I (early 20s F) have a chronic health condition which means I am immunocompromised, when I get sick it’s often more severe and lasts twice as long as other people. It also aggravates my health condition more so it’s a pretty bad feedback loop.
My partner (early 20s M) is aware of this and does try to do stuff like get covid vaccine boosters and such but can’t help but get sick constantly and “not notice” before passing it onto me. So far this year he had two pretty prominent warts on one of his fingers that I had to point out and ask him to deal with (I had persistent warts years ago and broke records at the clinic which treated them for the treatment duration, it took years of effort and painful intense treatments, being constantly vigilant to get rid of them). He told me he’d sort of noticed them but didn’t want to tell me because I’d “freak out”. Needless to say, his went away in a month or so with over the counter treatments and I’ve of course caught them, they’ve spread to almost half of my fingers and I’m back to sustaining really invasive treatment as they seem to only spread and grow over 4 months or so.
He also has chronic allergies which he doesn’t really take his prescribed medication for. This sort of bothers me because he sniffles every day and spreads snot with stuff like snotty tissues that he leaves everywhere. This is kind of gross already but means that when he has a cold he “can’t distinguish between it and the allergies” even though the first sign of a cold is usually a sore throat which I would imagine is sort of easy to notice as standing out from other hayfever symptoms? Usually he’ll complain of a sore throat offhand and I will have to explain to him that he’s sick and needs to take this more seriously and be more on top of his symptoms so I know to avoid him for a few days and avoid getting sick myself. Because when I inevitably always do, already 2-3 times this year, I’m impacted for closer to 3-4 weeks.
The most recent incident has been him coming down with gastro which he initially put down to food poisoning (as he isn’t great with food safety either). I get that it can be hard to distinguish, and that he doesn’t want to make me sick. But yesterday he told me that he he was better and wanted to hang out so we spent the day together. Only for him to be visibly sick the whole time, offended when I didn’t want to eat something his cutlery had touched, and for me to be invited to his home without the knowledge that his parents had caught his “food poisoning” and were both throwing up, and had still invited a guest over to dinner?? I only found out when I got there and immediately left. If I come down with something like gastro and can’t keep food/fluids down I will need to go to the emergency room immediately as it is dangerous for me.
I asked him today if he washed his hands properly and he said yes but when not sick he doesn’t even always use soap. I’m starting to get really tired of his bad hygiene/self-care practices which keep becoming my problem and I’m not warned about before it’s too late (and often I have to pick up on it myself and tell him to deal with it and be more careful next time).
Even if he does genuinely makes a mistake each time, I’m starting to feel like he doesn’t care enough. And I know that my condition sounds bad and that I should be more vigilant/expect to be sick sometimes which of course I understand. But why can’t he be bothered to notice something is up/why does he avoid telling me every time! I’m starting to really resent him for this

I’m a first time mom, stay at home mom currently, and 6 months postpartum. I’m also breastfeeding. Recently at night when I go to bed I’ve been getting symptoms like I have a bad fever but I don’t- the shakes, dizzy, lightheaded, chills, nausea, body aches, hot flashes, etc. I feel this way until the morning when I get up and get moving. They come on quickly- one minute I’m fine and the next I’m on the edge of vomiting. My first guess is that it’s a sign of exhaustion, but my baby and I both get pretty good sleep. I can count on 5-8 hours a night, with 1-3 wakings. Also my husband does shift work and is home frequently to help with baby care. I don’t feel overly exhausted. I eat well because I’m breastfeeding, but since these symptoms started I have started taking my prenatal again. These symptoms started a couple weeks ago and have been daily since. They are incredibly frustrating. Wondering if this is a normal postpartum thing, or if anyone has tips/ideas.
Also- 100% not pregnant again. I’m getting regular periods.

I had two cats 10M and 3F. They were cuddle buddies and loved each other. About 2 months about the male started losing weight and declining. He went through many tests and bloodwork and meds but ended up getting diagnosed with cancer on Tuesday and was put to sleep to end his suffering as he wasn’t himself. The entire time, my girl cat who is my entire heart and soul seemed so sad. She didn’t play with him anymore (it feels like she knew he didn’t feel good and didn’t want to bother him) and would cry at night for someone to play with as she would run around.
I’m feeling a lot of guilt and regret I didn’t spoil him in his last months. What if he had future symptoms and I didn’t register them as abnormal? I feel like I was in strong denial we would find something out and he would be fixed and healthy again. We would cuddle every night but I feel like I should’ve done more and spent more time focusing all my attention on him. He was such a sweet loving boy. I can barely eat and I’ve been throwing up I feel so sick for how it ended. When we brought him to the vet on Tuesday I feel like I got hit by a truck when the vet felt his abdomen and immediately said it’s not good and he thinks it’s rapidly spreading intestinal cancer. X-rays confirmed this. He was put to sleep with me and fiance in the room while he weakly laid there.
We stayed in the room for the process by his head petting and kissing him while he got injected with the anesthetic. I didn’t want him to look at what was going on and he kept his eyes on us the entire time. After the first injection, he started purring so loud. He hadn’t purred like this in weeks. I feel so guilty he was purring to comfort himself because he was scared or in pain but was too weak to vocalize or move.
We chose to do cremation. I’m scared they weren’t kind and gentle with his body. I’m personally so against cremation as it feels so cruel to do to a body even if they’ve passed. I’m scared he was just thrown into an incinerator and didn’t get the respect he deserves. My coworkers asked me if it was a solitary or mixed cremation. I didn’t even think about this. I don’t mind getting mixed ashes - it could be multiple animals whose owners chose not to keep their ashes and that’s so sad to me. But what if I get the ashes back and it’s barely his? How do I even know if it’s him? I want to ask the vet clinic but I’m so scared of the answer and how I’ll linger on it forever.
Then… I got two new outdoor kittens that were about to get trapped in storms happening and adopted them this week. I got one Monday and my male cat cuddled him and me the entire time before his appointment. After we euthanized him… we went back and got the other babies brother the same night so he wouldn’t be alone and scared and in the storms. It wasn’t to replace him - that was not our intention whatsoever. We just knew we could help this baby and it would be more comforting to the first kitten to have his brother.
They’re so sweet. But I feel so guilty my cat somehow feels replaced. But they could never be a replacement for him, they just needed help and we had the resources to do so. I feel like it looks really shitty of me to adopt so quickly and that it looks just forgetting my cat for some new babies. I know I shouldn’t care what people think and I would never judge someone else for helping out a cat after a loss.
My girl cat seems happy. She loves cuddling them when they’re calm during the day and plays with them at night which is her regular crazy hours. She sets her boundaries gently with them when they get a little wild and she’s not ready to play. But I feel so guilty and evil. They get lots of love but to be honest I can’t help but look at them and think that should’ve never happened with my male cat and he should be here. I applied to volunteer at my local shelter that needs help to help with their cats - they have a lot of senior and special needs cats I want to work with as they deserve love.
I’m really just rambling but I feel like I can’t talk to anyone about it without looking crazy. I’m in one on one therapy but it’s not until Tuesday and I feel weird going in and just dumping all my problems about cats. It feels so insignificant compared to issues people go through in life and we’ve been focusing on my OCD obsessions and rituals.
Am I a bad cat owner? Did I make too many wrong quick decisions?

My ex reached out after nearly one peaceful month of NC and I am again trying to survive enormous waves of hatred. I always thought I hated people or things before but now I know what actual hate feels like…before? That was just dislike. Maybe strong dislike but now it is sheer unadulterated hatred and I can feel it harming my health. I am sitting here after getting some lame ass half ass apology followed by a request to hand over the title to a vehicle we co-purchased but he absconded with even though he owes me nearly 10K. His apology was just a segue to attempt to look like he is a better person (hell would have to freeze over first) and then charm me into losing more to him. The last time he called me he told me I meant less than nothing to him. Less than an object. But hey he’s in NA and talking to a new pastor so all should be forgiven. Wrong. I won’t ever forget how poorly he treated me. Won’t forget him cheating and stealing and choking me out on the stairs and breaking my bones. I won’t forget him using me. Subjecting my household to terror. I won’t forget him showing us we meant nothing especially after he told my little one he wanted to adopt her….i’m still working on forgiving myself for giving him a chance when my intuition screamed not to….i am in no hurry to forgive a no account lying cheating trashbag nor am I in the business of handing over 10K. I want him to suffer but at the same time, I am worth more than it costs to hold so much anger I can feel it aching inside my body. Chest pain. Headaches. High blood pressure. No hatred I have will ever hurt him because he has no soul or heart or conscience or whatever it is that makes him despicable and abusive. He goes to court this next week and I am hoping to be taken off his bond and honestly if he rots in prison, so be it. Seems fitting. Sorry for the rant but I dare not say anything to people who know me because they will see that this situation damaged my huge heart. I already let them down enough by settling for this ah in th first place. I would actually go back in time if it were possible and never ever meet the dude. I hate him.

I would like to get this off my chest because trying to search for help with "what to do when my child hurts animals on purpose" isn't getting me anywhere.
I've had moments in my life where I've done violent things for seemingly no reason. Before animals it was violence towards my brother who is 4 years younger than me and I am currently 23. One time maybe at about 8 or 9 years old I was given one of those weighted metal bell balls (I dont know what these are actually called but it's a pair that you fidget with in one hand). I ended up going to my brother and dropping it onto his head and reasonably getting in a lot of trouble for it. When we got a little older he had a loose tooth that wouldn't fall out. One day he came up to me and I noticed it. I ended punching him in the mouth and his tooth did come out but again I shouldn't have done it in the first place. At some random moments I would even just punch him for being near me. It's such shitty behavior and it's horrible how violent I've been to him for no reason. We have a pretty close relationship now as adults and often hangout to share memes but regardless I still hurt him.
Now here's the really shitty stuff. It was years later our family adopted dogs, two dachshunds. I love these sweet little hotdogs a lot and constantly think about these moments with extreme guilt and self hatred. I would pinch their ears, smack them on the head on days I was angry, or just scream at them for no reason. But I think my worst act in the long run was a form of playing where I tossed them up the air and roughly caught them. I did it occasionally when I was younger and now they've become elderly dogs that now have trouble doing things they used to. One of the dogs developed cateracts and a curved spine overtime and is now much more aggressive around people. I believe my actions are what has caused his spinal condition and aggressive behavior. I know he is suffering and I should never forgive myself for tormenting him. They are beloved members of our family and I hurt them. They did nothing to deserve any of this but the reality is that I hurt them and I am so ashamed that I think I would prefer to die.
Something more recent maybe two-ish years ago happened to some freshly caught crabs my father had bought. We were preparing to steam them soon and had moved them from a cooler to the kitchen sink. I was the kitchen to look after them in case they managed to climb out. At one point I turned on the faucet and hot water and watched them. They were going to be cooked soon but I made the choice to make them suffer and just stood there blankly.
All these events replay in my mind and telling myself I didn't know what I was doing is complete bullshit. There was a choice made that day and it was choosing disgusting inhumane violence against innocent living beings who have done nothing to deserve it.
Even now I get violent thoughts to hurt people and animals and it makes me so sick. We see this type of behavior in serial killers for fucks sake. There is definately something seriously wrong in my brain and I don't know what or why. This isn't a normal symptom of anything I have. I can feel bad for myself and say I'm sorry as much as I want but it will never undo what I did to them. I think if I ended up as a murderer in the future I wouldn't be surprised, but I hope to be put down or stopped before that happens.
I am forever sorry for all those I have hurt and hope to never forget what I've done.

Please read this carefully and thoughtfully.
In 4 months it’ll be my birthday. I’ll be turning 18. I’ve been thinking about suicide since I was 12, and 18 just seemed like the best age to do it. I just freshly graduated, and now I’m going out into the real world.
Growing up, I’ve never felt like there was a point in life. I basically spent my whole childhood depressed, alone, and craving love and acceptance. I’ve only ever gotten myself into trouble bc of my lack of love and respect from my family and having no friends whatsoever. At least no one loyal, willing to stick by me. I grew up so alone, and abused. Suicide has been the number 1 thing on my mind everyday, 24/7. I absolutely just cannot see a life for myself. The thought never goes away. I’ve already had so many attempts and have gotten hospitalized. Horrible s/h addiction. All I see for my future is smoking/drinking till I die or overdose on something. And if not that, either a gun I purchase when I’m of age or hanging myself. But the gun has been the 1# plan for the longest time. I have always been shy, anxious, an outcast, the weird kid, bullied relentlessly, shitty family who doesn’t give a shit about mental health or care about your feelings unless you’re happy, and even then when they’re not happy, they have to ruin it for you too. Constantly putting me down everyday and blaming me for everything. I cant even have my sister be supportive towards me. I feel as though she’s become too much like our parents without realizing it and I’ve lost completely all hope. And not to mention, I don’t want to work until Im 70. I just don’t see the point in continuing even if it were to get a bit better if life is so expensive . I don’t want to pay to live and have to struggle so much. I feel so bad for those who struggle just to survive. I have never been able to do anything on my own, I just cannot be independent. Im autistic and disabled in other ways and people just have never understood me, people who are neurodivergent aren’t even seen as human beings in this world. We are treated so badly. I don’t want to continue living. It all seems so useless . So worthless. I have felt like nothing but a failure and a burden. And I just continue to get myself into toxic situations all the time bc I forgot how to manage healthy relationships and a healthy relationship with myself. No matter how much or how hard I try nothing is ever good enough for anyone. Im seen as a stupid monster and I have always been treated like a baby. I feel I’ve turned cruel, nasty and bitter. I just can’t handle it anymore. Now that I’m out of school , I feel like I actually have the ability to end my life . When I’m not working or in school, I just rot away in my bedroom all day for hours and slee it all away, if not also harming myself just out of boredom, it used to be to feel something but now it’s just because boredom has become so painful, sometimes much more painful than my suicidal thoughts themselves. I have always felt like I’m crazy and that I’m going crazy and that I’m too different to be here( can’t fit in whatsoever and I will just never be loved, not to mention that I’ve always ruined myself because I grew up super ugly and still am so I feel very unlovable romantically too and love is something I have always craved from someone, esp physical touch being my biggest love language. No one will ever convince me that there is a reason to live, I just tell everyone else who’s struggling that I just slowly take it one day at a time when on the inside deep down I know that I won’t be here for long because I feel like there is mold inside of me and I am poison, I feel like my body is just killing me from the inside out slowly , my soul and brain, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I cannot wait to be dead, every time I think about it it just fills my body with so much relief and I feel like I become lighter and feel happy for once and then when i snap back into reality and realize that I’m actually alive, I feel so sick; I can’t stand waking up in the morning, I have physically thrown up before from waking up in the morning bc of how depressed it makes me, I am just a ball of stress and anxiety no matter where I go, this is not living. This is surviving. I physically and mentally ache all the time. Even when I’m having a good time. I have been masking my whole life. Im so done, so , so done. My only goal was to finish high school. My whole life is becoming a blur it’s so scary and I’m not even in my 20s. I dont and have never felt like I belonged here, I lowkey feel like I should of already died a loooong time ago. I had epilepsy growing up, I feel like I should of died from an episode but never did. all I do is struggle and no one cares about my needs in order for me to function normally. I hate my family, I hate everyone in my life, I feel like I cannot ever be grateful enough for anything. I might as well just die.

Hi all,
I was going to post on catadvice but saw the no medical advice rule and thought here might be more appropriate.
Tldr: cats front leg is FUBAR from flesh eating bacteria; amputate or put down. Vet thinks he's got a good shot, and more life to give. Unsure if it is worth putting him through it, outlook looks grim from the limit resources online. Any advice, own experiences or input anyone can share?
Our 14yo male desexed mixed breed cat has been diagnosed with a flesh eating bacterial infection in his front left leg. Most of the tissue afrer his elbow joint is necrotic. We are going in tomorrow morning for either amputation, or euthenisation.
Unfortunately we only got the lab results Friday afternoon with very little opportunity to discuss the facts and stats with the vet, we are very ill prepared to make this decision (especially me).
An antibiotic injection was given 7 days after the first pink bump and swelling started, it is now 23 days in. The cat is quite healthy otherwise, except a heart murmur that has recently been discovered (will require assessment from a cardiologist). Arthritis is his only known health condition. Full blood and urine works were done, aerobic and anaerobic sample cultures and tissue samples were sent for testing. The urine testing revealed his live kidney function was on the highest range before it is considered unhealthy, suggested to be due to 2 weeks of being on anti inflammitories (meloxicam). In retrospect this appears to be a symptom of the infection also. 4 xrays have been done, 2 on the leg (separate days) and one on each half of his body. No abnormalities showed up (nor any indicators on blood tests). Cancer not suspected but the vet noted he cannot guarantee he doesn't have any, just the tests done did not reveal any.
He is progressively getting worse, the leg is almost entirely necrotic after his elbow. The fight in him has been remarkable, I don't think he's ready to go.
He is still very enthusiastic for food ( though has gone off dry food) he comes running up meowing and purring at food time. Until yesterday all waste was normal, but his poos have significantly reduced in size since yesterday. Regularitywise, it's been good. Resting heart rate is 84bpm seems wildly low, but did it twice with identical results. Breaths per minute is 32. He is very tolerant of our kids getting up in his face when they check on him Mobility however has significantly reduced. He barely leaves his new spot on a couch in an unused room.
My reservations is that from what I can find online, very few pets survive this. Though in the same articles, the majority forgoed treatment and opted for euthenising. And above all, i could barely find anything on it, and what was available is very uninformative for me. Is there any basic stats for acual treatment success rates? Does it being contained to leg increase his chances? Knowing nothing is guaranteed, but we need some sort of baseline. An "it might work" isn't the most comforting, nor helpful.
For me if it was 50/50 chance, there is no hesitation, I would go the amputation. My partner is not comfortable with 60% success likelihood, for her he is too far gone and think he's too old, it's too much for him to go through, it's time to let go etc. Given the disparity, we are concerned of a stalemate in the morning, trying to prepare as best we can.
Costs we can afford, but it's certainly not insignificant. Looking at almost $4000AUD, + cost for a needed teeth scaling, and obviously would then need to get that heart murmur diagnosed, so another $1600 for the cardiologist alone. About $3800 spent on this issue so far...definitely adding up
Seeking advice on: What would you do? What do you think is best for the cat? Do you know any statistics on survival rates of this treatment? We've been cautious, but should we be concerned of being infected by him?

Logan the bounty hunter was in a really bad mood.
It all started when the coffee machine stopped working. This wasn’t a rare occurrence; in fact, it was the third time this cycle, but this time his go-to solution (taking out and reinserting the star powder battery) didn’t fix it, and he was all out of ideas.
It’s not that the caffeine even did anything for him. The nanomachines in his system filtered out many sorts of potentially addictive or harmful substances, and for some reason this included caffeine, which is a fact he only realized after the seven-cycle refund period had passed.
Still, it was an old habit and an act of comfort that he sorely felt the absence of.
That was the first thing. The second thing was that his tracker had stopped working. In fact, his entire connection to the galactic wide web (gww) had gone down. Without the tracker, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of his current bounty—a low-class deathworlder wanted for kidnapping and trafficking—which kind of made his whole bounty hunting business difficult to do.
Oh, and his ship had crashed.
Damn thing was overdue for maintenance, and the autopilot had started malfunctioning while flying over a small dusty-brown planet. It had taken some careful manual maneuvering and some buffeting about in the planet’s whirlwind atmosphere, but eventually he had managed the miracle of walking away from a smoking and unsalvageable wreckage with only minor cuts and bruises.
Here he was now, trudging through the sandy windswept dunes of a planet that hadn’t even showed up on the map. Armed with little more than a spacesuit, a blaster, and an undying will. And wishing he’d had that cup of coffee (and wasn’t immune to caffeine).
Logan raised a hand to his eyes, peering through the thick glass of his visor. There was so much dust and sand swirling around that it made it quite hard to see where he was going, not that there were any landmarks in sight anyway. It looked scorching hot outside, though his spacesuit registered a cool 286 Kelvin for some reason. Likely another malfunction, one that he’d rather not put to the test.
On a planet like this, he supposed, everyone (if anyone was even here) probably lived under the surface where it was probably cooler and probably free from sandstorms. All he had to do was find the entrance to their underground tunnels among all this shifting sand.
The chance of that happening was, unfortunately, not very high. Still, Logan wasn’t panicking yet; he’d been through worse, he thought. He’d been through jungles teeming with 8-foot beetles. Survived massive hiveminds circling to entrap him, faced slippery slimes that reformed their bodies to resemble those he held dearest. Horrible learning experiences, those.
That being said, sometimes it’s the mundane problems that pose the greatest threats of all. Starvation, aching thirst, and a dwindling oxygen supply while wandering a barren desert. It wouldn’t be a glamorous way to go out, and Logan was wracking his brain for ideas.
Now would’ve been a good time to use his rescue beacon, if he had one. This would be his, what, 127th bounty? And until now, he’d never had to use a beacon. Stopped carrying one a dozen bounties ago. Maybe it was just luck, but things had always gone pretty smoothly, and maybe he’d gotten a little overconfident.
Logan knelt down and grasped at the ground, watching the little grains of sand sift through his gloved fingers. Those little specks seemed to shimmer and flicker, like a low quality hologram call. Otherwise, though, they seemed normal; surprisingly similar to the sand he remembered from Earth. It made sense that some things remained the same throughout the universe; it’s not like every planet could re-invent the periodic table, after all. Even aliens had to remain grounded in reality, however loosely.
He looked down. According to his suit’s display, he had a few hours of oxygen left. He’d been walking for a while now with nothing but the sands to show for it. He also had to pee. It was really going quite terribly.
“It looks like you’re doing quite terribly,” a voice said, velvety and welcoming. Logan jerked his head up, blinking rapidly in surprise.
Standing before him, with crossed arms and a smoldering look, was a lithe, dusky-furred humanoid. They—or she, judging by the feminine face—was wearing a long, thin shawl translucent enough to reveal a pair of twitching, swiveling ears and a questioningly arced tail, swaying in the wind.
The feline features were unmistakable. It was, by all accounts, a catgirl.
Mentally, Logan pumped his arm and jumped for joy. Just wait until the guys back at Earth heard about this! Many a novice pilot first set out for the stars with dreams of catgirls and other alien babes in mind, but thus far, most alien species had been decidedly strange and eerily-shaped, though this didn’t stop everyone from pursuing them. Outwardly, though, he nodded, and rasped, “I could use some help. Do you know about this thing called ‘oxygen’?”
The catgirl frowned. “Great way to say hi to a girl. But yes, you aren’t the first traveler to crash-land on Shaw Prime. Follow me.”
“Oh, great,” Logan said. How convenient. “Where to?”
“My people live underground, hidden from the elements within a complex system of—”
“Tunnels? I knew it.”
The catgirl turned around and whipped her tail against Logan’s leg. It kind of stung for a moment. “I don’t know what culture you come from, traveler, but in mine, it’s rude to interrupt someone while they’re speaking. Especially if they’re the host and you, the guest.”
Logan rubbed the back of his head (or tried to, but the spacesuit got in the way). “Sorry. Just got excited. Interrupting someone speaking is actually considered rude in my culture, too.”
“So you should’ve known better.” The catgirl harrumphed and started marching forward, waving her tail to signal him to follow. He shrugged and started trudging along behind her.
“So where am I, exactly? ‘Shoe Prime’ you said earlier, I think?”
“Shaw Prime,” she corrected. “A small sand planet on the outermost reaches of the nearest solar system. Quite uninhabitable for most, and all our visitors arrive unwillingly.”
“I see. It certainly feels inhospitable. And,” Logan said, jumping in place a couple times, “you’ve got decently strong gravity, though less than where I come from. You know, this feels like at least a minor deathworld to me.”
“The term ‘deathworld’ is new to me, but it does seem fitting enough.”
“Right. I’m guessing the Galactic Federation hasn’t gotten around to marking your planet yet. Actually, your planet didn’t even show up on my map; people might not even know that civilization exists here. Huh.” It would be the first time for Logan to discover a new species. He could report this back home, and hopefully get handsomely rewarded for it.
“The ‘Galactic Federation’? I haven’t heard that term before. What does it mean?”
“That’s the big alliance formed by all the space-faring species of the known universe. They’re basically responsible for everything, including first official contact with new species like yours.” Logan paused a moment. “Wait, you said I’m not the first traveler to land here, right? How have you not heard of the Galactic Federation before?”
The catgirl’s ears twitched, but she didn’t look back. “They must have neglected to mention it.”
“Weird. Surely someone must’ve mentioned it. The Federation’s got these rules for first contact, see, and—”
“We’re almost there.” The catgirl interrupted, glancing back at him with those smoky eyes. “The hidden entrance to the tunnels lies just ahead.”
Logan peered through his visor. Ahead of his guide’s slim figure, he saw nothing but more of the same brown hues. A sudden uneasiness prickled his skin. “Where? I don’t see anything.”
“If you could see it, it wouldn’t be very hidden, would it? Come on.”
She beckoned him forward, and a few paces later, stopped entirely. She crouched down and scrabbled at the sand a few times, revealing a circular wooden hatch buried under a thin layer of sand. It didn’t look that heavy, but she grunted and strained to lift it up with her paws, revealing a dark cavern down inside.
“In you go,” she said, pointing her tail at the hole.
Something about this didn’t sit right with Logan. Maybe it was the way her fur stood warily on end, the way her ears shivered every so often. Maybe it was the fact that his guide didn’t know about the Galactic Federation, yet seemed familiar enough with travelers to communicate with ease. Sure his universal translator helped, but that was only supposed to work with discovered species, not ones that had yet to be contacted and researched. Or maybe it was just that he didn’t like jumping into suspiciously dark holes in the ground.
There was also the fact that the temperature gauge in his suit was now measuring a chilly 270 Kelvin. A far cry from the heat suggested by the sun-baked sands he saw.
He had a guess where this was going, and he didn’t like it, not one bit.
“Say,” he said, conversationally. “I noticed your hologram flickering earlier. Think you need some maintenance.”
“What?” The catgirl said, raising a dusky eyebrow. “I don’t know what that is. Won’t you go inside?”
“I’m just saying. It’s a convincing show and all, promise, but once you’ve been in the biz long enough, you start noticing small details like flickering sand and mismatched temps.”
“Look at you. All the heat must’ve gone to your head.” She said, sidling up to him. There was a sudden yet subtle shift in her demeanor, so quick that he almost didn’t notice. Her eyes lowered, her tongue darted out to lick her nose, and she placed one foot in front of the other gracefully, retracing her own steps perfectly. She approached him, casually curling her tail around his leg, sending tingles up his spine.
“Poor, weary traveler. It must’ve been tough, sailing through space all on your own. Won’t you come inside and rest a while?” She purred, tugging him gently towards the open hatch. “Quickly, before the sand covers it again.”
He inched a hand towards the blaster hanging at his side, unmoved by the obvious act. “Does the word ‘gelatinous’ mean anything to you?”
Her eyes locked onto his hand, her tail going stiff behind her. “Not as such, no. Why don’t we discuss this inside? After you, of course.”
“Of course. I’ll be on my way, then.”
Logan said, shoving her away, leaping back, and unholstering his blaster, all in one practiced motion. She landed softly on all fours, hissed, then sprang at him, fast as lightning. He raised an arm to block, pulling up his blaster and aiming it at her center mass. At the same time, she skidded to an abrupt halt before him, half-crouching as one hand darted past his arm without a sound.
They both froze. Logan’s blaster trained on her torso, her claws nearly piercing his neck. It seemed they were at a deadlock.
Wait, Logan thought to himself. I have a spacesuit.
His fingers itched on the trigger, but in that same instant, he heard a small tearing sound as a single claw slipped through several layers of synthetic polymers, Kevlar, and silica fiber to rest itself pointedly against the actual skin of his neck. A small hissing sound indicated the oxygen leaking from the new hole in his suit.
“That’’s a sharp knife you’ve got.” He said, feeling his mouth drying up.
“It’s not a knife,” she said smugly, though her raised fur betrayed her wariness.
“Enough of these illusions, okay? I’ve seen through ‘em. We’re not in a desert, and you’re not a catgirl. I’ve met your kind before—shape-shifting, amorphous slimes, always taking the form of something I love. Usually it’s my late wife or a dear friend, but pretending to be a catgirl is taking it too far.” He sniffed.
She hmphed, and said, “You’re only half-right, outworlder.” She let out a trilling sound, and a moment later, the world flickered out of existence.
With the veil lifted, Logan could see the world for what it really was. Gone were the tan-brown desert and the shifting sands. In their place was a world of ash. White and grey specks drifted through a sunless sky, cold and desolate. Looking down, he saw that his feet were buried ankle-deep in the stuff. So the feeling of sand had been real, sort of. He wondered what it was made of.
Dreading what he would see, he raised his eyes once more, only to see the same catgirl shivering in her shawl before him.
“This is what I actually look like,” she said, pricking her claw against his neck. “Now how about dropping that gun and sticking your hands in the air?”
“So catgirls are real.” Logan wondered aloud, feeling hope swelling in his chest.
“I… guess?” She seemed uneasy about the way he looked at her. “So about that gun—"
“What is this place?” He asked, prodding his blaster against her stomach. “I’m pretty sure it looked like a desert world from outside. Don’t tell me you have some, some kind of planet-wide hologram going on. That would be… I don’t know, prohibitively expensive, and very concerning.”
“Yes,” she said, straight-faced. “The hologram covers the whole solar system, in fact. We are at the center of a powerful criminal empire spanning the galaxy. The white ash is made from cremating the corpses of all who have dared to oppose us, and soon you will join their ranks.”
“Woah, really?” Logan said, raising an eyebrow. They must deal in trafficking, then.
“No, I lied. Although, usually that gets a bigger reaction out of outworlders. Now come on, you can surrender now or wait until my backup gets here, and then it’ll get messy. You choose.”
“I think I’ll wait for more catgirls to show up, thanks.”
She hissed. “It’s your lucky day. Here they are now, actually.”
From behind mountains of ash, they plodded forwards. All varieties of colors, from dusky to snow-white to calico, but all sporting the same unmistakable ears and tails. Logan’s heart beat with excitement, until he noticed the strange metal tubes being pointed at him from all angles.
“Ah, am I correct in assuming that those are your planet’s version of blasters?”
The catgirl retracted her claw from his neck and nodded in confirmation. “They’ll blast a big hole right through you.” She stretched her arms and yawned wide, letting herself relax now that her reinforcements were here.
Logan dropped the blaster to his side. “Well, shit.” Surrounded by armed enemies on all sides, he had no choice but to obey.
It was then that he had a really stupid idea. One that would probably get him killed, but which would be really funny if it worked.
His blaster had a laser scope that shined a visible red dot on his target when toggled on. An attached laser pointer, in other words. If these catgirls were anything like the felines he knew on Earth…
Hell, it was worth a shot.
[To be continued? Or maybe not. I didn’t know how to end this, and I felt pretty silly writing it :c]

In the quest for an effective weight loss solution, the market offers a plethora of options, each claiming to be the best. PhenQ diet pills caught my attention due to their popularity and positive reviews. Eager to find a natural way to burn fat, I decided to test PhenQ myself. Here’s a detailed account of my journey and results.
PhenQ is a thermogenic weight loss supplement, which means it helps increase your body's temperature to boost your metabolism and burn more calories.

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PhenQ’s formulation includes natural ingredients like α-Lacys Reset, Capsimax Powder, Chromium Picolinate, Caffeine, Nopal, and L-Carnitine Fumarate, each contributing to its overall effectiveness.

Starting Point: My Weight Loss Journey Begins

Before starting PhenQ, I documented my weight and measurements to track progress accurately. At the outset, I weighed 180 pounds with a body mass index (BMI) of 28, categorizing me as overweight. My goal was to lose 20 pounds and achieve a healthier BMI.

The First Month: Adjusting to PhenQ

Week 1

The initial week was about getting accustomed to PhenQ. I took one pill with breakfast and another with lunch, as recommended. Notable changes included a slight boost in energy and a reduced appetite, which helped me cut down on snacking.

Week 2

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Week 3

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Week 4

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Week 5-6

These weeks were marked by a steady decline in weight. My body adjusted to the changes, and I lost another 5 pounds. Regular exercise and a balanced diet complemented the effects of PhenQ.

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The Third Month: Achieving My Goal

Week 9-10

PhenQ’s appetite suppression was crucial during these weeks, helping me avoid holiday overeating. I maintained a steady weight loss rate, dropping an additional 3 pounds.

Week 11-12

As I neared my goal, I focused on toning and building muscle. PhenQ provided the energy needed for intense workouts. By the end of the third month, I had lost a total of 20 pounds, reaching my target weight of 160 pounds.

Conclusion: PhenQ’s Effectiveness

Testing PhenQ diet pills has been a transformative experience. Over three months, I achieved my weight loss goal and gained better control over my eating habits and energy levels. PhenQ’s natural ingredients played a vital role in burning fat, suppressing appetite, and boosting overall well-being.

Key Takeaways:

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Disclaimer:

Consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, especially if you have underlying health conditions or are taking other medications.

Hi everyone,
As the title says I don't know what to do any I desperately need help. I live in japan and Japanese is not my native language. Japan also doesn't really have PCP or GP's. I have a lovely doctor who is trying his best to help me but he's got a "Well what do you want to check" attitude and doesn't seem to understand how severe my symptoms are.
I'm 31/F, American currently living in japan. No per-existing medical conditions that we know of. Family history of hypo/hyper thyroidism and thyroid cancer I'm 165cm/100kg
I've suffered from sleep problems basically my whole life as long as I can remember. When I was in college I was prescribed trazadone to help aid the sleep. It worked perfectly for a little bit and I felt fantastic. I took it for about seven years when it stopped working last year. I switched medications and am now taking Quetiapine for sleep but it doesn't work very well. I've seen like a dozen doctors this years trying to get answers but none of them have been any help.
My most severe symptoms are:
-Insomnia without sleep aid (without a prescription sleep aid I can't sleep at all) -With prescription sleep aids I wake up throughout the night -gastrointestinal problems (chronic constipation) -severe fatigue (and when i say severe I mean head aches as soon as I wake up, brain fog, lack of coordination, no emotional regulation. When it was really bad last year I was having auditory hallucinations) -Night terrors/nightmares -Shortness of breath (I can't climb stairs without getting winded)
Less severe things that may be related but what do I know?
-Restless leg -Loss of apatite (I haven't felt hungry in a long time) -Tinnitus
I desperately need help even knowing where to start looking. I saw a sleep specialist last year who just told me that I am a woman so I am going to be tired and asked me to please learn to live with my condition. I've had about 6 blood panels done this year but I don't know which numbers are relevant and whenever I show them to my doctor he doesn't seem to have any ideas either.
Anything would be helpful. Just a point in a direction of something to try. I'm out of ideas from researching myself. I dont know what to ask my doctor to check next.

This is a weekly thread for those who haven't been diagnosed, but still have questions about the diagnostic process. Please read the posting guidelines and rules! Everyone is welcome to contribute, and this is a safe space.
QUESTIONS ARE LIMITED TO 400 WORDS
____________________________________________
Please read this before posting as it may answer some of your questions:
If you use the search bar at the top of Reddit and make sure it’s set to lupus, it will search just the subreddit for your keywords. That way you can get the full breadth of questions and answers. This isn’t to say that you can’t ask questions in the general forum.

ANA tests

Positive ANA does not equal lupus! While more of a rule out screening (negative ANA = very unlikely to have SLE). Upwards of 15-20% of healthy individuals in the population at large will have a positive ANA. Only about 10-15% of people who have a positive ANA will later be diagnosed with SLE.

Tests used in diagnosing lupus

• anti-dsDNA - anti-Double Strand DNA is sometimes automatically tested for, but may need to be ordered separately. This test, when highly positive (2-3 times max cut off at least) is almost exclusively seen in SLE. However, only about 30% of SLE patients have this antibody. It's great if it's there to confirm diagnosis, it does not rule out diagnosis if it is absent.
• ENA Panel - Extractable Nuclear Antigen panel, usually automatically done if ANA comes back positive
• anti-Sm - Anti-Smith. Typically included in the ENA panel. This is another antibody, that when highly positive, almost always means SLE, but only about 25% of SLE patients have this antibody.
• RNP - Anti-Ribonucleoprotein. Typically included in the ENA panel
• anti-chromatin - Anti-chromatin is a relative newcomer in diagnostic testing for SLE and probably will NOT be ordered automatically. Its exact utility in diagnosis is still being determined.
• Apl panel - Antiphospholipid Antibody Panel, which consists of 3 tests:
  • LA - lupus anticoagulant
  • aCL - anti-cardiolipin antibodies
  • Anti-β2GP - anti-beta 2-glycoprotien antibodies
• CBC - Complete Blood Count, some abnormalities in WBC, RBC and PLT counts can be significant.
• CMP - Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, here the doctors are generally looking for kidney dysfunction (GFR, BUN/CR).
• ESR - Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate, this is a nonspecific inflammation marker.
• CRP- C-Reactive Protein, another nonspecific inflammation marker.
• C3 - Compliment C3
• C4 - Compliment C4
• CH50 - Compliments, Total, these are part of the compliment system, which is a tertiary part of the immune system.

Also, if you suspect you have a rash, getting a biopsy of it done at a dermatologist’s office can be helpful as the pathologist can identify histological evidence of lupus.

Diagnostic Process

ACR Diagnostic Criteria on lupus wiki
The rheumatologist/PCP will take a detailed history. I highly recommend writing down as many of your symptoms as possible, especially focusing on the symptoms you have that are in the American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria for lupus - see link above.
Include all your symptoms, but I would make those at the top of the list. Write down how long they’ve been going on, anything that makes them better or worse, and how much they impact your life. Do they prevent you from dressing yourself, eating/cooking, bathing yourself, doing hobbies, meeting your obligations?
ANA varies from person to person and doesn’t necessarily correlate with disease activity. Anti-dsDNA is more indicative of disease activity and can be elevated prior to and during a flare. Symptoms can also come and go, and over time you may develop additional symptoms. If you scroll through the last week of posts or so, there are a few posts that will have pretty detailed answers to your questions from multiple community members so you can get a better sense of just how full on fickle lupus can be.
Here are some good posts, one is other people experiences in general, the others are rashes (warning: some are particularly severe):
User community diagnosis experiences
This is a malar rash
Photosensitive Lupus Rash
SLE Malar rash
QUESTIONS ARE LIMITED TO 400 WORDS

• Shorter questions get more feedback
• Use ChatGPT to summarize your question if you don't know what to leave out

I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/cherry_muffin_no7
Originally posted to AITA_WIBTA_PUBLIC
WIBTA if I refuse to have intimacy with my husband?
Thanks to u/queenlegolas and u/Direct-Caterpillar77 for suggesting this BoRU
Editor’s Note: added paragraph breaks for readability
Trigger Warnings: infidelity, car accident, body injuries, mentions of death of loved one, manipulation
Original Post: May 25, 2024
I won't sugarcoat any words here or make the situation in my favour. I need a very non biased opinion.
Around Mid August of 2019, Me (28F) and My husband (35M) tied a knot between us. He have two kids from his previous marriage. He and his ex wife are co-parenting their kids. I really love the kids.
One of the major factors why I got married with him was kids. I have reasons for that. My father died when I was 15. My mom wasn't so highly educated, so with that less education qualification, she couldn't provide for me and my other 3 younger brothers all alone. So I started to do part time jobs. I babysat, cleaned people's yard, took out pet's for walk, did assignments of my classmates etc. I earned really little amount of money with that but it helped my family slightest. When I was 17, I took a food delivery job.
One night, around 10-11 I was dropping food at the other side of city. A drunk driver hit my cycle and I went into a terrible accident. The driver needed to pay a large fine for that since my condition was very critical. I had alot internal bleeding and damage. So because of that accident, my doctor confirmed that in future the chances of me getting pregnant is very less, it will be a miracle for me to have my own kid. I was at the lowest part of my life because of that accident. I couldn't go out or do my work on my own. My family took care of me. It took me around 8 months to get well.
At first I didn't mind having a childless life but when I started to notice my friends are having family, I realised the beauty of motherhood. So I started dating guys with kids. My husband was my second bf. We tied knot after we dated for 10 months. When I got married his son was 11 and his daughter was 7. I got along with them well. It took them few months before they started to call me mama by their own. I left my job to be the stay at home mom for them, honestly I really adore them. I have a good relationship with their bio mom too.
After COVID, we went to Belgium for our 2nd anniversary on 2021. The trip was all good and I remember feeling so loved. The day before we were supposed to come back in our home, he proposed the idea of opening our marriage. If I say I was hurt it'll be a understatement. I couldn't look in his eyes without feeling hollow and sorrow. I said no multiple times after coming back from the trip but he kept persisting.
After couple of weeks I gave up and agreed. He set the terms. I don't remember most of it but few of his terms was never share this information with others, we can't date our exes or friends, no emotional attachment with our partners and always use protection.
In his words, he still loves me. He only opened the marriage because he wanted to gain experience and use it on our marriage. I remember going to sleep all crying and hurt. I gave up on my job to take care of him and the kids yet he yearned for another woman. We became distant. He noticed that and tried to initiate intimacy with me but I don't feel anything at all. I just lay there until he is done. I also distanced myself from him.
The idea of him having intimacy with other woman while being in a marriage with me disgusted me. I couldn't look at him at the same way I used to. We always have our location on so I could see where he is going. Those used to hurt me alot untill I became completely numb at this point. Now I don't see him as my husband but someone I tied knots with to be a mother.
Last year, I told him I wanna start work again. He got defensive kinda? He tried to use alot reasons to show why can't I work. When he saw all of his tricks going downhill he pulled the kids in the mess. He knew I have soft spots for his kids. I didn't back down that time. He gave me cold shoulder and went on trip with one of his gf. I applied to be a teacher at my brother's high school. He is the youngest of my all siblings and a sophomore. I am teaching chemistry in his school. My husband was mad at me for having a job for few months but he gave up. I started to give myself alot times.
Since the kids have extra curriculum activities they always don't stay at home. I have a friend circle from high school. I hung out with them every two weeks. I met a guy in my workplace. He is 29 and have three kids with his late wife. One day I ranted about my whole situation. He showed interest in me after that. He is a nice guy. I went on few dates with him. Nothing physical happened between us. I think I am relying on him for mental support since he is very supportive of me. I haven't felt something like that for a long time in my life.
Now few days ago, I went to salon and cut my hair short into shoulder length. My husband complimented me multiple times that day. The kids went to their grandparent's house for summer vacation. During night, he tried to initiate intimacy. Well I straight up said no for the first time. I think he got taken aback? He had mix of few expressions that I can't put a finger on. He started to use the husband card on me and I put my foot down to say no.
We had a huge argument and he left. I saw his location, he went to one of his girlfriend's place. He didn't contacted me for 2 days now. Now I am stuck between two thoughts. Even if I don't feel anything towards him he is still my husband. I can't share this with anyone so I need advice on this.
Relevant Comments
RndmIntrntStranger: INFO: Is having children really worth a husband who demanded an open marriage and did not want you to have financial independence?

OOP: He wasn't like that from the early days. After COVID I noticed some changes but didn't pay any attention on that. That time all I wanted was to have a child to raise like my own. Before him I dated another guy with a kid, he was nice but he had alot issues. Plus I resigned from my previous workplace with my own thoughts. I really wanted to devote myself in the kid's life. It was a mistake but now I have a job which pays me double amount than before. I still love the kids, they are all I could ask in a kid.

Significant-Dot-2260: Girl, the marriage was over when he proposed an open marriage. Just divorce, love yourself more. A man who truly loves his life doesn't go outside the marriage for anything. Your husband just wants a stable life at home and someone to watch his kids when they're there, and all his fun with another woman. He's selfish, get some therapy, divorce, and live your life, and once you heal yourself, you'll be blessed with a man who truly loves only you. Don't waste anymore time and tears on that man
 
Update: May 26, 2024 (next day)
Last night I made a post about my current situation of my marriage and asked for a non-biased view. There almost 300 people who responded and gave me advice. I couldn't respond all of that since I was overwhelmed with alot emotions. There is few things I want to clarify.
Firstly, I met my husband after my graduation when I was looking for a job. I made things official with him after I had the job. We dated for 10 months before getting married.
Secondly, His ex wife and he were childhood sweetheart who married each other when they were in college. After the birth of their second child, they realised they don't have the same bond so they got divorced and have 50/50 custody.
Thirdly, few people in my previous post asked me to make things official with my coworker. I would do that when I am ready. Currently my mental health isn't in the best position. I am working on it. Plus I can't have intimacy with anyone whom I barely know. We've been coworkers about almost a year but still I am not ready to make things all good.
Lastly, those who are saying I am using sex as a punishment, it's quite opposite. He barely comes home. He is always out with the kids or his girlfriends. I would love to add he doesn't have one but three girlfriend and yes all of them are aware of my existence.
Now to the update.
Last night I made a post about the current situation of my marriage with my husband. Asking if i would be the AH if I refuse to have intimacy. He haven't came back in last three days or contacted me. The kids talks with me daily. I had few conversation with their bio mom too (they are over her parent's place).
Honestly I thought he will get over it or won't bother me for a long time, but I was wrong as hell. During lunch, my mom came over to visit me. she asked if everything was okay between me and my husband. I didn't lie this time and straight up said no. We had a long conversation about my marriage and I was relieved after that. It felt so good after sharing everything with her. I am not ashamed to admit I cried like a kid in her arms while explaining everything. She stayed with me entire day. She called one of my younger brother (26) and told him everything. If I say he was mad it'll be an understatement. He asked why the hell I suffered that much and scolded me for couple of minutes. With the help of my mom and brother I packed my stuffs. I didn't leave with any of the stuffs he got me.
Most likely we will get a divorce soon. I texted a short message in his number, thanking him for being my husband and I won't be continuing the marriage anymore along with some personal stuffs between us. With the help of my friend and family currently I am finding a lawyer. I don't know how long it'll take me to finally get out of the marriage. I left the house around evening and sent the sms around 7. After that I muted his number.
I also told his ex wife about this and needless to say she was as much shocked as everyone. Because he wasn't like that. She assured me that even after divorce she will let me see the kids. I am really grateful for that part. Divorcing him will be easy since we always had separate accounts. I have little savings.
Before I get on my own feet properly I will be staying with my mom in our old house. I turned off my location before leaving his house but it won't be long untill he figures out where am I. He is currently messaging me but I am not strong enough to open them and read them so I haven't responded or read his sms
Relevant Comments
chimera4n: Well done! If he gets upset, just remind him that he was the one who ruined the marriage by cheating.
I say cheating, because an open marriage only works if both partners are willing, a one sided open marriage is just cheating.
Bitter-Picture5394: Good for you. You deserve a life where you are respected and your feelings validated. You will find true happiness as long as you keep advocating for yourself.
 

DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP

Hey Guys.
I am going to rant pretty hard, so just a fair warning.
I have been experiencing what I suspect is Depersonalization-Derealization since I was a child. It feels like I have never not had this constant state of DPDR. Its like I have no idea what normal, clear consciousness feels like. I feel like I have been living my whole life through a filter. Like every sense perception and vibration is somehow different than normal. How do I know its not normal if its always been this way? I can just tell. Humans are intelligent as fuck. We can sense things beyond our comprehension, and feeling like im underwatebehind glass and not truly in my body is not normal at all. I have been panicking all my life and it is getting worse now at the ripe age of 29. I have developed so many damn conditions and have been hospitalized many times. I have tried committing suicide 3 times, but they were weak and rash decisions that I did not plan or even put any rational thought into. However, I have been planning and really working out details for a year now. I really want out of this personal hell. This awful, lonely and suffocating body. I feel as though I am nothingness in an empty and numb body. I can barely feel any bodily sensations unless its pain, then of course it amplifies, but I am in a constant state of numb, distant feeling and its really fucking uncomfortable. My hearing is all fucked too its like everything is super far away and my ears are constantly under water. Even though my hearing tests are perfectly normal and the ENT totally cleared me of all possible ailments, I know in my heart that something is wrong ENT/Brain related. It just makes no sense. I think I was born with either missing or dysfunctional parts. No doctor can explain it and no testing is showing anything. With no hope, my only option is to end it. I want the courage and skill to end it all. I cannot drag this out any longer. Please, if anyone has any possible solution, i would love to listen. Its not just a simple, "have hope, things will get better". I have had hope my whole life that it would all go away, but its only gotten more prominent and scary. I literally cannot fall asleep because of it and I have a serious junkfood addiction. I am so seriously addicted to junkfood because its the only thing that provides me with a sense of love, safety and comfort even if its just temporary. But it also makes me feel like shit. But I have nothing else in life. I want to give it up, but it would be like losing a love in life. BUT i want to be healthy. Fuck this man.

OP-https://www.reddit.com/WritingPrompts/s/Gnc74v6EBj
.
Andy watched the streets from his apartment window with bright eyes; The music was alive.
Brass instruments trumpeted into the night sky; people bustled every which way and singers sang the rhythmic tunes of the blues on every corner. The honey notes of jazz rose and fell and seemed to hang on the breeze, making each breath intoxicating. It was like the music itself entered into the bodies of each person in the crowd and began forcing its way out in strange, swinging movements until it took shape. Then, it flowed through their limbs as smoothly as running water.
Alex began to nod his head a little. It was as if the sound itself was a living thing and had crawled into him as well; the bass drums thud, thud, thudding against his ears and his heart rate slowing to match the pace.
Performers walked up and down the sidewalks, some on unicycles or stilts, others breathing fire and juggling thin silver hoops, and everyone was dancing. It looked like the damn Mardi Gras.
Andy looked down and realized he’d been slowly tapping his leg as well. Then his body became restless. He had to get up and move, and the movements came out jerky and spazzy at first, but quickly gained fluidity. He danced alone in his apartment, swinging his arms and twirling circles over the floor. He danced all the way to the door, but just as he grabbed the handle he stopped.
The television blinked white and an alarm began barking a hateful and continuous “BZZRT” noise.
For a moment it broke the spell, and he had stopped moving. He watched the TV as the letters C.D.C. dawned over the screen. An automated voice began to speak in a deep and monotonous tone, “A state of emergency has been declared over the states that follow: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Georgia. There is a deadly virus that has become airborne; the most prominent symptoms are vivid audio hallucinations, and uncontrollable restlessness. We ask all of you to stay indoors while authorities handle the situation.”
Andy stood motionless as the words disappeared, and the alarm whirred back up into its “BZZRT” noises. He thought of the people in the streets, of the jazz and the rhythmic tunes that had hypnotized him just moments ago, and—
“BZZRT”
Andy looked back at the TV. The alarm continued to sound and it interrupted each of his thoughts. It came in intervals. There were three seconds between each buzz and it sounded over and over and after a few moments it became all he could think about.
“BZZRT…BZZRT…BZZRT”
Andy began to slowly tap his foot in rhythm with the alarm, and its noises began to fade into the sweet sounds that spilled in through the window until they had mingled as one, and that tune that was in Andy’s right leg spread through the rest of his body like a hot fever.
He grabbed the handle of his door and ran to the streets below.
Outside, it was ecstasy. Andy moved like he had never moved before. The lights were incredible, casting yellow glows over everything and shimmering off of bead necklaces and fancy jewelry. Exotic perfumes hung thick in the air along with the sweet smell of sweat, and body odor.
He danced with strangers, spinning and holding random people without a second thought to it. His mind was enveloped in a cloud of golden melody, and his body a bird, soaring through it as high and free as one could possibly be. He wasn’t Andy anymore, in fact, he couldn’t remember his name at all. He was one with the music, and to him, that was okay.
.
A few hours later, Andy was still jiving to the music, only a little more slowly. A few people had dropped from exhaustion, and their faces were stomped bloody by those who still had enough energy to continue.
A wall of armed men wearing hazmat suits approached from the south end of the street, and gunshots began to cut through the night. The snaps of their rifles sounded like someone playing the spoons, so Andy took it as that and danced to its tune as well. He danced all the way up until the moment that the firing squad put a bullet through his hard.
The hot pain of the bullet hole wasn’t surprising, nor was the fact the man shot him in the chest. For some reason, that made perfect sense in Andy’s mind. The only thing that really surprised him in that moment was the fact that he couldn’t move his arms anymore, and soon after he couldn’t move his legs. He sprawled backwards over the asphalt and his vision faded into blackness as he slipped into a honey sea of melodies, never again to be interrupted.
END

PRESENT
This is Part 2 of 3, the Present, in game events we see! Onwards!
The Protagonist is some sort of content creator, one that goes to abandoned or forgotten places and "searches" them, as can be gleaned from the cameras facing the protagonist on his desk, and his conversation with a certain Laura, or LSparks53 (there's also an error in this Harmony tab, with one of the messages from Laura reading as from LauraSparks53 instead of LSparks53. Just a note). This Laura helps our protagonist, who goes by the username of eEnsign. His profile picture are the letters UF, which is weird, since it doesn't match the username, nor what Laura calls eEnsign: Ed. Anyways, I digress. From now on, I'll call the protagonist Ed as well. Laura helps Ed get footage of these places as per the conversation.
eEnsign: "Hey Laura! I'm doing another search this weekend! Wanna come with me?"
LSparks53: "The last few times I've gone with you SUCKED LMAO."
eEnsign: "Remember that old theme park we went to see as kids? Indigo Park?"
LSparks53: "yeah? I kind of forgot about that place? Been closed for a while, right? how would you even get in?"
eEnsign: "Honestly, I don't know. I'm not even gonna bring my equipment. Jump a fence of something? We've done worse lol”
LSparks53: "aight, well just be careful. I'm gonna pass on this one. if you can get in i'll go with you to help record some other time. i'm looking it up now and there's like NO info online about it. probably swarming with cops too."
eEnsign: "I guess we'll find out! I'll check it out, maybe we can go together next week?
Lsparks53: "just be careful, Ed. I don't want to be paying your bail."
And with that conversation, we learn that these two are like a dynamic duo of sorts, having some sort of channel or website where they post footage of places lost to time and "search" them, breaking laws of trespassing and such, apparently also having "done worse", whatever that means. Maybe they took a few things from the place, so burglary? It's never specified. Probably burglary, though, considering that Ed has taken to collecting all sorts of plushies and such from Indigo Park.
What I want to point out is how weird this Laura person acts. As soon as Indigo Park is mentioned, Laura instantly seems to dislike the idea, but never directly says it. Instead, she becomes reluctant to go with Ed, despite having done worse, as Ed puts it. Perhaps she's just cautious, and based on her last sentence, they haven't been caught before, or else she would have said "I don't want to be paying your bail again."
However, I don't think that's the case. Remember when Laura said she looked up Indigo Park and found nothing? Well, we know the website is still up and running, or at the very least, Ed used some sort of service like the Wayback Machine to pull it up on the right most monitor on his desk, which can be seen in the opening cutscene. On it, there's even an option to purchase tickets still, which is incredibly weird, which I'll also go into later on. Why would a defunct theme park need a still running website? After all, if you evacuate everyone from it with no explanation, wouldn't you want to get rid of all evidence of it? If not destroy the property outright, then at least take the website down. Again, digressing, the point is that Laura didn't find this website ... or she did, but didn't say anything.
Again, this is purely speculation at this point; I mean, the two of them have broke into a few places trespassing and recording and documenting abandoned places at least a few times for the internet, and maybe she really is just that cautious, worried about being imprisoned and charged for trespassing, and even attempted burglary.
And it seems like Ed is asking the same questions we are. Behind the Harmony tab is a notes tab with several questions such as "Why did it close?" and "What is left?", among a few others that are cut off. The next question seems to ask "Is it still" something. Seems like Ed and us are in the same boat. Hopefully we can help each other out.
Regardless, Ed ends up climbing the fence and enters the closed off Indigo Park, where dozens of crates stamped with the Indigo Park logo, along with trash, can be seen. Walking around, the main gates are closed off, and one of the doors seem to open on their own, allowing Ed entry into the Registration Center, a desk with a few monitors where a Rangler would sit and check Ed in.
Inside, the Rambley AI comes to life, noting that Ed is the first person there in just over eight years, before directing us to the previously mentioned Registration Center. It is revealed here that AI Rambley has access to the cameras (both computer cameras and CCTV cameras), where he notes that Ed isn’t on the guest list, probably because he snuck in, and didn’t pay for his tickets. However, what stands out as odd is that Rambley doesn’t recognize Ed at all, asking if he was here for the first time. We know that it’s most definitely not Ed’s first time here, but it’s unclear if AI Rambley doesn’t recognize Ed because he grew up, or the registration process requires a photo upload.
Rambley AI: "Hm, I don't seem to have your face in the guest list. Is this your first time here in the park? Or did you just get plastic surgery?"
From here, Ed’s directed to go through the gates, but both AI Rambley and Ed realize that the gates are not open and are instead sending an error message. Going back to the Registration Center, Ed finds and replaces a missing gear, and the gates finally open, from where Ed is free to explore. He’s directed to the Critter Corner, where he receives a Critter Cuff to enter certain areas, and the park, from where he’s directed to Rambley’s Railway to get to know most (poor Salem) of the characters. A massive statue of Isaac Indigo and Rambley can be seen at the entrance.
As Ed makes his way through to Rambley Railway, it’s clear that the park is not in the best condition. Ransacked gift stores, empty cafes with rotting food and festering drinks, tunnels collapsing at the drop of a hat, and weeds spouting everywhere even disconcert the AI Rambley, who tries to shrug off the state of the park by claiming renovations, but it’s clear he’s unsettled with how empty and broken the park is. We’ll cover that later as well.
On this ride, Rambley introduces us to everyone, except for Salem, indicating he’s friends with everyone except her and Lloyd, for whom he has … let’s a bit of distaste for. He’s shown to be sarcastic and snippy with Lloyd, but even his supposed friends aren’t safe from his occasional jabs.
Rambley when speaking to Mollie Macaw: “You sure are [the best pilot you ever saw], Moll! Why, you only crashed into six barns this week!”
Mollie: “I’m not crashin’, Rambley! I’m barnstormin’!”
Rambley: “Haha! What’s barnstorming?”
Mollie: “It’s crashing, with style! I-it barely hurts at all!”
The stutter in Mollie’s audio is what interests me. It could be interpreted as a glitch, which is certainly possible. The park hasn’t been maintained in eight years, and it is falling apart. But it could also be interpreted as Mollie losing her characteristic confidence, upset that Rambley seems to be so keen on pointing out her failures in her hobby sphere.
Rambley, when speaking to Finley the Sea Serpent: “Why the long face? And body? … Oh Finley, you should come out of YOUR shell!”
Finley, in response. “How about YOU come into it instead?”
I would also like to note AI Rambley’s interaction with Finley’s plushie.
AI Rambley: “Ooh, you found my buddy Finley! You know, he’s really shy, like, TOO shy, like OBNOXIOUSLY shy, but he’s got a good heart.”
I want to point out the fact that when Rambley speaks about how shy Finley is, he doesn’t seem to be doing it in a jesting way. In fact, he seems genuinely annoyed with how introverted Finley is, to the point where you can hear it in his voice, and he also uses his annoyed model with slanted eyes when mentioning it.
There’s also a note here that, apparently, Rambley and Finley have known each other for over 100 years, though it’s unclear if this is actually real information, or just something the creators of the ride decided to include for the fun of it.
And another thing. At the very end of the Finley section, Finley hopes that the rider will actually visit him and Oceanic Odyssey, because he’s lonely. Why should he be lonely? He’s friends with Rambley and Mollie, at the very least. Is it because he lives on the bottom of the ocean? Or for other reasons?
Ed then reaches Salem’s area, which is noticeably, horrifically destroyed, a splatter of something bright red front and center. This is where the ride breaks down, and Ed’s required to go and fix it, before continuing onto Lloyd’s area.
I’d like to stop the story to consider the state of Salem’s area; why is it so destroyed? I’m going to avoid thinking of the red splatter as blood, to be honest, but we do know that the Mascots bleed red, thanks to Mollie Macaw. In my mind, there are three potential perpetrators.
The first two are noticeably weak connections, and the reasoning isn’t 100%, so take it with a grain of salt. We know that all the characters received Mascots, so there are three of them that, in my mind, are capable.
The first is, admittedly, a bit weird: the Mascot of Salem. We know she despises Rambley and his friends (her relationship with Lloyd remains a mystery), so it’s possible that Mascot Salem was the one to sabotage her area, as a way of getting back at Rambley. Why her area only is admittedly a bit weird, so she’s not the strongest match. Another piece of evidence would be the smashed animatronic of Mollie. Again, we do know that Salem has used Mollie before by dumping her potions onto her and making Mollie Salem’s minion. Could she also have smashed the animatronic bird?
The second suspect is Mascot Mollie. She can be seen following Ed throughout the ride, and the whole park, for that matter, and we do know there is some bad blood between her and Salem because of the arcade game Rambely Rush. It would give motive for Mascot Mollie to do such a thing, and she’s the only Mascot running about Indigo Park that we know of; Lloyd remained in his theater, not pursuing Ed when he leaves. At the end of the chapter, when Ed enters Oceanic Odyssey, it’s unclear whether a robot or Mascot Finley appears in the aquarium, but he’s likely confined there as well. Mascots Rambley and Salem aren’t even mentioned once.
Now, this one is also kind of a stretch, but the only character that would have more reason to hate Salem more than Mollie is Rambley. They are clear nemeses (again, Rambley Rush), and have been for quite some time. While the AI Rambley is generally benevolent, but still with a sharp tongue, it remains to be seen what exactly the Mascot Rambley is like. His Mascot is still likely here in Indigo Park somewhere, one of the remaining two (Mollie being dead, unless there are several of each Mascot present, in which case this elevates the terror a few notches. Imagine being chased by seventeen Mascot Lloyds) besides Salem. He could very well be the perpetrator. However, I do have a bit of trouble explaining why he would wreck the Animatronic Mollie. Maybe because he knows it’s just a fake, and not the real Mascot Mollie?
However, there is one convenient detail that I have not mentioned. Remember the smashed Animatronic Mollie, and how we were questioning why she was wrecked in the first place? Well, she does offer us one clue. When Ed approaches the bird, Mollie flickers to life momentarily, her voice garbled and distorted until finally, she says this:
Animatronic Mollie: “Not Rambley! He hurts Lloyd! He hurts Lloyd!”
After that, poor Animatronic Mollie finally shuts off for good, her painted eyes devoid of the life she once had. Well, this certainly got interesting, didn’t it? Rambley hurts Lloyd? How? I mean, think about it! How would a raccoon actively hurt a lion? This isn’t like a honey badger situation; raccoons are much more vulnerable and weaker than honey badgers. What’s also interesting is her words themselves. Why would someone program an Animatronic Mollie to say this? We eventually find out that Mascot Mollie will memorize and be able to repeat words or phrases she’s heard, if Ed has the misfortune of being caught by Mascot Mollie later down the line. Is it possible that the same is true for the animatronics? And if so, does that mean that Animatronic Mollie was shouting bits and pieces out of context, or was it supposed to be something she was never meant to hear, and was thusly wrecked?
And even if this was out of context, that still opens up a major can of worms. Even if Rambley never hurt Lloyd, who is this ‘He’ that did hurt Lloyd? Keep this in mind until we reach Lloyd’s attraction.
Anyways, onto Llyod’s area. It’s clear that Lloyd and Rambley both don’t like each other, quite possibly because Rambley hates how Lloyd used to be number one, and Lloyd possibly because he’s not happy that he was replaced by Rambley as head honcho. Rambley, for his part, doesn’t really try to antagonize Lloyd, just wearily going through the ride and trying to get out as fast as possible here.
And that’s essentially it for the ride, AI Rambley suggesting Ed go visit Jetstream Junction. Careful observation would yield the fact that Mascot Mollie has been stalking Ed, studying him from behind the scenes, though she won’t end up being an antagonist until later on.
What’s interesting to note is that at the end, AI Rambley says this: “So, whatddya think? Pretty fun, right? Now you know all about my friends! And Lloyd …”
We know that Rambley cannot stand Salem, Rambley Rush made it quite clear. So, why refer to Salem as a friend? Why is her area so wrecked? Is it possible that AI Rambley has no reason to hate her, because he’s not aware of how often he’s pitted against her in media? But that would also mean that AI Rambley would have to be quite unaware of the media surrounding him, but he seems to know a lot about the history of the park. He still dislikes Lloyd, after all. And then that would beg the question if Mascot Rambley actually dislikes Salem enough to destroy her area in his ride. Too many questions that, unfortunately, there are no answers for. We can’t even see AI Rambley’s thoughts on Salem through a plush or anything, because there are no current collectibles in Chapter 1 that refer to her.
This is actually why I think one of the more intriguing aspects of ‘Birds of a Feather’ is Salem, and her ambiguous presence within the game. There aren’t even any posters in regard to her, unlike Lloyd or Rambley or Mollie or Finley. She’s just so wrapped up in mystery … anyways.
After finding out Jetstream Junction is locked away, AI Rambley sends Ed to Lloyd’s Main Stage Theater, where Ed first catches a glimpse of Mascot Lloyd, dozing on the stage. When Mascot Lloyd notices Ed, he runs into the back, and unfortunately, that’s where Ed has to go.
When Ed reaches the stage himself, AI Rambley tells Ed to be careful, because he has no vision of the backstage area, which is weird. AI Rambley seems to have access to the rest of Indigo Park, why is this area so special? It’s just storage, for the most part … and Mascot Lloyd, but AI Rambley still thinks they’re just as good as they were in their hay day, so he has no reason to be wary of the Mascots themselves until later. It’s true that it’s a Ranglers Only area, and we haven’t really seen AI Rambley in these areas before, so that could be it? Maybe because of his dislike for Lloyd? But then why give AI Rambley access to the stage at all? I don’t know, to be honest. Yet another question. However, AI Rambley does say something interesting.
AI Rambley, to Ed, regarding the behind the stage area: “Hey buddy. I got eyes all over the park, but I can’t see anything behind the stage. If you’re going back there be careful. Your Critter Cuff is not yet able to resuscitate you.”
Why should a Critter Cuff be able to resuscitate a person? From what I understand, it’s supposed to be like those Disney Bands that you can wear at parks, giving you access to different rides and such, even having complementary features of being a pedometer, mood ring, and a heartbeat sensor. This could either be a sort of tease to future upgrades Ed might be able to get in future chapters … or implies something darker. These Critter Cuffs were given to regular guests, for what purpose should they be able to revive someone from being unconscious?
Anyways, as Ed makes his way backstage, Lloyd makes some appearances, even once trying to attack Ed before being foiled by the massive boxes landing on him, causing him to slink away. Along the path, however, is something interesting. Binders, pages, even notebooks are scattered, almost like a bread crumb trail. I was never able to make out what they say besides some months like January, or vague Table of Contents with no explanation. Just thought it was weird. Food for thought. Grabbing the keys, Ed heads back, finding the door locked behind him. Trying to open the door yields an attack by Lloyd, who is strangely repelled by a high-pitched noise.
Now, from all that I have read, there seem to be two theories as for why Lloyd flees. The first cause is that Mascot Lloyd is driven away by the high-pitched beeping from the Critter Cuff. The second, and arguably more intriguing theory, is that someone blows a tamer’s whistle. A tamer’s whistle is a whistle used by tamers to direct animals, usually in settings like circuses where the animal has to perform some sort of trick or feat of athleticism. As it’s used more and more often, the animal learns to recognize the pitch, or duration of the shrill sound, associating it with a certain action that needs to be performed. In this case, the theory states that the tamer’s whistle caused Lloyd to fall back, before fleeing.
Now, while I think the tamer whistle theory is cool in concept, I don’t know who would be able, or more importantly, willing to save Ed from Mascot Lloyd. AI Rambley is not able to see what’s back here, nor should he understand what’s happening, so that removes him from the picture. Mascot Mollie is a possibility, perhaps wanting to save Ed for herself, as she’s seen stalking and watching Ed ever since Rambley’s Railroad, and even appears briefly in the hallway when Ed exits the theater backstage, but why want Ed for herself? They probably don’t need food, else they would have died, sweet pastries and sugary drinks present or not. They were left alone for eight years, after all. The thrill of the hunt would be the only explanation. And then there are our two unknowns, running about the park: Mascot Rambley and Mascot Salem. Could they have been the ones to do it? But why assume they’d act differently towards Ed? Surely they’d still be hostile?
And if the Critter Cuff was the savior, why was it ineffective against Mascot Mollie? Could it be because of the physiological and biological differences between Mascots Lloyd and Mollie? And why did it go off only when Lloyd was nearby? After Lloyd is repelled, the noise stops, after all. Was it the elevated heart rate that tipped off the defense mechanism? But again, surely it would have done the same when Ed would be chased by Mascot Mollie?
Remember what Animatronic Mollie told Ed with her dying breath? ‘Not Rambley! He hurts Lloyd! He hurts Lloyd!’ Could this be what Mollie was referring to? After all, Lloyd didn’t just run away; he collapsed a few feet away from Ed for a brief stint, paws pressing against his ears as Lloyd curled up into a fetal position, only running away when the high-pitched sound ended. Mascot Lloyd genuinely seemed in great pain, and was only able to run away, quite hastily, may I add, once the sound stopped. Was Rambley, AI or Mascot, the one who abused such a feature? Or was it someone else?
Remember, we have no idea why the Mascots turned hostile. Possibly due to a lack of exposure to humans, and thus claiming certain territories for themselves. After all, Mollie didn’t attack Ed until he entered her designated area. But then that brings into question Mascot Rambley. Where was he all this time? Rambley Railroad is his place, after all. But this isn’t Rambley’s only attraction in Indigo Park. At least one other location that we find that bears Rambley’s name is ‘Café de Raton Laveur’, which is French for Raccoon Café. Does that mean that Rambley owns other attractions, and is stalking those? It’s unclear.
Anyways, want to know another possible reason why there was a sudden evacuation with no explanation? What if the Mascots rebelled against the humans because of mistreatment? Think about it, Animatronic Mollie says ‘Not Rambley! He hurts Lloyd! He hurts Lloyd!’ What if Animatronic Mollie wasn’t referring to Rambley hurting Lloyd, but someone else? Someone who would want to design a special feature built into his Critter Cuff that he could activate and subdue, if not straight up hurt Lloyd? And who is the only other male character that we know of besides Rambley, Lloyd, Finley, and Ed?
That’s right, Isaac Indigo himself. This could very well be a case of mistreated creatures rebelling against the horrors they endured. Think about it, when in stressful situations, the mind, both human and not, is much more willing to go into fight or flight, is much more likely to punch first, question later. Is it possible that this Animatronic Mollie caught a snippet of a conflict that arose between the Mascots, when Mascot Mollie was trying to mediate? While this does go against the theory that Animatronic Mollie was destroyed by Mascot Rambley to silence her, it’s still a possible theory, no?
Again, these theories are very much a stretch, I just wished to lay them out on the table and offer them up for people to see and debate.
After grabbing the keys, Ed goes to Jetsream Junction, where Ed goes about exploring and solving some puzzles in order to progress further into the building, as it seems to be the only other place that isn’t falling apart and seems to be in somewhat stable condition. Inside one of the rooms is the Rambley Rush arcade game, and there is something interesting that Salem says in here.
Salem, speaking to Rambley: “Meet the new and improved Marley Macaw! Now with none o’ that ‘friendship’ garbage stopping her from tearin’ you to pieces. I wonder what she REALLY thinks of you now? Have fun finding out!”
Now, this could just be me overanalyzing this thing. It’s our only reference to Salem, and some of the things I cite as evidence could very well just be regular dialogue for an arcade game. However, on the off chance that this means something, I was very interested in what Salem said about what Mollie thought of Rambley. She makes it seem like Mollie is under some sort of illusion in regard to Rambley, like he’s a villain masquerading as a good guy, but has everyone around him convinced he’s good. This could tie in with the broken Animatronic Mollie, as if Mollie found out about some truth in regard to Rambley. After all, her broken, jittering speech made it seem like Rambley was actively hurting Lloyd. Could she have gone to someone to get help, but that other someone suggested Rambley as an ally? That could explain why Mollie felt the need to emphasize that ‘He hurts Lloyd’ twice, like she’s genuinely freaking out that her best friend actively hurt others he didn’t like.
Putting that theory aside, Ed goes through the area, heading up to Mollie’s ride, only to find it inaccessible due to major chunks of broken debris. AI Rambley seems sort of horrified to find the place so broken and calls up a repair technician. It’s no surprise that the line is discontinued, due to most Ranglers likely being laid off after the closure of Indigo Park.
From here, AI Rambley, still somewhat jarred by the wreckage he’s seeing, encourages Ed to go and visit Mollie’s Landing Pad, strangely acting as if Ed had just finished his journey on the attraction, when he couldn’t even step onto it. From there, Ed goes and solves some puzzles, making his way deeper into the building. He spots Mollie a few times as she gets away from him, hiding. What’s an interesting note is that some sort of liquid seems to be dripping from Mollie. When you encounter her in one of the tubes, she leaves behind some sort of reddish grime that disappears once her animation is done. Her eyes, also, aren’t the way they’re usually portrayed. They’re similar to Lloyd’s in that there are white pinpricks of light in dark sockets, Lloyd’s being thin ovals in dark sockets.
As Ed finishes up the puzzles, he goes deeper before he’s attacked by Mascot Mollie herself, fleeing through the numerous tubes and tunnels, before eventually leaving it all behind and entering some sort of Ranglers Only Area.
Before we continue, I’d like to point out something. When being chased, Mascot Mollie occasionally rehearses some lines she once heard, repeating this.
Finely, to Rambley: “You’ve known me for 100 years.”
Reasonable enough; she was there when Ed was in the Rambley’s Railroad attraction. No, what concerns me are two other lines, identified by SuperHorrorBro in his analysis of chapter one.
Mascot Mollie: “Get back in your cage, bird.”
And finally, this.
Mascot Mollie: “Get up you stupid freak!”
Remember, Mascot Mollie only repeats what she has once heard. She doesn’t actively make her own dialogue. Remember the theory I had about the Mascots having enough of their terrible living conditions, and rebelling against the staff? It seems like this is the right direction to go in. Lloyd and Mollie do not attack immediately. While Lloyd runs away, Mollie observes, watching, biding her time. She follows you to Lloyd’s theater, and what does she see, or, rather, hear? Lloyd being pushed further and further back into his domain, the one place he should be happy, before being forced into a corner, and where he lashes out. Even though Ed ends up leaving, he ends up claiming a piece of Lloyd’s territory, and Lloyd goes back onto his instincts, to hunt. However, when he gets too close, that blasted, accursed Critter Cuff lets out its horrible whine, Lloyd collapsing, consumed with nothing but pain. Once the sound ends, he flees, like a terrified animal.
And what does Ed see when he leaves? Mascot Mollie, observing Ed. She’s seen that, yet again, a human encroaches, pushes their bounds, eventually hurting Lloyd to get what he wants. And then, he goes to Mollie’s home, the Jetstream Junction, a place she’s been locked out of due to needing a Critter Cuff, but she wouldn’t dare touch one. She saw what happened to Lloyd, who knew what sort of anguish it would inflict upon Mollie?
She enters behind Ed, stalking him, fury building as she watches Ed run about like he owns the place. How dare this man, this human, walk upon her domain whenever he wants, but she has to wait until she’s let in, like some sort of caged bird. Well, she’s not a caged bird, and she’ll make Ed see that.
At first, when AI Rambley sees Ed, he wishes to stop Ed, but seeing a towering Mascot Mollie chasing him, he opens the door, slamming it shut behind Ed just as Mascot Mollie’s head enters the room, killing the Mascot instantly as blood sprays all over the metallic door and floor. AI Rambley attempts to act like nothing happened, but fails, sighing.
He explains that he didn’t realize the danger of Indigo Park and its inhabitants due to being stuck in that early Reception Center for all of those eight, lonely years, unable to see or interact with anything inside. He was just so excited to finally see an actual person that he pushed Ed into this tour, realizing that, with the way things were, there was no way Ed would come out unscathed, and the AI seems genuine in his sorrow. However, he asks for Ed to help restore the park to the former glory, and, miraculously, Ed agrees. However, before Ed leaves, AI Rambley drops this one last piece of vital information.
AI Rambley: “Whew! That was exhausting to say that whole spiel, but Rambley’s Ranglers (registered) is a registered trademark … that expired yesterday.”
Okay, so couple things. From my impression, I had the feeling that somehow, someway the Indigo Company as a whole was alive and kicking. I mean, look at what Ed has to say when he interacts with the Rambley Raccoon plushy.
Ed: “Ah, there’s my buddy. Kinda feels like Rambley has a whole empire now, being the main man of Indigo and all.”
Ed gives us the distinct impression that not only is Indigo still around, but it’s also positively thriving, yet they allow their trademarks to expire? Trademarks essentially last forever, but you have to fight, in court, to let them continue every ten years or so. If Indigo is based on Disney, the stingiest, largest entertainment company, why would they let their trademark expire, and give access to others? Well, this might have to do with the initial terms.
You see, in order to keep a trademark, you have to defend its usage every ten years. Well, okay, then why didn’t Indigo do so? One of the terms for renewal is that you have to continuously use that trademark. You can’t just claim one and never use it again, that’s basically an infraction upon free speech. Sure, you can fight for its ownership, but there are rules and regulations to these kinds of things, you can’t just trademark something like ‘Oof’ or ‘Lmao’ and keep it without at least saying those phrases occassionally.
And, so far as we know, there are no other places such as Indigo Park owns. Ranglers are synonymous with staff in the park, so obviously, it would be hard to justify keeping a trademark when you never expect to use it. So, that’s my theory on why the trademark did indeed expire the day previously, October 6^th, 2023 (apparently, the creator confirmed the game takes place in 2023, so, that means that Ed arrives on October 7^th, 2023, and the last person to enter park left on October 7^th, 2015).
Anyways, after that, AI Rambley leads Ed to Oceanic Odyssey with the intention to get it back up and running, as it has been closed due to repairs, something that AI Rambley hopes Ed can assist with. As Ed exits, he tries entering a hallway, which AI Rambley blocks.
AI Rambley: “Uh oh. That Rambley’s Ranglers room is only accessible by Royal Ranglers. Maybe you’ll grow up big and strong enough to enter it! But for now, don’t.”
This is the first instance of hierarchy within the Ranglers that Ed has been introduced to so far, and the dark undertone AI Rambley takes when he tells Ed not to go there is somewhat concerning. What exactly is AI Rambley hiding back there? Well, I have a few hunches.
Let’s point out the obvious regarding our friends, the Mascots; they’re not regular animals. Obviously, regular animals don’t have dark orbitals with thin white slits, or have turquoise noses, or have macaws the size of cassowaries. However, they are still animals, creatures of flesh and blood that act like their regular animal counterparts; Lloyd is an ambush predator, stalking until he himself is presented with an opportunity to attack. However, lions are known to just straight up attack if they are discovered by accident, especially if the prey is weaker and slower than them. Lloyd runs away instead of attacking.
Similarly, Mollie follows Ed warily, unsure of what to think of him for most of the time. She never aggresses until he enters her territory, and even then, she’s surprisingly lenient with Ed, straight up until he finishes those color-coded symbol puzzles. Only then does she attack. And even then, this is a behavior reflected in regular macaws as well, as these birds are fiercely territorial of their area.
So, these Mascots didn’t pop up straight from the ground, did they? They had to be bioengineered at the very least, mutated regular animals becoming the Mascots guests once knew and loved. They are, however, animals at their core, animals that do not attack for no reason. They try to deescalate the situation, as Lloyd does when he runs backstage, and when Mollie pulls herself back through the tunnels, away from Ed, and striding through the corridors, until she eventually loses patience and chases after Ed through Jetsream Junction.
I’d like to propose the theory that these Mascots were created in that area of Jetstream Junction, hidden underground and away from prying eyes. This is also where the Mascots were likely mistreated and abused, called horribly names at the very least, and endured beatings and humiliating acts at their worst. This is also likely where the Mascots originally snapped. After all, literally not a single guest understands why they were evacuated. Unless the guests who saw what happened were silenced, there should have been something floating around the Internet, on some obscure forum.
Now, why would AI Rambley hide this? Because he now understands that these Mascots are dangerous, a risk he cannot allow, since he enlisted Ed to bring the park back from the dead. AI Rambley realizes that Ed doesn’t have the tools to survive that area; perhaps because one of the Mascots lurks in there, locked away, or because he doesn’t want Ed to flee, horrified as to the scientific process that allowed for the mutated abominations to roam Indigo Park.
Regardless, Ed finally makes his way to the entrance of Oceanic Odyssey, home of the Mascot Finley. In fact, we actually get to see a glimpse of Finely’s actual size in one of the aquariums as his large head and long torso appear, before the chapter ends. I don’t believe that this is an animatronic, as electricity and water do not mix, especially animatronic with running current of electricity in water.
And that’s where Chapter 1 of Indigo Park, ‘Birds of a Feather’, ends off. Chapter Two will likely revolve mostly, if not totally, around Oceanic Odyssey and Mascot Finley.
So, I have two predictions as for where the next chapter might go. Based on the reactions Mascots previously had to Ed, I believe that Mascot Finley will not be attacking immediately. He’ll likely be observing, like Mollie, at least for a certain amount of time, until he proceeds to attack and harass Ed around his attraction. Ed will eventually get Oceanic Odyssey up and running, and have to leave Mascot Finley behind, as he’s still hostile and very much a danger to Ed.
The alternative to this is that once Mascot Finely realizes what Ed is trying to do, he stops being aggressive, and might instead become a temporary ally, allowing Ed to reach certain locations with his knowledge of the place.
Regardless of Mascot Finley’s ultimate fate, Oceanic Odyssey being powered on will likely catch the attention of Indigo. Based on the information we know so far, Indigo is still a well known, public entity. It’s possible that Indigo abandoned the theme park route, instead focusing exclusively on media such as cartoons, movies, and merch, or they might have other sister locations to Indigo Park. It’s unclear.
Whew. In the words of AI Rambley, this is a lot of information. Almost nine thousand words in, and we finally finish covering Chapter 1. So, let’s proceed to the Conclusion I draw regarding the story Indigo Park tries to tell, and the future events that might transpire.

Hey all, i’m new to the group and have been reading many of the posts, which make me feel like i’m right where I belong.
My GI symptoms began approximately one year ago. I was woken up with awful upper indigestion/heartburn and can not sleep through it. Burping up mucus, hiccups and an on and off again pain in the chest. These episodes were approximately happening once every two or so months, so not terrible. Always while I was asleep, and it wakes me up everytime.
In between then and May 2024, I would occassionally get random diarrhea and my stomach would act up out of nowhere. So I began to change up my diet and started cutting out many things, to include red meat.
Fast forward to around May 14th. I ate my dinner (smokey gouda chicken which was a Factor meal) and had a really bad stomach ache with very bad gas afterwards, which seems to be a constant for me now, after pretty much everything I eat (for the most part). My stomach starts to ache, I get gas all over to include in my chest. I’ve had a lower back ache for over a month, that I believe is related to these GI problems now. The pain/dull back ache moves around a bit from the left, to the right and to the right side of my body, so its not always the same spot. Obviously, this has me freaking out a bit, because i’m lost as to what it could be.
My poops are definitely not as normal as they use to be and I am sometimes constipated now. Some days I poop 2-3 times, so its not very consistent. The only thing that is consistent is the gas and stomach aches I keep getting. I even cut out dairy completely (4 days ago), but i’m still getting the gas pains. My stomach will also be super noisy and I fart like crazy. Not trying to be disgusting or inappropriate, just want to make sure I explain everything going on with me. I’m losing weight now also, because i’m eating much less. I will also sometimes have to urinate way more frequently then normal, which will also come out of nowhere. Sometimes I will pee 4 times in an hour and its always pretty clear urine.
I am a 45 year old male and had a clean colonoscopy in 2021. Next one will be in 2026, since I was 100% clear when they violated me lol.
Monday June 3rd, i’m scheduled for an Endoscopy and that will be my first. I’m a little nervous because of all the crazy symptoms I have been having the last few weeks.
Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated. I do find that Pepcid and Gas-X gives me some relief, but not complete and its only temporary. Problem is, i’m living on that stuff now. I take one Pepcid and two Gas-X a day after dinner now. Dinner always seems to be the worst reaction for me afterwards, so I save it for then.
Also I have not had any nausea or bad fatigue. Just the above symptoms.
Thank you for reading

Andy watched the streets from his apartment window with bright eyes; The music was alive.
Brass instruments trumpeted into the night sky; people bustled every which way and singers sang the rhythmic tunes of the blues on every corner. The honey notes of jazz rose and fell and seemed to hang on the breeze, making each breath intoxicating. It was like the music itself entered into the bodies of each person in the crowd and began forcing its way out in strange, swinging movements until it took shape. Then, it flowed through their limbs as smoothly as running water.
Alex began to nod his head a little. It was as if the sound itself was a living thing and had crawled into him as well; the bass drums thud, thud, thudding against his ears and his heart rate slowing to match the pace.
Performers walked up and down the sidewalks, some on unicycles or stilts, others breathing fire and juggling thin silver hoops, and everyone was dancing. It looked like the damn Mardi Gras.
Andy looked down and realized he’d been slowly tapping his leg as well. Then his body became restless. He had to get up and move, and the movements came out jerky and spazzy at first, but quickly gained fluidity. He danced alone in his apartment, swinging his arms and twirling circles over the floor. He danced all the way to the door, but just as he grabbed the handle he stopped.
The television blinked white and an alarm began barking a hateful and continuous “BZZRT” noise.
For a moment it broke the spell, and he had stopped moving. He watched the TV as the letters C.D.C. dawned over the screen. An automated voice began to speak in a deep and monotonous tone, “A state of emergency has been declared over the states that follow: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Georgia. There is a deadly virus that has become airborne; the most prominent symptoms are vivid audio hallucinations, and uncontrollable restlessness. We ask all of you to stay indoors while authorities handle the situation.”
Andy stood motionless as the words disappeared, and the alarm whirred back up into its “BZZRT” noises. He thought of the people in the streets, of the jazz and the rhythmic tunes that had hypnotized him just moments ago, and—
“BZZRT”
Andy looked back at the TV. The alarm continued to sound and it interrupted each of his thoughts. It came in intervals. There were three seconds between each buzz and it sounded over and over and after a few moments it became all he could think about.
“BZZRT…BZZRT…BZZRT”
Andy began to slowly tap his foot in rhythm with the alarm, and its noises began to fade into the sweet sounds that spilled in through the window until they had mingled as one, and that tune that was in Andy’s right leg spread through the rest of his body like a hot fever.
He grabbed the handle of his door and ran to the streets below.
Outside, it was ecstasy. Andy moved like he had never moved before. The lights were incredible, casting yellow glows over everything and shimmering off of bead necklaces and fancy jewelry. Exotic perfumes hung thick in the air along with the sweet smell of sweat, and body odor.
He danced with strangers, spinning and holding random people without a second thought to it. His mind was enveloped in a cloud of golden melody, and his body a bird, soaring through it as high and free as one could possibly be. He wasn’t Andy anymore, in fact, he couldn’t remember his name at all. He was one with the music, and to him, that was okay.
.
A few hours later, Andy was still jiving to the music, only a little more slowly. A few people had dropped from exhaustion, and their faces were stomped bloody by those who still had enough energy to continue.
A wall of armed men wearing hazmat suits approached from the south end of the street, and gunshots began to cut through the night. The snaps of their rifles sounded like someone playing the spoons, so Andy took it as that and danced to its tune as well. He danced all the way up until the moment that the firing squad put a bullet through his hard.
The hot pain of the bullet hole wasn’t surprising, nor was the fact the man shot him in the chest. For some reason, that made perfect sense in Andy’s mind. The only thing that really surprised him in that moment was the fact that he couldn’t move his arms anymore, and soon after he couldn’t move his legs. He sprawled backwards over the asphalt and his vision faded into blackness as he slipped into a honey sea of melodies, never again to be interrupted.
END

I apologize if this post is long. I have a lot of information. Please let me know if there is anything I need to change. I'm looking for any suggestions.
My name is Mikayla. I am a 24 year old female. I am 5'4" and my last checked weight was 265 pounds. I am Caucasian. I live in the United States.
Pre-existing medical conditions: Endometriosis, Tendonitis, Osteitis Pubis, Chronic Rhinitis, and Deafness with bilateral Cochlear Implants
Current Medications: Baclofen (for involuntary muscle movements), Celebrex (as needed for pain), Protonix (for heartburn), Hydroxyzine (for itchiness)
Symptoms:
I have itchiness all over my body which Hydroxyzine greatly helps (December 2020). I have twitching/writhing in my whole body (May 1st, 2021). Usually, Baclofen gets rid of it but starting two weeks ago it has stopped working as well as it used to. Before, I would take it every 12 hours and wouldn't start twitching until the next dose. Now, I am always twitching a slightly and it starts getting worse at 6 hours. I am only allowed to take it every 8 hours. I have sudden leg weakness that will cause my legs to almost give out. (March 2021) I have to grab onto anything near me so I don't fall. I have shocking sensations in my spine from my tailbone to my neck. I always have a constant electrical sensation that feels like my spine is a live wire. Sometimes I will get huge waves of shocks that go from my tailbone up to my neck over and over again until it stops which usually lasts multiple hours. (May 22nd, 2021) I have tactile hallucinations like feeling like bugs are crawling on me and water is falling on me (as if there's a leak in the ceiling) (May 27th, 2021) My hands will sometimes stop working and I will drop whatever I'm holding, but not know I dropped it until it hits the ground, My hands also can't feel temperatures accurately. For example, when I take a bath I touch water with my hands it won't feel very hot, but if I put my whole arm in or a foot in I can tell that it is very hot. (April 2021) I have times when I either pass out or fall asleep. (July 19th, 2021) I will be doing something like watching TV or being on my phone and then I will wake up not knowing how much time has passed and feeling very nauseous and dizzy. Sometimes my mom would come into my room and my phone would be in my hands in the middle of a game like I had just suddenly fallen asleep. It happens anywhere from 1-2 times a day to 40+ times a day. In the past two weeks (Started around May 21st) I have gained new symptoms of noticeable slurring when I speak to others (not me), feeling like it's harder to form words to speak and like my tongue is weak/heavy, speaking loudly (even though to me I'm talking normally), I have also noticed that it has been harder to think and my memory has been awful. I have to write down everything or I will forget it 5 seconds later. When I try to read a book I will read one line and then when I go to read the next line I've already forgotten what the previous line said. That's how fast I forget things.
I have bilateral cochlear implants which means I have metal on both sides of my head. Because of this, I can't do MRIs and when I do a CT scan the areas on both sides of my head where the metal is in are all white. Therefore, the CT scans were considered inclusive, because they couldn't see everything.
I had a CT scan of my spine with contrast (April 22, 2022) and that was negative. I've done a sleep study and a test for Narcolepsy. However, I didn't pass out at all so it came back negative. I have had an EEG and an EMG done. The EEG showed something but they didn't know what. It didn't show anything diagnosable. The EMG was negative. I have had lab work done.
My life has been on hold because of these. I have to have help doing basic things like taking a bath. Sometimes I can barely walk. I haven't been able to go to college or work. I'm just looking for any suggestions. It doesn't matter how out there it is. I know this is immensely long, so I'm so incredibly grateful to anyone who reads all of this and comments. Thank you ahead of time.