Greetings fellow Magic: the Gathering enjoyers, you'll never believe this.
As I was trekking through the American desert, no wares to my name except the shirt on my back and of course my 7/10 casual EDH deck. Oh right, I forgot, I also had a child, a 12 year old, who's quite timid and well mannered, and is also my son for I am his father. ̶M̶y̶ our throats were dry and my horse was exhausted. I thought I was done for, when gasp I saw it — an LGS! I was saved!
Now, well, you see, this particular fine establishment had three — shall we say, "tiers" — for the purposes of EDH merrriment, which are as follows: casual, mid, and competitive. I of course choose mid — well, I was playing [/[[/[[/[Kaalia of the Vast]]/]]/]] after all — no wait, it was my son, the youngster, the mild-mannered prodigy, who chose mid. I instead wisely opt for the casual group, as I'd just thrown together cards for a half-baked deck concept (it hadn't time to rise before I was to escape from Egypt). The boy, my son, the proof of my non-virginity, sits down with three other fellows. One among them turns out to be a bit of a ruffian, for he says, "AJR sucks." My son, a minor of just 12 years of age, mind you, is positively obsessed with AJR, which his clothes signify. The brute rudely continues, "they're just way too poppy." My child, a son, born to my lady and I 12 years ago, pays him no attention. However I seethe with rage at this comment, distracting me from my aforementioned matzah deck.
As the table shuffles up their decks, I hear the scoundrel utter "they shouldn't pair adults with kids. They should get their own table. Kids are stupid lmao." My son is twelve, and genuinely the most well-mannered kid there has ever been. Additionally, he's a bit timid, and as such he remains quiet. The hooligan, who quite resembles the shape and stench of an anus, has declared himself the one to take first go — wielding his Koma deck, no less, as most anuses are fond of I've found. I would know this fact of course, as my own anus favors his Koma deck on Wednesday night commander back at the homestead LGS.
"Turn one, Forest, Sol Ring, pass."
My child, offspring... I'm just going to transition to calling him D. Little D, in fact... no, that's not quite right... Big D it is then... no that isn't appropriate really... I know — mid D — mid D plays his triome and passes. The other two fellows get off to quote productive starts. Everyone is engaging in the customary undisrupted mana ramp, excepting for the troublemaker, who it seems kept a one-lander. He begrudgingly passes. Mid D drops either a Talisman or a signet, or another such 2-mana mana-rock, couldn't say which exactly I'm afraid. Turn 3, Omnath enters the fray and Bruvac mills away Mid D's ()/({})\Avacyn, Angel of Hope/()({})/ much to his dismay. He drops another rock instead of opting to play Kaalia, his commander, the general of his deck, in this format which is EDH. The anus-man hasn't drawn another land and is becoming visibly perturbed.
Turn 4, the mill player is building up quite well, Omnom is pooping out children nonstop, and yet the arse has still not drawn his land and he declares that, "This is stupid. I run 41 lands in this deck." D gets to his turn during which he got his greaves. He drops the greaves... No responses. He plays the Kaalia... No responses. He equips the Kaalia. Do... Do these people not know what Kaalia does? Attack phase it is, I guess. Mid D has one more trick up his sleeve though, and that comes in the form of a sneaky <><>uWu<>[[Master of Cruelties]]<>uWu<><>. Mid D has three choices here, all of which are effectively choices, decisions if you will, that he can choose from. The world is his oyster. Of course, he could send for the fellow who cost him his beloved Avacyn. Hell, maybe the one pooping out children? Certainly not the anus, sitting on one paltry forest and a rock that he apparently can't use, despite it being extremely powerful, and quite honestly being a card that shouldn't belong at a mid-table anyway.
Well, this story wouldn't be worth telling if he had elected to punch Bruvac in the nether region, the plums, the jewels, the pecker, the dick, even, if you will. He decided payback was on the menu today, and placed his order. He attacked the excrement-smelling nitwit and laid down his Master of Cruelties in perhaps the most passive manner imaginable, for he was quite timid. The poopyhead had begun the night by stating he reckoned he had the best deck, and was beginning to fear relegation to the Premier League. He begins by saying "you could take out one of the people who have actually attacked you and are actually a threat." This quickly transitioned to, "I haven't even gotten to start playing my deck yet. You should pick one of them instead." To, "please. Can I see if my next card is a land and if so can you choose someone else? I'll target you last." to, "this is stupid. You don't even know how to play the game, and kids are stupid. You're going to lose because of this play. Why were any of us born in the first place? Wouldn't we be better off if none of us had ever seen the light of day?"
Mid D, neither Big D nor Small D, my offspring, the product of my seed, the 12 year old, who was quite timid and well mannered, to whom I am father, the entire time, was saying, "I already declared my attacks." Afterwards, the bastard, the dault, the one who smelled like and resembled a puckered anus, exclaimed, "fine, whatever!" and started packing up his wares. Mid D replied, "It says in the Magic rulebook to be respectful to other players and I like playing by the rules. Gottem."
I don't know if it was just the humanity of it all, or the fact that it definitely really happened, or the fact that he had just gotten intellectually devastated by a child, a juvenile, who was probably only 12, but you could see this fool go through the seven stages of grief as though he'd just received news of his dear mother's death, right before your eyes over this little exchange and he immediately started stumbling backward in terror until he dramatically fell, gasped and quickly ran out.
I just think that Mid D, my son, the one who calls me daddy — besides his mother — the child, the babe, was the real winner that night... not because he won the game, but because, well, indeed, of course, you know.

So the woman I loved with all my heart and a relationship of 6 years where I haven't been the best boyfriend. but the 4 months made me realise what I had and I wanted to fix it. I haven't been the best in these 4 months as I was struggling with going through my emotions and what I have done wrong and self reflecting and trying to reasses my life. I know I made some truly horrible decisions in life and have been in a self destructive rut and hurt the people I cared for most.
I realised what my relationship was, why I was the prick I was and my problems. I went and brought a engagement ring for my bear (she isn't anymore) and I was going to take her to the beach for a nice romantic evening on our 6 year anniversary and I was going to ask her then with the sun going down.
I've lost all of that, I've lost the woman I wanted to have the rest of my life with. I lost the love of a perfect relationship and her supportive family. I lost the idea that we would have children running around us and that I'd be able to call her the mother of my children.
We had broken up once before because of my actions and how our relationship was. I took her for granted, I took us for granted.
I've lost everything just as I was taking accountability. I've tried to ask her, reason with her. Tell her about why I've been like this. I've told her I was going to propose but I've lost it.
I just want to be able to show to my bear that everything would change and we could have the future we planned.
I went to her house today and we talked for a hour. She doesn't want to be with anyone at the moment. She doesn't want to talk to me. She will always love me and it hurts to let me go. But she isn't able to be there for herself and doesn't want to be with me no more.
I'm so ruined and don't know what to do with my self.
I'm sorry for how long it is. But I'm just staring at the ring I brought her and holding onto her clothes.

ok so i have depression and ocd. my therapist is great. and she is trained in ERP for ocd. i’ve been seeing her since january. but, i’ve developed this limerent obsession with her. i think about her all the time; it’s painful and makes me feel like a creep. she’s much prettier than me and she’s very young (she’s late 20s and i’m 20). also i know she’s engaged because she’s mentioned having a partner and has an engagement ring. i feel like i can’t talk to her about anything. she makes me feel awful about myself bc i compare myself. also, she has a specialty in sex therapy.probably my biggest insecurity is that i’m a 20 yr old girl that’s a virgin and never been kissed. i feel disgusting whenever she brings up anything regarding sexuality/relationships. i attempted suicide this past december and am right back in the same head space as then. i probably need a therapist but i feel like i have to stop seeing her. i rlly like her though? pls help.

I’ve dated my boyfriend for 3 years and love him more than anything. We bought a house 1.5 years ago and have 2 dogs together. I’ve been impatiently waiting for him to propose and he finally did. But the way he did it made me so sad & I’m not sure what to do. He knew months before that I wanted to look cute and have my nails done for the occasion, because I’m a bit of a diva. But he did it in front of a couple random family members (1 uncle I hadn’t seen in 3+ years, my cousin, my parents) and I had hurt my right hand so it was bandaged. Also I was dressed to hike, not a cute hiking outfit either. Didn’t have my nails done since I had hurt my hand 6 days prior. Didn’t wear makeup or fix my hair since we were hiking. He got down and said 1 line of something like “I’ve loved you since I first met you 4 years ago, will you marry me?” and of course I said yes. I think I’m probably the a-hole here, but I’m a very sentimental/romantic person and it kind of broke my heart that one of the most important moments of my life he handled just so casually/quickly.
I always pictured something so romantic, just the two of us, and him to say at least a paragraph of why he was proposing, not just one line. I wanted to be dressed cute, with nails and maybe haimakeup done a little at least. The frustrating part is we’ve done some cool things the past year where I wondered if maybe he would propose then, and so I strategically dressed extra cute in case that was the day (i.e. hot air balloon ride, nice dinners in Mexico, Vday and anniversary dinners, scuba diving, sky diving, etc). So kudos to him for catching me by surprise, I guess.
He even said he knew he could’ve done more, but he didn’t want to wait forever for the perfect moment (he waited 1 week since when he received the ring from the jeweler). He also described an absolutely beautiful proposal he had thought of, but he said it was too complicated so he decided against it (it was a picnic, and not very complicated in my opinion). I’m trying to be excited about this next stage of life and I don’t want to break his heart by saying anything other than how happy I am, but people keep asking for the story and I want to cry every time someone asks. Because to me, it doesn’t really feel like there is a story. I just don’t know what to do, but I’d obviously never call off our engagement, he’s respectful, loving, smart and my best friend in the world. I guess I’m curious too if others had inmemorable proposals as well and I should just let it go…

[FS][USA][RING] Radiant Cut Moissanite Engagement Ring 3CT, 10K YG, US 4.5
**Item Details:**Radiant Cut Moissanite Engagement Ring, Hidden Halo Engagement Ring, Radiant Cut Solitaire, Solid Gold Radiant Cut, Solitaire Proposal Ring. SIZE US 4.5
**Center stone size: 3 ct ( 9x7mm)
**Center Stone Cut: Brilliant Cut Radiant
**Metal type and purity: Solid 10K Yellow Gold
**Setting: 4-prong basket style setting
**Center stone options: forever© moissanite DEF Color, VVS1, Colorless
**Metal Type and Purity: 100% solid 10K gold.
Photos: Photos/Verification/Proof of Purchase
Source: ForeverForLove ETSY seller
Selling Price: $500 shipping included, USA only
Shipping Cost & Method: Shipping cost included in selling price - USPS
What is Included: Pink box from Kuololit
Condition of the Item: Purchased on Esty but only worn a handful of times, no damage, all stones are in tact. Excellent condition.
Feel free to DM me for more photos or questions.

A lot of the news articles covering this are smaller for the moment, however there are a few notable exceptions. I'll link to various news articles I believe are notable (notable as in popularity, not individual credibility) as well as quotes/snippets from each one to give an idea of how this coverage is going for Reddit (these quotes do not contain the full articles, but I have given links to the ones I discuss). In short, it isn't good. To find more articles about this, search "Reddit AMA" and filter by news.
​
The Verge:

In his AMA, Huffman seemed to shut the door on making amends with the apps that are closing their doors. “Some apps such as Apollo, Reddit is Fun, and Sync have decided this pricing doesn’t work for their businesses and will close before pricing goes into effect,” Huffman said. “For the other apps, we will continue talking. We acknowledge that the timeline we gave was tight; we are happy to engage with folks who want to work with us.”
Based on what I’ve heard, that last sentence doesn’t ring entirely true. Tony Lupeski, the developer of ReddPlanet, tells The Verge that he has tried to contact Reddit three times since the initial announcement of changes but has been “ignored every time.” (Lupeski said something similar in a public reply to Huffman.) Selig says that the last time Reddit communicated with him “in any capacity” was a week ago and that Huffman had declined a request for a call (which he noted in his post about Apollo’s shutdown on Thursday).
Reddit has given some small concessions: the Blind subreddit protested the changes because they could mean that accessibility-focused apps necessary to browse the site would have to shut down, and on June 7th, Reddit said those apps would be exempt from the pricing updates. During the AMA, Huffman also committed to making the official Reddit apps “more accessible.”
But in a message to The Verge, Blind moderator MostlyBlindGamer wrote, “We are still concerned about the selection and limitations imposed on exempt third-party apps and about the financial pressure on the developers who must — to our best knowledge — effectively maintain them for free.” MostlyBlindGamer added, “I’m very disappointed that [Huffman] did not add any information to what we read on The Verge regarding accessibility, despite Reddit receiving multiple public and private requests for clarification.”
The developer of RedReader, one of the apps granted an exemption, said in a post, “I think it’s very reasonable to be concerned about Reddit’s current trajectory, and nobody can know for sure how long the exemption will last.”
The AMA is now over. Huffman ended up posting 14 comments, all of which received hundreds of downvotes. (The one asking about Selig’s claim has more than 2,000 downvotes.) Other Reddit admins posted seven comments of their own that were also heavily downvoted. A stickied comment has links to all of the posts. As of this writing, the AMA has more than 17,000 comments.
During the AMA, a Redditor asked how Huffman would address concerns that Reddit has become increasingly profit-driven. “We’ll continue to be profit-driven until profits arrive,” Huffman wrote. “Unlike some of the 3P [third-party] apps, we are not profitable.”

​
The Verge article explains both Spez's side and the users' sides, links to the AMA and direct quotes of Spez's AMA responses. Overall, it does not paint a pretty picture of Reddit admin. At the time of me writing this it is also the 3rd most popular article on The Verge, and is clickable on The Verge's front page.
​
Engadget:

In a series of mostly 1-2 sentence responses to detailed, multi-part questions, Huffman acknowledged some missteps in the company’s API rollout, but largely declined to tackle thornier questions about the company’s handling of its relationship with third-party developers. In one response, he conceded that the 30-day window given to developers for the new API was a “tight timeline” and said the company was “continuing to chat with many of the developers who still want to work with us.”
But other developers soon weighed in, noting that they had never heard back from the company, despite reaching out through the channels promoted by Reddit. “I have been trying to contact Reddit over the last 3 months and have been completely ignored,” one developer wrote. “I feel completely powerless to do anything right now and I want to try and save the app I've been working on for the last 10 years.” Huffman apologized and said the company would respond.
When asked about why the company accused Christian Selig, the developer of Apollo, of threatening the company — a claim Selig denied and promptly debunked with an audio clip of a phone call with a Reddit rep — Huffman doubled down on the criticism. “His ‘joke’ is the least of our issues,” he said. “His behavior and communications with us has been all over the place—saying one thing to us while saying something completely different. I don’t know how we could do business with him.” (Huffman didn’t respond to a followup question from Selig asking for examples of such behavior.)
Notably, there were a number of topics Huffman didn't address, including why the company priced its API at a rate that developers say is prohibitively expensive. Huffman also didn’t address the upcoming blackout from thousands of subreddits protesting the API changes. More than 3,000 subreddits have pledged to “go dark” for two days beginning June 12th to protest the changes.
By the end of the AMA, Huffman had responded to 14 questions, while a few other executives answered a handful of their own. In perhaps the most telling sign that their answers were not well-received, every answer from the reddit team was downvoted so heavily they were almost impossible to view within the AMA thread itself. A moderator later linked all of their answers at the top of the thread. “We know answers are tough to find,” they said.

​
The article is short, but in my opinion, scathing and effective for our cause. It is also currently on their front page but is unfortunately buried somewhat.
​
TechCruch:

Reddit’s unpopular decision to revise its API pricing in a move that’s forcing third-party apps out of business has taken a weird turn. In an AMA hosted today by Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman, aka u/spez on the internet forum site, the exec doubled down on accusations against the developer behind the well-liked third-party app Apollo, which the company had previously accused of operating inefficiently and not being a good “API” user.
Selig had been among the first to highlight that Reddit’s new API pricing would effectively make it impossible to continue to operate the Apollo app. He explained that, under the new terms, it would cost him $20 million per year to do so — money the app doesn’t make. This week, Selig announced the app’s last day would be June 30, ahead of the July 1 implementation of the new API pricing.
Huffman seemingly has an ax to grind with Selig in particular, first accusing the developer of extortion, per Selig’s extensive post on the situation between himself and Reddit.
According to Selig’s interpretation of the situation, he raised the question as to why Reddit was choosing to change its API terms to put third-party apps out of business rather than just buying them out, as the company did with Alien Blue (an older Reddit client that it acquired in 2014). He said that if Apollo was costing Reddit $20 million per year, Reddit should cut him a check to put an end to the app. The remark doesn’t sound like a serious ask from his telling. In fact, he clarified on the call, “…this is mostly a joke.”
A Reddit representative on a call with Selig, however, first seemingly interpreted his comment as a “threat,” Selig said. But on the call, they cleared up the misunderstanding and the contact apologized. Selig came with receipts — he recorded the call (which is legal where he’s based in Canada).
But in a subsequent call with moderators, Huffman referred to this conversation as Selig “threatening” Reddit.
That stance hasn’t softened on Reddit’s side, Huffman made clear today.
In the AMA, one user asked Huffman to clarify, “what were you thinking with your attempt to discredit Apollo by claiming that Christian threatened and blackmailed you?”
The response was surprising. Unlike most companies, which try to soften their blows behind corporate PR speak, Huffman answered rather plainly.
“His ‘joke’ is the least of our issues,” the CEO wrote. “His behavior and communications with us has been all over the place—saying one thing to us while saying something completely different externally; recording and leaking a private phone call—to the point where I don’t know how we could do business with him.”
It’s an odd turn of events for Apollo, whose iOS-first and user-friendly design just this week saw it featured during Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, ahead of Reddit’s API policy change that will now put it out of business.

​
The article mostly covers the situation with Apollo and the AMA is not the focus (although it is mentioned and linked), but it does a good job of explaining the situation with Apollo and providing context to people out of the loop on that. The article is easily findable on the front page of TechCrunch.
Those are the largest news outlets covering the situation at the moment (although like I said many smaller ones are covering this as well), I'll edit my post if I see more in the future. But overall I think this popular news coverage paints reddit admins in a pretty damn bad light and won't be good for reddit if investors see the behavior these articles mention of Spez and the feelings of users towards the site as a whole.
I know I already made a post about news articles covering the blackouts, but I decided to make this a separate post as I wanted to include quotes and felt this was important to mention, as the coverage here is far more brutal compared to the more neutral coverage of the blackouts. If more popular news outlets cover the AMA I think we might have a fighting chance of Reddit feeling media pressure to compromise, lest they lose their investors before going public.

ChocoPro 316: Chie’s Challenge In order for EGG TART to become a true tag team, they must become equals. Instead of fighting as Guardian and Protected, they must face off! Tonight’s episode features the Best Bros battling the powerhouse pair, Shin finding himself comfortably among the upper echelons in a veteran tag bout, and Super Asia Champion Hagane Shinno puts his belt on the line to get his partner, Chie Koishikawa, on the same level as himself. Can the Frantic Fencer prove her worth? Let’s Go, ChocoPro! We might also see a wild Nonoka again, be prepared!
🍫 CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK! ChocoPro 316 🍫 Best Bros (Mei Suruga & Baliyan Akki) VS Miya Yotsuba & Tokiko Kirihara, Shin Suzuki & Minoru Fujita VS Masa Takanashi & Sayaka Obihiro, Super Asia Championship: Hagane Shinno (c) VS Chie Koishikawa! It airs TOMORROW at 4 am EDT / 1 am PDT / 9 am BST / 5 pm JST. Live and Free on YouTube!
This link will be updated with a direct one when available

Don't forget to Adjust Your Volume, Wrestling is Loud!

Change the stage, escape the normal! ChocoPro is built different. Find out why wrestlers like it so much: Find a new home on the bleeding edge. (This is not your regular wrestling show.) Join us for this episode, or check out the back catalog of 17 wonderful Seasons on the Gatoh Move ChocoPro YouTube channel...260+ episodes with stories and pro-wrestling like you've never seen. New to the promotion? It features a roster of skilled veterans, rising stars, and wonderful guests fighting in the ChocoPro Arena: Ichigaya Chocolate Square. Subscribe for more content than just the live matches! (AEW Watch Alongs, Discussions, Interviews, Food Challenges, etc) Even if you can't catch it live, don't sweat it! It will still be available on the channel.

Best Bros (Mei Suruga 🍎 & Baliyan Akki ♠️)

VS

Miya Yotsuba 🍀 & Tokiko “Otoki” Kirihara 💃

Right There!

“Right There!” The Best Bros (Mei Suruga & Baliyan Akki) are one of the top teams of Ichigaya (and beyond, for that matter). “Big Apple Girl” Mei Suruga & the Zephyr of Ichigaya, Baliyan Akki, are always focused on the next achievement. Mei Suruga is trick pin specialist, torture expert, and all around menace in the ring. She has fantastic technical ability, and while the known Goblin might be a...bit rotten...she is honestly one of the most gifted talents out there! While Mei is the Ace of Gatoh Move, Akki is the Ace of ChocoPro. Baliyan Akki sets the bar for quality in Ichigaya. With striking features to match his surgical striking in ring, effortless (and intensely impactful) high flying techniques that will take your breath away, and silky smooth submissions (that will take theirs!), Akki will engrave himself in your memory. While they might be the opener this time, it won’t be long until this elite team finds glory once again. Regardless of the challenge, the Ace & the Apple will always deliver!
The Powerhouse Pair reunites! Rookie supernova and Ichigaya’s Lucky Charm, Miya Yotsuba, has been dazzling viewers lately with her surprising level of skill and determination! The mint-geared Rookie has a full-power style that pumps up the audience. Her slams and modified versions of her goblin teacher’s skills are absolutely fantastic. She is always growing through challenges way beyond her current level, so this grim task will be yet another step in her rapid ascent. She’ll be once again aided by fellow heavy striking enthusiast Tokiko “Otoki” Kirihara! Otoki is ChocoPro’s “Comaneci” shouting straight forward fighter. She’s sometimes showing off her comedic chops along side Anton in several forms of Black Comaneci, but outside of that brutalizing foes is her bread and butter! This kick-boxing, Judo throwing, Fourth Gen berserker can go toe to toe with the rest of the roster: even her seniors! Putting these two together fuels their respective berserk states, so this should be a blast. Let’s go, Lucky Comaneci!

Shin Suzuki 🍙 & Minoru Fujita 🐦

VS

Masa Takanashi 🍶 & Sayaka Obihiro 💙

Upper Echelons

Shin Suzuki has finally established himself among the best of the best in ChocoPro. This spunky technician found his true balance along side Choun Shiryu, but his overall power level has increased with his confidence. Expect his excellent fundamentals and incredible timing to lead this acrobat toward victory in any situation. While his ability is unquestionable, he will be testing that new attitude when taking on his ideal wrestler (who happens to be one of the champs he got the belt from!). Shin will be joined by Minoru Fujita, the exalted Vice Principle and fantastic pick up partner. Known for his accolades in singles, deathmatches, and especially tags (also his angelic singing voice), Fujita was once away from the Chocolate Square due to injury, but he’s finally back into the normal rotation! This bird loving brawler is still a terror with endless endurance...even if he looks a bit different now. His brawler style and high level of technicality make him a fierce (but also rotten) opponent. How will this rare pairing have improved with Shin’s rise to the top?
The Chef and the Drunk, together again! Sayaka Obihiro and Masa Takanashi are one of the most Veteran combinations you can get in ChocoPro! While both have been around since this new offshoot of Gatoh Move started, fate prevented them from teaming up often. (Also Obihiro being both a Chef and occasional member of the UMA Monster Invaders…) Obi is a charismatic scoundrel, able to do flashy pinning techniques that seem like magic. Her chops are on the same level as her boss and teacher, “the Oni” Emi Sakura! She brings with her a raw joy that is very engaging, and it helps that her move set is so flashy...not to mention that fiery gear! Masa on the other hand is pretty rotten, a counter-fighter with a knack for annoying his opponents. The Drunken Monkey's style is very technical and crisp, but he isn't afraid to go dirty! Don't be fooled by his laid back nature and swaying movements...Masa is a real threat. Between Masa's trickery and Obi's personality, this combination is a surefire thrill ride. Though Masa’s grudge about losing the belts in such a manner (due to Chrissy B’s injury) might lead to a bit more spice than you’re expecting...

Hagane Shinno ⚔️ (c)

VS

Chie Koishikawa 🏵️

SUPER ASIA CHAMPIONSHIP

Winter is cold and unforgiving. Hagane Shinno represents that freezing season with more than just his icy demeanor! This absolutely brutal striker has been nearly invincible in the series so far, having never been bested in singles combat! His solemn ferocity makes him an instant favorite among new fans...(with Hagane surprising most with his exceptional technical skill, emotionless demeanor, and explosive fighting style) while his byronic nature pairs well with his otherworldly beauty (canonically, thanks Emi!). This mysterious eccentric perfectionist has come out of his shell quite a bit since he paired with Chie Koishikawa in EGG TART, the cheery energy machine having even drawn a smile out of him! Hagane has had a long career, one that has been guided by his own stubborn & unflinching decisions. Every action is decisive. Every decision is final. While his unwavering will is one of the things that aligns him the most with Chie, there is an issue. He has decided that if EGG TART is going to progress and become a true team on the same level, he must force Chie to grow out of the “protected” and stop being her Guardian. He has granted her a challenge for his Big Blue Belt to test her growth, to see if she is truly up to the task of true synergy. This forced increase in chemistry will be brutal, but fruitful for them both regardless of outcome.
Chie Koishikawa has endless energy, boundless potential, and a destiny beyond what any of us can fathom. But is she capable of seizing that unique strength? Her charisma is unquestionable, the Frantic Fencer warming the hearts of fans across the world with her emotional outbursts and reckless style. Her desire is rock solid, her passion burning out of her far beyond what her body can take (even giving the former tag champions one of their greatest defenses). But there will always be another Mountain to climb. Baliyan Akki learned this when it came for him, but even Akki possesses something Chie does not: perfect synergy with his tag partner. Chie wants to ascend, she wants to be able to bring down stronger opponents both on her own and as a team with Hagane. But all of their battles have ended with her being the weak link, the downfall of the team. She has been training harder and harder, pushing herself further and further...but is it enough? Chie has finally earned a Super Asia Title shot, but in a unique way: She must prove herself in this match to be her Guardian’s equal. To stand beside him, instead of behind him. She will need to push beyond her limitations to succeed, to reach that next level. Chie must find a way to strike down a superior foe, to at least bring herself to be able to stand proud against him. Will her speed striking be enough? Can she outrun the cold? Can she find a way to harness her hidden talent of “too much energy”?
Good luck, Chie!
Come and see the wild creativity that produced Two of the Seven AEW Women's World Champions! (Both of which have appeared on ChocoPro!) You'll be wondering if you're seeing future champs, as well. ChocoPro is the Frontier of Pro Wrestling! Match after match of hard hitting, chaotic, fun bouts with a friendly online audience. We're quickly growing, and you're welcome to come along!
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions:

“What is this?”

ChocoPro is a free online promotion run by AEW's Emi Sakura, that takes place in the legendary Ichigaya Chocolate Square! It features a steady pace of live Episode releases, fan interaction, season long story arcs, and much more! A place where the turnbuckles are replaced with 14th floor windows, the ropes are often replaced with fans, unforgiving walls provide creative avenues for skills otherwise unthinkable, and you can take solace in knowing that the referees usually do nothing. While it might be a shocking change at first, the intensity and storytelling will leave you wanting more.

“Why are they fighting in ____?”

Short answer is that it is a cost effective, unique venue with a better availability schedule and allows the roster access for training. Emi Sakura has been using this place for a long time, and you might be surprised at some of the names that have used it (even outside of ChocoPro!). There are a few in-ring Episodes and Gatoh Move has in ring shows with crowds on the YouTube channel. Think of it like the Hart Dungeon but as a promotion, if that helps!

”What are the rules?”

While special match stipulations will usually be explained before the respective matches, the general rules of ChocoPro are simple. Pins only count on the Chocolate Mat and are not broken by the edge or Wall. Submissions usually only count on the Chocolate Mat, and ARE broken by reaching the edge or wall (sometimes ceiling...). Double pins and Double submissions are legal (and encouraged) in ChocoPro Tag matches, meaning cohesive teams will always have the advantage! Count Outs only exist if specified, since many matches stray from the comfort of the Chocolate Square into the streets (and the rest of the building itself!) There is a Time Limit for each bout (based on card placement and importance) and the Referee has discretion (even if they tend to do nothing most of the time!). Every Ref is different, some have different levels of bias and speed.

“How can I support them?”

Watch the show! Even if you can't see it live, the views matter! Like & Subscribe! You can join the Channel's membership for different tiers of perks...but also, you can buy single episode Sponsorship, Digital autographed photos, and more on their shop site as well as purchase shirts from PWTees (which features some great options!) If you'd like to donate or purchase a main wall sponsorship, you can via Paypal or Patreon...and don't forget to cheer for your favorites! (especially if you want to do a superchat!)

”How come there aren’t a lot of comments on the threads?”

ChocoPro is a YouTube show, meaning the discourse happens live...in the chat! Those that comment in the threads on here tend to do so in order to help new viewers that might be intimidated by the fast moving chat. Don’t be afraid to just dive in though, the community is friendly.

“Why are you posting this here? / Are you paid for this?”

This is a wrestling forum, and I'm trying to broaden the horizons of others! There is a lot of good wrestling out there...Plus growing the fan base means more people for me to joke around with! I honestly do believe this is what a lot of fans are looking for, even if it is too different for some! But different tastes are good. Variety is the spice of life. This is a labor of love (it really doesn't take that long) considering how much work they do to put on so many shows...for free!
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me on here or on Twitter, where I’m somehow still sick! ChocoPro is Energetic!
Season Tracker: We're 16/18 into Season 18! (Each Season is usually around 18 episodes)

Salam everyone,
My father passed away a few years ago and I'm now technically the wali of my sister. Since my father's passing my sister has been in a relationship with a man who last year became her fiancé. They are both 24 years of age and I'm 27.
They're engaged but now they want to do a nikkah and Islam you should get married as soon as it's possible for them to do so. However, me and my mother are hugely concerned about their relationship as it can easily be described as "toxic".
She says she wants to marry him because he's a good guy and loves him. I'm trying really hard to be diplomatic and see it from her side but these issues are causing huge relationship problems between her and my mother and myself too by proxy as we live in the same household. Over their past 3 year relationship so far there have been some major issues between them that I'll bullet point down below.

• At the start of the relationship he lied to her about his ethnicity and his family background claiming his mother was born in Turkey and Italy. Additionally he lied about his mother's name and claimed she couldn't understand Urdu. The engagement last year was the first time our families met each other and we saw his mother for the first time where she was engaging with her husband and kids who are also Pakistani. My sister spoke to his mother during the engagement and to her embarrassment found out her name isn't what he said it was and she's not from where he said she was. She confronted him after the engagement and was heartbroken to find out he'd lied to her for 2+ years. It damaged her trust in him but she forgave him.
• He was very hesitant to share much information about his family apart from those lies. He never showed my sister photos of his family and refused to tell her exactly where he lived. Eventually we met them in real life but we thought it was very suspicious at the start.
• Overall they argue regularly and disrespect each other and our families. Today I found out that a while ago he disrespected her for not having a father. I asked her about this and she said he said this because she called him some names or they were having an argument but I'm still very disappointed as this is a very low blow since he's very aware that my sister's relationship with our dad was incredibly close and his death a few years ago was the worst time of her life.
• Before the engagement they used to argue regularly and break up several times a month over petty things like he wanted to go on holiday with his friends and it caused an argument between them. They blocked each other all over social media and on their phones when they argue or break up and they still do that now after engagement.
• My sister tells me that he used to get into trouble when he was younger and had to move to 7 different schools during his childhood. In his adult age what we know about his behaviour is that he has to take medication for his mental health or he gets angry, he had a fight with/punched a policeman whilst on holiday and someone accidently scratched or bumped into his luxury car and so he spat on them. These are only the stories that we've been told.
• Now for the major breakups post engagement that we're aware of. The first one was about the mahr. He told her that we was going to only give her between £50 - £100 mahr. Which caused a major argument between them since the mahr is supposed to be used to support her in case of things like divorce. She found it very disrespectful and even called into question how much money he had. I'm not sure how long they broke up / blocked each other for.
• Another major break up this year was about the legal marriage. He told her he refuses to a legal marriage in the UK and will only do a nikkah that wouldn't be recognised by UK law. My sister called him dodgy and suggested this is suspicious and this caused a huge argument between them both. I think he thinks she's just after his money or he wants to ensure that if they get divorced she's not entitled to anything. They blocked each other and didn't speak for over 2 months even after Ramadan and Eid - he didn't contact her or wish her or our family any blessings. They only got back in touch because my sister reached out to him on his birthday to wish him well and they got speaking again but suggested that he hadn't changed his mind. A few weeks later she told me that he changed his mind and is willing to have a legal marriage also.
• The most recent break up I'm aware of she actually gave him back the engagement ring. She met up with him and gave him his ring back and various gifts he had bought her over the years. Apparently he was upset when she gave it back. They didn't speak for about a month until he sent my sister some flowers for her birthday.
• From the gifts he buys her, my sister suggests that he's rich as since she's been with him he's had multiple luxury vehicles. He's also changed his careers 3 or 4 times in the last few years. Currently he's apparently leasing apartments and putting them up on AirBnB. Apparently this is without the owner's permission too. We're based in the UK and if he's so wealthy through his businesses then he'd have some sort of limited company in his name. My sister claims that each apartment he puts up on AirBnB can raise him £3,000 in revenue per month. This is just one of his businesses though we're told. These sorts of figures would suggest he would have a company in his name. So either he's lying about how much he's earning, he's obtaining it illegally or he's not paying his taxes (since it would be a hugely unwise financial decision to make this amount of money and not do it through a limited company). This man would have to provide for my sister and her family inshallah and we're not sure about where his finances are coming from or if they're truly halal. The last thing we want is for him to get caught for some tax issues and have to pay a hefty fine or go to prison when they're married. Personally I think this is less on an issue and could be explained away by proving his income and finances.

The above information is based on what we've witnessed before our eyes and her own accounts. Everything bad we've heard about him has come from her own mouth and she's surprised that we take a negative view on him personally. The only thing we see is that he buys her nice shiny things from time to time so she's always going out with him and coming back with shopping bags.
She's yet to explain to me how this relationship will succeed in marriage without conflict and hasn't yet explained how he is of good character. Personally I believe they're both at fault and shouldn't be together. One personal thing he helped me with was he helped me sell my late father's car when he passed away. Apart from that and the engagement we haven't spoken much at all.
Me and my mother's thoughts are that if they're behaving like this whilst they're apart from each other then it's going to be much more intense and chaotic when they're in each other's faces 24/7. My sister gets annoyed very easily and is argumentative. It's okay when it's your close family but if you're a newly wed and you're fighting because you're grumpy that day then there will be major issues that could become violent.
Her reactions to me and my mother when we talk to her about this is that we never let her have anything she wants, she's going to marry him whether we like it or not and that we're just jealous of her relationship which is why we don't want her to be with him.
Her and my mother's relationship has been damaged and may only get worse unless this is sorted. My mother really doesn't like him based on his past behaviour, the break ups and how she's seen my sister react to arguments (smashing mirrors, throwing her phone at the walls, crying in the bathroom in the middle of the night).
Is there anything that is redeemable about this relationship?
My sister doesn't seem too mature and neither does he. She sends me a lot of videos on social media about toxic couples who have had issues and got through them and lived happily ever after.
What can I do about this situation? I've tried to speak to her but she gets very emotional and angry which makes the situation worse. There's a lot of name calling and disrespect from her and she doesn't seem very rational. She also said that this situation (us not supporting her to get married to this guy) makes her want to end her life so I'm very concerned about her.
I've suggested that me and my sister go to a muslim therapist or mediator to discuss these problems in front of someone who can advise about this situation. I think she needs to hear from someone who isn't friends or family who already have a negative view of him and bias. That way she can't suggest they're just jealous or don't understand. I really need to help her as she thinks we're all against her and not actually helping her get out of a bad situation. I need to protect her and I'm hugely concerned about this.
I'm not sure what I can do next if the therapist or mediator suggests she shouldn't be in this relationship because she'll say that it's her life and her decision and that's the end of that.
Any help or advice on how to deal with this difficult situation would be massively appreciated. Like I say I'm trying really hard to find anything good about the situation she's found herself in and be diplomatic but I'm struggling.
My late father wouldn't approve of this.
Thank you

Hey y’all
I’ve been a GM player for the majority of Overwatch and have been pretty annoyed with the recent balance the team has put out. I’ve wanted to try to create a balance patch of my own for a while now but haven’t gotten around to it until last week.
These balance changes are based on community feedback mixed with personal opinion while catering to every rank and I’ll be giving detail about the reasoning behind each change.
​
Global

• Hero base healthpool capped at 600 health

Easier to balance heal values
Tank
D.Va

• Health; 250 <-- 350
• Armour; 350 <-- 300

Boosters

• Cooldown; 3s <-- 4s

Defence Matrix

• Maximum time; 2.65s <-- 3s

Encourages multiple play styles and fast decision-making while raising her skill ceiling
Doomfist
Rocket Punch

• Cooldown; 3.5s <-- 4s

Less downtime between cooldown cycles. Overall, making Doom flow together better.
Junker Queen
Passive

• Adrenaline healing multiplier; 1.80x <-- 2x
• Wound self-healing no longer charges ultimate

Commanding Shout

• Cooldown; 10s <-- 14s
• Bonus health; 150 <-- 200
• No longer gives allies bonus health

Toning down her self-sustain and her ultimate frequency should bring her back in line with the other tanks while lowering instant health abilities
Orisa
Fusion Driver

• Damage; 12 <-- 13
• Fall-off range; 25m <-- 15m

Fortify

• No longer gives extra health
• No longer gives crit protection unless in Terra Surge

Increasing her range and reverting her damage allows Orisa to finish off javelin targets from range. Tuning down her self-sustain will make Orisa more fun to play against
Ramattra
Nemesis Form

• Bonus armour; 200 <-- 225
• Block protection; 65% <-- 75%

Both nerfs focus on lowering his survivability and toning down his ultimate
Reinhardt
Charge

• Wall collision damage; 250 <-- 225
• Steer sensitivity; -15%

Earthshatter

• Crumple damage; 250 <-- 170

Reducing charge steer radius lowers Reinhardt’s unexpected pins but in-turn giving him more power in his funny one-shots
Roadhog

• Health; 500 <-- 700
• +100 armour

Scrap Gun

• Damage; 6.8 <-- 6
• Reload time; 2s <-- 1.75s

Take a Breather

• Healing; 300 <-- 350
• Damage reduction; 35% <-- 50%

Hook

• Cooldown; 8s <-- 6s
• Damage; 1 <-- 5
• Maximum time before full charge; 2s <-- 0s
• Movement penalty; 25% <-- 0%
• Final distance from player to target; 3.25m <-- 4m

Whole Hog

• Duration; 6.5s <-- 8s
• Can now be cancelled

Bringing back his one-shot in a predictable and threatening way will reduce the annoyance and create some counter-play. Hook distance scales with charge time
Sigma
Accretion

• Damage; 40 <-- 60
• Knockdown duration; 0.9s <-- 1.1s

Reducing crowd control and rewarding mechanics
Wrecking Ball

• Health; 250 <-- 450
• Armour; 200 <-- 100

Redistributing healthpool
Zarya
Graviton Surge

• Duration; 3.75s <-- 3.5s

With the addition to immortality abilities and her passed ultimate duration nerf, Graviton Surge would struggle to get picks
Damage
Ashe
B.O.B

• Can generate ultimate charge while B.O.B is active

Bastion

• Health; 175 <-- 200
• Player model; -15%

Recon Form

• Weapon recovery time; 0.20s <-- 0.25s

Assault Form

• Damage; 10.5 <-- 12

Tactical Grenade

• Cooldown; 7s <-- 9s
• Damage; 90s <-- 115s
• Now has a visual on-screen indicator

Self-Repair

• Bound to ability 2
• Total healing resource; -20%

Ultimate Configuration

• Can now choose between tank and artillery mode
• Duration; 7s <-- 8s
• Ultimate cost; 2500 <-- 2310

Artillery Configuration

• Inner-ring radius; 1.75m <-- 2.5m
• Total area radius; 5.75m <-- 6.5m
• Ammo; 5 <-- 3

Tank Configuration

• Damage; 200 <-- 205

Removing some of his power from his turret and placing it into different parts of his kit will make Bastion more beginner friendly. Adding tank mode back as a new configuration creates more diversity in Bastions kit and rewards decision-making abilities
Cassidy
Combat Roll

• No longer gives damage reduction

Magnetic Grenade

• Replaced with Flashbang
• Flashbang no longer stuns enemies
• Slows affected enemies to 30% movement speed for 1 second
• Disables abilities/passives for 1 second
• Gives the affected player a slight dazed effect for the duration of the ability

Deadeye

• Damage scalar reverted to overwatch 1
• No longer gives damage reduction
• Duration; 6s <-- 7s

Replacing Magnetic Grenade for a weakened Flashbang gives Cassidy an anti-flanker playstyle
Echo
Duplication

• Animation now grants invulnerability
• Will be at max health when duplicate ends
• Ultimate cost; 1875 <-- 1691
• Can now be cancelled by holding ultimate key

Giving Echo invulnerability frames while entering duplicate will help her engage in more duels when duping for abilities. Setting Echo to max health when exiting duplicate removes inconsistencies from her ultimate.
Genji
Shurikens

• Damage; 28 <-- 27
• Ammo; 30 <-- 24

Dash

• Damage; 35 <-- 50
• Dash cancels melee animation

Dragon Blade

• Damage; 120 <-- 110

Reducing his dash damage but buffing his dragon blade slash damage nerfs nanoblade and buffs dry blade. Allowing Genji cancel his melee with dash, extra damage buffs will compensate for his dash nerf without blade
Hanzo
Bow

• Damage; 125 <-- 120
• Critical multiplier (Does not affect Storm Arrows); 2.0x <-- 2.5x

Sonic Arrow

• Sonic Arrow volume; +100%

Lunge

• Cooldown; 5s <-- 4s

Increasing the volume on Hanzo’s Sonic Arrow will decrease unlucky one-shots. Increasing Lunge cooldown and lowering his crit multiplier, Hanzo will be more susceptible to dive
Reaper
Shadow Step

• Comes out of Shadow Step with Fade active for 0.75s (cancellable)

Encourages risky teleports
Sojourn
Railgun

• Damage; 11.5 <-- 9
• Railgun charge tick rate; 8 <-- 5
• Bloom no longer increases over time

Railgun Alternative Fire

• Damage; 100 <-- 130

Power Slide

• Horizontal movement speed; 12m/s <-- 14.4m/s
• Horizontal max distance; 12m <-- 16m
• Vertical max distance; 8m <-- 6m

Disrupter Shot

• Cooldown; 12s <-- 15s
• Maximum damage; 185 <-- 210
• Maximum distance; 40m <-- 30m
• Projectile speed; 40m <-- 30m
• Can now be stopped when ability is pressed again

Overclock

• Maximum charge; 150 <-- 100
• Ultimate cost; 2300 <-- 2100

These changes aim to make Sojourn to be more consistent without rail while also giving herself an identity
Sombra
Opportunist

• Damage multiplier; 1.20x <-- 1.25x

Machine Pistol

• Fall-off range; 18m <-- 15m
• Maximum bloom; -15%

Hack

• Range; 8m <-- 15m
• Lockout time; 1 second <-- 1.5s
• Hacked health packs duration; 15s <-- 45s
• Hacked health packs only last for 225 health healed

Stealth

• Duration; 6 <-- infinite
• Movement speed; 70% <-- 60%
• Cloak time; 0.5s <-- 0.85s
• Detected radius; 3m <-- 4m

Translocator

• Now functions as a Tracer Blink (1 charge only)
• Cooldown; 2.5s <-- 5s

E.M.P

• Ultimate cost; 1600 <-- 1400
• Player health damage percent; 35% <-- 40%
  Encourages Sombra to take on more of a tracer poke playstyle with strong utility
  

Widowmaker
NON SCOPED

• Fall-off range; 25m <-- 20m
• Recovery time; 0.175s <-- 0.10s
• Ammo; 25 <-- 35
• Maximum bloom; -25%
• Time before maximum bloom; 2s <-- 0.75s
• First 3 shots receive no bloom

SCOPED

• Damage; 125 <-- 120
• Fall-off range; 60m <-- 70m
• Critical multiplier; 2.0x <-- 2.5x
• 50% of critical damage will be done instantly. The other 50% will be done over 1.75 seconds
• Critical damage over time fall-off range; 40m-70m (<40m critical DoT will be 1.75 seconds. 40m-60m DoT will scale up to 4 seconds)
• Ammo; 5 <-- 35
• Ammo consumption; 1 <-- 5

Allowing counter-play to headshots, Widowmaker will be easier to play around and dive. Decreasing her one-shot range also incentivizes players to play closer to the fight
Support
Ana
Biotic Rifle

• Damage; 70 <-- 75
• Healing; 70 <-- 75

Sleep Dart

• Cooldown; 11s 14s
• Duration; 4.25s <-- 5s
• Tanks no longer get reduced sleep time

Biotic Grenade

• Duration; 3 <-- 3.5

Nano Boost

• Damage buff multiplier; 1.40x <-- 1.5x
• No longer has a cast time

Reducing her healing output tones her back with the tank heathpool readjustments. Increasing sleep dart up-time compensates for the damage nerf. Damage boost nerfs aims to reduce nanoblade’s effectiveness.
Baptiste
Regenerative Burst

• Gives a flat 50 burst heal and 80 health over 5 seconds
• Cooldown; 12s <-- 15s

Immortality Field

• Health protection; 10% <-- 25%
• Cooldown; 18s <-- 23s

Reducing instant health abilities and reverting passed buffs. Getting compensated by lower cooldowns
Brigitte
Inspire

• Inspire radius is shown visibly by a golden ring when active (only for allies)

Repair Pack

• Range; 30m <-- 25m

Rally

• Using Rally sets shield bash cooldown to 1 second if >1
• Shield bash no longer stuns while in ultimate

Removing shield bash stun reduces Brigitte’s power when using rally. To compensate, shield bash will reset when ultimate is used
Kiriko
Healing Ofuda

• Talisman healing; 11 <-- 13
• Recovery time; whatever it was pre-nerf <-- ?

Swift Step

• Cooldown; 8s <-- 7s

Protection Suzu

• Cooldown; 9s <-- 14s
• Instant heal; 85 <-- 50
• Invulnerability duration; 0.50s <-- 0.85s
• No longer makes players intangible

Lowering suzu cooldown and decreasing the overall value of the ability, allows her to use it off-cooldown. Raising swift step cooldown punishes hyper-aggressive Kirikos.
Mercy
Caduceus Staff

• Blue beam replaced with green beam
• Green beam friendly’s weapon recovery time; -30%
• When green beam is switch off, the targeted friendly weapon buffed recovery time will fade away

Resurrect

• 350 health cap (If D.Va is revived, she will have to get healed backup to 650hp)

Damage boost removed with a green beam to stop strong breakpoints from happening
Moira
Biotic Grasp

• Can now heal through shields

Fade

• Cooldown; 7s <-- 6s
• Can no longer use fade in coalescence

Reverting old power-creeped buffs while allowing her to slip into her own niche without disrupting lower ranked play
Zenyatta
Discord Orb

• Damage received multiplier; 1.15x <-- 1.25x
• Now has a 1 second cooldown when it breaks off a player

With the multiple tank sustainability nerfs, discord orb will go rampant in team-play if it doesn’t get a few checks

Salam everyone,
My father passed away a few years ago and I'm now technically the wali of my sister. Since my father's passing my sister has been in a relationship with a man who last year became her fiancé. They are both 24 years of age and I'm 27.
They're engaged but now they want to do a nikkah and Islam you should get married as soon as it's possible for them to do so. However, me and my mother are hugely concerned about their relationship as it can easily be described as "toxic".
She says she wants to marry him because he's a good guy and loves him. I'm trying really hard to be diplomatic and see it from her side but these issues are causing huge relationship problems between her and my mother and myself too by proxy as we live in the same household. Over their past 3 year relationship so far there have been some major issues between them that I'll bullet point down below.

• At the start of the relationship he lied to her about his ethnicity and his family background claiming his mother was born in Turkey and Italy. Additionally he lied about his mother's name and claimed she couldn't understand Urdu. The engagement last year was the first time our families met each other and we saw his mother for the first time where she was engaging with her husband and kids who are also Pakistani. My sister spoke to his mother during the engagement and to her embarrassment found out her name isn't what he said it was and she's not from where he said she was. She confronted him after the engagement and was heartbroken to find out he'd lied to her for 2+ years. It damaged her trust in him but she forgave him.
• He was very hesitant to share much information about his family apart from those lies. He never showed my sister photos of his family and refused to tell her exactly where he lived. Eventually we met them in real life but we thought it was very suspicious at the start.
• Overall they argue regularly and disrespect each other and our families. Today I found out that a while ago he disrespected her for not having a father. I asked her about this and she said he said this because she called him some names or they were having an argument but I'm still very disappointed as this is a very low blow since he's very aware that my sister's relationship with our dad was incredibly close and his death a few years ago was the worst time of her life.
• Before the engagement they used to argue regularly and break up several times a month over petty things like he wanted to go on holiday with his friends and it caused an argument between them. They blocked each other all over social media and on their phones when they argue or break up and they still do that now after engagement.
• My sister tells me that he used to get into trouble when he was younger and had to move to 7 different schools during his childhood. In his adult age what we know about his behaviour is that he has to take medication for his mental health or he gets angry, he had a fight with/punched a policeman whilst on holiday and someone accidently scratched or bumped into his luxury car and so he spat on them. These are only the stories that we've been told.
• Now for the major breakups post engagement that we're aware of. The first one was about the mahr. He told her that we was going to only give her between £50 - £100 mahr. Which caused a major argument between them since the mahr is supposed to be used to support her in case of things like divorce. She found it very disrespectful and even called into question how much money he had. I'm not sure how long they broke up / blocked each other for.
• Another major break up this year was about the legal marriage. He told her he refuses to a legal marriage in the UK and will only do a nikkah that wouldn't be recognised by UK law. My sister called him dodgy and suggested this is suspicious and this caused a huge argument between them both. I think he thinks she's just after his money or he wants to ensure that if they get divorced she's not entitled to anything. They blocked each other and didn't speak for over 2 months even after Ramadan and Eid - he didn't contact her or wish her or our family any blessings. They only got back in touch because my sister reached out to him on his birthday to wish him well and they got speaking again but suggested that he hadn't changed his mind. A few weeks later she told me that he changed his mind and is willing to have a legal marriage also.
• The most recent break up I'm aware of she actually gave him back the engagement ring. She met up with him and gave him his ring back and various gifts he had bought her over the years. Apparently he was upset when she gave it back. They didn't speak for about a month until he sent my sister some flowers for her birthday.
• From the gifts he buys her, my sister suggests that he's rich as since she's been with him he's had multiple luxury vehicles. He's also changed his careers 3 or 4 times in the last few years. Currently he's apparently leasing apartments and putting them up on AirBnB. Apparently this is without the owner's permission too. We're based in the UK and if he's so wealthy through his businesses then he'd have some sort of limited company in his name. My sister claims that each apartment he puts up on AirBnB can raise him £3,000 in revenue per month. This is just one of his businesses though we're told. These sorts of figures would suggest he would have a company in his name. So either he's lying about how much he's earning, he's obtaining it illegally or he's not paying his taxes (since it would be a hugely unwise financial decision to make this amount of money and not do it through a limited company). This man would have to provide for my sister and her family inshallah and we're not sure about where his finances are coming from or if they're truly halal. The last thing we want is for him to get caught for some tax issues and have to pay a hefty fine or go to prison when they're married. Personally I think this is less on an issue and could be explained away by proving his income and finances.

The above information is based on what we've witnessed before our eyes and her own accounts. Everything bad we've heard about him has come from her own mouth and she's surprised that we take a negative view on him personally. The only thing we see is that he buys her nice shiny things from time to time so she's always going out with him and coming back with shopping bags.
She's yet to explain to me how this relationship will succeed in marriage without conflict and hasn't yet explained how he is of good character. Personally I believe they're both at fault and shouldn't be together. One personal thing he helped me with was he helped me sell my late father's car when he passed away. Apart from that and the engagement we haven't spoken much at all.
Me and my mother's thoughts are that if they're behaving like this whilst they're apart from each other then it's going to be much more intense and chaotic when they're in each other's faces 24/7. My sister gets annoyed very easily and is argumentative. It's okay when it's your close family but if you're a newly wed and you're fighting because you're grumpy that day then there will be major issues that could become violent.
Her reactions to me and my mother when we talk to her about this is that we never let her have anything she wants, she's going to marry him whether we like it or not and that we're just jealous of her relationship which is why we don't want her to be with him.
Her and my mother's relationship has been damaged and may only get worse unless this is sorted. My mother really doesn't like him based on his past behaviour, the break ups and how she's seen my sister react to arguments (smashing mirrors, throwing her phone at the walls, crying in the bathroom in the middle of the night).
Is there anything that is redeemable about this relationship?
My sister doesn't seem too mature and neither does he. She sends me a lot of videos on social media about toxic couples who have had issues and got through them and lived happily ever after.
What can I do about this situation? I've tried to speak to her but she gets very emotional and angry which makes the situation worse. There's a lot of name calling and disrespect from her and she doesn't seem very rational. She also said that this situation (us not supporting her to get married to this guy) makes her want to end her life so I'm very concerned about her.
I've suggested that me and my sister go to a muslim therapist or mediator to discuss these problems in front of someone who can advise about this situation. I think she needs to hear from someone who isn't friends or family who already have a negative view of him and bias. That way she can't suggest they're just jealous or don't understand. I really need to help her as she thinks we're all against her and not actually helping her get out of a bad situation. I need to protect her and I'm hugely concerned about this.
I'm not sure what I can do next if the therapist or mediator suggests she shouldn't be in this relationship because she'll say that it's her life and her decision and that's the end of that.
Any help or advice on how to deal with this difficult situation would be massively appreciated. Like I say I'm trying really hard to find anything good about the situation she's found herself in and be diplomatic but I'm struggling.
My late father wouldn't approve of this.
Thank you

PART 1
​
The moment Gray touches my head, static ripples across my skull. I froth at the mouth. Choke. For a little while, I think I’m probably dying, but then I lose all sense of awareness. I’m falling. I’m breaching the atmosphere of my mind and crashing into a dimension outside of myself, outside of everything.
Images flash. They’re like a film reel, playing across my consciousness from every direction. They’re everywhere. Inescapable. It’s as if I’m inhabiting them, as though they were moments in time and everything from sight, sound and smell are collapsing in on one another like a dying star.
Gray calls this ‘disorienting.’
But then, just when I tell myself I want out— that I can’t take it anymore because my disembodied ghost is about to explode… It slows. The whole process hits the brakes. The visual hurricane calms from a category 5 to a 3, and then settles into a 1.
Whew-ie!
Moments float to the surface. Others sink out of sight.
Like a sponge, my mind starts absorbing information– everything from quantum physics to the lyrical discography of Shania Twain. Knowledge becomes trivial. As soon as I want to know something, I reach out and take it.
It’s exhilarating.
But then, something catches my attention. It’s a series of shimmering lights in my lake of thought, gleaming jewels that seem to be drawing me toward them. Somehow, I know that these are why I’ve come here. These are what Gray meant for me to find, the so-called truth that would justify all of the abductions, all of the murders.
So I reach out.
Information bombards me. It carpet-bombs my mind, and in the overwhelming chaos of it all, the entire history of the cosmos is laid bare before me.
I see it. I see everything.
Gray and Teal? Not monsters. An alien species called the Vytar. Their technology eclipses humanity’s, and they’ve existed for billions of years. They’ve done remarkable things in that time, everything from mastering hyperlight travel to creating edible spray cheese. They’ve even charted the entirety of the cosmos.
What I’m saying is they've been busy.
But my revelations don’t stop there. No, they keep coming.
Tragedy.
I see tragedy.
I see it in the Vytar’s search for answers. In their quest to uncover every nook and cranny of the universe, they come across two devastating discoveries. Firstly, they learn that they are alone in the cosmos. Secondly, they discover their species is going extinct.
How?
It happens like this.
Near the edge of space, a Vytar ship discovers life. But it isn’t intelligent. Far from it. This life is microbial, viral, and it infects the explorers. They toss themselves into quarantine. They’re observed, and a shocking discovery is made– this virus?
Not so bad.
In fact, maybe it’s just what they've been looking for.
Soon, Vytarians across the cosmos are lining up to be infected with the virus. Within a century, their entire species are carriers. It jumps between them like the common cold, but they don’t mind. Not at all. Why? Easy. This virus comes with a satisfaction guarantee: biological immortality.
Now there’s a deal.
The trouble is, these Vytar don’t work like humans do. They don’t have sex and make babies and then sleep and then wake up and do it again. No, these Vytar lay eggs. And only certain members of their species lay eggs. And what’s more? They only lay eggs during a specific molting period at the end of their life cycles.
See what I’m getting at?
Biological immortality or laying eggs. Pick one. You can’t have both if you’re the Vytar. But by the time they figure this out, this virus has infected every last colony of their civilization. Unable to reproduce, their population enters freefall. It develops what’s known as an existential crisis, and if there’s one thing civil society hates, it’s dealing with an existential crisis.
Tempers flare.
Emotions run hot.
This brings us to the crux of the Vytarian dilemma. War.
And lots of it.
Worlds erupt into conflict. Galaxies become battlefields, and whole solar systems are laid to ash. If you thought nuclear weapons were bad, then consider what happens when a moon is kicked out of orbit into the surface of a planet. The bloodshed is immeasurable. As the fighting escalates, the stars themselves become weapons. The Vytar discover that if you can just push one toward instability…. Well, boom.
There goes the neighborhood.
These Vytar? Nothing if not creative.
But it’s just this penchant for outside the box problem solving that massacres their species into the low billions. Over a single millenia, the Vytar are swept from an inter-galactic species, to one inhabiting a single world on the edge of space.
Having met their downfall at the hands of their technology, the surviving Vytar turn toward spiritualism. Cults form. Different sects have different beliefs, but one eventually consumes the rest: The Way of the Chosen. The Way promises an end to Vytarian pain.
No more existential crisis.
No more killing.
All the Vytar need to do is open their hearts and minds to a simple three step program:

1. Show a little pride. We’re the only intelligent life in the universe, so start acting like it!
2. Persevere. Immortality is our final test. Keep your chin up!
3. Ascend. Just make it to the heat death of the universe, and you’ll be granted salvation!

Believe it or not, it’s a big hit.
The Vytarians flock to it in droves because it offers what they need– a sense of purpose, and a break from the emotional turmoil that’s consumed them for decades. In a matter of years, The Way becomes the dominant socio-political force across the Vytarian homeworld, bringing the last of the warring factions together.
It’s a beautiful thing.
But what’s the phrase?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Yeah, that’s it.
Not everybody is a fan of how The Chosen conduct business. But The Chosen make it easy for them– all who disavow their belief system are exiled. It’s for the good of the Vytarians, they say. And maybe they’re right. After all, these are a species of aliens that have seen just what disagreements can lead to.
Fire. Fury. Mass graves and floating corpses in the vacuum of space.
No thank you.
That’s a risk they won’t take.
One of these exiled Vytarians is a scientist. He has no name in the shared memory save for ‘The Heretic,’ and he is both the architect of humanity and the genesis of our greatest threat. In his assessment, the Vytarian extinction is an inevitability. He perceives their current peace as fragile, held up by a corrupt theocracy whose foundations could crumble any moment. Once they do, boom. Back to war. Back to genocide.
It won’t be pretty.
Worse still, when the last of the Vytar perish, so too will the last form of complex intelligence. Their species won’t just die– it’ll be forgotten. The universe will become a barren void, an unconscious minefield of drifting cadavers.
That will be their legacy.
But the Heretic, he’s a mover-and-a-shaker. He’s the sort of individual who likes to solve problems, not create them, and so when he thinks of the Vytarian extinction, when he acknowledges it as a slow-motion inevitability, he isn’t giving up. No, he has a plan. It’s not a great plan, mind you. It’s not even a plan with a high-likelihood of success, and nor, for that matter, is it a plan that’s strictly legal.
But it is a plan.
It goes like this: if the Vytarians are dying out, then something must replace them. There must be intelligent life to take their place, to give warmth to this cold cosmos, and remember their legacy. Since no other intelligent life exists in all the universe, that leaves him a single option.
He’ll just have to make some.
And this Heretic? This mover-and-shaker?
Well, he succeeds.
And really, that’s where this nightmare begins.
_________________________________________________________________________
The helicopter touches down in a clearing that shouldn’t exist.
I step out to find a forest that’s broken, smoldering, one that’s cleaved in two with a cloud of cinders in its wake. This isn’t how I remember this place. Not at all. I remember a wooden bridge over a lazy creek, and tall trees that–
“Mitchell!”
Somebody’s calling my name. Running toward me.
My boss.
Lisa’s got her phone pressed to one ear and her other hand is frantically waving at me. All around us are government personnel, fellow men-in-black types looking equal parts panicked and terrified. Nice to know I’m not alone.
“Mitchell,” Lisa says, breathless. “Finally! Follow me.”
We take a stroll down the newest gully in America. Pieces of splintered metal scatter the ground, and here and there I see techs in hazmat suits brushing dust from the debris. Above us, the moon is being shrouded by a gigantic tarp. They’re extending it across the entire crash-site, likely hoping they can get it up before foreign satellites move into position and stick their noses into our business.
“Looks like a warzone out here,” I say, loosening my tie. Is it hot out, or is my anxiety just turning my body into a furnace? Tough to say.
Either way, Lisa’s not paying attention.
“Understood, sir. I’ll keep you posted with any and all updates as soon as we have them.” She hangs up her phone and turns to me. “Sorry, did you say something, Mitchell? Tonight’s been a nightmare.”
I can imagine.
As we make our way toward the UAP, Lisa tells me the government’s been hounding her for details.
What exactly did we shoot down?
Are we going to war?
She says we’ve probably got three hours until the media wakes up, and then we’ll need to start beating the journalists back with sticks. “This is a fucking disaster,” she tells me, and she reaches into her jacket and grabs a flask. “Whisky?”
I shake my head. “Haven’t touched the stuff for years.”
“Suit yourself.”
Bottom’s up.
She wipes her mouth and shoves the flask back into her jacket, taking the sort of breath you take when you’ve hit your limit. “I should’ve kept on as an accountant,” she says. “I’d still be in bed right now.”
The closer we get to the UAP, the easier it is to see through the haze of smoke. The craft is no longer just a smudge in the distance. Now I can make out its general shape. Its general size. It looks big enough to pass for a stadium, and round enough to sell the illusion.
“A flying saucer,” Lisa says, shaking her head. “You’d think these aliens never heard of a bad cliche.”
We get to the edge of the perimeter and flash our badges. Three soldiers let us through.
“Listen,” Lisa tells me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Before we go inside this thing, I want you to take a few deep breaths, okay? We’ve had a couple incidents already.”
“Incidents?” I ask.
“Sure. One guy pissed his pants. Another was taking photos of this… corpse in a vat, and he throws up all over the inside– of the vat, not the corpse. Whatever. Point is, he completely fucked the lab team trying to get a sample.” She runs a hand through her hair. Chuckles darkly. “Luckily, there are about a dozen other corpses where that came from, but still. The smell was awful.”
Vats. Corpses. My stomach does a front flip and I almost take a page out of the photographer’s playbook. “So this is the real deal,” I mutter, pretending this whole thing doesn’t feel uncomfortably familiar. “Aliens actually exist, huh?”
“Just wait,” Lisa says, stepping into the dark of the ship. “This next part is gonna blow your mind.”
_________________________________________________________________________
The Heretic creates life in his image, using Earth as his petri dish.
His first lifeforms are what you’d call prototypes. Rough drafts. They’re giant reptiles, dinosaurs, and a scattershot of various traits and biology. They’re a means to discover what works and what doesn’t on the path to evolving complex intelligence. He studies them closely. Then he studies them some more.
But what’s the phrase?
Nothing lasts forever.
Yeah, that’s it.
We’ve covered that the Vytarian are an advanced species. We know that they’re no strangers to space, and we’re well aware that their wars wiped out 99% of their population. But what we haven’t covered, is that some toys are still left-over from those wars.
And The Chosen? They possess almost all of them.
One of these is a fleet of surveillance drones, the sort that drift through the cosmos and ping headquarters if they see something suspect. One of these happens to drift by Earth. Can you guess what happens next?
Images of the Heretic’s well, heresy, are transmitted to The Chosen. Minutes later, he gets a collect call from 40 billion light years away.
What is this, the Chosen High Council asks.
Blasphemer, they condemn.
But the Heretic isn’t shocked by this. He knows that according to The Way, the creation of new lifeforms is the exclusive domain of their deity, The Distant One. He knows that what he’s done is criminal. That maybe it’s also considered an affront against all of existence, and that it’s maybe grounds for execution and inviting the wrath of god upon all Vytarians.
Relax, he tells them.
It’s you or us, they say.
I can explain, he tells them.
Don’t bother, they say.
The line goes dead. The Heretic figures he’s got about a handful of weeks before The Chosen arrive to dish out their justice, so he flees to a neighboring star system. While there, he realizes The Chosen were never aiming for him– only his life’s work. A meteor is propelled into the surface of the earth, and the moment it impacts the planet becomes fire. Six trillion lifeforms scream in momentary agony before turning to ash.
The Heretic weeps.
_________________________________________________________________________
Years pass.
Then centuries.
These turn to millenia, and millenia become eons, and the Heretic decides to risk returning to earth. He wants to find closure for the loss of his creation. He wants to pay his respects. But when he arrives, his sorrow becomes hope. Life, it seems, has survived.
More than that, it has thrived.
Yet this life isn’t the same that he set out to create. No, this life is the biological progeny of tiny balls of fur he created to feed his prototypes. They’re what you and I might call mammals. Except some of these mammals are impressive– they have large brains, opposable thumbs, and what’s more, they look a bit like you and I.
They’re humans. Among the first.
The Heretic is fascinated by these humans. He recognizes they possess complex intelligence, sentience, and a strong sense of adaptability. He observes them as they form social groups, watches as they create the ghosts of language.
Yes, he thinks. This is it. These lifeforms will inherit the universe, and in doing so, immortalize the Vytar in their memories.
But a problem remains. The Chosen.
If they discover the earth is teeming with life, then they’ll circle back and finish the job. This time, they won’t pull punches. The planet will become an asteroid field, and all of its life will be red mist upon the floating rocks.
But what to do?
How to keep humanity alive, to shield it from the overwhelming might of the Vytarian military? It seemed impossible. Equations run through the Heretic’s mind, scenarios infest his thoughts and in not a single one can he fathom succeeding. He has but one spacecraft. No weapons to speak of.
And it occurs to him.
Humans are hardy creatures– adaptable. Given time, they will evolve to reach parity with the Vytarians. Then, their superior numbers could compensate for any gaps in technology. But such a plan hinges upon them getting up to speed, ascending to an evolutionary singularity in which their gains become exponential. He cannot afford to wait millions of years when The Chosen could discover him any day.
No, he’ll need to interfere. Spike the gene pool. Rig the results. He’ll need to give humanity more than a push, he’ll need to throw it down the damn stairs if they have any hope of surviving.
But there’s a way.
Yes, there’s always a way.
He devises a solution called Project Runaway.
It starts by creating a new lifeform. It’s aesthetically identical to a human male, but it’s born from the genetic harvest of thousands of his peers. Each strand of his DNA will be carefully selected for, prioritizing the potential for runaway evolution. Then, these strands will be spliced with Vytarian genes. Not much, but enough to access fragments of the shared memory– the Collective Recall. This will allow the man to gain intuitive understanding of billions of years worth of wisdom. It’ll permit him to think faster. Adapt more quickly.
Then, as this man spreads his genes through the population, his progeny will inherit his DNA. They’ll evolve quicker. Think faster. This is how it works.
This is how humanity inherits the universe.
_________________________________________________________________________
“Watch your step,” Lisa says, stepping into the UAP.
I follow her inside. For a moment, I’m blinded by the glare of industrial work-lamps. Then my senses are assaulted by a cacophony of sound and movement. We’ve entered a hive of activity. Crowds of people buzz around us, some in biohazard suits, others in military camo.
Where we are is a large circular chamber, one surrounded by dark corridors leading to other locations of the ship. Right now, teams are taping those entrances up with plastic wrap. Other teams are setting up perimeters, hanging pieces of paper above archways labeled A through Z.
“You alright, Mitchell?”
“What?”
“Are you alright?” Lisa says, and she’s got her arms folded. She’s looking at me like she thinks I’m about to become her newest headache, maybe piss myself all over the deck.
“I’m fine,” I tell her, forcing a smile. “It’s just a lot to take in, you know? Never been in an alien spaceship before.”
“Sure,” she says, lifting an eyebrow. “Join the club. We’re heading down corridor D to find somebody named Major Luca– I was talking to her a few seconds before you showed up. She said she’s got something to show me. Something big.”
“Spare me the suspense, Lis. What are we after?”
“From the sounds of it? Bodies.”
“Bodies?” I say. “Like those corpses you mentioned, the ones in vats?”
“Not quite. According to Luca, these bodies aren’t exactly… Well, they’re not human. Probably.” She punches my arm, gives me a cheeky smirk. “Relax, Mitchell. The Major confirmed they’re already dead– nothing to be scared of. Let’s go.”
She leads us down the corridor labeled D, and every step I take is worse than the last.
My heart is flying. It’s pounding a million beats a minute. I put on my best poker face, nodding along as Lisa briefs me on the UAP, but internally I’m having a breakdown. It’s taking everything I have not to hyperventilate. The further we get into the spacecraft, the more I’m wondering how much of my dreams were dreams.
The more I wonder if all I am is just some clone with a badge.
“What did the bodies look like?” I ask, clearing my throat. “Did these aliens have scales, and tails…and sort of look like lizards?”
Lisa laughs. “No idea. Luca didn’t give me much of a description, but I’d bet money they were little green men. It’d go with the whole flying saucer motif, don’t you think?”
“Yeah,” I swallow. “Suppose it would.”
She chatters on. This, that, something else. Apparently they’ve got an ironclad alibi to deal with the journalists, something banal enough to keep them far away from the crash site. But I’m too deep in my own thoughts to register what is. I’m too deep remembering all the awful aspects of the dream that wasn’t supposed to be real. I’m remembering him.
The Runaway.
And the more I remember, the more I wish I could forget.
____________________________________________________
The first time the Runway opens his eyes, he’s twenty years old.
He’s laying naked in the jungle, the sun scorching his skin with ultraviolet rays. He sits up. He has no instructions. No guidance. This world is entirely new to him, utterly foreign and in his stomach flutters the first ghosts of adrenaline.
From the outer ring of Saturn, the Heretic watches.
The Runaway rises to his feet. He takes his first shaking, trembling step and stumbles into the grass. He groans. Pain. A new sensation. He gets back up, tries again. It’s harder than it looks, walking when you’ve never done it before, but eventually he gets the picture. For him, it gets easier by the second.
After only an hour, he’s running through the ferns. Climbing trees. And his stomach is screaming.
Food.
He must find food.
But what to eat?
By his third hour alive, the Runaway has learned to forage. By his sixth, he’s consumed enough poisonous berries to floor an elephant, and is writhing on the ground. The poison burns his stomach. It makes his tongue swell and his skin glisten with sweat, but as the seconds become minutes, the agony fades to pain fades to healing.
His body is adapting. His digestive systems are hardening themselves against the poison, and soon, the Runaway rises back to his feet.
Evolution has begun.
As the sun sets, the Runaway collects wild game from crude traps. He has begun subconsciously tapping into the Collective Recall, intuitively teaching himself to skin animals, to make fires, to cook flesh for taste and health.
He is learning.
As the week comes to a close, the Runaway is surrounded. A pack of wolves has been hounding him for days, and now they’ve come to deal with this trespasser upon their territory. They circle him. Their teeth gnash, saliva leaking from their jaws. In their throats is a growl, a threat of death, but the Runaway has learned to handle his fear. Now, it serves him.
His muscles tense. His hands flex in and out of fists, and his eyes follow the beasts as they pad the ground. The large one, he thinks. The large wolf will engage, and the rest will follow. But he doesn’t give it time– he dashes forward, faster than even the wolves can react, and he brings his fist down upon the skull of the largest. The animal is stunned. Dazed. He follows up by grabbing its jaws, and pulling with all of his might.
The other wolves flee. They yelp and they scream as their champion falls to the dirt, dead.
The Runaway dresses himself in its hide.
At the end of the month, the Runaway has evolved to the point he barely needs to eat. Twenty calories a day serve him all that he needs. A handful of berries, and he can operate at peak mental and physical capability. By the close of his second month, he no longer needs to breathe. He fishes hundreds of meters below the surface, fighting off sharks for choice morsels swimming in the deep.
On the anniversary of his birth, the Heretic observes that the Runaway no longer ages. His DNA suffers no damage each time it splits. He has become biologically immortal.
After five years, he transcends humanity. The Runaway is now capable of perceiving individual atoms, and by the sixth year of his life, he can manipulate them. Matter becomes his plaything. The laws of physics become little more than suggestions, and so if he wants to fly, then he does. If he wants to reach into the minds of living creatures, he does that too.
The Runaway has become the most powerful lifeform to ever live. But the Heretic is not concerned.
No, he sees what his creation is. He sees that this anomaly, this Runaway is kind. Empathetic. With each passing year his interest in violence wanes. Before long, the Runaway cuts himself off from humanity altogether, unable to stomach their wonton savagery and thirst for blood. Some have taken to worshiping him. Others, reviling.
To him, they are all the same. Misguided, fearful, and ruled by instincts he has learned to see beyond. These humans may as well be a separate species.
To find respite from this chaos, he meditates. Sometimes he does this at the bottom of the sea. Other times he does this atop high, wind-swept peaks. Anywhere his senses are sufficiently assailed to block out the madness of the world around him.
And it’s while meditating on one of these peaks that the Runaway begins looking to the stars. He wonders if there may be more out there.
Is it possible, he thinks aloud, that there are others like me?
Could I find a companion of my own?
And it’s while he’s pondering these thoughts, while he’s gazing into the deepness of space, that he finds something looking back at him. A lizard. Housed within a strange capsule, floating in the outer rings of a celestial body we know as Saturn.
It is the first time he and his maker lock eyes.
Weeks later, the Runaway’s breached the atmosphere of Earth. A month after that, he’s traversed the solar system and made it to the Heretic’s ship. He’s tapping on the hull. The Heretic welcomes him inside.
“Hello,” the Heretic says, in the ancient tongue of man.
The Runaway peers at him. “Hello…” he says slowly, but it is not in the ancient tongue of man. It is in the low bass of Vytarian. “Your language is… strange… but I believe I can master it. Who are you? Why have you been watching… me?”
The Heretic doesn’t see the point of mincing words. He comes clean about everything– after all, the Runaway is capable of looking into his thoughts. What’s the use of playing coy? He starts with the extinction of the Vytarian people, and ends with humanity’s role as inheritors of the universe, and the Runaway’s role in leading them there.
“Have you any questions?” the Heretic asks.
“Many,” the Runaway tells him. “Above all, why do you fear me?”
“I don’t,” the Heretic says.
“You do. I see it reflected in your thoughts.”
“The fear you see reflected in my thoughts,” the Heretic begins, speaking with careful deliberation, “... it does not belong to me. You are viewing fragments of the Collective Recall, a shared knowledge passed down by my people. You are viewing the beliefs of those of us who remain from the Old War– followers of the Way of the Chosen.”
“These followers,” The Runaway says, his expression twisting with shock and horror. “They think of me as a monster– an abomination!”
“Not exactly,” the Heretic tells him. “Strictly, they do not think of you at all. In order to protect my work, I cut myself off from the Collective sometime ago, so all you’re seeing are faint echoes of their dogma. To them, my work is blasphemy. But yes… I believe that should they learn of you, your vast capabilities would indeed frighten them. They would think you a monster.”
“And to you?” The Runaway asks. “What am I to you?”
The Heretic reaches toward the Runaway, claps his shoulder. He smiles in the human way. “I am a barren lifeform, ravaged by a virus that has stolen the hope of my people. I am unable to achieve my biological imperative. Reproduction is beyond me. You ask me what you are to me? You are my legacy.” He slowly, awkwardly performs the human ritual of embrace, wrapping his arms around the Runaway.
You are my son.
_________________________________________________________________________
I take a breath. It’s brief. Gasping. Gray is standing in front of me, his pupils pulsing, and I’m suddenly aware that his name isn’t Gray it’s Wor. He’s 70 million years old. Not only that, but so is his friend– and his name isn’t Teal, but Kez. They’re both devotees of the Way of the Chosen.
“Did you see?” Wor asks, and he’s no longer using his digital translator. After the thought transference it seems I can understand the Vytarian language, make sense of the various vibrations that previously just seemed like low bass.
“Yes,” I say, leaning forward. “But not everything.” I look up at Wor, and hit him with an accusatory glare. “There’s more to this story, isn’t there? What aren’t you telling me?”
Kez twists his neck to look at us. His pupils are blowing up and shrinking in quick succession– a reaction I now understand to mean I’m pissed. “You have seen enough, human. Prepare for genetic deconstruction and we will be done with this.”
“No!” I exclaim, and I’m surprised to hear my voice rumbling throughout the ship. It’s thunderous. I clear my throat. “No,” I say, and this time my voice is appropriately subdued. Vytarian is apparently a powerful language. “If you want me to jump into a vat and turn into… corpse chili or whatever, then you have to show me it’s worth it.”
The Vytar exchange glances. Wor’s pupils shrink– he’s nervous. Concerned. “To show you more may invite excess unease,” he says. “It was my hope that a brief glance at the history, the origin of everything could provide necessary closure to commence the harvest of your DNA.”
“Look,” I say. “I’ve seen a lot. I know that whatever genetic material you’re grabbing off people is a lot more useful if we’re agreeable. It’s like hunting an animal. Kill it scared, and the meat is tough. It’s a chemical thing– I get that, and I’m telling you that if you show me the rest, I’ll let you do what you need. I’ll play my part.”
“Invalid request,” Kez says. “Such knowledge is beyond your capacity to bear.”
I frown. “It’s him, isn’t it? The Runaway. It’s obvious he’s the source of your fear and this so-called mission to save humanity. Yeah. I might not have all the details, but just looking at your reactions– it’s gotta be. More than that, I can guess you haven’t had much luck dealing with him either.”
Wor and Kez don’t speak a word. Their expressions say everything I need to know.
“The way I figure it,” I continue, getting to my feet and taking a deep breath. “Is that I’m a human too. On some level, I’m like The Runaway, just less… well, terrifying. But maybe there’s something in those visions, something in the Runaway’s actions or his behaviors that only a human could make sense of. Ever think of that? I mean, what if I can help you catch something you’re missing? Isn’t that chance worth taking?”
The Vytar are quiet. They stare at one another for a long while, and their pupils explode in waves of emotion. Kez turns away. He lets out a gruff warble and throws up his arms, cursing Wor and me both.
“What’s his problem?” I ask.
Wor steps forward. He gingerly looks back to his companion, but Kez’s back is turned, hunched over the console in clear disagreement.
“Kez does not wish to harm your mind,” Wor says quietly. “Your story of your sister… this expiring human you call Hope, well, it has moved him. He fears that if I show you the rest of The Runaway’s story it will cause your mind to fracture, shattering your consciousness in such a way that it may not be repaired. There will be no perfect clone. Your sister will find no solace in her dying moments.”
I look at Kez, watch him tap at the console’s controls and I can’t help but feel guilty for judging him so harshly. At the end of the day, he was just looking out for my sister.
But, on the other hand, he also wants to turn me into DNA soup.
“This feels important,” I say to Wor, balling my hands into fists. “If this is really about the fate of humanity, the fate of everything– well, I think Hope would want me to do anything I could to help.” I plaster a weak smile onto my face, trying to hype myself up with fake confidence. “Besides, I can’t imagine it’s that bad, is it?”
Wor places his hands on my temples. Closes his eyes. “You’re right,” he tells me. “You cannot begin to imagine how bad it is.”
MORE

Hey everyone,
My father passed away a few years ago and I'm now technically the wali of my sister (I'm now the person who gives her away when she's married). Since my father's passing my sister has been in a relationship with a man who last year became her fiancé. They are both 24 years of age and I'm 27.
They're engaged but now they want to do a nikkah (islamic marriage) and Islam you should get married as soon as it's possible for them to do so. However, me and my mother are hugely concerned about their relationship as it can easily be described as "toxic".
She says she wants to marry him because he's a good guy and loves him. I'm trying really hard to be diplomatic and see it from her side but these issues are causing huge relationship problems between her and my mother and myself too by proxy as we live in the same household. Over their past 3 year relationship so far there have been some major issues between them that I'll list down below.

Lies about ethnicity

At the start of the relationship he lied to her about his ethnicity and his family background claiming his mother was born in Turkey and Italy. Additionally he lied about his mother's name and claimed she couldn't understand Urdu. The engagement last year was the first time our families met each other and we saw his mother for the first time where she was engaging with her husband and kids who are also Pakistani. My sister spoke to his mother during the engagement and to her embarrassment found out her name isn't what he said it was and she's not from where he said she was. She confronted him after the engagement and was heartbroken to find out he'd lied to her for 2+ years. It damaged her trust in him but she forgave him.

Hesitant to show his family

He was very hesitant to share much information about his family apart from those lies. He never showed my sister photos of his family and refused to tell her exactly where he lived. Eventually we met them in real life but we thought it was very suspicious at the start.

Arguments and disrespect

Overall they argue regularly and disrespect each other and our families. Today I found out that a while ago he disrespected her for not having a father. I asked her about this and she said he said this because she called him some names or they were having an argument but I'm still very disappointed as this is a very low blow since he's very aware that my sister's relationship with our dad was incredibly close and his death a few years ago was the worst time of her life.

Break ups pre-engagement

Before the engagement they used to argue regularly and break up several times a month over petty things like he wanted to go on holiday with his friends and it caused an argument between them. They blocked each other all over social media and on their phones when they argue or break up and they still do that now after engagement.

Behaviour

My sister tells me that he used to get into trouble when he was younger and had to move to 7 different schools during his childhood. In his adult age what we know about his behaviour is that he has to take medication for his mental health or he gets angry, he had a fight with/punched a policeman whilst on holiday and someone accidently scratched or bumped into his luxury car and so he spat on them. These are only the stories that we've been told.

Major break ups post-engagement

Now for the major breakups post engagement that we're aware of. The first one was about the mahr. He told her that we was going to only give her between £50 - £100 mahr. Which caused a major argument between them since the mahr is supposed to be used to support her in case of things like divorce. She found it very disrespectful and even called into question how much money he had. I'm not sure how long they broke up / blocked each other for.
Another major break up this year was about the legal marriage. He told her he refuses to a legal marriage in the UK and will only do a nikkah that wouldn't be recognised by UK law. My sister called him dodgy and suggested this is suspicious and this caused a huge argument between them both. I think he thinks she's just after his money or he wants to ensure that if they get divorced she's not entitled to anything. They blocked each other and didn't speak for over 2 months even after Ramadan and Eid - he didn't contact her or wish her or our family any blessings. They only got back in touch because my sister reached out to him on his birthday to wish him well and they got speaking again but suggested that he hadn't changed his mind. A few weeks later she told me that he changed his mind and is willing to have a legal marriage also.
The most recent break up I'm aware of she actually gave him back the engagement ring. She met up with him and gave him his ring back and various gifts he had bought her over the years. Apparently he was upset when she gave it back. They didn't speak for about a month until he sent my sister some flowers for her birthday.

Alleged finances

From the gifts he buys her, my sister suggests that he's rich as since she's been with him he's had multiple luxury vehicles. He's also changed his careers 3 or 4 times in the last few years. Currently he's apparently leasing apartments and putting them up on AirBnB. Apparently this is without the owner's permission too. We're based in the UK and if he's so wealthy through his businesses then he'd have some sort of limited company in his name. My sister claims that each apartment he puts up on AirBnB can raise him £3,000 in revenue per month. This is just one of his businesses though we're told. These sorts of figures would suggest he would have a company in his name. So either he's lying about how much he's earning, he's obtaining it illegally or he's not paying his taxes (since it would be a hugely unwise financial decision to make this amount of money and not do it through a limited company). This man would have to provide for my sister and her family inshallah and we're not sure about where his finances are coming from or if they're truly halal. The last thing we want is for him to get caught for some tax issues and have to pay a hefty fine or go to prison when they're married. Personally I think this is less on an issue and could be explained away by proving his income and finances.
---------------- The above information is based on what we've witnessed before our eyes and her own accounts. Everything bad we've heard about him has come from her own mouth and she's surprised that we take a negative view on him personally. The only thing we see is that he buys her nice shiny things from time to time so she's always going out with him and coming back with shopping bags.
She's yet to explain to me how this relationship will succeed in marriage without conflict and hasn't yet explained how he is of good character. Personally I believe they're both at fault and shouldn't be together. One personal thing he helped me with was he helped me sell my late father's car when he passed away. Apart from that and the engagement we haven't spoken much at all.
Me and my mother's thoughts are that if they're behaving like this whilst they're apart from each other then it's going to be much more intense and chaotic when they're in each other's faces 24/7. My sister gets annoyed very easily and is argumentative. It's okay when it's your close family but if you're a newly wed and you're fighting because you're grumpy that day then there will be major issues that could become violent.
Her reactions to me and my mother when we talk to her about this is that we never let her have anything she wants, she's going to marry him whether we like it or not and that we're just jealous of her relationship which is why we don't want her to be with him.
Her and my mother's relationship has been damaged and may only get worse unless this is sorted. My mother really doesn't like him based on his past behaviour, the break ups and how she's seen my sister react to arguments (smashing mirrors, throwing her phone at the walls, crying in the bathroom in the middle of the night).
Is there anything that is redeemable about this relationship?
My sister doesn't seem too mature and neither does he. She sends me a lot of videos on social media about toxic couples who have had issues and got through them and lived happily ever after. What can I do about this situation? I've tried to speak to her but she gets very emotional and angry which makes the situation worse. There's a lot of name calling and disrespect from her and she doesn't seem very rational. She also said that this situation (us not supporting her to get married to this guy) makes her want to end her life so I'm very concerned about her.
I've suggested that me and my sister go to a muslim therapist or mediator to discuss these problems in front of someone who can advise about this situation. I think she needs to hear from someone who isn't friends or family who already have a negative view of him and bias. That way she can't suggest they're just jealous or don't understand. I really need to help her as she thinks we're all against her and not actually helping her get out of a bad situation. I need to protect her and I'm hugely concerned about this.
I'm not sure what I can do next if the therapist or mediator suggests she shouldn't be in this relationship because she'll say that it's her life and her decision and that's the end of that. Any help or advise on how to deal with this difficult situation would be massively appreciated. Like I say I'm trying really hard to find anything good about the situation she's found herself in and be diplomatic but I'm struggling.
My late father wouldn't approve of this.
Thank you

Looking at diamonds for engagement ring. What do you all think of these two marquise diamonds?
https://www.ritani.com/products/1-58-carat-marquise-lab-diamond-very-good-cut-d-color-vvs2-clarity-igi-lg564365376-sku-d-8b7amwmq80
https://www.ritani.com/products/1-52-carat-marquise-lab-diamond-very-good-cut-d-color-vvs2-clarity-igi-lg579369522-sku-d-9e6zy1g5de

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Salam everyone,
My father passed away a few years ago and I'm now technically the wali of my sister. Since my father's passing my sister has been in a relationship with a man who last year became her fiancé. They are both 24 years of age and I'm 27.
They're engaged but now they want to do a nikkah and Islam you should get married as soon as it's possible for them to do so. However, me and my mother are hugely concerned about their relationship as it can easily be described as "toxic".
She says she wants to marry him because he's a good guy and loves him. I'm trying really hard to be diplomatic and see it from her side but these issues are causing huge relationship problems between her and my mother and myself too by proxy as we live in the same household. Over their past 3 year relationship so far there have been some major issues between them that I'll bullet point down below.
​

• At the start of the relationship he lied to her about his ethnicity and his family background claiming his mother was born in Turkey and Italy. Additionally he lied about his mother's name and claimed she couldn't understand Urdu. The engagement last year was the first time our families met each other and we saw his mother for the first time where she was engaging with her husband and kids who are also Pakistani. My sister spoke to his mother during the engagement and to her embarrassment found out her name isn't what he said it was and she's not from where he said she was. She confronted him after the engagement and was heartbroken to find out he'd lied to her for 2+ years. It damaged her trust in him but she forgave him.
• He was very hesitant to share much information about his family apart from those lies. He never showed my sister photos of his family and refused to tell her exactly where he lived. Eventually we met them in real life but we thought it was very suspicious at the start.
• Overall they argue regularly and disrespect each other and our families. Today I found out that a while ago he disrespected her for not having a father. I asked her about this and she said he said this because she called him some names or they were having an argument but I'm still very disappointed as this is a very low blow since he's very aware that my sister's relationship with our dad was incredibly close and his death a few years ago was the worst time of her life.
• Before the engagement they used to argue regularly and break up several times a month over petty things like he wanted to go on holiday with his friends and it caused an argument between them. They blocked each other all over social media and on their phones when they argue or break up and they still do that now after engagement.
• My sister tells me that he used to get into trouble when he was younger and had to move to 7 different schools during his childhood. In his adult age what we know about his behaviour is that he has to take medication for his mental health or he gets angry, he had a fight with/punched a policeman whilst on holiday and someone accidently scratched or bumped into his luxury car and so he spat on them. These are only the stories that we've been told.
• Now for the major breakups post engagement that we're aware of. The first one was about the mahr. He told her that we was going to only give her between £50 - £100 mahr. Which caused a major argument between them since the mahr is supposed to be used to support her in case of things like divorce. She found it very disrespectful and even called into question how much money he had. I'm not sure how long they broke up / blocked each other for.
• Another major break up this year was about the legal marriage. He told her he refuses to a legal marriage in the UK and will only do a nikkah that wouldn't be recognised by UK law. My sister called him dodgy and suggested this is suspicious and this caused a huge argument between them both. I think he thinks she's just after his money or he wants to ensure that if they get divorced she's not entitled to anything. They blocked each other and didn't speak for over 2 months even after Ramadan and Eid - he didn't contact her or wish her or our family any blessings. They only got back in touch because my sister reached out to him on his birthday to wish him well and they got speaking again but suggested that he hadn't changed his mind. A few weeks later she told me that he changed his mind and is willing to have a legal marriage also.
• The most recent break up I'm aware of she actually gave him back the engagement ring. She met up with him and gave him his ring back and various gifts he had bought her over the years. Apparently he was upset when she gave it back. They didn't speak for about a month until he sent my sister some flowers for her birthday.
• From the gifts he buys her, my sister suggests that he's rich as since she's been with him he's had multiple luxury vehicles. He's also changed his careers 3 or 4 times in the last few years. Currently he's apparently leasing apartments and putting them up on AirBnB. Apparently this is without the owner's permission too. We're based in the UK and if he's so wealthy through his businesses then he'd have some sort of limited company in his name. My sister claims that each apartment he puts up on AirBnB can raise him £3,000 in revenue per month. This is just one of his businesses though we're told. These sorts of figures would suggest he would have a company in his name. So either he's lying about how much he's earning, he's obtaining it illegally or he's not paying his taxes (since it would be a hugely unwise financial decision to make this amount of money and not do it through a limited company). This man would have to provide for my sister and her family inshallah and we're not sure about where his finances are coming from or if they're truly halal. The last thing we want is for him to get caught for some tax issues and have to pay a hefty fine or go to prison when they're married. Personally I think this is less on an issue and could be explained away by proving his income and finances.

The above information is based on what we've witnessed before our eyes and her own accounts. Everything bad we've heard about him has come from her own mouth and she's surprised that we take a negative view on him personally. The only thing we see is that he buys her nice shiny things from time to time so she's always going out with him and coming back with shopping bags.
She's yet to explain to me how this relationship will succeed in marriage without conflict and hasn't yet explained how he is of good character. Personally I believe they're both at fault and shouldn't be together. One personal thing he helped me with was he helped me sell my late father's car when he passed away. Apart from that and the engagement we haven't spoken much at all.
Me and my mother's thoughts are that if they're behaving like this whilst they're apart from each other then it's going to be much more intense and chaotic when they're in each other's faces 24/7. My sister gets annoyed very easily and is argumentative. It's okay when it's your close family but if you're a newly wed and you're fighting because you're grumpy that day then there will be major issues that could become violent.
Her reactions to me and my mother when we talk to her about this is that we never let her have anything she wants, she's going to marry him whether we like it or not and that we're just jealous of her relationship which is why we don't want her to be with him.
Her and my mother's relationship has been damaged and may only get worse unless this is sorted. My mother really doesn't like him based on his past behaviour, the break ups and how she's seen my sister react to arguments (smashing mirrors, throwing her phone at the walls, crying in the bathroom in the middle of the night).
Is there anything that is redeemable about this relationship?
My sister doesn't seem too mature and neither does he. She sends me a lot of videos on social media about toxic couples who have had issues and got through them and lived happily ever after.
What can I do about this situation? I've tried to speak to her but she gets very emotional and angry which makes the situation worse. There's a lot of name calling and disrespect from her and she doesn't seem very rational. She also said that this situation (us not supporting her to get married to this guy) makes her want to end her life so I'm very concerned about her.
I've suggested that me and my sister go to a muslim therapist or mediator to discuss these problems in front of someone who can advise about this situation. I think she needs to hear from someone who isn't friends or family who already have a negative view of him and bias. That way she can't suggest they're just jealous or don't understand. I really need to help her as she thinks we're all against her and not actually helping her get out of a bad situation. I need to protect her and I'm hugely concerned about this.
I'm not sure what I can do next if the therapist or mediator suggests she shouldn't be in this relationship because she'll say that it's her life and her decision and that's the end of that.
Any help or advise on how to deal with this difficult situation would be massively appreciated. Like I say I'm trying really hard to find anything good about the situation she's found herself in and be diplomatic but I'm struggling.
My late father wouldn't approve of this.
Thank you

Hi, quick question about insuring my engagement ring.
Should I be insuring against the price I paid for, or the insurance valuation that I was given?
The valuation is about 90% more than the price I paid, so impacts the cost of the insurance a fair bit…