Yep, it's out! Gabbo works quickly. The plot is indeed thickening.

I usually wait to have a bit more of a buffer between the Newgrounds previews and the pages I release on Patreon but since this one has already been delayed to hell and back thanks to other obligations and my ongoing medical issues, I decided it would be better to just release what I have. I hope the patrons are enjoying their 1 whole page of extra content (sorry).

I wonder how many people remember the "72 missing" clipping from chapter 3. I try to write/draw BE in a way that rewards binging (yes, the golden skink population is counting down to the end of the series), but it's kinda difficult when you have a release schedule as slow and inconsistent as mine. Still, it beats reading a completed long-running series and having to sit through entire chapters of recaps (Thanks AOT). Sorry if you have hiatus-brain. Maybe every chapter should end with Epper staring directly at the reader and asking if they caught all that.

Speaking of brains, I have a few updates on mine. There's no white matter deficiencies in my spine and I don't have Cancer or MS, which is good but I'm no closer to a diagnosis or prognosis. All of the tests say I'm perfectly healthy, however hard that is to believe.

So what the hell is this?

The short answer is we have no idea. I'll be seeing a neurologist at some point about it. I have a referral but no appointment yet. If I'm (un)lucky I might have some new disease named after me but it could be anything from MBD to a stroke. Even my MRI images are pressing F to pay respects. Yes these are the best quality images I was sent. I have jpegbrain. Maybe that's what I'll end up naming the condition.

Since I still technically have Optic Neuritis, I'll be going back to the eye and ear hospital to hopefully be put on steroids again. If you've been around since chapter 1 you'll remember how that went. Turns out "performance enhancer" is a very broad term. Either the next part of chapter 5 will come out very quickly or I'll be too groggy to work on it. Wish me luck!