Injured knee last week, (bare with me this may be relevant to know) also currently dealing with a tough infection in head eadental/sinus dealing massive lymph node left side, left cranial pressure and burning, left eye vision disturbances scorching neck into collarbone and shoulder, I had Leukemia hx (currently in remission) so my immune system seems basically like a blind bouncer at a club. Anyway, I'm on antibiotics and see PCP monday, no current fever or unusual drop in temp either, but today I noticed something weird, on my injured knee there is a red line that goes laterally only on knee portion near where i injured myself and does not fade under glass. Is that ALWAYS cause for concern? Or is there multiple reasons a line would remain with glass test? I've been septic once and I've had meningitis once and as I remember from my cancer treatment honoree md (joke) those are the only two reasons a non fading line would exist but in both of those scenarios I was basically catatonic and unconscious whereas besides current discomfort, some PTSD health anxiety and infection symptoms I'm overall feeling fine?

For the past two nights it’s been very weird for me.
Pretty much I’ve been dealing with some type of health anxiety. Usually the symptoms change throughout my days. One day I’ll have some slight pains in both of my arms, standing up and having fast heart beats, sometimes my heart would feel like it’s beating fast when it isn’t, some type of pressure on my chest, etc. But now it’s suddenly changed to me having this bad headache that’s now only affecting certain spots on my head and giving me some uncomfortable pressure on my chest.
But what’s weird is how I sleep. Usually it’s all good at night until I start to dream off and then I’m wide awake in the middle of the night and all hell broke loose. My heart rate is fast, I’m super fatigued, face feels numb. I’m just freaking out at this point. I’m trying my best to calm it down by being in the living room but I just need some reassurance and see if others are going to the same thing.
I don’t want to go to the ER, I’m currently seeing a cardiologist due to this but it seems like if I don’t calm myself down, I might pull the plug and go.

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]

I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/EffectiveRepair8231
Originally posted to AmIOverreacting
AIO: I feel like a Dad a the daycare I work at is hitting on me (20f)
Trigger Warning: sexual assault, stalking, sexual harassment, mentions of CSA
Original Post: May 20, 2024
Hi! I work at a daycare, and I’ve noticed that one of the children's parents always makes inappropriate comments to me. At first, I thought he was just one of those people who always compliment others or that he just wanted to have a friendly relationship with his kids' educators, but now I think it’s more than that.
During my first weeks there, I was always assigned to his younger daughter’s group (the babies), so I would see him often. At first, it was brief friendly talk, but it really escalated when I started working with the older kids (4-year-olds). His other daughter, let’s call her Emmy, and I clicked right away when we found out we’re birthday twins. She always wants me to play with her and asks for hugs literally every two minutes. Whenever her dad comes to pick up his kids, she always makes sure to give me a big hug and tells her dad that we’re best friends.
Last month, Emmy’s dad and I ran into each other at the grocery store and started small talk. We were mostly talking about Emmy, and he just kept saying how much she loves me and that she wants me to come over to their house. I said something like, “Oh, she’s so cute. I love spending time with her too,” and tried to end the conversation, but he just kept talking. I noticed him looking at my chest a couple of times, which was one of the reasons I wanted to leave. He then offered me a ride, and although I initially declined, he kept pushing it, so I accepted. I didn’t let him see my house; I told him to drop me off downtown.
Since then, I keep running into him, but to the point where I don’t think it’s a coincidence. He doesn’t live in the same neighborhood as me (I live near downtown). In fact, when he dropped me off the first time, he kept going on and on about how he could never live somewhere as far away as I do. So why do I keep seeing him? In our conversations, he always makes sure to compliment my physical appearance or mention my age and how “young and smart” I am. It obviously makes me uncomfortable, but for the sake of his daughters, especially Emmy, I don’t really say anything. I have tried to set some boundaries, but it’s really uncomfortable. I jokingly said once, “Well, if I were your age, I don’t think I’d date someone as young as me,” and he was like, “Well, good thing I would,” and he laughed.
I casually mentioned this in a conversation with one of my colleagues, and she said something like, “Oh, he’s a flirt; that’s what he does.” She kept talking about how handsome he is (he is handsome but also a married dad of two). I asked if there’s anything we, as educators, could do if, hypothetically, a parent is being too friendly/flirty with us, and she basically said no.
Anyway, it’s gotten hot outside, so I’ve started wearing sundresses, shorts, and crop tops, and he always compliments my outfits when he sees me and says he likes seeing my bellybutton piercing out (EW). Also, Emmy has told me that her dad said I’ll be their nanny for the weekends when the daycare is closed. I don’t know if he actually said that because she’s 4, but I don’t even want to ask because I don’t want to give him ideas if he didn’t actually say it.
He has tried multiple times to give me his phone number to “call him if there’s anything,” and I always gently reminded him that we can communicate through the daycare app. He always says that he would rather call me directly than through the app. He was being super pushy, and I felt a little trapped, so I gave him my phone number. He texts me all the time, asking what I’m doing, etc. I have FaceTimed his daughters a couple of times, but it just feels wrong. I briefly talked about this to a friend, and she said that she would’ve told his wife. I don’t even think I have the guts to do that. Ever since my friend told me that, I started casually bringing up his wife in conversations. He would always change the subject or say she’s not here.
Anyway, all this is to ask: what should I do? Am I imagining things? I feel trapped. I can’t lose my job; I’m scared that it’ll take me forever to find another one. Also, all the kids love me, and I love them. I’ve really gotten attached to them. I love Emmy too, and I mostly feel bad for her. What would you do in this situation? I’ve asked, and you can’t ban a family from attending a daycare, so that option is out of the window. Also, we can’t be on our phones 24/7, so it’s extremely hard to get “evidence.” Anything helps. Thank you!
I don’t know i’m I’m posting this on the right subs, if not sorry about that
Edit: I’ve never seen his wife, he’s the one who does everything. Emmy has mentioned her a few times (saying things like “Mommy got me this shirt” or something) but I don’t even know what she looks like. He doesn’t talk about her unless I bring her up.
Edit 2: About the crop tops, we are allowed to wear them at work with long pants. Same thing with shorts, we can wear them with a non-cropped shirt. 90% of his comments about my piercing were outside of work, when I would run into him. Also, I blocked him. I don’t know if he noticed, but he’s blocked.
Edit 3: A lot of people are asking me why/what I am scared of. I don’t have an exact answer. I’ve had a lot of traumatizing experiences with men so I don’t feel comfortable around any man in general. I don’t have any guy friends. It’s like I think of all the things they could do to me if they wanted to, then I get scared/uncomfortable. I know I have a fawn trauma response and I am working on it, I really am. Also, I have work on Friday (or Wednesday maybe) and I will talk to my supervisors and update.
Relevant Comments
Commenter: “That wouldn’t be appropriate” seems like a good response to 90% of his requests. I would get used to being comfortable saying that to pushy male customers.

OOP: i say that sometimes and he’s like “oh well you’re best friends with emmy so we’re basically family” and i get scared so i just laugh it off or i try to end the conversations

OOP responds to multiple redditors on not accepting any more things from the father and speak with her supervisor about her concerns

OOP: i do say those things and he says that we’re like family because i’m “friends” with his daughter. i don’t always answer and he’ll sometimes bring it up when he drops off/picks up his kids and i say things oh i was busy or i didn’t see it. i keep telling myself that this time ill be direct and just say no but i just get so scared. it’s not like im full on flirting with him, i do reject him but not as firmly as i should i guess. whenever he brings up dating i say things like im not looking for a bf. and for the facetime thing, one time he was being really insistent and i said no and the text time i saw them at work, emmy asked me why i didn’t pick up the call and he said in front of her that i was being mean that day and that i didn’t wanna talk to her. she ended up crying. i tried telling my supervisor and she said that she never noticed any weird behaviour from him and he’s a very friendly man. she asked me if i had any proof which i didn’t. idk what else to do

~

i tried to talk to one of my supervisors about it but rn they’re always busy (they’re the new owners of the daycare so they’re trying to figure everything out) so it’s never a good time. i am alone with my group. i see him in the morning when he’s dropping off emmy and in the afternoon outside when he’s picking his kids up. our conversation in the morning are more brief bc all the parents are coming at the same time so there’s not much time. in the afternoon, he always tells emmy to keep playing with her friends just to buy more time and when i tell him i have to go back to watching everyone he says that there are plenty of other educators who are watching them and not to worry about it. i try to say things like hey i really have to go back to work/now’s not a right time but it’s like there’s nothing i can say to get through to him. im the one in charge of emmy i have to be the one to talk to him about emmy’s day etc

 
Update #1: May 23, 2024
Hello everyone,
I want to thank everyone who gave me advice. I tried to read every comment. Before I give you an update, I need to clarify a few things:

1. I don’t work at a school; it's a private, family-owned (i think) daycare. I have three managers—two women and one man. They became the new owners in January. I primarily interact with one of the female managers. I've tried to discuss this situation with her, but it’s never the right time. For example, I’d knock on her office door and say I needed to talk about Emmy’s dad. She’d say she’s busy and ask me to come back later. When I did, she’d apologize and ask to talk the next day. She also suggested texting, but I didn't feel comfortable telling her everything through text.
   
2. Some suggested having another teacher watch my group when he arrives, but that’s not possible. In the afternoon, after nap time, we take the kids outside until their parents pick them up. All educators need to stay outside to supervise. When parents arrive, I discuss their child's day and hand over their keychain. It’s difficult because he always approaches me when I’m distracted, so I can’t warn a coworker.
   
3. Rides: The first time I saw him outside of work was at the grocery store. He recognized me, we chatted briefly, and he offered me a ride. I declined, but he insisted, saying it was ungentlemanly to let me carry groceries alone. He paid for my groceries and drove me home, despite my discomfort. I sat in the backseat, but still. I shouldn’t have said yes. I was just so weirded out by the entire situation. The second time was at a gas station. After hanging out with a friend in his neighborhood, I stopped there for a drink. He saw me and again offered a ride. He was pushy, so I reluctantly agreed. That was the last time I accepted a ride from him.
   
4. Clothing: Most of his comments about my piercing happened outside of work. I don’t wear revealing clothes to work; I mostly wear sweats. Occasionally, I wear a long sleeve crop top with sweatpants, which my managers don’t mind. We’re allowed to wear mom shorts. But again, I most of the time I wear sweats.
   
5. Facetime: I’ve Facetimed his daughters three times, and each call lasted less than five minutes. I realize now that this was inappropriate, but yes it happened.
   
6. Texting: I don’t always respond to his texts. If he texts ten times, I might reply three times. The thing is, he often asks in person why I don’t respond, telling me he had something important to say. He’d sometimes say that in front of Emmy, then say, “You see that Emmy, she’s not nice to Daddy. She doesn’t want to talk to me.”
   
7. I live in Canada. Some suggested carrying pepper spray for protection, but it’s illegal here, so that’s not an option.
   
8. I don’t know his exact age, but I’d guess late 30s to mid-40s. I’ve never seen his wife; some suggested they might be separated. Maybe. Emmy has mentioned her mom before, but she seems closer to her dad.
   
9. The dating comment: I had ZERO idea my comment could be seen as flirting. I thought I was indirectly turning him down. When the topic of dating came up, I said I didn’t want a relationship. He joked that we’d get along great, and I responded by saying “Don’t you think you’re a little too old for me?” And he said, jokingly, “Oh, man. Dont say that. You’re very mature.” That’s when I said that I wouldn’t date someone my age if I were his age.
   

Update: I was only scheduled on Friday this week but ended up working today too. I texted my manager saying that I have something very important to tell her about a parent and that I'm afraid my safety could be compromised. She asked me to come to her office before work to talk about it.
I was very scared because reading the comments made me realize that I could lose my job because I gave him my number. But I still told her everything (looking back, I missed a few things, but I told her the most important things). I told her about how, in the beginning (when I was assigned to his 2-year-old daughter's group), he was very friendly and nice to me, but it escalated when I started caring for Emmy. I told her about the grocery incident, the gas station incident, and seeing him near my neighborhood.
She kind of "defended" him by saying that I live near downtown, so it’s not a miracle to run into someone there. I then brought up the fact that, yes, I understand that, but he’s told me that he enjoys staying in his neighborhood and that I live so far away, and he doesn’t understand how I'm able to work at a job so far away, so it was weird to see him so much. I think it made her understand more. I told her about the comments about my appearance. I asked her if it was possible to get assigned to another group, and she said yes.
I told her about me giving him my number after feeling pressured, and she said that I shouldn’t have done that, that it’s very dangerous to give out personal information like that. She also said that, especially with my job, all communication must be through the app. She said that she was a little more upset at the dad because he’s been attending that daycare for almost four years, and he knows that parents are not allowed to do that.
I then told her about how he makes Emmy play with her friends when it’s time to go just to talk to me longer. She said that since I won’t be assigned to Emmy’s group, I won’t even have to talk to him at all. She said that she’ll take care of it and let the other girls know to keep an eye on him.
I told her about the Facetimes and how he told Emmy that I was mean for not answering one time and how he made her cry. She only said that that was out of line. I asked if it was possible to “ban” him from attending, and she said maybe. She doesn’t have any solid proof (I showed her some text messages, but she said that he was being friendly in the messages and that there was nothing sexual). She said that most of this was basically hearsay, and she doesn’t have concrete proof of him being an actual predator.
As for Emmy, we played together on the playground as usual. I think the hardest part for me is to slowly distance myself from her. I did, however, encourage her to play with her friends, but she would always come back every five minutes to ask to play with me. When her dad arrived, he greeted me and asked me about Emmy’s day and her keychain. I said that I did not take care of her today and pointed to the girl that did. I then got up to get Emmy to tell her to leave. He tried to stop me, but I just kept walking. I didn’t really give him time to talk to me. When I got Emmy, I gave her a hug, then stayed on the other side of the playground, and they left. I know it’s not much, but at least I avoided an interaction with him today.
I think that’s it. I tried to answer everything.
Edit: He’s never driven me home, I would always ask to drop me off downtown. Typo sorry!
Comments
Commenter: If he texts you, tell him that you got a memo from work that says all interaction with parents must go through the app with no exceptions for legal and safety reasons and that you can't risk your job. Then block him.
Or just block him.
 
Update #2: May 24, 2024
Hi, I saw some comments asking for an update, so I wanted to share what happened because I am too ashamed to tell someone in real life. I had work from yesterday 8 AM to 5 PM, then went straight to the gym to work out with a friend. I got there around 6 PM and worked out until about 8:30 PM. I was walking home (I live about 10 minutes away from my gym) when I heard someone behind me. Looking back, I know I shouldn’t have walked home, but I didn’t think about it in the moment. I had music in my ears, so I didn’t know if someone was talking to me or on the phone, so I just kept walking. I felt the person getting closer and immediately thought, “Oh my God, what if it’s him?” I started walking a little faster.
After about 2 minutes, the person tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around, it was him. My heart dropped. I immediately froze. I had practiced what to say if I ever got into this situation, but of course I had to forget everything. He acted like we ran into each other and said, “Hey, it’s nice seeing you.” I said, “Hi, nice seeing you, but I have to go.” He complimented my hair (I recently dyed it) and said it looked good on me. I said a quick thank you and tried to leave. He then grabbed my wrist and said, “I don’t like when you act like that.” I just froze up; I couldn’t move. He asked why I don’t take care of Emmy anymore. He said that she constantly asks about me at home and that I make her cry. I stuttered and said I didn’t know, that I’m not the one who decides. I said I have to go now, sorry. He then asked if I blocked him. I said I really can’t talk right now.
He then blurted out that he saw me working out. He was doing all of this while grabbing my wrist, mind you. I didn’t know what to say, so I repeated that I had to go. He started looking at me up and down in a disgusting way. He was staring at my boobs while smiling. He then started caressing my arms. One arm stopped at my waist, and the other one kept caressing my arm. He would sometimes move it to my chest and touch me there. I don’t know why I didn’t just punch him in the face. I just could. not. move. Before you ask, I wasn’t wearing anything revealing. I had on a hoodie and sweatpants. I even removed my belly piercing because I don’t like this type of attention.
I eventually quietly said, “Can you please stop?” He looked at me, smiled, and then left. I’ve been getting sexually assaulted by men since the age of 7. I promised myself after getting sexually assaulted at 18 by a friend that I would never let it happen again. Now this. I don’t know why this keeps happening. Most of the time, I feel like my body isn’t even mine, just for someone else to use whenever they feel like it, no matter if I want it or not. Maybe it was my fault because I shouldn’t have walked home knowing I had a “stalker”. Maybe it’s my fault because I didn’t tell him to leave me alone earlier. Maybe it’s my fault because I am 20 years old and I can’t fucking say no. I know he didn’t full-on grab my tits and squeeze them, but I feel so so violated. I am too ashamed to reveal this to anyone. I told my boss I was sick to avoid going to work for a couple of days.
I went to the police station, but they said there wasn’t anything they could do legally because he didn’t commit actual crimes and that I didn’t really have any proof. I just feel like they didn’t take me seriously. They gave me tips to be more careful like don’t walk late at night, change your number, don’t have the same routine, etc., but that’s it. They won’t give me a restraining order. I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand half of the terminology they were using. But from what I understood, we’re both adults so the texting and Facetimes aren’t incriminating enough. I guess I’ll just stay home. I feel so dirty. I thought I had everything under control because I found a way to avoid him at work, but I guess I was wrong. I genuinely thought that I found a way to make everything stop.
The worst part is I saw some comments saying that this whole situation could escalate if he finds out that I’m avoiding him and I didn’t believe them. Again, I was wrong. I don’t know if I’m looking for advice or sympathy, but I don’t have anyone in my life who could help. Maybe some friends, but I am just so ashamed and embarrassed to say that a man was “groping” me and I basically let it happen because I was scared. It’s just humiliating. As for my family, knowing my mom, she would most likely slut-shame me and say it’s my fault. But yeah, here’s the update I guess. I don’t know if I’ll update after this, mainly because I don’t know what else to do.
Edit: (copying and pasting this from one of my replies because I can see how it looks): i posted about him 4 days ago but i started having doubts about him stalking be like a month ago i think. i talked to my manager wednesday and i got assigned to another group. i didn’t interact with him wednesday and yesterday. HE is the one saying that his daughter is crying about not seeing me. i know it’s not true, he keeps saying stuff like this. saying things about his daughter to make me feel bad because he knows we’re close. when this incident happened, i went straight to the police station near my home to tell them what happened (bc it’s opened day and night). i asked if with what i have i can have a restraining order and they said no. i know im updating quick but i genuinely don’t have anyone i can talk to about this
Edit 2: Okay I think I’ll just quit my job stay with a friend for now. I’ll send an email explaining my situation with my boss and try to find a stay at home job. Thank you all
 

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

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP

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

Male 25 360 pounds 5 feet 8 inches White I don't drink I don't smoke I don't do drugs.
Hello. So I've been getting this tingling feeling in my left hand. It's not like when your hand falls asleep. But kinda feels like after your hand falls asleep where there's these little prickly feelings that will affect my fingers or the palm of my hand or wrist and arm. Random little areas. It lasts a second or two or sometimes it lasts a little bit longer like 10 seconds. I'm scared of a brain tumor but it seems to be affecting both sides though the left side more.
I went to the ER because I was getting vertigo as well but he said the symptoms were unrelated. I did get a head ct scan without contrast back in 2020 due to really bad vertigo. My posture is bad. I'm always sitting criss cross on my bed. I do play video games but I stopped and a week or so later that's when I noticed these symptoms. I did lift something heavy. My sleeping position might be bad as I switched to a more hard pillow but I'm not sure if that's what's causing it. I have some shoulder and neck pain in the back as well. I have no idea what this is and why it's happening. Maybe it's anxiety? Maybe since I noticed it and heard it could be a brain tumor symptom I am feeling it more now? It's happening on both sides but the left side more. But I heard brain tumors tend to affect one side of the body. Idk.
I also lifted something heavy a week or so ago in an awkward position. Also I checked a blood lab from when I was in the ER a year ago and my glucose was 142 I think. So maybe diabetes?

( pre notice , i think its Lyme due to symptoms starting right after coming back from over seas in morocco, aswell when i first landed i stayed in a oldish beach house where i was being bitten non stop and got extremely sick that ultimately ended in me losing a bunch of weight and stopped eating all summer. The bits where absolutely huge and took up most of my thigh) ……………….. Hey there, I (F17) have been suffering since August 2023 with a whole range of symptoms. I came back from two months overseas with a quick onset of eye pain and a whole bunch of pressure on the top of my right eye, along with daily headaches at the same time every day. In October, I had a thunderclap headache and went to the ER where they did a brain CT that came back clear. Fast forward to my neurologist making me have an MRI and MRV of the brain that came out fully clear, so she decided that I probably just had chronic migraines. It was really bad; I lost a bunch of weight, slept for most of the day, and was dizzy all day.
November came, and I had my first bout of neck pain. It wasn't too bad, but I was so exhausted from the pressure on my eye that it made me feel mentally horrible. My headache reduced from daily to only having extreme major ones 1 or 2 times in the month, along with daily thumping and nausea. I started PT for my neck in late March, and that's when I had my out-of-nowhere numbness and tingling and pins and needles down my right arm so i was sent to have a chest xray which came out normal aswell . My knuckles feel on fire, and my skin is burning with a bunch of neck pain, so I got an MRI for my neck yesterday, and my results are perfectly normal.
The worst part is that now I have nothing else that I can do about it. The pain keeps spreading around my upper body, and I slur my speech and have complete weakness in my hand and can't brush my hair also as of Friday for like 10 minutes my hand started to burn like it was on fire and got all red and the veins swelled up out of nowhere. Both my PT and neurologist are extremely confused and have absolutely no idea what's happening, especially since all my symptoms are on one side. My left side feels perfect, and I weirdly feel my fatigue only on my right side. Any ideas on what I should do next?
Diagnosed now with - parenthesia of the upper limb (right side) - cervicalgia ( right side only ) - Chronic migraine ( right side only) - Pain and pressure of the right eye
I have tried both sumatriptan and rizatriptan and both made pass out for almost 25-48 hours and didn’t even work
Also sad but funny fact , everyone in my neurologist office calls me the medical mystery but I genuinely feel like i cant be the only one who has suffered through these symptoms….. right?

I recently bought a used 5-speed manual 1999 honda crv with about 390,000 kms, and didnt get it inspected before purchasing which I now realize was dumb. I took it to the mechanic yesterday and they diagnosed several issues. This is my first vehicle purchase and I know next to nothing about cars. My question is should i cut my losses and sell the vehicle now or would it be worth it to put in some work? I bought it for 1800. A few pictures from the mechanic included. Issues: -passenger inner tie rod has minor play -right rear cv boot torn -front driveshaft u joint has play -valve cover gasket leaking -parking brake does not work (undiagnosed) -right front ball joint has excessive play -left front ball joint has play -front swaybar links broked -drivers front motor mount torn -both front upper balljoint boots torn -rear swaybar links broken -swaybar in the back is missing (???) -both lower control arm bushings cracked -right upper control arm bushings separated -left rear trailing arm bushing torn -oil pressure sensor near oil filter has large leak -rear differential leaking -air filter dirty and needa to be replaced soon -coolant has black specs in it (???) -resonator flange rusted and may fail -muffler flange rusted and may fail -front brakes: 6mm-7mm pad thickness remaining, large rust ridges on rotors -rear brakes:2mm-3mm shoe thickness remaing (i guess the lining??)

I’ve noticed on this forum that many people that have gotten reinfected either:
A. Got set-back for a few months and went back to normal or baseline.
Or
B. Got better after reinfection.
I was wondering if somebody could share their experience and give me some insight. For some background I dealt with my first Covid infection in December of 2021. I had the typical brain fog, headaches, fatigue, and muscle twitches. Best of all… NO PEM! Fast forward to March of 2023 and I was reinfected with Covid. A month or two passed and I thought I was in the clear. I started working manual labor jobs, going on trips etc. Next thing I know, I crashed. As of today I am housebound 80% of the time. My symptoms have tripled and now I’m left feeling hopeless after a year in a constant up-and-down rollercoaster. My newest longhaulers symptoms are but are not limited to:
Vertigo Aches and pains Neuropathy Shaky hands Tachycardia SOB Brain fog Weakened in arms and legs Heat intolerance Headaches PEM Fatigue
I’m not trying to sound pessimistic either, but I’m just so sad that a year has passed already and I’m in the same spot… Im just curious as to if anybody happens to be on the same boat as me.

Hi! I am new to writing, so any feedback is needed please!
Scarlett is still full of excitement after her sleepover with her best friend. “Have you ever sung karaoke?” she asks her sister, who has just picked her up to walk her home. Jolene, engrossed in her phone, doesn't even hear the question. “No,” she replies bluntly. “Well, you should. It's amazing!” Scarlett beams. “You know, I always thought I should be famous, but now I know it.”
Jolene can't help but scoff at this notion. “Yeah? What makes you so special?”
“Uh,” Scarlett scrunches her brow in confusion. “Everything...”
Jolene rolls her eyes and continues typing vigorously on her Blackberry. Scarlett sighs, knowing she can't compete with her sister's phone. I'm just going to wait until we’re home, Scarlett thinks, moving her little legs faster to keep up with Jolene’s pace. Mom will want to hear why I should be famous. I’ll probably have an agent by next week, then BOOM, I’m the next international pop star. Scarlett begins to strut down the street with her hands on her hips, periodically waving and blowing kisses to the imaginary photographers that line the street.
“Stop being a weirdo; Mom is expecting us back in 20 minutes.” Jolene always has a way of taking the fun out of, well, everything. Scarlett sticks her tongue out at her sister, adding a fart noise to punctuate her annoyance. Jolene’s phone buzzes once again, gaining her full attention. The girls continue their walk when Scarlett spots “Scoops,” her favorite ice cream shop.
“You know, Jo, we’re not that far away,” Scarlett stops abruptly, making her sister stop in her tracks. “I know for a fact we can get home in 10 minutes from this ice cream shop!” Scarlett casually points to the store next to her, just like she planned. Jolene rolls her eyes and glares at her sister. “You would know that.”
“I just so happen to have a five in my pocket; we have twenty minutes to get home… AND it’s only going to take ten minutes to get home, so….”
“We have ten minutes to get ice cream,” the girls say in unison. Scarlett with excitement, Jolene with disdain. Jolene lets out a big sigh, rolling her eyes. “Fine, I have a phone call I need to make anyway. But I swear to God, Scar, if we are late, you are taking the blame.” She continues to type on her phone as she takes a seat at one of the tables.
“Deal!” Scarlett smiles as she reaches for the handle of the door to the ice cream shop. “Do you want anything?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Scarlett makes her way into the shop, smiling at Sam, her favorite ice cream scooper. Sam is always kind and cheerful, and her scoops are noticeably bigger than Dave's. “Hi Scar!” Sam says with a giggle. “What can I get my best customer today? The usual?”
“Yes, please, and you know what,” she says, raising an eyebrow and flashing her $5 bill, “make it a double scoop!”
“Woah, big spender today. Where did you get that kind of money?” Sam’s eyes widen as she grabs a cone off of a tall stack.
“It was my birthday last week!” Scarlett excitedly bounces on her toes, remembering the celebration. “We had a party with all of my friends, and I got so many presents. I almost didn’t have time to open all of them. And then we had a bounce house. And then we had a dance party, and everyone chanted my name because I should be famous. And then I blew out the candles and made a wish. And then Danny threw up because he had too much cake. And then Mom decided that’s enough fun for the day.”
“Wow! That sounds like a great birthday,” Sam says, generously filling her scoop with mint chocolate chip and placing it on the cone. “How old are you now?”
“Eight,” Scarlett beams, mouth watering as she focuses her attention on the overflowing cone.
Sam nods. “Ah, makes sense. Only big kids get to walk to the ice cream shop by themselves.”
Scarlett furrows her brow in confusion. “No, I don’t. Jolene is just...” Scarlett points out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of the shop. She can see the tables and chairs on the sidewalk, she can see a car pass by on the road. She can even see a couple walking on the other side of the street, but she can’t see Jolene. “Uh, my sister was just outside…”
A sinking feeling starts to take over Scarlett’s stomach, her mind racing with the possibilities. Did she go home without me? I’ve only been in here a few minutes… and Mom would be mad she left me. Maybe she is hiding so she can scare me? Wouldn’t be the first time… maybe she saw one of her friends and they…
“Are you ok?” Sam’s voice snaps her out of her thoughts. She turns back to Sam, seeing the reflection of her worry in Sam’s face.
“Um… I don’t know,” Scarlett says cautiously, unsure of what to do.
Sam takes a deep breath and sets the cone down, making her way to the front of the store to look out the door. Scarlett follows closely behind, using Sam as her shield. They both scan the area looking for any signs of Jolene. Sam takes a few steps onto the sidewalk, accidentally kicking a small object. “What’s this?” Sam asks as she bends over to pick it up. Scarlett's stomach turns to knots as she looks at the Blackberry in Sam’s hand. Jolene got that phone for her last birthday, and Scarlett hasn’t seen her without it since. She knows there is no way Jolene would have left without it, at least, not willingly. Scarlett's eyes welled up with tears at the thought.
Sam recognizes her fear and kneels down to be face to face with Scarlett. “Is this her phone?” Sam asks nervously. Scarlett warily nods as the tears begin to stream down her face. Sam’s face falls, understanding what Scarlett is thinking. She gently puts her hand on Scarlett's arm. “Let’s call your mom, ok?,” she says as she leads Scarlett back inside. Sam fiddles with Jolene’s phone, finding the contact “mom”, and lifts the phone up to her ear. As the phone rings Sam can see the fear in Scarlett’s eyes, fear that not even ice cream can fix. “Everything is going to be ok!” Sam says, not knowing how wrong she is. “Hello? Um, is this Scarlett’s mom?”
Sam’s conversation falls into the background as Scarlett holds back tears. She stares out the window where Jolene once stood hoping she will magically return. Maybe if I close my eyes. She squeezes her eyes closed making the built up tears overflow. Please, please, please. She opens her eyes to see the barren sidewalk, slumping back into the chair letting her fear set in and her tears pour out.
Sam hangs up the phone and turns to Scarlett. “Your mom is on her way, and she is calling the police now.” she kneels down to the overwhelmed little girl, having no clue how to make anything better. “Did you still want that ice cream?” Sam asks as she goes to retrieve the melting cone. With no answer she tips the ice cream into a bowl, grabs a spoon, and rushes it back to Scarlett. “On the house” Sam insists pushing it toward Scarlett, feeling helpless and fearing the little girl's smile would never return. With tears running down her face, Scarlett takes a big spoonful of the ice cream, and lifts it up just to plop it back down, slumping into her chair. Trying anything to help, Sam has a new idea. “Why don’t we distract ourselves until she gets here?” Sam asks, receiving a nod. “How about we count the cars going by. I bet she will be here by the time 15 cars go by, oh look, there’s one”
“Two” Scarlett whispers as a silver car goes by. “Three” Sam says, taking a seat on the floor next to the occupied chair.
Four
Five
Six
Seven
“Eight” Scarlett screams recognizing the car that had driven her all around town. “Mom!”

Secret Dragon - Chapter 2: Ignite
I opened the book and skimmed through a few chapters, happy to finally see some true information, with substance. Although I had many books of my own, I had never brought any of them to class; I had no intention of being asked about them or pressing the issue.
By virtue of my existence, it and I would be scrutinized. I had neither the patience nor the desire for another microscope to be placed above me.
But Sasha had no such reservations even after I told him about the curriculum, although he relented and said he would figure out a way around that nonsense. It seemed as if he was determined to go against the grain.
We spoke deeply, about different subjects, our project, and his books. The more he talked the more at ease he became. I unknowingly got closer and closer to him as the time passed. I had to literally pull myself back a few times. I wondered if he noticed. It was confusing how I kept leaning into the heat coming off his breath.
We were both startled at the sound of chairs scraping. We looked around as our peers gathered their things.
“It seems that for the first time this class is actually worth my time. Usually I am the first to leave,” Sasha said, surprised.
“I know,” I revealed.
“Hmmm,” he vocalized deeply. I had no idea if it was “oh really” or “interesting” or any other answer. It was just a deep throat vibration. I just knew he would do that a lot. I could feel it.
As I was packing my things, I realized I was a little feverish. I put a hand to my cheek. Was it hot? Or was it that he was speaking heat in my direction? I couldn’t tell. I never ran hot.
He watched me touching my face and chuckled to himself, putting away his books. I really wanted to be annoyed—at anyone else I would have been—but his lighthearted laughter surprised me; so joyous after so many weeks of being a specter in the classroom.
I looked him in his eyes, though, and shook my head challengingly at him, as if to say “what?” That only made him laugh out loud. It was both quiet and bassy all at the same time. The kind of laugh that was bottomless, scratchy. The kind of laugh you could tell would boom and shake you if given the space.
I never thought I’d hear that coming from him, let alone directed at me. I refrained from expressing an iota of emotion beyond a small smile. I had to stay cool.
Pam walked over to our table swiftly, no doubt looking to be rid of Jonah. She smiled at Sasha, grinned really.
“So. We finally meet! Pam Swiftwater,” she chirped. Her hand shot out as fast as she walked. Sasha halted his movement. He extended his hand more slowly, gently, engulfing her delicate hands in his large ones.
“Of course. I am Sasha Emberscale,” Sasha said, pulling his hand back to pat his chest.
Pam gave me a knowing glance of drama. “Oh I know who you are,” she said.
“Likewise; you are in my open physical hour,” he reminded her. “You are on the track team.”
“That’s right! It’s nice to finally, officially, meet you.”
Sasha raised his brow at her. “My friend has spoken of you,” he said offhand.
“What friend?” Pam asked, taken aback.
“Seth Fairbreeze, dragon of the wind.”
“Oh?” Pam said, her interest piqued. I didn’t know whether she knew who that was. But it intrigued both of us nonetheless.
“I will introduce you, of course, now that we are properly acquainted.”
“I can’t wait.” I knew she couldn’t.
Pam glanced back at her table and groaned. “Let’s get out of here. If I have to talk to Jonah any longer, I swear Imma strangle him.”
Sasha laughed heartily. “Very well. Let us depart this place to avoid attempted murder,” he joked.
“Why don’t you stick with us? We’re in the same course after this,” I suggested, gathering my items. I didn’t even hesitate asking him that. I’d done enough hesitating.
Sasha’s laugh tapered off into a quiet chuckle. “Of course. I would desire nothing more.”
I couldn’t hide my elation this time. Pam snickered at me. Thankfully he didn’t notice. I assumed.
Sasha draped his jacket across his arm, opting not to put it back on. Admittedly I enjoyed the view. He gestured for us to exit the class before him.
Every once in a while he would look down at me as we walked through the halls. I noticed his eyes following me.
I would sneak a glance at him when he wasn’t looking. It was apparent just how large he was now that I was walking right next to him. He was one of the only people in school taller than me. His shoulders were broad, arms thick. I know I was staring at the way they flexed as he moved. Couldn’t help but to.
Everything in me wanted to take that arm of his for my own. The thought of it being mine just felt so natural. I had to check myself a few times walking beside him.
It would be mine in time. That I promised myself.
—
We entered our Dragontongue class where I took a seat on his right at a table. Pam sat at mine.
Class with Sasha was much more interesting than ever before. He spoke freely and pleasantly, a stark contrast to the silent dragon he had been before I sat at his table in Dragonology. It was like something that had weighed on him had vanished.
I wasn’t unaware that he was happier since we had talked. I was pleased that it was me that had pulled him out of whatever darkness was holding him.
Again a pang of irritation ran through me. Why had I not introduced myself before? Just hearing the depth of his voice and the eloquence of his speech had me feeling some type of way. I could have been hearing that in my ears for weeks, those words of his carried on desert sands.
As class droned on, I saw that Sasha was appraising the professor with a raised brow as if too polite to allow complete disdain across his face.
He began to tell us about different Dragontongue dialects quietly, I suppose to keep himself occupied or distracted. I had to lean all the way in to hear his voice. It reverberated in my ears.
“If you were to say that word in the southern regions of Lyfax, it would mean to place bricks or stones atop each other as if building something. If you said that in the northeastern region, it means much the same, but doubles as a slang word meaning to fu— I am sorry, to have relations with someone.”
Pam squealed and covered her mouth. I covered mine too. I had wanted to hear the word ‘fuck’ come out of his polite mouth.
“Are you serious?” I asked instead.
“Yes, I am,” he said, brow raised. “Take care in who you say it to and in what context.”
Sasha tapped another paragraph “This term here. If you were to say it in the Northernmost tip of the country, it is basically calling someone a piece of filth in the wrong context, while just a few regions down it simply means to clean something without any further colloquial use. Their origins most likely started off with the same meaning and deviated as the people left and settled elsewhere. Knowing different dialects of Dragontongue in Lyfax is important. Linguistics interests me, as you can probably surmise.”
“Do you speak a lot of languages?” Pam asked.
“I occasionally travel for my work and interact with different dignitaries. I must know many languages and dialects at least at a rudimentary level.”
“Oh wow…” I said, truly impressed. Now that I had listened to his voice, I couldn’t place his accent. Unless deep was one. It wasn’t as if I was familiar with Lyfaxians’ manner of speech or various accents anyway. “What do you speak?” I asked
“Hmmmm. Common Lyfaxian. Common Lizardtongue. Dragontongue, of course; several dialects: fire, moon and wind. Many people know these. Shelltongue. Salamandra…one other.”
“Goodness,” I said in awe. I stashed away that “one other.” I’d ask about it later. I couldn’t imagine why it would be a secret. Hypocritically.
“My speech is not perfect in Shelltongue or Salamandra yet. But I can hold a conversation. I would enjoy learning and speaking your dialect of Dragontongue, as you mentioned earlier,” he remarked to me. Of course, Pam regarded me in shock. She gave me a chiding look, rightfully so.
Sasha didn’t miss her reaction. “If it is trouble, do not worry about it,” he said, frowning.
“No, It’s okay,” I reassured him. “I don’t mind.”
He was still uncertain, looking at Pam’s concerned face. “If I am to converse with a new group of dragons, I would prefer to know their dialect,” he whispered. “But not if it is cause for alarm. For some reason.”
Pam sighed in relief upon hearing him refer to me as a dragon. “Oh okay.”
“It’s fine. Complicated. I’ll tell you later,” I said, waving it all away. Sasha nodded.
“So did you all decide on a topic for your assignment?” Pam asked.
“Of course. We spoke much of it. I look forward to working with Leila.” Sasha said. I liked the way he said my name, the way he swung the vowels upward to where they needed to go. As it should be. “It will be interesting,” he said.
Pam glanced over to me. “How so?”
I looked amused, I’m sure. “Let’s say our Dragonology topic is about to be spicy,” I hinted.
“Sasha you’re a horrible influence already,” she accused, raising her brows at him.
“Of course,” he confirmed, chuckling deeply. “One needs a little corruption in the right direction, every once in a while.”
“Corruption? Oh really?” I said, regarding him in what I intended to be mock surprise. But I was genuinely shocked that he said it. He hadn’t corrupted me yet. He could try, but only when I was through with him.
Sasha chuckled silently. Just a trembling of the shoulders. A soft billow of scalding heat wafting across my face. Mmm, maybe sooner then.
Pam’s eyes widened, but she was beyond amused. If she could manifest a snack to observe our rapidly forming dynamic, she would have in a heartbeat.
She sat back, twirling her pencil. I knew she was about to start something. The twitch in the corner of her mouth was working. She was about to instigate her heart out. I groaned quietly.
“You know, Leila speaks all the same languages you do. She’s fluent in Shelltongue even; one of her best friends is Turtlefolk. She works at a place where a lot of people from different places come through. She took it upon herself to learn their languages.”
I groaned more.
“Is that so?” Sasha inquired, angling his body toward me. He sounded impressed.
I just rubbed my brows. I did not advertise my language skills. He looked at me with interest. “That is admirable. Why do you not wish to speak of it?” he asked.
“I don’t like puffing myself up. Drawing attention. Not that you are doing that,” I clarified.
Sasha smiled. “I know what you meant,” he said, speaking Shelltongue. I grinned. “I have been somewhat successful at not drawing attention—past my appearance at least—for a few weeks now.”
“Except your grades of course,” I pointed out in Shelltongue as well. “Literally perfect grades except two, and that’s only because of inaccuracies.”
Sasha raised his brow. “Ah, right, you have been keeping tabs on my marks. Very well; I have been under the radar except for my marks.”
“See? Y’all can speak tongues to each other in every flavor,” Pam said casually.
My mouth dropped. To say my eyes widened would be an understand. I shielded the side of my face.
Sasha choked and laughed quietly, holding his chest.
Never had she been that brazen. And she had said some crazy ass things for as long as I’d know her.
She looked so proud of herself.
“Pam, you are trying to start something, are you not?” Sasha guessed—back in Lizardtongue—looking away in laughter.
“Of course not. I don’t know what you mean,” she said, smirking.
I rubbed my face. “What were we even talking about?”
Sasha spoke as quietly as he could. “Different languages. Dialects. Things of that nature. Tongues, apparently,” he said, leaning toward me.
Really Sasha? I thought. He was something else.
He leaned back again and looked ahead, his smile dimming. “Also, things your professor apparently will not teach,” he said, the scales of his brows beginning to furrow.
“Yeah. It’s frustrating,” I agreed, uncovering my face.
“This class is testing my endurance. To hear my language butchered and be told that the proper way is incorrect is vexing.”
Pam stared at the professor, then at Sasha. “I’m sorry. This class is far beneath how you—and we—speak.”Pam and the rest of the Swiftwater Clan spoke to my family in the True way, the way of Sun Dragons.
Sasha leaned back. “And yet I have no choice but to be here,” he remarked. “And, apparently, neither do you both.”
It was a painful requirement, but a mandatory one. I nodded.
Pam turned back to the front of class. “You must be bored here at this university,” she said.
Sasha rubbed his chin. “Hmmmm,” he rumbled deeply. The vibration of that inquisitive hum made my shoulders tingle. I had to close my eyes and put a hand to my chest to halt my heart’s pounding.
“I was, yes,” he said slowly, “but yesterday was my last day of boredom. Today, the season has changed.” He glanced at me as he said it.
My mouth twitched into a smile. I found his choice of words particularly appealing. Pam looked curiously at him, but said nothing.
Sasha angled his body back toward me. I don’t know if I imagined it, but it felt like his whole existence was radiating heat now. It sent rush through my body.
“Let us return to our ‘lesson’ and pretend to care,” he suggested.
“Sasha,” I laughed, nudging his arm. It was hot to the touch. I was not imagining it.
“What?” he said innocently.
I shook my head at him, incredulous. I had no idea he was so funny. Who would have thought that sullen dragon was full of humor. He relented.
“I will behave myself,” he lied through his fanged teeth, patting his chest.
“Doubtful,” I returned, amused. It was easy to talk to him. Like we were old friends. Sasha was right: Pam had started something.
—
Sasha continued pointing out more language dialect rules and vocabulary from Lyfax. Things we couldn’t have learned on our own.
There were so many regions to learn about. I listened intently as he described them, and asked questions about everything. It was as if he was taking me on a mental tour of those far away places…
Before that day we hadn’t said a word to each other. Hadn’t shaken hands or anything. Whenever we had met eyes, we would quickly look away. I didn’t understand why we had done that. Now here we were hunched over a text book with our heads damn near touching. The heat of his breath warmed my face. It was hotter than earlier that day. Much hotter. No one was close enough to be bothered by it but Pam, and she did not seem to react to it.
And still I kept on gravitating closer. Because of how he had angled his body toward me, my left arm eventually pressed against his right.
My breathing stuttered, being in such close proximity to him. And I knew he felt it. He had to have felt it. Because I felt him tremble.
And there it was again! That strange rumble emanating from him, from his throat, I could now tell. Now that I was touching him, it was amplified, coursing through me. I tried to pinpoint its essence. It was very much like a growl, the crackling of a fire. And a hum; it reminded me of the way he responded to things without words. Hmmm.
All of it together was a magnetic song. I couldn’t help but listen. Let it lull me into a dream.
I wandered from the lesson for a moment to imagine what it would be like to just feel all of it pressed up against my chest. To embrace him and the heat he radiated.
I wanted to feel his fire whipping around me, not just the heat off him. To embrace a cascade of his flames. washing over me, engulfing me fully.
What would kissing Sasha be like? By the Goddess, the thought of drinking his fire until the persistent ice inside me melted was too tantalizing. If only I could just taste his breath inside my mouth… I wanted to look into his throat where I knew a flickering flame lie in wait. To explore it. Mmm.
It was like some deep ancestral memory was awakening. My breathing grew heavier. I swear to the goddess I heard his breath do the same. Except his breathing was punctuated by the rumbling crackle right under it. I knew he was in the same place I was.
I had to close my eyes and turn my head away from the heat coming off the words from his mouth. Because if I didn’t I would do something about it in that classroom—
“Leila?”
I emerged from my other world, his voice having shaken me from my daydream. I looked back to him.
“Class is over,” he rumbled into my ear quietly, the hotness washing over my neck and face. I rubbed those intense thoughts from my brows but they lingered everywhere else. I inhaled deeply and set about gathering my stuff. My hands shook.
Something hot brushed down my arm as he got up to gather his things. I looked down to see his claw drifting away from it. I thought it was an accident until he glanced at me. He smiled faintly though his brows were intense.
“Let us go,” he said gently, nodding toward the door.
“Okay,” I said, my eyebrow raising in interest. I slipped my bag over my shoulder. When he turned toward the door, I touched the trail of burning scales where he’d run his finger. When I say I could not breathe… I covered my mouth, then just rubbed my face with both hands. I didn’t know what to do. Mercy.
Looking around, my peers were also preparing to leave, so I composed myself the best I could and followed Sasha through the doorway.
—-
Dragontongue had been our last class of the day—”wow, you want that Dragontongue real bad huh?”Pam said— and it was time for us to part ways.
She chatted with Sasha, and I examined him while he was distracted.
I followed his gestures and mannerisms, wondering how he could weave such a spell over me that day. My behavior and my carefully curated facade were usually well under my control, perfected to give nothing away but pleasantness. But this dragon…
What I thought had been a perfect program was utterly interrupted. And the funny thing was, I wasn’t even mad at it. It was a break from the rigidity and monotony of my endless time at school. A break from my own reluctance to invite unknowns to myself, even those I desired. Like him.
For the first time in my life I thought ‘this is what the Sun must feel like to everyone else.’
From the moment I knew myself, my body had been cold. It was a point of contention between me, my parents and my Clan, all the Sun Clans. My mother was literally the leader of the Sun Dragons. And we, Sunscales, were Prime. Named directly after the Goddess.
People thought I was sickly. Anemic they called me. Even worse, some thought I was cursed. Most thought I wasn’t fit to be a leader in the future.
I did not let it stop me. I aimed for absolute perfection to stave off any doubt. Even at the expense of my own happiness sometimes.
My cold scales did not bother me. Although, at times, I wondered if I would be that way forever.
But now, I had felt Sasha’s warmth. This dragon had actually apologized in our first class for giving me the heat I never felt outside of putting my whole hand in a woodfire. It lingered in my scales as if they had drank it. They had awakened from a cold slumber.
I couldn’t go back.
I touched my arm that had been pressed against his, where his claw had grazed. Still hot to the touch. In fact everywhere he had breathed on, been near or looked at blazed. He had touched other things, shook hands with peers, finally, spoken to Pam, and none reacted as if he was exuding endless fire. Just me. Just for me.
“It has been a good day. You two have been so welcoming,” he said graciously. I was broken from my musings, realizing he was leaving. “I hope we continue to be friends during my time here.”
“For sure,” I said without hesitation, a little breathlessly. I didn’t want him to leave. He smiled warmly at me, almost in relief.
Pam smiled too. “Same,” she said. She began to rummage in her bag.
“It was nice to finally meet you,” he said softly to me. He put his hand out. I took it in mine. It was even hotter than before, unless I imagined it. I again put my other hand on top of his as if taking the warmth from it, to hold till later.
I don’t know what possessed me, but I let my thumb slide over the scales on the back of his hand. I didn’t even realize at first. But then I looked up and noticed Sasha was staring at me with his brow raised.
Gods, I could have died right there. Melted right into the floor and fallen into the void.
I almost pulled my hand in embarrassment, but he did not seem startled or upset. Instead Sasha placed his other hand atop mine. His face became intense for a moment, then softened. It seemed that neither of us wanted to let go. We did, though. The moment was brief, but it held much.
Pam, who had glanced up at us, had a barely concealed grin spreading over her face. She broke the spell that had drifted over us.
“Thank you for teaching us all that extra stuff about different dialects. I especially like that ridiculous word with the bricks,” she said, breaking the tense air.
Sasha shook his head as if clearing it. “Of course. I thought you might find that one amusing,” he said. He glanced at his phone, which had vibrated.
“You can lay your bricks on me anytime,” I mumbled to myself, still feeling the heaviness of that moment in my chest. I couldn’t help myself, saying that. I knew good and well it was provocative. I knew he might hear me. My mouth simply didn’t care. It was going to get me in trouble, I just knew it. I stared at my hand in wonder. It felt like fire had spread over it. What was he doing to me? Did he even realize that he was doing something? It didn’t seem like it.
In that same vein, Sasha didn’t say anything; he hadn’t been paying attention, I thought. Probably for the best. But then I heard him say something under his breath.
“Wow,” he whispered, silently laughing. I looked up at him. He covered his eyes, his shoulders shaking.
“Oh shit,” I said, covering my eyes as well.
Pam looked up. “What?” she asked, startled.
Sasha tried his best to keep a straight face, but it was impossible. He just laughed aloud then, a laugh that shook me to the core.
“Shut up,” I said, also laughing. I shielded my face in my hand as if I could hide from the embarrassment.
“I have said nothing,” he pointed out, his hands up.
“Please, please, let’s pretend I didn’t just say that shit,” I pleaded with him.
Pam’s eyes widened. “Oh my gods, what?”
“I will not say, Pam, yet I will never forget it,” Sasha said, smiling widely.
“What?” I replied, shocked.
“I will never forget it,” he repeated.
“By the Goddess Sasha. Are you serious?”
Sasha rubbed his eyes, still chuckling occasionally. “I am. Would you, if you were in my position?”
“Oh my gods,” I said weakly, still covering the side of my face.
Sasha patted his hand on his chest. “Gods, truly I needed today, desperately. It is no trouble to me, that you have said this. Certainly not. Unfortunately, I have a meeting to attend to, but we will discuss this permanent memory later, Leila Sunscale,” he said.
“Yeah, I bet,” I groaned, my voice shakey. I covered my face more. I was out of my mind, surely.
I heard Sasha begin to walk away, but his footsteps slowed. He hesitated, I guessed.
“Leila, do you have plans today?" he asked.
I looked up. He was looking at me expectantly. I couldn’t even say anything. I was still reeling from my ridiculous blunder. Now he wanted to see me! “What? I… umm—“
“No she doesn’t have plans,” Pam spoke up. Bless her.
Sasha smiled. “Perhaps we can speak of our project. I will find you later this evening as long as you are outside. I apologize for my abrupt departure but I must go.”
“Okay, cool,” I said. I rubbed my forehead.
He walked to the exit and looked back at me. “Perhaps we can build something later; I am not a bad mason, Leila Sunscale,” he said, chin raised. My mouth dropped. This dragon…
He let out a deep laugh and left. I watched him disappear through the doors of the hall, then followed him out. I saw a flash of red turn a corner into another building, vanishing from my sight.
"No he didn’t," I said in disbelief. "Did you hear what he just said?" I asked incredulously, gesturing toward his exit.
“What the hells did you say Leila?”
“I may have said a little something about bricks under my breath but his ass heard me. My gods.”
“Are you serious? Girrrrl," Pam said, shaking her head. “The gall on you.”
"Why did I say that? I must be crazy." I placed my hand over my forehead. Hot.
"I mean, he liked it," Pam said. "He thought it was funny. See, no harm done. If anything it sounds like Sasha has some business with you Leila," she teased.
I rubbed my face. I couldn't believe that I had run my mouth like that. In the other hand, I was pleased to have been so reckless. It had led me down this path. My scales prickled despite my embarrassment. Why should I feel bad now? He took my accidental flirtations as an invitation. And wasn’t that what I wanted?
Pam’s demeanor softened.
“Hey, for weeks you’ve been talking about how attracted you are to him. He turned out to be super nice, and he has a sense of humor, too. I like him. Fate is smiling on you again.”
"You sound like my mother," I noted.
“That's 'cause she's always right, isn’t she?" Pam pointed out, brow raised.
“Fine… She is,” I conceded. She would have said those words. In truth I had heard her say them many times.
Resigned to my fate, I stepped into the quad with Pan. I walked into a shaft of sunlight and sat on the bench it spilled onto, the Sun’s rays warming me. I closed my eyes against them, basking.
“I may as well go study while I wait for him. I can’t believe this is happening,” I remarked.
“Well believe it. Your bricklayer is seeing you today,” Pam teased.
“Pam, for real?” I remarked, opening my eyes.
“What? Come on. We can both go study.” Pam hugged me. She looked puzzled though.
“Leila. You feel hot. You never run hot. You’re not having a stroke are you?” she asked, alarmed.
“No. That’s just because he sat next to me the whole day,” I revealed. And breathed on me, leaned on me… I shut my eyes, wishing I had lied.
Pam nodded, not noticing my apprehension. “Oh okay. That makes sense. We did just get out of class. I didn’t know fire dragons were like that just idly,” she mused. “Let’s get on out of here.”
I wanted to tell her what I really felt. But I was sure it would sound crazy. Maybe I would after I met him and spoke to him. Privately.

We walked together through the courtyard. I glanced through the windows of various buildings looking for red scales moving in the halls. I saw nothing, of course.
We ended up going to the library. The room was large and made of ironwood. Small nooks with tables were tucked away amongst large shelves full of tomes.
We chose a table with a window next to it.
I studied as attentively as I could, trying to occupy my mind. But I could not stop seeing Sasha in my vision. Pam gave up trying to get me to engage in conversations with her. Instead I studied for the assignment in Dragonology on my laptop, and daydreamed.
—
“It’s getting late. You don’t know when Sasha will be looking for you.” Pam said, shaking me from my focus.
The light from the windows had waned somewhat, giving way to the Sun readying for slumber.
“Oh, right. I was deep into this essay here. I wish I had borrowed his books and saved my eyes,” I said, rubbing them.
Pam yawned as we packed our things, hefting her bag up. “I’m going to head home. Tell me how everything goes. Tell me if y’all build a house!”
“Pam!” I gasped. “Oh my gods.”
“Love you! Bye!” Pam called, rushing off.
—
I strolled around the grounds reading a book, looking up at the Sun every once in a while. But I didn’t spot Sasha anywhere. I hoped that I had not missed him. I had studied a bit longer than I intended.
Eventually I sat on a bench to wait. I would wait until dusk settled. And if he didn’t show I would see him the following day. It was not as if we had exchanged our numbers.
I pulled out my notebook full of writings, poetry, doodles. It was just one volume from a collection of filled books over the duration of my life, where I pressed flowers of my heart through its pages.
Before I could put pen to paper, I paused.
I put away my old faithful journal and pulled out a new one in deep red. It was not a coincidence by any stretch. I had stared at it on the shelves of an art store until I gave in and bought it.
I hadn’t written one thing in it since. After all, I hadn’t known him, and didn’t want to write only about his appearance. I wanted to know what he was made of. Now, having met Sasha, the red book was begging for ink.
So I let myself fall into a rhythm. So many elements of Sasha had revealed themselves to me that day: this dragon’s voice, his heat, his mannerisms. The words he said, the way he said them, his sense of humor hidden under all that seriousness.
I searched my brain and gathered up all my own words, sifted through them. I wrote a few things here and there, but nothing like what I wanted.
I looked up toward the Sun for some bit of inspiration, and my breath caught. A red form flew in front of it, wings beating. Seeing Sasha framed in that circle of fire was more than I could have hoped for. I stared up at him flying until he stopped, scanning for something.
The moment of inspiration I had been searching for was right there. I spoke aloud what I had and wrote it as swiftly as my claws could move:
“A dragon in a Circle. An Inferno wrapped in the Sun A scarlet vision framed in fire A cloud of embers in the Goddess’s hands She Holds all of him out toward me The gift of a flame within a flame “
I dropped my pen and covered my mouth in embarrassment. “Oh my gods what am I writing?” I asked myself. I stared at the words.
I turned my head to read them as if a new perspective would make them less mortifying.
“Hmm,” I muttered. “Needs some work but…’A flame within a flame.’ That’s some good shit.”
I looked back up. Sasha’s gaze swept over me then away. I waved my arm up at him, bangles jangling, hoping he saw me so he wouldn’t be looking all around all day.
When Sasha looked back in my direction he stopped where he was. He descended slowly until he locked eyes with me. My heart pounded again. It was driving me up the wall, the anxiety. Or rather anticipation. I pressed my hand to my chest watching him grow closer. His wings were huge, blocking out the Sun.
I had been staring at Sasha from a distance since he had arrived, his very first day. He was imposing, the way he had entered my classes, but exceptionally polite. I had been silently competing with him since laying eyes on his grades.
Now the distance was finally closed after my nervousness had kept me away. I folded my notebook shut and stood as Sasha landed with a woosh of air.
I looked upon him not as a mysterious figure in the back of class but as a new friend. More. I couldn’t help but smile when he straightened his already straight clothes as he moved toward me.
He smiled right back at me, chin raised.
“Leila,” he said.
“Sasha. Hey,” I replied.
“So,” he said, “you spoke of bricks earlier,” he teased.
My mouth dropped again. This dragon…
“You aren’t letting that go are you?” I asked.
“Never. Even if nothing ever came of it, I would never forget.”
“By the gods,” I muttered.
“I am not complaining,” he clarified.
My eyes widened. Then it occurred to me that he had insinuated something would come of it. Goddess, I felt my own fire sweep across my cheeks. I was so flustered I covered my mouth with the heel of my palm letting my claws settle over my cheek. I couldn’t stop the motion fast enough.
Sasha laughed good naturedly. Sweetly, even. “I will stop teasing. For now,” he said.
“For now?” I repeated past my palm.
“For now.”
I lowered my hand. “You are a trip, do you know that?” I said, raising my eyebrow. Even though I had been nervous, actually talking to him made me feel like meeting all his words head on.
He gestured for me to walk beside him without answering. I did. I almost took his arm again, so I clutched my notebook to my chest to keep my hands in check. We didn’t say much as we walked along the quad together.
Some students were staring at us as we walked. I suppose we made quite the pair together.
“It appears we are a bit of a spectacle,” he muttered to himself curiously, agreeing with my thoughts.
I couldn’t help stealing glances at him every once in a while.
His posture was impecable. He held his left hand behind his back. The other lingered in front of his chest as if ready for something. I didn’t know how else to describe it. It was interesting, that pose; deliberate. I saw that he had rings on his fingers as well. I had not noticed them before. They were red like his scales, rough hewn. The overall pose made him seem so stately.
I couldn’t quite describe his expression. It was both intense and peaceful all at once.
He caught me staring one time, though. He was looking right at me when I peeked. I turned away and put a hand to my face. I hoisted up my bag.
“Here,” he said.
I turned back. “Here what?” I asked.
He put his hand out to me, gesturing toward my bag. I stopped walking.
“Oh. Okay. Such a gentleman,” I said, a smile playing on my face, impressed. He chuckled to himself, accepting my compliment.
I slipped my bag from my shoulder, and he took it to hold on his elbow. We started walking again. I didn’t care after that; I looked at him openly, a little bit enamored.
‘Ok Mr. Sasha Emberscale. I see you,’ I thought.
PART 2

From the log of Edward Price – Clerk for Diplomat Howard Weathers – 03.28.2803
I suppose a summary is in order for things to be clear. Humanity has a bit of a reputation as an odd lot in the galaxy. Most aliens don’t know really know what to think about us. You see, most aliens are actually somewhat boring, having fallen into galactic societal niches over thousands of years. The Atroxians are were space pirates, the Vontacruz own the casinos and travel cruise industries, and the Hordun operate the most efficient morgues this side of the galaxy – usually because of the Atroxians. But the Delridians? They are diplomats. And dare I say that they are the weird ones.
Delri Prima is the homeworld of the Delridians, a tall, lanky race who look like the grimdark cousins of a Star Wars Kaminoan. Brilliant medics, they apparently don’t see a difference between medical work and diplomacy, seeing both fields as the healing arts. Their medicocracy has a long list of accomplishments throughout the galaxy, enough that it’d look like an 18-hour credit reel on a movie. My guess is that they may have been the “Humans” of the galaxy preceding us before they finally settled, and rumors have it that the K’kituun Death Puppets are an ancient offshoot from their early days on the galactic stage.
But more to the point, after about 180 years on the galactic stage, Humanity has made a decent name for ourselves as the handyman and eccentric nerd. We are celebrated, thrown strange looks, worried glances, and altogether treated as small children. Though with the destruction of Axtroxia, they may want to worry about what will happen when we hit puberty. The Delridians have already been through that, though they were never as eccentric as we are.
They reached out to Humanity with a diplomatic frigate appropriately named Olive Branch about a year ago. I’ve learned they like to reflect the cultures they are talking to, so as to ease negotiations. Can’t imagine what the Atroxian equivalent was. Probably something like ‘Torn Heads’. Regardless, Diplomat Weathers was finally selected as the Earth delegate to talk on Delri Prima, and oh boy. That is a dark world. Like, bring a flashlight dark. I don’t know whether it is the slow spin of the planet, or the climate generators they have, but the entire twilight band is just dark and grey. It rains, and thankfully it is safe water, but it is eerie. From the embassy city they built to make us more comfortable, you can look out across the Delridian jungle and see the many other diplomatic cities slowly being devoured by the vines and trees.
The first night was fine, though I’m not sure any of us slept well. We were each provided a separate room or, well, house really. The entire city was made of a cold stone, themed after some old Italian city on Earth. The wind slipped through the narrow streets with a soft whistle, bringing with it a faint jungle fog. Somewhere down the street was a clattering window shutter, but with how much stone they used, and the strange alignment of the streets, you could hear a pin drop from eight blocks away!
Talks went well for the first three days as Diplomat Weathers and the Delridians got to know each other. I met with and discussed a number of cultural similarities with a member of the alien entourage, a Nurse Kelayo, when I wasn’t with the others in my group exploring the city. She was very proud of the settlement they built for us, but in our talks, she asked what we thought of the book. What book?
Well, after having a wonderful meal with my coworkers and some of the alien entourage, we said our farewells and parted ways. Kelayo was vague, but had explained how they had acquired a copy of the book, and that she hoped that we enjoyed the effort she put into it.

I didn’t look into it immediately when I returned to the lonely, lifeless house that was my quarters. Mark was my closest neighbor, and he was a block down. The Delridians, fresh from talks with the Hordun, thought we may want some privacy from each other. And while it is nice not having to hear Mark snore in the cabin like on the flight here, the house was a little… too private.
It was as I was preparing to turn off the light to go to sleep that I thought to look in the nightstand beside me. Kelayo had told us about the book, and when I opened the top drawer, it was indeed there. Sitting center and alone was an old Earth book of gnarled leather and no visible title. Whatever poor creature the Delridians had used to make the cover had terrible skin!
Opening the book, I found it to have been printed in an old dialect of English from before the Third World War, with some much older words I did not recognize. It certainly looked like it was printed in the archaic methods of old Earth, with wet ink instead of modern digital ink that provided touch-based pseudo-memoric context.
I began to flip through the pages of this strange book, turning up the brightness on the nightstand lamp to see better. The faded pages of the book looked sick and moldy, and my skin crawled just touching it, but the letters, despite the stains and grunge, seemed to pop from the page in crisp black. In fact, the ink was so black that it felt like I was staring into the void with each letter. Kelayo’s book was some archaic text of old Earth culture from the end of the 20^th century, though I did not recognize the name. Written by a Bishop Simon from some archaic cult or religion, the book functioned as a “spellbook” like a deepdive virtual reality fantasy game might have. It was filled with a plethora of gods I did not recognize, and a ton of phonetic gibberish that sounded good when said, but easily complicated.
I hadn’t gotten too far when I heard a man’s scream next to me. Jumping out of my skin, I found no one there. But I remembered where I was, and crept to the window. It was Mark’s voice, more panicky than I had ever heard him. Peeking through the slats of the window, I scanned the street towards Mark’s place. The light was on, and someone was shuffling down the street, murmuring in pain.
Rushing down to the street, I rushed out to help him. Mark’s mutterings were too quiet, and he was holding something to his chest. It may have been a minute before I collected myself and tried to get answers from him, but you have to understand, I’ve never seen a dying man before. Not in real life. In the dim and permanent gloom, I could barely make out the trail of blood behind him. He pleaded again and again, and I had to find out where he was injured, and what it was he was carrying.
I went to take what he held, only to realized that in my own fervor to aid him I still had that creepy book. I put that down to wrench free Mark’s own possession. I really wish I hadn’t, for his grip was weak, with only one hand. I held his other, and everything above it.
My own voice was the next I heard echoing down the street as I most certainly fell backwards. Sorry Mark, but I lost your arm. Well, your first one. The second is decorating some chandelier somewhere, courtesy of Vanessa.
Please understand that for anyone in my situation, gorey horror was never my fancy, and I hope no one in the auditing board holds it against me. I would bet credits that any of you would have done much the same as I did.
Time is… unreliable on Delri Prima, with its twilit band and gloom. The only thing that moves is that blasted fog. And the vines. Especially the vines. I’m not sure how long I ran, but Vanessa was the one to find me, flanked by a street littered with Human bodies. Far more people than joined us on the crew… I think. You might want to review the ship manifest just to be sure.
Vanessa, once she verified my identity, guided me through the littered street, still gurgling and reaching out to us. Give her a raise, by the way. She’s the one that got us out of there. We met up with Dwayne and Harry, both armed with metal pipes and whatever other junk they salvaged, and we retreated to a boarded up house with other surviving members of the crew. They were glad to see me, though I don’t remember who they were. Many were new faces to the ship for this mission.
We settled here for hours? A day? Our comms were filled with static, and we couldn’t reach Mr. Weathers to see if he was ok. We needed to get off this planet. Someone mentioned that the ship was still parked at the landing bay. All eyes turned to someone in the back of the group, who slowly stood up, her form long and lanky. Kelayo, the Delridian nurse.
Vanessa worked with Kelayo on a plan to move through the city to the landing bay, while the rest of us sought supplies. This house had a basement, connected to a series of tunnels which we would use to slip under whatever muttering, mumbling horrors pleaded us to come outside.
Slowly, and as quietly as we could, our train of survivors crept through the tunnels. Our flashlights that Ben had found were pathetically dim, and frequently flickered out, sounding with a loud clunk whenever someone whacked it awake. Icy water dripped from the long tangled hairs of wriggling moss that clung to and between the bricks, the lights illuminating white lice-like that lived within the tangle.
Splashing was the only sound we heard for a long time, along with someone’s horrid cough. He was in the back of the line, far behind me, but kept coughing and groaning. Others frequently shushed him, louder than he coughed. But for all the good their efforts to keep him quiet were, it paled in comparison to Kelayo’s odd excitement. When I inquired her about her unusual positivity, she admitted fascination over the many accounts of average Humans combatting the supernatural evils that threatened Earth. How we could survive on a planet infested with the dead with only equally dark magicks astounded her, despite our culture not having widespread knowledge or application of this means of survival. It was faint, but she had nodded at the book. Why did I still have this disgusting leatherback that seemed to shiver in the cold?
I apologize for any impact I may have had on diplomatic relations with the Delridians, but I said some uncouth remarks about the whole situation and the book. I flipped it open to a random page to give an example, forgetting in my annoyance just how dark it was in the tunnels. But that ink… that horrid archaic stain… was fully legible. I admit I came to a stop in awe, though shortlived as the train of people behind me bumped into me. That coughing was gone.
So were half the people we had been travelling with. Kelayo glanced around with a chitter. She was having too much fun with the spooky, and now we heard skittering and scrape scrape scraping on the bricks. Vanessa fired a shot down the tunnel and urged us to run, so we did.
We were near the landing bay when we ducked into a sideroom per Kelayo’s prompting, and shoved a convenient table in the way of the door. The skittering was above us on the ground floor too, and then someone grabbed my foot. It may have been Mark. Well, the part of Mark I dropped.
Long gnarled fingers covered in dirt were the hallmark of these freaky things. Human hands with a life of their own, skittering around like bugs as they fled the flashlight’s beam and sought dark corners. These shelters included their unholy wriggling up our pants and jackets, some grips strong and muscular, and others gentle and cautious. If you have ever had a massage, you may never want one again once a chilly, slimy, dismembered hand tries to nest between your shoulder blades.
Vanessa fired off a few shots in her desperate attempt to keep the grabby hands off, though she nicked Ben’s ear in the process. The loud noise scattered the skitterhands enough for us to fling the last few from our persons. Vanessa slammed the book I still carried, ordering me to read it. She had lost her copy early on, but had the gist of its contents.
The ink on the book was darkest on one particular page, with a weird symbol that looked like it said XOOD. An old-Earth linguist may understand it better than I. Kelayo was forced to provide guidance, as she was the expert on the book, and with many, many attempts, and a dark horde gathering upstairs, were ready to begin. Vanessa was out of shots in her gun, and Ben and Dwayne were futiley pushing back the horde of impossible crewmen. These people smelled horribly of rotten meat, and overtook Ben first, followed swiftly by Dwayne.
Vanessa had backed into a corner, clearly scared. I can’t blame her, since I was, too. But I couldn’t move, couldn’t join her in the false safety of the corner. The rotten crew… this dead crew, was in the room with us, and were already grabbing me. Amidst the noise and confusion, I could hear Vanessa being attacked behind me, and the dull nails of my own assailants tearing at my skin. Kelayo, her form thin and dark, simply stood amidst the dead.
Read it, she said.
Say it with all your heart.
I remember the word that pierced the world that day, but can’t remember saying it. But my throat burns whenever I utter it now. BARASHAKUSHU. The dead froze in place, their fingers dug deep into my skin. BARASHAKUSHU. Limp, lifeless, just as they should be. BARASHAKUSHU. The haze in the air, even in the basement, lifted. BARASHAKUSHU. Vanessa breathed deep as I pulled her from the bodies and out the house to the crowded, lifeless street.
We limped, though we did not bleed, filled with holes and grime, and caked in blood. Kelayo followed wraithlike behind us, always ten paces behind. The landing bay was before us. Our ship and salvation was before us.
Diplomat Weathers was fine, though alarmed at our state. Delridian doctors tended to us as we explained what happened. A full transcript is available via the ship’s DIA-Log.
When all was said and done, the Delridian diplomat thanked us for being so willing to open discourse. To celebrate successful talks between our species, he offered us a parting feast. He motioned Kaleyo over, who had apparently been tasked with researching Human culture for the talks.
She explained over dinner about how she had poured over a stunning variety of Human dishes from our many cultures, but that she had settled on one that appeared to be a universal favorite. An Italian dish of long, stringy noodles over their equivalent of a white cream sauce. And dinner was fantastic! But Kaleyo seemed confused as well, stating that she had a difficult time picking out the right recipe. The instructions were apparently all over the place with a lot of strange steps that seemed superfluous to food preparation.
I asked her what she meant, to which she replied, “The base ingredients were simple, almost mundane. Of note, the various rituals in the preparation exhausted many of our best doctors. Some are still seeking treatment after one batch escaped. You Humans have a very strange culture of food, especially with the names. I believe you called this one… creepy pasta?”
Then the meatball on my fork blinked at me.

Hi!! I am new to writing, and I've got a great idea for a mystery/thriller. This is one of the first drafts of the first chapter, and I would love any feedback or critiques you have! I'm just looking to improve.
Scarlett is still full of excitement after her sleepover with her best friend. “Have you ever sung karaoke?” she asks her sister, who has just picked her up to walk her home. Jolene, engrossed in her phone, doesn't even hear the question. “No,” she replies bluntly. “Well, you should. It's amazing!” Scarlett beams. “You know, I always thought I should be famous, but now I know it.”
Jolene can't help but scoff at this notion. “Yeah? What makes you so special?”
“Uh,” Scarlett scrunches her brow in confusion. “Everything...”
Jolene rolls her eyes and continues typing vigorously on her Blackberry. Scarlett sighs, knowing she can't compete with her sister's phone. I'm just going to wait until we’re home, Scarlett thinks, moving her little legs faster to keep up with Jolene’s pace. Mom will want to hear why I should be famous. I’ll probably have an agent by next week, then BOOM, I’m the next international pop star. Scarlett begins to strut down the street with her hands on her hips, periodically waving and blowing kisses to the imaginary photographers that line the street.
“Stop being a weirdo; Mom is expecting us back in 20 minutes.” Jolene always has a way of taking the fun out of, well, everything. Scarlett sticks her tongue out at her sister, adding a fart noise to punctuate her annoyance. Jolene’s phone buzzes once again, gaining her full attention. The girls continue their walk when Scarlett spots “Scoops,” her favorite ice cream shop.
“You know, Jo, we’re not that far away,” Scarlett stops abruptly, making her sister stop in her tracks. “I know for a fact we can get home in 10 minutes from this ice cream shop!” Scarlett casually points to the store next to her, just like she planned. Jolene rolls her eyes and glares at her sister. “You would know that.”
“I just so happen to have a five in my pocket; we have twenty minutes to get home… AND it’s only going to take ten minutes to get home, so….”
“We have ten minutes to get ice cream,” the girls say in unison. Scarlett with excitement, Jolene with disdain. Jolene lets out a big sigh, rolling her eyes. “Fine, I have a phone call I need to make anyway. But I swear to God, Scar, if we are late, you are taking the blame.” She continues to type on her phone as she takes a seat at one of the tables.
“Deal!” Scarlett smiles as she reaches for the handle of the door to the ice cream shop. “Do you want anything?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Scarlett makes her way into the shop, smiling at Sam, her favorite ice cream scooper. Sam is always kind and cheerful, and her scoops are noticeably bigger than Dave's. “Hi Scar!” Sam says with a giggle. “What can I get my best customer today? The usual?”
“Yes, please, and you know what,” she says, raising an eyebrow and flashing her $5 bill, “make it a double scoop!”
“Woah, big spender today. Where did you get that kind of money?” Sam’s eyes widen as she grabs a cone off of a tall stack.
“It was my birthday last week!” Scarlett excitedly bounces on her toes, remembering the celebration. “We had a party with all of my friends, and I got so many presents. I almost didn’t have time to open all of them. And then we had a bounce house. And then we had a dance party, and everyone chanted my name because I should be famous. And then I blew out the candles and made a wish. And then Danny threw up because he had too much cake. And then Mom decided that’s enough fun for the day.”
“Wow! That sounds like a great birthday,” Sam says, generously filling her scoop with mint chocolate chip and placing it on the cone. “How old are you now?”
“Eight,” Scarlett beams, mouth watering as she focuses her attention on the overflowing cone.
Sam nods. “Ah, makes sense. Only big kids get to walk to the ice cream shop by themselves.”
Scarlett furrows her brow in confusion. “No, I don’t. Jolene is just...” Scarlett points out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of the shop. She can see the tables and chairs on the sidewalk, she can see a car pass by on the road. She can even see a couple walking on the other side of the street, but she can’t see Jolene. “Uh, my sister was just outside…”
A sinking feeling starts to take over Scarlett’s stomach, her mind racing with the possibilities. Did she go home without me? I’ve only been in here a few minutes… and Mom would be mad she left me. Maybe she is hiding so she can scare me? Wouldn’t be the first time… maybe she saw one of her friends and they…
“Are you ok?” Sam’s voice snaps her out of her thoughts. She turns back to Sam, seeing the reflection of her worry in Sam’s face.
“Um… I don’t know,” Scarlett says cautiously, unsure of what to do.
Sam takes a deep breath and sets the cone down, making her way to the front of the store to look out the door. Scarlett follows closely behind, using Sam as her shield. They both scan the area looking for any signs of Jolene. Sam takes a few steps onto the sidewalk, accidentally kicking a small object. “What’s this?” Sam asks as she bends over to pick it up. Scarlett's stomach turns to knots as she looks at the Blackberry in Sam’s hand. Jolene got that phone for her last birthday, and Scarlett hasn’t seen her without it since. She knows there is no way Jolene would have left without it, at least, not willingly. Scarlett's eyes welled up with tears at the thought.
Sam recognizes her fear and kneels down to be face to face with Scarlett. “Is this her phone?” Sam asks nervously. Scarlett warily nods as the tears begin to stream down her face. Sam’s face falls, understanding what Scarlett is thinking. She gently puts her hand on Scarlett's arm. “Let’s call your mom, ok?,” she says as she leads Scarlett back inside. Sam fiddles with Jolene’s phone, finding the contact “mom”, and lifts the phone up to her ear. As the phone rings Sam can see the fear in Scarlett’s eyes, fear that not even ice cream can fix. “Everything is going to be ok!” Sam says, not knowing how wrong she is. “Hello? Um, is this Scarlett’s mom?”
Sam’s conversation falls into the background as Scarlett holds back tears. She stares out the window where Jolene once stood hoping she will magically return. Maybe if I close my eyes. She squeezes her eyes closed making the built up tears overflow. Please, please, please. She opens her eyes to see the barren sidewalk, slumping back into the chair letting her fear set in and her tears pour out.
Sam hangs up the phone and turns to Scarlett. “Your mom is on her way, and she is calling the police now.” she kneels down to the overwhelmed little girl, having no clue how to make anything better. “Did you still want that ice cream?” Sam asks as she goes to retrieve the melting cone. With no answer she tips the ice cream into a bowl, grabs a spoon, and rushes it back to Scarlett. “On the house” Sam insists pushing it toward Scarlett, feeling helpless and fearing the little girl's smile would never return. With tears running down her face, Scarlett takes a big spoonful of the ice cream, and lifts it up just to plop it back down, slumping into her chair. Trying anything to help, Sam has a new idea. “Why don’t we distract ourselves until she gets here?” Sam asks, receiving a nod. “How about we count the cars going by. I bet she will be here by the time 15 cars go by, oh look, there’s one”
“Two” Scarlett whispers as a silver car goes by. “Three” Sam says, taking a seat on the floor next to the occupied chair.
Four
Five
Six
Seven
“Eight” Scarlett screams recognizing the car that had driven her all around town. “Mom!”

First of all, I am a smoker and I am 20, I was getting tinnitus whenever I am high. I did not know that the ringing in the ears was tinnitus. I got 3 appointments with ENT and came out with good result hearing test. They gave some allergic medicine and tell me to drink more water and exercise more. After reading hundred posts on reddit of TINNITUS WILL BE WITH YOU FOREVER. No it doesnt, you only need to trust the process. My tinnitus did not go from 10/10 to 1/10 in weeks, but it took at least 3 months to heal. I will never smoke/vaping again or even drinking alcohol anymore. Here is what I can tell you from my experiences. Tinnitus is not in the ear, but in the brain. You can have 3 years of tinnitus on the left ear and somehow in moved to the right ear. YES, it is the brain problem. So how to heal from it : NO MORE SMOKING, NO MORE FAST FOOD ( high blood pressure), get some GINKO BILOBA supplements, EXERCISE MORE WITH 144 HEART RATES daily, No more HEADPHONES/EARPHONES, listen to rain/cricket sounds to sleep if the tinnitus is loud.

Steam Search (steampowered.com)
Scott doesn't really do much lore in his Steam posts, so I also included direct game descriptions and Steel Wool's Descriptions
FNAF 1 About:

Welcome to your new summer job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where kids and parents alike come for entertainment and food as far as the eye can see! The main attraction is Freddy Fazbear, of course; and his two friends. They are animatronic robots, programmed to please the crowds! The robots' behavior has become somewhat unpredictable at night however, and it was much cheaper to hire you as a security guard than to find a repairman.

From your small office you must watch the security cameras carefully. You have a very limited amount of electricity that you're allowed to use per night (corporate budget cuts, you know). That means when you run out of power for the night- no more security doors and no more lights! If something isn't right- namely if Freddybear or his friends aren't in their proper places, you must find them on the monitors and protect yourself if needed!
Can you survive five nights at Freddy's?
Five Nights at Freddy's on Steam (steampowered.com)
FNAF 2 About:

Welcome back to the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza!

In Five Nights at Freddy's 2, the old and aging animatronics are joined by a new cast of characters. They are kid-friendly, updated with the latest in facial recognition technology, tied into local criminal databases, and promise to put on a safe and entertaining show for kids and grown-ups alike!
What could go wrong?
As the new security guard working nights, your job is to monitor cameras and make sure nothing goes wrong after-hours. The previous guard has complained about the characters trying to get into the office (he has since been moved to day-shift). So to make your job easier, you've been provided with your very own empty Freddy Fazbear head, which should fool the animatronic characters into leaving you alone if they should accidentally enter your office.
As always, Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for death or dismemberment.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 on Steam (steampowered.com)
FNAF 3 About:

Thirty years after Freddy Fazbear's Pizza closed it's doors, the events that took place there have become nothing more than a rumor and a childhood memory, but the owners of "Fazbear's Fright: The Horror Attraction" are determined to revive the legend and make the experience as authentic as possible for patrons, going to great lengths to find anything that might have survived decades of neglect and ruin.

At first there were only empty shells, a hand, a hook, an old paper-plate doll, but then a remarkable discovery was made...
The attraction now has one animatronic.
Five Nights at Freddy's 3 on Steam (steampowered.com)
Multiple Springtraps are Hallucinations, not Glitches:

For those wondering what the new update is all about; I added a fourth star to the game for those who beat Aggressive Nightmare mode!

Also, there is some confusion about Springtrap appearing on multiple cameras and people thinking it's a glitch. It's not a glitch, even though I should have explained this better when I released the game. As long as the red light is flashing after a ventilation error, you may see multiple Springtraps. These are hallucinations.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/354140/view/4579554195991878197?l=english
FNAF 4 About:

This time, the terror has followed you home.

In this last chapter of the Five Nights at Freddy's original story, you must once again defend yourself against Freddy Fazbear, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy, and even worse things that lurk in the shadows. Playing as a child whose role is yet unknown, you must safeguard yourself until 6am by watching the doors, as well as warding off unwanted creatures that may venture into your closet or onto the bed behind you.
You have only a flashlight to protect yourself. It will scare away things that may be creeping at the far end of the hallways, but be careful, and listen. If something has crept too close, then shining lights in its eyes will be your end.
Five Nights at Freddy's 4 on Steam (steampowered.com)
The Box Post (The actual piece of lore relegated to Steam):

Hi guys! I wanted to post some information about the upcoming Halloween update. I started off a few months ago with several ideas in mind for what I wanted to release; ranging from DLC, to a new game, to opening the box (more on that later), but now I've been working steadily and have a pretty clear vision going forward.

The October 31st content will be an automatic update, not DLC. It will update the game to 1.1 and will include lots of goodies on the extras menu (for those who have beaten night 6), including a cheat menu, a challenge menu, and a twist on a familiar minigame that provides a boost when playing challenge modes. This also means that there will be a whole new set of stars to earn for those who are up to the challenge!
That part will be released for certain, and I'm hoping to have something else in addition to it, but it may not be ready. I have something fun in mind, a new game (not FNaF5), but it will be a real challenge to have even a small playable portion by Oct 31st. If a playable demo isn't ready by then, then at the very least there will be some sneak-peak content.
Now I want to talk about what WON'T be included... the box.
You know, when I released the first game over a year ago, I was amazed at how quickly everyone found every bit of lore and story. Then the same happened with part 2, fans and youtubers dug in and found everything. Game Theory did an incredible video on part 2; getting almost everything right. Then part 3 came out, and once again the story was uncovered by the community. It seemed that there was nothing I could hide!
But then I released part 4, and somehow.... no one, not a single person, found the pieces. The story remains completely hidden. I guess most people assumed that I filled the game with random easter eggs this time. I didn't. What's in the box? It's the pieces put together. But the bigger question is- would the community accept it that way? The fact that the pieces have remained elusive this time strikes me as incredible, and special, a fitting conclusion in some ways, and because of that, I've decided that maybe some things are best left forgotten, forever.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/388090/view/4033492738906633101?l=english
FNAF World:

Hi everyone, this is a big update! :)

I wanted to keep my plans for a new game secret until Halloween, but while my teasers have created excitement for some people, they have created some confusion as well, mainly because people don't know if the Five Nights at Freddy's story is over or not.
It's very important for me to say again that there will NOT be a Five Nights at Freddy's 5. The story is complete, and the Halloween update and new game will not add to it.
That being said, I wanted to use these characters in a new and fun way because they are so near and dear to my heart, and I was excited to work on a type of game that I hadn't made in a long time.
The new game that I'm working on will be called FNAF World. It will not be a horror game, but a role playing game where you create a party using the huge selection of characters from the FNaF games, including the classic, withered, toy, phantom, and nightmare versions. I've been working steadily on characters and hope to start on enemy models next week.
The bad news is that it's unlikely that a demo will be ready for Halloween like I had hoped, since this game's scope is significantly larger than previous games in the series. However, I will release a free demo, as promised, as soon as it's ready!
FNAF World will be released on PC, Android, and iOS. I don't have an estimated release date yet since the game is still early in development.
I hope you enjoy the new designs of the "adventure" characters, as I call them.
UPDATE: The scottgames.com teaser is complete and includes every character that you can have in your party! Stay tuned in the coming months for more updates as the game progresses!
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/388090/view/4033492738906632983?l=english
Halloween Update is Non-Canon:

Hi guys!

I wanted to make a quick announcement for everyone about what to expect with the Halloween update. I got myself into a tricky situation because I wanted to release an update but not change the basic game or lore. That limited me as to what I could change, so I announced that I would created a cheat menu, a challenge menu, and an updated minigame. I thought I was done. But no. ;)
It became clear to me that the community's expectations demanded more than just a cheat menu, so I was faced with my sticky situation yet again. But then I solved it:
On Halloween there will be TWO releases. One will be the content update for the official game, updating it to 1.1. This version is canon, as it always has been. This update will include the features originally promised such as the new challenges and cheats.
The second release will be a special Halloween edition of FNaF4, with a few changed characters and other cosmetic changes. This game is not canon, and is only for fun for the holidays. (this version will be free as well)
If everything works correctly, then players should have two launch choices on Halloween- the Standard Edition and the Halloween Edition.
If it doesn't work for some reason, then the Halloween Edition will be available on GameJolt instead.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/388090/view/4033492738906632873?l=english
FNAF Sister Location About:

Welcome to Circus Baby's Pizza World, where family fun and interactivity go beyond anything you've seen at those *other* pizza places! With cutting-edge animatronic entertainers that will knock your kids' socks off, as well as customized pizza catering, no party is complete without Circus Baby and the gang!

Now hiring: Late night technician. Must enjoy cramped spaces and be comfortable around active machinery. Not responsible for death or dismemberment.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location on Steam (steampowered.com)
Custom Night is Non-Canon:

Hey guys! I wanted to let you all know that I'll be working on an update for the game that will add a "Custom Night" to the Extras menu.

To answer a few questions about it:
1) Yes, it will be FREE. When the update is ready, your games will automatically update to include this feature.
2) It will NOT be canon. (otherwise it would screw up the entire plotline!)
3) It will be unlocked only when you have 3-stars, so you'd better get to work!
4) Since it's not part of the game's "Story Mode", you will be able to jump right into the action from the Extras menu and restart as many times as you like.
5) It would have been awesome to have this ready for Halloween, but there's no way that will be possible. Be looking for this in December!
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/506610/view/4648234090313050467?l=english
But Cutscenes are Canon:

Hey guys, the new update is live (v1.12). It gives a little additional power for Golden Freddy Mode on Very Hard, and also adds the final cutscene!

Enjoy!
(By the way- Cutscenes are canon.)
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/506610/view/4648234090313050041?l=english
Pizza Sim About:

Presenting a fun Five Nights at Freddy's adventure with a lighter touch for the holidays, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator puts you in charge of developing your own restaurant! Design pizzas, feed kids, and get high scores!

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator on Steam (steampowered.com)
UCN All Character Descriptions:

[Had to cut it because of Reddit's Post Length Limitations]

(I'm sure there's some lore in there somewhere)
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/738060/view/5156014950379793852?l=english
Death Coin:

There is a new item available at the prize counter! For a lean 10 Faz-coins (price subject to change) you can purchase the Death Coin. You can only buy it once per night, and you can use it to eliminate one character from the roster, although only certain characters are susceptible to deletion.

Although this means that you can potentially eliminate a character who has been giving you trouble, it also means that you will have fewer coins to defend against characters who demand them, such as Rockstar Freddy, Baby, Nightmare Bonnie, and Nightmare Mangle. So if you choose to buy the coin, it can potentially put you in danger until you build up your coin count again.
The characters that are susceptible to deletion by Death Coin are:

• Bonnie
• Foxy
• Lefty
• Toy Freddy
• Funtime Foxy
• Marionette
• Rockstar Bonnie

The way this feature will work is that once you have purchased the Death Coin from the Prize Counter, there will be a Death Coin icon in the top left. Then when you are viewing a cam showing a vulnerable target, the icon will light up. If you click the Death Coin icon at that point, it will eliminate the target animatronic from the game.
Although this may seem pointless at first (after all, if you didn't want a certain character in the game, then why add them in the first place, right?), eliminating them in this way still gives you credit for beating that character. It isn't a freebie, it's a calculated risk. Spending ten Faz-Coins puts you at risk from other Faz-Coin hungry characters, so it's a choice that players must make depending on the circumstances, similar to how Rockstar Foxy comes with risk, despite the potential benefits.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/738060/view/5156014950379793583?l=english
UCN Description:

Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, where you will once again be trapped alone in an office fending off killer animatronics! Featuring 50 selectable animatronic characters spanning seven Five Nights at Freddy's games, the options for customization are nearly endless. Mix and match any assortment of characters that you like, set their difficulty from 0-20, then jump right into the action! From your office desk, you will need to manage two side doors, two vents, as well as two air hoses, all of which lead directly into your office.

This time you will have to master other tools as well if you want to complete the ultimate challenges, tools such as the heater, A/C, a global music box, a power generator, and more. As if all of that weren't enough, you'll also need to set up laser traps in the vents, collect Faz-Coins, purchase items from the prize counter, and as always, keep a close eye on not one, but two, Pirate Cove curtains!
Other features include:

• Challenge menu including sixteen themed challenges.
• Voice acting from returning favorites as well as from new arrivals to the franchise!
• Unlockable office skins!
• Unlockable cutscenes!

Ultimate Custom Night on Steam (steampowered.com)
Steam Developer: Steel Wool Studios (steampowered.com)
FNAF VR About:

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted is a collection of classic and original mini-games set in the Five Nights universe. Survive terrifying encounters with your favorite killer animatronics in a collection of new and classic FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S™ experiences. “Where fantasy and fun come to life!”

A VR headset is NOT required to play.

YOU’RE HIRED - Time to get your hands dirty. Repair claustrophobic ventilation systems, troubleshoot broken animatronics that could activate at any moment, or spend your evenings cowering in the nighttime security guard office.
CELEBRATE - Confront your favorite killer animatronics including; Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Springtrap, The Mangle, Funtime Foxy, and Circus Baby.
FUN FUN PRIZES - Toys, Plushies, Bobbleheads, and candy candy candy! Earn super fun prizes you can play with at the interactive Prize Counter! Collect well hidden Faz-Tokens to unlock even more rare collectibles for more SUPER FUN FUN FUN.
PIZZA PARTY - Scenes from classic titles have been updated and remade for a fully immersive experience including; Five Nights at Freddy’s, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s 3, Five Nights at Freddy’s 4, and Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location.
TWO WAYS TO PLAY - Experience the horror in flat (non-VR) mode or VR. Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are supported.

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S: HELP WANTED on Steam (steampowered.com)
Curse of Deadbear About:

The Curse of Dreadbear DLC unlocks a new Halloween themed hub packed with spooky new mini-games and prizes.

* New spine-tingling mini-games include; Trick or Treat, Mangle Repair, Corn Maze, the Plushkin-Patch, “Cap’n Foxy’s Pirate Adventure” dark ride and many more!
* Featured frightening animatronics include; Nightmare Bonnie, Nightmare Chica, Nightmare Freddy, Jack-o-Chica, Jack-o-Bonnie and a few... surprises.
This content requires the base game Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted in order to play.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted - Curse of Dreadbear on Steam (steampowered.com)
Security Breach About:

THE NEXT CHAPTER IN FEAR

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach is the latest installment of the family-friendly horror games loved by millions of players from all over the globe. Play as Gregory, a young boy trapped overnight in Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex. With the help of Freddy Fazbear himself, Gregory must survive the near-unstoppable hunt of reimagined Five Nights at Freddy’s characters - as well as new, horrific threats.
THE HUNTERS AND THE HUNTED - Once nighttime protocols are initiated, the animatronics at Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex will relentlessly pursue all intruders. Glamrock Chica, Roxanne Wolf, Montgomery Gator, and the Pizzaplex’s security guard, Vanessa, will turn over every Cotton Candy Pizza Stand if they have to - it’s not wise to stay in one place for too long.
ADAPT TO SURVIVE - Access the building’s security cameras to survey the environment and plan your route through danger. Distract enemies by knocking over paint cans and toys - just slip away before enemies are drawn to your location. Hop into hiding spots and allow danger to pass, or try to outrun your pursuers. Play your way, but be prepared to adapt.
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER - Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex offers a variety of attractions for guests to enjoy - Monty Golf, Roxy Raceway, Bonnie Bowl, the sewers, and… Sewers? The Pizzaplex is vast and has no shortage of goodies to discover.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach on Steam (steampowered.com)
Ruin About:

You can run, but you can’t hide…

Enter the ruins of Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex in the FREE story DLC for Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach!
Gregory is once again trapped in the now abandoned Pizzaplex, and he needs your help! Play as Cassie, Gregory’s best friend, Faz-fanatic, and would-be savior as she braves the dark, dreary, and dilapidated pizzeria. Armed with only a Faz-Wrench, a Roxy-Talky, and this weird bunny mask, you will have to help Cassie find her friend, free him, and safely escape the ruins.
Can you save your friend, yourself, and the Pizzaplex? Find out in the 100% free DLC, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach – Ruin.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1924720/Five_Nights_at_Freddys_Security_Breach__Ruin/
Help Wanted 2 About:

Find out if you have what it takes to be a Fazbear Entertainment Superstar!

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 is the sequel to the terrifying VR experience that brought new life to the iconic horror franchise. As a brand new Fazbear employee you’ll have to prove you have what it takes to excel in all aspects of Pizzeria management and maintenance.
Go Backstage as a VIP to help Roxanne Wolf & the S.T.A.F.F Bots get ready for their performances in the Pizzaplex Salon!
Head into the Fazcade and enjoy classic games like Bonk-a-Bon and Fazerblast! See if you can top all the high scores!
Take care of things behind the scenes in the Staff Only section of the Pizzeria. Deliver First Aid to patients who aren’t quite feeling themselves, and help animatronics perform routine diagnostics & maintenance.
Our Food Prep courses will help you get the federally mandated amount of value preparing food in the Pizzaplex. Experience all the joys of high-speed food service & get ready to feed some hungry bots!
Head over to the Ticket Booth to test out our E-ticket attractions, such as Captain Foxy’s Cowboy Adventure! On this lighthearted log ride, you’ll float through the old West as a gunslinger in search of booty!
And finally, if you’re short on dread, dive into the world of our Sister Location! These special minigames are VR versions of classic experiences from Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location. These fan-favorites brought to life promise to be as fun as they are terrifying!
So what are you waiting for?!? Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 is now accepting applicants for all positions, effective immediately.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 on Steam (steampowered.com)

Hi my name is Andrea
My sister and I were gangstalked, had witchcraft done on us since 2020.
My sister made a friend in 2020. My sister got close to her. This friend was getting interesting as time went on. My sister and I would let a lot of stuff go when things happened between us and this friend. It was like there was a veil up, and we were blinded. We did however feel a lot was wrong, many things weren’t adding up. Eventually we got tired and angry and we broke things off in the beginning of 2023. I was starting to get into new age stuff in 2022, but after we cut this friend off I heavily got into new age stuff. I discovered frequencies, subliminals and more. I manifested so much. I was manifesting for this friend to be exposed, to know her secrets, and stuff like that. Immediately after manifesting that My sister and I started remembering things left right and center, and we became so aware. We realized that she was in a gang. One example, this friend went into my room with my sister while I was sleeping elsewhere for the night. My sister watched this friend go on a chair and unscrew my vent. My sister also saw that she had a remote looking device in her hand beforehand. A lil time went on and my sister and I were in an argument. I slammed my door and then we saw this device fall down from my vent and it was making noises. We both were too angry to care and we threw it in the garbage not thinking much about it. I was manifesting revenge and all the things all summer of 2023.
On august 9 2023 my sister encountered God. I was inside manifesting while my sister went for a walk to see if she can catch her ex friend in the act of stalking us. She saw a car drive around her for about an hour. She called me to tell me that she was seeing this car and then the call dropped. This tough looking biker guy parks and tries to come around my sister and grab her. Suddenly she heard the audible voice "pray". She prayed and people started coming out of their houses at the same time. Then my sister heard ringing in her right ear, and looked at the guy and he was holding his right ear. She said he was looking up at the sky like he was being questioned by God. This guy seemed confused and angry. So this guy left.
My sister sat down on the grass listening to music and her phone started flooding with bible verses that were relating to her. One that stood out was "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:1-6 ESV. She then felt this authority and conviction to lie down. She also felt the presence of God. She layed down and she said it felt like vacation. She heard the chaos of the world get quiet and she heard nature sounds. She said she felt relieved in a way that she never ever felt before. Her tension was all gone. She also felt her head being anointed with oil.
Then after about 15 minutes it showed a picture of me on her phone and then it said God was calling and it showed a picture that looked like the prince of peace painting. She answered and she said "hey Andrea" (that's me) and God said "instead of saying Andrea insert God" (God used my voice but she said it sounded more deeper) His voice was soft but firm, perfect, peaceful, loving and intriguing. She started to know it was God when she said she wanted to catch this friend in this gang and God responded with "be careful and be humble." "You don't know she could also be into other things". "We gotta think about her soul". At the time I wouldn't say that stuff because I was revengeful. I didn't even like talking about God. God also gave my sister feelings of what I was going through. He brought her through the emotions gradually. She started to cry. She described it as agony, heartbreaking, being super anxious, dissociated, and angry thoughts only I knew. She also felt like she wanted to run onto the street, and that's what I always wanted to do when I was drunk. My sister prayed to understand me because we always got into fights. They talked about a lot, and then God said he loved her and asked if she loved him back. My sister felt touched and said she loved him too. She wanted to talk longer because she felt so happy and intrigued to talk to him. He said that he will always be with her.
She called me right after to see if it was God she truly talked to because she was still in shock. I told her I knew nothing of that conversation, and that I never had it. I also was weirded out how she knew exactly my thoughts and feelings that I told nobody. I was angry that she was talking about God. I felt like I had to go to her and when we walked back I saw the biker guy stare at me. We crossed the street and I felt like we had to run inside. As soon as we got inside the biker guy was riding in a circle on our parking spot and he left.
A couple days after I got my sister to help heavily manifest revenge on this friend. Right after these people drove in front of our place and gave us gun fingers. 2-3 days after my sister woke up by angels at the end of the bed telling her "tell Andrea to come to God". I woke up shortly after but I was too disoriented and panicky to take in what my sister was saying. I felt like I was having a spiritual attack, like a panic attack but worse. I had this sense of doom that I was gonna die. My ears were ringing high pitch and I was getting weird symptoms. My mom who had been praying for me and trying to talk to me about God happened to stay the night at our place and I ran to her and told her to pray over me. As soon as she prayed it immediately left and I felt this voice inside of me "come to me" I knew it was God. I gave my life to him then and there. It felt like that verse (Matthew 11:28-29 KJV Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.) I felt a huge weight being lifted off me.

Hello. So I've been getting this tingling feeling in my left hand. It's not like when your hand falls asleep. But kinda feels like after your hand falls asleep where there's these little prickly feelings that will affect my fingers or the palm of my hand or wrist and arm. Random little areas. It lasts a second or two or sometimes it lasts a little bit longer like 10 seconds. I'm scared of a brain tumor but it seems to be affecting both sides though the left side more.
I went to the ER because I was getting vertigo as well but he said the symptoms were unrelated. I did get a head ct scan without contrast back in 2020 due to really bad vertigo. My posture is bad. I'm always sitting criss cross on my bed. I do play video games but I stopped and a week or so later that's when I noticed these symptoms. I did lift something heavy. My sleeping position might be bad as I switched to a more hard pillow but I'm not sure if that's what's causing it. I have some shoulder and neck pain in the back as well. I have no idea what this is and why it's happening. Maybe it's anxiety? Maybe since I noticed it and heard it could be a brain tumor symptom I am feeling it more now? It's happening on both sides but the left side more. But I heard brain tumors tend to affect one side of the body. Idk.

Hi all. I am a few years out from a concussion and struggling with daily headaches. I thought I would post my case history here in the hope that someone can point me in the right direction for diagnosis and treatment. I would be forever grateful.

OVERVIEW

Recap of Original TBI

• Hit by car as a pedestrian in Dec 2019
• Unconscious less than 1 minute
• Xrays done at ER
• Diagnosed with concussion and post concussion syndrome
• Did not work or use screens for 4 months; speech language therapy 3x week
• Never returned to work in the office because of covid

April 2020 - July 2023

• Post concussion syndrome symptoms like sound sensitivity when fatigued
• Little to no issues other than 2x had a migraine episode that lasted a 30 days; one migraine episode I think was because i moved and suddenly had to process new surroundings all day every day

Chronic Headache Beginning August 2023

• Covid or a sinus cold triggered a migraine 8.02.23
• Daily migraines / Autonomic Nervous System headaches & post-concussion syndrome-like symptoms since
• Light and screen sensitivity was debilitating
• Unable to work (I work remote on a computer and screens trigger a migraine) until october when i got a special monitor
• brain MRI 9.20.23; said it was normal
• cervical spine MRI 5.10.24; no impinged nerve
• symptoms much better as of spring 2024 but still present (migraines/headaches daily)

MAKES HEADACHES WORSE

Screens

• I work remote and must be on a screen 8 hours a day; currently cannot work an hour without a migraine
• I have cut my phone out as much as humanly possible and have all accessibility settings turned on

Sensory Stimulation

• For hyperacusis - plates, running water, silverware, fans, monotone speaking, windshield wipers, commercials, loud sounds in general, brings on symptoms
  • Hyperacusis has been consistent problem when fatigued since the original TBI 4 years ago
• For photophobia/photosensitivity - sensitivity to flashing lights (sun through trees, driving at night), overhead light, brings on symptoms
• Sensitivity to smells - fried food especially
  • Has been a consistent symptom since TBI but not a big enough deal in daily life to worry about

HOW SYMPTOMS FEEL

Face & Head

• August to Jan
  • Starts with tingles under eyes on upper cheeks.. If symptoms worsen..
  • Then ears “fill up” and jaw/teeth hurt as though braces just got tightened.. If symptoms worsen..
  • Then whole head becomes full of pressure like a lead balloon
• January onward and during two week long pockets Aug-Jan
  • no tingles, just pressure in sinuses and tight jaw
  • i suspect this change is because the depakote was helping and i stopped taking it in Jan

This graphic on "what ANS headaches feel like" is accurate to where the pain is. https://www.cognitivefxusa.com/blog/concussion-headaches-and-post-concussion-headaches

Eyes

• Hurts to roll eyes
• #1 issue is screens
• See BVD / neuro eye section
• See photophobia

Ears

August - Dec 2023

• When overstimulated, inside of ears feel “full” like they are stuffed with cotton or like I’m in a plane that is taking off - very uncomfortable and nauseating
• Occasionally faint ringing in left ear for 10 seconds
• Wear noise canceling earbuds all day because of pain of phonophobia but the noise canceling “fullness” feeling causes nausea so it’s a catch 22
• gave myself an ear infection from wearing ear plugs too much in Sept
• See phonophobia

“Bad Episode”

Dec 2019 - April 2020 and August - Dec 2023

• Caused by rapid speaking + too much information to process at once + stress + overstimulation
• Ears feel full of cotton and maybe ringing, need to pull on ears
• Need to open and rock jaw, jaw hurts
• Unable to speak or function
• Have to look down, can’t move
• Heart racing, dizzy, feel faint, need to sit
• Require silence, cannot understand words, lagging in processing and cannot catch up

Daytime vs Evening

• Wake up feeling fine every day
• Gets worse throughout the day, starting in the morning
• On a bad day (due to screen use I think) by the end of the night my pillow feels like a rock - when i had covid in 2022 I had this same feeling

Executive Functioning Issues

Dec 2019 - April 2020 and August - Dec 2023

• Daily naps and fatigue
• brain fog
• word recall issues
• processing speed
• emotional regulation (though potentially this is due to working through PTSD)

NEURO OPTOMETRIST APPT 9.28.23

• Dr diagnosed binocular vision dysfunction and prescribed me lenses that have microprism, progressive, multifocal, tint (all new things for me)
• He referred me to a neurotologist because he suspects i have Third Mobile Window Syndrome / Superior SemiCircular Canal Dehiscence
  • Fluid leaking in inner ear; vestibular ocular reflect affects eyes
• He said if it isn’t that he recommends i see a vestibular specialist to do more tests
• He said he was suspicious of POTS and dysautonomia but he does not think i have those
• He said he does not think BVD microprism lenses will help until i get the inner ear issue solved

CHIRO APPT 4.24

• Dr suspects TBI ocular (vestibular oculomotor dysfunction: VOD) and shared these articles
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10134507/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35311725/
• https://macleans.ca/society/rebuilding-crosbys-brain/

WHAT HELPS

• water, sleep, food, caffeine, pulling on ears, face massage, no screen, cefaly
• spent a months salary on a monitor for my work computer with no backlight

TREATMENT

Meds

• ubrevley as a rescue med 10.1.23-1.15.24
• Topiramate 100 MG 8.24.23 - 1.20.24
• Riboflavin 400 MG since 8.03.23
• Magnesium 400 MG since 8.03.23
• OOTC omega 3 9.15.23-11.1.24
• tried rizatriptan 1x and felt icky
• depakote 10.15.23-1.1.24 (believe this one helped the most)
• quilipta 12.5.23 - 5.29.24
• Nerivio since 5.1.24
• Supatriptan nasal spray as a rescue med since 5.1.24

Acupuncture

• 1x week 9.11.23 - 11.1.23

Chiropractor

• 2x week 9.11.23 - 11.1.23

Cefaly

• Daily since 9.17.23

Avulux Migraine Glasses

• 9.23.23 - 11.1.23

Other: PTSD Therapy

• Chiro / therapist diagnosed unresolved PTSD / trauma from getting hit by car
• They are using dorsal vagal approach to trauma
• Read the The TAO of TRAUMA and am implementing its tactics
• Read The Body Keeps the Score and am implementing its tactics
• Started tai chi class
• Starting EMDR therapy 6.10.24

Thank you for reading. If you have any ideas for diagnosis and treatment please share!