Cool, calm, & collected. Looking for a girl that enjoys being a slut in private. Be a good girl around your friends and in public but when you are with me let out your nasty side.
Looking to meet a few times a month. Smoke some weed, drink, and use you. I plan to please you and be pleased by you. Need the type of gal that enjoys sucking some dick, being ate out over and over again, having me hit it from the back or fuck your face with your head hanging off the bed. Hoping to find a gal that doesn't mind having that ass fucked, possibly coming over to a poker night and letting me slut you out to a few of my friends, or showing you off and tag teaming you, perhaps even dominate you with another woman. I like a freak. Clean, std free. Spitters are quitters, I like having a tight pussy drain my balls, and I know you will look real pretty with my cum running down your chin and all over your face
Here for a good time. Not a long time. 180cm tall, 85kg, good looking, dark complexion. Have my MBA and work a blue collar job. I drive, can host or come to you. Looking for the type of gal I can vibe with, be smoking a J and then have you get on your knees and blow me or me spread you out and taste you, fuck all over the place, and have nasty fun with no judgements. Bonus if you enjoy dirty talk, a good spanking, and having toys used on you along with a bit of praise and humiliation.
Dm me if you are down to meet, open to any age / race. I am located in the west end of the GTA. Please be local or within an hour driving distance.

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

Mostly doing Uni work ( software development and machine learning stuff ) while playing games on the side, such as valorant, fifa, genshin etc at 1440p. Planning to keep this build for a while, so a decent upgrade path for the parts would be nice ( able to upgrade like the cpu and gpu in the future)

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

£800 can go up to £1000, but would prefer to stay around the 800 mark

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

as soon as possible

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

None needed.

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

UK

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

Currently have a 1440p monitor and peripherals and a 2TB hardrive.

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

No

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

Nothing specific.

What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.

I have ethernet available, but wouldn't mind adding wifi for added future-proofing

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

Colour scheme - white case preferred. Don't really care about LED lights.

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

No.

Extra info or particulars:

Hello,
I am a 44 year old single man, fairly fit, educated, a good career I am proud of, and for the most part happy with life. I’m a native New Yorker that has my own place and feel pretty well rounded. I’m looking for a real, ongoing connection in some way.
I’ve had some experience at being dominant in the bedroom in the past, but I’m more interested and experienced with submission for the past few years. Im posting to focus on my submission with a woman who is primarily dominant (maybe switchy, but definitely not required)
I’m a pretty balanced guy, I like to go out with friends, explore the city, have drinks on occasion, check out museums, bands, some intellectual pursuits, I love biking, soccer, rock climbing. I consider myself balanced and emotionally stable. I also feel like I have a good amount of skills and services to offer, I have a background in film, philosophy, public health, and teaching. I like to cook, and especially bake healthy treats, and enjoy communication and conversation.
I have a strong history of submitting over the years and would like to connect to that side of myself more and more. I’m open to connecting with either someone experienced or someone who is new and curious. What I mean to say is that I am open to exploring this gently with a newbie a few times a month, or going in more deeply to somewhat full time. Ultimately I would want to have a nice ongoing kinky connection, whether it’s play partners or something more serious.
I had a bad experience on reddit in the past and for that reason I prefer to start a little slow and casual, and build up and blossom as we connect more over time. This means not jumping into something full time, but feeling things out and see how that goes.
Some connection is important to me, not looking to get too vulnerable with someone when trust isn’t easily established. Typically I like to establish a connection vanilla and non-vanilla, meet, and then decide how we would like to proceed. STI checks and Covid checks if it gets there with any fluid exchange.
I don’t want to be like others and give a long laundry list of my kink interests as though I’m seeking a kink dispenser, but I do enjoy bondage, CBT, being biologically controlled via orgasms, and being pushed past comfort zones. Lately, I would like to explore things that are shameful, in terms of gender constructs and expectations. Or along the lines of being made to feel small, inadequate, or highlighting how weak I am due to sexual desires
I know this is long, but I hope someone reads it and feels a connection with it. I’m open to starting a conversation and just see where it leads.
If possible, please include age and location in your message just to weed out all the spam!
thank you very much

Deep in space, there was a planet named Cavrys. It was a smaller than average planet that was dusty and dry. The dominant species of this planet called themselves Infernants. Unlike most Dominant species of their respective planets, they cultivated their homes from below the surface, and created thousands of tunnels and caverns.
In one of these small pocketed caverns were two Infernants. Xylon sat on a weathered stone bench, her elbows resting on her knees and her fingers were interlaced. She stared intensely at the ground. Standing a few feet away from her was Nata with his arms crossed. Both of them were Infernants, and as the name suggests, they had the appearance of humanoid ants.
“I grow tired of these games, Nata,” Xylon said, breaking the silence.
Nata was her longtime mentor and trainer. Xylon’s patience was being pushed further with every one of these matches she was forced to participate in. He let out a heavy sigh. “I know, Princess Xylon. I don’t like this any more than you do, but this is how it must be. Queen Vissma won’t approve of your mission until you prove yourself.”
Xylon clenched her hands tightly together, her anger slowly reaching a boiling point. “Have I not proved myself capable of handling this yet? I have been training my whole life for this.”
“Queen Vissma has her reasons for doing what she is doing. It doesn’t matter what we think, our only job is to convince her that you’re ready,” Nata said, his tone firm but empathetic.
The two antennas on top of Xylon’s head began to twitch violently. “Sometimes I question if my mother wants to avenge my father as much as I do.”
An intense silence circulated in the atmosphere. Nata thought carefully how he would present his next words. “Your father was an outsider. He brought technology we wouldn’t have created in hundreds of years. You are the culmination of all the achievements he and our people were able to achieve together. Never forget, you are unlike any other Infernant on this planet, Princess Xylon.”
“You sound just like my mother.” There was a hint of agitation in Xylon’s tone.
“Forgive me, that was not my intention.”
Xylon found herself lost in thought, contemplating the outcome of her upcoming match. She knew that winning might prove her worth to her mother, but participating in these matches became mundane and tedious. She also couldn’t clear what Nata had said from her mind. As princess, the colony expected a lot from her. She knew that neglecting her duties as princess was not right, but she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she couldn’t pursue her own personal goal.
“Come on, Princess Xylon,” Nata said, interrupting her thoughts. “Your match is about to begin.”
Xylon nodded in agreement, eager to get the task over with. She stood up from the bench and made her way toward one of the exits in the small cavern. Two slabs of stone blocked the exit, Xylon pushed them open, revealing the darkened tunnel in front of her. As she stepped into the narrowed pathway, she quickened her pace, eager to reach the end of the dark and oppressive tunnel.
Most caverns and tunnels had artificial dimly lit lights attached to the walls, but not this one. Her only source of light was the small sliver of it which resided at the end of the tunnel. The faint sound of murmuring voices in the distance barely registered with Xylon, as she focused solely on reaching her destination. She had no interest in the gathering beyond the door, but rather the approval of her mother to avenge her father.
With each step, Xylon's impatience grew, and the voices became increasingly loud and obtrusive. The warmth radiating from the gathering only served to increase her discomfort and desire to be done with this task. Just like the other end of the tunnel, this one also had two giant slabs of rocks. Without a second to waste, Xylon quickly cleared the slabs from her path.
Finally, she stepped into a cavern significantly larger than the one she was previously in, her expression remained eager and determined. She had no interest in putting on a false smile to entertain the audience.
Xylon strode confidently into the coliseum. The crowd met her with an overwhelming applause. She glanced through the audience until she spotted her mother. She sat at the highest point in the coliseum, completely separated from the commoners of the colony. The look in her mothers face was unreadable, but Xylon knew she was going to be paying close attention as always.
Her mother, and everyone in the coliseum had an exoskeleton that varied in shades of oranges and reds. Some Infernats were colored a light orange, like Nata. While others had an exoskeleton that was a deep red, similar to the color of freshly spilled blood. There were many others who had a color that sat somewhere in between. The rough, bumpy texture to their bodies and different shades in their exoskeletons made each and every one of them unique.
The only infernant who did not abide by the shades of oranges and reds was Xylon. Unlike everyone else, her exoskeleton was the color of charcoal. The existence of an infernant who had such a stark color had never been heard of. It was a constant reminder of the vast achievements the Infernants made with the aid of her father.
The announcer's voice boomed over the loudspeakers the instant he laid his eyes on her. “Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Children of all ages! The undefeated Princess Xylon is here once again to showcase another spectacular performance!” The coliseum went into a chaotic frenzy.
Xylon could feel the energy of the crowd pulsing around her. The magic of the crowd which once excited her now fell onto deaf ears. Participating in numerous tournaments had numbed her, only her singular objective was pushing her forward at this point.
“My oh my, just look at that determined look on Princes Xylon’s face. I’d feel bad for her opponent if this was one of her past opponents. But Princess Xylon has just entered a new bracket of power. How will she fare against one of the soldier’s picked by Queen Vissma herself!” The announcer said.
There was a slight trembling beneath Xylon’s feet, she couldn’t tell if it was because of the berserking crowd or the approaching of her opponent. Her eyes became fixated on the two stone slabs on the other side of the arena. The trembling grew more intense with each passing second. “Oh, and speak of the devil.” The roar of the crowd reached a fever pitch as her opponent entered the coliseum. “Here he is! It’s General Striil, and he’s truly as big as they say. Will he be too much for Princess Xylon?”
Xylon remained unphased as Striil drew closer. He towered over her with his massive size. The princess was undaunted, her eyes blazing with determination. “It is an honor to meet you, Princess Xylon. However, I wish we would have met under different circumstances.” Striil spoke with a deep and commanding voice.
“I feel the same, General Striil. Just because I am the princess does not mean you should hold back.”
Striil nodded. “As you wish. I would like to see how well your mentor has trained you.”
The two combatants took several steps away from each other as they waited for the announcer to give the signal. The roars which echoed throughout the coliseum came to a sudden end. Silence and anticipation filled the room. Xylon analyzed Striil, as Striil analyzed Xylon. It only took seconds for the announcer to declare them to begin, but it felt like hours to the audience.
Xylon wasted no time to launch into action, closing the distance between her and Striil in a flash. With her fist winded back, she aimed a punch straight at Striil's hardened abdomen. Her strike landed with a satisfying thud, causing Striil to flinch, but he sustained no actual damage.
Striil retaliated quickly, his oversized hand snatched Xylon's wrist. He pulled her from the ground as if she were a stubborn weed. With a sudden burst of energy, Xylon twisted her body and swung her leg, aiming a swift kick at Striil’s temple. The blow landed with more force than her previous attack, causing Striil to loosen his grip on her wrist.
Striil stumbled back a few steps, his head aching from the force of Xylon's kick. He shook his head to clear his vision, then narrowed his eyes at Xylon, who was already moving faster than the eye could track to take advantage of the situation.
With lightning-fast reflexes, Xylon darted in and landed a series of quick jabs at Striil’s midsection, her fists looked like a blur as she pummeled him with all her might. The individual punches did not inflict enough damage on their own to put down Striil. However, Xylon’s rapid strikes were being thrown at such an incredible speed that the series of blows were racking up significant damage.
Striil could no longer conceal the winces on his face caused from the onslaught of punches. Xylon let out a ferocious roar as she landed one final blow.
Striil remained paralyzed after it was over. His legs trembled and his abdomen was no longer able to support his upper body. He placed one hand over his abdomen as he dropped to one knee. “E-excellent… Princess Xylon. I am no match for you.” Striil raised his hand into the air and gently waved it.
“Do my eyes deceive me? It all happened so fast that I can’t believe it’s already over. Not even General Striil could end Princess Xylon’s undefeated record!”
The crowd exploded into an ear erupting roar. Xylon could care less for the praise she was being showered in. She glared down at Striil as her body shifted to a relaxed posture. “You did well, General Striil. I hope you will continue to lead our army once I become queen.”
She quickly scanned the booth her mother was in. It was already vacant, not even her guards remained. Her mother usually wastes no time in lingering any longer than she has to, but she had never disappeared this quickly before. This was enough to convince Xylon that her mother still believes she is not ready.
Xylon turned her back on Striil. She left the arena without acknowledging the audience. She stormed back into the small cavern, completely fed up with everything she had to endure. “It seems like everything went well, perhaps Queen Vissma will finally approve,” Nata said.
“Easy for you to say. She vanished before I could see her,” Xylon said.
Nata tried to remain optimistic, unlike Xylon. “It’s too soon to jump to conclusions, after all, General Striil is one of the greatest soldiers our colony has to offer. Let’s just wait until we hear Queen Vissma’s verdict tomorrow.”
Xylon sighed and scratched the back of her head as her eyes drifted elsewhere. “I hope you’re right, I’m gonna try to get some rest.”
Nata saw through Xylon’s calm facade and saw the anxiety that was brewing from beneath the surface. “Understood. I will be here for you whenever you need me, Princess Xylon.”
Nata appreciated what Nata said, but the truth was she wanted to be alone at the moment. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.”
Xylon approached the other exit in the small cavern. It was another tunnel, this one wasn’t as long and was softly lit with artificial lights. As she stepped out from the tunnel, she was exposed to the enormous capital of the planet that was located in the largest cavern Cavrys had to offer.
The city was as live as ever, full of highways and Infernats who were either hard at work or tending to other recreational activities. It was nearly impossible for any normal person to go anywhere without being spotted, but Xylon had dedicated so much time to her training that getting from one destination to another without anyone seeing her was easy.
As she drew closer to her destination, the amount of people grew fewer and fewer. Eventually, she reached a place where practically nobody was present. There was a large sign placed in front of her destination. It read: ‘Tomb of the Kings and Queens.’
It may have sounded morbid, but this was the only place where Xylon found comfort. Everywhere else she would be bombarded by someone. Either it be Nata, her mother, or one of her subordinates, someone would address some issue that is occurring in the colony. Xylon understands that is to be expected because she is princess, and she would be more than happy to do what she could once she becomes queen, but as princess she still had some of her freedom. She wants to use her limited time of freedom as princess to avenge her father.
Xylon made her way through the cemetery as if she knew exactly where she was heading. She stopped in front of a particular tombstone and sat down, staring at the inscription. ‘The King from the outside world who helped propel our colony's technological achievements.’ Xylon closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her thoughts drift to the memories of her father.
“I won again, father, but I still don’t think mother will let me leave.” She let out a long and exhausted sigh. “This is so pointless. I don’t know why my mother brought back the outdated coliseum. She knows I can take anyone she throws at me. I’m starting to think that this is going nowhere.”
Try as hard as she might to fight her emotions, staring at her fathers tombstone made her choke on her words. “Father,” her voice was shaky and her eyes grew glossy. “I miss you so much.”
Xylon’s heart raced once she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. She quickly wiped her eyes and sprung to her feet. Her guard immediately went up, ready to attack anyone who dares threaten her.
Three figures slowly approached her. The graveyard was darker than most areas in the city, but she quickly distinguished the one in the middle as her mother. She recognized that fiery orange exoskeleton that pierced through the darkness better than anyone else ever could.
Two guards cladded in armor from head to toe remained steadfast behind her. Xylon concealed her emotions as she faced her mother.
“Xylon,” Queen Vissma said in a stern voice, “I had a feeling you would be here.”
“One of us should be visiting him,” Xylon phrased it ruder than she intended, “ I can’t forget about him so easily, unlike some people.” Xylon could see the pain and sadness etched into her mother's eyes. For a moment, Xylon regretted the harshness of her words.
The cold gaze of Queen Vissma softened slightly as she took in her daughter's words. Xylon knew that her mother understood the pain that she was feeling, but she couldn't help but feel angry at the lack of action.
“I understand why you continue to come here. He meant a lot to all of us,” Queen Vissma said.
“I’d like to believe that,” Xylon crossed her arms. “If he really meant that much to you then you wouldn’t be letting his murderer get away with what he had done for as long as he has.”
“Xylon, please, let’s not bicker right now,” Queen Vissma pleaded, there was a hint of sorrow in her voice.
“I know you want answers, Xylon. And I assure you, we are doing everything in our power.”
“Everything in your power?” Xylon scoffed. “It’s been years and still nothing. We know who killed him, yet you still refuse to do anything about it.”
“I know, my daughter,” Queen Vissma’s voice was breaking. She placed her hand over her eyes, trying to contain her emotions. The anger within Xylon diminished as she never saw her mother show any emotion since the death of her father. “Has it ever occurred to you that not a single day has gone by where I don’t think of him? Reminiscing of the time in my life where I have never been happier than I was with him?”
Guilt overwhelmed Xylon as she watched her mother sob in front of her. “I’m sorry, mother, it’s just been so hard for me since he died. You always seemed to brush off what happened to him, so I thought you didn’t care as much as I did.”
Xylon took a step forward, and the guards tensed up, their hands instinctively going to their swords. But Queen Vissma waved them off, a sign of the trust she had in her daughter. “But, mother, please let me do this. We can’t let this go on any longer.”
Queen Vissma wiped the tears from her face. “You must understand that I am the Queen. As the Queen, It is my duty to ensure the continuation of our colony. It is not as simple as you think.”
“I know you know a lot more than I do, mother, but what I know is that he must pay.”
Xylon saw the look in her mother’s eyes, a look that she recognized all too well. It was the look of someone who was hiding something, something that was causing them great pain. “Xylon, he is a very powerful man. If we do anything to agitate him and his affiliates then it is possible it may lead to the destruction of our colony.”
This was new information to Xylon as there were only two things Xylon knew about her fathers murderer. The first was that he was an alien, like her father, she’ll never forget his appearance. She only saw him one time, but one time was all she needed to never forget his face. He did not possess an exoskeleton like Infernants, he had fleshy pale skin. An abundance of charcoaled color hair was located atop his head.
As she reflected on this newfound knowledge her mother gave her, she slowly came to a realization. Her mothers words played on repeat in her mind, she became more agitated the more she realized her mother sent her on a fool's errand. “If what you say is true, then why did you promise me you’ll let me get revenge if I can prove myself in the coliseum?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her mother, searching for an answer.
Queen Vissma darted her eyes towards the ground. Shame was written across her face as she struggled to find the words to reply with. “Don’t tell me you never intended to honor our promise. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve toiled these last seven years honing my skills?” Xylon said.
Queen Vissma took a deep breath to clear her mind. “I realize it was wrong of me to deceive you, but I too want nothing more than for him to pay for his actions. I knew ever since you were a child you possessed the talent of a warrior. So when you told me on that day you want revenge, I believed it may be possible. I was in the heat of the moment. That is why I orchestrated the return of the coliseum and its tournaments. I believed you after a few defeats, you would give up on vengeance, but you wouldn’t stop winning.”
Queen Vissma anxiously waited for her daught to respond, afraid of what she would say. “I wish you would’ve told me the truth sooner…” Xylon said as she lowered her head in embarrassment. Never before had she felt like a bigger fool than she did in this moment. It frustrates her.
Queen Vissma leaned closer as she placed her hand on Xylon’s shoulder. “I know, and I’m sorry. But that is why I’m telling you this now. I want you to stop with this nonsense and start acting more like a princess. You are the colony's future, and I will no longer standby and let you destroy everything your father, I, and our ancestors worked so hard for.”
Xylon kept her head low without uttering a word. Queen Vissma needed acknowledgment that Xylon will do as she says. “Do you understand? I am not asking you as your mother. I am ordering you as your Queen.” Xylon could tell this was a sad attempt from her mother to assert her dominance.
Xylon’s antennas twitched. Her eyes remained fixated on the ground. “Yes, mother,” There was reluctance in her voice. “I understand.”
“Good,” Queen Vissma said. “Now, let us put this behind us. You have much to learn before you become queen.”
Xylon nodded, still feeling the weight of her mother’s words. She knew that she had to obey her mother, but her desire for vengeance for her father still burned from within.
“You’re right, mother,” Xylon said, her voice stronger than before. Matter had to be taken into her own hands. She had duties to fulfill as princess, but she still viewed herself as a warrior. Unlike her mother who was plagued with fear, Xylon was not. She was going to use her royal status to protect the colony and get her revenge. “I’ll do my best to learn everything I can.”
Queen Vissma smiled, pleased with Xylon’s response. She reeled Xylon in for a long and affectionate hug. “By the way, congratulations on your match. I will let you be, but I am glad we were able to resolve this.”
Queen Vissma softly pulled away from Xylon. “Thanks, and me too. I’ll see you later.”
Xylon watched as Queen Vissma turned and walked away, her guards following closely behind her. Once her mother was out of sight, Xylon let out a deep sigh and turned her attention back to her father's grave.
"I won't give up on you so easily, father," she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I promise.”
She dove her hand into her pocket and reeled out a communication device. With a touch of a button, the device emitted a ringing tone. Several seconds later, a voice over the device was heard. “Princess Xylon,” it was Nata, “is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Xylon said, “but there has been a change of plans.”
Images of that man flashed in her mind, she gripped her communicational device as she thought of him. The first of the two things she knew about this man before gaining new knowledge was that he was an alien. She thought of the second thing she knew as the words came out of her mouth.
“You’re going to help me kill my uncle.”

The results are in for Match 5. The winner is…
Electra wanted to scream.
She’d seen it. Nadine’s face, exhausted and resolved. A dull and empty, hopeless resolve. Electra was still fighting, knew that she’d got Nadine to really, truly take it seriously. Just a month or two ago, she’d have felt giddy. To see the wrappings of false positivity, false and weak hope torn away, to show something tough underneath.
Electra wanted to scream, she wanted to stop, she wanted to call it off, she wanted to leave. But she couldn’t, now. She’d done it again, one of her “friends” had disappointed her, and there was this…this pit, this awful fucking pit of darkness, it’d covered her, her face and body covered in shadows. A nobody in the shape of a girl, a yawning void. A black hole. It couldn’t let it pass, it had to drag them closer, drag them in, drag them down.
Down to her level.
There was no chance she could get out of it. She’d won, been too successful. She’d seen Nadine’s problems, seen her strife, but she’d just pressed and pressed to see what she would do. It was she that threatened Nadine if she backed down, went easy.
This was Nadine’s checkmate. Electra surrounded on a bare platform, surrounded by electrified water, ready to push her under. Oh yes, Electra could fight back; Nadine had left a spot of shadow behind her, Electra could lash out, could have a vine chomp on her neck, or throw her away, or strike from her own inked body….
And then Electra let go. She relaxed, brought up her arms, and let the vines all vanish. She felt the wires of Nadine’s Stand wrap her, Nadine already looking away. She was tugged, a second crystal stunning her completely, though she had no intention to resist. In that instant, Nadine’s face was obscured in brilliant, terrible light.
Part of Electra giddily wondered if this is what Aisha had felt, the unmerciful resolve, cable digging into her skin. The vines of her own Stand came from the ground, into the water, acting as a ground, something Nadine wouldn’t see.
A part of her was grateful she wouldn’t, that Nadine would not see her so vulnerable, see her in any weakness.
A part of her knew this would really fucking hurt.
Electra hadn’t looked away. That’s something that she was proud of, that she kept her eyes open, didn’t go under, didn’t look away.
It took her a minute after Nadine had relented, thinking her unconscious, had took her down.
She fucking hurt. Every nerve on her body felt like it was fried, and Electra couldn’t move anything properly. It was all she could do to breathe, to keep awake and think. But she could think. Nadine couldn’t see her eyes, thought she was still unconscious.
Electra felt vines sprout from her face, wrap around her limbs, two tiny ones in her mouth to move it. She stood up, looking down at the catatonic Nadine. There was a brief, fleeting thought of finishing things here, but as she breathed, she forced her mouth into speech. There was only one way, only one thing she could ever do to try and fix things. As she spoke in her raw, hoarse voice, Nadine looked up in shock, acted on instinct.
“Rock, paper…”

Electra Heart, with a score of 68 to Nadine Sokenna’s 66!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Electra Heart	16 (4.5+2) - 14 (3.5+2)	A fairly even voting period, with each side gaining a slight advantage over the other at their own points.
Quality	Tie	20 (6 7 7) - 20 (6 7 7)	Reasoning
JoJolity	Tie	22 (7 8 7)- 22 (7 8 7)	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	Nothing to report!

The two sat next to each other. There was a pile of documents, of hard drives, and mercifully no congratulations. Nobody had ‘won’ the fight, but the desert had accepted the other game.
Electra kept a hand to her neck, remembering the feeling of drowning, of pain, of having every part of her body crying out for help. She felt sick. Everything hurt. But she could still talk.
“I’m sorry.” The statement was simple, but she had to force it out, carrying far more weight than Nadine could ever know.
“I made you do this. This was my idea, but when I saw you, looking like…like me, I wanted it to stop. I wanted to stop. I didn’t try and calm down when you opened up to me. I didn’t try to listen to you. To help. I thought I did, kind of, but a part wanted to see if you could be taken down. I’m envious. And then when I saw that resolve, I…I did what I’d thought everyone else had done. I betrayed you. You brought me here, and I hurt you.”
“What’s wrong with you, Nadine? What the hell's wrong with me?“ She began to sniffle, wrapping her arms around herself and digging her trimmed nails into her tawny skin.
“I haven’t always been…like this, you know.” She made a half-hearted gesture to her face. “But in a way, I always have. Let me ask you a question. When you look at me now, what do you see? Do you see me? Or do you see an empty, black void?”
“No.” Nadine whispered. Then silence. Electra moved her hand so it rested inches away from Nadine’s.
“Well, it’s a trick question. The answer is that there’s no difference. I was hollow…I still am. I have one big aspiration, and it’s to get to the top, no matter what. Win and win. But look at me now. Still empty.”
“I don’t have any answers for you. I didn’t give you anything. I think…maybe I took something away. I thought I hated you, but I…I can’t. I won’t. I won’t let you become someone I’d hate. I don’t care if you leave me here. I’d deserve it. But I don’t know what to do now. Anything that’s inside me is so…fucking unpleasant. I don’t know what to chase after.” Her face felt hot and wet and numb.
“You were right. This was useless. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I don’t know what to say. I can’t fix anything. I’m just fucked up.” She gagged. “I…whatever it is, whatever the answer is, it can’t be…that…this. It can’t fucking be this.”
Nadine grabbed her hand, looking intently at her face. “No…” Her voice was a hesitant, awed whisper. “It isn’t.” Electra wilted at the intensity of her stare. “You aren’t empty. Look.”
She pointed to one of the walls, and Electra looked at her reflection, her eyes sullen, puffy and red-
Her eyes. They widened, black encroaching on them, but dripping out onto her hands as tears. For the first time in years, she saw her eyes, hers. Green and gross with one of her contacts slipping, but still hers.
She didn’t wipe them. Once her tears were gone, the shadow would return, but….
She had to leave. There were no answers here. She squeezed Nadine’s hand.
“I want to go home.”
If you’re sick of back-to-back water-themed matches, check out this match between an android and a contract demon fighting water clones in the middle of a...dance off?!
(Shoutouts to the team of Atrocity Exhibition for the match concept and write up!)
Scenario: Suburb of Belgrade, Serbia — 2:16 PM
This used to be a hospital, but it clearly hadn't been used like that for some time. Orange and purple paint streaked the walls like blood, the foliage inside grew even more dense, the sickly-sweet air growing more humid by the moment. The hallways were packed with people, but Brandy Judge could hardly linger as she was rushed higher into the complex.
She was no stranger to working with other criminals, even those with weird theming—one of her teams’ collaborators commissioned himself a weaponized fursuit, after all. But this was on a whole other level—if anything, this overrun hospital brought to mind the one she infiltrated on a rescue mission in Tunisia. Thankfully, there were no no plant-overrun zombies around, just people in cultish garb, she reassured herself, before preparing herself to meet with their leader.
In the room that once was a hospital administrators’ office, lounging on a throne made of plants, metal, and wood was Frederick Loverman, or rather, what was left of him after his untimely demise in the Algerian desert. He looked far different than the last time Brandy saw him- when the two butted heads while searching for information in a Moroccan bazaar.
”Well well, it’s been some time, hasn’t it, Ms. Judge?” The former Atrocity Exhibition leader smirked, basking in the singular ray of sunshine that streamed through a hole in the roof, the only source of light in the room. Brandy couldn’t help but notice the obvious.
“Dude, what the fuck happened to you? You…you look like a houseplant.” Brandy tried to project confidence into her voice, though she couldn’t help but think about Tunisia. But had to be something else, something to do with his reported death at the hands of COLOSSI’s Sovereign.
Frederick sneered a moment, before the expression curled into a smile. The former human looked to be half nature spirit and half corpse. He tapped the arm of his throne with an arm of twisted wood as he watched his former adversary with gleaming blue-gold eyes.
“It's a bit too much to explain, but you’re here for business, not my personal life.” Frederick laughed. “I’m glad you were open to my probe. I have no lack of followers, but they still retain their human weaknesses. I am in need of Stand users to help me in my campaign. I have eventually decided that you might be able to help.”
“Everyone else turned you down, didn’t they? Not much of a surprise, you look like a real creep.” Brandy tried very hard to keep her gaze above Frederick’s thorny crown as she spoke. She did not want to stare too long at the large, maw-like wound in his abdomen. It pulsed with whatever vine-like cobalt organs kept Frederick alive.
She hadn’t seen the fight with Mx. Wah, but she had heard the rumors. Brandy found herself having to swallow a sudden jolt of anger. Sure, Frederick was an absolute son-of-a-bitch, but to do something like that to a person…It was unthinkable. Not to mention the fact it must have made him into this thing.
Frederick simply shot Brandy a sneer. ”I see you haven’t lost your attitude,” he glowered down at her, as the golden roses adorning his body ruffled angrily.
Brandy’s ward, Evelyn, stood next to her, steepling their hands as they glanced between her and Frederick. She was the one who contacted Brandy, as she was currently working on Frederick’s behalf. “Let’s just, uh, move to the deal.”
”Of course, Evelyn. Let us continue.” Frederick gave a wide grin and shuffled to clasp his hands together, gesturing towards Brandy. Evelyn shuffled uncomfortably at that. ”But regardless…You have a bone to pick with the Millennium Collection, don’t you?”
Brandy’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I- Wait…I thought they were your boss?”
Frederick seemed agitated at that, slamming his wooden hand against the arm of his chair. “Those fools control me no longer! I am my own ruler!”
“Yeah…gotcha.” Brandy shrugged. “So…you want me to beat up some guys?”
“In essence, yes. Specifically, I want you to target their financial department in Bulgaria. It’s been exceedingly weak as of late, and my team has been able to siphon both information and funding. We see it as a perfect first step in our greater fight against the Collection.”
“Sure, sure. Not the first time someone’s hired me for this, probably won’t be the last.” She thumped her fists. “Just…break shit, steal things?”
“…Sure, you could put it that way,” Frederick rolled his uncanny eyes. “Evelyn here will escort you there, and we can take care of the details on the w-”
“Wait.” She raised her voice, interrupting Frederick. As Frederick gave her another glare, she met it with a defiant look in her eyes. “I’m not doing this for free. I’m here looking for information…specifically, info on my mom.”
“Your…mother?” Frederick seemed surprised by that for a moment, before he started laughing. His laughter was mirrored and distorted sixfold phantom voices, emanating from the darkened corners of the room. “Oh, you are far from the first, Brandy Judge. Another…contractor was looking for information on a lost love, and Evelyn here…actually came to me for a similarly personal matter!”
Evelyn glanced away, and Brandy gave her a brief curious look before turning back to look at Frederick. “…Sure, whatever, but if you’ve got anything on my mom, I want it now.”
”Why, I haven’t even started looking. But I assure you, as soon as my acolytes find what you’re looking for…We’ll get it to you.” Frederick leaned forwards, combing through his hair with the wooden claws of his hand. ”But I’m curious…why come here for this information? Our last meeting was a competition, which you lost. But here you are. Why? Couldn’t you have just…put her face on some posters? Milk cartons, maybe?” he smirked.
“She’s…deep in the criminal scene here, I’m pretty sure, at least.”
”Ah, of course, of course. Maybe she too became caught in the gears of Millenium Collections’ horrific machine…” He settled back into his seat, stealing blatant glances in Evelyn’s direction that even Brandy could notice. ”I’ll tell you what. Complete this mission for me, and maybe you’ll even kill two birds with one stone!”
“Maybe, maybe.” Brandy rolled her shoulders, and gave Frederick one final glance. “But you’d better fulfill the end of your bargain”
But of course! Look at Evelyn over there, she’s one of my most faithful associates.” He gestured out towards Evelyn, who was already turned away, glancing at her phone.
“Alright, fuck up the finances, get my mom back. Easy peasy.” Brandy turned around towards Evelyn. “Let’s move.”
”Yes, let’s.” Frederick grinned, and stood up from his chain. He extended his hands out, the flowers in his body rustling as he gave them both a glowing, fanged grin. “May this be the first fallen domino in the path that will decimate the Collection.”
Brandy was already bored and uneasy, walking away with Evelyn with a shiver down her spine. The two left the room, back into the winding halls of the colorful, floral complex, she let herself vocalize her thoughts. “Jeez, he’s…somehow even creepier since last time.”
Evelyn only gave a look of understanding as the two walked silently back out the hospital.
Scenario: Provincial Istanbul, Turkey — 5:37 PM

Before the Byzantine Empire gave way to the Ottomans, it spent the millennium in a state of change. It flourished, and then deteriorated, and then flourished again. Yet, through every victory and each defeat, the empire endured. It seemed infallible, too massive to die. But by the start of the 11th century, the empire’s troubles were piling up. It lost territory after territory, bled wealth into neighboring republics, and suffered repeated attacks on its Balkan territories. The Crusades became a terrible power struggle with the West which ended in the first loss of Constantinople, and though the Byzantines barely managed to wrest it back, by then it was already too late. Its infallible status had been chipped away; the Ottoman empire was rising, and quickly swallowed the remains of the Byzantines. However, even the Ottomans were worn away by the sands of time and social upheaval. Following a series of horrific wars and subsequent defeats, the Ottomans lost their grip and became Turkey. After 1500 combined years, two of the most powerful empires in the world were no more.

However, limping on from their fall was the Millennium Collection, clinging onto power with snaking tendrils coiled around the region, one of which is its Financial District, a clotted cluster of buildings located throughout the Balkans, with the main center sitting in the heart of Bulgaria. Much like the Collection itself, the District is a labyrinth of cubicles, spreadsheets, and bank accounts, heaving with ill-gotten gains. It is large enough that someone could regain access to his account and start siphoning money without the Collection even noticing. For a little while, at least.
But “Final Judgement” Alalu, leader of the Millennium Collection, has finally caught Frederick’s scent. While she did not care to spend the resources on pulling weeds, it’s clear he means to become a nuisance.
So she has arranged an audience with the person who killed him.
While a recent raid on the Collection had dispatched many of her fellow high-ranking Stand users in the organization's upper echelons, and ousted the former Final Justice, there was a silver living. Alalu had been informed by the late Crammentazenta, assistant to one Solsbury Hill, that COLOSSI was willing to reach out. So reach out she did.
Mx. Wah had heard that the leader of the Millennium Collection lived in a big island estate, but was surprised to be invited to a cozy log cabin, deep in the woods outside of Istanbul. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged Turkish woman, eyes creased with smile lines.
Wah squinted, before flashing her a sharp-toothed smile of their own. “Have no fear…the Wah is here!”
The woman chuckled, before nodding once, inviting them inside. The moment she turned around, Wah rolled their eyes at her crucifix jewelry, before following behind. The cabin’s interior was predictably quaint, though Wah was surprised to see it covered with animal furs and taxidermy. Yeesh, they thought to themselves. At least Wah has some sense of interior decor. But this meeting was all about putting differences aside for the sake of business. At least there aren’t any…antique record players, the Sovereign shuddered.
Wah draped themselves on the nearest armchair, watching as Alalu poured them both cups of steaming tea, before she took a seat.
“It’s an honour to finally meet you, Mx. Wah,” she began.
“It’s an honour for Wah to meet you too, Judge Judy.”
She gave that one a hearty chuckle. “Please, call me Asli. I’ll be honest though, dear…I’m surprised you agreed to this, after all the trouble our organizations have caused each other.”
Wah shrugged, adding six sugar cubes to their teacup. “Please, that’s in the past, Wah’s already forgotten. There’s no point in fighting, Wah would rather not explode both gangs in a big firestorm. That’d just play into our enemies hands~” They reached forwards for their tea, before grabbing a sugar cube and popping it into their mouth instead.
Asli nodded, casually retrieving the project she was working on. It appeared to be a massive strip of leather, though its surface was tangled with dried blue vines and golden flowers. “Indeed,” she responded, continuing to clean the strange hide. “I called you here because of our common enemy. I found this snooping around my financial headquarters. It seems it wasn’t enough for Frederick to steal our Prestige…he’s been using it on people.”
“That thing was a whole guy!?” Wah shuddered, peeking through the hands covering their face. “Eeeewww ew ew, that’s so gross…”
“This was just a scout…I’m sure there’s more of them. It would be a pain to waste valuable resources dealing with this alone…so that’s why I’ve called you, Mx. Wah. You’ve dealt with Frederick before, and I know that you are a highly capable leader. I admire what you’ve done with COLOSSI, I hope to do the same with the Collection.”
Still crunching their sugar cube, Wah snorted. “Oh good luck, the Collection has always been a hot mess.” Ever since they were Byzantines.
“I am aware…I’ve been working for them a long time, almost forty years now.”
Wah had to hold back a laugh. That’s ‘a long time’? How adorable!
“Even if it’s a mess, it’s large enough to have its own gravity. If you ever try to leave, it simply…pulls you back in.” Quietly, Alalu looked at the only picture on her mantle. It was a faded image of her a couple decades ago, standing with a man and a child. Even there, she looks distracted, as if her spirit resides elsewhere. “I’m sure you know how that feels.”
Wah glanced up from the tower they were idly building out of sugar cubes, looking rather disinterested. “Hm…? Actually, the Wah is kinda here for business, if we could get back to that.”
Alalu laughed again, looking sheepish. “Yes of course, so sorry, dearie. I’ve gotten sentimental at my age. But yes…business. You’ve already fought Loverman once. I suspect he’s planning some sort of attack. If he shows up to gloat, could you be there to finish what you’ve already started? I’ll make sure it’s worth your while, we’ll start this relationship of ours by owing you a favour. You have my word.”
Wah considered this a moment, before sticking out their hand to shake.
“Hmm…alrighty! When Wah finally destroys Frederick, somehow, Wah will figure it out, then we can have our wonderful Wahlliance!” When they gave Alalu that same sharp toothed smile, she returned it with a shake of their hand, as the Collection and COLOSSI pulled themselves closer with gravity shared.
Scenario: Sofia, Bulgaria — 3:41 AM
“Aren’t you a little too young to be going after the Millennium Collection?”
Brandy kept looking out towards the streets the two were driving by, not moving her gaze even as her Evelyn spoke to her. She smirked to herself, reclining in her seat. “Yes, yes I am.”
Evelyn squirmed in the driver’s seat as she chauffeured Brandy to her destination. They knew that her girlfriend had made amends with the girl sitting passenger after the two fought some time ago, but this whole situation put them off. “So…you’re also trying to find your mum by working with Frederick?”
“Mhm.” Brandy finally glanced back. “Freddy said something about you also having some,” she air-quotes, putting on a brief haughty air, “similarly personal matter that you went to him for. What’s that all about?”
Evelyn merely took a breath. “I found out my mom died by the Collection’s hands.”
“Oh.” Brandy looked away. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks.”
“…”
“…”
Evelyn focused on driving the car deep into the Bulgarian backstreets, and after a long, awkward silence, they parked in an alleyway. “Here’s where you get off.”
“…Cool, thanks for the ride.” Brandy was quick to unbuckle her belt and hop out of the car, before Evelyn finally looked over, placing a hand on the dashboard as their gray eyes peered into Brandy’s.
“Even if you manage to find your mum because of this…she might not actually be your mum. Or she could be dead. So, uh, be prepared for all of that.”
“…right.” The worry in their voice made Brandy tense up. But she had handled a lot worse, and no matter how shifty Frederick was, this Evelyn person seemed to get what she was looking for by working with him…didn’t they?
“Okay, uh, the door to the records is just down the alleyway. Good luck.” As Evelyn drove off, Brandy was struck by the fact that despite their professional air, her driver had genuinely meant concern.
No matter. There was a job to do.
Brandy found herself facing the side of an office building, similar to the structures around it, though it was painted a worn, fleshy pink. Frederick had informed her that much of the building was underground. However, what drew Brandy’s attention was not the architecture, but the small crowd gathered around it. Noticing that these were Frederick’s ‘acolytes’, she approached, only to jump back as one turned to look at her. Their eyes were glazed with gold, palled skin crawling with yellow blossoms. It was the closest look she had gotten at one of them, after being rushed through the hospital to meet Frederick.
Suddenly, memories of that horrific excursion struck her like lightning, her hands trembling as she remembered shocking one of those afflicted P-zombies to death. This wasn’t the same as the P-Virus in Tunisia, she reminded herself. It couldn’t be. Which meant…there was more than one. Brandy tried to compose herself, before the acolyte spoke.
“You are Brandy, the one that our Lord sent to command us. What are your orders?”
Brandy felt her stomach tie itself in a knot. Their Lord? Seriously? But of course, this was Frederick; she should have expected this. She wasn’t sure why this was just now upsetting her. But the memories of that rescue mission kept tangling through her mind. The realization that she was dealing with another plant-infested, god-complex maniac, and that she was helping him? It was almost too much to handle.
The acolyte was still looking at her, waiting for orders. Brandy squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the wave of nausea and bitter rage.
She didn’t want to look at it anymore. She didn’t want to remember.
“Just…go on ahead. Fuck them up. I don’t care. Just get- get away from me.”
The sound of footsteps surrounded Brandy, before vanishing into the building. When all was silent, Brandy took a deep breath, opening her eyes. To stop her hands from trembling, she held them. Maybe, maybe when she found her mother, she could hold her hand instead.
“Just get through this, Brandy. Just let them handle themselves, steal as much cash as you can carry, and figure out where she is. You can do this. You can do this.”
With one more breath, Brandy steeled herself and entered the Financial building. The place was mostly silent as she circled the stairwell into the lower levels, taking her time within the isolated. She could hear distant gunshots throughout the building, and tried to ignore them. Maybe if she spiraled down this staircase for long enough, it would already be over.
That was when a new sound tore through the building—the horrible, distorted cry of a wolf. As Brandy frantically looked around, she could see the ghastly pattern of faces in the brickwork. Whatever this was, it probably meant shit was going sideways. As little as Brandy wanted to deal with this, she knew that if she blew this mission she lost her chance at information. She had to at least check.
When Brandy finally burst through the nearest door to find out what was happening, she walked right into a group of acolytes, staring down at one of their fellow followers, whose leg was currently caught in a strange sort of bear trap.
As Brandy tried to swallow her fear, tried to figure out what the hell to do, gunshots echoed through the ceiling above her, before they suddenly went silent. Brandy could feel it, someone was approaching. As ｢Concrete Schoolyard｣ gleamed within her ring, she braced herself for the appearance of some horrific, sadistic crime boss. But the door opened to reveal a middle-aged Turkish woman, her eyes creased with smile lines. Brandy blinked, staring her down with wary confusion.
“Oh, you must be Brandy! How nice to meet you, dear,” the woman greeted warmly. “I’ve heard about your exploits, it’s always nice to see a capable young woman making a name for herself in the Mediterranean. I only wish I could offer you some tea, but…”
Brandy unlaced her fingers and raised her hands defensively. “Ah- what? No, I- you’re definitely with them. You have to be. Who the hell are you!?”
Taking those words as a sign to attack, the acolytes started forwards, guns drawn. Before Brandy could stop them or join them, the woman simply smiled.
“Howl, ｢Wolf Murder｣.”
The moment the guns fired, the air around her twisted with deep red light. The air filled with the sound of metal striking metal, and then it was over.
Towering above the woman was a massive, hulking form. Its powerful body was completely flayed, revealing red, raw musculature wrapped in layers of thick pelts. Blood dripped over its face from beneath the wolf’s head that it wore atop its own. Between the taxidermy and its own visage, three glassy wolf eyes glared the acolytes down with black and golden rage.
“Let me deal with these weeds first, dearie.” Her smile was warm as blood.
｢We Will Commit Wolf Murder｣ bared its fangs as the acolytes charged towards the threat. Snarling, it unfurled a massive skinning knife from its back, a blade nearly as long as Brandy herself. With a single, arcing slice, every acolyte was cleanly sliced in two. Their flayed bodies were flung about the room with the force of the blow, blue flesh squirming with yellow blossoms, which began to writhe and die without the life energy of their hosts. The leathery pelts that peeled from their bodies rained everywhere, joined by pelts stripped from the walls, the floor, everything, all of them twisting into yet more grinning jaw traps. Brandy watched with horror and nausea and anger. Why did everyone take lives so fucking lightly!?
“My name is Alalu, Final Judgement of the Millennium Collection,” Alalu said simply, without gravitas. Even the ceiling in front of her was torn open by the arc of the blade. “I promise, I mean you no harm, dear. I’m simply trying to protect my pack.”
Brandy, unable to summon the words that would express her utter exhaustion, instead turned to the acolyte caught in the trap. Kneeling, she used ｢Concrete Schoolyard｣ to change the trap into a gelatinous substance that she could pry apart. The acolyte stared at her, shaking, unsure of what to do.
“Just- just hide in the stairwell! I’ll handle it!”
Brandy watched them weakly pull themselves towards the door, before she noticed those same twisting faces in the tile below. Running on reflex, she terraformed the floor upwards to shield them…just as a desktop computer SMASHED into the surface, aimed right at their head.
Her gaze snapped up, only to watch a figure descend from above. They leapt with startling grace, their pale hair drifting around them as they gazed down with eyes as dark as the abyss, and sharp fangs gleaming with hunger.
The killing intent that radiated off of them was ancient and absolute.
Then they took a better look at Brandy…and a switch flipped.
“Awawa? Ooops! You’re not Freddy…Wah’s mistake!” They smiled sheepishly, poking their cheek with a finger. Brandy sucked in a breath as she realized who she was dealing with…before her body shook with a rage redoubled.
“You.”
“Me!” Wah landed with a little twirl, before looking to Alalu. “Business homie…is this little scamp bothering you?”
“Are you fucking kidding- you two are working together?”
Alalu nodded, before looking at Wah.
“I’m glad you could join us, Mx. Wah. Miss Brandy seems to have fallen in with some unfortunate company,” she sighed, before looking back to the young woman in question. “We have come to an agreement. Both the Collection and COLOSSI fill important roles in the social ecosystem. We have a duty to fight…invasive species.”
Alalu looked between the two for a moment, before smiling. “But this gives us an opportunity…you’re both Stand users, and it is the nature of Stand users to seek each other out, and prove which one is stronger. I’m quite curious about the answer to that question…so I’ll tell you what. Whoever wins, I’ll compensate you. We’ve got a bit of money stored away…I’ll even take you out for tea,” she beamed.
Then, before Wah or Brandy could agree or disagree, Alalu’s legs took on the flayed appearance of her Stand, and she leapt through the ceiling and out of sight.
That left Brandy Judge and Mx. Wah, standing amidst the corpses and their pelts.
“Sure thing, homie!” Wah called after Alalu, before turning back to Brandy and raising a brow. What a shame they wouldn’t be facing Frederick himself. It was just like him to send someone else. Still…Wah knew well that they were stronger than a little whelp like this. This was an arrangement they made as the leader of COLOSSI, and they were not about to be schooled by some petulant kid up past her bedtime.
If Brandy and her little smugglers’ ring really wanted to play with the big dogs, Wah’d bite. They weren’t worried, this was just another little rebel to quash on their way to the top. It would be fun! With a sharp-toothed smile, the Sovereign gestured Brandy forwards with a curl of their fingers.
Brandy stared at them a moment, shaking as that other plant-infected basement seeped into the corners of her vision. But her mind and body focused itself with the click of the stairwell door behind her. Everywhere she looked, there was a new megalomaniac trying to play god. The Mediterranean itself felt diseased. But here and now, she could fight back. She could prevent the meaningless slaughter, she could make up for what she did.
Then, one day, she’ll be safe with her mother, somewhere far away in a place she bought with the money she stole from this big, stupid empire. She’ll hold her mother’s hand, give her a smile, and tell her about the time she beat up a crime boss.
As Wah and Brandy started forwards, they finally, wordlessly agreed.
This is the next step towards their ambitions. As Stand users, they must fight.
It’s in their nature.
OPEN THE GAME! (Shoutouts to u/AusterCab for the match art!)
Location: In the financial department of the Millennium Collective, the area here is 30 by 40 meters with each tile being 2 by 2 meters. The ceiling of this area is 4 meters tall. Brandy and Wah start on opposite sides of the map as represented by their character tokens.
The light purple tiles represent the hallways between rooms, and the doors between hallways and office space are represented by Purple Rectangles. The Red tiles areas are meeting rooms, the Yellow tile areas are cubicle spaces, the Green tile areas are break rooms, and the White tile areas are supply closets. The rooms contain everything you’d expect to find in an office space.
The “X” eyed faces are the bodies of dead acolytes and the 6-pointed shapes are ｢Wolf Murder｣ Pelts jaw traps.
Wah starts next to a watercooler, a dolly and a vending machine.
Goal: RETIRE your opponent!
Additional Information: ｢Wolf Murder｣ has the ability to skin the surface of objects and turn these skins into ‘Pelts’, which can then be shaped for their own uses. Though the user has a much higher proficiency working with them, others can shape unshaped Pelts by hand and get them to hold form or stick to other objects.
The ｢Wolf Murder｣ Pelts on this map are shaped into working jaw traps and will snap shut in response to pressure. If broken, they will revert to torn pieces of unshaped Pelts, with damage corresponding to how the shaped version is destroyed.
With unshaped Pelts, players can shape them to wrap around objects, or shape them into functional simple traps such as snares and jaw traps. More complex shapes take longer to make.
Pelts are B Durability with the rough consistency ranging between that of a thick fur pelt and antique steel, or a strange hybrid of both depending on how they are shaped, or more specifically how the person shaping it generally wants them to be shaped.
Both characters’ Stands can treat Pelts like any other object.

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
COLOSSI	Mx. Wah	“I'd like to make a deal here. Please try not to see things from only one perspective.” You’re here to cement a deal between COLOSSI and the Millennium Collection, and this kid won’t stop you. Embody Authority!
Anvil Procession	Brandy Judge	“Stop talking to me! I'm going to end everything here and now!” You’ve had enough of all this bullshit, but you have to steel yourself and see your goals through. Embody Rebellion!

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A few weeks ago…
Another member of the all-but defunct Atrocity Exhibition landed at the foot of the island of the great, dreaded Cyclops, an island filled with traps, mostly made out of rope, designed to snare both beast and man. Dirty Ghost easily evaded these rope traps with its own mastery of the material.
There was abundant wildlife: goats and bees, making honey and cheese enough to sustain it another week, perhaps even the whole remainder of its journey home. Still, it reasoned there must be some owner of these traps and of these animals, and once the Cyclops rears its head from its cave, the Ghost hatched a ploy.
Very good, mastermind of war, came the voice of Izuru. The monster’s Perception is his weakness, trick him like Odysseus before you, and your own Skill should prove superior.
As Odysseus played the part of ‘nobody,’ the Ghost played ‘somebody,’ pleading for its life as the Cyclops, hard of sight and unknowing of what a human truly is, grasped it in its palm.
A precarious situation for any man, in the palm of a giant, but this was no man- this was Dirty Ghost. With its own ropes, and those stolen from its would-be captor, Dirty Ghost escaped the Cyclops’ grasp to rappel up the giant’s shoulder, shedding its mask and showcasing its true self- the true ‘Nobody’ it should fear.
Something to know, came the voice of the late Dr. Lister, you can reach the brain easily from the eyes.
Suffice to say, it did. As for the monster’s animals…the stoic Ghost was alone no longer. If it is made to feel like a hunting beast, or a trapped animal…perhaps it could seek some comfort in the other creatures. Still, its loneliness did not abate. Out there on the ocean, it has not yet found the place where it belongs.

When I started playing I saw a lot of people talking about how multi player kinda sucked. Some progression in areas seemed to be per person not per server etc.
I'm not sure if it's changed or if they just didn't understand but I thought I would make a post that might help others.
Your CHARACTER can play multiple different servers which is so much better than having to start over each and every time that you play with someone new. Your relationships, quests, skills, all snap to that character.
What I've noticed so far: Keys in the mine when CRAFTED keep the levels open for all players on the server. That was a complaint is saw before. Snacoons that are fed, and their requirements satisfied, are moved on the server for all players. Overworld battles, like mobs in forests and mines can be fought jointly. Bosses can not, because they are part of your QUESTLINE and more often than not, instanced. This applies to FARM elementals that have challenges or did for the weed for us, but when the rock showed up, it was defeated for both of us, so i am inclined to believe that has been updated. Bosses apply to your maxed out skills and some main quests so it makes sense theyd be solo. They are challenging your character as part of their story. So yes those are solo. But only those thus far.
You get a house per player on your server so you don't have to share. You can pick split or shared resources and you can change that EVERY LOGIN so if you want to split this time and then change your mind, or vice versa, any income gained during that playthrough will change. Over all player income sticks. So you can jump servers.
Timed quests can be tricky. If you have a date at 10am don't jump into a server at 2pm.
You can't marry other players YET but there has been talk of future updates where you can. You can't give players items but you can share chests.
You can wait on some important quests like opening other areas for another player to catch up and compete the journey together. New farm locations don't have that second house for you right away.
Honestly it's the best multiplayer farm game ice played thus far. It does it better than any other.

I recommended that they weed the older materials but they want to keep it just in case a patron does want it. According to the computer stats, patrons have not checked out these items in the last 5+ years. This is a military library if it matters. I told them they can switch the location of the nonfiction DVDs or CDs with the video games since they get more circulation, but nope. Too much work.

Hey y'all. I have what I would consider, generally, a good marriage. However, we recently had a conflict that is bothering me.
Specifically, we went on vacation as a family to the town where we used to live, where his parents and assorted friends of both of ours live. We moved from this town about 15 years ago, and before we did we were on the verge of divorcing due to my husband's alcoholism and flakiness, both of which were encouraged by a lot of his friends and which had some pretty serious consequences. In the intervening years we've had a family. moved twice, and flourished in our careers, and we return back to this town maybe once a year.
I booked the flights, made arrangements for places to stay, and generally handled the planning. Which entailed two days in which we would see his parents and two days in which we would see our mutual friends.
Have you seen the recent SNL skit about straight male friends? that's how most of my husband's relationships go. They put minimal effort into each other, but connect when they can --they're not gamers, but they do other mutual things together. Generally it's fine. Unless it relates to drinking themselves into a coma or blowing off family stuff.
So...leading up to the trip he wouldn't make any real plans, which made it impossible for me to make plans or to figure out when we would be free to do any kind of couples thing. I contacted his parents and nailed down the two days when we would see them. I also told him that we could see whoever we wanted to in the town we used to live in on Thursday/Friday. I dropped a note to the people with whom we were going to do mutual stuff and he kind of hashed out some plans. But then he informed me on Wednesday morning that he was going to see a friend, who mostly smokes weed and pontificates, that evening at the friend's house. Two hours' drive away. The family was not welcome to join. I refused. I told him that was not cool with me -- I had told him Thursday/Friday because I could work around it, and I was not going to drive 4 hours with children so he could do solo weed hangs with his bro. I told him I would literally get him his own car and he could just go be on his solo vacation, and work out the consequences later, after several discussions about it. He pouted about it, but ultimately reached back out to his friend and suggested they get together on Thursday or Friday -- maybe lunch, maybe dinner, whatever. It was doable for me in that case, because those days we were actually all going that direction. However, the friend didn't do it. Literally, he wasn't willing to go have dinner or whatever. Apparently it was multi-hour solo weed hang at his house or nothing. Whatever. We went about our business and had a good trip and that weed hang didn't happen. My only real issue on that trip after that point is he started asking me questions about whether we could move back, to the point of pressuring me. Can I do my somewhat remote job from there? Can I get a job there? Why can't we live there instead of in the city he insists we live in elsewhere?
So, now we're back home, though my husband is going for a Dude's Hockey Weekend-- separate dudes -- this weekend. Last night was pretty normal until we got home for dinner, and then my husband was like "oh, I gotta take this call. I'll be back for bedtime." He then disappeared for 2-3 hours for a call with Mr. Weed Pontificator. Leaving me with kids to put to bed that he had promised stuff, so then my son went looking for him and encountered a room full of weed smoke and no Dad. He then showed up half an hour after bedtime and riled up the baby and my son, and then brought the baby to me !!! where I was sitting on the couch in another room doing chores when he couldn't locate the bottle of milk that I put down when I left the bedtime dude party.
So, short version here is I'm really pissed off about this. I cannot fucking deal with his shitty priorities as it pertains to Weed Pontificating. And I am not at all open to moving back. Advice?

Any one have any idea on why there seems to be so many car wash locations being built so quickly? Seems like around 53rd street on the Iowa side they are spreading like weeds.

I've played it plenty of times.. I'm in DC lol. Do I just wait it out or is something causing this? Not using a VPN...

Well if you decided to click this post, then you've already overcome the first hurdle. Sorry I also might be a bit delirious right now, been sick for a few days and also quite tired now but I'm sure that won't be a problem.
Looking for something that's anywhere between purely platonic and a potential relationship, really not fussed although not sure I'm really quite ready for a relationship at this point of time but if you're the right person, anything could happen. Anyway, here's a bit about me.
​

• Like to learn new things, so if you're looking for someone to explore a new hobby or just want someone to chat with or vent, I'm generally pretty good with that.
• Love to watch kdramas, tv series are cool too, I just don't get a lot of time to really watch too much. But happy to watch a new series with anyone. Also enjoy a bit of reality TV here and there.
• Kpop and metal music are my go to genres, which is an odd contrast I know. Dreamcatcher stan, SuA <3
• Board games, card games are always a bit of fun. Not too much of a gamer but JRPGs are my go to, and currently only really playing Genshin Impact. Would be cool to find a new game to play though.
• Just enjoy talking about random things. Silly things like past memories, dumb things you see that are funny, good food (if you live near, then always happy to try new restaurants too). I feel like a lot of these minor things are what makes a friendship grow so honestly if you just like to talk about random shit, then shoot me a message even if you don't feel like we have much in common otherwise.

That's about it for now I think. Am not too bothered about location, especially if you just want someone to chat with. I'm around at weird hours a lot of the time anyway.

I am in the process of applying with a 3 letter agency and I was let go at my first job at Dominoes for smoking weed. It was when I was 16 and that was over 10 years ago. I am in my late 20’s now, have kept consistent good employment ever since then, no debt, no criminal record, never gotten any charges, have my bachelors and i just got my masters graduated last year. I’ve turned my life around ever since high school but I’m wondering if I will have to disclose that the reason I was let go was for smoking pot behind the Dominoes?
That specific Dominoes location no longer exists anymore, it is now a hardware store. Will that prevent from obtaining a clearance? How far back do they go or do they not interview supervisors that far back since it was over 10 years ago and I was under 18?

My current living situation is with an abusive and toxic pos, and I desperately need to leave.

The first thing I want to warn you is that English is not my native language and if I have any mistake forgive me, I tried to reread it from beginning to end but maybe I missed some little thing :/
Ok, being honest, I'm making this post because WandereScara's future has been hanging around in my head a lot lately and I wanted to try to get as close as possible to what could happen with him guided by various theories I've read about the lore and a bit of reasoning putting them all together, as well as Japanese mythology and folklore, and the script patterns I think I've picked up on.
Firstly, in his case it is obvious that he reflects a lot of Japanese mythology, many of us know he is Fujin but I think many go unnoticed that he is also a clear reference to Susanoo (God of Storms, he was forced to wander the human world as punishment and that is where he changes his lifestyle) and Raitaro, son of Raijin, who grows up with some poor peasants and then leaves, which is a reference to Scara living with the blacksmiths in Tatarasuna (and actually I think there is one more but as I'm not sure I'll let it go, the point is that there may be more).
Secondly, I don't think many people know this theory so I wanted to bring it up for discussion. Wanderer has - or is going to have - three people in his life who represent the healing to the wounds of the three betrayals he received in his life. The first wound that he is going to heal we are currently seeing and it is with Nahida, who does she represent? The nameless child that he took care of, she is a clear reference to that child and I don't know if you remember but in the teaser the child tells him a story to try to explain something, it is something that Nahida would clearly do and that we have even seen her do before; the second wound that she will heal is with Kazuha, who represents Niwa in his new life and I think it is also a little obvious (but also, it is necessary to consider that this wound would not be the one of the betrayal since in 3.3 he realized that there was never any, I have to believe that perhaps it was linked in part to the damage that Scaramouche/Kunikuzushi created to Kazuha's clan, and perhaps many other things) and finally, as the origin and cause of many bad things, we have Ei who will heal the wound that well... she herself caused, How? I have no idea, I would also like to know.
The Ei thing has not only been commented a thousand times by the lore itself, it also follows the patterns of some of the mythological stories that Wanderer is based on. Fujin was in a bad relationship with Raijin (and by the way Fujin had stolen an arm that helped him to handle better the thunders, clear reference to the gnosis, some stories say that he gives it back to him later when they become close and others say that it was Amaterasu who gives it back to him) and then they become on good terms, they protect Japan together and are always represented together, and Susanoo also had problems in his relationship with Amaterasu (who is Ei, Amaterasu is the Goddess of the Sun and she locked herself in a cave and left the world without Sun, and two gods had to come to take her out deceiving her because she did not want to go out at all) but in the end they reconcile, I mean, it follows the pattern of reconciliation between Fujin and Raijin.
Finally, does everything I have said have a point? Yes, my main point here is that Wanderer is a walking reference to Japanese culture and mythology (also his costume makes references to Japanese Buddhists, even his weapon as they tend to always carry a small bell), his entire character construction reflects more Japanese folklore than 95% of Inazuma characters and his character is specially created to reflect Japan. Now, do you really think that a character that was created to have so many ties to what would be his home country (both in character creation story and references) would stay in Sumeru? I mean, it's not that it's impossible, but it seems highly improbable to me, besides, I feel that many don't take into account that even though he agreed to stay as a sort of companion/kagemusha of Nahida, he still has a "None" in his affiliation and by this I mean, it's very possible that he will end up leaving Sumeru to start being a wanderer and, maybe, meet Kazuha in his journey.
For all that, I would not be surprised if at the end of his story he ends up ruling or protecting Inazuma in some way, although perhaps he will remain partly a wanderer following slightly how Fujin was, who despite being present protecting Japan, being considered more free than Raijin, was always going from one place to another.
Also, I don't mean that he will break his ties with Sumeru/Nahida, after all and following the theory that Nahida represents the nameless child in Wanderer's story it is very likely that he sees her as family and they stay in touch because of that, the most obvious thing would be that they stay in close contact for a long time or the rest of their lives.
Adding a comment to the discussion between if he should or not in the future to establish a relationship with Ei is half strange for me because following all the patterns of the story the answer is that yes, it will happen, and I swear I'm not even saying this as an opinion, it's just that if we look at the patterns here, and pay attention to the fact that Hoyoverse throws in our faces every possible parallelism and similarity between the two, they are basically telling us since now that they are going to develop some kind of relationship, it is almost a fact, it is already canon and it only remains that Hoyoverso confirms it with all the power of the script that it has /joke, I have always thought that the questions that should be asked are rather When? How?, Is Hoyoverse going to give that a good development and make Ei pay for her negligence? But anyway :-)
As an aside, have you guys seen his suit? I firmly believe that Wanderer's costume serves for 2 exact things with other characters: 1. To be Kazuha's complementary opposite, if you can put them both together and watch them you will notice that they are just complementary, even their shoes are almost the same, only if Kazuha's is black, Wanderer has white, or if Kazuha's is red, Wanderer's is blue, and so on, and 2. To match Raiden's, they have extremely similar gloves when no other character has them like that, their black suits complement each other, both have rainbow dots, they have the galactic theme in their arts and attacks (and both have references to time-space and I don't see many people talking about that xd maybe Scara will end up having relevance in some plot involving Istaroth and her sibling -because one of her siblings is the God of space- but that's just my idea xd) etc etc.
And this is just a separate commentary/theory but, following the patterns again, I really think Wanderer is going to become a god in the future and quite possibly the God of Storms. I'm not only saying that because he is the representation of Susanoo in Genshin, but also because there are certain links just like in the game, where in the... thesis? that we read in 3.3 he creates a storm that destroys a ship, the fact that he has Nakus Weeds in his suit (that in their description has "Even on windless days, this plant will tremble lightly amid the cries of thunder"), the fact that he has created a storm to protect his first believer and finally, and maybe it is only a small detail, that in his collected miscellany what Alice says is "Don't provoke him, and he won't kick up a storm". It makes sense with him, in Japanese mythology electro plus anemo create storms, considering he may still have at least some electro power inside him, he could create storms, or maybe this will become linked to Ei, truth be told this would just be guessing the future.
And well, that's basically it, sorry if it had some mistake in the language ;-; and I'd like to know what other people think because the theory makes a lot of sense to me but anyway, it's still a theory.

The first thing I want to warn you is that English is not my native language and if I have any mistake forgive me, I tried to reread it from beginning to end but maybe I missed some little thing :/
Ok, being honest, I'm making this post because WandereScara's future has been hanging around in my head a lot lately and I wanted to try to get as close as possible to what could happen with him guided by various theories I've read about the lore and a bit of reasoning putting them all together, as well as Japanese mythology and folklore, and the script patterns I think I've picked up on.
Firstly, in his case it is obvious that he reflects a lot of Japanese mythology, many of us know he is Fujin but I think many go unnoticed that he is also a clear reference to Susanoo (God of Storms, he was forced to wander the human world as punishment and that is where he changes his lifestyle) and Raitaro, son of Raijin, who grows up with some poor peasants and then leaves, which is a reference to Scara living with the blacksmiths in Tatarasuna (and actually I think there is one more but as I'm not sure I'll let it go, the point is that there may be more).
Secondly, I don't think many people know this theory so I wanted to bring it up for discussion. Wanderer has - or is going to have - three people in his life who represent the healing to the wounds of the three betrayals he received in his life. The first wound that he is going to heal we are currently seeing and it is with Nahida, who does she represent? The nameless child that he took care of, she is a clear reference to that child and I don't know if you remember but in the teaser the child tells him a story to try to explain something, it is something that Nahida would clearly do and that we have even seen her do before; the second wound that she will heal is with Kazuha, who represents Niwa in his new life and I think it is also a little obvious (but also, it is necessary to consider that this wound would not be the one of the betrayal since in 3.3 he realized that there was never any, I have to believe that perhaps it was linked in part to the damage that Scaramouche/Kunikuzushi created to Kazuha's clan, and perhaps many other things) and finally, as the origin and cause of many bad things, we have Ei who will heal the wound that well... she herself caused, How? I have no idea, I would also like to know.
The Ei thing has not only been commented a thousand times by the lore itself, it also follows the patterns of some of the mythological stories that Wanderer is based on. Fujin was in a bad relationship with Raijin (and by the way Fujin had stolen an arm that helped him to handle better the thunders, clear reference to the gnosis, some stories say that he gives it back to him later when they become close and others say that it was Amaterasu who gives it back to him) and then they become on good terms, they protect Japan together and are always represented together, and Susanoo also had problems in his relationship with Amaterasu (who is Ei, Amaterasu is the Goddess of the Sun and she locked herself in a cave and left the world without Sun, and two gods had to come to take her out deceiving her because she did not want to go out at all) but in the end they reconcile, I mean, it follows the pattern of reconciliation between Fujin and Raijin.
Finally, does everything I have said have a point? Yes, my main point here is that Wanderer is a walking reference to Japanese culture and mythology (because also his costume makes references to Japanese Buddhists, even his weapon as they tend to always carry a small bell), his entire character construction reflects more Japanese folklore than 95% of Inazuma characters and his character is specially created to reflect Japan. Now, do you really think that a character that was created to have so many ties to what would be his home country (both in character creation story and references) would stay in Sumeru? I mean, it's not that it's impossible, but it seems highly improbable to me, besides, I feel that many don't take into account that even though he agreed to stay as a sort of companion/kagemusha of Nahida, he still has a "None" in his affiliation and by this I mean, it's very possible that he will end up leaving Sumeru to start being a wanderer and, maybe, meet Kazuha in his journey.
For all that, I would not be surprised if at the end of his story he ends up ruling or protecting Inazuma in some way, although perhaps he will remain partly a wanderer following slightly how Fujin was, who despite being present protecting Japan, being considered more free than Raijin, was always going from one place to another.
Also, I don't mean that he will break his ties with Sumeru/Nahida, after all and following the theory that Nahida represents the nameless child in Wanderer's story it is very likely that he sees her as family and they stay in touch because of that, the most obvious thing would be that they stay in close contact for a long time or the rest of their lives.
Adding a comment to the discussion between if he should or not in the future to establish a relationship with Ei is half strange for me because following all the patterns of the story the answer is that yes, it will happen, and I swear I'm not even saying this as an opinion, it's just that if we look at the patterns here, and pay attention to the fact that Hoyoverse throws in our faces every possible parallelism and similarity between the two, they are basically telling us since now that they are going to develop some kind of relationship, it is almost a fact, it is already canon and it only remains that Hoyoverso confirms it with all the power of the script that it has /joke, I have always thought that the questions that should be asked are rather When? How?, Is Hoyoverse going to give that a good development and make Ei pay for her negligence? But anyway :-)
As an aside, have you guys seen his suit? I firmly believe that Wanderer's costume serves for 2 exact things: 1. To be Kazuha's complementary opposite, if you can put them both together and watch them you will notice that they are just complementary, even their shoes are almost the same, only if Kazuha's is black, Wanderer has white, or if Kazuha's is red, Wanderer's is blue, and so on, and 2. To match Raiden's, they have extremely similar gloves when no other character has them like that, their black suits complement each other, both have rainbow dots, they have the galactic theme in their arts and attacks (and both have references to time-space and I don't see many people talking about that xd maybe Scara will end up having relevance in some plot involving Istaroth and her sibling -because one of her siblings is the God of space- but that's just my idea xd) etc etc.
And this is just a separate commentary/theory but, following the patterns again, I really think Wanderer is going to become a god in the future and quite possibly the God of Storms. I'm not only saying that because he is the representation of Susanoo in Genshin, but also because there are certain links just like in the game, where in the... thesis? that we read in 3.3 he creates a storm that destroys a ship, the fact that he has Nakus Weeds in his suit (that in their description has "Even on windless days, this plant will tremble lightly amid the cries of thunder"), the fact that he has created a storm to protect his first believer and finally, and maybe it is only a small detail, that in his collected miscellany what Alice says is "Don't provoke him, and he won't kick up a storm". It makes sense with him, in Japanese mythology electro plus anemo create storms, considering he may still have at least some electro power inside him, he could create storms, or maybe this will become linked to Ei, truth be told this would just be guessing the future.
And well, that's basically it, sorry if it had some mistake in the language ;-; and I'd like to know what other people think because the theory makes a lot of sense to me but anyway, it's still a theory.