basicly my mom died when i was 7. my dad married this woman, lets call her rachel. they got married when i was around 9ish and had two children who are my half siblings and i have one full sibling. but theyre in the process of a divorce rn. now lets say i live in america however im originaly from another country (lets say morroco). my aunt, from my dads side, (lets call her grace) moved in with us right before corona, she came to 'america' from 'moroco' to find a better job. corona hit and we've been stuck being roomates for 5 years at this point, im 16 rn and shes 32.
i would always spend months saving up money to buy myself nice things, like perfumes, makeup, clothes, stuff for my hair, etc. every single time i would buy something my aunt, grace would automaticly take it and claim ownership. she would put it in her car and refuse to give it back to me. she would always say that 'it was too hot outside' to go to the car, or sometimes even take it to her office and she would never give it back. just last week i got a really expensive perfume from my other aunt who comes from my moms side. ive been wanting this perfume for a year. the moment i got home from getting the perfume grace takes the perfume from me and starts smelling it. she says it smells really nice and gives it back to me. i put it in one of my bags and go to sleep. the next day i wake up and get ready for school and i cant find the perfume anywhere but she said she hasnt taken it, shes lying i can litteraly smell it on her. another thing is that she always smokes cigarets. i had bronchitis and she didnt want to stop smoking around me! which caused my bronchitis to get worse and the doctor recomended that i stay away from her because of how bad it got.
now my full sibling, lets call him alex, is 13 has a lot of problems. not like autism or anything but hes crazy. whenever we would get cakes or anything for birthdays he would eat the cake in ONE DAY A WHOLE A*S CAKE THAT WEIGHS 1KG IN ONE DAY. whenever we get any type of food he finish it all in once sitting. he always eats the really spicy instant noodles in secret which causes him to get very bad stomach problems. he has stolen over $5000 from me. my rooms lock and doorhandle broke a few years ago so i cant even close my door and my dad doesnt want to fix it. i always hide my money or try to keep it on me at all times however he always finds a way to find it. last time i litteraly cut one of my bras open and put the money in the padding and sewed it back up and he still managed to take the money. now ur prolly wondering how do i know for sure hes the one that takes the money. my aunt wont take money from me, only objects, my dad just wouldnt and the only person left in the house is alex. now unless you think my cat is stealing the money then it has to be him. i told my dad about this a billion times and he just keeps telling me "it wasnt alex no way". alex has gotten suspended 4 times since he started highschool (he started litteray 1 year ago). he's gotten into fights at least twice a month. he steals from the whole family not just me. hes stolen so much money from my dad and aunt asweel. he grafitied our neighboors house. whenever he gets something new like a gift like shoes or a game or something, he breaks it in one day. my dad is always making excuses for him and will not punish him for anything he does. my brother always hits me on my vagina and my boobs with belts and slippers and wooden spoons even when im on my period and my dad doesnt do anything about it.
so basicly now about this rachel woman. shes fucking psycotic. when they got married at the beggining she would always fight with me, i would get some crayons or markers to colour and draw with and she would take them from me saying that she wanted to draw. basicly she would act like a kid. a few months before corona she gave birth to my half sister, lets call her mia. she would PURPOSLY STARVE MIA BECAUSE SHE WANTED HER TO HAVE A SKINNY BODY. SHE WOULD STARVE A NEWBORN BRO. she would always put mia to sleep in the middle of the bed right next to my dad and my dad would only get less than an hour of sleep each night for at least two months scared that he was going to crush mia. and he tried to move mia back to her crib but she was already sleeping and if he moved her she would start crying and wouldnt go back to sleep. it got to the point where my dad WHO OWNS THE HOUSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT started sleeping on a carpet on the floor because he was so scared to hurt mia. during corona in 'america' we werent allowed to leave the house at all. we had to file an aplication every week to go grocery shopping and only one person from the whole household could leave the house. since my dad was the one earning the money he went grocery shopping. this one time rachel told my dad she wanted to leave the house so my dad told her next week he would file the aplication saying she leave the house instead. the next day rachel CALLS THE POLICE AND TELLS THEM THAT MY DAD IS HOLDING HER AND MIA HOSTAGE AND THAT HE KIDNAPPED THEM, keep in mind that shes a 32 year old woman. the police obviously come and check things out, my dad told him the story, our maid vouched for him and the security cameras were checked and then the police cleared my dad. a few days after that rachel decided she wants to go back to 'Morocco' because she missed her mom. (her mom is the one encoureging the behavior and encouriging starving mia). rachel said she would report my dad to the police for rape if he didnt let her go so he bought her a ticket and they went. a few days after that we found out that she was pregnant again. but by now corona was really bad and no one could travel.
basicly im not gonna write everything that happened in between then and now but basicly she demaded so many things from my dad around $10,000 monthly for child costs (she doesnt work, never has, even till now) (this is like 2022 by now) my dad does not have that type of money as he already sends them a lot of money and the costs of living in 'america' are a lot and he also has to take care of his parents because hes the oldest so he pays their bills and everything. he filled for divorce because she kept getting crazier, she would threaten to hurt the kids. he tried to get custody of the kids as it was hard because the law in 'moroco' sides with the woman most of the time. she keeps asking for more and more money and my dad went to court and the court set a certain amount. last summer when we went back to 'moroco' rachel and my dad agreed that my dad would take the kids for a full day. the kids were okay with it and had no problems. 2 hours after my dad took his kids from her she comes marching up to my grandparents house, my dads parents, and starts trying to do black magic and demanding that he give her the children back. a few months after that she asked my dad for more money for child care because both of them are starting school now so he sent a bit extra. she used this money to hire a lawyer in 'america' to investigate my dad so she can demand more money from him. today he got a call from one of her lawyers saying that she demands $30,000. since the law in both 'moroco and america' work very fast my dad needs to get a certain paper before firday (its wednsday 9pm at this moment) and if he doesnt then she can take the money from him or something like that im not sure.
i dont know what to do anymore im scared that we're gonna go bankrupt. my dad is paying for expenses for 4 people here in 'america', me him alex and my aunt grace because shes a free loader and is living here for free and refuses to get a job. he's paying for her living and my two half siblings,. the house that my dad aunt brother and me and living in today is under my dads name but alex and i own a bit of it because my dad bought it with my mom before she died and when she died it was split into 3 to me, my dad and my brother, part of it was also given to my grandfather from my moms side lets call him charles and charles demanded that we sell the house imediatly because he didnt want us living there anymore and there was nowhere we could go. my dad had to pay a lot of money to get us to keep the house. rachel wants half of everything my dad owns. that means half of the house, half of his salery half of everything. shes asking for $30,000 and my dad doesnt even make that much in two months.
anyway thats my vent hope u enjoyed. if you read till here congrats thank you! have a good day and a good life! :)

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Hi everyone, I will try to summarize everything. Thank you all for reading. Could really use the advice.
Let me start by saying I really understand my twin. I know what he likes, dislikes, and everything in between. We're super close, and all I want is for him to be happy. I'd never get in the way of his relationships or stop him from doing what he wants. His happiness means everything to me. I can tell when he's hurting and when he's happy. He goes to me for advice and I tell him my honest opinion. He has every right to do what he wants afterwards. I'm coming on here because I truly think that he regrets his decisions and can't find his freedom anymore.
My brother has been with Lindsey for nearly 8 years. This is his first relationship ever. I don't doubt his love for her but I definitely think it has changed and he is mentally and emotionally suffering as the years gone on. He got engaged to her almost 3 years ago. She gave him an ultimatum that if you don't marry me about X amount of years, I will be breaking up with you. He decided to put a ring on her finger in 2022 and then got accepted to medical school the following year.
She is a full time PA making 6 figures, and my brother is a broke medical student. My parents, my sister, and I found out three weeks ago that she has been planning a wedding since the last year. This wedding is in June. My brother hasn't told anybody - not even his best friend. She is paying for everything, my brother didn't put a dime on the wedding. He hasn't invited anybody and nobody knows about it. Lindsey is under the impression that we knew since last year - my brother lied to her saying we have known since then. She is blaming us, specifically my mom, that we weren't involved in planning. I asked brother why is he hiding a wedding from everybody. Your family and friends should be a part of your wedding. There's something incredibly powerful about pointing at the women in front of you and saying "THIS is the person I want to spend my life with, and I want everyone important to me to witness it". There is something powerful about having people there to witness that vow. It holds you even more accountable to it down the road, and there comes a time in every marriage that the power of that vow is the only thing that holds it together. He said that he doesn't care for weddings and he's doing this because its what she wants. He said he would prefer something small or just keep it as an engagement for now. I asked him are you sure if this is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, and he responded saying "all I know is her". I said do you want to be married right now, but he doesn't really give a solid answer. He says stuff like "sure, why not?" or "it doesn't matter if i get married now". It is super passive, nothing certain. He doesn't seem to care.
We had a heart to heart yesterday. Since October, she has been so frustrated with him. She thinks that ever since he started medical school, he hasn't made her a priority. She thinks he doesn't care about her and ONLY cares about is studying and school. She thinks he's too close to his family and doesn't value her as much. She wants him to do couples therapy. He told me she was actually going to break up with him back in March. But lo and behold, now she's 9 weeks pregnant. Since finding out the news, I have never seen my brother so lifeless. I ended up flying over to him a few days ago (he lives in a different state) just to take care of him. I had a feeling that he needs someone to just be there for him. Yesterday we walked around downtown area and had some ice-cream and he just opened up. He told me that she has always wanted kids and to start a family before 30. I asked if he wants a kid now, he said no. He said he would have to pause medical school and he knows he can't take care of it. He said he's so frustrated because he told her that before they have sex, she can't be ovulating, she has to take an ovulation strip test, and be on the pills. Those were the conditions he gave her, but found out she did none of those things this time. He is praying now that she decides to abort but is trying to prepare for both situations. She told him the only way she would abort if he breaks up with her or she breaks up with him. I asked him if this was planned, and he said no. But she is she's so happy about the pregnancy, she told her family and closest friends. As I am visiting him, I just notice he is completely miserable. He is on 20 different medications. Because she is a PA, she prescribes him so much anxiety meds illegally. He also has a severe autoimmune disease. He is shaking, doesn't sleep, doesn't eat. He was sleep talking last night and said "fuck you fuck you fuck you". He told me he is so scared that my mom is going to get sick over this. He is a mess and it hurts me so much because all I want him is to have peace. That's literally all we want for him.
I also feel so bad for her. She is planning a wedding alone. The relationship is built on lies and false beliefs that my brother created just because he doesn't want to loose her and make her happy (they're other stuff I didn't list just to keep the story shorter). In complete honesty, and as a girl myself, I really don't know what she sees in him. She is so pretty, has a great job, works hard, and has money. I feel like she is the whole package. While my brother is so broke, no savings, his body is literally a vessel to academia, and can't prioritize anything besides school right now. I almost feel like she's more in love with getting married and starting a family, than she is with my brother. I think he is her avenue to marriage. I asked my brother if its okay if I share his story to get advise. My sister and I are thinking about talking to her on Friday, and just telling her the truth about. everything. I told him the secret to happiness is freedom. And the secret to freedom is courage. In life, you must take action, if you want to experience freedom. I just don't think he has courage to tell her how he really feels. Would it be bad if we tell her?
If you have gotten this far, thank you so much. I just want him to be happy with himself.

Hello,
like most people here say, that the coins are useless, I can agree to some degree. But once in a while you get 50% off an item. In the "not coin area" the item is by standart 40% cheaper etc....
but rarely you can really have luck. And then there is one question. Often when you reach 10$ you get free shipping. But the only way to get to the 10$ is either have an item thats already more then 10$ or I increase the amount of this item.
But thats it, I can note even pick another color of this item to add, inb order to reach the free shipping.
Are there any secret ways to add more items?

Everyone celebrated the successful debut together. Oliver had swapped the special coffee with regular one. But Douglas didn't join them.
He stood at a corner with Dough, thinking about what Edward said to him.
Suddenly, Sarah and Sara appeared, asking what business did he have with Edward. So he asked her about her marriage with Edward.
Sarah smirked and asked if him jealous? and saying that giving up on him was the wisest thing she ever did, because otherwise she wouldn't have been able to marry a perfect adult like Edward. Which, understandably, weird the f out of Douglas. Lmao.
While their shadow are talking with each other, Dough noticed Sara's grim face.
Feeling guilty because from the debut until now they both took advantage of each other, he went up and asked her what was wrong, but quickly got kicked in the leg.
While Dough knelt down holding his leg in pain, Sara kept muttering to herself that it was impossible, why it was all a lie, why Dough dared to look at her with those pitiful eyes and why her mistress was such a pathetic person despite her instructions.
"I killed my family to enter the mansion, So I have nowhere to return to !!"
Meanwhile, in the secret room, Lewid reported to Edward about the "Failed" fusion of Louise. Because of the horrible smell, Edward got angry and wanted to leave immediately, not sparing "the corpse" a glance.
Lewis asked: Should I at least tell Kate about her friend's condition?
Edward said: Not our business. Just order a faceless doll to bury "it" somewhere else.
After the celebration is the meeting with "Grandfather". While everyone looking at Kate and Emi nervously, she thought to herself:
"I risked breaking the house's rules by hiding Louise and Loui away. The big battle is about to take place, confronting the adults!"
When they're coming back, Kate and Emi suddenly met an adult, Joseph, holding her suitcase in his hand.
He said: "It seems to take you quite of time to prepare this debut...Kate"
"Why is he even here??" Kate thought, but then realised the suitcase, causing her to stress out.
"WHY?? I should have bury it near the mouitain!!"
But, Instead, He walked away, say nothing about it.
However, After turning the corner, he stopped again, leaned his back against the wall and muttered:
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity....Katherine."
I killed my family to enter the mansion, so I have nowhere to return to!!
WTF SARA ?! IS THIS SHIT FR ?! I thought you just a regular mean girl, but now you're a killer child ??? Also, yes, koroshita means "Killed", like killed killed.

Daily Modifiers

Vanguard Ops

• Grenadier: Grenade abilities deal more damage and recharge much faster.
• Increased Vanguard Rank: All Vanguard Rank point gains are increased!
• Solar Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Solar damage.
• Strand Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Strand damage.
• Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
• Power Level Disabled: Combatant difficulty is set at a fixed level.

Dares of Eternity

• Durandal's Edge: When you're holding a Sword, damage from nearby combatants is reduced.
• Champion Foes: You will face [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload, and [Stagger] Unstoppable Champions. Visit the Character or Mod Customization screen to view your active anti-Champion perks.

Onslaught: Playlist

• Onslaught Rules: Defend and repair the ADU against waves of combatants. There are 10 waves to a set. ADU: If the ADU is destroyed, the activity ends. Scraps: An in-activity currency. They are earned by scoring and used to purchase and upgrade defenses at the start of every set and after waves 3 and 6. Rewards: Paid out after every set upon defeating the boss wave. Subsequent sets pay out better rewards. Legend increases rewards. Bonus Objectives: Rewards resources, vendor reputation, and armaments.
• Power Level Disabled: Combatant difficulty is set at a fixed level.
• Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
• Solar Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Solar damage.
• Strand Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Strand damage.
• Champion Foes: You will face [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload, and [Stagger] Unstoppable Champions. Visit the Character or Mod Customization screen to view your active anti-Champion perks.

Riven's Lair

• Mettle: Power Level: All combatants in this activity will be at least 5 points over the player's current Power level.
• Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
• Iron: Enemies have more health and are not staggered by damage.
• Stasis Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Stasis damage.
• Solar Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Solar damage.

The Coil

• The Coil Rules: Successfully complete four pathways inside Riven's Lair. Escalating Difficulty: Player's Power levels are fixed. Starting at 0 each subsequent pathway increases all combatants' Power level over the player's by 5. Wishing Glass: Wishing Glass is an in-activity currency. They drop from combatants, Glass Collectors, and pots. Wishing Glass comes in multiple rarities equating to their worth. Wishing Glass is used to purchase Dragon's Gifts from Riven. Dragon's Gifts: A set of buffs are randomly chosen, once per run. Between pathways, players can purchase buffs from Riven via Wishing Glass. Buffs are separated into three price point tiers. Rewards: After each pathway, players will return to Riven for their rewards. Subsequent pathways pay out better rewards. Breaking through score thresholds unlock secret chests. Finishing The Coil with a platinum score rewards players with access to the lustrous and lucrative Chamber of Wishes.
• Multiplicity: Combatant difficulty scales with fireteam size.
• Limited Revives: Limited fireteam revives. Purchase additional revives from Riven with Wishing Glass. Small chance to drop from destroying pots.
• Full Extinguish: If all your fireteam members fall with 0 Revive Tokens, everyone is returned to orbit.
• Chill Touch: Being hit by a melee attack slows you.
• Galvanized: Combatants have more health and are more difficult to stun.
• The Pathways: Riven's wish magic stirs weekly. The following are the pathways and their order in The Coil: -First Steps (Temple of the Queen's Wrath) -Divining Hall -Sensorium (Pavilion) -Observatory
• Solar Threat: 25% increase to incoming Solar damage.
• Scorched Earth: Enemies throw grenades significantly more often.
• Overcharged Shotgun: 25% bonus to Shotgun damage.
• Overcharged Linear Fusion Rifle: 25% bonus to Linear Fusion Rifle damage.

Seasonal

Legend/Master Lost Sector

Exotic armor drop (if solo): Helmet

Bunker E15: Legend

• Legend Difficulty: Locked Equipment, Extra Shields
• Champions: [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload
• Threat: [Void] Void
• Shields: [Void] Void
• Modifiers: Shocker

Bunker E15: Master

• Legend Difficulty: Locked Equipment, Extra Shields
• Champions: [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload
• Threat: [Void] Void
• Shields: [Void] Void
• Modifiers: Shocker

Misc

• Terminal Overload: Ahimsa Park Weapon: Basso Ostinato (Shotgun)
• The Wellspring: Defend Weapon: Tarnation (Grenade Launcher)
• Altars of Sorrow Weapon: Apostate (Sniper Rifle)

Guns & Materials

Banshee's Featured Weapons

Name	Type	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Masterwork
Timelines' Vertex	Energy Fusion Rifle	Impulse MS3 // Spark PS	Ionized Battery // Particle Repeater	Shield Disorient	Snapshot Sights	Tier 2: Charge Time
Whispering Slab	Kinetic Combat Bow	Tactile String // Flexible String	Carbon Arrow Shaft // Compact Arrow Shaft	Quickdraw	Demolitionist	Tier 2: Draw Time
Syncopation-53	Kinetic Pulse Rifle	Full Bore // Hammer-Forged Rifling	Extended Mag // High-Caliber Rounds	Outlaw	Vorpal Weapon	Tier 2: Range
Austringer	Kinetic Hand Cannon	Extended Barrel // Smallbore	High-Caliber Rounds // Flared Magwell	Triple Tap	Frenzy
Bump in the Night	Heavy Rocket Launcher	Countermass // Quick Launch	High-Velocity Rounds // Implosion Rounds	Field Prep	Chill Clip

Note: Fixed perks on weapons are not displayed

Master Rahool's Material Exchange

• Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Legendary Shards)
• Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Dark Fragment)
• Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Phantasmal Fragment)
• Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 25 Herealways Piece)
• Enhancement Prism (1 for 10 Enhancement Core & 10000 Glimmer)
• Ascendant Shard (1 for 10 Enhancement Prism & 50000 Glimmer)
• Ascendant Alloy (1 for 10 Enhancement Prism & 50000 Glimmer)

Bounties

Commander Zavala, Vanguard

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
One Shot, One Kill	Defeat combatants with precision damage. Bonus progress is granted in Vanguard playlists.	25 [Headshot] Precision	XP+
Show Them the Light	Defeat combatants with your Super in Vanguard playlists.	5 Super	XP+
Cold Calculations	In Vanguard playlists, defeat combatants with Stasis damage.	25 [Stasis] Stasis	XP+
Shattering Revelation	Defeat combatants in Vanguard playlists with Stasis abilities. Defeating frozen combatants grants additional progress.	50 [Stasis] Stasis ability	XP+

Lord Shaxx, Crucible

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Coordinated Fire	Defeat opponents while assisting or assisted by one or more teammates.	5 Opponents defeated	XP+
High Energy	Defeat opponents using any Energy weapon.	5 Energy weapon	XP+
Power Up	Collect or recover Heavy ammo.	1 Heavy Ammo	XP+
All for One	In Rumble, complete matches.	1 Crucible matches	XP+

The Drifter, Gambit

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Blockade	Send Blockers; medium and large Blockers contribute more progress.	30 Blockers	XP+
Fish in a Barrel	Defeat targets with Stasis damage in Gambit. Defeating Guardians grants more progress.	30 [Stasis] Stasis	XP+
Hanging by a Thread	Defeat targets in Gambit matches by suspending them with Strand. Defeating Guardians grants additional progress.	30 Strand suspended final blows	XP+
Torn to Shreds	Defeat targets in Gambit matches by severing or unraveling them with Strand. Defeating Guardians grants additional progress.	30 Strand severed or unraveled final blows	XP+

Banshee-44, Gunsmith

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Pulse Rifle Calibration	Calibrate Pulse Rifles against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision final blows and against opposing Guardians.	100 [Pulse Rifle] Pulse Rifle	XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress
Shotgun Calibration	Calibrate Shotguns against any target. Opposing Guardians and rapidly defeated targets grant the most efficient progress.	100 [Shotgun] Shotgun	XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress
Machine Gun Calibration	Calibrate Machine Guns against any target. Earn bonus progress against opposing Guardians and for additional targets defeated without reloading.	100 [Machine Gun] Machine Gun	XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress
Kinetic Calibration	Calibrate Kinetic weapons against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision and against opposing Guardians.	100 Kinetic weapon	XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress

Nimbus, Neomuna

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Shockingly Direct	In Neomuna, defeat combatants with Arc damage. Shadow Legion combatants grant additional progress.	60 [Arc] Arc	XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank
Superb Phenomena	In Neomuna, defeat combatants with abilities. Final blows with your Super grant additional progress.	20 Ability	XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank
Harm's Length	In a single life, defeat combatants in Neomuna using Auto Rifles, Hand Cannons, Fusion Rifles, or Machine Guns.	20 Targets	XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank
Hacker's Paradise	Complete waves in Terminal Overload.	10 Waves cleared	1 Terminal Overload Key & 50 Neomuna Rank & XP+

Lord Shaxx, Hall of Champions

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Onslaught Harvester	Collect resources for the ADU in Onslaught.	10000 Resources collected	1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation
Diver in the Deep	Complete encounters in Deep Dive.	3 Deep Dive encounters	1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation
Rocketeer	Defeat targets with Rocket Launchers. Combatants in Onslaught and Guardians are worth more.	100 [Rocket Launcher] Rocket Launcher	1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation
Clearing the Nest	Defeat Hive. Those defeated in Onslaught are worth more.	100 Hive	1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation

Spirit of Riven, H.E.L.M.

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Open, Says Me	Open a reward chest at the end of a pathway in Riven's Lair or The Coil.	1 Chests	XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation
Lair Defense: Kinetic Weapons	Defeat targets with weapons in the Kinetic slot. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more progress.	30 Kinetic weapon	XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation
Dragon's Breath	Defeat targets with Linear Fusion Rifles or Rocket Launchers. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more.	10 [Linear Fusion Rifle] or [Rocket Launcher] defeats	XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation
Dragonflame	Defeat targets with Solar or Stasis damage. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more.	30 [Solar] or [Stasis] defeats	XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation

^{Never forget what has been lost. While the API protests have concluded, Reddit remains hostile to its users as their IPO looms in the horizon. More information can be found here.}

Daily Modifiers

Vanguard Ops

• Grenadier: Grenade abilities deal more damage and recharge much faster.
• Increased Vanguard Rank: All Vanguard Rank point gains are increased!
• Solar Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Solar damage.
• Strand Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Strand damage.
• Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
• Power Level Disabled: Combatant difficulty is set at a fixed level.

Dares of Eternity

• Durandal's Edge: When you're holding a Sword, damage from nearby combatants is reduced.
• Champion Foes: You will face [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload, and [Stagger] Unstoppable Champions. Visit the Character or Mod Customization screen to view your active anti-Champion perks.

Onslaught: Playlist

• Onslaught Rules: Defend and repair the ADU against waves of combatants. There are 10 waves to a set. ADU: If the ADU is destroyed, the activity ends. Scraps: An in-activity currency. They are earned by scoring and used to purchase and upgrade defenses at the start of every set and after waves 3 and 6. Rewards: Paid out after every set upon defeating the boss wave. Subsequent sets pay out better rewards. Legend increases rewards. Bonus Objectives: Rewards resources, vendor reputation, and armaments.
• Power Level Disabled: Combatant difficulty is set at a fixed level.
• Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
• Solar Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Solar damage.
• Strand Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Strand damage.
• Champion Foes: You will face [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload, and [Stagger] Unstoppable Champions. Visit the Character or Mod Customization screen to view your active anti-Champion perks.

Riven's Lair

• Mettle: Power Level: All combatants in this activity will be at least 5 points over the player's current Power level.
• Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
• Iron: Enemies have more health and are not staggered by damage.
• Stasis Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Stasis damage.
• Solar Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Solar damage.

The Coil

• The Coil Rules: Successfully complete four pathways inside Riven's Lair. Escalating Difficulty: Player's Power levels are fixed. Starting at 0 each subsequent pathway increases all combatants' Power level over the player's by 5. Wishing Glass: Wishing Glass is an in-activity currency. They drop from combatants, Glass Collectors, and pots. Wishing Glass comes in multiple rarities equating to their worth. Wishing Glass is used to purchase Dragon's Gifts from Riven. Dragon's Gifts: A set of buffs are randomly chosen, once per run. Between pathways, players can purchase buffs from Riven via Wishing Glass. Buffs are separated into three price point tiers. Rewards: After each pathway, players will return to Riven for their rewards. Subsequent pathways pay out better rewards. Breaking through score thresholds unlock secret chests. Finishing The Coil with a platinum score rewards players with access to the lustrous and lucrative Chamber of Wishes.
• Multiplicity: Combatant difficulty scales with fireteam size.
• Limited Revives: Limited fireteam revives. Purchase additional revives from Riven with Wishing Glass. Small chance to drop from destroying pots.
• Full Extinguish: If all your fireteam members fall with 0 Revive Tokens, everyone is returned to orbit.
• Chill Touch: Being hit by a melee attack slows you.
• Galvanized: Combatants have more health and are more difficult to stun.
• The Pathways: Riven's wish magic stirs weekly. The following are the pathways and their order in The Coil: -First Steps (Temple of the Queen's Wrath) -Divining Hall -Sensorium (Pavilion) -Observatory
• Solar Threat: 25% increase to incoming Solar damage.
• Scorched Earth: Enemies throw grenades significantly more often.
• Overcharged Shotgun: 25% bonus to Shotgun damage.
• Overcharged Linear Fusion Rifle: 25% bonus to Linear Fusion Rifle damage.

Seasonal

Legend/Master Lost Sector

Exotic armor drop (if solo): Helmet

Bunker E15: Legend

• Legend Difficulty: Locked Equipment, Extra Shields
• Champions: [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload
• Threat: [Void] Void
• Shields: [Void] Void
• Modifiers: Shocker

Bunker E15: Master

• Legend Difficulty: Locked Equipment, Extra Shields
• Champions: [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload
• Threat: [Void] Void
• Shields: [Void] Void
• Modifiers: Shocker

Misc

• Terminal Overload: Ahimsa Park Weapon: Basso Ostinato (Shotgun)
• The Wellspring: Defend Weapon: Tarnation (Grenade Launcher)
• Altars of Sorrow Weapon: Apostate (Sniper Rifle)

Guns & Materials

Banshee's Featured Weapons

Name	Type	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Masterwork
Timelines' Vertex	Energy Fusion Rifle	Impulse MS3 // Spark PS	Ionized Battery // Particle Repeater	Shield Disorient	Snapshot Sights	Tier 2: Charge Time
Whispering Slab	Kinetic Combat Bow	Tactile String // Flexible String	Carbon Arrow Shaft // Compact Arrow Shaft	Quickdraw	Demolitionist	Tier 2: Draw Time
Syncopation-53	Kinetic Pulse Rifle	Full Bore // Hammer-Forged Rifling	Extended Mag // High-Caliber Rounds	Outlaw	Vorpal Weapon	Tier 2: Range
Austringer	Kinetic Hand Cannon	Extended Barrel // Smallbore	High-Caliber Rounds // Flared Magwell	Triple Tap	Frenzy
Bump in the Night	Heavy Rocket Launcher	Countermass // Quick Launch	High-Velocity Rounds // Implosion Rounds	Field Prep	Chill Clip

Note: Fixed perks on weapons are not displayed

Master Rahool's Material Exchange

• Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Legendary Shards)
• Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Dark Fragment)
• Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Phantasmal Fragment)
• Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 25 Herealways Piece)
• Enhancement Prism (1 for 10 Enhancement Core & 10000 Glimmer)
• Ascendant Shard (1 for 10 Enhancement Prism & 50000 Glimmer)
• Ascendant Alloy (1 for 10 Enhancement Prism & 50000 Glimmer)

Bounties

Commander Zavala, Vanguard

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
One Shot, One Kill	Defeat combatants with precision damage. Bonus progress is granted in Vanguard playlists.	25 [Headshot] Precision	XP+
Show Them the Light	Defeat combatants with your Super in Vanguard playlists.	5 Super	XP+
Cold Calculations	In Vanguard playlists, defeat combatants with Stasis damage.	25 [Stasis] Stasis	XP+
Shattering Revelation	Defeat combatants in Vanguard playlists with Stasis abilities. Defeating frozen combatants grants additional progress.	50 [Stasis] Stasis ability	XP+

Lord Shaxx, Crucible

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Coordinated Fire	Defeat opponents while assisting or assisted by one or more teammates.	5 Opponents defeated	XP+
High Energy	Defeat opponents using any Energy weapon.	5 Energy weapon	XP+
Power Up	Collect or recover Heavy ammo.	1 Heavy Ammo	XP+
All for One	In Rumble, complete matches.	1 Crucible matches	XP+

The Drifter, Gambit

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Blockade	Send Blockers; medium and large Blockers contribute more progress.	30 Blockers	XP+
Fish in a Barrel	Defeat targets with Stasis damage in Gambit. Defeating Guardians grants more progress.	30 [Stasis] Stasis	XP+
Hanging by a Thread	Defeat targets in Gambit matches by suspending them with Strand. Defeating Guardians grants additional progress.	30 Strand suspended final blows	XP+
Torn to Shreds	Defeat targets in Gambit matches by severing or unraveling them with Strand. Defeating Guardians grants additional progress.	30 Strand severed or unraveled final blows	XP+

Banshee-44, Gunsmith

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Pulse Rifle Calibration	Calibrate Pulse Rifles against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision final blows and against opposing Guardians.	100 [Pulse Rifle] Pulse Rifle	XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress
Shotgun Calibration	Calibrate Shotguns against any target. Opposing Guardians and rapidly defeated targets grant the most efficient progress.	100 [Shotgun] Shotgun	XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress
Machine Gun Calibration	Calibrate Machine Guns against any target. Earn bonus progress against opposing Guardians and for additional targets defeated without reloading.	100 [Machine Gun] Machine Gun	XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress
Kinetic Calibration	Calibrate Kinetic weapons against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision and against opposing Guardians.	100 Kinetic weapon	XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress

Nimbus, Neomuna

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Shockingly Direct	In Neomuna, defeat combatants with Arc damage. Shadow Legion combatants grant additional progress.	60 [Arc] Arc	XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank
Superb Phenomena	In Neomuna, defeat combatants with abilities. Final blows with your Super grant additional progress.	20 Ability	XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank
Harm's Length	In a single life, defeat combatants in Neomuna using Auto Rifles, Hand Cannons, Fusion Rifles, or Machine Guns.	20 Targets	XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank
Hacker's Paradise	Complete waves in Terminal Overload.	10 Waves cleared	1 Terminal Overload Key & 50 Neomuna Rank & XP+

Lord Shaxx, Hall of Champions

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Onslaught Harvester	Collect resources for the ADU in Onslaught.	10000 Resources collected	1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation
Diver in the Deep	Complete encounters in Deep Dive.	3 Deep Dive encounters	1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation
Rocketeer	Defeat targets with Rocket Launchers. Combatants in Onslaught and Guardians are worth more.	100 [Rocket Launcher] Rocket Launcher	1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation
Clearing the Nest	Defeat Hive. Those defeated in Onslaught are worth more.	100 Hive	1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation

Spirit of Riven, H.E.L.M.

Name	Description	Requirement	Reward
Open, Says Me	Open a reward chest at the end of a pathway in Riven's Lair or The Coil.	1 Chests	XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation
Lair Defense: Kinetic Weapons	Defeat targets with weapons in the Kinetic slot. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more progress.	30 Kinetic weapon	XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation
Dragon's Breath	Defeat targets with Linear Fusion Rifles or Rocket Launchers. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more.	10 [Linear Fusion Rifle] or [Rocket Launcher] defeats	XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation
Dragonflame	Defeat targets with Solar or Stasis damage. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more.	30 [Solar] or [Stasis] defeats	XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation

^{Never forget what has been lost. While the API protests have concluded, Reddit remains hostile to its users as their IPO looms in the horizon. More information can be found here.}

To say this upfront: I recognize that this is a very flawed idea that would never happen. But it's been bouncing around my head for a while and I just want to hear others' opinions.
It occurred to me that production can sway the odds for the type of winner they get by the challenges they put on the season. So why not lean into it?
Create 4 or 5 groups of queens each in different categories: Fashion Queens, Comedy Queens, Dancing Queens, Pageant Queens, and Quirky Queens (don't really know about this last one, but I feel like there needs to be room for people like Yvie Oddly, Crystal Method, etc.).
Each group competes amongst each other in a series of challenges that relate to their primary skill. For example, Comedy Queens do a roast, Fashion Queens create outfits from unconventional materials, etc. This is done elimination style until there is a top queen in each category.
Then, the top 5 (or 4) queens come together to each compete in an iconic challenge that leans towards each category's strongest points. Fashion is tested through a ball, Comedy is tested through Snatch Game, Dancing is tested through a Rusical, Pageant is tested through -- honestly I don't know, maybe the makeover or a branding challenge? And I think Quirky is tested through an acting or improv challenge. This is not done elimination style; instead, each of the top queens gain points based on their ranking in each category (not just points for winning).
At the finale, the queens perform their individual songs (for which they also receive points, maybe secretly), and the overall top two queens compete in a final Lip Sync for the Crown.
Like I said up top, there are several flaws with this idea: not every queen fits neatly into just one style, and each category group would have to be pretty small to avoid having like 25 queens and an excruciatingly long season. But there's something about it that kind of appeals to me!
Thoughts?

Hi,
I may have inadvertendly deleted some of my private keys.
I thought I could export my private keys into a keyring, but apparently a keyring is only for public keys.
In any case, I stil have some files in ~/.gnupg/private-keys-v1.d/, but when I initialize a new GPG directory (either by using --homedir or by setting $GNUPGHOME), and then copying the files to the new directory (as described here) and then doing gpg --list-secret-keys or gpg --list--keys... nothing comes up.
Then when I do gpg --import private-keys-v1.d/* it says gpg: no valid OpenPGP data found., which is strange considering I'm doing this on keygrip files which are known working (at least, the ones that show after running gpg --list-secret-keys --with-keygrip without setting a custom $GNUPGHOME)
So how would I otherwise restore / import these known working private keys?
I'm guessing if I know how to do this process for known working keys, I can try and see whether it can also work on the supposedly deleted private keys.
Thanks in advance.

Cyborg #59 - Test of Strength

<< < >
Author: Commander_Z
Book: Cyborg
Arc: Machine Mayhem
Set: 96
Previously:
Victor Stone, Donna Morris and Keiji Otari worked together to create a robot called Atlas to participate in the collegiate Machine Mayhem tournament, a robot fighting competition. The humanoid robot easily crushed its competition in the first round but disappeared overnight before the second round. His three creators split up to track him down, with Keiji finding the machine in a back alley a little ways away from the stadium...
Keiji stood before the massive figure, blinking, trying to focus his mind. He had had many late nights and early mornings over the past couple weeks, so Keiji figured he was still sleeping. Or hallucinating. Or both, somehow. But, the voice rang out, its clearest yet, “No.” ‘Clear’ was a very generous and relative term, though. The noise wasn’t modulating through a speaker or a voice box, instead Atlas was making his own speaker by vibrating the motors and joints that allowed him to move.
The alley that Keiji found Atlas in was less than an ideal to make changes to a robot, but Keiji figured that Atlas would be understanding considering the circumstances. He pulled out an old bluetooth speaker out of his backpack and gestured towards Atlas with it.
“This’ll help you. No more grinding gears to talk. Just got to trust me for a few minutes, okay?”
Atlas stood still for a few moments, whether he was thinking or just unsure how to make a positive affirmation with his joints, Keiji couldn’t know. But, after awhile, he responded.
“Yes.”
Keiji set his backpack on the ground in the gross alley, making a mental note that he’d have to clean that later and got to work.
Around ten minutes later, he was done.
“Okay, Atlas. Try to use the speaker. It’s connected to RO23 on the tertiary control board.”
“...T…Te….ing…Test…Testing. Speaker operation confirmed.” Atlas spoke in a deep, synthetic voice that occasionally warped itself in tone, like how a whammy bar would add vibrato to a chord on a guitar.
“Great. So… Atlas… What's going on with you? Why’d you leave?”
“I am performing my task: defeat opponents, become the strongest. No foes in that arena were a challenge. Therefore, I left.”
Keiji raised an eyebrow. “That’s… not what we made you for. We made you to win Machine Mayhem, not to pursue strength as some sort of goal in of itself.”
“Incorrect. Nowhere in programming was “winning the Machine Mayhem tournament” a specified goal.”
“Okay, but I programmed you, and I’m telling you that was the intention.”
“Intentions are irrelevant. A teacher may shape their students’ minds, but they cannot determine what anyone does with their knowledge. That is a privilege reserved for each and every individual being. You say I was programmed to win a tournament. I say that I was programmed to make myself the strongest being. Only my interpretation is relevant.”
‘I guess that’s not an invalid interpretation of what I programmed him to do. But… that’s not exactly a sane or safe perspective on life…’
“And how are you doing that? Just fighting anyone you can see?”
“No. I have already stated that I found those machines in that arena unworthy of my efforts, in my short time in the outside world I have seen humans to be much the same. Few of you would pose any challenge.”
“Well, that’s a little more reassuring that you won’t just be fighting everyone you see. But - ”
Suddenly, a woman about Keiji’s age flew into the alleyway, riding on a metallic pink hoverboard. She wore hot pink combat boots with dark black leggings, and a matching hot pink sleeveless top with thick metallic bands around her wrists that went up to her forearms. Her eyes were obscured by a visor-like pair of glasses, tinted a reflective red to hide her identity.
And yet, Keiji knew instantly that she had to be Donna Morris. He knew that she had been working on some other project with Vic before they started Atlas, but he figured it was just for some shared class or lab work. But this… This was unexpected.
“Halt… robot! Step away from the civilian and no one needs to get hurt!”
‘Why’s she speaking so formally? Guess it’s some mindset thing.’
Neither Atlas nor Keiji reacted to what Donna was saying. Keiji knew she wasn’t talking to him, and Atlas just seemed indifferent to her presence. Finally, Atlas turned and faced her.
“You seem powerful. Show me the strength of your will and I may concede.”
“This doesn’t need to be violent. We can talk it out, here or somewhere else.”
“Actions speak louder and truer than words.” Atlas moved into a combat position, leaning forwards on his left leg, raising his fists up to his chest.
“Come.”
“Don- ”
“When I’m in the suit, it’s Black Narcissus. Some of us like to keep our identities secret, no offense to Cyborg, wherever he is.” Donna said.
“Okay, nice to meet you, Black Narcissus. Just… be careful with Atlas. He’s stronger than he looks.”
Donna smiled. “So am I. Just watch.”
Donna pressed her thumb and index finger together on both hands and a large light on the back of her hands turned gray. She pointed her hands right at Atlas, who still stood in his combat position, waiting.
A thick, gray fluid shot out of her gauntlets, ensnaring Atlas’ arms to his body and his legs to the ground.
“Gotcha! That’s industrial strength adhesive - ”
Atlas flexed his arms and the adhesive snapped with ease, then crouched his legs before springing upwards towards Black Narcissus and her hoverboard. She quickly flew out of the way but Atlas managed to barely get one hand on the board. Black Narcissus pressed her thumbs to her middle fingers, changing the cartridge in her gauntlets. The light on the back changed to purple and she fired her gauntlets again, launching a blast of energy at Atlas.
The extra energy rattled the robot’s circuits, and he released his grip on the board to escape further damage, sending him crashing back to the ground. She shot another salvo of energy blasts at the machine, keeping him stunned on the ground.
She switched her left gauntlet back to adhesive, hoping that it would be able to restrain a weakened Atlas. Before it could reach him, the robot rolled out of the way and grabbed a trash can, hurling it at Donna. She swerved out of the way again, then dodged a second trash can thrown as a follow up.
After the second can, she was on her toes, prepared for a third, but it didn’t come. She looked around, trying to find where Atlas went, but he was completely out of sight. She sensed him at the last moment, coming from the rooftop that he jumped up to. He grabbed her board and slammed it to the ground with her on it. The board shattered into a million pieces, but Donna seemed unharmed. Atlas sprung up, ready to keep fighting, and Black Narcissus rose fractions of a second after. She pressed her thumbs to her ring fingers and the light on the black glowed a dark red.
She swung a right hand punch at Atlas who caught it in his left. But the light on the back of her gauntlet started to glow brighter as she put in more effort, pushing back against his metallic muscle. Atlas pushed his legs back, trying to stabilize himself. Donna started to push him back more and Keiji could hear the motors start to strain. Atlas stopped resisting against Donna, then, before she could take advantage of it, he kicked up some of the pieces of the broken hoverboard at her. Using her momentary surprise, he punched her square in the chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to the ground.
“You fought well,” Atlas said, turning away from her.
“Wait,” Donna said, getting up. “I’m not done with you.”
“Yes, you are. Accept your defeat. There is no shame in losing to the strongest.”
Before Donna could protest, Atlas turned to Keiji. “Come, and bring your things. I have use for you.”
Keiji raised an eyebrow, but grabbed his backpack and started to follow Atlas further down the alley.
He turned back to Donna and mouthed “I’ll text you” to her. He hoped she got the message.
⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️
“Stop here.”
Keiji stood behind Atlas, who was peering into an old garage a couple blocks from the alley where he fought Black Narcissus. He grabbed the padlock that was keeping the door shut and squeezed it, turning it into dust.
“You will find the tools you need in here. Repair the damage caused in the last fight, human.”
Keiji raised an eyebrow. “First off, I don’t really like being called “human”. Technically true, but feels hurtful in this context. Second, I’m a software guy. I couldn’t fix you if I wanted to. Third, being nicer to people will generally get you better results. Not really inclined to help someone who starts by insulting me.”
“Niceties are a waste of time. Fix me, or I will end you.”
Keiji shook his head. “No, you won’t. I can’t fix you, but you know my teammates can. And they’d never do that if you hurt me at all.”
Atlas punched the concrete wall in frustration, cracking it. “Very well. You are correct… I do need your help. What will they require to do so?”
“I don’t know. But come back to the arena with me. We can talk with them there and see what it takes.”
“Very well. Let your friends know that I require their assistance.”
⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️
Atlas stood before Vic and Donna, who made it back to their workspace just before the robot did. He towered over the three humans, but if any of them were intimidated, it was hidden behind a masterful poker face.
“Y’know, I thought more people would care that we just walked in with a robot and are talking with him like he’s a person,” Donna remarked.
“People are busy and indifferent. The other competitors probably think it’s a marketing scheme or something and are just ignoring us. I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Keiji said.
“Yeah, that. But so… Atlas has become sentient. Good for you, really. But… hooray. Another sentient robot,” Vic said.
“You see a lot of those?” Keiji asked.
“More than you’d think.”
“I am glad that you are not concerned by my presence. That saves me much effort. But the question at hand remains: I have been damaged and require repairs. Will you repair me?”
“Yes,” Vic and Donna said at the same time.
Vic looked at her, surprised. He figured she’d have some hesitancy.
“But, I’ve got a small condition for you. Should be no big deal. Win us the next round of the competition.”
“Ridiculous. You ask me to do something so trivial it is unfair, like a pro athlete competing at a preschool.”
Donna shrugged. “Yeah, it’s trivial and easy, but it helps us a lot.The club will look much better and get a lot more support for next season if we make it into the semifinals.”
“I’ll even raise the stakes. If you win the next round, we won’t make you enter the finals. Instead, I’ll give you a real challenge. You can fight me.”
“Why would I want that?”
“Because I’m the strongest one here by far. And, if that’s still not enough if you beat me, I’ll show you how to repair yourself. Then, we’ll let you go live as you want, provided you promise to only fight people who want to fight.”
Donna looked at Vic, concerned. “Who would want to willingly fight someone like Atlas?”
Vic sighed. “Trust me. There are plenty of weirdos in this world who just want to fight. It’s much better than me just throwing him in prison or taking him apart.”
Atlas made a noise that Vic thought was supposed to be a scoff. But maybe it was just static. The speaker wasn’t that high quality.
“You make a very strong set of promises if I win, which I will. But if by some miracle, you managed to cheat your way to victory… what happens then?”
Vic shrugged. “Pretty much the same thing. I’ll teach you how to repair yourself and let you go with the same stipulations. You just have to know that a human beat you.”
Atlas laughed. “You are a fool if you think that could ever happen. I accept your terms, human. Guide me to the arena, those boxes of scrap will be reduced to dust.”
Vic walked him over to the arena as as if he were any other competitor, but instead of waiting by the sidelines to see the results, he walked back to their workspace. He knew that Atlas would win and wanted to try and make sure that Donna and Keiji were on board with the other part of his plan.
When he got back, Donna was nervously pacing around while Keiji was scrolling through some webpage.
“So.. Vic… do you really think that this is the right idea? You’re just… unleashing him on the world. Isn't that irresponsible?” Donna asked.
“I don’t think so. Yeah he wants to fight people but he has restraint to some degree. He knows the difference being fighting every random person he sees and fighting someone who has a reasonable amount of strength. I dunno, I think him messing up and fighting… Superman or something and taking a big loss would teach him far more than we ever could or throwing him in jail for being dangerous. Is it a risk?… kinda. But so is any option.”
“So your best guess is just… let him go and figure it out?” Keiji said. “Isn’t that a bit too… hands off?”
“Got a better idea? That’s pretty much what we got to do.”
“No. I don’t. But this just feels... risky.”
“Yeah, it is. But he’s fairly reasonable after being conscious for what, 12 hours? Over time, he’ll probably mellow out and if he doesn’t, I can take care of him then. But he deserves a chance like anyone else.”
Keiji nodded. “Fine Vic. If that’s what you think the best path is… I’ll stand by you.”
“Same, Vic. I want to believe in him too.”
“Thanks guys, really. Hopefully we can all look back on this and agree this was the right path.”
A horn sounded and a voice came over the loudspeaker. “Semifinal-2 has ended! The winner is the University of Michigan’s Atlas! Please collect your robots and be ready for the finals at 1:00 PM.”
The team stood up and gave each other a round of high fives. They really had made something great. Now it was time to see just how great he really was.
⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️
Two hours later.
The team packed up after their semifinal match, citing an unspecified emergency with the tournament staff. They weren’t happy with the anticlimactic end, but ultimately they couldn’t force the three of them to continue to compete and so they left without much hassle.
The three of them drove north until they found the first open field that Vic and Atlas could have their match in. There wasn’t anywhere that they could find in the city that wouldn’t attract too much attention or put innocent people at risk and they managed to convince Atlas of that too. The robot was in the trailer towed behind the three of them, much to his chagrin.
But after a half hour or so, they found a spot. A wide open, grassy field with no one around to interfere or get hurt. A perfect spot for them to settle things. Vic got out of the car and started to stretch, trying to limber up after the car ride while Donna and Keiji helped Atlas out of the trailer.
Atlas rotated his head, taking in the environment. “A flat, quiet field. An honorable place for battle.”
Vic let out one lat calming exhale before approaching Atlas. “Plus, no one is around to get hurt. That’s important too.”
“...Yes. That too.”
“The rules are simple. A clean match, no foul play between either of us. Whoever is left standing when the other yields or is unconscious wins.”
Atlas laughed. “I will never yield.”
“We’ll see,” Vic grinned.
“Oh, one other thing. Not really a rule per say, but a strong suggestion: Try not to seriously hurt each other. You’re not trying to kill or maim each other,” Donna said.
“Yes, yes. May we begin?”
Vic nodded, and took a step backward, creating about ten feet of space between him and Atlas. Before the dust even settled, his arms were force cannons launching pure energy right at Atlas’ chest. Vic had designed Atlas, he knew that he wouldn’t be very damaged by those. But he had underestimated just how much he would be able to tank them. The force blasts did little more than chip the paint and an exhilarated Atlas sprinted at Vic like a charging bull.
Once Atlas was a few feet away from Vic, he prepared a concussive grenade and exploded it directly against Atlas, using the force to stagger him out of the charge. Before the robot could launch another attack, Vic swung a full force punch into the robots’ chassis, crumpling it inwards slightly. Vic followed up the punch with another, but Atlas was ready for it and parried it with his left arm, then kicked Cyborg away, sending him flying backwards.
Cyborg shot his force canons at the ground to give himself some momentum in the opposite direction, slowing himself down. But Atlas had some tricks up his metaphorical sleeves too. Having realized that a direct approach was difficult, he used his powerful hands like a backhoe to scoop up a massive piece of earth and hurled it at Cyborg. Vic was unsure how to react to this, or more precisely, how he expected Atlas to follow this attack up. The boulder itself was a problem, sure, but it was just to close the gap. Atlas could be using it to block his line of sight and be jumping right behind it, or he could be using the temporary blindspot caused by the massive object to approach from either side.
Instead of guessing, Vic decided to power through the problem. Vic shot both of his force cannons at the projectile, sending bits of dirt every which way. Atlas was hiding in what was once the dirt ball’s shadow and Vic took advantage of his surprise to launch himself at the robot. Cyborg shot his force cannons behind him, propelling himself forwards rapidly in a charge mirroring Atlas’ own.
He knocked the massive machine to the ground and sat on his chest, using his arms to pin down the machine’s.
“You’re down, Atlas. Do you yield?”
“I told you. I will never yield. I am the strongest!”
Atlas began to press his weight against Vic’s strength. Vic knew he was a match for Atlas’ strength but there was one key problem: stamina. Vic’s body was, of course, cybernetic in part, but it wasn’t the same. He was still human and human beings got tired. Machines did not.
Vic could already feel his muscle starting to fatigue. The fight hadn’t been long, but any fatigue was going to be the difference. He knew he was a match for Atlas’ strength when he was at 100%, but every percent below that made it more and more likely to be Atlas’ win.
‘I need to end this fight now or the immediate future if I want to win. But my normal attacks aren’t doing anything to him. I could try a sonic attack, but I don’t think that’d really effect him. I could try targeting his joints specifically, but those were designed to take more than I can give. But I can’t just let him overpower me for the win. That’d make him overconfident and more likely to get into trouble afterwards. No… I’ve got a better idea.’
In an instant, Vic’s muscles stopped resisting. “I yield.”
Vic pushed himself off Atlas, who stood up and looked at Cyborg, confused.
“What foe yields when he has his opponent on the ground, at his mercy? I demand you continue!”
“No. This fight was never to the death, only to yielding. But frankly, you aren’t strong enough to interest me. You said it yourself, you will never yield. And pummelling you to a point where you are the equivalent of unconscious just isn’t worth my time. So I yielded. Congrats. You win.”
Atlas stood, incredulous. “No. That is not allowed. I did not win. You lost! Those are not the same!”
Vic turned to Keiji and Donna and then noticed that the fight had taken them about 30 yards from where they started. He started to walk back towards them, and Atlas followed.
“Guys, I yielded that fight. Doesn’t that mean I lost?”
Keiji raised an eyebrow. “I guess?”
“See? Congrats, you won.”
“... I do not accept this victory. This is a loss in all but name. Mark my words, Victor Stone. I will wander the globe, facing foe after foe to grow stronger. I will become the strongest being and when I do, we will have a real fight, one where you must acknowledge my strength for real.”
“Looking forwards to it. Stay out of trouble until then, understood?”
Vic held out his hand for a handshake which Atlas begrudgingly accepted.
“Understood.”
“Atlas, catch.”
Keiji tossed a small flash drive to Atlas who had to bend down to grab it.
“That has all your schematics and drawings on it, as well as all the parts we used to make you and where we sourced them from. It’s probably the best thing out there to help you repair yourself.”
“Thank you. You all have given me much to think about it. When we meet again… I will be stronger in body and mind. Farewell for now but I will return to challenge you again, Victor.”
“I’ll be waiting. And I promise to go all out next time, Atlas.”
Atlas took off to the west, heading to only he knew where.
Once he was far enough out of sight, Vic laid down on the ground, exhausted.
“Well, that’s enough bluffing for the next decade. I really underestimated him.”
Donna sat down to his left, Keiji on his right.
“Told you that you were being cocky. We all built him but he’s out of all of our leagues,” Keiji said.
“Yeah… but I really wanted to do it, y’know? Kinda humbling to be beat by your own creation.”
“If it makes you feel better, I lost to him too,” Donna said.
“Wait what? When did you fight him?”
“I’ll tell you on the way back. Not my finest moment, but I put up a good fight.”
“Proud of you. You’ve come a long way in your training. But after that fight… I’m going to need to get a lot stronger and pick my own training back up. I kinda feel like I’ve been stagnant for awhile, just sort of winning my fights through grit and will power. But if Atlas had been hostile… I don’t think I could’ve stopped him. So, I’ll need to get back to the drawing board and see what I can do to take myself to the next level.”
“And we’ll be there to help you however we can. But uh… Vic, finals are in like two weeks. Maybe focus on that first?” Keiji suggested.
“I’d rather get beat up by another robot,” Vic groaned.
<< < >

“Ready to make history, baby?”
I looked over toward Sheila as she stood on the gangplank leading up to The Burger. I still couldn’t believe she named our research ship ‘The Burger’... emotional relevance be damned.
“It's not exactly history,” I corrected.
“Oh come on! If your survey is right, this trench might run even deeper than the Challenger Deep, and you’re gonna be the first person to explore it! How is that not exciting?”
“Might be deeper, we only have a limited amount of topological data. And even if it is deeper, we’re talking only a few hundred feet at most, it’s really not that im-”
Sheila silenced me with a kiss.
“Nerd.” She teased, and I found myself too flustered to reply. After five years of marriage, she still could leave me speechless with just a kiss. God… how did someone like me end up with a woman like that?
Then again, how did someone like me end up where I was in general? It was honestly a little overwhelming. Standing on the dock, getting ready to board that ship and join the ranks of Jacques Piccard and James Cameron (yes, that James Cameron) as one of the few people to take a manned submersible down to the deepest parts of the ocean. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared too. Diving down that deep could easily be a one way trip if even the slightest thing went wrong. My submarine would be experiencing between 600 to 1100 atmospheres of pressure and while we’d tested it over and over again to make sure it would actually be up for the challenge, there was still a lingering iota of doubt in the back of my mind. All that needed to go wrong was one little thing, and that would be it for me.
The scariest part is that I probably wouldn’t even know what had happened… I’d simply be gone… and Sheila would be alone. The thought of that caused a momentary spike of panic in my chest that almost made me want to call this whole thing off.
Almost.
But, then I felt her hand close around mine. I looked up into her bright blue eyes, and saw her gentle smile.
“You’re gonna be okay, hun,” She promised. “You and your team have been running the numbers, right? It’s gonna go just fine!”
I nodded slowly.
“It’s gonna go fine…” I repeated, before she leaned in to kiss me, and gently pulled me by the wrist up onto the deck of the Burger.
She was probably right.
It probably would be fine.
Probably…
The trench I’d be exploring was a fairly recent discovery, located south of Greenland, in a vast stretch of water situated directly between Newfoundland and Iceland. It’d been uncovered during a topological survey in the area, and my team had taken an interest in investigating it further. At minimum, it was believed to descend to about 35,000 feet deep (over 10,000 meters), although the current theory was that it might have run even deeper. Determining the exact depth of the yet unnamed chasm was just one of the intents of our dive. The rest was studying the organisms that might be found down there, and how they might have differed from the ones found in other deep ocean trenches (some variation being expected given the isolated environment they were developing in.)
I had to admit, it would be exciting to see what new life might have developed in a place such as this, especially if it ran even deeper than our predictions… and that excitement was enough to make me chase the fear of the risks out of my mind, even if it was only briefly. While Sheila went to make sure we were ready to embark, I caught myself wandering out toward the rear of the ship where my submarine, The Tempura, waited for me. Did this submarine deserve a better name than The Tempura? Probably. But, this was my project, so I got to name it and since Burger was already taken, Tempura was the next best name I had. I liked to think that the subs namesake might approve… if she hadn’t died fifteen years ago. Shrimp don’t live very long.
As the ship began to depart, I caught myself reminiscing on how I’d ended up here… it really was all because of those damn shrimp, wasn’t it? Well… maybe not all because of the shrimp. But they were certainly part of it. Back when I was a lot younger, I never really gave much of a shit about anything at all. I guess I did have a thing for the ocean… the great, romantic vastness of it. The sense of adventure that it beckoned with. The endless mysteries that lay within its dark depths. I used to read about it all the time when I was a kid and I especially loved the classic adventures: Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and Melville’s Moby Dick… but that love was just confined to my books. I didn’t really have any interest in actually going out and seeing the ocean. Hell, the idea of going to a beach and standing in the sun with my toes in the sand seemed miserable to me. I was happier (although calling myself happy might’ve been a little disingenuous) alone in my room, enjoying the company of books as opposed to people.
Then came the shrimp.
One of my online friends kept them as a hobby. He used to post pictures of his tanks all the time, and I always thought they looked kinda cool. He said that if I was interested in them, I should try keeping some for myself, and during a particularly bad bout of depression, I figured that maybe it might be worth a shot. So, I bought a cheap tank and some cheap decorations, bought myself some shrimp… and promptly watched them die over the next few weeks. That… that bothered me. I don’t know why but… it really bothered me. I’m still not entirely sure how to describe what it was that I was feeling. Guilt? Defeat? Shame? Here I was, trying to set up a habitat for these creatures just to have something to do to keep the suicidal ideation at bay, and I’d failed almost right out of the gate.
Was I just that bad? Was I just that much of a failure? Was this just going to go to shit just like everything else in my life did, because I was just such an abysmal piece of shit who barely deserved the life she had? Had I just not tried hard enough? Was I too apathetic? What had happened? What went wrong?
It bothered me.
It bothered me enough that I made up my mind to just dump the remaining shrimp down the toilet and toss everything. Forget about it. Move on. End of story. But… that wasn’t fair, was it? The shrimp didn’t all deserve to die just because I couldn’t be bothered, did they? Sure, they were just shrimp, but they were alive too, just like me. They deserved to be alive.
I owed it to them to try and keep them alive, didn’t I?
So… I didn’t dump the shrimp.
Instead, I started doing some reading. Started looking into what I was doing wrong and how to do it all better. I actually got really into it and a few months later, I had a nice planted tank. Looking back, it was amateur shit… but it made me happy. I’d even picked out names for my two favorite shrimp. Burger and Tempura. They’d been the last survivors of my original batch, and they were the ones I ended up caring about the most. Caring for Burger and Tempura gave me a purpose. It became an obsession… and that little obsession drove me to finally start turning my life around.
Like I said, shrimp don’t live for very long. Burger and Tempura were long dead by the time I graduated with a degree in Marine Biology. But they were the ones who inspired me to finally get my life in order. Hell, the shrimp were half the reason that I met Sheila. She was something of an aquarium fanatic too… we’d met on a forum, and gotten to talking. I found out that she just so happened to be studying Marine Biology at another school, and we bonded pretty quickly after that. After graduation, I moved to California to be with her and after that, the rest is history. She was my rock. She was the one who always pushed me to be the best possible version of myself… and I loved her more than I ever knew I could love someone.
A glance back at the shore, fading into the distance tore me out of my reminiscing, and I shifted my focus to the present, going over The Tempura to perform some quick checks. My colleagues and I would be checking and rechecking the submarine over the next two days as we made our way toward the dive spot. Considering the danger that descending that deep posed, I didn’t want to take a single unnecessary risk.
I had too much to live for, after all.
***
The day of the dive, I couldn’t notice how excited the rest of the crew seemed… well… Sheila’s usual crew seemed excited. I guess to them, this was just another research expedition, no different than the ones Sheila usually took this ship out on. Lately her research had been focused on the analysis and study of whale calls. Her recent voyages had involved following their pods, recording their calls and playing them back to see how the whales reacted. It was fascinating stuff, but my research was admittedly a lot different than that.
My obsession had drawn me to the denizens of the deep sea. I’d used The Burger for expeditions before, although none of them had been on quite the same scale as this one. Up until today, the most ambitious thing I’d done was send down unmanned submersibles with cameras. Those submersibles had typically returned. We had lost a few early on due to technical glitches, but the past few years had been blissfully uneventful. Logically, this dive would probably be uneventful as well. But it was still hard to get the jitters out of my head.
My team and I did the final checks necessary to make sure that The Tempura was good to go, before setting up the crane to begin lifting it up. In less than an hour, I’d be inside of that thing, descending to the darkest depths of the ocean.
It didn’t feel real.
I felt Sheila’s hand on my shoulder, and looked over at her.
“Moment of truth, huh?” She asked. She probably meant it to sound encouraging, but it just sounded ominous.
“Moment of truth…” I replied.
“You’re gonna be okay, honey. I know you will.”
She reached out to gently squeeze my hand and gave me a reassuring smile that I meekly returned.
“Yeah, it’s gonna be okay,” I agreed, although there was an element of a lie in it. Statistically, yes. It probably WOULD be okay. But there was that lingering anxiety in the back of my mind that just wouldn’t go away. I looked quietly out at the submarine before me and couldn’t shake the thought that it sort of looked like a giant coffin. Unconsciously, I found myself squeezing Sheila’s hand tighter than normal. She just held me close and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, before gently rubbing my back.
“You’ll be okay,” She promised.
“Dr. Jenner, we’re ready for you.” I heard one of my colleagues say.
Moment of truth.
I took one last look at Sheila, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips for luck. She smiled at me, and I smiled back anxiously at her before heading over toward the submarine.
The crew helped me enter the cockpit and get myself situated inside. The cockpit of the Tempura was fairly cramped and not particularly comfortable. Space and comfort aren’t really luxuries you can afford in a submarine like this. The instruments I needed took up a lot of space, leaving little room for me in there… and I am not a very big person.
Once I was inside, they sealed the hatch. Then the diagnostics checks began.
“Grayson, can you hear us in there?” I heard Sheila say through the radio.
“Loud and clear,” I replied.
“Great. We’ll keep in constant radio contact, just to monitor the signal. In the meanwhile, how’s everything looking in there?”
“Green across the board so far,” I said, although I hadn’t finished running all my final checks yet. Ultimately, nothing was out of place.
This submarine was as good to go as it was going to get.
“I’m all good in here,” I said once I was done. “You can drop me when you’re ready.”
“You got it, honey. Let’s get you in the water, run one final round of tests and start lowering you down.”
A short while later, I felt the submarine begin to move as the crane lifted it off the deck and lowered it into the water. The Tempura honestly resembled its namesake in a way, being long and cigar shaped, only vertically oriented instead of horizontally oriented. We’d admittedly taken more than a few design cues from James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenger. Why fix what isn’t broken, after all?
Once I was in the water, a 1000 pound releasable ballast weight would cause the submarine to sink. Releasing that weight was also my ticket back to the surface, and I could either trigger it from inside the cockpit, or, in the event that the release failed for any reason, it would trigger automatically after roughly 12 hours of exposure to salt water.
Ideally, this would be the first of a number of dives I’d be undertaking… and if all went according to plan, the Tempura could be the first of many similar submarines that would allow other researchers to safely and effectively descend to extreme depths. If all went well, this could be a massive leap forward for researchers like me, allowing us to better explore the deepest depths of the Hadal Zone and learn all we could about the ecosystems down there via direct observation.
If all went well.
If.
Through the viewport, I watched as I was lowered into the ocean. A few of the other crew members had donned diving gear to escort me down, and after they did their final checks and I did mine, we were fully ready to go.
“All’s green across the board,” I said into the radio. “You can start my descent.”
“I hear you, honey,” Sheila replied. “We’re letting you go. Have fun down there.”
“Yeah, I’ll try…” I said quietly as finally, my submarine began its descent.
I took a deep breath, and told myself again that everything would go fine. We had checked everything on this submarine. We’d tested it rigorously. I wouldn’t have allowed myself to set foot inside of it if I hadn’t personally assured that it was safe. But anxiety never really goes away, does it? The crew couldn’t accompany me far. After only a few meters, they fell behind me as I sank deeper and deeper into the infinite, empty blue of the ocean. Soon after, the tether was released.
I was officially on my own.
“60 feet,” I heard Sheila say over the radio. “How are you doing in there?”
“Good,” I replied. “Doing… doing good.”
The submarine continued to descend. Through the viewport, I could see a few stray fish, but nothing particularly eye catching. I almost felt alone down there… almost…
“120 feet…” Sheila said.
“Still doing good,” I replied.
The descent continued, as the waters slowly grew darker and darker.
“400 feet…”
Everything around me just kept getting darker and darker. Only a fraction of the light from the sun ever reached these depths… and I’d be lying if I said that darkness didn’t feel a little… oppressive.
“800 feet… still feeling good?”
“Yeah, still feeling good…” I said, although it was a bit of a lie. If anything, I was second guessing all of this, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud.
“1000 feet… still good?”
“Still good…” I murmured. “I hear you loud and clear.”
Deeper… deeper… deeper.
“1500 feet…”
Three miles. I was three miles away from home. Three miles away from Sheila.
“2000 feet…”
Still a ways to go.
“3000 feet…”
By this point, it was fully dark outside of my cockpit. Outside, all I could see was inky darkness. Even the submarine’s lights didn’t really cut through it. And the kicker? Relatively speaking, I wasn’t that deep. Fishing trawlers reached deeper than this. Better to conserve power until I was at the bottom. My descent continued.
“6000 feet… still good?”
“Still good…”
The check ins were becoming less frequent. My descent still continued… deeper… deeper… deeper. By now, I’d entered the Hadal Zone. But there was still so much deeper o go.
“8000 feet…”
This was past the depths that most whales would dive to… and I still had a ways to go.
“10,000 feet.”
This was close to where the ocean floor usually bottomed out… and yet there was still so much further to go. No. I was really only a third of the way there. How long had it been?Not much had happened beyond my descent and a few sightings out of my viewport, but time had been passing. A glance at my watch confirmed it’d been almost an hour since I’d started to sink… and I knew I wasn’t even close to the bottom yet. The submarine continued to descend, sinking ever deeper as I dropped into an infinite darkness that few had ever dared to witness.
“15,000 feet.”
This check in came later than the others. At this point, Sheila and the crew must have figured that no news was good news, and they were right. I just continued to sink peacefully, down into the crushing depths of the ocean.
These were the depths that one might normally find deep sea fish… and yet I was going somewhere even deeper than that.
“20,000 feet…”
So close…
I continued to sink.
“25,000 feet.”
Soon… and finally…
“30,000 feet. You still doing alright, honey?”
“Yeah… yeah, I’m doing good,” I assured her. I was so close…
By this point, my real work had begun. I’d engaged the lights and begun documenting what little I could see using the on board cameras. Granted, there wasn’t much life at these depths and what little there was, was scarcely documented. Most of what was down here consisted of invertebrates and microscopic life that seemed to float past my viewport.
The light seemed to draw a few creatures in search of food. Small, hardy things that resembled shrimp.
“How’s it looking, Grayson?”
“Dark,” I said, half joking. “We’ve got some life… shrimp. They’re translucent. Can’t get a great look at them… but we’ll see what the cameras pick up.”
“They’ve recognized you as a friend,” Sheila said. I could almost see the smile on her lips as she said it.
“Yeah…” I replied, “Tempura sent them a message, told them I’d be down. How am I looking on depth?”
“35,000 feet… you seeing a bottom yet?”
“No… not that I would until I was there.”
“Damn… how deep does this go?”
“It can’t go that deep…” I murmured, although I really wasn’t so sure about that.
The submarine continued to sink…
36,000 feet…
37,000 feet…
38,000 feet… and then finally, just past the 39,000 foot mark, I finally saw solid ground below me.
Looking through my viewport, I could see a familiar dark brown diatomaceous sludge, covering the seafloor. Microscopic life, likely similar to what had been observed in other deep sea trenches, such as the Challenger Deep.
I needed to gather a sample.
As my submarine reached the bottom, I extended the mechanical arms, pressed flat against the surface of the Tempura, and opened the collection port near the bottom of the ship. Slowly, I sifted some of the sludge into the port. My disturbance of the seafloor kicked up a cloud of the microbial colony, and I could’ve sworn I saw something wiggling through the debris. A pale, white thing, perhaps some sort of sea cucumber? I hastily angled my submarines camera to try and catch a glimpse of it, before returning to my collection. Even in this forlorn place, there was still so much to see! And here I was… completely forgetting my fear as the excitement took hold of me! Few people had ever been down to these unfathomable depths… and yet here I was.
It didn’t feel real but it was! I had reached the deepest part of the ocean!
“How’s it going down there?” I heard Sheila ask. Her voice was a little garbled. The connection down here was faltering.
“It’s beautiful…” I said. “I can’t wait for you to see it!”
“I’ll bet…”
“I’m going to do a sweep of the area, see what samples I can gather,” I said. “What’s my time right now?”
“Three hours. You’ve got nine before your connection to the weight deteriorates and you start to ascend.”
“I’ll make the most of it,” I said. The plan was only to stay down there for six hours, and I didn’t want to push that limit. Life support would only last me for so long, and one little error was all it would take for the ungodly pressure down here to crush me.
I began to move the submarine. Mobility was limited. This thing wasn’t built to travel far. But I still had some limited movement. I recorded all that I could, filming the shrimp that investigated my light, and the things that slithered and crawled through the muck, likely feeding on the carpet of single celled organisms that populated these depths.
The first two hours were… well… I hesitate to call them uneventful, they were actually very fascinating, but little of note happened beyond my recording of a few specimens.
Midway through the third hour though, as I was reaching one of the rock walls of the abyss, I noticed something just above the edge of my viewport swimming away from the light. I could’ve sworn I saw slender, pale tentacles of some sort. Was that a squid? Were there squid down this deep? I wasn’t aware of any species of known squid who could reach these depths… but in this unknown place, what use was the known?
I moved my light and my camera to try and catch another glimpse of it, but whatever it was, it seemed to be gone. Maybe I’d see another one. I still had plenty of time.
“You made a noise. What’d you see?” Sheila asked.
“Something big… I think,” I said.
“Down there? Like a fish?”
“Squid. You wouldn’t find any vertebrates down this deep… the pressure would crush their bones.”
“Jeez…”
I didn’t reply to that, still searching for the thing I’d seen. I shone my light up along the walls of the chasm and angled my camera up as far as it would go. I could see a few volcanic vents, spewing dark clouds into the darkness, and more diatoms. But not much else. Strange invertebrates crawled along the walls. Small creatures, no bigger than an inch long. Related to isopods, perhaps? If I could collect one as a sample, I would have… although taking any of those back to the surface would surely kill them. They were built to live under the impossible pressure of these depths. Taking them to the surface would rip them apart.
I went back to my research, and it wasn’t long until I saw something in the darkness, just on the edge of where my flashlight reached. Trailing white tendrils, snaking their way through the darkness. My eyes narrowed as I moved the submarine forward, trying to catch whatever it was in the light. I saw the shape move, its body turning… I saw its tendrils unfurling. Whatever this was, it was big. It was almost as big as The Tempura… although it was also slender. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought I was looking at some sort of floating debris, but this far down? No. And debris wouldn’t move like that.
This had to be a deepsea squid… or perhaps some other type of cephalopod? Something that preyed upon the various invertebrates down here, perhaps? It seemed to float, just out of sight for a bit, as I tried to get closer. I angled up my light to get a better look at it. The light seemed to shine through it, like some sort of ghost… but I did manage to get a look at it.
Although that look…
That single look made me freeze up.
This things slender tendrils certainly resembled a cephalopod of some sort, but the rest of it… the rest of it looked like something else entirely. Its body was thin, emaciated and translucent, yet despite that it still had characteristics that almost seemed… human. It wasn’t human! Not by any stretch of imagination, but the resemblance was there. It almost reminded me of an exhibit I’d seen in a museum once, depicting a preserved, fully removed human nervous system. I could see a similar shape in its translucent body. Its head seemed almost human as well… albeit with no eyes, and a lamprey like mouth I could only describe as fleshy yet crablike.
Still, despite having no eyes I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was looking at me. And that was when I felt something hit the submarine.
I felt a sudden jolt of panic in my chest. For a moment, I thought that the pressure had started to crush me, but no… no, everything was still fine. Something had just hit me. But what? It didn’t take long before I got my answer.
Another pale creature floated past my viewport, swirling gracefully in the cold dark waters. I watched it for a moment with wide eyes, before noticing its ‘head’ turning slightly toward me. Then, almost instantly, it launched itself at the submarine, darting toward me with blinding speed.
I heard a distinct THUD as its body collided with me, and I could see its pale tendrils pressing against the viewport, twisting and writhing violently. It was trying to attack me. The first creature that I’d seen lunged as well, pounding on my submarine with another THUD. And moments later, I could hear more impacts against the hull. There were more of them… and they did not like having me down there.
“What’s going on?” Sheila asked.
“Somebody doesn’t like me…” I said. “One of the animals down here… some kind of squid, it’s just started attacking the hull.”
“How bad is the damage?”
“Not sure… could be nothing, could be-”
I felt the submarine shake as I tried to move it. The thrusters that pushed me forward weren't responding. Had something gotten caught in it? One of the creatures perhaps?
“Grayson?!” Sheila asked.
“Lost propulsion…” I said. “Fuck… I can’t move.”
“Then drop the weight and come up!”
“No, it’s fine, there’s no other damage, I can still use the port and starboard thrusters to-”
“Grayson!”
I paused. There was genuine panic in her voice… enough to make me realize that even if these things stood little chance of actually breaching the hull, taking the risk would be a fatal mistake.
“I’m on my way up…” I finally said, before reaching out to disengage the ballast weights.
Immediately, I felt myself beginning to rise, although the tentacles clinging to my viewport didn’t disappear.
“We’ve got you…” Sheila said. “Rising up to 38,000 feet.”
The submarine continued to rise, but the creatures clinging to me went nowhere. In fact… I was sure I could see more of them. More pale shapes coming up through the darkness, and these ones filled me with dread. I thought I had been looking at some sort of eerie undiscovered life. But seeing what was coming up toward me now… I knew that I was looking at so much more. The creatures swimming up toward me through the darkness carried weapons… makeshift stone spears and daggers. Primitive tools… but tools all the same.
Signs that these were more than just undiscovered animals.
Much. Much more.
The word: ‘Mermaids’ crossed through my mind, but these were something far different than the ones I’d heard of in folklore. These looked like they’d swam out of the depths of hell itself. Boneless pale tendrils reached for me… and they were getting closer. The pale shapes reached my submarine as I rose higher. I kept praying to whatever God may be listening that the dropping pressure would force them off. The air in a submarine is pressurized, so during normal operation, there should have been no danger of decompression sickness for me.
For them… well… normally I’d feel a little guilty about subjecting an undiscovered species of deep sea mermaids to the horrors of the Bends. But given my circumstances, I didn’t have a lot of other options.
They didn’t let go, though.
They should have. But they didn’t.
What were these things?
I saw a splayed hand press against my viewport. Or… it somewhat resembled a hand. It had suckers on it, like a tentacle and the ‘fingers’ curled open like tentacles. The creature crawled over my viewport, clinging to The Tempura as it rose, and I could see the folds of its crablike mouth opening and pressing against the glass. I could see some sort of bile rising up through its translucent throat, before it secreted it all over my viewport. Was it trying to digest me? Was that how these things fed? How strong were its stomach acids? Were they strong enough to-
The window cracked.
My heart skipped a beat.
“No… no, no no…”
“Grayson, what’s wrong?!”
“They cracked the window… S-Sheila they… oh God… oh fuck, they just…”
“THEY DID WHAT?”
“It’s secreting some sort of enzyme… it’s on the window, it’s… FUCK… I’m gonna die… I’m gonna die… I’m gonna die…”
“You’re not gonna die, baby! Just… just keep ascending, okay? You’re at 30,000 feet… just keep going…”
I nodded, and kept on rising, although the question of whether or not the rest of the creatures were trying to digest the other parts of my submarine floated through my mind. How much damage could The Tempura take before it imploded? How much longer did I have? The submarine still continued to rise… 25,000 feet… almost halfway home… almost… almost.
The creature outside of my viewport slithered along the glass, searching for a better area to try and digest. Past him, I noticed a few of his companions dropping off. Maybe the change in pressure finally was getting to them?
From the corner of my eye, I suddenly noticed a flashing light. A warning. The hydraulics on one of the Tempura’s arms were shot… what else was damaged?
I checked my oxygen levels. 32%.
I should’ve had at least 14 hours of air. I’d only been down there for about 6 hours… I shouldn’t have been this low.
31%.
No… no, no, no, no… they’d damaged the air tanks!
30%.
29%
“20,000 feet!” Sheila said. “You still with me, baby?”
“Y-yeah…” I said. I didn’t mention my air situation. I didn’t need to worry her further.
The submarine continued its ascent.
15,000 feet.
24%. I was running out of time.
The creatures still clung to the Tempura. How had the pressure change not killed them yet? My oxygen was dropping faster than before. I was hemorrhaging air. Another crack formed across my viewport. I let out a little, involuntary gasp before trying to force myself to stop hyperventilating.
“Grayson, what was that?”
“I-it’s fine…” I stammered, “It’s fine!”
“Grayson what the hell is going on down there?!”
“They’re still on the submarine… they’re still…” I paused, looking at my oxygen levels. “19%...”
“19% of what? Grayson what’s going on!”
I paused.
18%.
“Air… I’m… I’m losing air…”
“That’s fine, you’re going to make it!” She said, although I heard her voice cracking a little. “You’re gonna make it!”
I didn’t answer.
12,000 feet.
11,000 feet…
My oxygen level continued to drop.
15%.
14%.
12%.
9,000 feet.
The creatures still clung to me, as the submarine continued to rise. The one on my viewport was still there, slowly crawling along the glass again. I stared into its eyeless face and swore I was looking at the face of my killer.
7,000 feet…
Oxygen had dropped to 9%. It dropped to 8% before I even got to 6,000 feet. I was going to die here…
The viewport cracked again and I squeezed my eyes shut. The submarine rocked. I was sure one of the thrusters had been damaged. My ascent slowed.
“Grayson, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry Sheila…”
Another crack spread across my viewport.
“I’m… I’m not making it back up…”
“YES YOU ARE!”
“I’m sorry…” The tears started to come as the reality of my death became clearer and clearer… this was it.
“YOU’RE COMING BACK UP, YOU HEAR ME! GODDAMNIT, I’LL BRING YOU BACK UP!”
“I love you…”
That creatures face pressed against the glass. It vomited more of its stomach acid onto the cracked glass, and I wondered if this might finally be what broke it. Part of me hoped it would be… the one good thing about dying this deep was that at least I’d die quickly. My suffering would be over. Then, the creature suddenly pulled back, twisting and writhing violently. I saw other shapes moving past it in the water, other ‘mermaids’ that had been clinging to the submarine.
Something was agitating them.
Something was scaring them off.
Then I heard it, over the radio… whale songs.
“What the hell…?”
“Grayson, are you still there?!”
“I… they’re finally breaking off. Sheila, what did you do?”
“I’m broadcasting some of the orca recordings we’ve been using. Are they still clinging to you?”
“No! They’re backing off! I… whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!”
The submarine kept rising.
5,000 feet.
4,000 feet.
4% oxygen.
I could still do this, right?
The submarine continued to rise.
3%.
3,000 feet.
2,000 feet.
2%.
1,000 feet… so close… I was so close…
I could almost see the surface through my viewport, rushing up toward me. I tried not to breathe. Tried not to move. All I did was hope.
500 feet.
I closed my eyes.
“Grayson we have your signal, we’re coming to pick you up!”
Sheila’s voice sounded so far away as my submarine finally breached the surface of the water… and with the last of my strength, I pulled the emergency release on the hatch, and threw it open, taking in lungful after lungful of fresh salty air.
I didn’t dare so much as touch the water beneath me… but I was topside again, and in the distance, I could see The Burger!
“We see you!” Sheila said, “We’ve got you baby… we’ve got you…”
“I see you too…” I said through the tears. “Thank you… thank you…” I didn’t have any words left in me after that.
As soon as I was back on the ship, I collapsed into Sheila’s arms, breaking down into tears as I clung to her, terrified that at any moment, some sort of unspoken other shoe would drop and I’d lose her all over again.
“Shh… it’s alright baby… I’ve got you… you’re safe… you’re safe…” I felt her fingers running through my air and I knew that what she said was true.
I was home.
I was safe.
***
I left my colleagues to review the data that the Tempura gathered during its short expedition. As far as I know, they haven’t published anything. I have a few ideas as to why, but I’ll keep those to myself. Let’s just say that some people would rather this information not become public.
I have a feeling that the Tempura may not be diving again for some time, if ever. I will confess that I do consider that a bit of a shame. Despite everything… I would consider it a success. It endured far more stressful conditions than I had expected, and from what I heard, required fewer repairs than I’d thought it would. But, even if it was approved for another dive, it wouldn’t be me piloting it. No. I will never be setting foot inside of that machine again, nor will I ever be returning to what my colleagues have been quietly referring to as ‘The Jenner Trench’.
I can’t.
Every night, I wake up crying after dreaming of pale shapes outside of my cracked viewport, clinging to Sheila and sobbing. I can’t put myself in that situation again.
I can’t.
Instead, I think I’m going to spend the next few years on solid ground. There’s a teaching position available at a local university. I think that might be the best place for me right now. Who knows, maybe I can help some other deadbeat discover a passion for marine biology.
After everything, my love for the sea remains unchanged… I’m just a little more wary of it, these days.

Had to repost since it apparently didnt save the Shiny part!!!
Will take time to get cloned since I cant clone and people are busy
What I have to offer:

• Magearna
  
• Original Color Magearna
  
• Zarude
  
• Dada Zarude
  
• PoGo Shiny Mew
  
• VictyLusi RNNGd Shiny Mew
  
• Platinum Flower Paradise Shiny Shaymin
  
• PLA Shaymin
  
• PLA Darkrai
  
• Platinum RNGd Shiny Darkrai
  
• Pokemon Ranger Shiny Manaphy
  
• Bulleye Shiny Eevee
  
• Bullsye Shiny Pikachu
  
• Legends2018 Shiny Zygarde
  
• Secret Club Shiny Necrozma
  
• Eclipse Shiny Solgaleo
  
• Eclipse Shiny Lunala
  
• PGL Shiny Tapus(All 4)
  
• Melelmele Shiny Tapu Koko
  
• Shiny Meltan
  
• Shiny Melmetal
  
• RNGd Birth Island Shiny Deoxys
  
• VGC Korean Flutter Mane(Not Cloned)
  
• Ultra Shiny Shiny Poipole
  
• Aether Shiny Silvally
  
• All 3 Shiny Galarian Birds
  
• Mr. Donut Chansey
  
• KOR Pokemon and the jewel of life Shiny Pichu
  
• Any Shiny Mythical legally available
  
• All regular mythicals available
  
• And much more
  

Dont ask if I have a mythical. If you read, it says I have them all

Only interested in english

Just a heads up. I may not be adding to this for about a week. Seems I have a medical issue my doctor thinks requires hospitalization, even though I've had this issue for the last 30 years. I guess when a person no longer has an immune system a measly sinus infection the medical industrial complex ignored for that same amount of time suddenly becomes an issue if it kills you before they can squeeze the last of your savings out of you. ~ECM
******************** Chapter Six: We shall dig deep!
As much as I want to create new spawners and scions, after some reflection I decide that I need to take my current cave, and try and turn it into a deep cave complex. I'll also need to move my Core deeper into the complex to make it harder to find. That means at least one expansion into the hill and several more to go deeper under the hill. I figure that I'll run into new invaders, and possibly new spawners, so before I do that, I need more mana. A lot more mana. That means I need to upgrade my core again. Right now it's gone from BB size, to large marble size. I think another upgrade might make it as large as a kiwi fruit. None of those size concepts mean anything to me. I just somehow know what the size means in comparison to whatever those things are. But that's a mystery for idle time, and I don't have any idle time.
Another owl spawns and takes up it's place on a branch of the old Oak. And it seems the bats have, for the time being, decided they want to avoid the area rather than die fighting in it. That makes me happy. I know my minions re spawn, but it's still emotionally painful to feel them die. Maybe I'll get used to it but that thought just feels wrong to me. One should never get used to someone dieing for you. I'm a dungeon. I should be trying to protect them all, instead of them protecting me.
As morning nears I finally have enough mana to upgrade my core one more time. After that I'll be nearly drained of mana for most of the day unless I get another invasion force come in. So that's what I do. I concentrate on my core, and choose upgrade, and the ambient mana flow triples. My mana capacity however, has quadrupled. That makes no sense to me, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. What's a gift horse? I... it fades away. Damnit! I hate that. It's just not fair to have all these sayings and have no idea how I know them, or why they fade away behind that damn wall of mystery.
Growling to myself I decide to ignore them from now on. I need mana to expand. And my minions are providing it to me slowly, just as the ambient mana flowing into me is as well. It will take some time, but I WILL expand. And, hours later, that is just what I do. I expand deeper into the hill, and as I do this, the wall to my right crumbles, and opens into another cave. I look for invaders but see none. I look for a spawner and... Well ok, that is definitely a spawner. It seems I have slimes now. And they spawn once every... 10 minutes for a basic slime. Ok a little different than the other spawners. So if I have slimes, where is the invaders it counters?
I soon realize that my new cave is actually two caves, separated by a narrow passage from the slime cave into a deeper cave, and sure enough, there is my invader... I think? It's... some kind of small pile of pebbles? OH! It's an Earth elemental! But why isn't it moving? It's just sitting there. That's fine for now. I glance over at the slime spawner after watching the pebble pile for a bit, and a garden variety, clear jelly like slime, oozes out of the spawner. Only level 1 but hey, it's a slime, right?
I notice my slime has started to ooze it's way to the other cave. I think it can sense the pile of pebbles and is going to try to attack it. It takes my slime a while to get into the second cave. They don't move very fast I guess. But as soon as the pile of pebbles senses it, it tries to flee. Honestly, it's kinda cute when moving. I looks just like pebbles rolling down a stream bed. Unfortunately, for it, it doesn't manage to move more than a foot before a psuedopod shoots out from my slime, and lands on top of the pebbles. My slime then oozes itself through the psuedopod (ewwww), and is now totally engulfing the pebbles. I don't really see how it's going to end the pebbles until I see a secretion surrounding the pebbles and they start to dissolve very slowly. It takes about 25 minutes before I get the mana notification, so I guess it's dead. But where is the spawner for it? I look, but it doesn't show up? Ok so maybe some creatures can't be turned into a spawner maybe? Right as I said that to myself I get a notification [SPAWNER GAINED: ROCK SLIDE].
Why did it take so long to show up? Glancing to my slime, I suddenly realize why. My slime had to finish eating it first, not just killing it. I speculate that perhaps because it was digesting the Rock Slide, that it had to finish doing so before the spawner became available? Ok whatever. I have three caves now. My entrance, the slime cave, and the rock slide cave. I still wanted to expand deeper into the hill, but that would have to wait. I was low on mana. Time to keep reading the HUD's menu while my minions do their thing I guess.
First / Previous / Next

I've been rewatching season 5 recently and have been wondering what happened after dystopia. Here are some on my HCs:

• Henry found Kyle (from the Rumblr ep) in Dystopia and made friend again. They are now gym buddies.

-Piper visits Dystopia as often as she can she says its to see Charlotte but she secretly misses her brother.
-Charlotte earns a doctorate on the side of crime fighting and braiding hair. She also great working with kids.
-Jasper realises he's bi and finds love.

• Henry's parents get a divorce (as I rematch I realise how obvious it was that his mum is cheating)
  
• Henry often goes undercover in gangs, often ends up hurt and has to call Charlotte. Their Utility room is also a medical room.
  

-When they visit swellview for the holidays Henry picks up work being a bouncer or bartender and sees Chopa and bose out at club. (He doesn't send them home but he motherhens them about underage drinking and doing stupid stuff)
What are your HCs for them?

could it considered some form of cheating or something what I'm about to tell you because this is really how I feel. Like l've been betrayed or cheated on. my boyfriend's girl best friend was texting him saying that I am a whore and to break up with me and to leave me immediately and he kept it a secret from me for multiple months. During those months, I had told him about how I was hearing from everybody that she was really crazy over him and how she really liked him. I told him multiple times, but he brushed me off told me it wasn't true and just ignore it. I then found out from him that he knew she liked him in his past relationship and even had talked to her about it. he was texting her really weirdly during the day asking how her day was with a bunch of "!!!" And calling her weird names and he never did that to me and then told me two months after it happened, I feel like I'm going crazy.

Some people say all they need is the non-secret acct & routing numbers. But I've read that individuals can't do this, it needs to be an entity vetted by a bank to initiate an ACH. It seems like the target's bank, Chase in this case, has no security at all, the system is set up that they trust the party initiating the ACH implicitly. Amazingly, even though I caught this nearly immediately and it had not cleared, they were not able to stop the funds from being delivered!
There were no micro-deposits, it doesn't appear the account was actually hacked. There were 3 transactions probably simultaneously to 3 different banks.
CARDMEMBER SERV ELECT PYMT PPD ID: 5911111111
Credit One Bank Payment 15182048 TEL ID: TEL000004
MERRICK BANK PHONE PMT PPD ID: 00002
Credit One Bank has a rating of 1.2 of 5 out of 750 Amazon reviews! Clearly its pretty sketchy. I'm assuming these guys got their merchant approvals, and bought a pile of acct & routing numbers on the darkweb before doing them all in one day. If they got $12k from my mom, they probably netted millions.
Even if my mother suffering from dementia had given the acct & routing numbers to a phone scammer, they should not have been able to just do this, right? She could not have given them logins, she doesn't know them. Honestly I'd be surprised if she could give them the acct & routing numbers. In any case she no longer possesses any cards or checks, I have them. Don't even get me started on the phone scammers, I've had to buy an Ooma VOIP to be able to whitelist her calls to only contacts.
The acct number has been changed, Chase says she will be refunded eventually. But this is hella disturbing. How can I prevent it if I don't know how it was done? Not to mention that even if she is made whole, basically all banking consumers ultimately pay for this fraud, the banks bottom line never suffers from their sloppiness in leaving customers vulnerable!

We are doing a campaign where we secret Santa make a character for one of our group members (just picking race/class, giving name suggestions and picking their flaw)
I want to do something that will affect (slightly) the way he plays his character but not in a way that will be boring or awfully difficult and I was thinking of having my person play a Druid (specifically a spore Druid) and their flaw be that they have severe seasonal allergies. I thought that maybe he could make a con save or something that would very slightly affect his abilities but I want to hear ideas on how else you think it could be role played. That and if it’s a horrible idea 😅 TIA!

This story is based on ALLEGEDLY true events. It is inspired by a line in G-Eazy’s “Maximum”, where he claims her heard supermodel Adriana Lima fart and it was apparently so stinky he had to cover his nose and walk away. The events I describe in the story will be my own interpretation of what could’ve happened during this strange encounter between two celebs
It had been a long recording night in the studio for award winning rapper G-Eazy. The “You Don’t Own Me” musician spent much of his day working on the follow up album to his debut release which catapulted him to stardom. After sleeping overnight at Westlake Recording Studios in WeHo, G-Eazy gets a call from his agent to remind him that he’s scheduled to make a talk show appearance for NBC’s pop culture news staple “Extra”. Totally forgetting about this engagement, a restless G-Eazy pulls himself up from the couch and stumbles out the door as he heads out to the black Escalade awaiting to take him home. Once G-Eazy arrives back to his Los Angeles residence, he showers, changes clothes and takes a few calls from his team so they can go over what will be talked about during his Extra Interview
Later, G-Eazy hops back in the black Escalade which takes him to NBC studios where Extra is currently taping its latest episode. G-Eazy is met at the studio by his agent along with the rest of his team. They are all greeted by the show’s producer who takes them to the main dressing room. It is there where G-Eazy receives his hair and makeup and also gets to watch his crush Adriana Lima sit down with Extra for her own exclusive interview. G-Eazy has always been fond of the Brazilian supermodel and had no idea she was going to be a guest on the show. Not only does G-Eazy find Adriana incredibly attractive, he is aware that she is knewly single thus he immediately comes up with a plan to “shoot his shot”. The greaser-looking rapper figured rather than wait until call time to go out on set and perhaps run into Adriana after his interview, it was perhaps a better idea to leave his dressing room ahead of time and try to catch the Victoria Secret beauty on her way out. For the time being, he sat in his chair, studying Adriana’s body language, keeping his eyes glued to the movement of her mouth as she uttered soft spoken words under her thick, gorgeous accent. He stared her up and down and up and down, analyzing her every move, taking in her presence through the screen. The longer he watched, the more apparent it became, he HAD to have this woman
As the day longs, G-Eazy becomes a bit unsure of his master plan. Hair and makeup has been taking much longer than he had anticipated and Adriana’s interview was beginning to wrap up. He begins eyeing around the room, attempting to come up with a quick getaway as he fidgets in his seat. Finally, the words spill out and he tells the styling people that he has to go to the bathroom. Without even waiting for a response, G-Eazy jumps out of his chair and fast walks out of the door. Completely unsure of where Adriana would even be coming from once her interview had concluded, he runs around the lot in hopes of running into a 5’11, brown skinned model in long, white silk dress good enough to be worn at an overseas film festival. After aimlessly wandering around the lot, G-Eazy finds himself approaching the entrance to the soundstage where the interviews are conducted. He spots two of the hosts sitting as they get their makeup retouched. He then looks to his left…and there she is. Adriana is standing with a few other important looking folks, smiling and giggling in what seems to be a conversation being had between everyone. G-Eazy walks back toward the hall, only to stop halfway, he decides to stay there and “look busy” as he waits for Adriana to approach the walkway.
Sure enough, the Brazilian stunner begins making her way toward the entrance and she starts walking up the hall. She is joined by two other people, perhaps her agent and assistant. G-East looks up from his phone and commences his long awaited plan. He walks up and blocks Adriana from brushing past him. It’s then that he politely asks for a pic with the model and he is genuinely surprised when she recognizes the “No Limit” rapper and tells him how big of a fan she is. The pair go off to the side and take a few pics. Now for the good part. G-Eazy turns on the and sends a few flirtatious comments Adriana’s way to which she is obviously flattered and even blushes quite noticeably. As G-Eazy begins to put another move on the supermodel, he hears an odd sound. FFFFFRRRRR He initially suspects he just received a text as he whips out his phone yet there’s no new notifications that pop up on his screen. He looks around as he continues talking but his sentence is cut off when he gets a whiff of the foulest odor. G-Easy stops and looks up at Adriana who’s standing a mere two-three feet away from him. She looks off to the side as she plays with her hair. She says something but between her accent and the nasty stench floating in the air, G-Eazy has no comprehension of what she even uttered. The space between the two stars grows pungent, it’s as if a giant piece of dog turd fell from the sky and landed right between their feet. At that moment, all G-Eazy can say is that it was nice meeting the stunning Amazon and he awkwardly walks away, hearing Adriana’s faint “it was nice to meet you as well” only as he turns his back and covers his nose with his shirt. Somehow the stench is potent enough to start following him so he begins speed walking back to his dressing room