from the other side. Cerberus gave a small whine, and I just pet his head and smiled reassuringly, though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling nervous as well. I slowly placed my hand on the doorknob, then turned and opened it.
How do I best describe what I experienced there? I think the best word I can use is, “contradiction.” Imagine an infinitely large room with no color, yet somehow brighter than the Sun. The droning noise I heard from the other side of the door continued, but it was joined by a deafening screech.
Then the noise changed to words. I could hear them suddenly speaking in my head. It pierced my mind, speaking in nonsensical phrases that I could somehow comprehend. They had no voice and every voice. Like I said, “contradiction.” Bear in mind, the speech of this being is similar in structure to the Pr’mAtrian. Same as them, the Proprietor seems to be unable to translate their words into fully comprehensible human language so this is the best I can do. The following is the best translation I can provide.
You/Manager entered/were invited here to understand/know how to kill/evict Vagrant/Vandal and protect Investment/Property/Shop. We/the Proprietor know/remember It/Vagrant. It/Vagrant is/isn’t. Vagrant/Vandal was/is created from nothing/Void. It/Vagrant is/isn’t happy/angry/hates Us/You/Everyone for Existing/Being/Living. Vagrant/Vandal wants to Deface/Break/Kill You/Us/Everything for Having Form/Life. Use/Fire Gun/Tool. Not Easy/Simple. Gun/Tool useful against Living/Undead/Existent People/Folks. Vagrant/Vandal does/doesn’t exist/live. Kill/Break Living/Physical Prison/Form/Jar and put Nothing-Vagrant in Prison/Form/Jar. Bring/Deliver Jar to Us/the Proprietor. That is all/Thank you/Back to work.
This is all approximate; I have a clearer picture of what I need to do in my head. So basically, I need to kill the physical form of this thing, then seal it in something that they gave me. It looks like a puzzle box (if Hellraiser comes to mind, I don’t blame you; I thought the same.) Why they didn’t do this for previous owners is beyond me. I reported back to Mr. A, and he was as surprised as I was. Still, he told me to keep the gun and box close at hand. Strange as the Proprietor was, I found myself trusting it. I had the impression that if it saw me as a tool or puppet, it could have easily taken over my mind, used me to kill the Vagrant rather than instructing me how to.
I have a feeling that things are really coming to a head soon, though. Just two hours ago, I got a call. Before I could answer, an enraged voice snarled, “You spoke to them, didn't you, you little shit?! I couldn't sense you for hours! I was starting to think you’d gotten so scared you decided to finish the job yourself! What did they tell you?!”
I stayed quiet, instinctively reaching for the gun. ”What. Did. They. Tell. You?!” it demanded again through clenched teeth, all arrogance and mockery gone. Still I said nothing. It shrieked, “Damn it, tell me or I’m going to carve you into tiny pieces and make your dog fucking eat them!” “You sound scared,” I replied coldly and with a hint of mockery of my own. There was silence on the other end. Then my right ear erupted in pain as the Vagrant screeched furiously. I dropped the phone and fell, clutching my ear which was ringing with tinnitus. Cerberus rushed to my side and began nudging me. Once the pain began to subside the sound of high, deranged laughter sounded from the phone’s speakers. Then I heard a sound that chilled my blood more than this sadistic creature’s laughter, something that made all three of Cerberus's heads begin barking and growling. It was sealed up, but I could hear it all the same.
It began knocking from inside the warehouse where I first saw it, all while the phone kept broadcasting its laughter.

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TL;DR: my sister who I don’t have a great relationship with, committed workplace misconduct and looked into my health journal where all the most private stuff about my mental health is and I feel incredibly violated now.
I’m 19F, almost 20 and my sister is 4 years older than me. We are both living at home this summer before moving away to study in August. I have never really liked her that much. I have always been chubby and she bullied me alot for it when I was a child, which ruined my confidence and my relationship with food. My parents also contributed to that, as they were constantly hinting at there being something wrong with my eating habits and my weight. It’s no surprise I ended up struggling with disordered eating. They also shamed me for being mentally ill. If I was crying, having panic attacks, or just visibly depressed they would make fun of me or get genuinly angry at me. I knew from a very young age that if I felt negative emotions or had sad thoughts then I had to hide away. They would compare me to mentally handicapped people as a way to poke fun at me. They weren’t abusive just stupid, incompetent and sometimes simply just mean. I have great friends that I would rather spend time with than my family. I don’t like talking to my family or spend time with them. When I went to therapy, which I no longer can afford because my bad mental health has made it difficult for me to work, and I’m also too scared to ask my parents to pay because of their view on mental illness, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and depression. I talked to my therapist a lot about my family issues. My illnesses and a general rundown of what environmental factors perhaps caused my mental issues is in my health journal. Just the most private, personal stuff is in there.
My sister works at the local doctors office during this summer, she does blood work and blood samples and all that stuff. In the past few days, she has been acting weird, as in kinder. It seemed really fake to be quite honest. A few minutes ago, she burst into my room without knocking as I was about to take a nap. She wanted to grab a chair in my room that was apparently hers, this is something she often claims. That and that is hers, so she can take it and do whatever she wants with it. I was irritated and asked her to leave my room. She got upset and started saying that she should be allowed to talk to me but no matter what she says or does, I get irritated at her. She asked what my problem was with her and that she just wants to talk and figure out my issue. I know that sounds great or whatever but I didn’t give a shit. I seem like a cold person, but I can’t just tolerate an evil witch like her, she has done so much to me that I don’t have time to explain. I have a huge issue with how she is as a person and her morals, she’s a racist and she’s homophobic (mostly lesbophobic)and I’m a closeted bisexual. I kept telling her to just leave me alone and my main issue with her is how intense and annoying she is. She kept begging me to talk to her and then she said that she is aware of my mental health problems and that I’m diagnosed with anxiety and depression because SHE READ MY HEALTH JOURNAL. ALL MY MOST PERSONAL STUFF AND ISSUES WAS IN THAT GODDAMN JOURNAL AND SHE FUCKING READ IT. I don’t care that she’s more aware if my issues now, there’s a reason I don’t tell her shit and there’s a reason she’s not supposed to read it. I feel ashamed and disgusted at myself. I feel rotten. This creature that I have never loved did something incredibly intrusive. I can’t report her to her workplace because she’ll know it’s me and I’m scared even thinking about what she may do to me.

Hi :) I am not entirely sure if I am doing this correctly because I have never used reddit before. I have written a little under half of an adult fantasy novel, and I am looking for feedback. I will take any and all feedback, but I am mostly looking for unbiased parties to tell me if I have an potential at all with this story/as a writer. Honestly I am mainly looking for peers/friends. I am happy to read your work in return (though I am mostly only familiar with fiction/fantasy work)! If you are interested, comment below or chat me (IDK how that works but I shall figure it out hehe).
Content warnings: So far the story is not spicy but I do intend to take it there. I am 22 and the characters are around 20 so I am looking for older readers, not minors. I wouldn't be comfortable discussing that sort of things with younger readers though you are still ofc welcome to read it! There is very minor violence but nothing too grim. There is also some LGBTQ+ rep so bigots stay away!
Disclaimer the first chapter is only one of the main characters, but I do have to say, once they meet there is some wonderful witty banter so I swear it gets more intriguing.
First chapter:
Chapter 1: Bearnas The innate driving force of human nature is vengeance. This was a certitude I had come to realize from a young age, and it was a concept I relied on as I got older. Vengeance was the primary motivator for my people. It was our currency. The way we managed to survive. I didn’t stop to consider the morality of this outlook. I didn’t like to contemplate the state of my existence. Found that to be a waste of time. I focused on the here-and-now. The mutable present. It was simply the way the world was, so I had to deal with it like a man should. This was an ideal my father had instilled in me since the time of my birth. I was the son of a victorious warrior. Osgar Nieva was a well-respected war lieutenant during the Great Slaughtering. He never let me forget that I had a legacy to uphold. I knew my father hated me. I figured his disappointment began from the moment I received my name. In Dolag, tradition dictates that the father names their son. Names were believed to be prophetic. Osgar had a strong name-befitting of a warrior. His name meant “divine spear.” My grandfather claimed he could sense that Osgar would be a brave warrior from the moment he was born. So he was prophesied to be graced by the luck of God in battles. Typically, women were only allowed to name the baby if it was a girl. I was the exception. The process of my birth brought my Mother to her deathbed. The doctor was certain that she wouldn’t recover. As she lovingly admired the newborn baby boy in her arms, her attention was drawn by a bird pecking gently on the window. Tears streamed out of her eyes as it took off soundlessly into the winter dawn. “Wren.” She’d muttered softly, still gazing peacefully out the window. The room of family members and midwives stood in puzzled silence. The world seemed to pause in wait for her next words. She turned her head back to meet Osgar’s eyes. “He shall be named Wren. He will be gentle. Beautiful. Free.” She reached down to caress her baby’s face. “And he will be loved.” Despite my Father’s protests, the council voted to accept the name. The wishes of the dying outweighed naming traditions. Only my Mother never died. Doctors considered her survival a miracle. She returned back to full health only a few months later. She and I have paid for her decision every day since. Osgar refused to call me Wren. Anyone who referred to me as such, other than my Mother, was punished accordingly. To the rest of the world, I became known as Bearnas Nieva. Bearnas was the name Osgar would have chosen for his son if he had been given the opportunity. Bearnas. Meaning bringer of victory. My father did everything in his power to ensure that I would fulfill this destiny, whether it was the result of prophetic nomenclature or resolute determination. The story of my name was all I could think about as I prepared for my sendoff. I was tightening my last bootstring when a small hand clapped me on the back with a force intended to knock me off balance. “The famed Bear Nieva preparing for his grand expedition. What luck I must possess to witness you in all your glory.” I was grateful for El’s arrival, despite the copious amount of sarcasm she brought with her. My sister's presence was probably the only thing that could pull me out of my thoughts right now. “Using mockery as a mechanism to cover up your total despair about my departure, I assume.” I tried to keep my tone light, but in truth it was myself I was worried about. El held the chief role in keeping me sane throughout the later part of my life. She was my only tether to my true self. I worried about how I would stay grounded on my Hunt without her there to tease my worries away. El flopped on my bed with feigned anguish. “Yes, whatever will I do without my idiot older brother around to hog all the scrambled eggs at breakfast. Oh, how I will miss the putrid scent you plague the house with after training all day. Your constant nagging about my lack of tidiness will be missed most ardently.” I swatted her gently with my leather gloves. “Speaking of, get your disgusting outdoor shoes out of my clean bed immediately.” I shooed her out of my room, and chased her towards the door, nearly colliding with my father as a result. “This isn’t befitting behavior for a man about to begin his First Hunt” Osgar admonished. “Elowen, go to the kitchen and help your Mother tidy up before we head to town.” El skirted around our father into the hallway. Safely out of his eyeline, she directed one last mocking tongue in my direction before slinking away. “Are you ready to go?” He raked his disapproving gaze over my gear, searching for any flaw he could call attention to. “Yes, sir.” I responded. I did feel ready. This was the moment I had been preparing for my whole life. My body was honed by years of workouts and my skills were unquestioned. I had graduated top of my class in my training group. I was certainly ready to leave the house, as I wanted nothing more than independence. Besides my Mother and sister, I had nothing keeping me here. Not anymore. So I grabbed my bag and walked out the door. When my family was all ready, we began the walk to the edge of town where the sendoff was taking place. There we would eat, drink, dance and say our goodbyes. I spent my time standing on the outskirts of the group, hoping my stern face would signal everyone to leave me alone. I didn’t have any desire to get my ego fluffed by a bunch of people who just wanted to get in the good graces of my Father. I just wanted to leave. The one person I actually wished had come to bid me farewell had decided not to show up, not that I could blame him. Eleven other men would be sent off at the same time as me. We were all being sent in different directions, but we were all given the same instruction: go kill a witch. That is exactly what I intended to do. Success rates had been much lower over the past few years. After the Great Slaughter fifty years prior, there were only so many witches left to kill. In fact a witch hadn’t been successfully hunted in around 4 years. Most hunters came back many months after their departure unable to track any down. The people of Dolag figured the warriors of the Great Slaughter had ushered the witches into near extinction. The only evidence we had that they weren’t entirely eradicated were the cases of the men who never returned. Every once in a while, there was a man who was assumed to have met his demise at the hands of one of the remaining witches. So the Hunts continued on. After a few hours of festivities, it was time for us to set off. I was ready to say my goodbyes. I knelt down so El could wrap her arms around my neck. Her hot tears dampened the fabric covering my shoulders. “Promise me you will come back,” she said. I squeezed her a little tighter. “Don’t worry, you’ll get a few months of the stench free, scrambled-egg-filled, only-child experience and then I will be right back to boss you around.” El released me from her grip in order to look me in the eyes. “I’m not kidding around Bear.” Her piercing gaze mirrored the intensity of her voice. “Promise me.” Even though I knew it wasn’t something I could realistically guarantee, I hugged her once more and said “I promise, Elly.” After a moment, I stood up and ruffled my little sister’s hair. Then I turned to my Mother, who watched with watery eyes. The hair that had escaped from her tight bun was wisping around her face in the gentle breeze. The sun shining behind her produced an effect reminiscent of a halo. She embraced me with a level of care only a Mother could deliver. “I love you, Wren. You will always be my darling songbird,” she whispered into my ear. I released myself from the hug, and smiled one last time at my adoring Mother. I nodded once before forcing myself to turn to my Father. “Don’t disappoint me, son.” He stuck out his calloused hand and I shook it begrudgingly. It felt like cold leather in my grip. That was it. That was my final farewell from my Father. ‘Don’t disappoint’. No good luck, no I love you, nothing of the sort. Only a damn handshake. I knew I shouldn’t have expected anything different, but it still put me in a sour mood. What a great start to my expedition. I looked one last time at my sister and Mother in an effort to preserve some positive thoughts about my home. When I cemented this image in my mind, I omitted the withering glare of my Father beside them. I spun around and started down the path towards Deirtalamh. I marched towards witch country without so much as a glance over my shoulder. I was days into my trek when I came across the cabin. Being the son of Osgar Nieva gave me claim to the most promising Hunt. My journey was actually mapped to this location, whereas the rest of my group had to resort to aimless meandering. I heard the gentle melody of a person humming drifting out from within the house. How odd. My superiors swore it was a witch that lived here. A hunter from a few years prior reported catching a glimpse of a cabin before he was suddenly lost in the woods. Who could be humming so pleasantly within this peaceful home so deep into witch territory? I maneuvered my head to look through the open window and saw the source of the cheerful noise. She appeared like the sun incarnate. Her dark skin contrasted beautifully against the pale yellow of her clothes. Her hair curled unbound around her face. She stirred a pot of stew as she swayed softly to her own music, the fabric of her dress swishing mesmerizingly around her thighs. Beautiful suddenly seemed like an insufficient word to describe someone of her standing. I knew she was not the witch I had come to hunt. Of course I was no fool, I was aware that witches could glamor themselves to be beautiful. But their false beauty was always like that of a succubus, unnatural and deadly. No witch would have been able to conjure up the effortless and soft beauty of the woman in front of me. I was sure of it. Never mind the fact that if she were a witch, I would most certainly be dead. She would have sensed me coming from the moment I stepped foot onto her land, and she would have been ready to strike. If I had let myself get distracted for this long in the presence of a witch, I would have paid for my mistake in blood. I wondered how she had come to live in Deirtalamh. I’d heard tales of villagers who’d tried their luck here out of desperation, choosing to brave the dangers of witch territory rather than living in the impoverished slums of Dolag. I’d also heard of extreme cases where dangerous criminals were exiled here. This woman looked neither criminal in nature nor desperate to survive. She looked content. Regardless, I must get her to safety. I walked briskly over to the door and entered the cabin.

If you’re reading this I am begging you to believe me. Especially if you have children. My name is Leon and I have been investigating strange disappearances for four years. I am not an official investigator or a journalist. Before I started this whole thing I did not believe in ghosts or the paranormal. For me to believe in something I had to see it with my own two eyes! Everything had to be factual and everything had an explanation.
At least this is what I used to believe until my wife was murdered four years ago. They found her at work completely skinless. She was drained of blood and was missing all of her nails. They told me the precision required to accomplish this was not heard of yet. I waited months for answers and they never came, so I decided to go get them myself. I had no idea where to start or who to speak to so I went back to the store to try and dig up as much information as I could find.
Her manager eventually told me that she had gotten into a fight with a customer that day and that he assumed she went home on time. When her body was found in the employee break room he was shocked. He had no idea she was still in the building. He said he told me exactly what he told the police. I asked him if there was any footage of the man she was arguing with but he told me the security cameras were not working that day. I vividly remember wanting to punch this guy in his damn face. He was no help and I was determined to solve my wife's murder.
I ended up searching for the guy for months. I asked every one of her coworkers if they saw the argument and a couple of times I even had a run-in with the cops. They insisted that I should let them do their jobs and that they had everything handled. There was no chance I was going to listen to them. I had to take time off from my investigation to attend her funeral and make sure I got all of the preparations right. In hindsight, I was not growing properly and I really should've taken some time to reassess.
So fast forward another month and I finally get a lead. Something I assumed the cops didn't have, this meant I could finally get some answers before being stonewalled again. I ended up finding this guy, Will Brookes at a fucken motel off of the highway about three miles from where my wife worked. I waited for two days before I saw him leave his room to get ice. Once I knew what room to find him in I knocked until he opened the door. He was rightfully pissed but not as pissed as I was. It took every ounce of willpower in my body to not kill him on the spot.
“Why did you kill my wife?!” I snapped as I forced myself into the room and slammed the door behind me. He looked shocked.
“I did not kill her!” He screamed and tried to move around me. So I grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him into the wall next to the tv. This guy was not very heavy and not very strong. At that moment I was wondering how he could kill anyone.
“You were the last person to be seen with her alive!” I barked. I wanted to push his body through the wall. I wanted to crush him.
“I was bringing her the papers she requested for a job offer she accepted in a place called LittleBrooke!” The man said. He was shaking so I put him down and pushed him to the side. “Show me the papers,” I demanded. My wife had told me twice that she had gotten a new job offer. I was extremely excited! I work from home and would be happy to live wherever she wanted. All she had to do was say the word and we could’ve left as soon as possible. But she never made it home to tell me the news.
I watched as the shaking man handed me a stack of papers and even a suitcase. “Here, take it and please leave me alone!” He shouted. “Okay.” I left the motel room and went right to my car. I put everything on the passenger seat and went home. Once I got there I sobbed in the driveway for over an hour before finally getting out and heading inside. I never got to see her body and I never got to say goodbye. Being in this house felt like I was walking into a damn shallow grave of sorts.
I went right to the master bedroom and packed up as many clothes as I could. I even took some of her favorite items, I don’t know why. I took a couple of pillows and two blankets, and after that, I went around to search the rest of the house. Once I had finished in the master bedroom I went and grabbed all my items from the bathroom. After that, I went into the nursery. We were planning on trying to have a baby once she got her new job. I looked around the nursery and took some stuffed animals and blankets, nothing too crazy. I also made sure to grab our family photo album. Finally, I made sure to grab all of the savings from the jar we had plus anything I kept in the safe. I also made sure to grab our wedding video and once I had everything I thought I could need I left the house. On my way out I made sure to tell the building goodbye.
Once I got back into my car I decided to drive a bit. No way in hell was I going to the same motel as that guy so I drove until I hit a hotel far enough away from my house. I did not end up checking in though. Once I got close enough I backed up and just kept driving. I eventually hit a truck stop after a couple of hours and decided to rest my eyes for a while. I was exhausted and there were way too many questions rushing through my head. I knew if I kept driving in that state I would probably crash or something.
After sleeping for four hours I decided it was time to look through the papers and figure out what I was going to do next. I took the first paper from the stack and started to read it. For the sake of time here I will only tell you guys what I found that was interesting.
Paper One: You have been accepted to work as a store manager! Please review your employee packet for more information.
So as I am going over this first paper a couple of things stick out to me. Whoever wrote this was trying not to be specific. The whole paper was one big announcement for a new store opening up in a place called LittleBrooke. There was no state mentioned anywhere on this paper, I would later find out that this place was supposed to be in Washington D.C.
I decided to dig around and eventually found the employee packet. She accepted a job at a mega-store called BrightMarketZ. I thought it was a pretty weird name but what stood out to me was what they were offering to pay her. $22.00 an hour! I couldn't believe it. No wonder she said yes and didn’t bother to ask any questions.
Paper Twenty: To find LittleBrooke please enter [REDACTED] into your GPS device. You will be staying inside apartment 307. All rent for your first month in LittleBrooke is covered by your employer. Please note that all apartments are two-bedroom only. If you have a larger household please speak to Sydney May at Town Hall for bigger accommodations.
After reading this I decided to just go to LittleBrooke and get answers. I was assuming that I would find out what the hell happened if I just went. I wanted to know what my wife died for and I wanted to know why this was some big secret in the first place. I went back to bed and as soon as the sun came up I put the information into my GPS and headed for LittleBrooke.

Year One in LittleBrooke

It took me three weeks to reach LittleBrooke and I could tell that something was wrong the moment I found the town. If I wasn't so damn desperate for answers I would've turned around as soon as I saw the library. The building itself wasn't big but the two huge lions on either side of the staircase gave me the creeps.
After that I passed a mechanic, the whole place looked run down as hell. There wasn't a single car to be seen but the sign said open. The man standing outside of the building waved to me so I gave him a slow wave back. He looked weird. At the time I couldn’t place my finger on why but now I know it’s because he was not human.
The theater was kind of cool to look at in a vintage kind of way. They were not showing anything when I drove by and I made the decision early on to stay out of the theater altogether. After the theater, I saw a small building that said LittleBrooke Press. If anything else I figured I could write for the paper.
As I approached the apartment building a woman was standing outside. Her face was weird as hell. It looked like she had far too much plastic surgery like her face was threatening to pop at any moment. “Hi, can I help you?” she asked me. Her voice was shrill, it was gross to even hear her speak. It sounded like she was putting on a fake voice just to speak to me. “Hi, my wife accepted a job offer. Unfortunately, she has passed away. I would still like to claim the apartment left to us. I can work at any place that currently has an opening.” I offered.
“LittleBrooke Press has space for two more writers!” She smiled and handed me the keys to the apartment. She never asked my name and she knew exactly where I wanted to go. I thought it was weird but I didn’t argue. Instead, I took the keys and thanked her. I spent that whole day getting settled into the new apartment. A couple of things, the front door had four different locks on it. I thought that was pretty weird. I also did not see or hear any other people until my third night in the apartment. I called the LittleBrooke Press about a potential job and they told me to email my submissions. There was no need for me to come in person and honestly, I liked this deal a lot.
For the first few months, I spent my time writing about whatever came to my mind. After that, I would send it in and get my money back. The editor never told me what to do and they never requested anything. It was sweet. As December rolled around I could feel myself slipping into a seasonal depression. At that point, I had made no progress in any of my investigations. I did not know the town well enough and frankly, I felt like I was wasting my time. That night I decided to check out the local bar. It was pretty hidden, you had to drive further into LittleBrooke to find it. Once I got there I was shocked! The place was packed. I sat down at the bar and ordered a drink.
The bartender was hot as hell, too hot. She was so even looking so perfectly symmetrical that it made me extremely uncomfortable. There wasn’t a single hair out of place. “So are you new in town?” She asked me. “Yeah, I just got here a couple of months ago. My now-deceased wife accepted a job offer here.” I said bluntly and dryly. I wanted to finish my drink and go. It was like the bones in my body were screaming at me to leave. The woman looked shocked. “Tell me, does that happen often? Do people accept a job offer in LittleBrooke and turn up dead a couple of days later?” I hissed. It was a genuine question but she did not take it too kindly. She took my drink from my hands and told me to leave.
As I made my way back to my car I could hear someone coming up from behind me. I turned around as fast as possible and had to take three steps back. It was the bartender, but she did not look the same. Half of her face was weighed down like she had no bones at all. Her eyes were bulging out of her head. She gurgled at me. “You need to leave!” She finally snapped and swung her arm in my direction. I moved back before she could hit me. As her hand hit my car window it shattered like it was made of ice. I watched as her arm popped and clicked. I could see it slowly getting longer. Before I knew it her arm was dragging on the pavement! She lunged at me so I punched her in her stomach. She gurgled again and sunk her teeth into my jacket. I screamed for help as we hit the pavement. She was trying fucken eat me! I grabbed her by her hair and threw her backward as hard as I could. As I scrambled to my feet and looked at her I screamed again. Her skin was pulled back. Now hugging the bones on her face. Her eyes were completely exposed! I turned and dove into my car as fast as I could. I slammed the door behind me and sped out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell.
The next morning I received a letter under my door. “Sorry, you had problems last night! Please accept our sincerest apologies.” -Mayor Brookes. There was $300 included with the letter. Now, I thought about leaving but decided I had to stay. Something was going on here and I had to find out what. I removed my jacket to see if the woman had injured me, she didn't but the experience was still terrifying. For the first time in a very long time, I was scared. But I also felt closer to the truth than I have ever been before.

Year Two in LittleBrooke

I spent all of January writing about the women who attacked me. I even contacted the police. I quickly learned that the police were going to be completely useless. My editor never sent the story back so I had assumed it was published.
At the end of the month, I left to shop for some supplies. Let me tell you, the grocery store in LittleBrooke is something else. They don’t have any brands you’ve ever heard of and at first, that drove me nuts. However, I quickly came to fall in love with the food here. It was comforting to have something to enjoy. Like always, I made sure to shop for two to three months at a time. Shopping was easy, I used the self-checkout to make sure I didn’t have to speak to anyone.
Once I got home I put everything away and decided to look around the apartment building. My whole floor started with 301 and went all the way to 310. The first floor was 501 to 509. There was a technical second floor but none of the doors were labeled. It looked like someone was renovating the place.
I got to see some of my neighbors too. An older woman, two men, and I were living next door to a lady the whole time. I had never seen or heard from these people before. It seemed like everyone wanted to keep to themselves too. I wanted to try and talk to someone but every time I approached them they turned and walked away. For what it's worth they looked completely normal.
So I left the apartment building and ventured around the property. There were no other apartments anywhere close to the one I was staying at, or so I thought until I found one about thirty minutes away. It was so out of the way you wouldn't find it unless you were looking. Against my better judgment, I opened the doors to the building and walked right inside. The place smelled like rust and soot.
I went to explore the first floor and was shocked to find blood trails on the floor and the ceiling. I followed the trail and made sure to look at the numbers on each door. This floor was numbered 1-10. Most of the doors were locked and I wasn’t going to try and knock anything down. I opened the door to apartment 10 and walked right inside. There was just enough light from the sun to illuminate the place. It looked like the whole place had been ransacked. I checked the tables and cabinets before heading into the bedroom. I searched the dresser and under the pillows before finally checking under the bed. When I looked under I spotted a black box. I grabbed it and that is when I got the feeling again. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt something sharp dig into my shoulders.
I screamed as loudly as I could, my face slammed off of the carpet and I clenched the box with one hand. Before I could figure out what the hell was happening I was tossed backward. I went into the bedroom door and rolled a couple of times until I reached the torn-up couch. I slowly lifted my head and to my horror what I was looking at was way too far from human to be real.
It looked like a dog ape thing. It was mostly skinless aside from some skin on its torso and face. The creature had thick, long claws and was standing on its hind legs. It barked at me. Its fangs were huge! I quickly scrambled to my feet and rushed out of the door as fast as possible. I could feel the blood running down my back. Never once did I consider letting this box go.
“Help!” I screamed as I burst through the apartment complex doors and started to run back to the main road. My heart was pounding, I could feel my chest getting tighter with each step. I could hear the beast behind me, it was screeching. I thought I was going to die for sure, there was no way I could continue to outrun this beast. That’s when I heard a car and before I knew it I could see it! A woman was waving me over, she was just up ahead! I had to push a little harder. I had to be just a little stronger.
When I felt the embrace of the car door I ripped it open and dove inside. She sped away and I looked out of the window. The beast did not follow us any further. “Are you insane!” She snapped at me. That’s the last thing I remember before passing out.
When I woke up I was laying on my stomach on an extremely comfortable couch. I could smell someone making pasta with meat sauce. My stomach was going insane. Everything hurt though, especially my back and my left side. I figured I had hurt my side when I was tossed across the room.
At this point, I did not dive into the box yet. I could barely move. “Hi.” I heard a woman say from the kitchen. “Thank you,” I replied before trying to sit up. I was so concerned that this woman would be another monster. When I saw her though I knew she was normal. She didn't look so damn perfect and that was a breath of fresh air.
“What's your name?” She asked me as I watched her prepare two bowls of food.
“Leon,” I said before closing my eyes. “You heard me screaming?” I asked her seriously.
“I did. I’m pretty sure everyone in our building did. You got hurt pretty badly, I did my best to patch you up.” She paused and laughed. “My name is Ashley.”
So I ended up crashing at her place. During this time I tried to focus on recovering. Sleeping became hell, I was having constant nightmares. I also spent a lot of time working on articles. I ended up giving Ash the keys to my apartment so she could get my laptop. It was a big move to trust anyone here but I am glad I did.
​

Year Three and Four in LittleBrooke

During my recovery, I spent most of my time writing. I wanted to write about everything I have seen and experienced. I had a lot of questions and way too much time with my thoughts. Ash and I got to know each other too.
I told her about how my wife had died mysteriously. I eventually opened up about her being skinned and drained of her blood. Ash told me she had come to LittleBrooke with her older sister. Her sister went to work one day and never came back. She was working at the theater. Ash had told me that she was stuck here, she didn’t feel right leaving with her sister still missing. Every time she would try the cops would meet her at the town line.
It was during this time that we both shared that we had never seen a police station. We talked about the monsters too. Her first run-in with one was at the grocery store. I told her about what happened to me at the bar. She told me that she heard rumors of the beast living beyond the apartments. The first time she saw it was when it was attacking me.
As I started to recover more we discussed a couple of things. First, the neighbors here suck. She could hear me screaming and came to help but no one else did. Second, neither of us has seen any families since we moved here. It was at this point I decided I wanted to leave and I offered to take her with me. We could both get out come hell or high water. She agreed but there was something I had to do first.
I showed her the box I had taken from the apartment.
“You almost died for a box?” Ash asked me. “Yes,” I said seriously.
I opened it and blinked. I found a picture of a girl with black hair and bright green eyes. It read, Stephanie. I found a missing persons report too. This girl had been missing a year before I got here. I decided that my last article would be about her. I had written about a couple of missing people before this. For example, the old lady in our building vanished and her apartment was rented out two days later.
I also found a badge inside the box. It read F.O.P.P. and there was a name! Jack Bridges. We tried to look up the organization's name but we came up empty-handed. I ended up writing the story about Stephanie and the next day Ash and I got packing. We decided to take my car since the cops know what hers looks like. I packed up the essentials all over again and we piled into the car. “We should check the other direction. Before we leave.” I suggested. Ash knew about the bar already but neither of us knew what was beyond that point: This suggested changed the course of our lives forever.
So we started driving in the other direction. We passed the bar where the woman had tried to eat me, we passed a convenience store I didn’t know this town had and we just kept driving. Eventually, I could hear Ash speaking to me, “Holy shit! The police station.” she pointed out. I couldn’t believe it either. I did not stop driving though but I wish I did.
Eventually, we saw a sign that read, LittleBrooke High. Go Bears!
I started to slow down a bit until the school was in view. The place looked run down as hell. There were holes in the walls and leaves growing up the side of the building. The parking lot was massive and full of buses. I pulled the car into the parking lot and told Ash to get into the driver's seat.
“You’re not serious?” She asked me. I could tell she wanted to go but I said, “This is it! This is the last place of note in this fucken town. Just take the wheel and I will be right back.” I said as I jumped out of the car and went to look around.
As I approached one of the buses I grabbed the doors, they were already open a crack. I pulled them open and was hit with a horrible stench. I had to step back and puke and no I am not going to describe what I saw in that fucken bus. At that point, I decided I had seen enough and it was time to fucken go.
“Help!” I heard someone cry from a couple of buses over. “Please!” I heard again. I wanted to slap myself because I knew better. I had already decided it was time to leave but I went to investigate anyway. I went to the bus and pulled the doors open. It smelled like stale piss and blood. “Back here!” A girl screamed out to me. I made my way to the back of the bus, stepping on school jackets and over backpacks. That is where I found them. Two teenagers are tied to the leg of a bus seat. They looked horrible, caking in blood and sweat. They were both injured. “Stephanie?!” I exclaimed as I bent over to free them. I recognized her face the moment I saw it.
“Can you move? I asked the blonde girl.” As I started to let her go. “Everything hurts.” She told me. I opened the emergency exit and called for Ash to pull the car over. It took her a second to hear me but she came as fast as possible. “I am going to get you guys in the car and we are going to get out of here, okay?” I told them. I wanted to tell them everything was going to be okay, but I couldn't. It felt like that would be a huge lie.
Ash stepped out of the car and helped get the girls into the backseat. As I stopped to look around I could feel the bus shift in weight. I turned around and inhaled sharply. Standing before me was a creature wearing a jacket that said COACH on it. He looked sickly, and pale, and his veins were protruding from his face and hands. As he ran at me I jumped out of the emergency exit door just in time to feel something slam off of the back of my head. I looked down to see a barbed football. I could feel blood trickling down my neck, I stumbled forward and felt a hand grab my arm. Ash was shoving me into the car. She slid over me, closed the passenger door, and backed the car up. I thought she was moving like lightning.
At this point, everyone was screaming. My heart was threatening to jump out of my fucken chest. I was so sure we were all going to die here, just like everyone else I had seen on the buses. But no, Ash sped out of the parking lot. The coach chased us to the school limits but for some reason, he did not follow us anymore.
I know we should've stopped to see if the kids could find their parents but we didn't. Instead, Ash just kept driving. Eventually, we could hear the cops behind us but that did not stop her. It took us six hours to finally see the You Are New Leaving LittleBrooke sign! I couldn’t believe it. This place was not that big at all.
So listen, if you’re invited to take a job in LittleBrooke. Don’t take it. It’s not worth your life.

I (24F) have had all sorts of pain consistently in my fingers, wrists, forearms and elbows for the past 4 weeks. On a couple of occasions, I also had knee pain but that did not stick around for long. I have been off work since I have not been able to use a PC for long without the pain getting worse and I am in the process of hopefully figuring it out.
I got blood tests done earlier this week and apart from (pretty bad? 28nmol/L with a minimum 50 norm) vitamin D deficiency, slightly decreased serum folate (2.9ug/L with a minimum 3.0 norm), my rhematoid factor came back positive (17IU/mL with max 14 norm). I spoke to an orthopaedic surgeon yesterday, who has sent me for MRI and X-Ray imaging due to my pain and he also advised me to see a rheumatologist (I have booked an appointment but it is a couple of weeks away).
I have not had a chance to speak to my GP about my blood test results yet, as they are very busy and my appointment isn't until next Friday. In the meantime, I am trying not to overworry about the RF being high. My serum C reactive protein level and my erythrocyte sedimentation rate are both normal. I have not been checked for anti-CCP yet.
I am experiencing only pain (for the past week or so it has just been aching, as if I have strained my arms/wrists/fingers) - no swelling or movement restrictions. I did, however, go for the blood test just (or at the end) of a cold I had (just stuffed nose, COVID negative but I have COVID in March). Can a cold cause an increased rhematoid factor?
And in general, how bad could this be? 17 is just 3 over the norm, so could it be the case that it isn't anything too bad?
I would appreciate any insight, while I just sit and wait until my appointments. Thank you.

If you’re reading this I am begging you to believe me. Especially if you have children. My name is Leon and I have been investigating strange disappearances for four years. I am not an official investigator or a journalist. Before I started this whole thing I did not believe in ghosts or the paranormal. For me to believe in something I had to see it with my own two eyes! Everything had to be factual and everything had an explanation.
At least this is what I used to believe until my wife was murdered four years ago. They found her at work completely skinless. She was drained of blood and was missing all of her nails. They told me the precision required to accomplish this was not heard of yet. I waited months for answers and they never came, so I decided to go get them myself. I had no idea where to start or who to speak to so I went back to the store to try and dig up as much information as I could find.
Her manager eventually told me that she had gotten into a fight with a customer that day and that he assumed she went home on time. When her body was found in the employee break room he was shocked. He had no idea she was still in the building. He said he told me exactly what he told the police. I asked him if there was any footage of the man she was arguing with but he told me the security cameras were not working that day. I vividly remember wanting to punch this guy in his damn face. He was no help and I was determined to solve my wife's murder.
I ended up searching for the guy for months. I asked every one of her coworkers if they saw the argument and a couple of times I even had a run-in with the cops. They insisted that I should let them do their jobs and that they had everything handled. There was no chance I was going to listen to them. I had to take time off from my investigation to attend her funeral and make sure I got all of the preparations right. In hindsight, I was not growing properly and I really should've taken some time to reassess.
So fast forward another month and I finally get a lead. Something I assumed the cops didn't have, this meant I could finally get some answers before being stonewalled again. I ended up finding this guy, Will Brookes at a fucken motel off of the highway about three miles from where my wife worked. I waited for two days before I saw him leave his room to get ice. Once I knew what room to find him in I knocked until he opened the door. He was rightfully pissed but not as pissed as I was. It took every ounce of willpower in my body to not kill him on the spot.
“Why did you kill my wife?!” I snapped as I forced myself into the room and slammed the door behind me. He looked shocked.
“I did not kill her!” He screamed and tried to move around me. So I grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him into the wall next to the tv. This guy was not very heavy and not very strong. At that moment I was wondering how he could kill anyone.
“You were the last person to be seen with her alive!” I barked. I wanted to push his body through the wall. I wanted to crush him.
“I was bringing her the papers she requested for a job offer she accepted in a place called LittleBrooke!” The man said. He was shaking so I put him down and pushed him to the side. “Show me the papers,” I demanded. My wife had told me twice that she had gotten a new job offer. I was extremely excited! I work from home and would be happy to live wherever she wanted. All she had to do was say the word and we could’ve left as soon as possible. But she never made it home to tell me the news.
I watched as the shaking man handed me a stack of papers and even a suitcase. “Here, take it and please leave me alone!” He shouted. “Okay.” I left the motel room and went right to my car. I put everything on the passenger seat and went home. Once I got there I sobbed in the driveway for over an hour before finally getting out and heading inside. I never got to see her body and I never got to say goodbye. Being in this house felt like I was walking into a damn shallow grave of sorts.
I went right to the master bedroom and packed up as many clothes as I could. I even took some of her favorite items, I don’t know why. I took a couple of pillows and two blankets, and after that, I went around to search the rest of the house. Once I had finished in the master bedroom I went and grabbed all my items from the bathroom. After that, I went into the nursery. We were planning on trying to have a baby once she got her new job. I looked around the nursery and took some stuffed animals and blankets, nothing too crazy. I also made sure to grab our family photo album. Finally, I made sure to grab all of the savings from the jar we had plus anything I kept in the safe. I also made sure to grab our wedding video and once I had everything I thought I could need I left the house. On my way out I made sure to tell the building goodbye.
Once I got back into my car I decided to drive a bit. No way in hell was I going to the same motel as that guy so I drove until I hit a hotel far enough away from my house. I did not end up checking in though. Once I got close enough I backed up and just kept driving. I eventually hit a truck stop after a couple of hours and decided to rest my eyes for a while. I was exhausted and there were way too many questions rushing through my head. I knew if I kept driving in that state I would probably crash or something. After sleeping for four hours I decided it was time to look through the papers and figure out what I was going to do next. I took the first paper from the stack and started to read it. For the sake of time here I will only tell you guys what I found that was interesting.
Paper One: You have been accepted to work as a store manager! Please review your employee packet for more information.
So as I am going over this first paper a couple of things stick out to me. Whoever wrote this was trying not to be specific. The whole paper was one big announcement for a new store opening up in a place called LittleBrooke. There was no state mentioned anywhere on this paper, I would later find out that this place was supposed to be in Washington D.C.
I decided to dig around and eventually found the employee packet. She accepted a job at a mega-store called BrightMarketZ. I thought it was a pretty weird name but what stood out to me was what they were offering to pay her. $22.00 an hour! I couldn't believe it. No wonder she said yes and didn’t bother to ask any questions.
Paper Twenty: To find LittleBrooke please enter [REDACTED] into your GPS device. You will be staying inside apartment 307. All rent for your first month in LittleBrooke is covered by your employer. Please note that all apartments are two-bedroom only. If you have a larger household please speak to Sydney May at Town Hall for bigger accommodations. After reading this I decided to just go to LittleBrooke and get answers. I was assuming that I would find out what the hell happened if I just went. I wanted to know what my wife died for and I wanted to know why this was some big secret in the first place. I went back to bed and as soon as the sun came up I put the information into my GPS and headed for LittleBrooke.

Year One in LittleBrooke

It took me three weeks to reach LittleBrooke and I could tell that something was wrong the moment I found the town. If I wasn't so damn desperate for answers I would've turned around as soon as I saw the library. The building itself wasn't big but the two huge lions on either side of the staircase gave me the creeps.
After that I passed a mechanic, the whole place looked run down as hell. There wasn't a single car to be seen but the sign said open. The man standing outside of the building waved to me so I gave him a slow wave back. He looked weird. At the time I couldn’t place my finger on why but now I know it’s because he was not human.
The theater was kind of cool to look at in a vintage kind of way. They were not showing anything when I drove by and I made the decision early on to stay out of the theater altogether. After the theater, I saw a small building that said LittleBrooke Press. If anything else I figured I could write for the paper.
As I approached the apartment building a woman was standing outside. Her face was weird as hell. It looked like she had far too much plastic surgery like her face was threatening to pop at any moment. “Hi, can I help you?” she asked me. Her voice was shrill, it was gross to even hear her speak. It sounded like she was putting on a fake voice just to speak to me. “Hi, my wife accepted a job offer. Unfortunately, she has passed away. I would still like to claim the apartment left to us. I can work at any place that currently has an opening.” I offered.
“LittleBrooke Press has space for two more writers!” She smiled and handed me the keys to the apartment. She never asked my name and she knew exactly where I wanted to go. I thought it was weird but I didn’t argue. Instead, I took the keys and thanked her. I spent that whole day getting settled into the new apartment. A couple of things, the front door had four different locks on it. I thought that was pretty weird. I also did not see or hear any other people until my third night in the apartment. I called the LittleBrooke Press about a potential job and they told me to email my submissions. There was no need for me to come in person and honestly, I liked this deal a lot.
For the first few months, I spent my time writing about whatever came to my mind. After that, I would send it in and get my money back. The editor never told me what to do and they never requested anything. It was sweet. As December rolled around I could feel myself slipping into a seasonal depression. At that point, I had made no progress in any of my investigations. I did not know the town well enough and frankly, I felt like I was wasting my time. That night I decided to check out the local bar. It was pretty hidden, you had to drive further into LittleBrooke to find it. Once I got there I was shocked! The place was packed. I sat down at the bar and ordered a drink.
The bartender was hot as hell, too hot. She was so even looking so perfectly symmetrical that it made me extremely uncomfortable. There wasn’t a single hair out of place. “So are you new in town?” She asked me. “Yeah, I just got here a couple of months ago. My now-deceased wife accepted a job offer here.” I said bluntly and dryly. I wanted to finish my drink and go. It was like the bones in my body were screaming at me to leave. The woman looked shocked. “Tell me, does that happen often? Do people accept a job offer in LittleBrooke and turn up dead a couple of days later?” I hissed. It was a genuine question but she did not take it too kindly. She took my drink from my hands and told me to leave.
As I made my way back to my car I could hear someone coming up from behind me. I turned around as fast as possible and had to take three steps back. It was the bartender, but she did not look the same. Half of her face was weighed down like she had no bones at all. Her eyes were bulging out of her head. She gurgled at me. “You need to leave!” She finally snapped and swung her arm in my direction. I moved back before she could hit me. As her hand hit my car window it shattered like it was made of ice. I watched as her arm popped and clicked. I could see it slowly getting longer. Before I knew it her arm was dragging on the pavement! She lunged at me so I punched her in her stomach. She gurgled again and sunk her teeth into my jacket. I screamed for help as we hit the pavement. She was trying fucken eat me! I grabbed her by her hair and threw her backward as hard as I could. As I scrambled to my feet and looked at her I screamed again. Her skin was pulled back. Now hugging the bones on her face. Her eyes were completely exposed! I turned and dove into my car as fast as I could. I slammed the door behind me and sped out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell.
The next morning I received a letter under my door. “Sorry, you had problems last night! Please accept our sincerest apologies.” -Mayor Brookes. There was $300 included with the letter. Now, I thought about leaving but decided I had to stay. Something was going on here and I had to find out what. I removed my jacket to see if the woman had injured me, she didn't but the experience was still terrifying. For the first time in a very long time, I was scared. But I also felt closer to the truth than I have ever been before.

Year Two in LittleBrooke

I spent all of January writing about the women who attacked me. I even contacted the police. I quickly learned that the police were going to be completely useless. My editor never sent the story back so I had assumed it was published.
At the end of the month, I left to shop for some supplies. Let me tell you, the grocery store in LittleBrooke is something else. They don’t have any brands you’ve ever heard of and at first, that drove me nuts. However, I quickly came to fall in love with the food here. It was comforting to have something to enjoy. Like always, I made sure to shop for two to three months at a time. Shopping was easy, I used the self-checkout to make sure I didn’t have to speak to anyone.
Once I got home I put everything away and decided to look around the apartment building. My whole floor started with 301 and went all the way to 310. The first floor was 501 to 509. There was a technical second floor but none of the doors were labeled. It looked like someone was renovating the place.
I got to see some of my neighbors too. An older woman, two men, and I were living next door to a lady the whole time. I had never seen or heard from these people before. It seemed like everyone wanted to keep to themselves too. I wanted to try and talk to someone but every time I approached them they turned and walked away. For what it's worth they looked completely normal.
So I left the apartment building and ventured around the property. There were no other apartments anywhere close to the one I was staying at, or so I thought until I found one about thirty minutes away. It was so out of the way you wouldn't find it unless you were looking. Against my better judgment, I opened the doors to the building and walked right inside. The place smelled like rust and soot.
I went to explore the first floor and was shocked to find blood trails on the floor and the ceiling. I followed the trail and made sure to look at the numbers on each door. This floor was numbered 1-10. Most of the doors were locked and I wasn’t going to try and knock anything down. I opened the door to apartment 10 and walked right inside. There was just enough light from the sun to illuminate the place. It looked like the whole place had been ransacked. I checked the tables and cabinets before heading into the bedroom. I searched the dresser and under the pillows before finally checking under the bed. When I looked under I spotted a black box. I grabbed it and that is when I got the feeling again. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt something sharp dig into my shoulders.
I screamed as loudly as I could, my face slammed off of the carpet and I clenched the box with one hand. Before I could figure out what the hell was happening I was tossed backward. I went into the bedroom door and rolled a couple of times until I reached the torn-up couch. I slowly lifted my head and to my horror what I was looking at was way too far from human to be real.
It looked like a dog ape thing. It was mostly skinless aside from some skin on its torso and face. The creature had thick, long claws and was standing on its hind legs. It barked at me. Its fangs were huge! I quickly scrambled to my feet and rushed out of the door as fast as possible. I could feel the blood running down my back. Never once did I consider letting this box go.
“Help!” I screamed as I burst through the apartment complex doors and started to run back to the main road. My heart was pounding, I could feel my chest getting tighter with each step. I could hear the beast behind me, it was screeching. I thought I was going to die for sure, there was no way I could continue to outrun this beast. That’s when I heard a car and before I knew it I could see it! A woman was waving me over, she was just up ahead! I had to push a little harder. I had to be just a little stronger.
When I felt the embrace of the car door I ripped it open and dove inside. She sped away and I looked out of the window. The beast did not follow us any further. “Are you insane!” She snapped at me. That’s the last thing I remember before passing out.
When I woke up I was laying on my stomach on an extremely comfortable couch. I could smell someone making pasta with meat sauce. My stomach was going insane. Everything hurt though, especially my back and my left side. I figured I had hurt my side when I was tossed across the room.
At this point, I did not dive into the box yet. I could barely move. “Hi.” I heard a woman say from the kitchen. “Thank you,” I replied before trying to sit up. I was so concerned that this woman would be another monster. When I saw her though I knew she was normal. She didn't look so damn perfect and that was a breath of fresh air.
“What's your name?” She asked me as I watched her prepare two bowls of food.
“Leon,” I said before closing my eyes. “You heard me screaming?” I asked her seriously.
“I did. I’m pretty sure everyone in our building did. You got hurt pretty badly, I did my best to patch you up.” She paused and laughed. “My name is Ashley.”
So I ended up crashing at her place. During this time I tried to focus on recovering. Sleeping became hell, I was having constant nightmares. I also spent a lot of time working on articles. I ended up giving Ash the keys to my apartment so she could get my laptop. It was a big move to trust anyone here but I am glad I did.

Year Three and Four in LittleBrooke

During my recovery, I spent most of my time writing. I wanted to write about everything I have seen and experienced. I had a lot of questions and way too much time with my thoughts. Ash and I got to know each other too.
I told her about how my wife had died mysteriously. I eventually opened up about her being skinned and drained of her blood. Ash told me she had come to LittleBrooke with her older sister. Her sister went to work one day and never came back. She was working at the theater. Ash had told me that she was stuck here, she didn’t feel right leaving with her sister still missing. Every time she would try the cops would meet her at the town line.
It was during this time that we both shared that we had never seen a police station. We talked about the monsters too. Her first run-in with one was at the grocery store. I told her about what happened to me at the bar. She told me that she heard rumors of the beast living beyond the apartments. The first time she saw it was when it was attacking me.
As I started to recover more we discussed a couple of things. First, the neighbors here suck. She could hear me screaming and came to help but no one else did. Second, neither of us has seen any families since we moved here. It was at this point I decided I wanted to leave and I offered to take her with me. We could both get out come hell or high water. She agreed but there was something I had to do first.
I showed her the box I had taken from the apartment.
“You almost died for a box?” Ash asked me. “Yes,” I said seriously.
I opened it and blinked. I found a picture of a girl with black hair and bright green eyes. It read, Stephanie. I found a missing persons report too. This girl had been missing a year before I got here. I decided that my last article would be about her. I had written about a couple of missing people before this. For example, the old lady in our building vanished and her apartment was rented out two days later.
I also found a badge inside the box. It read F.O.P.P. and there was a name! Jack Bridges. We tried to look up the organization's name but we came up empty-handed. I ended up writing the story about Stephanie and the next day Ash and I got packing. We decided to take my car since the cops know what hers looks like. I packed up the essentials all over again and we piled into the car.
“We should check the other direction. Before we leave.” I suggested. Ash knew about the bar already but neither of us knew what was beyond that point: This suggested changed the course of our lives forever.
So we started driving in the other direction. We passed the bar where the woman had tried to eat me, we passed a convenience store I didn’t know this town had and we just kept driving. Eventually, I could hear Ash speaking to me, “Holy shit! The police station.” she pointed out. I couldn’t believe it either. I did not stop driving though but I wish I did.
Eventually, we saw a sign that read, LittleBrooke High. Go Bears!
I started to slow down a bit until the school was in view. The place looked run down as hell. There were holes in the walls and leaves growing up the side of the building. The parking lot was massive and full of buses. I pulled the car into the parking lot and told Ash to get into the driver's seat.
“You’re not serious?” She asked me. I could tell she wanted to go but I said, “This is it! This is the last place of note in this fucken town. Just take the wheel and I will be right back.” I said as I jumped out of the car and went to look around.
As I approached one of the buses I grabbed the doors, they were already open a crack. I pulled them open and was hit with a horrible stench. I had to step back and puke and no I am not going to describe what I saw in that fucken bus. At that point, I decided I had seen enough and it was time to fucken go.
“Help!” I heard someone cry from a couple of buses over. “Please!” I heard again. I wanted to slap myself because I knew better. I had already decided it was time to leave but I went to investigate anyway. I went to the bus and pulled the doors open. It smelled like stale piss and blood. “Back here!” A girl screamed out to me. I made my way to the back of the bus, stepping on school jackets and over backpacks. That is where I found them. Two teenagers are tied to the leg of a bus seat. They looked horrible, caking in blood and sweat. They were both injured. “Stephanie?!” I exclaimed as I bent over to free them. I recognized her face the moment I saw it.
“Can you move? I asked the blonde girl.” As I started to let her go. “Everything hurts.” She told me. I opened the emergency exit and called for Ash to pull the car over. It took her a second to hear me but she came as fast as possible. “I am going to get you guys in the car and we are going to get out of here, okay?” I told them. I wanted to tell them everything was going to be okay, but I couldn't. It felt like that would be a huge lie.
Ash stepped out of the car and helped get the girls into the backseat. As I stopped to look around I could feel the bus shift in weight. I turned around and inhaled sharply. Standing before me was a creature wearing a jacket that said COACH on it. He looked sickly, and pale, and his veins were protruding from his face and hands. As he ran at me I jumped out of the emergency exit door just in time to feel something slam off of the back of my head. I looked down to see a barbed football. I could feel blood trickling down my neck, I stumbled forward and felt a hand grab my arm. Ash was shoving me into the car. She slid over me, closed the passenger door, and backed the car up. I thought she was moving like lightning.
At this point, everyone was screaming. My heart was threatening to jump out of my fucken chest. I was so sure we were all going to die here, just like everyone else I had seen on the buses. But no, Ash sped out of the parking lot. The coach chased us to the school limits but for some reason, he did not follow us anymore.
I know we should've stopped to see if the kids could find their parents but we didn't. Instead, Ash just kept driving. Eventually, we could hear the cops behind us but that did not stop her. It took us six hours to finally see the You Are New Leaving LittleBrooke sign! I couldn’t believe it. This place was not that big at all.
So listen, if you’re invited to take a job in LittleBrooke. Don’t take it. It’s not worth your life.

Hello,
I posted this question on another sub-reddit, but did not get the intended responses and seemed to irk some folks, so I thought I would try here.
NOTE: I'm already in contact with my physician, and getting input from him. He's on vacation, but I will be working on next steps with him, but I wanted some varying opinions.
Summary / Background

1. Recent bloodwork shows that my Vitamin D Levels are at 26 ng/ML. This is below the reference range, and I do show signs of Vitamin D deficiency. This represents a drop from around 60 just 2 years ago.
2. The same bloodwork also shows that my creatinine levels were 1.34 when they have never trended above 1.07 for the last several years, on several blood tests.
3. My eFGR levels are also showing 66, whereas they have historically been 85-90, again measured over several blood tests in the last few years, not just once or twice.
4. These changes in trends have been observed over the last 12 months, whereas before then, the bloodwork was stable and consistent.
5. The last 12 months have been quite stressful at work, a Ph.D. program, adopting 3 new dogs, and several other variables. My blood pressure is normally 120/80 or less, and is now trending around 130-140/90, and have experienced fatigue, weight gain, and apathy when it comes to maintaining my health (likely due to stress).
6. I have a family history of ADPKD

Question
My question to my physician is, should I be concerned about this trend? I need to recenter my priorities and make some lifestyle changes, but are additional labs or other diagnostics in order? Or is this something I need to just keep an eye on?
It may also be worth taking Vitamin D to correct that deficiency, and perhaps there is some relationship between the Vitamin D and labs I'm seeing. I'm assuming the deficiency is related to stress, weight gain, but I'm also wondering if perhaps the rather sudden Drop in Vitamin D is due to something else.
Medical input is appreciated. And again, I'm looking for some guidance so I can have the conversation with my physician, not trying to self-treat in a vacuum.
EDIT: Some more info about me - 46 YO Male, 250 lbs, 5'9", mixed ethnicity