TLDR: I felt that this 'seeing the future' spell with the roll to cast system helps the wizard player become more engaged with DnD because it's her unique spell, it gives her a tiny bit of 'Elven old race' flavour, it gives her more utility for her party (takes away her feeling of being not so useful atm), have her take more risks (magic casting is not guaranteed with the roll to cast system) and help her to think creatively in DnD (if the magic cast fails and what kind of outcomes she desires to see and thereafter strategize on). On my side, I can train to creatively storytell the outcomes while still being in control of the story, what I can and can't spoil and train to ad hoc decide and be more aware of when to let go and when to railroad story moments, and how to tell the wizard what she sees of the outcome. Mechanically, she can't force tip a storyline, but tactically and strategically she can prepare the party better for the outcome that is going to happen within the hour.
One of my 5 players [we are all DnD first timers] wanted a future foretelling spell for her lvl 3 elven wizard PC to help the party in strategizing next (combat) conflicts. She wanted to see slivers of the future e.g. during her meditations or alike. I kept in memory that she finds her lvl 3 wizard PC too weak at the moment and wants to help her party more in her unique ways. I noticed she is a strategic minded person.
First, I told her that 'Foresight' is a lvl 9 spell so I could not give her that yet. Right after I did feel each PC should be allowed to have something unique to them if the player wanted to customize their character more to their liking. Especially because they're using pre-written LMoP PC's. I thought that would help the new player become more engaged with the RPG element of DnD. Rather than saying straight 'No', it would be a Mulligan's 'Yes, but...'. So here's the lvl 4 divination spell, initially suggested by ChatGPT, then tweaked for our PC, our party and adventure. This is my first homebrew spell. Feel free to use it or be inspired to do the same or something similar to enhance your DnD/TTRPG sessions.
[Note that we use 'House DM's' Roll to Cast system: basically DC 10 + lvl spell. DC+1 per cast At higher levels. Roll d20 + prof. bonus + spell casting modifier for the spellcast check. On failure, the spell cannot be used until a long rest. It can be forced with blood damage. The system uses 1 dmg per missing point + long rest after. [[I kind feel this is too lenient at higher PC levels?]] Cantrips cannot be cast at higher levels. We use this system because our players felt the DnD magic system is too tedious and complicated. I like this system because it introduces uncertainty and forces the players to be more creative/flexible when things don't go as planned.]
Augury of Foresight Level 4 divination
Casting time: 2 actions [Notice: 2 actions, meaning she has to wait a turn in combat, or get Action Surge. This allows me to create tension by having monsters target her and attempt to intervene if it made sense. Also nerfs the spell, but still allows her to use it in combat without abusing it] Range: Self Required: S, V, M (divination tool min. 25gp worth, e.g. a magic hand mirror, crystal ball or what you and the DM decide on) Duration: concentration, 10 min.
With your divination tool, you can tap into your divination powers to see the imminent future. You concentrate up to 10 min. on the outcome of a single hypothetical decision or unintervened event that happens within the next hour. Roll (or DM rolls) a d20 to see or feel slivers of the outcome: 15 - 20 (positive) 6 - 14 (positive and negative) 1 - 5 (negative) The outcome is what would happen if the decision or event you concentrate on would happen, if it was not intervened. [For instance, "I want to use Augury of Foresight to see if barging into the seemingly abandoned castle would alert any guards."]. The DM describes what, how and how much you see of this outcome in conjunction with your divination tool. You can prematurely stop using the spell.
At higher levels: you can choose to cast at higher level to gain a more accurate reading. [E.g. at DC 14 success she saw that silhouettes were running in a dark room. At DC 16 success, she would've also seen that they were bug bears.]
I also told her that this is the only spell I will give her for free to use from now on. Even though she is a lvl short. It's her customized special ability to alleviate her current issues and to inforce her DnD mindset. She will have to find, copy, research (lvl up or narratively) or buy spells (scrolls) hereafter as per usual.
So, how do we deal with storylines that are supposed to happen but the outcome contradicts? Well, let's say the wizard successfully uses the spell to DC 14 to see what would've happened if their bard tried to seduce a dragon. The DM can say that the wizard feels entertained or scared but less in danger, or sees slivers of the dragon smirking with its big sharp teeth uncovered. The dragon can still initiate combat or whatever the DM planned for, maybe it takes a bit more narrative talk. It's the same as the DM having the power to not allow a 'nat' 20 become a sausage party. Realizing this power, snap call decision making and creative story telling is something I felt I need to train on and this spell helps me with it when it comes up.
Let me know what you think or how you would improve, change this spell and how you think it would or would not fit in your world and your party. And what cost you would mandate to force a spell cast with blood magic? I feel it should be more like 1/4 or 1/2 hp?

Hello guys,
after some exchange of opinions I've learnt that it doesn't really matter how much money you pay for a headphone as long as the source you are powering them with is crap.
The last couple of weeks I thought that I could just use a cheap DAC/amp combo and then it will be alright but it looks like that this is not the case.
I have a very old PC with outdated hardware which means no matter what headphone I am buying it will sound shit. And I don't really know if I am able to upgrade to a better one in the distant future.
Because of that I came to the conclusion that it's probably better to buy a relative cheap headphone. I just wanted to ask if some older Sony models are fine because I heard they are not so bad or if there are better options? I mainly listen to metalcore, deathcore, japanese rock and some stuff like Sleep Token, Dayseeker and sometimes even stuff from Celldweller or Blue Stahli for example.
Initially I was probably going for the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X or the upcoming Audeze MM-100 if they turn out to be good for the music I am listening to but I don't see any reason to pay 250€ or even almost 500€ for the Audeze if I will be upset listening to them because my powering source is shit. So probably something within 100-150€ maximum would be better I guess.
AKG will be a no go. The K371 has a poor build quality from what I have read and I don't want to buy every 2 years or so new headphones. They should last for many years.
And if it's important for suggestions: I'm from Europe.
​
Thanks for your advice.

I Moved back to Cleveland after being gone for a few years and stopped at Riverwood for some wings and noticed the place is so much cleaner and things have been updated. The place was always a shithole but had some charm to it. I wonder if they have a new owner that actually gives a crap on how the place looks. For anyone how has never been there you need to try it out. The drinks are cheap and food is really good for bar food and they have some of the prettiest bartenders in the area. If you are into the whole gay rights thing than you may not want to go there, this is one bar that really doesnt support that kind of thing. other than that it seems like a pretty cool laid back place.

Kashin Koji (Ascension 1-2) [CV: Seto Asami]
Battle Start 1	Wonderful. Truly Wonderful.
Battle Start 2	Aah...I can smell the scent of life.
Battle Start 3	If that is your command, I'll act at once.
Battle Start 4	Now then, I'll help myself to your life─────
Skill 1	Slaughter mechanisms ready.
Skill 2	Let's kill them.
Skill 3	I am...
Skill 4	Yes, it will be done regardless of form.
Skill 5	My eyes are good.
Skill 6	Can you see my left eye?
Skill 7	Ufu, ufufufufufufu.
Command Card Selected 1	Is it needed to go easy on them?
Command Card Selected 2	Yes?
Command Card Selected 3	Ye~s.
Noble Phantasm Card Selected 1	Now then, let us show off.
Noble Phantasm Card Selected 2	It is a little embarrassing...
Noble Phantasm Card Selected 3	Parallel activation of all annihilation armament.
Noble Phantasm Card Selected 4	Mine demonic nature, mine Mystic Eyes─────
Attack 1	First, hands.
Attack 2	Deploying arm section armaments.
Attack 3	Blade.
Attack 4	I'm cutting them down.
Attack 5	Flames!
Attack 6	Deploying leg section armaments.
Attack 7	Mine unorthodox arts.
Attack 8	How is it?
Attack 9	Kashin Armament, Hanging Spider Lantern.
Attack 10	BAAHーーー!!!
Attack 11	Ninja Arts, Spinning Top.
Attack 12	Fuuma Initiation.
Attack 13	Ninja Arts, Early-Summer Rain.
Attack 14	Heei!
Extra Attack 1	Let us kill people, both fictional and real...
Extra Attack 2	Good night, goodbye.
Extra Attack 3	Unorthodox Arts, Great Tsuchigumo.
Extra Attack 4	My left eye─────!
Noble Phantasm 1	Activating Mystic Eyes, Parallel Activation of All Kashin Armaments. Extermination─────extermination, extermination, extermination─────! "Unorthodox Karakuri - Ferocious Force"!! ─────I'll have the head of the enemy, please.
Noble Phantasm 2	With a brilliant crimson eye opened wide, the husk of steel blossoms. Now, please prepare yourself. "Unorthodox Karakuri - Ferocious Force"!! ─────I helped myself to that head of yours.
Noble Phantasm 3	Come, O brilliant crimson demon. Let's build our origin in steel. Look, this is mine body, mine form! Engrave it in your eyes and fall into the underworld! ─────Apologies for the forbidden technique.
Noble Phantasm 4	Come, O brilliant crimson demon. Let's build our origin in steel. Look, this is mine body, mine form! Engrave it in your eyes and fall into the underworld! "Evil Wind Death Slash"!! ─────Apologies for the forbidden technique.
Damage 1	Uaaaaaah!?
Damage 2	Is that so.
Damage 3	Aah, it hurts...
Damage 4	This sure stings.
Defeat 1	Field of vision defective, visibility poor...I, can't, see.
Defeat 2	Functions, shutting down.
Defeat 3	I can still...move.
Defeat 4	Aah...my left eye feels...hot.
Victory 1	It was very wonderful, you know?
Victory 2	And so it ends. How was it, Master?
Victory 3	Just a minute, I'll go collect it. Here you go.
Victory 4	The scent of life has disappeared, hasn't it.
Level up 1	That's, dangerous, you know?
Level up 2	Thank you for the meal. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle)
Level up 3	Aah, my features are being expanded. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle)
Ascension 1	I tried increasing the amount of armoring, but...it suits me? Then it's fine.
Ascension 2	There is no change in the form, but the performance has increased. Isn't that enough?
Bond level 1	Yes, I am Kashin Koji. An insignificant user of unorthodox arts. Please, treat me as you see fit. Yes.
Bond level 2	I can use the techniques of the shinobi as well. If you so desire, I can go hunting for the heads of the enemy so please give me your orders without reservation, alright?
Bond level 3	Person or mechanical puppet, just which one do you think I am, Master? ...Who knows, which one could I be? I may be neither of the two.
Bond level 4	My body, most of my flesh, has been turned into that of a mechanical puppet. My bones are all machinery. My heart, my lungs, the inside of my skull. Except for a few remnants, the only thing that has clearly retained its form is probably this left eye of mine. Even if I were to lose all of my memories, I couldn't throw away this brilliant crimson eye.
Bond level 5	Are you aware, Master? According to the old legends, a brilliant crimson eye is the mark of one's demonic nature. In that case, I am...ah...Huh? I don't have to say it? I see. ...I, see.
Bond level 5	Apologies for the inconvenience I caused you back then. And thank you. You all overlooked my selfishness. I want to repay Chaldea's kindness. Please, order anything you want from me. For example...I can exchange any part of your body for that of a mechanical puppet, you know?
Dialogue 1	Somehow, I miss the five elements. ...You do not understand? To be specific, I want to breathe the outside air.
Dialogue 2	If you give me your orders, regardless of time, place, or form, I can...
Dialogue 3	Master is my new master. Aah, actually, how many masters did I have before you...?
Dialogue 4	Yes, I am Kashin Koji. An insignificant user of unorthodox arts...Danzou has asked about that name before? Is that so, I see, I see. Do as you see fit, yes. (If you have Katou Danzou and Kashin is at least Bond 1)
Dialogue 5	Monk-sama, may I have a moment of your time? ─────I'll never forgive you bastard so keep that in mind. (If you have Ashiya Douman)
Dialogue 6	My, oh my, what a spectacle. It's a puppet, it's a wonderful mechanical puppet. Disassemble, let's disassemble it right now! ─────Eh, we can't? ...Sigh. (If you have any of the following: Frankenstein, Tametomo, Nezha, Valkyries, Babbage, Okuni, Lu Bu, Xiang Yu, Galatea, Mecha Eli-chan, Mecha Eli-chan MkII)
Dialogue 7	My, oh my, these personages are knowledgeable about the intricacies of machinery; how splendid, aah, how wonderful. By all means, I would love to create new machinery with everyone here. I do not mind if you disassemble and remodel my body to your hearts' content so by all means do so! ...Oh? Why are you making that put-off expression? ...Huh? (If you have any of the following: Tesla, Da Vinci, Babbage, Edison, QSH)
Dialogue 8	Aah...what a beautiful personage. Archetype: Earth-dono...when I see her, I feel something. What could it be...also, aah...those crimson-colored eyes... (If you have Archetype: Earth)
Dialogue 9	The representative of unorthodox arts users would be, yes, Abe no Seimei-sama. Aah...he is an object of respect to me. ...Umm...Tamamo-no-Mae-dono. Just why is she making such a disgusted face? (If you have Tamamo-no-Mae)
Dialogue 10	Usually, I have a hard time, connecting my facial expressions, to my emotions.
Dialogue 11	During the festival with Sitonai-san, I could adjust it plenty, so my facial expressions and emotions, are connected. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle)
Dialogue 12	Danzou, Danzou. Come here. I will take a look at your condition. I will also give you some remodeling. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle, if you have Katou Danzou)
Dialogue 13	Aah...Fifth Head-sama. Fuuma Kotarou-sama... Danzou carried out her duty...I'm glad, I'm so glad. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle, if you have Fuuma Kotarou)
Dialogue 14	Kotarou-dono, Kotarou-dono. Let me give you some steamed buns. Here, they are steamed buns, you know? P-p-please, by all means, call me Grandma...eh, you won't? depressed...Eh, you will? smile (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle, if you have Fuuma Kotarou and Katou Danzou)
Likes	I like wonderful things. I like things that sparkle and shine so bright that they can fill my empty heart.
Likes (Bond 5)	I like wonderful things. I like things that sparkle and shine so bright that they can fill my empty heart. Danzou being together with Fifth Head-sama is truly just oh so dazzling... Gareth-dono's eyes are nice too. Voyager-dono is just...aah...aah, geez...
Dislike	There is nothing I dislike. I am being honest here, you know?
Dislike (Bond 5)	I am sure the one thing I hate is myself. So much that I can't stand being me. That has to be the reason I threw away everything like this...fufu.
Holy Grail	A cup that can grant any wish? I see so such a thing exists.
Holy Grail (Bond 5)	The Holy Grail...if I were to obtain such a thing... ...I'm joking. Yes, I have seen the records of that time. Still, Master, just to be safe, do not show me a Holy Grail, okay?
Event	Regardless of the destination, let us be off. This Kashin Koji will always do as you wish.
Birthday	I heard it was a joyous day today...it's your birthday? Wonderful, in that case, let us replace some of your body with steel. it's fine, it's fine, it will only be extremely painful. Let's add some special, powerful steel.
Summoning	My name is Kashin Koji. While this transient life persists, I will serve you. ─────Hereafter, treat me as you see fit.

Kashin Koji (Ascension 3) [CV: Seto Asami]
Battle Start 1	Please show me the brilliant and dazzling appearance of your life.
Battle Start 2	You look delicious.
Battle Start 3	Aah, what a nice smell.
Battle Start 4	I ask for permission to carry out your orders.
Skill 1	Phew...
Skill 2	Heave-ho.
Skill 3	Have we met somewhere?
Skill 4	Apologies for using unorthodox arts.
Skill 5	I can see, I can see─────
Skill 6	Fo~und it!
Skill 7	Aha, ahahahahahaha!
Command Card Selected 1	Of course!
Command Card Selected 2	Yes, yes.
Command Card Selected 3	Ye~s!
Noble Phantasm Selected 1	Standing by for the release of True Name.
Noble Phantasm Selected 2	Can you please not look at me?
Noble Phantasm Selected 3	It's only for a little bit.
Noble Phantasm Selected 4	You're quite greedy.
Attack 1	I'll catch you and kill you.
Attack 2	I won't let you escape, you know?
Attack 3	My sword has been drawn─────Yaah! [1]
Attack 4	Kashin Slashing Technique, Wisdom King.
Attack 5	Fuuma Rocket-assisted Projectile, Blaze!
Attack 6	Ufu, ahahahaHAHAHA!
Attack 7	Unorthodox Arts, Shadow Spider.
Attack 8	Apologies for striking from the shadows─────
Attack 9	Ninja Arts, Sunflower!
Attack 10	Uuu~~~...BAAHーーー!!
Attack 11	Byo~n.
Attack 12	Ninja Arts, August Thunder.
Attack 13	Ninja Arts, King Scorpion.
Attack 14	Dei! Hyah!
Extra Attack 1	Kashin Mystic Code, Great Spider Blaze!
Extra Attack 2	Kashin Cannon, shoot!
Extra Attack 3	Commencing High-Density Mana Projection.
Extra Attack 4	Apologies in case I scorch it!
Damage 1	Kyaaaaaah!?
Damage 2	Injured.
Damage 3	Damage...great...
Damage 4	I've long lost the ability to feel pain.
Defeat 1	Can't see...aah...I can't see...
Defeat 2	Master, please retreat.
Defeat 3	Am I...dying?
Defeat 4	Thank you...very much...
Victory 1	Aah, they have already disappeared.
Victory 2	Now then, thank you for the meal.
Victory 3	Slurp...just kidding. Ufufufu.
Victory 4	I have fulfilled your orders.
Ascension 3	I have shifted into my final form. If my legs get in the way, please, tell me, okay? I'll fold them up. mechanical noises
Ascension 4	I see, I see. You sure worked hard for the sake of an eccentric character like me. Could it be that...you intend to offer me 1, 2, 3, or 4 of those limbs of yours?

  Translator notes: Kashin's tone is like that of a robot or AI, but I had no idea how to give back that nuance in translation. Just picture GLaDOS talking to you, I guess.

Kashin Koji (Ascension 1-2) [CV: Seto Asami]
Battle Start 1	Wonderful. Truly Wonderful.
Battle Start 2	Aah...I can smell the scent of life.
Battle Start 3	If that is your command, I'll act at once.
Battle Start 4	Now then, I'll help myself to your life─────
Skill 1	Slaughter mechanisms ready.
Skill 2	Let's kill them.
Skill 3	I am...
Skill 4	Yes, it will be done regardless of form.
Skill 5	My eyes are good.
Skill 6	Can you see my left eye?
Skill 7	Ufu, ufufufufufufu.
Command Card Selected 1	Is it needed to go easy on them?
Command Card Selected 2	Yes?
Command Card Selected 3	Ye~s.
Noble Phantasm Card Selected 1	Now then, let us show off.
Noble Phantasm Card Selected 2	It is a little embarrassing...
Noble Phantasm Card Selected 3	Parallel activation of all annihilation armament.
Noble Phantasm Card Selected 4	Mine demonic nature, mine Mystic Eyes─────
Attack 1	First, hands.
Attack 2	Deploying arm section armaments.
Attack 3	Blade.
Attack 4	I'm cutting them down.
Attack 5	Flames!
Attack 6	Deploying leg section armaments.
Attack 7	Mine unorthodox arts.
Attack 8	How is it?
Attack 9	Kashin Armament, Hanging Spider Lantern.
Attack 10	BAAHーーー!!!
Attack 11	Ninja Arts, Spinning Top.
Attack 12	Fuuma Initiation.
Attack 13	Ninja Arts, Early-Summer Rain.
Attack 14	Heei!
Extra Attack 1	Let us kill people, both fictional and real...
Extra Attack 2	Good night, goodbye.
Extra Attack 3	Unorthodox Arts, Great Tsuchigumo.
Extra Attack 4	My left eye─────!
Noble Phantasm 1	Activating Mystic Eyes, Parallel Activation of All Kashin Armaments. Extermination─────extermination, extermination, extermination─────! "Unorthodox Karakuri - Ferocious Force"!! ─────I'll have the head of the enemy, please.
Noble Phantasm 2	With a brilliant crimson eye opened wide, the husk of steel blossoms. Now, please prepare yourself. "Unorthodox Karakuri - Ferocious Force"!! ─────I helped myself to that head of yours.
Noble Phantasm 3	Come, O brilliant crimson demon. Let's build our origin in steel. Look, this is mine body, mine form! Engrave it in your eyes and fall into the underworld! ─────Apologies for the forbidden technique.
Noble Phantasm 4	Come, O brilliant crimson demon. Let's build our origin in steel. Look, this is mine body, mine form! Engrave it in your eyes and fall into the underworld! "Evil Wind Death Slash"!! ─────Apologies for the forbidden technique.
Damage 1	Uaaaaaah!?
Damage 2	Is that so.
Damage 3	Aah, it hurts...
Damage 4	This sure stings.
Defeat 1	Field of vision defective, visibility poor...I, can't, see.
Defeat 2	Functions, shutting down.
Defeat 3	I can still...move.
Defeat 4	Aah...my left eye feels...hot.
Victory 1	It was very wonderful, you know?
Victory 2	And so it ends. How was it, Master?
Victory 3	Just a minute, I'll go collect it. Here you go.
Victory 4	The scent of life has disappeared, hasn't it.
Level up 1	That's, dangerous, you know?
Level up 2	Thank you for the meal. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle)
Level up 3	Aah, my features are being expanded. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle)
Ascension 1	I tried increasing the amount of armoring, but...it suits me? Then it's fine.
Ascension 2	There is no change in the form, but the performance has increased. Isn't that enough?
Bond level 1	Yes, I am Kashin Koji. An insignificant user of unorthodox arts. Please, treat me as you see fit. Yes.
Bond level 2	I can use the techniques of the shinobi as well. If you so desire, I can go hunting for the heads of the enemy so please give me your orders without reservation, alright?
Bond level 3	Person or mechanical puppet, just which one do you think I am, Master? ...Who knows, which one could I be? I may be neither of the two.
Bond level 4	My body, most of my flesh, has been turned into that of a mechanical puppet. My bones are all machinery. My heart, my lungs, the inside of my skull. Except for a few remnants, the only thing that has clearly retained its form is probably this left eye of mine. Even if I were to lose all of my memories, I couldn't throw away this brilliant crimson eye.
Bond level 5	Are you aware, Master? According to the old legends, a brilliant crimson eye is the mark of one's demonic nature. In that case, I am...ah...Huh? I don't have to say it? I see. ...I, see.
Bond level 5	Apologies for the inconvenience I caused you back then. And thank you. You all overlooked my selfishness. I want to repay Chaldea's kindness. Please, order anything you want from me. For example...I can exchange any part of your body for that of a mechanical puppet, you know?
Dialogue 1	Somehow, I miss the five elements. ...You do not understand? To be specific, I want to breathe the outside air.
Dialogue 2	If you give me your orders, regardless of time, place, or form, I can...
Dialogue 3	Master is my new master. Aah, actually, how many masters did I have before you...?
Dialogue 4	Yes, I am Kashin Koji. An insignificant user of unorthodox arts...Danzou has asked about that name before? Is that so, I see, I see. Do as you see fit, yes. (If you have Katou Danzou and Kashin is at least Bond 1)
Dialogue 5	Monk-sama, may I have a moment of your time? ─────I'll never forgive you bastard so keep that in mind. (If you have Ashiya Douman)
Dialogue 6	My, oh my, what a spectacle. It's a puppet, it's a wonderful mechanical puppet. Disassemble, let's disassemble it right now! ─────Eh, we can't? ...Sigh. (If you have any of the following: Frankenstein, Tametomo, Nezha, Valkyries, Babbage, Okuni, Lu Bu, Xiang Yu, Galatea, Mecha Eli-chan, Mecha Eli-chan MkII)
Dialogue 7	My, oh my, these personages are knowledgeable about the intricacies of machinery; how splendid, aah, how wonderful. By all means, I would love to create new machinery with everyone here. I do not mind if you disassemble and remodel my body to your hearts' content so by all means do so! ...Oh? Why are you making that put-off expression? ...Huh? (If you have any of the following: Tesla, Da Vinci, Babbage, Edison, QSH)
Dialogue 8	Aah...what a beautiful personage. Archetype: Earth-dono...when I see her, I feel something. What could it be...also, aah...those crimson-colored eyes... (If you have Archetype: Earth)
Dialogue 9	The representative of unorthodox arts users would be, yes, Abe no Seimei-sama. Aah...he is an object of respect to me. ...Umm...Tamamo-no-Mae-dono. Just why is she making such a disgusted face? (If you have Tamamo-no-Mae)
Dialogue 10	Usually, I have a hard time, connecting my facial expressions, to my emotions.
Dialogue 11	During the festival with Sitonai-san, I could adjust it plenty, so my facial expressions and emotions, are connected. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle)
Dialogue 12	Danzou, Danzou. Come here. I will take a look at your condition. I will also give you some remodeling. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle, if you have Katou Danzou)
Dialogue 13	Aah...Fifth Head-sama. Fuuma Kotarou-sama... Danzou carried out her duty...I'm glad, I'm so glad. (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle, if you have Fuuma Kotarou)
Dialogue 14	Kotarou-dono, Kotarou-dono. Let me give you some steamed buns. Here, they are steamed buns, you know? P-p-please, by all means, call me Grandma...eh, you won't? depressed...Eh, you will? smile (After clearing Winds and Clouds Karakuri Illya Castle, if you have Fuuma Kotarou and Katou Danzou)
Likes	I like wonderful things. I like things that sparkle and shine so bright that they can fill my empty heart.
Likes (Bond 5)	I like wonderful things. I like things that sparkle and shine so bright that they can fill my empty heart. Danzou being together with Fifth Head-sama is truly just oh so dazzling... Gareth-dono's eyes are nice too. Voyager-dono's just...aah...aah, geez...
Dislike	There is nothing I dislike. I am being honest here, you know?
Dislike (Bond 5)	I am sure the one thing I hate is myself. So much that I can't stand being me. That has to be the reason I threw away everything like this...fufu.
Holy Grail	A cup that can grant any wish? I see so such a thing exists.
Holy Grail (Bond 5)	The Holy Grail...if I were to obtain such a thing... ...I'm joking. Yes, I have seen the records of that time. Still, Master, just to be safe, do not show me a Holy Grail, okay?
Event	Regardless of the destination, let us be off. This Kashin Koji will always do as you wish.
Birthday	I heard it was a joyous day today...it's your birthday? Wonderful, in that case, let us replace some of your body with steel. it's fine, it's fine, it will only be extremely painful. Let's add some special, powerful steel.
Summoning	My name is Kashin Koji. While this transient life persists, I will serve you. ─────Hereafter, treat me as you see fit.

Kashin Koji (Ascension 3) [CV: Seto Asami]
Battle Start 1	Please show me the brilliant and dazzling appearance of your life.
Battle Start 2	You look delicious.
Battle Start 3	Aah, what a nice smell.
Battle Start 4	I ask for permission to carry out your orders.
Skill 1	Phew...
Skill 2	Heave-ho.
Skill 3	Have we met somewhere?
Skill 4	Apologies for using unorthodox arts.
Skill 5	I can see, I can see─────
Skill 6	Fo~und it!
Skill 7	Aha, ahahahahahaha!
Command Card Selected 1	Of course!
Command Card Selected 2	Yes, yes.
Command Card Selected 3	Ye~s!
Noble Phantasm Selected 1	Standing by for the release of True Name.
Noble Phantasm Selected 2	Can you please not look at me?
Noble Phantasm Selected 3	It's only for a little bit.
Noble Phantasm Selected 4	You're quite greedy.
Attack 1	I'll catch you and kill you.
Attack 2	I won't let you escape, you know?
Attack 3	My sword has been drawn─────Yaah! [1]
Attack 4	Kashin Slashing Technique, Wisdom King.
Attack 5	Fuuma Rocket-assisted Projectile, Blaze!
Attack 6	Ufu, ahahahaHAHAHA!
Attack 7	Unorthodox Arts, Shadow Spider.
Attack 8	Apologies for striking from the shadows─────
Attack 9	Ninja Arts, Sunflower!
Attack 10	Uuu~~~...BAAHーーー!!
Attack 11	Byo~n.
Attack 12	Ninja Arts, August Thunder.
Attack 13	Ninja Arts, King Scorpion.
Attack 14	Dei! Hyah!
Extra Attack 1	Kashin Mystic Code, Great Spider Blaze!
Extra Attack 2	Kashin Cannon, shoot!
Extra Attack 3	Commencing High-Density Mana Projection.
Extra Attack 4	Apologies in case I scorch it!
Damage 1	Kyaaaaaah!?
Damage 2	Injured.
Damage 3	Damage...great...
Damage 4	I've long lost the ability to feel pain.
Defeat 1	Can't see...aah...I can't see...
Defeat 2	Master, please retreat.
Defeat 3	Am I...dying?
Defeat 4	Thank you...very much...
Victory 1	Aah, they have already disappeared.
Victory 2	Now then, thank you for the meal.
Victory 3	Slurp...just kidding. Ufufufu.
Victory 4	I have fulfilled your orders.
Ascension 3	I have shifted into my final form. If my legs get in the way, please, tell me, okay? I'll fold them up. mechanical noises
Ascension 4	I see, I see. You sure worked hard for the sake of an eccentric character like me. Could it be that...you intend to offer me 1, 2, 3, or 4 of those limbs of yours?

  Translator notes: Kashin's tone is like that of a robot or AI, but I had no idea how to give back that nuance in translation. Just picture GLaDOS talking to you, I guess.

First let's talk about some of the good things.

• Pre-Release launch day was mostly free of server issues. Awesome job.
  
• Graphics look great. Spell/ability effects look fantastic. Weather, liquid, and shadow effects are amazing.
  
• Voice acting has been top notch.
  
• All gear is easier to manage in inventory.
  
• Customization and naming for characters is pretty darn nice.
  
• World building lore wise has been fantastic. Tree of whispers anyone?
  

Now, the negatives...

• Gem Pouch. Not needed, but would have been a massive quality of life enhancement.
  
• Micro transactions. Retail game cost isn't cheap. Cosmetics are honestly very expensive for what they are. This feels worse because much of the world drop loot looks pretty awful, almost encouraging purchases to look decent.
  
• Ending felt very weak and unsatisfying (personal opinion).
  
• Character interactions are limited, and thus the characters depth feels artificial due to limited visibility outside of major cutscenes.
  
• Combat feels slow and grindy. Gather resource, spend resource. Spenders cost a lot, for mediocrity, generators feel weak in both damage and generation.
  
• Side quests don't feel meaningful. Rewards are meh, and while they add slightly to world building, they're easily skipped without missing much.
  
• Modern QOL improvements found in competitors are lacking here. Loot pick-up pets, gem pouches, etc.
  
• Loot quickly loses impactful feeling. Loot is thrown at you left and right to the point where you're sorting through garbage to find a needle in a haystack. This is genre specific, and I feel like D4 had the chance to change up the formula into something more meaningful.
  
• Character never feel powerful. They gain skills, upgrade them, and constantly get new loot, yet you never feel that power fantasy of growing and being able to smite things easily. I feel like this is a major downside.
  

Overall the game fits well within the genre, and will have fans, however I don't believe it's the epitome of the genre itself due to lacking modern features and didn't add or change the formula in any meaningful way.
The live-service/microtransaction greed feels immersion breaking to the point of annoyance at both the game and the publisher, especially with cash shop prices and odd numbered costs compared to buying options.
D4 really doesn't innovate or revigorate the genre, it just adds itself to the genre as another contender rather than a premium option (outside of the price). It's not a bad game, it's just not a fantastic game. In my personal opinion I'm disappointed with the end result given the amount of time we waited since the last entry. Blizzard went with the safe choice, while still cashing in on double dipping retail prices and high cash shop prices. If D4 was an ice cream flavor, it'd be vanilla.

Briefly speaking, I am looking for some advice for my current life situation. I want to include some backstory which may help with advice, so it may be a bit of a read.
TLDR at the bottom.
BACKSTORY:
To save the sob story, I (22M) moved out when I was 19 due to family hardship and thinking it would be better for my development and establish some independence.
I was still in post secondary at the time so for the next 3 years I was able to bounce around from my girlfriends place and then into my own spot with roommates. This is where I’ve been the last 2 years. My family ended moving hours away back to their home town to rekindle with the majority of my family. After a couple years of moving out they offered me to move there if I needed it, but this would be at the cost of my network where I’m from and forcing my girlfriend into a rough situation.
Financial stability was never really a problem until January this year. I graduated college about a year ago, and decided to bridge into a degree program as I only achieved a diploma in college. My thought process was since it was in the health sciences field, academia is influential to opportunity.
Decided to give it a shot even though I had to commute an hour out 4x/ week as I couldn’t afford to live out there (big city and Canadian living in Ontario, if you know you know) and the place I was staying was pretty cheap so in comparison, I’d pay the difference in my commute.
Fast forward through a semester, my mental health was shot, extremely burnt out, sleeping like shit, stopped going to the gym and barely eating for about 6 months. At the time I was working part time, enrolled in full time studies and living off my part time income + scholarship. I never really budgeted my finances but always got the bills paid on time.
I quickly started to fall behind in my courses and by the end of the first semester, I barely passed. I was ready to attempt a second semester and take some time off work to focus on my studies. With my scholarship instalments, I was fortunate enough to be able to handle about a month off work financially speaking, to start the new semester off strong and in a better mental state.
Everything was set and then come the beginning of the next semester, I received an abrupt notice that I was being flunked out of my program due to my poor academic performance. I was unaware I had to maintain a certain average to progress in the program, which is my own fault. As a result, this had terminated my scholarship and suddenly I had to find a way to make ends meet; my part time job was not going to cut it. This took me by surprise and shifted my focus in life into survival mode.
For the month I was off work (the unpaid leave had already been in place before receiving notice of being kicked out of school) I had enough money to get by for that month while searching for full time work and regathering my mental health.
During this time, I had a few interviews but by the end of the month I had not landed a full-time opportunity so I decided to go back to my part time job while continuing to search. This was February of 2023.
I was applying to a plethora of jobs, most even not industry-related to my college education. Reluctantly, I only landed a job where my qualifications aligned. It was a personal training job at a corporate fitness facility, which is where my passion lies in fitness + health.
If you know anything about a personal training career, the money does not come quick. You have to establish your book of clients before it can be financially fruitful and this calls for many long days, unpaid hours volunteering your time to sell personal training and ultimately make your mark.
This can take months to start making consistent coin at a steady premium rate but fitness is something I am really passionate about teaching. I knew it would be risky but it was the only option in front of me to potentially make more money and the rate was pretty good IF you can establish yourself to work a full-time schedule.
I’ve been at this job for just over 3 months. I’ve slowly built up a decent client base, but it barely makes ends meet most of the months I’ve been working here and I have debt to pay off from student loans and credit cards.
When I’m working with clients to improve their quality of life by helping them reach their goals with my expertise, it is truly a great feeling. What I’m struggling with is the instability of income and that brings me a ton of stress.
I could have a decently full week scheduled but after some cancellations or rescheduling/what have you, it can turn that around quickly which means less income. This grindy process to build my calendar month to month doesn’t allow me to get ahead whatsoever financially and one unexpected expense could throw me into more debt or falling behind on bills.
Recently I started applying to labour jobs that will give a set amount of hours which will allow me to have some predictability with my finances and create more financial stability; so your typical 9-5.
I have a few interviews lined up, just to explore some opportunity. But now my debate is between less financial stability and more fulfilling work which is where I’m at right now, or a less fulfilling job with more financial stability.
THE VERDICT:
Everyone always says to choose a job you enjoy instead of chasing a pay check, and I feel like I’ll be going against that even though it might be necessary as my finances are struggling which brings me a lot of stress. I’m talking about barely being able to put food on the table right now type of struggling so riding it out brings more risk and unknown to my finances.
I’m torn to make the decision of leaving my job and possibly regretting it. I know it makes me feel a sense of purpose more than a labour job would and the management is pretty great and supportive for success, all while still pushing quotas and hours goals for my position so a bit of corporate stress too. But the nature of the job to get the ball rolling while taking financial impact is weighing on my mental and finances pretty heavily for the last few months. Some weeks are great, others I have a ton of stress and self-doubt.
I feel like if I had a nice financial cushion going into this PT thing, I would have far less worries about staying afloat and could stop living with a sense of scarcity so I could focus on refining my skills and enjoying the process. I want to make sure I’m not missing the mark on life even though money is an obvious need right now.
If I can’t make something happen for myself, I’m forced to move with family and start over. This will bring me less stress in terms of responsibility until I can get back on my feet, at the cost of my relationships (friends/gf) in the city I’ve grown up.
​
Based on my situation, what would you do?
Looking for constructive advice, or if you can speak from any similar experience it would be insightful.
Love to hear outside perspectives. If you took the time to read this, I appreciate you.
TLDR; if you were financially struggling, would you choose a job that brings you personal/meaningful fulfillment with less financial stability? Or is choosing a steady paying job that’s less fulfilling outside of finances missing the mark on life?

Not technically for a girl gamer but I hope it's ok anyway.
When my son got his PC, we made sure the core components were good but left plenty of room for upgrades on other things.
Since then, some upgrades have been made but he still has a really cheap and simple mouse and after borrowing a better one for a while during a move when everything was chaos, he's now less happy with his own.
Now his 15th birthday is coming up and I figured a new mouse could be a nice gift. His keyboard is Corsair so it would be nice if the mouse is too, to be able to sync the backlight with the same software (assuming that is possible for Corsair?), but even then, there is so much to choose from.
He's left-handed but still uses his right hand for the mouse, and plays lots of different games in different genres.
I don't want it to be wireless.
Would be grateful for suggestions/recommendations. When I bought my own, I just walked around in the store and tried them and found one for $30 that I liked and that was a long time ago, and isn't an option for a gift anyway. And the one he borrowed is also old, and from a set with keyboard and headset.

Cheap part recommendations and general build help are welcome (though you might want to consider using /bapccanada or /buildapc first). Don't post limited time deals in here.
Be sure to check out the previous threads for previously answered/unanswered questions.
Bought something recently? Had a Good/Bad experience with a retailer? Write a Review!

Title correction: stability relating to finances
Briefly speaking, I am looking for some advice for my current life situation. I want to include some backstory which may help with advice, so it may be a bit of a read.
TLDR at the bottom.
BACKSTORY:
To save the sob story, I (22M) moved out when I was 19 due to family hardship and thinking it would be better for my development and establish some independence.
I was still in post secondary at the time so for the next 3 years I was able to bounce around from my girlfriends place and then into my own spot with roommates. This is where I’ve been the last 2 years. My family ended moving hours away back to their home town to rekindle with the majority of my family. After a couple years of moving out they offered me to move there if I needed it, but this would be at the cost of my network where I’m from and forcing my girlfriend into a rough situation.
Financial stability was never really a problem until January this year. I graduated college about a year ago, and decided to bridge into a degree program as I only achieved a diploma in college. My thought process was since it was in the health sciences field, academia is influential to opportunity.
Decided to give it a shot even though I had to commute an hour out 4x/ week as I couldn’t afford to live out there (big city and Canadian living in Ontario, if you know you know) and the place I was staying was pretty cheap so in comparison, I’d pay the difference in my commute.
Fast forward through a semester, my mental health was shot, extremely burnt out, sleeping like shit, stopped going to the gym and barely eating for about 6 months. At the time I was working part time, enrolled in full time studies and living off my part time income + scholarship. I never really budgeted my finances but always got the bills paid on time.
I quickly started to fall behind in my courses and by the end of the first semester, I barely passed. I was ready to attempt a second semester and take some time off work to focus on my studies. With my scholarship instalments, I was fortunate enough to be able to handle about a month off work financially speaking, to start the new semester off strong and in a better mental state.
Everything was set and then come the beginning of the next semester, I received an abrupt notice that I was being flunked out of my program due to my poor academic performance. I was unaware I had to maintain a certain average to progress in the program, which is my own fault. As a result, this had terminated my scholarship and suddenly I had to find a way to make ends meet; my part time job was not going to cut it. This took me by surprise and shifted my focus in life into survival mode.
For the month I was off work (the unpaid leave had already been in place before receiving notice of being kicked out of school) I had enough money to get by for that month while searching for full time work and regathering my mental health.
During this time, I had a few interviews but by the end of the month I had not landed a full-time opportunity so I decided to go back to my part time job while continuing to search. This was February of 2023.
I was applying to a plethora of jobs, most even not industry-related to my college education. Reluctantly, I only landed a job where my qualifications aligned. It was a personal training job at a corporate fitness facility, which is where my passion lies in fitness + health.
If you know anything about a personal training career, the money does not come quick. You have to establish your book of clients before it can be financially fruitful and this calls for many long days, unpaid hours volunteering your time to sell personal training and ultimately make your mark.
This can take months to start making consistent coin at a steady premium rate but fitness is something I am really passionate about teaching. I knew it would be risky but it was the only option in front of me to potentially make more money and the rate was pretty good IF you can establish yourself to work a full-time schedule.
I’ve been at this job for just over 3 months. I’ve slowly built up a decent client base, but it barely makes ends meet most of the months I’ve been working here and I have debt to pay off from student loans and credit cards.
When I’m working with clients to improve their quality of life by helping them reach their goals with my expertise, it is truly a great feeling. What I’m struggling with is the instability of income and that brings me a ton of stress.
I could have a decently full week scheduled but after some cancellations or rescheduling/what have you, it can turn that around quickly which means less income. This grindy process to build my calendar month to month doesn’t allow me to get ahead whatsoever financially and one unexpected expense could throw me into more debt or falling behind on bills.
Recently I started applying to labour jobs that will give a set amount of hours which will allow me to have some predictability with my finances and create more financial stability; so your typical 9-5.
I have a few interviews lined up, just to explore some opportunity. But now my debate is between less financial stability and more fulfilling work which is where I’m at right now, or a less fulfilling job with more financial stability.
THE VERDICT:
Everyone always says to choose a job you enjoy instead of chasing a pay check, and I feel like I’ll be going against that even though it might be necessary as my finances are struggling which brings me a lot of stress. I’m talking about barely being able to put food on the table right now type of struggling so riding it out brings more risk and unknown to my finances.
I’m torn to make the decision of leaving my job and possibly regretting it. I know it makes me feel a sense of purpose more than a labour job would and the management is pretty great and supportive for success, all while still pushing quotas and hours goals for my position so a bit of corporate stress too. But the nature of the job to get the ball rolling while taking financial impact is weighing on my mental and finances pretty heavily for the last few months. Some weeks are great, others I have a ton of stress and self-doubt.
I feel like if I had a nice financial cushion going into this PT thing, I would have far less worries about staying afloat and could stop living with a sense of scarcity so I could focus on refining my skills. I want to make sure I’m not missing the mark on life even though money is an obvious need right now.
If I can’t make something happen for myself, I’m forced to move with family and start over. This will bring me less stress in terms of responsibility until I can get back on my feet, at the cost of my relationships (friends/gf) in the city I’ve grown up.
Based on my situation, what would you do?
Looking for constructive advice, or if you can speak from any similar experience it would be insightful.
Love to hear outside perspectives. If you took the time to read this, I appreciate you.
TLDR; if you were financially struggling, would you choose a job that brings you personal/meaningful fulfillment with less financial stability? Or is choosing a steady paying job that’s less fulfilling outside of finances missing the mark on life?

At Royal Rumble 2023, Asuka returned after a brief hiatus, sporting a deranged look reminiscent of her days as Kana. And since that point, the Empress of Tomorrow has solidified her powerful aura, winning the Elimination Chamber match and avenging her disappointing loss to Bianca at WrestleMania 39 by dethroning the EST at Night Of Champions. And while Asuka has been Raw Women’s Champion before, this time feels…different…
Monday Night Raw (5/29/23):
Following Night of Champions with the crowning of Asuka, it would appear the landscape of the women’s division has changed. While some individuals are surely eager to go after singles gold, this isn’t initially the case for the Way. In a backstage interview with Byron Saxton, Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell express their desire to go after the Women’s Tag Team Titles, only to be interrupted by the lunatic duo of Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville. Deville tries to get under the skin of the pairing, particularly LeRae, mocking her struggles to get victories as of late. However, Candice retorts that Sonya and Chelsea haven’t done anything either, their only actual success as a duo being making Adam Pearce question his own sanity. After a few more moments of bickering, Green tries to slap LeRae, but Hartwell blocks it for her, shoving Chelsea to the ground. Sonya shoves Indi back, and Candice in-turn attacks Deville, forcing several officials to have to separate things.
This results in a singles match later in the evening between Deville and LeRae, with Sonya trying to make an example out of the “Poison Pixie”. It’s a fairly back-and-forth encounter, with LeRae starting the match off hot, but Sonya is able to adapt, using her MMA background to her advantage with increasingly strong shots. However, as Sonya gains control, her emotions also start to fluctuate a bit. Rather than just go for the win at points, she decides to inflict further damage, regularly targeting the right arm in particular with a combination of stomps and armbars. However, the turning point of the match comes when Deville kneels down, once again looking to apply some type of submission hold…only for LeRae to transition it into the Garga-No Escape! While Sonya doesn’t submit, it gives her enough breathing room to mount a comeback, eventually hitting her signature springboard moonsault to finish things.
Candice LeRae def. Sonya Deville via pinfall
After the match, Candice and Indi take a moment to celebrate the win…BUT HERE COMES ASUKA! The Raw Women’s Champion is in the building, and she looks as maniacal as ever. She makes her way towards LeRae…and offers a handshake? Candice is definitely hesitant to accept, and for good reason, as when she starts moving her hand out…ASUKA HITS HER WITH A ROUNDHOUSE KICK! Indi tries to avenge her downed partner, but Asuka takes her out with a spinning backfist. The Empress moves back towards LeRae, staring at the injured right arm…AND SHE APPLIES A VICIOUS ARMBAR, SNAPPING IT IN THE PROCESS! Asuka eventually lets go, with Johnny Gargano and a medical official coming out to tend to LeRae while Adam Pearce wants to know what’s wrong with Asuka…to which she merely replies with a sinister smile…
Monday Night Raw (6/5/23):
About half-way through the show, Johnny Gargano comes to the ring, ready to give an update on his wife Candice LeRae. He says that while LeRae is unable to compete, it’s only for a short period of time, and the fracture to her arm was small enough as to where she won’t require surgery. However, Gargano also says that LeRae wanted him to pass along a message…which is why he’s calling out Asuka to the ring! On cue, the Empress comes out, looking at Johnny Wrestling with a curious look. Gargano says that once upon a time, he and his wife both had respect for Asuka’s accomplishments, especially her record-setting run in NXT. However, with the actions of last week, they no longer have those sentiments, and when LeRae returns from this set-back, she’s challenging you for that Raw Women’s Title! As Gargano says this, Asuka just begins giving a deranged laugh. No one in the arena knows what to make of this…until Asuka picks up a mic…to simply say…bye bye…
As Asuka makes her way to the ring apron, Gargano is left staring in confusion at what transpired…but suddenly, the lights go out! When they turn back on…a trio of masked men are destroying Johnny Wrestling! He tries to fight back, but he’s just overpowered, and left to be stomped on as Asuka just watches on from ringside, enjoying the carnage. The biggest of the three hits Gargano with a top rope splash, before what appears to be the leader hits…a wheelbarrow neckbreaker. As the individual hits this, Asuka comes back into the ring, standing alongside the figures. She whispers something to them, and they move their hand to the top of the masks, pulling them off to reveal…IT’S SAnitY! Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain are all back in WWE, and it appears they’ve aligned themselves with the Empress of Tomorrow. But the question left to be answered… Where is Nikki Cross in all of this?
Monday Night Raw (6/12/23):
In a backstage segment early in the show, the camera shows Nikki Cross backstage, alone and looking down, drowning in her own crazed thoughts…until Eric Young enters the shot. Cross raises her head, looking expressionless while a smile slowly creeps across the face of Young. He asks her…
“Won’t you join us?”
However, before Nikki can answer…HERE COMES JOHNNY GARGANO! He dives at Eric, looking to get revenge on one of the men who decimated him the week prior. He’s successful initially, but soon enough, Wolfe and Dain rush in, prying Johnny off Young and starting to beat him down. Luckily for Gargano, he came prepared, as he too has backup in the form of Dexter Lumis! SAnitY backs off as Dexter comes in with a steel chair, but not before Young mouths the words…This isn’t over…
Monday Night Raw (6/19/23): Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis vs. Eric Young and Killian Dain
With the tensions continuing to rise between the Way and SAnitY, it was inevitable they’d have to square off at some point, and Adam Pearce decides to see if a tag match can resolve this. The match starts off with Gargano and Young, Johnny Wrestling anxious to annihilate him while Young is more amused than scared. Johnny is able to get the upper hand initially, a superkick giving him the brief opportunity to then apply a Garga-No Escape. However, Killian Dain breaks up the hold by just hitting a Senton on Gargano’s back, a tactical maneuver to give Young the chance to gain control. However, Lumis enters the ring as well, grabbing Dain and trying to set him up for a side slam. However, Killian avoids it, and the pair move to the outside of the ring to brawl. By the end of the match, Gargano is weakened, but he’s still got the power of adrenaline on his side. He’s able to tag in for Lumis, getting in a flurry of offense against the big man Dain, including a pair of superkicks to knock him off his feet. However, as he goes for the One Final Beat, Young grabs his foot by the ring apron, preventing him from springboarding into the ring. Gargano’s able to kick him away, but when Johnny does go for the maneuver, Dain catches him, planting him in the center of the ring. He follows up on it with a splash from the top rope, with Young tagging in as he does so. And with Killian shoving Lumis off the apron, Young is able to hit the Wheelbarrow Neckbreaker to finish the match.
SAnitY def. Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis
After the match, Asuka makes her way to the ring, standing alongside SAnitY once again. She looks at the downed Gargano, now with a disgusted look on her face rather than an evil grin. She turns to Young, who nods and motions for Dain and Wolfe to pick Johnny up. But right before Asuka can seemingly hit him with the Mist…Here comes Nikki Cross! She rushes to the ring, sliding in and looking right at Asuka as she does so. Young walks up to her, asking her the question…
“Are you with us, Nikki?”
Cross stares at Young for a moment…then to Wolfe…then to Dain…then to Asuka. It’s to the Raw Women’s Champion that she gives the longest stare, Nikki’s eyes slowly growing wider and her expression becoming more intense. And with that, she mutters just a few words…
“You hurt my friends…she hurt my best friend… now she will pay.”
And with that, Cross dives onto Asuka, unleashing a flurry of strikes and catching everyone in the ring by surprise. However, Young pries Nikki off of the Empress, to which Cross responds by starting to attack him! However, it’s short lived, as Asuka runs up behind Nikki and drops her with a roundhouse kick. She quickly gets her locked in a crossface chickenwing as well, Nikki unable to escape and ultimately passing out. Before she fades, she’s left to only see the disappointed looks on the face of the SAnitY members…”You made the wrong choice Nikki”. But the attention soon shifts back to Gargano and Lumis now. They’ve slowly risen to their feet, and Gargano, looking directly at Young, demands another fight! Young sighs, seemingly bored at the prospect of SAnitY having to dismantle those two again…but it shall be done. However, before they can move in for the kill, we suddenly hear crashes echo throughout the arena. They happen for a few seconds, before the lights dim slightly. An unfamiliar melodic theme starts playing, sounding slightly reminiscent of that of a final boss, but as the lights turn back on, it changes back into the more recognizable song…
…NO ONE WILL SURVIVE! IT’S TOMMASO CIAMPA! After being on the shelf for months, he’s finally back, and as he gets into the ring, he looks at Johnny Gargano…there’s no shortage of history here. And while there’s a momentary tension as to what he’s gonna do, he sides with his former DIY partner, making it a more fair fight! Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the chance to lay into any of SAnitY, as they decide to make their exit, already having made a statement with the victory and assault on Asuka, nothing more needed to be done…tonight, at least.
Monday Night Raw (6/26/23): Indi Hartwell vs. Asuka - Non-Title Match
In her first match since beating Bianca at Night of Champions, Asuka looks to prove why she’s the champion. She starts off the match well, not letting Indi get any momentum by just rocking her with a series of kicks to the chest. After dragging Hartwell to the outside, Asuka begins going after the arm, slamming it several times into the ring post before deciding to inflict some pain to the skull with a tiger suplex. This momentarily causes the ref to check on her, potentially looking to end the match…but Asuka isn’t willing to let that happen. She gets Indi back in the ring, lining her up for a running hip attack…BUT HARTWELL TRANSITIONS IT INTO A GERMAN SUPLEX! Despite having just been on the ropes, Indi managed to use what she had left in the tank to take down Asuka, and as she gets to her feet, she feels the crowd surging behind her. She starts taking it to the Empress, getting her backed into the corner and landing a few solid chops. However, she gets a bit overzealous, trying to get Asuka on the top rope for a potential suplex attempt, only for the former Kana to kick her away and land a knee directly to the back of Indi’s neck. And with that, Asuka remains in the power position, eventually locking on the same Armbar that injured Candice LeRae and forcing Hartwell to tap or get snapped.
Asuka def. Indi Hartwell via submission
But before Asuka really has a chance to even get up…HERE COMES NIKKI CROSS! She runs out with a kendo stick, furious as to what transpired the week prior, and gets in a few shots on Asuka before Alexander Wolfe attempts to pry the weapon away. In response, Nikki shoves it into his gut, before hitting him with a swinging neckbreaker and sending a message to Asuka that she’s just as much of a force to be reckoned with. And it’s later announced that this match has been declared official for Money In the Bank: let’s see if these two dangerous competitors can live up to their classic from NXT…
Money In The Bank (7/1/23): Nikki Cross vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Despite not having a stipulation like their Last Woman Standing Match in 2017, the match is still intense from start-to-finish. Cross runs at Asuka immediately, getting in some shots with the elbow to the side of the face. Asuka is forced to a sitting position, allowing Nikki to gather some steam from running along the ropes before landing a kick to Asuka’s jaw! Unfortunately for Cross, her frenzied nature ends up backfiring, as when the action shifts to the outside, Asuka dodges a running attack and sends Nikki nearly head first into the barricade! With Nikki instinctively grabbing her head after the missed maneuver, Asuka sees what to target, dragging Cross to the ring apron and repeatedly crushing her skull into the ring post. And as the action shifts back into the ring, it’s just more of the same, Asuka being momentarily hit by mini-bursts of offense, but the damage inflicted on the skull clearly affecting her. This is evidenced when Cross has Asuka lined up for the swinging neckbreaker, potentially able to get her the win…only to collapse before she can properly hit it. With that, Asuka is able to apply the Asuka Lock, and as happened a couple of weeks ago, Cross passes out in the hold.
Asuka def. Nikki Cross via submission pass-out to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
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On the Raw after Money in the Bank, Candice LeRae would make her return from injury, calling out Asuka for a match…only to learn she isn’t in the building. But she decides to still issue a challenge, saying that while she wanted the Raw Women’s Title initially…now it’s about more than that. Asuka took out Candice’s friends and family, and left her away from the ring for too long…now, she wants to beat Asuka for vengeance first, gold later. And later on, it’s confirmed that the match will be taking place when Asuka returns…except it’ll be for the title as well! Pearce claims that the decision is due to Asuka’s recent actions, as after all, letting someone try to break someone’s limb after a match with no repercussions is a pretty bad look. But while this choice of action would normally upset some superstars…it might just put a smile on Asuka’s face…
Monday Night Raw (7/10/23): Candice LeRae vs. Asuka
Before making her entrance, Candice LeRae gets herself prepared with the rest of the Way, with Nikki Cross sitting in a corner nearby as well. Indi tells her to be cautious…Asuka’s a very dangerous competitor. LeRae of course knows this, but she’s caught off-guard by some words of wisdom from Nikki several feet away:
“Destroy her.”
Candice looks at Nikki, who’s staring back at her with something in her eyes…A look of needing something… wanting Candice to kill the Empress. LeRae nods, and she heads out to the ring, more confident than ever…And she truly gives it her all. LeRae’s strategy is simple: prevent Asuka from using her signature kicks. And for most of the match, she executes on her plan, moving herself back whenever she senses a roundhouse coming and catching Asuka off-balance. However, this was never going to last, and once Asuka lands a kick to the gut, she’s able to gather steam. And while this doesn’t finish LeRae, the “Poison Pixie” even managing to hit a springboard moonsault AND lock in a Garga-No Escape at various points, Asuka eventually locks in an Armbar on the previously-injured limb that Candice can’t overcome.
Asuka def. Candice LeRae via submission to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
After the match, the rest of the Way comes out, helping Candice to her feet. As they do so, Asuka stares at them, and then begins…counting them? The Way and the commentary team are confused, but as Asuka only counts four people…a maniacal expression overtakes her. She starts walking quickly to the back, and a few moments later, it becomes clear what her intentions were…
As the Way walks backstage, they’re horrified to discover a brutalized Nikki Cross! They rush over to her, asking who did this…and to no one’s surprise, she says it was Asuka. However, it soon becomes clear to Gargano…Ciampa might be next! While Indi and Candice stay with Nikki, Johnny (and Dexter to a lesser extent) start rushing through the halls, trying to get to the right locker room…but it’s too late, as SAnitY and Asuka are seen moving away from it! While Lumis stands guard, Gargano rushes inside, and finds Ciampa not just taken out…but also sprayed by Asuka’s mist! Johnny rushes over, giving Tommaso a towel, but as Tommaso wipes the mist off his face…there appears to be a dark look in his eyes, something not seen in him since when he destroyed DIY…
Remaining Build To SummerSlam:
While Ciampa, Gargano, and Lumis keep their attention towards SAnitY for a bit, Asuka shifts away from LeRae, Hartwell, and Cross, having beaten all three after all. With an open mic, she begins giving one of her standard energetic promos, seemingly wanting to know who her next challenger is gonna be…even though no one is ready for Asuka. It’s not long before someone interrupts though…and it’s someone who Asuka has grown familiar with in 2023…It’s Bianca Belair! The EST remained off television for several weeks following Night of Champions, but now, she’s back and angrier than ever. Bianca grabs the mic straight out of Asuka’s hand, and cuts a quick promo:
“Asuka… you say no one’s ready for you. But you’re wrong… because I’ve ALWAYS been ready for you. I proved that at WrestleMania 39, when I beat you clean in the center of this ring. And what did you do? You had to use that mist, that cursed, blinding mist. And you know what? Congratulations, it got you the title, but not for long. Because I say we have ONE MORE MATCH. But I think it’s time to have a match where no excuses can be made, and there are no rules to be broken. Asuka… At SummerSlam…I challenge you to HELL… IN A CELL!”
The crowd are clearly in favor of this stipulation…And it appears Asuka is too! She starts nodding repeatedly, and Bianca just stares on with a prepared look, perhaps fazed in the past by Asuka’s personality traits but now just ready to finally vanquish her and get the Raw Women’s Title back in her possession. In the remaining weeks, Bianca competes multiple times, getting the ring rust off with multiple victories, while Asuka is content with sitting at ringside for both contests…studying her competition…
SummerSlam (8/5/23): Bianca Belair vs. Asuka (c) - Hell in a Cell Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
We’ve finally made it to the Biggest Party of the Summer, and what better of a place to host it than in Detroit at Ford Field (definitely no bias as a Lions fan)! Once both Asuka and Belair are locked in the cage, the match starts at a feverish place, Bianca hitting a strong shoulder tackle only for Asuka to respond with a spinning backfist a few moments later! As the dust settles on the first fifteen seconds, the competitors look at each other, giving a momentary smirk and scoff apiece before continuing with the action. Bianca showcases her power, getting the Empress lifted in the Gorilla Press position and just hurling her at the cell wall! The several-foot fall to the floor certainly adds to the blow, and Bianca continues the assault outside the ring, slamming Asuka’s head repeatedly into the cage! However, she decides to look under the ring for a weapon, a table quickly catching her eye. She pushes it into the ring, but makes the mistake of turning her back to Asuka while doing so, the former Kana grabbing her from behind and hitting a Tiger Suplex onto the floor!
With Asuka now the lone woman standing, she follows up Bianca’s decision to look under the ring, pulling out a kendo stick. She feels it around in her grasp, getting a good feel for the damage she’s about to inflict. Once Bianca groggily gets to her feet, Asuka just decimates her back, hitting the stick ten times in immediate succession! However, Bianca’s able to dodge an eleventh shot targeted towards the throat, pulling the kendo stick to her and snapping it in half! Asuka looks briefly stunned, but not before she gives a condescending set of claps. In response, Belair grabs her, picking her up for a powerbomb and sending Asuka’s back to connect with the ring apron! Bianca then drags Asuka into the ring, proceeding to set up a table and initially primed to hit a K.O.D. through it. However, Asuka grabs Bianca’s hair, weakening her grip momentarily and presenting an opportunity to escape. Upon doing so, Asuka roundhouse kicks Belair, before getting her positioned on the table, climbing to the top rope…AND HITS A SPLASH ON BIANCA RIGHT THROUGH IT! 1-2-KICKOUT!
Despite the table spot being unable to put away Bianca, Asuka appears unfazed. She exits the ring, bringing a pair of steel steps back into the squared circle. Asuka picks Belair up, seemingly trying to hit a brainbuster on it…But Belair dodges, landing backwards on the steps before turning around and hitting a mini-elevated Spear! This leaves both women down for a few moments, but Bianca rises to her feet first. She gets in some of her signature offense, including a spinebuster on the steel steps! However, her attempt at a K.O.D. on the steps doesn’t work in her favor, with Asuka once again avoiding it. And unfortunately for Belair, Asuka is able to hit her with a suplex on the steps, this being the key factor for the rest of the match-up. With Bianca’s power lessened a bit AND Asuka’s submission hold targeting the back, she faces a tall task, and is ultimately unable to overcome it, the Asuka Lock resulting in a pass-out.
Asuka def. Bianca Belair via submission pass-out to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
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After an impressive victory at SummerSlam, Asuka has definitely proven that she’s going to be difficult to beat. But soon enough, she finds herself confronted by a potentially harmful numbers game…
Monday Night Raw (8/7/23): Damage CTRL Promo
Despite recent events not going so well for Damage CTRL, with Dakota Kai tearing her ACL and neither Iyo Sky nor Bayley able to capture the Money in the Bank briefcase, they’re still determined to get momentum back on their side. Bayley makes the bold decision to call out Asuka, saying that if she were actually a fighting champion, she’d consider accepting a match for the title. Asuka comes out, grinning at Bayley trying to goad her into a title opportunity. Asuka looks at Bayley as just another poor soul to be destroyed, but Iyo…Iyo has potential. Asuka even tells Sky…”Bayley isn’t your friend…but I am…”
This seems to get in Iyo’s head, as she begins looking questioningly at Bayley, who attempts to diffuse the situation by just pointing out Asuka being a freak who gets in people’s heads. In response, Asuka kicks Bayley square in the gut, and when Iyo instinctively goes to fight, Asuka shakes her head…I don’t want to fight you… You don’t need to be part of this…
Remaining Build To Extreme Rules:
Over the coming weeks, Bayley becomes a little more sympathetic, her intentions appearing less out of pure arrogance and more about striving to win championship gold back and improve her honor. She goes on a winning streak, but when confronting Adam Pearce about getting a confirmed title shot, he says there’s one more person she has to beat…Iyo Sky.
At this same time, Iyo looks perturbed whenever she’s on television, still at Bayley’s side but signs pointing to her being less convinced than when Damage CTRL began. And after Bayley does defeat Iyo to earn the #1 Contendership, Sky is just left sitting in the ring, staring down at the mat whilst utterly disappointed. Bayley offers her a handshake, but Asuka stands at ringside, motioning her to come roll out of the ring and stand tall with her. In response, Iyo moves in neither woman’s direction, rolling out to the entrance ramp and walking away alone, uncertain of what her future holds.
But with Extreme Rules approaching, there must also be a stipulation, and after a set of assaults from Asuka leave Bayley staring at the lights, Bayley decides it’s in both of their best interest to settle on…A Last Woman Standing Match! Asuka can try to keep putting her down, but she’s gotten back up each time, and come the PPV…The reign of the Empress will be history.
Extreme Rules: Bayley vs. Asuka (c) - Last Woman Standing Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
In a rematch of their TakeOver: Dallas encounter, the feel of the match is similar to what it was several years ago. Bayley, despite having been around in WWE longer, is the underdog, looking to prove herself against a terrorizing monster who we’re unsure can truly be beaten. The action quickly spills out of the ring, with Bayley even managing to hit a quick Bayley-To-Belly Suplex. Unfortunately, Asuka gets up before even a count of 5, disturbing Bayley. The action spills into the crowd for a while, with Asuka suplexing Bayley on the staircase and the former “Hugger” sent tumbling down for a solid five seconds. But eventually, Bayley recaptures the momentum, finding a trash can with weapons and using a kendo stick to start wailing on Asuka. And as the action approaches a set-up table, Bayley is able to not just prop her up on it, but successfully hit an Elbow Drop from a ledge through it as well! Bayley gets up at a count of three, and while Asuka is left stunned by the move, she recovers at a count of 8, continuing the match-up.
From there, the match spills back closer to the ring, with Bayley putting Asuka in the ring before grabbing a table. She sets it up, but Asuka manages to recover in time to avoid a Bayley-To-Belly through it, instead tossing Bayley to the side momentarily before going at her with a running hip attack. Asuka keeps control for a bit, but as she looks to put Bayley through the table…Here comes Iyo Sky! She slowly walks to the ring, not attacking Asuka initially, but giving Bayley enough time to send Asuka off the top rope and to the floor. However, with the action back on the outside, Asuka looks to be a bit desperate, using her signature Mist to blind Bayley! After this happens, Iyo rushes over to Bayley to try and help…But Bayley shoves her down hard to the floor, thinking it was Asuka! Meanwhile, the real Asuka appears behind Bayley, dragging her back into the ring. Asuka decides to lock on the crossface chickenwing, attempting to pass out Bayley, but this seems to only increase the fire in her spirit, Bayley able to back her into a corner to break the hold. Bayley rubs her eyes, improving her vision, and she drags Asuka to the table, seemingly able to hit the Bayley-To-Belly through the table this time…
…BUT IYO HITS BAYLEY IN THE BACK WITH A STEEL CHAIR FROM OUT OF NOWHERE! Bayley falls to her knees, slowly turning around with a look of heartbreak and pain on her face. Iyo returns the look with an icy cold stare, before Asuka pops-up behind Bayley, applying the Asuka Lock to pass the former “Role Model” out. But given this requires a ten count for Bayley to be down, and Asuka wanting to see what Iyo can do…she motions to the table. Iyo nods, getting Bayley set-up, climbing to the top rope, and hitting a Moonsault, crushing Bayley’s ribs, her friendship, and her hopes of winning the match in one fell swoop.
Asuka def. Bayley via KO to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
After the match, Sky raises Asuka’s hand, signifying the start of an absolutely lethal new duo in WWE…
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With Iyo Sky now having made her allegiance clear, Asuka would appear set-up to remain dominating moving forward. However, the enemies she’s made over the past several months aren’t so quick to forget what transpired, which could potentially create problems…
Build To Survivor Series:
Despite having already made an impact to this point, Asuka and Iyo Sky aren’t just going to put away challengers…it’s time to take out everyone. After a singles win on Raw, Becky Lynch would be blindsided by Iyo, being laid out with several shots of the Steel Chair before a Moonsault to cap things off. The following week, Bayley expresses her dismay at being left alone, to which Asuka and Iyo interrupt, immediately kickstarting a brawl that would seem to favor them once again…Until out comes Becky Lynch! Despite having been bitter rivals earlier in the year, Becky makes the save for Bayley, the pair nodding at each other afterwards to signify a slight respect…We don’t have to like each other… but there’s a bigger threat to be stopped…
But soon enough, this action spills past just being a two-on-two situation. Zoey Stark, the former tag team partner of Iyo Sky in NXT, decides that Becky didn’t suffer enough during their rivalry after helping Trish at Night of Champions, and that it’s worth it for these veterans like her and Bayley to be ousted. Along with that, Asuka’s power and general craziness draws the interest of the Unholy Union known as Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, the pair pledging loyalty to The Empress and perfectly willing to destroy Becky and Bayley. However, there are several other competitors backstage sick of seeing Asuka gaining an army, with Bianca Belair and the Way coming to the save to help even the odds. And of course, after a brawl featuring all of these competitors, William Regal comes out briefly to make his patented announcement:
“WAR GAMES!”
To determine which team gets the advantage leading into Survivor Series, we get ourselves a strong match in Iyo Sky vs. Becky Lynch, really the catalyst of what’s led into a two-on-one situation into an upcoming 5v5 match inside a destructive steel structure. Becky more than holds their own, but Iyo Sky shines even brighter, a cheap shot by Stark eventually allowing Iyo to hit the Moonsault and give the “heels” the advantage.
Survivor Series: Bianca Belair, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nikki Cross, and Candice LeRae vs. Asuka, Iyo Sky, Zoey Stark, Alba Fyre, and Isla Dawn - War Games Match
Kicking off the match is Zoey Stark and Becky Lynch, with Becky initially successful in getting Zoey downed, but Isla Dawn coming in presents a problem. She’s initially able to hold her off, but a chop block by Zoey Stark and a subsequent attack of the leg leaves Becky in a rough spot. She’s able to get some assistance, with Nikki Cross coming in with a trash can lid and just whacking Zoey and Isla around with ease. However, Alba Fyre is next to come out, and upon seeing Cross staring her down from inside the cage, she grabs a kendo stick, ready to defend herself. While Nikki initially gets the advantage, Stark and Dawn are able to pull Nikki back, sending her into the steel cage repeatedly. Bianca coming in next is a game changer however, the EST taking control of the match-up and getting a slight breather while awaiting the fourth competitor…which is Asuka!
But as the rest of the field comes in, with Asuka being the last entrant for her team and Bayley for the opposite side, the action starts to get more and more intense. With all of the competitors brawling in one ring, Iyo sees the chance to hit a Moonsault from the top of the cage, wiping out everybody (including herself)! However, a table being brought into the mix benefits the bayfaces, Bayley hitting Fyre with a Bayley-To-Belly through it (she finally got to hit it… just not on Asuka). However, the ending sequence comes down to Asuka and Iyo on their feet against Bayley and Becky, back where it essentially first started…AND IT ENDS WITH IO HITTING A MOONSAULT ON BAYLEY! 1-2-3!
Team Asuka def. Team Becky via pinfall
Just like that, Iyo Sky has once again proved her worth, defeating her former stablemate to win the match for her team and cementing herself as a force to be moving forward. And though a fairly small shot, we can see Asuka glance over at Iyo, a slight frown on her face for a moment before moving back to stand with the rest of her team. What could that mean…
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Build To Royal Rumble:
Despite the result of the War Games Match, Becky Lynch isn’t through with either Asuka nor Iyo by a long shot. She fights off both of them over the coming weeks, along with picking up several singles victory, establishing herself as the next #1 Contender. And as Lynch points out, she and Asuka have history at Royal Rumble. Asuka beat her in singles action in 2019…before Lynch went on to win the Royal Rumble and headline Mania. But this isn’t about the Rumble match now…it’s time to put away the Empress.
As for Iyo, she also has a run of singles success, carrying a lot of momentum heading into the Royal Rumble Match. And soon, we learn that she requested training from one of the most respected female competitors in the locker room, a former NXT UK Champion…Meiko Satomura! While Satomura doesn’t intend to compete right away, she’s more than willing to help Iyo, with vignettes being shown of them together and Satomura even being at ringside for her matches. However, as this keeps happening, Asuka’s looks towards Iyo become more and more strained. Sky is abandoning me… after all I did for her… something’s going to change soon enough…
Royal Rumble: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Earlier in the night, Iyo Sky does indeed win the Royal Rumble match, punching her ticket to WrestleMania. This doesn’t seem to affect Asuka’s thoughts however, the Empress looking as ruthless and as calculated as ever en route to using an Armbar to submit Becky after a pretty back-and-forth encounter. And while Asuka proved herself the master of the Armbar between the pairing, Iyo Sky coming out with Meiko Satomura to acknowledge the title win seems to aggravate something in Asuka. Her grin has become a definite frown, and she stares an icy dagger through the pairing. Something isn’t right here…
Asuka def. Becky Lynch via submission to retain the Raw Women’s Title
Build To WrestleMania:
In a conversation between Meiko Satomura and Iyo Sky on an episode of Raw, Satomura asks if Sky would be willing to use her Rumble Victory position to challenge Asuka. Sky doesn’t look too convinced about doing that, which Satomura says is fine, but it’s advisable to weigh all her options. However, in the background, Asuka can be seen, carefully listening to the conversation.
A week later, Satomura addresses the WWE Universe. She’s made the announcement that she wants to have one last run before she retires, and wants to face some of the best names this women’s division has to offer…which is why she’s challenging Asuka for Elimination Chamber! Asuka comes out, her face paint being more red than usual…but while it looks like she’s having to contain herself, she shakes Satomura’s hand, seemingly paying respect to a legend.
Elimination Chamber: Meiko Satomura vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Unfortunately for Satomura, this retirement run of sorts looked to hit the ground before it could even get going. While she catches the Empress off guard at the beginning of the encounter, as time moves on, Asuka appears to be getting more and more angry. This comes to a boiling point when after one Tiger Suplex, Asuka hits another…then another…then another…then another! The ref pleads for Asuka to quit the assault, which she does…only to pull a Bryan Danielson and just start repeatedly kicking Satomura in the face! This goes on for disturbingly long, and when it’s become clear that Satomura is passed out, the ref calls for the bell, him having made the discretion for the match to end.
Asuka def. Meiko Satomura via ref stoppage
After the match, Iyo Sky rushes to the ring, checking on the woman who’s helped her out tremendously over the past couple of months. Asuka looks down at Iyo, a look of disgust on her face, before demanding to know who Sky is facing at WrestleMania. And it better be a specific answer…
Iyo Sky: “I… CHALLENGE… YOU!”
The crowd roar in approval, Asuka somehow shocked initially…until a smile comes across her face. I’m not surprised you made that choice…but unfortunately, it’s the wrong one...it’s a shame this has to happen Iyo…so much potential…
WrestleMania 40: Iyo Sky vs. Asuka (c) - Raw Women’s Championship
Despite that inner monologue running through Asuka’s head at Elimination Chamber, Sky proves why she’s not to be taken lightly. On the Grandest Stage of them All, Iyo just looks…better. Having been around Asuka for several months, she knows the mechanics of her offense, doing a good job at avoiding those signature kicks while also having the speed advantage. And at the end of the match, Sky proves herself superior over The Empress of Tomorrow, hitting the second Moonsault of the match to pin Asuka, and end a spectacular title run while opening a new chapter for another one.
Iyo Sky def. Asuka via pinfall to win the Raw Women’s Championship

I'm pretty sure that the majority of Barovian content creators have already seen some version of this list. I actually went back to update my original post of the list to discover that I never made my own post of it! I put together the first version of this list a couple of years ago. I'm pretty sure this is the most complete list of its kind anywhere: Alternate areas of Barovia that are commonly needed, besides the commonly published CoS specific battlemaps:
0) The (Dark) Carnival - nobody ever makes maps / assets for this, even though gobs of people always throw it in to their campaign, even though it's old as crap. I understand that there's a Carnival Realm in the new VRGtR book.. I'll probably never use the realm-carnival, but that's a second place the Dark Carnival maps/assets could be used. There are also a trio of third party Ravenloft carnival modules as well that they could be used in.
1) Battlemap sized maps of the towns. At LEAST a 5 foot per square / hex map for the tiger chase. (Obviously modern VTT platforms don't actually need the grid on the map. ;) )
2) Random shops, stables, blacksmiths and generic places the party is likely to go anyway.
3) Generic encounter locations.. country roads / rivers / bridges and combinations of the three. It sounds dumb because you can get generic encounter maps like that anywhere.. but it would be AWESOME to have matching Barovian roads and Svalitch woods on all of your encounter maps. Don't forget the specific crossroads with the gallows from CoS.. I don't recall if there were hanging cages mentioned, but you could throw in some PNG options for them.
4) A covered bridge, including the roof, deck and under views. (To tack on to the Headless Horseman add-in.) The Woodcutters hut as well.
5) Besides the Carnival, there are a few other old school modules that people like to bolt on to CoS (Adam, etc. etc.).
6) DragnaCarta, MandysMod and Pyram King have all developed alternate encounters and a handful of setting that might be able to use an alternate map here and there. (Orphanage.) In particular, I recall battles in/near the bogs, on mountain sides with/without roads and watch towers. Military and outfitter style tent interiors and exteriors and camps placed.. you know what? Make those camps be PNG assets that could be dropped in a bog, next to a river or on a mountain side as needed. ;) I recall Lunch Break Heroes making an encounter for Borgia/Borca, but I don't recall if they made any scenarios / encounters for Barovia. I got a special request for Beneath the Abbey.
7) The Interactive Tome of Strahd sends the party back in time and would be a PHENOMENAL set of maps to expand Barovia. Seriously, you could drop those on DMsGuild and make some bank. Some additionally pre-Strahd bright and shiny versions of the village of Barovia and other basic maps might be nice for some throw-back adventures.
8) Retro Castle Ravenloft.. Castle Ravenloft fully restored to its former glory! (Castle Barovia? I picture it as more of a walled garrison, looking like a giant stone bubble from a distance, but it did have at least one tower overlooking the cliff.) We know that the old pre-Strahd castle had multiple floors located in roughly the same place as Castle Ravenloft, but with significantly different floor plans, as the ghosts walk staircases and pass through doorways that don't exist anymore. :D (Important side-note: Strahd did not grow up in Castle Ravenloft. I believe that there is one (1) painting of him looking out over Yesterhill, through the mists at a vision of the castle he grew up in, but I don't think anyone has ever tackled it.)
9) The caverns and the alter area in and under the Pillarstone of Ravenloft (from Expedition to Ravenloft) are frequently added in to CoS. I've never seen a map of a hidden cavern entrance in the Svalitch woods, let alone a set of creepy Barovian caverns.. or the Castle side of the entrance, for that matter.
10) Around a decade ago, some weirdo drew an artistic image of Castle Ravenloft with the foundation bedrock rotted away under it. I'd like to see a detailed elevation map of the curtain wall and gatehouse with the bedrock still under the curtain wall, because that irritates me to no end. NOBODY would build a massive curtain wall on a questionable foundation. Reference Vlads actual castle (which is admittedly ten times smaller than Ravenloft) for a rather specific example of a (THE) castle built on the side of a cliff. As I recall, if looking at the gatehouse, the left side and back left corner of Vlads actual castle are protected by a cliff, and that's where the inspiration for Castle Ravenloft came from.
11)Speaking of elevation, at the other end of Castle Ravenloft are balconies and windows jutting out over the cliff. I'd love to see detailed maps of those areas, an 'ant sized' map of the Svalitch woods and Barovia as seen from the castle, and an elevation map of the cliff-side reaching from the Svalitch woods up past the windows and balconies to the Curtain wall. Parties occasionally decide to attempt to scale the cliff. Having a cliff and curtain wall that actually matches would be awesome.
12) Odd ball areas we never see. The druids must have huts or a village somewhere. The Roc must have a nest somewhere. The Mad Mage in Barovia has one of either a tower / cavern / pocket dimension somewhere. We could use Barovian flavored versions of all three. Oh, and the woods and encounters with said mage on the backside of the lake.. so a lake / forested area with spread out trees for players to run in terror or attempt to attack at range.. or whatever.
13) UNDER Lake Zarovich, there are a handful of generic encounters. There are also a few river monster encounters, generally near the Berez Swamp, could use a lair map and an underwater river encounter map, Barovia flavored. Speaking of Berez, I've never seen a detailed large scale swamp map for the Berez Swamp.. let alone the whole town being overrun by the swamp.
14) A proper Berez Swamp. A full sized swamp, with river banks, fields of cattail and reeds, murky backwaters, underwater groves of trees, and a couple of dozen oddly shaped islets and sandbanks.. a few dead logs.. not to mention a proper full sized assortment of Berez town ruins.
15) What's the village in the Adventurer's Guild Supplements?? Orasnou! There's a tiny village there (the size most people depict Berez as, because the CoS book doesn't describe the whole town of Berez properly). So that map is needed, along with.. 4 interior maps, if I recall? (Probably more, + a manor.) As well as an alternate werewolf lair and a few others, like a Barovian bluff, again if I recall off of the top of my head. I've had requests for the Gundarak villages Teufeldorf, Zeidenburg and Renika, as well as the other minor villages and..
16) The complete map of Barovia, post Grand Conjunction (done in standard modern style/graphics).
17) Various encounters have been depicted on Mount Baratok. Which would be a stark stone mountain, snowy and generally above the treeline, not like the hilly tree covered mountains where Argynvostholt and the Roc and etc. are located. I think a largish rocky encounter map of the mountainside would be the first needed. I (seem to) recall a three tiered monastery built on the side of a cliff, with a freshwater spring enclosed that would require an elevation map along with three small interioexterior maps showing the wooden stairs going up and down the cliff-side. I recall one encounter involving a lai small cave sized area.
18) Lots of people want Van Richtens magic shop and other stuff described in his escapades. We could also use a handful of Vistani Vardos and Camps. If I recall, there are only two described in the CoS book, but there are many more tribes of Vistani than that, and we're told that they move around frequently. If might be easier to provide PNG files for the vardos, outfitter tents and assets for a large scale camp. Come to think of it, there aren't a whole lot of tokens for those smallish horses they use either, so someone might whip up 10-12 smallish shaggy horses with unique patterns to show off. They don't care one ounce for a horses pedigree, and are more than happy to keep unique looking mongrel horses as their personal caravan animals. They use mountain horse stock when breeding their horses, so they would be a bit hairier and stockier then say an Arabian.. just scaled closer to a pony size. Donkey size! They're donkey sized horses. :D ..real donkey size, if I recall 5e has some weirdness going on with their official donkey/wagon sizes that makes no sense at all for Vardos sized horses and wagons like the Vistani would have.
19) The valley where the village of Barovia is located is described as a massive fertile farming area, yet we never see any medieval farms, ranches, graineries or farmers markets for Barovia. Definitely need a few of those. Barovian farmers and ranchers would SPECIFICALLY all have the buildings that (in the real world) later became fortifications, Thick werewolf proof walls and heavily barricaded doors everywhere. No window on the ground floor. Livestock was housed indoors, in enclosed courtyards with family areas wrapped around them, or with the animals on the ground floor and the family living above on the second floor. Horse stalls and farrowing areas would be fenced off within the area. Graineries would be large round wooden buildings with barricaded doors and sturdy out-buildings. 10 foot tall max, today's 4-5 story tall graineries are a modern invention. There would probably be a large stone community grainery far on the other side of the valley from the Village of Barovia. for that matter, there ought to be a functioning grainery or warehouse somewhere between the Village of Barovia and Bonegrinder. ALSO, if Bonegrinder is no longer being used as a mill, there would HAVE to be another windmill or waterwheel driven mill somewhere else in Barovia. Many artists have envisioned a water-wheel grainery on the River Ivlis near the Village of Barovia. Corn cribs would be on the second floor of a barn for drying grain, doubling up to dry bales of hay, not primarily as a hay loft. PNGs for 2-3 styles of fencing and gates, water troughs, and some medieval horse drawn plows and rakes would be nice. Dog kennels!! Every farm would probably have it's own horse pasture or rink with a training post, and a dog kennel or run for dogs to run during the day. You know those giant mastiffs that the Barovian nobles are so fond of? Yeah, the farmers in the fertile valley near Barovia would be the only ones rich enough to be able to afford to raise those pups for the nobles. Somewhere out here would be a medieval rancher set up to raise mastiff puppies with an assortment of full grown mastiffs. Mongrel pups or runts would be sold off to neighboring farms at a discount. Roaming wolves would stay FAR away from them, and werewolf packs would likely attack them for any reason at all (if they could find a way in to the basin). I picture a LARGE farmers market and stockyards just inside the River Ivlis bridge of the Valley of Barovia. We know that Barovia is a trade center.. so there MUST be one. The bridge would offer protection if needed, and it would be the closest place farmers and ranchers could set up to provide commerce with the other villages and domains and still have the protection of being inside the gates. Hmm.. they might have a dirt race track there for showing off horses going up for sale. Make that very probably, The Vistani/Romani are famous for defending their mountain horses at the drop of a hat. This would be the main place of commerce for farmers goods in Barovia. This is (the main area) where Vistani Caravans would import and export farm goods in to and out of Barovia.
20) There would absolutely be homestead (small) sized farms and ranches carved out up in mountain valleys or even on mountain sides facing south. In fact, a south facing mountain side might get enough sunlight to raise delicate crops, spices and herbs, whereas most of Barovia can't, due to the mists blocking the sunlight. Also, a couple of mountain pastures with matching rocks / trees bordering them would be nice. Honestly though, if you pass out some rock and tree assets that match the ones you already use, anybody could throw together their own mountain pastures, or even their own valley pastures. Rows of crops are hard to find though! You could easily have scenarios of wolves/werewolves hunting the party in a cornfield.. but there are no Barovian cornfield battlemaps. ACTUALLY, I don't think I have any battlemap sized crop assets, and I probably have the largest collection of map assets around. You could probably sell these farming assets/maps on DriveThruRPG and DMsGuild as well, I've never seen them anywhere. ..OR you might ask Forgotten Adventures or Tom Cartos to throw some together, whatever seems clever. :) I've been asked specifically to try to get Yaedrag (barbarian-esque village in the mountains that Dragna wrote up) made up.
21) Jenny Greenteeth's Hut.. perhaps a grove of her untainted trees from the Quivering Forest? (Also the Glumpen Swamp and Vanishing Hills, various locations within these.) I picture the Quivering Forest loaded with fruit and nut trees and songbirds fighting for real estate (the text mentions angry squirrels).. surrounded by classic Svalitch Woods half-dead spooky trees. ;) I recall seeing a couple of versions that roughly followed the description given in DDAL04, but they're just a hut, not the whole barrow surrounding her hut as described. Additionally, many artists have upscaled her hut to be a small trading post, and put it on wooden poles, swamp style (never seen a battlemap of it, though). Lots of room for creative renditions there. :)
22) Another thing that I haven't seen ANYBODY making is small abbeys. The hills and mountains of Barovia are said to be littered with small abbeys. ..some of them abandoned, some not.
23) Abandoned mansions and manors. Strahd massacred the noble families of Barovia for their involvement in his father's murder. There is one legend of a nobleman possessed by a demon that Strahd left alive, as a curse 'worse than death'. At any rate, there ought to be a handful of abandoned / haunted mansions and manors dotting the Barovian countryside for the party to stumble in to (or check out due to a hook dropped by an informative villager).
24) There are currently NO mines in the CoS version of Barovia.. bizarre for a mountain country. It would suit that some of those decimated noble families ran some mines that have since been abandoned. Of course, it wouldn't do to host your standard monsters in a Barovian mine. I'm thinking Lair of the White Worm. Something more horrifying than dungeoneering.
25) It's been mentioned that instead of murdering the losers from the werewolf trials, they might be shipped off to be slaves in a mine, or to a plantation in the swamp. The plantation would be stick construction, as you would expect in a swamp, they would collect tubers and reeds that grow in the swamp, not traditional plantation type crops.
26) The various Barovian villages NOT included on Schleys map of (Central) Barovia usually have a town sized map plotted out and published somewhere, but no really decent overview maps or battlemap sized maps of them exist. (This need might easily be filled by a couple of handfuls of generic Barovian village buildings, field-stone and dirt street assets, and sundry village constructions.
27) Besides the Gates of Barovia, there are supposed to be watch-towers dotting the landscape as well. An operational watchtower and a couple of partially ruined ones would be awesome.
​
Assets nobody has made like the Dark Carnival and lake/river encounters and the Mad Mages various lair options would be the most needed. I simply don't understand why EVERY CoS map developer doesn't provide matching roads, forests, rivers and generic shops with matching Barovian assets. The maps I mentioned which you could make money selling on DriveThruRPG and DMsGuild (to me) would just be silly NOT to make. ...Van Richtens magic shop is requested a LOT. When the party first enters Barovia, I can picture them being chased in to a fortified farm by a pack of dire wolves / werewolves at dusk (perhaps the first couple of farms won't unbarricade their doors). I'm sure you can see the utility of the rest. Will everybody need a Roc nest on a cliff above the forest? No. Will DMs derail their campaign for a minute just for the opportunity to make the party loot a Roc nest? Yes. :
Finally, I would note that since I wrote this list, a few cartographers have added some of the above locations to their Library, but the vast majority of these are as of yet, untouched. :)

Why use spray anyway? They’re 30, not 12. Use olive oil, vegetable oil, some type of oil not damn canola spray. 😐 will be talking to them but just wanted to vent cause now they’re ruined. They also leave the pan many times just sitting there on the stove top for days and don’t wash it. Can’t WAIT for them to move out, hopefully soon. I literally soaked my non stick pan overnight in water because the residue from the eggs wouldn’t come off and it still doesn’t… should ask them to move out and give me the money for new pans, they don’t come cheap

So yesterday was my 19th birthday , since my dad is not in india at moment so he asked my mom to get me everything i liked. I got some new shoes shirts etc . I was genuinely happy.
Now here comes my friend group of around 10 people half been friends from my childhood and rest were my buddies my high school. I thought about what do for a party for and decided on dominos.
Here comes this ass hole. (At the time i didnt think he was a complete asshole ) we have friends from childhood and have on and off during this all time.
So i recently joined this aholes 's uncles gym along with a few other i had never gone to a gym before and he offered me a very cheap price. 😅
Only tradeoff at the moment was it was 5 km away and i have to cross highway to get there. I dont have a license. He promised my mom that'll he will pickup me 3 days a week . And guess what ? This fucker didn't come a single day. And made fun of me for being skinny. ( he is short and bulk ripped himself but look overwight most of time) i didn't like his attitude . He never really apologized. I went in mornings to avoid him with someone else .
Both me and mom didn't find both him and his gym much welcoming. So i decided to quit and join close somewhere for a bit higher fees .
So one day before , he msg me what's the buget for party and i told him . Proceeds to say its not possible to do party in that much at dominos at said to come at a tapri instead. Or better dont have a party and join his gym back instead . The audacity to say that mann . Already a red flag .
Anyways i ignore him . Next i day i dressed up ready for party . Mind you my outfit was quite expensive. We went to dominos and i even got him a non veg pizza . This fucker even though i told him to go to the gym in the morning come to party sweating like a pig proceeded to give me a gift a perfume and told me to use it to avoid being smelly. Every one laughed . I take it as joke and we went ahead. A bit hurt but its the boys ehh ? I thought
Now these people got me two cakes one to cut and other one to smash on my face. The one they were smashing on my face had "skinny bitch" written on it . I expected this .
But after i cut the first one they forced me to take off my shirt and held me forcefully and shoved the cake really hard on my face . Blood come out from mouth . My nose was blocked with cake inside . I was very angry. Every one else also agreed it was too much and were angry on him . He said " yeh toh sab ke sath hota hai " and proceeded to smear cake on my body..
i stood there shirt less. They take videos. I visibly went off fully delhi mood used every gali i know . My best friend was also very upset but he has social anxiety so he couldn't do much . They apologized a bit . They Got some water bottles wiped me off . Got my shirt back on . I go back to my car with my best friend two other. We were all visibly upset . Put some high base music on . Dropped him home speed off to my home .
They were waiting for me there. They apologized again and asked to sit my car i was still upset . They made some funny posses of cleaning my car and begging like kids . I laughed a bit. Let them inside. We went for a ride . Put some real high base music on . Memes songs all. Made some snaps . I forgot a bit about it . And they all apologized again. I specifically told them not to post any shirt less picks I get back home.
I see my brand new white shoes are shit now... at this point i just gave up a bit mentally. Told the story to my mum. She was also very upset. She told me he hurt you real bad . I agreed but i was in no mood to argue. She saw my face told me boys mai assa he hota hai. I thought same. I cut my cake at home ate some of a my favorite food with my sis and mom talked to dad and some relatives . My bestie called we talked for quite a while he was also really feeling hurt for me .
Played some wing man with him in cs . Try to take my anger off you know ? Had a bit of fun . Went to sleep. I check my phone. Only this fucker even though i told everyone not to post shirtless pics posted the story on instagram . I went off on him agian . After he stoped responding. I blocked the fucker and reported him . By now almost my entire batch saw my photo . I am really fucking frustrated now.
My mom always warned me to stay away from him . I wish i listened to her earlier.
Ps does anyone know how to take down someone's else's story?

I checked this album out for the first time about a month ago and it's been on HEAVY repeat since. It recently came to my attention that the last 2 songs have backwards narratives and that the album should be played backwards conceptually, so I did just that. Here is my dissection of the story from what I picked up:
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At the end of the Spring interlude, you can hear a kid ask "who's up?" which soon transitions into the arcade machine noises at the start of They Resurrect Over New. Throughout the song, there are video game references as well as bars like "trapped in a game were the trap is the game" which allude to the idea that the body of the album takes place within a metaphorical (or physical?) video game.
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I had a hard time dissecting Adoration Of The Magi, but the chorus and the third verse make it seem like it's about exposure to a sinful life being common in poor areas. Kids "playing in the streets" and having teardrop tattoos (symbolic of catching bodies) is a real plague, and the third verse talking about "Can't be eyes closed when you side scroll" followed by lines about the reflection of said character's life from birth up until the present contributes to this "life is a video game" concept. Madonna is a storytelling song from the perspective of a kid trying to help his drug-addicted single mother live a better life. He unfortunately gets locked up "working" which implies his work isn't legal. Deliver is pretty self-explanatory, about how Chicago has gotten so bad that even pizza delivery men don't want to step foot into the ghetto. "Too much dough" in the chorus is also pretty dope wordplay. I didn't completely get the concept of Chopper, but there are plenty of lines about people from the hood wandering around in cheap white tees and loaded guns while struggling to afford food and other amenities in life. The chorus also helps this idea.
​
Winter is completely different lyrically and sonically, perhaps our character's next chapter of life: adulthood, where he has made it out of the ghetto but now has issues with others in his life. No Scratches is about getting out of a bad situation before it is escalated to a point of no return, specifically a relationship. The chorus lines "before we hit a wall, heartbreak, and it crashes, just walk away, no scratches" solidify this, although I had trouble deciphering the verses outside of some lines. Body Of Work seems to be about, in short, Hip-Hop being embedded within Lupe as a part of his "anatomy". As for Little Death, I watched an interview the other day where Lupe said the song has like 5 different narratives running through it, but I really just couldn't pick anything up from the track. I did notice that the chorus was slightly different each time and kinda related to the verse it followed, such as the second chorus saying "howl at the prey" following the verse with animal wordplay.
​
Now, Prisoner 1 & 2 is a very hefty song lyrically. It starts with a character getting arrested and charged with a double-life sentence while his wife escaped. The second verse takes place ten years into his sentence, where he has studied law books inside of prison and has grown accustomed to the wardens' corrupt ways. His last resort is praying to god for freedom and justice to no avail. He even starts to question religion by "tryna find dinosaurs in the Bible". The third verse shows him much further into his sentence where he is losing his mind. He banged on the glass and fantasized escaping by getting lifted by a helicopter, digging a tunnel out, quite literally everything. The line "when your life is just a number and release date" ties this to Lupe's relationship with his label, who had held this album hostage until they were forced to announce a release date. After a phone call-like interlude from Ayesha Jaco, a HARD synth kicks in with one verse from the perspective of a prisoner mocking the guards for essentially being prisoners to their workplace during their shift, and a second verse from the perspective of a brainwashed prisoner who sides with his overseers and has come to believe that he is being done right by the system. This song is fucking hard and probably my favorite on the album.
​
After that behemoth of a song comes the Fall interlude where you can hear a menacing violin on top of the sound of kids playing in leaves, which could be the album's main character's life coming full circle and starting from childhood again? This makes sense to me since Dots & Lines has such a cheery sound as well as bars about drawing simple shapes: something kids do at the very beginning of their academic journey. "Go straight, don't sine" is an awesome double entendre, meaning both going straight rather than the direction of a sine wave as well as "don't sign" to a label: a big mistake that Lupe definitely regretted. I was completely lost on Blur My Hands so I'm not even gonna try dissecting that song.
​
Finally, we get to Mural: an 8-minute-long bar fest. Throughout this track, Lupe paints metaphorical images of many ideas that he wants to see visualized within his lifetime. The "girls reign all over the world"/rain scheme was incredible, and so was the whole "treat your vocal chords like a fortress" rhyme scheme. I picked up a ton of intricate rhyming and imagery throughout the song, but I don't think I should sit here and type out every single detail unless I want to spend the next 5 hours doing so.
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Long story short, the album follows a character played in a 2D side-scrolling video game. It starts out from the character's rough childhood surrounded by guns, crime, and drugs. It continues through his adulthood where he has troubles with relationships, sees his friends get locked up, and fights for social issues. The final stretch of the album feels like a new beginning, where our character revisits his childhood in an alternate timeline where he didn't have to suffer through a crime-ridden atmosphere. Mural closes the album by painting a beautiful picture of a seemingly utopian society.
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It's 3AM and I doubt any of this is even right, but I needed to write this down somewhere or else I would go insane. What do you guys think?

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Skeeter had made an error. Not a big one, but one that did have significant downstream effects. He'd assumed that he could visit enough of each planet to give a sort of general feel to each one's character in three or four days, but it was looking more and more like he'd have to extend the stay at Corvian Home for at least a weak. He could scarecely remember being so excited by making a mistake. In most respects, Corvian Home was wildly different from Terra. From its many small islands to its ever turbulent storms, to its mediworld gravity, it was unlike any place found on Terra. It still baffled him that the xenos thought Terran gravity was heavy. The way in which it was similar had to do with the wide verity of culture, which made getting a general sense of the place a tad more difficult than planets with a more unified culture.
So, he had to ask Captain Vexkeed to extend the stay, which wasn't cheap. Additionally, it required the refund of any unsatisfied passengers who were on more time-sensitive journeys. However, it turned out that the majority of the passengers had apparently viewed the voyage as a "Sneaky Cruise," which made Skeeter laugh until he couldn't breathe when Captain Vexkeed told him. Likewise, when he told Suzie and Ivan, they found themselves completely overcome by mirth. Kip on the other hand couldn't see the humor in it. This, of course sent all three adults into the throes of hysterical laughter, which only further perplexed the boy.
The inscrutable, to Kip, Terran sense of humor aside, it turned out that apart from paying a fee to extend the journey and maybe five or six refunds, there was very little adjustment in terms of the We Bring Friends from Afar to Joyous Meeting making drastic changes to her manifest. Which was amenable to Skeeter's bank account, and his conscience. In any case, it let him fill out the itinerary with a wide variety of events from the local sporting events, to seeing interesting geological formations or particularly treasured vistas, to attending musical theater, to restaurant hopping in one of the larger cities with a conveniently cosmopolitan makeup. Even better, all of the things toxic to Humans, Doggos, and Lutrae were also toxic to the Corvians, so the risk of accidental poisoning was almost nonexistent.
"We actually discussed this in class last week," Kip was saying as the shuttle shook in the storm winds, "once a group went to a new island, the storms cut them off from the original group, except for the very few traders brave enough to fly in… well, this."
"That so?" Skeeter prompted genially.
"Yeah, for the most part I guess people would just float along with whatever everyone else thought, but I guess that's true for most places. Except, since they were separate and all, they didn't all go along the same currents, and so even islands that are pretty close can be crazy different."
"That, and it is ruining the landing shots," Ivan grumbled as he kept the camera trained on the trio.
"Well, back home rain's a good thing!" Suzie exclaimed exuberantly.
"Rain makes rye," Skeeter rejoined.
"Rye makes whiskey," Suzie laughed.
"You mean industrial disinfectant or emergency stomach purging doses," Kip said flatly.
"How'd you find out about that?" Skeeter asked.
"Greg George mentioned it in his book. He dumped so many doses in a glass that any sane person would think he was trying to poison someone with the fumes."
"Oh, I loved My Side," Suzie said, "It had always bugged me that the Lost Boys never got a fair say."
"Wait, isn't he a hero? He talks like you guys almost worshiped him…"
"It's complicated," Skeeter said, "I served on a ship with one of the Lost Boys once, Stephen the Line. It was hard to not be in awe of him. Hard to remember that behind the deeds was a man just trying to serve like me."
"Oh…"
"Were you discussing more about Corvian Home in the classes?" Ivan asked before the silence could turn cold.
"Oh, sure, lots. Like on this one island there's a big festival where they celebrate the harvest of these huge nuts, and then there's this island where they have 'Imitation plays,' where Corvians try to mimic exactly how the plays sound from other races. Tutor Brixvee showed us a video of one they coppied from the Star Sailors, and it was pretty cool."
"Do you figure she had lessons on Corvian Home since she knew we were headed here?"
"Of course," Kip said with a bitter scowl, "she's full of dirty tricks like that." His hosts couldn't contain their mirth, not that they tried all that hard.
Later that day, the intrepid travelers were in the throes of a local festival. They had surmised that it was probably related to local folklore, as various icons and masks were featured heavily, but the press was so active and exuberant, that not even the Terran implants could keep up, slaved as they were to the Terran compads with better translation matrixes than even the local networks. Therefore, three out of the four friends found themselves swept up in a feathered fury of dance and rough song, to their ears anyway, while the only clue to Ivan's immense pleasure at the experience was his swiftly wagging tail. Which the locals had no idea was the unconcealable tell that his exterior coolness was in fact, a complete sham.
The festivities seemed to show no sign of abating as night fell over the city sheltered in a rough and rocky crown from the storms of the sea, so in order to get a good night's sleep they were obliged to catch a local shuttle ride between islands to find a slightly less festive town to bed down in, and Suzie took the opportunity.
"So I hear Y'all's planet name isn't what anybody calls it," she said impishly to the shuttle pilot.
"INDEED, ahem, indeed. We know that you mammal-peoples, and the reptile-peoples, and the water-peoples, cannot do it."
"Come on, give us an example," Suzie said in that challenging, teasing way that made Skeeter both cringe and love her.
The pilot laughed, or at least Skeeter thought he, or maybe she? At least Skeeter thought that the pilot laughed, whichever sex they were. He had a hard time with regular Terran corvids, let alone these giant bird people that reminded him of the former. Then said piolet of undetermined sex made a weird clicking noise in the depths of the throat and said, "That is the name."
"I can see why y'all think folk can't do that. Hey Skeeter, why don't ya give it a shot?"
"No," he said flatly.
"Aw come on, it's their planet's name, you should at least try," she said with that wry smile she had that made promises. Promises that he had a very difficult time resisting for… reasons.
He then made a right proper fool of himself trying to replicate the sound by clicking his tongue in various ways before giving up and just saying, "I'm stickin' with Corvian Home."
After making a right proper fool of himself, the other passengers obliged to laugh at him, and Suzie turned on Kip saying, "Your turn."
Kip shot her a sullen look.
"Aw, c'mon, you gonna let these folk just laugh at Skeeter all by his lonesome?" she chided.
Kip downright pouted at her.
"Coooome oooooon," she taunted.
Realizing that she wouldn't quit unless he gave in, Kip also made a mockery of himself trying to replicate the throat clicking sound to the delight of all and sundry. "Shut up," he mumbled as he laid his ears back.
"Ivan?" she asked of her final victim.
He clicked his tongue once, and when Suzie gave him a pout he said, "That is as much as I am trying."
"Now you try," Kip shot at her.
"I know my limits, unlike you boys," she laughed to Kip's indignant sputtering.
Meanwhile, Jerry was having a less festive time. Instead of happening to land on an island that happened to be hosting a festival for one reason or another, he had purposely chosen the center of finance for his outing. He'd had a relatively uneventful series of meetings with financiers, entrepreneurs, and shipping guild heads, and various other parties interested in securing access to new markets for their various trades. It was all very productive, and very boring, and not for the first time he felt a stab of regret for the last time that he had interacted with Skeeter.
Even still, it was a satisfying day. There was a lot of troubling mentions of debts though. Jerry was no stranger to the lending industries of various planets of the CIP, and even had some Republican contacts in that realm, those who could stand his needling of the Republic's systems, but nobody he knew ever said anything about "debt masters" or "clan debt." Troubling indeed, but he chalked it up to clunky translation. Even CIP systems could have trouble with new languages, and he just knew that Republican datapads were inferior. They had to be, of course.
Still though, there was something about the references that bothered him. Something furtive behind the eyes of the avian people who spoke of either concept. Then, there was the fact that only those who were obviously startup businesspeople would speak about them, never the financers. Very troubling indeed. He resolved himself to investigate the matter if he could make the time the next day.
The following morning, the intrepid travelers went on the only "heavyworlder safe" zipline tours available on the planet, which just so happened to be in the heavily forested canyons and followed paths through the foliage designed to simulate danger. Skeeter and Kip found it thrilling, but Suzie found it merely pleasant while Ivan was actually bored by the thrilling experience. The man was pleased with getting a shot of kip chanting breathlessly, "Let's go again, let's go again, let's go again, let's go again!" Wile Suzie was more pleased to have sneakily captured a shot of Ivan's unamused expression as he sped along on the pullies.
"Sure, why not?" Suzie had said to Kip.
To which Ivan said, "Because is boring."
"What?!" Kip nearly shouted.
"You take ride in boarding torpedo, and you will be understanding then."
"The real answer to why not is I already booked a nature walk. There's this island where there's like this bowl formation full of flowers. It looks amazin'" Skeeter explained to Kip's dismay.
Meanwhile, Jerry was exhausted. He'd reshuffled the meetings so that he had mere moments between them to prepare, but he was good at his job, so long as his counterpart wasn't a Republican, and could get the proper contact details to the correct people for whatever the other party hoped to accomplish, so long as it was legal, and it all was. It was therefore by mighty effort alone that he had a scant two hours in which to seek out the information he sought before he would have to retire to sleep, or else be completely useless the next day.
He took snagged a gravcar and told the cabbie, "Take me to where you and the lads go for a spot of drink, or whatever the legal intoxicant is around here."
The cabbie gave him a one eyed beady stare and said, "Are you sure, mammal-people? The places we go are not the high class places, by the storms."
"I'm sure, I'm sure. I might not look it these days, but I came up from w working family. My dah still makes fun that I lost my calluses."
The cabbie blinked twice and raised his crest. Jerry had no idea whether that was a good sign or not, but the blue plumed cabbie lowered his crest and blinked again saying, "Sure, mammal-people. I will take you there, but do not cause the fights or my clan will have share of the debt."
Jerry thought about pressing the issue, but something about how the cabbie's feathers had puffed out and still weren't lying flat convinced him that social lubricant was the needed thing. "What is the preferred intoxicant?" he asked.
"We smoke an herb. It usually does not work for mammal-peoples, so you might not have the fun you look for."
"I see, we also have some intoxicants taken this way, do you draw the smoke through water first?"
"Yes, do you mammal-peoples do this too?"
"It's called hookah, and has a long tradition in several of our cultures. Or bongs, which have a somewhat younger tradition, as history is measured."
"Maybe then you will get the happy haze and no fights will be started, mammal-people."
"Maybe, maybe. I'm just after a good banter, and the banker types are too stuffy."
"You are right, you are right, debt masters do not laugh when you joke, they charge you more interest!" the cabbie laughed, and Jerry fell silent.
At the, well, Jerry would call it a hookah lounge, Jerry found that the lads about avoided him and shot him suspicious glances, and also found that apart from a relaxed feeling in his limbs, the smoke had no effect on him. It was a pleasant feeling, and he could maintain it by taking a draw from the hookah every two minutes or so. It seemed that was a prodigious rate of smoking though, for eventually the suspicious glances turned to those of curiosity or even grudging respect. Jerry surmised that despite his rather drab coloring, they knew an expensive suit when they saw one.
Eventually, a clearly intoxicated Corvain stumbled over to his table and sank down on one of the cushions, "Why do you smoke so well, mammal-thing-people?" he slurred.
"I am used to a much stronger herb, and this makes me simply feel good. Does it not feel good for you?"
"'Course it do. Can't smoke as much."
"Wondering anything else?"
"You a Sneaky?"
Jerry thought about correcting the error, but another glance at the state of his conversation partner dispelled the notion, so he said, "Yes, but I am not very stealthy."
"It's just what people call you… dunno why…"
"I'm not botherd, I know the reason and it's funny."
"Funny?"
"Yes, do you know it?"
"Ish a meme."
"The first one of us that the Star Sailors met was mistaken for a pet, and they named him Sneaky."
That, as planned, brought forth uproarious laughter from the intoxicated Corvian who confided, "That's the kinda thing people-things get bristly about."
"I know, people-things get brislty about all sorts of things. Like the bankers, they won't tell me what debt masters are."
"They own clan debts."
"Clan debts?"
"You know, the debts you clan has, from like way back."
"Do you mean to say you were born in debt?"
"Sssssure, isn't everybody? Well, not rich people-things I guess, but ever-peoples I knowed."
"And these debt masters, they merely collect the interest?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"If you're not… if the job doesn't pay… erm… they so like tell you to do stuff."
"Involuntary servitude," Jerry said coldly.
"Yeah, that. The hatchlings get that rough."
"Explain please," Jerry said with cold intensity.
It seemed that the intensity of Jerry's gaze or maybe the soft quality of a hammer that his voice emulated, gave the Corvian some degree of sobriety as he stammered, "Yes-yes. The erm, the uh or-or-orphanages. The hatchlings there have no parents to provide for them, so the debt masters have them do something useful."
Jerry was very close to becoming a very dangerous man as he asked, "Are the debts of these children for sale?"
"Y-y-y-y-y-yes?"
"Where does one go to buy debts?"
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I do have a hybrid, it has 3 x 7 gears (21 gears). Its no longer fast enough for any flat speed work I do for fitness I've out grown the bike if you like, (yes I know you will say get a road bike) I don't want one of these as I cycle on canals, shared paths the roads are a bit hazardous here I avoid them as much as possible.
The off roading is ok but it's not built for It, the tires don't have enough grip, (yes I know that I could change it) it's a 12 year old bike. I'm looking to upgrade to modern tech as its a cheap bike it had no disc brakes or suspension, I want a new all purpose bike that would be lighter in weight as well.
Any new bike suggestions for me to consider would be gratefully appreciated.
I saw online this "Giant, Roam 0" bike this looks interesting I'm not sure if it would be any faster than what I have?
Thanks

So I just reached a full 6 months of Funko Pop collecting, It has been a crazy journey so far and I have learned so much.
I want to use this post to share my statistics, experiences, and tips for new collectors!
(Current Funko Pop Collection: 216)
(Mistakes)
1. At the start, I did not have an inventory management system and just bought and bought and bought, till I had too much to store.
2. I bought Funko Pops that I didn’t have a great deal of interest in because they had a great sale on them and had FOMO.
3. I bought duplicates of certain Funko Pops as I really liked them, but I hadn’t establishing that I have no need for any more than 1 of a particular pop.
4. I would buy common Funko Pops, and neweupdated molds would be released.
Solutions
1. An inventory system helped me out IMMENSELY. I bought storage containers, and finalised my maximum collection capacity based on how much I was able to store in them. This allowed me to be very picky with my current inventory, and also what I purchase going forward. Through this I was able to trade away pops I really didn’t need and make space for ones that I really liked.
2. I narrowed down my collection to ONLY lines that I enjoy/have a passion for. This allowed me to free up A LOT of inventory and create space.
3. I have stopped buying multiple of a certain Funko Pop just because I “really like them” Funko Pops take up a lot of space, and with how production is currently going, new pops are constantly being produced very frequently. Buying multiples of the same pop is going to cause more issues when newer ones you want to purchase have been released.
4. I completed stopped buying common Funko Pops (unless they are older, vaulted ones) and focused on exclusives, glows, flocked and chases. In my experience of purchasing common Funko Pops, most of the time they either drop a hefty amount in price due to a lack of demand/over supply, or a newer and updated variant is released later, rendering the basic common Funko Pop undesirable (in my opinion).
My tips for new collectors
1. CREATE AN INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM!!
This is the most crucial advice and MOST important aspect to Funko Pop collecting in my opinion. Funko Pops can an take A LOT of space. Especially the 6” / Deluxe and 10” ones. My advice would be to buy storage containers, figure out how many Funko pops can fit inside each storage unit, and base your inventory management and maximum capacity around that. For example: if your storage container fits 20x Funko Pops, and you want to limit your collection to 100x Funko Pops max, then buy 5 storage containers and have that as your maximum allocated Funko Pop space allowed.
2. ONLY buy lines your are interested in - NO MATTER how great the sale is!
As with the first point, Funko Pops take up A LOT of space. Even if you find Funko Pops for a heavily discounted price, I would advise not to buy them UNLESS you have the space and the desire for them. In my experience, I ended up trading mostly away all of the pops that I bought for cheap (as these were lines/characters I was not interested in). Don’t get tempted by the price, doing this only adds more unnecessary work in the long run when you want to get rid of those pops for ones that you actually like. It is better to limit yourself early.
3. If you need space, cut off pops that you are not as interested in
I know it is hard to decide which Funko Pops to keep and which to part with. Chances are, a lot of the times you might lose money on trading away Funko Pops, but it is important to understand that this is the best decision you can make. If newer pops release that you really like, but you refuse to purchase them because you have too many already, then that is your mistake. Get rid of those pops you have grown out of or are not interested in anymore. Otherwise you are missing out on newer pops that you really like, and it’ll be more difficult to obtain them later, rather than now at retail. Buying pops at release ensures that you are purchasing them for the RRP, they are 100% legit, and you are obtaining them in the best possible condition as factory new.
4. Try to focus your collecting on a certain nichè in your desired lines.
For example, I do not buy modern common pops anymore. I only buy exclusives/glows/flocked, chases etc. This narrows down my collection to very specific variants of Funko Pops and helps me manage inventory more efficiently. A lot of people like to give themselves a rule to only purchase 1 mold of each character in a certain line. While I personally don’t do this, it is still a very good way to manage your inventory.
5. Try to avoid larger pops - especially 9” / 10” / Deluxe Pops
Don’t get me wrong. I would always advise collectors to buy what they enjoy as a first priority, but storage needs to be a huge consideration when collecting. 9” & 10” Funko Pops are MASSIVE, and are the space size equivalent to several 4” Pops. Rather than purchasing a 10” pop, you should ask yourself: is this really worth storing over multiple smaller pops instead? the choice is up to you.
Thanks for reading! I hope I was able to help at least some of you out, and I wish you all good luck on your collecting journeys!

Hey Pham. Jeph here! I'm a nube Sorry lol, I'll learn quick, promise! :)
My goal is to meet make phriends with some of you and talk about your phavorite band Phish and hopefully become part of your community.
I am from Canada and have been to a TON of concerts myself but have never seen Phish being in Canada (yeah I know they've been here)! I have seen Nickelback 8 TIMES! I have also seen Creed phour times, Hoobastank twice (they were REALLY good), and Sister Hazel once back when I was a kid with my Uncle Steven. I almost saw the The Guess Who once on one of their farewell tours but my girlfriend didn't want to go because she heard they have kind of a rough crowd...dropped her obv....she should see the Creed fans sheesh! Where was my head at OMG? Needless to say, I have been dying to see what all the fuss is about for I am sure your band is really good too from what I have heard so far and want to learn more because I've really broadened my horizons as of late as I will explain shortly.
This all started when I broke up with my girl that didn't think going to the Guess Who show was a good idea (stinkin' filthy bitch, those guys rock!)....This was probably the wisest decision of my life because shortly thereafter, I met my first girlfriend that smoked reefer. She got me into a few Grateful Dead songs she really liked, like Touch of Grey, Casey Jones, and The Pride of Cucamonga which she said were all really big hits. I then started listening little by little to more albums, then onto live, and realized what a cool thing it was that they jammed individually each song a little bit differently. It was really neat to here that. This, then made the obvious progression into my introduction to the "jam-scene" as a whole. I follow at least 18 or 19 of them on Spotify including our guys from Vermont (see, I'm learning). I'm so jealous of all you "heads" with all these experiences! Like my lingo so far? I have been trying really hard to learn it. You guys all sound cool when you talk haha. Speaking of that, I also heard there are these things at Phish concerts called "Wuhks". I heard they are generally phriendly people but turn into crusty-mouthed hag zombies if they do too much nitrous oxides. Apparently dread locks are a tell. Is that true? I heard you guys like to do that (oxides), and I'm open to experiment myself with it. But just one little hit to start (and I heard I should sit down?). Weird but sounds cool. Whooooa. Got sidetracked sorry haha! :)
Anywho, I have recently been getting into more and more jambands (my new fav genre lol), I've been catching up on SOJA (they're kind of reggae but they can wail), Twiddle, BK3 (they're my least favourite so far but not too bad), Bassnectar, The Macpods, and a couple of others. I like Zoogma too, but their stuff gets kind of frightening when I am on the weed. Yikes! Really good stuff so far, but all of it was trumped when I heard the best band I've ever heard in my life to date. GOOSE. They are SO GOOD-SE (LOL I mean GOOD and geese are from fuckin' Canada!!!!), that my new girlfriend and I spent our hard-earned money with just having heard their soothing voices on Spotify for two weeks straight! I mean literally, day, night, and sleep! We ran out of material in like 8 hours but it we just threw it on repeat and it was hard to tell the difference of any of it, it was so good, they're just so chill ya know?! So anyways, we went to our first show! When we got there, everyone was so welcoming under the overhang right outside the venue where everyone waited in line to get in. I guess they drink beers and liquor in the parking lot before the shows usually (big youngstecollege crowd), but they said it was kind of damp out I guess. All of these guys and girls (especially the guys, which I thought was cool because I know she's a spice queen if ya know what I mean haha (big confidence boost)) were saying hey to me and my girlfriend and greeting her and I with such open kindness! It was beautiful. It turns out that my girlfriend knew a bunch of the guys from Big Gigantic shows that she went to when she was in her "raver phase" prior to us meeting and they have a nickname for her in that circle. I guess it's Sugaree and I thought it was weird at first, but then they gave me a nickname...Custy! It was sweet and we both go by Sugaree and Custy and all the shows when we interact with the rest of the Flock (that's what they call themselves, pretty neat).Guess it's that "energy" right?! We've been to one show and we have nicknames! ***BTW, I FORGOT TO APOLOGIZE for not keeping up with the code on here and putting "ph" instead of f's on everything! A lot of our Goose friends have phish tattoos that say "Phamily" or "Phun", and they said that's a really good way to rep the colors and make some PHRIENDS by doing so. I think it's really neat and will probably get back to that on future posts, but it got really hard to keep up with on this long intro post and my fingers were getting tired. Anyways, sorry about that. I'll get my act together down the road I promise :)!
As I digress.
I have recently been listening to a TON of Phish! I have listened to almost three full shows in the last month and a half on the Live Phish app (took the gamble and got the cheap package, well worth it)!!!! I like a lot of it. I really like Sparkle, Farmhouse, Fuck Your Face, Waiting for So Long to Pee (I think it's funny they wrote a song about peeing, pretty neat lol, I know that's not what it's called obviously). It's been a ride with these guys to say the least. They're really fuckin' weird, but I think their chops are sound.
I came across one that sounded pretty good the other day and I've been wanting to post about it. Does anyone think this song is any good? I know you all are rather particular, and I tend to like it a bit, but my Goose friends told me that it's too "wholesome" and "pure" and that they think Goose actually shreds harder nowadays.
I still like this song though and think it's pretty good from what I can tell and I want your thoughts please:
The song is called Possum. I think it's a cool name for a song and it has some really funny lyrics if you haven't heard it!
The show was the Deer Creek (I heard this place is pretty cool and is the Capital of the Oxide farmers! Still wanna try some of that, but just a little, a little can't hurt, right?!) in Indiana and it was on 8/7/2021.
Please give it a listen if you have a moment. I would appreciate the feedback on whether or not the big-time phans would like a version of this song like this one. Please don't make fun of me if it's just meh lol.
Noblesville, IN - 8/7/21 - Possum
I may post some more of these for more feedback to see how I am progressing as a true PHAN in the phuture! I want to sharpen my swords to fight the crusty Wuhks in the Oxide Fields of Noblesville one day to pave the way to my musical PHREEDOM! Hooray! Whoo, I'm a little tired and am getting off track here.
Thank you all for reading and I look forward to seeing you in line at a Phish concert one day!
Is this 8/7/21 Possum "decent"?
​
- Your Phriend and Pal Jeph