Cool letters you can copy and paste

Hi everyone. I have an iphone SE with browsers and all social media disabled. But I'm in group chats with people sending links all the time. Here's the easiest way I've found to look up your friend's links on the computer at your leisure. (I don't have a mac so I'd imagine it's much easier if you have an iphone and a mac)
I discovered you can edit .TXT files on the Dropbox app on your iphone (i'd imagine this works with Android too). Simply copy and paste your link into your .TXT file on your phone through Dropbox. Then go to your computer and open up Dropbox there and you can cut and paste the link into your browser. I'm not the most tech savvy person in the world so if there's an easier way, I'd love to hear it!

Taking csgo skins mainly (knives, gloves, aks, m4s, awps and so on). Anything as long as offer is good
I don't update this list everyday, so I have many items which aren't listed here. Check if something interests you! Also, some of the items are on trade hold, for release date you can add me or check by yourself.
TRADE LINK: https://steamcommunity.com/tradeoffenew/?partner=35769104&token=J30wyEpy
Add me to talk here: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197996034832
Keys from these buy outs aren't TF2 keys. I don't take Hydra keys either.
Buy outs are in keys for the sake of having a buy out, I trade for skins mainly.
Gloves/wraps:
Gloves Cool Mint FT - B/O 74 keys
Gloves Smoke Out MW - B/O 61 keys
Gloves Finish Line MW - B/O 53 keys
Gloves Turtle MW - B/O 51 keys
Wraps Overprint FT - B/O 40 keys
Gloves Rezan MW - B/O 36 keys
Gloves Polygon FT - B/O 34 keys
Gloves Lt. Commander FT - B/O 33 keys
Gloves Mogul FT - B/O 32 keys
Gloves Overtake MW - B/O 31 keys
Wraps Leather FT - B/O 31 keys
Gloves Polygon WW - B/O 30 keys
Gloves Boom FT - B/O 29 keys
Gloves POW WW - B/O 28 keys
Gloves Cool Mint BS - B/O 28 keys
Gloves Smoke Out FT - B/O 27 keys
Gloves Mogul WW - B/O 26 keys
Gloves Lunar Weave FT - B/O 25 keys
Gloves Bronze Morph FT - B/O 24 keys
Gloves Turtle FT - B/O 23 keys
Gloves Diamondback FT - B/O 22 keys
Gloves Black Tie BS - B/O 21 keys
Gloves Jade FT - B/O 20 keys
Gloves Unhinhed MW - B/O 20 keys
Gloves 3rd Commmando Company MW - B/O 19 keys
Gloves Forest Ddpat FT - B/O 18 keys
Gloves Rezan FT - B/O 18 keys
Gloves Overtake FT - B/O 17 keys
Gloves Jade BS - B/O 16 keys
Wraps Constrictor MW - B/O 16 keys
Gloves Blood Pressure BS - B/O 16 keys
Gloves Needle Point MW - B/O 16 keys
Gloves Case Hardened BS - B/O 16 keys
Gloves POW BS - B/O 16 keys
Gloves Boom BS - B/O 15 keys
Gloves Diamondback BS - B/O 15 keys
Wraps Desert Shamagh MW - B/O 15 keys
Wraps Arboreal FT - B/O 14 keys
Gloves Finish Line BS - B/O 14 keys
Gloves Rezan BS - B/O 14 keys
Gloves Yellow-banded FT - B/O 14 keys
Gloves Buckshot FT - B/O 13 keys
Gloves Needle Point FT - B/O 13 keys
Gloves Unhinged FT - B/O 13 keys
Gloves Transport FT - B/O 13 keys
Wraps Constrictor FT - B/O 13 keys
Wraps Arboreal WW - B/O 13 keys
Wraps Duct Tape FT - B/O 13 keys
Gloves Bronzed FT - B/O 13 keys
Gloves Guerrilla FT - B/O 13 keys
Wraps Desert Shamagh FT - B/O 13 keys
Gloves Convoy FT - B/O 12 keys
Gloves Guerrilla BS - B/O 12 keys
Gloves Bronzed WW - B/O 12 keys
Gloves Overtake BS - B/O 12 keys
Wraps Constrictor BS - B/O 12 keys
Gloves Emerald FT - B/O 12 keys
Wraps Duct Tape WW - B/O 12 keys
Gloves Bronzed BS - B/O 11 keys
Gloves Convoy WW - B/O 11 keys
Gloves Mangrove MW - B/O 11 keys
Gloves 3rd Commando Company WW - B/O 11 keys
Gloves Yellow-banded BS - B/O 11 keys
Gloves Transport BS - B/O 11 keys
Gloves Rattler FT - B/O 10 keys
Gloves Emerald WW - B/O 10 keys
Gloves Emerald BS - B/O 10 keys
Gloves Racing Green FT - B/O 10 keys
Knives and high tier items:
AWP Fade FN - B/O 190 keys
Glock Emerald FN - B/O 100 keys
UMP Fade FN - B/O 85 keys
Butterfly Ultraviolet FT - B/O 150 keys
Butterfly Urban Masked FT - B/O 105 keys
Butterfly Safari Mesh WW - B/O 105 keys
Kukri Crimson Web MW - B/O 135 keys
Kukri Vanilla - B/O 112 keys
Karambit Lore FT - B/O 160 keys
Karambit Freehand FN - B/O 140 keys
Karambit Rust Coat BS - B/O 105 keys
Karambit Forest Ddpat FT - B/O 90 keys
Karambit Scorched FT - B/O 90 keys
Karambit Safari Mesh MW - B/O 90 keys
M9 Safari Mesh FT - B/O 73 keys
Bayonet Case Hardened MW - B/O 80 keys
Bayonet Freehand FN - B/O 64 keys
Bayonet Stained WW - B/O 44 keys
Bayonet Rust Coat BS - B/O 42 keys
Bayonet Night FT - B/O 42 keys
Bayonet Urban Masked FT - B/O 37 keys
Talon Vanilla - B/O 90 keys
Talon Night FT - B/O 53 keys
Talon Urban Masked WW - B/O 45 keys
Talon Boreal Forest FT - B/O 45 keys
Skeleton Safari Mesh FT - B/O 41 keys
Stiletto Ultraviolet WW - B/O 41 keys
Stiletto Night WW - B/O 35 keys
Stiletto Forest Ddpat MW - B/O 34 keys
Stiletto Forest Ddpat BS - B/O 30 keys
Classic Slaughter FN - B/O 70 keys
Classic Vanilla - B/O 57 keys
Classic Case Hardened BS - B/O 34 keys
Classic Stained FT - B/O 31 keys
Classic Night MW - B/O 29 keys
Clasic Urban Masked FT - B/O 24 keys
Classic Scorched BS - B/O 22 keys
Classic Urban Masked BS - B/O 21 keys
Flip Autotronic MW - B/O 61 keys
Flip Freehand MW - B/O 40 keys
Flip Bright Water FT - B/O 36 keys
Flip Ultraviolet WW - B/O 32 keys
Flip Urban Masked MW - B/O 31 keys
Flip Rust Coat BS - B/O 30 keys
Flip Boreal Forest FT - B/O 25 keys
Ursus Case Hardened FT - B/O 43 keys
Ursus Scorched MW - B/O 21 keys
Ursus Scorched FT - B/O 20 keys
Ursus Forest Ddpat Ft - B/O 19 keys
Ursus Safari Mesh WW - B/O 18 keys
Ursus Boreal Forest BS - B/O 18 keys
Nomad Fade FN - B/O 185 keys
Nomad Urban Masked MW - B/O 56 keys
Nomad Night FT - B/O 55 keys
Nomad Scorched MW - B/O 33 keys
Nomad Scorched FT - B/O 29 keys
Nomad Urban Masked BS - B/O 25 keys
Nomad Safari MEsh FT - B/O 25 keys
Huntsman Doppler FN - B/O 95 keys
Huntsman Slaughter MW - B/O 60 keys
Huntsman Case Hardened WW - B/O 40 keys
Huntsman Lore FT - B/O 36 keys
Huntsman Blue Steel FT - B/O 35 keys
Huntsman Autotronic BS - B/O 33 keys
Huntsman Crimson Web FT - B/O 31 keys
Huntsman Black Laminate WW - B/O 25 keys
Huntsman Bright Water MW - B/O 25 keys
Huntsman Freehand FT - B/o 23 keys
Huntsman Forest Ddpat MW - B/O 22 keys
Huntsman Ultraviolet FT - B/O 21 keys
Huntsman Ultraviolet BS - B/O 21 keys
Huntsman Scorched FT - B/O 20 keys
Huntsman Rust Coat BS - B/o 19 keys
Huntsman Safari Mesh BS - B/O 19 keys
Huntsman Boreal Forest FT - B/O 19 keys
Bowie Marble Fade FN - B/o 53 keys
Bowie Case Hardened MW - B/O 48 keys
Bowie Case Hardened FT - B/O 40 keys
Bowie Case Hardened BS - B/O 35 keys
Bowie Crimson Web WW - B/O 30 keys
Bowie Autotronic FT - B/O 29 keys
Bowie Freehand FT - B/o 23 keys
Bowie Bright Water FN - B/O 22 keys
Bowie Ultraviolet FT - B/O 20 keys
Bowie Bright Water FT - B/O 19 keys
Bowie Black Laminate WW - B/O 19 keys
Bowie Forest Ddpat WW - B/o 18 keys
Bowie Night BS - B/O 18 keys
Bowie Safari Mesh FT ST - B/O 18 keys
Bowie Boreal Forest FT - B/o 17 keys
Bowie Forest Ddpat FT - B/O 17 keys
Falchion Emerald FN - B/O 210 keys
Falchion Gamma Doppler FN P3 - B/O 80 keys
Falchion Lore FT - B/O 33 keys
Falchion Crimson Web FT - B/O 30 keys
Falchion Freehand FT - B/O 25 keys
Falchion Black Laminate MW - B/O 21 keys
Falchion Bright Water FT - B/O 21 keys
Falchion Safari Mesh MW ST - B/O 19 keys
Falchion Night BS - B/O 19 keys
Falchion Urban Masked BS - B/O 18 keys
Falchion Boreal Forest FT - B/O 18 keys
Paracord Stained FT - B/O 21 keys
Paracord Stained WW - B/O 20 keys
Paracord Safari Mesh FT - B/O 15 keys
Paracord Safari Mesh WW - B/O 15 keys
Survival Case Hardened MW - B/O 43 keys
Survival Case Hardened FT - B/O 35 keys
Survival Case Hardened WW - B/O 28 keys
Survival Case Hardened BS - B/O 27 keys
Survival Stained FT - B/O 21 keys
Survival Boreal Forest MW ST - B/O 19 keys
Survival Forest Ddpat FT - B/O 16 keys
Survival Safari Mesh MW - B/O 16 keys
Survival Boreal Forest BS - B/O 15 keys
Survival Safari Mesh WW - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Doppler FN P1 - B/O 38 keys
Navaja Vanilla - B/O 29 keys
Navaja Case Hardened FT - B/O 25 keys
Navaja Tiger Tooth FN - B/O 25 keys
Navaja Case hardened WW - B/O 21 keys
Navaja Damascus Steel FN - B/O 18 keys
Navaja Night Stripe BS ST - B/O 17 keys
Navaja Blue Steel MW - B/O 17 keys
Navaja Blue Steel BS - B/o 16 keys
Navaja Damascus Steel MW - B/o 16 keys
Navaja Blue Steel FT - B/O 16 keys
Navaja Damascus Steel WW - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Rust Coat BS - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Damascus Steel WW - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Rust Coat WW - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Damascus Steel FT - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Night MW - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Ultraviolet FT - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Stained WW - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Night FT ST - B/O 15 keys
Navaja Scorched MW - B/O 14 keys
Navaja Ultraviolet BS - B/O 14 keys
Navaja Boreal Forest MW - B/O 14 keys
Navaja Urban Masked WW - B/O 14 keys
Navaja Night FT - B/O 14 keys
Navaja Urban Masked FT - B/O 14 keys
Navaja Night BS - B/o 14 keys
Daggers Sapphire FN ST - B/o 110 keys
Daggers Tiger Tooth FN - B/O 26 keys
Daggers Case Hardened WW - B/O 22 keys
Daggers Case Hardened FT - B/O 22 keys
Daggers Crimson Web BS - B/O 18 keys
Daggers Autotronic FT - B/O 18 keys
Daggers Autotronic BS - B/O 17 keys
Daggers Damascus Steel MW - B/O 17 keys
Daggers Blue Steel WW - B/O 16 keys
Daggers Damascus Steel FT - B/O 15 keys
Daggers Urban Masked WW - B/O 15 keys
Daggers Ultraviolet BS - B/O 15 keys
Daggers Scorched WW - B/O 15 keys
Daggers Black Laminate MW - B/O 15 keys
Daggers Bright Water MW - B/O 15 keys
Daggers Boreal Forest MW - B/o 14 keys
Daggers Bright Water FT - B/O 14 keys
Daggers Night FT - B/O 14 keys
Daggers Forest Ddpat FT - B/O 14 keys

Does anyone have any book or website recommendations for women’s skills/progressions/etc. for levels 4+??
I was currently thrown into being the head coach for Xcel Platinum and Diamonds and was not trained. I do have some knowledge, but not as much as I’d like. I was never a gymnast myself, but a cheerleader, and all my gymnastics knowledge is from working at gymnastics studios for the past 6 years.
Yes, my job knows I don’t have a ton of experience at those levels, and no they do not care.. I have spoken to them and asked them for training/shadowing or to have me coach Bronze-Gold to no avail, so I have to do this on my own. I plan on taking the judges certs as soon as I can so I know that will be helpful too.
But in the meantime, does anyone have any book recommendations or websites to help with up training and progressions. YouTube has been extremely helpful (which I have been watching a ton of and taking tons of notes) but let me know if there are any awesome channels I should subscribe to!
Honestly, anything helps tremendously at this point!!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy’s!
Hate that this is my Mother’s Day post on here, but fck it,
So I’m currently having a shifting moment in my life. I was with my child’s father 2 years prior to having my son. There were several Blueface & Chrisean moments, arguing, fighting, and just a lot of toxicity. We broke up when I was 6 months pregnant, for several reasons but mainly because of the fact he claimed he didn’t want our child and his violent behavior towards me while I carried our child. We went our separate ways, he left the state, tried to rekindle things with his previous baby mom, and when he realized she didn’t want him either, he comes back to me. He came back to me y’all 😐. After not only leaving me to be with someone that doesn’t want him either, but also after speaking down on me, my son, and my parenting. Mind you, he has 3 broken families and 3 kids that he doesn’t take care of. I’ll get back to that later.. Anyways, at this point my son was 4 months old. When he randomly decides to actually act like a man and actually treat me right. The same thing he did at the beginning of our toxic relationship from the past. And I fell for it. Again. A couple months later we decide we can actually work as a couple and I made the mistake of agreeing to move in with him.
Fast forward to now, I’m still a single mom living in a house with the child’s father. I do everything and get everything concerning my son. I’m the only person cleaning up this house. All he does is sleep, smoke, get on bigo live to preach about being a “high value man” and how bitches ain’t shit, argue with me (about nothing mind you, he just likes to argue I realized), talk about my body, and has the audacity to criticize how I mother. While he’s barely a father lmfao. Not even one, I’m being generous.
But I didn’t make this post to sit up here and talk about him. Because I can go on and on, his character is a very sorry excuse for a man. My point is, at this point, I’m just tired of it. But I feel forced to be here. I want out and I don’t want my son to experience one bit of this. But he’s a narcissist and I know there’s no easy way out. He’s either going to make it impossible for me to leave or cause a scene because I am. He moved me out to the middle of nowhere, hours away from my family on purpose and I’m realizing that now. He doesn’t love me. He wants to keep and control me for whatever fucking reason.
What do I do? I don’t want my son taken from me, God forbid, and I don’t want us homeless. I’m just tired of the stress yall I can’t do it anymore I’m about to be in the next episode of Deadly Wives, help !!!!!!!!!!
(OH, ALSO: I didn’t even get achnowleged on Mother’s Day, and when I pointed out ((playfully)) that he didn’t even wish me a HMD, he said “why should I, we live in the same house. You’re a mother everyday 🙄”)

Heyy I’m aly and currently trapped at my job where I work as a geologist and manage the lab and projects which is not as cool as it sounds, but thanks to some heavy rain and the winter I kinda have a ton of free time here so if you wanna chat here’s some about me! I am a massive nerd and love games, anime, cosplay, music, reading and writing (though I am getting books published and writing did become a frustrating act lol).
I also am very outdoorsy as one of my main hobbies is backpacking and camping! I’ve completed the Appalachian trail and have began working on the divide trail this past summer Look forward to meeting all of you!

Hello! How are you? I'm from Europe, I'm 21 and I speak English/French.
My hobbies are movies/tv-shows, Disney, discovering/learning new things, deep talks...
I'm here in the hope of finding interesting people.
Please don't message me if you can't take time for me, I'm not someone you talk to only when you're "bored".
I'm seeking for long-term friendships, loyalty and commitment is a must for me, someone who can also voice chat (not every time but it's still cool to have deep talks or just talking about anything on a call once in a while).
If you can't make yourself interesting (writing more than one line), asking questions back, initiating the conversation once we're done with a topic, getting to know me, don't bother to message me.
I will of course do the same as I'm asking for, but I value quality over quantity with friends.
Have a nice day, I hope to meet new people ! :)

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Genocide looked to the sky. He thought of his mentor. The one who had saved him. He remembered his childhood. How powerless he was. He remembered the anger. He never wanted to hurt anybody. He thought of all the times he showed compassion. How much they hurt him for it. He saw the world before him, a graveyard. Humans. People that were supposed to be made in the image of some divine creator. They were but maggots feasting upon his remains. They ate away at his very being until nothing human remained. His thoughts were no longer his own. He had no joys in life that mattered. He hated humanity more than he could love anything about himself. He remember his first killing spree. Being gunned down by police. Left for dead. He remembered a hooded figure moving towards him. Getting closer the more he neared his death. He saw its pale face. Its impossibly black eyes. It was a man. This figure in question appeared to be of Japanese nationality with long, straight, loose hair. It emanated extreme malice. It offered him a choice. A purpose. Power. He thought the figure a reaper but it identified itself as Amakusa Masataka. Masataka guided him on how to kill and gave him specific locations to kill people in. In a sense, he became a hitman for quotas of people. He inquired what Masataka was. The presence of evil, his ability to appear and disappear at will, how he could control what people could see him and what people couldn't. While vague, years of killing for this being offered some insight. Amakusa Masataka belonged to a group of people not of this world. His people had been corrupted by a dark force long ago and had aligned themselves with the warlord who had subjugated their version of Japan. Their dark high priest assisted the warlord along with two others. These four rulers in turn served a larger order. The four were tasked with bringing about the end of the current world as an act of retribution for some fallen deity. Masataka's people acted as covert operatives for this empire. They were feared across the land and were collectively referred to as "Shinigami". An agent of the coming apocalypse, a servant of evil possessed by the will of those gods of death, Genocide would walk the earth.
Genocide stepped toward the station. A police cruiser rammed into him. He pulled out a knife and stabbed the hood of the car. The inhuman force of the knife created sparks which burst the engine into flames. The car crashed into a streetlight and exploded. A second cruiser neared the scene. No way a man could have done this. Yet still, out of the fires Genocide strode forth. It set upon the second vehicle, shooting out it's tires while jumping 9 feet into the air. The car tries to reverse but crashes into a wall. Genocide lands on the hood and kicks through the front window. Glass shatters under its boot, blinding the two officers inside. Genocide shoots one of the officers with a shotgun, killing him. The second officer in the passenger seat readies his pistol and takes aim. Only two shots fired, both directed at Genocide's head. It casually cocks its neck to avoid them. Then it grabs the officer's arm, breaking it. Genocide uses its free hand to grab the officer's head and bangs it into the dashboard no less than 5 times. The skull is shattered on the final impact. Genocide jumps off the car and continues on his mission.
Detective Evans speaks through a megaphone," This is your first and final warning. Stand down or we will use any and all means at our disposal to put you down." Genocide dropped its shotgun and raised its hands. A group of five SWAT team members rushed out the station, surrounding Genocide with riot shields. An officer accompanies them, edging behind the figure to apply handcuffs. Suddenly, Genocide springs to life , grabbing the officer behind him. He flips the officer over his head, slamming him into the pavement at his feet. Then Genocide stomps his head causing it to burst. Genocide drops a flash bomb from his coat sleeve, blinding the SWAT team as he draws his knife. He drives it into one SWAT member, the knife puncturing the shield and piercing his chest. Genocide kicks the corpse away withdrawing his knife. He goes to another, this time using the end of his boot toe in a rising kick to disarm their shield. He grabs them by the throat and drives the knife slowly into their eye socket. Another is tackled to the ground and beaten to death despite still being under the shield. Another is picked up and thrown into the fires still burning from the first auto incident. In no time, Genocide stood before an indistinguishable mass of gore, blood streaking across his black leather outfit. He laughed" So this is all you can give me. I'm not entertained." Officers took aim from the station windows, and snipers did so from other rooftops. Genocide laughed maniacally as he was rained down upon from all sides by a hailstorm of bullets. His body convulsed, but he did not fall. Moments more and he was on his knees. Still though, their efforts were futile. Gracia looked out and saw a black mist coalescing around the man in black. His blood. Blood erupted from his body only to transform into this dark mist that reentered his wounds. Genocide screamed. No. It was just an elevated pitch in his laughter. Optimism failed everyone yet again. Gracia saw Genocide holding something in his right hand. She could only make out a beeping red light. Genocide pushed the button triggering the carefully concealed explosives he laid in preparation for this event. C4 explosives went off in all the places he saw fit. The sniping posts he couldn't reach. The assault of lead lightened. Then Genocide drew an RPG from...somewhere. He collected himself and fired at the station's entrance. The explosion shook the station. From inside, the lights began to flicker. Communications were down on all fronts. Had he modified the rocket with some type of EMP? Not good. Amisdst the confusion Genocide entered using smoke bombs to mask his presence. Moving like a shadow, he killed everyone in the lobby silently with his knife. He made his way to the holding cells. Still they chanted. Still they praised. Still they raved for the arrival of genocide. Genocide shot the lock opening the cell. Jim Jimenez walked out and bowed before his master. Genocide smiled. He couldn't have imagined how proficient he had gotten with possession. Well, not quite possession. He had known of the Shinigami's ability to share their thoughts and emotions with humans. Shinigami like his mentor were ancient. They had so many years of memories, such strong a hatred for life that they overwhelmed the personality of the victim. The victim sees themselves as one of them. Shinigami can't force the will of the victim, so they find those who are already similar to them in some way. Genocide found the collective universal distrust of police to be a prime sentiment to capitalize on. He armed the inmates, infecting them with samples of his own dark essence.One particular inmate caught Genocide's eye. He knew the man's work. An arsonist. The one whom he recalls was responsible for blowing up his first car way back in high school. Rather than a standard firearm, Genocide gave the man a random assortment of grenades containing a special surprise. Genocide showed them visions of anarchy, of sending a message to a society that used and disregarded them. While this was also true of how he felt, years of living in darkness had changed him. He needed no purpose. No end goal. No justification. He just wanted to watch the world burn.
Genocide's small army broke off to engage several different wings of the station. Genocide went to the security room. He found Wayne, his informant, playing some FPS on one of the monitors. Wayne took of his headphones and asked," You kill everyone yet?" Genocide responded," No. You should get going before that happens. Your life becomes fair game if I run out of pigs to cook." Wayne clapped his hands, "Aight, GC my man, say less." He packed his things and left. Genocide drew a twin pair of handguns and laid waste to the station. He followed a group that took cover in the men's restroom. Kicking open multiple stalls he was surprised to find...nothing. Where had they gone? He turned around and saw his mentor, Masataka, smiling at him. It looked like him. Long, dark hair, black clothing, and soulless, empty eyes. But it wasn't. It was Genocide's own reflection in the mirror. Genocide smiled. He didn't notice the changes at first. They must have happened gradually. Subconsciously. From the final stall, an officer sprung into action, rushing Genocide, hitting him point blank with a shockgun round. Genocide felt the tingling sensation electrifying his body and grew numb. In spite of the pain, he took a single step. Then, another. He came within striking range of the officer and snatched the shockgun. Two more officers erupted from another stall, battering him with baton strikes. Genocide felt nothing. He clutched the shockgun in his hand like a bat and went to work pulverizing his attackers. An officer kicked in the bathroom door, a woman holding a pistol. She fired multiple times to no effect. Genocide stood covered in blood. He even let her reload. Twice. He wanted to see her despair. Her hopelessness. He walked towards her, shrugging off bullets as they pierced his body. His wounds healed nigh instantly due to the dark essence he had been imbued with. He held her face with both hands, lifting her body off the ground. As she screamed, he used her head to shatter the restroom mirror, running down the full length of it while smashing her into it at several points. He dropped the remains of what he held, washed his hands with soap, dried them, then exited the restroom.
The inmates that rallied for the cause of genocide attacked the station. Fortunately, they were nowhere near Genocide in terms of power and only carried one type of firearm each. They shared his healing ability but could be killed quite easily. Gracia encountered a sniper on the end or a west wing hallway. Other officers waited behind corners unable to get close. Gracia noticed the faulty lighting. In this hallway, the lights flickered in intervals of 3 seconds. Finding a pattern and timing her movements, she rushed the sniper at the exact moment the lights went out. Running the length of the hall, Gracia zigzagged, dodging the sniper inmate's bullets. She jumped on a wall, ran 3 feet on it, then kicked off it, pouncing on the assailant. She fired five shots into him, making sure to hit the brain and the heart. Two severe injuries that were impossible for Shinigami essence to heal simultaneously. Elsewhere, Evans took on another escaped inmate. A vehicular arsonist named Carson. Carson had a bag filled with an assortment of different grenades and was happily giving them out like candy on Halloween. "A flash bang here, a bit of tear gas there. Oh. Wait! Was that an ice grenade? Did the explosion freeze your leg to the floor? Whoops. Maybe a fire grenade will melt that for you. Hold on let me get one fore you," Carson rambled gleefully. Evans looked at the carnage before him. Officers burning. Officers partially frozen in blocks of ice. He took a breath and aimed his wristgun. He steadied his right forearm. Carson readied to throw a random grenade. Evans shot it the moment it left Carson's hand. The grenade exploded directly in front of Carson. Both Evans and Carson looked at each other in shock. Confetti. A party grenade? Carson quickly fumbled for another but was tackled and restrained by several officers. Meanwhile in the South wing, Lary had some colleagues set a trap for another shotgun toting inmate. He had them bait the inmate and flee. Giving chase he turned a corner and ran straight into Lary's fist. The inmate recovered and motioned to shoot Lary. "Let's tango. " Lary gave the code word. Nearby officers activated a device. A signal jammer of sorts. The inmate shoved the barrel of his gun into Lary's gut and pulled the trigger. Nothing. The special signal jammer in question was designed for firearms. It was a last resort as it left officers just as defenseless. Lary was having fun. He boxed the inmate in hand to hand combat. Despite the inmate's enhanced strength, Lary's technique pulled through. Lary ducked under one of the inmate's wide punches and did some type of rising uppercut where he jumped off the ground while spinning. One of the other officers whispered" The rising dragon." Lary smiled giving a thumbs up" Yeah, it was a rising dragon uppercut. Saw it in one O my kid's vidya games. Thought I'd try it out while I'm jacked on adrenaline".
Jim Jimenez looked long and hard at himself in the mirror. He was in the women's restroom. Some brainless woman had broken the men's restroom mirror with her face. For the first time in a long while Jim could think clearly. He was becoming sane. At the least he was no longer a raving lunatic. The life essence of the dark gods had healed the wounds to both his body and his mind. He saw his face, his scraggly dirty beard. He found a razor and shaved. He trimmed his beard somewhat. He liked it. He washed his hair. It fell down his face like silk, no longer greasy. His bloodshot eyes once burning with crazed intensity had cooled. He blinked. Just for a second, he saw the man known as Genocide. The man that attacked him. The one that killed him and gave him new life. The drug dealers. The police. They were all the same in his eyes now. They were all to blame for the world being what it is. Jim wanted to hate them. He wanted to take revenge, but he felt nothing. It didn't matter. He knew he was wronged, could logically justify acting against them, but he just didn't care anymore. About anything. He was finally free. Sensing his presence was no longer needed here, Jim vanished into the night. He needed to find someone who had had the answers he needed. Himself. Who had he been? Who was he now? Who could he become? Where was he going? So many questions to ponder indefinitely. So much time left in the rest of his life.
Genocide ran down the station's halls raining hailstorms of bullets upon its occupants. He had a handgun in each hand as well as a wristgun on each wrist. This effectively gave him 4 separate firearms that he could use simultaneously. Lary regrouped with Gracia, Evans, and a handful of others. They radioed all surviving officers near Genocide to flee to the roof. This plan had been set in motion days before the assault and had been kept hidden from most of the force. The plan involved scheduling flights for several helicopters to arrive at some point after Genocide arrived. There would be no way for him to prepare for them and pre-scheduling their arrival ensured they arrived regardless of if they were called or not. Lary and the others set about preparing the second jamming device. Genocide stood among a hallway of bodies. He saw one man clinging to life trying to crawl away. He decided on trying that other thing he saw his master do. He grabbed the dying man and pinned him to the wall. Slowly he drove a knife into his chest. As the man's life slipped away, something else entered his body. Genocide channeled a small amount of his essence into the vessel. He had steadily done this with other casualties around the station whose bodies were somewhat salvageable. He dropped the body he was holding and looked upon the others. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his eyed were black, both sclera and iris. The scene before him changed. Genocide had a vision. He saw a dead gray wasteland littered with bodies. These people however weren't cops and wore traditional Japanese attire. In his hand wasn't a gun or knife but a short sickle akin to a farming tool. He heard a dark voice call out to him. Slowly, the corpses around him began to rise, now mere puppets bound eternally to their master's whim. The bodies sold to the reaper who had claimed their lives. Genocide's vision ended. His eyes had returned normal. Around him, dead cops began to rise. His dark essence had entered their bodies and reanimated them. He sent his dead army to attack the officers fleeing to the roof of the station. These zombies swarmed the stairwell giving chase to the few survivors. There were five of them. They had two flights of stairs to climb and a horde of their former colleagues close behind them. One officer tripped and was set upon by the horde. The zombies didn't bite them but held them firmly in place. The other four officers stared down wondering what to do. They could hear Genocide chuckling. They could hear humming. They could feel the temperature rising. Their colleague and the two zombies holding him were hit by an enormous green fireball. Genocide had fired a Magnum Opus and had charged the bullet to level 3. The Magnum Opus was simply a magnum that shot fireballs, with bullets that could be charged by holding down the trigger. It had three levels of charges. Level 1 was a small reddish ball of plasma. Level 2 was slightly larger and yellow. Level 3 was the maximum charge and resulted in a large slow moving green blast of energy. The officer was ignited and Genocide watched gleefully as the force of the blast sent him flying through a wall. The four officers continued up firing occasionally to slow down the zombies. Soon they made it to a door leading to the roof. Before one officer could reach it, he was sniped by Genocide, a bullet to the head killing him instantly. The remaining three made it out. They regrouped with the others already there, 12 in total, including Lary, Evans, and Gracia. This would be their final stand. They just had to hold out until Genocide made it up there. They just had to keep Genocide occupied until the helicopters arrived. Genocide slowly ascended the stairs behind his horde. On the roof, the remaining survivors faced off against waves of the undead. Evans recognized the attackers. These zombies were being controlled by nanomachines. He heard the stories of several weapons encountered by soldiers on the battlefield. These creatures were called Metaldeads as they were reanimated via machines. They had been officially banned by most of the worlds' governments for being unethical. However, this did not stop the technology from being spread still between shady organizations, terrorists, etc. Evans wondered how Genocide got this form of nanotechnology. Evans long speculated that the dark essence used by most of the killers they encountered was a a form of nanotech however it was different from anything else he had seen or heard about. The dark essence seemed to be an amalgamation of other types of nanotech. Evans had to save his inquiries for later. He reloaded his wristgun and took aim at the approaching group of Metaldeads. Gracia steadied her handgun and shot two Metaldeads in the head. From the single door countless arms seemed to spill forth from the darkness. The other officers took turns firing in intervals. this allowed them to create a steady stream of fire where no more that three guns needed to be reloaded at once. The horde seemed to thin out over time as if they were making progress. In actuality, the Metaldeads were just making room for Genocide to enter. Genocide exploded in a sprint from the door. Everyone fired upon the killer. Genocide had now chosen a wrist mounted mini flamethrower to use as his weapon. He stormed past the oncoming bullets taking some damage, but refused to slow down. He unleashed a stream of fire that caught five of the officers in one fell swoop. Gracia fired five rounds into Genocide's face. He stumbled back. Lary took the chance to fire several mine gun bullets at Genocide's feet. The mines quickly detected his movement and exploded. In seconds, Genocide was on his back.
Staring at the night sky Genocide saw the moon. He reached for it. He called for the darkness to give him more power. His wounds began healing. In the sky he could hear the whirl of propellers. There were six helicopters in total. The first two had evacuated the survivors while the others stayed to engage Genocide. Genocide got up and unstrapped the sniper rifle from his back. He stood before the searchlights as a black silhouette, cornered but unwilling to back down. Lary stared down at him smiling. "Okay!" He shouted, "Let's Tango!" Upon this declaration the second jamming device was activated. Now, isolated on the roof, Genocide's guns couldn't be fired and the helicopters were out of range of the device. Now Genocide stood like a sitting duck. A helicopter fired a rocket. Genocide side stepped and grabbed it. He turned his body redirecting the rocket to hit another helicopter. As it exploded Genocide drew his knife and threw it at another helicopter. Behind the knife was such force that it shattered the helicopter window's glass, embedding itself in the pilot. This helicopter too went down where it exploded. "Holy clucknuggets!Did you see that!?" Lary said dumbfounded. Evans looked out the helicopter door he was in jaw open in shock. "There's no way." He collected himself quickly and radioed the remaining two helicopters to keep moving and to use their machineguns as much as possible. The helicopters reigned down upon Genocide tearing apart his body. Shreds of leather and darkened blood sprayed across the pavement of the roof. Gracia watched as Genocide's body was destroyed repeatedly as it tried to heal. Surely he had to stop at some point. After 10 minutes the helicopters had exhausted their cache of ammunition and soldiers opted to fire their own rifles and occasionally throw grenades. After about six minutes, they too had run out of bullets. Genocide stood unfazed. He had long since healed himself and now appeared intangible with gunfire seeming to pass through his body. His coat once ripped , now appeared whole though on closer inspection seemed to writhe. Gracia looked in horror as she remembered the tales her adopted father had told her. Tales he had in turn heard from his predecessors. Every so often officers had reported encounters with ghost like beings cloaked in a cloud of living dark mist. The beings were rumored to be responsible for the deaths of multiple people ranging from scientists, veterans, mafia, politicians, etc. They were seen near such crime scenes and even more shockingly appeared around several sites where suicides were committed. These beings were reportedly impervious to bullets and filled anyone who got near with an impending sense of dread. If Genocide was connected to them or somehow turning into one , there was little chance they would be able to defeat him. Gracia's fears were confirmed when she saw that Genocide's leather coat had been destroyed and he had replaced it with the dark mist coalescing from his own spilled blood. The dark mist, swirling, grew larger and several tendrils sprouted out from it. Gracia could briefly make out a figure standing next to Genocide. A hooded figure cloaked in the same black substance. The figure stared up at her with soulless, blackened eyes which seemed to beckon her to jump from the aircraft she was standing in. Compelling her to give in to the death that plagued the earth. Genocide kneeled to his master. The Shinigami, Masataka stared down at his disciple. "You have done a great service to us. Even now the sealed god stirs in its slumber. Its...Awakening will soon be upon us. It calls out for war. It begs for famine. It longs to continue its conquest. We are the death it so desires. The death that is necessary for this civilization to grow. Use the power that I have bestowed upon you. Finish the mission as you see fit." The Shinigami vanished and Genocide stood.Genocide stared at his hands. He remembered the first killing spree. He was on a bus. It stopped. A woman got on the bus and walked to the back smiling as she passed him. Something about her eyes unnerved him. They were so bright but something dark reflected inside them. He ignored the thought and put in his headphones. In minutes he had dozed off. He jumped awake. He looked around and froze in panic. All around him, everyone had been hacked to pieces. He saw the driver, actively being stabbed by a masked assailant. The mask, painted white with black eyeholes, stared back at him. It raised a finger over where its lips would be. Even under the expressionless visage, he could feel that same smile. He ran home that morning. He went to his room to find it destroyed. His posters, his computer, his tv, everything, had been ruined. He turned around and saw a man at the end of the hallway holding a sledge hammer. "The hell you been, boy?", his stepdad sneered. The man dropped his hammer and walked closer, veins pulsing with rage. He tried to explain how his car had caught fire forcing him to walk 4 miles to the nearest bus stop, but the man's fist was faster than his words. "Boy!Answer me when I talk to you!!" the man says as he backhands the taste out of the would be Genocide's mouth. He took that beating for several minutes before being left to stare at his ransacked room. He hated how his stepdad went out of his way to destroy the things he loved. Soon, another set of footsteps could be heard. It was his mother standing behind his locked door. She didn't knock, or say anything. She just stood there, doing nothing as always. He never knew if she came to talk to him or apologize. All he knew was that she could never bring herself to speak to or even acknowledge him. Maybe out of guilt or perhaps shame. A year or two later after he had had enough he ran away from home. Living out on the streets alone, without friends, or family, he would embark on countless killing sprees. These killings weren't of his own volition however. He was coerced by some corrupt officers from The Unit. They made him kill on their behalf. Sometimes they were protesters, sometimes they were drug dealers, other times, petty criminals they couldn't be bothered to process. It was routine for him to be used to kill entire houses of drug riddled addicts. During one such venture he entered a drug den, killing the dealer as instructed. He took out several junkies before turning to leave. A woman who survived her injuries clung to his heel begging him to stop. Looking down he aimed the handgun he was carrying at her head of long disheveled brown hair and fired. Feeling nothing, he kicked her body aside like trash when it hit him. Her face. This woman had been his mother. What was she doing in a place like this? He felt a shock of emotion. He wondered if she had always been like this, or had she changed after he left. He never made amends, but decided to stop killing from then on. The unit did not like that. Once it became apparent that he was no longer of use to them they started a manhunt to apprehend him with lethal force. They found him. They killed him. But he survived.
He remembered the girl on the bus. He remembered her eyes. Those of a sadistic killer. Still there was something else inside them. Something faint but deeper. So. Much. Sadness. Just like him. He felt the hatred begin to spread. His purpose, he decided, was to make all humans rot in the hell they created for him.
These people, he thought to himself, these living diseases, all needed to die. Their struggles, their problems, they spread like cancer to others. The only cure for humanity's sin, its collective wrongdoings, was genocide.
Around him, dark tendrils continued to form and expand, spinning in a vortex. Genocide pulled out two pistols. He squeezed the triggers to no effect. "As I see fit, huh? Hehe." He squeezed both guns in his hands, breaking them into pieces. He concentrated. In his hands, two more guns materialized now completely black due to being forged from the dark essence. Forged by his will. Immune to the jamming device that shut down conventional firearms. He raised his arms at each remaining helicopter and opened fire. Countless tendrils whipped out and slashed at his targets joining the dark essence bullets. It was chaos. Dark tendrils and bullets tore through every direction as Genocide spun and swirled around in 360 degrees firing randomly with purpose. A tendril pierced Gracia's right arm, another, her abdomen. She was however, fortunate, as the other passengers of her helicopter were dismembered. She barely had time to jump from the vehicle before it crashed. She fell 2 yards onto solid concrete. She felt immense pain as her right shoulder shattered on impact. She looked up to see Genocide's blade like appendages ripping through the other escape helicopters. She rolled onto her back and tried to steady herself. Within seconds her body began to repair itself. The nanocells inside her had saved her life but were now depleted. She would need another supplement lest she receive another fatal injury. The standard nanocells she and the others had were much less potent than those of the killers they faced. In truth, they had only minimal strength boosts being able to lift 5-8 more pounds than before and healing being limited to one or two fatal injuries so long as death didn't occur instantly. Gracia blacked out. She awoke the next morning in a hospital. There the doctors refilled her nanocells. She learned that the station had been left in ruins. Genocide had detonated some type of minature nuke following his rampage. He always blew up the stations as if to send a message. Gracia looked out the window thinking about why she became a cop. Twice her family had been murdered by them. Her biological family had been killed in an on record drug raid committed by a group of corrupt officers called The Unit. She had been adopted by another officer that arrived at the scene who found her as a child hiding in a closed. Sadly, he too was killed for trying to expose the activities of The Unit. Gracia joined the force to avenge both losses and bring justice to the killers that disguised themselves as normal people. Law enforcement was neither good, nor bad. It depended upon the people that made it up. In the dying corrupt world Gracia lived in, she vowed to be a beacon of light. Evans laid in a bed adjacent to Lary. "That damn Genocide's somethin else in' he?Like the stories you told us were understatements. That man could legit not die at this point in the story. Like he has friggin plot armor or somthin.'' Evans cut him off" I get it. We all got our asses handed to us. But did you see that ..thing that appeared next to him. Right before he created that black vortex that wiped us out. That must have something to do with his power. Maybe there's a still a way to stop him."Lary chimed in," That fella looked like he was on the way to a black metal concert wit all the black facepaint he was wearin' Creeped me out to be honest." As the survivors mulled over their predicament, the cycle of evil continued to spread elsewhere.
Budley flips through the pages of a magazine. He checks his watch. He looks around the gas station and doesn't see any customers. Seizing the opportunity, he puts in his headphones and begins playing an imaginary guitar as he jams to a progressive deathcore album. Oblivious to the screams coming from outside, the store clerk moves on to thumping two candy bars on the counter to simulate drums. Budley sees that his shift has ended and begins locking up the store. He sweeps the aisles and jumps as a shadow appears behind him. He turns and sees a well groomed bearded man dressed in a black hoodie, black shirt, and black and gray camo pants. The man holds out his hand and smiles. Budley rings up the pack of nicotine substitute gum. "Tryin to kick the habit huh?" Budley asks. The man replies, "Somethin like that. Gotta get my priorities back in check. Focus on the things that really matter. That damn KonCreep's a hell of a band aren't they?" He nods to the playlist on Budley's phone. "Yeah, they're killer. just got into them a month back." Budley answers. "You know, I'm something of a musician myself. Maybe you'll hear of me on the news someday." Jim Jimenez says as he sees himself out. He walks to the back of the building and passes an ominous form of graffiti. A woman lays unmoving and above her, written on concrete in red is a message that simply says "Genocide Reigns".

Genocide Reigns
(note: I'm an indie game developer making an action/horror title called Phantasphere. This story is a spin off set in the same universe)
Year 2480X Ryze County Police Department
He's coming. The ensuing panic spread like a virus infecting all present with symptoms of looming dread. Officers worked steadfast to prepare also taking what time remained to train the few combat hardened civilians whom had fled to the station earlier. If only they knew. This demon that presented itself as a man had led a string of senseless massacres across the country. Only recently had it begun to prioritize police stations and army bases as a means of breaking the will of civilians who knew they would be next. Officers from several counties across the states were transferred here for this last stand. This Genocide must not continue. Gracia checked her pistol. Some 20 bullets remained. "I can do this", she thought, "I have to". She had dealt with similar cases before. Some poor soul is overtaken by some inextricably evil force and makes it their life's work to propagate death. Gracia had killed quite a few already. Live arrests weren't always possible. Beyond saving, careful interrogations of the scarce live catches yielded a startling connection. These killers all alluded to a well of overwhelming hatred and despair that consumed them after making eye contact with...Pale, black eyed entities. Some type of demon? Ghost maybe? The idea seemed nonsensical, but there was evidence nonetheless that some outside force was using them to fulfill some unknown purpose. At the present time, all they could do was stop the killers after they had killed. It was always too late by then and more would appear randomly elsewhere. What good could be done here in an isolated station hoping to stop one guy out of possibly hundreds? "The guy we're waiting for is different from the others," detective Evans spoke from the center of a crowd nearby. Gracia moved in closer. "The others typically strike from the shadows, hide their faces behind masks, and prefer to get up close and personal with their victims. What we're dealing with is on a completely different scale. The trail of bloodshed this guy leaves is too difficult for the media to cover up. He loves the spectacle. Headlining the news. We can't keep using the burst pipeline excuse for 6 stations being destroyed in a row. We have to stop him before the world at large finds out. You wonder why we need so many people here? Its simple. We're gonna out-man this one man. He always attacks stations through the front door. Like other killers he's fast, strong- you know the usual, but he also uses guns." "What!", a voice rang out from the crowd. "They aren't supposed to do that!" another gasped. Officer Lary spoke with a cheesy grin" Ya tellin' me we just gotta deal with a regular ass gunman eh? That's a welcome change of pace init? Heck I'm too old to be running around being chased like I'm in some scary movie". The detective rebutted" You don't get it. He uses guns. Not a handgun, not rifles, not boom sticks, not rpgs, not knives not grenades but ALL of them. He uses guns. Plural. It'll take essentially an army to match his arsenal. He used to be a man named -redacted-, but in his pursuit of chaos he has become Genocide." A dark form manifests from the night outside the station. Genocide is coming.
Bang! something slams into the front door. Everyone freezes. Officer Tatum edges slowly to it, shockgun in hand. By no means lethal, the shockgun was lighter, easy to control, and could stun targets temporarily. If Genocide was here, Tatum could stun him and duck for cover leaving the station free to light him up like a Christmas tree. That was the plan they came up with. He got closer to the glass door and peered outside. He was met with hate filled bloodshot eyes framed by an unkempt beard and wild straggly hair. Tatum felt some relief. He knew the man outside. It was Jim Jimenez. Jim was a former drug dealer turned informant. He was found out and had to flee from his old life. He became homeless, hiding in plane sight. This allowed him safety at the cost of his mental health. Tatum knew the man, but those eyes were not his. Tatum blinked and saw that the look of malice had vanished. What he instead saw was a helpless, wounded man, bleeding from the right arm pleading for help. Tatum looked behind Jim, eyeing the empty lot. The coast seemingly clear Tatum unlocked the door and let Jim in. Jim had been roaming the town looking for shelter and tried squatting in an abandoned looking apartment complex. There he found that the building contained several murdered families some succumbing to gunshots but the majority having met their end to fire and suffocation. Jim had decided to make his way to the station to tell police what happened and met trouble on the way. He described getting stabbed by a man wearing a trench coat with long dark hair. Despite the injuries, Jim could move surprisingly well and seemed to ignore the pain. Jim insisted that the man had spared him on the condition he deliver a message. "What message?" Tatum asked. Jim beckoned him to come closer. Tatum leaned in and Jim whispered, "Tell them. Tell them that Genocide is coming closer." The following events were a blur. Jim had concealed the knife he was stabbed with. He stabbed Tatum 4 times in the chest and wrestled his shockgun away. Using Tatum as a shield, Jim engaged everyone in the lobby. Jim wasn't himself. He was stronger. He was faster. He was tactical. He would stun an officer in place only to stab them and use their as a body shield. No one could get a clear shot without hitting a colleague. Gracia watched the scene unfold. In minutes Jim had acquired a magnum from the holster of one of his victims. In seconds 3 officers had their heads exploded. The magnum rounds coated the walls red with those they hit and stained the clothes of those they missed. Gracia felt fear rising in her chest. She calmed herself and tried to think. She saw the bodies on the ground. The blood. She saw how dismissively Jim stepped over them. Like they were nothing. Like trash. She saw the man firing erratically into groups of people, not so much to kill but as to cause panic. That's it! As Gracia contemplated her next move it hit her. She was knocked backwards and landed on the ground. She weakly clutched her chest. Her breathing grew shallow. Jim mad his way deeper into the station. The officers were retreating from their standoff. Jim stepped over her body and saw red staining her uniform. Just another casualty. He moved on. At this point the civilians began panicking. Everyone gave up trying to save their allies and fired blindly at the madman. "Don't shoot the messenger," Jim laughed as he stripped his latest meat shield of an automatic rifle. Detective Evans took cover behind an overturned desk. To his left Larry struggled to light a cigar. "You still think this is a cakewalk?" Evans shouted firing 2 quick shots from his gun before ducking back down. Lary lost hold of his lighter and it clattered on the ground." Crap." He reached for it and looked in the corner of the room. A mirror. He looked at it for what seemed like ages and his smirk returned " Y'know that mex'n gal with the short hair. Where is she? I didn't see her get shot." Evans glanced a peak at Jim spraying lead in all directions. Behind him was a corpse. Evans blinked. It seemed to be getting closer. Its her. Gracia painstakingly inched her way into Jim's blind spot. She was roughly 6 feet away from him. Flanking him seemed like a brilliant idea but waiting idly by for the right moment as the people around her died filled her with anger. Worse still, she had to steal a blood soaked shirt from one of the deceased officers to keep up the facade. Inching ever so steadily she mad it within 3 feet of Jim. She reached behind her belt and unclipped a pair of handcuffs. Screams could be heard as more people were hit. Gracia couldn't wait any longer. Fluidly she got to her feet and rushed Jim. She kicked the back of his knee causing him to stumble as she put the handcuffs on him. Figuratively. The handcuffs were around Jim's neck. She yanked him back causing his gun to drop. "You don't know what you're doing." Jim spat. "We all need to accept it. The end of days is upon us. Death rides his horse through these forsaken lands. We must serve or be sacrificed in turn. Accept it!"He elbowed Gracia in the ribs causing her to let go. He spun around and lunged at her. She landed on her back, Jim steadily choking her. Gracia thought fast. She couldn't struggle. Jim was too strong. She delivered a precise chop to the center of Jim's neck which was exposed. Jim lurched back to catch his breath. A clean shot. A bullet pierced through Jim's back. Weakened, Gracia rolled him over and began punching him repeatedly using the handcuffs as brass knuckles. The sound of Jim's skull cracking echoed through the station. This would go on for nearly 20 seconds before Gracia stopped, checked his pulse, confirmed Jim was still alive, then finally put the cuffs on Jim's wrists.
Click. Bodies are wrapped and moved to a makeshift storage room. Click. The available weapons are gathered and redistributed. Click. Officers are assigned to sniping positions on neighboring buildings. Click. Police cruisers circle the lot outside. Click. In the holding cell, Jim opens his eyes. Click. Lary flicks his lighter. Click. Gracia sips coffee from a paper cup. Click. Shells hit the ground at the feet of Genocide. Click. Genocide walks outside a cafe and looks at the station in the distance. Click. Lary clicks his lighter.
"All ya'll gon' fall," Jim ranted." You can't drain the ocean. You can't put out the sun. Evil will always exist. That there Genocide is proof . I saw him. Saw myself within his eyes. Saw the evil in me that I could no longer try to hide. He taught me to embrace the darkness within. Its in all of us begging to be let out. Can you hear it!" Lary clicked his lighter and got up from his chair. He grabbed a cup of liquor from another officer mid sip and walked over to Jim. He doused it on Jim, the liquid stinging his open wounds. Jim yelped. Across the station, radios blurred to life. Several of their lookouts on the outside had been killed. "He's gon' get ya," Jim smiled imitating Lary's signature grin. "Genocide! Genocide! Genocide!" The other inmates saw the chance to irritate Lary and joined in all shouting in unison,"Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide!" The chanting grew louder. Unbearable. They invoked upon the name of the beast, and so it came.
Genocide is upon us. A wave of dread spread across the officers. They could feel its presence. Gracia knew the sensation. The awful aura that the other killers gave off. This was different. Far more oppressive. She struggled to breathe as the air got colder. Her instincts screamed for her to run. She could only imagine what the others were going through. Its time. Across the lot Genocide stood. A siren blared over the intercom. "Everyone get into positions!" Evans yelled. Wayne finished setting the last of the c4 near the station entrance. "That's the last of them. Have remote triggers set around all the major hallways. I'll be in the security room ready to pull the switch." Wayne acted as an explosives expert. His job was to detonate bombs placed throughout the station to slow down Genocide should it enter the building. He would stay in the security room, monitoring the cameras and giving real time updates on the officers' positions. From the holding cell, inmates chanted for Genocide. Lary got off his phone" That bastard mixed us up. How did we not notice?" Evans asked what he meant. Lary, dumbfounded, said that most of the town was already dead. Genocide had broken his usual pattern. He went on a killing spree across a defenseless town BEFORE attacking the police station. They had let everyone down. The people they swore to protect. This Genocide was a monster, but he was still a man. Capable of learning from his past actions. Planning. Adapting. It wasn't in his style to stealthily kill his victims or even use a silencer on any of his guns, but an exception had been made for tonight. An exception that would cost them. Gracia was stationed on the second floor. She peered out the window. Her heart skipped a beat. Two cruisers made slow donuts patrolling the lot and standing unmoving between them was a man all in black. Gracia called in to Wayne asking if he saw anything outside. Wayne said the monitors were all clear then checked again. He cursed. He noticed small details were off. The cameras showing the outside of the station were wrong. Sure they showed the same scenery and weather but cars passed by on screen too frequently for a dead town. Too many to make sense for the quarantine they had set in place. Wayne concluded that the cameras had been hacked. Different prerecorded footage was being shown on the live feed to misdirect them. Gracia saw the man look up at her. A light rain started to fall. The officers patrolling outside were contacted. From the holding cells, inmates called for genocide.

A friend and I are having a disagreement and neither of us are in a place where we can test a boon or something to see it happen in real time (I am out and about and my friend is at work). My friend says that a "location" refers to an entire realm, I am saying that it refers to each room. To me, it wouldn't make sense that some boons or The Centaur card would only activate after going through an entire realm. +3 to HP and Magik as a reward for beating 5 bosses? Neither of us have gotten past the 3 boss yet so I doubt you can clear 5 realms in a single run for this to even activate. The "Location" description is too vague.

Hello! How are you? I'm from Europe, I'm 21 and I speak English/French.
My hobbies are movies/tv-shows, Disney, discovering/learning new things, deep talks...
I'm here in the hope of finding interesting people.
Please don't message me if you can't take time for me, I'm not someone you talk to only when you're "bored".
I'm seeking for long-term friendships, loyalty and commitment is a must for me, someone who can also voice chat (not every time but it's still cool to have deep talks or just talking about anything on a call once in a while).
If you can't make yourself interesting (writing more than one line), asking questions back, initiating the conversation once we're done with a topic, getting to know me, don't bother to message me.
I will of course do the same as I'm asking for, but I value quality over quantity with friends.
Have a nice day, I hope to meet new people ! :)

Hello! How are you? I'm from Europe, I'm 21 and I speak English/French.
My hobbies are movies/tv-shows, Disney, discovering/learning new things, deep talks...
I'm here in the hope of finding interesting people.
Please don't message me if you can't take time for me, I'm not someone you talk to only when you're "bored".
I'm seeking for long-term friendships, loyalty and commitment is a must for me, someone who can also voice chat (not every time but it's still cool to have deep talks or just talking about anything on a call once in a while).
If you can't make yourself interesting (writing more than one line), asking questions back, initiating the conversation once we're done with a topic, getting to know me, don't bother to message me.
I will of course do the same as I'm asking for, but I value quality over quantity with friends.
Have a nice day, I hope to meet new people ! :)

Hello there! I am Betfair’s Virtual assistant, here to get you the quickest answer possible. Click below to start chatting. You at 17:31, May 14: I don’t seem be able to use this bonus I don’t seem be able to use this bonus Read Betfair at 17:31, May 14:
In order for me to transfer you to the correct agent who'll resolve your query, please select which button is most relevant to your query below. 👇 You at 17:31, May 14: Promotional Issue Read Betfair at 17:31, May 14:
Pick an option that describes your issue best You at 17:31, May 14: Other Read Betfair at 17:31, May 14:
You will now be transferred to a customer service agent who can help. Betfair at 17:31, May 14:
Please be aware it may take a moment or two for our agents to get back to you Info at 17:31, May 14: You are being transfered to another agent Info at 17:31, May 14: This is Simreen and I will be looking after your query today. I will aim to reply within 2 minutes. You at 17:32, May 14: Hi Simreen I don’t seem to be able to use this bonus, it does not show as an option in any bet I have made since receiving this promotion and completing the requirements Read You at 17:34, May 14: Preview attachment Read Simreen at 17:34, May 14: Hey Craig hope you are doing great today 😊
Sorry to hear that ,I can see your query is about using your promotional offer,
May i know is this a excahnge promo or games please ? You at 17:34, May 14: I have sent a screenshot as an attachment are you able to view it Read Simreen at 17:35, May 14: yes as i see and yah i got this it is related to games please be connected i shall transfer you to our relevant team You at 17:35, May 14: thank you Read Info at 17:36, May 14: You are being transfered to another agent Info at 17:36, May 14: This is Sachin and I will be looking after your query today. I will aim to reply within 2 minutes. You at 17:37, May 14: hi Sachin are you up to date on the issue I’m having or do I need to start copy and pasting? Read Sachin at 17:37, May 14: Hey Craig, hope you are doing good. I can see that your query is regarding games.
Could you please give me 5-10 minutes to look into your query? You at 17:39, May 14: I don’t have too long to be honest, and my query is regarding a promotion that I was awarded however the sportsbook free bets the £5 I have won show up next to my balance however every bet I have tried to make since completing the requirements hasn’t had the usual tick box option in the stake window on sports book Read You at 17:40, May 14: thanks for taking the time to wait for my response….. not Read Sachin at 17:43, May 14: Thanks for waiting, You can use the £5 bonus on Bet Builder only. You at 17:43, May 14: please elaborate… Read Sachin at 17:44, May 14: To get you an answer, I need to transfer you to our specialized team who will be able to help you. You at 17:44, May 14: Seriously? Read You at 17:44, May 14: hmm ok Read Info at 17:44, May 14: You are being transfered to another agent Info at 17:44, May 14: This is Debapriya and I will be looking after your query today. I will aim to reply within 2 minutes. You at 17:45, May 14: hi Read Debapriya at 17:45, May 14:
Hi Craig , hope all is well. I will be happy to assist you with your bet query. Could you kindly bear with me for 5-10 minutes whilst I look into your query for you please? You at 17:46, May 14: Sure Read You at 17:48, May 14: Debapriya? Read Debapriya at 17:50, May 14:
Allow me to check for you please kinldy bear with me. You at 17:52, May 14: I’m waiting as patently as possible Read You at 17:54, May 14: … Read Debapriya at 17:55, May 14:
OK as I can see this 5 free bet you have received is from exchange promotion so allow me to transfer you to our exchange team and they will assist you with this. You at 17:55, May 14: no no Read You at 17:55, May 14: dpnt transfer me again Read You at 17:55, May 14: your having a laugh at my expense here Read You at 17:55, May 14: this will be the 3rd transfer Read You at 17:56, May 14: 30mins has pass total… so far.. for something that’s supposed to keep me loyal Read You at 17:56, May 14: this a joke..? Read Debapriya at 17:56, May 14:
No not at all this is related to exchange and they will guide you with this as I am not dealing with exchange related queries sorry. You at 17:56, May 14: this is not an exchange promo Read You at 17:56, May 14: its a sport book promo Read You at 17:57, May 14: It says it on the screenshot Read You at 17:57, May 14: Preview attachment Read You at 17:58, May 14: I will just cancel my Betfair account if this gets transferred and I will be making a very seriously worded complaint to the licensing ombudsman Read Debapriya at 17:59, May 14:
Yes but its related to exchange I cannot check this for you so please allow me to transfer to them and they will sort this issue for you. Info at 17:59, May 14: You are being transfered to another agent Info at 17:59, May 14: This is Alexandra and I will be looking after your query today. I will aim to reply within 2 minutes. You at 18:00, May 14: Let me know when’s you’ve got this sorted out Read You at 18:00, May 14: this an absolute joke of a service Read Alexandra at 18:02, May 14:
Hi there Craig, I hope you are doing well today . My apologies as it seems you have been incorrectly connected, Please do bear with me whilst I pass you through accordingly. Info at 18:02, May 14: You are being transfered to another agent You at 18:02, May 14: Is it home time am I getting transferred again…? Read Info at 18:02, May 14: This is Yasmine and I will be looking after your query today. I will aim to reply within 2 minutes. Yasmine at 18:03, May 14:
Hey Craig, hope you are doing well today!
Thank you for the above, Please give me around 5 minutes to read the above and look at what issue you are having. You at 18:04, May 14: My phone runs on electric…. And it’s been 30 mins with my screen left unlocked for this jokes… any paying my electric bill for this “chat”? Read You at 18:04, May 14: carbon foot print very big…? Read You at 18:06, May 14: Is it home time at wherever you’re messaging me from… am I getting transferred again..? Read You at 18:08, May 14: Time spent can never be refunded… Read You at 18:09, May 14: how do I make a complaint about this please..? Read You at 18:10, May 14: I’m happy to just share this conversation with social platforms… there is plenty of dirt on Betfair… I was hoping it was wrong Read You at 18:11, May 14: 40 minutes… + 40 minutes… + Read Yasmine at 18:12, May 14:
I am sorry for taking long as I was looking into it for you however I can see that you are asking as to why you are not able to use the bonus.
I can see that the offer you have in the screenshot is not on your account as the bonuses came from 2 different offers:
The £3 bonus came from the link below:
https://promos.betfair.com/promotion?promoCode=CASTARALL150424P
And the other £2 bonus came from the link below:
https://promos.betfair.com/promotion?promoCode=CASBFSELMID You at 18:12, May 14: Agent is waiting to clock off for the day Read You at 18:13, May 14: Right this isn’t helpful at all… Read You at 18:13, May 14: and what you’re saying in incorrect Read You at 18:14, May 14: It came from the promotions page on the casino tab of the sportsbook apple iPhone app.. Read You at 18:15, May 14: It was to spend £20 on gods storm wind.. Read You at 18:16, May 14: for a £5 bonus free bets on the sportsbook Read You at 18:17, May 14: i have screenshots of the terms and conditions specific for the offer…. And obviously I have the general promotion terms.. Read You at 18:17, May 14: this I feel with what you are saying must be some sort of false advertising Read Yasmine at 18:17, May 14:
I am sorry however from our side it shows that the bonus came from those offers.
In that case I will need a link please of the offer to look further into it for you. You at 18:18, May 14: really? ok… Thank you for the above, Please give me around 5 minutes to read the above and look at what issue you are having Read You at 18:20, May 14: https://promos.betfair.com/promotion?promoCode=GAMXSB20G50905 Read You at 18:21, May 14: Hello…? I’ve have taken the time to point you to the promotional offer offered by the company you work for… and yet I’m still being made to wait…? Read You at 18:22, May 14: Is this a scam..? Read You at 18:22, May 14: I’m feeling like it’s a scam… Read You at 18:22, May 14: are you really working for Betfair..? Or am I being hacked? Read Yasmine at 18:23, May 14:
Thank you for that. Can you please send me a screenshot of the betslip that you are trying to use the bonus on?
Make sure that you are trying to use it on a bet builder.
And yes I am sure that I work at Betfair, That is why I am trying my best to help you. You at 18:25, May 14: you’re not helping you’re making continue to do a job that I’m not paid for.. i will not be jumping through any more hoops for you. I’m copying and screenshotting this absolute joke that you call “helping” Delivered Conversation closed by you at 18:25, May 14: Survey Bot at 18:25, May 14: Your conversation is now closed. Survey Bot at 18:25, May 14: We would love to get your feedback with one quick question 😊 Survey Bot at 18:25, May 14: Based on your experience today, how likely would you be to recommend Betfair to a friend? (Where 10 is most likely and 0 is not at all likely.) You at 18:26, May 14: 0 😒 Read Survey Bot at 18:26, May 14: We’re sorry to hear that, please let us know how we can improve? You at 18:26, May 14: You could get some helpful people…? Read Survey Bot at 18:26, May 14: Thank you for your time. You at 18:26, May 14: Complaints department please? Sent Betfair at 18:27, May 14:
You will now be transferred to a customer service agent who can help. Betfair at 18:27, May 14:
Please be aware it may take a moment or two for our agents to get

———
I'm almost 30 and have one child who is 5 years old. I'm an OFW and coming home this month because my contract has ended. My child's father is a foreigner whom I met abroad. I came home to the Philippines when I got pregnant 5 years ago, and since then, I haven't seen my ex, but sometimes we communicate and he sends money. A lot happened while I was pregnant: I found out he already had a family and children, his business failed, he had many loans at the bank, and the pandemic made it impossible for him to return to the Philippines when I gave birth. I eventually accepted the reality that he deceived me. My Facebook account is locked, and my name is in Japanese to prevent him from finding me on social media.
Now, we are in communication again, and he sends money every month for our child. He said he tried to find me but couldn't. He claims he's financially stable now and wants to make it up to me and our child, and he mentioned that we could get married. His plan is to take us abroad where he works. He has already filed for leave in July because he is serious about coming home to see our child, and he has booked a plane ticket and hotel in advance.
My problem is that I am in a relationship. I had a boyfriend when I left the Philippines, and he has been waiting for me. Our relationship isn't perfect, and we often argue, but not because of other men or women. My boyfriend doesn't know that I have been communicating with my ex because he once said he would leave me if I did. (I know this is cheating, but don't judge.)
My dilemma is that I don't know whom to choose or what the right decision is. I don't want to deprive my child of the chance to know his real father, especially since he has started asking about him. Financially, I need his help because I'm not very good at earning money, and my ex doesn't know that I have a boyfriend. He doesn't care as long as we can be a family.
On the other hand, my boyfriend is almost 7 years younger than me. I never expected him to wait this long. He plans to return to school, and I'm afraid we might not be endgame. He has a tendency to say hurtful things. I remember once when I jokingly suggested he should support my child's education, he said, "How dare you? Someone else had the fun, and I get the responsibility!" He was angry when I teased him, but it hurt. He doesn’t cheat, but he says hurtful things, and I worry he might one day resent everything he has done for me and my child. I tell myself it’s because he’s young, but I can’t help but overthink that I might be making the wrong bet. I'm also scared because I read open letters about people on Facebook and TikTok, and I know of children who were neglected because their parents remarried. I fear my child might end up feeling the same way or not being accepted by my future husband’s family.
My child has met my boyfriend and thinks he is his father. But I'm waiting and hoping that my boyfriend will sometimes remember my child and check on him. During Christmas, he didn't think of giving or sending gifts for my child, but he did for his godchildren, saying he had no money. However, there was one time he bought school supplies when we were fighting, trying to prove he loved my child. I know it’s impossible for him to love my child as his own based on his personality, but I still hope. I don’t want to hurt him because he waited so long, or maybe I just don’t want to be blamed and called a cheater. He has said many hurtful things to me when he's angry, but I let them slide because I'm afraid of being left again. Maybe now it’s different because I have somewhere to go, and that’s my ex. I still don’t know what to do. All I know is that being a parent is hard. I don’t love my ex anymore, but I can sacrifice for the complete family that my child deserves.

Hello! How are you? I'm from Europe, I'm 21 and I speak English/French.
My hobbies are movies/tv-shows, Disney, discovering/learning new things, deep talks...
I'm here in the hope of finding interesting people.
Please don't message me if you can't take time for me, I'm not someone you talk to only when you're "bored".
I'm seeking for long-term friendships, loyalty and commitment is a must for me, someone who can also voice chat (not every time but it's still cool to have deep talks or just talking about anything on a call once in a while).
If you can't make yourself interesting (writing more than one line), asking questions back, initiating the conversation once we're done with a topic, getting to know me, don't bother to message me.
I will of course do the same as I'm asking for, but I value quality over quantity with friends.
Have a nice day, I hope to meet new people ! :)

As the title says, I once again failed to show intent with my Gym crush.
Saw her two weeks ago and complimented her outfit she had on and she thanked me and giggled. She kept glancing at me a few times the rest of our time there.
Just about an hour ago, I saw her again today and thought, “This is my chance. Go talk to her for a bit and just get her name and see about her number if things go well”.
Instead, I went up to her while she was on a step machine (not sure what it is called but it’s like a stair master but not) and she turned to look at me when I went to the machine beside her and asked how you use it.
Talked for a bit about it and just said I wanted to ask her because I saw her on it. She said she was going to be done soon if I wanted to use it (the one beside her she said seemed like it needed to be oiled up cause she got off it for the other one) and I just told her “That’s okay I just wanted to come and ask you about it. Thanks!” and walked off.
The whole conversation while brief, she didn’t seem bothered and seemed happy to help so I feel like such an idiot for not just planting my feet and continuing the conversation. She has to be aware I’m interested and I have seen her on other occasions looking at me and making eye contact so I think there is something there or at the very least, it wouldn’t go horribly if I made a move but I just had this nagging feeling of “don’t bother her too long cause she is trying to use the machine”.
We even left around the same time and I didn’t try to stop her.
Any advice on how to get past this so I can actually show more intent next time I see her (god knows when that will be 🤦‍♂️)

I’ve worked for two different stores (in the same area) under more gm’s than I can count and they all seem to have different opinions. Some would let you use whatever discounts you want (if the systems let them stack they’d let it go through) as many times a day as you want. Curren GM seems to be the strictest only allowing one of the $1 PPP drink deals OR one 20% off any order. Only one discounted ticket a day and only one discount at a time. Were not allowed 50% at all which I’ve had managers in the past allow (usually 20% was only for off duty) Edit: I’m a driver for reference I know it’s different for MOD

I realized while lurking this subreddit that many newer GMs posting here may find themselves confused as to how to properly balance their combat encounters. This is wholly understandable as the book isn't exactly clear on the process. I thought I'd share my insight so as to help any prospective GMs design a clean and effective opfor.
Credentials: I've been GMing Lancer for ~3 years now and have run multiple successful campaigns to completion, both custom and on-module. I teach newbies how to play on the regular and have coached these same newbies to run their own combats sessions.
Disclaimer: The following rules are my own method to encounter building, and while many other GMs in the community follow these rough guidelines you can expect everyone to have their own twist on it. Another GM you talk to will surely have tweaks on what I present here, but that's okay and honestly kind of cool. We all have our own signature method of playing this game and this happens to be mine!
I will endeavor to make this guide as short as possible so as to be easy to reference. Feel free to reach out if you wanted clarification.
Step 0: Nomenclature
A quick glossary of terms I'll be using frequently.
-OpFor: Stands for oppositional force. That means your entire collection of baddies used for a given combat encounter.
-Structure: The structure points for your NPCs. Normal NPCs have only 1 structure by default, but templates like Elite or Veteran can increase that.
-Activations: The number of times an individual NPC can take a turn during a round of combat. Most NPCs have only 1 activation by default, but templates like Elite or Ultra can increase that.
-Budget: The total number of NPCs you should be using for a combat encounter, based on how much Structure each individual NPC has.
Step 1: Pick a Sitrep/Budget
The first thing you need to do before you go any further is pick your Sitrep, starting at page 267 in the Core Rulebook. This is the objective that you and your players will be competing against each other to accomplish. Sitreps are an absolutely essential aspect of Lancer combat and the entire engine is designed around ensuring that you and your players have clear-cut goals with specific win conditions outlined. You can still have the occassional death match, if you're so inclined, but they should be infrequent to rare at best.
The Sitrep also determines your Budget. You'll note that each Sitrep descriptions says something like "Use the normal amount of enemies" or "Use double the amount of enemies as normal." This is what we like to call a "Single Budget" or a "Double Budget," respectively.
A Single Budget encounter should have enough total NPC Structure to equal 2x the number of players partaking in the combat. For example, if you have 4 players, you want the total Structure from all your NPCs to be 8. If you have 3 players, the total Structure from all NPCs should be 6.
A double budget encounter simply doubles that. 4 players would equal 16 total NPC Structure, 3 players would equal 12 total NPC structure, and so on. This includes reinforcements.
I'll make a comment below that lists which Sitreps have a Single Budget and which Sitreps have a Double Budget.
Step 2: Balancing Damage
It's entirely possible to do too much damage to your players. NPCs hit hard and you need to make sure they're not hitting so hard that your players don't have a chance to respond. Therefore, never have more than 50% of your OpFor be damage dealing NPCs.
The precise nature of a "damage dealing" NPC is up for interpretation. It is universally accepted that all Strikers and all Artillery archetypes are damage dealers. However, some Controllers and even Defenders fall into this category as well. Knowing who the black sheep of each archetype is comes with time and experience and every GM will tell you who they think is the biggest threat.
For now, stick to focusing on Strikers and Artillery until you get a better sense of who's who.
Step 3: Archetype Spread
In addition to having only 50% of your OpFor be damage dealers, make sure that the rest of the NPCs you're using have a healthy spread of different archetypes. That means Striker, Artillery, Support, Controller, and Defender.
You don't have to have one of each, as a rule, but if you're just starting out then that's at least a good guide rail to use until you're more comfortable experimenting.
Step 4: Don't Overdo Templates
One of the biggest mistakes I see new GMs make is to apply the Pirate Template to every single NPC in their OpFor. "But they're all pirates," they'll tell me, confused as to why their players had a miserable time going against +1d6 damage on crit from every single enemy.
Here's what the book doesn't tell you: Templates affect mechanics, not flavor. Only apply a Template to an NPC to give it the strict mechanical benefits that come with it and never for any other reason!
You can have an NPC be a pirate and not use the pirate template. In fact, you absolutely SHOULD have an NPC be a pirate without using the pirate template. The trick to this is to simply say "This guy is a pirate" and not do anything else. It's as easy as that.
Use Templates sparingly. If you're new, I wouldn't recommend using more than 1 per combat. Even now I don't really do more than 2-3, if that.
Step 5: Fair Deployment
Once you have your OpFor picked out and ready to roll, it's time to put them on the board. In an effort to not overwhelm your players but still have enough presence to apply a bit of pressure, only deploy enough NPCs so that their combined Activations equals 1.5x the number of players. For example, if you have 4 players, only have 6 activations on the board. That means 6 normal enemies, 4 normal enemies and an Elite, etc. I like to think of this as a Soft Cap for Activations.
The rest of your OpFor should be kept back as reinforcements. Follow the reinforcement rules of your chosen Sitrep to figure out when they should enter the fray, and how many.
Additionally, never have NPC activations exceed 2x the number of players. They will be overwhelmed very fast and nobody will have fun. Consider this a Hard Cap for Activations.
If you have reinforcements ready to go but you're already at the Soft Cap, you can bring more if the players are winning and you want to turn up the heat. If the players are losing, hold off and wait until they're in a better position. It's your job as GM to moderate the difficulty of combat based on active circumstances.
If you're already at Hard Cap, then no reinforcements get to enter the board yet. Wait until your players start scoring kills, the suckers.
The End
There's more nuance that goes into it than that, but this is a good starting point for anyone who just wants to wrap their heads around a complex system. As you get experienced, you'll start experimenting more with synergy, cross-classing, custom sitreps, and all kinds of crazy shit. The more experience you have, the more you'll be free to fuck around without breaking the game!