I recently adopted my cat from a shelter and discovered she had health issues before I could buy pet insurance. My specific question is whether taking her to a neurologist for specialist imagining would make a practical difference in her care, given her history.
What I know of her history is that she was picked up by animal control about 6 weeks ago. She's roughly two years old. Apparently she collapsed when chased by animal control, but I don't have any other details. She has an unusually small head and front legs for her size, and she's only 6 lbs. She had a spay abortion at about 5 or 6 weeks along at the shelter and received her first flea meds dose without any notes about seizure signs. She doesn't have developed mamary glands. The shelter paperwork says she's FIV/FELV negative. I adopted her about 5 weeks ago. The shelter noted her sickness/diarrhea when I asked, ran a fecal sample, and prescribed her meds for coccidia and hookworms. The diarrhea had continued after 4 days so I brought her to my vet and they found spirometra tapeworms, which she was treated for. She had a sinus/eye issue my vet suspected was herpes. She seemed very ill which wasn't surprising to me or my vet given all the above - lots of diarrhea and lethargy. Once she was treated for the three parasites, she improved considerably, enough for me to notice that she had some neuro-related issue because she had trouble interacting with things that were close to her and she refused to be above ground level. I gave her revolution plus from the vet 4 weeks ago and the next 2-3 days she had extremely wide-dilated eyes that wouldn't go back to normal and she seemed twitchy in her front arms. Those symptoms completely went away by the time I noticed anough to get concerned and got her to the vet. The vet checked out her eyes and reflexes and said the only thing that was abnormal was that it seemed like she couldn't see out of her right eye. A veterinary ophthalmologist confirmed with an ERG that her retinas are fine, but she's completely blind in her right eye and her right whiskers aren't as sensitive as they should be. He said he suspected a brain lesion given all the above, likely from an infection, toxins, or hydrocephalus, since tumors aren't common in <5yo cats. He said to take her to a neurologist, but here's the thing - she seems extremely healthy now. For almost 4 weeks she's been active, alert, happy, affectionate, playful, and has a great appetite and sleeps soundly. She's had a little constipation (gut still healing?) and she had a little eye goop (herpes + stress?) when my roommate introduced a new cat. Other than that, she's the spitting image of health. It's like she came back from the dead. I've had a lot of cats, several with health issues, so I think I'm a decent judge of how she's feeling in general. If she had a brain tumor or ongoing infection now, wouldn't she have symptoms? None of her wonky symptoms (poor depth perception, discomfort with heights) are getting worse in any way. She seems totally healthy, just wonky. I'm disabled and might lose my job so I can't justify a $4k vet bill just to confirm that she has brain damage that can't be treated, (or can't be treated for less than the price of a car), or that treatment would only extend her life by a few months. Is the neurologist worth taking her to for something like... idk, adjusting the dosage of her pest meds, or prescribing an anti-seizure med in some way that my regular vet can't? Is there some benefit of taking her to a neurologist that I'm not aware of? I love this sweet little cat but it doesn't seem like there's much to gain by getting the specialist imaging done. Obviously I'm not an expert, so I'd really appreciate your insight. Thank you.

A Brief Introduction

I used to struggle with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). It got to the point where I was afraid to eat, as every meal, even small ones, would trigger brutal heartburn. My skin was peeling off my hands, almost to the point of bleeding. Constant stomach and intestinal pains, bloating, belching - I was like a gas machine. I couldn't do any sports because any physical strain would provoke gastric acid reflux and severe heartburn. A perpetually irritated esophagus caused discomfort whenever I ate.
But, it seems, I managed to heal all this. Everything is good again now: I eat almost whatever I want and don't suffer.

Part 1: Backstory from 2017 to 2020

Rash, Blisters, Stress, Didn't Pay Much Attention

• Blisters began to itch, so I visited a dermatologist and took tests: no fungus, no skin problems.
• Went to an allergist, conducted a ton of expensive allergy tests, no problems found.
• Saw a gastroenterologist: they found mild gastritis, but it wasn't causing problems.
• I let it go, thinking it would pass on its own.

Part 2: 2020 - 2023. Symptom Worsening

COVID-19 Pandemic and the Downfall of Businesses

In 2020, COVID-19 hit. My businesses were crumbling due to lockdowns - restaurant chains, coffee shops, and educational schools. I was paranoid about the health risks and potential loss of relatives due to the pandemic (several of my close friends and acquaintances had lost relatives to COVID-19).
I was working 24/7, sometimes eating whatever was at hand, and that's when my digestive problems began. Heartburn, discomfort, and lower abdominal pains started occurring more frequently.

Health Issues and COVID-19

I got vaccinated, but still got infected with COVID-19, and it took about a year and a half for my sense of smell to return.
My immunity was feeble without vitamins and proper diet, and there was a lot of psychological and physical strain (I tried to exercise 4-5 times a week, running, to somehow compensate for the work-related stress with sports).

Seeking Medical Assistance and Temporary Relief

Eventually, I started visiting gastroenterologists to understand the cause of the heartburn. Nothing critical was found in the stomach, except for an irritated mucosa.
I went to some doctors, and they prescribed Omeprazole and similar acid-lowering medications. They gave some relief for a week, but then the symptoms worsened.

Health at its Worst and a Slight Ray of Hope

After several courses of Omeprazole and similar drugs, my condition only got worse. In the end, it got to the point where I was afraid to eat. I eliminated everything from my diet except water and simple boiled dishes, but I still had constant heartburn, gas, skin peeling on my fingers, etc.
Ultimately, I was fortunate to meet the 4th or 5th doctor, after whom I began to see small improvements.

Part 3: Getting Slightly Better, But Not Much

The Different Approach That Started Helping

This doctor's approach was a little different, and in the end, it started helping.
The doctor ordered some tests, and we discovered that I had a chronic E.Coli infection in my intestines, which should not be there. Usually, it causes acute poisoning and quickly leaves the body, but it also produces pretty strong toxins (which, as I would understand later, caused inflammation in the intestines, which in turn caused skin problems on my hands). (link to wiki and articles)
Symptom 1: Skin rash - Check.
This infection, as I understand it, (correct me if anyone has more detailed knowledge), by receiving nutrients, begins to actively produce an excessive amount of gases. This causes constant (every 1-2 minutes) burping and the desire to pass gas, which in turn creates excessive pressure in the intestines. This pushes stomach and intestinal contents towards the esophagus and disrupts the proper functioning of all digestive processes.
Symptom 2: GERD - Check.Symptom 3: Burping and Farting (sorry) - Check.Symptom 4: Abdominal pains and cramps - Check.Symptom 5: Stones in the gallbladder and slight pains in gallbladder area - Check.

Attempting to Balance the Microbiome

So, this doctor wanted to try to balance my microbiome. He prescribed diets like Fodmap, a lot of supporting medicines to feed the right bacteria, and at the same time, he wanted me to take antibiotic-type medicines to kill E.Coli. It was also thanks to this doctor that I found out I have confirmed lactose intolerance and Gilbert's Syndrome.
We started with bacteriophage, as one of the most gentle ways to kill E.Coli without disturbing the other "good" bacteria.
During the time I took bacteriophage, the symptoms were getting better (the skin and everything), but when I stopped it (after 14 days or so) things returned to where they were before.

Recurring E.Coli Infections

After that, I retested and we found E.Coli again.
Now we tried the antibiotic rifaximin (in small dose), the effect was the same: better symptoms, everything got back after I stopped taking antibiotics.
Now, I took the test and found out that I didn't have any normal E.coli in my intestines, apparently it was replaced by the infectious E.coli.
The third time, it was prescribed to take bacteriophage first for 10 days, then rifaximin in small dose (200 mg twice a day for 14 days or so).
The result was exactly the same: symptoms return, E.coli persists in the test.

Struggling to Balance the Microbiome

During the antibiotic treatment, I took supporting prebiotics, probiotics, and other drugs. However, the probiotic with E.coli was not available in my country, it was not produced, and there was none in pharmacies at all.
After that, I moved from the country to another country and lost contact with my previous doctors.
Since I had been suffering from this for 5 years already, I was almost desperate to cure it all. I collected all the information I had, everything I discussed with doctors, everything I read on medical resources, confirmed by verified medical research, and decided to take a risk and wage a final battle with E.coli and my problems.
Disclaimer: I do not recommend and even warn against self-medication. I am not a professional doctor and I was lucky that it helped me. I initially consulted with literally dozens of doctors, read all thematic resources, acted on the results of my current tests and analyses.

Part 4: Relief

Having moved to another country, I decided to do the following:

1. Take a large dose of rifaximin for treating E.Coli (550 mg x 14 days).
2. Support the balance of the microbiota during the entire intake of the antibiotic by taking Saccharomyces Boulardi.
3. Follow a fodmap-diet throughout the entire drug intake period.
4. Completely eliminate sugar during the antibiotic treatment, for 2 months from the start of the antibiotic treatment, and limit sugar intake after that (i.e., no sodas, chocolates, sweet drinks. I clearly noted a worsening of symptoms immediately after their intake).
5. After the end of antibiotic treatment, I took Mutaflor for a month (starting with 3 tablets twice a day for the first 3-4 days, then two weeks 2 tablets twice a day, then 1 tablet twice a day). Remember, according to my test results, I had little or no normal E.coli in the intestines and instead, the pathogenic E.coli was actively hanging out and enjoying life.
6. I restricted, but did not completely remove, the consumption of lactose.

I finished the treatment a month ago and so far, I don't see any symptoms of the disease: skin problems are gone, heartburn, rumbling in the intestines, gases also disappeared.
I may feel heaviness in the intestines after consuming dairy products in large amounts (for example, Greek yogurt with berries before bedtime), but if I limit the consumption of dairy products, I do not feel any problems with the intestines.
Now I am trying to solve problems with the gallbladder and smoothly return to a normal active life: I'm not afraid to eat, exercise, I don't wake up with pain in the abdominal area at night or in the mornings.

Part 5: Final and Good Luck

I hope that such a detailed story will help some of you not to despair, find the right doctor, the right approach, and the right reasons for your problems and to wake up without pain in the intestines again, eat any food without fear, and enjoy life again.

So you want to learn how to play Nature's Prophet hard support?

With 1,6% pickrate in the Immortal bracket and 40.9% winrate. You must be crazy to think this is even a thing…or are you??
When patch 7.33 came in, I thought Prophet would be insane. I mean, really, now? 40% bigger map and global presence ain’t going to be strong? But as it turned out..it was not.
If you are a support player, you probably learned the hard way that in 7.33, experience was a luxury.

Now, Valve invented something insane in the last patch.

They added more objectives other than Roshan, like Wisdom runes and Tormentors. But for such a huge map, the lack of sentries and observers turned all of us into a non stop 5manning.
If you’ve seen this video on how to play support in 7.33 you probably know what I am talking about.

So, in reality, more objectives=less objectives.

Everyone is grouping up and 5manning. And then 7.33c came….And I saw this…
Wisdom runes in 7.33c give double the experience to your team
So I started playing Prophet support with only 1 game plan. Steal the enemy wisdom rune not only at 7 minutes in but every single one of them, and play around with this 5-man idea by buying all the needed auras depending on the game.
Sound pretty stupid. In fact, it is pretty stupid.

Currently, I am 10-6 with a 62,50% winrate with prophet hard support/support.

The games were played in the 8k bracket in the Europe region. Honestly speaking, it could be higher, but I am not the greatest NP player... at least for now.

In this video, we will go through.

1. Starting items
2. Laning Stage
3. Skill build
4. Gameplan
5. Mid-game Itemization
6. Friends & Foes

Oh wait! This only works only for you because you are "higher" rank player and players play better up overall.

Well…NO!

In fact, I could be better at the hero overall. The last time I played prophet was when I was ancient, back in 2019, and I was trying to snipe couriers.

Yes, I was THAT guy.

As a result, if I can pull it off versus the "higher-rank" players, you can also do that.
Before we start the video, I need to say that you need two requirements to play the hero:
1) Low level of micro
2) No skill
If you fulfill the above requirements, get prepared to learn how to play prophet support.

1) Starting items

Prophet is a right-click-dependent hero in the lane. I suggest picking up a blight stone, a sentry, a grenade, x3 tangos and filling up the rest with stats or faerie fire. Even if you play versus some kind of spammy hero like a Skywrath mage, I suggest you start with blight stone and bring the stick right after.
Exceptions for a stick are heroes like Bristleback (super spammy lane)

2) Laning Stage

Laning stage as Nature’s prophet is super simple. Here’s what you need to do, and this is the most important thing. You might need a bit of micro for that, but the more you play, the better you’ll become
Step 1: Summon treants
Step 2: Hit enemy heroes while treants are in front of you. Be really careful not to overfeed treants or position your hero wrongly. We are not as tanky as we would love early on
Step 3: Repeat. The idea is to push them back and slowly win the regen war by out-trading them.
Nature’s prophet is a great hero in the laning stage to push enemies back effortlessly and pick up the lotus that will give our lane extra consumables to apply the pressure. I really want to emphasize that for us to pull a Nature’s prophet, we need to deliver a solid laning stage.
While in the laning stage, you will get teleportation level 2.
Now teleportation, on level 1, has 36 damage on the first hit, 30 on the second, and 24 on the third. While the numbers are not great, having that much damage for 2-3, right-click means you can connect anywhere on the map, even early on secure the kill(midlane pre runes, is usually a good place to search early on)Get back to your lane by using scroll

3) Skill build

• Level 1, you will always get Treants not only to harass enemies but also to scout wards and enemy map movements.
• Level 2, we go Teleportation, it is too good of a spell. Early damage and being able to connect wherever we want are key early on.
• Level 3, you can go both treants or sprout. I usually go treants, but if I see an enemy mid-laner with no quelling blade or he is an overall low HP, I will definitely consider taking Sprout to make a potential move.
• Level 4, Sprout/treants
• Level 5 Treants
• Level 6 Ultimate
• And on Levels, and 7,8,9, we go for teleportation. An extra treant will not make the difference, but less CD on our ability to connect with our team is essential.

Talents:

• Level 10 (or 11): +30 Wrath of Nature’s Base damage
• Level 15: +5 Treants Summoned
• Level 20: Sprout leashes (if you play versus Spirits or mobile heroes). If you play vs a Dusa or a really static hero, a 100% miss chance is really reasonable
• Level 25: 2,5x Treant HP/DMG

4) Mid-game plan

Mid-game as Prophet starts really early on, even from 5 minutes. So the first idea is to see the situation in the mid-lane or the offlane. If it is going well, you should connect with him, your treants, and the catapult and try to take down the tower. The blight stone will also contribute a lot to this attempt.
Regardless if you succeed or not, it is super important to steal the enemy wisdom rune at 7 minutes in. Usually, players are not there at exactly 07:00.
The plan is to TP at 06:57, pick up the wisdom rune, then teleport to your offlane T2 to pick up the other rune. This will lead to a huge XP difference between the 2 teams and might even give you level 6. If not, connect with your team and try to siege a tower while trying to get your level 6.If nothing happens, retreat to the jungle, try to pick up some jungle items for your team, and always be ready to connect in case of an emergency.
In the mid-game, you always play around 5manning. You can TP to the enemy jungle and place some vision so you will see where enemies are and try to snipe them.
The way I think of Nature's prophet is more or less like my beloved Chen. A find Prophet slighlty better due to his global pressence, his global abilities (a fast level 6, can provide many kills early on) and the ability to pressure more early on as well as slighlty more gold than a Chen

5)Itemization

• I have had great success getting Solar Crest straight up into mek. Solar Crest is a great item, but I would only buy it to boost a hero. For example, if I have heroes like TB, Alchemist, Bloodseeker, etc., heroes that either gather all the gold and if they get to die, we lose or simply manfight a lot (Bloodseeker), and they need a boost.
• So, if I play versus a lot of AoE damage, magical like Dark Seer, void spirit, storm, Puck, or Qop, I will get Mek into Pipe.
• I really need to add that the hero, though, is SUPER versatile, and you should approach the hero in reality like…Chen. Exactly
• So, if you play versus an annoying hero like Windranger (which is meta), it’s really reasonable to buy items like Atos (second item) or items like Halberd.

Overall, you could use Mek, Drums, Solar Crest, Crimson Guard, Pipe, Atos, Halberd and a good alternative to help you with team fights in Aghs! Nature’s prophet shard is really nice if you can get to pick it up for free, as the slow on the opponents is pretty annoying.
Lastly, never buy boots UNLESS you aim for Guardian Greeve’s or Boots of Bearing, and even then, pick it up lastly.

6) Friends & Foes

Overall, unlike Nature's Prophet core, you don’t have many mid-game “bad” matchups, but you really have a lot in the laning stage matchups.
For example, NP core has many "bad" matchups like Storm, Bounty, Spirit Breaker, and overall anything that can mess up with him globally when he tries to splitpushNature’s prophet has a hard time versus high armor heroes like Bounty Hunter or Legion commander where his Overwhelming odds get to deal more damage due to the extra treants.
In the mid-game, Spirit Breaker and Bounty Hunter are annoying, but I would not call them counters as support mainly because the amount of sustain we provide easily overlaps their damage. We focus primarily on grouping up rather than splitpushing
And this is where the guide comes to an end. I understand that people might be negative about that, and this is the reason why I played that many games. I felt 16 games, on my bracket with a hero I have no experty would be a good sample to see if it's even a thing,
Feel free to comment on the video.
I would be more than happy to answer any questions and explain everything in-depth in cases needed.
You can watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs42K-Zw2kQ&ab_channel=DotaRollerCoaster.
​
Looking forward to questions and discussion!

A few years ago I lost 2 stone whilst using Huel but I’ve put it all back on again since. Looking to start again to get back to the same weight - but I can’t be on 3 Huels a day for life. What’s the best way to maintain a healthy weight and gradually bring normal food back into my life? Thanks

I am 6’2, 195 lbs - half Italian/half Lithuanian. Black hair, brown eyes, 34 waist, nice lips and smile, lean-athletic muscular build. New England accent and very funny. Waist-34, shoe size-12, pulse-52, blood pressure 118/73, healthy triglycerides, non-smoker, non-drinker. Giving, altruistic, passionate, romantic, no-kids, hygienic, open-minded, calm, left-handed, homeowner, former foster child, foster parent, Boston Sports fan, Russian/Spanish speaker all describe me. I have a couple of master’s degrees and looking to share life with someone amazing!
Interests: Boston Sports, Running, Reading, Giving Massages, Road Trips, Traveling, Pokémon Go, Trying New Restaurants, Musicals, Random Walks in the Park and Cities, Kissing, Sociology, Leadership
I hope you might be shocked reading this and think we would get along to start formulating our plans! Ideally you are lounging in bed now, or hanging out with friends with your jaw dropped wondering about this post! I can’t wait to hear from you!

The east wind was frigid during this time of the year. Walking through the streets of Winterport slums was a young man with long silver hair and violet eyes on his handsome yet haggard face. He was about 6 feet tall with a lean and muscular body. He didn't have a lot of fat and looked a bit skinny in his jacket. As always, the man had a listless expression on his face masking any emotions.
“Morning Cal, up to the mines again?” said the portly old street food vendor while setting up his cart.
“Hmm,” replied Cal.
“Always so diligent if everyone else was like you then we wouldn’t need that many enforcers. Be careful out there, I heard the shades are more violent and restless this time of the year. See you tonight,” said the old man.
“Not tonight. I have to monitor the deep mines.”
The old man gave him a worried look. He knew how dangerous it was in the deep mines during the winter. “Your terms have all been fulfilled, Callahan…. You are no longer a slave, remember?”
“Yes.”
“Then why continue this treacherous occupation? I know the money’s well but there are other jobs which won’t kill you just because you stepped on the wrong stone,” he said in frustration.
“I wonder,” Cal said quietly to himself and hurried on his way.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had done something that made him genuinely happy. All his life he had followed orders. First his mother, then his masters, and now his so-called captain who never bats an eye while sending him to the most dangerous sections of the mine. Not like he can blame the captain as he never objects to any of the orders. To him, he must be the model enforcer. Always on time and never asking any questions.
He could never understand himself or his own actions. Maybe living on the edge of life and death is what’s keeping him alive and distracted from all the pain and grief hidden in the deep recesses of his mind. Or maybe he just likes to fight.
Either way, there was something in the mines that kept calling to him. Something that could move his long cold heart. Maybe it could give him a solution to all the nightmares. Or maybe it would be his end. Well, that was also a solution.
…
He arrived at the mine where he could see his captain handing out orders to the new recruits. All of them had hopeful looks on their faces like they were ready for a new page in their lives. All former mining slaves freed from their previous positions after they awakened their mana. The big smiles on their faces were obvious. They knew that this was their ticket to total freedom and exoneration from their previous crimes. Once they complete the basic service term of guarding the miners against the atrocities that surface from the deep mines for 2 years, their citizenship to the empire would be restored.
‘Naïve idiots,’ thought captain Reginald. ‘If it was so easy then we wouldn’t make former slaves into enforcers when there were so many awakened in the city guards. Only one in ten ever survive past the 1-year mark and out of those survivors, half get corrupted and must be put down before they kill everyone else.’
“Reporting for duty captain,” Cal said in an apathetic voice.
“If it isn’t my best enforcer on call. Why I was just waiting for you to get here. You don’t know how relieved I am to see your face,” replied Reginald with a tone that failed to betray any sort of relief. “I was just teaching these new recruits about the shades and their duties but now that you are here, I was wondering if you had room for a few more enforcers on your patrols?”
“Sir, I am going to the deep mines today they would only get in my way.”
“Come now don’t be rude to your juniors how will they learn anything if they don’t experience the real deal,” Reginald replied with an icy tone daring Cal to object.
Cal looked at the captain’s eyes for a moment and guessed that he must have made a bet with his friends on how many new recruits would survive past the first week again. “As you command sir.”
“Good. Good. Now don’t be that disappointed I am assigning you the three best recruits of this month. I’m sure they can hold their own in a fight.”
Four years of serving under the captain had made him aware that the only way to hide from his attention is to never get under his nose. He had made that mistake once and the captain has still not let go of that resentment to this day. Always finding a way to make his life harder. Not that it mattered to Cal if someone hated him, but it still annoyed him when he had to put up with his whims.
Cal looked at the three new recruits and wondered if the captain was lying to him. One look at them and he could say with certainty that they would not live past the three-day mark in the deep mines. Not like he cared anyways.
“Follow me,” he said before walking past them and going towards the mine shafts. Several of the miners looked at him with awe in their eyes as he made his way to the deep mines. The three recruits following him like lost puppies.
One of the recruits with brown hair and black eyes suddenly spoke up.
“What should we call you sir?”
“Cal,” he replied.
“No, I meant your rank, sir. The captain just said that someone will be here to teach us how to deal with the shades, we don’t know how to refer to you without offending you, sir. Oh, I am Bryan by the way.”
“Nothing you say could ever offend me. And enforcers don’t have ranks. At least not officially,” replied Cal. “The longer you can survive here the more respected you are. Seniority is also determined that way. You are first-years and at your most vulnerable time right now so try not to die.”
“Heh, stop exaggerating I have fought shades with my bare hands before, they aren’t anything special. Now that I have a flamestone sword nothing can beat me here,” said the blue-eyed and black-haired recruit with a grin. “You can call me Phil and that’s Safid,” he pointed at the last recruit with burly build and average looks. “Which gang are you from Cal?”
“I don’t like gangs,” replied Cal.
“You must be some weakling who no one wanted,” Phil said in a mocking tone. “How about you join my gang? I am going to make a new gang here once I get the hang of things with Safid. We are going to turn this place upside down and become the best gang. Ain’t that right Safid?”
“Yes boss,” said Safid with an enthusiastic voice.
Cal looked at Phil like he was watching a clown. Forget a gang these fools won’t last two minutes in front of the senior enforcers before being slaughtered like lambs. He shook his head and didn’t bother talking with the soon-to-be deceased.
Phil didn’t like how he was ignored. “Your loss, don’t come crying to me when I am done taking over this place.”
“What year are you sir?” Bryan asked after a while.
“Fourth,” Cal replied coolly.
Before he could ask anything else, Cal motioned for them to stop. They had arrived at the deep mines. Before them, everything was pitch black with only hints of light coming from the occasional flamestone lamps that were on the mine walls.
“It's so dark here,” said Bryan. “Why don’t they add more lamps? I am sure our jobs would be easier if we had more visibility.”
“They don’t last,” said Cal. “The shades consume all light. Only warded Flamestone lamps can be used here. And even those don’t last long in the deep mines before being consumed.”
“Consumed?”
“The fames inside the stones are consumed by whatever supernatural phenomenon shrouds the deep mines, that’s why we enforcers always have to regularly change the flamestone lamps. Whatever consumes the flame stops it from recharging,” Cal stopped explaining and said, “No more questions now. There could be shades anywhere, have your weapons ready.”
The three complied with his words and pulled out their swords from their sheaths. Cal started surveying his surroundings before making his way deeper. They didn’t have to walk for long before coming across the first shade.
It looked almost indistinguishable from its surroundings. They only recognized it because of its white eyes and darker-than-black fur. It had a humanoid figure with a tail that ended with a sword-like structure and a height of 1.5 meters. Cal stepped forward and slashed his sword a few feet away from the monster before it could react. A long slash-shaped white light jumped out of his sword and went towards the shade. The moment it touched the shade it exploded into a bright white light which illuminated their surroundings and blinded the recruits for a few seconds. When they could see again the shade was gone. In its place was a small glowing stone. Cal picked up the stone and showed it to the recruits.
“Flamestone?” asked Bryan.
“Yes,” replied Cal. “That’s why the shades try their best to go to the upper mines. The flamestone lamps here are warded so they can’t consume the flames themselves and there are no active flamestones in the deep mines, but the upper mines don’t suffer from the same environmental phenomenon as here so the flamestones mined from there are all in their activated state. If they can somehow break past the enforcers in the deep mines, then they can go up and consume as much flamestone as they can before they evolve into shadows.”
While Cal didn’t care if these recruits survived, he never half-assed his job so he would train them to the best of his abilities. Whether they were capable enough to follow his instructions was up to them.
“What’s a shadow?” asked Phil.
“Something you don’t want to meet,” replied Cal. “The dropped flamestones are how we make our living. We can exchange them for our salary from the mine administrator.”
“Was that light mana that you used with your sword?” Bryan asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“So that’s your aspect. Must be handy in this area,” noted Bryan.
“It has its perks,” replied Cal. “But that’s enough babysitting. You are gonna fight the next one.”
“But we can’t release our mana yet,” Bryan said.
“I’m sure you learned how to use that sword in your training camp,” Cal said.
“Yeah, stop being a wimp it's only a shade, boss could handle that with his bare hands,” said Safid who had been quiet for a while now.
“Even if we can’t release mana our internal circulation is enough to considerably increase our strength from ordinary humans,” Phil said with some disdain in his voice.
As they were arguing with each other Cal heard some noise in front of them. “Quiet,” he said. “Get ready it's coming.”
All three took up proper stance and looked ahead. ‘At least they aren’t completely amateurs’ Cal thought as another adolescent shade approach them.
Phil was the first to lunge forward and slash with his sword, but the shade jumped back before he reached it. It growled before swiping its claws towards Phil. Phil reacted quickly and blocked with his sword, but the claws were just a distraction as its tail swung from behind and hit his side. Phil screamed as blood dripped down from his abdomen. It was cut by the sharp tail sword.
‘Tch, not even a few seconds.’ Cal was about to step forward when Bryan stepped in and stabbed his sword directly into the head of the shade while it was distracted with finishing off Phil.
“You alright?” Bryan asked Phil.
“Just a small scratch I will be fine. I would have got him if you didn’t step forward,” replied Phil.
“You were never hit by a shade, were you?” Cal asked.
“No,” Phil replied.
“Well then pray to whatever deity you believe in that you don’t get infected.”
“Aren’t we immune to that after we awaken?” asked Bryan.
“Not weaklings like you no,” Cal replied. “Only once you have fully assimilated your mana onto your blood vessels are you immune to that. You only have internal mana circulating in your veins. You have to slowly assimilate mana in your blood vessels so that you can fight off invaders entering your blood.”
“I won’t die just because of some fucking scratch,” Phil said though with some uncertainty.
“Patch yourself and get ready to move we still haven’t reached our patrol area,” Cal ordered.
They began moving again once Phil took care of his wound. After an hour of walking and three more encounters with shades which Cal took care of due to Phil’s delay, they finally reached their patrol area.
It was a fork in the road. One of the caves lead to a large cavern while the other went deeper into the mines.
“We will set up camp here. That cavern to our left has already been fully mined so there aren’t any flamestones over there. Hence more young shades are born over there. The lower the amount of flamestone, the easier it is for the deep mines to affect the surrounding environment. But the shades aren’t as strong since young shades don’t have any flamestones in them,” Cal explained while placing the flamestones picked from the previous shades around them to provide a better view.
“So, the ones we fought earlier were very strong. That must be why I had a hard time dealing with the first one,” Phil said regaining his previous confidence.
“Just one step above the weakest. The more flamestone they drop the stronger they are,” replied Cal. “We will be guarding this fork for 18 hours before the next shift takes over. Don’t let your guard down just because you will be facing weaker enemies. Shades are very smart and will group up when they are young. We can’t let them go deeper into the mines or towards the surface.”
Bryan raised his hand. Which was weird as he didn’t do that before.
“Yes,” Cal said letting him know that he could ask what he wanted.
“Why can’t we let them go down?”
“Because they will be a nuisance and distraction to the other enforcers up ahead,” Cal replied.
“There are others down there?” asked Phil.
“Where there are flamestones there are miners. Even if they are in their inactive state here. You are lucky I was told to patrol this section of the deep mine today. Young shades can’t infect the awakened. If we went deeper, you would not survive for long,” Cal said.
What followed next for the recruits was an excruciating hurdle of disposing waves of shades for hours upon hours until their bodies started to give in. Cal watched from the sides while taking care of most of the shades. Even still the recruits were having a hard time staying alive. Most of their bodies were covered in scratches. If they were ordinary humans they would have already been infected, maybe even corrupted. Cal was slightly impressed and realized he had underestimated them.
‘Huh. They could at least survive five days rather than three,’ he thought. However, he shouldn’t have tempted fate as it turned out.

First post was ignored so ima try it again 😅 Since I love this genre and consumed quite a lot of it already, I feel like I should finally try to produce something to share. I plan to start two projects in summer, right now I started production of one of them. ( If it fails, I can still use these ideas as a part of wordbuilding for my ussual fantasy word xd)
Basic premise: Series of various media about same fenomenom- weird shit in dreams.
I started working on first video, an brief education program about new phenomena. Basically ,,See this weird entity? It's safe, don't be afraid" with some hints for future problems. It might lean to comedical horror teritory with time, but I will be fine with that.
I dunno how much are dreams overused in this genre. I will sprinkle some true info to it too, since I love reading everything around dreams and lucidity. Entities will be mostly nonhuman, mechanical or ,,stone beasts", since it's from dreams, there will be only sketches of them and openly manimulated photos.

I’m going through and redoing a few of my lists and this is one I wanted to get. I love Rionya as a commander, but it’s never been fun for others to play against. So I removed the cards that go infinite with Rionya on their own and set a budget of $100. That way I can play most of the cards I want without my need for optimization making me put in cards like dockside. If you have any suggestions, I’d appreciate it.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/QgZtKgTuWk20B8fIyAM7fQ

Main base in the Meadows. First time making a video. Used ClipChamp. This structure is a ground floor (earthen floor with paths) and 2nd floor on one side with one long horizontal iron beam to support the 2nd floor and then 2 floors to the side of that structure supported by 2 iron columns and pine trees with a courtyard underneath it to make it appear to be 3 floors.
It started out, as many people do, as an enclosure around the standing stones and grew from there. Idk if it's considered vanilla. I do use QOL mods but it's not done in creative mode. In fact, if you look closely, you can see some scaffolding hanging in mid air that I forgot to delete off the 3rd floor.

Like, the most recent developements i managed to find were the reupload of the first episode due to it being taken down, and one of the voice actors saying that "Big things are happening fr" and to "Think bigger" than just the fourth episode.
The delay COULD be (most likely is) because of what was said in the description of TWF4 teaser (I had to go find it on the wiki 'cause the video's not up anymore):

UPDATE (yes, finally!): 2022 was one of the happiest years of my life, it is also the year I focused on TWF the least. I was done with 90% of the flashy stuff and only worked on the actual episode, Im done with being active on socials and i absolutely despise Martin Walls now. I finished about 94% of TWF 4, then it happened. Someone extremely dear to me had passed away early december, I stopped it all, and focused on helping my family on both monetary and emotional support. That comes first. I didn't go back to TWF till early 2023, I wasn't ready. 2022 was an opportunity to get my personal and emotional life back together and focus on my mental health and I wouldn't change a thing, so no I'm not sorry for making you all wait. I'm sadenned I couldn't deliver what I intended in time. What comes now? Things change, no more Martin Walls and weekly stuff and rants about TWF, I got much more to focus on now, but I will work on this until I deliver my series finale, I put blood sweat and tears in this project and I will FIGHT to see it finished. Now, TWF 4 wont come this week, or the week after that or any week you might imagine, one day a video will release titled "4", that's when you'll know, sorry I can't promise any more, over 15 minutes of footage ended up in the cutting floor and I intend to release all that as well, as a courtesy gift. For now, enjoy this little fragment we put together for TWF 4. Merch wise? I still gotta finish my contract deals with both Makeship and Crowdmade, so yes, I'm gonna focus on that too even if people say its another MW get rich quick scam, it helps funding this project and funding equipment for newer stuff and I assure you, it delivers. This episode is a GIANT step up from the last 3 both visually and story-wise some of the best voice work ive heard is in this. So, again, merch? Boozoo and Sha plushies will most likely come out between this month or february, we're already working on the commercial video for it too! Get ready banny lovers. And no, this has nothing to do with the progress of TWF 4 so dont get pissed, I can multitask! So much to say and yet so little time to say it. Thanks, Sorry, Not sorry, Love. Stay being great people and being the best version of yourselves. -M

which would explain why we aren't getting any news, and sadly confirms that TWF will be only one season :(
He also close his patreon (like, a year ago at this point), so, make of this what you will.
But maybe in a few months the 4th episode will be up, and we'll have the full series by late 2024/early 2025.
*Huffs a great dose of copium\*
Maybe in a few months...

Good morning, Dodgers!

• Team Website
• Wikipedia Article of the Day: Fernando Valenzuela - Wikipedia

⚾ Dodgers @ Rays ⚾

First Pitch: Sunday, May 28, 2023 8:35 AM Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida

Starters

Team	Starting Pitcher	IP	K/9	BB/9	H9	ERA
LAD	RHP Gavin Stone	8.0	2.25	7.88	1.13	10.13
TB	-HP TBD	-	-	-	-	-

Team Offense

Team	G	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	AB/HR	G
LAD	53	.237	.327	.449	.776	21.14	5.43
TB	54	.271	.346	.499	.845	18.27	6.00

Top Performers

Dodgers	Pos	OPS	Rank	OPS	Pos	Rays
Freddie Freeman	1B	.979	1	1.048	1B	Yandy Diaz
Mookie Betts	RF	.866	2	.936	LF	Randy Arozarena
Max Muncy	3B	.850	3	.851	SS	Wander Franco

On this day in 2021...

Giants @ Dodgers, SF 5 LAD 2, bot 9, 2 out, Austin Barnes facing Tyler Rogers... Austin Barnes homers (2) on a line drive to left center field. Justin Turner scores. Gavin Lux scores. VIDEO
Win Probability Added: 48.5

MLB Upcoming Dates

• End of the 1st Half - Sun 09 July 2023
  
• All Star Game - Tue 11 July 2023
  
• Start of the 2nd Half - Fri 14 July 2023
  

Questions of the Day

1. What piece of “art” would you create if you had to pretend to be an artist and submit something to a gallery?
   
2. What’s the noblest endeavor a person can dedicate their life to?
   
3. What’s something people don’t worry about but really should?
   

Have a great day, Dodgers.

Does anyone have a story where they were just in a lot of pain, went to the ER, and got it all fixed quickly?
I’ve never been able to pass a stone on my own. I’ve had both lithotripsy and a stent (hell on earth). I’ve been vomiting and spiking high fevers at night for a week. I went to urgent care where they treated a uti but it wasn’t getting better so I went to the ER. They confirmed I do have stones but they aren’t at the ureters and the doc believed that the infection was causing the pain. I got iv antibiotics and went home and threw up all night again. The pain doubled with all the fluid they gave me. I can’t deal with this for weeks while I sort out a referral, get a urology appt and then hope I can get lithotripsy. Should I go back or is it just hopeless that the ER can/will help?

Book 6: The City of Blue Fire

So the final buildup to the climax begins! We seem to be more solidly in the payoff section of the novel, with only a few revelations and theories this time around. Additionally, most of the cast we follow seem to be hitting their point of no return, we're on this roller-coaster and cant get off until it stops. That the dread didn't set in until it began clicking its way to the top is more your fault. The title is plenty evocative too, and if I had to guess, we'll be seeing more of the Darujhistan cast this time around.

Epigraph

Another issue of Rumor Born that seems to be recapping the events of the last few books in Darujhistan. What's interesting is it's final mention of the fête to end off.
For fun:
First came the Eel "or not one but a thousand" Is that literal, or merely a reference to their reach? I'll speak more to the Eel during the chapter breakdown below. What's also interesting is that the poem mentions they came "under a jagged moon that might be dead" We see from this that Rumor Born or Fisher in general is not authoritative. The work is literally recounting what rumors there are on the street, and whether or not there's anyone left living in Moon's Spawn is one of those. What this seems to indicate is that the Eel's influence couldn't be popularly felt until after Rake arrived.
"a claw scraped slow//on the city's cobbles" Kalam mistaken for a Claw (easy mistake) Rake is the "dragon... seen sailing high silver and black in the night sky" descending onto Pearl, who gave out the "demon's death cry"
The Tiste Andii were responsible for when "a master's hundred hands lost//a hundred daggers to the dark"
Which are all things that have happened in the past, the fête, ominously, has yet to occur, yet its mere invitation is counted among these City shaking events.

Chapter 17

Book 6's introduction. Overall, there isn't yet much to differentiate this from Book 5 other than setting, but we'll see how that develops. So without further ado...

Epigraph

The Chapter Itself -

- begins following Rallick Nom into the Phoenix Inn. Before entering, he is stopped by Meese who, after flirting with RN, for a moment, warns the assassin of someone asking after him. Someone who knew to sit at Kruppe's table, no less. He enters and notes, amused, for the first time how crowds part before him. He sits down, and the man (whom we are later told is Circle Breaker) warns him, on behalf of the Eel, of a contract sealed by Councilman Turban Orr with the Assassins' Guild against Lord Coll. The Assassin, Ocelot, merely waits for the Lord to return to the city. The Eel also applauds RN and Murillio's attempts to avenge Coll, and offers any assistance they would require. Rallick turns him down, and thanks him for the warning, after a quick drink with Iralta and Meese, he leaves the Inn to act on the information.
So, I had considered bringing this up before, but was on shakier ground then specualtion-wise. But now, its Speculation Time. Kruppe is the Eel, in my mind. We find out latter that Meese and Iralta are also in on the whole thing, so that's already ties to the Phoenix Inn. Kruppe obviously has no fear that the Eel would contradict him when lying to Baruk, and is able to mimic the Eel's method of cryptic hints perfectly. It fits his style of appearing far less than he is, in this case, he's a masquerading as a political lackey. Both the Eel and Kruppe were able to find out about the scheme against Coll without any slip-ups on the part of our conspirators. I believe this to be because of the poisoned bolt. Turban Orr was investigating it, and only someone who knew Rallick's MO could trace that back to him, and only someone who knew Rallick personally could understand that the bolt was initially meant for Lady Simtal rather than Councilman Lim. After all, the death of Orr's majority is too convenient to assume anything besides a political motive. The Eel heard wind of investigations regarding a poisoned bolt, and understood that his friend was behind it and why.* There were other things that had tipped me off, but those were the big ones that I can remember at present.
*Additionally, given that both Baruk and Crone felt Oppon's interference, and the uncharachteristic nature of the plan, it is highly probable that Kruppe felt the interference as well and later recognized what that interference was, hence his coy hint last chapter.
Baruk, meanwhile, is sulking alongside Anomander Rake, wondering why the Tiste Andii would ever allow the Imass and the Adjunct into the barrow. The tension between the two grows, as their diametrically opposed views on the world continue to breakdown communication and raise conflict between the two. In conflict, the Lord of Moon's Spawn excels. He explains to the High Alchemist that Laseen will have her fight, and capture Darujhistan whole if at all possible. Eliminating the Jaghut Tyrant and Rake are merely two additional tasks to maintain the long-term sustainability of the Empire. Rake hasn't nuked the city and left, because he wants to beat Laseen directly, a total victory where she losses what she desires without the world losing it as well. Baruk notes that Anomander Rake could always betray Darujhistan, but Rake notes that becoming himself a traitor would legitimize any treason against him. He even notes several individual who could defeat him under certain circumstances.
Baruk uses Rake's "Son of Darkness" moniker, and Rake rejects it as a title used by those who would worship him. Interesting. Being the child of a god would net you that, I suppose. He maintains the honest (if brutal) route in life not out of fear but duty. Duty to the ever-dwindling population of Tiste Andii, who merely run down the clocks of their lives dispassionately, obeying orders yes, but merely as a function of enduring their existence. He could run and hide, saving his people's lives, but they would be living in body only, so he follows cause after cause, attempting to revive their spirits. (Also of note, he mentioned that the Tiste Andi live roughly 20 thousand years, so I'm not sure where I'd gotten my deep time understanding of them, unless Rake's lifespan is extended the same relative amount as a human mage's would be)
Baruk is unsure how to respond, the plight of the Tiste is so incomprehensible that he can only muster the most abstract pity. So he returns the conversation to the Jaghut Tyrant. Will Rake be able to defeat it? Who knows, but killing him would render the Tyrant greatly reduced, possibly even to a level where the Cabal can eliminate him. Alternatively, killing the Tyrant would reduce AR, so that the Malazans may someday eliminate him. Two birds, one and a half stones. It is the Cabal that scares the Empress, an unknown, which is why our malazans seek out Vorcan. Beyond this, Oppon's meddling continually draws attention from the gods of the world, interested to see if immoral blood would be spilled. This began with Rake's killing of the two Hounds.
They finish the conversation by assessing the condition of Mammot, trapped in a slumber, his mind/soul stuck in his D'riss warren, rulled by the Worm of Autumn, D'rek, of whom Mammot is a High Preist. D'riss is evidently the Warren of earth magic, so I wonder if Caladan Brood will have or has had any interactions with the scholar. Mammot went off to investigate the barrow at Baruk's request, and wound up in this state. All of the Elder magic and Otataral present have messed with him somehow, and he cannot be freed until the Jaghut is. In which case, there will be a narrow window to save him before the High Preist, and his goddess, are subsumed by the Tyrant.
Crokus and Apsalar return to Darujhistan, despite wanting to be rid of the woman as soon as possible, Crokus is disappointed when the City does not impress her. They enter Mammot's study, finding a mess rather than the man himself. When wondering whether Rallick would know anything of this, Apsalar reacts strongly, likely prompted by her time under the Rope. For the first time since Book 2, we enter the PoV of Circle Breaker. After receiving a sign from an old woman, he delivers an additional sign to Meese. Internally, however, he cannot help but assume his days are numbered. He's acting in public, and how long until Turban Orr adds together that the same guard present at all of his leaked meetings is himself a mole? He expects to die soon, but is resolved to maintain his course until the last, heading for one final contact he considers redundant. Meese acts on the signal, approaching the building Mammot stays in, and knocking on the door. Crokus answers, disappointed that she is not his Uncle, and confused as to why she would be there. Crokus catches her up with Aps' amnesia, and notes they have not spoken to anyone but one stabler. Meese informs them of the death of the guard at the D'Arle estate, and Crokus takes this to be a betrayal on Chalice's part. That's... not a betrayal buddy. Aps' mention of Chalice clues Meese in on the situation surrounding the death, and despite the boy's protestations, she takes the situation at face value.
As they prepare to leave, Serrat stalks them, resolving to kill another watcher in the shadows, (I assume Irilta, given that she's backup) and replace her. She's been hunting the Coin Bearer on Rake's orders and we learn that she was one of the individuals hunting Crokus along the rooftops in Ch. 5. There's not much more to this scene, other than a couple odd details I'll note.
Kruppe and Murillio reach the Phoenix Inn, not finding their friends. Kruppe strangely waves aside the news of Rallick Nom meeting someone here earlier, and instead of reporting to Baruk right away, instead opts to enjoy a tankard of beer. This, coincidently opens a window for Circle Breaker to approach him with a message.
Rallick Nom, meanwhile, prepares to take on Ocelot. The clan leader will have all the advantages, and RN will have one shot at best, assuming he can even find him and get close enough. He does, however, posses an anti-magic powder (supplied by Baruk) which could potentially even the battle field. Moments after recalling the warning from the High Alchemist against applying it to bare skin, Rallick, knowing his chances are slim, fearing that Coll's death would remove the last claim on humanity he has left, he rubs the dust into his bare skin, all over. What sort of changes will this effect onto our assassin? Who knows! The chapter ends with RN swearing he will find and kill Ocelot undetected.
And there we go! Book 6 is starting off with a banger, once again tying ever more threads together tighter and tighter, promising one heck of a payoff. I, for one, cannot wait to see how it all unfolds!

GoMagic recently did an interview with Alexander Dinerstein (3p) and Nathan Harwit (6d). Dinerstein mentioned...

a type of three-stone handicap called a Chinese handicap. In this starting board setup, there is one corner to trick your opponent with joseki and there are three black stones that are not necessarily placed on star points.

I'm not sure I understand this, and I can't find anything on it in Sensei's Library. Does anyone know more details?

Selling my Another Eden - USA, fully legitimately played and owned by me.
Information:
- 37k+ Chrono Stones
- 24x 5*
- 7x 4.5*
- Main Story Completed - Chapter 92 (Until further updates)
- All Episodes Cleared
- All Symphonies Cleared
- All Mythos Cleared
- All Obtainable Sub-Quests Completed
----------------------
Screenshots: 21/05/23 (Chrono stones figures subject to change - Check above for updated figure)
https://imgur.com/a/FLsDVb8
----------------------
Payment Method:
F&F PayPal
----------------------
Add me to discuss your price:
Cat#7003