Hello, i am 35(M), 5’ 8”, was 283lbs and currently 273lbs. I have been obese my whole life and I am trying to change. I started something of a diet and workout because I felt like I had to start somewhere, but I have no idea if I am doing it right. I need guidance in every aspect of this process as I do not know where to start. This is what i am doing and it has only been 3 weeks. I want to make this a lifestyle not a short term thing but I am trying to keep it as simple (not complicated) as possible as exercises and cooking techniques and recipes can get stressful. I ask for advice in trying to reach a goal that I have never experienced in my life but I want to begin with a solid and simple diet and workout plan…please help…what must I do to create a foundation of this?
My diet has consist of eating two meals, first one being usually 1 cup of oatmeal, 2 bananas, and 1 cup of blueberries
My second meal has been about 400-500 grams of flap meat beef and boiled veggies (i.e broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc)
I also try to drink a gallon of water and drink apple cider vinegar every morning
Though I have not been strictly on this I usually am doing this at least 4-6 days but when I have a social outing i do eat at restaurants but I try my best to eat better than I usually have in the past.
I am trying to work out six days a week resting on Sundays. Day 1 chest and tricep Day 2 legs and shoulder Day 3 back and bicep Doing it over for days 4-6 3-6 exercises 3-4 sets 8-12 reps each set I try to do planks every workout five 30-35 second planks And do dry sauna for 15 minutes
I do feel healthier already but I am not sure if i am doing this properly or efficiently.
I want to be really fit, not like body builder, but be tone like an 180lbs boxer, also hoping to start boxing once I lose enough weight. (More like a dream)
Thank you very much.

Hello, i am 35(M), 5’ 8”, was 283lbs and currently 273lbs. I have been obese my whole life and I am trying to change. I started something of a diet and workout because I felt like I had to start somewhere, but I have no idea if I am doing it right. I need guidance in every aspect of this process as I do not know where to start. This is what i am doing and it has only been 3 weeks. I want to make this a lifestyle not a short term thing. I ask for advice in trying to reach a goal that I have never experienced in my life. Thank you in advanced.
My diet has consist of eating two meals, first one being usually 1 cup of oatmeal, 2 bananas, and 1 cup of blueberries
My second meal has been about 400-500 grams of flap meat beef and boiled veggies (i.e broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc)
I also try to drink a gallon of water and drink apple cider vinegar every morning
Though I have not been strictly on this I usually am doing this at least 4-6 days but when I have a social outing i do eat at restaurants but I try my best to eat better than I usually have in the past.
I am trying to work out six days a week resting on Sundays. Day 1 chest and tricep Day 2 legs and shoulder Day 3 back and bicep Doing it over for days 4-6 3-6 exercises 3-4 sets 8-12 reps each set I try to do planks every workout five 30-35 second planks And do dry sauna for 15 minutes
I do feel healthier already but I am not sure if i am doing thus properly or efficiently.
I want to be really fit, not like body builder, but be tone like an 180lbs boxer, also hoping to start boxing once I lose enough weight.
Thank you very much in advanced.

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Your phone's touch screen not working—what could be more annoying? The phone is effectively rendered worthless, and you are unable to do the urgent chores. Surprisingly often, though, a phone screen won't respond to touch Bring your phone to the touch screen repair near me butler. Who knows how? Don't worry; in this piece, we'll show you how to fix a touch screen on a phone that isn't working.
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Your phone or tablet's touch screen not working might be caused by mostly two things. Either the gadget has technical problems, or the touch screen may have been broken. The connection of the touch screen may be harmed if you drop your phone and it gets caught against something. Only a small portion of the touch screen can occasionally become broken and unresponsive. The touch screen stops working when there is a technical issue, such as when the phone hangs. The touch screen may stop working after installing a new memory card and SIM card. When malware is downloaded or when phone settings are changed, the touch screen may occasionally stop operating.
There are different issues of the touch screen not working
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Clean the screen cover and touch panel.
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Ok look, I just want to open by saying that this is gonna be long and kind of a vauge rant; but i wanted to post it somewhere just so that someone might understand where i'm coming from.
Im pretty sure i fall into a smallish minority of players of the Phantasy Star series. My first foray was Phantasy Star Universe; and while it seems to be a bit of a blacksheep of the series, as someone just discovering my first mmo outside of Runescape (and on a console no less) it was pure MAGIC. There was SO much to do, so many cool and unique items to collect, a fun and engaging community who was friendly and willing to help. You had branching paths, themed bosses; everything just felt so ALIVE to me as a kid. All these people here in this awesome virtual world all having fun, making real memories with real people through the joy of fun community features, and a shared love of finding the next exciting drop.
Jump forward in time a couple years after the PSU shutdown; I catch wind that PSO2 is playable in japan, and its possible to play from the US. Immediately, nostalgia floods me, and i start trying to rig the wonky launcher and super primitive english patch on some crappy 200 dollar walmart laptop i had (SO many hours spent doing captchas in hiragana as a dumb american... holy hell). I get into the server, and its like magic all over again; im a little confused about how the field lobbies are gone and how the layout works as a whole; but im having a good time. I settle in on ship 2, i do a handful of missions and happen to run across some english speaking players and boom; i'm in an alliance, here comes the sense of community again! Now, at this point i'm a little older and wiser; i've played a good few f2p mmos at this point, and so it isn't long before i notice the cash shop and start trying to figure out what i'm missing. So I start asking about in the voice chat of this alliance i'm in; and most people tell me that if i'm having fun that a premium set is the biggest thing worth having. However i would need to find a way to convert my money (which at the time was quite complicated, though it later got easier i'm told). So i kind of hit a stone wall and decide "Well im having fun, all these new skill trees are really cool and im enjoying the game and its combat especially vs PSU..... so how hard can it be to grind it out as a f2p?
​
Well it wasn't the worst. I lasted a good 6 months and maxxed out 1 class, i survive through SG storage space, and learn that through shop tickets and room tickets i can get pretty much anything i want through smart grinding. At some point through the leveling process, the loop started to feel more rewarding the more you really learned combat; but the overall rewards just felt so slow and unsatisfying. I'm sure it didnt help that MANY items were untranslated; but so much of the loot felt so samey. There were no super cool special drops or anything outside of augments really that people wanted that werent AC scratch items; so i got to farming. Alot of my alliance members were very skilled and knowledgeable, and frankly carried me super hard in both knowledge and power (shout out to Cedric, Gorani, and Maileese). I started to learn and understand alot about the game outside of the fun community aspects that drew me in. I started bringing in ok money and got my character set up with a cool outfit; made my room nice and decorated so i could invite my alliance over to hang out. Overall, i managed to thrive as a f2p despite constant mid run banking, storage problems, slower xp, and shitty buff drinks. I stayed and learned to thrive, because it gave me the option to thrive as a f2p through learning the finer bits of the market (and being able to access it reasonably easy).
Jump forward like 5-6 more years; my crappy laptop is dead; I had long taken a break from pso2 JP when they started ip banning english players; and im playing on xbox as my main source of gaming entertainment. I had almost forgotten they ever promised to bring pso2 west nearly 10 years ago; but when i saw PSO2 at E3 of all things; needless to say I LOST MY MIND! i was beyond excited for it to finally touch back down; and whats more its even coming to the platform i have access too! so many years of content and things i missed! I was mentally preparing to lose myself in PSO2 for ages; but this time i was fully invested in "Min/maxxing" mentality. I know that lots of people are going to be playing for the first time, and that having already played a bunch myself; i have the advantage to some degree in knowledge; and can use it both to help myself and others. I like to think that overall i did pretty good; i ran an alliance with a good handful of friends who i convinced to play; and we all had a great time... for about 2ish weeks until we realized gearing peaked at revolsio weapons. I knew the content drip would be slow but steady; but there was such a renewed sense of community, that even though they began to trickle out; i couldnt help but stay.
I started getting into augementing and experimenting with builds; i start affixing units and weapons for profit, i engage in the community colored chair wars, i people watch on block 69; life is GREAT and im having a great time. Ofc i bought in for a founders pack and had premium and some cosmetics and stuff; i was actually an adult with money this time, and i mean hey; what's 30 bucks to support a game i love and get basically everything i need for one character? I occasionally grumble over the inability to trade people without premium, or that those without it level extra slow; but i know that if they just make it over a certain barrier that they can thrive no problem. I use photon capsule machines to trade friends gear; we do even more advance quests even more of the time to make sure people get the levels they need; and eventually they have a stockpile of tickets, and have a max level character; and start making money. At some point alot of them start having enough fun that they too buy into the game, some for a premium set; some full send whales. Now, the whales started being a double edged blade; because there were enough people making well affixed gear at steady enough of pace; but jussst slow enough at first that demand was still very much outweighing supply. So the market begins to skyrocket on perfect affixed units. Now me personally; i made alot of money on this. but for MANY of the other players who are just trying to get better gear and those who are chasing the "end game" so to speak; this became super punishing.
I could go on and on and on about how much stuff got super crazy on the market because of whaling. but as long as you were on the right side of it from a standpoint of affixes and material farming; you could make a fortune off of it; although at some point they even started making that not as good with premium capsules and whatnot. Soon capsules are best in slot across the board, shop tickets begin trickling out; The balloon breasts jump to like 2 billion meseta lol. so much stuff starts happening around me that im like "man this game isnt like... pay to win but SUPER pay to conveinence". but the reality was starting to get a little bit bleaker by the end of pso2 era for F2P players.
To come full circle here with what drove me to rant and rave about this al;l is how the model has progressed in NGS. We lived in an age where there was no player shop access for f2p (unless you were sitting on a dragons hoard of unsed 3 days from base game), there were no rooms, even premium benefits were basically nil outside of a shop. AC scratches were getting pumped at at an all time high, no concerts, no real entertainment of any kind; just fuggin resol forest all day. and finally we have come to an age of content where sega finally makes skill trees not cost money to change; but just sells you the ability to skip playing the game. and not only that but effectively spawn in the best items in the game for AC. It just feels so unfortunate that the content has dried up; nothing feels anywhere near as creative or fun. the combat is inch deep; as are the skill trees. theres no crazy combos; no 20 piece combo craziness. just the same 4-5 moves; on repeat; with mostly some % buffs thrown in.
I havent even begun to mention the mile long list of other stuff missing that even base game had. Bas egame had some genunely fun and challeneging content. there were fun missions to run and it made sense to do them. NGS is just devoid of any of the charm of fun that made any of its previous iterations great; and all while gouging you for more and more.
I know this trails all over the place and has a rushed conclusion, but i was just reading the patch notes considering dipping my toes back into the water again after skipping stia; and im just honestly so turned off by it. nothing has changed; no major interesting content has dropped; and now they are going full on pay to win. I'll be honest; i think ill just stick to clementine server or something; because at least there, the devs actually give a shit about the game. I feel like im in an abusive relationship im just waking up to after 10 years os PSO or something. and with that i dont have much else to say tbh. i love this franchise, and i want to love this game; but SEGA really just cannot do right with this game.

Part 26: https://www.reddit.com/Viidith22/comments/141nvay/my_roommate_is_slenderman_part_26/
(Terry)
I awoke an hour later, brain pulsing. I was in the back of the van laying on the floor, “The prodigal son returns, welcome back you crazy son of a bitch!” Tucker laughed.
“Took on a god face to face. Pretty sure the only one with bigger balls than that would be Abraham. Though, balls didn’t save you.” Doc said, looking up from his book.
“Took the last core I had, but at least I can say I’ve killed a god now.” Tucker snickered with a smirk.
“Concentrated light, can’t say it’s what I would have thought of, but it was effective.”
“Yeah, wasn’t effective portably until we came across some anti-matter from a crashed–”
“What?” I tried sitting up but failed.
“Right.” He stood, propping up the left row of seats, and pulled out a black case. Flicking it up he aimed it down at me, “Anti-matter annihilation laser. Think you can piece it together.” There were about five lenses that each shrunk, narrowing the barrel to a tip. Everything but the lenses was coated in a vanta black paint, “Each lens reduces the energy state while also–”
“I couldn’t give less fucks if I pulled them out of Doc’s patients. You killed him with that thing?”
“Yup, his head’s probably gettin' breathed in from the wildlife out here.” He clicked the case shut, put it back in place, and sat.
“And the data is intact?”
There was a brief pause, “While it is, I feel it’s important to be more concerned about yourself. You have major skull fractures, a concussion, you’re missing your face flesh, your back had to be clotted to avoid you bleeding out, and you are severely low on blood. You should be sleeping right now.”
“I just, I had to know.”
“Knowing you, you’ll be back on your feet in–”
I passed out again before he finished talking.
---------------------------------------------
When I awoke, I was on my bed, Sepratine was applying herbs to my face, “Ho–”
“16 hours, Doctor Sadist and Rachel are busy. You really ought to be more cautious, this isn’t one of your video games.”
“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. You heard from Jones?”
“No, apparently he passed out at the wheel after he parked. The Sadist said they’d be out for a while. He’s having Rachel look them over once she finishes a project she’s working on.”
“Shouldn’t you be helping her?”
She put her mortar down and sighed, “Flip onto your side, I need to replace the bandages on your back, then you need to eat.”
She finished tending to me in silence, then went to cook. The whole time, I just wanted to get up and finish everything. But even if I did, the data wasn’t fully recovered until it was sifted through. So I resigned to wait until the detective got back to me.
Sepratine came back a while later with a plate toppling over itself and a glass of water. Not to get too detailed, but both were empty in a matter of… 30 seconds or so? “Now get back to sleep. Your face should be back to normal in another day, and your skull is still fusing back together.”
“Let me know when Jones has the info.” She stood, taking my plate and cup.
“Someone will I’m sure. Get some rest, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t. You were reckless enough… Whatever, goodbye.”
-------------------------------
When I came to again, my face was dry, the medicine Sepratine had put on felt like a cracked desert, leaving a green crust behind. I stood, heading to the bathroom to wash my face. I took my meds, then removed the bandages from my back. Heading back to my room, I grabbed my phone, seeing several missed calls and texts. I immediately opened the message from Jones.
Call me when you wake up, I’ve got it, you’re not gonna believe where it is.
The phone rang four times, “Eh? Terry, that you?” He yawned.
“Yeah, what’s the deal?”
“You remember when you first met me?”
“No.”
“Well, I was headed to a town down in southeastern Oregon, one that wasn’t on any maps. And you’re not gonna believe this shit, but Tenyit Lane, the place I went, that’s where he’s being held.”
“So you know where I need to go?”
“Yeah, the place is a hot zone for organizations. There’re at least seven that I’ve recorded since I first went, and that’s not including–”
“And?”
“Well, point is, there’s security everywhere, people are gonna be everywhere, and the police and government officials are gonna be too busy counting bodies to care about one missing person.”
“Send me the coordinates.” I took a picture of my wall, putting the phone back against my ear.
“I’ll do you one better, I still have an old map to the place, I’ll send it over.”
“I don’t care what you say, I am paying you after this.”
I was already out the door, wearing nothing but a hoodie and sweatpants. I started the car, threw on EDM, and headed down to find Joseph.
------------------------------
A grey smoke rose in the night air above the town. I had a good ten miles left on the empty road before getting to the one stop on the entire strip. As I climbed the mountain, I turned my windshield wipers up more and more. The road was coated in a light crust of white, the speckles dropping ever so carefully in the light wind.
As I rounded a bend, I saw a flicker of headlights through the pine trees. Rounding the next one, I saw the lights again, this time coming around their own turn, before heading in my direction. The snow picked up as I met the gaze of the other driver, it was her.
I screeched to a stop, whipping a U-turn that nearly sent me into the rails. I stopped, having noticed her car was pulled over to the railing too. I jumped out of my car, running over to her, and grasping her in my arms, “I thought I’d killed you Tresca!”
Setting her down, my brain fully processed its surroundings. The person in front of me was Joseph, he was a bit shocked, but the rest of him reminded me of how he looked when we first met, “I-I’m sorry, I just–”
“Look, Terry. Honestly, it’s great to see you, great to have clear evidence I’m not crazy, great to know all those fun ass memories at the apartment were real. But…”
“I’m just so glad you’re okay.”
He smirked, but his eyes were hollow, “Yeah, okay…”
“I mean, you’re alive though!”
“Terry, this isn’t going to work.” He looked up, “I can’t ignore what you said when you saw me.” He looked back at me, nervous, “I read up on you, it was intrusive, and I’m sorry for that, but I can’t keep being a replacement. I need to live my own life, I need to get away from all this, I…” His eyes filled, but refused to streak, “I want to live a life away from all of this. I know a normal life isn’t really an option anymore. But I still wanna do what I can.”
“You… read my files?” I glanced at my phone, thinking about the picture I’d taken before leaving, “Which ones?”
“Your old life, hers too. Once I got ahold of my files, I decided to do some digging. I was me, but not I guess, I had to get an understanding of who the people I used to know were. I know about Tresca, I remember your conversation with Maerod.”
“I…”
He waited for a while, a few cars flew by us before he took the rope, “I will never regret the time we had. We had fun, we had some adventures and even a few emotional tipping points. Without you and everyone else, I’d probably have a slab of a ruck on top of me now. I don’t feel like dying anymore, but I also don’t feel like living. I’m sorry, but… I need to find my life out there.” He threw his arm up, gesturing around, “But if I stay with you, I’ll never get that chance.”
I tried to maintain myself, for seemingly the first time, taking Joseph as a person in. His overgrown brown hair, his blue eyes, broad shoulders, bland outfit. “You look different from before.”
“I feel different.” He shot a breath out his nose.
I staggered, “Let me grab something from my car before you go. You mind coming with?”
He nodded, gazing up at the grey sky. Several more cars flew past us as we made our way to mine. When we got there, I pulled out a small bag,
I reached into my car, pulling out the contract, “This was the guy that placed a hit on your wife. He’s dead now.”
A car flew by, lighting up his face to reveal his frozen face, “Y-you mean it? Who killed him?” He snatched the paper from my hand, looking over the entire sheet.
“The detective put on her case, the original guy is my understanding. Goes by Jones, he’s a P.I. now.”
“Really? Where is he?”
I cleared my throat, “You su–”
“Positive, where is he?”
I rubbed my arm, but looking at his hopeful face, I caved, “Apex Investigation Office, downtown Albany.”
He hugged me, “Thank you… Seriously, this…” He cried into my stomach for a time before pulling back and recomposing himself. Rubbing his nose dry, he turned around.
“Wait!”
He stopped, turning his head to me, “Yeah?”
I held onto my phone, debating to show him the picture or not. We stood still as two more cars flew by, followed by one with sirens. I pushed my phone back into my pocket, “Where are you going?”
He turned back to his car, holding up the contract, “To repay a debt. You’ll get yours too one of these days.”
Sitting in his car, he drove off without another word.
I sat in mine, pulling the phone from my pocket, and opened the gallery. I had one recent picture, it was one of the walls in my room, one with several posters. All of which were had drawn anime style portraits of Tresca. “Maybe Abraham was right, and maybe, Joseph has the right idea too.”
----------------------------------------
(Joseph)
Epilogue:
I dried my face as I left him behind, unsure of what to do first. I sat with music blasting for the first hour, mind flashing through the events like a slideshow. When I eventually came across a convenience store. It was a 24/7 place, the kind that had hot dogs on the roller for days at a time, and the only people that worked there couldn’t get a job anywhere else.
I pulled into a parking space and picked my phone off the passenger seat. I’d already decided I’d go to the detective’s place last. But I’d never been to Rachel’s before, and I didn’t remember her phone number. “What if I?”
I dialed a number, letting it ring a good five times when “Chad’s Cads how can I help you?”
“God, tell me that isn’t the name of your shop.”
“Joseph? Is that you bro?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while, good to hear from you.”
“Where the hell have you been man!? Terry’s out look–”
“It’s all sorted now. I don’t mean to be callous, I promise I’ll catch you up to speed later. But do you have Rachel’s number?”
“Oh, yeah. Everything good dude?”
“Yeah, she apparently told Terry to have me see her when he found me, so…”
“Oh for sure.”
“So can you send me her number?”
“Oh right, yeah. Good luck bro, come by when you have time. I wanna see how strong you are.”
“Sounds good Chad.” I hung up, smiling. A minute or so later, I had her number.
“Joseph?” Her voice was smooth.
“Hey Rachel I…”
“Chad messaged me.”
“Gotcha, Terry said you wanted to see me?”
“Yes, there’s a lot you need to know biologically if you want to pass for human.”
I sighed, rubbing my side, “Where should I meet you?”
“I’ll send you the location, Sepratine will be here too.”
“Oh, yaaaaaay.” She was alright, but she always had a whole bag of chips on her shoulder.
“See you soon. Oh, and did you happen to feel an aching in your right side at any point?”
“More than you know.”
“How frequently?”“Well, I was starved for a few days at one point, aside from that though I’d say a couple times a week if not more?”
“...Was that the entire time you were gone?”
“Not entirely sure, the first month or so is still kind of hazy, but since I was moved into town yeah.”
“...Okay, just… See you when you arrive.” Click
“I thought Doc was supposed to be the cryptic one of the bunch,” I smirked, a tear forming in my eye. “Goddamnit.” I wiped it, clicking the address she’d sent me, and heading on my way. Only after I picked up some gas station food.
-----------------------------------
“Oh my.”
“It’s me.” I did jazz hands, wearing a faux smile.
“Your soul is much… larger than I anticipated. Come inside, I’m sure you’re hungry.”
A whiff of cedar and sweetgrass slapped me in the face, “Wow, that’s… pungent.”
“Apologies, my sense of smell isn’t very strong, and Sepratine is….”She took a sharp intake of breath, closing the door behind me.
Looking around, the house seemed pretty standard, aside from the greenhouse in the living room, “So uh, what’s this you got goin here?”
“Take your shoes off please,” She did the same, “Creating chemicals from what’s in the air is taxing, it’s more convenient to just have the plants you need on hand.” She headed toward a door down the hall, “My equipment is downstairs.” She opened the door and I followed.
The air was a solid 80 or so, with humidity so thick it was like snorkeling, pollen so strong it activated allergies I hadn’t had since I was five. “Quite the quaint home you have here.”
“Oh right, sorry again.”
“No, you’re good, I’m just gonna need a few boxes of tissues is all.”
“Oh Jo–Joseph, my gods, you’re… wow. Different is a word, what happened to your soul?” Sepratine was turned to us, standing in front of a table with apparently every plant unknown to man of it.
“That’s kinda why I’m here.”
“Oh right, don’t mind me, just running a few experiments, Rachel has the perfect climate down here for a few plants.”
“Alright Joseph, hop on the bed.” Rachel stood in front of a wooden table, I couldn’t help but notice vials and jars stacked neatly on a counter that circled half the room, as well as a set of tables that held assorted plants with different lights hovering over them.
I sat on the table, “You need me to turn my head and cough?”
“No, first I need you to eat. It’ll be easier if you’re digesting food.”
She headed to a small closed-off area, then came back, plate in hand. Mostly just leafy greens. Maybe some kind of bean too?
“Go ahead, this should pass through you at just the right speed for me to catch it.” She turned, heading to another room, “Oh right, when you’re done I’ll need you to take off your shirt and lie down.” Then she headed through a door.
A few minutes passed and I finished the salad. Putting my plate on an open section of a counter and throwing my shirt to the side, I laid down, “Sepratine, you know anything about Vampirism?”
“Only rumors, they’re rare, so you’re the only one I’ve met.”
“Rarer than what you are?”
“Dryads are uncommon for sure. But given my personal experience, I’d say you’re one of a kind.”
“Awwwe, thank you.” I said sarcastically, “But is that all? They’re rare?”
“You’re here for Rachel because they’re rare. She’s met something like five, even got to do a lab experiment on one of them, saw how their stem reacted to stimulus. She’s the closest thing to an expert I can think of.”
Rachel made her entrance with the smack of the door on the wall, “Alright, don’t worry Joseph, I’m not going to cut you open today, I just want to see how large your stem has gotten. Based on your soul, you might be around half to ¾ vampire. But the only way to tell for sure is to see the size of your stem.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, but everyone else I’ve met who knows about it has been a psychopath. What’s a stem?”
“Oh, kind of like a parasite is my current understanding.” She picked up a large metal plate, pressed it against my stomach, and used a metal rod to probe my right side.
“Come again?”
“Well… it’s more like a symbiotic relationship? Consider it another organ, only it’s wrapped around a portion of your large intestine. A full vampire has them fused, and it becomes an addition. But a partial, you can still see where they are two entities.”
“So you can cure me?”
She scoffed, “No.” Putting the plate and rod away, she pulled out a roundish object and squeezed some kind of gel onto the end before rubbing it against my right side. “If it’s removed, both entities die. You’re a symbiote now, you each rely on each other. In return for giving it nutrients, it gives you cells that allow you to regenerate anything short of half or more of it. They’re akin to stem cells, but enhanced. It extracts your DNA and replicates what it needs to to keep you alive for as long as possible. That’s the working theory I currently have anyway.”
“So I have a parasite in me?”
“A symbiote, you two aid each other, there are only benefits for each of you. Not to mention the enhanced soul… which I’m not entirely sure what causes that yet. Though the more vampirized you are, the more spiritual power a vampire seems to have. Considering that’s how it’s been with the last five, it’s only an assumption. But if that is the case, I am curious about the correlation.” She put the device down, handing me a towel, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see the images I got back. Time to see how far along you are.”
Patting me on the stomach, she walked out of sight, and I wiped my side down. Sitting up, I hopped off the table, picked up my shirt, throwing it back on. Then, it was dark.
---------------------------
My eyes shot open, I was upright on the hardwood table, eyes darting around for the threat.
“Relaaaax, you’re fine.” Rachel and Sepratine stood beside me, and I loosened up, wired as hell.
Standing, I regained my balance, “Which one of you knocked me out?”
“Neither.” Rachel said, offended, “You fainted, you had several nutrient deficiencies, and call me crazy, but I don’t think you were willing to hear what I had to say.”
I mulled it over, a burst of panic surging when I thought about the thing inside me. But I managed to push it back into its little jar. Which I promptly placed back on the shelf with the rest of my emotions. “I’m fine.”
“Yes, now. But I have to be honest with you, the ultrasound came back more worrying than I expected. You’re only about ¼ so far. Your soul is far larger than any of my calculations suggested.”
“Right on.”
“Joseph, you have far more potential than I expected. While I advise safety, occasionally fasting may build up your soul to around as strong as Smudge.”
“Cool beans.”
“The issue is that you have an extremely high-functioning stem. You’ll need extremely nutrient-dense foods with extremely specific nutrients to maintain yourself as you are, let alone grow stronger. I’ll have what you need, but if you don’t want to go on a killing spree every few days, you’ll need an extremely strict diet.”
“How much is that gonna run me?”
She sighed, rubbing her eyes, “Quite frankly, I’ll charge you what it costs me. I don’t want you going on a murder frenzy. You’re my friend, but that’d also guarantee your death. As not only an alchemist, but a scientist, I can’t allow that. I’ll charge you at the end of each month. How does that sound?”
“Cool, do you have an estimate?”
“Joseph I feel you are hearing me but not listening.”
“No, I’ve got it.”
“This will be in the ballpark of 1500 dollars a month, and that’s alongside normal meals. Which should help you not only maintain but build up. The pain will feel like you’re being digested if you get to the point of dangerous starvation. Now, repeat everything I just said back to you.”
When I did from start to finish, she rubbed her face, “Alright, you can pick up your supply weekly from here. For now, though, I have something that should hold you over until next Friday, when I’ll have the actual supplies.”
She helped load a few milk crates into my overstuffed car, and when I went to start my car, she gestured for me to roll the window down. “Yes?”
“There are places you can get help you know?”
“I think I can handle the vampirism thing.”
“Joseph…” She stared at me, tugging at my bucket of guilt, tipping it ever so slightly.
“I’ll be fine. Thank you Rachel.” I flicked the button up and the window went with it as I pulled out of her driveway in the suburbs of West Salem.
-----------------------------
“Joseph?” The familiar guy behind a desk just across from me stared, eye agape.
“D-Detective? What uh… what happened to your erm… you?”
“Long story. What happened to you?”
“Long story.”
He chuckled, “Guess you were in that town for a while. What are you doing here?”
I held up the contract, “I’ve got a debt I needa pay.”
-------------------------------------
Author’s Note:
Hey guys, 4Shot speaking. Holy FUCK guys. This has been my longest-running series, it’s been 3.5 years in the making. Hell, it was the series that got me into this whole writing shebang. It feels weird to be saying goodbye to Joseph, given this series has been with me since the start. I’ve seen my ups alongside this story, and those who read or listened to the poker scene in my detective series will know I’ve had my downs.
Though, it’s not exactly the end. I have one final series I’ll be writing to wrap everything up. Those who have followed my first three may notice a trend. And yes, the final series will be a continuation of Jones’ tale. It’s been a long time coming, and I hope to complete it before february, which is when I’ll be taking an extended hiatus. I’ll be back, but I have some things I want to do first. This entire unraveling story will have been a part of my life for over 4 years by then, something like that is hard to just let go, and I have some life I wanna experience. So I may be gone for around 6 months to a year when I’ve finished the Detective’s story.
I’m glad so many of you have enjoyed my stories. I honestly never expected to go anywhere with any of this, thought I’d give this series up around part 3, and writing would just be another dead hobby of mine. But here we are. Honestly, there are a lot of people to thank, but the main people are my boy TeeStache who got me into writing, NaturesTemper who picked up my terrible rough draft of this series, and Viidith who first found my detective series and asked to narrate it, and proceeded to narrate my Lighthouse series.
It’s been a crazy ride out there, and I only intend to make it crazier in the future. Thanks again guys, cheers.

Hi all, I have a vet appointment this Friday but I wanted to stop by here to see if I could get any feedback.
This is my little man named Salmonella (cuz he looks like a raw chicken). I got him when he was a baby from Petsmart (yes, I know—never again) and he is now approximately 3 and a half years old. This is probably the 4th time he’s had mouthrot, and it was very sneaky this time. It appears he’s all gums on the top of his mouth now. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it until it became super inflamed because there were no exterior scabs. I flushed them last night with the antiseptic solution provided by my vet.
He has been refusing food for about a month now, so he’s been on carnivore care—2 to 1 ratio, as much as I can get him to eat every other day. Gone down from about 62 grams to 55. Lethargic but relatively active—he’s happy to explore when I take him out.
I know husbandry is typically the explanation, but at this point I’m starting to wonder if he has some sort of other condition he inherited from poor breeding practices. The mouth rot always clears up after antibiotics, and then its back a few months later.
He lives in a 20 gallon tank with a 75 wattage light/lamp used during the daytime. He has a Dry warm hide, a humid warm hide, and a cool dry hide. The cage temperature remains between 95° on the warm side to 80°-75° on the cool side. His humid hide stays between 30% to 40%, though it is usually around 25% right before daily misting and 60% immediately after misting. He is on paper towel substrate, though we briefly switched to eco-earth to maintain a more consistent humidity. Unfortunately, he absolutely hated it so we switched it back. I switch out the paper towel every other week, and deep clean the tank and everything inside every other month. The water dish is cleaned weekly. This is how the tank has been for over a year now, and he’s gotten sick 3 times since then. He is having regular (albeit liquid since he’s on carnivore care) bowel movements. I see him drink water about twice a week.
He previously has had 1 eye infection (very minor, cleared up very quickly), 1 pneumonia scare (mild, cleared up with injected antibiotics every 3 days for 5-6 weeks by vet), diagnosed with early signs of MBD (has not gotten worse since showing initial signs and adjusting care). Everything else has been the reoccurring mouth rot.
Some info to know about him: Slight kink in the end of his tail, likely from proper heating during incubation, he’s quite small—his tail and head seem to be improportional to his body (compared to other, healthy leopard gecko), he has a really hard time shedding, and almost always requires assistance. His gait is fine but he is not very strong.
Anyone have any ideas? I’m happy to answer any questions. I just want my little guy to feel okay.

My cat has been depressed for 30 days. She is almost 15 years old and was my families cat. I recently moved out of my parents house and I took her with me as I am her biggest companion and who she takes a liking to the best. Since the move, she has completely stopped eating her routine dry food that she used to gobble up daily. She is plus size so she would eat large volumes of it when living at the old place. She has not been given wet food for years because she likes the dry food so much and it was vet recommended to combat frequent UTIs she would get years ago (hasn’t had one of those in 6 years.) Since she wasn’t touching her bowl of dry food I had to start buying wet food to try entice her. Some flavors she completely ignores, however she has eaten a few licks here and there of a couple of flavors. This cat used to literally scream-meow at everyone in my house when her bowl was empty until it was filled. So it makes me feel incredibly guilty that since the move she barley eats anymore.
I waited a couple of weeks for her to acclimate before I brought her to the vet. Despite clearly not eating anywhere near what she was eating before the move, vet says she is 100% fine based on blood tests and some physical exams and that she is actually in better shape than most cats her age.
I don’t know what to do. I keep trying different flavors of wet food to see if anything sticks, but nothing has. I am at work 5 days a week, so I think her being home alone in a new environment without 3 members of my family she used to be around, is really taking a toll on her mental state. But I have to work and can’t be home with her 24/7. She doesn’t seem in pain, just seems sad and uninspired to do anything and has her spots in the house she likes to sleep. Does anyone have any advice? She doesn’t like toys, she was stimulated by cat nip a few days ago but now seems uninterested in it. Part of me thinks she should move back to my parents to live with them and my brother, since she was so happy there. But then she won’t be with me whom she is attached to more than them. I am at complete loss and feel guilty that she’s not acclimating well. But 30 days is a long time to be barely eating. She also is only having a bowl movement roughly every 5-7 days which is obviously way less frequent than it should be.
PLEASE HELP ME GET MY CAT BACK TO HERSELF. I feel like a terrible pet owner for putting her in this position and need ways to get her feeling happy again.

Background

I've been compiling a list of "hidden gems" in the back of my mind for a while now. There are many "hidden gems" in Vancouver. To cover them all would be a whole book. To make things easier for a post I created a stricter set of criteria.
 
The purpose of this post is not only to share but also to uncover more "small family run hidden gems". There are many places that almost make it which I added to the Honorable Mentions section.

What constitutes a small family run hidden gem?

A tiny to small restaurant that's family and serves amazing food or beverages. These are the places that people who've been recommend to out of town guests. You go "wow" when you first discover the place.
 
The hidden part is covered by collecting data on posts/comments to verify the "hidden aspect". Although just because a business has low Reddit exposure, many of these places are well known in specific communities.

Detailed Criteria:

1. Small: Under ~10 tables, Ideally ~2 tables. Exceptions for Food Court Stalls
2. Family Run: Owner or a family member is always present. Bonus for family-run businesses with no employees.
3. Hidden (On Reddit): Under 40 comments where a post is worth 5 comments.
4. Gem: Arguably the best place to get a certain dish/cuisine in Metro Vancouver

The List:

Name	Rough Area	Cuisine	Known For (* = other things also good)	Comments	Posts	Reddit Exposure
Nine Ninety	Richmond	Chinese (Wuhan/Food Court)	Spicy Dry Noodles*	1	0	1
Adam's Crepes	South Burnaby	French	Crepes	1	1	6
Feast and Fallow	Oakridge	Cafe (Plant Based)	Coffee*	2	0	2
Lao Cai	West Vancouver	Chinese (Xi'an)	Dry Cumin Lamb Noodles*	2	0	2
Lully's Food Truck	Abbotsford (Canadian Tire Parking Lot)	American	Hot Dogs	4	1	9
Excellent Tofu	Richmond	Chinese (Dessert)	Tofu Pudding	6	0	6
Gateau de Henry	Kitsilano	Cakes	Cakes*	8	1	13
Oide	East Van	Cafe	Coffee Rotation	8	1	13
Tama Organic Mart	Burnaby	Japanese (Grocery Store)	Vegan Bento	8	1	13
Fat Boy Kitchen	Victoria - Fraserview	Chinese (Hong Kong)	Pork Chop Rice*	9	0	9
Klasik Inasal	Mount Pleasant	Filipino	Overall Filipino Food	10	1	15
Long's Noodle House	End of Main Street	Chinese (Shanghai)	Soup Dumplings + Drunken Chicken*	12	3	27
Mr Japanese Curry	Mount Pleasant	Japanese (Curry)	Japanese Curry	17	0	17
Sushi Bar Kilala	North Burnaby	Japanese (Sushi)	Homey Sushi	18	0	18
Sashimiya	Downtown	Japanese (Sushi)	Moderately Priced High Quality Nigiri*	20	3	35
Baby Dhal	Commercial	Trinidadian	Dhal Puri Roti*	24	1	29
Tandoori Palace	Commercial	Indian/Pakistani	Naan + Butter Chicken (Outside Surrey)*	26	1	31
Cafe Dang Anh	Victoria - Fraserview	Vietnamese (Northern)	Pho Bo Tai Lan*	27	0	27
Yama Cafe	East Van	Japanese (Cafe)	Meal Sets/Moffins (Mochi Muffins)	35	0	35
Merci Beaucoup Cafe	Commercial	Vietnamese (Bahn Mi)	House Special Sub	38	0	38​

Honorable Mentions:

Name	Rough Area	Cuisine	Known For (* = other things also good)	Comments	Posts	Reddit Exposure	Honorable Mention Reason
Bali Thai	East Vancouver	Indonesian (Food Court)	Overall Indonesian Food	45	2	55	Too Well Known
Barbara	Chinatown	Contemporary	Tasting Menu*	Unknown	Unknown	50+	Too Well Known (Michelin Star)
Carp	Mount Pleasant	Hawaiian	Ahi Tuna Poke	Unknown	5	50+	Too Well Known
Dragon Ball Tea House	Shaughnessy	Bubble Tea	Fruit Slush	Unknown	5	50+	Too Well Known
Hachibei	Fairview	Japanese (Assorted)	Miso Black Cod (Often Sells Out)*	18	0	18	Owner Status Unknown
Melo Patisserie	Mount Pleasant	French (Cafe)	Almond Croissant	14	1	19	Owner Status Unknown
Prototype Coffee	East Vancouver	Cafe	Coffee Flight*	75	13	140	Too Well Known and Owners not always Present
Unchai	Kitsilano	Thai	Overall Thai Food	59	10	109	Too Well Known​

Hidden Gems from Comments:

Name	Rough Area	Cuisine	Known For (* = other things also good)	Comments	Posts	Reddit Exposure
T-Bay Bistro	Marpole	Taiwanese		0	0	0
Bangkok City Cafe	Kitsilano	Thai		1	0	1
Rumi Rose Tea	North Burnaby	High Tea		1	0	1
Shine Valley Lamb Noodle	Richmond	Chinese (Northern)	Lamb Noodles	4	0	4
Szechuan Delicious	Richmond	Szechuan		4	0	4
Green Bamboo	Burnaby (Crystal Mall)	Vietnamese	Pho (Meat from top to bottom)	5	0	5
Nam vegan express	New West	Vietnamese (Vegetarian)		6	0	6
Veggiebowl Cafe	Renfrew - Collingwood	Vietnamese (Vegetarian)	Vegan/Vegetarian Pho	7	0	7
Puerto Mexico	Kitsilano	Mexican		9	0	9
Pho Lan	Richmond Center	Vietnamese (Pho)		16	0	16
Yagoto	Kitsilano	Sushi		10	2	20
Pho Tan	Kerrisdale	Vietnamese (Pho)		37	3	52
Indian roti kitchen	Cambie	Indian		43	2	53
Paul's Sub Shop	Metrotown	Deli		54	2	64
Sun Bo Kong	Kensington	Chinese (Vegetarian)	Oyster Mushroom/Hot and Sour Soup/Noodles	70	1	75
Lamajoun	Bridgeport	Lebanese		46	8	86
Manpuku	Chinatown	Japanese	Karaage	61	6	91
Northern Cafe and Grill	Mitchell Island	Diner		90	2	100
Hawker's Delight	Little Mountain	Malaysian/Singaporean		72	8	112​
Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine	Metrotown	Chinese (Shanghai)	Soup Dumplings/ Pan Fried Juicy Bun			100+​

 
Used this to make the tables: http://tableit.net/

TLDR: Hot water tanks insulation is wet at the bottom of the upper element. No visible leaks from anywhere.
Hey all I'm looking for some insight or advice about my hot water heater. I installed a brand new AO Smith 50 gallon electric hot water heater on memorial day (8 days ago) and it was working perfectly fine. Had great hot water and pressure and had zero leaks coming from all valves and connections. Thought all was fine but then a few hours ago I went to wash my hands and I had essentially no hot water pressure. I went down stairs and my tank was beeping and gave the error code for a leak detection. I shut off the power and noticed my automatic leak detection valve had closed. There was no water on the outside of the tank and all fitting were dry. That's when I noticed a small droplet of water around the top of the upper element cover. I removed the cover and discovered that the bottom part of the insulation was soaked and if I squeezed the insulstion, I had a good amount of water in there. There are still zero visible leaks from the outside and all fittings, the drain valve, the relief valve, the elements themselves, and everything else is bone dry. They water was warm if that detail matters. The only thing I can think is that it's sometype of small leak from a manufacturing defect maybe. I am not a trained plumber but I felt comfortable putting it in given my experience with past simple plumbing work. I followed the installation directions to a T and again it was working perfectly this past week. Does anyone have any insight on if it could be something else other than a manufacturing defect? Any help is appreciated as I am at a lost and think I just need to call the manufacturer at this point.

I adopted two cats on Thursday (6 days ago) and I’m absolutely obsessed with these cuties. They’re not bonded but they were in the same cat room at the shelter for a month together, so they get along well.
The 7 year old girl has barely eaten (only nibbled on day 2+4) since she’s been home and it’s making me worried. She’s still a little bit skiddish but she’s been out cuddling me consistently- no hiding like she’s ill and no symptoms observed: no vomiting, and she’s drinking and urinating ok. I tried two types of dry food and even wet food and she has no interest in it.
The other cat is very food driven so we can’t leave food out or else he’ll eat it all. I’ve attempted to separate them, placing her in a separate room so she can eat alone.
I’m not very worried because she’s not showing signs of illness but could it still be due to the stress of rehoming? Looking for any advice!

Imagine walking into a burning building, and everyone laughs and tells you the fire’s all in your head. When no one believes you, are you going to stay to burn up with them? Every passenger in that crowd waiting to embark on the luxury cruise was already dead—they just didn’t know it yet! I stared through the windows of the terminal at the magnificent Seastar, at the broken glass and spatters of blood that only I could see… and then I fled.
Without warning a single soul.
What would have been the point? My name is Cassandra—I see death six days before it happens, and can feel it if I shake a cold hand—but no matter what I do, I can never, ever prevent it.
My flight took me as far as the escalators before a flash of purple brought me screeching to a halt. Lily Tsuki? No—it wasn’t the purple-haired musician who’d given me with cruise gift card. But suddenly I remembered how I’d been looking forward to hearing her performance aboard this very vessel…
Oh God…
It was one thing to turn my back on doomed strangers. Terrible as it sounds, it’s a bit like reading about a catastrophe in the news. Quite another thing to abandon somebody I knew! Could I really leave her to become one of the bodies putrefying in the belly of the Seastar? Every time I ordered a drink at my favorite bar, I’d remember I hadn’t even tried to save her!
“Fuck!” I cried, fumbling for my phone. “Oh, fuck me sideways… how much time…?”
Ninety minutes.
Ninety minutes to get on board, find the musician, and… what? Convince her to disembark?
How?
And yet my feet were already turning toward the gangplank—because as it turns out, I would rather plunge headlong into a ship full of the rotting dead than face an empty piano bench and the guilt that no amount of alcohol would ever drown. But to have any chance at persuading Lily, I’d need to know how the passengers died. This meant that in addition to finding a purple-haired needle in a Titanic-sized haystack, a horrifying task loomed ahead of me. I was going to have to do something I had not done in a very long time—plunge directly into my vision. Walk into its very maw and face whatever gruesome horrors lurked at the source of that nauseating odor.
I was going to have to find the bodies…
… and whatever killed them.
Boarding
The stench was so overpowering after crossing the gangplank that I dropped to my knees and dry heaved. The flow of passengers moved around me past the concierge desk. I must have looked exceptionally sick, because a pretty girl in a suit skirt approached, asking if I needed assistance. She reached out a hand to help me up—cold!
I staggered away from her and inside. Then—because I felt I might throw up—quickly found my way out to the promenade deck and the blessed breeze.
Lifeboats hung overhead. Beyond the rail, the sea sparkled in the afternoon sun. Cushioned loungers lined the deck. None were in use, presumably because the pool, patio, spa, and other amenities on the upper decks had much more attractive areas for lounging. I leaned against the rail and gulped the air, listening to the waves splash against the side of the boat, noting blood spatters further down—but nothing signifying the cause of the blood. Just vague signs of violence.
After circling the entire promenade deck and spotting only the occasional bloody spatters, I gritted my teeth, pulled my shirt collar up over my nose, and plunged into the nearest door.
The Seastar’s interior had the atmosphere of a luxury hotel. People milled about the restaurant and shopping area, buzzing with excitement, talking about cabaret shows and fine dining, while perky crew members answered questions, all perfectly oblivious to the putrid sweet rotting stench. I’d most likely find Lily Tsuki at the piano lounge, but since I didn’t yet have any plausible explanation for what had happened to the passengers, I continued wandering, entering a bustling café overlooking the ship’s grand staircase. Stepping over an enormous blood stain on the carpet, I passed the counter, nauseated by the fancy pastries behind their glass cases, peering among the tables and chairs. Paused when I spotted an eyeball in a teacup. No trace of how it got there. No body with an empty socket. Just the eyeball, swirling in a congealed bloody jelly at the bottom of the cup…
I scurried away, snatching a cloth napkin to cover my nose.
The interior darkened as I ascended the central staircase. No electricity, I noted as I clutched the railing. Why would the power be cut? A storm?
But storms don’t scoop out eyeballs with a dessert spoon….
Coming onto deck 6, I peered down a long, dim corridor lined with passenger cabins. To passengers coming and going, the hall was illuminated by electric lighting—but since I was seeing the ship six days in the future, the narrow hallway vanished into blackness. With no way to enter the cabins, and nothing much to see here or in the other dimmed halls of the passenger decks, I ascended until I reached the pool.
Pool Deck
Deck 9 opened to wide panoramic windows, dining, a spa, and of course the pool. I emerged outdoors with relief, removing the napkin from my nose as the sea breeze gave some respite from the odor.
Around me, people partied in bikinis and beachwear and suits, sipping all manner of drinks around the sky-blue swimming pool. A young woman stretched on a blood-spattered lounger, oblivious to the gore beneath her tanned figure. A few bodies floated among the swimmers, bloated and discolored. My vision shimmered briefly as a teen boy swam right through one of the bodies, splashing as if it were not there. My heart lurched when I realized that it was his own, albeit dressed in different clothes—
“Oof!” I grunted as a small figure bashed into me, her arm grazing mine.
“Sorry!” cried a little girl in a pink swimsuit, bolting by as her mother yelled at her to watch out for people.
I tried not to think of how cold the little girl’s arm felt. Counted the bodies: eight in the pool. One by the towel bin, head caved in. I made a circuit of the pool, occasionally brushing against people—cold, cold, cold.
No survivors, it seemed.
But why?
That was when I spotted a shirtless old man sitting at a table under an umbrella. I froze, goosebumps prickling along my skin. Unlike the floaters, there was no obvious reason for his death. His back was to me, the bare skin of his shoulders gray and blotchy. In his hand he held a broken drinking glass. He was positioned in repose… so what killed him?
My heart quickened as I moved round to the front of him.
His mouth hung open, shards of glass and a mangled tongue lolling out, crimson trailing down his shirt front. The source of the chewed glass was obvious—the cup in his hand was broken, its jagged edges bloody.
He’d died choking on the glass.
“What the fuck is happening here?” I whispered.
Forward Stairwell
The jogging track and the sundeck—decks 10 and 11—offered a stunning bird’s eye of the pool and ocean, but I did not stop to take this in as I circled to the bow, opting to take the forward stairs down, rather than central.
The stench hit me like a cloud.
I had to stop as I descended into the dim stairwell, clinging to the railing, doubled over, gagging. It was so so bad. My eyes watered. My stomach bucked. And it was dark. Thank God for my phone’s flashlight. I fumbled it on and, napkin firmly over my nose, plunged down into the depths… The phone’s thin illumination flashed along the carpeted stairwell and the hall of the first of the passenger decks. I kept descending. Paused at an unidentifiable slick red mound. I was examining it under my light when a crewmember jogged up to me and asked, “Lose something, miss?” “Just my marbles,” I muttered, shooing the crew member away and inadvertently brushing his hand. Cold. I turned my attention back to the mound.
A slimy pile of intestines on the stairwell… trailing down to a disemboweled body.
Intestines… eyeballs… eating broken glass… nothing about this makes sense! I swiveled the beam to check further downward.
That was when I found the source of the odor.
My path down was obstructed by a mass of bodies. The ones underneath seemed to have been trampled, but the ones on top… I squeezed my watering eyes and retched against the wall. Some of the bodies bore horrible mutilations—fingers bent and twisted, joints out of alignment, faces smashed in and jaws torn open. Many more appeared to have been crushed in the press of bodies. Best guess, there was a wave of panicked people rushing upstairs from below, colliding with a wave of others fleeing down from above.
Why this staircase? What was near this part of the ship?
The cabaret lounge, I realized. No electricity. No elevators. This was the nearest stairwell to the auditorium.
Closer. I was inching closer to uncovering the fates of the passengers. And yet, I still had no idea what the passengers were fleeing from. Who were the attackers? Or… I thought of the eyeball. The glass chewed and swallowed.
An icy pinprick at the base of my skull whispered the question I didn’t want to ask…
Why? Why did some of the passengers go mad, and do it to themselves?
Piano Bar
I took the long way round to the cabaret theatre, going all the way back up the stairs and coming down on the central staircase, only to detour on hearing the notes of a piano. I found myself in a cozy lounge and spotted a purple-haired figure at the keys. And just in time—the ship was due to depart in less than half an hour!
“Lily!” I rushed over.
The musician’s face lit. “Oh it’s you, friend! You made it!”
“You’ve got to get off the ship!”
“Off the—”
“I know it seems crazy but you’ve got to! Everyone on board is going to die—I’ve seen it because I’m psycho!” I heard it a second later and smacked my forehead. “I mean—psychic! PSYCHIC!! I can see the future.” At her scrunched eyebrows, I burst, “Look I know how I sound, but I’ve been able to see things since I was a little girl, and I am telling you that this ship is going to go dark! The engines will cut out! People are going to flee and trample each other on that forward staircase…” Launching into a rapid-fire recounting, I was just getting to the eyeball in the teacup when she interrupted:
“You’re afraid of some sort of terrorist attack?”
“No, no! No! It’s almost like… a kind of madness, a contagion, that spreads through the ship—”
“A zombie apocalypse?”
“Not zombies…”
“Poltergeists? Possession?” She played a riff from a horror movie. “Should we call an exorcist?”
“We should leave!” I checked my phone. “Quickly!—"
“What an odd duck you are! I can’t imagine any sort of catastrophe as big as you’re saying. You know this ship has tons of safety protocols. And even if I did believe some disaster were drawing near—do you really think I could abandon crowds and crew?” She looked at me over her glasses, shimmering purple lips curving in a smile. “Listen friend, if this were the Titanic and I was the only one who could see the iceberg, I’d stay to steer us right, not run off leaving everyone to die!”
Icy fingers raked along my spine. Even if she wasn’t taking me seriously, she was right—I did have a moral obligation to save people. An obligation I’d been trying to fulfill ever since I was a little girl, until the attempt killed my brother, and even after, I kept trying for years and years…. until at last I realized that there is no way to change anything. That is why I call myself Cassandra. For the Greek prophet doomed to predict the future but never be believed. Try and prevent what I’ve foreseen? You might as well try and pluck the stars from the sky!
Every hand I’d touched was cold. Everyone on board would die.
My fists balled, fingernails digging so hard into my palms they bled. “You really have no idea what you’re asking of me…”
“Oh, I’m not telling you to stay. I’m just explaining why I have to. Besides, I’m under contract.” She winked and focused on her playing as guests entered and sat at nearby tables.
She had no idea! None whatsoever! If I thought there was even a sliver of a hope, I wouldn’t abandon people! Oh, if this happy-go-lucky musician understood the futility!!
But she will, came another, darker thought. She will know the full depth of the horror coming…
“No,” I whispered.
“Huh?” She shouted, “Wait—friend, where are you going?”
But I was not listening. The cabaret theatre—was the answer there? The reason for the crush of bodies in the forward stairwell? I rushed past the cafe with the eyeball in the teacup, through the grand doors into the cabaret hall—
—but the cabaret hall was surprisingly quiet, save for a light touch of classical music. A few passengers mingled here or there, unnoticing of the cadavers draped on chairs and tables. The stage itself was pristine, the wood smooth and polished in the fading orange light through the windows. Apparently, the origin of the panicked flight up the forward stairwell was not this grand entertainment venue—nothing here supported that theory.
Nonetheless, I gave the place a thorough search until my phone’s battery ran low, and then I returned to the grand staircase.
In one direction lay passenger cabins. In the other, the gangplank back to the port terminal and safety.
“It’s not too late to be a coward, Cass,” I said. “Run from the ship, run from the empty piano bench at the bar, find a different, cheaper hole in the wall to crawl into like—like the cockroach you are…”
Always the survivor, eh…?
Or… or, I could try just one more time. “‘Hope,’” my brother always said, “is the thing with feathers.”
And look what happened to him! flashed through my mind. My heart slammed against my ribcage. I’d just die too, unless I left in the next—how many minutes? I checked my phone, but it was dead. Like I would be if I stayed.
A horn sounded the Seastar’s departure. A distant cheer rose up from the upper decks and balconies. I felt a brief panicky impulse to run back out on deck and throw myself off the ship… but in truth, my fate had already been decided before the ship’s horn blew. I hadn’t been paying attention earlier, but I’d been rubbing and rubbing my hands, and finally realized they were cold. Probably had been since I’d boarded. I shuffled leaden feet toward the passenger cabins, guided by my phone’s light to the brass number plate for 4044—my cabin. Reached for the knob and stopped.
That smell—dread squeezed my intestines like a wet rag.
Smoke. Burnt meat.
I wrinkled my nose and opened the door.
Orange rays shone through the window, the sunset so vivid it almost gave the illusion that the room was on fire. The walls and ceiling were charred. The edges of the mattress and sheets a smoldered ruin. But the worst damage was the small sofa by the coffee table. Broken bottles scattered round. And there on the sofa—
My fingers went limp on the door handle as I stared into melted sockets of a body charred beyond recognition. A dark line encircled its wrist. The blackened remnants of a charm bracelet.
My bracelet.
While the man on the pool deck swallowed glass, I would succumb to the insanity here, dousing myself in alcohol and flame—
—immolating myself.
[Part 1]

https://aminoasylum.shop/product/dymethazine-dmz/ code HANGZ
FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY
---
Hey, fellow biohackers and fitness enthusiasts over at AminoAsylumDiscount! Today we're going to delve into a powerhouse in the realm of prohormones—Dymethazine. We'll explore its potential benefits, side effects, and provide some advice on how you might integrate it into your fitness regimen.

What is Dymethazine?

Dymethazine, also known as DMZ, Mebolazine, or Dimethazine, is a prohormone that has gained significant popularity in the bodybuilding world. Its chemical structure is essentially two Superdrol molecules attached together by a nitrogen atom.
As a prohormone, Dymethazine is inactive until it is ingested. Once in the body, it is metabolized into its active form. The primary advantage of this conversion process is that it allows DMZ to bypass the liver on its first pass, reducing the hepatotoxicity typically associated with oral anabolic steroids.

Potential Benefits of Dymethazine

The claimed benefits of Dymethazine are quite extensive, particularly for individuals seeking to enhance their physical performance and physique. Here's what you can potentially expect:

1. Lean muscle gains: One of the most significant benefits of Dymethazine is the potential for lean muscle mass increase. Users often report substantial muscle growth within just a few weeks of use.
2. Strength enhancement: Alongside muscle gains, DMZ can also contribute to increases in strength. This makes it a popular choice among bodybuilders and powerlifters.
3. Fat loss: Dymethazine can help in the reduction of body fat. The prohormone can help increase metabolism and enhance the body's ability to burn fat.
4. No water retention: Unlike some anabolic steroids, DMZ does not cause water retention. This results in more 'dry' and defined muscle gains.
5. Improved recovery: DMZ can aid in faster recovery post-workout, reducing muscle soreness and allowing for more frequent and intense training sessions.

Side Effects and Risks

While Dymethazine has potential benefits, it's important to note that it also comes with risks. It can have side effects, some of which can be severe if misused:

1. Hepatotoxicity: Even though Dymethazine is less liver-toxic than some other prohormones, it can still pose a risk. Liver protection supplements are highly recommended when using DMZ.
2. Hormonal Imbalance: Dymethazine can impact your body's natural hormone production. Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) is essential after a DMZ cycle to help restore natural testosterone levels and prevent estrogenic side effects.
3. High blood pressure: Dymethazine may increase blood pressure. Regular monitoring and a healthy lifestyle can help manage this risk.
4. Other side effects: Other possible side effects may include headaches, nausea, fatigue, and aggression.

Dymethazine Usage and Cycle

A typical Dymethazine cycle lasts around 4-6 weeks, with daily dosage varying between 10mg to 30mg, depending on the user's experience and tolerance. Always start with the lowest possible dose to assess your body's response. Post Cycle Therapy is mandatory after any DMZ cycle to help your body restore its natural hormonal balance.

Conclusion

Dymethazine, like any prohormone or anabolic steroid, is a powerful tool that comes with potential benefits and risks. It can contribute to significant muscle gains, improved strength, and enhanced recovery. However, due to potential side effects, it is essential to approach its use responsibly

Hi, just wondering if anyone here's practicing zero waste at their home?
Here's mine: 1. We wash our plastics (plastic ng chips, biscuits, candies, plastic sando bags, cling wrap, plastic ng mga appliance, etc), then isasampay. Pag tuyo na, iipunin sa isang lalagyan then idodonate sa TrashToCashback, SM Cares, or Green Trident

1. We always segregate. PET bottles, shampoo bottles, microwavable containers, plastic spoon and fork, delata, Tetrapak, cartons, glass, paper, and so on. Napaka dami. Lahat ng pwedeng maibenta or donate for recycling, we collect and segregate
   
2. All kitchen scraps are collected in a used ice cream tub na nasa tabi ng kitchen sink. I cut it into smaller pieces then lagay sa compost bin. Leftover food, however, pinapakain sa aso namin
   
3. Pag bumibili ng tinapay sa mga bakery (Pan de Manila or any local panaderya), pinalalagay namin sa lalagyan namin
   
4. Iniipon namin ang used oil sa isang container then donate it to RMC Oil
   
5. Opted to use glass containers instead of plastic. Mas madali linisin at safe
   
6. Using eco bag and our own plastic bags when buying at wet and dry market. Yes, we still use plastic but we reuse. Sa grocery naman, if hindi nakapagdala ng eco bag, pinapabox namin yung mga pinamili
   
7. Bumibili padin kami online kasi minsan dun lang available ang kailangan namin (and mas mura). Yung pouch at bubble wrap from Lazada or Shopee diretso sa lagayan para idonate
   
8. We donate old clothes and anything na hindi na kayang isalba na textile sa H&M. Yung worn out bras naman, sa Wacoal
   

We are not perfect in practicing zero waste, but small steps are better than nothing.
Care to share your practices? :)

Pt 1 If you haven't read it.
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Pt 2 If you haven't read it.
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Pt 3 If you haven't read it.
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Hope you enjoy Pt 4 and happy reading!
​
*Flick* "Aligning descent profile for re-entry." I had made all the final preparations
*Flick* "Prepare for comms black out in 10" William began the countdown.
"9"
"8"
"7"
"6"
"5- when you get back I absolutely *have* to show you this really old movie, interstellar, its a classic" Will interjected.
"4-Oh my stars we're about to enter the atmosphere of Ix-5 at 7km/s and all you can think about is showing me some old movie when we get back?!"
"3- Fine."
"2"
The plasma had begun to lick around the edges of the heat shield and up onto the windows.
"1"
The comms began to make a static hissing sound.
"Just breathe." Will muttered to himself.
The whole shuttle began to shake violently.
"PASSING MAX-Q" Will had to shout to be heard over all the rattling.
Just like that, it began to quiet down, the fiery inferno of re-entry plasma died down and we began our coast down to find a suitable landing spot. Comms had also returned.
*Click* "I'd just like to let everyone know that we made it through re-entry just fine." Will had radioed back to the ship.
The sound of faint cheers from bridge could be heard.
"Engaging cloaking device" *Flick*
A loud hum could be heard as the cloaking device not only prevented us from being seen by eyes, but also seen by any radar, sonar, or other means of detection spun to life.
"So where should we land?"
"Oh just a few more kilometers to shore, then I'll just find a nice, secluded spot and we'll spend the next couple of days getting to know the locals!" I responded gleefully, as this was my first time with a civilization that didn't just learn how to farm.
After carefully gliding down we landed in a patch of grass-like vegetation. Will pointed out all the leaves were all black, to which I responded by telling him that the vegetation had to adapt to capture more of the light spectrum than the vegetation on Earth, because of the dimmer, red dwarf this planet orbited.
We had set up the basics, communications equipment, synthesizers, and a variety of other scientific tools.
"Hey, remember when you said you wanted to see an example of human food! Because I do!" Will exclaimed giddily.
After plugging in a drive and pressing a few buttons, the machine whirred to action, printing out a most unusual dish.
"So keep in mind this is just one dish out of... out of well I don't really know how many different kinds of dishes we have, all you need to know is that it's a very large number... But here's too hoping you enjoy it!"
What came out were this white, almost sphere like but more so a squat raindrop shaped... things. Will called them "Dumplings", and they smelled delicious, though he had dipped them in this brown liquid he called "Soy Sauce" that I really did not care for as far as smell goes.
I carefully picked one of these dumplings and bit into it.
"Oh my" I said, albeit muffled by the food.
"It's good isn't it! I told you!" Will grinned.
"That's quite the... texture. I don't really know how to process this. It's so soft and yet firm. Nutrient packs are so much easier, they don't make a mess and they're just so efficient, I mean, you could probably play around with the recipe, make them tastier. Right?"
"You just don't get it do you." Will said, shaking his head.
"Oh well, more for me." He grabbed at my half eaten dumpling.
"Hey! That's mine!"
"So you DO like it then!"
"No, just, ugh, leave me and my dumpling alone, I've already had my Nutrient Pack for the day I'm going to hibernate now."
Will rolled his eyes at my response.
"Fine." He said in that same begrudging manner as before.
I walked on over to the hibernation chamber, a circular area just big enough for me with a warm, gentle breeze flowing over. As I was going inside I heard Will behind me closing up the door after bringing everything inside.
"Wait... you were going to tell me about.... sleep..." I muttered out.
"Oh yes so hold one, could you just fully wake up for a little bit so I can explain, so your species, and for that matter every other alien species I've met, sleeps one hemisphere or one part of their brain at a time, but humans sleep the whole brain all at once."
"What's that like?" I replied, still in the grip of hibernation.
"So for starters we are like, FULLY unconscious the whole time, we can be woken up but we have a very, VERY limited understanding of what's going on around us. We also go limp so we don't move around accidentally, we still do. It's not perfect but it works enough to where I can say, "yeah we go limp"."
"But aren't you... what happens... if... someone ambushes you at night?"
"In all likelihood unless we happen to be right next to a weapon or something good enough, we die."
"Oh my. How... how did this not drive your species extinct?"
"I'm left wondering that same question too Tomō."
This might be the first time I've heard about a human ever being truly defenseless. Will had disappeared off into another room to change, returning in only a pair of shorts. Which left me examining his exposed torso. Human skin is wrapped quite tightly around the internal structure, and there seems to be very little, if any, loose skin, it also seemed to only be composed of one layer, most others I've meet without loose skin have special layers that can break off. Perhaps humans might be less sturdy than I had come to expect. No no that can't possibly be true I thought to myself, or as much as I could with half a brain working.
The morning was punctured by this infernal clattering from Will's bed, his arm swung up and smashed down on a small table next to him, causing the sound to stop.
"What was that?! Did someone find us?!"
"No... it was just my [Yawns] Alarm, we need to be startled to wake up and that [Will yawned again] was the startling noise."
Will climbed out of bed, shuffled over to another table (Those humans have a lot of tables) grabbed a fresh change of clothes and made his way over to the bathroom to change.
That's when I heard it, a loud SHHHHH sound from the bathroom, I made my way over to the locked door and shouted:
"EVERYTHING OKAY IN THERE WILL?"
"YEAH, JUST TAKING A SHOWER."
"A WHAT?"
"SHOWER"
"WHAT'S THAT?"
"I DON'T CARE FOR THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW."
"OH OKAY."
I shuffled back over to my hibernation chamber, pulling the divider closed I took in a bath of UV sterilizing light and changed out of yesterday's uniform, and into todays, which on scout missions is always a set of cloths made to imitate the look of whatever cloths are common on whatever world we're scouting. In this case it was a brown turtleneck sweater, some black pants, 6 pairs of gloves as the basic orbital scan of their unencrypted communications revealed they obsess over cleanliness, often sporting multiple pairs of gloves for specific tasks, kept in separate pockets, land lastly, a sort of shawl like piece of fabric, apparently used to protect yourself from the midday dust and wind storms.
The disguise of our more... alien features was provided by some makeup, changing our skin to a sort of pale grey. We also made use of some printed prosthetic noses, wigs, and ears, which made our faces impossible to distinguish from the local inhabitants.
Once I had finished applying all my disguises, I exited my chamber and walked over to where Will was, standing by the synthesizer watching it print up a breakfast.
Will, who hadn't even donned the appropriate clothing at this point (he was wearing a simple outfit of black shorts and a grey t-shirt), was oddly enough, sopping wet. His hair had turned a jet black color due to its saturation of water, releasing its store down his face and his neck, resulting in the back of his shirt, and the front collar turning a visibly darker shade and sticking to his body, at this point I also noticed that his skin was covered in beads of moisture glinting in the sun.
"Why are you so wet?" I asked him.
"It has to do with a shower, I get myself under this sort of, simulated rainfall, only the temperature is nice and hot, and use soap, not the same kind you use to clean your hands, but the function is still the same, I then put some stuff in my hair which gets rid of oily build up, the water rinses everything off, but by the end I'm soaking wet, I will need to dry off properly though before I put on all the disguises."
As he grabbed his tray with his hands, still damp from the shower, and the skin around his fingers was all shriveled up.
"Your fingers look like mine now! See!" I asked, moving right up next to him to better show him my fingers.
"It just increases the surface area so I can grip things better underwater, only happens if they get wet."
"Why wouldn't they be like that all the time?"
"Once again I'm left wondering that question myself."
"So what's on the menu for "break-fast"?" I asked
"Well for starters, it's just one word, breakfast, and secondly, I'm having two slices of buttered toast, an egg, and a black tea. Standard human breakfast, though Coffee is more popular."
"Black tea...?" I had heard of Coffee before and its danger to other species, and was hoping that this tea drink lacked any of this substance known as Caffeine.
"Yeah just a little caffeine to wake me up."
"CAFFEINE?! That's... that's a.... that's a Class IV chemical weapon! They banned that centuries ago! How?! What?! Oh my... Oh my..." I began to hyperventilate.
"Relax! There's only what... 50 milligrams in a cup."
"FIFTY?! FIFTY!?! ONLY FIFTY?!? THAT'S TEN TIMES THE DEADLY DOSE! WHAT ARE YOUR THINKING!" I shrieked, though deep down I did take note of how that was less than that of Coffee.
"Shhh, you'll risk us getting caught, calm down, don't worry I'll have the cup disposed of properly, I've done this every day and so far, no one's gotten hurt." Will said in his standard, nonchalant attitude that has become so typical of him, a tone which did not seem anywhere near appropriate for the situation.
"SO FAR?!" I was not heeding his instructions to calm down, it's typically very hard to do so when faced with something that could lead to a violent death.
"Look, look, it's totally harmless for us humans, besides, the Federation strictly manages our recreational use of substances highly dangerous to other species, such as but not limited too: Caffeine, Capsaicin, and Cocoa. I make one wrong move and my ass is sent to jail."
I was shocked, frozen with shock, at least I wasn't screaming but I felt like I couldn't move a muscle. Capsaicin was last used by the Rx'lac to murder billions, Cocoa I hadn't heard of before so it must have been something unique to Earth, but it terrified me still. In my frozen state I waited for the cup he drank from to be destroyed, and at this moment I began to regain my motor functions.
After rigorously drying himself off with a towel and this awfully loud machine he pointed at his hair, Will began to
"Now, could you help me apply the makeup?"
Human hands, while much sturdier than what most of us use, in the case of Captain Reloxyn, she has 6 tentacles which can vary their diameter, and in the case of Zorxians like myself, we have the two hands attached to their respective arm much like a human, but the geometry of the fingers themselves are different, each finger is made up of 3 fluid filled sacs, attached one after another in segments, each sack is attached to the previous with a variety of muscles, which gives each joint the ability to make movements with a full 120 degree range of motion, in any direction. While this makes them far more fragile, due to the lack of skeletal structure, this makes us quite dextrous.
But yet, I noticed that Will's right hand, arm, and ankle were already painted, which puzzled me, if he could paint his right side, then why couldn't he paint his left?
"Do you really need my help? You did just fine painting the right side of your body."
"Tomō, do you really know so little about humans?"
"You know you're the first human I've met!"
"Humans tend to have what's called a dominant hand, what it means is that there's one hand I am really good at using, and another that I'm not so great at using, I *could* train myself to use both hands equally well, but I never really had a need, and even when it would've come in handy, there's always been someone else who can help me. Like you!"
"Aww, thanks!" I responded.
"In my case, my dominant hand is my left one, fairly uncommon. Only about 10% of people are like that, the rest are right handed, and a very small number are born with both hands being of equal capability."
"But you really should get on it with the whole training your right hand. There won't always be someone to help you."
"And yet there always has." Will responded jokingly.
"We ready?" I asked.
"Just have to get some things ready, hold on, if this society is so obsessed with cleanliness, how come they don't wear face masks? I doubt they've gotten to a point where they've already eradicated all diseases. That should take them at least another century."
"Oh, this is the really cool thing about this planet! So basically, airborne diseases never evolved! They just... don't exist here!"
"Absolutely fascinating." Will responded.
"Everything we need is now in the bag." He pointed to the black bag slung over his shoulder made from the local flora.
"And we should be ready to go!" Will enthusiastically marched over to the shuttle door, opening it at saying;
"After you!" With a look of pride on his face, odd, if anyone should be proud, it should be me, after all, this mission is already off to a good start considering he's a rookie.
The red light of Ix bathed the planet in this warm glow, Ix was rare for a red-dwarf system, as most habitable planets are tidally locked, but we marched through the woods, noting observations of the local ecosystem that we stopped periodically to jot down in our notepad.
About halfway through the forest Will stopped suddenly, turning back to face me.
"You forgot to tell me what bridge came up with for our secret identities? Oh stars, saying it like that makes me feel like some kind of super-spy!"
"Oh yes, I must have gotten distracted..." I reached for my communicator.
"Okay, so we're two hikers, you named Po'ol and I named Gra'aul, and we just finished up a nice long hike and so we're off back to Hl'Ix, population 12.8 million, and about a 2 hour train ride. Oh by the way, I have to share the language file hold on... yup that should do it! Congratulations you are now fluent in Ix!"
A requirement of working for any Federation job was the implantation of a language chip which allowed the user to become fluent in all 608 languages and, what they called "Significant Dialects" spoken in the Federation, though for people working on exploration vessels like me and Will, we had access to a file sharing system so we could download new languages for the planets we visited after the central computer processed them.
"Thanks!" Will responded from a meter or so ahead of me.
We continued our march down to the road, where we walked parallel to it as cars zipped by. Eventually the forest we had landed in cleared way for farmland, which after about 5 kilometers or so more walking, started to turn to houses with expansive yards, which gradually became smaller and smaller as we neared the center of town.
"You getting tired yet?" Will asked me, we had decided it was best for him to walk behind me, so we could make sure we stayed together.
"Yeah, but just a bit longer until we make it into... whatever the name of this town is."
"Alright."
We continued to make our way into the town, named Urup and with a population of about 3 thousand. When we got there it was almost devoid of any activity, and the wind had started to pick up, which carried in dust. Thankfully we anticipated this, having donned contact lenses to keep debris out of our eyes, and using the shawl to cover up our mouth and nose. At this point will stopped to pull out a small, and very thin, weather sheet, which he released into the wind. This device would record the weather conditions as it gets carried by the wind. Just after doing this, he turned to me and said,
"Weather at time of release: Temperature: 10 degrees Celsius. Wind speed: 56 Kph, rising. Feels like: 5.2 Degrees Celsius, falling. It wasn't able to get a good reading on dust concentration because it's rising too fast so that should tell you everything you need to know."
The wind nearly blew Will's shawl off, but he grabbed it just in time, and me, being too focused on Will, had let my own shawl blow away in the wind, and while Will had tried to reach for it, the wind carried it away far too quickly for him to get it in time, only missing his fingers by a handful of centimeters. I quickly covered my mouth with my sweater, though this did leave part of my midsection exposed to the elements, a suboptimal position to be in during a dust storm of this magnitude.
"Dammit! Almost had the blasted thing!" Will shouted, the rush of the wind was beginning to drown out our voices.
He put his hand in one of the many pockets on his pants, that's something everyone can appreciate about Ix fashion, anything below 10 pockets is simply unacceptable. Anyways, Will pulled out a small pair of scissors, and quickly removed his shawl.
"What are you doing you can't remove your shawl in these conditions!" I shouted back at him.
"I'll be quick, don't worry!" Will responded as he cut his cloth in two.
"Here!" He said handing me the now removed half of his shawl, and quickly covering his face with the remaining half.
We continued on, though this time much slower than before, as we didn't want to loose our balance and be toppled by the wind. Never before had I ever had to deal with wind this intense, no wonder they assigned the human.
"Squat down! Boundary layer winds should be slower!" He shouted to me while bending down to waddle his way across the street to the hotel.
Squatting down only provided minimal relief, as I suppose one would have to crawl to truly take advantage of this effect. Slowly but surely we made our way across the road, over to the hotel. Opening the first set of doors we were met with a powerful blast of air, which prevented any dust from getting in. Only until after the doors had closed, and our clothes were sufficiently purged of any particulates that had somehow lodged their way into the remarkably dense fabrics. Eventually though, the blast died down, and the second doors opened automatically.
The doors opened to reveal an interior with a largely brown, beige, and black color pattern. The whole lobby was lit with a quite warm color tone, with the lightbulbs occasionally flickering and all the windows had been sealed off behind steel plates. Eventually Will turned his head to face a desk spanning quite a large distance, located just in front of a large board with all the room numbers located next to a light.
We could vaguely hear someone talking to another person, emanating from behind a door marked "Employees Only", Will glanced at me, pulling my attention to his gloves, which he began to swap out for a new pair. I quickly followed suit. Eventually, just moments after I finished putting on a new pair of gloves, one of the people from behind the door exited.
"Why on Ix would there ever be customers walking in during the middle of the storm! We issued the alert 2 hours ago!" The woman said to the man who stayed in the room as the door closed behind her.
Turning around to face the two of us, and walking over to the main part of the check in desk, she began to speak to us.
"Hi my name us Za'ul!" She said, showing us her name tag.
"Now what can I do for the two of you! Must've been miserable trapped out there in the storm!"
Will began to approach the desk, seeing this I decided to sit down and catch my breath, the 10 kilometer walk had exhausted me, it was remarkable to see Will barley fazed by it.
"Hi my name is Po'ol and this is my hiking buddy Gra'aul, we just finished up the most beautiful of hikes through that nearby forest, so we're on our way back to Hl'ix! I was wondering if you could get us a room please and thank you ma'am." He said in a sort of folksy manner, not too dissimilar from the way Za'ul spoke.
"Alright you want one bed or two?" She responded.
"-Two please." He said, almost cutting Za'ul off.
"All right! You want first floor or second floor?"
"Oh second floor would be lovely."
"Well here's your key and have a lovely stay!"
Will walked over to me.
"Got us a key for room 203, here's your key" Will had switched from his folksy mannerisms to a soft whisper, but I just let the key hit me, I was far to tired to catch it.
"Well I see our hike took quite a bit out of you, so just come up when your ready, I got the bags don't worry."
I nodded my head in silent agreement, I was exhausted, but I knew I should probably go upstairs to the room with him.
"Hold on.." I said, slowly lifting myself up onto my feet and carefully making my way over to the elevator.
Standing in the cramped elevator I noticed Will suddenly had this terrible and persistent oder.
"You okay?" I asked him
"Yeah... why do you ask?"
"It's just... you smell kind of... bad."
"Oh!" He chuckled with that same old chuckle I had heard a million times before.
"Yeah, uh, I'm sure after I explained to you what a shower was you were probably perplexed as to why we don't do the standard UV bath, but basically humans smell bad after a long day, or after a long enough, or intense enough period of physical exertion. Showering gets rid of the smell. I did notice the Ix had only a single layer of skin, and hopefully this means they too have the scent issues that humans have, and thus also make use of showering."
"I see. Can you take another shower when we get to the hotel?"
"Tomō! That's... don't say that to other humans okay, you can be direct with me like that but... a lot of other humans will not take that kindly. Just letting you know that."
ding
The elevator had made its way up to the second floor.
"Let's see, 203... 203... here it is!"
Will unlocked the door and opened it.
"Oh thank the stars they have actual beds and it wasn't just a translational error!" He cried out in relief.
Will ran over to the bathroom.
"And they have showers too! Just Wonderful! Don't worry a shower should adequately clean you too."
"Oh I brought my own portable UV sterilizer, I'll be fine."
"You just relax down I'll take care of the report back to bridge."
I made my way over to the beds and just collapsed into it. Hibernating while laying down was not ideal, but at this point I'd do anything not to be on my feet anymore. Eventually I decided that I didn't care for lying face down, and instead rolled over to face Will, just to make sure he didn't botch the report.
Eventually once he finished his report, he walked over to the rooms corners and placed the sound barriers, which would cancel out our voices making sure nobody heard us. Which he, well, I was supposed to do first thing upon entering, though I was far to tired, and Will must've only just noticed. You know, when he first got here he really just annoyed me to no end, but now, he's really settled in and has gotten really into the hang of things, and sure, he's weird, but you know what, he's a human, he's not weird, just... different.
​
I think I'm going to leave it off here, I know I promised some action but this is just where the story lead me, and it was already getting long. Part 5 will be out tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed reading!

Hey, havent been able to find too much on this. Been riding a Bike for about 6 months now (loving it) I ride 30-40 minutes to work most days on the motorway in Brisbane (I work at the Airport). Basically I was wondering what one piece suits anyone has used that work well. The main thing im concerned about is temperature, since I ride Wet or Dry, Hot or Cold im trying to gauge what options I have. The main reason I want one is because I where a suit to work and getting changed/ ready every day for my ride takes about 20 minutes total extra and was hoping for an easier option
To stop yabbing on let me know what options I should consider that would be a huge help. I have looked at aerostich and Klim but again just concerned about them being to hot or cold.