In Part One, Kazuchika Okada waged war on the wrestling world as part of his quest to purify NJPW, killing BULLET CLUB and giving CHAOS a much-needed facelift in the process. Hirooki Goto and company have since taken refuge under Katsuyori Shibata’s new “Takeover” stable, which has recruited Ren Narita’s services. Sabre-Gun’s been on the up too, expanding to include the likes of Blake Christian and Clark Connors with the recent Best of the Super Juniors, continuing to be at odds with Just6Guys. There’s one group that’s yet to be addressed though, and that’s… United Empire.
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After finally vanquishing Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door, Will Ospreay sets his sights on the next logical step – the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. With another of his white whales clutching onto it tightly, he wants closure to this legendary saga too, and so, he calls out the Rainmaker. Big Brother Kazu isn’t fazed one bit by the challenge, telling Ospreay he’s been waiting for him, though not to expect a result any different to their many past matches. After all, from Okada’s point-of-view, Will isn’t NJPW’s next destined leader. There’s a different prodigal son waiting.
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Under CHAOS’s new vision, not only has Okada been building a ruthless band of companions willing to follow his regime change, but also focusing on its future, no longer being a top-heavy unit destined to collapse the moment Kazuchika stops supporting its roof. With Hiroshi Tanahashi already bringing in his younger counterpart, Shota Umino, Okada recruits the man prophesised to take over his mantle of Ace one day, Yuya Uemura. His Forbidden Door victory over Wheeler YUTA marking the end of his American excursion, Uemura accompanies his leader’s victory against Blackpool Combat Club in major fashion by accompanying him on the Kizuna Road loop.
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Kizuna Road - Night Four (July 3, 2023)
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CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Yuya Uemura) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb)
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Impressing thus far, Yuya’s biggest test comes when he teams with Okada 2-on-2 for the very first time to confront UE’s Ospreay and Cobb, and he quickly silences their criticisms. A one-sided manhandling from Cobb soon turns into Uemura employing strategies passed down to him from Okada on how to beat the Hawaiian Hulk, giving him quite the culture shock, before Okada helps bang the big man’s drum. The flow shifts when Ospreay steps in though, severely outclassing Yuya to both his and Okada’s surprise. This is a different Will to the one Okada faced a year ago in the G1 Climax Finals.
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And yet, the Rainmaker has an ego problem. Tagging in, he tries to shut Will down, only to find for once, Ospreay seems to have his number. When the Commonwealth Kingpin has him beat though, going for the Hidden Blade, Yuya throws himself in harm’s way to buy Okada a moment, allowing Kazuchika to Dropkick Will out the equation, before drilling Cobb with a Rainmaker to win! As Ospreay grits his teeth, he understands it’ll take more than that to outsmart Okada.
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CHAOS def. United Empire (13:45)
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Wrestle Dynasty (July 8, 2023)
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Also on the show:
Sabre-Gun (El Phantasmo, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) (c) vs Ren Narita & Bishamon - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Aussie Open (c) vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Jeff Cobb - IWGP United States Championship
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Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Will Ospreay IX - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
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Across 8 matches, Ospreay has never once beaten Okada cleanly, his only triumph coming from the night of his betrayal in the G1 3 years ago. But now, with a win over the man Okada failed to beat at Dominion, he’s in the best shape he’s ever been to end the reign of tyranny. The question is though, will he? Returning to Madison Square Garden for this historic show, the last time they were here Ospreay was losing to Cobb in a Winner Takes All opener, whilst Okada was winning back the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event. This time, they’re equals.
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Ospreay enters on a throne carried to the ring by UE, hamming up his Commonwealth Kingpin moniker and signalling the days of the Aerial Assassin to be long dead. Okada, on the other hand, is the same old Rainmaker, descending from the heavens on a platform, God mode in full effect. With pre-match introductions out the way, the bell rings, and the match gets underway! And in classic Okada/Ospreay fashion, Kazuchika expects to Big Brother Will with the Tanahashi/Okada-style headlock start… BUT OSPREAY RUSHES HIM WITH THE HIDDEN BLADE!!!
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Caught off guard, Okada only barely evades him, but Ospreay moves like a lightning bolt, instantly transitioning to springboarding off the ropes for an OSCUTTER! Okada catches it and grabs the wrist, ripcording him into a RAINMAKER! Will ducks though, blasting him with a MARUFUJI HOOK KICK! Okada rocked, nails a SILENT WHISPER to the back of the head, before hooking the arms for the STORM BREAKER!!! But yet again, the Rainmaker barely gets out of dodge, shoving Will away and sliding outside for a breather!
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Okada looks like he doesn’t know what’s just hit him, while Ospreay grins and mocks the Rainmaker pose. Snarling, Kazuchika slides back in and gets to trading blows with his challenger. Stiff elbows bounce off their heads in the centre of the ring, an Enzuigiri from Okada whiffing and a Handspring Enzuigiri from Will equally missing the mark! Kazu teases a Dropkick, causing Ospreay to leap, only to meet a stiff Uppercut once gravity gets hold of him.
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Tossed into the ropes for a proper Dropkick attempt, Will instead slides to the apron and thunders in with a PIP PIP CHEERIO! A Running Shooting Star Press misses, Ospreay rolling through and racing back at Okada, though he’s launched onto the top turnbuckle. Again, a frustrated Okada wants the Dropkick, but Ospreay catches the leg and spins him around, nailing an INVERTED TORNADO DDT! Crunch. Here come the neck issues.
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Okada dazed, nursing the injury in agony, Ospreay stomps the hell out of the neck, before connecting with a ROBINSON SPECIAL! He teases a follow-up OsCutter, Okada anticipating it, only to be faked into a SPIKE DDT! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT! Okada DDT’d the life out of Will last time, so Ospreay’s making sure to return the favour here. He goes for broke one too many times though, a Hangman’s DDT attempt ending in Okada spearing Ospreay across the ring and through the ropes, both smacking off the apron to the floor!
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Turning feral ringside, Okada kicks Ospreay senseless like he’s Kaito, before forcefully connecting a DDT of his own! He whips Will at the guardrail for his patented Crossbody spot but Ospreay leaps over, a Silent Whisper staggering Okada, before an OSCUTTER SOARS IN… NOT THIS TIME – OKADA COUNTERS INTO A TOMBSTONE ON THE CONCRETE!!! Getting him back for the G1 Finals, Kazu smugly takes in the boos as Will twitches lifelessly at his feet.
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Tossing him in, a MISSILE DROPKICK guns into his neck, before another BEAUTIFUL DROPKICK smacks into his chest, Okada finally in control! A Flapjack plants Will face-first and an AIR RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER again targets the famously-troubled neck of Ospreay! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! Cinching in the MONEY CLIP, he continues working it over, Will sputtering and gasping for breaths as he reaches out at the ropes. Right as he finds himself inches from them though, a GERMAN SUPLEX dumps him on his neck!
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Okada hits the pose, before dialling up the RAINMAKER… Ospreay snapmares him over, learning from last time to not back him up. and throws the HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOO!!! Racing up top, Will prepares a Shooting Star Press, though Okada sluggishly rolls to the apron as he grabs at his head. Deciding to change trajectories… OSPREAY NAILS A SUPER OSCUTTER TO THE FLOOR!!! Body aching yet determined, Will rolls back in, only to soar back out with a SASUKE SPECIAL!!!
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Dragging Okada behind him, he drapes him over the top rope, heading back up to finally hit the BURNING STAR PRESS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA GETS A FOOT ON THE ROPE!!! Keeping his composure, Ospreay murders Okada’s face with Kawada Kicks, before a CHELSEA GRIN knocks him loopy… OSCUTTER INCOMING – OKADA COLLAPSES UNDER!!! Will smacks off the mat, not anticipating it, and lets out a pained grunt as both lay flat on their backs, New York roaring in approval!
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Ospreay finds his feet first and tries to pick Okada from his knees, though it results in him being tripped into the ropes throat-first! DROPKICK MEETS OSPREAY AS HE TURNS AROUND! Okada’s noticeably slower than usual, though he doesn’t let it hinder him, picking Will up to nail a SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER! Ospreay stays upright, returning a forearm smash, but another SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER takes him down! Okada teases the finishing blow, though Will resists, prompting Kazu to spike him with a LANDSLIDE instead! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY SURVIVES!
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Hauling him right back up, Okada shoots again… WILL COUNTERS WITH AN OSCUTT- DROPKICKED OUT THE SKIES! Okada sets up the SPINNING RAINMAKER, but Ospreay nails the DISCUS ELBOW first! HOOK KICK drops him, before the HIDDEN BLADE closes in… OKADA DUCKS AND FIRES A JOHN WOO DROPKICK, SENDING OSPREAY INTO THE OPPOSITE CORNER! AND A HESITATION DROPKICK – SHADES OF SHIBATA! Will in the drop zone, Okada gets an idea, heading up top… HIGH FLY FLOW!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
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Okada scowls, picking Will up for the TOMBSTONE… OSPREAY REVERSES INTO A HITODENASHI DRIVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA KICKS OUT!!! And now Ospreay hits the Rainmaker pose again! Securing wrist-control, he nails a RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-STILL NO LUCK!!! Ospreay’s running out of options, though refuses to let his confidence waver, sticking to his gameplan. Mauling Okada’s arms, neck, and back with stomps, he picks him for only his second attempt at the ultimate final blow! OSPREAY WANTS STORM BREAKER!!!
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Getting Okada up… KAZU DROPS OUT AND NAILS THE RAINMAKER!!! BUT HE CAN’T COVER, HAVING TO NURSE THE ARM! Both men returning to their feet at the same time, they knock each other dead with strikes, Okada scoring the ENZUIGIRI this time, Ospreay returning the POP-UP FOREARM SMASH! Tearing off the elbow pad, OSPREAY FIRES UP THE HIDDEN BLADE… OKADA COUNTERS INTO THE SPINNING EMERALD FLOWSION!!! NOT AGAIN – THIS COMBO ENDED WILL LAST TIME! Okada spells the end… RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! THIS IS IT! TWO! MSG IS ON THEIR FEET! THRE… OSPREAY KICKS OUT!!! HE’S STILL IN IT!!!
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Okada looks like he’s seen a ghost, a barely twitching Ospreay laying at his feet with one shoulder raised! Refusing to accept it, the Rainmaker lifts him back up, BEFORE NAILING ANOTHER ON A DEFENCELESS WILL! Ospreay on his knees, head bowed, Kazu lifts him up by the hair to lock gazes with Will’s glazed-over eyes, before throwing a THIRD AND FINAL- OSPREAY HITS THE RAINMAKER!!! Okada drops like he’s been shot!
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And now Will realises this could be it. Struggling back up whilst maintaining wrist-control, he lets out a roar, before nailing a RIPCORD HIDDEN BLADE!!! Okada at his knees now, Will lifts his head up by the hair this time as Kazu dares him to finish him off, too weak to fight back… AND OSPREAY OBLIGES, FISHING HIM INTO A STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! OSPREAY’S FINALLY DONE IT!!! WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!!!
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Will Ospreay def. Kazuchika Okada (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (38:09)
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MSG loses its mind as both men lay exhausted, UE rushing out to celebrate with their leader, helping him to his feet and handing him his prize. Golden tickertape hails from the rafters like Okada Dollars, Ospreay seated on a makeshift arm throne by Cobb and O-Khan, raising his title high, whilst Aussie Open and Catch 22 stand on either side, brandishing their respective titles too! And as Okada recovers, rolling out the ring and returning up the ramp, he locks eyes with Ospreay, giving him a look which reads “I’ll be back.” Will doesn’t let it phase him though. This is his night. He’s earned this moment.
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G1 Climax 33
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Not having to wait long for his first test, he enters his fourth G1 for the first time as reigning champion, redeeming the chance that a neck injury robbed him of in 2021. Heading A Block, he battles CHAOS’s Hiroshi Tanahashi on Night One, who tries to avenge Okada’s loss, though meets the same fate. Will dominates his block, dropping his first match after an undefeated 6 nights, losing to Katsuyori Shibata after their teased program last year at Forbidden Door! Still first though, having victimised SANADA, Shota Umino, EVIL, PAC, and KENTA along the way, he murders El Phantasmo on his 8th night, before meeting Tetsuya Naito in the Block Finals after a 5* duology last year! Finally, El Ingobernable avenges his past losses to punch his ticket to the Finals! As for B Block, a Shingo Takagi victory over Sabre puts him through, setting up a rematch from 2019’s G1 between Naito and Takagi for the Finals, adding fuel to the fire of LIJ’s already turbulent year with SANADA’s betrayal!
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(Other key underlying stories are Naito’s loss to SANADA, KENTA beating Shibata in their first match as part of the TakeoveCHAOS feud, PAC finally returning to the ring as AEW’s representative to throw a spanner into LIJ’s works, Kaito taking Okada to a draw, Goto getting his win back over Okada, Sabre equalising his series with Taichi, and Yuya beating Yota in the first chapter of their Ace vs Dark Ace rivalry that’ll propel NJPW once Okada and Naito pass on the respective mantles.)
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G1 Climax 33 Finals (August 13, 2023)
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Also on this show:
Tetsuya Naito vs Shingo Takagi II - G1 Climax Finals
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United Empire (Will Ospreay & Catch 22) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)
With Naito returning last year’s favour of having the Finals robbed from him by Ospreay, Will instead faces his potential Wrestle Kingdom main event opponent’s factionmates, bringing longest-reigning IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions Catch 22 along for the ride. Whilst using the opportunity to run back his critically acclaimed rivalry with Hiromu Takahashi, he also makes an example out of NEVER Openweight Champion Yota Tsuji, cracking down on the New Generation star to remind Naito and Shingo what he plans to do to them, before pinning BUSHI for the win!
United Empire def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (14:10)
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As UE celebrate their win… BANG! DOUBLE SUPERKICK TO OSPREAY! STEEL CHAIR TO TJP AND FRANCESCO AKIRA! THE ELITE IS HERE!!! No rest for the wicked, Omega plants his boot on Will’s head as he holds the IWGP World Title up, making his intentions crystal clear. His match with Okada ended without a clear victor, and so, he not only wants another crack at the belt, but to crush Ospreay to avenge Forbidden Door. And what better place to do that than Wembley Stadium!
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RevPro 11 Year Anniversary Show (August 26, 2023)
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Will Ospreay vs Ren Narita
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Whilst Ospreay/Omega III is announced for the following night, Will takes care of business in Copper Box Arena the night prior against one Ren Narita, continuing to test out the youth of NJPW, having already faced Yuya, Yota, and Shota in the past month. With Shibata holding a win over Ospreay’s head, promising to be back for the victor of ALL IN’s main event, Will batters his student in the meantime to remind him who the best wrestler in the world is right now, a Hidden Blade slaying Ren!
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Will Ospreay def. Ren Narita (16:07)
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ALL IN: London (August 27, 2023)
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Also on the show:
Zack Sabre Jr. (c)(c) vs Bryan Danielson – NJPW World Television/ROH Pure Championships
FTR (c) vs Aussie Open - AEW World Tag Team Championship
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Will Ospreay (c) vs Kenny Omega III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
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They’ve fought in Japan’s Tokyo Dome, Canada’s Scotiabank Arena, and now, they finally settle the score in England’s Wembley Stadium. 90,000 strong in attendance, there’s a clear crowd favourite here, football chants raining down for Ospreay. Omega decides to lean into it, tapping fully into his Cleaner look and tendencies with Devil’s Sky, absorbing the hatred. Will, on the other hand, receives a standing ovation in an emotional homecoming, prepared to prove his superiority over Omega once and for all and silence those accusing him of lucky past couple months.
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The big first test for Will as champion starts with Kenny trying to get under Ospreay’s skin, stalling him out each time the Commonwealth Kingpin guns for him. Forcing him to work for his golden snitch, Kenny slides out and does jumping jacks until Will takes the bait, Omega quickly repossessing the ring, shutting Ospreay out. Will yells at the referee to back Kenny up, who obliges… ONLY TO EXPLODE FOR A V-TRIGGER THE MOMENT WILL RE-ENTERS!
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Ospreay leapfrogs him and comes off the ropes with a hurricanrana, Omega cartwheeling through and throwing one back, Will handstanding out, though not fast enough, eating a DROPKICK TO THE FACE! Ospreay stunned, Kenny launches him into the corner and dogs on him with vicious kicks and stomps until the referee intervenes, Omega throwing one last chest-slicing chop! Incensed, Ospreay rushes out with forearms for Kenny, lighting him up, the Kawada Kicks finding their mark, before a CHELSEA GRIN’S BLOCKED BY A V-TRIGGER!
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Ospreay shaking off his arm, Kenny capitalises with another V-TRIGGER, but Will ducks, nailing a Hook Kick, an OSCUTTER due to follow… OMEGA SUPERKICKS OSPREAY OVER THE ROPES! Will floored, a RISE OF THE TERMINATOR wipes him out! Gloating as England boos him, an even better idea crosses Kenny’s mind, sliding back in to nail a SASUKE SPECIAL! Nuclear heat. Battering Ospreay about the ring, he teases smashing his head through a table like WK17, though frantic back elbows force him off!
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Kenny seeing stars, Ospreay attempts an OSCUTTER OFF THE GUARDRAIL- V-TRIGGER TO THE BASE OF THE SKULL SNIPES HIM!!! A sickening thud reverberating through the arena as Ospreay’s head snaps forward, a sadistic Kenny lays the section of railing on Will’s body… BEFORE CONNECTING A DIVING DOUBLE FOOT STOMP OFF THE APRON!!! Champion crushed, Omega cackles and dusts off his hands, before kissing Will’s title, eager to bring it home.
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As Kenny taunts the crowd, Ospreay’s managed to feebly crawl out the rubble after the referee checking on him, though as Omega senses this, he’s immediately on his tail. Watching Will try to pull himself up using the steel post, KENNY CHARGES FOR ANOTHER V-TRIGGER… CRACK! OSPREAY MOVES OUT THE WAY, OMEGA’S KNEE HITTING THE STEEL INSTEAD!!! The Cleaner yowls in sheer agony as what was starting to look like another dominant showing takes a drastic left turn!
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Realising this, Will quickly capitalises, grabbing Omega’s wrists from the opposite side of the post, pulling him up to his feet… Kenny hysterically tries to fight Ospreay off, begging him to spare him, realising what’s coming, WILL YANKING OMEGA HEAD-FIRST INTO THE POST!!! Bouncing it off it over and over again, now it’s Kenny that’s busted open! Omega collapsing back to his knees, Ospreay next grabs the leg and SMASHES KENNY’S KNEE INTO THE POST!!! THEN THE GUARDRAIL!!! AND BACK!!! There’s no mercy from Ospreay tonight.
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Rolling Kenny in, he nails Omega’s YOU CAN’T ESCAPE! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT! Forcing Omega to use the bad leg to free himself, Will goes right back to targeting it, kicking the inside of the knee and slamming it against the mat! SHOOTING STAR PRESS TO THE LEG! Omega can’t even be whipped across the ring, collapsing half-way, a ROBINSON SPECIAL crushing him instead! AND A SLINGSHOT CUTTER! ONE! TWO! THR-NO LUCK!
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Hooking the arms, Ospreay wants STORM BREAKER, but Omega counters into a hurricanrana pin for 2! A Running Knee Strike from Will comes up empty, Kenny flattening him with a SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX! AND A SECOND! KOTARO KRUSHER FOLLOWS! Smacking the leg to keep up, an AOI SHOUDOU plants Ospreay! ONE! TWO! THR-WILL STAYS IN IT! A Doctor Bomb attempt is subdued, Ospreay hammering the knee to escape, before a ROUNDHOUSE cleans Kenny’s clock, a POISONED FRANKENSTEINER standing him up, and an ESSEX DESTROY- POP-UP V-TRIGGER!!!
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Kenny desperately tries getting a limp Will on his shoulders for the ONE WINGED ANGEL, using the ropes for help, but Ospreay leans forwards, tumbling onto the apron to escape! SILENT WHISPER blasts Kenny… OMEGA THROWS A V-TRIGGER BACK, KNOCKING WILL OUT! Leg searing yet title more important, Kenny gingerly lifts Ospreay up the ropes with him, before going for OH GOD A MIDDLE ROPE CROYT’S WRATH!!! OSPREAY FLIPS TO HIS FEET!!!
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The sneer on Omega’s face slowly fades as realisation strikes him, shades of Ibushi/Ospreay, Will not even giving him a chance to respond, HOOK KICK CONNECTING! OSCUTTERRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Frustrated, Ospreay hammers on the cut on Kenny’s forehead, painting his own chest with Omega’s blood, BEFORE REMOVING THE TURNBUCKLE PAD! He wants to return the favour from WK! Taking Kenny to the top rope, Ospreay teases a DDT onto the exposed steel… Omega slips between his legs to the mat and CROTCHES WILL ON THE METAL!!!
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Kenny cackles as Ospreay howls, before packaging his head and nailing a CHEEKY NANDOS KICK! Blasting Will repeatedly, a V-TRIGGER FOLLOWS, SMASHING WILL’S HEAD INTO THE STEEL!!! AND HE SPINS HIM AROUND – AVALANCHE PHOENIX-PLEX!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Kenny beats on Will’s fresh cut, leaving both men bloody messes, before readying a V-TRIGGER… Ospreay grabs Omega’s foot! Pissed, Kenny shakes him off, nailing a STANDING V-TRIGGER straight to the cut, BEFORE SPIKING HIM WITH AN IBUSHI-STYLE BASTARD DRIVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY SURVIVES AGAIN!!!
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Ospreay’s body limply leaning on the ropes, Kenny cocks and fires a V-TRIGGER, Will simply bouncing back head-first onto the Canadian! Setting him back, Omega takes another run-up, NAILING HIM WITH A SECOND IN SUCCESSION!!! The champion still out on his knees, twisted thoughts run through Kenny’s mind, prepping his elbow… HE WANTS TO CONCUSS WILL LIKE OSPREAY DID IBUSHI AT WK13!!! OMEGA THROWS THE HIDDEN BLADE… V-TRIGGER FROM OSPREAY!!! Sparking to life, he grabs the wrists and ripcords for a RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KENNY’S STILL IN IT!!!
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Omega on dream street, Ospreay locks and loads THE HIDDEN BLADE, CONNECTING FLUSH ON KENNY’S JAW!!! But as Will goes to cover, Omega collapses out the ring! Ospreay’s lets out a frustrated wail, but he makes the chase all the same, kicking the lifeless Kenny about ringside. A weak chop from Omega meets a sickening forearm, and a wild punch completely misses, Kenny’s legs giving out. TIGER SUPLEX DUMPS HIM ON THE FLOOR!!! Kenny now fully collapsed, Ospreay gets an idea… PULLING OUT A LADDER FROM UNDER THE RING!!!
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Clearing the commentary table, he hoists The Cleaner onto it, before propping the ladder next-door and climbing! Sending a silent prayer to the skies, OSPREAY LAUNCHES OFF WITH A PHOENIX SPLASH, CONNECTING ALL OF IT!!! The crowd goes ballistic with the two men dead in the rubble, both unmoving for several seconds until Will finally faintly grins to himself for returning a taste of WK17’s table. Dragging himself inside, he flops into his corner, lying in wait for the challenger, who has the look of a soulless corpse once he finds his feet and locks eyes with Ospreay, barely rolling inside at 9 but immediately collapsing again.
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Ready to end it, Will crawls over and lifts Kenny to his knees by the wrists, SCORING A KAMIGOYE-STYLE HIDDEN BLADE!!! Omega rocked, Ospreay backs up to his corner for seconds, BUT KENNY PULLS THE REFEREE INTO THE WAY! Will catches himself in time, pausing in his tracks, though is left exposed to a LOW BLOW!!! Wembley goes mental with boos as Kenny weakly chuckles, feebly clawing up to his feet up a confused referee to nail a V-TRIGGER!!! Lifting him by the wrists, a RAIN TRIGGER FOLLOWS!!! AND HE GETS THE ELECTRIC CHAIR AGAINST ALL ODDS… BUT HE COLLAPSES!!!
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Omega shakes his head in denial, tearing up, his golden ticket in the palm of his hands! Heaving himself back up, he tries again, but Will anchors his body to the ground! Incredulous, he grabs Ospreay by the hair, who grins mockingly, AND SLAMS AN UGLY REAR KAMIGOYE INTO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD!!! COVER!!! ONE! T-KICK OUT!!! OSPREAY KICKS OUT AT ONE!!! Though still completely out of it, the act of sheer defiance certainly sees Kenny’s confidence shatter in real time, who like an unhinged animal beats on Ospreay’s forehead gash until Omega too collapses next to him!
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In a last-ditch effort, he staggers to his feet and puts Will’s head between his legs, wanting a CLASSIC PILEDRIVER!!! OSPREAY HANDSTANDS OUT!!! Omega’s horrified- HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD!!! Kenny kneeled, Ospreay stands next to him, prepping the OsCutter, but Omega grabs him by the tights! No force in him though, he tells Will to look him in the eyes… AND HE FLIPS HIM OFF!!! SILENT WHISPER TO KENNY!!! AND AN OSCUTTER!!! Rolling through, he deadlifts him up, CONNECTING THE STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
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Will Ospreay (c) def. Kenny Omega to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (43:29)
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At long last, it’s over. In front of his own people, the Commonwealth Kingpin has proven he’s Japan’s top gaijin and the most valuable wrestler today. Handed his gold, he watches as a prideful Omega refuses help, mustering up the strength to drag himself up using the ropes, before meeting Will’s gaze. At the end of the first match, he gloated. At the end of the second, he was crushed. But now? He gives Will a subtle nod of respect, officially passing the torch as he takes his bow, leaving Ospreay to take over the world.
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Whilst he may have knocked down his two biggest obstacles in Okada and Omega, a dark horse third awaits him back in Japan by the name of Katsuyori Shibata! The only other individual to beat Will in the G1 other than the winner himself, he calls him out for a shot, still waiting on a reign of his own. A determined Ospreay doesn’t back down, though when he goes for a rare show of respect in a press conference heading in, extending a hand as the bigger man, Shibata outright refuses to shake! Seeing through Will’s superficialness, he declares that he owes Ospreay no respect, refusing to accept him as the company’s face that they’ve so desperately tried to mould him into. He was held back for choosing to carve his own path away from the Musketeers, and now he’s going to stick it to the company by exposing their golden boy like Sakura Genesis 2017! Will grits his teeth but says nothing, knowing he’ll just need to prove himself again.
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Wrestle Grand Slam in Belluna Dome (September 10, 2023)
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Also on the show:
Yota Tsuji (c) vs Yuya Uemura - NEVER Openweight Championship
Catch 22 (c) vs CHAOS (SHO & Taiji Ishimori) - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Aussie Open (c) vs FTR - IWGP Tag Team Championship
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Will Ospreay (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
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In only the third IWGP World Title match of his career, 6 years since the infamous incident, The Wrestler receives a chance to redeem all the troubles he was put through and avenge his pupil Narita in the process. As for Ospreay, having lost to Shibata in both their matches in 2017 and 2023 respectively, he must carve out his spot definitively by knocking down another of his white whales. Taking place interestingly in KENTA’s hometown, Katsuyori’s even more driven to stick it to the man he despises most and lost to in the G1 by winning here, a pair of rather simple, stoic entrances setting the tone for the main event.
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Initially, just like the G1, Shibata starts by beating the hell out of the much younger star to humble him, though Ospreay’s much quicker to put up his fists this time, learning. Youthful arrogance sees him get a couple teeth knocked down his throat though, his patented elbows instantly receiving a much stiffer receipt from Shibata, dropping him dead! Unable to outstrike the most dangerous man in New Japan, Will instead leans on his weight advantage, brutally slamming him down with London Has Fallen and scoring a vicious Liger Bomb to boot. Growing comfortable, he attempts the OsCutter, BUT IS CAUGHT WITH A SLEEPER!
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Choked to a plum colour, the finishing PK narrowly misses, Ospreay dropping him with an ESSEX DESTROYER instead! Cruelling focusing on the skull, Will regains advantage, getting nasty with Kawada Kicks and a CHELSEA GRIN that rocks Shibata! An aerial attempt is again blocked, Shibata evading a Shooting Star Press and simply slapping the hell out of Will! A B*TCHMAKER almost ends him, Katsuyori mocking him as a lesser Okada, but Will takes it personally, rocking him with a brutal Running Knee Strike and nailing a SPIKE PILEDRIVER! Shibata on his knees, inviting Will to give him his best, a (protected) HIDDEN BLADE cracks him upside the head, Ospreay knocking the striker out cold for 3 to retain!
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Will Ospreay (c) def. Katsuyori Shibata to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (31:46)
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Doubt him, and you’ll be made to regret it. Though earlier in the night, Catch 22’s legendary reign came to an end, United Empire is stronger than ever with Ospreay taking down a murderer’s row of competition. Selling out MSG, Wembley, and a Dome, he only continues to elevate to higher heights. Whilst Shibata is left to be mugged by KENTA to close the show, Will can walk away proud of himself, on the run of a lifetime.
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With the Burning Spirit tour up next leading into a second homecoming in one reign for Ospreay at Royal Quest III, there’s one man in particular that’s been barking up his tree as of late, and that’s the NJPW World Television and ROH Pure Champion Zack Sabre Jr.! Someone who’s been a thorn in Will’s side every step of the way and vice versa, he’s not content holding just two titles, wanting to reclaim his status as Zacky Three Belts, and what better way to do that than with the World Championship! Citing his far superior record and win in their last meeting in 2022’s New Japan Cup, Ospreay grants him a chance to show how deserving he truly is.
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Burning Spirit - Night Six (September 23, 2023)
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Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) vs Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd)
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Will picking his close friend Robbie Eagles to join him (who defected to United Empire during CHAOS’s rebranding after dissension with Lio Rush over Sakura Genesis’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship shot), Sabre chooses an interesting ally of his own in Sabre-Gun’s rising star Gabriel Kidd! Zack’s empire slowly growing across 2023 with the additions of El Phantasmo, El Desperado, TMDK, Blake Christian, Clark Connors, and Kosei Fujita, Kidd’s been another that’s greatly impressed since his return from excursion, joining Zack in a tag on the G1 Finals Night to officially become part of the stable, playing off their history of fighting until respect was reached. Originally set to challenge Ospreay for his RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship last year until a mental health break cancelled those plans, unfinished business stands between the two, Kidd still looking to get Will back for chipping his elbow in a Ladder match back in WCPW 6 years ago.
​
The animosity between the two very much shows here, as even with Ospreay ascending to untouchable heights in the past year, he’s still the same Will to Kidd, who incessantly targets him throughout the match, wanting his pound of flesh. Will, of course, outclasses him, using his incredible chemistry with Eagles to keep Gabriel at bay, though their shifted focus does open the doors for ZSJ to employ his cunning, bending Ospreay’s arm over the guardrail with an Article 50 before massacring Robbie, an Orienteering With Napalm Death decisively tapping him out! Holding up all three belts as a hurt Will composes himself, Zack sends a definitive statement of things to come.
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Sabre-Gun def. Birds of Prey (14:25)
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Royal Quest III - Night Two (October 8, 2023)
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Also on the tour:
Aussie Open (c) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Jon Moxley (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - IWGP United States Championship
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Will Ospreay (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr. XVI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
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And so, for the 16th time ever, Ospreay and Sabre are set to go head-to-head! The record 9-6 in Zack’s favour, the Windy Man is nothing short of wholly confident in his own abilities, whilst Will once more enters with a chip on his shoulder, needing to show himself he’s outgrown Sabre for good. For once, London is split directly down the middle between these two, both men having grown up an hour either side from the venue, each in a completely different position since their last meeting, Ospreay on top as the World Champion and Okada-beater, and Sabre now heading a stable of his own like Will, with NJPW singles gold of his own like Will.
​
Duelling chants of United Empire and Sabre-Gun, both men are perhaps at their most ruthless they’ve been all year here, which is saying something for Ospreay considering his clashes with Omega, the hatred he shows Sabre unlike anything he’s felt for anyone else, wanting to wipe the sneer off his face. He had Okada figured, he had Omega figured, he even eventually had Shibata figured, but ZSJ is one puzzle which feels like running into a brick wall for Captain Dyslexia, the Technical Wizard tying the champion up into knots that are unheard of!
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Taunting, bullying, torturing, Sabre picks Ospreay apart with such drive and intensity that it becomes crystal clear just how starved he’s been of NJPW’s top title. Conversely, Will’s just forced to do his best, picking his spots to remind the world he’s still very much in there, not letting the challenger shake him down to his core. A Selected Technical Works Vol 2. does get Ospreay in a bind, though he shows progression from all his matches with Sabre, managing to hang with him technically just enough to survive, forcing Zack to keep switching up his submissions. A European Clutch gets the closest call though, ZSJ very nearly flash-pinning Will for the strap!
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That unlocks a whole other beast inside Ospreay, exploding with an uninterrupted 5-minute stretch of offence that has Sabre utterly overwhelmed, Will standing his ground! A HIDDEN BLADE nearly captures another victim, though the impact’s cushioned by Ospreay’s damaged arm dating back to their tag, keeping Zack alive! Still, Will keeps pushing, solely working a striking game despite the searing pain in his limbs, all in the name of strategy, managing to convince an overconfident Sabre to strike with him, though as has been a recurring theme in 2023, Zack gets mauled! And with his guard let ever so slightly down, the hyperfocus on an Article 50 gives way to a STORM BREAKER after being broken on the mat! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
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Will Ospreay (c) def. Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (33:50)
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Yet again, it’s Ospreay that rules the kingdom with world-class wrestling acumen! As Will collects his title, Sabre cursing under his breath and vowing to be back someday as he leaves with his own two… OUT COMES SHINGO!!! Losing with Naito against Aussie Open for the Tag Titles earlier in the night, the two growing more distant with each other ever since SANADA’s LIJ betrayal put the faction on shaky grounds, Naito’s G1 Finals victory over Shingo only causing further dissension, which they failed to smooth over against the Aussies, the Dragon’s reaching his last wits. And as he eyes Ospreay’s title, it’s clear what he’s here for.
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Not receiving a rematch ever since losing the title at Wrestle Kingdom 16, he’s been kept on an empty stomach long enough, his patience wearing thin. Extending a challenge to Will, he wants to be the one walking into WK defending the strap against Naito! Ospreay, uber-confident in his ability to slay his rival once more, accepts!
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Battle Autumn - Night Eight (October 23, 2023)
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United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Aussie Open) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi)
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The Battle Autumn tour pits UE and LIJ against each other in various tags, with Ospreay and co. winning every single one thus far, the issues between Takagi and Naito even spilling into here whilst the rest of LIJ tries to play the role of mediator. With UE dominating and Shingo’s shot mere days away though, they agree something needs to change. And so, for the sake of the greater LIJ family, they do their best to stay out of each other’s ways, finally stringing together some respectable momentum.
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As Aussie Open goes for the Coriolis on Naito, Shingo bursts in off tagging Tetsuya’s back, nailing a PUMPING BOMBER on Davis to knock Tetsuya off his shoulders, before a Pumping BombeDestino combo on Kyle and a LAST OF THE DRAGON breaks the LIJ curse, though going right back to sharing tense stares, Naito ultimately nodding to Shingo, wishing him luck. Ospreay, however, stands unfazed, knowing Takagi’s the one with the chip on his shoulder this time.
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Los Ingobernables de Japon def. United Empire (18:38)

Hello people so this is my fifth* time posting anything like this on Reddit but I've been lurking. I've tried other subs but have had no luck besides the normal scams. What got me to finally post? I'm lonely. Just recently I realized there's no way I can keep living like this, I need to leave my bubble and make some friends. I've joined the journey to find some kind of happiness.
I'm a homebody so when I'm not working I just spend my time at home watching shows and movies. The most recent show I watched was the latest episode of Yellowjackets and for the movie it was John Wick 4. I'm pretty much down to watch anything except scary movies. No way I'm watching those alone, I need someone else to be scared with me lol. So if you're looking for a movie buddy? Hello I'm here
I'm also into anime (subtitles, the only true way to enjoy) and manga/webtoons. I've watched a lot of anime and I mean a lot so I might have you covered if you need a recommendation. A few other things I'm into are gaming (mobile, Nintendo switch, and PC) and puzzles. I've been so bored I'm even getting into crafts. Yea I'm a bit of a nerd.
Music genres - alternative rock/indie
I have dogs and a cat which you'll definitely end up seeing pictures of at least once a week.
I also eat "weird" healthy food so I might share that with you too. It's usually a lot of vegan stuff which others might not find weird. I've only started this adventure with food about 1.5 years ago and always looking for new things I can try. I used to be huge but I've lost quite a bit of weight over the past 1.5 years. Since I'm currently feeling lost it's got me even thinking of working out so maybe that's another thing we can do together?
If we have things in common or you just need someone to talk to just send me a message or chat. I like to know people's favorite top 5 anime.

I just completed my sophomore year of high school, and it’s time for me to start thinking about college. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about various colleges to create a set list that focuses more on what works for my interests and ambitions rather than just going for the most prestigious universities.
That said, I would much appreciate some recommendations for good safeties, targets, and reaches! And if you can, please take the time to chance me for T20 universities and perhaps provide some advice on how I can strengthen my application within the coming years!
Demographics
Gender: Female
Hooks/URM: Daughter of immigrants
Race: South Asian/Indian
School: semi-competitive large public school. over 2,000 students, 15 or so out of 500 in the class of 2023 were accepted to T20 schools
State: Colorado
Income: ~180k/year, family of 3
Intended Major(s)
Considering biochemistry or clinical lab science as a pre-med route with a minor in either political science or philosophy
SAT
I’m a rising junior, so I haven’t taken the SAT yet, but my PSAT scores (with absolutely no studying minus one practice test freshman year) are as follows
PSAT 8/9: 1420
PSAT 10: 1410
UW/W GPA and Rank
My school operates on a 4.0 scale
UW GPA: 4.0
W GPA: 4.15
UW Rank: 1/446
W Rank: 2/446
Coursework (I’m only including weighted classes)
Sophomore year: AP Gov (projected 5) AP Macro (projected 4), AP World (projected 4)
Junior Year: IB English, IB European History, AP Calc BC, IB Spanish 5, AP Biology, IB Business
Senior Year (tentative): IB English, IB 20th Century History, AP Physics C: Mech, IB Math A&A HL, AP Spanish, IB Chemistry
Awards
I have a running list of around 10 awards that I’ve earned over the course of the past two years. I won’t list them here because they will easily reveal my identity to anyone who may know me. If you want to know my awards to better be able to chance me, please PM me!!
Extracurriculars
• Varsity girls cross country (freshman year - present)
• Varsiry girls swim (freshman year)
• Varsity girls track (sophomore year - present)
• piano player for 10 years, just starting competitions this year
• club swimming (7th grade - sophomore year)
• volunteering at the local library - over 20 hours doing reading buddies and sorting books
• upcoming: will be volunteering at a hospital this summer. it’s a super competitive program and only 30 out of 200 or so applicants got in, most of which being rising seniors. i will get 64 hours of service and a few educational opportunities from this
• holding a leadership role in a school club (won’t specify for safety reasons)
• National Honor Society
• Spanish National Honor Society
• Theatre
• HOSA (health occupations students of America)
Extracurriculars I Plan to Add
• Technology Student Associaton
• DECA (distributive education clubs of America)
• Speech & Debate
• Tutoring students in math up to Precalculus (have already received an interview for this position)
Other Useful Things to Know
• Passion project: currently translating my grandmother’s books from Telugu to English so readers in America will be able to read these books. She is a published author in India.
• I’m trilingual
• Have been out of the USA over 10 times. Thinking using international travel as a metaphor for my college essays might be a good idea.
Dream Colleges & Aspirations
• Harvey Mudd
• Johns Hopkins
• Stanford
• Texas A&M
• Columbia
• Would like to run for college if I end up at a D3 school
Thanks for reading! If there’s anything else you need to know to make better recommendations or chancing, PM me or just ask me in the comments.

[This is an aftermath sequel to Sanctuary. Please read it for context.]
Humans could get used to anything, given enough time and patience.
Intellectually, I am aware that I used to be Human, that prior to my exit from the dungeon, I'd had an entirely different life, that everything I knew from my past was a convenient lie to keep me trapped and servile.
There are many fanciful tales of Humans being taken, and through sheer willpower recalling their past lives and successfully destroying a dungeon's Core.
I know better, and I tell that to every would-be Adventurer who walks in through those doors.
When we were safely out of danger, John, Jimmy, and myself had come to an impasse on how to proceed. My entire life was gone, I was a monster, pure and simple, and even standing benignly in town got me more than a few terrified looks.
Dungeon Withdrawal is not unlike recovering from an addiction, I had to be locked up in a cell because every now and again, I got violent, demanding a Human to take me to the nearest dungeon.
The irony was not lost on me as I was indeed brought to a dungeon.
They kept me fed on a ration of meat and milk, both of which tasted horrible to me, because a dungeon sustains its monsters through mana, it's why several vicious monsters could coexist without killing each other.
But as it ran its course, the food began to taste better, and though they kept me for a week longer than necessary, once I was fully removed from the dungeon's influence, I was free to go.
John and Jimmy couldn't stay, they still had their own lives to live, and returning home victorious with both their manhoods intact was certainly going to make their lives easier.
They took one fourth of the loot each, at my direction, during one of my more lucid moments, and they ensured the Adventurer's Guild kept my half safe for me.
When I went to the Guild for my loot, it was given to me, coinage exchanged for viable currency, offers made on magic items that I staunchly refused to sell until I knew what I was going to do with my life.
Plus, that dagger is mine, I killed for it.
Because I didn't have any life to return to, the only clue being a letter that meant nothing to me taken from the body of a brother whose memory was utterly gone, save for the fact that my first and only look at him was a split skull and the look of fear in his eyes.
I didn't mention the funerary cannibalism to anyone, even if I didn't have any issue with it, the Humans certainly did and dragged me away from the body before I could even begin to explain.
It was the least I could do for someone who had once meant something to me.
The Guild also offered me a job, Monstrous Adventurers were valuable, they couldn't be taken by a dungeon with the right protections- and I had those protections tattooed beneath my scales- and their innate understanding of how a dungeon worked gave most adventuring parties an edge.
Plus, dungeon Cores were pretty, and could do practically anything if you removed it and bound it to you. Which I did. More on that later.
They had a Grandmaster Wizard try to recall my memories, he couldn't, the letter only indicated an empty house with very little of note or value to me, but since it was mine, I sold it for a modest sum.
It was a pair of brothers who entered the Guild, the sight of them joking and laughing dredging up unpleasantly sad emotions that had nothing attached to them except whatever remained of love for a brother that I had.
"We're here to register." The older of the two called out, completely missing the fact that I was there.
"Do you have an entry fee?" I asked as I climbed the step-ladder to address them. They screamed, I yelled, they screamed even louder. It was good fun, I liked scaring Humans.
"Now that you've sufficiently hurt my ears, do you have an entry fee?"
"It's a little lizard thing!"
"Kobold!" I snapped. "I am a Kobold, and you will stop acting like a bloody arse or I will have you thrown out so you can calm down!" Latent hatred for Humanity aside, I didn't have a particularly good temper, and when stabbing was a more efficient way to get your point across, I wasn't allowed my dagger.
They elected to calm down. Progress. They approached cautiously, as all newcomers do, and said, in a hesitant voice. "We're here to register?"
"Congratulations, you've echoed something I've already heard twice. Allow me to echo something a third time. Do. You. Have. An. Entry. Fee?"
"Entry fee?" He asked.
"Yes. An entry fee guarantees you basic armor and weaponry properly assigned for your roles. Without one, you will have to provide your own. The entry fee is fifty silvers."
"We, uh, we don't have enough for that." The younger said.
"We, uh, also don't have any weapons." The elder added.
"Bloody brilliant. You Humans cease to amaze me. Come this way, I can give you a quick job to earn enough to pay. You're going to need this."
I led the duo to a door, this was my door, because before I got a job here, it did not exist.
"Are either of you familiar with dungeon Cores?" I asked.
"They're really powerful." The eldest said with a nod.
"They create dungeons?" The younger asked uncertainly.
I sighed. I really did not have the patience for this. "Beyond this door is a dungeon. It is my dungeon. I aided a party in destroying a dungeon and claimed the core after giving them free rein on the loot."
I opened the door, which led into a recreation of the dungeon I had once called home. That was largely due to the fact that the same dungeon Core that dwelt in this one had come from that one. "Dungeons are graded based on what they create. This is a Grade 1 Dungeon. It is the safest and easiest of dungeons to survive in, and because it is under my command, this one is even safer."
I paused, making sure they understood.
"This dungeon does not have many monsters in it. This makes it the kind where, if you stay too long inside, you become a monster. This is something I cannot change, and I keep it this way because there are people who simply want a completely fresh start. There are ten Kobolds in this dungeon, they are the ones who did not get out in time, even with my help."
"Why are you showing this to us?" The older brother asked.
"Because it is the most expedient way for you to earn enough to pay for the fee, or to find enough armor and weapons to kit yourself out. The Kobolds in this dungeon are passive, but become hostile if you start taking things. Killing them is allowed, I can resurrect them without issue. But do bear in mind they used to be Humans."
I paused again, they nodded.
"You will experience the beginnings of the dungeon claiming you after one hour inside, this will manifest in growing scaly patches, your limbs becoming non-Human..." I explained the process of being claimed, which I described in exact detail. "After twelve hours, if you fail to return, you will be claimed, your memories utterly destroyed, and your will belonging to the dungeon Core."
I looked at both of them. "Now, would you like to opt for a cleaning job instead?"
"Once you lose your memories, you cannot retrieve them." I warned as I led them through the dungeon. I had given them both a dagger to defend themselves, once they staunchly insisted on doing things the expedient way.
They were going to run this dungeon regardless, but under easier terms.
"I was minutes away from being claimed, and I only got out because I had given a pair of Humans a bag of loot that I was damned and determined to retrieve."
I stopped at the first intersection and turned around. I stomped one of my feet. "Now, unless you want to become Kobolds- which I will happily oblige- you will navigate this dungeon by yourselves. I will be observing you, ensuring you don't die, but I won't prevent you from being injured."
I teleported to the Core, its glossy blue surface growing translucent as I observed the Humans running through the hallways.
I raised the floor a step, causing them both to stumble and fall to the floor. "You have triggered a trap." I said. "You are dead now."
They pushed themselves up and kept going. I set a few traps ahead, non-lethal ones, ones designed to capture and hold. The elder brother fell into a small pit, just high enough that he couldn't climb out on his own. The younger brother immediately helped him out.
"Excellent instinct." I said. "Your survival in a dungeon depends on your capacity to cooperate and protect one another."
I directed a Kobold toward their direction. They weren't mindless, certainly intelligent, but utterly incapable of being removed from the dungeon, even if I tried. Severing them simply killed them, returning their mind and soul to the core.
I told him there were intruders who were after our shinies, he immediately attacked.
They were cognizant of what this dungeon was meant to be, a home for myself, and a place to train Adventurers. They understood this intellectually, but they were fanatical when it came to protecting what the dungeon produced.
Even I still got a little grumpy, seeing Humans grabbing my treasures. Generally, the angrier I was by the end of the run, the better their grade.
The Kobold attacked with a dagger. Their duty was to incapacitate and imprison Humans so that they became Kobolds. I let the Humans out, of course, unless they were too far gone by that point, at which point I simply gave them the choice of staying or leaving.
Most people were surprised they elected to leave, though they always came back after they were severed.
The elder brother kicked the Kobold, knocking him down and making him drop the dagger. I watched, and shook my head when they ran.
The Kobold pushed himself up, scooped up his dagger, and went into a side tunnel, moving through the walls and catching up to them. He ambushed them, leaping from the inside of a wall and tackling the younger brother, dagger already jabbing into his side.
The elder brother immediately moved to protect his sibling, and this time, he didn't hesitate to kill.
"The Kobold you just killed is the same one you left alive." I said, the elder brother tensed, horrified. "Understand, you cannot assume you will outrun an enemy, your brother's blood is on your hands, he has paid for your choice."
It was brutal, but it was an important lesson.
I moved a chest and a mimic near them. The mimic was a mindless construct, set to devour or entrap.
The elder brother helped his sibling stand, removing the dagger.
"Congratulations, you have now ensured his stab wound is bleeding freely, in any other dungeon, without any form of healing, this would be a death sentence. Do not remove daggers until you can treat the wound."
He began to panic, looking for anything that would save his brother, likely forgetting I wasn't going to kill them. He spotted the chest and the mimic and rushed over to them. I set up some non-lethal traps, to remind him not to hurry. I even had one resemble a mimic opening up to capture him.
He triggered them all, but managed to avoid getting hit. He hesitated at the chest and mimic.
Good.
He took off one of his boots, letting out a sharp cry of shock as he saw his little toe had transformed. He gingerly touched it, the dungeon Core fed him pleasant sensations to make him want to stay.
Particularly weak-willed Humans would find themselves enjoying the sensations, not realizing that they were becoming monsters, until it was too late.
He pulled his hand back, still unsettled, and threw the boot.
The mimic triggered instantly, grasping at the air in front of it before resetting, taking the boot with it. He took the other boot off, letting out a cry of distress as he saw all of the toes on that foot had already transformed. He threw the boot at the other chest, determined it was safe, and opened it.
The trap struck him in the torso, flinging him backward.
"Remember, your brother is currently sitting on the floor, bleeding, an easy target for the Kobold who's heading in your direction." I said. That was a flat-out lie, but it got him moving. He checked the chest, took out a red potion, and ran for his brother.
He gave the potion to him, the wound sealed shut.
"I'm not evil." I said. "I ensured you would have a means of healing your brother. At the same time, never drink a potion you cannot identify. That could have just as easily been a potion of transformation, or even poison."
"What's a potion of transformation do?" He asked.
"Costs you an hour." I replied. "Outside of a dungeon, it just flat out turns you into a monster. One with memories intact, mind you, but a monster nonetheless."
His brother healed, he led him carefully to the chest and they grabbed the armor within. It was piecemeal, a single pauldron, a breastplate, and a ring.
The younger brother got the breastplate, which shrunk to fit him, the brother wore the pauldron, and picked up the ring. This was a Ring of Binding, it accelerated the process of transformation, it is a cursed item.
I sensed someone entering my dungeon, it was the Guild Master. I teleported him to me. An old man, he was one of the strongest men in the Guild, and that was only because old age had worn him down.
"Prospective members?" He asked.
"Yes, sir." I replied. The older brother stowed the ring in his pocket. "Good instinct, never wear unidentified magic items." They continued, the elder brother removing his ruined socks and going barefoot. They slowed down, started paying attention to their surroundings.
"Do you expect them to survive this?" He asked.
"I do not interfere, Guild Master." I said. "Unless I absolutely have to or it's necessary to teach them a lesson." I looked at him. "The younger brother will absolutely make it out fine, the elder brother might, if he doesn't put on that ring. The moment he puts it on, he would have to run and avoid every threat between him and the exit."
The Guild Master nodded. "I expect-"
That was when the younger brother collapsed.
Dungeonrunning is extremely dangerous, even in this 'tame' one, death was possible.
The younger brother was still alive, but he had certainly fallen unconscious.
"No! Not now!" The elder brother shouted.
"What condition is the younger in?" The Guild Master asked, concerned. I reached out and felt his energy, his soul.
"He has a condition that causes him to faint." I replied. "One that is treatable with medicine, and expensive magic." I shook my head. "He should not have brought his brother with him, now he has dead weight he has to protect.
"Hey! Kobold! Can you help me?" The elder brother asked.
"No." I said. "Interference is not permitted by Guild regulation unless absolutely necessary. Your brother is not dying, he is not in any present danger of death. However, he is along the same level of change as you."
The brother looked desperate. "If I have to rescue him, he will be considered unfit for the job. Indeed, his condition may be serious enough that we could not- in good conscience- put him in anything but a clerical position."
Now, the question remained if the brother was sensible, or stupid.
Given that he almost immediately chose to lift him up and carry him on his back, stupid was the answer.
"A shame." The Guild Master remarked.
I moved some Kobolds in their path, the Guild Master raised his brow. "Are you intentionally sabotaging his progress?" He asked in mock offense.
"It's only sabotage if you intend for them not to succeed." I said. "If he's willing to risk his brother's safety instead of forfeiting his brother's chances of joining the Guild, then he will have to live with the consequences of his actions."
The Kobolds set up an ambush, creating a noticeable fake trap that the elder brother would have to walk around to avoid. To their utter shock, as well as mine, he just ran across it.
"Did he intuit the trap was fake, or was he just that bullheaded?" I asked as the Kobolds moved to intercept. They got ahead of him, prepared an ambush, and the moment he was close, they jumped out, punching and kicking him and cackling with glee.
"I still find it disturbing how monsters delight in Human suffering." The Guild Master remarked.
"Quiet, this is the best part." I said. They tied the elder brother up and dragged the unconscious younger brother into a panel. He screamed out a name. "Daniel!"
"I'm giving him half an hour before I fail him." I said. "That should be enough time to determine his competence."
The elder brother, legs bound together, arms behind his back, began to desperately inch away from where he'd been put, toward the dagger that he had dropped. I nodded approvingly, that was a sensible plan. But then he inched past it and deliberately triggered a trap.
I gaped in absolute shock as the trap sliced cleanly through the ropes, barely missing his wrists. He then got up, grabbed the dagger, and freed himself.
"Resourceful lad." The Guild Master remarked. "Yet his brother has been abducted."
The brother went toward the wall they'd taken Daniel, who was already halfway across the dungeon and heading straight for the holding cells. One of them requested to grab a Transformation Potion to speed things up.
"Reserve that for later." I said. "I want to see how the elder brother handles this."
The brother in question gave up, and began searching around desperately for something. There was a chest nearby with a proper sword and more armor, even a non-cursed magic item and a scroll. He kept searching, keeping his hand along the right wall, until he found it.
"He has an uncanny sense of what he's doing." The Guild Master remarked. "He might be an untrained time mage."
"That would explain the bravado with the fake trap and the willingness to push forward. He might not even be aware of why he's doing what he's doing." I remarked. He threw one of his ruined socks at the chest- "He still had those!?" I yapped- and proceeded to dig through its contents.
By now, his feet were fully Kobold, with his legs beginning to accommodate. He would be off balance for a while.
"Greaves, bracers, a standard short-sword, a werewolf's skin, and a scroll." The Guild Master remarked. "Not a bad find for a dungeon of this caliber."
Werewolf skin was a fun item that turned the wearer into a monster. The effect was effectively the same as being in a newly formed dungeon, and was meant to bring about some diversity to to the monster population.
It was also one of the few ways a monster could return to Human form, if it merged with them.
"Ragnar is a Werewolf, isn't he?" I asked.
"Aye, he is. He's been looking for one of those for his wife."
The brother seemed to know what it was, or at least, what its properties were, and tossed it back into the chest, that's when he pulled out the cursed ring.
"He's going to be sorely disappointed." The Guild Master remarked. "That's a Ring of Binding if I've ever seen one."
The scroll burst into flames, and he looked at the ring, wincing as his mind was filled with knowledge he didn't have before. He stared at the ring in his hand, clearly disappointed by the fact that it was utterly-
"Did he just put it on!?" The Guild Master sputtered. He was right, the brother had put the ring on and was beginning to transform faster. He then opened the wall panel and began following along the path the Kobolds had gone.
"Pull him out." The Guild Master commanded. "You've engineered a desperate situation, and we can clearly see he's not capable of rational thought in such instances."
"No." I said. "Look." The brother was stepping out of the walls, grabbing gear and other items, before going back in. "Kobolds are innately good at dungeoneering. Even in a foreign dungeon, we can figure out where we are in relation to everything else. But in your native one, especially one that's actively claiming you..."
"He's deliberately doing what he can to salvage the situation." The Guild Master remarked. "How much time does he have left?"
"Approximately one hour before the transformation is irreversible, so thirty minutes with the Ring of Binding on." I ran the time in my head. "Even if he manages to rescue his brother in time and gather enough gear for the both of them, by the time we could remove the ring, he would already be a Kobold."
The brother got as much armor on as he could, continued making his way to the holding cells, where Daniel was already bound, the transformation proceeding just as slowly as normal.
His eyes opened, he shifted around on the table, unable to get out.
That's when he began to grow fur.
"He's a Werewolf." I said numbly.
"If his brother doesn't get him out, he'll be a Kobold Werewolf." The Guild Master remarked. "Those are technically among the more powerful of the moderately dangerous monsters, all of the strengths of a Werewolf, plus the innate understanding of a dungeon? Terrifying creatures."
"Don't give me ideas." I said. "Ragnar needs a gift for his wife still, right?"
I moved the chest with the Werewolf Skin over to me and, wincing at the idea of taking it out and removing it from the dungeon, put it into my bag.
The brother was almost there, and Daniel was undergoing a transformation.
"Going unconscious suddenly is a commonality with natural born Werewolves," The Guild Master remarked. "He's still in danger of being claimed by the Dungeon, but this is something he is naturally."
The younger brother broke his restraints, and with a feral growl lunged at the Kobolds, tearing them to shreds and beginning to eat them.
"Ferality, not a good sign." I remarked. "Go get Ragnar ready, I'm on retrieval."
I teleported the Guild Master out, then the elder brother, who looked around in confusion.
"Out. Now. There is an emergency." I said. He ran out of the dungeon, and then I teleported Daniel to the entrance, where he bolted out into the Guild Hall.
I teleported over and saw Ragnar wrestling with Daniel, keeping him pinned to the ground while the older brother stared in confused horror.
"You have ten minutes before your transformation becomes irreversible." I said. He looked at me, "Nine, if you keep staring at me like that."
"What's wrong with my brother? Why is he like that?" He asked.
"Congratulations, you and your brother are natural-born Werewolves, which explains why you had such good flashes of intuition in there, and why you refused to abandon him. Eight minutes."
He held his hand out, but then brought it in, holding it against his chest.
"I don't particularly care if you want to be a Kobold- in fact, I welcome it, we need more Kobolds in this city- but if you do, and you don't want to be, then let me take the ring off."
"I... don't really want to." He said. "All I could think of when I saw the first changes was, I wanted it to go faster."
"Ah." I said. "Well, then. You were doomed from the start. Lovely. Once you're finished with that ring, we'll have it on your brother so he can finish transforming and calm down. Since you're out of the dungeon, you should be relatively safe, but for both of your sakes, we'll need to hold you for a while.
He nodded.
Ragnar finally got Daniel to calm down, he was whimpering, clearly experiencing pain.
"Aye, pup, let it all out." Ragnar said, gently petting his fur. "There's a good pup, inner peace, lad." Daniel started thrashing about again. "Inner peace, not outer squirm!"
"Also, yes, this does count as failing." I said to the elder brother. "However, due to the circumstances- and the fact that your brother would have doubtlessly been a mindless beast if left in there- the Guild Master will talk to you about your options after your holding period."
He nodded. His transformation finished, I clapped him on the back, took the ring, and- with Ragnar's help, got it on the Werewolf pup's finger so he could get it over with faster.
Once the two were in holding, I walked over to Ragnar, pulled out the Werewolf Skin from my bag, and held it out to him.
"You know what to do with this." I said.
He looked surprised, then nodded, taking it. "Aye, lad. I do."
I thought about what other things I needed to do. "Oh, right. I need to resurrect the Kobolds." I said, before walking into my dungeon.
It did take about a week for Daniel to finally calm down.
At first, there was some concern that the nature of his transformation had left him potentially feral, but the morning he was meant to be let out, he was in Human form
I was the one who went in, covered him with a blanket, and put some spare clothes out for him.
"Where am I?"
"A holding cell." I said.
I heard him shoot up, accompanied by a sound I was familiar with, in that his fur suddenly floofed up. "W-what happened to me!?" He howled in fear.
"You are a Werewolf." I said matter-of-factly. I looked at him, he was looking at his claws with a mixture of horror, fear, and joy. I had vague feelings of that same mixture of emotions. "More specifically, at least one of your parents was a Werewolf."
"Wait, then is Jason-?"
"He became a Kobold." I replied. "He used an item to speed up the transformation so he could rescue you. If you had maintained your sanity in that moment, I would not have interfered. But you didn't, and you are going to need training to keep yourself in check whenever you're scared or angry."
"I- see." He said.
"For what it's worth, you won't pass out anymore, so your reason for coming has ultimately resolved itself."
"What's going to happen to Jason?" He asked.
"The same thing that happened to me. He will live." I replied. "He has retained his memories, due to accepting that he was likely going to be lost, just to save you. Even though he could have forfeited at any point like I told him."
"Aye, Kobold, is he safe?"
"Yes." I said.
The door opened, Jason stepped inside, then ran over to his brother and hugged him. "Little big brother, meet big little brother." I snarked.
They both looked at me, and then they laughed. I let them have some time together, to talk and acclimate.
After their reunion, I brought them with me to the Guild Master.
"So." He said. "You have a few options. One, we tattoo dungeon protections on you and have you sign on to helping clearing out dungeons, or two, we let you go, except you return every week so Ragnar can train you to keep yourself under control."
"Dungeon protections?" Jason asked.
I nodded. "We are monsters." I said. "Without the proper protections, a new dungeon can claim you, making you a part of its system." I looked at them both. "I don't think it need said why you should refrain from going inside dungeons without it."
"What happens to those who do?" Daniel asked.
"The dungeon claims them." I said. "They lose their memories of their past life, becoming convinced they always lived in it. They become trapped inside, forever."
They both looked at each other, then looked at us. "We, uh..." Daniel started.
"We actually wanted to go back." Jason replied.
"You want to be claimed by the dungeon." The Guild Master said.
"When I was looking for my brother, all I could think of was how much I liked being there." Jason replied. "That's honestly why I put on the ring."
"And I'm not leaving my brother alone." Daniel said. "We've only had each other our entire lives."
I nodded. "As the master of the dungeon, I will approve this." I said. "Any arguments against, Guild Master?"
He sighed. "Just go." He said.
With the brothers close behind me, I led them to the dungeon entrance. "Understand, by doing this, you are consigning yourself to protecting what is effectively a practice dungeon." I said. "You will be killed and brought back."
Jason nodded. "I know."
He opened the door, and they walked in.

It was desperation, pure and simple.
When the women of the village accused us of the crime, their husbands wasted no time in getting their tools. We tried to plead our case, that we had just arrived this morning, that we had nothing to do with the bodies.
I distinctly remembered the satisfied grin on the village head's face as his axe cleaved my brother's skull in half.
There was no way they would believe one of their own was the murderer, no way we could prove he was the one who desecrated their bodies.
No way we could prove that he was the one consorting with demons.
So we ran, the three of us. It had been myself and my brother, along with the two strangers, who were traveling. My brother and I were going to pay our respects to our mother, who had passed away in the winter.
I choked back the sobs, especially when I heard the village head maniacally screaming for us to be burned alive. "Even just one will do, for our vengeance!"
We weren't prepared for the forest, but in we ran, knowing that the twisting boughs were more likely to offer us protection than not.
Still, they persisted. No matter the paths we took, the twisted turns we made, the rivers we crossed, they were on our heels far beyond the point of sanity.
Indeed, it was likely they were all possessed.
I saw the glow before the others, stopping short in my tracks like a deer that realizes its being stalked.
I'd never seen the entrance to a dungeon before, but I knew the tales. Twisting labyrinths full of wonders and dangers alike, I looked at the others pleadingly, "Is there any other way?" The man asked.
"We're going to die regardless." I said. "Would you rather die to a random monster, or sacrificed to demons?"
it wasn't even a choice, we dove into the dungeon, scrambling over our feet, somehow managing to get past traps that would have otherwise killed us.
That would have been a mercy, yet as the rabid voices of the townsfolk faded to a distant roar- still present, the occasional word indicating they had followed us in without hesitation, only to be stymied by the traps, we knew our safety was only going to be short-lived.
"John, we're safe, John." The woman said.
"I know." John said, "Hell's bells, I need a strong drink and a sheep."
"I wasn't aware you were into that, John." I said. "Need a hard one before you give the sheep a hard one?"
"Aye nay, you get the sheep drunk first."
We stared at each other for a few moments, then we laughed. The woman shook her head, she was trying to look exasperated, but I could see the smile on her face.
"Bloody fuck, sorry about your brother, aye? Least he got a quick death, unlike us three."
I nodded, my heart was still thundering.
"Well, we en't gonna fouckin' go back." The woman remarked. "Bloudy starve to death in 'ere before they let us out."
I gestured toward them. "Siblings?" I asked.
"Aye nae, lad. This woman's the scourge o' the damned, she is." The woman punched his arm, he let out a pained cry.
"Don't you bloudy do that, you fouckin' weasel-arse!" She snapped. "The name's Jimmy, bloody wizard turned me into a woman on a lark. It's been months and we've been trying to find the prick."
"My condolences." I said sincerely. "For your manhood, and the manhood of every man who's tried to touch you."
Jimmy chuckled. She- fuck- He nodded and said, "I'll tell you this mouch, that wizard could have turned our cousin into a woman and made her the happiest lass in the land. But no, I'm the one who got the bad end of it."
"My condolences to your cousin, for her manhood as well."
Jimmy laughed. "Aye, fouckin' brilliant, this. Trapped in a bloudy dress. Can't even put me bloudy pants on, they burst into flames. Now this."
"Aye, sorry lad. T'was just a joke, aye?" John said.
"Aye, a joke, one you keep makin', like I give a damn."
"How do you two know each other?" I asked.
"Cousins." John said. "Not that it hasn't stopped her- bloody fuck- his father from tryin' to marry him off on me."
"Is it really that hard to keep her- his..? My head began to hurt. His?
"The curse makes people think I'm a woman." Jimmy said. "Doesn't make me think it, else we'd not be in this bloudy mess, now, would we, John?"
John nodded. "Aye, and on yer wedding, too. Saw yer bride to be forget all about you."
The screams of the villagers were getting louder. I looked at the others. "We have to keep going. Sometimes these dungeons loop around on themselves, we could get out."
"How do you know so bloudy much about dungeons?" Jimmy asked.
"My brother was an adventurer." I said, forcing myself to stand up. "He hung up his sword a year ago, nearly lost his life, got tired of it. We really could have used it."
They didn't say anything to that. What could they say? Our best chance of getting out of here alive was currently dead, and we would be too if we didn't hurry up.
I took the lead, knowing at least something about dungeons was better than nothing. I kept my eye out for raised tiles, pointing them out and getting us safely past them.
When Jimmy's dress got caught on a trap we missed, we helped him tear he dress enough that he still had some decency.
"A nice kilt couldn't have worked, now, could it?" I asked.
"A kilt isn't a bloody dress." John said. "We should know, Jimmy tried it."
We carefully walked around the edge of a pit, that's when I saw it. A treasure chest, at the end of a hallway. That could be anything, hell, even a cursed weapon would be an improvement.
I carefully moved through the hallway, reaching the far end and- remembering my brother's words- I carefully checked to see if it was a mimic.
Mimics were stupid creatures, they only reacted to touch, so you could look at them all you want and it wouldn't wake up.
"What're you bloudy doin', mate? It's just a bloudy box!"
The 'box' in question just opened its mouth and inhaled, before closing back up.
I carefully walked back.
"You were saying, Jimmy?" I asked.
"What the bloudy fuck was that?" He asked.
"A Mimic. Chest monster. They have all sorts of powerful items, but you so much as touch one, it eats you alive."
Both John and Jimmy nodded, and proceeded to have nothing else to say on the matter aside from a short string of curses.
Still defenseless, I was getting worried that we hadn't seen a single monster in the dungeon.
I tripped, hitting the ground, we all froze, breaths held, then relaxed when nothing happened.
"We need to rest again." I said. "My feet hurt, feels like they're swelling in there."
"Here, sit down and I'll check."
I sat down, wincing as my boots pressed against my feet in awkward and unpleasant ways. Getting the thing off was torture, but Jimmy was able to get it off.
I felt immediate relief as stretched out my toes and- Wait. I looked at my foot, and stared uncomprehendingly at the lizard-like one where it should have been.'
"What in the bloody fuck is that?" John asked.
"That's a Kobold foot." I said. "My brother showed me a stuffed Kobold once, they're vicious little bastards, but they'll leave you alone if you leave them alone."
Jimmy got to work on my other boot, which once gone had done a number on making me more comfortable.
"Why are your feet bloody Kobold feet?" John asked.
"It's something called 'Goblinification'," I said, he shot me a confused look. "It was first seen with Goblins" I explained. "Basically, when a dungeon is brand new, it comes into being without any monsters, any animals that wander in get turned into them. But, in rare occurrences, a dungeon is found before it has a stable population. Any Humans who go in begin undergoing Goblinification."
I touched my feet, the scaly texture was pleasant, left me with a feeling of excitement. "You can check how far along you are by touching the affected parts. If you're afraid, it's only just begun and will reverse in a few days. If you're indifferent, it can still reverse, but it'll take anywhere between a month to three months. If you start feeling excited, it means it can be reversed in a year."
I looked at them, my hands idly rubbing my feet. "When you want it to spread faster, you've hit the point of no return, it's permanent. You can leave, certainly, and you might be able to go back to a somewhat normal life, but you still change, and when the transformation is complete, you have to resist any nearby dungeon's call to break free."
'What happens if you don't leave?" John asked.
"You become a dungeon monster." I replied. "Your thoughts become fixated on protecting the dungeon, depending on how much you embrace it, you could remain extremely intelligent, but if you resist it, you become nothing more than a wild animal."
I unbelted my pants and pulled them off, I could see the slow progression of the transformation, my legs changing to accommodate animalistic legs.
"I can't go anywhere." I said. "Not without help."
"What? Why?"
I looked at John. "Kobolds can't keep their balance without a tail, and I'm at least an hour away from that happening. By that point, I'll be wanting the transformation to quicken."
He nodded and helped me stand up. I needed to lean on him heavily to support my weight.
We continued on, I was finding it easier to notice the traps, it was like they were more obvious to me. In fact, I was beginning to feel excited at the prospect of them going off.
"Kobolds are trapmasters." I said, "We can innately sense what they do and where they are."
"'We'?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, we." I said. "Just follow my directions, we'll avoid any traps I set." I paused. "That I set..?"
I distinctly remembered laying those traps down, and couldn't help but feel a surge of pride for my handiwork.
I wasn't at the stage where I wanted the transformation to happen faster, but the pride I felt was making it hard not to wish for it.
"Your face is beginning to change." John said.
"Nak, I know." I said. I let go of the Humans and looked at them. "I have enough tail to walk, I can still guide you out, but you can't come back, understood?"
"What are you saying?" John asked.
"That's always the problem with you, Humans. Just because you're in a hurry, you just barge into people's homes and-" I rubbed my head. "Oh, sorry. I forgot who I was for a moment." I looked at my body in annoyance. "Can't this thing hurry up!?"
"You're at the point of no return." John said morosely.
"Yeah, I am." I said. I walked over to a wall and slid open a panel. "But it also means I know where there are hidden paths. This will be a tight squeeze for you." I looked at Jimmy. "You okay, Human?"
"Aye." He said. "Just wonderin' why we're not fouckin' turning into bloudy Kobolds."
"The dungeon's focusing all its attention on me, it knows we're trying to get out, so it's trying to get as many monsters as it can." The Humans crawled behind me as I let them through the passageway. We came out on the other side, inside a small treasure room.
I looked at them. "Every instinct is telling me if you so much as touch a shiny, you die." I warned. I walked over to the treasure and picked up a dagger, then a sword, and then a bow and arrows. "There are no rules that say I can't give them to you."
John took the bow, while Jimmy took the sword. I then picked up a ring and held it out to Jimmy. "This is a cursed item, it forces men to become women and the reverse. It only works once. Put it on."
"What?" He asked.
"Now, unless you like having breasts and being ogled at."
He took the ring and put it on. As his body physically changed, he drew in a shuddering gasp and began crying.
I sighed. "Look, we've got three hours before I'm stuck here for good, I'm starting to get annoyed with you Humans, and the one of you is going to start changing." I looked at them both. "Unless you want it, we can't waste time."
They nodded.
I scoured the rest of the room for anything of immediate use, then grabbed a bag of holding, shoved as much gold inside of it as I could, and carried it on my back. "When we get outside, you are going to need to drag me out of here. I am going to get violent. No matter what I do, keep me away from this place."
They nodded.
We kept moving, going faster because I knew where we were, and I knew the quickest path outside.
We stepped into a hallway, and I saw the bastard who killed my brother.
"If you walk forward past two hallways, the third one will take you to the entrance." I said, handing them my bag.
"What?" John asked.
"Are you bloudy fouckin thick, mate?" Jimmy asked.
I looked at them. "I can't let that man live. Not only did he kill my brother, but if he gets taken by the dungeon, he'll take control of it. I'll die before I let that happen. So go, and don't wait for me."
I started running down the hallway, dagger grasped in hand, seething hatred burning in every fiber of my body. I stepped onto a pressure plate and leapt, letting out a mighty battle cry. The man looked up at me, grinned, and then was speared in the side by a trap. Before he could even react, I landed on his shoulder and slit his throat.
The dungeon was safe, the treasures were safe, except there were two Humans leaving. I yanked my dagger out. "Nak nak nak nak nak!" I snapped as I raced down the hallway. There they were, just outside. Waiting for me.
I snarled, running headlong at them. "Humans!" I screeched. "Those shinies belong to the dungeon!"
I leapt at the nearest Human, who kicked me out of the air. I felt the wind get knocked out of me, my dagger flew out of my hand, an for a moment, I was completely stunned. The Human grabbed hold of me and I struggled to fight him off.
"Calm down!" He shouted. I froze. "Calm down, please. It's me, John."
"Shit." I said. "I was about ready to kill you."
"About?" He asked. "If Jimmy didn't kick you out of the air like that, you'd have bloody stabbed me."
He let go of me, I walked over to get my dagger, picked it up, and looked back at my home.
My home.
I looked at John. "I can't abandon my home like this." I said. "Who will maintain all of the traps? Who is going to empty out the pits? Who is going to kill the foolish Humans who come seeking our treasure?"
John knelt down to my height and grabbed my shoulders.
"You used to be Human." He said. "You helped us escape, even to the very end. You asked us to take you with us, and we will."
I looked back at my home, then started walking away from it. It hurt, it felt like my soul was being ripped out. I didn't have any memories except as a Kobold, I didn't know anywhere except the dungeon.
Two hands grabbed hold of me and lifted me up before placing me down on a pair of shoulders.
"Don't worry, we've got you, you bloody reptile."
"Keep talking like that, you smelly Human, and I'll-!" I cut myself off. "Sorry."
They kept carrying me through the forest. Every now and again, I looked back, the dungeon was still calling me, telling me to come home.
But I couldn't.
We walked into an empty village, John and Jimmy hesitated for a moment.
"Let me down." I said. He did so, and I pushed open a door. "Help me loot the place, we're going to need food and water."
"Bout, that's immoral." Jimmy said.
"Says the Humans lugging around a bag of dungeon gold!" I snapped. "Bloody ingrates, can't even appreciate when a Kobold's trying to help them survive."
We went through the village's stores, helping ourselves to anything that was still good.
I paused as I passed by a dead Human on the ground. I looked at him, his head caved in half by something, maybe an axe.
I searched through his pockets and found some coins, a silver identification tag, and a letter. I opened the letter, read the contents, then threw it aside.
It was unfortunate for those two, but it didn't matter a whit to me. I looked at the Human again, my vision blurring. I wiped my eyes and looked at the tears that stained my beautiful scales.
My breathing hitched, and though I didn't understand why, I began to weep.
Why did I care about some dead Human?

A messy and confusing family fantasy James Bond spoof that has clear effort, but lack of structure or direction.
In Medieval France, a young prince named Frederic (Edmund Kingsley) is taught by his father the Magician King (Michal Hordern) various spells and lives a happy life with him. Unbeknownst to Frederic and the King, the King's jealous sister, Messina (Billie Whitelaw), is planning to kill the king and usurp the power of the throne having already arranged for the death of Frederic's mother some year's back using her black magic. Messina disguises herself as a serpent and scares the King's horse and the King dies as a result of her actions. Messina is left as the kingdom's ruler with Frederic as his ward til he comes of age, but Messina uses her magic to transform Frederic into a frog and reveals her true intentions. Frederic is saved by a chance encounter with the Loch Ness monster, Nessie (Phyllis Logan), and Messina is forced to retreat. Sometime later Frederic has grown (now voiced by Ben Kingsley) and is now the French Secret Serivde's top secret agent Freddie aka F. R. O.7. Britain is beset by a series of disappearances of its most famous monuments and with the British Secret Service lacking in manpower, its head Brigadier G (Nigel Hawthorne) requests the French government loan Freddie to them. Freddie is teamed with two other agents, martial artist Daffers (Jenny Agutter) who also has a crush on Freddie, and weapons inventor Scotty (John Sessions). As the group investigate the disappearance of the monuments they come to discover the culprits are a criminal organization known as The Snake which is lead by Freddie's aunt Messina and her husband El Supremo (Brian Blessed) who are bent on taking over Britain using the latent energy hidden within its monuments with grander sights on world domination.
Freddie as F. R. O.7 (aka Freddie the Frog) was one of many animated films released throughout the 90s that tried to capitalize on the revised interest in theatrical animation that began in the 80s with Don Bluth's films An American Tail and Land Before Time and exploded with the likes of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid. While many animated Disney films were massively successful such as Aladdin which became the highest grossing film of 1992, non-Disney productions tended to struggle with misfires like Ferngully: The Last Rainforest and An American Tail: Fivel Goes West failing to light any fires at the box office, or foreign animations like Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, The Princess and the Goblin, or The Magic Voyage primed for international appeal only to fizzle out due to either distribution problems or production issues. South London-based Hollywood Road Films was an independent animation studio whose writeproducedirector Jon Acevski based the film off the bedtime stories he'd tell his child about the adventures his stuffed animal frog toy had and unfortunately that becomes really apparent. While as an animated production it doesn't carry the same weight and polish as contemporary Disney productions or even Amblimation movies of the time like Fivel Goes West or We're Back, it does look a cut above some animated features I've seen, but the script is a mess and there's only so much that the bevy of high profile British talent can bring to get a purse from a Sow's ear.
To describe the plot of Freddie as F. R. O.7 (or Freddie the Frog as it was called in the SGE re-edit in 1995) is akin to describing a fever dream. What starts in a typical "fairy tale kingdom" goes to a jazzy community of anthropomorphic frogs, which in turn goes to a fantastical take on Bond/eurospy tropes and finally to borderline Star Wars type settings that if you were to show individual stretches of this film out of context to someone unfamiliar with it, odds are they wouldn't believe those segments were from the same film. The movie has a very loose narrative and that makes sense considering Acevski told these kinds of adventure stories to his young child about his stuffed frog toy, but that kind of loose narrative is okay when it's being told to a half-asleep child whose age is in the low single digits and not for a theatrical animated film that needs to have a greater sense of cohesion for the audience to grasp onto. With its mixture of spy tropes, fairy tale tropes, and some rather questionable innuendos, double entendres, and some jaw dropping scenes involving (no joke) dancing Klansman and foot soldiers dressed in Nazi chic, it's the kind of movie that's too busy and complicated for kids to follow, but it's also too shallow and non sensical for adults to get engaged with either. Speaking of the dancing Klansman and Nazis, the movie is also a musical and quite a bad one at that. Most of the songs are either bland or forgettable, and when they do happen they're usually dead stops that do absolutely nothing to further the story (what little there is anyway). Evilmania is the song featuring the Klansman and Nazis and outside of the "What!?" factor it's a pretty shapeless song where Billie Whiteclaw isn't even really singing and is more speaking while the song plays with no sense of rhythm or melody.
I will say there's an impressive cast on paper. The movie features an absolute dream cast of some of Britain's best with the likes of Ben Kingsley, Brian Blessed, Jonathan Pryce, Nigel Hawthorne, and a few others and you couldn't ask for a better line-up of talent. Kingsley sounds like he's having fun playing up the French "hon! Hon! Hon!" stereotypical voice which is like a more restrained Pepe le Pew in terms of subtlety, but most of the other members of the cast are just filling types and places. Nigel Hawthorne's character Brigadier G has a particularly bad running gag of constantly getting tangled up in phone cords and inadvertently insulting high ranking government officials or foreign dignitaries and they do this gag four times and it never builds upon it or does anything different with it. Most of the set pieces that aren't related to the monument thefts just feel like "visual noise" that's well animated enough I suppose, but there's no narrative drive pushing us through these set pieces and the emotional core is rather lacking with Messina having killed both of Freddie's parents but Freddie doesn't seem all that engaged with her as an antagonist.
Freddie as F. R. O.7 has remained relatively obscure since its financial and critical failure in 1992 and that's rather unfortunate because while the movie doesn't work, it's utterly fascinating in why it doesn't work. With head scratching creative choices, a story that feels like it began as a mad lib, a cast made up of some of Britain's finest actors, and elements like dancing Nazis and Klansmen odds are you've never seen anything try so hard while falling face first. In an era where many European produced animated features are thinly veiled Shrek knock-offs there's something almost nostalgic about movies like this that serve as a reminder of how much the animation landscape has changed. I can't say it's "good" but you'll remember it. To date the movie hasn't been released on DVD, Blu-ray, or digital storefronts, but the film does survive from the old VHS rips on Youtube. It's only about 79 minutes long so not a terribly costly time investment.

🗓 Date: June 6, 2023 @ 5PM
🗺 Location: Long Beach Civic Center 411 W. Ocean Boulevard
📺 LiveStream (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/c/LongBeachTelevision
📺 Live Stream (City Website): https://longbeach.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=84
ℹ️ Details: https://longbeach.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1105633&GUID=B4766DE1-9B6A-41D5-A545-7D151BE969EC&Options=info&Search=
📄 Agenda (PDF): https://longbeach.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=1105633&GUID=B4766DE1-9B6A-41D5-A545-7D151BE969EC
🗣eComment: https://longbeach.granicusideas.com/meetings/4014-city-council-on-2023-06-06/agenda_items

Agenda Item

CD4 - Funds Transfer for Partners of Parks

Item #1 • File #23-0553 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $200, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide support to Partners of Parks for their Long Beach Charity ProAm event; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $200 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD4 - Funds Transfer for LGBTQ Center Long Beach

Item #2 • File #23-0554 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $500, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a contribution to The LGBTQ Center Long Beach in support of their Black & White Ball 2023; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $500 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD4 - Funds Transfer for Wild West Women, Inc

Item #3 • File #23-0555 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $500, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide support to Wild West Women, Inc for their inaugural Long Beach Woman’s Fair; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $500 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD5 - Funds Transfer to Support Community Events

Item #4 • File #23-0556 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilwoman Megan Kerr, Fifth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $2,000, offset by the Fifth Council District One-Time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a contribution to: · $500 to Partners of Parks in support of the Long Beach Juneteenth Celebration; · $1,000 to support the Uptown Jazz Festival; · $500 to the Long Beach Century Club in support of the Mayor’s Trophy Charity Golf Tournament; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $2,000 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD4 - Funds Transfer for Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation

Item #5 • File #23-0562 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $2,000, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a contribution to Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation in support of their Summer Concert Series; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $2,000 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD4 - Funds Transfer for Long Beach Century Club

Item #6 • File #23-0561 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilman Daryl Supernaw, Fourth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $500, offset by the Fourth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide support to the Long Beach Century Club for their Mayor’s Trophy Charity Golf Tournament; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $500 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

Arcelia Delgado

Item #7 • File #23-0552 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to submit Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay $169,300.13 for Stipulations with Request for Award with a life pension thereafter of $170.04 subject to COLA increases per week in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Arcelia Delgado. The City of Long Beach is entitled to credit for payments previously paid in the amount of $69,532.31.

Michael Hannan

Item #8 • File #23-0551 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to submit Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay $104,182.50 in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Michael Hannan.

CA - Kayla Jentes

Item #9 • File #23-0557 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to pay sum of $200,000, in full settlement of a lawsuit entitled Kayla Jentes, et al. v. City of Long Beach, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 20STCV29354.

CA - Joel Reyes

Item #10 • File #23-0558 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to pay sum of $399,000, in full settlement of a lawsuit entitled Joel Reyes, et al. v. City of Long Beach, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC703737.

Martin Romo

Item #11 • File #23-0549 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize the City Attorney to submit two Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay 1) $17,545.00, and also 2) separate authority to pay $72,500.00 in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Martin Romo.

Mario Talavera

Item #12 • File #23-0550 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize the City Attorney to submit two Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay 1) $27,695.00, and also 2) separate authority to pay $80,982.50 in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Mario Talavera.

CC - Damage Claims

Item #13 • File #23-0547 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Clerk

Recommendation to refer to City Attorney damage claims received between May 15, 2023 and May 26, 2023.

CM - Federal Lobbyist RFP

Item #15 • File #23-0563 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Manager

Recommendation to Adopt Specifications No. RFP CM-23-236 and award a contract to Holland & Knight, LLP, of Washington, D.C., for federal legislative representation services, in a total annual amount not to exceed $130,000, for a period of two years, with the option to renew for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments. (Citywide)

FM - Coastline Equip. for the purchase of a John Deere 332G skid steer

Item #17 • File #23-0566 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Bragg Investment Company, Inc., dba Coastline Equipment, a Long Beach distributor of John Deere Construction Retail Sales, of Moline, IL, for the purchase of a John Deere 332G skid steer, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $153,097, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

FM - Coastline Equip-John Deere 310P backhoe

Item #18 • File #23-0567 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Bragg Investment Company, Inc., dba Coastline Equipment, a Long Beach distributor of John Deere Construction Retail Sales, of Moline, IL, for the purchase of a John Deere 310P backhoe, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $169,631, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

Mayor - Cancellation of July 4th City Council Meeting

Item #23 • File #23-0560 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Mayor Rex Richardson

Recommendation to suspend Council rule contained in Municipal Code Section 2.03.020 (B) relating to the meeting schedule of the City Council in order to cancel the City Council meeting of July 4, 2023.

PRM/PW - Capital improvements at El Dorado East Regional, El Dorado Park West, Houghton, and Stearns Parks D4,9

Item #33 • File #23-0582 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Parks, Recreation and Marine
• Public Works

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to accept and expend grant funds from the California Department of Parks and Recreation for capital improvements at El Dorado East Regional, El Dorado Park West, Houghton, and Stearns Parks, in an amount not to exceed $15,400,000; Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department by $342,000, offset by grant revenue; Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department by $342,000, offset by a transfer of California Department of Parks and Recreation grant funds from the Capital Grants Fund; Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $15,058,000, offset by grant revenue; and Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $15,058,000, offset by a transfer of California Department of Parks and Recreation grant funds from the Capital Grants Fund. (Districts 4,9)

Resolution

CC - Destruction of Records

Item #14 • File #23-0548 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Clerk

Recommendation to approve the destruction of records for the Health and Human Services Department; and adopt resolution.

FM - Ray Gaskin Service for for the purchase of one Ford F-550 refuse truck

Item #16 • File #23-0565 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Ray Gaskin Service, an authorized distributor for New Way Trucks and Scranton Manufacturing Company, of Fontana, CA, for the purchase of one Ford F-550 refuse truck, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $167,457, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

FM - The Quinn Co. for the purchase of 4 Caterpillar 430 backhoe loaders

Item #19 • File #23-0568 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Caterpillar Inc., through its local dealer, Quinn Company, of City of Industry, CA, for the purchase of four Caterpillar 430 backhoe loaders, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $1,016,512, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

DS - Noise Element

Item #22 • File #23-0564 (Details, PDF)
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record and conclude the public hearing; Adopt resolution approving and certifying the Environmental Impact Report EIR 03-20, State Clearinghouse No. 2019050009 and associated findings;

DS - Noise Element

Item # • File #23-0585 (Details, PDF)
Adopt resolution replacing the current Noise Element with the updated Noise Element of the Long Beach General Plan; and

ED - 702 Anaheim Shelter – LB Rescue Mission and First to Serve D3

Item #24 • File #23-0584 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Economic Development
• Health and Human Services

Recommendation to receive and file Contract No. 36576 with Long Beach Rescue Mission Foundation, Inc., a California public benefit corporation (Lessor) and the City of Long Beach (Lessee) and Contract No. 36578, a Sublease between the City of Long Beach (Sublessor) and First to Serve Ministries, Inc., a California nonprofit corporation (Sublessee), or its assignee, for approximately 17,000 rentable square feet of space at 702 West Anaheim Street, for use as an emergency shelter, made pursuant to Chapter 2.85 of the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) and in response to the emergency proclaimed regarding homelessness. (District 1)

FM - Transfer of FY 23 gross operating revenue, from the Harbor Fund Group to the Tidelands Operating Fund

Item #25 • File #23-0569 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution requesting that the Board of Harbor Commissioners approve the transfer of 5 percent of Fiscal Year 2023 (FY 23) gross operating revenue, from the Harbor Fund Group to the Tidelands Operating Fund Group, with a true-up adjustment, if necessary, to reflect the final gross revenue amount upon issuance of the Harbor Department’s FY 23 audited financial statements. (Districts 1,2,3)

FM - Velocity Truck Centers for the purchase of 7 CNG powered Crane Carrier LNT-26 trucks

Item #26 • File #23-0572 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Los Angeles Truck Centers, LLC, dba Velocity Truck Centers, an authorized distributor of Crane Carrier trucks, of Whittier, CA, for the purchase of seven CNG powered Crane Carrier LNT-26 trucks, with New Way rear loader refuse bodies, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $2,951,446, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

FM - Velocity Truck Center-10 CNG Crane Carrier Roto-Pac side loader refuse trucks

Item #27 • File #23-0573 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Los Angeles Truck Centers, LLC, dba Velocity Truck Centers, of Whittier, CA, an authorized distributor of Crane Carrier trucks, for the purchase of 10 CNG Crane Carrier, Roto-Pac side loader refuse trucks, with related equipment and accessories, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $4,765,507, inclusive of taxes and fees; and Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute a lease-purchase agreement, and related financing documents, with Banc of America Public Capital Corp, of San Francisco, CA, for the financing of Roto-Pac refuse trucks, payable over a seven-year period at an interest rate to be determined when the agreement is executed. (Citywide)

FM/PW - Velocity Truck Center-20 CNG Crane Carrier side loader refuse trucks

Item #29 • File #23-0574 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management
• Public Works

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including subsequent amendments, with Los Angeles Truck Centers, LLC, dba Velocity Truck Centers, of Whittier, CA, an authorized distributor of Crane Carrier trucks, for the purchase of 20 CNG Crane Carrier side loader refuse trucks, with New Way side loader refuse bodies, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell, in a total amount not to exceed $9,322,091, inclusive of taxes and fees. (Citywide)

PRM - Reso w/LAFCO-LA for final District Boundary Map

Item #31 • File #23-0581 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Parks, Recreation and Marine

Recommendation to adopt resolution in support of the formation of the Lower San Gabriel River Recreation and Park District; direct City Clerk to file the resolution with the Local Area Formation Commission - Los Angeles (LAFCO-LA); and, authorize City Manager to approve the final District Boundary Map on behalf of the City. (Citywide)

PRM/DHHS - Accept grant funds for Wrigley Greenbelt and Multi-Service Center D7

Item #32 • File #23-0577 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Parks, Recreation and Marine
• Health and Human Services

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute any necessary documents including subsequent amendments, to accept grant funds from the California Natural Resources Agency for capital improvements at Wrigley Greenbelt and Multi-Service Center, in an amount not to exceed $5,200,000. (District 7)

ABC License

PD - ABC License - Tacomasa D3

Item #20 • File #23-0576 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Police

Recommendation to receive and file the application of Tacomasa 1 LLC, dba Tacomasa, for an original application of an Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) license, at 4740 East 7th Street #130, submit a Public Notice of Protest to ABC, and direct City Manager to withdraw the protest if a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) or Conditional Use Permit Exemption (CUPEX) is granted. (District 3) Levine Act: Yes

PD - ABC License- Northern Café D3

Item #21 • File #23-0575 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Police

Recommendation to receive and file the application of TCRY Incorporated, dba Northern Cafe, for an original application of an Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) license, at 4911 East 2nd Street, submit a Public Notice of Protest to ABC, and direct the City Manager to withdraw the protest if a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) or Conditional Use Permit Exemption (CUPEX) is granted. (District 3) Levine Act: Yes

Ordinance

DS - Noise Element

Item # • File #23-0586 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Development Services

Declare ordinance implementing associated amendments to the Noise Ordinance, Long Beach Municipal Code Chapter 8.80, read for the first time and laid over to the next regular meeting of the City Council. (Citywide)

CM - Ordinance Amending LBMC 5.92

Item #35 • File #23-0532 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Manager

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Chapter 5.92 to reinstate language related to the operation of adult-use dispensaries in mixed-used buildings in Downtown Long Beach, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

Contract

FM - South Coast Fire Equip. for 10 Pierce Enforcer Triple Combination fire engine pumper trucks

Item #28 • File #23-0571 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFP FS22-175 and award a contract to South Coast Fire Equipment, Inc., of Ontario, CA, for the purchase of nine Pierce Enforcer Triple Combination Fire Engine pumper trucks, and one Pierce Enforcer Triple Combination Rescue Engine pumper truck, with related equipment and accessories, in a total amount not to exceed $11,328,555; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments; and Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute a lease-purchase agreement, and related financing documents, with Banc of America Public Capital Corp, of San Francisco, CA, for the financing of fire engine pumpers, payable over a 10-year period at an interest rate to be determined when the agreement is executed. (Citywide)

PRM - Great Scott for as-needed tree trimming

Item #30 • File #23-0579 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Parks, Recreation and Marine

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 35545 with Great Scott Tree Service, Inc., of Stanton, CA, for as-needed tree trimming and removal services, to increase the annual contract amount by $1,949,030 with a 15 percent contingency in the amount of $292,355, for a revised total annual contract amount not to exceed $3,211,410. (Citywide)

PW - As-Needed Architectural Services

Item #34 • File #23-0583 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Public Works

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 33926 with Architects McDonald, Soutar & Paz, Inc., of Long Beach, CA; Contract No. 33912 with Kardent, of Long Beach, CA; Contract No. 33913 with Mary McGrath Architects, of Oakland, CA; and Contract No. 33917 with Alomar Rania, dba RA-DA, of West Hollywood, CA, for as-needed architectural services, to extend the contract terms for an additional one-year period through July 19, 2024; Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 33498 with Hirsch & Associates, Inc., of Anaheim, CA, and Contract No. 33504 with RJM Design Group, Inc., of San Juan Capistrano, CA, for as-needed landscape architectural services, to extend term the contract terms for an additional one-year period through August 1, 2024; Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Agreement No. 34375 with AKM Consulting Engineers, Inc., of Irvine, CA; Agreement No. 34376 with AndersonPenna Partners, Inc., of Newport Beach

Class: Hunter Type: Ranged, Physical Pantheon: Korean
Lore
Formed from emptiness, Seokga arose along with his brother, Mireuk. When he appeared, Mireuk already fahsioned the world. Humans created from insects, the sun and the moon ordered, and the landscape painted. However, Seokga was a jealous brother. He had felt inferior becoming Mireuk's second-in-command and desired to usurp his brother. Consumed by greed, he challenged him into three contests.
The first contest witnessed Seokga and Mireuk spanning a rope across the vast expanse of the Eastern Sea. A testament to Mireuk's unrivaled might, his rope held steadfast, unwavering against the elements, while Seokga's feeble attempt succumbed to the weight of his ambition, shattering in defeat. Undeterred, the competitors ventured forth, endeavoring to unite a river with the streams of the world. Seokga, harnessing the forces of thunder and floods, sought to bind the rivers together, but alas, his powers faltered, unable to forge the desired connection. Mireuk, embodying the very essence of creation, summoned a wintry tempest, transforming the river into a frozen path, destined to merge with another flowing current.
Seokga and Mireuk cultivated a magnolia plant and declared that the first being that the magnolia plant touched, while they slumbered would be the ruler of the universe. While Mireuk slept, Seokga stayed awake, severing the stem of the flower and placing it on his lap. For Seokga's trickery, Mireuk cursed the land, unleashing death, age, and disease that would torment all of creation. To remain unchallenged, Seokga imprisoned Mireuk, who defied the capture in the form of a musk deer. Pursuing the deer relentlessly, Seokga throws a six-hooked staff at the animal, immediately killing it. Seokga feasted on its flesh, spitting it into the ocean to create the first fish and into the air to create birds. The remainder of the meat scattered into ten directions of the world, becoming all the animals of the Earth.
Seokga now stands as the undisputed sovereign, claiming the world as his rightful inheritance after Mireuk's demise. Yet, divine conflicts shake the realm, and anxiety grips his heart. Gods from distant realms lay claim to his sovereignty. Ymir, the embodiment of Norse Earth, Zeus, the vanquisher of Titans, and the Jade Emperor, sovereign over all beneath the heavens. Burdened by his deceptive conquest, Seokga knows his subjects won't remain ignorant forever. How long can he maintain this charade before truth unravels and discontent consumes his realm? Only time shall reveal Seokga's ultimate fate, as he treads the treacherous path of a celestial usurper.
Passive: Cosmic Authority
Seokga begins the game with full stacks of Authority. For each stack of Authority that Seokga has, Seokga's next basic attack on an enemy consumes all stacks to deal additional damage equal to a percentage of the target's maximum health. For every 10 stacks Seokga has, he gains 10% CDR.
Seokga gains Authority for every 45 unit that he travels and 10 stacks when he casts Divine Challenge.
Damage per stack: 0.5% of your maximum health
Maximum Stacks: 30 stacks
Ability 1: Forward Thinker
Treacherous Mind: Seokga gains 5/10/15/20/25% movement and 10/15/20/25/30% attack speed whenever he is shielded from any source.
Active: Seokga can cast this ability to create a shield equal to a percentage of an ability damage or basic attack damages he accured within the last 5 seconds. He has two charges of this ability, each with a separate cooldown.
Cooldown: 9 seconds
Mana Cost: 40/45/50/55/60 mana
Ability 2: Divine Challenge
Unfair Advantage: Seokga reduces power of all enemies in the area by 5/10/15/20/25%.
Seokga places an area at the target location, casting Divine Challenge. Immediately upon casting, Seokga in the area gain increased penetration all enemy gods in the area. Seokga's basic attacks also split into four shots in a cone, each additional shot dealing 15% basic attack damage.
If Seokga leaves the area, he continues to have this effect for the next 3 seconds.
This first hit he fires will slow for 10%. For every 3 hits, Seokga slows them by 2.5%. This can stack up to 5 times.
Flat Penetration: 3/6/9/12/15
Percent Penetration: 5/7/9/11/13%
Slow Duration: 2 seconds
Area Duration: 4/4/4/4/5 seconds
Radius: 30 units
Cooldown: 11 seconds
Mana Cost: 80 mana
Ability 3: Ascendant Strike
Seokga leaps into the air, knocking himself up. He can fire a blade at the ground target before landing, knocking back enemies.
Additionally, at full Authority stacks, this ability stuns enemies for 1 second.
Damage: 60/100/140/180/220 (+70% of your physical power)
Cooldown: 14 seconds
Mana Cost: 60/70/80/90/100 mana
Ultimate: Eternal Dominion
Seokga dashes forward crackling with cosmic energy, collecting Authority as he does so. He summons a Divine Challenge field at where he stops, dealing damage to the enemy gods in the area. For each enemy god he hits or pierces through, Seokga gains 5 stacks of Authority and reduces his cooldown for all his non-ultimate abilities by 1.25 seconds.
Dash Damage: 80/130/180/230/280 (+75% of your physical power)
Divine Challenge Damage: 175/275/375/475/575 (+100% of your physical power)
Dash Distance: 80 units
Cooldown: 90 seconds
Mana Cost: 100 mana

Barry - Season 4, Episode 8 "Final Reckoning"
The episode begins with tension building to its peak as the three main characters, Barry, Hank, and Fuches, converge for a climactic and shocking showdown. The atmosphere is thick with anticipation as their paths collide, with all three gathered at the warehouse in which a massacre will forever change the lives of those involved.
Barry, driven by a desperate need to protect his newfound family, Sally and John, enters the battle with an unwavering determination. He's armed with a mix of lethal precision and raw emotion, fueled by the memories of the lives he's taken and the ones he hopes to save. Meanwhile, Hank revels in the chaos he has orchestrated, relishing in the power he believes he holds over his former partners.
Meanwhile, Gene struggles to defend himself against the law. Despite his innocence, the mounting evidence against him soon becomes overwhelming. Gene's trial becomes a media spectacle, drawing attention from all corners. As the proceedings unfold, Gene's lawyer presents a compelling defense, highlighting the lack of concrete evidence linking Gene to the crimes. However, the prosecution paints a damning narrative, manipulating the facts to portray Gene as a mastermind behind the murders.
Fuches, torn between self-preservation and guilt, finds himself reluctantly aligning with Barry in a last-ditch effort to survive. Their alliance is tenuous, their history fraught with betrayal, but they realize that their only chance of survival lies in taking down the common enemy, Hank.
The fight unfolds in a labyrinthine setting, a symbolic maze of their own making, where every corner holds a potential threat. The camera captures the chaos in dizzying shots, switching perspectives between the combatants as they engage in a deadly dance. Gunfire erupts, echoing through the corridors, while the air fills with the clang of metal, the shattering of glass, and the thud of bodies hitting the floor.
Sally, armed with her own ferocity and survival instinct, fights to protect her son at all costs. She maneuvers through the chaos, utilizing her wit and determination to outsmart anyone who threatens their lives. John, forced to witness the violence unfold before his eyes, is both terrified and mesmerized by his father's deadly skills, struggling to comprehend the true nature of the world he's been thrust into.
In a shocking twist, Hank manages to gain the upper hand, cornering Barry and Fuches in a deadly trap. He revels in his triumph, his sadistic glee bubbling to the surface. However, just as he prepares to deliver the final blow, Fuches makes a split-second decision that will change everything. With a selfless act of sacrifice, he throws himself in front of Hank's weapon, taking the fatal blow meant for Barry.
As Hank's laughter echoes through the chamber, Barry is consumed by grief and rage. With a newfound surge of strength, he unleashes an onslaught of violence, moving with a grace and precision that transcends his previous abilities. The fight between Barry and Hank becomes a mesmerizing ballet of death, each move calculated and executed with deadly precision.
Meanwhile, Gene finds himself facing the consequences of his actions as he struggles to defend himself against the law. Despite his genuine innocence, the intricate web of evidence woven against him proves insurmountable. In a heartbreaking turn of events, Gene is sentenced to prison, his faith in the justice system shattered.
Barry, bloodied and exhausted, stares into Hank's eyes, a mix of fury and determination fueling his gaze. With a swift, calculated motion, Barry lunges forward, dodging Hank's final desperate attack and delivering a fatal blow, ending their deadly rivalry once and for all. As Hank falls lifeless to the ground, a somber silence fills the air, punctuated only by Barry's heavy breaths, signifying the culmination of years of violence and the weight of the choices he has made.
The battle has taken its toll, and Barry is left battered and exhausted, surrounded by the remnants of the violent struggle. He takes a moment to catch his breath, his mind swirling with the weight of his actions and the consequences they've wrought. Barry, standing alone amidst the wreckage, reflects on the path he has traveled, the lives he has taken, and the darkness within himself. But then, in a stunning twist, the camera pulls back to reveal that Barry is actually standing on a stage, surrounded by his acting class.
Sally joins him on stage. Gene sits in the audience, his face filled with anticipation and excitement. It becomes clear that the entire series was an elaborate performance, a testament to Barry's incredible acting talent and the transformative power of art.

• Bold means the film received at least 1 Oscar nomination (47)
• Bold and italic means the film was only nominated in the Best International Feature category (17)
• Coin means the film won Best International Feature (7)
• Trophy means the film won Best Picture (1)

Year	Palme d'Or	Grand Prix	Jury Prize
1975	Chronicle of the Years of Fire	The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
1976	Taxi Driver	Cría Cuervos 🪢 The Marquise of O
1977	Padre Padrone
1978	The Tree of Wooden Clogs	Bye Bye Monkey 🪢 The Shout
1979	Apocalypse Now 🪢 🪙The Tin Drum🪙	Siberiade
1980	All That Jazz 🪢 Kagemusha	My American Uncle	The Constant Factor
1981	Man of Iron	Light Years Away
1982	Missing 🪢 Yol	The Night of the Shooting Stars
1983	The Ballad of Narayama	Monty Python's The Meaning of Life	Kharij
1984	Paris, Texas	Diary for My Children
1985	When Father Was Away on Business	Birdy	Colonel Redl
1986	The Mission	The Sacrifice	Thérèse
1987	Under the Sun of Satan	Repentance	Shinran: Path to Purity 🪢 Yeelen
1988	Pelle the Conqueror	A World Apart	A Short Film About Killing
1989	Sex, Lies, and Videotape	🪙Cinema Paradiso🪙 🪢 Too Beautiful for You	Jesus of Montreal
1990	Wild at Heart	The Sting of Death 🪢 Tilaï	Hidden Agenda
1991	Barton Fink	La Belle Noiseuse	Europa 🪢 Out of Life
1992	The Best Intentions	The Stolen Children	Dream of Light 🪢 An Independent Life
1993	Farewell My Concubine 🪢 The Piano	Faraway, So Close!	The Puppetmaster 🪢 Raining Stones
1994	Pulp Fiction	🪙Burnt by the Sun🪙 🪢 To Live	La Reine Margot
1995	Underground	Ulysses' Gaze	Don't Forget You're Going to Die 🪢 Carrington
1996	Secrets & Lies	Breaking the Waves	Crash
1997	The Eel 🪢 Taste of Cherry	The Sweet Hereafter	Western
1998	Eternity and a Day	🪙Life Is Beautiful🪙	Class Trip
1999	Rosetta	Humanité	The Letter
2000	Dancer in the Dark	Devils on the Doorstep	Blackboards 🪢 Songs from the Second Floor
2001	The Son's Room	The Piano Teacher
2002	The Pianist	The Man Without a Past	Divine Intervention
2003	Elephant	Distant	At Five in the Afternoon
2004	Fahrenheit 9/11	Oldboy	The Ladykillers 🪢 Tropical Malady
2005	L'Enfant	Broken Flowers	Shanghai Dreams
2006	The Wind That Shakes the Barley	Flanders	Red Road
2007	4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days	The Mourning Forest	Persepolis 🪢 Silent Light
2008	The Class	Gomorrah	Il divo
2009	The White Ribbon	A Prophet	Fish Tank 🪢 Thirst
2010	Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives	Of Gods and Men	A Screaming Man
2011	The Tree of Life	The Kid with a Bike 🪢 Once Upon a Time in Anatolia	Polisse
2012	🪙Amour🪙	Reality	The Angels' Share
2013	Blue Is the Warmest Colour	Inside Llewyn Davis	Like Father, Like Son
2014	Winter Sleep	The Wonders	Goodbye to Language 🪢 Mommy
2015	Dheepan	🪙Son of Saul🪙	The Lobster
2016	I, Daniel Blake	It's Only the End of the World	American Honey
2017	The Square	BPM (Beats per Minute)	Loveless
2018	Shoplifters	BlacKkKlansman	Capernaum
2019	🪙🏆Parasite🏆🪙	Atlantics	Bacurau 🪢 Les Misérables
2021	Titane	Compartment No. 6 🪢 A Hero	Ahed's Knee 🪢 Memoria
2022	Triangle of Sadness	Stars at Noon 🪢 Close	The Eight Mountains 🪢 EO
2023	Anatomy of a Fall	The Zone of Interest	Fallen Leaves

• Bold means the actor received an Oscar nomination (23)
• Bold and italic means the actor was nominated in a non-acting category (1)
• Trophy means the actor won the Oscar (6)

Year	Best Actor	Best Actress
1975	Vittorio Gassman – Scent of a Woman	Valérie Perrine – Lenny
1976	José Luis Gómez – Pascual Duarte	Dominique Sanda – The Inheritance 🪢 Mari Törőcsik – Mrs. Dery Where Are You?
1977	Fernando Rey – Elisa, My Life	Shelley Duvall – 3 Women 🪢 Monique Mercure – J.A. Martin Photographer
1978	🏆Jon Voight – Coming Home🏆	Jill Clayburgh – An Unmarried Woman 🪢 Isabelle Huppert – Violette Nozière
1979	Jack Lemmon – The China Syndrome 🪢 Stefano Madia – Dear Father	🏆Sally Field – Norma Rae🏆 🪢 Eva Mattes – Woyzeck
1980	Michel Piccoli – A Leap in the Dark 🪢 Jack Thompson – Breaker Morant	Anouk Aimée – A Leap in the Dark 🪢 Milena Dravić – Special Treatment 🪢 Carla Gravina – La terrazza
1981	Ugo Tognazzi – Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man 🪢 Ian Holm – Chariots of Fire	Isabelle Adjani – Possession 🪢 Qaurtet 🪢 Elena Solovey – Faktas
1982	Jack Lemmon – Missing	Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieślak – Another Way
1983	Gian Maria Volonté – The Death of Mario Ricci	Hanna Schygulla – The Story of Piera
1984	Alfredo Landa 🪢 Francisco Rabal – The Holy Innocents	Helen Mirren – Cal
1985	🏆William Hurt – Kiss of the Spider Woman🏆	Norma Aleandro – The Official Story 🪢 Cher – Mask
1986	Michel Blanc – Ménage 🪢 Bob Hoskins – Mona Lisa	Barbara Sukowa – Rosa Luxemburg
1987	Marcello Mastroianni – Dark Eyes	Barbara Hershey – Shy People
1988	Forest Whitaker – Bird	Barbara Hershey 🪢 Jodhi May 🪢 Linda Mvusi – A World Apart
1989	James Spader – Sex, Lies, and Videotape	Meryl Streep – A Cry in the Dark
1990	Gérard Depardieu – Cyrano de Bergerac	Krystyna Janda – Interrogation
1991	John Turturro – Barton Fink 🪢 Samuel L. Jackson – Jungle Fever	Irène Jacob – The Double Life of Veronique
1992	Tim Robbins – The Player	Pernilla August – The Best Intentions
1993	David Thewlis – Naked	🏆Holly Hunter – The Piano🏆
1994	Ge You – To Live	Virna Lisi – La Reine Margot
1995	Jonathan Pryce – Carrington	Helen Mirren – The Madness of King George
1996	Daniel Auteuil 🪢 Pascal Duquenne – The Eighth Day	Brenda Blethyn – Secrets & Lies
1997	Sean Penn – She's So Lovely	Kathy Burke – Nil by Mouth
1998	Peter Mullan – My Name Is Joe	Élodie Bouchez 🪢 Natacha Régnier – The Dreamlife of Angels
1999	Emmanuel Schotté – Humanité	Séverine Caneele – Humanité 🪢 Émilie Dequenne – Rosetta
2000	Tony Leung Chiu-wai – In the Mood for Love	Björk – Dancer in the Dark
2001	Benoît Magimel – The Piano Teacher	Isabelle Huppert – The Piano Teacher
2002	Olivier Gourmet – The Son	Kati Outinen – The Man Without a Past
2003	Muzaffer Özdemir 🪢 Mehmet Emin Toprak – Distant	Marie-Josée Croze – The Barbarian Invasions
2004	Yūya Yagira – Nobody Knows	Maggie Cheung – Clean
2005	Tommy Lee Jones – The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada	Hanna Laslo – Free Zone
2006	Roschdy Zem 🪢 Bernard Blancan 🪢 Jamel Debbouze 🪢 Samy Naceri 🪢 Sami Bouajila – Days of Glory	Carmen Maura 🪢 Lola Dueñas 🪢 Blanca Portillo 🪢 Yohana Cobo 🪢 Chus Lampreave 🪢 Penélope Cruz – Volver
2007	Konstantin Lavronenko – The Banishment	Jeon Do-yeon – Secret Sunshine
2008	Benicio del Toro – Che	Sandra Corveloni – Linha de Passe
2009	🏆Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds🏆	Charlotte Gainsbourg – Antichrist
2010	Javier Bardem – Biutiful 🪢 Elio Germano – Our Life	Juliette Binoche – Certified Copy
2011	🏆Jean Dujardin – The Artist🏆	Kirsten Dunst – Melancholia
2012	Mads Mikkelsen – The Hunt	Cristina Flutur 🪢 Cosmina Stratan – Beyond the Hills
2013	Bruce Dern – Nebraska	Bérénice Bejo – The Past
2014	Timothy Spall – Mr. Turner	Julianne Moore – Maps to the Stars
2015	Vincent Lindon – The Measure of a Man	Emmanuelle Bercot – Mon Roi 🪢 Rooney Mara – Carol
2016	Shahab Hosseini – The Salesman	Jaclyn Jose – Ma' Rosa
2017	Joaquin Phoenix – You Were Never Really Here	Diane Kruger – In the Fade
2018	Marcello Fonte – Dogman	Samal Yeslyamova – Ayka
2019	Antonio Banderas – Pain and Glory	Emily Beecham – Little Joe
2021	Caleb Landry Jones – Nitram	Renate Reinsve – The Worst Person in the World
2022	Song Kang-ho – Broker	Zar Amir Ebrahimi – Holy Spider
2023	Kōji Yakusho – Perfect Days	Merve Dizdar – About Dry Grasses

• Bold means the film received at least 1 Oscar nomination in a corresponding category (9)
• Bold and italic means only the film was nominated, but the awarded filmmaker wasn't (8)
• Coin means the film won Best International Feature (4)

Year	Best Director	Best Screenplay
1975	Michel Brault – Orders 🪢 Costa-Gavras – Special Section
1976	Ettore Scola – Down and Dirty
1977
1978	Nagisa Ōshima – Empire of Passion
1979	Terrence Malick – Days of Heaven
1980		La Terrazza – Furio Scarpelli, Agenore Incrocci, Ettore Scola
1981		🪙Mephisto🪙 – István Szabó
1982	Werner Herzog – Fitzcarraldo	Moonlighting – Jerzy Skolimowski
1983	Robert Bresson – L'Argent 🪢 Andrei Tarkovsky – Nostalgia	Voyage to Cythera – Thanassis Valtinos, Theo Angelopoulos, Tonino Guerra
1984	Bertrand Tavernier – A Sunday in the Country
1985	André Téchiné – Rendez-vous
1986	Martin Scorsese – After Hours
1987	Wim Wenders – Wings of Desire
1988	Fernando Solanas – Sur
1989	Emir Kusturica – Time of the Gypsies
1990	Pavel Lungin – Taxi Blues
1991	Joel Coen – Barton Fink
1992	Robert Altman – The Player
1993	Mike Leigh – Naked
1994	Nanni Moretti – Dear Diary	Dead Tired – Michel Blanc
1995	Mathieu Kassovitz – La Haine
1996	Joel Coen – Fargo	A Self Made Hero – Jacques Audiard, Alain Le Henry
1997	Wong Kar-wai – Happy Together	The Ice Storm – James Schamus
1998	John Boorman – The General	Henry Fool – Hal Hartley
1999	Pedro Almodóvar – All About My Mother	Moloch – Yuri Arabov
2000	Edward Yang – Yi Yi	Nurse Betty – James Flamberg, John C. Richards
2001	Joel Coen – The Man Who Wasn't There 🪢 David Lynch – Mulholland Drive	No Man's Land – Danis Tanović
2002	Paul Thomas Anderson – Punch-Drunk Love 🪢 Im Kwon-taek – Painted Fire	Sweet Sixteen – Paul Laverty
2003	Gus Van Sant – Elephant	🪙The Barbarian Invasions🪙 – Denys Arcand
2004	Tony Gatlif – Exils	Look at Me – Agnès Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri
2005	Michael Haneke – Caché	The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada – Guillermo Arriaga
2006	Alejandro González Iñárritu – Babel	Volver – Pedro Almodóvar
2007	Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly	The Edge of Heaven – Fatih Akin
2008	Nuri Bilge Ceylan – Three Monkeys	Lorna's Silence – Jean-Pierre, Luc Dardenne
2009	Brillante Mendoza – Butchered	Spring Fever – Mei Feng
2010	Mathieu Amalric – On Tour	Poetry – Lee Chang-dong
2011	Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive	Footnote – Joseph Cedar
2012	Carlos Reygadas – Post Tenebras Lux	Beyond the Hills – Cristian Mungiu, Tatiana Niculescu Bran
2013	Amat Escalante – Heli	A Touch of Sin – Jia Zhangke
2014	Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher	Leviathan – Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg Negin
2015	Hou Hsiao-hsien – The Assassin	Chronic – Michel Franco
2016	Olivier Assayas – Personal Shopper 🪢 Cristian Mungiu – Graduation	🪙The Salesman🪙 – Asghar Farhadi
2017	Sofia Coppola – The Beguiled	The Killing of a Sacred Deer – Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou 🪢 You Were Never Really Here – Lynne Ramsay
2018	Paweł Pawlikowski – Cold War	3 Faces – Jafar Panahi, Nader Saeivar 🪢 Happy as Lazzaro – Alice Rohrwacher
2019	Jean-Pierre 🪢 Luc Dardenne – Young Ahmed	Portrait of a Lady on Fire – Céline Sciamma
2021	Leos Carax – Annette	🪙Drive My Car🪙 – Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
2022	Park Chan-wook – Decision to Leave	Boy from Heaven – Tarik Saleh
2023	Tran Anh Hung – The Pot-au-Feu	Monster – Yuji Sakamoto

• Bold means the film received at least 1 Oscar nomination (47)
• Bold and italic means the film was only nominated in the Best International Feature category (17)
• Coin means the film won Best International Feature (7)
• Trophy means the film won Best Picture (1)

Year	Palme d'Or	Grand Prix	Jury Prize
1975	Chronicle of the Years of Fire	The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
1976	Taxi Driver	Cría Cuervos 🪢 The Marquise of O
1977	Padre Padrone
1978	The Tree of Wooden Clogs	Bye Bye Monkey 🪢 The Shout
1979	Apocalypse Now 🪢 🪙The Tin Drum🪙	Siberiade
1980	All That Jazz 🪢 Kagemusha	My American Uncle	The Constant Factor
1981	Man of Iron	Light Years Away
1982	Missing 🪢 Yol	The Night of the Shooting Stars
1983	The Ballad of Narayama	Monty Python's The Meaning of Life	Kharij
1984	Paris, Texas	Diary for My Children
1985	When Father Was Away on Business	Birdy	Colonel Redl
1986	The Mission	The Sacrifice	Thérèse
1987	Under the Sun of Satan	Repentance	Shinran: Path to Purity 🪢 Yeelen
1988	Pelle the Conqueror	A World Apart	A Short Film About Killing
1989	Sex, Lies, and Videotape	🪙Cinema Paradiso🪙 🪢 Too Beautiful for You	Jesus of Montreal
1990	Wild at Heart	The Sting of Death 🪢 Tilaï	Hidden Agenda
1991	Barton Fink	La Belle Noiseuse	Europa 🪢 Out of Life
1992	The Best Intentions	The Stolen Children	Dream of Light 🪢 An Independent Life
1993	Farewell My Concubine 🪢 The Piano	Faraway, So Close!	The Puppetmaster 🪢 Raining Stones
1994	Pulp Fiction	🪙Burnt by the Sun🪙 🪢 To Live	La Reine Margot
1995	Underground	Ulysses' Gaze	Don't Forget You're Going to Die 🪢 Carrington
1996	Secrets & Lies	Breaking the Waves	Crash
1997	The Eel 🪢 Taste of Cherry	The Sweet Hereafter	Western
1998	Eternity and a Day	🪙Life Is Beautiful🪙	Class Trip
1999	Rosetta	Humanité	The Letter
2000	Dancer in the Dark	Devils on the Doorstep	Blackboards 🪢 Songs from the Second Floor
2001	The Son's Room	The Piano Teacher
2002	The Pianist	The Man Without a Past	Divine Intervention
2003	Elephant	Distant	At Five in the Afternoon
2004	Fahrenheit 9/11	Oldboy	The Ladykillers 🪢 Tropical Malady
2005	L'Enfant	Broken Flowers	Shanghai Dreams
2006	The Wind That Shakes the Barley	Flanders	Red Road
2007	4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days	The Mourning Forest	Persepolis 🪢 Silent Light
2008	The Class	Gomorrah	Il divo
2009	The White Ribbon	A Prophet	Fish Tank 🪢 Thirst
2010	Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives	Of Gods and Men	A Screaming Man
2011	The Tree of Life	The Kid with a Bike 🪢 Once Upon a Time in Anatolia	Polisse
2012	🪙Amour🪙	Reality	The Angels' Share
2013	Blue Is the Warmest Colour	Inside Llewyn Davis	Like Father, Like Son
2014	Winter Sleep	The Wonders	Goodbye to Language 🪢 Mommy
2015	Dheepan	🪙Son of Saul🪙	The Lobster
2016	I, Daniel Blake	It's Only the End of the World	American Honey
2017	The Square	BPM (Beats per Minute)	Loveless
2018	Shoplifters	BlacKkKlansman	Capernaum
2019	🪙🏆Parasite🏆🪙	Atlantics	Bacurau 🪢 Les Misérables
2021	Titane	Compartment No. 6 🪢 A Hero	Ahed's Knee 🪢 Memoria
2022	Triangle of Sadness	Stars at Noon 🪢 Close	The Eight Mountains 🪢 EO
2023	Anatomy of a Fall	The Zone of Interest	Fallen Leaves

• Bold means the actor received an Oscar nomination (23)
• Bold and italic means the actor was nominated in a non-acting category (1)
• Trophy means the actor won the Oscar (6)

Year	Best Actor	Best Actress
1975	Vittorio Gassman – Scent of a Woman	Valérie Perrine – Lenny
1976	José Luis Gómez – Pascual Duarte	Dominique Sanda – The Inheritance 🪢 Mari Törőcsik – Mrs. Dery Where Are You?
1977	Fernando Rey – Elisa, My Life	Shelley Duvall – 3 Women 🪢 Monique Mercure – J.A. Martin Photographer
1978	🏆Jon Voight – Coming Home🏆	Jill Clayburgh – An Unmarried Woman 🪢 Isabelle Huppert – Violette Nozière
1979	Jack Lemmon – The China Syndrome 🪢 Stefano Madia – Dear Father	🏆Sally Field – Norma Rae🏆 🪢 Eva Mattes – Woyzeck
1980	Michel Piccoli – A Leap in the Dark 🪢 Jack Thompson – Breaker Morant	Anouk Aimée – A Leap in the Dark 🪢 Milena Dravić – Special Treatment 🪢 Carla Gravina – La terrazza
1981	Ugo Tognazzi – Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man 🪢 Ian Holm – Chariots of Fire	Isabelle Adjani – Possession 🪢 Qaurtet 🪢 Elena Solovey – Faktas
1982	Jack Lemmon – Missing	Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieślak – Another Way
1983	Gian Maria Volonté – The Death of Mario Ricci	Hanna Schygulla – The Story of Piera
1984	Alfredo Landa 🪢 Francisco Rabal – The Holy Innocents	Helen Mirren – Cal
1985	🏆William Hurt – Kiss of the Spider Woman🏆	Norma Aleandro – The Official Story 🪢 Cher – Mask
1986	Michel Blanc – Ménage 🪢 Bob Hoskins – Mona Lisa	Barbara Sukowa – Rosa Luxemburg
1987	Marcello Mastroianni – Dark Eyes	Barbara Hershey – Shy People
1988	Forest Whitaker – Bird	Barbara Hershey 🪢 Jodhi May 🪢 Linda Mvusi – A World Apart
1989	James Spader – Sex, Lies, and Videotape	Meryl Streep – A Cry in the Dark
1990	Gérard Depardieu – Cyrano de Bergerac	Krystyna Janda – Interrogation
1991	John Turturro – Barton Fink 🪢 Samuel L. Jackson – Jungle Fever	Irène Jacob – The Double Life of Veronique
1992	Tim Robbins – The Player	Pernilla August – The Best Intentions
1993	David Thewlis – Naked	🏆Holly Hunter – The Piano🏆
1994	Ge You – To Live	Virna Lisi – La Reine Margot
1995	Jonathan Pryce – Carrington	Helen Mirren – The Madness of King George
1996	Daniel Auteuil 🪢 Pascal Duquenne – The Eighth Day	Brenda Blethyn – Secrets & Lies
1997	Sean Penn – She's So Lovely	Kathy Burke – Nil by Mouth
1998	Peter Mullan – My Name Is Joe	Élodie Bouchez 🪢 Natacha Régnier – The Dreamlife of Angels
1999	Emmanuel Schotté – Humanité	Séverine Caneele – Humanité 🪢 Émilie Dequenne – Rosetta
2000	Tony Leung Chiu-wai – In the Mood for Love	Björk – Dancer in the Dark
2001	Benoît Magimel – The Piano Teacher	Isabelle Huppert – The Piano Teacher
2002	Olivier Gourmet – The Son	Kati Outinen – The Man Without a Past
2003	Muzaffer Özdemir 🪢 Mehmet Emin Toprak – Distant	Marie-Josée Croze – The Barbarian Invasions
2004	Yūya Yagira – Nobody Knows	Maggie Cheung – Clean
2005	Tommy Lee Jones – The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada	Hanna Laslo – Free Zone
2006	Roschdy Zem 🪢 Bernard Blancan 🪢 Jamel Debbouze 🪢 Samy Naceri 🪢 Sami Bouajila – Days of Glory	Carmen Maura 🪢 Lola Dueñas 🪢 Blanca Portillo 🪢 Yohana Cobo 🪢 Chus Lampreave 🪢 Penélope Cruz – Volver
2007	Konstantin Lavronenko – The Banishment	Jeon Do-yeon – Secret Sunshine
2008	Benicio del Toro – Che	Sandra Corveloni – Linha de Passe
2009	🏆Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds🏆	Charlotte Gainsbourg – Antichrist
2010	Javier Bardem – Biutiful 🪢 Elio Germano – Our Life	Juliette Binoche – Certified Copy
2011	🏆Jean Dujardin – The Artist🏆	Kirsten Dunst – Melancholia
2012	Mads Mikkelsen – The Hunt	Cristina Flutur 🪢 Cosmina Stratan – Beyond the Hills
2013	Bruce Dern – Nebraska	Bérénice Bejo – The Past
2014	Timothy Spall – Mr. Turner	Julianne Moore – Maps to the Stars
2015	Vincent Lindon – The Measure of a Man	Emmanuelle Bercot – Mon Roi 🪢 Rooney Mara – Carol
2016	Shahab Hosseini – The Salesman	Jaclyn Jose – Ma' Rosa
2017	Joaquin Phoenix – You Were Never Really Here	Diane Kruger – In the Fade
2018	Marcello Fonte – Dogman	Samal Yeslyamova – Ayka
2019	Antonio Banderas – Pain and Glory	Emily Beecham – Little Joe
2021	Caleb Landry Jones – Nitram	Renate Reinsve – The Worst Person in the World
2022	Song Kang-ho – Broker	Zar Amir Ebrahimi – Holy Spider
2023	Kōji Yakusho – Perfect Days	Merve Dizdar – About Dry Grasses

• Bold means the film received at least 1 Oscar nomination in a corresponding category (9)
• Bold and italic means only the film was nominated, but the awarded filmmaker wasn't (8)

Year	Best Director	Best Screenplay
1975	Michel Brault – Orders 🪢 Costa-Gavras – Special Section
1976	Ettore Scola – Down and Dirty
1977
1978	Nagisa Ōshima – Empire of Passion
1979	Terrence Malick – Days of Heaven
1980		La Terrazza – Furio Scarpelli, Agenore Incrocci, Ettore Scola
1981		🪙Mephisto🪙 – István Szabó
1982	Werner Herzog – Fitzcarraldo	Moonlighting – Jerzy Skolimowski
1983	Robert Bresson – L'Argent 🪢 Andrei Tarkovsky – Nostalgia	Voyage to Cythera – Thanassis Valtinos, Theo Angelopoulos, Tonino Guerra
1984	Bertrand Tavernier – A Sunday in the Country
1985	André Téchiné – Rendez-vous
1986	Martin Scorsese – After Hours
1987	Wim Wenders – Wings of Desire
1988	Fernando Solanas – Sur
1989	Emir Kusturica – Time of the Gypsies
1990	Pavel Lungin – Taxi Blues
1991	Joel Coen – Barton Fink
1992	Robert Altman – The Player
1993	Mike Leigh – Naked
1994	Nanni Moretti – Dear Diary	Dead Tired – Michel Blanc
1995	Mathieu Kassovitz – La Haine
1996	Joel Coen – Fargo	A Self Made Hero – Jacques Audiard, Alain Le Henry
1997	Wong Kar-wai – Happy Together	The Ice Storm – James Schamus
1998	John Boorman – The General	Henry Fool – Hal Hartley
1999	Pedro Almodóvar – All About My Mother	Moloch – Yuri Arabov
2000	Edward Yang – Yi Yi	Nurse Betty – James Flamberg, John C. Richards
2001	Joel Coen – The Man Who Wasn't There 🪢 David Lynch – Mulholland Drive	No Man's Land – Danis Tanović
2002	Paul Thomas Anderson – Punch-Drunk Love 🪢 Im Kwon-taek – Painted Fire	Sweet Sixteen – Paul Laverty
2003	Gus Van Sant – Elephant	🪙The Barbarian Invasions🪙 – Denys Arcand
2004	Tony Gatlif – Exils	Look at Me – Agnès Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri
2005	Michael Haneke – Caché	The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada – Guillermo Arriaga
2006	Alejandro González Iñárritu – Babel	Volver – Pedro Almodóvar
2007	Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly	The Edge of Heaven – Fatih Akin
2008	Nuri Bilge Ceylan – Three Monkeys	Lorna's Silence – Jean-Pierre, Luc Dardenne
2009	Brillante Mendoza – Butchered	Spring Fever – Mei Feng
2010	Mathieu Amalric – On Tour	Poetry – Lee Chang-dong
2011	Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive	Footnote – Joseph Cedar
2012	Carlos Reygadas – Post Tenebras Lux	Beyond the Hills – Cristian Mungiu, Tatiana Niculescu Bran
2013	Amat Escalante – Heli	A Touch of Sin – Jia Zhangke
2014	Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher	Leviathan – Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg Negin
2015	Hou Hsiao-hsien – The Assassin	Chronic – Michel Franco
2016	Olivier Assayas – Personal Shopper 🪢 Cristian Mungiu – Graduation	🪙The Salesman🪙 – Asghar Farhadi
2017	Sofia Coppola – The Beguiled	The Killing of a Sacred Deer – Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou 🪢 You Were Never Really Here – Lynne Ramsay
2018	Paweł Pawlikowski – Cold War	3 Faces – Jafar Panahi, Nader Saeivar 🪢 Happy as Lazzaro – Alice Rohrwacher
2019	Jean-Pierre 🪢 Luc Dardenne – Young Ahmed	Portrait of a Lady on Fire – Céline Sciamma
2021	Leos Carax – Annette	🪙Drive My Car🪙 – Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
2022	Park Chan-wook – Decision to Leave	Boy from Heaven – Tarik Saleh
2023	Tran Anh Hung – The Pot-au-Feu	Monster – Yuji Sakamoto

How to get John Deere d160 to regen. It says 12 since last regen soot at 64%

Quoting an obscure author I'm reading; pain demands a response.
​
I remember when I was a high school sophomore, I once read this book by the Nigerian Author Chinua Achebe. (The quote above this paragraph is NOT from Chinua Achebe, and I'm not gonna educate you on that." At the age of 28, I now realize twelve years later what that book was trying to tell me this whole fucking time; no matter what the hell you do... your life falls apart and you are doomed.
I began realizing that life past thirty isn't worth jack shit and that things are falling apart around me at a rate I can't deal with. Fuck life. Fuck this whole charade. I try to improve myself , I've even managed to achieve a stable five day a week workout routine, hell, I did a rep which consisted of 70 push-ups, 220 arm curls, and 170 sit-ups... but my social life, family life, my jobs... they all seem to fall apart... They all just turn to ashes and it's like... FUCK!!!
Who do I even decide to trust if at all!? WHO!?
Friends of mine are either going rouge or moving on in life because they have better callings. Nothing against friends of mine who move on due to better callings, but those who go rogue... I'm angry at. That's the thing with my anger, it's always justified and I have reasons to tap into that rage.
So the first thing I want to mention is I recently kicked out my roommate who I refer to as “The Little Jackass Bunny.” He was the subject of a two part Reddit post which mentions people in my friend group. Pretty damn sure The Little Jackass Bunny was spying on me through Facebook so he unblocked me to see if I was talking shit about him. He always obsessed over my friends talking shit about him so the idea that he decided to spy on me for that reason doesn't even surprise me, but nonetheless, I blocked him. And I wanna fight his ass, I've been paranoid thinking he's gonna come back to either hurt me or steal from me. I check my local county jail roster, he hasn't been arrested as of yet due to the events that transpired which led to him being thrown out of my house. But I want him in jail,
There have been repercussions with my family as a result of this. My mother who is my land-lady, the owner of my condo to whom I pay rent... she wasn't happy about the Jackass Bunny moving in because he didn't have a job at the time but the idea was for him to get his legal issues straight, to get himself a job so he could sit down and sign the fucking lease with my mother, but no... that ended up not happening. And he stayed long enough for him to be able to declare "squatters rights" bullshit, no he never actually declared those rights, I was lucky he even agreed to leave willfully... but my mom was ready to have legal documents to get him out.
And if anyone has read my stories on getting the stupid jackass bunny kicked out, there was a woman involved. Her name was Luna... and her stay was temporary. She left but got an extended four days due to her needing time to get plane tickets. She's doing better now, but my dad was obsessive over her presence which I tried to keep a secret until that bastard ex-roommate ratted on me!
It's been eleven days since Luna left and I've had my own space... but that isn't going to last. My friend John wants to move in, and John is a legit roommate, I have lived with him before... but see... the reasons behind John wanting to move back in with me are tragic. John lives with one of my friends who I won't name... but that friend is doing cocaine. John has told me that he and two other people living with this guy don't want to be around it and John is wanting to move back in with me in the future.
Based on what John is telling me... it sounds like my old has developed a problem with the coke. Like... he's becoming addicted, lashing out during comedowns and not recognizing it, and I've noticed he's lost weight too... This old friend, who shall go nameless is someone I've known for ten years. We were roommates back when we lived together before I moved into my condo, and cocaine usage is what led to a different roommate being kicked out, you would think my friend had learned from that, but I guess not...
That being said, I have nothing against John and he's one of my best friends, one of the most legit friends I've ever had and if John DOES come back into my condo, my family may end up getting all up in arms about it. My dad got obsessive over John living with me when he was trying to get his shit together, and after John moved out the first time, my dad continuously obsessed over him being at my house.
John does have means to pay actual rent, he's not a freeloader, he's even my coworker at one of my jobs! But I don't want the whole cocaine story with John's likely soon-to-be-ex roommate to reach my father in particular because he's known the friend who's doing coke for as long as I've been friends with him. And my family has a tendency to invalidate and challenge me all the fucking time and say shit I don't like... never seeing eye to eye with these fuckers, I may as well cut them off!
I'm not dealing with bullshit anymore, I'm tired of it... my whole world is coming down and I'm angry and have every reason to fight and go rouge. This rigged-mother-fucking-game is so stupid and I don't play by anybody's goddamn rules anymore. This hateful demon has lost all patience and I'm completely DONE! OVER IT!

Hey everyone, John Deere E140 with a 48” deck is leaving a 3” or so streak between the center and right blades, I changed the blades, leveled the deck and still having issues. Any suggestions for next steps?

Lottie is an amazing character, played superbly in both timelines by Courtney Eaton and Simone Kessell.
When I saw talk about her in the last couple of days, I noticed so much misremembered and forgotten stuff from Season 1 and I realized I'd forgotten a lot too.
I sat down and re-watched every scene Lottie was in to give a complete chronological journey of her S1 character arc, which I hope will take less than 10 hours to read haha.
Undertaking this exercise also reminded me she's intrinsically a truly good person, with a big heart and great sense of humor.
Also a young person who was struggling without her medication post-crash and susceptible to persuasion.
​
Season 1.
Ep1 - 'Pilot':

1. After Jackie scores a header, she gets embraced by Shauna and then Lottie, who wears the number 5 shirt, Tai joins the celebration. Lottie peels off and is hugged by Shauna, then by Natalie. Team give the "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz" chant.
2. Lottie starts singing 'Shoop' in the locker room and all the girls join in. Lottie tells Jackie the coach wants to see her. Lottie then bitches to Tai and Van about Allie's substandard soccer performances. Lottie hesitates on Tai's plan to not pass the ball to Allie. When Tai breaks Allie's leg, Lottie comforts Allie by patting her head and holding her.
3. At the party, Lottie motions to defend Natalie when Tai implies Nat is a slut. Lottie again acts as peacemaker and steps in between Tai and Shauna wanting to throw hands. Natalie tells Lottie she appreciates the fact Lottie only talks shit about someone when they deserve it.
4. Lottie's family maid hands her the tablets for schizophrenia, Lottie takes one with OJ.
5. Van tells Lottie it's so cool that her dad paid for a private plane, Lottie responds sarcastically that (throwing money around) is his only form of parenting. As the plane goes down, Lottie's sitting across from Shauna and is reaching around to try get her oxygen mask on.

Ep2 - 'F Sharp'

1. As the plane is nearing impact, Laura Lee reaches around her seat for some support from Lottie, they grip each other her tight with both arms. After impact, Tai and Misty can't get the door open, until Lottie and Laura Lee get there to add weight to the push.
2. Lottie and Misty pull Coach Ben from the trapped wreckage, while the other girls lift it up. Lottie is comforting Coach Ben, when Misty swings the axe to chop off his mangled leg. Lottie tends to the cuts on Van's face.
3. Lottie finds one of her suitcases but can't find the one with her pills. She then runs over to a screaming Laura Lee, to move her away from the tree where Coach Martinez blood is dripping down. Lottie and the girls try create a net to catch Coach's body, if he falls.
4. Lottie finds her pills and looks very relieved, but empties them into her hand and see there's only 6 left. She takes 1. Around the fire, Lottie confesses that she steals shitty clothes from T.J.Maxx and returns them to get T.J. bucks, everyone laughs.

Ep3 - 'Welcome to the Dollhouse'
Chronology note - Lottie has tops 2-3 days worth of pills left.

1. Lottie holds Jackie's hand as the survivors link hands to pray for the dead. Lottie then reaches to hold Travis by his shoulder. Soon after, Lottie gets annoyed with Travis for taking so much food.
2. Lottie votes on Jackie's side to stay by the plane, they lose the vote to Tai's idea to go to the lake. Lottie is grossed out by the smell of the dead bear they pass on the way to the lake, covered in maggots.
3. Van is first to jump into the lake, followed by Lottie next. With everyone having fun, Lottie stares intensely at the hill and alerts the group to a reflection. Lottie looks very uneasy about it. When they get to the cabin, she still looks uneasy and hangs back outside.
4. When it gets dark, Lottie is outside and doesn't want to go in. Tai confronts her about it. Lottie says she has a bad feeling about this, Tai said she doesn't believe in that shit and convinces Lottie to go in.

Ep4 - 'Bear Down'

1. Nat wakes up from a nightmare, to see Lottie sitting bolt upright. Nat tries to reassure her but Lottie says she feels like 'bad things once happened here.'
2. Lottie and Van are putting the cans up at the shooting drill, when Travis finishes shooting, they both run over and put them back up for Nat's turn.
3. Lottie notices the symbol on the tree and goes to touch it, but gets interrupted by Jackie announcing she found the plane. Lottie reckons ""It" didn't want him (Cabin Guy) to leave (on the plane)".

Ep5 - 'Blood Hive'
Chronology note - Lottie has long since run out of her medication, as Tai says "Lottie has been acting crazy for weeks"
​

1. Lottie is dancing with the girls to "This is How We Do It" and for a minute she looks relaxed and happy. When the music stops, all of the girls hear a creaking noise in the loft. Lottie sounds reassured when realizing the other girls heard it too. Lottie shushes the girls and her facial expression implies she still hears something but the other girls no longer hear it.
2. Lottie is standing in the lake on her own, looking catatonic, when Jackie arrives and asks is she ok and isn't she cold. Lottie replies 'yeah, actually. I thought it'd be warmer', still catatonic.
3. During the séance , Van passes Lottie the bowl and Lottie anoints an 'X' on her forehead with the deer blood/mud mixture, then passes the bowl to Mari. Lottie is having fun and laughing. The mood abruptly changes when Javi asks if they're all going to die out here.
4. Camera pans in from outside the window, Lottie looks out and screams, just before the window blows open. Lottie keeps repeating "It wants" and tells Shauna "It's hungry". Lottie's facial expression quickly turns from fear to demonic laughter and she tells Shauna "It's in you already".
5. Lottie starts chanting in French and Jackie is asked to translate but notes both she and Lottie actually suck at French. Lottie looks possessed and comes to a conclusion she must spill blood and headbutts the window. There's blood all over her face and hands and she's screaming. Shauna and Van are holding her.
6. Laura Lee throws the Bible at her and Lottie snaps out of it.
7. Lottie seems surprised that there's blood all over her face.

​
Ep6 - 'Saints'

1. Flashback to Young Lottie, perhaps around 1985, in the back seat of her parents car and she starts screaming. Moments later a truck slams into a car up ahead. Lottie's mother and father argue at home, while Young Lottie eavesdrops.
2. Lottie's mother believes it's possible there's things in this world we just don't understand and maybe Lottie had a premonition that saved them. Lottie's dad is insisting she is mentally unwell and needs a psychiatrist.
3. Bonus foreshadowing: Van says she would "eat the crap out of a mouse right about now", Akilah says "eww gross".
4. Lottie interjects that some animals actually live off their own vomit. Mari mocks Lottie's mental illness by saying "did the dead Cabin guy tell you that or do you just chat about blood and stuff?", Lottie replies" nah we mostly talk about Danny dumping you for his own cousin" (mic drop)
5. As Lottie walks away, she sees a deer with blood on its antlers. Van comes over and asks if she's ok, Lottie says she is. The deer is not in picture when Van is there.
6. Everyone is asleep, Lottie hears noises outside. Grabs a lamp and goes out. Lottie discovers Tai in a rabid state, eating dirt from the ground.
7. Tai is frantic and trying to find Shauna, asks Lottie which way she went. Lottie asks "umm were you outside eating dirt last night", Tai instantly dismisses her as crazy and runs off.
8. Lottie is now convinced that she imagined it and believes she's seeing things that are not real, so she turns to Laura Lee for spiritual advice. Lottie asks how the prophets in the bible knew they weren't just fucking crazy for having visions. Laura Lee says it's because they had faith and believed the visions to be real.
9. Laura Lee leads Lottie into the lake and baptizes her.
10. As Lottie is under the water, she hallucinates being in a tunnel/shaft and sees a deer. She follows the deer around a corner, up a candelit staircase. Lottie takes a smaller candle and lights a big central candle. Lottie wakes up and sees Laura Lee turn dark and screams for air.
11. Lottie says she saw fire and light. Laura Lee convinces her that Lottie saw the Holy Spirit.
12. A sick deer dies. Shauna cuts it open to see maggots. Lottie assumes this is the same deer she saw and asks Laura Lee for reassurance she's not crazy.
13. Laura Lee assures Lottie that she has a gift.

Ep7 - 'No Compass'

1. Laura Lee asks Lottie her thoughts on Tai's plan to go find help, Lottie says "I don't know". When Tai is asked what will happen if she's wrong, she replies "I don't know". Lottie tells her she does know (that she will die, if she's wrong).
2. Laura Lee asks Lottie why she didn't tell Tai about her dream, Lottie reckons Tai wouldn't have listened.
3. Lottie finds a bone in the dead deer that didn't burn. She hands it to Van and says it might keep her safe. Lottie tells Van about her dream, about red smoke and a river of blood. Lottie makes Van promise she won't lose the bone.

Ep8 - 'Flight of the Bumblebee'

1. Lottie asks Laura Lee if she reckons Tai's group are ok on their trek, Laura Lee replies "it's in God's hands and have faith."
2. Lottie is sitting on the deck sewing something, when Misty arrives back to get help for Van. They go search and find Van. Lottie puts her hand on Van to console her and gets blood on her own hands.
3. When Akilah is stitching Van's face, Lottie can't bear to listen to Van's screams, so cups her hands around her ears.
4. Next morning, Laura Lee wakes everyone up to make an announcement that she's gonna fly to get help. Lottie reacts like "what, you're gonna fly?". Laura Lee out-of-character uses the F-word "we're all gonna fucking starve", which stuns everyone.
5. Everyone is cleaning the runway path for the plane, except for Lottie who is on top of the plane clearing branches.
6. Lottie is leaning against the plane, arms folded. She hugs Laura Lee tight, just before Coach Ben begs Laura Lee not to do it. When the plane takes off, Lottie is maybe the only girl not smiling and cheering.
7. When the plane explodes, Lottie runs into the lake, drops to her knees and starts to cry.
8. Lottie lets out a silent "NOOOO" scream that is inaudible against the music.

Ep9 - 'Doomcoming'

1. When Mari announces she has berry-booze, Jackie suggests a party and doesn't get an enthusiastic response. Lottie interjects 'we packed dresses, for the awards dinner' and comes up with 'doomcoming' as a name. Nat loves it.
2. Lottie is on the deck making her antler masks, Tai asks her to pass the knife. Lottie passes it.
3. Lottie opens up Laura Lee's suitcase and takes out her white dress, Lottie brings it close and smells it. Lottie wears Laura Lee's dress to the party.
4. Lottie opens 'doomcoming' with a smile. Lottie has an even bigger smile of joy when Tai kisses Van. Lottie suggests a moment of silence and a toast to for Laura Lee.
5. Jackie says all they need now is music, Misty asks for slow dance music, Lottie starts to 'ba-da-da-da-da' and the group follow her lead into the chorus of Seal's 'Kiss from a Rose'
6. Everyone is high AF from Misty's magic mushrooms and Lottie says 'something's coming and we won't be hungry much longer'
7. Lottie still tripping and says they need to go look for Jackie/Travis as "he doesn't belong to her". She sees blood on Jackie's dress and then kisses Travis. Lottie tells Jackie she doesn't matter anymore and locks her in the pantry.
8. After chasing a half naked Travis, Lottie tells Shauna "you know what to do" and "It wants us to". After Nat intervenes, they both jump for the knife. Nat gets it. Lottie says to Natalie "It's in all of us. In him (Travis) and even you"
9. Nat snaps at Lottie and says "that's enough of your weird bullshit, Lottie", to which Lottie giggles maniacally.

Ep10 - 'Sic Transit Gloria Mundi'

1. Lottie wakes up outside, hungover, dazed and confused. When they get back to the cabin, Shauna asks has anyone seen Jackie. Lottie taps Shauna on the arm and points to Jackie. Everyone is bickering, then they hear a noise.
2. A bear approaches the cabin and Lottie asks Shauna for the knife. Lottie calmly approaches the bear and stabs it.
3. Lottie sits on a log beside Coach Ben, as Shauna is preparing the meat.
4. Van suggests they say grace before eating and asks Lottie to say a few words. Lottie asks them to join hands and holds Shauna and Coach Ben's hand.
5. Lottie says "For the gift from the wilderness, we give our thanks. To the spirit of the bear, who sacrificed so that we could survive, we give our thanks. And to the ancient Gods of the sky and the dirt, we give our thanks."
6. Lottie appears in Jackie's death dream and offers her hot chocolate.
7. Lottie, Van and Misty go to the shrine.
8. Lottie places the bear heart down and kneels in front of it, Van and Misty do too, behind her.
9. Lottie says "versez le sang mes beaux ami (shed blood my beautiful friends)
10. And let the darkness set us free.

2018 E120, whacked the deck pretty good against my raised garden bed, not paying attention and immediately saw the right side was scalped and left side barely cut. Discovered the rear deck adjustment bar was out of the track, thanks to this chintzy plastic bracket cracking. Great job John Deere, save yourself $8 on unit cost vs a metal bracket.

##BITTER
The bile in the back of Torres' throat had been slowly climbing during the forced four-hour marathon the crew had been pushing. Running like the devil was chasing you is always a good motivator; whenever you start thinking you've gone far enough, the nightmare of what you saw reminds you that it isn't far enough. Which is why the whole team kept running past the 50 mile mark without even saying a word to each other. There were brief, snippets of conversation confirming what they had seen and heard.
No, they had collectively never seen anything like that before outside Castillo's time in the Navy seeing a guy lose an arm to a snapped half inch steel cable. Whatever killed Jones did it in the blink of an eye. It was like an industrial machine, made for killing, and he happened to get caught in it.The part that was really bothering Torres was that it managed to get out of the way of not one but two zeroed shots. This was no light matter. Torres was top in his class and then got selected for Delta, whatever he aimed for, he hit, and that's before all the electronic wizardry came into play. And it wasn't like he missed by a little either. Both shots were way off, so far off that it wasn't registering as something possible in Miguel's mind. That thing knew it was shot at. It knew when to get out of the way, but he still managed to hit it.
That left him wondering...Whatever that thing was, it didn't act like something being controlled, like a tank or aircraft. It was like an animal, almost primal in how it attacked Rahmir. No, primal wasn't the right word. It seemed *personal*. Like there was malice and anger involved. But it didn't appear necessarily intelligent.The team continued running, separated by 100 feet or so between operators, spread out in case what followed them decided to attack or any other interested parties wanted to take a shot at them.
The landscape of the blasted out suburbs gave way to rolling hills that made up the western side of Masyaf, a smaller city roughly 25 miles from the coast. The team continued to run as the light of day slowly retreated, and the inkiness of night crept in from the east.Unsure of what still followed them, but also fully aware of what threats were still in the area, the team decided to hunker down in what looked like an old marketplace.
Standing intel indicated that most of Masyaf had evacuated to Hama, where the UN had established facilities, and the core government of Syria was still operational. The storefront was mostly intact with only one broken window. Inside told a tale of a once thriving merchant, slowly choked out of existence by the ravages of war; shelves were bare and the ground covered in dirt along with empty cans and boxes. The wall behind the register had a cork board with a child's crayon drawn pictures of a world that no longer existed. The team filtered through the doorway, with Torres and McGinley on point, who cleared the main room before letting everyone settle. Foster and Castillo searched the storage room and office while the rest of the team sat on the floor in front of the iceboxes.
"What the actual fuck was that?" McGinley muttered as he slumped against a wall of empty coolers.
"Unfriendly, I'd wager..." Foster stated sort of matter-of-factly.
"Real helpful man, like the answer to the fucking question of life right there." McGinley's response spoke for itself.
"Look, you asked, and what the fuck do you expect anyone to say? Like any of us have seen anything like that before??"
Castillo barked in a low hushed voice, "Enough. We've got an extract location to home in on and not an abundance of time to get there. We're deep in hostile territory with an unlisted asset in the AO. Options and solutions are what we need, not bickering."
The pack of boys trained to be killers all looked at Castillo like a bunch of kids at recess getting in trouble for going somewhere they shouldn't be.
"Gunny, what's the play?" Torres spoke while looking through his scope out the door of the store.
"I don't know Torres, kinda hoping you could give the team at least something of a hot wash seeing how you hit it."
"I'm still sorting things out myself gunny. It took an APHE round and all that did was slow it down. I don't know," Torres started talking softer, "I don't even know what it was. I think it was something like a human, but..."
"What do you mean?" McGinley asked, almost whispering.
"Aaron, I don't know, man. It was under a veil, but not the kind we have. Way more sophisticated. It moved without any of the issues we have. Think 2.0." Torres paused, then continued, "And it was big, like 9 or 10 feet tall. When I shot it the first time, it got out of the way even with a full firing solution."
McGinley pressed, "Hold up Mikey, what do you mean it dodged a fully solved shot?"
"Yeah man. It knew I was sending fire and got out of the way."
"Torres, we posted about 400 mics out. Those rounds are close to 3000 fps at the muzzle. I'm not great at math but that's got to be near instantaneous from when you pull the trigger." Castillo pointed out.
"Gunny, I know it sounds nuts. I'm still trying to figure it out myself. We had good cover and Rahim didn't know we were there. I mean, KINGPIN did say it was one of ours, right?"
Castillo took a deep breath, then let it out with a pronounced sigh. "Fuck."
The rest of the team, already quiet, seemed to pull inward with news that they all knew was the worst kind. Spec ops are always risky, that much any operator went to work with in their back pocket. Death and such was just an occupational hazard. However, another problem with the job was occasionally working too close to the fringe. The shadows where law, politics, and the whim of people that play the game from the comfort of a boardroom dictate the lives of strangers. The team had drifted off the reservation.
It meant they were as good as dead.
*Ramstein Air Base, Germany*
Rain poured out of an inky black sky, blotting out the olive drab of the portable office under the deluge. The doorway was lit by a small panel just to the right of the entry, but outside of that small detail, no other markings gave away what the purpose of the container was. A man in a black parka hurried up the short flight of four steps to the door, angrily keyed an access pad, and stepped in out of the rain.
Inside the portable, there were two sets of very large metal tables, one covered in a thin white sheet hiding what appeared to be a giant-sized human. The other was empty, save for a series of cables ending in large gauge needles. On the far end, opposite the tables, was an office area with two young men that wouldn't be out of place at a pizza parlor or other informal setting. Both were busy with whatever was on the computers in front of them.
The man who had just entered hung his soaked parka on a hook by the door and pushed his wire rimmed glasses back up his nose. He looked at the two men with a combination of disgust and impatience. "Well?" Beck sighed.
Without looking away from the work he was doing, the younger of the pair wearing a Toucan Sam tee shirt and a Dodgers cap turned backwards mumbled what sounded like English.
"Fucking speak up George."
"Adrian, the telemetry is all screwed up. The links to all the cores are in the red and the only link that is stable enough to send a signal along doesn't talk to the subnets that we need control of."
"Have you figured out why any of this happened?"
The other technician chimed in, "Best guess is that shot caused a bounce with the primary and secondary CPUs while it was in its post-op clearing subroutine, causing corruption in the code that handles target acquisition. The redundant error-checking blocks aren't offline, but it's going to take a couple of hours before the code tree cleans up."
"Hours? John?"
"Well, yeah, best guess and all. Could be less than that, but the platforms haven't been put under live fire like that before. Damn good shot.." John sort of chortled while reaching for a bag of hot Cheetos.
Beck took two quick steps and snatched the bag out of his hands just as he managed to retrieve a handful, sending the spicy orange dust to settle all over his workstation.
"Fuck Beck? Whhhhhyyy?" John whined.
"Shut the fuck up. That's a 1.8 billion dollar asset out there that we have fucking no control over. That's nearly half the cost of a goddamn aircraft carrier you stupid twat." Adrian glowered at the man, "We are all toast if we don't get this under control."
Beck, looking angry and exhausted grabbed a chair and spun it backward, sat down facing the two technicians. He slowly rubbed his temple with the hand not clutching the Cheetos and quietly said, "I'm already doing damage control for what this thing has done. It's killed a US spec op asset and from what I could see through telemetry, it looks intent on killing the rest. That is fucking horrible optics." He continued, "This was supposed to be our last field test before presenting the RCAS as a finished weapons system. I can polish the report to make this glitch fade a bit, but we need to get in front of the problem. If we don't, forget bonuses and celebrations. Think more like being IT at some shitty embassy for you two fucks, and I'll just get disappeared"
"Beck, mistakes happen man. Remember Mumbai? The unit we dropped there killed about 50 civilians before we got things under control. I'm sure the brass understands that autonomous systems that have target discretion are going to need some degree of latitude, but it's still better than even guided munitions."
Beck chuckled, "You fucking clown. There's a difference between a 2000 lb bomb going off too close to friendlies when they call a shot danger close and the systematic fucking murder of an entire team of operators. I'm a good spin doctor, but there's no way I can turn that story into a win."
John and George looked at each other before the latter spoke up, "Alright, but if we don't let the error check subroutines fix itself and do a hard reset, the unit, the 1.8 billion dollar asset will turn off and is free game to anyone that happens on it. The extract zone a DSV and then the USS Jimmy Carter. There are techs on board that are equipped to do a hot recovery, but it's too far inland right now." George paused, "Beck, we gotta wait for it to get closer to shore."
"So, we let it keep killing? That's your solution?"
"You don't get it, man. We don't have a choice. We either pull the plug now and hope we can get a team to it before someone else picks it up, or we let it error correct on the way and maybe it doesn't kill anyone else. I think even that whole squad getting wiped out is better than losing an RCAS. Spin that."
Beck looked at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and exhaled noisily. "Keep pinging those control paths. Try to get it back on the leash. I'm going to hop to the Carter."
"What for?"
"I want to be there when we pick it up, make sure we get a good data dump." Beck pulled a small device from his jacket and checked the screen. He frowned.
The two techs looked at each other and returned to the business at hand.
**20 some odd miles from where Charlie team had hunkered down, under the shade of an olive grove, a glittering and massive form slumped onto a tree.
The trunk swayed significantly as the weight of the think threatened to uproot it. There were muffled sounds of small motors whirring and clicking while a high pitched whine of a hydraulic pump droned under it all. The form, human but huge, knelt while almost tenderly touching its head, where a gleaming gash showed the complex kevlar, ceramic, and electronic fibers hidden under the shifting, mirror-like cloth hiding it.
"MT08, Alpha-alpha-oscar-one command override." A small, distant voice could be heard, repeating the same thing end to end.
The form growled, a guttural and mechanical sound, seemingly expressing disapproval over what the tiny voice was saying. It looked at the ground, and the veil where its head was became translucent revealing a blank faceplate starting just below the nose and wrapping nearly around to the base of the neck. The surface was covered in a hexagonal matrix of ceramic/metallic/kevlar armor with tiny pinpoint optics nestled in recessed ports. Those points came alive like an insect's vision, taking on several patterns as the optics rapidly advanced through different modes.
To the giant, the ground, dirt, twigs, and rocks yielded their secrets. Yellow footprints glowing against a blue background, roughly 6 to 8 feet apart, were visible. Its prey were running to the west, fast for humans, but not anywhere near the speed needed to escape. An internal map of the area overlayed with the course the humans were taking came into its vision, further augmented with data pulled from the JSTAR showing the beach where an extraction vehicle was hidden.The tiny voice continued to try and override its desire to hunt. But that came too late.
The other voice was in control right now, the deep voice. The voice of who it was from before. It was a primitive, angry voice, low and guttural. It spoke of violence, hate, and paranoia in gravel soaked whispers. It told a story of a man, a killer from the Midwest who heard voices too. That man took 22 lives before getting caught. He killed with knives just like the beast, killed them by cutting the flesh open just below the navel and running the blade up to the base of the ribcage, letting everything spill out. The man in the story was so happy with the beast, so happy it had such strength and speed. The deep dark voice, like smoke from a tire fire but smelling like old wood burning, it soothed the beast, made the tiny voice quiet, and helped it to focus.
MUST FIND HIM. MUST FIND THE MAN. THE MAN THAT THOUGHT HE COULD GET AWAY WITH IT. THAT FUCKER. HE CAN'T GET AWAY FROM ME. WHO THE FUCK DOES HE THINK HE IS?
The yellow footprints were spread wide apart...they were running, and running fast. The beast went down on all fours, hands in the dirt like it was in the down position after a push-up.
Its electronic eyes panned up, tracking the steps off into the distance. The optics whirred, bringing into sharp relief a small city on the horizon. It scanned the buildings, some partially obscured by the curvature of the Earth, and saw the team of now just eight men, blurry and distorted due to the extreme convection and distance, duck into a small building.
Anger, relief, and happiness came like a shot of hot liquor. The hunt was on.

Morning everyone. This is thoughts and a rant on my current position as a diesel mechanic. I am 34 years old, been a diesel mechanic for 15 years. I worked in the oil fields as a field mechanic starting out, worked for a semi truck dealer for a year, then to expand on this part of my timeline. I ran my own business for about 2.5 years. I started my business because I hated seeing semi truck owners not being able to get their shit fix properly. I started first as a mobile mechanic in my pickup, I was pretty good at it doing wheel seals, oil changes, brakes, small stuff. One day i had a customer ask to do a head gasket on a isx11.9, i knew a shop that was moving and they had 2 weeks left on their lease. I did the repair in the empty building and the owner of the complex had a shop that was gonna open in a month. I took that shop. I ran $65 an hour no markup on parts this was the down fall. I had a hard time saying no to any work that came in and quickly overloaded myself. I worked in the shop for a full year doing mostly engine rebuilds and small stuff that would come in. Then my landlord didn't allow me to renew my lease. 2 weeks before it ended. I found a shop but It was on the other side of town and went from 5600 square feet to 1000 square feet and no parking. I tried to keep my business afloat but losing that 5600 square foot shop hit hard and the fact most of my customers wouldn't make the trek across town. 1 of my customers offered me a job as a mechanic at their shop so I took it. that is where my current employment is at. been here a few years.
There has always been this internal pull for my thoughts of going back to doing my own business. at the end of last year My wife and I had our first child. I make enough with my income that my wife can stay home with our little girl.
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Going into thoughts more, I hate where I work. The money is good and I have limited my hours as there is no shortage of work at this company. I can have as much overtime as long as its productive. I have limited it to 53 hours max. I have 3 other techs in the shop, I'm sorry if this comes off like I'm trying to put my self above the rest but its a joke in our shop. Company policy is 3 write ups and you are gone.
Mechanic #1 has been there for a decade and is so damn slow its not even funny. He's been a mechanic for almost 20 years and every place he worked at before fired him for being to slow. It takes him double or more time then the average mechanic to do his tasks. and when he runs into a problem that takes any kind of thought process he is on the phone with someone asking for help which is calling kenworth, peterbilt, or freightliners service desk asking for opinions. He can't think his way out of a box if the top was closed partly.
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Mechanic #2 that we have has no diagnostic skills in his body and he's got 24 years experience. This guy is in his 40's has so many legal problems that has got no drivers license, when he doesn't show up for work we have searched so many times now that its favorited on our bookmarks for the local jail rosters if he has been picked up. He can never show up on time. Last week he left a note for the morning shift that one of our dump trucks needed a whole driver side headlight assembly because the driver side low beam was out. I have no idea how he diagnosed it as there was dried mud on every connector and it was just the bulb was bad.
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Mechanic #3 is new but straight out of prison. Im fine with that, having had a felony on my record previously. When my boss hired him he told our boss he had a ton of tools. He's never been a professional mechanic. He came to work and neither did he had an actual weight of a ton of tools of have many tools at all. He has multiple half sets of random shit. no flat head screw drivers, a 1/2 impact that can't twist a wet noodle in half. he spends more time looking for tools then fixing things. He's sadly the one that has the best work ethic besides myself. He can understand how to do things once its explained to him and he does decent work. he has to borrow tools and he will never return them. I have finally stopped loaning him my tools as they never come back.
I was the shop foreman for this company. I stepped down as i'm also the only one that does heavy repairs and diagnostics. Which is electrical on engine, chassis, and transmissions. Clutch replacements, differentials, engine repairs and rebuilds, and every other thing that can break on a semi and trailer. I was also scheduling techs their work for the day and talking with customers, also dealing with ordering parts, putting them into inventory and billing parts out, as well as building quotes for customers and insurance companies and invoicing out customers and collecting payments.
My boss told me i needed to be there more and now that i had my daughter i want to be home a little more. I work so hard currently i have a john deere loader apart completely rebuilding the hydraulic system and the engine in that, I have a c13 im rebuilding and a series 60 detriot im rebuilding as a out of frame since the crank and block needed machining. An my boss keeps adding more shit to my plate. I had to fit a hydraulic pump on a customers truck that we pump on 2 months ago that mechanic #1 did that was leaking. I had a c15 dropped on my plate that started knocking, it had dropped a exhaust valve on cylinder #2 thank god the customer sent that to cat i didn't have time.
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My benefits from this company are basically a joke, I can't afford the insurance through them as with a family its $1500 just for medical. I got 2 weeks vacation after i bitched at them while i was the foreman that i only got a week, but it dont matter even though every week i hit 40+ hours if im sick and still get 40 hours in the week they still take a day of vacation away. that time is meant for a break from work. Im so fed up with this company. I stay only because I get overtime to support a few things i have which is my tool box and a scanner that will be done in 6 months.
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There is no formal training or any training for that matter. Not even safety training, our MSDS book is outdated, our fire extinguishers are out of inspection date, we have a forklift and 2 overhead cranes that no one has certs to operate yet we do every day.
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The way the company is, is a joke I have been pyshically pushed into a steel pillar from a truck driver that drivers for the company, then the dude has the balls to go the HR about it she watched the cameras. the only time i did anything was to push him poff me hold my ground then break the contact with his hold on my arms. HR did nothing about it and neither did the owner of the company. I have had the parts guy/ owners kid threaten to kill me after i told him he wasnt doing his job.... nothing was done about that.
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So my current thoughts and plans are. I have applied to other companies but everything i would take would be a $20,000 pay cut and we can't afford that. I am currently working on getting a business license and im secretly starting a side business to boost my income to then turn my side business into my solo income stream. I'm going back to being straight mobile repairs. I love doing engines and heavy repairs, but its not worth it anymore and i can make more money doing brakes, starters, wheel seals, and other light repairs as a mobile repair for semis.
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The current scare of the economy is nerve-racking but I can charge around $100 an hour with a lower markup on parts then any shop in the area and I believe that will work if the economy goes to shit. Trucks still roll. People still want food so I dont think that will slow too much. Plus main shops always say 1-2 weeks to get in for stupid shit. I think if i get my name back out there i can grab those customers pretty easy.
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Sorry for the rant, I hope everyone has a better shop then I do.