I am 27, male, a naturalized US citizen; and I have only lived and worked in the state of Georgia, United States. Two years ago in June 2021, I moved abroad to my country of birth and since I was originally thinking of staying there for a few months but it ended up being a few years due to unforeseen circumstances, I decided to leave behind all my credit card debt - thinking I would resolve it later on when I actually return to the states. However, I changed my mind, and I am planning on returning to the US in 20 days.
I had about $2500 owed to American Express, $800 to CreditOne, and $3500 to Capital One - on 3 different credit cards. I also had my Truist bank account go down to somewhere around negative $500 due to a bunch of recurring bills I hadn't canceled. It's been 2 years since I last made a payment to any of them so it's safe to assume that they are all in collections now, but the only one that has contacted me with payment plans was American Express. Truist contacted me 4 months ago with an email which only stated that my account was handed over to collections and no other information beyond that. I have no assets or property under my name, all I own is a few guitars and my laptop and other small electronics and junk.
I am planning on returning to the states with about $1500 in cash and planning on sleeping on my friend's couch until I can figure things out. What I'm wondering right now is, what are my options for settling this debt? I have to get a job immediately as soon as I return, and need to buy a car ASAP as well since in the area where I live there's nothing you can do if you don't own a car, and the jobs I can get within walking distance are very limited. I'm planning on selling some of my guitars and maybe my laptop and trying to get a crappy car for about $2500 or however much cash I end up with.
On top of all of this, I haven't filed taxes for 2021 and 2022. I didn't make any money in 2022 at all and I was out of the US for all of it, but I do have a W2 for about $5600 that I made working a few months in 2021 and have a form 1095A for the healthcare payments I made. Realistically, I shouldn't owe money for this and if anything should get a marginal return - but would the fact that I haven't filed taxes for two years be a problem when I enter the country? I am planning on sorting this out immediately the first thing I return to the US.
Would I be able to open a bank account in this situation? Would I be able to purchase a car with cash under my name, or would they be able to foreclose on that to cover my debt? Would they be able to garnish my wages once I start working? Should I try to contact the collection agencies to make plans for each of them, or is there some sort of debt management company that can help me consolidate all the debt under a singular monthly payment of some sort?
Thank you in advance for any answers you guys can give.

So, to cut a long tale short, I'm 28 years old, didn't technically graduate from high school approximately 4 years ago, and have been avoiding employment ever since.
After high school, my family would constantly remind me that I needed to get employment. I would ignore them and claim that I would eventually do so, although making no attempt to do so. I'm NEET due to social anxiety and some past trauma, so finding a job is a pretty daunting prospect for me.
I ultimately heard that I had to have a job or else I would be homeless, so I reluctantly applied for government assistance. I really didn't want to do this because it would have required me to report to a job agency and actively seek employment in order to maintain my benefits. I would have nothing to show for myself week after week, and my agent would make an effort to humiliate me for not having any work leads. I detested observing them.
Covid-19 eventually arrived and saved my life. I was now receiving three times as many benefits without having to look for a job. Everything was going well. I got takeaway every night and bought a load of Valorant skins. I was content:)
Nevertheless, this did not endure, and despite receiving over $20,000 in compensation, I had nothing left. I had to meet my employment agent every other week once more when my benefits eventually returned to what they had been, or did I? You see, I had a brilliant idea that I termed "operation sink or swim" in which I had to choose between going without a place to live and finding a job.
I was reasonably optimistic that I had time to get my stuff together because I had enough money for my living expenses to last around six weeks. However, I didn't. At this point, my anxiety about being around people and my trauma-related problems were less severe than they had been when I first became a NEET, but I had developed some pretty bad habits, like waking up, eating, and drinking coffee before spending the rest of the day watching YouTube, porn, and playing video games. I was unable to end the loop.
After a while, my mother observed that I wasn't buying groceries as frequently, that I would wait until I was out of food before buying more, and that I was constantly late with my rent payments. The game was over since I could no longer even hold my own weight and everyone in my family realized how much of a failure I was. My mother's expression of dismay devastated me, and my emotions of shame deepened. It was agreed that my only value was as a helper for errands and housework, which is understandable given that I wasn't paying for it myself, but it was really embarrassing to essentially be everyone's slave.
At this time, I realized I had to take action. I had felt I could handle getting a job until I had to confront the fact that I had to do it. But the reality of it was just too overwhelming; worrying about what my coworkers would think of me and that they would hold me accountable if I made a mistake was embarrassing. I also worried that this would be seen as my first step into complete independence and that I would no longer have the luxury of living off my family and instead would be a wage slave for the rest of my life.
Other options had to exist, and they did. I've always been passionate about YouTube, and even though I hadn't posted much previously, I was sure I could build a popular channel. I identified a market gap and added podcast episodes from a YouTuber's podcast. Unexpectedly, after constantly doing this for a month, it ended up working, and I ended up with 15,000 subscribers and over 350k views. I joined the YouTube partner program, and my first month's earnings were $600. Unfortunately, nothing wonderful lasts forever, and when YouTube learned about this, they removed me from the YPP and shut down my channel. At this time, I genuinely felt hopeless.
After some time had gone, I was scrolling through Tik Tok when I came across someone boasting about how they had made $300 in a week by only spending two hours a day taking surveys. I wasn't exactly convinced and thought I wasn't the kind of person who would be foolish enough to download some dubious survey app, but it lingered with me. I searched for it in the app store and downloaded the first app I came across out of desperation and curiosity.
I chose to dedicate an hour to see how much money I could make from the surveys, which ranged in price from 80 cents to $3 for surveys lasting 5 to 20 minutes. After an hour, I had earned a meager $11.23. It wasn't much money, and I'm pretty sure it's less than half the minimum wage where I live, but it still felt odd to me. When I deposited it to PayPal and subsequently my bank account, I saw real money for the first time in months.
After performing some quick arithmetic, I estimated that if I could make $10 per hour and spend 5 hours per day taking surveys, I could easily make $300 to $400 per week. Again, not a lot of money, but if I did this, I'd be making the same amount of money I was receiving in government assistance when COVID hit. However, this time I didn't have to worry about seeking work or even having a job; instead, I could just sit at home and complete surveys while watching Twitch streams.
This marked the beginning of my six-month journey towards a survey-only existence. There have been some additional benefits to doing this, notwithstanding the increased money. While earning money via surveys is a pretty dismal endeavor, it has given me structure and a measure of self-respect. Now that I don't have to perform all the housework, my days seem longer and happier.
I get out of bed and cycle to the nearest coffee shop, where I spend $3.85 on a medium double espresso shot latte. I then ride back to my house and settle down, feeling all cozy, filling out surveys while watching YouTube videos and Twitch broadcasts. I feel more productive and can sleep better at night knowing that I'm not letting each day pass me by totally.
I think I've made good progress toward regaining my ability to function as a normal human. Oddly enough, I can picture a time in the future when I am contently working a 9–5 job or, even better, founding a business to free myself from wage labor. Now that they are aware of my condition and my willingness to make an effort to carry my own weight, my family appears to be much more understanding of it. Speaking with individuals at my neighborhood coffee shop and getting to know them by name has developed into a pretty simple approach to engaging in social interaction each day, which has greatly reduced my social anxiety. Life feels happy once more:)
I figured that some people here might be interested in also doing surveys so i'll leave a link to the two survey apps that I use.
https://www.probrandreviews.com/

When you're rich enough, you get perks you can only dream of. Literally. But somehow, my paradise turned into hell.
And now I'm paranoid.
Have you ever had a dream so amazing, you wished you could relive it? Explore it? Relish it? Well, when you're rich enough, you don't have to wish. It's a reality thanks to dream banks. You may have heard of them and their pricy services, which include recording, saving, and projecting dreams.
For example, if you'd like a dream recorded, you can book one of their luxurious suites for the night, where the dream techs will fit you with a special helmet, offer you a sleep-friendly snack, and leave you to rest. The next morning, they'll replay the recorded dream for you via the helmet and ask if you want to shell out the extra bucks to save it. If you don't, they'll delete it and you can pay to book for another time to try again.
If you do decide to save it, you must select an item within the dream that will act as the exit key. (This will come in handy during projections.) While still wearing the helmet, you must touch the item, and the dream techs will label those electric signals as the key.
Afterwards, everything is saved under your name, and you can now relive your dream at any time by booking a suite for three, five, or eight hours. Unlike recordings, during projections, you don't have to wait for sleep to come. After you enjoy a snack of your choice, the helmet is fitted and you're immediately transported to your dream, where you have free will and can enjoy it at your leisure. And if you ever need to leave early, this is when you touch the key, which will shut down the helmet right away.
In my case, the key is the stegosaurus leather rug I have hanging on the wall of my throne room. I never have a reason to touch it otherwise, making it a perfect key. I've also never had to touch it. Experiencing life as an all-powerful, worshipped being who lives on my own planet and hunts dinosaurs in my spare time, I relished my dream to the last second.
Yes, the fees are exorbitant, but at the time, I felt it was worth it. The techs were skilled, the system was sleek, and the dreams were private. Each could only be unlocked by the unique brainwaves of the dreamer.
Or so I thought.
My literal nightmare began when I booked a five-hour projection on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. After taking a sip of champagne to wash down the cranberry brie bites, I settled into the cool silk sheets with a smile. My usual dream tech smiled back as she fastened my helmet, and the last thing I heard was her wishing me pleasant dreams before I was plunged into darkness.
I waited for the split-second adjustment from reality to the dream world, and my confusion grew when I didn't find myself on my throne surrounded by fawning gods and goddesses.
Instead, I found myself in the middle of an endless street. Alone. There were no cars, no life, not even wind. Towering street lamps lined the sidewalk as far as I could see, arcing over the road and tinting everything an eerie red. Behind them, identical buildings stood side by side, silent, their dark, narrow windows hollow.
My pulse spiking, I whipped around. The other direction was just as endless. Uneasy confusion prickled beneath my skin. This had to be someone else's dream. The techs must have made a mistake. I didn't know how it was possible, but there was no other explanation.
My unease piqued as my situation sank in. I was in a stranger's dream and I didn't know the key. I was stuck here until my five hours ran out. Or until the techs realized their mistake. I was ready to rip them a new one once I was out, but until then, I had no choice but to wait.
I studied my surroundings with a frown before I walked over to the curb and sat down, and that was when I noticed I couldn't feel anything. I also noticed I was naked. It didn't matter. There was no one here, and none of this was real anyway.
Time passed, and I tried to distract myself from my nettled offense by humming, but no sound came out. Sitting up, I took a deep breath and screamed. Not even a squeak was heard. I slapped my hand against the ground. Nothing. This place was like a black hole of the senses.
Sighing, I lay down on my back and stared at the red light above me, wondering if I could fall asleep in a dream. I tried, but the more I wished to escape this silent, crimson prison, the more it seemed to come into focus. Soon, the utter lack of noise and movement grew from slightly unnerving to completely intolerable.
There was no way I could wait. I'd go insane. I had to get out of here. I had to find the key.
Jumping up, I ran to the nearest building and wrenched open the door, and a pitch black void greeted me. I gasped, and gasped again as it felt like my very breath was being suctioned out of my lungs. Panicking, silent wheezes rattled in my chest as I struggled to yank myself out of the vacuum, jerking my limbs and bucking my body until I toppled over backwards on the sidewalk.
Gulping in fitful breaths, I scrambled to my feet and ran down the road without looking back, my wide eyes scanning the horizon for salvation. I just wanted out of here, but the hellish path stretched on forever, making me feel like I was running in place as every identical building and street lamp mocked me. Even my silent stomping and mute panting served to draw insanity closer.
And then, a person showed up.
There, in the distance.
With my hope spurred, I raced towards them, desperate. I didn't care who they were. I needed to break this monotony.
As I got closer, hope morphed to confusion, and then to despair. The person was me. It was a mirror, propped up across the entire street.
Sweat-soaked, I slowed down to a jog before I stopped right in front of my reflection. It was me alright, naked, exhausted, and frustrated. But the eyes, something was off about the eyes. With an anxious frown, I stepped closer, staring into them, and they stared back …
… until they glanced behind me.
I gasped and jumped away, and so did my reflection … before it glanced over my shoulder again.
A chill trickled down my spine. My reflection had nothing behind it but the empty street, so I gulped and turned around, and my mouth fell open in a silent scream as a lovecraftian behemoth barrelled its way towards me. With its slick shell gleaming red beneath the lights, it slammed down one spiny tentacle after the other as its five mouths bared their dripping, concentric fangs.
Drenched in undiluted horror, tremors gripped my body as I stumbled away until my back was against the mirror. I knew death was a foolproof key in a dream, but I didn't know if this creature would kill me right away or leave me to suffer in agony until my five hours were up.
With it only inches away, I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed myself into the mirror, and my stomach flipped as I fell backwards. I opened my mouth to gasp, but there was nothing for me to draw in. Floating in an airless void, I flailed and thrashed, my wild eyes scanning the darkness for answers as I began to spin around.
Although death would free me, one of my greatest fears was suffocating. On one of my weightless rotations, a red, glass cube passed me by, and I grabbed it, hoping it was a breathing device. I brought it close to my face, and I gawked at what it held within.
Me.
Surrounded by identical buildings and red street lamps while a lovecraftian behemoth tore me apart.
Horrified, I threw the cube as far as I could and increased my efforts to escape this void. Yet all the flailing and thrashing was for naught as the darkness revealed no end. My eyesight began to go red as my lungs spasmed, and I clawed at my throat as my pulse stuttered in my chest.
The red kept growing and growing until it engulfed my entire vision, and I gave up. There was nothing to do but face my fears and die. With my straining heart lumbering, I let myself go limp as I stared at the red and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
I wasn't dying.
In fact, I could breathe just fine.
Frowning, I opened my eyes, and intense unease spread through my core. Above me, a red moon had taken up the entire sky, each one of its craters crystal clear, like eyes watching me. I turned my head away, and I realized I was in a park, laying down on the grass. Sitting up, I blinked in surprise at the pond right beside me, its opaque water reflecting the moon's red light. Ducks were swimming in a circle across its surface, their movements smooth with nary a splash.
Trees surrounded us, so dense I couldn't tell when one began and the other ended. It was mind-numbingly quiet here as well, and I still couldn't feel anything or make any noise, but at least the ducks were moving. This place seemed more tolerable than the last, and I was willing to wait out my five hours here. I hoped at least an hour had passed already, but with dreams, one never knew. All I knew was that I was too exhausted to search for the key. And too scared. I didn't know whose dream this was, but they had to be masochistic if they saved this nightmare.
Curling up beside the pond, I worked on calming myself down as I watched the ducks swim in their systematic circle over and over and over. I tried counting the rotations the way one would count sheep, but that still didn't lull me to sleep. I wished I'd chosen the three-hour projection, but at least I hadn't chosen the eight-hour one.
Distorted circus music crackled around me and I jolted up, my heart ricocheting in my chest. There was finally sound, but the last thing I wanted to hear was a cliche horror movie soundtrack. Gulping, I looked around. The music was coming from the trees, and my stomach dropped when I spied a shadow behind one of them. Then another. And another. They emerged into the crimson moonlight, and my blood turned to ice.
Clowns.
I whipped around, trembling to the rhythm of my frantic pulse. They were surrounding me. Dozens of them. As classic as any clown could be. Colorful clothes, big shoes, silly hair, exaggerated makeup. I wasn't scared of clowns, as long as they were where they belonged. And they didn't belong here, staring at me with empty eyes and toothy grins.
I tried to convince myself that they weren't dangerous since they didn't have weapons and didn't seem monstrous, but when they took a step closer in unison, I jumped back, nearly falling into the pond. The ducks remained oblivious, still swimming in their circle. The distorted circus music got louder, and my hair stood on end when I saw the grass ripple in front of each clown. They were sending something my way through the ground.
Panicking, I jumped into the pond, and I screamed as I sank right in. There was no bottom. There was no water either. The pond was filled with red, translucent spheres, each the size of a tennis ball. Still able to breathe, I began swimming through the spheres with clumsy breast strokes, just hoping I could end up as far away from the clowns as possible.
After swimming for what felt like enough time, I tried to swim up, until I realized I had no idea which direction I was facing. Remember a trick for those stuck in avalanches, I spat, but my glob of saliva just hovered in front of me. Before panic could set in, I noticed what looked like an office desk floating amidst the spheres in the distance. After blinking a few times to make sure it was really there, I swam towards it, desperate for any change in my situation.
It was an office desk, a wooden one with carved borders and locked drawers. Tucked beneath it was a stool, and the moment I pulled it out and set it under my ass, an office replaced the red spheres.
I grunted as gravity returned, and I looked around in bewilderment at the cluttered bookshelves and grimy floors. Dust was floating everywhere, highlighted by the red light filtering in through the blinds behind me. I jumped as a clock hanging on the wall chimed. Its glass was too dirty for me to tell the time, but I was glad I could hear. I coughed at the dust. And I could make noise. I dusted my hands. And I could feel. I could even smell, which I now wished I couldn't as I wrinkled my nose at the faint stench of rot.
After failing to read the spines of some of the books on the shelves, I studied the shadowy corners of the room. A slack-jawed skeleton hung in the far end, and a faded poster with anatomical diagrams curled off a cupboard. This had to be a doctor's office. Was the creator of this dream a doctor?
A silhouette slid in front of the frosted glass door, and I gulped as the knob began to turn. A hand reached in, gripping the edge one finger at a time, and my heart dropped as I knew this horror cliche was only going to be followed by another. Having no time to think, I slid off the stool and crouched beneath the desk, my hand over my mouth as cobwebs clung to me.
Praying spiders wouldn't swarm me, I peeked through a small slit in the wood, and I froze when an emaciated nurse walked in the room. Layers upon layers of blood coated her scrubs, so much so that I couldn't even tell what color they originally were. She had no shoes. No feet either. Just ankle stubs, and my stomach turned as I heard bone clunk against the tiles.
A surgical mask covered her face, as bloodstained as her scrubs, and grimy lab goggles obscured her eyes. I was grateful, because judging by the pus leaking out of her scabbed, balding scalp, I didn't want to know what her face looked like. The closer she got, the stronger the stench of rot became, and I struggled to keep myself from retching.
She stopped halfway into the room, and I gawked at her hands. They were transforming. Her fingers elongating into razor-edged blades. She then began to hunch over, and I cringed as her spine cracked and popped until she was as bent as a candy cane, her face staring at her pelvis.
As if that wasn't unsettling enough, her head creaked as it spun around 180 degrees, now facing the front, upside down. Right after, her arms shot to the ground, and I watched with increasing dread as she bent them at the elbows and wrists so they flanked her head like distorted T-Rex arms.
She spread her fingers out and took a few more steps towards me, and I held my breath, hoping she couldn't hear my rabid heart or smell my fear. Her ankle bones clicked and clacked against the tiles as she made her way around the desk, and I cowered as my frantic eyes searched for a weapon. I found none, but I did spy a brass button beside my head.
With her legs now an arms distance away, I had nothing to lose as I jammed my thumb into the button. The back of the desk flung open, and I scrambled to my feet and dashed out from my hiding place, screaming in response to the nurse screeching behind me. Bursting through the door, I held up my fists and began punching like a maniac in fearful anticipation of a horde of nurses swarming me.
Except I was no longer in a hospital. I was in an outdoor parking lot. Alone. And judging by the roiling red clouds, a storm was brewing. After a second to collect my bearings, I dove into the closest car, thankful it was unlocked. The moment I slammed the door shut, lightning blinded me as thunder cracked and the downpour began. Sighing in relief, I tried to shake away my adrenaline, but the bloodshot eyes in my rearview mirror reignited my panic.
Before I could react, a belt snapped over my neck, pinning my head back against the headrest. With a frightened wheeze, I clawed at the leather, and I flinched as hot, heavy breath wafted across my ear. Gagging at the putrid smell, I reached over, desperate to scratch my strangler's face or poke their eyes out.
I felt their hair and tried to pull it, but my fingers refused to hold on. I tried again and again, but the strands just kept slipping out of my weak grip. Shifting focus, I tried to claw at their eyes, but it felt as though I was moving through molasses as my hand slid down their face. Even when I felt a wet, bulbous eye, I didn't have enough strength to do anything.
My frustration clashed with my terror and I tried to punch them, but my arm swung back in slow motion and merely prodded a stubbly cheek. Tears welled in my eyes as I writhed and gasped, my strangler's laugh adding insult to injury. Despite knowing death will set me free, fear and self-preservation rummaged through my mind, searching for a solution. And they found one.
Hoping I had enough grip and energy, I reached down and found the reclining lever. Wrapping my fingers around it tight, I jerked it up and heaved my body back, and I gulped in a deep breath as I fell backwards, the belt now slack. Not at all prepared to face my attacker, I slipped out from beneath the belt, flung open the door, and zoomed out into the storm.
Sheets of rain obscured my vision, but not enough for me to see that the keys were left inside a red convertible. After making sure no one was hiding in the back, I jumped in, started the engine, and took off, the wheels squealing through the puddles. A sole street curled down a hill, and I took it, adrenaline pumping in waves through my quivering body.
This rush was a confusing mixture of exhilaration and apprehension. I wanted out, but I wasn't giving up. I made it this far, and I was going to survive every cliche this masochist dreamed up. Spiders? Snakes? Zombies? Bring it on. And afterwards, I was going to detail every single trial and tribulation I went through as I sued the dream bank for all the trauma they caused me.
Up ahead, the road curved, and I gasped as it ended in a cliff. I slammed the breaks, but they didn't do anything. Breaking out in a cold sweat, I slammed them again and again as I yanked the hand break as far as it would go. The car refused to slow down, and I cursed myself for not anticipating this cliche. In a move of desperation, I swerved, but it wasn't enough as the car careened over the edge and took me with it.
My heart hung in my throat as I hung on to the steering wheel, my knuckles white, my screams frozen in my lungs, the raindrops like needles. An endless body of water spread below me, and I knew sharks were my next challenge. I screwed my eyes shut as I awaited the inevitable plunge …
… and I gasped as a gentle hand woke me up.
I sat up, my pyjamas plastered to my damp skin, the silk sheets soaked. The tech gave me a sympathetic smile and asked me if I wanted to review the dream or if I wanted to delete it right away, since she could sense it was a nightmare.
I stared at her in furious disbelief as I yelled and cursed, accusing them of misconduct, and she gave me a confused frown. She said I had booked a recording session, not a projection one. After I called her a liar, management got involved, and they showed me my file with proof that I'd booked and paid for a recording session.
I told them they must have mistakenly charged me for a recording session, but I was one hundred percent sure I went through a projection session. I asked for five hours on a Tuesday afternoon. Not eight hours on a Tuesday evening. I had champagne and cranberry brie bites, not chamomile and honey-glazed almonds.
Their concern increased as they told me I was wrong. They said it was Wednesday, I'd slept the entire night, and they had my recorded dream to prove it. I demanded to skim through it, and they obliged. There it was, every scene of that nightmare. But it wasn't mine. It couldn't be. Could it? I hated scary movies. I also rarely had nightmares unless it involved me going broke. Why would I dream of an amalgamation of every horror cliche?
For a second, I was afraid I was still in the dream. This nightmarish scenario would fit right in with the others, taking it to Inception levels. But everything seemed real. I could hear, feel, and speak. No one was growing tentacles or blades. Nothing smelled pungent. Nothing glowed red.
I groaned and buried my face in my hands, confused and uncomfortable. I didn't know what the truth was anymore. One tech reminded me it was impossible for dreams to be projected to anyone but their creator. Another tech gently touched my shoulder and suggested I see a doctor if I continued to get spells of confusion like this. Not knowing how to reply, I paid them to save the nightmare before I got dressed and left.
Back home, I talked to family and friends, nothing seemed suspicious. Nothing seemed ready to kill me. I'm typing here on Reddit, and I'm sure I'll get replies. I'm out of the dream. I'm certain of it. But that leaves two other options.
Either I really did book a recording session and had my own nightmare, in which case I should take the tech's advice and see a doctor because my memory doesn't add up …
… or something sinister is going on at the dream banks, and they're using their clients as guinea pigs. Perhaps they're planning on branching out and creating a mental house of horrors where clients can get a near-realistic experience without fear of death. But why wouldn't they ask for volunteers instead of traumatizing loyal customers?
So I have to ask, have any of you experienced something similar? I know the odds of finding another multimillionaire who frequents dream banks is slim on Reddit, but even one other account can help my case.
SR

Table of Contents
What is a stormwater drainage system?
What is the purpose of the stormwater drainage system?
Where does storm drain water go?
Does storm drains connect to the sewage system?
Do storm drains lead to the sea or ocean?
What is surface water flooding?
What is a poor drainage system?
How to prevent surface water flooding?
What are the innovative stormwater drainage solutions?
Difference between stormwater and wastewater
Stormwater Management
How does storm-water management help?
Integrated Water Management

What is a stormwater drainage system?

Rainfall results in the formation of stormwater. Stormwater that is not absorbed by the ground due to impermeable pavement or hard surface, spills over to the road or hard surface, is collected by the underground drainage system, called stormwater drainage system.

What is the purpose of the stormwater drainage system?

The purpose of civil drainage is to collect rainfall runoff from all across the city and discharge it slowly to the downstream river or natural water catchments. Stormwater drainage systems frequently collaborate with the environment, channelling, attenuating, and discharging stormwater through natural features such as lakes, ditches, ponds, swales, streams, etc.

Where does storm drain water go?

Water rushes off hard surfaces such as roads, parking bays, rooftops, pathways, and driveways into stormwater drains. In an urban setting, stormwater drains out to the smaller pipes that connect to larger stormwater pipes, and that finally connects to oversize drains or pipes that transport the water to the outfall points such as streams, and creeks, rivers, and/ or the ocean.

Does storm drains connect to the sewage system?

The storm system is distinct from the sewage system and just caters to rainwater and groundwater. It also prevents flooding by attenuating surface water. The storm sewer system that drains surface water directly to the nearest outfall such as stream or pond or river, is connected to the drainage system that you usually see on the roads, footway, and parking bays”.

Do storm drains lead to the sea or ocean?

The sewage water that comes from the household such as the kitchen sink or toilet in your home, is untreated water and therefore goes first for the treatment and then discharges to the nearby outfall points. Stormwater is normally not significantly contaminated, so they need a relatively simpler treatment process before discharging to the outfall points such as streams, lakes, rivers, or the ocean.

What is surface water flooding?

When rainwater does not drain away through typical drainage systems or does not trickle down to the permeable ground earth, but instead lies on or flows over the ground, surface water flooding occurs. The responsibility of managing or controlling the risk of surface water flooding comes under the purview of the lead local flood authority or agency.

What is a poor drainage system?

The poor drainage system can cause flooding, resulting in property loss and possibly causing people to relocate to avoid the floodwaters. Flooding can also wreak havoc on water supply infrastructure and pollute home water supplies. Following are some well-known common causes of poor drainage systems:

• Heavy storms or rains than the designed pipe network capacity
• Damaged Pipes
• Incorrect Pipe Installation
• Inadequate Water flow system through gravity.
• Blockage in the pipe network due to unknown objects
• Poor or infrequent maintenance of drainage network

How to prevent surface water flooding?

A sustainable drainage system (Suds) is a natural way to manage surface water that can be employed in any form of development:

• Roofs with plants on them.
• Permeable surfaces are those that allow water to pass through.
• Filter drains and filter strips are used in infiltration trenches.
• Swales are a type of shallow drainage canal.
• Wetlands, detention basins, and purpose-built ponds

What are the innovative stormwater drainage solutions?

Here are four programs that change stormwater from a waste to a resource, ranging from building thriving wetlands to reducing the demand for potable water supplies:

• Big Plans for Small Creek
• A new water sources
• Going green
• Underground engineering

Difference between stormwater and wastewater

Stormwater is water that drains into a street drainage system from rain and other sources and discharges to the downstream river or pond or creeks. Flooding and bank erosion are prevented by stormwater drainage systems.
Water from households and businesses is the main source of wastewater. Before wastewater is discharged to the nearby streams or creeks, it is very important to treat them.

Stormwater Management

Stormwater management is the attempt to limit rainwater or melted snow runoff into streets, open ground, and other locations while also improving water quality. Stormwater is filtered when it is trickled down to the existing ground soil and eventually fills the aquifers or runs into nearby streams and rivers.
When heavy rains fall, however, the saturated earth produces surplus moisture that seeps across the ground and then to the storm drains and finally to the downstream ditches. It caters to debris, eroded soil mass, bacteria, chemical substances, and other forms of pollutants and is therefore treated (by the downstream defender) before discharging to the stream or river just before the outfall point.

How does storm-water management help?

In urban settings, impervious surfaces like road pavement, footways, rooftops obstruct the rainwater from naturally soaking into the existing ground. Instead, the stormwater rushes into the storm drain system, through gully & pipe network, drainage ditches, etc, and its causes flooding, contamination, turbidity (or muddiness), sometimes overflowing storm and sanitary sewer systems, and finally damages the infrastructure and properties.
Stormwater management and green infrastructure, on the other hand, aim to collect and reuse stormwater in order to preserve or reinstate natural hydrologists. Stormwater management is primarily concerned with retaining stormwater and eliminating pollutants.
Stormwater management includes porous surfaces that allow rain to trickle down into the ground soil. It also manages grey infrastructures such as culverts, orifices, storm sewers, and traditional piped drainage networks, and aims to restore or mimic the natural water cycle.

Integrated Water Management

Integrated water management (IWM) of stormwater helps to minimize or eliminate various potential issues such as the health of rivers or waterways and challenges of the water supply system due to the rapid urban agglomeration. IWM is commonly associated with green infrastructure management and prefers to be involved during the early stages of the design process.
It helps to identify and mitigate major roadblocks at the early stage of design and a well-integrated infrastructure can be developed. Infrastructure development and urban growth result in increased demands for robust surface water drainage systems.
Although climate change and reduction in the green field are two very important factors to consider while designing the proposed drainage system. It is recommended to consider a 20% uplift in surface water quantity due to the climate change factor and maintain the greenfield runoff rate at the outfall location.
That means provision of an attenuation system, stormwater harvesting (to decrease the amount of water that can cause a potential for flooding), infiltration (to reestablish natural groundwater recharge), bio-retention or biofiltration (e.g., rain gardens) to accumulate and treat runoff and discharge it at a controlled rate (by flow control devices) to lessen the impact on the down streams, and wetland treatment solutions are some non-exhaustive solutions to be explored by the designers.
The most common solution is to provide land-based treatment such as attenuation ponds, infiltration trenches, bioswales, permeable paving, etc to reduce stormwater runoff. Engineered, manufactured items can also be used to accomplish comparable, or possibly better, effects than land-based systems.
The ideal LID solution balances the anticipated outcomes (runoff and contamination management) with the associated costs. IWM, is still in its early days, bringing together components of drainage, hydrology, ecology, and the recognition that old-style drainage solutions only push issues downstream, putting the environment and natural water supplies at risk.
I hope this blog will help you understand the stormwater drainage system and its associated advantages, disadvantages, etc.
Please feel free to like, share and comment.
Admin, gcelab.com Please see our Pillar Post to know why we founded gcelab.com.
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• How to become a successful Drainage Engineer – 5 Key Points

Company Name	Title	City
Ace Handyman Services	Handyman	Greensboro
Truist Bank	Application Architect	Cary
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.	Genesys Cloud Product Owner - Customer Services	Cary
Truist Bank	Lead Data Systems Engineer	Cary
Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corporation d/b/a Enact Mortgage Insurance	Senior Data Scientist	Cary
Triangle Accounting, Inc	Accounting Assistant	Cary
MetLife Group, Inc	Scrum Lead II	Cary
Truist Bank	Cybersecurity Data Analytics Consultant	Cary
IQVIA RDS Inc.	Associate Director, Quality Management	Chapel Hill
Premier, Inc.	Senior Java Architects	Charlotte
CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC	Salesforce Developer	Charlotte
Confidential	Insurance Agent	Charlotte
Walter B. Davis Company	Assistant Project Manager	Charlotte
GKN Driveline Newton, LLC	Controls Engineer	Conover
Nazo Landscaping	Landscape laborers	Durham
Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, Inc.	Software Development Engineer IV	Durham
Novogene Corporation Inc.	Director of Biotech Support	Durham
Vance County Schools	High School Math Teacher	Henderson
Alcami Carolinas Corporation	Scientist, Analytical Development	Mooresville
Western Piedmont Community College	Assistant Director of Records/Registration	Morganton
Western Piedmont Community College	Assistant Director of Financial Aid	Morganton
Align Technology, Inc.	Senior Software Developer	Morrisville
Catalent Pharma Solutions	Lead Scientist	Morrisville
Keysight Technologies Inc.	Engineering/technology	Morrisville
Lucas Research	ProvidePrimary Investigator	New Bern

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in nc. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

My family is headed to Duck, NC, in July. There's like 15 people going. We rented a house for the week.
Family vacations are important to me. Life is short and I want to spend it making memories with those who mean the most to me. After brainstorming ideas on what to do this summer, the Outer Banks is what the major decided on.
Problem is, I'm not really a fan of the beach. I love the water, but only for so long. I have hyperactive ADHD and bore very easily. Sitting somewhere for hours on end is not something that's easily doable for me unless I'm hyperfocusing on something. I can hardly make it through movies. I'm not really into fishing either (just too much sitting and waiting for me).
I agreed to go because I know my wife and son were really looking forward to the trip. Wife said we could do something else if I wanted, but like I said, family trips are important to me and this is what the rest of the family wanted to do this year. We usually only go our separate ways if the family splits and doesn't go somewhere together.
With the trip getting closer, my anxiety is kicking up. I worry I'll turn miserable and become agitated. I worry about the weather too. If it rains, then what? The whole trip depends on nice weather. We had 1 yr in Clearwater, FL, where it rained all week, but thankfully there was plenty to do there when the beach wasn't an option.
Is there anything to do in Duck besides go to the beach? Some quick research tells me there's not much besides a couple little shops and restaurants, but I wanted to ask the locals. What do people do down there in bad weather? How far is the nearest big city? If I get THAT bored, is it a long drive up to Virginia Beach? I think there may be a little more entertainment in VB, no?

Side by side, we continued on our path, skirting through the lower section of the factory. After my initial shock, my heart rate had slowed to a healthier pace again. Frankie had assured me that his old boss most likely hadn’t heard us (“She used to have her earbuds in all the time with the volume cranked way up—you couldn’t have gotten her attention if you’d tried”), but we still considered it prude to move forward at a more hurried pace.
We soon came to the conclusion that we would have to go up one of the outside staircases. Frankie admitted in humiliation that his memories of the factory weren’t as accurate as he’d thought—either that or FunFlair had made a few changes to the building. The upper floor containers all had glass doors, presenting us with a sticky problem. If we were to go up there directly, we’d probably be spotted immediately.
“This warrants a change of plans,” I declared soberly, keeping my voice low. “We’ll have to knock her out, then.”
Frankie whimpered.
“Wouldn’t you like that?” I prompted. “I’d be the one to do it, of course.”
“Ye-es.” He shuddered. “It’d be satisfactory for sure, but that’s only assuming nothing goes wrong.”
“She can hardly be stronger than I am.”
“No. I guess not. She, uh… yeah.”
“Let’s go, then.” I offered an encouraging smile as I started leading the way back outside.
We rounded the container with the lights on inside, ascending the metal grate staircase connected to it. Every step carried us closer towards the light. Just before the door fully came into view, I turned to Frankie one last time. “Are you alright? This’ll be it in a moment.”
He made another chew-toy sound.
“Fran, what is it? If you know something I don’t about what might happen in there…”
“She shouldn’t see me,” he squeaked out. “I can’t control myself around her.”
“I don’t understand; did you two use to be an item?”
“No! No, no, no. I can’t explain it any other way. She can make me do things I don’t want,” he told me, his tone growing in desperation.
“How?”
“It’d take too long to explain now, it’s… it’s really very complicated. Please, can you do it without me? I can’t go up there after all, I’m so sorry but I can’t…”
I sighed, leaning in to put my arms around him. “It’s okay,” I whispered into his hair. “I’ll do it. Wait here.”
“I’m so, so sorry, Eva. I swear I’ll make it up to you. This is the last time I’ll ask something like this of you.”
“I doubt it,” I replied. “But it’s okay.” I drew back, reluctantly letting go of him. “For now, it’s okay.” I continued marching up the stairs. Behind the glass door, a feminine figure in a black rubber apron came into view. She seemed to be nimbly skirting around another operating table, this one occupied by a fully formed, petite doll. Now or never. I reached for the doorhandle, pushed it down and crossed the threshold in a single, large step. I slammed the door shut behind my back, drawing the attention of the woman.
She looked up at me, her eyes widening in shock behind her thick glasses. With a swipe of her slender fingers, she removed her earbuds, dropping them into her pocket.
“Are you Philomena Wallis?” I asked.
For a split second, she appeared to be too stunned to speak. Her pale face was framed by messy strands of jet-black hair that had worked their way out of her long ponytail. When she broke from her silence, she spoke with an irritatingly pearly voice. “Who’s asking?”
“A former delivery girl. Well, are you?”
“I am. I don’t understand; I-I’ve never seen you before… How did you end up here? What do you want?”
I took in a deep breath. I glanced over at the door, inwardly cursing myself for what I was about to ask her. “I need to know what you did to Frankie Preston.”
For a couple seconds, silence reigned. The other woman was staring at me with knotted brows. “I don’t know who you’re talking about,” she said finally.
“About yay high—,” I raised my hand above my head, “slightly built, blond curly hair, dreamy smile…”
Philomena narrowed her eyes. I cleared my throat, holding her gaze. Then a look of cold comprehension settled on her features. “Oh my god,” she muttered. “Holy shit… hold on.” She turned around, pulling up a photo on her computer. “Is that him?”
I cautiously stepped closer to get a better look, only to shrink back slightly. It was, indeed, a picture of Fran. He was entirely naked in it, lying on a table similar to the one I was standing in front of now, his wrists and ankles locked in restraints. His neck was craned, his face averted. The camera had caught him mid-motion, a blur around his head visually conveying a kind of violence in the movement. I couldn’t bear to look at it any longer. Instead, I moved closer to the doll on Philomena’s table, taking her in fully. Another blonde—her hair was straight, though. Her body was exaggeratedly curvy, her face delicate and fawn. Speechless, I locked eyes with Philomena from across the room again. She gave me a light shrug. “You look like you need some time for this to sink in,” she remarked, drawing out the words. “I take it you didn’t have all the information previously.”
“That’s okay,” I replied. “I think I get it now.” My head felt empty, my own voice seemingly echoing back and forth between my ears.
“So, you know my prototype,” she stated, confusion and disbelief mixing in her tone. “He told you how to get here, then?”
“In a way.”
“And you came here to find out,” she concluded. “There’s not much I can tell you that you haven’t figured out by now. We wanted to create the most detailed doll there was. He was our first attempt. I started developing him back in the late nineties as just a hopeful pet project. I kept adding more functions as time went on, though, and he turned into an insanely lucrative prospect. I wanted him to be able to move and dance and mimic an airflow, and it worked out better than I’d ever expected. So he can do a lot of things, but I never intended for him to have any sensory awareness or to talk… I have no idea how that happened. It just did. One day, I turned him on and he simply looked at me. There was something different about his eyes, and I knew right away he wasn’t the same as before. And then of course he spoke.”
A shudder ran through her entire upper body at the memory. “I have no idea how. None of us did at the time. He had no recorded voice lines or anything of the sort. And yet, he opened up his mouth and there was just… words coming out, like.” She shook her head in bewilderment at the memory. “After I got over the initial shock, I realized how big of a problem this was. He was telling me to stay away from him; he wouldn’t do a thing I told him anymore. There was my best invention in the entire field yet, rebelling like a teenager. When I tried to get him back in line, he got physical, too. Thrashed around like crazy. One of my assistants ended up concussed because that thing threw him down a flight of stairs. So we had to put an end to that, as well.”
A faint feeling of nausea seeped into the pit of my stomach, strengthening by the second. “What did you do?”
“Well, we had to take him apart, of course! And put him back together. Wash, rinse, repeat. We kept trying to figure out what was wrong with him, or at least to find a way to stop his babbling and hitting people. We didn’t, though. We managed to control his outbursts, though. He was made to react to voice commands, but obviously, that wasn’t working anymore. So after the umpteenth time we rebuilt him, we managed to make it so he couldn’t physically attack people. Don’t ask me about the finer details of his programming; the process was beyond tedious. Anyways, he kept talking and moving around on his own even afterwards. He’d only listen to what we told him occasionally and even then, he’d mouth off. We didn’t want to discard all the progress we’d made, though. He was still an incredibly well-made doll, even if he was… apparently possessed and sentient.
“We built two more like him. We tried harder with their faces seeing as that of the prototype had fallen very far into the uncanny valley. They turned out great, perfectly shaped and working smoothly. Their development took a lot less time than that of the prototype. Once we were sure they were all good, we started talking about destroying the first one. We’d kept him locked up in the meantime, but the little fucker kept on breaking out. We’d literally cuff him to the wall and moments later, he’d come up behind me and scare me half to death. He was becoming a bigger nuisance every day. We were set on taking him apart a final time, but before we could, he disappeared. He’d destroyed all our equipment he’d gotten his hands on, stolen unnameable sums from our online banking accounts—Lord knows how he did that—and worst of all, he somehow managed to… activate the two new builds. He destroyed most of the cameras, but the footage that was left clearly showed them walking around with him. And that’s that.” She palmed her forehead. “How did he get away from the people I sent after him?”
“Largely with my help.”
“Huh. So who are you?”
“Still just a former delivery girl.” Shrugging off my jacket, I made room for my extra limbs to breach my skin, simultaneously opening my mouth as my teeth morphed into fangs.
Philomena watched my transformation almost disaffectedly. Her steps as she carried herself over to her operating table however nearly faltered. Before I could advance on her, she’d cupped the sleeping dolls cheeks, causing the limp body to spring to life. The mannequin’s head jerked up along with her torso. In several clipped, mechanical movements, she slid off the surface, placing her naked feet on the floor. Her eyes flew open, fixing me with an empty glare.
“I don’t know what the fuck you are or what you want from me,” Philomena began, “but I’ve got weak nerd arms. So have fun dealing with this instead.”
I shrank back a step, the memory of Frankie picking me up like I weighed nothing fresh in my mind. Phil pressed her lips to the side of the puppet’s face, whispering something I couldn’t make out before quickly drawing aside. Before I could do so much as blink, the doll was upon me, crossing the distance between us in one impressive leap. She toppled me over, instantly reaching for my throat. I batted her cold, rubbery hands away, then pried her off of me with all my might. Using two of my tentacles, I flung her aside, sending her crashing into a shelf in the corner. Not wasting another second, I lunged at Wallis, delivering a blow to her head that sent her staggering. She sank back against her desk and I lashed out at her once more, briefly shutting my eyes to spare myself the sight of her face connecting squarely with the wooden surface as I bashed her down on against it.
She fell limp, and while I wasn’t sure if she was still breathing or not, I didn’t take the time to check. Her puppet was rising to her feet again, striding towards me in a vacantly determined fashion. I whirled around, bursting through the door and taking two steps at once. Frankie was waiting for me at the bottom of the metal staircase, his face falling when he caught my expression.
“Knocked her out,” I gasped. “We have a problem, though.”
Fran looked up at the glass door, the hinges of which were already groaning under the pressure of the mannequin throwing herself against it from the inside. With a sharp crack, a tear began to grow on the thick pane, and Frankie cursed loudly. “Get away from here!” he hollered, nudging me into the general direction of the woods. “I doused everything I could find down here,” he explained quickly. “If Phil’s out, I’ll do her room, too.”
“What about the—”
“Never you mind that! I can hold her off no problem.”
“I won’t—”
“You literally took out the one thing holding me back,” he insisted. “I’m not letting you get hurt out here. Just wait for me over by the trees.”
I still wouldn’t budge, so he grabbed a bunch of my tentacles and used them to turn me around. “Get your cute-ass face out of here, Sunshine!”
I started running, albeit reluctantly. A loud crashing noise rang out from behind me as the door burst under Phil’s puppet’s onslaught, but I forced myself to keep from turning around. Ignoring the searing hot feeling of panic raging inside my chest, I carried myself further and further away from the scene, only stopping when I reached the treeline. There, pressing myself up against the rough bark of the nearest trunk just to ground myself, I resigned to staring at the containers. I couldn’t see the waiter from where I was standing, but my eyes remained trained on the factory. They were gradually drying out, but despite the pain, I kept them wide open. I didn’t dare to blink.
For several minutes, all was still. The only sound I could hear was the frantic beating of my own heart and my pulse thrumming in my ears. Then, all of a sudden, inferno broke loose. Bright flames started to spread from around the sides of the building, quickly rising high into the sky. Crackling and roaring, they soon enveloped the entire site, lighting up the rooms behind the formerly dark windows. And emerging from the fire like a bird of myth came Frankie Preston. He was running, but with a light spring in his step that almost made it look like he was dancing.
He came to a halt in front of me, lifting his head to meet my gaze. His expression was difficult to read. It still looked empty, but in a different way. In a good way. “Hi,” he began.
“Hi.”
The firelight was bouncing off his curls and playing on his thick lashes, putting a reddish glint into his eyes. “You’re beautiful,” I added.
He drew in a little closer. No gasp preceded his smile. “Thanks.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I, uh… I don’t know yet.” He glanced between me and the burning containers.
“Okay. Take your time.” I stretched my arms and rolled my shoulders, shrugging my additional limbs back into the inside of my body.
“Say, where do they go when you don’t have them out?” Frankie asked with a raised brow.
“I never know.”
“Hm.” He turned to stand at my side. At first, his knuckles merely grazed mine, then he flipped his hand to link his fingers with mine. I briefly smiled at his profile, then went back to admiring the flames.
“Do you think the whole woods are gonna burn down?”
“Probably not,” he replied, shrugging. “Though that would be pretty cool…” He trailed off when I shot him a reprimanding look. “Yeah, yeah, we can call the fire fighters or whatever. Later, though, alright?”
I rested my head against the side of his arm. “Sure. Later.”
For a couple minutes, neither of us spoke. The only sound was the steady crackling and occasional thump as bit by bit, the structure collapsed. “So, um… this is pretty amazing,” Fran said in a low voice. “I mean, it’s not like I’ve never been happy before; my life’s kind of had its ups and downs, it’s just that this is better than any up there’s been so far. I guess I’m just really grateful and you ought to know that.”
“Don’t worry, I know.” I paused. “Can we get out of here? The place is starting to stink.”
He nodded agreeably and we turned our backs on the scene, only for our retreat to be abruptly stopped by a garbled, drawn-out screech. We spun around in perfect synchronicity. I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a sharp cry of shock. From the burning wreckage, a figure dragged itself forth on her hands. Philomena’s puppet had suffered immense damage in the fire. Her skin, obviously not made to withstand extreme heat, was melting off her face like molten candle wax. The wires that were bared beneath gave off angry sparks. She couldn’t seem to get up anymore, her legs were beyond repair and her movements overall were getting more and more arduous. She dug her fingers into the ground, pulling her body across the forest floor in slow, pained jerks.
“What the fuck? I thought I switched her off,” Frankie uttered beside me, sounding just as terrified as I felt.
“What do we do?” I exhaled the words in a single quick breath, unable to take my eyes off the doll.
“I got no idea… I-I don’t wanna deal with this…”
“We need to help her or something, she’s—she’s awake!” Before I could say anything else, the doll had emerged from the blaze. Rolling around, she managed to quench the remaining flames, pressing the dirt and leaves into her own dripping, melting body. Finally, she started trying to push herself up into a sitting position, only to fail miserably. I took a slow, tentative step towards her twitching form. Her face was contorted into a nightmarish grimace, and she let out an incomprehensible gurgle upon noticing me approaching. She reached out a mangled hand and I stumbled backwards before she could grab my ankle.
Despite the heat, beads of cold, fearful sweat were running down my face. I had no idea what to do. “We can’t leave her,” I said, my throat bone-dry. “There’s something in there, she’s not like before.”
Fran let out an exasperated, long-suffering sigh. “Is there any use in arguing?”
“Don’t be so cold.”
“Aren’t you used to it by now?”
I turned to look at him over my shoulder. He met my gaze and I could see something in his features change or perhaps even soften. He threw his head back, then pulled out his phone. “This is gonna ruin my night, but fine. I’m calling that insufferable news lady.”
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
17: government work
18: something in the caves
19: shopping cart
20: olms and Jewels
21: long hair
22: recruitment
23: waitresses
24: dollhouse

Is there a fairly comprehensive list of US cashback debit cards somewhere? If not, I'll start one here and would appreciate your input.
I have seen a number of lists, but most lists don't seem comprehensive to me because they either omit the crypto-ish ones or they omit some of the more popular ones from smaller credit unions.
As far as I'm concerned, an ideal list would also include some edge cases:

• cashback checking accounts;
• cashback debit cards that mostly rely on specific partner merchants

I'm categorizing the cards into four categories: broad, narrow, partner, and crypto. Broad is where you get cash back on almost everything, regardless of whether online/pin/signature whatever, but maybe with some small excluded categories. Partner is where it's based on specific partner merchants, and narrow is in between. So far I haven't included things that are specific to a single merchant, like H-E-B Netspend. No matter how broad/narrow, if the rewards are in crypto or require buying crypto, you count as crypto. The "stake/fee" column will be populated if there is either a significant stake required (not just crypto, could be minimum balance or something) or a recurring fee. I'm not linking the crypto cards because I figure the bot will take the post down. Don't invest money in crypto that you can't afford to lose. Let me know if I get something wrong or should add a card.

Type	Card	Stake/Fee	Notes
Broad	Discover	none
Broad	Amex Serve	none
Broad	Affinity	none
Broad	Stessa	none
Broad	Fidelity Bloom	none	high rewards on small transactions
Broad	Primis Perks Checking	none	high rewards on small transactions
Broad	Upgrade	none	direct deposit requirement
Narrow	Zurp	none	includes rent if paid by ACH
Narrow	Green Dot	none
Narrow	Axos Cash Back Checking	none
Broad?	Ando	none	not sure how broad
Broad	Lending Club Rewards Checking	none
Broad	Hanscom Kasasa Cash Back Checking	none	low cap, transaction volume requirement, direct deposit requirement
Broad	Chartway Cash Back Checking	none	low cap, transaction volume requirement, direct deposit requirement
Broad	Florence Bank Cash Back Checking	none	low cap, transaction volume requirement, direct deposit requirement
Broad	Verity Cash Back Checking	none	low cap, transaction volume requirement
Broad	Baselane	none	low cap, business
Broad	Vergo	none	business
Broad	PayPal Business Debit	none	business
Crypto	Fold	none	you can pay for a higher rewards rate
Crypto	Coinbase	none	rewards rate changes often
Crypto	Crypto dot com	stake
Partner	Aspiration
Partner	Bank of America
Partner	Current
Partner	Empower
Partner	Extra
Partner	Juno		that link could get out of date
Partner	Paypal Prepaid	none
Partner	Sable
Partner	SoFi
Partner	Truist
Broad	M1	fee
???	Yotta		no idea how this works

I can't figure out whether this option from Green Dot still exists.

It's cold. But when it's winter it must be cold. And that's the problem. You either have to pay for heat or get tired with getting coal or wood, starting the fire and checking it doesn't spread. Going out is a torture. You have to put in a dozen layers of clothes. Underwear, pants, short-sleeved shirt, long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, boots, neck warmer, hat, gloves. To go out to a shop that is on the ground level or just around the corner, you need all this wearing and getting tired. Winter clothes are heavy, limit motions, sometimes even visibility, and are hard to put on and put off. So buying those is hard and even if you do, then they're hard to walk in. Summer and spring don't have those problems, because you can put on clothes for outdoors and indoors, just change boots and you're alright.
And winter is such a great time to get sick. And the worst thing is having a stuffed nose and have to breathe with your mouth, with this cold air. Throat damage guaranteed, plus this pain in the face from the cold air blowing in your direction. Summer and spring don't have such problems. And winter has the highest amount of deaths of all the seasons. I literally got a frostbite because I touched snow with my bare hands because I didn't have gloves on them. And if you're healthy and put on the clothes, there's another problem.
Getting around. Most of us are rich and have a car and can drive wherever they want. But if you can't, you have to use public transit. I don't have anything about just using it or the fact of the existence of public transit, but the quality of those in Poland, where I live, leaves much to be desired. You have to wait, in cold. In a city this isn't a problem as big as in the rural areas where buses function. These are often coming only in early mornings and in early afternoon, but even if they come more often, they often are late. And no matter the location, you often have to stand, and even if you find a seat, you can sometimes smell people who don't shower very often. Trams, trains, metros and buses are often heated, like most indoor places, we'll get to that later, and people coming there in winter are usually in jackets and sweat in those vehicles, especially considering how crowded they often get and how warm those crowded people are. You'll sweat like a construction worker after 8 hours of work during a heatwave. And driving doesn't save you from the effects of winter. You have to scrape snow from your car, the engine can not start or the visibility is low and roads are blocked or icy, you can skid easily and crash into another car, a pedestrian, a pole or a tree. Walking does neither. If snow falls, it's crushed by people walking, melts and freezes again, and or forms ice on the sidewalk. And you can slip on it and either break something or die. Each time I walk on it, I think I'm gonna die. Either i slip on it and land on a spiked fence, I land on the sidewalk and break something, or I land on the street and get run over by a semi truck or a car. If you manage to get to your destination, there's another problem.
All the buildings are heated, so if you're in winter clothes, you're going to sweat like a construction worker after 8 hours of work during a heatwave.
It's dark half the day. You go to work or school, dark, you go back, dark. And the other half it's cloudy and grey. And the whole world dies. No leaves, no grass, no flowers, some animals hibernate, just grey, cloudy skies and white brown combination of snow, soil, water and mud. No sun. Sure, there are Christmas lights but let's face it, they are only to hide the grey and dark.
It's a hard time for students. The semester ends. You have to pass everything. They throw a lot of tests and quizzes at you. You will tire yourself to death.
Winter sports and games. Snowballs. I hate snowballs. Even if the person who throws one is someone I like. Usually, I take it easy, but in my mind, I hate it. Ice skating. I can't do that because the nearest lake or skating rink is too far away to walk. I could afford that, but I would need to wear all those clothes, get on the bus, ask my parents for approval, get back. No way. Skiing. I live in a city surrounded by forests and farm fields. No way. Sledding. Those are easier because I have some hills in my neighborhood, but going out, taking the sled, going back. Nope. Snowman. Going out. No.
And there are, CHRISTMAS IN WINTER. I'm fed up with them. Literally a few days after Halloween and All Saints Day, all the shops and malls are decorated, and Christmas songs are playing on the radio and Christmas commercials on TV. "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart...":“Christmas promotion! Bone carp, only 21.37 per package or a withered Christmas tree, 69.69 each plus delivery for 3.21. Holidays for Christmas, Old Zealand, 666.66 both ways. Christmas loans, only in Pierogi Bank Polski." Don't take Christmas loans, that's the stupidest thing you can do in that time of the year. They're still up everywhere, wherever I go, whatever I look at. Until the day finally arrives, December 24, when you are completely fed up with it. And it's not like I hate Christmas. Christmas in their current shape and theme are asking for dislike. You want to get up, leave, and come back when all this madness is over. But it's nice that we have time off and we get presents and meet our family. In the summer we have more free time, and on birthdays and name days we also get gifts and meet our family. But always something. And then there's another holiday.
New Year's Eve and New Year, when humans celebrate Earth going around the Sun once again, while nothing besides it happens in nature and humanity on those two days. You can do whatever you want on that day, and in my case, it'll be sitting on the couch in pajamas, watching TV and eating some unhealthy snacks like chips. Most people will spend it partying with friends and family and doing stuff together. And then, they will count from 10 to 1 like if a rocket was starting, and then fireworks explore, and dogs are scared. Afterwards, people will start to go home. And then you can't sleep the whole night because some idiots have too much fireworks and firecrackers, which is also a problem the whole winter.

It's cold. But when it's winter it must be cold. And that's the problem. You either have to pay for heat or get tired with getting coal or wood, starting the fire and checking it doesn't spread. Going out is a torture. You have to put in a dozen layers of clothes. Underwear, pants, short-sleeved shirt, long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, boots, neck warmer, hat, gloves. To go out to a shop that is on the ground level or just around the corner, you need all this wearing and getting tired. Winter clothes are heavy, limit motions, sometimes even visibility, and are hard to put on and put off. So buying those is hard and even if you do, then they're hard to walk in. Summer and spring don't have those problems, because you can put on clothes for outdoors and indoors, just change boots and you're alright.
And winter is such a great time to get sick. And the worst thing is having a stuffed nose and have to breathe with your mouth, with this cold air. Throat damage guaranteed, plus this pain in the face from the cold air blowing in your direction. Summer and spring don't have such problems. And winter has the highest amount of deaths of all the seasons. I literally got a frostbite because I touched snow with my bare hands because I didn't have gloves on them. And if you're healthy and put on the clothes, there's another problem.
Getting around. Most of us are rich and have a car and can drive wherever they want. But if you can't, you have to use public transit. I don't have anything about just using it or the fact of the existence of public transit, but the quality of those in Poland, where I live, leaves much to be desired. You have to wait, in cold. In a city this isn't a problem as big as in the rural areas where buses function. These are often coming only in early mornings and in early afternoon, but even if they come more often, they often are late. And no matter the location, you often have to stand, and even if you find a seat, you can sometimes smell people who don't shower very often. Trams, trains, metros and buses are often heated, like most indoor places, we'll get to that later, and people coming there in winter are usually in jackets and sweat in those vehicles, especially considering how crowded they often get and how warm those crowded people are. You'll sweat like a construction worker after 8 hours of work during a heatwave. And driving doesn't save you from the effects of winter. You have to scrape snow from your car, the engine can not start or the visibility is low and roads are blocked or icy, you can skid easily and crash into another car, a pedestrian, a pole or a tree. Walking does neither. If snow falls, it's crushed by people walking, melts and freezes again, and or forms ice on the sidewalk. And you can slip on it and either break something or die. Each time I walk on it, I think I'm gonna die. Either i slip on it and land on a spiked fence, I land on the sidewalk and break something, or I land on the street and get run over by a semi truck or a car. If you manage to get to your destination, there's another problem.
All the buildings are heated, so if you're in winter clothes, you're going to sweat like a construction worker after 8 hours of work during a heatwave.
It's dark half the day. You go to work or school, dark, you go back, dark. And the other half it's cloudy and grey. And the whole world dies. No leaves, no grass, no flowers, some animals hibernate, just grey, cloudy skies and white brown combination of snow, soil, water and mud. No sun. Sure, there are Christmas lights but let's face it, they are only to hide the grey and dark.
It's a hard time for students. The semester ends. You have to pass everything. They throw a lot of tests and quizzes at you. You will tire yourself to death.
Winter sports and games. Snowballs. I hate snowballs. Even if the person who throws one is someone I like. Usually, I take it easy, but in my mind, I hate it. Ice skating. I can't do that because the nearest lake or skating rink is too far away to walk. I could afford that, but I would need to wear all those clothes, get on the bus, ask my parents for approval, get back. No way. Skiing. I live in a city surrounded by forests and farm fields. No way. Sledding. Those are easier because I have some hills in my neighborhood, but going out, taking the sled, going back. Nope. Snowman. Going out. No.
And there are, CHRISTMAS IN WINTER. I'm fed up with them. Literally a few days after Halloween and All Saints Day, all the shops and malls are decorated, and Christmas songs are playing on the radio and Christmas commercials on TV. "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart...":“Christmas promotion! Bone carp, only 21.37 per package or a withered Christmas tree, 69.69 each plus delivery for 3.21. Holidays for Christmas, Old Zealand, 666.66 both ways. Christmas loans, only in Pierogi Bank Polski." Don't take Christmas loans, that's the stupidest thing you can do in that time of the year. They're still up everywhere, wherever I go, whatever I look at. Until the day finally arrives, December 24, when you are completely fed up with it. And it's not like I hate Christmas. Christmas in their current shape and theme are asking for dislike. You want to get up, leave, and come back when all this madness is over. But it's nice that we have time off and we get presents and meet our family. In the summer we have more free time, and on birthdays and name days we also get gifts and meet our family. But always something. And then there's another holiday.
New Year's Eve and New Year, when humans celebrate Earth going around the Sun once again, while nothing besides it happens in nature and humanity on those two days. You can do whatever you want on that day, and in my case, it'll be sitting on the couch in pajamas, watching TV and eating some unhealthy snacks like chips. Most people will spend it partying with friends and family and doing stuff together. And then, they will count from 10 to 1 like if a rocket was starting, and then fireworks explore, and dogs are scared. Afterwards, people will start to go home. And then you can't sleep the whole night because some idiots have too much fireworks and firecrackers, which is also a problem the whole winter.

It's cold. But when it's winter it must be cold. And that's the problem. You either have to pay for heat or get tired with getting coal or wood, starting the fire and checking it doesn't spread. Going out is a torture. You have to put in a dozen layers of clothes. Underwear, pants, short-sleeved shirt, long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, boots, neck warmer, hat, gloves. To go out to a shop that is on the ground level or just around the corner, you need all this wearing and getting tired. Winter clothes are heavy, limit motions, sometimes even visibility, and are hard to put on and put off. So buying those is hard and even if you do, then they're hard to walk in. Summer and spring don't have those problems, because you can put on clothes for outdoors and indoors, just change boots and you're alright.
And winter is such a great time to get sick. And the worst thing is having a stuffed nose and have to breathe with your mouth, with this cold air. Throat damage guaranteed, plus this pain in the face from the cold air blowing in your direction. Summer and spring don't have such problems. And winter has the highest amount of deaths of all the seasons. I literally got a frostbite because I touched snow with my bare hands because I didn't have gloves on them. And if you're healthy and put on the clothes, there's another problem.
Getting around. Most of us are rich and have a car and can drive wherever they want. But if you can't, you have to use public transit. I don't have anything about just using it or the fact of the existence of public transit, but the quality of those in Poland, where I live, leaves much to be desired. You have to wait, in cold. In a city this isn't a problem as big as in the rural areas where buses function. These are often coming only in early mornings and in early afternoon, but even if they come more often, they often are late. And no matter the location, you often have to stand, and even if you find a seat, you can sometimes smell people who don't shower very often. Trams, trains, metros and buses are often heated, like most indoor places, we'll get to that later, and people coming there in winter are usually in jackets and sweat in those vehicles, especially considering how crowded they often get and how warm those crowded people are. You'll sweat like a construction worker after 8 hours of work during a heatwave. And driving doesn't save you from the effects of winter. You have to scrape snow from your car, the engine can not start or the visibility is low and roads are blocked or icy, you can skid easily and crash into another car, a pedestrian, a pole or a tree. Walking does neither. If snow falls, it's crushed by people walking, melts and freezes again, and or forms ice on the sidewalk. And you can slip on it and either break something or die. Each time I walk on it, I think I'm gonna die. Either i slip on it and land on a spiked fence, I land on the sidewalk and break something, or I land on the street and get run over by a semi truck or a car. If you manage to get to your destination, there's another problem.
All the buildings are heated, so if you're in winter clothes, you're going to sweat like a construction worker after 8 hours of work during a heatwave.
It's dark half the day. You go to work or school, dark, you go back, dark. And the other half it's cloudy and grey. And the whole world dies. No leaves, no grass, no flowers, some animals hibernate, just grey, cloudy skies and white brown combination of snow, soil, water and mud. No sun. Sure, there are Christmas lights but let's face it, they are only to hide the grey and dark.
It's a hard time for students. The semester ends. You have to pass everything. They throw a lot of tests and quizzes at you. You will tire yourself to death.
Winter sports and games. Snowballs. I hate snowballs. Even if the person who throws one is someone I like. Usually, I take it easy, but in my mind, I hate it. Ice skating. I can't do that because the nearest lake or skating rink is too far away to walk. I could afford that, but I would need to wear all those clothes, get on the bus, ask my parents for approval, get back. No way. Skiing. I live in a city surrounded by forests and farm fields. No way. Sledding. Those are easier because I have some hills in my neighborhood, but going out, taking the sled, going back. Nope. Snowman. Going out. No.
And there are, CHRISTMAS IN WINTER. I'm fed up with them. Literally a few days after Halloween and All Saints Day, all the shops and malls are decorated, and Christmas songs are playing on the radio and Christmas commercials on TV. "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart...":“Christmas promotion! Bone carp, only 21.37 per package or a withered Christmas tree, 69.69 each plus delivery for 3.21. Holidays for Christmas, Old Zealand, 666.66 both ways. Christmas loans, only in Pierogi Bank Polski." Don't take Christmas loans, that's the stupidest thing you can do in that time of the year. They're still up everywhere, wherever I go, whatever I look at. Until the day finally arrives, December 24, when you are completely fed up with it. And it's not like I hate Christmas. Christmas in their current shape and theme are asking for dislike. You want to get up, leave, and come back when all this madness is over. But it's nice that we have time off and we get presents and meet our family. In the summer we have more free time, and on birthdays and name days we also get gifts and meet our family. But always something. And then there's another holiday.
New Year's Eve and New Year, when humans celebrate Earth going around the Sun once again, while nothing besides it happens in nature and humanity on those two days. You can do whatever you want on that day, and in my case, it'll be sitting on the couch in pajamas, watching TV and eating some unhealthy snacks like chips. Most people will spend it partying with friends and family and doing stuff together. And then, they will count from 10 to 1 like if a rocket was starting, and then fireworks explore, and dogs are scared. Afterwards, people will start to go home. And then you can't sleep the whole night because some idiots have too much fireworks and firecrackers, which is also a problem the whole winter.

See the previous posts: https://www.reddit.com/JurassicPark/comments/1419mpy/jurassic_world_the_hegemony_of_biosyn_dominion/ https://www.reddit.com/JurassicPark/comments/142b35e/jurassic_world_the_hegemony_of_biosyn_jwd_rewrite/

Act III - The Gathering of the Clouds

Mia Everett
Visually confirming Rainn's revelation, Victoria is shown in a cage inside Amelia Everett's lab, within Biosyn's Citadel. Mia does her best to comfort the scared and depressed Achillobator and her motivations are explored shortly after. It's revealed that due to her experience within the team who made the Indominus and the Indoraptor, Biosyn tasked her with reviving InGen's IBRIS program by breeding raptors with high obedience potential. However, none of the achillobators cloned by Biosyn proved to be trainable enough for the program's ambitions (even though they attempted to mimic Owen's experience by having keepers being there at the animals' birth), which displeased Dodgson and the other higher-ups, who are now favouring another research team, who focuses on a more intrusive way of controlling dinosaurs. Basically treated as a second-class researcher amidst a rather toxic work environment, Mia became desperate enough to hire poachers to capture Blue, which she intended to breed with their achillobators in order to finally have trainable individuals. As Victoria is not sexually mature, Mia is in front of a considerable setback and fears that Dodgson will pull the plug due to her lack of results, especially in this troubled period for Biosyn.
The tying noose
The next day, the intel collected by the UN agents (people involved in the Black Market, Biosyn's connections with it) are sent to the nearby countries, including Italy, where an arrest warrant is launched against Kayla.
On his side, Isaac Gibbon is contacted by Bigelow who tells him about the debacle of their mission in Malta, saying that Claire and Owen saved the grey guards from disaster. He orders her to stay in Italy for the moment and wait for new orders. Shortly receives, he receives a candidate for a desk job in the DSD: It's Franklin. Gibbon tells Franklin he heard about his bravery during the 2019 incidents and his past connection with InGen (Before the DPG, Franklin worked for it as an IT Technician), before asking questions about Claire as he is aware that she collaborated with him not only on some occasions in the past few years but also in the 2019 Costa Rican incident, where Franklin was the couple's companion while they were running from InGen's agents and the authorities.
Dubrovnik
The inhabitants and tourists of the Croatian seaside city of Dubrovnik are surprised when a Biosyn Quetzalcoatlus descends upon the old town and starts attacking people. As a joke similar to one in TLW with the Japanese businessman and his reference to Godzilla, some extra could yell in Valyrian "I left Westeros because of this!" or "By the Seven, not again!" (Dubrovnik was one of Game of Thrones' filming location).
Ramsay's email
In a manner similar to the Hawaii attack scene in Gareth Edwards' Godzilla, the Dubrovnik scene cuts just as the Quetzal swoops on the bystanders and we are now in the bar of Biosyn's employee village. Wu is watching the news of the Dubrovnik attack on the TV (there is even a declaration from Zoe Murdoch, in which she denies the pterosaur came from Auronzo's Sanctuary and was probably created by a rival company who somehow put their hands upon Biosyn Quetzalcoatlus DNA. In the bar, someone whisper that one of their Quetzals did escaped from the valley thanks to the temporary deactivation of the invisible fence system and that Dodgson has launched an investigation to know who's responsible) when he receives a mysterious email from Ramsay, which includes the name of some woman. Wu search it on the internet and ends up on IMDB where he discovers that the adult "Charlotte" on the videos is actually an actress who lives in London.
Arrest
In Rome, early in the morning, Kayla is arrested in her flat by the police as she is accused of illegal smuggling.
Viscontini
Following all the incidents in the Alps, the clash in the Sabine Hills and the recent Dubrovnik attack, people gets pissed at Biosyn and protests occur in several locations, including Rome. In the Italian Ministry of the Interior, Viscontini has an argument with Pazzi, declaring that they need to take severe actions against Biosyn but the minister retorts that taking large-scale actions against the corporation might trigger a whole deal of undesirable consequences, including deteriorating US-Italian relations due to the close ties between Biosyn and the US government. He won't risk that just because of some rumours, weak proof and small incidents. Viscontini retorts that soon, Biosyn might have an angry mob showing at its gates with the goal of driving it out of Italy.
Following Vuillier's instructions, Claire, Owen, Nyamu and Dougal leave Malta the same day and fly to the Eternal City, where they have to meet Viscontini in the AISI headquarters. There, they have a video call with Vuillier. He and Viscontini wants to send the trio of WDMC agents to Auronzo Valley so they can infiltrate Biosyn's facility, find compromising information and transmit them to the Italian authorities, hoping to finally convince Pazzi and the rest of the government to take action against Biosyn. However, one of the agents points out that they will need an entrance ticket as one doesn't simply walk into Auronzo, since the borders of Biosyn's lands are guarded and monitored while some people disappeared after going too close from the Sanctuary (anti-Biosyn activists, reckless adventurers, Grendel Corporation's spies, others from the AISI's and Austrian government). Viscontini declare they might have that ticket.
We cut to Kayla in her prison cell. The guard announces she has visit and she is brought to a room where Viscontini and Dougal waits for her. The head of the AISI and the WDMC agent then negotiate with her: In exchange for her freedom, she will bring Dougal, Claire and Owen to Biosyn's Sanctuary. However, Viscontini precise he'll have her hunted down if she ever betrays them.
Kayla raises the fact that she can't show up at Auronzo like this and needs a motive. Viscontini and Dougal then talk about the animals seized in Malta's black market.
Theo's Mission
That day, Wu summons Theo, explain the whole issue with the fake Charlotte and ask him to go to London, find the actress and question her about the videos so they can have proofs to show Maisie, who started to really become insufferable because of Dodgson's bad influence (in that part of the story, one of the few scenes where she's likeable is one where she and Drummond bonds over the common passion for dinosaurs). The ex-mercenary soon leaves Auronzo, taking a bus for Venice in the nearest village while Wu explains to Pellegrino and Dodgson that Theo had urgent family matters to deal with in the UK.
Leaving San Francisco
Desiring to supervise the Dolomites Crisis more closely, Vuillier fly to Italy.
Nine containers
As evidence of Biosyn's possible connections to the Maltese black market has been discussed on the news, Dodgson knows it's a matter of time before Vuillier, the Italians or the Austrians send people in Auronzo and expose Biosyn's misdeeds.
We then follow Pellegrino's POV as she oversees the exit of nine large mysterious containers from the Citadel and their departure from the airstrip just outside the valley. One of her subordinates asks what's inside and she answers that she has no idea, with Dodgson only giving her a series of instructions. They watch the containers being flown abroad.
The following day, Pellegrino speak about it to Wu and other employees with anti-Dodgson sentiments like Drummond. She notices that Wu is uncomfortable as they talk about it and realize he must be hiding something. Ramsay, who just arrived from the US in preparation for a big corporate event in the Citadel, almost surprise their discussion. As they're not sure if they can trust him or not, they pretend it's nothing. Wu then phones Theo and asks him about his secret mission's progress.
London
In London, Theo finds the actress from the videos and initially posing as a reporter, filming her in an interview, he then ask her questions about the videos and after some hesitations, she concedes to give him answers and reveals among other things that the shooting occurred a few months ago in some local warehouse, that the director of those videos is none other than Colin Trevorrow (who, desperate for a job after the debacle of the Jurassic World film, accepted to participate to that project, oblivious that Biosyn was behind it since a dummy company took care of the production).
AISI
Vuillier arrives in Rome and meets with his agents, Nyamu and Viscontini in one of the AISI headquarters' conference rooms, where a map of Auronzo Valley and its surroundings has been laid. Kayla is also there and offscreen, our characters talk about the plan.
At the end of the meeting, everyone but Vuillier and Viscontini leave the room. Both have a secret conversation during which the Italian say that the Grey Guard's Mediterranean Company, supported by the Austrians and secretly by him (as he fears that Biosyn has informers within the Italian government), are deployed in one of the villages near Auronzo, and is supposed to act as a Plan B should the Claire-Owen-Dougal trio fail, by taking a secret path through an old mine and a mountain pass before breaking into Biosyn's citadel. The WDMC agents don't know that and when Vuillier ask why, Viscontini answers that it's better that way (should the agents be captured ant tortured, they won't tell Biosyn that there is a second team) and that the secret path isn't safer as one of his spy was killed by some creature after taking it and arriving in sight of the valley. He thinks that a small dozen of grey guards have better chances surviving the pass' guardian(s) than three civilian agents.
To the Dolomites
The next day, in the middle of the morning, Kayla is preparing her plane in some airstrip near Rome and the seized creature from the black market is loaded in the hold (I have no idea which species to choose). Equipped by the Italians, Claire, Owen and Dougal say farewell to Vuillier, Nyamu and Viscontini. The Frenchman tells Claire that it's time to unleash the She-wolf upon Dodgson but Claire correct him by saying "Not the She-wolf. The Dragon." (in this AU, she has a particular connection with the dragon-like Indominus), implying she'll get the mission done whatever it takes. He and the other two men wish them good luck and the trio of WDMC agents climb aboard the plane. They soon take off.
Biosyn's aerial defense
Kayla's plane arrives in sight of the mountains which delimit Biosyn's Sanctuary. Informed of their mission by Vuillier and Viscontini, one of the grey guards is watching the plane through his binoculars as it passes over the village where they are staying.
Kayla is soon contacted by the Citadel's control room as they detected the aircraft on their radars and they ask her why she's coming. The pilot answer that she collected an animal which might interest them (she told the WDMC agents and the Italians that Biosyn doesn't have this particular species in their Sanctuary) and ask to land on their airstrip. While the Biosyn employees discuss, the plane is about to enter Auronzo Valley by the east, as that part of the sanctuary is the furthest from most of the buildings (while the airstrip is in the northernmost parts of Biosyn's lands, beyond the mountains with the frozen dam lake) and thus where Claire, Owen and Dougal has the best chances of landing unnoticed. The trio of agents take their parachutes and prepare to jump, but at the same time, Dodgson, who heard that Kayla was arrested by the authorities just a few days ago, fears that her plane is a Trojan horse and decides to activate the valley's "aerial defense". On the screen of one of the room's monitors, we see a group of dots heading straight towards the plane. It's actually a group of pteranodons, from the same toothed variant as those who appeared in Jurassic Park 3 (there is even at least one black male identical to the scrapped one from Johnston's film), and they just collide with the plane, crashing against the cockpit and getting turned to shred by the rotors' blades, damaging the plane (the scene is partly inspired by a cutscene from the Ninth Mission of Paraworld's campaign). Owen wonder why those pteranodons behave in a suicidal manner. Suddenly, the pteranodons retreat and as their window is shrinking, the agents know they have to jump now (they've reached the middle of the valley and their trajectory deviated northwards, towards the mountain dam). Claire jumps first but as Owen is about to jump in his turn, the plane is attacked by a Quetzalcoatlus and the Raptor Whisperer sees another and a few pteranodons chasing her fiancée, whose parachute opened. Claire shakes the pterosaurs off by disappearing into the valley's dense forest. As they will be grabbed by the attacking pterosaurs as soon as they leave the aircraft, Owen, Dougal and Kayla stay inside it and brace for the crash. The plane crashes down at the surface of the frozen lake by the mountain dam in the northern part of the valley.
Back in Rome, Vuillier, Nyamu and Viscontini are worried as they heard the agents and the pterosaurs' screams (they had an open channel all that time with Kayla's plane). They hope the agents will survive this ordeal and activate the beacons they were given before their departure.
Note: The fate of the animal they took with them is still unclear for me. It really depends on the chosen species. If it's something large and potentially dangerous, Kayla would probably want to drop it in the valley in order to have a lighter plane and not deal with it after crashing. But if it's a creature about the size of a small dog for example, they could free it as they leave the wreckage.
Gigantoraptor
We then cut to Claire hanging in the trees but instead of a Therizinosaurus (which already appeared in TRQ. Moreover, Claire had a small arc with this species in that story), she is threatened by a Gigantoraptor. The scene plays out much like the Theri scene from Trevorrow's version, with Claire hiding in a pond etc.. Once the Gigantoraptor walks away, Claire gets out of the pond and sees the fumes from the plane's crash in the distance, behind the mountain dam.
The dam lake
Before it sinks in the lake, Owen, Dougal and Kayla leave her plane and step on the ice. Under it, they notice a large shadow and know they better move away from the lake. They notice a ladder by the dam but as they head towards it, a Quetzalcoatlus or a Pteranodon lands on their way. They step back, moving towards an opening on the lake's surface. Suddenly, a giant 9-meters long temnospondyl (based upon an unnamed and fragmentary genus from Lesotho) burst out the water, almost killing one of the characters. Ensue a scene where our three protagonists have to evade both the pterosaur and the amphibian. The pterosaur ends up being dragged underwater by the temnospondyl but other pterosaurs arrive and to escape them, our trio climbs on the dam and rushes to its elevator, going down in the valley. Down at the dam's base, they notice it's dilapidated and Kayla tell her two companions that Biosyn sell some of its power to the nearest villages.
Note: The main doubt I have about this scene is having a temnospondyl living in the icy water of a mountain lake. It might be too much of a stretch so if you think it's not realistic at all, it will be scrapped from the scene (and perhaps be replaced by a juvenile Baryonyx or something like this, an animal which could be also the one our characters brought with them in the plane.
Plan B
Since the agents lost their beacons during the pterosaurs' attack and the crash, they couldn't tell Rome that they were still alive. Vuillier and Viscontini fear the worst and send a message to Laurenzo Cesare.
Droppings
Meanwhile, Claire started walking towards the dam, hoping to find her companions on the way if they made it out alive from the crash. When she hears a racket in the woods, she hides and a Biosyn tyrannosaur arrives. But it's not on a hunting mode and instead, it just leaves some droppings on a log near Claire's hiding place. After the predator leaves, she approaches the log and smears her face with the droppings, remembering her "Walk in the Park" with Owen when they searched her nephews during the Fall of Jurassic World (the droppings hide her smell, dissuading the other animals to investigate her).
Argument
An argument bursts out between Owen, Dougal and Kayla while they're walking south. The first wants to find his fiancée, the second says that their mission is more important, and Kayla is mad at both men since she lost her plane (and livelihood) because of the WDMC's mission. And unsure about her intentions, the two men distrust her but she tries to reassure them by saying that Biosyn can fuck off since they are also responsible for destroying her plane.
However, the Sanctuary's denizens remind them that they better be united or else it will be the failure of their quest.
At some distance, in the middle of the fog, they see the recognizable silhouette of a sauropod, that of an Argentinosaurus (the species was seen in the distance and mentioned earlier in the story. Instead of Argentinosaurus, it could also be another large titanosaur). However, this herbivore has the particularity of having a symbiotic relation with some small carnivore species within Biosyn Sanctuary (I'm more thinking about a pterosaur or a flying/semi-arboreal theropod than a strictly ground-dwelling predator. For now, the baboon-sized Variraptor is my candidate), with the Argentinosaurus letting those carnivores eat its parasites and the insects flying around it while the carnivores will let out an alarm call shall a large predator approach. It could be illustrated in a scene where an Acrocanthosaurus (the one from the Drive-in scene) is spotted by the carnivores as it passes by. The Argentinosaurus turns to face the larger predator, adopt a defensive posture, and as the acro hasn't yet moved, the smaller carnivores take off from the sauropod and flies straight to the acro's head. Harassed by those creatures, the Acrocanthosaurus retreats. Thus, if those small carnivores (which we'll call the Argentinosaurus' suite) are brave enough to attack a megatheropod, our three protagonists know they're not safe and that they better move away.
The Sanctuary's true nature
While still heading north, Claire's path crosses that of a bull Shantungosaurus. She move out of his way and stay still. She and the audience recognize the animal as he was already in the JW rewrite and TRQ (in the first story, he gained some scars after a fight with a few Metriacanthosaurus), where he was a secondary "character" (and a threat in a few scenes). Both have a peaceful scene where they make eye contact but that quiet moment is shattered when a gunshot resounds in the forest and the hadrosaur flees, badly wounded. Claire hides and in the distance, she sees a hunter, accompanied by a couple of Biosyn security guards and another employee which she presume is some sort of supervisohunting guide. Watching how the hunter is dressed and how he behave in the wild, she knows he's not a professional hunter but just a rich hobbyist and then realizes the Sanctuary's true nature: It's a hunting reserve. As the Shantungosaurus escaped them, the hunter express his discontentment at the guide, which promise to find him another quarry. They leave and following the blood trail left by the hadrosaur, Claire finds him by a stream. His wounds are too grievous and he's too weak to lash out at Claire, who kneels by his head, trying to comfort him in his last moments, up until his last breath. Watching another of her former park's animals dying fills Claire with not only grief, but also anger. She change her plans and heads back south instead of continuing northward, following the hunting party's track.
Note: It doesn't necessarily have to be a Shantungosaurus in the role of the animal shot by the hunters, but it have to be a recognizable animal from the previous installments for emotional impact and Claire's development (another candidate could be the Therizinosaurus from TRQ)
She later finds another hunting party. One of its members, a Biosyn guard, pulls out an item she recognize: a raptor resonating chamber. The guard use it like a bird call and soon, an Achillobator, arrive, believing it heard one of its kind. The poor animal is shot by the hunters, who scream in satisfaction before taking a picture with their quarry. They then brings it to the Biosyn vehicle waiting nearby but before they leave (after having a short conversation during they mention that another team captured the rex and is bringing it the paddocks), Claire deliberately attract the attention of one of the guards, the same one which used the resonating chamber, and he say to his companions he won't be long. He move away from the road and deeper in the woods, he fall into Claire's ambush. She kill him, loot some of his equipment (including the resonating chamber), hide his body and leave. Worried for his colleague, the other guard with the hunters orders the guide to drive them back to the lodge, and search his friend. But he too is murdered by Claire, who takes a small metallic box on him. Activating the box, she realize it's a sonic weapon she has seen before, in the hands of InGen Security's elite troops during the fall of Isla Nublar (it's like a weaponized version of the box Dodgson and his companions have in Crichton's TLW). She turns it off, take it with her and follows the hunters vehicle's tracks on the road, towards the lodge.
However, Claire ignores she's being watched, and not by human eyes...
Over hill
Cesare and his men leave their accommodation and head for the frontiers of Biosyn's lands. Leaving their vehicles near a ruined fort, the grey guards start their trek while the sun is setting behind the mountains ahead of them.
A bed in the trees
As walking through the valley at night would be too dangerous, Owen, Dougal and Kayla decide to find a resting place and climb in a tree. From it, they have a panorama on a nearby lake and notice they are approximately halfway between the dam and the Citadel. At this moment, we also have peaceful scenes with the valley's denizens at dusk (Pelecanimimus fishing in the lake, herbivores drinking nearby, the same Spinosaurus from the report at the beginning peacefully sitting on the bank like an oversized duck...).
Theo's peace
In the evening, just a few hours before his flight to Venice, Theo also passes by his former home, which he left years ago before joining Ken Wheatley's mercenary company. His ex-wife still lives here and noticing that she started a new life with another man and seems happy, he walks away in peace, leaving behind him the last picture he had of himself and her (earlier in the story, Theo is seen looking at said picture).
The secret path
Back in Italy, the grey guards find the entrance of an old mine and enter it, taking the path that will allow them to pass under the limits of Biosyn's lands.
Mercenaries
Mercenary troops land in Biosyn's airstrip and their leader is brought to the Citadel. He has a discussion with Dodgson behind closed doors.
Foes... or allies?
A few hours after nightfall, Claire finally finds a large old chalet with typical Tyrolean architecture: The Hunting Lodge (it's implied that it was built way before Biosyn bought those lands, when the area was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before WWI). Claire remarks it's surrounded by an invisible fence (identical to the one from Jurassic World Evolution 2's Biosyn DLC) which prevents the animals from getting too close. Aware that the lodge wouldn't be a shelter for her and that its occupants probably outnumber her, she turns away from it, continuing to wander in the woods. But just a few minutes later, she hears sound in the nearby bushes. Aware she might be hunted, she is ready to use the ultrasound box and fight for her life. A pack of Achillobators shows up, menacingly walking towards her. At the same time, it starts to rain.
Claire first thinks of using the box and running away while the predators would be bothered by the sound but she knows it will be useless in the long run as they could track her all across the Sanctuary. She then remembers the reports she read earlier in the story, and especially that of the 2001 incident on Sorna, where Alan Grant and his companions walked out alive and unharmed from a close encounter with raptors.
In dire straits, she makes up a desperate plan and carefully, she pulls out the resonating chamber she stole from the Biosyn guards. She uses it and due to their bad experience in the sanctuary with the resonating chambers' usual users, the raptors get agitated but their pack leader tells them to calm down as Claire doesn't seem to be a Biosyn guard or a hunter. The pack leader walks alone towards Claire and sniffs the dried blood on her hands and clothes, realizing it belongs to other humans. Nothing happens for a moment and then the pack leader lets out a bark. Behind Claire, two raptors move aside. Slowly walking backwards, watching carefully the raptors' moves, Claire exits the circle made by the surrounding predators and continues doing so until she's at a respectable distance. At the beginning, the raptors just watch her but as she's heading towards the Hunting Lodge, she hears them following her. However, she is aware that they would have already pounced on her if they wanted to eat her and knows that they're more intrigued. Meanwhile, the rain intensifies (there could also be a storm).
Claire reaches the invisible fence, crosses it, and searches for its power source. But as she's sabotaging it, the Lodge caretaker (a gnarly-looking old local man) spots her and frightened by her look, runs away towards the building. She is forced to catch him and, after a short struggle, kill him with her knife before he can raise the alarm. After showing some trouble due to killing a probable innocent, she resumes her sabotage and the fence is deactivated. The raptors cross it and see Claire entering the lodge. Near its entrance, she finds a sword hanging on the wall as a decorative element and noticing it's still sharp, she takes it along with its sheath and heads for the rooms. Behind her, the raptors open the door and silently enter in the lodge. In the hallway which leads to the rooms, Claire stays still when the raptors walk past her as they head to the rooms and grin as her audacious plan is working. Claire enters one of the rooms, raises her sword blade over a sleeping hunter and when the time comes, thrust it into his body. Meanwhile, the raptors open other doors and entering the rooms, they rush on the sleepers. Slaughter ensues and only those who locked up their doors have the time to wake up, grab a weapon and fight for their very survival. Some of the lodge's occupants offer some resistance in the lounge but there, Claire activates the sonic weapon she stole and an ear-piercing sharp sound comes from it. While the raptors back off behind her, their common enemies kneel and scream in pain and Claire (who put on some earplug) slashes their throats, deactivate the weapon, and let the raptors tear the hunters alive while she raids some items (stuff like snacks, water, a first-aid kit, a map...) and leave, disappearing in the woods.
A bit later, she finds a small cave whose entrance is high from the ground and rest in it, sleeping until mid-morning.
The mountain's pass
At the end of their night-long ascent, the grey guards arrive in a pass/cave where they found human bones, which they presume to be those of the AISI's spy Viscontini told them about, and the remains of a Biosyn drone. Soon after, they are attacked by the guardian animal(s) the corporation left there to kill any trespasser coming from that direction. (I haven't chosen any species yet). They manage to defeat it (or them) and dawn break out as they arrive at a vista point which overlooks the valley. The grey guards observe it, the eyes of Cesare stop on the Citadel for a moment, and they retreat back inside the mountain to rest a few hours before descending into the valley. They send a message to Vuillier and Viscontini, telling them that they're inside the Sanctuary.
Traces of a slaughter
During their early morning patrol, a security team discovers that a massacre occurred during the night in the Hunting Lodge. They find clues indicating that someone helped the raptors and participated in the killings. The control room check the Lodge CCTV footage and fear spreads like wildfire among the staff when they discover the culprit is a sinister-looking black-clad hooded woman. Seeing that one of the figure's hand is a prosthesis and that the other wear a silver ring with a red gem, they realize it's Claire and Dodgson pretty much start to crap his pants (partly because one of the hunters was a very wealthy and powerful foreign client whose disappearance won't go unnoticed). Since she made it out alive from the plane's crash, Dodgson fears that the other WDMC agents might have too. When asked about the slaughter itself, Dodgson orders his staff to cover it up for the moment, as he don't want to worry the board of directors who are set to arrive later that day for a big event he planned in the evening.
Theo's return
Theo returns to Auronzo and Wu, who just learned about Claire's presence in the valley, tells him that they must get Maisie out of the facility as soon as possible since disaster tends to follow Claire like a shadow.
Taking the gloves off
However, Maisie has meanwhile discovered that the videos were another lie, by recognizing one of the scientists from the video, who also work at the Citadel (and who didn't aged, even though the adult Charlotte's video was supposed to be taken fourteen years ago). Aware that the gentle method is no longer considerable, Dodgson decides to use the hard one and Doctor Lesser locks Maisie in a cell within her lab, to which Wu can't access. Lesser reveal that it wasn't Wu who told Dodgson that she was a clone but the spy he has among Lockwood Manor's employees, and that the only true part in the video was the one about the genetic disease: Charlotte did had it, just like her mother Elizabeth before that (she died in 1993 and it was because of her Lockwood and Hammond fell out), and had the car accident which took her life didn't happened, the disease would have killed her a few years later. As he wanted Maisie to have a long life, Benjamin Lockwood asked the scientists he hired (there is a whole subplot about what they became in TRQ) to cure it and they did find a way. As the scientists' notes were accidently destroyed, the solution is now within Maisie's body, and Dodgson wants it so he can put new drugs on the market.
Before it's too late, Wu and Theo, with Ramsay's help, start organizing Maisie's evasion. The geneticist mentions a secret trail from WWI in the northeastern mountains: It's their escape route. He then heads for his lab, planning something else.
Tracking Claire
Curious about Biosyn's movements around the Hunting Lodge, Owen, Dougal and Kayla investigate it after the departure of the security troops. They discover evidence of Claire's passage and Owen tries to follow her fiancée's tracks. Kayla and/or Dougal make comments about the slaughter of the hunters.
Bigelow's last chance
Isaac Gibbon gives Jessica Bigelow a new mission: Go to Auronzo and ensure the evacuation of Lewis Dodgson and Biosyn's most important research. The agent ask her boss why and he said that he just received news that Biosyn is compromised. He also precise that it's her last chance after the Malta fiasco. Bigelow leave her safe house in central Italy and goes north.
Shady preparations
Continuing south, Owen, Dougal and Kayla see mercenaries positioning some sort of moveable antenna on a ridge which overlooks the road which connects the Citadel to the valley's northern continue, as finding Claire and entering the Citadel is more urgent.
The gathering of the clouds
One of the control room's employees ask Dodgson to come. He shows him footage from the Biosyn lands's southern gate, near the employee village.
Before the gate, a group of Carabinieri stand, showing to the guards and the security cameras a search warrant: The government finally decided to act against Biosyn. But Dodgson refuses to open the gates for the Carabinieri and orders the mercenaries who arrived during the night to intimidate them. The Carabinieri move away from the gate, with their leader warning against the consequences of such an action. At a respectable distance from the gate, Vuillier, Viscontini and Nyamu watched the scene. Soon, other groups of Carabinieri are deployed along the other entrances to Biosyn's lands. The siege of Auronzo has started.
Hearing about the siege's situation, some employees leave their post and head for the metro (which connects the Citadel to the village. Another loop also connects the Citadel to the various facilities across the Sanctuary, including the seven towers and the dam), in order to go to the village and then hoping to be able to leave Biosyn's lands before things starts to get too ugly but Dodgson's has the metro's station locked and commands them to go back to their posts. Seeing their CEO starting to act like Hitler in his bunker, they are afraid.
​
End of Act III.
See you tomorrow for Act IV

I've had a checking account w/ debit card, a savings account, and a credit card with Chase for many years. Unfortunately, I've moved to an area where the nearest Chase branch and/or ATM is literally 3-4 hours away. I want to stick with Chase and not open any new bank accounts with other banks or credit unions, if at all possible. How do I go about depositing money to my Chase account (or do I have to open a new account with a different bank)? Is it possible to insert my debit card into another bank's ATM, pay a small fee, and deposit money that way?

I worked in a contact centre for a major insurance company. Whenever someone’s vehicle would be written off, customers would be entitled to a refund on their state-based insurance. They send the refunds by cheque, though, probably because they get so many requests for refunds and they are done by e-mail.
The system they use for the refunds only lets you put the money back on the card on file. So to do an electronic refund, they would have to e-mail or call the customer to confirm whether the card on file is active and then transfer the refund, which takes twice as long as sending a cheque.
Trust me, I have seen business support in private insurance just chuck a refund onto the nearest card on file, sometimes from a previous year, and then have the customer say that the card on file is no longer active. Their response was “well, you’ll have to chase it up with the bank, apparently they have it.“ Sending a cheque is easier and more secure than that.
But sometimes when I told customers that the refund would be coming in the mail, they act like I told them that Australia has been invaded by Turkmenistan.
They genuinely blow up, disgusted that cheques still exist. “What is this, the dark ages?” Yeah, and in the dark ages, life went on, the earth didn’t melt.
You’ll get money in your mailbox. It’s not the end of the world.
It’s worth mentioning, I’m 28. I’m young, but I am a patient man. Patient enough that the very mention of cheques doesn’t send me up the wall.

I want to treat myself to flying first class or business class for my birthday in September. I'm a member with Marriott Bonvoy, AAdvantage and TrueBlue. I have nowhere near enough in my travel bank to get fc or bc with them. I know Sept is a pretty sweet month for lower prices due to back to school. Nearest airport to me is JFK but I noticed EWR tends to be cheaper. Ideally I'd like to go East Coast to West Coast, Denver or Las Vegas are first choices but I have sights on Austin or Houston as 2nd choices. I'm okay with deferring this dream to Sep 2024. Any tips? I'm non-US, Mastercard holder.

I am The Bard, who taught men their first magics, which to this day endure when all others have. It is written into the blood and bones of all you have built, and so I shall never die.
I did not teach you how to dream. I only taught how to tell a dream to another who you would never know.
The phone rang. Karna didn’t bother to pick it up. The message machine clicked for a moment, tape starting to turn backwards as new words were written onto it. It clicked again, stopping dead. Karna didn’t look up from his meal of leftover takeout. He finished his noodles, checked again to see if there was any shrimp left, and sighed as he threw the box at the bin. It bounced off the others already filling it up.
He sighed, rubbing his head and eyes. Healing magic could cure a hangover. It couldn’t do anything about dehydration. He needed to get up and get a drink. He went over to his cabinet and looked around for a glass. When he didn’t find a clean one, he grabbed a coffee mug instead. It was the last one. He was also out of coffee. Irritating. No matter how much of it he drank, he was still tired. It just meant he couldn’t sleep.
Sex helped, a bit, but when it didn’t, things were worse. Lying alone in his own bed, at least he could toss and turn and work his sheets into tangles trying to find some position that would let him finally fall asleep. He could slip out of bed for a nightcap, a strong one, to try and help. With another, there was nothing to do but lie there, still and silent, trying not to wake the man or woman next to him.
Trying not to think.
Impossible to sleep, then suddenly too much sleep. Blink and it was three-thirty in the afternoon. He stood at the sink, filling up the mug and draining it repeatedly. The call was probably from work. Worse, it might be his mother.
”Karna, what the fuck are you doing with your life you useless bastard. You’re not immortal, it’s all slipping away, one day, one minute at a time, and here you are doing nothing with it.” He said to himself. “Because you’re too tired to anything and still can’t sleep.” Of course, he knew why. His mind, treacherous as a serpent, betrayed him then, in the dark, in the solitude. Every wound he had suffered, every scar erased by healing magic, those were nothing. He was a paladin, the training had gotten him used to the sight of his own blood a long time ago.
”Practice for healing magic. Isn’t that what the old sister called it?” He wondered aloud. “Tch. She was kind of a bitch. Still is. I wonder if she’s calling me to yell at me too? Of course, I suppose I deserve it. I-“Then he stopped himself, and slammed the mug down, forcefully. It hit one of the plates in the sink, and it cracked. Karna swore and picked up the mess, picking the shards of metal out of his sink and throwing them in the boxes in the bin.
He sat back down in the one seat he used at his four-person table. It was covered in books, loose change, an unopened letter from some survey, a candle, a mug, miscellaneous bits of stationary, a comically large six sided die with red and black patterns, and off directly to his left a stick of deodorant and bottle of cologne. Those last two were the only things he’d used on this table in a while.
He sat back in his chair and sighed. “Yeah, you know exactly what you’re doing with your life. Nothing of any use to anyone. Well. Useless is better than detrimental, so hey, at least there’s that improvement.”
He hit the button to play back the latest message from his telephone, and picked it up, placing the receiver to his ear. At least he could listen to his messages. That would be something for the day.
”Hey, Karna. It’s Bas.” Karna’s head slumped forwards. He hadn’t expected him to be calling to call him an idiot. “I’ve tried coming by your place a couple of times to visit, seem to have missed you both times.” Or he was asleep, or drunk, or otherwise being a bad cousin. “So, I figured I’d give you a call and leave you a message. Just checking in to see how you’re doing. I know… things have been rough, for all of us, and I know you were taking things hard.” I know you’re weak. “I hope you’re doing well, and hope you understand, if you’re not, then, well, you’ve got my number, and you know where I live. Even though my apartment’s not exactly stellar.” I know you could reach out. But you won’t. You’ve been given everything, inherited power, your house, your money, and you still do nothing with it. I have nothing our society considers important, but I am still a better man than you. “Hope to talk to you soon. Adonai watch over you.”
That last bit was a bit odd. Adonai. The old invisible god, or God, as those that believed in such a thing insisted. Karna wasn’t entirely certain that this wasn’t just a clever way of disguising atheism, given that philosophy’s associations. Why in the world would Basil mention it now? As far as he knew… well he really actually didn’t know anything about Basil’s beliefs. He presumed, given his training, he was a follower of the western philosophies, which were philosophies more so than religions. They were fairly popular these days, a sort of secular spirituality, a substitute for the holes growing in Ordani religious life.
When you’ve fought and killed a god in living memory, it becomes harder to worship them. Beyond that, the old rites simply that, old rites. A series of rituals nobody really believed in anymore. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a cleric. He paused. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a cleric he hadn’t been fighting to the death with. The gods really didn’t seem to have much of a place in a modern society. It was probably arrogant, but part of the point of the gods was meant to be that they were something so much bigger than oneself, that there was nothing that could compare. They were monumental figures, but when the monuments can be torn down by mere men, was it a monument worth believing in?
It was that way then. Some people turned to the western philosophies, realizing that their religious needs, the desire for mystery, for reverence, for prayer, meditation, moral laws and sacred communities were met there, without gods. Some, Basil included, turned their gaze towards an invisible, supposedly omnipotent, God. Well, the gods were supposed to be omnipotent, but if nobody could even prove your God existed, well, then there wasn’t any fear that anyone could kill Him. And then, there was the other kind. The kind which were kind of a bad joke.
He remembered his days in the warm sun, under the abbot’s orchard in Hearthfire Abbey, amid the warm red walls, the golden light of the day filtering through the green leaves, the bright red apples highlighted against a blue sky. Quite literally simpler times. He remembered the grave beneath the tree. Senket Zarathustra. Of course, that wasn’t really where she was. She was a few miles up the road, in a chapel nobody paid any mind to, next to six other graves, two empty. How much a contrast that was, compared with what was in the abbey. Her image, glaring down from tapestry, immortalized in statuary, and everywhere revered. Saint, they called her, but what was the difference between a saint and a god, when you treated one like the other.
They had made gods for themselves, gods born of and midwives to, their own people. A god that was distant enough to be worshipped, but near enough to be known. Something understood, something relatable, and something that had bested other gods before. Gods borne of the people of godslayers, for what else could they be? Of course, every pantheon needed its devil, its fallen angel. And now here he stood, a useless bastard, but also the same kind of thing as their gods and their devil. What a bad joke.
But at the same time, a joke they had believed in. A joke he felt the obligation to make a truth. A joke he had failed to make true. Up on a pedestal, and down in the dirt. That was what paladin of Order Undivided meant now. A hero, until people had no more need of them. Good, he wasn’t even a hero in the first place.
He shook his head. It was going to be a few hours before any clubs opened. He was going back to bed until then. It didn’t do him any good to sit awake stewing.
Basil was getting worried. He’d tried paying visits and making calls, but there was no contact. He quietly sat through office hours, grading the first assignments of the year. He was starting to regret assigning an essay, particularly to his 101 class. Fortunately, it was early in the year, so he was able to work through his office hours without being further disturbed. He finished his last paper, capped the red pen, and stood up. It wasn’t that far out of his way to visit Karna again, and this time he wouldn’t be ignored.
He made his way through the city, until he came to the Red Street. It had another name, but people remembered not what was given, but what was done. Fifty years ago, the blood of black and red lions flowed, as Elsior faced down her old mentor during the height of the black rebellion. The street’s architecture was eclectic, a mix of the old buildings which had survived the battle, and newer designs built up out of the ruins left from a clash of titans.
There were alleys off the street where you could still see the gashes left in the ground by arcane blades. It was a street where history lay heavy in the mortar and the air. It was also a decently affordable neighborhood, as the old houses, while historical, were also old, small, and lacked modern amenities. He was still never going to afford any of them on a teacher’s salary, even with his stipend as a paladin. Of course, Karna would have had a bitch of a time paying for his house as well, but he had simply inherited it.
Basil shook his head, as if to throw the jealous thought out of his mind. “You’re a grey-eyed monster already. Let’s not add green to the mix.” He growled at himself, as he kept walking up to Karna’s door and knocked. No response. He sighed, looking through the door. Only two of his eyes saw the normal spectrum of light. The others varied from arcane, ultraviolet, infrared, and a curious ability to see electrical signals. The end result was an overlapping view of information, an in-depth view of the world that saw the surface and the depths of everything. It had been a bit of a rude surprise for his parents to find out their son saw their brains at the same time he saw their faces. The practical upshot of this at the moment was that he saw Karna was clearly not at home, and had left a trail of lingering celestial energy behind him.
Well, Karna or another aasimar, but they were fairly rare. Even with the increasing numbers of extraplanar citizens in the union, there weren’t many descended from angels. Basil wryly considered that it might be the former keeping out the later. Baatorites weren’t strictly speaking enemies with most angels, but the distaste between the two species was deep, ancient, and mutual. As such, there was only one trail to follow.
Basil sighed when he found the end of the trail. It was a club, and of a particular sort. He didn’t need his enhanced vision to tell that. Technically speaking, strip clubs and even prostitution were legal. Practically speaking, everyone in any of them used pseudonyms. He sighed and headed for the entrance. The bouncer at the door, a towering ogre, raised a hand. “If you’re carrying, head around to the side entrance. They’ll check your swords there. No weapons in the club.”
”Not planning on starting a fight. Just looking to meet someone.”
”Yeah, well check em anyway. We’ve had boyfriends throwing hands with one another because they were looking at the guy on stage a little too hard, we don’t want em doing it with swords. That’s the kind of domestic dispute that doesn’t just get the cops involved, it’s also a bitch to get out of the floors.”
”Well, I’ll keep that in mind.” Basil replied, and headed around the side. He stepped in, greeted by another bouncer, a dragonborn. He always found it amusing how it was always one of the larger races as a bouncer. Given their job, it made a certain degree of sense, but it occurred to him he’d never seen a gnome as a bouncer. Then again, he didn’t go to many clubs. He checked his sword in, and left a pseudonym.
The dragonborn looked down at the paper, and narrowed his eyes slightly. “What’s the T.D. stand for, Mr. Law?” He asked curiously.
Basil shrugged. “Hells if I know, it’s an alias, same as everyone else is using here. I mean, look at the guy above me on that list, when was the last time you ever met somebody actually named Flamingo?”
”The guy kinda looked like a flamingo. Aasimar type, maybe his wings are pink.” The bouncer replied.
”If he’s the person I’m thinking of, no. Let’s hope they don’t start changing.” Basil replied.
”Ah, ex-boyfriend?”
”Cousin, and why’d you assume ex?”
”The only people I’ve seen who’ve been drinking that much and going home with that many different blokes are the ones going through breakups, and you’re the only person I’ve seen go looking for him, so I know he’s not a whore.”
”Nah, just a dumbass. Thanks for the info. Here’s hoping you have a quiet night.”
”Yeah, try to keep it that way for me.”
”I’ll do my best. Believe it or not, I hate fighting.” Basil replied, and headed past the dragonborn into the club proper.
To give the club some credit, they had a pretty decent band going. A small number, playing as much with style as they did skill. That was to say, a decent if unspectacular amount. The rolling tones of the lead singer washed over an atmosphere of casual conversation and lewd humor. Basil cocked an ear at the sound. He would have sworn he’d heard the woman on the radio at least once. He watched her closely for a moment, along with the rest of the band, but didn’t recognize them. Then again, he didn’t go to many concerts.
As the double bass thrummed, the piano crooned, and the saxophone danced center stage, he made his way through smoke and other scents towards the bar. A teifling danced a lurid show in the center of the building, sweat glistening on blue skin from the lights. One of Basil’s eyes kept a lock on the man, tracing the electrical signals running under his skin to enact their sensual motions. It wasn’t exactly something he was looking to copy, but it was an interesting interplay to watch. Dancing wasn’t something often done alone, done for the show. It was interesting to compare the flow of signals of this to more traditional forms.
He kept most of his eyes forwards through. He had a job to do, and he preferred white to blue anyways. A brief thought entertained his mind of what Zeal might look like in such an outfit. He snapped it off immediately, jaw snapping shut in anger at himself. That was wrong, and a bad place to go. He couldn’t allow himself to think of her, think of anyone, that way, but especially her.
He focused himself. He had a job to do, and he was going to die alone. The only thing anyone would ever love of him would be an illusion. Any intimacy would have to be built on lies. Throw those thoughts out of his mind. They would only bring distraction, and disappointment.
He centered himself, and took a seat next to Karna, as the aasimar knocked back what was looking like probably the sixth shot tonight. How the hell was he even paying for all this? He rapped the bar twice with his knuckles. “First time here, got mezcal?” He asked.
”Mezcal coming up, though I can’t say it’s gonna be quite as good as home’s.” The barkeep replied.
”I am home, just grew up away from it.” Basil replied. For all his illusions, he always forgot to cover his chultan accent. Then again, recognizing his voice was part of the point for the man next to him.
”Basil?” Karna asked, turning slightly. “You’re straight, well, nearest to it, the fuck are you doing here?”
”Checking on you, and about to drink a theoretically decent mezcal.” Basil replied. “I’m worried about you.”
”Well fuck off, you don’t need to be.” Karna replied. “Another.” He requested. Another shot of strong absinthe filled his cup.
”Might want to slow down there hoss.” The barkeep warned. “The kind you’ve been having is a hundred thirty proof.”
”That so? Huh. Would have thought it was about a hundred twenty. Guess I’m getting better at drinking. Stands to reason, it’s all I’m good at or good for.” Karna replied, clearly about as drunk as someone on their seventh shot of one hundred thirty proof absinthe should be.
”Politely, bullshit.” Basil replied. “Though you are going to manage to be the first paladin to ever give yourself liver cirrhosis at the rate you’re going.”
”Paladin. What a bad joke.” Karna spat. “Paladins are heroes, we, we’re not fucking heroes. You got closer, and you’re, well, you. Me. I’m just a fool. So what if I ruin my liver. I’ve ruined everything else.”
Karna went for his glass, but Basil put his hand over it, stopping him. He looked his cousin in the eye, gentle, pitying, but firm. “Karna, we should go. Let’s find somewhere, a park or something, and talk.”
”We should, as in you should get your hand off my drink, and then pull that pole out of your ass. Dancer might need a spare.” Karna spat back. “I don’t need to talk, I need a damn drink.”
Basil didn’t move. “Cut the crap and calm down. You’re drunk already, and clearly not in a good place. If you’re going to be this way, at least we can do it at a safe distance from anyone else.”
”Oh fuck right off.” Karna replied. “What, am I embarrassing you? More so that I already have? I know I’m a fucking disgrace okay. I saw it with my own two eyes and can’t stop seeing it. The least you could let me do is drink myself to death in peace so I stop being a bother for all of you.”
The bartender was steadily shifting away, looking towards the bouncer who sighed and began to approach. He briefly made eye contact with Basil, who tried to give him an apologetic smile and flicked his eyes back towards Karna. The bouncer nodded. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen this.
Karna continued. “But no, you can’t do that. Can’t just let me be a failure in peace. You’re not content just being the better man than me, being better in every way but looks than me. You have to prove it, have to rub it in. I already you’re better, okay, don’t need to slam my nose in it with this stupid pity schtick.”
”When did I say anything about that? I’m the weakest member of our party!” Basil protested. “And what the hells does that have to do with any of that. You’re my cousin, my family, and beyond that my friend. You clearly need help, so of course I’m going to try and help you.”
”I don’t need help.” Karna snarled back, green eyes glinting red with a dangerous, gleaming light. “LEAST OF ALL FROM YOU!” He roared. The red light flared. Basil flinched, covering his eyes as the roar slammed into his mind and ears at the same time. He focused, piercing through the growing crimson fog.
The music kept playing, a hidden tape rolling, but the band pretending to sing had stopped. The club had gone silent, save for that. The patron’s idle gossip and chatter was muted. The bar was silent, patrons slumped over on their chairs, the bartender and bouncer were on the ground, foaming at the mouth. Karna and Basil were the only two people conscious in that building.
Karna stared in stunned silence, quiet horror at the scene. Some part of him processed exactly what he had just done, rationality quietly ticking away behind a fog of alcohol and badly managed emotional issues. It only intensified the later, a combination of terror and guilt forming into a blossoming rage. Then he saw Basil’s face, saw realization peeling back and something shifting in how he looked at him, saw a cold fury, a hatred, spreading across his face.
Basil looked himself, horrified at what had just occurred, and mind flashing to the street in front of Zeal’s home. This was the exact same scene. The same power as Alexander, but now being used instinctually. He had no idea what had actually happened to these people, if Karna had meant it or not. One thing he did know for certain. He had to stop this. If Karna was out of control there was no telling how many people could be hurt so he had to end this now.
Karna opened his mouth, but it was too late. Basil whirled, placing a palm on the bar to leverage himself from a sitting position into a whirling kick. His heel hit Karna squarely in the face, with every ounce of strength he could muster. A sucker punch, meant to be a knockout blow so he could take the aasimar down, end this spell, and get him out of here before anything else went wrong.
Karna snapped back out of his chair, it tumbled to the ground, and the back of his head hit the floor hard. His headache roared, but he rolled over coming back up to his feet, coming to a ready stance. He might have been depressed and drunk, but he was still a paladin, better trained than most and tougher than pretty much everybody. It was going to take more than that to knock him out.
Basil kicked him squarely in the nuts.
Karna doubled over in pain, and Basil kicked him in the face again. Basil had trained under paladins and monks alike. His skill with his own limbs was on par with his swordsmanship. His training under the paladins in the tradition of Jort made him an expert at sneak attacks, sucker punches, and practical, dirty fighting. In other words, he was effectively an expert at kicking people in the nuts. He went for a chop to the throat, trying to finish the fight right then and there.
Karna caught his hand, and broke it by squeezing his fingers. He looked up, bloody eyed and berserk. “Ah. Fuck.” Basil swore. Then Karna threw him. Basil went flying, arm broken, and hit the wall shelves, covered in a hundred forms of expensive booze. The impact shattered his collar bone, and he kept going until he hit the solid wall on the other side of the bar. He landed hard on his face, shirt torn to ribbons and bleeding freely.
His hand and shoulder reset themselves, and shirt tore entirely as he burst his extra limbs out of it, and slammed them down to pick himself up. He drew in a breath, and Karna threw a chair at him. Basil dodged upwards, onto the ceiling as the chair smashed a hole in the wall behind him. He rushed his cousin, gathering shards of broken glass with his spare limbs and a bottle into either hand. He flung the glass before him, forcing Karna to cover his face. Then he hit him on top of the head with both bottles, dropped them, and hit him on both sides of the throat with a chop.
Karna struggled to breathe, nearly blacking out from the impact, and but threw a wild, blind punch. Basil evaded most of hit, but even a glancing hit was enough to send him flying. He caught his momentum on a support pillar, swinging around it with his tendrils. His ankle hit the side of a table and shattered. He wheezed in pain, falling to a knee on top of the table to mend it.
Karna roared and charged like a bull, giving Basil scant time. He palmed a lighter from one of the unconscious men lying next to him, and jumped clear. Karna smashed the table into splinters beneath his fists, tearing skin and breaking bone, but healing them just as quickly as he damaged them. Basil flicked the lighter open, and threw it. The expensive alcohol covering Karna caught light, stunning and blinding him as Basil set him ablaze!
He hit the flaming angel with everything he had before the fire burned away. Fists, feet, elbows, knees, tendrils. A devastating combination of every move he knew to put a man on the ground flew out of him. He hadn’t really trained to get into a bar fight, but damn if it wasn’t coming in handy. He finished with a powerful drop kick in the aasimar’s solar plexus, sending him staggering back against the bar, breath torn from his lungs.
Basil breathed heavily, as his cousin slumped, then swore as Karna got his feet under him, and pulled his head up still more than ready to go. He swore louder as Karna gripped the sides of the bar, and tore the granite countertop off of it, swinging it at Basil like an improvised weapon.
Basil leapt, running along the side of the countertop as it smashed through everything it came across. Fortunately, it was swung high, missing the unconscious clubgoers, and shattered when it hit a load bearing column, though that cracked ominously. Basil landed on his cousin, spines biting into him and wrapping around bones to anchor the assassin. He’d seen a similar technique used by velociraptors when they hunted, using their massive claws to hook onto larger dinosaurs. Once attached, the smaller reptiles would begin to eat their prey alive. He wasn’t planning on biting Karna though, instead he raised up his boot and began to stomp his cousin’s face, over and over and over again, desperately trying to bring the berserk paladin down before he brought down the building!
Karna flared his wings and soared upwards, slamming both himself and Basil into the ceiling. Basil fell off, and Karna grabbed him by the face. He slammed them both down into the floor, smashing Basil’s head into the ground once, twice, three times, then threw him with enough force to scatter blood across the entire club and snap the assassin’s neck. He watched as Basil hit the pole the dancer had been, ahem, performing with, and his illusion vanished.
Horror overtook him as he saw Basil’s true form break in two, snaped apart by the force of the impact, and fall like so much meat onto the stage. He rushed forwards, hands shaking as he realized what he’d just done. He reached for Basil’s head, bloodied and broken. But his hands went through him. His emotional pain was then matched by physical pain, as he felt a steel stripper pole strike him directly between the legs.
Basil didn’t let up, as he dropped the illusion and his invisibility, and beat his cousin into the ground with the broken pole. He went for joints, broke ribs, hit below the belt with every opportunity and he did not stop. He didn’t know what it was going to take to put Karna down but he did know that if Karna got back up, he was actually going to die. It was nothing but the good fortune of his unusual anatomy that had kept him breathing with a broken neck, and his healing magic to allow him to ever get up again. He wasn’t going to get another chance, and so he beat down his cousin until the pole was bent beyond all recognition and the stage was slick with golden blood.
When he finally stopped, Karna was finally, mercifully, down. Basil knelt by his side, mending him enough to make sure he could be moved safely, though not enough to bring him back into consciousness. The patrons were beginning to stir to consciousness. With a grunt, he picked up his friend, hoisting him over his shoulder, and covered both of them with a spell of invisibility.
Slowly, shakily, he retrieved his and Karna’s weapons, erased both their names from the registry, and slipped away as people began to regain consciousness and the police arrived. Then, he began the slow, tired business of carrying Karna back to his house. He grumbled as he went. “You are far too skinny to be this heavy, and put up way too much of a fight for me to need the extra weight of lugging your ass out of here. You stupid overpowered twink.”
Karna woke up with a splitting headache, and a slightly less splitting everything-else-ache. Paladin healing factors worked wonders, but if you took a beating that was going to make you ache for a week, you were going to ache for a week. He remembered what happened, and started to wish he didn’t. “Oh fuck. I nearly killed Bas. And… yeah, the rest of the club. I’m not going to be allowed back there.”
He rolled off his couch and got a drink, of water this time. He looked at his liquor cabinet, walked over, opened it, and grabbed a bottle. He emptied it into the sink. Then he emptied the rest. He looked down at the drain, drew in a deep breath, and focused himself. “I need to apologize. I need to talk. I need help. And I need to get my life back on track.” He resolved. “I can’t let that happen again.”
He clenched his fists, and opened them again, hands still shaking. There was a knock at the door. His first thought was that it might be Basil checking on him. The next though was that it was the police. His third thought was that it was Basil, and the police. Well, either way. Apologies would be made, he might just also need to call a really, really good lawyer, and probably a bank to take out a loan to pay all that property damage.
He opened it, and saw another aasimar looking back at him.
”Hello Karna.” Alexander replied. “I heard you had something of a rough night, powers going out of control, a rather ugly bar fight, that sort of thing?”
”Yes. How long am I going to be in jail for?” Karna asked.
”Not at all, I’ve covered the damages and fortunately, nobody has any memory of last evening. Dominion Flare has that useful side effect.”
”Dominion Flare? What I did has a name?”
”Of course. It is your inheritance after all.” Alexander mused. “Though, you might be the first one to awaken it while drunk, though you’re not the first to cause some degree of damage with it. These things happen, it simply requires training.” He looked Karna squarely in the eye. “And beyond that, I strongly suspect you may be looking for some help getting yourself back on track.”

Kheerganga Trekking Experience: Challenges And Rewards Along The Way

Introduction:

Nestled amidst the majestic peaks of the Himalayas, the Kheerganga Trek offers a truly enchanting experience for nature lovers and adventure seekers. keerganga trek height an altitude of approximately 9,711 feet (2,960 meters), this picturesque trek takes you through breathtaking landscapes, dense forests, and stunning mountain vistas. Located near the quaint village of Kasol in Himachal Pradesh, India, the Kheerganga Trek is a captivating journey that sets the tone for a scenic and adventurous expedition.

Getting There:

To embark on the Kheerganga Trek, the starting point is the charming village of Kasol. Situated on the banks of the Parvati River, kheerganga kasol serves as a popular base for trekkers. The nearest major city is Bhuntar, which is well-connected by road and has an airport. From Bhuntar, it's a scenic drive of around 32 kilometers to reach Kasol. Alternatively, one can also reach Kasol by taking a bus from Delhi or Manali. As you arrive in Kasol, you can feel the excitement building up for the forthcoming adventure.

Trail Description:

The Kheerganga Trek is known for its diverse and captivating trail. In kheerganga trek package , The trekking route takes you through lush green forests, cascading waterfalls, and charming little villages. The path is well-marked, making it suitable for both novice and experienced trekkers. Along the way, you'll encounter beautiful streams, wooden bridges, and occasional sightings of wildlife. The ascent can be challenging at times, but the rewards are well worth the effort.

Trekking Experience:

The kheer ganga trekking typically takes around two days to complete. The duration may vary depending on your pace and the number of stops you make along the way. Several campsites are available in route, providing opportunities to rest and enjoy the surrounding natural beauty. The trek offers breathtaking views of snow-capped peaks, lush valleys, and panoramic vistas that leave you in awe of the Himalayas' grandeur. Each step brings you closer to the summit, where you'll be greeted by the mesmerizing hot springs of Kheerganga.

Exploring Kheerganga:

Upon reaching Kheerganga, you'll be captivated by its serene and picturesque setting. The highlight of the trek is undoubtedly the natural hot springs, known for their therapeutic properties. During kheerganga trekking Take a dip in the warm waters, surrounded by the majestic mountains, and feel your fatigue melt away. The tranquility of the place allows for moments of relaxation and meditation, providing a much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The night sky at Kheerganga offers a breathtaking view of stars, making it a perfect spot for stargazing.

Conclusion:

The Kheerganga Trek is an unforgettable journey that showcases the mesmerizing beauty of the Himalayas. With its diverse landscapes, serene atmosphere, and the allure of the hot springs, this trek leaves a lasting impression on every adventurer. The best time to embark on this scenic adventure is from May to November when the weather is pleasant and the trails are accessible. Whether you're a seasoned trekker or a nature enthusiast, the Kheerganga Trek promises an experience that will rejuvenate your soul and create memories to last a lifetime. So, gear up, explore the heart of the Himalayas, and immerse yourself in the scenic beauty of the Kheerganga Trek.
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“MOM!” I screamed till my lungs held no air and my throat bled, I raced across the field and grasped the sheet metal roof with my entire palm, cutting my flesh and shredding my skin against the hot sharp edges. I pulled with all my might, raising the roof barely an inch before I collapsed in tears and reached for my moms hand. Her eyes were cloudy and tears ran down her face. “Its ok my son, its all gonna be ok, you need to find your father now” I nodded and wrapped my arms around her head “Ill be right back mama, dad can get this off of you, im sure of it” A jeep raced by and stopped with a screech as the tires left small skids along the tarmac, the base captain stood up from the drivers seat and screamed to me “Lets go! We gotta get you outta here” I leapt into the back sat and clung to the pole, standing atop the back seat as the captain slammed his foot against the pedal and raced across the runway. “No good on the escape cap, I gotta get my dad, my moms trapped under the barracks” He looked back at me for a second and I looked down to him, my hair flowing in the wind and sweat pouring down, mixing with the blood that ran down my cheek. “Good god kid how are you even standing right now?” I veered and scanned the horizon, my eyes falling upon a set of distant lights dancing across the sky. I pointed up to the darker of the two massive vehicles that were locked in mid air combat “Up there, thats dads machine, whos he fighting?” The base captain looked up and leaned forward squinting his eyes and falling silent as he did. He stopped the jeep and sat there, mouth open, eyes glued to the sky. I shook him and repeated the question. “Yo, theres no time for this, who is that?” The captain shook his head and spoke calmly “Theres plenty of time kid, none of us are surviving this…here” He reached down and grabbed a folder from the passenger glovebox, the wind flipping the top as he handed me the bundle of papers. I flipped through until I recognized a file photo. It was almost the exact same design as my fathers machine, the most powerful in the world, but it was darker, and there had been a skull painted on the visor of the mechs gigantic head. It held a long flat edged blade and from the look of the picture, it was taken only seconds before the gory demise of whoever took it. “So the reapers made his way to american shores. So what? This changes nothing. Dad can take him” I leapt out of the jeep and made a beeline for the nearest hangar as the captain shouted from behind me “Hey kid! Get back here, what the hell do you think youre doing?” I barreled into the hangar doors, taking no time to feel the pain my shoulder was now in from having smacked the thick metal door. I wrenched with all my might and threw open the rolling entrance shutter. The lights flickered on as the eyes of my own machine stared back at me, offline and still in desparate need of repair “Im getting in, no time for chitchat captain I need you to give me startup” He shook his head as he leapt out of the jeep and walked toward me “Youre only 11, getting in that machine could kill you, or worse it could actually start up and become a big ass metal coffin. Do you think your parents would want that?” I spoke under my breath for a moment “Better a metal coffin covered in weapons then a wooden one covered in bullshit” He huffed at me “God where do you get this nerve…Oh wait…right…son of the admiral…Alright screw it, were dead either way, get up in the cockpit” I smiled at him and pulled myself into the chest high compartment, sitting in the seat and buckling the main cross belt. “Strapped in captain, starting sequence, can you disconnect me?” He nodded and sprinted around the back of the machines tall legs, pulling the various diagnostic cables and wrenching the stilts from its knees. I looked at the gaff tape I had put inside, following the sequence I had mapped out when i first got the machine, switching the core on and letting the fans spin up. The captain yelled over the noise as the machine whirred to life and stood up. I heard his voice come through the internal speakers “Damn, guess your repairs actually got somewhere. Listen, your internal batteries only good for about 15 minutes, get your mom and then swing back here, if you want any semblance of a chance then youre gonna need a rechar-” I pushed the gears forward and exploded out of the hangar, banking right and hitting the air brakes. The machine flipped forward and threw the wings into gear, sending me rocketing across the tarmac, now 100 tons heavier and 2000 times stronger. I slid to a stop next to my home barracks and knelt down, letting the scanners pinpoint my mother and allowing the hydraulics ample time to adjust before gently grabbing the roof of the building, and pulling up slowly. The captains jeep screeched to a halt next to me as he raced from the car and knelt down beside my mother. He inspected her body for a moment before falling to his knees entirely. I threw the roof and opened the hatchway, launching out of the cockpit and hitting the ground hard next to them. “Shes ok right?” The captain shook his head and put his hand on my shoulder, the smoke stung my eyes as the various fires filled the air with toxic fumes. “There wouldnt have been anything to do, she took too much force from the collapse, im sorry” I shook my head as tears flowed from my eyes “Shes just fucking with us. Mom! Wake up! Youre funny like this but nows not the time weve gotta go and help dad” I shook her shoulders, first gently, then more forcefully as I tried to wake her. I flipped her and her glossy lifeless eyes stared at the sky, still crying. “Shes gone kid, im so sorry” I let out a sob as I knelt down and put my head on her chest “Its not your fault, its mine, I shouldnt have left her, we should have never been attacked” He put a hand on my shoulder and gently rubbed my back “I should have been more aware, im the captain here, its my job to be aware” I rose and gently put my palm over her eyes, closing them with my hand and taking a deep breath through stifled sobs. “You do your best, all the time, its why we respect you. I need you to watch after my mom now, I need to go help dad make sure this doesnt happen to anyone else” He stood up and put his hands up, pushing me back softly and speaking in a low tone “No way kid, you need to grieve, i cant let you back in there in the condition youre in, Ill pilot, or ill call reinforcements, youll be no match” I smiled and moved past him “Id rather bite it in the sky with my dad then sit here and stare at my mom, I cant idle captain” He nodded and bit his lip in thought “Ok…ok…then maybe I can help better. Here, face me” I turned toward him and took a deep breath “We dont have time for this man come o-” He yelled “Face me soldier” I turned fully and stood at attention, my face inquisitive “Ok, ok, what” He brought his hand up to his torso “Ensign Rath, repeat after me and follow suit” I brought my hand up to my own torso and made a fist just as he did “Yes sir” He smiled wide and spoke with authority “I, Ensign Rath” I nodded and repeated “I Ensign Rath” “Accept the rank of Lieutenant O3” I smiled wide and nodded “Accept the rank of Lieutenant O3” He nodded and continued “And vow to use the weapons this rank has been assigned to take on the greatest of threats” The plan clicked in my mind and I continued to follow suit “And vow to use the weapons this rank has been assigned to take on the greatest of threats” As I finished he saluted me and spoke solemnly “It is with great honor and harrowing guilt that I now present you the rank of Lieutenant O3 in the united states naval defense office. I present you with temporary access to the associated weapons in upgrades, and I now release you into the arms of whichever god you so worship, Suit up, and fight like the warrior spirits that have fallen before you” I shook his hand and nodded, feeling pride replace my guilt as I saluted and turned toward my machine. I leapt into the cockpit and stood tall, the captains voice came over my internal speaker “Im heading to valhalla, Hit the skies and get in the fight, ill send a support pack in 2 minutes with 2 hours of extended run time and all the other things youll need to throw down alongside your father. This bases continued operation now relies on the two of you, I know youve had limited training, and some of the controls might even be too far for you to operate properly, but youre a warrior now” I took off into the air, engaging my thrusters and cutting through the clouds like a fiery razor. As rain hit my screen and the distant clap of thunder rolled through, I scanned the surroundings for my father and his machine. I didnt have to look long till he barreled into me while recovering from a glancing blow. “RATH WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING UP HERE” My fathers booming voice shook my brain and rattled my core “Im here to support” He raised his shield and deflected another swing from the reaper, filling the sky with sparks as the flat blade cut across his defense “Get out of here now, where is your mother?” I fell silent as he grabbed my machine with his own and jetted away “Rath! Answer me, why isnt she watc-” I heard him realize, I could feel his heart sink as we stopped in the midst of an anvil cloud, and i could barely see his form in front of me. When a pilot takes his hands off the controls, the machine typically centers its arms to avoid unintended movement, and I could only see the silhouette of his wings as a deep breath came over my intercom “Im so sorry my son, I should have been down there” I shook my head and spoke softly “Then wed all be dead pops, just like the captain you were doing your job as best as you could. Weve got all the time in the world to mourn later, but right now weve gotta make sure this bastard cant pave the way for his friends” I felt the support pack collide with my machine and the cockpit lit up bright as I watched my uptime increase “You make a fair point son, alright, normally id tell you to hit the ground but today I suppose we'll make an exception. Did you receive proper clearance?” The packs armor crawled along my frame and locked in, covering the various dents and scrapes that had been so characteristic of my mech. The improved wings swung into place and I heard the lift fans spin to max. I moved my throttles forward and emerged from the cloud, the full shroud of my machine now dispersed and the new world open to me. “0-3 lieutenant Rath reporting for duty sir, happy to serve alongside you” He spoke calmly “Congratulations my son, your mother would be beyond proud” I reached behind me and remove the tall mace that came standard with almost all lieutenant support packages, but as the flat bulky blade came into view, I noticed a strange sigil on the shielding of the weapon. “Hey dad, any clue what this thing is?” I turned the mace toward him and he flew close “A gift from your mother, you werent supposed to see it for several years but it seems she finished it early. It was a sort of bug that used to be all over the place around here…called a butterfly. You loved them as a baby” I nodded and smiled “Ok, I wanna use this gift for a long time, you think we can beat this guy?” He huffed “Me and you? Were gonna turn him into a monument and stick his armor on display for the world to see” The sky split with lightning as the reaper crossed our paths and came to a stop just a few hundred yards away. As his machines deadly red eyes glowed antithesis to the bright morning sky, a foreign voice filled my cockpit. It held a thick baltic accent, and I knew it could only belong to one man. “You armor is shiny, new, you are young, inexperienced. I let you live, you escape, you till your friends, I kill you later, once you make others fear me” When I had built my machine, I had done so from scratch. I had added and removed things I felt would make me stronger then others, and while I was no heavier due to improved armor, I had still clocked in as the fastest machine in history. The rotors in my arms couldnt survive more then a few hits, the joints in my wrist werent durable enough to deliver full power trikes, but the engines that drove me could surpass all known aircraft and every recorded vehicle in land or air. “Come kill me now, I wanna see your face when I cut your armor in two” He grunted loudly and screamed at me as he flashed across the sky, drawing his blade and splitting the sunlight with speed. I held still and took a deep breath, before swinging, making contact with his arm and spinning mid air. I watched as the skull icon shattered beneath my mace and the sword glanced well below my feet. My father followd the strike with his own mace and drove his engines forward, propelling them both back into the lower sky. I tailed close behind, remembering the eyes of my mother as life escaped her body. With tears in my eye I screamed back “Youl pay today, and youll go broke!” I swung again and again as my father drove the two mechs faster and faster. I pulled the head from the reaper as my father pummeled it. I held it by a braid of cables and met my father in the air over and over. We blocked blows and chipped away, moving faster and faster as my arms grew sore and my voice grew hoarse.I felt my fathers full strength meet my own as we punched at the same time. My mechanical fist shattered inside the reapers torso and I heard a scream as his comms went silent. We watched together as his armor fell from the sky and exploded upon impact, sending a shockwave across the surface as the sound of the boom finally reached us. “Son, take her in for a landing, I know that seemed quick but youre most likely nearing your suits limit” I looked at my counter and noticed a dark red second screen, I had 1 minute and 45 seconds so I turned the engines off and entered a freefall, plummeting toward the earth before pulling them full plast and hovering just above the bases concrete landing pads. I watched my father gracefully swing downward and rocket toward the ground, spinning his feet once he hit the grass and disengaging his wings. His machine came to a halt just a few feet from his designated hanger and I dropped my own armor the ground, kneeling and leaping from the cockpit as i did so. I collapsed as I hit the pavement and my father came running over. He caught me before I could hit the ground and held me up by my arm. He was bloodier then I was but still moving with unparalleled strength. I coughed as he helped me hobble toward the runway before the captain parked next to us in his jeep and helped get me into the seat. My father sat in the passenger seat and leaned his head back, closing his eyes as I did the same. “You did good today son, get some rest and well take care of everything, youre too young for all of this, I'm so sorry” I took a deep breath and curled up in the back seat “Me too dad…me too”

I feel some backstory is necessary to explain my situation. My parents were living together but not married when I was born. They were living in my father's childhood home, which he had inherited as his parents died before I was born. They didn't feel that getting married was necessary. My father passed away in a car accident when I was ten and didn't have a will, and as he wasn't married to my mother I inherited the house as well as all of his assets, which are used to pay the utilities on our home. My mother met my step father a few years after my father died and married him when I was twelve. My step father and step brother have been horrible to me ever since I met them. They treat me like garbage and had my mother conviced I was some kind of crazy criminal freeloader. I was always grounded for some random complaint or another. The day I turned 18 he tried to kick me out of the house but was of course reminded by my mother that I OWN the house and that I could live there as long as I wanted. Last month my mother suffered a stroke and died before she reached the hospital. I am the one who found her and I was absolutely devestated. I decided to stay at a friend's house because his parents were there for me when my father died and I felt safer there than with my dirtbag step family. After a few days I returned to my home to find that the locks had been changed and my key didn't work. My Step Father met me at the door and smugly told me that he owned the house now and I am not welcome in "his" home. He claimed he had the deed changed over to his name and that I could pick up my things on Sunday. I was too emotionally broken to fight him and just went back to my friend's house in tears. They promised me they would be able to take me to pick up my things and that they would help me sort out the situation when things had cooled down. We showed up Sunday to find every single thing I own set up on tables in our yard, for sale, and with several strangers sorting through my belongings. My Step Father was selling off my possessions, including many of my father and grandparent's things left to me, and demanded that I buy back everything. What happened next is something I will always be grateful for. My friend's mother talked to all the customers and explained the situation, and meanwhile her husband drove to the nearest bank and withdrew $5k of their savings. They are not rich and had been saving the money for a cruise. I will pay that back some day regardless of how much he keeps insisting it is okay. In the end I got back most of my stuff, save for my gaming PC which some kid had bought for an insultingly low $50 before I showed up, and my mother's jewelry wich I am certain is in some pawn shop somewhere. My grandfather's car, a beautiful Cadillac which was transferred into my name years ago, was sent to a lot on the other side of town with a "for sale" sign in the window. Yesterday I had to break into it and use the spare key under the passenger seat to drive it away. I recieved an angry text this morning telling me that if I don't "give it back" the police will be called and I will be arrested. This scared me. My name is on the insurance and registration papers in the glove box but I don't know if that's enough. Where do I even begin to get this sorted out? My Step Father has the lockbox with all of the important paperwork like the deed to the house, my car title, and all ofdocuments like my Social Security Card and passport. I doubt the police would let me back into my home without proof I own it, and I don't know if buying my own stuff back means I recognized it was his or something. And can I really be arrested for stealing a car I own if I don't have the paperwork proving I own it? What do I do?

Today I read of the guy that falsey reported sandy hook shooting never happened and how some think anyone should be able to report or say any falsehood they want. And to them I want to share my own experiences and show why we need some accountability and laws to prevent this from happening to other people. I will never be the same as I was because of someone's conspiracy theory.
In 2020 I was healthy of mind and body. I was active on Facebook, reddit, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I'm almost 50 and a mother of 7 and grandmother of 5. I've suffered from social anxiety and depression bit had that under control. I have a soft spot for helping abused children. My bank card rounded up to the nearest dollar and the change went to help prevent child abuse. I studied child development and child psychology in college. I am ex military and have some ptsd (the social anxiety and depression) but again under control. In 2020 there was false news coming on Facebook about children being abducted, abused in numerous ways and it broke my heart. I had to help. I was drawn in to a conspiracy theory due to my heart hurting for these children that were missing or abused. Around October I was told via comments to look up the fall of cabal videos on YouTube to get even more information about how children were being hurt. Like a dumbass that (even though I finished college) was still so gullible I went and watched all 10 videos. This conspiracy theory didn't just touch on children being hurt and abducted but my religious beliefs and my distrust of politicians. At video 10 I was so afraid but not the same way others were. You see the Bible says we won't know who Jesus or God is until Satan is revealed. So I saw this conspiracy theories idea of jfk Jr coming back not as Jesus or God but as Satan and Trump was him. Most people believed this and saw this as a godsend buy I saw it as the ultimate evil on earth. It frightened me so bad I had a nervous breakdown. I lived inside my own mind for over 8 months. To this day I still don't leave my home, don't know what's real or not, and have deleted nearly all but reddit of my social media. To remind what sanity I now have I can not watch the news, go to places where others might verbally attack me and my TV time insist of dvds I have that I know by heart. In my head still we are in end times. I can't undo that thinking. I'm trying to see a professional through the va but they are booked till October.
Last July I tried to go to a family reunion in another state. I went into psychosis because of the videos and thought the worst things about my own family. I saw my family of Trump supporters as racist and the entire reunion as a kkk hoedown. While my ex pastor uncle danced and sung while playing horseshoes I saw my uncle dancing around a fire chanting hate. While my aunts sat by the river watching their pups swim I saw them planning that nights witch orgy. While my brother bar b qued beef and chicken I saw a child's ribs and meat being cooked. I was in total psychotic break and it wasn't even a day since I was there. I was rushed home and tended to for the next two weeks while my spouse and children tried to bring my mind back to our home.
This is why we need only facts to be reported on news and if it's a fictional story then it needs disclaimers and it needs guidelines. If the word news is in the name it needs to be factual and unbiased even if it's news and entertainment. News needs to be factual and unbiased. There's no entertainment in news. It's suppose to bore the kids like it did me as a child.
Some of you will disagree and say I should know how to tell what's real and not but you might be forgetting that I am not you. No one is you. Some people are gullible and they need to be protected. The ones that normally tell me it's my fault are normally the ones saying we need to protect everything. We'll my mind should have been protected. There should have been disclaimers. There should have been rules so others like me didn't get drawn in and start believing these horror stories. I can no longer go to the park with my grandchildren out of fear. I'm too afraid to leave my home because of this conspiracy theory that took my faith, my love for children and corrupted them. I question the Bible and still feel the fear of end times all the time. I can't support anything that tries to help children afraid I'm supporting another conspiracy theorist. My entire life has been turned upside down because someone or a group decided to play with my gullibility.
I'm glad that family won their lawsuit. I hope laws begin to take place to protect families like mine ND theirs. And to those spreading the lies I hope this finds you so you can see just how much those lies have hurt this family. I hope you rot in hell and Satan has his way with you. I hope God does not forgive you for leading some of his children astray and for hurting those you have hurt. I hope his vengeance is as horrible for you as you have made my life. And normally I never wish harm on anyone because it's not very Christian.