I'm a 22 year old woman who was raised by a neglectful, cunning, arrogant, and self-centered dad (who I suspect to have NPD) and a controlling, gaslighting, emotionally abusive, enabler mother. The relationship between my parents is also not great, as my father was unfaithful to my mother on several occasions, subjecting her to mental and emotional abuse, forbidding her to work, and continuously complaining about household chores.
Living in a culture that doesn't recognize women's empowerment and freedom, I have been unable to escape this miserable household with my two younger sisters. As Indian residents living in the Middle East, we are in dire need of help.
My father's actions toward us have been unforgivable, cruel, and malicious.
//TRIGGER WARNING//
▪︎ He recently abandoned my beloved cat that I raised for 2 years in an unknown place to replace him with a younger kitten. It happened a week ago and he refuses to tell us where it is. He claims it was to demonstrate to my mother how easily he can discard her for someone younger and that he is unaffected by emotions. However, I cannot understand why my cat deserved such inhumane treatment. I miss him to bits and can't stop thinking or crying about him.
▪︎ Another cruel incident occurred when my mother was admitted to the hospital with an intestinal blockage and needed my father's support. Instead, he was out partying and singing, completely neglecting her. Despite the difficulties my mother has caused me, I was appalled at my father's heartless conduct. He seeks praise, attention, and compliments from strangers by attending parties and singing for them.
▪︎ But nothing compares to the trauma that he inflicted when he violently forced me to agree to a marriage to a man that I do not want to be with by emotionally and physically torturing me and my sisters. He threatened to murder us all, rip our faces off with a knife or sell us to a black market if I did not agree to this marriage. I was on my periods and I usually have terrible cramps and it was one of those days when he kicked so hard repeatedly on my back and slapped my face until I almost fainted. He knocked my sister unconscious by slapping her face several times because she cried for help. He threatened to abandon us on streets without any financial support or cut us into pieces and bury them pieces in a desert.
▪︎ All my friends and relatives who came to our aid were threatened and blackmailed by him. He cut off all ties with them, ensuring that they would suffer if they dared to help us.
▪︎ He always called us names, bodyshamed us, told that we deserve to be on the streets, that we can only be prostitutes or beggars and are worth nothing more than that. He has a disgusting perception towards women in general. He told us we will definitely get raped by men out there if we don't have our dad in our lives. Furthermore, he stated that only men can give us lives and if women look forward to be independent, their legs must be broken and they must be forced to serve the men in the household.
▪︎ I was stopped for pursuing my higher education after high school unlike my peers. I wasted 3 years of my life from 2019 until covid got over so that he might change his mind. But he never seemed to so I was forced to study in an online college. I am doing my college with a scholarship as my father refused to pay any money.
▪︎ He never cared about his family, our education, our health, and our development and was always after money, praise, and his selfish desires.
Some of the things that our mom did that affected us emotionally,
▪︎ She was also a bodyshaming, emotionally abusive, contantly bickering, and controlling parent. She told once that she loves our narcissistic cruel dad way more than she will ever love us.
▪︎ She teamed up with my dad to force me into agreeing to the marriage. My engagement is next month with that man and I'm unsure how to get out of this situation than to marry him and leave this cruel household. I was always strong about my opinion on my marriage and career but they've driven me to a point where I've just given up. If I were to leave this house, I can only leave alone which would mean that my sisters would get emotionally tortured or even physically harmed in cruel ways when I'm gone. I cannot let that happen. If I am to leave, I will leave with them which is very difficult.
▪︎ After I finished high school, I cannot remember a day when she had stopped yelling at us and blaming us for the minor inconveniences in the household. It got to a point where I was suicidal.
I can remember all the abuse since I was as young as 3.
Are there any solutions for someone like us? How do I and my sisters live when there are issues as such along with emotional and mental suffering every passing day?

I’m a 27(F) from the UK, white British, around 5’2 and weigh about 100lbs. I very rarely drink and if I do it’s not a lot, I don’t smoke cigarettes and probably smoke weed 3 times a week.
I am currently officially diagnosed through the NHS as having: ASD level 1 - mild severity without any intellectual delays, ADHD combined type, cyclothymia, PMDD and EUPD/BPD. I currently take 75mg of Effexor, 50mg Vyvanse, 10mg Amfexa booster to stop the Vyvanse crash and the Yasmine birth control pill.
Background: I was born in 96’ to young parents who split when I was 18 months old. I’d always been extremely anxious, I do not recall a time where I haven’t felt anxiety.
My parents had shared custody until I was 12. My mum was diagnosed with manic depression in 2008 after I moved out because she was being emotionally/verbally abusive and was neglectful. I saw my first therapist from the ages of 12-14. I was doing well and had NC with my mum until we started texting again at 18. At 18 I was diagnosed with depression & anxiety and started Effexor up to 300mg. I was on this for about 3 years and stable, I started therapy at 18 again because I know meds work best with therapy.
A month before I was meant to see my mum again, she got into a car accident and I had to spend a week in the ICU and then remove life support in 2016. However, I got through this and completed my BA when my professors told me drop out as I’d fail. I continued with therapy and came off of my Effexor early 2019.
I was doing well and completing a Psychology Conversion MSc, when my mental health started to dip in late 2019. I was prescribed 10mg of Prozac, when I went up to 20mg I started to feel really unwell. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I was experiencing anxiety I’d never felt before, working and studying full time on 2 hours sleep a night. They decided it sent me too high and took me off it again. I had an assessment with a psychologist who once discussed with the psychiatrist I was diagnosed with Cyclothymia. I finished my MSc and started working in mental health during the pandemic, with no meds and just therapy.
In September 2021 I started Effexor again and I started dating a 24 year old (F) with BPD. She had been hospitalised for it 5+ times but I didn’t care I loved her. I got her through trauma anniversaries, medication changes and she stopped self harming and using ketamine when with me. She would do both daily before we met and moved in together. She said I was her favourite person & I poured myself into helping her recover. By month 4 of this relationship I was broken. I was depressed, anxious and the most suicidal I’ve ever been. I stopped working because I just couldn’t hold it together out the house anymore. I just crumbled.
My gf was thriving and I was dying, I was assessed and given a mental health team. I was diagnosed with autism in April 2022 and bpd. My gf had been telling me I had “quiet” bpd every day, despite my SH only occurring in melt downs & no presentations to services with incidents. I told my psychiatrist I had bpd and he agreed. My SH was always just hitting myself & I could avoid SH if I ensured my sensory needs were okay.
In December 22 I was diagnosed with ADHD and started medication. Life changing! Emptiness and anxiety gone, impulsivity gone, all the bpd symptoms I did still display stopped with ADHD meds.
Early this year it was made quite obvious that I was being abused by my gf, my friends called an intervention as it was worrying them. My gf was lying to me and gaslighting me for about 6 weeks and when ovulation rolled round I got diagnosed with PMDD as I was so paranoid & almost delusional, experiencing EXTREME anxiety. BC further reduced any BPD like symptoms and gave me even more emotional stability, on top of the adhd meds.
Having lived with someone with severe BPD and worked with patients I don’t think I have this. Friends of 8+ years (some working in MH, one doing a clinical doctorate) and my dad (who has done a lot of therapy himself) think the abuse and living with a unwell person made me reflect those symptoms. On top of being told I’m bpd daily by partner who I shrunk my life down to nothing for, so I could care for her. I also know late diagnosed ND women with trauma can get diagnosed with bpd before the ND stuff. I know me giving my all was also an issue, I’m not blaming my ex for everything here. She is extremely unwell and has relapsed on the ketamine again.
Do you think I have a good case to get this diagnosis removed? Now this relationship is over I have no unstable relationships, I’ve not self harmed since it ended, the impulsivity and anger are gone, I don’t think I meet the 9 criteria anymore. Healthcare staff are horrible to me when they see the bpd diagnosis and it’s not nice. Any advice?
Edit: Spelling & clarity.

Hi, I just graduated from my CNA course and am working at a LTC to get experience to work at a hospital. I am working at the facility that I completed my clinicals in since they hire CNAs that are still waiting to take their certification exams. During my clinicals I witnessed some horrendous patient abuse on my first day. Of course, I reported it but since the other CNAs that I reported worked as a CNA longer, nothing really happened. It sounds like they both cried and denied everything. Well, now that I work at the facility I noticed that the staff are very short with me. They treat me like I’m stupid. I still run into the other CNAs I reported and they always glare at me. I’ve also seen them pulling aside other nursing assistants on shift with me, whispering to them, and then suddenly the other CNA treats me entirely different than before. It’s just my second week but I’m worried that this will continue. Should I quit and try to find employment elsewhere? It just seems like a lot of drama. I was prepared to get treated badly by residents, but not by my coworkers.

I know its basically lottery, but I wanna know if I even have a good chance
Demographics: Black (2nd gen immigrant), Female
Intended Major(s): Biology/Pre-med!
ACT/SAT/SAT II: 34 ACT (36 M, 35 E, 30 R, 33 S),
UW/W GPA and Rank: 4.0 UW/4.8W (out of 5), Ranked 1/400

• My school is public and non-competitive; we are also a bit underfunded compared to the schools nearby so we lack a lot of the typical clubs and honor societies

Coursework: AP Human (4), AP Calc BC (5), AP Chem (5), AP Lang (3), APES (4), AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Psych, APUSH
Taking AP Bio, Calc III, and calc-based physics at local university senior year
Awards: Kinda mid 😭

• Dozens of District and Regional Quizbowl Awards in Math, Writing, Science, and QR; I also got top 50 in Math this year at State Finals, and last year my team placed 15th overall in state
  • I'm working out with my counselor how to go about entering these into common app
• Very likely National Merit Scholar (1470 is well above my state cutoff)
• Qualified for Nationals in Engineering Team... we'll see what happens (ik i'm premed but I only did this for math 💀)
• African American College Board Award/AP Scholar w/ Distinction
• A bunch of in-school awards (student of the month, academic awards, etc)
• 2-time semifinalist for a regional/state creative writing contest

Extracurriculars:

• Played piano since kindergarten, does annual recitals
• Been in marching band since 8th grade, played synth every year except one and also play snare/bass for pep band
  • We only competed during my 1st year... every year after that, either covid or staff/personal issues stopped us
• Also been in jazz band as the pianist since 8th grade, we do christmas and spring performances every year
• President of NHS and in charge of leading a lot of school/community service events and mentoring the president-elect
• President of Student Council, formerly secretary and vice president
  • I joined during our founding years and helped create a lot of our traditions and means of government
• Representative for my high school on my district's student council, we mostly do service projects which have reached the state level
• Quizbowl member since 8th grade and prospective team captain
• Regional hospital volunteer during summers in the specialty I hope to work in
• I spend a lot of time writing and have an entire novel draft written which I'll probably submit as a supplement or sum
• Currently working on a service project combining my intrests in medicine, music, community service, and leadership
• About to do MITES SemesteMOSTEC through MIT, acceptance rate ~8%
• Possible lab intern or research position at a local company
• Accepted into my state governor's programs but not attending due to MITES
• Did the National Congress of Future Medical Leaders summer after my Freshman year and got a little participation award (lowkey wasted money so I might only put it in my resume for supplements)

Also, should I do REA or just RD?

Hi guys, i’ve been going to this guy for laser tattoo removal in the UK for around 5 sessions (since December 2021), 3 months after getting this tattoo that I immediately hated. The clinic is just a couple rooms in the back of a hairdresser with machines for laser tattoo removal and laser hair removal. He has certificates up on the wall but isn’t a nurse or dr, however his wife who also works there is apparently a nurse in dermatology in a hospital so i assume they know what they’re doing. The tattoo is rather large & on the outer side of my lower leg. It would have spotted with blood all over for the first few sessions but he has been turning the intensity up recently and it has been bleeding more. The last time i got it done, the blood was pouring down my leg and it scared me a bit. Im using topical minoxidil which is a vasodilator I believe so that might be why but i wanted to ask if anyone else experiences this much bleeding? I have type 1 diabetes and it has always healed okay but i worry 😬. He seemed surprised i was bleeding so much but said women bleed more and being on their period can make that happen (I wasn’t on mine). Should I look into going somewhere else?

I spent so much time researching IUD experiences and ways to mitigate pain so I wanted to share my IUD experience today so other women can know about this option. I initially had a Kyleena placed October of 2017 (never had babies before). I had vicodin left over from an oral surgery and took double the dose out of fear of the pain and the insertion was a breeze, only felt minor cramping during the insertion and no cramping afterwards.
I was due for a replacement in October 2022 but I missed my appointment out of anxiety, especially after reading so many horror stories from other girls (and I didn't have access to any stronger pain medicine this time). The planned parenthood near me wouldn't offer twilight sedation but said they could do a paracervical block, which is a shot or a few shots to the cervix to numb the cervix. I read some positive feedback about this but was still afraid of getting a super long needle inside me.
After some digging, I found out Virginia Women's Center in Richmond, VA offers nitrous oxide/laughing gas for $75. I took 800mg ibuprofen an hour before my appointment and was so nervous. The staff there were amazingly nice and the laughing gas made me feel like I was on the verge of passing out and everyone in the room felt very far away. I felt so detached from the situation, it was a very strong effect. I did feel some quick pain, 3/10, during removal & insertion but I was totally fine with it. I clutched my stomach at one point but it felt like an overreaction. Like my body was experiencing something that my mind wasn't completely processing. Afterwards I felt like it would've been a horrible experience if I wasn't so messed up from the laughing gas.
Tldr laughing gas for Kyleena IUD insertion was an 8/10 experience. Great alternative if twilight sedation or general anesthesia isn't available

our best Gynecology and Obstetrics doctors in Kamothe, we provide a complete spectrum of gynecological services to women of every age group. We cater to provide consultation and treatment from teens to senior citizens. Matoshree Multispeciality Hospital has a team of dedicated and expert gynecologists who have years of experience in their field. Our finest work experience, state-of-the-art facilities, and infrastructure make us one of the Best gynecology hospital in Kamothe.

Original Post for reference.
After receiving itemized lists of all her procedures, we tried negotiating down the costs of the procedures, a double charge, and being charged $209.00 on 10 different visits for pregnancy tests she told the ER staff wasn't necessary or they just tested anyway without her knowledge. So we tried explaining this to the supervisor of the billing department and they told us everything was valid and "standard procedures". Very detached, all business, no concept of reality. They are offering a settlement to close the accounts for $5,000 to be paid in full within 60 days. My friend pet sits for a private employer (my friend has SLE Lupus, not able to work a strenuous job) and makes roughly less than $8,000 in a year, less than $400/mo, so $5,000 in 2 months is insane and that doesn't include her cost of living and expenses. If she doesn't agree to the $5k settlement, the balance goes back up to ≈$14k and the collection agency will file (on behalf of the hospital) to have her entire state income tax intercepted until the balance is less than $25... which would take about 21 years and something tells us they probably won't want it to take that long.
So we're not really sure which route to take now. We know the $5,000 in 60 days would be impossible, the hospital justifies every action they've taken even though they told us we could "negotiate". My friend has filed for financial assistance through the same hospital in 2019, she called to check on its status and got the "we'll call back and let you know, but we never will" treatment. She's kinda afraid to file again and give them her employer's name because they might try to have her less than $400 a month wages garnished on top of who knows what else. Should we write a complaint to the Attn. General's office? FTC? CFPB??? We'd greatly appreciate any advice anyone has to share.
Edit: So far, people are hyper focusing on her health condition or employment situation... that's not what we need advice about. I know what she deals with health wise on a daily basis and if she could work a full-time job to pay this off she would and this post wouldn't even EXIST. Advice with dealing with the hospital is what is needed.

This is maybe an odd question, but I'm not sure how or how important it is to accurately capture life experience on CASPA. Appreciate any perspective/advice on this, apologies for the wall of text.
I'm in my 30s and I lived a-- for lack of a better phrase-- non-career-focused life in my 20s. Got a bachelors but then spent years doing many small things, often not paid. I wrote for a hyperlocal blog, reviewed theatephotography/painting by emerging artists, wrote neighborhood guides, lived in an illegally converted industrial warehouse artist-collective that hosted readings/exhibitions/parties, published zines, ran writing groups, helped make/acted in experimental short films, traveled around the world, lived in Argentina and Berlin for a bit, interned at a small feminist press, worked at a gallery, did A/V for events for an artist's residency, managed a paintesculptor's studio, wrote/edited artist writing, wrote grants, co-authored a book length manuscript (not published), and other scattered things of this nature. Paid rent by working at neighborhood restaurants where staff was quite involved in the running and community events.
My question is-- could this go on CASPA or no? I don't include it now because a lot of it seems "unprofessional", scattered, and unpaid. It doesn't fit as volunteer work in the traditional sense. My PS could be a good spot, but it's already kinda long.
To me it seems like these things show a genuine dedication to my artistic community and my 'hood, even if it's not the traditional kind of service. Without including this stuff, it looks like I just bartended for years, which I don't think captures who I am as an applicant. Is this kind of life experience/volunteering not really relevant to apps, counting more as a hobby or something like that? I have a 3.3 cumulative GPA, 4.0 in all pre-reqs & 2k+ hrs PCE.
For example, I lived in Argentina for a while and became fluent in Spanish. Worked in a Mexican restaurant and was bilingual at work. I translate at the hospital every day. My college-aged coworkers applying to PA school have years of college Spanish credits but are not fluent and are not allowed to translate. Another college-aged coworker applying PA is going on a school-sponsored "mission" trip that costs $$$ and the itinerary she showed me looked like a sightseeing/surf vacation. (Sorry I'm old and bitter hahah!) This "experience" stuff is clear on apps. Seems like a miss to show nowhere on CASPA that I'm a non-native speaker who learned the language through experience and translates for the docs in the ER. Can't find a way to put it in that doesn't seem awkward and forced.
Again, apologies for the wall of text. Anyone, especially non-trad applicants, have thoughts or advice on this?
Thank you in advance!

Currently I have a family member (step dad) who's an inpatient due to an operation going about as bad as it could have and most likely is going to need complex care which my mum really cannot provide. She's pretty disabled herself and already needs care giving.
Last time they sent him back it was hell on earth. No other family is available or an option and private care is far too expensive. Ivs basically been going between here and my own flat when I can but same issue, I'm also disabled and not willing to become his care giver.
We haven't had any contact from any sort of hospital social worker and they haven't pointed us in any direction when asked if we can have signposting ahead of time to actually get things set up.
They're going to be looking at applying for a disabled council house at the very least if he does come home but "when" that is not being communicated when we ask and have been told anything from the next 7 days to at least a few weeks
Edit: Reread once posted and I'm going to add in some bullet points for extra info/clearing up any unclear bits. On mobile so sorry for formatting I have tried
-We have been told the discharge timescale from a range of staff (first hand) and my step dad (second hand). He however is also pretty likely telling hospital staff because of my mum's medical background she can care give. It's been passed on that she can't to at least one charge nurse but god knows if that's being listened too.
-Hes been in four different wards across two hospitals over six weeks. It's very hard to track what information is being said to who and is consistent in quality when we're being told things.
-As of this moment no one in the family can drive and hospital transport may not cover all out of area appointments at the big major city hospital.
-Im going back and forth because I have been care giving for my mum and physically getting her to the hospital to visit. She can't even collect her own medication let alone his.

Welcome to Green Valley

Four Merry Jaunts Through in the Bumpkin Quest Campaign

It’s a big world filled with far off folks who have far off problems. In the quaint farming town of Hills Furrow that has certainly not been the case. Here life is simple, local, and paced by the seasons. There ain’t been a need for “Venturers” and their ilk since your Papaw was just a sprout. However, the winds of change are blowin, and things are about to git just a bit more exciting round these parts.
Welcome to Green Valley, The down-home home of Rural Fantasy Misadventures and Grass-Roots Shenanigans. The Valley is Filled with Colorful Characters, Brimming with Odd Ball Neighbors, and has more than a few Local Yokels. Welcome to Bumpkin Quest. These adventures are intended to be a series of silly adventures that all go awry in some way or another and stir up trouble throughout a peaceful little village that has in many ways been overlooked by the troubles of the world “outside”.
CHAPTER 1: Green Tide CHAPTER 2: A Cartload of Chickens CHAPTER 3: Marvin the Magnificent CHAPTER 4: High Society
ADVENTURE MECHANICS - Target Character Level: Commoners - Level 1 - Target Party Size: Four Players - Average Adventure Playtime: 1-2 Hours - Tone: Rural Misadventures
I’ve also put these adventures into a PDF that includes our Bumpkin Quest: Campaign Guide which fills in the details of Green Valley pretty thoroughly. The quests are simple enough to be run in any setting you choose, but if you're interested in more the Guide as over a dozen Custom Maps, 70+ NPCs, Location Descriptions, 20+ Local Legends, and Scores of Adventure and Event Ideas. You can grab the PDF Free at the link above.

Hills Furrow

At the center of the Valley sits a patch of small grassy hills, through which the Slow Water meanders through. Built into these hills is the Village of Hills Furrow. Celebrated by everyone living in The Valley and boasting a whopping population of almost 150, Hills Furrow is the center of commerce and social importance. Well, at least as far as the locals are concerned. Realistically it would be less than a blip on the grand scale of things, a mere kernel of wheat in the silo of civilization, but to those who live here, there is nothing quite like living in the “city”.
The Village itself, like the Valley, is predominantly Halfling, and their fancy dwellings are burrowed into the hillsides as often as possible. These dwellings have been family owned for generations only becomeing available if there are no heirs to pass them along to. Other folk live in well kept two story shingled buildings, most of which house a business on the lower floor and house the Shopkeepers and their families above their workplaces, though a few live in nearby homes. There aren’t many “rental” spaces in town, as property is usually bought up quickly by the Halfling Families, but there are long term options at either of the Inns in town.
Hills Furrow: Locations 1) The Crocked Crow (Inn and Tavern) 2) The Dancing Lamb (Inn and Tavern) 3) The Moaning Toad (Tavern) 4) Granny's Groceries (General Market) 5) Get Nailed (Hardware and Distilery) 6) Gimdurh's Hammer (Smithy) 7) Brenra's Mechanicals (Tinker) 8) Hjoldren's Home Goods (Carpenter) 9) Standard Industries (Office) 10) Fit to be Dyed (Tailor) 11) The Last Loaf (Baker) 12) The Cloudy Cleaver (Butcher) 13) Nature's Medecine (Apothecary) 14) Sheriff's Office 15) Green Valley School House 16) The Waterwheel 17) The Windmill 18) The Undercloak Estate 19) Truefoot Burrow 20) The Meadows Family Hill
The people themselves are hospitable and friendly enough, but they do not really trust outsiders. Folks from foreign places are good for trade, news, and little else. Those that come through are treated well enough as long as they don’t wear out their welcome. Locals, well, that’s a bit of a different story. The city and area doesn’t operate under a written caste system or social structure, but there is clearly a pecking order, and family heritage matters a great deal to folks in Hills Furrow. Most locals, whether they’ve gotten an education or not, can easily be classified as simple. It isn’t that they are slow of mind or unintelligent, but more that they are unconcerned with matters the outside world considers important. This sentiment has created a general, but friendly, dislike between those that consider themselves Highfalutin and those that clearly are not.
Well now that I've given you the fifty cent tour. Shall we get on to adventure?

CHAPTER 1: Green Tide

We will open our journeys in the Green Valley at Green Tide, the annual celebration of Winter’s End. This adventure is designed to give a tour of Hills Furrow and introduce them to the locals. It will begin with some chores around their house to prepare for the festival and end with a battle involving an enchanted broom. If you did not do Session Zero, this chapter may take a bit longer as we get to know everyone and their characters.

ACT 1: Pre-Festival

The locals spend the week cleaning out their houses and farms. They gather old junk and unused items to be used later in the festival. They also begin preparing what food is left from winter to be used in a celebration and feasts.
Things to do! - Have the Players clean up junk around the house - Have them Find something strange (Perhaps used for a later mystery?) - Have them Decorate their Broom - Have them run a Household Errand (Meet an NPC)

ACT 2: Sweeping Day

A merry festival celebrating Spring cleaning and putting the past behind them. They form a parade, with one member from each house carrying a brightly decorated broom and using it to symbolically “Sweep Away Winter”. The rest of the family marches their winter’s trash and unused goods down to the Fairgrounds. The goods are often traded, while the trash is piled in the fire pit to await burning later. The entire day is filled with fun outdoor activities. Households also symbolically bring their problems to the bonfires to burn them later.
Things to do! - March in the Parade - Carry Junk to the Bonfire - Meet more of the Locals
EVENT: I Love a Parade
The parade will march North from near the Cross Roads in the South up around the hill and back again to the South where it will head for the Fairgrounds. There isn’t anything particularly challenging about this event, but it would be a wonderful place to start leaning into or building local rivalries.
EVENT: Never Seen a Broom Do That… As they come into the home stretch of the Parade one of the local’s Brooms will animate and take off. It will chase folks around the parade. The players can attempt to stop it, but the broom will flee soon after being attacked. It will fly up into the air, attack a flock of geese, and chase them off until it can’t be seen anymore. They can go and collect a fallen goose if they wish. I highly recommend giving it a motorcycle type sound as it flies around hitting folks. Maybe even going as far as giving it a rough gravel angry voice and letting it insult people.

ACT 3: Winter’s End

Winter’s End is a Combination of Groundhog’s Day and Fasnacht, this day gets a little wild. The Festival kicks off at dawn with the Great Gopher Hunt. Gophers are well known spies for The Voice of Winter and thus need to be hunted before they can tell The Voice to delay Spring. Gophers themselves are quite tasty, and are notoriously bad for crops, so this works out economically all around. Throughout the rest of the day families continue to contribute to the Bonfire Pile which often gets quite large. At dusk a large effigy of The Voice of Winter is placed on top of the pile. Once the sun has fully set they light the fire and burn the Effigy. Folk usually dress darkly during the day and brightly at night. After the burning they feast on sweets and treats that were made from goods saved up from winter storage.
Things to do! - The Great Gopher Hunt - Carry Junk to the Bonfire - Meet more of the Locals - The Fairground’s Activities
EVENT: The Great Gopher Hunt The Hunt begins at dawn and takes place all over the Valley. Locals race to collect as many Gophers as possible. It is easiest to kill the Gopher, but there are some that find that distasteful. Instead they live trap the critters. It is a bit tougher to do so, but an option should your players wish. This is most easily played out as a series of appropriate Skill Checks, in which the higher they score the more gophers they obtain.
EVENT: Trash Removal They may find some locals willing to pay them to help cart junk down to the bonfire pile. Not a lot of skill involved in this, but it is a great opportunity to meet locals, and you could throw a runaway cart at them.
Fair Activities They will probably want to take part in Fairground Activities. Players love these types of challenges. Here are a few ideas you can build on. - Axe Throwin: Basic attack rolls on a Round Target. Higher scores equal Higher points. - Bow Shootin: Basic attack rolls on Moving Targets. Higher scores equal Higher points. - Pig Chasin: Catch the greased Pig! Medium DC Challenge requiring three success before three Failures. - Mud Wrastlin: Nothing says bumpkin like a good Mud Wrastlin Pit. Contested Skill Challenges. - Sausage Eating Contest: Increasingly difficult DC Challenge. Eat till you puke! Can also be Pies or Ribs or Little Fish… you know whatever someone wants to stuff dozens of in their gullet. - Tug O’War: Team Strength Challenge. Three to Five Contested Rolls with opposing teams. - Gopher BBQ Cook Off: A Hard Culinary Challenge to see who can BBQ the best Gopher! - Races: Foot and Mount Races based on Three to Five Contested Rolls. I usually include a few odd mounts like a Giant Chicken or some such nonsense.

ACT 4: Day of Ashes

The Day of Ashes is a day of rest, recovery, and reflection. Locals take the ashes from the bonfires and rub their hands in them to symbolize the end of a hard year’s work and hardships of the past. The day ends with a large family feast, typically Pork. Activities this day are light, but many folks head to the Temple for the Calling of Spring Blessings. They put on their fancies and head down to ask forgiveness for over-indulging in the festival and for worship. Well sort of…
Unfortunately, a lot of folks take this as an opportunity to peacock about and practice their one-upmanship over other locals. If you’re looking for inspiration for their outfits look to older photos of the Kentucky Derby. Over the years this troubling practice has caused more than one fight to break out after the service.
*Things to do! * - Go to Temple and Meet More Locals - Pick a Local Patron!
EVENT: Temple Services
The majority of the town comes to Temple on this day. The service is usually longer, and a bit more “Where have most of you been all year?” But otherwise it is a call for the Divine Blessings to touch their crops and protect their lives. It ends with a ceremony in which the locals put their hands into the ashes from yesterday’s bonfire. Once services end they will head outside, where the trouble will begin. Two of the wealthier families will get into it with each other. Starting with a couple of veiled insults, probably before service and continuing afterward. If one of your players is from a local Rich Folk family then they can be right in the middle of it all, otherwise they will have to pick a side. This choice will determine their house Patron moving forward. Tension will increase until folks start drawing up sides, and then someone will throw a rotten tomato at one of the House Matrons. That will blow the lid off the incident and a yokel brawl will break out. For comedy purposes I recommend the instant appearance of several food carts filled with expired products, and maybe a six year old hustler selling big sticks for wacking folks with. As the locals brawl call for perception checks. Who ever rolls highest begins to hear… The Broom returning!
ENCOUNTER: Stick In The Eye
The broom returns ready to whoop some ash. It will be absolutely bent on cleaning anyone and everyone who is even the slightest bit dirty! If it successfully attacks a character they will have to make a Strength Saving throw or be knocked to the ground and swept clean by the broom. As this would be an awful omen for the year folks are terrified and will be running around screaming. Absolute mass hysteria. If the players were lucky enough to hear it coming they can avoid being surprised by the broom. Otherwise the broom will get a full round to attack before they have a chance to do anything. They’ll have to beat the broom into submission any way they can before it sweeps the whole town into chaos!

CLOSING

After defeating the broom things will settle back down again. Bumpkins are quick to return to normal when things go awry. However, they will have gotten the attention of one of the Wealthy Families in the area and be offered jobs. Which family is really, based on what will work best for them and you as the DM. For gags you might be tempted to have the Yokels pick them up, but that is a hard bit to sustain, and you may be better served keeping them on the side as a comic foil rather than up front. Completely up to you. The session should end with them being invited to meet their new patron tomorrow someplace important.

CHAPTER 2: A Cartload of Chickens

After successfully defeating the Enchanted Broom, our Bumpkins have gained the attention of a possible local Patron. This individual has summoned them to a nearby farm to discuss future work. That work includes proving themselves capable and not just lucky.

ACT 1: Meet the Boss

In this Act the players will meet with their new patron, one of the Family Heads, who that is entirely depends on their choices from the last game. This entire side branch is designed to flavor the background of the campaign, but if you’d rather just have them stay freelancing and independent that’s fine as well. There is also the possibility of “competing” offers should they have second thoughts for any reason. Once they arrive at the meeting spot their Patron will ask them some questions about their ambitions (Class Goals), they will then hand them off to their new “boss” who will assign them their task. They will take them to a nearby barn.
NEW NPC: “Boss”
Needs a fitting name for the Family they work for...
Character wise, what we got here is a standard “Ranch Foreman” character. They’re tough, A little mean, and completely loyal to their employer. They almost certainly chew tobacco (by the handful), have a tattoo of the Ranch’s Brand, and know where all the bodies are buried. They also have a huge and obvious scar on the side of their head where a Giant Chicken pecked a hole in their skull, so they’re not as bright as they used to be, not at all truthfully. Nor are they actually the Foreman anymore, but no one has a heart to tell them. They’ve been quietly downgraded to Chicken Handler, which is something they seem to remember quite well, but the brain damage keeps them from realizing all that. They can be found wandering the Farm giving strange orders to other Hands. These Hands nod politely and then go back to what they are doing.
Things To Do! - Meet Their Patron - Discuss Their Future - Meet Their New “Boss”

ACT 2: Chicken Dance

Boss will lead them into the odd looking barn. This building is filled with Giant Chickens. These two-three foot fouls have extremely exaggerated features, spiky looking beaks with sharp tooth like edges, big darting eyes, bumpy cracked skin, long gnarled talons, and dirty mottled feathers. They’re more beast than bird. But, they’re good for eatin! These creatures should have a stat block similar to an Axe Beak. When the players enter into the Barn the Chickens will go nuts, obviously deeply bothered by the intrusion. Boss will throw in some deer haunches and the birds will tear them apart in a feeding frenzy. They will then put on a Chicken Suit and begin a flapping dance. (Google Magnificent Riflebird) It should be absolutely captivating and the chickens will become mesmerized, watching every move. Boss will then load two dozen chickens onto a large wagon and lock it. They will have the players push the wagon out while he keeps the Chickens calm. Once outside they’ll hang heavy tarps on the sides of the wagon, and remove the suit. He will then explain to them that they need to keep the tarps on the wagon, and keep the birds well fed, or the chickens will get restless and become violent. When they do need to interact with them someone will have to wear the suit and dance to keep them calm. The bigger the person in the suit the better. Boss will then give them a Map of Green Valley and instruct them to drop off two chickens at each of the outer settlements. They have two days to get this done.
Things To Do! - Head into the barn - Witness The Dance of The Chicken - Push the Wagon out - Get the Costume and Delivery Instructions

ACT 3: Bumpy Roads

They will be off to deliver the Chickens to various locations. There is no specific order to this delivery, they just need to pick a route and go. If they’re short on time they can take the country roads that lead between the outer settlements, but these aren’t as well kept as the main roads are. Whatever road they take and wherever they decide to stop for the night there are problems they will encounter along the way. You can make them random or pick the ones that best suit your players. Most of these should at some point require someone putting on the suit and dancing for the chickens to keep them calm. I would also increase the difficulty of each event. If they fail a dance the Chickens will become restless and start attacking the cart until they are calmed down. Too many failures and the wagon’s cage will break and the remaining chickens escape. They will then have to be rounded up and the cage repaired.
Things to Do - Decide the delivery route - Deliver the chickens - Keep the Chickens calm
Possible Road Events 1) Rough roads cause problems 2) Yokels attempt to see what’s in the cart 3) Bad Weather swamps the road or scares the chickens 4) Pack of Coyotes causes trouble. 5) Chicken Rustlers! Protect the Flock! 6) Wagon breaks and needs repair 7) Cows in the road, someone’s herd is out. 8) Broken Bridge, not gone, just broken

ACT 4: Final Delivery

They’re now closing in on the final delivery. Something needs to happen here to cause them to put the suit on. Or maybe they never took it off! I love that idea, that one of your players just loves the suit and wants to be a chicken… lol… Anyway I’m a fan of having them need to get out of the suit for some reason, maybe a bathroom break, or they stand on a fire ant hill, or a snake slithers up their leg. You know something silly and fun. BUT the zipper is stuck! So they’ll have to try and unstick it and fast! Whatever happens they’re going to get shot at by some hunters looking for a big score who have mistaken the flailing caused by the stuck zipper to be the chicken attacking. After dealing with the Hunters they can go ahead and make the final drop. And head home.
Things to Do! - Head for the final delivery - Get shot at! - Deliver the last chickens
ENCOUNTER: That’s a BIG Chicken!
Having two hunters in the field is more than enough to cause a problem for the players. The hunters will almost certainly surprise the players, but you can allow them a perception check, if they succeed they’ll see the hunters just before the muskets go off. It would be OK to down the Chicken Player here if the hunters successfully hit it. They’ll have healer’s kits on hand because, well, this seems to happen to them a lot out here. After the initial attack the players can decide to attack back or try and talk the hunters down. A basic Bandit or Scout stat block should do will for the hunters. If you’re looking for a bit more mayhem, if the hunters miss the players you could have them hit the cage, and you know, bust it open. This may be especially tempting if they
POSSIBLE ENCOUNTER: Big Ol' Frog
So there is a giant frog hiding in the mud down in the creek. If a player takes cover behind the banks there is a good chance that the frog will attempt to nab the player as a snack. If it is successful in grabbing a player with its tongue it will immediately head down river, and they'll have to chase it to get their friend back.

CLOSE

When they return, Boss will reward them. How much will depend on how successful they were delivering the birds. If they did a descent job, they will be paid two day’s wages each. If they were completely successful they can have a bonus. However, if the wagon is in bad shape they might have some money deducted. After they’re paid out, they will be dismissed, and told to expect a new assignment next week.

CHAPTER 3: Marvin the Magnificent

After successfully delivering chickens Boss is going to trust them with a more important task. Their employer has requested an item to be created by Marvin the Magnificent. This is a farming community so having enchanted Farming Equipment is extremely desirable. Marvin has done a lot of basic enchantments over the years, but this new one, an The Stone Skipper, a plough whose blade goes ethereal while in contact with stones too large to push away, has really put him to the test. He needs some help with the final enchantments. The players will have to travel to the Ethereal Plane and hit the Blade of the plow with large rocks. But there’s a problem, they’re going to have mischievous Ethereal Sprites attempting to stop them! If they’re successful, which they should be, they get to take the plough for a test drive, and deal with the strange side effects of the enchantment. Angry goats that blink in and out of existence.

ACT 1: To the Tower

They’ll be summoned out to the Ranch where they’ll meet with Boss again. Once there they will notice a large pile of bent and dinged up plows. Boss will explain to them that a recent land acquisition has become problematic. The Fields are filled with large stones just under the topsoil and they’ve damaged a lot of Plow Blades. The Smithing costs are getting out of hand and so their Patron is looking for an alternate solution to the problem. He is sending them to help Marvin the Magnificent, who has taken the job, but run into some complications and needs some help. They may ask about Marvin. Or perhaps the fields that were purchased, so be ready to answer these types of questions. Once they’re done here they can head to Marvin’s Tower, which is just north of town.
Things to Do! - Meet Boss again - Ask some Informational Questions - Head for the Tower
NPC: Marvin the Magnificent

ACT 2: Marvin the Magnificent

As they approach the tower they should see an explosion at the peak of the structure. It should look similar to a fireworks mishap. When it clears there will be no visible damage to the tower, But Marvin will plummet to the earth just off to the side of them, landing in a small pond. He will then come charging out of the pond, laughing hysterically, and riding on a large turtle. Once he gets a few feet away from the pond the turtle will disappear and he will tumble to the ground right in front of the players. He will leap up quickly and turn toward the players. “Behold Travelers, You stand in the presence of Marvin the Magnificent! And everything you have witness was mostly intended!” He will then strike a cool pose with his wand pointed to the sky! “Now why do you approach my tower!?”
Once Marvin finds out they’ve been sent about the plow he will become more nervous looking. “I see, well follow me. We have work to do.” He will then start walking toward the tower… his boots squishing out water. This should give them a little time to ask a few questions. Marvin will be a little subversive about what they need to do. He will attempt to frame it very mysteriously, saying things like “All will be revealed soon.” and “Save your questions! All Answers await us… in the future!” If they ask him about what they witnessed outside, he will tell them he was working on a mount summoning spell designed for lakes and rivers.
Things to Do! - Head toward the Tower - Meet Marvin - Ask Questions

ACT 3: The Cabinet of Mysteries

The inside of the Wizard’s Tower will be far more mundane than they likely expect. At least on the first floor. It will have a sitting room, dining room, and kitchen, as well as a few odds and ends about. Nothing special at all. The second floor, are Marvin’s personal quarters and some room for study, but it is the third floor, where Marvin will lead them, and it will be more of what one would expect in a Wizard’s tower. There will be books shelves, arcane equipment, and storage for components. In the middle of the room will be a tall cabinet.
:
Marvin will explain to them that the Cabinet is a transportation device, and that he will need them to enter into it with a plow that he has recently enchanted. They will be taken to the Ethereal Plane, and once there they’ll need to take the plow outside and begin hitting it with large field stones. There is a large pile of stones just on the north edge of the tower. They’ll have to do this quickly, before the “others” show up. Who are the others? Hard to say, but there are things that live in the Ethereal Plane that don’t like intruders. The idea is to imbue the Plow with Ethereal Powers so it can pass through large stones while plowing fields. Once they return with the Enchanted Plow, Marvin will have them load it on a cart, pulled by a very smart Donkey, and send them on their way.
Skill Challenge: Enchant the Plow This skill challenge will require five successes before they’re incapacitated by the others. However they decide to do it, they’ll have to successfully hit the plow with five large stones. Failures will result in strange indiscernible entities attacking them. They do minimal damage but could knock people out if there are enough failures.
Things to Do! - Move Through Marvin’s Tower - Enter the Cabinet - Enchant the Plow

ACT 4: Blinking Goats

Upon returning to Boss with the Plow they will be happily greet and paid. Their Patron will be there and will be very pleased with their success. He will ask them to demonstrate the plow’s abilities. Once they get set up out in the field and begin plowing something weird will happen. Every time they hit a stone and the plow’s power activates an Ethereal Goat will manifest and kick or ram the plow, and then disappear. It will feel very similar to what they encountered in the Ethereal Plane. They’ll have to find a way to deal with the manifestations.
ENCOUNTER: Ethereal Goats These goats should function very similarly to Blink Dogs, but I would trim the HP and AC a little to put them in line with the party’s. They will be intent on breaking the Plow not the party, although they will attack the party if they can’t get to the Plow.
Things to Do! - Deliver the Plow - Drive the Plow - Defeat the Ethereal Goats

CLOSE

Once defeated the Boss will come over to yell at them, but the Patron will find the entire thing amusing and more importantly, another impressive demonstration of the player’s skills. He will invite them to the “House” for an important party next week.

Chapter 4: High Society

They've definitely been noticed now and have impressed with their ability, unconventional as it may be. They are invited to their patron's home, but not as guests. Though, they might think they were actually invited as guests! They have been brought in to help work the event held out at the Party Field. They will have to gather party supplies, help put up the tent, and then serve the actual guests. During the evening’s entertainment a hypnotist “The Great Dr Hypnotika” will mesmerize the crowd and attempt to rob them all. Hopefully the players don’t fall victim to her schemes. And if they do oh well, they’ll be entertained all the same.

ACT 1: Special Delivery

The players arrive at the Patron’s very nice property. They will be greeted by a properly dressed servant with a clipboard, the Party Planner. The Planner will be rigid and direct. They will immediately begin tasking them about. If they mention that they were invited to the party the servant will laugh “You didn’t think you were a guest? Oh dear, how embarrassing. You’re the help! It is still a great honor to be tasked to help at the Party, but you’re not guests. Now as for your current task. Head into town and gather these supplies. Bring them to the field by noon.” After the instructions are given the servant will go back to their tasks and expect the players to do the same. They will have three stops; The Crocked Crow for Food and Beer, Get Nailed for the Tent and Spirits, and Shalana Proud-Breed’s Tailor Shop to pick up the Dry Cleaning. Feel free to make any and all of these go sideways! Its a good place to toss in some shenanigans as well! They should also be introduced to Dr Hypnotika and her associates.
Things To do! - Go to their Patron’s Home - Meet the Party Planner and Dr Hypnotika - Run their Errands
NPC: Dr Hypnotika
Dr Hypnotika and her group will perform for the party. Hypnotica is a Tiefling Mezmerist and illusionist. She has an obnoxiously high charisma and some pretty serious skills to back up her claims. However, she uses those skills to beguile her guests, robbing them blind while they are under her spells. She wears a fine robe with a bedazzled headwrap. She has dark upward spiraling horns, light purple skin, and matching eyes. She wears a monocle and walks with a ceremonially carved staff depicting the "Struggles of the Universe". She is extremely persuasive and even more deceptive. Even if someone were to grow suspicious she can easily talk her way out of trouble.
NPCs: Clapper and Bob Hypnotika brings with her two assistants. Clapper the suit wearing Kenku who will perform wondrous displays of mimicry and slight of hand, and her strongman Bob the Kobold. Bob wears a leopard print strongman's outfit and is amazingly swole, particularly for a kobold, and capable of lifting upwards of 400lbs. Bob doesn't do much else other than get hit with things. in the act.

ACT 2: Put up the Tent

After they finish running their errands they will be tasked with putting up a large party tent. This Act is an ongoing Skill Challenge and should have a constantly distracted feel to it. First they have to unpack the tent. Then they have to realize some pieces are missing, they’ll have to form a solution to that problem. After that wind should cause some problems as the tent is at least being pulled up. This is a great moment for some wondrous tom-foolery.
Things To do! - Unpack the tent - Deal with missing parts - Secure the tent during the wind gusts

ACT 3: Put These On

After they finish putting up the tent they’ll be sent to the Servant’s Quarters to bathe and change. They’ll get a little time to explore and snoop if they wish. Afterward they’ll be tasked with helping in the kitchen, but unfortunately the cooks are going to have been playing a drinking game all afternoon and are no longer fully capable of doing their jobs. This would make a great moment for some sort of mini-game where the players have to determine whether or not the cooks are doing the right things. Once the dinner has been completed they will have to serve the guests. This is a good place to insert gossip and help them meet a few other folks.
Things To do! - Get changed for the party - Deal with the drunk cooks - Serve the guests drinks and food

ACT 4: An Evening to Remember

At some point in the evening things are going to start sliding downhill. Some of the locals will have become extremely inebriated and will need to be encouraged to leave, or just moved off to the side as they’ve already passed out, before the show begins. Once the show begins the locals will become fixated on the goings on. “The Great Dr Hypnotika” will have put an additive in the drinks for the that will make everyone more susceptible to her powers of persuasion. Once the show starts she will have them all doing silly things, those who drank have disadvantage on saves against her powers. She will end the show asking the guests to display their most valuable treasure, a with a hypnotic pattern and then send her assistants out to collect those treasures. The players will have to “do something” about the thieves.
Things To do! - Deal with Drunks - Watch the Show - Stop the Criminals
ENCOUNTER: Hypnotika's Gang This encounter doesn't have to be a fight. If Hypnotika is caught she may claim it was all part of the act and simple return the valuables with a "no harm, no foul" type attitude. This will be he go to in an attempt to avoid a fight, but if the character persist in some kind of retribution or punishment the situation will devolve into a combat. Hypnotica herself is an Illusionist Wizard but is low on spells after the show. Clapper is a low level rogue and Bob a Barbarian, and should play out as such. Even with Skills they are combat adverse and will be looking for an opportunity to flee rather than fight. They do have a getaway wagon out front that they'll be headed for if things go south.

CLOSING

We’re assuming the Bumpkins at least attempted to stop the robbery. This will draw a lot of attention to them. Their Patron will be well pleased with them, and let them know they will be getting much more important jobs in the future. The guests will also take note and will begin treating them all a bit better. They’re all essentially Folk Heroes at this point for secondary backgrounds. Their Patron should reward them with something very nice as the party kicks back in. They will need to finish out the nights work of course.

Quest-line Closing

Congratulations! Your Players have completed their first Quest-line! Hopefully it was a delightful experience. But now that they've finished what comes next? Well, here are some ideas.
*Reward Them! * They've been doing some rather Adventurous things lately, and therefore should now have a Class Level under their belt, so the real D&D world now opens to them! Maybe it is time for some real adventuring gear. No more sticks, stones, and burlap sack armor.
Folk Heroes? There's a good chance that the Valley is Speaking the News about them and their exploits while drinking in the taverns. They may have even earned the actual Folk Hero Feat! Maybe someone would be interested in giving them a task!
Simply Go Exploring! There are a lot of places in Green Valley that we only dipped our toes into. You could have them head down to Stinkmarsh, or maybe climb up the cliffs of Longridge. The world (Well, the Valley) is wholly open to them.
Explore Local Legends There are lots of local legends they can look into! Hopefully they search out something that isn't too far over their heads!
Continue Working for their Patron It would be an easy DM go to simply to have them continue working for their current Patron. They've probably been impressive enough fo a family to be interested in keeping them on.
Establish Themselves as Adventurers! Maybe they want to set up a Adventurers for Hire business? This "Heroes Guild" approach is really appealing to a lot of players and absolutely plays into Bumpkin Quest. Just remember, this is a place of low key problems that locals make really big deals out of. So the idea of slaying dragons shouldn't really be on the table... that is until an actual dragon shows up! Which one day absolutely should.

Well I am new to posting on Reddit I have been trying to figure out how to upload the images I have been saving for this, but I will just go ahead, try to talk about it. I Recently moved to another state. I had to move in with my 76 year old father. Due to severe cervical stenosis. That a whole other issue.
When I got here i quickly realized there wasn't something right with him. He had a 46 year old women living in the basement. I learned of an incident. Involving this women where she had stolen from my Dad enough for it to be considered grand larceny. Months prior to me moving while I was recovering from my first surgery. My dad fell in his house with this person in the home. He had laid on the floor for hours. These two incidences. Sent off a wave of emotions and questions.
I learned that the incident where she stole from him. He paid for her to get bailed out of jail. He also paid for her daughter to get out of Jail. He paid for an attorney to seal the records through the local courts. After hours and hours of research. I am beginning to believe he has vascular dementia . With knowing my dad most of his life and knowing most of his medical history. The evidence is all there.
I know this women has manipulated her way into his heart. He has lived a very #traumatic life due to being a #vietnam #veteran. The company he has kept most of his life is very shaddy. One of the women He has dated in the past stole a gun from him after he kicked her out of his house. She shot herself. He has never forgave himself for this. The women had alot of problems but in the current situation i am aware of this and feel this woman has been using this information to manipulate him. I filed a protective order against her on behalf of my Dad.
This woman, sat in the car with me bragging about how the best education she got was in jail. Learning how to fraud people. I also learned her ex besty. Just got done pulling off a heist of a lifetime working as a caretaker. when the women she was working for went to the hospital due to whatever happened. The caretaker took out life insurance policies in her name and stole most of the household items to be sold. Drained the bank accounts.

This is just me venting :) I want to hear your opinions and personal experience as well.
I enjoy working in the healthcare sector as (sounds a bit egoistic ) I would say I’m a very friendly and warm-hearted person, I will always offer help to anybody regardless. I tend to lend a listening ear and cater to other’s needs. I may contradict myself a few times (so please mind me, I’m young and just confused). Also I’m abit soft-hearted so I could just be sensitive…
I started working in this sector a few months ago and surprisingly, I enjoy working. However, I’m quite shocked at the number of patients with shitty attitudes with the “you owe me your life” attitude.
I always greet everyone with a warm smile and try to lighten the mood. But some entitled people just really ruin my day. I understand we’re somewhat in the “service” line but we’re all human and we do not deserve your shitty attitude. You may have had a bad day, but do not vent it on us especially when we’re trying to help you.
For example, for procedure ( it’s not that I want to, but its SOP), we will ask patients with ARI symptoms, whether they have taken an ART test, and they will get SUPER offended and say things like “Now still need take ART ah? For what sia?” or like “Now still need wear mask ah, so long already”. and like “ Ya, obviously.”
Auntie please 😭 I’m just asking to take note it isn’t life or death ok 😭 It’s the SOP I have to follow…
Another example is, we have to ask patients why they are visiting and their symptoms (to put in notes and so that the doctor will know and prepare beforehand). So like maybe ARI, NON-ARI, review report etcetc. Then they will be like “See Doctor la, then for what?” “I tell you for what”. And at that point, I’d just give up, I’ll just ask if they have ARI symptoms, if not, I can’t help them anymore, I can’t put anything in my notes to doctor. But at rare times, if it’s regarding private issues, we’d understand. BUT NOT THOSE ENTITLED PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO TALK TO THE STAFF/NURSES ABOUT THEIR SYMPTOMS JUST BECAUSE WE DONT HAVE A DEGREE FROM NUS.
My heart breaks when I have to deal with difficult patients, ( but yet again, part and parcel of life, can’t be avoided) I’m desperately trying to help you with my abilities so all I ask is just basic respect.
So please to all, if you ever visit a hospital/clinic, please be patient and understand that we’re trying to help you no matter how tired we are. If the staff/nurse is rude to you, thumbs down for them, you don’t deserve it. But if you can see, that we’re warm and friendly upon your arrival, please be nice :) and ask for help if you need!
So to summarise, please be understanding and patient towards us, healthcare workers ok! Don’t be entitled as well ! If you’re having a bad day, don’t vent on us , but we will give you the same warm greetings and professional/friendly exchanges!

Yo! I made a post reviewing the Dark Tournament and everything before it here, so lets talk about Chapter Black! Feel free to skip any sections you're not interested in! The first section is about Yu Yu's power systems! Also, this should be clear, but everything in episode 95 and before will be spoiled here.
By the way, why did nobody tell me this arc was so long?! I somewhat joke, but this has ended up perhaps longer than my post on the Dark Tournament. www

YU YU HAKUSHO'S POWER SYSTEM PROBLEM(And how Togashi solved it!)

So, for the arcs before this one, the power system of Ki has been somewhat frustrating. It didn't ever make me go "bleugh, i hate this power system!", that'd be silly, alot of great moments come from both Yoki and Reiki users. However, I do feel they held the story back in some ways! Soft power systems are.. not my faves. Seemingly, you can do virtually anything with the cost of aura. Training methods are never really defined, and when mentioned, they're 'mentioned' at most. Abilities of Ki users have no specific limitations except when thrown on with sudden explanation.
So, I love Territories! We're introduced to them with the three schoolboys, Kido, Kaito and Yanagisawa.. in order, they're the users of Shadow, Taboo and Copy! I love Kido and Kaito, though Yana didn't really get much focus in the story so I have no particular interesting in him outside of hairstyle and ability! Kido and Kaito on the other hands are fun, charismatic characters with awesome Territories! Kido is voiced by DIO, so that's another plus.
Kido's Territory is simple. His Territory is shadows. He can control his own shadow's movements, and if he steps on your shadow, you've entered his Territory, freezing your body in place. This is just fucking cool.
Yana's Copy Territory is cool, but not really notable. It was neat and was used well, it's just very limited. Though, in the final battle, I don't really see why he didn't copy Yusuke or Hiei; easily their strongest party members, and help out. Plot hole? maybe. Narrative convenience? certainly.
Kaito's is probably my fave Territory in the entirety of Chapter Black. Taboo makes a certain radius around him his Territory, inwhich violence is impossible! He sets the Taboo word, and if either he or anyone inside his Territory speak the Taboo, they lose their soul! Generally speaking, this was probably my one of my fave fights in all of Yu Yu Hakusho.
Strategic, skill-based, not about raw numbers.. A fight of intellect. Rad as fuck. Though, It really did sadden me that it was never used more than once! I'd love to see more Taboo battles. It's unfortunate Kaito never got to fight again. Theoretically he could defeat Sensui himself! I don't get why they didn't send him in in the final battle. I get it's total protagonist syndrome, where only the protags are allowed to fight the final boss, but c'mon. That only makes sense from a meta-perspective! In-universe, there's really no excuse. atleast we got several instances of good use out of Copy, but not using Taboo more than once? It's sad.
So, now that we've got through the first Territories we've met, what does this teach us? 1. there's always a bigger fish. Just because Yusuke is the strongest man on earth, doesn't mean he can't be defeated. After an antagonist like Toguro younger, it's hard to imagine who Yusuke could fight next. This is a genius way of implementing it. Raw power is no longer the way. 2. humans can now fight without any prior experience, as that hole opening is causing humans to gain Territorys. This is great for introducing new antagonists and supporting cast members. 3. Territories don't give the user raw stats! Users of Reiki and Yoki have their raw stats (ATK, DEF, AGI, MP, HP, ETC) increase the stronger they get. This is bad for a long narrative, as your characters will keep rising to new limits, making it harder to add stakes to a conflict, or add in new, strong, amazing guys.
This is the very reason that Togashi's next battle shounen manga had a power system that, while similar to Ki, has additional classes, rules, regulations and systems to it, because he learned from this narrative mistake. With Territorys, a user has only as much ATK, DEF, AGI or HP as an average person, with no MP to speak of. Any Territory user could just die from a brick to the head, or being punched too hard that their skull hits the ground and splits, like a normal person. This ups the stakes of the battle, by equalising the forces. Their ability and intellect are their strongpoint, not raw numbers. after like 40 episodes of raw stat-based combat, this was an AMAZING narrative choice.
This is further seen with a boxer named Murota. His wiretap allows him to read the mind of anyone who enters his Territory. So simple, yet so good for a narrative. All the storytelling involving Murota's Wiretap are great, and his easy defeat when it comes to Yusuke coming in didn't even take away from his ability being interesting. Sorry buddy, for a Boxer, you didn't get a offensive ability at all.
This is all of the introductory Territory, so i'll leave this section here. The other Territories and my thoughts on them will be covered along with their connected character. Though, I will leave you with one thought.. Togashi, All the women in your narrative are virtually identical visually speaking, get barely anything to do, and Genkai, the only one with a character arc and her own great story gets it reversed by the end of the Dark Tournament Arc..
atleast give us a W by giving Keiko a Territory! this way, the LEADING WOMAN of your story could join in the plot without ANY training required.. Like come on, what the hell. All women seem to do in Yu Yu Hakusho is act as someone to project and care for by their man. It's kinda gross. Atleast we have Genkai, but come on..

CHAPTER BLACK & YOKAI CLASSES!

Soon after the initial plothook, we learn we were tricked into thinking these guys were the plot! Gotta love Genkai lol. I love that she continues to teach Yusuke in such a way. Moving on, though, ignoring Sensui and the gang for now, Chapter Black! a GREAT concept! Is it a bit on the nose? Yes, of course. But we must remember Yu Yu Hakusho is aimed at young children, so we can forgive this, since it's really well written anyway!
Togashi would go on to perfect his writing about this theme in Hunter x Hunter, but that doesn't mean it's not amazingly done here! It makes perfect sense that Chapter Black would exist, and doesn't seem contrived, there's nothing negative I can really say about it. How it effected those who saw it tells enough, so I don't have to tell you about it!
So, before the introduction of Chapter Black, the tape itself, we learn about another thing that definitely existed this whole time! (I'm just being sassy, nothing wrong with introducing new concepts.) Yokai classes! At the beginning of the anime, Kurama and Hiei were lowly D-listers at the beginning of the anime, so their rise to power is quite unexpected, now being B-listers! By the end of the arc, they both reach A class! Good for them good for them.
The revelation that Toguro younger was only a B class is great. Really gave me a "Oh my god!" moment. The class system is very much serving the same purpose as scouters, to make us go "woah!" at how strong an enemy is to impress us, and to impress us even further when our Yokai protagonists, Hiei, Kurama, and later Yusuke are when they reach a higher level! It's simple but effective. Though, later, in my own opinion, this will have negative repercussions on the plot. But we'll get there at the end of this post. For now, they're good in my book! You'll see why my thoughts change later, and why I think they were a mistake in the long-run.
Also, a smaller note, some interesting foreshadowing. At the end of the arc, Shinobu notes that Kurama, as Yoko Kurama, was once an A class Yokai.. but he also mentions that Hiei used to be A class aswell?! Obviously, this is going to be expanded upon later. I'm interested to see why he dropped to D later!

INTRODUCTION OF BLACK ANGEL & SNIPER! THE FIGHT WITH DOCTOR..

Okay, now we're back to Territories and the plot! Sorry, we were stuck in the 'mechanics' zone for a while, weren't we?! So! First, we meet Sensui himself. Later, we learn this is one of his alters, Minoru. Ominously, he stares at Yusuke and the gang, and has Sniper shoot an eraser to intimidate, and lure them into a trap at the hospital! From this, we can already tell he's intelligent.
Here, he expected Yusuke to follow him so he could dispose of Yusuke, but Yusuke kept surprisingly cool thanks to Genkai's preparation she put them through. It's kinda fucking crazy to imagine that Yusuke, if he followed Sensui, he would of been quickly killed by Minoru and Sniper. Doctor would then of disposed of the users of Shadow, Copy and Wiretap. Can you imagine how the plot would of gone from here if Yusuke made this singular choice?! I love when a story has so many single choices that could change EVERYTHING. it's really entertaining to think about.
So, Wiretap's user gets taken to the hospital, but they learn that Doctor is about! Doctor Kamiya is a fun character, simple but effective, I really like him. So far, Yusuke has murdered countless evil Yokai, but to kill an evil Human? It's very different. In the end, Yusuke does kill Doctor, but Genkai revives him by restarting his heart, saying that Yusuke needs not the death of a man on his conscious. I really like this moment.
The entire fight was super entertaining and everyone got something to do! ..Well, except Keiko. Togashi, why'd you make her go there?! C'mon man.. This is probably one of the best fights in Yu Yu Hakusho. I love that Kido and Wiretap and Copy's users do alot to aid Yusuke in this fight! It really feels like a group effort.
On the Territory front, Doctor Kamiya's is cool! Generally speaking, doctor powers are always super cool. A Reiki scalpel, creating diseases with his mind, perfect surgery skill.. his Territory being the diameter of a Hospital, it's so fun. It's a cool limitation too, all these abilities, but he can only use them inside of a Hospital setting. Territories allow for such awesome limitations.

SEAMAN, KUWABARA'S AWAKENING! KOENMA'S MORALITY..

Seaman! It's a great conflict, not much else to say! Mitarai is a great character, and his Territory is cool! Really, I already talked about Mitarai through subtext in the 'Chapter Black & Yokai Classes!' section. Though I will say, UNLIKE WITH KEIKO, using this opportunity to unlock a new power for a HUMAN we've known for a long time, Kuwabara, is really clever! Him being the one who can cut open the field is the LAST THING I expected, it's great.
Though, this introduction of Seaman; Mitarai, will come back as a negative later! the Chapter Black arc introduces alot of great concepts and characters early on, but suffers for it in the late game is something I notice. Much like Yokai Classes that I mentioned earlier, this is something you'll wanna 'bookmark' in your mind, as later on I will explain my problems with Mitarai's usage later in the story! Just know that for now, I think his story position is great, aswell as his character itself. This poor kid was used by Sensui who held Chapter Black as the reason why Mitarai should join him in hating humanity.
So, around here is where we learn about Shinobu's past. So, throughout the early story, I didn't like Koenma much. I didn't DISLIKE him or anything.. he was just kinda a joke character in a serious role, which isn't a bad thing. But here, they really flesh him out.
Now, at the beginning of the story, Koenma uses Yusuke, a boy with an inferiority complex who's had fighting as the only thing he's good at, as a child soldier, sending him to what is basically war. Koenma even out-loud admits in the Chapter Black arc that he chose Yusuke because unlike Shinobu, he's not an independent thinker. Essentially, he's easy to use, with the idea being grooming him into the perfect child soldier for Spirit Realm's desires.
We the audience realize this is bad from the beginning of the story, and we all knew that Koenma was a bad person, but them saying out loud was rather surprising! Alot of battle shounen try to sneak this under the rug, like Naruto and My Hero Academia. Admitting that the morality of the adults in your story is corrupt for sending children to murder others and endanger themselves? Pretty ballsy!
and hey, Yusuke has murdered tons of Yokai up to this point, all of which deserved to die, but making a child do this is the immoral part. Something I enjoy about Yu Yu Hakusho is that all our characters can be rather grey at times. This is something Togashi perfects later in Hunter x Hunter. But for now, we have characters of questionable morality like Hiei and Kurama in our supporting cast.
Yusuke hasn't done anything immoral, but he's murdered plenty of people without remorse, and threatened to do as such to those he doesn't like by the end of the arc (the forces that King Enma sounds down at the end of the arc). Kuwabara is the only one who's truly morally clean when you think about it. Though, by the end of the arc, even he makes an immoral choice, which is fun. None of our protagonists are morally perfect, and I think that's great.

SHINOBU'S PAST!

^{To note, I will be talking about Sensui's Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID} here. While we didn't learn about it at this point in the part, it seems like the most logical place to talk about it since it originates from his past, like anyone with DID. I do not have DID myself, so I cannot say if this is a good or bad representation of it. However, I can say that from what I know, it's very well researched. If anyone with DID has thoughts on this representation, I'd love to hear them.)
So, Shinobu, a human born with incredible Reiki. Probably equivalent to a low B-class Yokai in his youth. For reasons unknown to him, Yokai saw his incredible Reiki and targeted him. Why did these mysterious creatures that only he could see aim to kill him? He didn't know. Being a child, naturally, he comes to the conclusion. "I didn't do anything to them, and they're trying to kill me. Yokai are evil, Humans are the good guys."
Eventually, Koenma sees this kid, and is like "it's free real-estate.", choosing to use this kid for his own gain, grooming him into a child soldier and putting him into far more dangerous situations than he would of entered otherwise. As you know, Shinobu Sensui enters a young Black Black Club and witnesses humans being far worse than any Yokai he's ever seen. This sight likely tortures him for the rest of his life in his dreams, so that's fun.
This young man, filled with justice, decides he was completely wrong, and 180's his perspective. Yokai are free and honest creatures. Humans are the evil ones. This awful past, and this traumatic moment in his life, are what form his modern perspective, formed the alters in his system to cope with the trauma, and inspired him to steal Chapter Black and go into hiding for 10 years soon later.
Surprisingly, Sensui Shinobu does not develop one evil personality who controls the 'real Shinobu', like the old trope goes. Togashi here shows a fairly realistic depiction of DID, with alters of different age, gender and personality.
Considering we later learn about Itsuki, the gay man who loves Sensui, and both this and DID are treated really well, it really makes you wonder why the women in Yu Yu Hakusho are treated so badly when mental illnesses and homosexuality are treated with respect, lol. You were so close Togashi! now if only you treated Transgender people and women better.. well, he learns to treat both these groups better in his later works, so I can't really complain. I forgive you, old man. We'll speak about each of Sensui's identities later when they're introduced!

YUSUKE VS SENSUI! DEATH IN YU YU HAKUSHO..

Sniper fires a 'bullet', attempting to kill Mitarai! Yusuke runs down and fights Sensui way earlier than i'm sure any of us expected! Minoru and Yusuke's fight is one to behold, his leg-based fighting style is rad! Though, it's quite unfortunate that I don't have much to say about this brilliant exchange? I suppose with fighting, being such a visual thing, it's hard to talk about it. But what ends up happening as you're aware is that Black Angel, Gourmet and Gamemaster kidnap Kuwabara, the only one who can cut up that field; the barrier! We get a rad chase scene where Yusuke, with his super physicality thanks to his incredible Reiki, chases them down on a bike despite them driving a car!
This entire sequence is great. By the way, so far, Kurama hasn't done much this arc, and nor has Genkai. really makes you wonder why either of them didn't die in the Dark Tournament arc. Sorry to bring this up, but I just really don't like fake character deaths! Atleast Kuwabara's new Territory is a major plot-thread.. Kurama saved Keiko and Kuwabara elder, who shouldn't of been there in the first place and defeated Kaito's Taboo.
Genkai set up the boys to kidnap Yusuke and fight the gang, and that's it. I love what they did in this arc so far, but it's so little to justify such impactful moments. Kurama, fine, I can accept it. His sacrifice was impactful, but it didn't really matter, but Genkai.. she's such a good character, reviving her like this really makes me go "wow, so nobody can die except the antagonist, huh.". You don't want the audience to see through the wall like that..

YUSUKE VS SNIPER!

At this point, every fight in the arc has been amazing. I can't help but think Togashi has perfected combat. Hagiri's Territory is truly masterful, his Territory is a certain range from his body. From this range, he can place several bullseyes on his target's body. Any object he makes physical contact with will chase his target until it hits one of these bullseyes! What I'm saying is this Territory is awesome, and the fight is amazing. Unfortunately, as I mentioned before, when it comes to a fight there's not much to talk about, haha. I loved it though! At this point it feels like every new fight is 'the best fight in Yu Yu Hakusho'!
Something I love is that this guy isn't even Sensui, but he almost killed Yusuke! He would of, if our lovely tsundere Hiei wasn't about! After defeating Sniper in one hit, Hiei gives Yusuke a figurative handjob and releases Yusuke's tension! Yusuke and Hiei strike a deal with a fun climax in the epilogue of this arc, and team up!
Finally, the gang all meet up, and enter the cave! The final dungeon! Genkai decides that it's best to send in a limited number of people. If they all enter at once, then if the first wave dies, the second wave has a chance! Well, I already voiced my my complaints about this choice, so whatever. I'm just glad Mitarai gets to go in! He has to resolve his character arc, afterall.

GAMEMASTER, GOURMET, AND MINORU..

The actual games weren't very interesting to watch, but I enjoyed Mitarai's development, aswell as Kaito getting frigging screen-time! The way Gamemaster is defeated is really sad, I like it alot. It really tore Kurama up to kill this child. Love it. Seeing how Sensui manipulated this poor little boy is crazy.
After the defeat of Gamemaster, we get to Gourmet! blah blah he wasn't defeated. I don't really like Kurama's fights, to be honest. He just kinda pulls something out of nowhere. It's like he can do anything at all but only once.
So, Gamemaster and Gourmet were kinda dips in quality.. but soon we're back to the stuff I like! Now, logic dictates that if only Sensui and Itsuki are left, we're either going to have a 2 V 4, or Itsuki has to be defeated first before the gang can fight Sensui together.
Logic also dictates that now that Kurama has had his moment to shine, defeating both Gamemaster and Gourmet, it's time for Hiei, who has been absent the whole arc, and Mitarai, who's character arc revolves around being free from Sensui's manipulative grasp, to fight!.. but logic has nothing to do with it! Itsuki has tamed a Yokai of sorts, and kidnaps the gang! So, Hiei, Kurama and Mitarai are reduced to reaction youtubers. Atleast Itsuki is an interesting character, his feelings for Sensui are really sweet.
So, the fight between Yusuke and Minoru begins! I love the twist on classic battle shounen conventions where Yusuke in ATK, DEF and AGI is stronger than Minoru. Minoru has superior skill and MP and HP, but that's about it! Essentially, if Kurama is a White Mage, and Hiei is a Red Mage, then Kuwabara is the Warrior. Meanwhile, Yusuke and Minoru are a strange hybrid class, a Black Monk; a Monk who has access to Black Magic. Yusuke is overwhelmed by projectiles, but eventually realizes that he'd lose the war of attrition, so he goes on the offense! the damage isn't too much, so he just takes it and punches the hell out of Minoru! Frankly, the charismatic, philosophical and manipulative Minoru is my fave of Sensui's System. But we're soon introduced to Kazuya!

YUSUKE VS KAZUYA

I love Kazuya! His personality is very outward, and he's vulgar! A great opposite to Minoru, who's not very straight-forward at all. I don't really get if his gun arm is made from his Reiki or a prosthetic. If it's a prosthetic, where did his hand go..? But well, it's a cool weapon, so I can forgive it. Later when Shinobu shows up he asks Itsuki for a spare hand, so I guess it's a prosthetic? It doesn't really matter, but it peeves me slightly lol.
Kazuya loves murder and torture, and gradually shoots the hell out of Yusuke! I love this guy. Suddenly, Koenma appears! He wants to take responsibility for his awful actions?! I LOVE this for Koenma's character. Instead of a character with a black presence throughout the story, his presence has become a grey! He's regretful of what he's done, and I appreciate that. Through this arc, it feels like Koenma and Yusuke form a friendship, so that's nice. poor Jorge tho, totally neglected lmao. But while I like Jorge, he doesn't really matter.
So, Yusuke had time to recover thanks to Kazuya and Koema's conversation (the conversation was great, by the way.) and swipes the Mafuukan from Koenma! This is in-character for the low-self esteemed boy, so yeah. Yusuke beats the shit out of Kazuya, which is fun, and Shinobu appears!

VS SHINOBU

Shinobu shows up, puts on a shirt, and reveals he has.. Sacred Energy; Seikoki. Now, I'm sure in the last arc this will be expanded upon, but this for now has no info that we know about it, except that not even Genkai could turn her Reiki into it. We learn that Shinobu's Seikoki is SO strong.. that he's equivalent to an S class Yokai. Bro. TOGASHI. this is WHY you introduced Territories, so this wouldn't happen!! come on man.. so guess what, he kills Yusuke?
Listen, it starts cool okay, like, this is looking back in hindsight. At first it was "OH MY GOD HE'S SO STRONG" and "HE BROKE YUSUKE'S ARM WITH A TOUCH". it was really cool! but narratively, this was clearly a mistake. here's the thing.. Sensui is a great character. he definitely could of came back later. hell, while we know the names and personalities of all his alters, we haven't even met them yet! We've only met three! He's such a complex character, but from here, everything in the climax feels cramped.
So, Yusuke dies, this awakens Kuwabara's Territory fully, and he cuts out of Itsuki's dimension. Kurama is so enraged that his body enters the Yoko form by itself, without his mind reverting. Hiei's power goes up to A Class on principle. This is cool, but here's the thing. We *all* know they can't win. Togashi has introduced power levels. Kinda crazy isn't it? Togashi introduced Power Levels (Spirit Class) from Dragon Ball AND Stands (Territory) from JoJo in the same arc! Territories are great because fighters can come from anywhere and don't rely on being powerful to win. Spirit Classes suck because they relegate power to 'my number (or in this case, letter) is higher, so I win.'
Kuwabara and two A-Class Yokai.. they can't win against a single S class. On the bright side, good character moment coming up! When Shinobu gets behind the barrier, Kuwabara without even holding back, knowing he's going to die and so are all humans anyway, cuts through it, letting swarms of Yokai soon kill all humans! This makes sense for Kuwabara, since he knows they're all doomed anyway. Hiei and Kurama don't try to stop him, none of them regret this choice, they want to die by Shinobu's hand, fighting to the death. That's their choice. They fight on into the Demon Realm and face certain death..!

A DEMONKIN AWAKENS..

So, we learn here, while Hiei, Kurama and Kuwabara fight Shinobu, Yusuke is reviving! His descendent was an S-class Yokai! The Yokai traits skipped about a hundred generations, and Yusuke inherited this gene! I think this is actually.. pretty great! It only makes sense, right? in the prior arc, Toguro had his life ruined my Yokai, so he became one. Toguro hates Yokai.
in this arc, Sensui saw humanity being totally evil, so he took the Yokai's side. In the end, he, the human, fighting for the Yokai, fights Yusuke, who becomes a Yokai to stop Sensui, the human. Thematically, this is the best way this could end, Yokai vs Human. Even if this stuff with Yusuke and Shinobu being S-Class sucks, but it is what it is, i love that Yusuke is a Yokai. Though, poor Kuwabara, he and Keiko are the only human characters that matter left lol.
Pheonix Puu looks soo fucking cool btw, love that design. I love that Yusuke has spikey teeth now, that's fun. so, Yusuke and Shinobu fight, and I realize.. Shinobu is the least interesting of Sensui's system? He's overpowered, kills random Yokai in the Demon Realm while fighting Yusuke.. does he even care about his own goal? It's weird man.
well, on the bright side of this shitty Dragon Ball fight, Yusuke's Yokai form he enters looks super cool! Great design, love it. so, Yusuke does his Goku thing that he's started doing since the Dark Tournament Chu fight and is unsatisfied with beating Sensui while not using his own power. Whatever. Itsuki explains that Sensui is sick for some reason. This was not well foreshadowed, but he had cancer or whatever. Koenma brang Gamemaster back to life, so that uh. good job removing a great moment of the arc from the continuity, Togashi. It's really true that only antagonists can die in Yu Yu Hakusho, huh!?
I like that Shinobu wanted to open the hole to the Demon Realm because he wanted to die there, though. A great repentance for his transgressions against Yokai-kind, and this being delivered to him by the strongest Yokai we've seen so far, Yusuke Uremeshi, is great. Itsuki takes away Sensui's corpse forever into the darkness, which is sweet.
So, the epilogue! i loved EVERYTHING about it. everyone's paths they took were great. I love Doctor and Sniper's especially! If I have one pet-peeve, it's that they cut Yusuke's hair, it looks so coool, imagine him with the school uniform on with the long hair and scary tattoos?! it'd look rad. come on, uremeshiiii--
thank you for reading! sorry it's so long! :P big arc lol.

On the 28th of May 2023, I had to go to the hospital to check my eyes. I’d like to share this story with you because I need to improve my writing skills in English. Here’s the story:
I did not need to wake up on that morning, since I haven’t slept for the whole night. At 5 a.m. I’ve started getting organised, and I’ve been ready in about ten minutes. In about 30 minutes, my father came up and asked me if I’d like to get a ride there (because he’ll drive near the hospital), but I refused. At 6:18 a.m. I took the bus, and in seven minutes I was in the Central Station. Unfortunately, the bus to the train station has already been there, so I had to wait another ten minutes. Finally, the bus came and I went in. Another ten minutes have been wasted. The train station was the last stop. I came in and waited another ten minutes. My train appeared, so I got in. The drive was 20 minutes. After I took the train, I needed to take another bus to the hospital, but I could not find the correct bus stop. I followed people and walked to the nearest bus stop, which was the same bus stop in the pictures in the app that I’ve been using. It was supposed to arrive at 7:55 a.m., but it didn't! The next time was 9 a.m. I could've known that there is a problem because I didn't see the number of the bus there. Therefore, I got on another bus; however, I was late to the hospital for ten minutes. Luckily, I wasn’t waiting for a long time. I think I made an exit in 20 minutes at most.
Guess what I needed to do afterwards. Right, go to another bus stop!
Here starts the interesting part:
There was a bus stop near the hospital. I didn’t see the number of the bus again, but I didn’t care either. Then I saw it and waved for it to stop, although it did not stop for me. The driver waved me to go forwards, so I did. Eventually, I saw the correct bus stop, and the bus arrived in five minutes. Nothing could go wrong but complicated.
On the bus, everything was fine until some people have started asking questions about the bus stop near the train station. He told them to get out at a specific bus stop and catch another bus, because the track of the bus we were in is long, and another bus could get us there in some minutes. I remember that I got out where many people did, but I immediately asked the driver, ‘Is it near platform 1?’, because I saw a sign that says, ‘Platform 6’. He didn't understand me and I added, ‘the train station’. Then he told me to get in.
A while later, I questioned him about the bus stop for another bus, and he told me that it is the next stop. Many people and I got out at this stop, and I saw that they’ve gone to the bus stops that were up ahead. I think I don't need to tell you what I did, right?
Here’s the best part:
There was a soldier. She asked me if I need to get to the train station, and I said, ‘Yes’. ‘What bus numbers?’, she asked, and I nodded and said, ‘I don't know’. Suddenly a bus to Tel Aviv arrived, and she asked a guy if it stops near the train station. He said yes, but added that it'll stop by a wooden bridge, which is leading to the train station. I asked him too but couldn't understand. The soldier told me, ‘Come in, Kid’, so I did.
Later she went to the driver to ask him what the exact stop is. When she came back, she told me that we need to get out in two stops. We got out and I stammered, ‘Thank you for your help’. She had a briefcase and two plastic bags, and she struggled with them for a moment, so I asked if she needed any help. She smiled and declined. We went together to the train station, and near the automatic ticket gate, I thanked her again – and never saw her afterwards.
I've been waiting for my bus for about half an hour, but it was late in another 15 minutes. Whilst I was waiting, the cleaner came by and said, ‘You’re organised, like the Indian women’, because I crossed my legs and I laughed. I felt sorry for him because he was old. When my it was time to get ready for the train, I said him goodbye. He said, ‘Goodbye, Meydale’, which is ‘girl’ in Yiddish. It was quite funny.
I got on the train, and in 20 minutes I was in my city’s train station. Fortunately, there was my bus!
In another ten minutes, I was home.

Hey y'all, this is me reading an email from USAA about Memorial Day. Any thoughts on how I could improve my American accent? Thanks in advance for your help!
https://voca.ro/15rBRywDomw3
Text:
On Memorial Day, we honor the sacrifices of fallen service members who put their lives on the line for our nation, for us and for future generations of fellow Americans. These men and women answered the call to serve and defend our country with courage, dedication and selflessness, knowing the risks were great but the cause was greater. This is also a day to recognize and appreciate the veterans who served alongside these courageous souls and offer comfort to the Gold Star Families and friends left behind.
Stories of the brave, acts big and small, sacrifice and service are what we remember today. Like the story of Vietnam War hero Jimmy G. Stewart, an Army staff sergeant from West Columbia, West Virginia – one of the 58,000 Americans who lost their lives in combat during the conflict. When five fellow Soldiers of his six-man squad were wounded near An Khe in May 1966, Stewart held his position to protect his men, crawling through heavy fire to retrieve ammunition from his comrades and tossing back enemy-thrown grenades. When reinforcements arrived, 23-year-old Stewart continued to fight and was eventually killed while holding his position. The wounded he gave his life to protect were recovered and evacuated. A year later, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. This year marks 50 years since the last combat troops left South Vietnam.
This Memorial Day, we remember Jimmy G. Stewart and the 645,000 other men and women lost in service to our country since World War I. This year, we invite you to share a remembrance of one of them or a personal story by using #poppyinmemory in your social posts. It’s just one small way to continue to remember and celebrate those we’ve lost.

Amid a galaxy of brutal chaos there are stories to be told, tales of valor and justice, of fear and despair. But amid these stories are the guttering flames of adventures untold, the potential for a universe of entertainment and savage joyous fun. The Oblivion Cycle embodies just this kind of crafted chaos, creating the potential for creative exploits and raucous tales. If you are new to the TOC setting feel free to join the community at TheOblivionCycle to check out some of the background lore or to discuss themes with other readers. I thank you all for your support and continued willingness to read, as always, Please Enjoy!
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Chapter 27
Max-imum Surprise
He stood atop a wooden platform in the branches of the highest tree in the jungle. His heart beating fast in his chest as he looked out into that endless blue expanse of sky above. He blinked, suddenly there was no jungle. In front and below him was only more of that same endless sky.
He should have been afraid, should have cowered from that endless void in terror, but he found that he felt none of these things. Instead he smiled and spread his arms wide. He felt free, freer than he could ever remember feeling before.
He looked down at his bare feet, the polished red wood of the platform solid beneath his toes. Taking a deep breath he began to run. The edge of the platform seemed to stretch away from him, the harder he ran the faster it seemed to pull away.
He yelled at it to stop, to wait for him. But it did not. Instead it expanded outwards from him at the speed of light, encompassing him in a giant sphere of darkness that then seemed to press in on all sides. He felt a terrible pressure on his chest and cried out for someone to save him.
Suddenly he stopped as a profound sense of love and warmth seemed to wrap around him. It wasn't the same crushing weight as before. Before the pressure had been malicious, cruel and painful. Now the pressure was soft and tender, he embraced the feeling with his mind and smiled again. He suddenly realized that he was floating once more in that endless blue sky. Or was he falling? It made little difference, he spread his arms experimentally and found he could fly.
He laughed in childlike wonder as he began to soar through the endless clouds, doing loops and tricks to his heart's content. He had thought himself free before. He had been a slave, shackled to the ground and forever denied the truth.
He growled in anger at the thought, twisting dark branches reaching out like fingers to ensnare him as his mood darkened once more. He flitted and dodged through them with an agility that surprised even himself.
Then suddenly in the distance he heard a wailing sound, almost like that of a storm siren, but deeper in tone and altogether more sinister. In the sky overhead a darkness formed, taking a strange and terrifying form that he was unable to describe. It was as if the tendrils of darkness continued on forever, though he could not see them he knew they were there. Burrowing through reality as a worm would an apple.
He frowned, intrigued by the spectacle and unafraid. It seemed familiar, like an old acquaintance many years forgotten. It struck him as neutral, not evil or good, but somewhere in the middle. A mix of the two. He shook like a leaf in a storm as a hot wind began to blow over him and the sky split open to reveal a burning orange eye the size of eternity. He felt fear now, a terrible bone wrenching fear that spoke of primordial terrors and cosmic threats beyond mortal comprehension. But still he remained, no longer flying as he stood upon a tower of dark basalt stone blocks.
He looked at the eye and it looked at him, it seemed to look deeper than his skin. It felt as if it were peeling back the layers of his flesh and looking to his very soul, the gestalt of his core.
He jerked as a voice seemed to echo through his mind “You are not the one.”
He shook his head in confusion and shouted up to the burning sky “I’m not what one? What do you mean?”
The eye didn't reply, instead began to close. Leon raised his fists and shouted to the sky “One what? Answer me! I need to know.”
Again the voice spoke in his mind, this time quieter and growing more faint by the second till it trailed off into silence. “It is not yet time, you are not the one.”
As the eye closed the sky went dark, so did everything else. He felt himself falling again, looking down he saw a bright light far below. Squinting he saw it looked like a hospital room. The scene grew closer and more defined as he approached it at rapid speed. He looked at the bed and gasped in surprise, for in the bed he saw himself. But not as he remembered himself, but pale and seemingly without life. To his side he saw Dr. Kimathi and Joice frantically messing with something next to the bed his body lay in. It was a defibrillator.
He watched in growing fascination as he fell towards himself at incredible speeds. Joice lifted his body’s shirt and applied the paddles while Dr. Kimathi shouted something. He didn't have a chance to hear it as he slammed into his body.
He grunted in pain and convulsed as his eyes shot open. Coughing violently he tried to sit up and found he could not. Laying back in bed a bit dazed he tried to remember what had just happened.
He stopped, his mind a whirl of impossible images and sensations, and over it all a voice like thunder echoed in his mind. “You are not the one.”
“I am not the one.” He muttered to himself.
“Leon, Leon can you hear me? What did you just say? Nevermind it's not important, Leon I need you to tell me if you can hear me.” A female voice said from close to his ear.
He looked around blearily, was he Leon? ‘I am.’ he decided to himself. With his newfound identity chosen he decided to move onto his next issue.
He tried to sit up but found he couldn't. Flailing around weakly he heard a voice shout for assistance and then felt multiple hands holding him still.
“He is seizing.” Someone said, his mind assigned the voice a name. Dr. Kimathi.
Another voice, this one male, spoke up saying “I think he’s okay now. He stopped struggling.” This time his mind said the name Taylor.
He blinked a few times, trying to clear his mind. What had happened? Why couldn't he remember anything? He thought hard, his face screwing up from the stress. He remembered mud and a loud noise. But that was it.
Dr. Kimathi stood next to him and shined a penlight into his eyes while saying “Pupil response is normal, no intracranial swelling then. Leon, Leon look at me.” she said sternly.
He looked at her, his vision focusing on the dark skinned woman’s eyes. She nodded and then put up a single finger. “I want you to follow my finger, okay Leon?”
He tried to speak but all that came out was a half strangled croak. She frowned but moved her finger. He did his best to keep locked onto it. Maybe if he did what she asked she would tell him what happened to him. She moved it a few more times, first slowly and then more rapidly. He followed along and she nodded before marking something on the small datapad she was holding.
He coughed as he tried again to speak and he heard Taylor say “I'll go get Natalia. She will want to know he’s awake.”
Dr. Kimathi raised a hand. Glancing at him she hissed quietly. “I don't know if that’s a good idea. He seems to be suffering from acute memory loss. I can’t explain it, no head injury, not cranial trauma of any kind. It’s like something reached in there and scrambled his brains around, resonance scans are all over the place. It's like there was some kind of interference.”
Leon frowned at her words, again the dim memory of a powerful voice echoed through the corner’s of his mind and the vague impression of a nebulous darkness crossed his mind. But he quickly suppressed it.
“Where am I?” he croaked.
Dr. Kimathi's head whipped towards him and she rushed to his side. “Leon, you are in the infirmary. What do you remember?”
Leon frowned again, hadn't she already asked him that? He couldn't remember. Instead of asking he said “I remember mud, lots of mud. And then, trees? That makes no sense, I'm sorry.” he apologised quickly. They would think he was insane if he kept talking. Then he would end up in the loony pen with Aden.
He sat bolt upright as things started rushing back into place. The planetary landing, the attack on Oliver, the strange dream he had experienced. It all came back in a rush that made his vision swim and his head pound. Clutching his head he groaned “I remember everything… Ough, why does it hurt so much?”
Taylor looked at Dr. Kimathi and asked “What about now?” to which the woman just nodded. Taylor rushed off, presumably to grab Natalia, Leon speculated.
Leon knew that he only had a few moments before everyone else came rushing back and so clutched at Dr. Kimathi’s arm.
“Wait, I have to tell you something.” He said urgently.
Dr. Kimathi looked around the room quickly before nodding and asking “Ok then Leon, what is it?”
He held the long sleeve of her white lab coat and began determinedly. He told her of his dream and the voice, of the eye and the darkness. After he had finished he released her arm and sat back with a wince. Only now did he notice his bare chest was wrapped, an ugly yellow and blue bruise peeking from beneath the bandage.
Dr. Kimathi shook her head slowly and said “You are starting to sound like Aden. Are you sure you are alright Leon? I have some antipsychotics I can prescribe if you…”
Leon cut her off with a right handed wave, his left arm hurting too much to move it about. “No, please, no more medication. I take enough of that shit to sink a battleship already. Some painkillers wouldn't be bad though, please?” He asked her.
She smiled slightly and handed him three small pills from her pocket and a bottle of water with a straw. “Careful on the water.” She warned him as he started to suck it down.
He coughed a few times as her warning did not come fast enough and some slipped down the wrong pipe, Dr. Kimathi leaned over to pat his back as he tried to expel the excess liquid. He was still coughing lightly as a familiar and very welcome face walked around the corner.
Natalia rushed to his side and hugged him as he was still trying to settle his lungs. The result was another coughing fit followed by her rapidly apologizing for hurting him.
Leon waved a hand weakly and said “No it’s fine Nat, I was just drinking water too fast. It is really good to see you.” he said softly.
She smiled sadly and nodded, a few tears welling in her eyes. “When you stopped breathing I thought…” She started to say but he shushed her and extended an arm.
Natalia sat by his side and leaned on his shoulder gently as he put his arm around her waist. “Don’t talk like that. I’m not going anywhere. I'm way too stubborn to do anything like that, much less the effect I know it would have on you.” he said, wiping a tear from her cheek.
Dr. Kimathi spoke “Well, I am glad to see you feeling better Leon. And she’s right, we nearly lost you there a few times.”
Leon nodded and pulled Natalia’s head down before planting a tender kiss on the top of her head. “I’m sorry Nat, I won’t let my pride get in the way of my common sense again.” He turned to Dr. Kimathi as she tapped on her datapad. “How is Oliver? Is he alright?”
She finally smiled, a small tight lipped thing. “Thanks for asking Leon, I was hoping you would. Oliver is going to be physically fine, he woke up from the antivenom treatment a few days ago.”
Leon jerked up before the pain in his side dragged him back down to the dismay of both women. “A few days!” he shouted.
Natalia pushed him back down gingerly while Dr. Kimathi shot him a pointed look. She lowered her datapad and explained “Yes, a few days. You were in a medically induced coma Leon, severe lack of oxygen almost killed you before we could get you out of your suit. You had a collapsed lung and multiple fractures, not to mention a partially dislocated collarbone. It was kind of touch and go for a while.” she finished with a gesture to his bandages.
Leon winced again and asked “What happened after I blacked out?”
Dr. Kimathi shook her head and said “A whole hell of a lot. Natalia can fill you in on the details, I need to go check on something. Don’t do anything stupid while I'm gone Leon, okay?” She told him. Leon just nodded and watched the stern woman exit the examination room.
Natalia answered his question “Well, you passed out on the way up to the ship. By the time they got you out of your environmental suit you were already in full respiratory arrest. Your heart was beating but your lungs were not working.” she said emotionally.
Leon hugged her close again and whispered to her softly “It’s okay now though. I’m better. Please, tell me what happened next?”
Natalia sucked in a shuddering breath and nodded jerkily. With a slight tremble in her voice she continued speaking “We had to rush you and Oliver to the infirmary. Blessing hooked you up to a portable respirator after applying the chest tube to help drain the built up fluid. But even then you were barely breathing, she said she had to drain the excess fluid from your lungs, something she couldn't do in the microgravity core. So we used one of the lift rigs and lowered you down the access shaft to the medical ring. By that point Oliver had been rendered unconscious as well and Blessing had enlisted both Taylor and Myung to help.” she paused for breath and Leon reached for the water bottle on his bedside.
She smiled at him as he handed it to her and she took a drink. Replacing it on the table he bade her to continue. The horrid fascination making it impossible for him to ignore the terrible events.
She took another deep breath before she spoke, this one steadier as she got further into the story. “Well, after some struggling we finally got you and Oliver into the intensive suite. While Blessing worked on synthesizing an antivenom from Max, Myung and Taylor monitored your condition. Did you know Taylor had medical training? Apparently he had been a volunteer responder before he moved into military signal analysis.”
She was about to continue when he waved his arms. “Wait a minute, hold on. Who the hell is Max? What did…” he stopped. He crossed his arms again and apologised as she gave him a disapproving look.
“I was getting to that, fasten up those horses buster.” She chastised him. Her annoyance was short lived however as she shook her head and continued. “Well, when you captured that creature on the planet's surface, you placed it into a bag. The bag seemed to have calmed the thing down because as they finally got to unpacking it the little thing was as timid as a mouse. I don’t know why, but it seemed to respond in a non-hostile manner to both the venom extraction and continued observation.” she said.
Leon shook his head in disbelief. “That still doesn't explain who Max is, wait. Don’t tell me.” he said as he saw her smile widely.
She nodded her head and said “Yeah, Oliver responded to the antivenom and woke up, madder than hell. He wanted to chop the little beast up till he saw it. He looked into its little puppy dog eyes and immediately forgave them. He named her Max and almost immediately tried to feed it.”
Leon again shook his head in disbelief. Only the crazy Australian could want to adopt something that had nearly killed him as a pet. “He named it Max? What, is it a dog now?” he asked her jokingly.
She just smiled harder and replied “She might as well be. The two are nearly inseparable now.” He shot her a surprised look and opened his mouth to comment but she cut him off. “Yes he keeps a close eye on her, and no Max hasn’t attacked anyone else. Not even tried. Oliver said that the only reason that she bit him was because he stepped on her. She was just lashing out in self defense, same as when you grabbed her. Once Max realized that we were not trying to kill her she seemed to mellow right out.”
Leon still couldn't hardly believe it. The same murderous creature that had nearly cost both his and Oliver's lives, was now the ship's mascot? He couldn't take it and chuckled “Okay, I see what’s going on here. Ha ha ha, very good. I will admit you had me going with that story, Max.” he said, another slightly wheezing laugh escaping him.
She just gave him that same serious stare from earlier. He opened his mouth and threw his arms out to the side. “Oh come on, you really expect me to believe that the same murder rope that I nearly died to grab is now everyone’s favorite little cuddle buddy?”
She shook her head and said in an exasperated tone “Well I never, have I ever been untruthful with you Leon?”
He cocked his head and raised a finger. “Well, if we are counting, then… There was that time with the bean patty you told me was a hamburger that had been preserved in the cold storage for the whole trip. Had me excited as a pig in shit for that one. Then there was that other time when you called me to the observation deck for an emergency but in reality it was just you wearing that skimpy little…” She cut him off by putting her hand over his mouth and looking around to see if anyone had overheard.
She hissed “Okay I get it. And you told me you wouldn't hold that over me.” she pouted.
He chuckled lightly and shook his head “I’m sorry, but this is just too incredible. Please, humor me and skip the Max related stuff for the moment. What happened after oliver woke up, not the thing.” he pleaded.
Natialia gave him an unreadable look but continued on saying “Ok, Oliver woke up. He was a bit weak from the venom but took it well. He and Blessing took some samples of… The creature.” she paused to gauge his reaction. Leon just blinked, waiting for her to proceed. “Well, they took some samples and found something remarkable. The lifeforms on the planet have a disturbingly similar chemical and molecular makeup to Earthly animals.”
“How similar?” he asked her, interrupting her train of thought. “Sorry, continue.” he muttered as she waved a hand in the air annoyedly.
She returned to her tale “Well, they did some tests and found that the lifeforms of the world, which we named Terrelia while you were out by the way sorry.” she shrugged as he frowned. “Well, Ma… The creature is able to not only digest Earth proteins, but seems able to metabolize them as well. It has red, iron based blood with a protein ominously similar to hemoglobin as its oxygen carrier. That’s why the venom worked on Oliver so fast, it was like he had been bitten by a cobra from back on Earth. Joice and Myung couldn't make heads or tales of it, but that's the truth. I guess life in the universe isn't so alien after all.” she said with a casual shrug.
Leon just sat back in his bed, the bruises on his chest and arm smarting despite the painkillers he had taken earlier. It all seemed rather baseless to him, though he couldn't in good faith call her a liar. She would never have made up something so fantastic and then claimed it was true that vehemently. No, it must be truth. The only other option was mass hysteria in which case he had a lot more to worry about than a pet alien snake.
He wrung his hands together and looked around the small room. The walls and ceiling were white, a few cabinets above clinical countertops and a single LED light fixture completed the display. He thought about what she had said. That alien life might not be so alien afterall.
He nodded and said “I think I want to get up.”
Natalia gave him a concerned look and placed a single hand on his bandaged chest. “I’m not sure that is a great idea yet Leon. You are still recovering.”
“Yes I am. But a little walking does the body good. How many days was I out?” He asked her as he gingerly sat up on the edge of the bed. He slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed towards the floor. He winced as his leg twinged and his side smarted, but it wasn't enough to deter him from his current course of action.
Natalia stood in front of him and bounced slightly in nervousness. “Oh man, Blessing isn’t going to like this.”
Leon waved a hand in a dismissive way and asked “And since when have I let her opinion on my health keep me down? How many days Nat?”
She looked him in the eyes and said “Four days. You were gone for four days Leon. Four days in which I was lost, almost completely.” She took a deep breath as the emotions she was suppressing threatened to tear their way free. “I can’t tell you how bad it felt seeing you like that Leon. I thought I had lost you.” She said in a wavering tone.
Leon stood shakily and embraced her. He ran a hand through her hair as she buried her face in his chest. “I do know. I have felt lost too, but I have you now. And nothing is going to make me let you go.”
She looked up at him and asked suddenly “Well, you are up. It's too late to turn back now. Want to go meet Max? She really is swe…”
Leon groaned and she stopped talking. He saw her frown slightly and caved “Okay. But don't get upset if the little bastard bites you or someone else.”
He saw her roll her eyes before she led him slowly and deliberately out of the room.
Leon walked slowly, not really hurting but more sore than he had felt in years. Every step was a chore but he continued on determinedly. It was better to be up and smarting than stagnating in bed.
As they walked down the corridor that led to the main hallway Leon asked her “Are we still in orbit of the planet?”
She shook her head. “No, Joice made the call while you were incapacitated. The planet was dangerous, there might be another incident if we had decided to make another surface run.”
Leon shrugged. That seemed like the best course of action he could think of too. The planet's surface was a swamp which made it impossible to see where one was truly stepping. Oliver wouldn't have stepped on the creature if he had known it was there. The entire stupid situation might have been avoided entirely.
“Yea, that sounds fair.” Was all he said in response though. He was curious about what she thought but didn't ask. He could tell by the way she frowned that she hadn't been a fan of the situation.
Letting it go he said “We need different protocols for this kind of situation. I think the crew should have more of a say in what happens from now on.” Leon mused out loud. Natalia just patted his shoulder silently.
The kept walking a little farther till they reached the medical labs portion of the ring. Leon slowed as he heard voices emanating from the rooms ahead. Turning a corner through a doorway he stopped.
In the room were three people, Oliver, Joice and Dr. Kimathi. Joice and Dr. Kimathi were sitting at a table looking at a computer and discussing its data. What really captured his attention however was Oliver sitting across from the two women. Or rather, the long creature wrapped around the man's neck and upper torso.
Leon cocked his head, it was indeed the same creature from the planet. He looked at it again and was a bit taken aback by its appearance.
While he had not had much chance to grasp its true form on the planet he still had gotten a decent look at it. It was indeed long and snake-like in appearance, its body tubelike and covered in thousands of tiny mosaic scales in a blueish green pattern, but that's where the similarities ended.
It’s head was long and almost had a canine look to it with pronounced jaw muscles and what looked like small horns. The body was long and had a small fin-like frill moving down its center similar to an eel. All along its sides it had much larger scale looking structures that seemed to be raised off its surface. As he tried to guess as to their function he noticed some of them move. Looking closer he realized they were rows of fins all along its sides, just tucked close to the body in the absence of water. That would explain how it was able to wriggle free from him on the planet.
Joice saw them and glanced at Dr. Kimathi, saying something. Dr. Kimathi looked at him sharply and demanded “Leon, why are you out of bed? Natalia, I told you to keep him in bed.”
Natalia hung her head sheepishly and said “It’s hard to make Leon do something he doesn't want to do.”
Leon glanced at her and then said “It was my fault, I didn't listen to her. I needed to move, to get active. I’m sorry Dr. Kimathi.”
Natalia squeezed his hand and he gave her a slight nod. Joiced motioned for them and said “Well as long as you are here, come take a look at these readings. Myung and I took some samples of Max’s blood and the results are both remarkable and confusing in equal measure.” The blond woman finished excitedly.
Leon nodded and made a pointed effort not to look at the thing Oliver was holding. He took the seat that Joice had just vacated and looked at the results she had posted to the computer. After a moment he asked “Well, what does it all mean?”
Joice shook her head and motioned at a few bits of randomly squirming data points. To him they looked like so much gibberish but Joice spoke animatedly while gesturing to the readouts “If you look here you can see a partially decoded splice of their DNA. That was the first thing that struck me as odd, I expected something similar to our DNA system to give the cells guidance, but not this similar. Look, four base pairs just like us, and whats more the base pairs are astonishingly similar as well. If i didn’t know any better I would be tempted to say that this creature evolved from a common ancestor to Earthly creatures.” she paused to let the bombshell sink in.
Leon just shook his head “What is so remarkable about that. Isnt there a word for this kind of thing. Convergent evolution right?”
Joice shook her head and pointed at Oliver’s new friend. “No, not like this. Convergent evolution is more about the form and function, not the composition. This is too close to be accidental, this is… This is wrong is what it is. Its not possible, and yet here I am telling you that its not only possible, but that its happened.”
She threw her arms up in the air while giving a small groan of frustration. Leon heard a quiet quacking noise and looked at Oliver. The man grinned and reached his hand towards the creature's powerful wedge shaped head. Leon tensed, ready for the thing to snap his fingers off or worse, but instead it met his hand for pets. Emitting a soft gurgling purr it stroked the man’s hand with its head lovingly and closed its eyes in what looked like pleasure to him.
“Aww, you are the cutest little terror in the whole galaxy aren't you Max.” he heard Oliver mutter. Looking around his mouth opened. Everyone else in the room was smiling, a look of endearment on their faces.
Leon was once more incredulous. What on Earth had he missed for the thing to go from being a murderous pest to being a beloved part of the ship's small crew.
Oliver saw him staring and smiled. “Oh hey Leon, you just woke up right?” Leon nodded a little unsure of the man’s point. Oliver continued “Well, then you haven't met Max, well, not politely at least. Here, want to hold her?” he asked, extending an inviting arm out towards Leon.
Leon shook his head “No, I don't think that's a good idea.”
Joice spoke up “Oh come’on Leon, the creature is perfectly safe. Its venom is no longer a hazard, Dr. Kimathi made more antivenom. She doesn't bite, well at least she hasn't yet.”
Leon was about to say no again when he felt another hard hand squeeze from Natalia. Looking at her she gave him an encouraging smile and said “Watch.” Before Leon could stop her she strode right up to Leon and reached out towards Max. He watched in silent dread as Natalia's hand approached that razor fang filled maw.
“Nat, wait!” he said, taking a step forward then stopped in his tracks. Max was nuzzling her just as they had Oliver, apparently completely at peace with its environment. ‘What the hell?’ he thought to himself.
Natalia scritched the alien under the chin and laughed happily as it lolled its tongue out in happiness while emitting that same gurgling purr. He frowned at the sight. It seemed that his fears might be unfounded after all.
Approaching cautiously he looked at Oliver and said “How should I do it, should I let it sniff me first?” He had no idea how people were supposed to handle snakes, well, alien serpents at least.
Oliver shrugged “If you like. She is pretty docile.”
Swallowing in nervousness he reached out his right hand towards the creature. Almost as soon as he started Max hissed angrily and flared all her fins in a threatening way, trying to puff up like an angry cat.
Leon snatched his hand back while taking a few steps in the opposite direction of the creature. Oliver jerked back in alarm as Natalia shouted. Max drew back into the protection of Oliver’s body and gave Leon the most acidic glare he had ever seen from an animal.
“Oliver. What the actual fuck was that? I thought you said that thing was safe.” He said loudly, stepping back even further.
The Australian stroked his charge calmly, whispering soothing words to her and then said more loudly “Well, she never did that before. She must remember you grabbing her on the planet.”
Leon shook his head “Remember what? It’s a fucking animal Oliver.”
Joice raised her hand at his comment and said “Yes she is, but an animal with the intelligence capability of a dog at the very minimum. Im suspecting she is much smarter than that though, maybe even as smart as a corvid. My preliminary scans show that her species' neural pathways are much larger than they have any right to be. It's as if she has a brain that runs the length of her spine.”
Leon just waved and said “Alright, maybe she holds a grudge then. I've seen stranger things on this trip than a vengeful snake.”
“She isnt a snake, Leon. I have decided to name her species Terrelian Swamp Gliders.” Oliver said in response to Leon’s comment.
Leon just shook his head silently, beyond words at the moment.
Natalia walked over to his side and said “I think we have taken a long enough walk, I will see you all in a bit. Bye Oliver.” she said as she began to guide him back into the hall.
“Why me…” Leon bemoaned quietly to himself.
Natalia must have heard his cry as she tutted and said “You are in charge of what is possibly the greatest experiment in all of human history Leon. It makes sense that things would not always go according to plan. Don't fret though, I will always be here for you.” she told him with a kiss to his grizzled cheek.
Leon looked at her as they reentered the room he had been in before. “I know I do. And I respect that you see the world differently than I do. That's one of the reasons I love you so much.”
She smiled and leaned in for a kiss. He sighed as she helped him back onto the bed. “Leon, I’m worried.” she said suddenly as she sat down by his side.
Looking up at the ceiling he asked her “What are you worried about?”
She paused and then shifted her position, laying down on top of the covers next to him she said “I’m worried about us, the ship. Everyone else. What’s going to happen if we get into trouble and can’t fix it like we have managed every time so far? We don't have anyone to help us, we would be totally alone.”
Leon shook his head and pulled her close, lifting the covers so she could scoot right to his side. Wrapping his arms around her he held her tight as he said “No, we won't. As long as we have each other we will never be alone.” he closed his eyes, the slow beat of her heart and rhythmic breathing bringing him a profound sense of peace and comfort. He felt himself drifting off into sleep, the pains and worries of the day floating up and away from his mind as he entered the realm of unconsciousness.
==End of Transmission==

Context:
I’ve been with my (26F) boyfriend (32M) for 2 years now and things have been incredible besides my jealousy and RJ.
My ex was my only previous sexual experience. High school sweethearts that stayed together way too long, deadbeat of all deadbeats, very “meh” sex life.
My current boyfriend is way more attractive and a better person overall. We met in college and are both healthcare workers now. He is so hot, funny, kind, and charismatic, which is fantastic and I love having a confident partner. But him having these qualities plus 6 more years of life experience compared to me also comes with having more previous sexual experiences - hookups from old jobs and music fests, another relationship, women who have sent him nudes (which he of course deleted when we started dating), etc. He also followed a lot of half-naked women on instagram when he was single but promptly unfollowed them when I told him I was uncomfortable with it at the beginning of our relationship.
I am in therapy and have mostly accepted this part of his past. He makes it very clear that I am the one for him even when I’m not asking for reassurance. I believe him when he tells me I am the best sex/relationship/romantic experience he has ever had, that no one else even comes close, he has never been in so love like this with anyone before (I didn’t ask him to say any of this). And he is set on marrying me which I never got from my ex that I was with for 7 years. He also told me that while it might have been fun living the single life, it also could get really lonely and he felt like he was being used sometimes.
The current issue:
What’s weird is that my most intense RJ isn’t even about a past sexual experience or an ex of his. It’s about an old coworker of his (from a veeeery long time ago) that went to nursing school but instead went on to be a half-naked fitness influencer. Naturally this was one of the girls he used to follow. No romantic or sexual past with her though.
He used to like all of her photos and would comment on some of them too. Nothing wildly thirsty or graphic. But things like her name in all caps and fire emojis. I guess it just seemed to me like he used to be obsessed with her.
Now, I don’t feel unattractive by any means; I hated how I looked for a lot of my life because I got bullied for my race, but I now really take care of my appearance and consider myself a conventionally very pretty Asian girl. My boyfriend makes it clear that he thinks I’m super hot and desirable, talks about me all the time to coworkers and friends, and shows me off, so I know he isn’t just with me because he wanted to settle down with any willing girl after being tired of the hookup lifestyle. And we’re also just a very good match outside of looks as well.
But my ROCD brain still makes me feel like I can’t compete with a blonde fitness influencer with giant fake boobs, lip filler, and the biggest butt ever lol (and who was already the American standard of beauty before she got work done).
This is gonna sound crazy, but sadly this is what my brain tells me. I always had this irrational fear that if she happened to come into his life again, like if she decided to follow through with becoming a nurse and she happened to work at the hospital he works at, that he would drop me so fast just to drool over her again or try to cheat on me with her. So my paranoid brain would always just tell me that as long as he never saw her again then this relationship that is so precious to me is safe.
Well the “worst” happened. She walked by us at this beachside bar we were at while we were hanging out with friends there. I froze. She’s been the big reason for my insecurities throughout this entire relationship (rational or irrational) and the fact that she was there in person just made me freeze up. Eventually I asked if he wanted to say hi to them and introduce us, because I thought that maybe facing my trigger would confirm to me that I’m “scared” of this person for really no reason.
My boyfriend handled the situation very well; he had no desire to go say hi to her. He reminded me that it’s just me and him there together on this beach trip with friends for our 2 year anniversary, that he’s in love with me, and that he just wants me to be happy with him. And to try to get out of my head and that he didn’t need to say hi to her because it wouldn’t do anything for him, and he knows how I feel. I was a mess then but thankfully we went back to that beachside bar again the next night and had a fantastic time together so that our anniversary trip ended on a great note.
Still can’t get rid of this nagging feeling though. I was severely gaslit in my previous relationship so unfortunately my trust issues are still persistent and alive in this one which isn’t fair to my current boyfriend.
I unfortunately still give into my compulsions and check her social media sometimes. Do you think this will ever get better with enough time and therapy? Can anyone relate to this? It feels like such a weird situation I can’t talk about to anyone else because it feels unique.

Company Name	Title	City
Level Four Group	Revenue Officer	Dallas
Pyrotecnico Fireworks Inc	Project Estimator Sales & Installations	Dallas
The Lamplighter School	Substitute School Nurse	Dallas
Kindful Health	CNA - Dallas	Dallas
Meadows Behavioral Healthcare	MBH - Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner - Dallas	Dallas
Optime Staffing Partners	PRN Licensed Vocational Nurse LVN-Hospice	Dallas
Jobot	Registered Nurse	Dallas
AmTrust Financial Services, Inc.	Telephonic Nurse Case Manager	Dallas
WiNGS Dallas	Bilingual-Nurse Home Visito Nurse Family Partnership	Dallas
Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation	Case Management Nurse	Dallas
Dallas Medical Center	Lvn - Er	Dallas
Prana Talent	Circulating Nurse	Dallas
Greendoor	Registered Nurse - US Residence only F1, TN are welcome to apply	Dallas
Dallas Medical Center	Registered Nurse - Float Pool	Dallas
Sterling Medical, Llc	Neonatal Nurse Practitioner NNP	Dallas
HealthTrust Workforce Solutions	Registered Nurse	Dallas
The Judge Group	Dialysis Charge Nurse	Dallas
Dallas Medical Center	Staff RN - Pain Clinic	Dallas
N2S Healthcare Staffing Solutions LLC	RN Telemetry	Dallas
Parkland Health and Hospital System	Staff - Registered Nurse (RN) - PCU - Progressive Care Unit - $36-45 per hour	Dallas

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in dallas. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

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