36F, 5’11 198lbs POTS syndrome diagnosis, it is not severe at all.
40mg fluoxetine and 150mg bupropion xl daily, plus Zyrtec and women's multivitamin. No recreational drug use, very occasional alcohol use (a couple beers only, never liquor or wine). Non smoker. 3-4 cups of coffee a day, no other beverages aside from plain water or the occasional sparkling water.
I came down with a very nasty head cold shortly after recovering from mastitis from milk congestion after weaning my 17 month old. I had Sudafed leftover because the doc had suggested taking a dose or two to assist in lactation suppression.
While trying to keep up with my spunky toddler and busy schedule, over the course of 2 days in addition to my usual meds, I took several doses of Sudafed. My post nasal drip caused a cough that was keeping me up all night, so l added delsym to it. I foolishly overlooked the fact that it was a 12 hour dose, and probably took 5-6 doses over the course of 2 days.
The night before last around 11pm, out ot nowhere, I felt practically drunk. Very loopy, warm, and fuzzy. Was reading on my laptop and had to put it away because I was starting to struggle to understand anything I read. Went to bed. Woke up coughing at 4am, took a dose of delsym in my unending genius. Back to sleep until my toddler woke up around 7. Woke up with the intention of getting him from his crib, fell over on the way. Intense vertigo. I was stuttering and having trouble speaking properly. I was super confused. Sweating my butt off. Husband stayed home from work and I rested up. Couldn't sleep though- I felt positively wired. Would occasionally nod off then full body jerk/startle myself awake. Had a very brutal day and night last night, it was all very jarring and unpleasant.
Am I crazy to think this may have been very mild seratonin syndrome? I took my regular meds as usual yesterday because I had no idea what was going on with me, but now I'm pretty apprehensive about taking my SSRI.
Honestly , I’m feeling pretty gun-shy about all meds right now. I know that's an overreaction and I caused this by taking way too many meds, and the specific ones I took shouldn't be mixed...out of desperation to keep up with my life despite being sick and needing rest.
But I really don't want to ever feel what I felt over the last ~36 hours again.
l've been wanting to come off my fluoxetine for quite some time but planned on asking my doc to taper me off. But now I can't imagine willfully taking an SSRI any time soon. So knowing and fully understanding that cold turkey is not an ideal way of stopping SSRI meds, can anyone tell me vaguely what I can expect and maybe suggest mitigation tactics that are not drug-related?
Thanks in advance. Sorry for the long rambling. Still not feeling 100% normal. And for laypeople who have read this far... please do not make the mistake I made of thinking OTC drugs are benign in nature. I'l never be so careless about what I put in my body again.

You are probably familiar with the brands: Torani, Monin, etc.
Over the years, I tried them and couldn't stand them....I strongly dislike the flavor of sucralose/Splenda etc.
But....recently I tried some Jordan's Skinny Mix Margarita syrup and really enjoyed it in some seltzer -and looking at the ingredients, I was surprised.
So are all the Jordan's syrups good without that strong artificial sweetener aftertaste? Any other brands that don't have an aftertaste? Many thanks.

She tested positive for whooping cough almost 2 months ago but continues to cough to the point of throwing up daily. She was on prednisone, nothing. She can’t keep cough syrup down. She did a lung test, esophagus test, nothing is abnormal. She says her left side is in pain and she has a migraine. I have taken her to the ER 4+ times because even tonight she has thrown up all her food and feels like she can’t breathe. They refuse to admit her, and each time refer her to a specialist, but specialists are all over a 3 month wait (one of whom already cancelled extending our wait.) Her regular doctor retired in January, and her new doctor had the same advice as the ER…follow up with a specialist. I am at a total loss. Is there something we can say that will get her to be admitted? Nothing is helping her.

Hi all,
It's been about 2 months of tapering -> stopping abilify and it was a messed up experience. I have never felt worse in my life.
I started abilify / aripiprazole in addition to my SSRI for depression and anxiety back in 2018 and I chose to stop it this year after discussing it with my psychiatrist. I was on 10 mg abilify -> 5 mg (for 2 weeks) -> 2.5 mg (2 weeks) -> 0 (3 weeks ago).
week 1 off abilify was good, everything is normal, nothing changed. Week 2 I started feeling like I had a bad case of flu (without lung/throat/sneezing/coughing) and it kept going downhill since then up until today(I hope it stays like this, today is the only day since week 2 I actually feel normal)
Throughout those weeks I experienced body aches, sweating, chills, exhaustion, fatigue that only got worse and worse and I could only sleep it off. I felt like depression and anxiety rebounded for a few days but it wasn't my biggest concern given how awful my body felt.
I have no idea if I this was a massive mistake, I feel alright now after being a zombie for the past 3-5 weeks but I still feel on the verge of starting to shiver.
I would not like to start taking this drug again but I just want to know how long this should last.. I'm booking an appointment with my psychiatrist in the morning to figure this out but my god this has been the worst i've ever felt in my life.
I am currently on venlafaxine XR 150 mg and vyvanse 40mg, and I noticed taking the vyvanse just made me feel worse (It was never like this before)
Until I could see my doc, I would like to hear your experiences with withdrawal/tapering. I genuinely hope today isn't a one-off day of feeling okay and it gets better and that I am not messing up anything. Like did I taper it off too quickly? my doc told me some people stop taking it at 5 mg but told me to taper down to 2.5 mg, which I did but I think I missed the last 2 days of that period. I honestly can't believe someone would stop taking it cold turkey given my experience
Side note:
I've had terrible stomach issues that happened after I started abilify and I feel like my digestive health improved immensely. I don't know if it's related to antipsychotics' effects on gut bacteria but I don't feel completely dead after meals like I used to. I still have GERD but I feel like the symptoms kinda improved but I can't tell for sure if it's related to quitting it

When i was 13, i started abusing over the count cough syrup pretty heavy. I began having gas and bloating even after quiting and it has gotten worse as time goes on. I regret ever trying it and along with the fact it opened the door to my ongoing drug problem. My intestines feel like their clogged and they are so embarrassingly loud and im in so much discomfort that i want to cry at night. It took away my youth and made me hate my own body.

Synopsis:
An engineer in another world—blending science and magic to achieve greatness in a world where skills and levels reign supreme.
—
Ethan was just a plain old engineer, but everything changed when he was reborn into a world of skills, levels, and magic. With his advanced knowledge far ahead of the time period he finds himself in, this new reincarnated life will be much different than his last, especially because he can construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct runes—something no one else can do.
But with royal politics, looming tax collectors, a mountain of debt, dungeon incursions, cults, and hostile fantasy races mixing together into a cocktail of bullshit that threatens to bury his dreams; Ethan must bridge the gap between steel and sorcery to grow stronger. — Runecrafting is slow burn. — What to Expect: - Weak to very strong progression - Hardcore wish fulfillment - A balance of action, kingdom building, and runecrafting. - MC will trigger an industrial revolution, revolutionize magic, modernize agriculture, communication, commerce, textile production, education, transportation, sanitation, weapons manufacturing, leisure & entertainment, and medicine.
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Chapter 04

-1-
Ethan's heart thumped in his throat as he looked at the arrow's head glinting. Fortunately, Roland had grabbed it in an instant. The arrow hadn't hit Ethan, and it likely wouldn't have. Roland threw the arrow aside as Ethan heard a muffled grunt and glanced out the window to the right. An arrow had pierced the side of their driver, right between the shoulder and chest. Ethan whipped back into his seat just as another projectile smashed against the other side of their carriage, denting it. Roland immediately stood up with a calm demeanor and unsheathed his sword. "Lord Theodore, please remain seated. This inconvenience will be dealt with shortly."
Ethan blinked up, nodded, and clasped his hands around his knee while resting his head against the window ledge as Roland got out. Situations such as this weren't anything he'd ever dealt with back on earth, but he had plenty of experience keeping himself in check when fear took hold. He'd been a boxer, after all. Ethan tapped his finger on his knee, again and again.
"Die, you shits!" a voice yelled, then a meaty crash was followed by a pained groan. It was clearly someone falling over. Moments later, footsteps approached from the other side. A man swung the carriage door open. "Get—"
Before he could say much else, a sword pierced through his chest. He slumped and hit the ground without a word, revealing Roland standing with a blank expression. His eyes were different than anything Ethan had seen since his transmigration—Roland looked nonchalant even after taking a life, which was understandable given that the man had likely taken a lot of lives. Ethan closed his eyes, refusing to look at the dead body.
More footsteps grew nearer. Two sets. They stopped beside their carriage. "Well fuck, what a piece of trash." one man said, then lurched at Roland with a bloody shout.
The fight was over in an instant.
Roland simply disappeared from his position before Ethan. Reappearing behind the two bandits flanking him, he delivered an equally lethal strike to each in turn. Simultaneously, a sharp crackling and whooshing sound made Ethan tense. Spreading out on the floor before the carriage, a dark blue magical glyph buzzed like electricity, sending sparks of electricity slamming into the bandits.
Then, the bandits' bodies split in two halves, their blood sprayed across the dirt before they even began collapsing with electricity sizzling on their bodies.
Just as he'd felt movement in the air through [Magic Perception], a man materialized right in front of Ethan. Tensing, Ethan didn't know what to do
Roland shouted from outside. Adrenaline rocketed through Ethan's veins. Hand moving, he grabbed the bandit's hand and twisted it. The bandit tackled him, and with the tight space, Ethan felt the tip of a knife nicking the side of his cheek. The wound stung badly, and with it, Ethan's mind blanked and his instincts kicked in.
Roland swiftly spun, but not in time to stop the man from pinning Ethan against the bench.
However, it wasn't needed. Ethan used [Elemental Spells] and summoned fire all over his palms. A sizzling sound erupted as the bandit cried out and went for Ethan's eyes with his free hand. Ethan bit the bandit's hand, and only got half a mouthful of skin and cloth. The bandit reeled back and leapt backward from the sudden burning pain, crying out as he crashed. Ethan lunged at him, grabbed and force-flipped the bandit's hand, and plunged the knife into his throat with an aggressive grunt. There was a short, gurgled cry, before the bandit tried swinging the knife towards him. "Cunt... bastard..." his bloody mouth formed the words, his eyes staring fearfully, but Ethan pushed the knife aggressively.
Blood sprayed and gushed onto Ethan's mouth.
Then, finally, the man stilled.
The corpse's weight fell onto Ethan, hot blood spilling out of the bandit's throat and filling the air with an acrid odor. Ethan felt it on his face. Hot. Metallic smell. He saw it dripping down the bandit's throat, all across his clothes, even in his hair. It was heavy, almost. Layer upon layer, the heavy cloak of the man's life weighting down on his spirit.
System notifications flashed but he ignored it given that bile rose in Ethan's throat. His vision darkened, and a rush of blood roared in his ear as his heart thumped like thunder. A violent urge to vomit rose within him, his entire body twitching. He had never seen a man die in front of him like this before. Disgusting as it was, he gulped everything down, even the reality he had found himself in, the death, the violence, it all set in at that moment. However, he had no time to delve on it. Even though he felt like someone had squeezed his windpipe, like a bullet was tearing through his skin, he needed to act. Now.
Ethan flipped the man aside and sat on his knees, pulling out the knife from the bandit's neck. From his place on the ground, he glanced at Roland engaged with three bandits.
One slipped past Roland and made it to Ethan. They're trying to get a hand on me. Why? The answer was simple. Oh, right... I'm a noble, they can just put a knife on my throat and demand shit...
Instead of giving the bandit the upper hand, Ethan took a breath. Once. Twice. Now or never, thinking so, he raised the knife and dove headfirst toward the approaching enemy. Caught by surprise, the bandit merely moved his free hand to counter attack. His fingers grasping the bandit's arm, he twisted it away, giving him room to go straight for the eye.
With a meaty sound, Ethan plunged the knife through the man's eyes. Blood spurted with a slick sound. The bandit wasn't fast enough to make a full reaction, as a sort of instinctive scream of terror got stuck halfway and died out. Then, as the feeling of having ended another life settled within him, Ethan retracted the dagger and stepped back. His back slamming against the carriage, he slid down and pressed a hand against his forehead. His cheek hurt. He smelled sweat and blood.
Fuck... Fuck... Breathe. This is... I can't... Breathe.
A chill ran down his spine and his heartbeat roared. He took a breath, adrenaline still surging through his veins. The sick feeling didn't leave his stomach, his entire body twitched as if electrocuted every once in a while, and his eyes started going hazy, unclear. Black spots in his field of vision. Sticky warmth all over. Hot metallic odor in his nostrils.
"Lord Theodore!" Roland's voice acted as a way for Ethan to reorient himself into reality. Roland looked ashen, not because he was tired but most likely because he'd let Ethan get into such a vulnerable position. Roland glanced at the corpse, then Ethan, then back at the corpse again, looking tense, lips tight and hands clutched into fists. "Are you alright, my lord?"
"Yes, of course," Ethan said as he studied the wound on his cheek. I need a healing skill. However, he noticed the visible distressed Roland was having and continued. "I'm fine. Don't worry. It's no big deal. For the moment, we need to clean up this mess."
Ethan could tell Roland was uncomfortable with the situation and Ethan's complete indifference, but the warrior dutifully obeyed his lord's commands. Ethan slumped onto his seat and looked through the notifications.
Your race, [Human], has leveled up — Lvl 0 -> Lvl 1!
Your class, [Mage], has level up — Lvl 0 -> Lvl 1!
[Unranked Mage] -> [Initiate]
[Elemental Spells] — Lvl 5 -> Lvl 6!
A [Quest] approaches!
Hmm, this is the second time I see the message 'A [Quest] approaches'... What is it? Why doesn't the system just give me the [Quest]? Are there conditions? Regardless, it seems that [Elemental Spells] just needed some use in battle instead of just plain old practice. Curious.
Ethan leaned back with a sigh. Now that his heartbeat wasn't drumming in his ear, the fear slowly ebbed away. All things considered, this turned out well, given the situation. However, now that he'd calmed somewhat, his eyes landed on the corpse right beside him, and that fresh scarlet blood seeping into the floorboards. The heavy coppery scent, the unmistakable smell of death. It all came crashing into him and he could no longer deny what he'd done. It had all gone so quickly.
No theatrics, the knife had just flown in, and the bandit had struggled, then stopped struggling.
Ethan stared at the corpses. With his hands on his lap, he gazed vacantly. For a single, stretched-out moment, the only thing he was aware of were the lifeless bodies right next to him, the sensation of having one less enemy standing in the way. One of the bandits had his jugular slashed. Another had a knife poking into his eyes. Ethan had killed them. Him. It was nauseatingly easy, taking another's life. It felt good. Ethan was disgusted at that thought, but damn did it feel good. I—I... I won. He wanted to grin, but he didn't.
Soon, the bandits were dealt with. Not a minute was wasted, and they cleaned up and got moving in a hurry, before Roland could throw the corpse inside the carriage out, Ethan stopped him.
He'd been staring at it, sitting there, silently. Bile would rise to the tip of his throat before he'd swallow it, a stone in his gut making his movements stiff. It felt unreal. When he took that step to make sure the bandit was dead, his eyes met with those of the corpse—with glassy black pupils that appeared frozen mid-realization that he was dying. Fearful, horrified eyes. Human eyes. Ethan stared into them, felt every fiber of his body clench, saw the smears of blood across the man's mouth where his desperate breaths had made him cough up, to live.
Ethan stared, not because he was a masochist or someone who derived pleasure from other people's misery. Rather, it was because he wanted this to never happen again. His reaction. It hadn't been optimal. He just knew he'd need to kill and spill blood if he was to survive, and thus, he needed to familiarize himself with the sight of death—death caused by his hands.
His thoughts were a little less orderly than he liked. That needed to change, fast. It would always be a burden, so he simply chose to stare, knowing he was staring down his weakness—at his fear.
After a solid five minutes, Ethan turned around. Roland's gaze met Ethan's. For a brief moment, the gaze was averted, the warrior showing clear guilt. Ethan placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Roland, don't blame yourself. I understand you must have felt cornered and unable to react. Just know I appreciate you. Don't beat yourself up for it. There have been no casualties on our side."
Roland bowed his head. Ethan smiled, though it was strained. Roland had been standing there for a while now but hadn't wanted to interrupt Ethan's self-reflection time, despite being tense himself. The guards had burned the corpses. Soon, the men Ethan killed were taken out, too. Then they left for the woods.
A guard who appeared to be a [Mage] that had a spell called [Cleanse] walked to the carriage, and placed his hands near the gore-splattered interior. In mere moments, a rune flickered into existence, then, mana got sucked out of the guard, seeping into the rune—soon, the blood and even the smells were swept clean and everything returned to being a neat and tidy.
The guard staggered a little before his comrades stabilized him. Must be quite demanding, Ethan noted, nodding appreciatively as the guard stepped out of the carriage. "That's quite the useful skill," Ethan said, examining the results.
Roland gave a silent nod, no doubt feeling pretty damn bad about his failure.
The guard, on the other hand, bowed with a smile, clearly appreciating Ethan's recognition. "It's a pleasure to be of service, my lord. This humble guard has had this skill ever since he became a mage."
Ethan made an impressed noise. "I see."
The guard beamed, then bowed even more before walking over to his fellow guards, who patted his backs at a job well done. Then, the horses pulled the carriage, and the carriage resumed moving. As soon as his back had settled into the cushion of the seat, an exhausting wave rolled over Ethan's body.
Before everything, however. I saw the rune. Ethan grinned a little, then willed mana into the shape of the rune.
It sputtered.
Ethan tried again, connecting different parts of the rune. One. Two. Three. Four. And as the rune sputtered again.
Throughout the journey to Deadwoods, Ethan kept at it.
He failed every time—
—and he didn't know why.
An immense headache assaulted him, and he had to stop his attempts.
-2-
The Deadwoods proved to be just what he'd expected. Dead. Charred branches and crumbling trees lay spread throughout. Roland looked around solemnly. Ethan was more interested in what kept this place the way it was. This land was, to put it simply, the most horrific location in the entire barony. It was a huge portion of a forest that appeared to be dead, thus why it had gotten the name Deadwoods.
Leaves crunched underneath Ethan's feet, and he studied his surroundings with morbid curiosity. The trees, branches and leaves were all dark in color as if something had scorched them. Many creatures lived here, animals like the usual game of deer, wolves, and foxes and sometimes there'd even been bears spotted. The dangerous thing, however, wasn't that the animals existed, it was that they were magical beasts. Mutants.
"Lord Theodore," Roland said, hand on his sword, eyes darting around in caution. "It is dangerous to be here—"
"Peh." Ethan waved his hand nonchalantly, much to Roland's shock at such an uncharacteristic behavior. "It will be worth it."
After all, I'm gonna have fun hunting monsters, leveling up, and finally, finally finding some goddamn tree ash.
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Excuse the spillage, cooked it in the microwave.
Kroger quick oats
Seed mix of flax, hemp and chia
Powdered peanut butter
Date syrup
Blueberries
That’s all :)

Our dog (7yr neutered female mixed lab/shoeard 62lb) started nonproducing retching for maybe 5min this morning and only produced a tablespoon size liquid.
No activity was taking place for a while, I showed the dr our ring camera footage and she said it was weird how she just started retching.
I took her to an emergency vet (WVRC in Kenosha wi) worried about gdv/bloat. X-ray and physical exam by dr did not indicate either issue.
She was gassy in the stomach the dr said and her intestine was full of poop based on the xray. She made no mention of blockage or lung issues based on the xray.
Our dog had some sensitivity to touch on her back and “belly” region, not by her chest where her stomach is.
The xray showed something idk the name of like arthritis of two vertebrate and the dr believed is most likely the cause of nonproducing retching and put her on anti inflammatory
Our dog is acting normal with the occasional cough/retching nonproducing
My question is, is pain possible cause of nonproducing retching? I couldn’t find anything online. Everything is related to bloat/gdv
I will be calling my vet tomorrow and seeing if WVRC can send the images over to them to look, but I’m the meantime I felt like messaging here
Edit: she has been eating and drinking water as usual it seems as well since being home
Edit 2: she had 0 retching episodes at the er and we were there for like 2hr

First, a little about me. I'm 5'5ish, 135ish depending on the day, and have dark brown hair that falls part way down my back with brown eyes. My mom is a Crow (Native American) and my dad is Italian so the olive complexion genes are active in my family. I've got a fairly petite/athletic build with a 32B chest and a toned butt. My nipples are dark brown, on the smaller side, and I shave everywhere. I'm a fan of tattoos and have a feather on my foot, flower pieces on my right hip into my lower ribs, left shoulder, and lower back, a small script piece in my left side bra line, a green carebear in my left bikini line and a large dream catcher down my left ribs. If there's a detail I've left out, feel free to ask ;)
What a week. 18 year old me had gone from a dry spell since AIT and graduation to a blow job, facial, and quick hard sex with a married captain at my first duty station. I was falling fast and hard for him. I wanted him to want me. I wanted him to think of me when he thought of being intimate. I wanted to be his release to do everything she wouldn't.
Dustin snapped me this morning, a pic of his obvious buldge greeting my day. "How's my little Private this morning? I wish you were here to help with this"....You have no idea Dustin. Now that the bandaid has been ripped off, I want nothing more than to keep going. I send him a snap back of my semi sheer, black athletic thong, holding it open in the front with the caption "you could drop your load right in here sir". Naughty I know. For some reason, the thought of him filling my underwear with cum is erotic and in the moment, I crave the feel of his warmth between my legs.
"Come by the house on your lunch break and you can have it" I get in reply. Fuck.
I get dressed in my camo uniform with a generic sports bra and the same black athletic thong underneath and try make it through the morning as routinely as possible. Not possible. All I can think of is what I'm willing to do for the married man I'm lusting for and it's got my mind anywhere but at work.
Dustin let's me know he left early for lunch so he's ready whenever I am. The whole drive over, my mind is racing at the prospect of what's about to happen. I knock and find the door open, with Dustin on the couch, laptop open to some semi sexy photos I'd sent to tease him over the last week while he strokes his firm shaft. "Private Hannah reporting as ordered sir" I say as sexily as I can muster in the spur of the moment.
"Private Hannah, you said you'd found a place to hold my cum" completely keeping character.
"Yes sir" I say, stepping around to stand in front of him, undoing my belt and the buttons on my pants, letting them drop to the floor around my ankles.
"Open up then, I'm already close since you decided to be late"
I hold open the front of my black athletic thong, exposing my shaved pubic area for his inspection.
"At least you remembered to shave to start the week" he says and he builds the pace of his stroking and touches the tip of his penis against my smooth skin. In moments I see him start to swell as he nears his release. A thick rope of white cum erupts from his tip and is followed by a second, third, and fourth. My underwear is filled with his thick, warm release and soon its soaked, mixing with my own minor arousal that has built at the situation. As he finishes, I let go of my waistband and allow my cum soaked thong to cling to my lower lips, teasing me with what could have been.
I pull my pants back up and stand breathless in front of eachother. It's been less than 10 minutes since I walked through the door, we've barely spoken and now his cum is dripping down my inner thigh. What has happened? I feel like an incredibly erotic play thing that's been used for a passing moment of pleasure and right then, I know I'm hooked.
"Hannah, I'm sorry if that was too much" Dustin says, coming to the realization that I'm now back in uniform with his cum filling my panties.
I kiss him square on the lips. "Shhhh babe. I wanted this. I want all of you"
"So you really liked that?"
"Dustin that has got to be one of the hottest things I've ever tried. I'm not changing for work"
I sit on his couch in a pool of his release while we chat for the remainder of our lunch hour. When it's time to go, I feel a glob of him drip down my leg. "Can I come spend the night tonight?" I ask, hoping to get my own release after work.
"Sure hun, I just have a few calls to make but it's okay"
I head back to work with a kiss goodbye and the rest of the day I can feel the stickiness between my legs and it keeps me on edge. I run back to my barracks room, take a fast shower, grab a change of clothes for tomorrow, and something special for tonight. I throw on some gym shorts and a hoodie over my sports bra. Coupled with my slides and I'm back across post and find a note on the door "on a call, be quite when you come in"
I come in and quietly shut the door and make my way past Dustin in the livingroom, obviously on a video chat with someone with the screen facing the wall to the garage. I hear a woman's voice say "oh man those walls are paper thin, I think I just heard the neighbors kids come home from school"
Oh shit, he's on with his wife I realize as I tiptoe my way to the master bedroom where I change into my suprise. Naked in his bedroom, I slip into a teal, sheer lace bra with enough underwire support to give me a little cleavage. I pull on a matching set of panties with an intricate sheer lace front and a single thin string between my cheeks in the back. I fold up my sticky cum soaked thong from earlier and walk back into the livingroom.
Dustin does a double take as I come around the corner. He covers this with a coughing fit as his wife asks if he's okay. "Yeah hun just had an itch in my throat" and they continue chatting, her oblivious to the fact that I've just sat down across from him.
I look him square in the eyes as I begin to tease my dark brown nipples through my sheer lace bra. As he tries to hold a conversation, I do everything I can to lightly tease him. I pinch and massage my breasts, softly run a finger between my legs on top of my lacy bottoms. I stand up and start to stretch, bending forward to let my small breasts hang just out of sight of his camera before turning around and bending forward, reaching back to spread my bum and letting the g-string bury itself between my cheeks, barely keeping my other tight hole from view.
I turn back around and unfold the sticky thong he came in earlier and hold it up for him to see the stain his release left on them, right between the legs. I pull my teal lace thong down in the front, and standing right behind his computer, I begin to lightly tease myself with the soft fabric of the back athletic thong, gently massaging my clit, resoaking the nearly dry panties with another round of sexual arousal.
As my arousal grows, I gradually push into my slick entrance and with one finger and then another, the soft athletic fabric of my underwear once again getting soaked as I rub my clit with them, teasing myself with the over stimulating feel against my raw bundle of nerves. I squat down, my face now right behind the computer screen as I squeeze my breast and open my mouth in a silent moan, performing for the man who can't respond.
All of a sudden I stop, ending my tease at the edge of release, not wanting to slip and give away what's going on...and to tease Dustin further. I stand up, place the arousal and cum soaked black thong on the table right behind his laptop and I walk to the kitchen and begin working on dinner with whatever ingredients I can scrounge up in the kitchen. It's such a turn on to do such a normal task in such a small set of lingerie and I secretly hope that Dustin is sneaking peeks at me from across the house.
At long last I feel warm, strong hands wrap around my waist and a kiss finds my cheek. "How's my baby girl, you little tease?"
I blush at the pet name the gentle touch. "I'm almost done, go sit down you silly boy" I say as I start to plate our dinner of chicken and grilled veggies, sauntering into the dining room like a server at one of those lingerie sports bars.
"So you sure know how to put on a show, Hannah" Dustin says as we begin to eat
"I can be anything you want me to be" I say as I begin a speech I'd thought through in my head, telling Dustin that I don't want casual, I want to be the girl he craves, the one who does the things that no one else does, who let's him try the things he's only imagined I'm his wildest sessions alone with himself.
"What do you get out of all of this?" He asks, questioning this step towards commitment.
"I get to explore myself and act out my cravings without having to deal with all the rumors of barracks and searching for guys to feel safe with. I don't want to be your wife. I just want you to forget her when your with me, and I want you to think of me when you choose how to play"
"Well if you're going to explore, we're going to have to push you out of your comfort zone and actually find new places and things to try"
My heart is racing as fantasies flood through my mind. "What do you have in mind?"
"Just play along with different roles and we'll see what happens baby girl"
Baby girl....is this role number one? Does Dustin think that with our 8 year age gap and my petite frame that we could play out what I think he wants to play? I did just tell him that I want to be the one he thinks of.
"Yes daddy"
"Good Girl"
I. Am. Wet.
"So what did you have in mind for dessert baby girl?"
I stand up, clean up, take Dustin by the hand. "These can end up on the floor too" i say motioning to my sheer lingerie.
"Not yet" he replies, guiding me back to the bedroom.
I find myself once again on Dustin's bed, this time guided into the center, onto my hands and knees. With gentle pressure between my shoulder blades, I drop to my elbows, arching my back and exposing my entrances to open view, my modesty preserved only by the thin g-string buried between my cheeks.
Dustin pulls that to the side, bringing my arousal fully into view. I shudder as a soft, wet tongue traces it's way teasingly between my parted lips, beginning at the bundle of nerves aching in my core and ending in the tight wet hole that's been longing to be filled since I started my teasing back at lunch. I moan a soft sigh of want as Dustin licks me again and again, using his thumbs to spread me open before teasing the inner entrance of my now soaked vagina with his oral stimulation.
After a few breathless minutes of almost over the edge teasing with his tongue, Dustin traces his tongue higher. My eyes go wide and my breath catches in my throat as his tongue glides across my other hole. After a brief pause, he repeats his elongated trail of tongue teasing a second and third time, ending on my bum every time.
I moan "Don't stop, daddy" as his tongue lingers on my hole, swirling around my rear entrance as his calloused fingers reach between my legs to tease my clit. I am so close as his tongue makes headway into my hole which is opening up for him at his constant stimulation.
"I'm going to fill you up baby girl" Dustin leans down and whispers in my ear, his tongue momentarily replaced by his thumb pressing further into my bum, slick with his saliva.
"Please daddy" I moan in reply, eager to keep my promise to do everything his wife won't do.
Dustin pulls away completely and reaches into his wife's nightstand. I see him pull out a bottle of lube and a silver plug with a red jeweled heart on the end, still in its packaging, unopened, unplayed with. I know what's coming and why we're playing this out right now.
Dustin removes the plug from its package and holds it tip first up to my lips. I know what he wants without saying a word. I stick out my tongue and lightly tease the cold metal tip, softly swirling circles around it, further and further down until I bob my head down, taking the whole plug in my mouth and closing my lips around the base. I look up at Dustin, the jeweled heart of the plug between my lips and softly moan in anticipation.
He pulls it out of my mouth and I seductively tease the tip one last time. "Wanna stick it in my ass daddy?" I beg as sexily as possible. After a few seconds of fumbling around with the lube bottle, I feel the cold liquid land on my hole, followed by a finger gently probing my already relaxed entrance. A moment later, the finger is replaced by the cold lubed plug and my breath catches in my throat as I stretch around the plug before closing down tightly on the base. Dustin moves my g-string back into place, covering my soaking wet lips and holding the plug firmly in my butt.
I look back at him pleadingly. I know I teased you hard earlier but if you stop now, this is just cruel. "Daddy please" I say breathlessly, not wanting the stimulation to stop while also acutely aware of the fullness inside my rear.
"Please what?"
"Please fuck me daddy"
"You have two options Hannah. You teased me, so this is a tease for you. You can go to bed, right now, right like this, or you can get your punishment and then a reward like a good girl. Bed or a spanking, your choice"
"Spank me Daddy" I beg without a moment's hesitation
smack the sharp crack of Dustin's hand on my bare cheek takes me by suprise and I clench hard on the plug inside my bum. "Oh fuck daddy" I moan in a mix of pain and pleasure. smack smack smack come three more successive blows, landing on alternating cheeks. I moan almost tearfully as my arousal builds to the point that I'm literally ready to beg for release.
"Daddy please fuck me. Do whatever you want just let me cum please"
A firm tug pulls my g-string down to my knees, still on all fours with my face in the pillows. A hard shaft rubs between my lower lips, finds my eager entrance, and in one firm thrust is buried all the way inside me. I cry out, looking back over my shoulder at Dustin who looks like a man possessed with the overwhelming urge to use me for his pleasure, and in that moment, it's all I want as well.
His firm hands grip my hips and I arch my back, throwing myself back against him to meet his own rapid thrusts. My cheeks clap a faster and faster pace as the overwhelming feeling of being completely filled mixes with the intense pleasure of the moment. I'm red faced and breathless, moaning Dustin's name as he continues in an unrelenting pace, thrusting in and out, in and out. At one point he pulls my face out of the pillows, gripping my long dark hair by my ponytail and commands "You're gonna be a good girl and cum for daddy"
He releases my hair but I remain facing forward, head up and moaning through the moment "Yes daddy, oh my fuuuuuuuuuckkkk" comes from my innocent lips as he simultaneously pulls out the buttplug and buries himself all the way inside me as I can feel him swell and begin to release against my cervix.
"That's right daddy, cum inside my pussy" I beg as he thrusts again and again as my inner walls clench down and my own release spills out of me, uncontained as I find one of the strongest orgasms of my life. His thrusts slow and eventually he pulls out, leaving me leaking cum and lube from both my holes.
He returns with a warm towel and begins to clean me off as I sit up, still in my sheer bra, and kiss him firmly on the lips. "That was incredible, daddy" I whisper, my forehead resting against his as he finishes cleaning my sensitive areas.
"Would you like to rinse off?"
I reply yes and he runs us a sensual warm shower, where nothing but gentle washing and a few lingering kisses happens. He's patient as I take extra time under the soothing water and wraps me in a soft towel when I get out.
As we get dressed into comfy pajama shorts and tshirts, I ask "so was I a good girl, daddy?"
"The best. I think we should stick with this role for awhile if you're into it"
After the time I had tonight, I'm more than willing to play along. We discuss some likes and dislikes and limits (nothing that leaves a mark where I'll have to answer questions about it at work), and reagree that none of this is a thing on the few occasions that his wife visits during her internship. And duh, no telling work, that would fuck us both.
We end the night with gentle pillow talk, and he asks if,for the role, I'd be willing to let him help me get dressed in the mornings, helping me pick out bras and undies from a selection of things I'd actually wear to work. I welcome the increased interaction and dedicated time to talk every morning without a second thought, and I fall asleep with his arm wrapped around me from behind, his strong hand under my tshirt, soothingly placed on my bare stomach, just below my belly button and just teasingly far enough into the area covered by a bikini. I'm in heaven.

Hey guys.
Been trying to find answers about this around online, but keep find articles upon articles of quitting cold turkey. However, for almost the past two weeks I've been taking a slower approach to quitting, and am being anxious about it due to random symptoms.
Quick backstory:
Past few months, was eyeing finally quitting. Been vaping for about 3 years, and noticed I had gotten to the point where I was taking a puff literally every 5-10 minutes...too easy access to just snatch it while gaming, mindlessly puffing away. Was going through 80%-100% of a Vuze pod every day on average, and that trend lasted about 6 months.
Couple weeks ago I had a somewhat related event that led to me pulling the trigger. It was slightly unrelated, but gave me the "dang...I need to ditch that too." motivation. Basically long story short, got ahold of a bad delta8 pen, and it spiraled into horrendous symptoms for two days that almost landed me in the ER. BUT the symptoms gave me anxiety about nicotine vape too, so I figured "alright...it's time. It all goes, before you end up going instead."
But I was afraid of going cold turkey, so instead I've been doing a heavy weening.
I went from the above 80-100% of a vuze pod, down to now about 20% of a pod per day on average. Today was even less...woke up this morning with only about 10% of the pod remaining, and it's still got a few drops in it after a full day.
So overall still motivated. Figure after this week, I'm going to try the cold turkey route. At that point I would be having so little per day that it'd be moot to continue it.
However what worries me:
I've got a doctor's appointment to go over this stuff too, so don't think I'm trying to WebMD this...but it would be helpful to get some personal stories too, if anyone else has experienced this.
My biggest worry at this point is "Am I quitting too late? Is something majorly wrong with me and what I felt a couple weeks ago that started this whole thing wasn't a delta8 pen, but rather something more serious like cancer or vape-related lung injuries?"
I've also got other possible causes in mind that I'm trying to either support theory on or eliminate. I moved back into my mother's place in September to help her after my dad passed away. There's some mold in the house that we are cleaning out, so I fear exposure to that could be a cause. Then also this is my first Spring living here in over 8 years. So I also wonder if these symptoms could be me readjusting the pollen here. I also drastically cut back on drinking over the past month...went from being able to have a full bottle of sake or wine any given night to now I won't drink anything over the level of a hard seltzer.
So basically I got slapped with "Too many variables changed, and too many possible unknown variables in the mix, and now I'm wondering if something's actually wrong with me, or it's just things to push through."
Symptoms that I have been feeling:

• Stiffness in my lungs some mornings. Will wake up and just feel a general tightness deep in my chest. Not like hypertension tightness, as I know what that one feels like. I'm talking deeper...like inhaling and you feel some achy resistance to the deep breath. I have no problem holding my breath once I get a full deep breath in, but it's just annoying that that feeling lasts for a few hours...sometimes all day. It's almost like the lungs being stuck together or tacky...like when you have wet elmer's glue on your fingers and try pulling them apart.
  • Is this supposed to happen this shortly after cutting back (stressing/highlighting that, to remind that this wasn't a cold turkey quit...just slammed on the brakes over the course of a week, but still hitting here and there daily). I knew that this type of feeling would come eventually, but most places online said it was more like week 2 and 3, maybe 4, because your lungs essentially start cleaning themselves off, operating more efficiently, etc. and some of the feeling is even your own mind getting used to your lungs controlling themselves at fuller capacity.
  • But this happened on week one for me...is that normal?
• Neck stiffness all over. Similar to when you're getting over a cold, it's like my lymphnodes are quite angry with me right now. Have felt a general soreness all the way up and down the left and right side of my neck along where doctors normally poke when they're checking your nodes. I've also felt stiffness in the back of my neck, radiating up my head around my ear, leading to my temple...this one's a bit more explainable I think, as that sounds like a tension headache, which is to be expected with nic withdrawal. My main concern has been the lymphnode areas being sore, because that can also be indicative of more than just withdrawal symptoms (lung infection or, worse, cancer).
• Phlegm, but from my nasal passages? Similar to the above: Like getting over a cold, you hit that point where your sinuses drain...but I didn't expect it with this. I keep feeling lumps of phlegm go down my throat when I sniffle sometimes. I expected it to happen with the lungs and I'd cough up phlegm (that hasn't started yet), but the nasal passages?
• "Waking Drowning": Some nights lately when I go to bed, Soon after I fall asleep, I snap awake gasping for air with my heart racing. Usually within the first 5-10 minutes of falling asleep. Lately this has led to a couple sleepless nights. Although I'm rational enough night-to-night to not fear falling asleep over it just because it happened the previous night, once it happens the first time on a given night, THEN I become afraid to fall asleep for that night.
• A feeling of physical disconnection: This one may be caused by the neck stiffness, but some days I wake up and I feel like my head is actually detached from my neck and just floating there. It's weird...feels like being high without all the fun parts, and that feeling lingers all day.
• Feeling annoyingly rundown: I've been having issues focusing at work and whatnot. Thankfully I work from home and can somewhat play it off, but the past few workdays I've had to sneak naps on lunch.
• Shaky feeling without the shake. Sometimes my hands will tremor for a moment or two, but that's it as far as visible shakiness. However I have had moments where I'm sitting here feeling like I'm vibrating in random parts of my upper body. Will even look at that body part closely to see if I actually am...but nope still as a can be, yet still feels vibratey lol.

The weird thing about all of the above is that they're being random day-to-day. Either I wake up perfectly fine and have a great day. OR all of the above hits me at once and then disappears again the next day. There doesn't seem to be much "in between."
Overall, though, none of this is stopping me from quitting... I know anxiety is part of "the experience" of quitting, so I've been careful about not letting it convince me to reset. If anything it's spurred more motivation, because I'm never letting a chemical have this level of a hold again. Thankfully, although as you can see anxiety is getting channeled into the above, mood hasn't shifted much in terms of everything else. I've had moments of depression, but not much out of the normal, and the anxiety seems to be more focused on helping me quit rather than convincing me to puff more. But it would be nice if the anxiety would stop trying to convince me that I'm dying, hence me wanting to just gather more info that I'm not finding online.
In advance though, thank you, and I look forward to hearing about anyone else who's experienced the above, and if you know of any remedies that'd be greatly appreciated. Feels good to be finally kicking this after having stupidly picked it up 3 years ago.

Guessing most of you have a cupboard full of powders, funnels, flavours etc
My weird water bottle starts out as a normal smart water I take a few sips out, throw in a lilcreatine, L citruline, L theanine , Pina colada liquid Iv
Later a fruit punch crystal light with agmatine sulfate with pink Himalayan sea salt
And sometimes I make a weird protein ice cream" by mixing whey powder , HMB, heavy whipping cream, creatine and half and half in a blender with ice cubes with some drops of vanilla sugar free syrup, cinnamon sprinkles to help with the taste
What are some specific recipes with some supplements that doesn't taste bad to you?

I was diagnosed with bipolar spectrum/cyclothymia years ago, after multiple medication changes I had settled on sertraline and lamotrigine with good effect for years, besides intermittent deterioration in mood that's was managable. I've since been diagnosed with ADHD due to increasing mixed depressive and hypomanic symptoms. I'm soooo confused. The treatment options between the 2 diagnoses seem polar opposites, and I'm petrified of long term consequences of chronic stimulant use (dexamphetamine that was swapped to Vyvanse). I'm wondering if anyone could shed some light on the differences between these 2 conditions and whether they are often co-morbid? I can read as much as I like but all the data seems conflicting.

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Tagged Photo and Timestamp : https://imgur.com/a/qbsESoT
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There’s a banana under all that 😀
I put a banana in the broiler for 10-15 mins. Then added all the goodies such as
Cacao powder
Date syrup
Powdered peanut butter
8 raspberries
Seed mix of flax, chia and hemp
Two tablespoon nonfat Greek yogurt
:)
Lose it app

period: april 28th to May 14th 2024.
Nights spent in: Tokyo - Sendai - Fukushima - Koriyama - Nagoya - Hakata ( Fukuoka ).
If it's really off the beaten path or not you'll decide, some destinations visited are really particular, other are way more popular even if usually not what you'll visit in your first trip to Japan. let's say i've been to japan last summer and did all the usual things one do the first time he's there, probably even something more: Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka - Nara - Nikko, Fukuoka, Matsumoto, Himeji, Miyajima. pretty much what almost anyone does for their first time if they have the opportunity.
Given the weak Yen and having still some time ( and money ) i could spend i decided to come back less than a year later, this time at the end of April up until half may in order to explore less popular destinations. I'll avoid to provide the usual tips anyone provide, like how to move from narita, how to get a Suica or how to book a train seat, how to operate a toilet and such things.
SOME TIPS
Concerning Suica: contrary to what most people suggest, i didn't buy one neither last summer or this time and frankly i've never missed not having it. I use my mastercard credit card, most places in japan accept it with zero problems and for the rest you can get Yen at any ATM machine that you can find in any combini with it and pay cash wich japanese still very much use
Concerning the period of the year: last year i went in August. I can confirm that moving around in April/May is so incredibly much better. The heat in august is some day even unbearable. This time the weather was mostly fine, got only one day of rain even if the temperatures were still a bit on the cold side overall. Unfortunately this year Sakura came early and I missed it by a week or two. But still apart from the cherry trees all the plants were blossoming and it was so nice to see flowers everywhere compared to the pain of the humidity and the torment of cicadas you have during summer.
Concerning golden week: one of the two weeks i was there was the golden week. I didn't book anything in advance but, maybe because of the fact i was moving off the beaten path, i almost never had problems booking trains or hotels during golden week ( i said almost, more details later ). Cant tell what's the effect when trying to book hotels in places like Kyoto.
concerning planning: my usual planning method goes the following: i book the plane, obviously. I buy JRP ( yes i still bought it even after the price increase ) and i book two days of hotels. The rest of my trip i have an idea of what i want to do and where i want to go but i book hotels and such, while going along. This gives me the flexibility to change my itinerary or react to bad weather ( last summer i run away from a typhoon with this trick ) or unexpected problems ( last summer i got food poisoning and i had to delay my program booking an hotel for three more days than expected: had i booked all nights in advance it would have been a huge problem ). I only book hotels using the booking website app and i can only say good things about it. I travel alone, maybe for couples or families this isn't as easy as it was for me.
Warning: I like to walk and I walk a lot. So if you need tips to move around, I’m not probably the right person because what you might want to do using a bus or a taxi I would probably do by walking. I’ve walked on average of 20 km a day and probably more and if a place is like 3-4 km from where I am I walk there without even looking if there’s a better option with a bus or something else.
I will give a vote to the places I’ve visited according to two parameters:
How off the beaten path it really is, judging by how many foreign tourists I met there. And an overall vote telling how worthy I feel the place is to visit. To make it short I will call them “OTBP VOTE and OVERALL VOTE”

SO LET'S START WITH THE ACTUAL TRIP REPORT:
Day 1: landing in Tokyo at midday in Narita. After finishing all the immigration process i moved to my hotel. This time i decided to book it for two nights in Omiya/Saitama. The place is less than half an hour from Tokyo Station and was the opportunity to see something different. I haven't seen much of the place but the area around the station was very lively, lots of restaurant and lots of people moving around. It was full of decoration with squirrells and a football team, i guess they were either promoting it or they won something cause decorations were everywhere, honestly didn't ask about. Well apart from checking in, recovering from the flight, looking for something to eat and checking a bit the areai didn't do much.
day 2: in the morning i took the train to Ashikaga Flower Park. I've seen picture of it online and according to the informations i gathered i might have been late for the sakura but the Wisteria were in full bloom and they had a lot of them in this park.
So i took the train, it was around an hour ride and Omiya was strategically on the way. I realized my trip plan was proably a good one when, once reached the Ashikaga flower park station ( there's a train station dedicated to this park ) all the people on the train got off. A little walk, ticket and i was in. The place, given the right time of the year, was AMAZING, UNBELIEVABLE. I can't begin to tell you how cool and how huge the wisteria plants were. they were in full bloom, and was something out of this world, it looked like something you see in the movie avatar. Like three or four wisterias as big as a basketball field if not even more, of different colours and kinds, plus a lot more of regular sized wisterias and a lot more flower plants of all kinds. Had to say, for some reason with all the flowers the air wasn’t at all full of their scent. I even got a wisteria flavoured ice cream, wich was probably a wisteria coloured ice cream cause it didn’t have any real particular taste. The place was packed with Japanese people and foreigners like me you could count them on the fingers of one hand. I arrived there early, so by early afternoon I was satisfied with my visit and moved away. A quick check on my train app and google maps and realized I could reach Kawagoe from there fairly easily.
ASHIKAGA FLOWER PARK OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 10
When I was on the train it stopped at the Tochigi station, it looked nice from the train so I decided to jump off and check the area a bit, because sometime I do that kind of things, and the idea wasn’t bad at all: the town itself doesn’t look anything special but there’s a canal wich was very picturesque, plus it was fully decorated with paper carps because of the time of the year and Japanese people were doing boat rides on the river on traditional little boats while singing songs. I won't say to go there specifically to see the place, but if you're on that train route or still around it, it might be worth a stop. So, once I finished checking the area I jump back on the train and finally reached Kawagoe.
TOCHIGI: OTBP: 10 OVERALL: 6 ½
Kawagoe is a small place north of Tokyo, not very far, wich is know for a small neighbourhood with old Edo houses. That neighbourhood is more far from the station that I expected, but still nice and worth a check. There’s a very cool bell tower there and one of the coolest Starbucks I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t spend a whole day in Kawagoe if you ask me but If you’re in Tokyo and have an half day available that you don't know how to spend I’d say it’s totally worth a train ride. Had my dinner there and then moved back to Omiya where I would spend my last night.
KAWAGOE: OTBP: 7 OVERALL: 7
Day 3: woke up early, jumped on the train and moved to Sendai where I had planned to stay the next three nights. Once again Omiya was a good choice cause I could take the shinkansen right from there without having to move back to Tokyo.
Arrived in Sendai, left my luggage in the hotel where I couldn’t check in cause it was still to early and hopped on a local train in direction of Matsushima. By midday I was already in Matsushima. This is another very famous destination for Japanese people, one of the most known panoramas in japan. Have to say, the town is a typical sea town, definitely welcoming. I had one of the best Sushi I ever had in japan in a local restaurant ( check matsushima sushi kou if interested ). Visited Zuiganji temple and then walked a bit on the coast, crossed the Fukuurabashi bridge, the long red bridge that you probably have seen in some picture, and walked around Fukuurajima. Here you can have a walk around the island it’s not small but is small enough that you can walk it all fairly quickly and it has some nice spots to discover. You have to pay a small fee to cross the bridge. Then went back, checked the Godaido of Zuiganji and it’s worth mentioning that when walking along the coast I’ve stumbled across a couple of signs giving instructions on what to do in case of a tsunami and what happened back in 2011, wich I didn’t even think about up until that moment and suddenly the memories went back to what happened there more than 10 years ago. Last thing, my advice is to walk down to Oshima island. This little island is less crowded, you can reach it crossing a little red bridge and honestly to me it’s the best spot to admire Matsushima. I didn’t went for the ferry ride across the bay cause the weather wasn’t very good and I was starting to be a little short on time, so I moved back to Sendai.
MATSUSHIMA: OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 8 ½
Once back in Sendai, I went to see the sunset from the panoramic floor of the AER building near the station, wich is totally free even if finding the right elevator that takes you up might be a bit tricky, but the view is totally worth it, you can even see in the distance the big white shape of the dai-kannon and from the other side of the floor you can easily see the sea.
Talking about Sendai, I didn’t dedicate to the city the time that should have been necessary because I was always on day trips and I spend there mostly the late evenings, but my impression is that Sendai is a very nice city that should appear more often in peoples itineraries. The city is particularly vibrant and alive, lot of young people, lot of things to see and do, a covered shopping street that is almost endless full of restaurants and shops, way more green than many other Japanese cities. I’d recommend anyone who had the time and the opportunity to spend a little time here. Also it has a very distinctive identity and everything proudly revolves around the image of its founder Date Masamune who is everywhere in senday, even the penguin of the local DonQuishotte mall was dressed up as Date Masamune.
So after the panorama, I went in the hotel, finally checked in and then moved back to look for food. Walked down what I think is called ichibancho street, wich as I said before is an endless downtown road full of shops and restaurant and stopped to have a try at the most famous local dish, Gyutan, wich is grilled cow tongue. Never had tongue in my life and have to admit it, it’s not bad at all, I quite enjoyed it. Had a little more walk around then called it a day.
SENDAI: OTBP: 7 ½ OVERALL: 9
Day 4: today trip is to Hiraizumi, a UNESCO world heritage site, where you can admire some historically significant buddhist sites. You had to catch a coincidence in Ichinoseki but the whole ride is pretty straight forward and doesn’t really take much time. At 9 am I was already ready to explore. As I sad I’m a walker, so I walked the walk from the station to the Chuson Ji temple wich is around 2 km and I totally recommend it cause the town is quite nice to walk through, very small village, very cozy and intimate. Chuson Ji it’s a very beautiful complex to explore, it’s inside a forest, kinda reminds a bit of Nikko atmosphere if you’ve been there even if the buildings aren’t as spectacular. The whole wood was full of blossoming plants and here and there I was able to spot some late cherry tree still full of flowers, giving me an hint to what sakura must really be.
You stumble in the temple buildings one after another while you go deep into the wood. I reach the main building and there’s a ceremony in progress. I discovered later that the next day was planned the Fujiwara festival where all people dress up like in Edo period and do a parade in the city. The day I was there instead the children parade was planned, so it was full of kids dressed up and judging by how proud and elegant their parents were I tend to think it was a pretty big thing for them. I enjoy the situation for a while, then went back to exploring, till I reached the main attraction of the temple wich is the Konjikido, a golden pavilion that dates back to the XII century wich is amazing to see in person.
Once I finished exploring the whole Chuson Ji complex I went looking for a restaurant and had a nice ramen set, because the visit took the whole morning, then moved to the second stop wich was Motsuji Temple: as much as Chuson Ji impressed me, Motsu-ji disappointed me. The thing is, you pay to enter and in the end what you see is a place mostly empty, where the only building there are reconstructions and most places are just a bunch of rocks with signs saying “here once was this building” “here once was that building” and the main thing you’ll see there is a pond whose importance is that it dates back to the time when Japanese gardens were kinda dull compared to what they’ll become centuries later. So it’s kinda a pond that you would completely ignore in a different context. I mean, I totally get the historical importance of this place, but, honestly from the ignorant eyes of a tourist it’s really nothing you would invest your time visiting, according to my opinion.
Another place that would have been worth visiting was Takkoku-no Iwaya Bishamondo, but isn’t really that easy to reach, it’s a bit far to walk to and I was once again out of time, therefore I decided to skip it and went back to the station and to sendai where I again went to look for something to eat and had a little night stroll, nothing worth mentioning.
HIRAIZUMI: OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 8
Day 5: today I decided to go to Kakunodate. The town is a easily reachable by train from sendai but a bit far compared to the day before. Went off the station and once again started walking. The place is known mainly for its many samurai houses, all indications point to them so it’s not possible to miss them. The town itself for the little I’ve seen doesn’t really seem to offer much apart from that but the samurai distict it’s nice. Many of the houses have been converted into small museums, that you can visit paying a small fee. I entered one of them, there was a little tour showing the history of the city and the history of the family of samurai living there. Among the things you could do you had the chance even to hold a real katana ( it felt quite a clumsy and top heavy sword compared to what I had imagined ). In fairness, to my taste, there isn’t much to do apart from visiting the samurai district, yes you can visit the local museum, do some craft shopping ( I bought a very nice box made of cherry bark there wich is a typical local craft ) therefore after a late lunch I was back to Sendai. In my opinion if you want to see a Samurai district you can also go to Kanazawa and there’s much more to see there overall compared to Kakunodate, but if you like the atmosphere of a smaller village instead of a big city and you like something more “off the beaten path” then I’d say go to kakunodate.
KAKUNODATE: OTBP: 8 ½ OVERALL: 6 ½
Given i was back to sendai relatively early, that gave me the opportunity to walk ( yes I walked even there ) to see the dai-kannon. The walk was nice, it took me through some very quiet neighbourhood that you wouldn’t normally visit. When I reached the statue It was too late to go inside it but I still had a good view of it. That is a quite impressive sight, you almost have difficulty to grasp the actual size of it. The area around the statue has really nothing to offer, therefore my honest suggestion is take a ride with the sightseeing bus and use that to reach it and once you’re finished with the statue move to a more interesting spot.
And this was my last day in Sendai. My plan at this point was to book two nights at Koriyama but probably because of the golden week I wasn’t able to find a hotel to my liking there therefore I decided to book one night in Fukushima and the next night in Koriyama. These were the two more expensive nights of all my trip and still ended up spending only around 70 € a night.
Day 6: plan for the day: leave the luggage in the hotel, visit Yamadera, go back to sendai, pick up the luggage and move to fukushima to spend the night. Yamadera is truly easy to reach from Sendai and a very recommended destination if you happen to be in Sendai. The place is mostly known for a temple that is reachable walking an abundant number of steps up a hillside. You reach the town, wich Is a very little and cozy village in the mountains west from Sendai and the temple is very close to the station so it’s not possible to miss it. You can tell the whole village revolves around the temple but it still maintain an authentic spirit. Lots of restaurants and little shops to visit on the road that brings to the temple. The temple itself is very “vertical” : sets of stone stairs will lead you up the side of the hills, till you reach the main building and a couple of satellite building where you’ll be rewarded by an amazing view on the village below. If you don’t mind stairs you’ll be rewarded with a very relaxing atmosphere. Here too given the latitude and the altitude I’ve been able to enjoy a couple of late blossoming cherry trees. The weather was amazing that day and all the gardens where full of flowers, this made the whole trip particularly enjoyable. Luckly I’m an early bird because later in the day the place was really packed with visitors. Once I was finished I had a nice set of Yamagata Dashi Soba in a typical restaurant with Tatamis low tables and a beautiful view on the river that cuts in half the village.
YAMADERA: OTBP: 10 OVERALL 9
After a late lunch I jumped back to the train, went back to sendai to pickup the luggage and moved to the next stop, Fukushima. Here I had the first disappointment of my trip. As my usual I booked a hotel that was close to the main train station, wich is usally the place where you want to be. I had a walk around there and the impression I got from Fukushima was that the place was miserable, a place that has really nothing much to offer to a tourist and not even to a citizen because compared to all the other places I’ve been in japan the impression was that even the locals weren’t as lively and enjoying life that much. I hope I’m not offending anyone and for sure I can’t give a proper review of the place after just an evening spent there, but the impression I got was of one of those town, that you can find in every country you'll visit, where young people can’t wait to get old enough to run away from.
FUKUSHIMA: OTBP: 9 ½ OVERALL: 4
DAY 7: wake up in fukushima, move to Koriyama, leave the luggage at the hotel, and then visit Ouchi-Juku and Aizu Wakamatsu. If you’re wondering, the thing is doable but you need to move early. Once you reach Koriyama you take the local train for Aizu Wakamatsu. There you jump on another local train, wich isn’t entirely operated by JR so you’ll have to pay a ticket, to Yunokami Onsen station where you end up in one of the coolest train stations in japan because it’s built in the style of a traditional house with wooden interiors and a straw roof, and it has a feet onsen right outside where you can wait the train while bathing your feet in thermal water, how cool is that?
From here you take a bus and reach Ouchi Juku. On paper it sounds harder than it actually is but you have to plan your trip properly. Ouchi Juku is a post town all made of traditional houses that reminds you a bit of Shirakawa Go, I frankly don’t know how it isn’t more popular among foreigners cause it’s truly a one of a kind place. Most probably is because it’s so off the beaten path and hard to reach. Still it’s extremely popular among Japanese people because the place was crowded and, when I left, the car traffic was stuck by how many people where trying to reach the place by car. I have to tell you in all honestly the place is probably a bit too touristy because there’s not a single house that isn’t turned into a gift shop or a restaurant. But still the place is so charming and picturesque that is totally worth a visit, plus the surrounding woods, mountains and rice field really act like a frame around the most beautiful picture. So I spend the morning here and around 2 pm I move back to Aizu, because there are really not many bus runs in the evening taking you back to Yunokami Onsen and you better reach the place early.
OUCHI JUKU: OTBP: 10 OVERALL: 9
That gives me the opportunity to visit Aizu Wakamatsu. Ive heard about the city for its castle and for the legend of the Byakko Tai. I get off to Aizu Wakamatsu main station and walk across town till I reach the castle. Keep in mind it’s Saturday and along the whole walk I might have crossed three people. The city was deserted and one thing I’ve learned is, if people on a Saturday evening flee a city like that, then there isn’t much to do or see there, and that’s the impression I got, kinda like Fukushima, probably even worse. Still, I reached the castle: the park is very nice, the castle is a beautiful Japanese castle but, to my understanding it’s a modern reconstruction cause the original castle was lost during the Meiji restoration as Aizu was one of the spots that rised against the emperor. At least around the castle there were now many people. From the castle, wich I didn’t visit inside, I went back to the train station, this time I reached Nanukamachi station and I have to admit it the area there seemed more alive and interesting to stroll around than the area around main Aizu station, therefore maybe I just walked across the wrong part of the town, I honestly can’t tell.
AIZU: OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 6
From Aizu I finally moved by train to Koriyama. I really didn’t spend enough time there to have a proper opinion but the impression I got was of a laid back place, more relaxing than sendai and definitely more alive than fukushima. If I had more time I’d probably give it a shot for a day visit, it might be a surprise.

DAY 8: by this day I ended up with a terrible sore throath that I had to endure almost till my last day in japan. I never had a fever but there was definitely something going around, I kept hearing many Japanese people coughing on trains all around japan so there was definitely something going around, maybe it’s just the season changing, it happens during this season all the times to have some cold or cough. Anyway, the day I had to wake up early and move from Koriyama to Nagoya by Shinkansen, wich was a considerably long trip but at least it gave me the opportunity to take probably the best picture I’ve ever take of mount fuji, from the train. Once in Nagoya I left the luggage in the hotel ( wich, thanks probably to the fact that the golden week just ended, I happened to book for 4 nights for a whopping 25€ a night wich was a total steal even for current Japanese standard prices ). There I immediately jumped on another train and went to visit Inuyama.
The area around Nagoya is a bit tricky cause it’s full of railroads operated by a company that is not JR wich are not covered by the JR Pass but there’s a JR station a bit to the north of Inuyama that will do the job. The place is totally recommended for three reason: it’s overall nice, with the Kiso river cutting it, the castle is one of the few original ones and even if small is considered a national treasure and the whole area around the castle is very nice and worthy to spend some time on. So I visited the castle, the view from the top floor is awesome and in a clear day you can easily spot the skyline of Nagoya. Outside the castle there’s an edo style street full of shops, restaurants and street food that is nice to explore, totally recommended a walk there.
INUYAMA: OTBP: 8 ½ OVERALL: 10
Coming back to Nagoya I just had energy to look for food then I went back to my hotel for a good night of sleep.
DAY 9: a day trip from Nagoya to Ise. The trip isn’t that easy, you got to take a couple of trains if you move only by JR ( and a couple of stops of one of them aren’t even JR operated wich is a little confusing honestly ) and you end up in Iseshi station. From there I moved to Ise Jingu Geku, wich is the outer sanctuary and from there you can take a bus ( guess what, I walked instead ) to the main Ise sanctuary. If you don’t know Ise Jingu is the most sacred place in the Shinto religion and is regularly visited even by the emperor given his role in the Shinto religion. Inside the main temple one of the most sacred relics of Shinto religion is preserved.
Well, being totally honest here’s my impressions of Ise: it’s not simple to reach. The city itself, for what I’ve seen, looks like it has seen better days, meaning it looks like it’s falling apart. And the temples, there’s really not that much to see: they are in a forest, and the temples are not that spectacular, plus the most interesting parts are forbidden to visit. You can go to Atsuta Jingu without moving out from Nagoya and have a fairly realistic impression of what you would see in Ise without all the issues. I know people will attack me for what I’m saying, but that is what I’ve got from it. The most fun part was the edo style neighborhood that you can find right before entering the main Isu complex, wich looks almost like a theme park. I don’t say don’t go there, I say if you are, as you are probably, on borrowed time, with lots of places you want to visit and too few days to see them all, if Ise is in your list you might want to use the day to see something else.
ISE: OTBP: 6 ½ OVERALL: 6 ½
DAY 10: I decided to spend the day in Nagoya and take a look of the city, thanks also to the weather that was a bit rainy and really not inviting for another day trip. What I’ve seen in a day is the samurai exposition in Marunouchi. It’s free and it’s totally worth it, lots of beautiful samurai armours and swords. There’s another exposition that opened not many years ago that you can go nto too far but I didn’t visit so I can’t tell about that. From here I went to Nagoya castle. You pay to enter the complex but currently the Castle is under restoration and you can see it from outside ( it’s very impressive, Nagoya and Osaka castles are massive ) but not visit from inside. But the Honmaru Palace right beside it is open and totally worth a visit. From here took the subway ( yeah today I didn’t walk much so I got a subway day pass ) to the Osu Shotengai Shopping District, wich is the usual kind of covered shopping streets nest you can find in all the Japanese cities, and then moved again to Atsuta Jingu Shrine that, as I said, to me is a completely valid alternative to visiting Ise. The day went by without even noticing and I couldn’t see all the other places I had picked, like the Toyota museum, the tokugawa museum or the science museum, but that’s what you get when you only have one day dedicated to visit a city as big as Nagoya. Still I had time to get an impression of the city and I honestly don’t get the bad reputation it has among foreigners, the city looked to me quite interesting, nice, full of things to see and the people felt particularly laid back compared to cities like Tokyo or Osaka, it’s probably the place where I’ve seen the biggest number of tanned Japanese in all the country. To me Nagoya is totally worth at least two or three days dedicated only to visiting the city.
NAGOYA: OTBP: 5 OVERALL: 9
DAY 11: my original plan was to walk the Nakasendo from Magome to Tsumago. But the weather that day was kinda shit, I wasn’t feeling particularly In the mood of a walk because of my throath and I was starting to feel a bit tired, so I improvised and went for a day in Takayama and Gero Onsen. Takayama is pretty famous. I went there around 20 years ago and I remembered it as a very nice place. Getting back now, with all the Japanese places I’ve seen so far, I would say this: the train trip to Takayama is Spectacular, is a truly feast for the eyes. The town itself, it left me a little disappointed. The Edo style streets that its famous for, I’ve seen so many of them at that point around japan that it didn’t really leave a significant impression on me. And it was honestly smaller than I remembered it. Plus the weather, as I said, didn’t help. So overall the reality didn’t stand up to my memories and my expectations. Plus most of the houses there have now been turned in cheap souvenir shops with nothing giving you an authentic feeling. Don’t know, probably I wasn’t really in the mood that day.
TAKAYAMA: OTBP: 2 OVERALL: 6 ½
I took the opportunity on the way back to stop at Gero Onsen. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to actually stop for an onsen cause overall the whole day wasn’t planned and I mainly improvised. Still the town is very nice and probably, having no expectations or no knowledge of it, even more worth visiting than Takayama. Had a nice walk around the town, and at least had the opportunity to “feel” the thermal water cause there’s plenty of fountains with hot spring water where you can rest your feet or your hands. It was enough to make me aware that a proper onsen there must be a very enjoyable experience.
GERO ONSENS: OTBP: 8 OVERALL: 8
And after this I went to Nagoya where I spent my last night in the city.

DAY 12: moving to Fukuoka ( Hakata ). I booked a hotel near Hakata station so I jumped on the shinkansen and moved there. The ride was as confortable as any shinkansen ride can be and I reached the place sooner than I imagined. First thing was a good look of the city from the panoramic floor in the station. Then had a walk to the Canal City mall wich is a very weirdly and interesting designed mall that is a very popular location in town. Had a walk from there to Nakasu island where I got a quick dinner considering it was already time, and had another walk around the area wich unfortunately will turn out to be my only experience of Fukuoka. I’ll spend here three nights but the following days will be so full that won’t give me any chance to visit the town more, so in the end I don’t really have an opinion on Fukuoka if not that I should probably have spent more time there, but unfortunately the days you have are numbered and there’s so much to see that you have to give up something here and there, so i won't even give a vote to the city.
DAY 13: Destination is Kagoshima that it’s easily reachable by train. I went there with no real expectation and I was totally blown away. Something clicked and I instantly liked the town, I must say that probably the fact that one of the most beautiful girls I’ve seen in japan out of the blue started a conversation with me on the train probably helped a lot in putting me in a good mood.
From the station I walked downtown till the coast. On the way I stopped shopping a bit, found a local market where local artisans that day were exposing their crafts wich I liked a lot and went to the top floor of the Centerrace Mall to get a panoramic view of the city with an amazing view on Sakurajima volcano. If you don’t know it’s the symbol of the city and it’s said to be almost always active, the whole day I’ve been there he kept puffing little clouds of smoke from time to time, it was very cool. So, once reached the cost I walked ( you should know it by now ) till I reached Sengan-En wich is the garden and the palace of a local lord and it’s very beautiful, totally worth a visit, also compared to many other places in japan, this is more modern and therefore more unique both in the architecture of the palace and the style of the garden. I’d say if you are in Kagoshima you won’t regret visiting it ( maybe don’t do like me and take a bus cause it’s more than 6 km from the station ). After visiting Sengan En I went back to the ferries and took a ferry to Sakurajima. The ferry is very cheap, 200 yen, and quick to reach it’s destination, but on Sakurajima there’s really not much to do if you don’t plan to use a bus or some other kind of transportation. Since it was already evening, I had nothing planned and I had to go back to Hakata, I just took the time to have a walk on the Lava Trail wich is a walk in a natural park that has grown over an old lava flow, wich is a quite unique thing that I enjoyed more than I expected. Then I went back to Kagoshima, had dinner and moved back to Hakata. I have to say I really enjoyed Kagoshima, the city has a unique vibe, very laid back, the people seemed to be relaxed and happy and were much more open toward foreigners than anywhere I’ve experienced. If I’ll ever be back in japan I’ll surely manage to spend some more time in Kagoshima. I took the train and I was back in hakata at around midnight so I went straight to bed in hotel
KAGOSHIMA: OTBP: 10 OVERALL: 10
Day 14: Nagasaki. Another fairly easy destination to reach from Fukuoka. The city itself is very narrow and develops around its river. As a tourist I was immediately attracted to its atomic bomb museum, wich is north from the station. I went there, you don’t say, by foot.
And later, once I’ve done with the atomic bomb part, the Nagasaki near the sea.
And here starts the tale of the two Nagasaki, because it feels like two different places in one. The north part, wich I didn’t enjoy much, felt a bit neglected and it’s mostly houses where people live. And it’s the part where you’ll see more tourists because as I said all the atomic spots are there.
On the other hand the south part near the city was to me much more alive and full of life, I’m no expert but that’s probably where the locals like to spend their free time and on the other hand you’ll see way less tourists here.
Back to the morning, I did what most tourists do, and visited the atomic bomb museum, the peace park, the ipocenter, and went also to see the half standing torii that is one of the few authentic places left as testament of the bombing, around the city. Talking about the museum, I’ve been to both thins and Hiroshima and, even if Hiroshima is bigger and with much more to see, I would suggest if one has the opportunity to visit also the Nagasaki one, it absolutely has its own legs to stand on. On a side note, out of 10 visitors, 9 were foreigners, I guess Japanese already know their history and don’t feel the need to visit such a place on a nice Sunday morning.
The peace park it’s a park, there you can see the famous statue wich is one of the main symbols of Nagasaki and that, if you ask me, is one of the ugliest statues you can find in the world, but still if you’re in Nagasaki you probably don’t want to miss it.
After lunch I moved to the sea side, here I’ve seen DeiJima wich is the former artificial island where the Portuguese were segregated centuries ago, very interesting place, kinda like a mix of an open air museum and a theme park, felt a little bit plastic but still worth some of your time.
Then had a walk to the near seaside park wich is a very nice and relaxing place where flocks of eagles fly so low over your head that if you rise your hand you can almost touch them, and pretty much ended the day there before having to go back to Fukuoka.
NAGASAKI: OTBP: 5 OVERALL: 7 ½

Day 15 – 16 - 17: my last full days in japan. I was in need of some rest at this point and I needed to move closer to Narita where I had booked my flight for day 18, so i spent more than half of day 15 to transfer from Hakata to Tokyo. I booked my last hotel for three nights near Otsuka station, wich if you ask me is a nice spot to stay in Tokyo. When I arrived in the evening there was a rose festival and all around the station there were roses bushes in flower and there were people singing and the whole station looked alive but also quiet, if you like a place to stay In Tokyo that it’s not chaotic like Shinjuku or Shibuya I’d recommend Otsuka.
The last days aren’t really worth mentioning, I’ve spent most of the time shopping for souvenirs, and recovering for all the travel i did the two weeks before. I explored a couple of places worth mentioning that not everyone ever goes to in Tokyo, like Nakano Broadway ( a weird shopping district that feels like a little Akiabara ), Nippori where there’s a little known street nice for shopping, or Chiba where there’s one of the biggest mall in japan but apart from that nothing much that you can read in the report of anyone who have been to Tokyo.
And with this, I think I can conclude my report. If you want me to upload some picture and you have a site to suggest me where it’s easy to upload and you don’t have to make an account let me know and if there’s enough interest I will oblige as soon as I’ve finished downloading all the pictures from my phone.

I assembled a 7-part SoundCloud mix series of the weirder side of Chicago music that spans the 1970s-2020s. No-wave, prog, primitive, arty. Features US Maple, Coughs, Silver Abuse, Imelda Marcos, Scissor Girls, Bussy Kween Power Trip, Skafish, among many others.
I put this together a couple years ago and a mix with current 2024 bands is in the works. Are there any bands you would suggest?

“Um! Bob! You have a lovely daughter there, but… Um! She has a tail. Am I correct in what I’m thinking?”, I asked.
“Yes, Mr. Hard-Sell. You would be correct. Rebecca is an 867 year old Succubus. She is not only off-limits to you, because she is my daughter. But also because, the six of you, yes, including you Big Man, are an intricate part of my plan. I can’t have her seducing you, then killing you. Although the majority of you are already dead, and would come back to life, the remainder are not, and would not. Your untimely deaths would hinder my plan immensely. I do hope that you understand.“, Bob said, still standing
“I do!”, “Yup!, “You know it”, “Absolutely!”, “Sure do!”, “I don’t wanna die!”, we all said in response.
“Good!”, Bob stated.
Rebecca then came back into the room.
“Edgar said he just finished his checklists, and that we will be taxiing to the runway soon, Daddy!”, Rebecca said, not so seductively.
“Very well, Dear! Take your seat!”, Bob said.
Rebecca then took a seat in the chair next to the TV, close to Bob, directly in front of us, and began rubbing the tip of her tail playfully.
She then winked at us, and licked her lips.
“REBECCA!”, Bob shouted, and looked at her hard faced once again.
Rebecca dropped her tail, and just sat there, pouting.
We then taxied to the runway, and stopped.
Shortly after, we heard the intercom make a popping sound, then Edgar’s nasally voice was heard saying, “Good Evening, Passengers, and Welcome to Hellfire Airlines, Flight 666. Nah!, I’m just kidding, I don’t even think we have a number.”
He then laughed.
“The time is 5:08 PM, Human time. The weather conditions are clear and sunny. I always wanted to say that.”, he continued, then laughed again.
He finished by saying, “But seriously, Guys. We’re taking off now. So, wish me luck!”
There was a brief moment of silence, then we heard Edgar say over the intercom again, “Okay! Fingers crossed, Here goes. Um!… Release brake. Wow!… Ok!… Advance throttle! Woah! We’re movin’ now!”
The plane then started moving forward fast, shaking and bouncing as it went, and so was Rebecca.
We all just stared at her.
“Boys! Remember what I said!” Bob told us.
We all closed our eyes, turned our heads, or covered our faces, in an attempt to look away, as Edgar continued on the intercom.
“Um! Ok! Check speed! Faster! Faster! Got it… Lock it… Yeah Baby!… Pull the stick thing… Man, this thing is heavy! Um! Oh shit!… We’re fly… Did I leave this on?… Oh, Fuck!”
We then heard the popping sound of the intercom turning off.
Bob just covered his face, and shook his head, as the plane ascended into the sky.
Rebecca was now smiling.
We, however, were completely scared shitless.
When the plane leveled off, we all began to check and see if we pissed or shit ourselves.
Luckily, no one did. Tony was sweating profusely though.
“Are you alright, Man?”, I asked Tony.
“Yeah, I think so, Mike! Thanks for asking!”, Tony said.
“No problem, Dude!”, I replied.
We all just sat there, for a little while, not saying a word, trying to calm our nerves.
The plane then suddenly began to shake violently.
Tony screamed.
“We’re gonna die, Dude!”, Stephen yelled.
“I’m too young to die!”, Derek said.
“Shut up, Dude! We’re already dead.”, Ricky replied.
“Oh, yeah!”, Stephen responded.
“Right!”, Derek said.
“Boys! Boys! Its just a little turbulence. I told you, Edgar has it all under control. However, you boys look all stressed out. Would you like a little stress relief?
“What kind of Stress Relief?”, Tony asked.
“Oh, you’ll see! Rebecca, why don’t you go keep Edgar company for a while! I’ll let you know when to come back!”
Rebecca smiled wider, and her eyes brightened.
“Okay!”, she said excitedly, and hopped with a bounce, out of her seat.
“Not that kind of company! The poor boy will kill us all. Well, you know what I mean!”, Bob said.
“Okay, Daddy! I’ll just talk to him.” She said saddened, and slowly walked back through the curtain, her tail dragging on the floor.
As she did, we heard her say, “I’m never getting laid with you around!”
We all kinda laughed at that one, except Bob of course.
He shook it off, and said, “Now Tony! Remember what your friend here was doing with his hands earlier”, and pointed at Corey.
“Yeah!”, Tony answered, and moved his hands curvingly, just like Corey did.
“That’s Right, Big Man!… Girls!” Bob said, and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, the door between the pinball machines opened up, and out walked six seductively dressed women, in various colored, practically see through, lacey lingerie, all well endowed.
2 Blondes, 2 Redheads, 1 Brunette, and a black haired girl.
“They must have been waiting in our rooms when Bob gave us a tour of the plane. We didn’t see them, because we didn’t go in the rooms then.”, I thought.
Anyway, a different girl went to each one of us, and began flirting, and rubbing shoulders, amongst other things.
Derek and Corey jumped at the opportunity, and began making out with their girls almost immediately, and soon ventured to their rooms.
Stephen and Ricky “Hung Out” with their girls for a while, like a little date, before doing the same.
Tony was just laughing, and having the time of his life, as his girl rubbed the top of his head… The one on his shoulders, you sick freaks.
When “my” girl approached me, I greeted her with a handshake, and told her I wasn’t interested, but told her Tony would be ecstatic having the “attention” of two girls.
She smiled, and went to join in the fun with Tony.
Both girls actually had to lead Tony to his room.
I just sat there.
“Mr. Hard-Sell?”, Bob inquired, “Not interested! Are you one of THOSE kind of guys?”, he asked.
“No, Bob!”, I said, “I’m just picky about my girls. Some say I have a unique preference. All those girls are incredibly beautiful, they’re just not my type.”
“What is your type, Mr. Hard-Sell?”, Bob asked.
I tried to think of the best way to respectfully describe them.
After a few seconds, I said, “You can laugh if you want to, everyone does, but I don’t give a shit. I like Big Girls, Bob! Thick and Fluffy! That’s my type!”
Bob just looked at me, “Very interesting!”, he said, “Let me see what I can do.”
He then snapped his fingers, and disappeared into a cloud of gray smoke.
Moments later, he returned in another cloud of smoke.
“He must really like gray smoke!”, I thought.
“Ta-da!”, he said announcing himself, “Wait until you see what I have got for you, Mr. Hard-Sell! I believe she will most definitely be to your liking.”
He snapped his fingers once again, and through the door, walked the most incredibly beautiful, full figured, thick and fluffy woman that I had ever seen. Well, besides Susan. She will always be my number one, but this girl was a close second.
She too wore the same see through lacey lingerie, but hers was white.
My eyes almost popped right out of my head.
We also “Hung Out” for a while, playing pinball, drinking coffee, and talking, before agreeing to head to my room, leaving Bob alone by himself.
She’s a really nice girl. Her name is Donna by the way.
I joined the “Mile High Club” that day. Hell, all of us did, including the girls, well, except Bob. But I’m pretty sure he’s been a member for a very long time.
Anyway, after we all got to “know our girls a little better”, one by one we all made our way back to the “Hang Out” section, I assume, as Derek, Corey, Ricky, and Stephen were all there, with their girls, when I arrived with mine.
Everyone turned to look at Donna and her full figured self, as we walked through the door.
“Bust that shell, Man!”, Derek said, smiling.
“You do you, Dude!”, Stephen said, giving me a thumbs up.
“You go, Girl!”, Ricky’s girl said.
That was the first time in my life, that no one laughed or made fun of my preference in women, or the woman herself.
I smiled, and then kissed Donna, who in turn kissed me back
Anyway, Derek, Corey and their girls were getting toasted on the couch.
Stephen was playing a game of pinball with his girl.
Ricky and his girl were playing Asteroids on the TV.
Tony was the last to arrive, with both of his girls, his arms around each one of their waists, and a huge smile plastered across his face.
“Thanks, Mike!”, he said, “That was fun!”
“I bet it was, Dude! You’re Welcome!”, I replied.
He then went to the sandwich station, grabbed some ham, and began “Lady and The Tramping” it with both of the girls.
“Boys! Boys!”, Bob said loudly, “Come here! Eyes forward! Pay attention!”
We all got up and gathered around Bob, including Tony.
The girls all gathered on one couch, and began talking about anything and everything, giggling like women do.
No offense!!
Bob then started to speak.
“Now, before you go thinking that you “did the nasty” with a demon or some other product of Hell, let me assure you boys, that that could not be further from the truth.
I would not waste my demons on such frivolous things such as this.
Also. I can not manifest a human female, even if I tried, and I have. It did not work out well for me.
You see, The human male was created in the image of the “Man upstairs”, he said.
He then pointed toward the ceiling of the plane, meaning GOD.
He then continued, “And the human female was created FROM the human male, therefore they are both creations of “HIS”.
Now, many believe, that I have greater power than “HIM”, but they are wrong. I have great power, yes, but nothing that could compare to that of “HIM”.
I assure you boys, that these lovely ladies here are 100% human.
They are fans of the band, I believe you humans call them, Groupies, or something equally as stupid as that.
You see, when your album was released, after your video, oh yes, there’s a video.
We videotaped each part of your recording session, unbeknownst to you, and after mixing your audio tracks and instrumental tracks together to create a song, we mixed the tapes together, timing it perfectly, to match the audio track we made, thus creating the video.
I think it had something to do with dawn and being dark”, he said.
“Before The Blackest Dark Of Dawn!”, I said.
“Yes, that’s it! It is very popular on something called MTV.
Anyway, like I said, when your album was released, I went around to various music shops, to see who was buying it.
I put on another non-threatening outfit, and approached only the most beautiful of women, offering to let them “meet” the band, and Tony.
I only had to ask 8 lovely ladies.
The first 2 agreed, the third had a boyfriend, the 4th and 5th agreed, the 6th “batted for the same team”, her words not mine, the 7th and 8th both agreed as well.
None of the girls, except your girl, Mr. Hard-Sell, your second girl, Donna, I believe, not your first, and your girl, Tony, really cared who they “went with”, as long as they “went with” someone in the band.
Your two girls actually wanted to “meet” you. He then pointed to Tony and myself.
The redhead over there…”, he said.
We all been turned to look at the redhead on the left side of the couch.
“No, the other one…”
We all been turned to look at the redhead on the right side of the couch.
“Yes, that one!”
She actually likes large men, so that worked out well.
I arranged for all six ladies to wait in your rooms until called, which they did.
I was unaware of your “preference”, Mr. Hard-Sell. So I quickly found someone to your liking. Believe it or not, in your Daddy’s store.”
He then pointed to Ricky.
“He’s doing fine by the way, business is on the rise, since he started promoting his son’s album.”
Ricky then smiled.
“Very Good Choice, Bob!”, I said, as I turned and blew a kiss to Donna, and waved.
She “caught” the kiss, and “put” it on her cheek, smiling.
Stephen gave a thumbs up to Bob, then went back to his pinball game.
Derek and Corey went back to getting toasted.
I made a cup of coffee, Tony made a sandwich, and Ricky grabbed a beer.
The girls stayed talking on the couch.
Bob then yelled, through the curtain, for Rebecca to come back.
She came bouncing back through the curtain, and immediately stopped.
She looked around at all the girls sitting on the couch and screamed, obviously jealous, and Hell hath no fury, like a jealous succubus.
“REBECCA! STOP!”, Bob yelled.
She didn’t stop… she just kept screaming.
I’m not even sure you could call it a scream. Her mouth was open, but no sound was coming out.
What could be heard though, was every window in the plane blowing out, and the eardrum popping sound of the plane depressurizing.
An extremely forceful wind began blowing anything that wasn’t nailed down, all around the inside of the plane, and eventually causing it to be sucked out of the window openings.
All the girls screamed. Tony screamed!, and even Bob screamed.
We all began death gripping anything that we could to keep from flying out of the windows ourselves, the girls included.
A loud explosion was heard, as both right engines exploded, I assume from sucking in all the debris that was flying out of the broken windows, sending two huge fireballs shooting into the sky, as mounds of black smoke poured out of each blown engine.
Everybody screamed that time, covering their mouths soon after.
Somehow, over the sound of the wind, the coughing, and the flames, we heard Edgar over the intercom once again, “Um, Sir! We have a problem! I’ve lost control! We’re going down!
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!”
We then felt the plane going into a hard descend… practically nose-diving, spiraling downward to the right, very fast.
We all lost our grips on whatever we were holding, and were slammed hard against the pinball machines and the back wall, the force of the descent keeping us pinned there.
4 of the girls, Tony, and Stephen, were all knocked unconscious from hitting the wall head first. Corey, Ricky and Derek all had blood pouring down their faces from slamming head first into the back of a pinball machine, but they were still conscious.
Donna and I, as well as Rebecca, and the remaining 2 girls, hit the wall hard, but appeared to be uninjured, so did Bob.
“BOB!… I THINK THIS QUALIFIES AS A COMPLICATION… DO SOMETHING!”, I yelled.
After a few seconds, I yelled again, “BOB! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? HELP!”
It was at that very moment that I realized, if I didn’t want to die, I could no longer keep my “Gift” a secret.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and softly whispered, “I want this plane to be whole again.”

Thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the NoP-verse and allowing fanfics!
This is a sequel to The Way of the Human!
Prequel startPrequel endFirstPrevious
Memory transcription subject: Thass, Arxur-UN Cooperative Liaison
Date [standardised human time]: 27th of November, 2136
I had decided to leave the camp for the night, still furious at the implication the Zurulian medic had made. To even suggest I would be defective in such a way that I would fall for prey... It sickened me. Barisis was a pet at best, a meal at worst. Agreements with humanity be damned, I would eat her if she also tried to suggest such a thing.
The temporary residence I had chosen was an abandoned home, likely left behind by the prey that once lived there, possibly even killed during the Dominion's short lived hold on this world. The entire building felt cramped for my large frame, but it sufficed. I didn't plan to stay here for long.
Foolishly I hadn't brought any rations with me, meaning that I would go hungry for as long as I was away, assuming I didn't find anything edible out here. While I was far from a stranger to going without a meal for extended periods of time, having once been under the gluttonous Vizz's command, my time with the humans had spoiled me, and now I was starting to get used to always going to sleep on a full stomach.
Abundance can be just as much a curse as it can be a blessing, it turns out. I've almost forgotten what it's like to starve. Maybe it's a good thing that I didn't have good with me. Keeps me from getting pampered.
The home wasn't unpleasant to view, though aesthetics hardly made my hunger any better. Prey were so often focused on form over function. All that was left behind was prey feed, which was inedible to me. The dilapidated bed was comfortable enough, so I doubted I would have trouble sleeping in spite of the gnawing hunger.
But just as I felt ready to try to sleep, or more accurately seethe and stew in my thoughts, I just barely heard the front door open. It seemed some foolish prey had unknowingly stepped into a newly claimed predator's den. Perhaps this was the homeowner, now returning only to find a nasty surprise waiting for them.
By the Prophet, am I hungry. Maybe... just one Harchen civilian won't be missed, will they?
Stealthily I rose from the soft mattress. My drowsiness was gone in a flash, replaced by hunter's instinct. A miniscule part of me felt bad for them, but sometimes fate was just cruel.
Sneaking through the door and into the wider building, I heard the steps approaching my position. I hid in the hallway gap, ready to pounce. As soon as I saw even the slightest bit of movement, the morsel that stepped in here would be dead.
A shadow approached from the side, illuminated through the windows by streetlights. And when they unwittingly closed the gap, I launched myself through the air, triumphant in my catch, and I prepared to bite down on...
"Barisis?"
"Hi..." whimpered the Kolshian. What the fuck was she doing here?! Had she followed me? If so, why? Didn't she understand that I was a killer to be feared!?
She squirmed in my grasp, far more uncomfortable with my jaw around her now than she did earlier today. Fear was in her eyes now. "Um... you gonna let me go?"
I could explain away her disappearance, couldn't I? There are pockets of resistance all over this city, who was to say I'm the one who nabbed her?
But as I looked at her again... Maybe it was a moment of weakness, or a lapse in better judgement. Whatever it was, it made me let her go.
"What the fuck are you doing our here?" I questioned the reckless prey, pulling her up on her two legs with my superior strength.
"Someone needed to go out and find you, and I volunteered," she answered simply. "You can't just fuck off into the city without telling anyone where you're going or how long you'll be."
I snorted in disbelief. "And they let you out here, alone and unarmed, in this highly unsafe city?"
"They did neither," she said, placing a tentacle upon a chest-holster. Doing so made her realise that the gun had flown out when I pounced her, and she grumbled in annoyance before looking around to search for it. "Shit. You're a prick, you know that?"
"You've become incredibly bold, little prey," I commented. "Insulting a superior being and thinking there won't be any consequences."
"Because there are none, you ass," retorted the Kolshian, walking all around the house, trying to find the lost gun. "You're all petals and no pollen."
"What?"
"Aafan term, means you won't follow up on your threats," she explained, a definite cheekiness in her tone.
I couldn't help but chuckle at her behaviour. "You're tempting me to break the trend. And while you've shown you're not defenceless, in theory anyway, you haven't explained how you're not alone."
"We split up, but Hans and Jesper are also looking for you. I'll radio in and tell them I've found you," she said, now kneeling down on the floor, still searching.
She made a noise of accomplishment, indicating that she had found the weapon, but then sighed in disappointment. After the mix of emotions, she tried to reach under a low-to-the-floor piece of furniture which served a purpose unknown to me. Her attempts to reach the weapon had her entire torso on the floor, swiping a tentacle under the tight space. The position she was in resulted in her bottom half-poking up into the air, swaying slightly thanks to her attempts to grab the gun.
I... why do I... like this view? What is this feeling? It's like hunger, but... Maybe it's just because it's been a while since I was this hungry. Yes, it's hunger. The lower part of her is plump, which would make good eating. The lack of food is messing with my head. Yes, that's what's happening. It's just her appetising form that's enticing to my starved mind.
She groaned in frustration, not being able to reach the gun she'd been given. "Help me out here, would you?"
While I wanted to help, I was too enamoured to look away from her form. I was drinking it all in, imagining how her delicious flesh might taste.
"I, ah... Yes, of course," I muttered, grabbing the entire object and moving it somewhere else. The prey doctor had now retrieved her weapon, seeming pleased about it.
Remembering what she said about informing the human command about where I was, I decided to scarf the topic down while it was still bite sized.
"You can tell the humans I'm here if you like," I stated, getting her attention. "But that doesn't mean I'll return."
She sighed, but didn't seem surprised. "I figured you'd say that, actually. That's why I brought this," she gestured at a bag wrapped around her that I hadn't noticed until now.
I failed to see what that had to do about it. "And? What's so important about the bag?"
She opened it, pulling out meat ration cans. She had brought food for me, predicting that I'd decline to return to camp. That was... considerate.
"Uh... Appreciate it," I muttered, grabbing one of the cans and opening it with my claw and quickly wolfing down its contents. Perhaps she had known how hungry I would be, and figured that bringing me food would save her. That was very clever thinking on her part.
Hopefully filling my stomach up a bit will stop my hunger-addled mind from fantasising about eating her.
She then retrieved a communicator from the bag and spoke into it. "Come in Captain, I've found the target. Seems we won't be returning to base tonight."
"What?" Both Hans and I said simultaneously.
"He's refusing to return, so I'm doing to stay with the big idiot and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
There was a moment of silence from the radio before the human responded. "Very well. Good luck with him, Barisis. Call us back in the morning so we know you haven't been chomped on."
I looked at her with great confusion. "Why?"
"I explained it already when I spoke to Hans, which you definitely heard," she sighed, sounding exasperated. "Are you dense?"
"You little-... You think you're so funny don't you?," I hissed, but I was unable to hide my amusement.
I felt an aura of smugness emanate from her as she replied. “You certainly seem to think I am, you big oaf.”
“Get me another can of meat, or I'm taking a chunk of you instead,” I commanded, not wanting to let her feel like she had won.
“Grumpy, grumpy,” Barisis joked as she reached for another ration. “Is the baby hungwy?”
She let out a yelp of surprise as I grabbed her by the torso, holding her up in the air and leaving her face mere [millimeters] from my snout. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”
“Yes, okay, okay!” she shouted in panic as she squirmed in my grasp. “Just let me go, you bastard!”
I dropped her to the floor, making her land on all fours, huffing and gasping for air. Apparently I had squeezed a bit too hard when I took her off the ground.
“You're a dick, you fucking know that?” she cursed.
I laughed. “Learn to stop disrespecting me, prey.” She knew what would happen, but still she kept poking me, and now she was upset about the consequences? Such leaf-licker thinking.
“Then be worthy of respect, dammit!” spat the medic. “All you've done is be a massive asshole who threatens to kill anyone who ribs you!”
“Do you forget that my people are of a solitary culture?” I reminded the cocky Kolshian. “All the constant socialisation grinds my patience down to a fine powder. Despite having no obligation toward preykind like yourself, I still allowed you multiple chances to back off on your own.”
She glared at me with pure, unmistakable fury, before hurtling a ration can right into my snout with a surprising amount of force. I roared in pain and grabbed her, pinning her to the wall with one arm more than a [meter] above the ground.
“I should eat you alive for that, I truly should,” I growled, running my tongue across her face, making her shiver. “Do you think any other Arxur would tolerate even a fraction of what you disrespectful little fucker say and insinuate? All of you should be thanking every god, deity, saint and prophet in the Federation that I haven't ripped the lot of you to shreds.”
Barisis whimpered, struggling to speak. “Sh- she was-” she hacked a cough in my face,” -right.”
“Who was? Tell me now and I won't cunting gut you.”
“Hel…” she whispered in pain. “You really do have-” wheeze “-a thing for me.”
I dropped her like she was searing hot, backing away from the mad Kolshian. After what I just did to her, she could say that in seriousness?!
Why won't this accursed appetite leave me? Why do I still want to devour her? I had a filling meal!
“Just fuck off, please,” I half demanded, half pleaded. “You're making my hunger instincts go wild. If you value your own life, you'd leave this entire block.”
She stood up, and walked right up toward me, staring into my eyes like a human would. “No.”
“DO IT!” I roared. “That damn Zurulian is right, I do have a soft spot for you, so fucking leave before I lose control over my instincts… please...”
This admittance to weakness made me nauseous, but it was no lie. In spite of her wretched behaviour and smugness, I’d grown fond of the little Kolshian that had travelled so far from home and nearly got devoured by my former superior.
I should feel ashamed, and yet I don't. I only feel… relief. What the fuck had this creature done to me?
…
FUCKING DAMN IT, I DON'T WANT TO BE WEAK! I DON'T WANT TO EAT HER! I WANT HER TO GO AWAY! I WANT HER TO STAY! ARGH, WHY IS MY MIND SUCH A TERRIBLE MESS?
I was on the floor, doing everything in my power to resist giving in to weakness and bawling. Why had I become so defective? What had gone so wrong? When I came to Earth I was fierce, powerful, strong. Now, on Fahl, I was weak, pathetic and broken. I had become more unworthy than even fucking Vizz.
“Thass…”
Barisis moved towards me with slow, careful steps. Hesitantly, she placed a tentacle on my shoulder. I didn't shy away from it. I couldn't, unless I wanted to look even weaker than I already was and cry my eyes out.
The Kolshian wrapped her other limb around me, holding me in an embrace that I should've found disgusting, but instead craved in a way that did not befit a member of my species. “It's okay, big guy, I'm here. Everything's going to be okay.”
Her head leaned against mine, and I gave in to the weakness. Tears began to flow from my eyes as I remained curled up in a ball, holding my tail tight to my body.
“I'm right here, Thass..”
Why won't that fucking urge to eat her just leave my mind already…?

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD about a month ago (Primary Inattentive). Before It felt as I was always chasing dopamine in whatever way I could. I would hyper fixate on certain things where it was almost obsessive. Impulsive decisions. Or It would feel impossible for me to do basic tasks, remember anything or stay focused for longer than a few minutes. I was started on Vyvanse 10mg and now am on 20mg. Overall I would say it has had a positive effect even though its still barely noticeable and I feel the dose is too low.
The one side affect I realized was what could be described as adrenaline. Not really the good type. More like if your about to go present in front of a class or step in a boxing ring.
I did some research and read about POTS. Basically your heart rate is higher standing than laying down by a good bit. But symptoms could be the adrenaline I was talking about along with symptoms that are similar or the same to ADHD. I did a lil test... Laying down heart rate was around 70. Standing was around 125 for a prolonged amount of time...
Nowwww im doubting if I even have ADHD because so many of the symptoms are similar or Co-Inside. Which nowwwww im worried if I get tested and diagnosed with POTS they would completely stop the medication for ADHD because of heart issues. Which is maybeee is what is best for me. But I feel the medication was actually starting to help.
Nowwww im at a stand still of what to do??? Do I get tested for POTs. Do I just ignore the adrenaline (which in the first place wasnt even that baddd only really when I would stand up there would be slight discomfort.)
Nowwwwww... Im debating if I even have POTs. Maybe its just due to the lack of iron and sodium in my system mixed with a coffee and vyvanse. And im ranting about nothing.
I'm not here for medical advice. Which im hoping this doesn't get taken down for that. I just wanted to rant about my experience. See if you guys have similar experiences. And get your opinion on what you would do. Or what you think about the whole situation. I will probably end up talking to my doctor