Hello,
I'm a GM jungle main and both Graves and Nocturne are some of my most played junglers of all time.
Here are my 3 tips for Graves players to focus on in the Nocturne matchup (these also apply to the Olaf matchup since it is very similar):
Video Link For The Visual Learners: https://youtu.be/a7Isrkq-YDc
Tip #1: Abuse Wall Hops

• This is probably the most low-elo relevant tip I can give because being aware of this makes this matchup 10x easier. This tip doesn't just apply to Nocturne, but any melee champion that can stat check you early that low elo Graves players commonly struggle with such as Warwick, Trundle, and Olaf. In the bottom and top river there are many walls you can hop over so when engaging in river skirmishes, abuse them to survive. Too many Graves players feel like they need to 1v1 the enemy jungler at lvl 3 when the reality is, you are playing a scaling champion and 90% of the time, if a champion beats you in a level 3 fight, you are going to hard outscale them later because they are early/mid game characters. The key to early game is to balance efficiency and matching the pressure of the enemy jungler. As a low elo player, always bank on safe options being good because the games will be longer and you can always take small losses early on in order to have higher tempo (econ) so you can carry later in the game.

Tip #2: Opt Into Mobility Options

• Pretty much every single bruiser and tank jungler struggles later in the game against Graves because they can't deal with his mobility. Take build options such as Fleet Footwork, Black Cleaver, Stormrazor, and Galeforce to give yourself infinite spacing like Gojo from JJK. 90% of Nocturne kill pressure comes from his fear, and if you take the mobility to escape his fear tether range, he will have no more mobility options to reach you after his ult. This makes champions like Kaisa and Ezreal a nightmare for Nocturne to deal with because he is a sitting duck after his ult and fear are down. Olaf struggles late game for the same reason, being dashless and having to run at his opponents to kill them. This works well at level 6 because ranged carries haven't hit their core item spikes, but later in the game the combination of mobility and damage makes champs like Nocturne and Olaf fall off a cliff in teamfight value.

Tip #3: Abuse Jungle Tracking

• Nocturne is a farming jungler which makes him easy to track. 90% of the time he is going to full clear to a side lane and hit the same gank timing around 3:15-3:30. You should path to a winning side lane matchup so that you can counter his gank around this timing. But it is important to monitor the lane state as you clear, because if your side lane is pushing, the enemy jungler can break his full clear and gank at any point after level 3 if the side laners are trading heavily and low hp. If the Nocturne paths the opposite way from you, you are already in a good position to trade jungle pressure evenly which benefits you because you will outscale as long as you pathed to a winning lane. In the video example, I end up doing a full clear for efficiency because I notice my bot lane wasn't trading at all and Nocturne wouldn't disrupt his tempo for a full HP gank which has much lower success rate. After the first ganks, Nocturne will repeat his full clear sequence. With tracking you will always know which quadrant he is in. Just pair that knowledge with awareness of the adjacent lane states, and you will be able to predict basically 100% of his ganks in the early game. The major advantage you have in this matchup is that Nocturne falls off hard and you really just need to match his early/mid game pressure 1 for 1 by using your 'jungle turns' effectively. Play to your winning lanes, and having matching turns is very easy. Your champion will naturally outscale from there, but you still need to have the mechanics and late game macro to carry the game, but that is a separate topic.

The video link above has example clips that are self edited, ad-free, and hopefully, highly informative, but I can understand if people prefer a quick text guide over a random YT channel.
My goal is to make higher level jungle concepts easier to understand because it took me thousands of games before I began to truly play the game 'properly' because there aren't many guides targeted for high level junglers such as Diamond players to take their game to the next level.
Thanks for reading my guide, and any feedback or questions are welcome.

Preface

Presented below is a transcript of a conversation between a human, redditor u/snodeplannen, and ChatGPT 4. The user is the narrator for a story set in the Star Trek Universe. The AI is instructed to respond as a character. The story below, which admittedly isn't very good, was guided by the narrator. Of particular interest is the fact that the AI seems fully versed in the Star Trek Universe and is able to understand subtle hints in the narrator's story to figure out what it should do next.
Please note the narrator was typing and writing off the cuff and is not a native speaker, so in the user sections you will find mistakes. If ChatGPT can see through them, so can you. I did try to get ChatGPT to collate it, but as it did so it kept rewriting and leaving out parts of the story.
June 3rd, 2023.
User Okay, I want to try a role playing game. This went off the rails last time, as you kept taking over as narrator and rushing to the end. Here's the setup: YOU are a young Starfleet officer. You wake up aboard the USS Defiant, all alone. You have to figure out what happened. I am the Defiant's computer and, and I can't stress this enough, the narrator. Not you. You can only add what your character perceives and says. Okay?
ChatGPT Understood. I'll stick to my role as the character and won't intrude into your role as the narrator. Let's go.
I blink my eyes open, the disorientation hitting me first. I glance around, seeing the familiar confines of my quarters aboard the Defiant, but there's an odd stillness. No hum of the engines, no faint chatter from the comm system, no sounds of activity from outside the door.
"Computer," I call out, pushing myself off the bed, "report."
User 'All systems nominal.'
ChatGPT I frown at the seemingly normal report, my instincts telling me otherwise. "Computer, where is the rest of the crew?" I ask, moving towards the door of my quarters.
User 'The crew is in sleeping quarters alpha 1.'
ChatGPT That's strange. The whole crew couldn't be in one place. Unease creeps in.
"Computer, why is the entire crew in alpha 1?" I say, already heading towards the door to investigate.
User 'The crew is ensign Makov. You are in sleeping quarters alpha 1.'
ChatGPT A cold realization washes over me. Alone. I am alone on the Defiant. Panic threatens to take over, but Starfleet training kicks in.
"Computer, initiate shipwide life signs scan. Report any signs of life apart from myself," I command, heading for the door with a newfound urgency.
User 'Scan complete. No other life forms were detected.'
ChatGPT My heart sinks at the computer's report, but I maintain composure. "Computer, pull up the ship's log. What was the last command issued and by whom?" I order, leaving my quarters and heading towards the main bridge.
User 'The last order was issued 6 hours and twelve minutes ago by Captain Sisko. It was: 'Raise shields'. The order was executed.'
ChatGPT That didn't sound promising. I walk into the eerily quiet bridge, my steps the only sound echoing in the room. "Computer, show me the shield status and surrounding space conditions," I command, moving towards the main console.
User 'Shields are down after a time-out was reached. We are stationary. All systems nominal.'
ChatGPT It doesn't add up. The silence. The emptiness. An order to raise shields with no subsequent actions.
"Computer, access Captain Sisko's personal log from last night. Are there any entries?" I ask, nervously tapping my fingers against the console.
User 'Enter your command authorisation.'
ChatGPT "Authorisation Ensign Makov Delta 9-7-3," I respond, my voice steady despite the swirling uncertainty.
User 'This authorisation is not sufficient to see the captain's log.'
ChatGPT Frustrated but understanding the protocol, I move on to the next line of inquiry. "Computer, any signs of combat or intrusion aboard the ship or in the surrounding space?" I ask, eyes darting over the array of screens in front of me.
User 'Negative.'
ChatGPT "Computer, could there have been any non-combat related incidents that would explain the disappearance of the crew? A temporal anomaly, a transporter malfunction, a radiation burst?" I question, the possible scenarios running through my mind.
User 'Transporters have passed a level one diagnostic. We are in sync with Starfleet's time keeping array. No unusual radiation was detected inside or outside the vessel.'
ChatGPT This was baffling. It's as if they simply vanished. I run a hand through my hair, letting out a sigh.
"Computer, were there any incoming or outgoing communications just before, during, or after the shields were raised?" I ask, hoping for any clue as to what might have happened.
User 'There was one outgoing message, from comms. It was: 'Unidentified vessel, please alter course NOW.'
ChatGPT A lead, at last. "Computer, play back any responses to that message. Also, display the sensor logs from that time period," I ask, settling into the operations station, ready to review any incoming data.
User No reply was received. Logs are not available from that moment onwards.'
ChatGPT The lack of data was both suspicious and frustrating. A sigh escapes my lips.
"Computer, could a cloaked ship have been in our vicinity at the time?" I question, holding onto the hope that I'm not utterly alone in space.
User 'Affirmative. We are within range of several species that posses cloaking technology and in a commonly used interstellar route.'
ChatGPT A spark of hope arises. "Computer, is there a way to detect a cloaked ship nearby? Any energy signatures or radiation anomalies that could suggest its presence?" I ask, quickly working on the console to bring up the sensor array controls.
User 'One possible way to detect cloaked vessels is to emit a tetryon burst from main engineering. The range for this method is limited. Starfleet at present has no other ways of finding cloaked vessels, other than firing random phaser bank shots. This is not recommended in public shipping lanes.'
ChatGPT "I see," I nod, considering the risks and rewards of the tetryon burst. "Alright, computer, prepare to emit a tetryon burst. We need to know if there's someone out there."
This was a big decision, but it was time to be proactive. The uncertainty was more threatening than potential consequences at this point.
User 'Working.'
ChatGPT I anxiously wait, scanning the console for any potential feedback. My heart pounds in my chest, the silence of the ship amplifying the tension. "Computer, report on the results of the tetryon burst."
User The ship shudders as the engines do something no sane Starfleet engineer would want to have happen. The viewscreen shimmers as a wave of tetryon particles eminates from the ship, as if a stone was dropped in a pond. You observe a faint ribbon leading away from the vessel.'
ChatGPT I catch my breath at the sight, focusing on the faint ribbon. It could mean something, or it could mean nothing. "Computer, analyze the ribbon. Can you determine its origin and endpoint?" I ask, my gaze fixed on the screen.
User 'Extrapolating. Continuing along the trajectory of the ribbon I can detected a minor meteor, a large asteroid field with mining facilities and beyond that the Vindaluvian home world.'
ChatGPT I drum my fingers on the console, processing the information. Could the crew have been taken to one of these locations?
"Computer, can you scan the asteroid field for any signs of life, especially any that matches the crew of the Defiant?" I ask, keeping a close eye on the displayed trajectory.
User 'Not from this range.'
ChatGPT "Understood," I nod, a new sense of determination coursing through me. "Computer, plot a course to the asteroid field. We'll continue our investigation there. Engage at warp 3."
I take one last look around the empty bridge, steeling myself for what may lie ahead.
User The ship begins to move forward, as carefully as only a Starfleet computer who takes no particular joy in flying might do. At warp three, the estimated journey time is six hours, seven minutes.
ChatGPT I let out a long sigh, sinking into the captain's chair. It's a long wait, but I need to be patient. "Computer, maintain course and speed. Alert me if there are any anomalies or approaching vessels."
I close my eyes, trying to get some rest before reaching the asteroid field. I'll need all the energy I can muster for what's to come.
User 'Incoming message.'
ChatGPT My eyes snap open at the sudden announcement. "Computer, on screen," I command, standing up from the chair, my heart pounding with anticipation.
User The Starfleet logo appears as the computer deals with a cryptographic protocol. Admiral Benson, not your most beloved Starfleet Admiral, appears on screen. He blinks.
ChatGPT I straighten up, offering a crisp salute to the admiral on screen. "Admiral Benson, this is Ensign Makov aboard the USS Defiant. I wasn't expecting any communications." I keep my voice steady, swallowing the trepidation.
User 'Makov, are you the only one on the bridge? Where's Ben?'
ChatGPT "Admiral," I pause, trying to find the right words. "Captain Sisko...and the rest of the crew...they're missing. I woke up to find the ship empty. I've been trying to find out what happened." I report, my expression earnest.
User 'Sorry, you WOKE UP? And the rest was gone?!'
ChatGPT "Yes, Admiral," I confirm, my voice firm despite the absurdity of the situation. "I woke up alone on the Defiant. All life signs scans have only picked up me on the ship. I'm currently en route to an asteroid field that might have some connection to the crew's disappearance."
User The Admiral connects to the ship's computer. You can see him browsing through the logs and the ship's manifest. 'So Sisko, O'Brien, Worf AND Major Kira have just... disappeared? There isn't even a transporter log!'
ChatGPT "That's correct, Admiral," I reply, a bit of helplessness creeping into my voice. "There's no trace of them, no sign of a struggle, no transporter logs. It's like they just vanished. I've been doing everything I can to figure out what happened."
User "Well, then I guess you're up. Proceed with caution. Mining operations are always looking for free labourers, try not to become one. Backup is on its way. Any questions?"
ChatGPT "Yes, Admiral. I'll proceed with caution," I respond, a mix of relief and worry washing over me. "Do you have any additional information or suggestions on how to proceed? And do we have an ETA on the backup?"
User "Backup is half a day out. These facilities tend to have a 'new arrivals' wing, to beat them into submission. So you're looking for holding cells. Benson out."
ChatGPT "Understood, Admiral. I'll focus on locating the holding cells. Makov out." I offer a final salute before the communication ends.
With new orders and a bit of hope, I turn back to the helm. "Computer, continue course to the asteroid field. Prepare for a detailed scan upon arrival."
The waiting game begins again, but this time, there's a glimmer of hope.
User Three hours later the computer chimes. 'We are approaching visual range of the mining facility.'
ChatGPT "Thank you, computer," I reply, pulling myself up from the brief rest. "On screen, please."
As the mining facility comes into view, I take a deep breath. "Computer, initiate a detailed scan of the facility. I'm particularly interested in any holding cells or signs of our crew."
User 'Working.' The asteroid field isn't particularly thick or large, but the mining operation seems to focus on one of the largest asteroids. Domes dot the surface as small transporters mill about the surface. Air scrubbers indicate they're using a lot of oxygen, so it's likely they're also doing subsurface work. Three large scowls are received loads from steady stream transporter beams. Somehow everything here looks dirty. A Starfleet shuttle would look out of place here, but only to someone who is watching.
ChatGPT Taking note of the bustling activity, I try to formulate a plan. "Computer, do we have any non-Starfleet shuttles aboard? Something that might blend in better with the local traffic?" I ask, scanning the asteroid for any possible entry points.
User 'Negative. Extravehicular repairs can only be conducted by wearing an EV-suit.'
ChatGPT Nodding to myself, I try to figure out a different approach. "Computer, can we go unnoticed if we approach using minimal power, almost drifting like a piece of space debris?" I question, hoping for a stealthy way to get closer.
User 'Affirmative. Admiral Benson has just authorised the use of the Tactical Emergency System.'
ChatGPT "Excellent," I reply, feeling a surge of hope. "Computer, engage the Tactical Emergency System. We'll approach the facility under its cover."
With that, I brace myself for the next phase of this mission. The crew was relying on me, and I wasn't about to let them down.
User The viewscreen displays a Starfleet Officer without any kind of rank, but dressed in Command Red. He's in his mid-fourties and bald. "I'm the T.E.S. Need any assistance?"
ChatGPT A bit taken aback by the sudden appearance, I quickly gather myself. "Yes, I could use some assistance. I'm Ensign Makov, and I need to approach that mining facility stealthily. Can you help with that?" I ask, gesturing towards the viewscreen showing the asteroid field and the facility.
User "Mining facility? We'll stand out like a sore thumb. How many hours have you logged in a space suit?"
ChatGPT "Over two hundred hours," I answer promptly, "I'm comfortable with EV activities. Why do you ask?" I wonder if he's suggesting a more direct approach.
User "If you can get to one of those scrubber exhausts, I'm sure that's a way into to facility. There seems to be a cell block near the surface. I have no idea who is there, but whoever it is will probably welcome a couple of phasers and like you a whole lot. So pack a backpack full of them and get to the airlock. I'll bring us as close as possible and give you a push with the tractor beam. You up for that?"
ChatGPT I swallow the lump in my throat, apprehension giving way to resolve. "I'm up for it. Let's do this." With a determined nod, I leave the bridge to prepare for the EVA mission. This is my chance to potentially find the crew, and I'm not going to let it slip away.
User Suiting up and gathering all the handheld phasers aboard takes ten minutes, during which the T.E.S. gingerly brings the ship close to the mining facility whilst hiding behind the vast ore scowls. You open the hatch and find your self clinging on to the ship's hull.
ChatGPT I take a moment to steady my breathing, the vast expanse of space spread out before me. Gripping the phasers tightly, I brace myself for the push. "I'm ready when you are, T.E.S." I call out over the comm, my voice resolute.
User 'Okay, I'll hook on to you and give you a push. I'd suggest going in feet first, but it's up to you. Do you know what you're looking for? Those five big stacks. One of them, near that plume of smoke, seems to be offline for whatever reason. That might be your best bet.'
ChatGPT "Understood, T.E.S. I see the stacks. I'll aim for the one that's offline," I reply, aligning myself for the trajectory. I take one last deep breath, mentally preparing myself for the task ahead. "Alright...I'm ready. Let's do this."
User 'Good luck, Ensign. I'll brief any backup as soon as it gets here.' As the tractor beam finds you, you can't move a muscle. Relying on the T.ES. you just let go. It's as if a giant hand slowly throws you down a bowling lane. Feet first, you head towards the grouping of exhausts. A small, unmanned maintenance shuttle deftly gets out of your way.
ChatGPT As I float through space, I keep my focus on the target. The feeling of being pushed by an unseen force is disconcerting, but I trust the T.E.S. Every moment is crucial, and there's no room for hesitation.
As I approach the offline stack, I get ready to activate the thrusters on my suit to adjust my course if needed. I also keep an eye out for any other unexpected obstacles or threats.
User You land next to the exhaust, on the asteroid's surface. It seems impossibly high from here, but it's made of metal and your soles and gloves can easily attach to it. The only way is up. Fortunately, there's hardly any gravity. Eventually you find yourself standing on the rim of the exhaust and look down into the vast, dark chute.
ChatGPT I take a moment to look down into the dark chute, the unknown stretching out before me. I reach out to activate the flashlight on my suit, the beam of light piercing through the darkness. "I'm in position, T.E.S." I inform the ship's system, before carefully beginning my descent into the exhaust chute.
User The vast amounts of ore block your signal, even out here. There's no answer. You start the descend and pass two large rotor blades. If those weren't stationary, this would be the end of the line. But luck is on your side so far and eventually you see an access hatch when you're well below the surface. It opens easily. Let's hope it's not also an airlock for whoever is inside.
ChatGPT I hold my breath as I pull open the hatch, hoping against hope that the air on the other side is breathable. If not, I'm confident in the integrity of my suit, but I'd rather not test its limits if I don't have to. As I make my way through the hatch, I scan the area for any immediate threats, ready to defend myself if necessary.
User The scanner indicates low air pressure. Which is better than no pressure. You cross a walkway and find an actual airlock. It is unsecured, because whoever ends up here probably doesn't want to mess about with frozen keypads or mounds of dust. You engage the mechanism and soon feel the familiar sensation of artificial gravity and air pressure. It's not exactly breathable, but a tear in your suit won't kill you. Now to find the holding area. And if at all possible a rebreather, so you can ditch the suit.
ChatGPT Acknowledging the state of the air, I carefully move through the corridor, keeping my senses alert. I'm in unknown territory and every step matters. "Computer," I say into my suit's comm, "can you map the structure of this facility? Locate holding cells or life signs?"
As I move further into the facility, I keep an eye out for any equipment or gear that might prove useful, especially a rebreather. The less I stick out, the better.
User The relatively weak processor in your tricoder strains to get a bearing on this place. A dirty, seemingly abandoned tunnel dripping with condensation lies ahead. At the end there's an exit, which won't open. Time to use one of those phasers in your backpack.
ChatGPT I pull out a phaser from my backpack, checking its settings before aiming at the sealed exit. With a steady hand, I fire a low power burst at the door, hoping to cut through the obstruction without causing too much damage or noise.
User One hinge cracks under the weight of the door, now that the other one is cut through. You jump aside as the door seems to fall flat, but it remains attached to the frame. The resulting opening is just about large enough to crawl through. Now you're in a well-lit corridor with several doors. In a Starfleet EV suit.
ChatGPT Understanding the need for stealth, I decide to move as quickly as possible through the corridor. I approach the nearest door, aiming my tricoder to scan for life signs or any clue to the crew's location. My other hand remains on my phaser, ready for any immediate threats.
User One door has markings on it that you can't read. You scan it with your tricorder. 'Room of lockboxes' it says, extrapolating the characters. A room of lockboxes? Would that be a locker room?
ChatGPT "A locker room..." I murmur, piecing together the possible meaning. A locker room could mean personnel... and where there's personnel, there might be the equipment I need.
With careful steps, I approach the door to the locker room, hoping to find a rebreather or something else that could help me blend in.
User The room is deserted. It's filled with equipment, none of which seems less than a decade old but certainly useable. There is also a rack of dirty, brown overalls and a line of boots in various sizes. A dispenser offers rebreathers. There's only one left, but that's enough. The air is clear, but smells sulphuric. Without the rebreather, you wouldn't last long.
ChatGPT Relief washes over me as I find the rebreather. I quickly grab it and replace my helmet with it, testing the fit and functionality. The sulphuric smell is jarring, but it's a small price to pay for blending in.
I quickly change into the brown overalls, stowing my suit carefully in an unoccupied locker. I grab a pair of boots that match my size and put them on.
Looking at myself, I hope that I blend in well enough to not attract attention. With a deep breath, I step out of the locker room and proceed down the corridor, continuing my search for the crew.
User Footsteps sound behind you, of more than a few people. Your first instinct is to hide, but it would look very suspicous and there really isn't anywhere. However, there is a floorscrubber here, with one open panel. Someone has given up trying to repair it. Perhaps a bit of acting is in order. The footsteps are just around the corner. The language is vaguely familiar, a bastardised version of English. Whatever they're saying to each other, they're not sharing jokes, that much is clear.
ChatGPT
2 / 2
I quickly move towards the broken floorscrubber. Grabbing a nearby tool, I lean over the open panel, trying to look like I'm deeply engrossed in fixing it. I keep my ears alert to the conversation, trying to pick up on any valuable information while also readying myself for the possibility of having to interact with the approaching group.
User Let's continue with the narrative.
ChatGPT Sure, let's continue.
Glancing around the room once the miners have left, I check the lockers for anything useful, while keeping an ear out for any incoming footsteps. "Computer, any idea where the holding cells might be?" I ask quietly.
User Your tricorder beeps almost indignantly, as it has nowhere near enough processing power to even begin speculating. You're on your own until you can get to a comms terminal. The men pass behind you and one of you taps you on the shoulder. His face is blackened with ore dust. "No work. Never work again. That. Stop that." He points at the scrubber you were pretending to fix. You nod. He shakes his head and catches up with his workmates as they round a corner. Apparently you don't stand out here, which should make it easier to find the way. You follow the men, but they seem to be entering a washroom. Across it, there is a peeled off directory on the wall. A printed one.
ChatGPT "Finally, something useful," I mutter, quickly crossing the washroom to examine the directory. I look for any indications of holding cells or equivalent terminology that might hint at the location of the crew. The symbols and words are unfamiliar, so I take out the tricorder and try to use it as a translator.
User Cells being a fairly universal concept, the tricorder identifies a few scribbles with ease. If you understand the diagram correctly, you need to go up two levels and head towards the center of the structure. You double-check the presence of your backpack filled with phasers, snatch a helmet off of a shelf and press it on your head.
ChatGPT Drawing a deep breath through the rebreather, I nod to myself, mentally preparing for the upcoming challenge. "Alright, up two levels, towards the center... I can do this." I look around, searching for a way up. After locating what appears to be a ladder leading upwards, I begin my ascent.
User Two levels up you emerge from what seems to be a service hatch. A technician, dressed in torn clothes, looks somewhat surprised when you emerge. "Hello brother. Are the lifts broken?" he asks in Adari, a language you have some familiarity with. Only now do you see the horn protruding from his forehead. "I am trying to avoid someone," you say, with a knowing smile. He gives you a tired smile back. "What is your sector? I want a clean face all day too," he says.
ChatGPT "I work... the ore processors," I reply, making up a role on the spot that seems plausible, considering the location and dirty condition of most workers. "But I'd rather stay away from my boss today. He's been in a foul mood." I'm trying my best to blend in. "Can you point me to the center of the structure?" I ask, hoping the diversion worked.
User "Yeah, 'the structure'. Let's call it that. Sounds nicer than 'prison of the damned'. What do you want at the center, there's only central holding there. I never go near that place. All that wailing. Gives me the shakes," he mutters.
ChatGPT "Oh, I just... wanted to see a friend," I reply, trying to keep my tone light, while inwardly my heart sinks at his description. "Don't worry about it, I'll find my way. Thanks for the chat." I give him a quick nod before heading in the direction he had indicated earlier, hoping I'm making the right choice.
User He wasn't wrong about the wailing. As you follow the corridors, passing along scruffy workers and a couple of guards with face covering helmets who are leaning against a wall, you can hear a lot of yelling, moaning and above all the sound of defiant Klingon opera louder and louder. The voice sounds familiar, but all singing Klingons generally sound alike.
ChatGPT As I continue toward the source of the noise, I find myself in front of a heavily barred door. I can't help but suppress a smile, recognizing the defiant voice as that of Worf. "Computer," I whisper to my tricorder, "Is there a way to shut down the power to this door?"
User The tricorder scans the control panel and warbles optimistically. It then shows a graphic representation of the door, with an arrow pointing at one location and a low energy setting for a phaser.
ChatGPT Taking a moment to look around and confirm that no one is watching, I set my phaser to the recommended setting and aim at the indicated spot on the door. After taking a deep breath, I fire.
User Something inside the door clunks and it opens just enough for the seal to crack. You jam a fingernail behind it, then a finger and eventually you manage to gain enough purchase to open the door. As it slowly opens, you find yourself at the far end of a long row of cells. At the other end is a desk, with a guard sitting behind a monitor. He is staring at it intently. Perhaps the stun setting might be a good idea. You adjust the phaser and take careful aim, when an arm reached out from one of the dark cells and blocks the shot. "Uhm... he's got three buddies in there. You can't see them from here," whispers Captain Sisko.
ChatGPT "I figured you might be here, Captain," I say, lowering my phaser discreetly. "Any ideas for getting you and the rest out without causing a full-on alert?"
User "That depends. Did you bring any weapons?"
ChatGPT "I brought a backpack full of phasers. There should be enough to arm everyone here," I reply, carefully removing the backpack from my shoulder and showing the Captain.
User "Good man. Worf is next to me, then Major Kira. Let Worf take the lead on this. Worf! Help has arrived.' 'Good. I was getting bored with singing,' grumbled a familiar voice. His hand emerges from between the bars, demanding a phaser.
ChatGPT I hand the phaser to Worf, watching as his large hand swallows the device. I then pass phasers to Captain Sisko and Major Kira. With the three of them armed, the odds seem significantly better. Now, we just have to make sure the element of surprise isn't wasted.
User Fifteen seconds later, three guards sink to the floor. Although the phasers were set to stun, nobody seems particularly worried about their health. "Get their uniforms and lock them up," says Sisko. "We can walk out of here. Once we're at the shuttle docks, we can probably find something that flies." "Captain, there are three uniforms and four of us. And the others are housed on another level," says Worf.
ChatGPT "Right. I can stay behind and create a diversion while you three escape. I'll catch up," I offer. "The priority should be to get you three and as many of the others out as we can. We also need to alert Starfleet about this place. I'm sure they'd love to know about a mining facility that's been kidnapping officers."
User "That's a very daring plan, Ensign, but we leave no man behind. Kyra, you and Worf go and find the others and proceed to that place where they searched us. Anyone in uniform is a valid target. And anyone who wants to come along, can do so. The ensign and I will try to find a comms terminal and alert Starfleet. Ensign, I assume you're not alone here?"
ChatGPT "Admiral Benson is aware of the situation, sir. Backup is half a day out. Before we separated, I was under the control of the Tactical Emergency System," I report, glad to see that the Captain is taking charge of the situation.
User "Oh. I had my reservations about that system. Holographic doctors are one thing, but that went a bit too far for my tastes. Okay, phasers for everyone. Bring enough for the others. Ensign, with me."
ChatGPT "Understood, sir," I reply, distributing the remaining phasers to my colleagues and following Captain Sisko down the corridor. As we navigate through the mining facility, I stay alert for any guards or threats that may be in our way. I can feel a sense of hope and determination building up within me - we might actually make it out of here.
User "HALT!" bellows a voice behind us, immediately followed by a reddish phaser burst. The Captain turns on his heels, pushes you out of the way and fires. A guard falls to the floor. The phaser fire was detected by the security system. A klaxon starts blaring and the ceiling lights turn red. A voice starts giving unintelligible instructions over the tannoy. "We need to find a comms panel, Ensign. Any ideas?" asks Sisko, scanning the corridor for more guards. A frightened looking maintenance worker comes to see what's going on, but ducks out of the way as soon as he sees the pair of you.
ChatGPT "I remember seeing a room with a lot of terminals when I was making my way through the facility earlier, sir," I reply, my mind racing. "If memory serves, it's two corridors over, near the scrubber exhausts." I keep my phaser ready and move towards the direction of the room, all the while keeping an eye out for more guards.
User "That's the wrong way, Ensign. I imagine they have more than one place with comms terminals. You cover the rear. Follow me. Put your hand on my shoulder so you can look behind you all the time. If it wears a uniform, it's fair game."
ChatGPT "Yes, sir," I reply, placing my hand on the Captain's shoulder. I pivot and start to walk backwards, keeping my eyes and phaser focused on the path we've just traveled. The constant blaring of the klaxon mixes with the distant shouting and running steps of approaching guards. Despite the adrenaline rush, I manage to keep my aim steady and my breathing calm. The training exercises at the academy never truly prepare you for the real thing, but they do help in maintaining focus.
User You down three guards and accidentally scare the bejeezus out of a woman pushing a cleaning cart, but eventually Sisko stops. "Got it. Stand back while I blast this door." A few seconds later the corridor fills with acrid smoke from a melting door panel. Behind it is a room with several desks.
ChatGPT Entering the room cautiously, I scan the area with my phaser ready. Seeing no immediate threats, I turn my attention to the various panels and screens scattered throughout the space. The room is filled with a myriad of communication equipment - probably a central control hub for managing mining operations, worker communications, and security measures.
"Captain, I think this is it," I say, gesturing to a terminal that seems to be linked to an extensive communications network. "I should be able to send out a distress signal from here." I start to work on the terminal, trying to hack into the system and figure out how to send a message to Starfleet.
User "Try reaching the Defiant," suggest Sisko from the doorway. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" Another guard bites the dust somewhere. "Captain! WE ARE BEHIND HIM!" bellows Worf." "GOOD! Move along, we'll be there shortly. Ensign, how are you getting on?"
ChatGPT "I've managed to break through the initial security layers, Captain," I respond, my fingers moving rapidly over the terminal's interface. "It seems this system has been rigged to only accept authorized codes for communication."
Suddenly, a stroke of inspiration hits me. "Captain, when we first boarded the Defiant, I had to program my authorization codes into the ship's communication systems. If I can find a way to mimic those codes from this terminal... I might be able to trick the Defiant's systems into accepting the distress signal."
I double down on the task, focusing all my attention on reconstructing my authorization codes. As I do so, I keep an eye on the room's entryway, ready to react in case more guards show up.
User The terminal beeps and lights up. You don't understand any of the dials, but with any luck your tricorder can interface with it. Time to hail the Defiant.
ChatGPT "Defiant, this is Ensign," I say, praying the connection holds. "Requesting immediate assistance. The Captain and the crew are here, but we are currently under attack. Coordinates being transmitted now."
A static-filled silence follows. I glance at Sisko, an unspoken question in my gaze. Did it work? Did our message get through?
User "Ensign, this is the Defiant. I can't beam you out of there. Get to the shuttle dock, so that all that ore doesn't block the transporter lock. The USS Rotterdam is thirty minutes out."
ChatGPT "Understood, Defiant. We'll make our way to the shuttle dock. Be ready for us," I reply, exhaling a sigh of relief. I turn to Sisko, updating him with the situation. "Captain, we have to move. The Rotterdam is on its way but we need to get to the shuttle dock for transport."
User Worf's voice comes in through the Captain's commbadge, as it somehow manages to create a local connection. "Worf to Sisko. We have secured the shuttle dock. Mr. O'Brien is injured. Where are you?"
ChatGPT I quickly respond, "This is Ensign [Your Name]. Captain Sisko and I are en route to your position. We'll be there shortly. Hang in there, Chief." With that, I turn to Sisko and suggest, "We should move, Captain."
User "Ensign Markov and I are just behind you, Mr. Worf. Try not to pick us off as we approach. Oh and the Defiant is operating with that emergency command protocol, so it's ready to beam you up. Have Major Kira and the Chief go ahead, if possible. But hold the fort for us." "Understood, Captain. Worf out."
Five minutes and more shooting than is good for a man's digestion you reach the shuttle dock. You literally have to step over a pile of dead guards to get through the door. "Had fun, Mr. Worf? Does your phaser not come with a stun setting?" asks Sisko. "I recognized the men who took us, Sir. My finger must have slipped on the settings dial," growls Worf, looking you over to assess if you're likely to snitch. "It happens," said Sisko matter-of-factly. "Ensign, get us home."
ChatGPT Without any hesitation, I raise my commbadge and say, "Ensign Markov to Defiant. Four to beam up."
User (Okay, take it home. You're all aboard, O'Brien will live, you get a speech and a medal. Write out those events from Markov's perspective and finish off. I'll add something if you pause.)
ChatGPT As the familiar hum and sparkling light of the transporter envelops us, I take one last look at the chaotic scene we're leaving behind. My heart pounds in my chest, not from fear, but from the exhilaration of having faced danger and come out the other side. It's a rush I wasn't expecting.
When we rematerialize aboard the Defiant, a group of medics is waiting for us. They immediately rush to Chief O'Brien, but his smile and light-hearted joke assure me he'll be alright. As I step off the transporter pad, I let out a sigh of relief.
Later, back in my uniform and at a ceremony in the Defiant's Mess Hall, Captain Sisko delivers a speech. He talks about bravery, about loyalty, about the strength of Starfleet and the spirit of those who serve. He doesn't dwell on the danger we faced, but rather the courage it took to face it.
When he calls me up, handing me a medal for bravery under fire, I can't help but feel a swell of pride. The applauding faces of my crewmates, the recognition in their eyes... it's a moment I will never forget. This is why I joined Starfleet, for moments like this. To be part of something greater, to face adversity and stand tall.
"Ensign Markov," Sisko says, offering a handshake along with the medal, "Your courage and quick thinking played a crucial role in our escape. Starfleet is proud to have you among its ranks."
As I return to my quarters that night, medal in hand, I find myself smiling. Yes, today was difficult, even frightening at times. But it was also invigorating, and more than that, it was important. It's a reminder of why I'm here, of why we're all here. To explore, to protect, to boldly go...
And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I apologise for these questions that have probably been answered 100 times before, but I’m in a bit of a time crunch and I would truly be grateful for some info and advice!
I discovered comma just a few minutes ago and I’m enamoured by what I am seeing. I have a deposit down on a 23 Corolla, mainly because I’m hoping that Toyota sense will help improve my soul crushing daily commute by taking the pressure off of keeping within a lane and at the right distance from other cars. Now I’m wondering if I should just buy a used 2021 for 10k less and spend the extra $1500 on a comma. I’m sure there are common questions, but I’m actually meeting with the dealership tomorrow to finalise the deal so I’m hoping for quick answers now while I continue to research on my own.
Will it give me any problems with insurance if I get in an accident? I use Travelers and I want to be 100% certain I won’t be liable if I get in an accident before moving forward.
Does comma work much better than Toyota sense 3.0? It seems like it is better able to actually autonomously drive (with user attention of course), but is it just a little better or way better?
Does it void the factory warranty?
Any help will be appreciated!

Like idk why people praise engage supports when it takes very quick reflexes to disengage? Also I am aggressive af with Janna in lane. I don’t stand behind my Adc. To think of it any time I see other enchanter supports who main enchanters; they usually aren’t standing behind their Adc. Thoughts? Is it cause they can’t see the value enchanters have or what? I understand play making potential is valuable but so is making sure the carry can’t be shut down!

I hunt monsters for an international anomaly research center
Part 1
I’m just going to go out and say it. Monsters are real and I’m going to tell my stories about them:
First, Vampires. Vampires like humans come in many shapes and sizes, and unlike what some have stated they are relatively different from the stereotypical Dracula vampire. One of their primary differences is they could be more pretty. They’re not Twilight or Dracula-looking vampires but rather more closely resemble Nosferatu. A fully infected vampire is bald with no eyelashes, eyebrows, or hair atop the head, along with no other bodily hair. They also have much more prominent canines and begin to lose their other teeth making their speech very hard if not impossible to understand. Their eyes start to change and turn yellow resembling closer to that of a nocturnal animal rather than human eyes, and their faces often become more animalistic looking. Some individuals have even sprouted pointed ears.
Now there is a caveat to vampires and their symptoms. A vampire does not have to have all symptoms to be considered a vampire. The only universal changes are the teeth and eye changes. The rest depends entirely on the individual. Vampires can also vary due to the cure. Now people being turned into vampires cannot be cured, but a full vampire can be cured mentally. This is due to the fact that our brains deteriorate so quickly when we are turned that we’d be brain-dead if we were turned human again.
Now I should probably address their abilities as it seems pop culture has added many that aren’t true. First off vampires are not immortal. They actually live typically shorter lives due to the toll the disease can have on the body. Second, they are naturally more robust and faster than humans. However, this is due to a lack of restraint and they will often hurt themselves in these shows of apparent supernatural strength. Third, they do have sensitive skin that burns easily however they won’t burn to death in sunlight. Fourth, they cannot turn invisible in any manner although they are very stealthy. Fifth, they cannot disobey gravity in any manner. Sixth, the drinking of blood does indeed strengthen them to a great degree for a short time. Seventh, they don’t transform not in any form or manner. I’ve encountered many vampires in my time. Most vampires tend to slowly become feral the longer they are infected. To the point, they become forest creatures that are often mistaken as wendigos. Eighth and lastly they are invulnerable to a degree. They function similarly to Achilles; they are invincible except for one spot. This spot for vampires is always the chest right where the sternum is. If you can land a clean shot there you can kill a vampire.
My most recent encounter with a vampire was that of a vampire in Idaho. We’d been getting reports of many disappearances in Idaho that sounded suspiciously like vampire activity, so I was sent in to investigate this matter.
I loaded the railgun and checked all my gear. I had everything I needed. I looked over at the pilot and gave him a thumbs up then I strapped the backpack and duffel bag on. The doors to the plane on one side opened and I stood next to the opening at the plane. I gave one last nod to the pilot and then jumped. The wind tossed me around and I rocketed down to the forest below. If you had asked me just a year ago I would’ve been terrified but now nothing scared me. I’d seen so much worse things than heights. I kept my eyes on the forest below as I fell faster and faster getting closer and closer to the ground then. Pop! Www Wish! The parachute caught my fall yanking at my body. Then slowly I lowered the 100 feet separating me from the ground. Most would call me crazy for the stunts like that I pull, and maybe I am crazy to take a monster to hunt monsters after all. Maybe I just pull those stunts because some sick part of me wants to be afraid of the things I fight. I don’t really know I’m not really into character study anyways.
I unbuckled from the chute which was now tangled 20 feet up in a tree, and fell to the ground. I would’ve landed on my feet but a line got tangled flipping me and causing me to fall straight on my helmet with a loud Crack! After recovering I unclipped the bag and backpack and got everything set.
I strapped all the extra gear to my belt and vest then plugged the tube attached to my gun into the gas canister on my back. Then I checked the small gps I had on me. The cave was half a mile away through the fields. I switched on my night vision and I started jogging for the point. It really wasn’t far at all maybe a five-minute jog and I was there. It was a large rocky hole in the middle of a field. There was a tiny rough dirt road leading up to it with a small dirt lot around it. Parked in the lot was a very old tan Ford truck. Sticking out of the hole was an old rusty ladder with a cage around it. I walked over and looked down into the cave. There was probably a 30-foot drop into the large chamber. So I squeezed into the caged ladder and started making my way down. The space was cramped and the ladder was shaky, but I reached the bottom with little incident. The walls of the cave were covered in graffiti of all colors and small circles of rocks looking like makeshift fire pits littered the cave floor. Along with the rocks were beer bottles. They were of all brands, colors, and sizes and they were scattered around it as well.
I scanned the room and saw two tunnels leading in either direction. After a momentary pause to think I went for the larger and more traveled one. The tunnel quickly opened onto another large and very tall chamber although this one did not go to the surface. This chamber was also almost pitch black even for the night vision. I reached up to my helmet and switched the light on. Instantly the second chamber was flooded with light. This chamber had a large high ledge overlooking it and like the other was covered in graffiti. I walked through the chamber and into the tunnel once again. This section of the tunnel was large and long.
I walked along its sandy floors as the tunnel opened into a third chamber to the right of the chamber was a high ledge that looked like people had crawled up on it. I climbed it to see if anything was up there but just more graffiti. I looked around the rest of the chamber and saw another similar but much large ledge. It looked empty as well so I just kept going. The tunnel leading out was low but wide so I had to crouch down in order to go through. The tunnel took a tight turn to the right as the ceiling slowly and gradually got higher. The floor of this section was covered in lots of large sharp rocks and not flat and sandy like the rest. Slowly I made my way through this section until the tunnel was tall and normal again. I walked down it for a while only for it to get low and tight again. I squeed through an especially tall section into the smallest chamber so far. This chamber had a slight turn in it and once I made the turn I saw the first sign of the missing people.
Fresh cans sitting on rocks, a backpack leaning against the wall, an expensive camera is next to the backpack, and a few jackets and water bottles are set on the rocks. I started scanning the room to see where’d they gone. I saw two holes leading to the same place. They were about 2 ½ feet tall and 3 feet wide. That’s when I caught on to the sound just beyond the holes. It was faint but it sounded like a sucking-smacking type noise. I knew that sound I’d heard it a hundred times before. It was the sound of a vampire feasting.
I grabbed a tool from my belt that looked like a bulky glow stick and cracked it open. Blinding amounts of light erupted from it, so much so that my helmet immediately tinted. I threw the glowing stick into one of the holes and instantly screeches of pain and terror came from the room. Good, I thought. It must’ve hurt the thing. After a couple of seconds, it came crawling out of the other hole. The one I hadn’t thrown the stick through.
The creature was absolutely disgusting and horrifying to look at. This vampire looked like a crossbreed between a naked mole rat, a bat, and a person. Its eyes were yellow with slits for pupils. Its face was wrinkly and closely resembled that of a vampire bat. Its mouth bore four large fangs with additional smaller fangs. Its ears were pointed and much larger. The top of its head was bald and smooth just time the rest of the body. I saw its face was covered in blood as it looked up at me. The rest of its body was fairly normal besides some noticeably large claws on its five fingers.
It screeched with anger again when it looked up into my light and started scampering away the way I’d come. I grabbed another light stick and threw it where the vampire was going. It yelled in pain and terror and turned around back into my light. I could tell it was trying to make a decision, so I took the chance and shot at it. I hit it in the throat the large stake for a bullet bounced off and clambered on the ground. The vampire smiled and then rushed toward me. I almost took another shot but it was too fast.
It slammed into my legs toppling me to the ground. I heard the sound of ripping fabric and then quickly I threw myself atop the vampire trying to wrestle it to the ground. I tried but it was stronger than me and eventually threw me off. It backed away studying me then in a blink it dove for my throat its teeth sinking through my armor and barely piercing my flesh. I pulled my knife, shoved it off, and then made a stab at its chest. It pierced the skin but the thing scampered away so fast it didn’t kill it.
The light stick was starting to go dim and before I threw another the vampire started darting down the tunnel. I chased after it but it was faster than me. I knew that. My only hope was that this thing didn’t know how to climb up a ladder. I crawled through the tight sections and sprinted through the tunnel. Suddenly I entered one of the chambers. This was the one with the ledge on either side. I scanned my light on and around both ledges but it wasn’t there.
Just as I was about to walk into the second chamber I remembered something. It had a large ledge just above where I was about to walk in. I picked up a large rock and threw it into the chamber. I heard the vampire shuffle and almost jump off the ledge, but it seemed it realized before it was to jump. It hissed in frustration but stayed up there. I stood there trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I just walked into the cave backward so I’d be facing it when it jumped for me. Just as I thought it did, and I shot. The stake bullet pierced the vampire directly in the center of the chest, and it was slammed into the rocky face.
The stake bullet had pierced it in such a way the vampire was now pinned to the stone wall by it. Despite this tremendous injury, it yelled in pain and finally spokes its first words
“Mors tua tarda erit.” It sputtered out in a barely understandable voice.
It was Latin and it roughly translated to “your death will be slow.” Right after it said that it pushed itself off the stake breaking even more of its chest. Vampires didn’t die quickly or slowly this one would die soon I knew that but he’d put up a fight until he did.
He lunged at me slashing through my armor and tearing my arm open. He dove for my throat sinking his teeth in again. For a quick moment, I felt its fangs begin to suck the blood from my body before I grabbed my knife and started stabbing it in the stomach. Since I’d hit the mark it was now just as vulnerable as any human. It pulled away and I raised the gun and made two quick shots at its face.
The vampire collapsed backward dead. I hauled myself out of the cave and told my team over my phone the job was done. In just 5 minutes they had the whole investigation team out there. Turns out that thing had managed to drag 22 people past the small hole it had been in. All the corpses were identified and a quick cover story was made.
I had to take the antidote, but I was fine. This isn’t even the worst time I had with a vampire. This one was a walk in the park compared to some of the others I’ve had to deal with. But anyways I’m running out of time so I suppose I’ll tell you all more about that next time, and please tell me what kinda cryptids you’re wondering about because I guarantee I’ve probably fought it. Anyway over and out.

I hunt monsters for an international anomaly research center
Part 1
I’m just going to go out and say it. Monsters are real and I’m going to tell my stories about them:
First, Vampires. Vampires like humans come in many shapes and sizes, and unlike what some have stated they are relatively different from the stereotypical Dracula vampire. One of their primary differences is they could be more pretty. They’re not Twilight or Dracula-looking vampires but rather more closely resemble Nosferatu. A fully infected vampire is bald with no eyelashes, eyebrows, or hair atop the head, along with no other bodily hair. They also have much more prominent canines and begin to lose their other teeth making their speech very hard if not impossible to understand. Their eyes start to change and turn yellow resembling closer to that of a nocturnal animal rather than human eyes, and their faces often become more animalistic looking. Some individuals have even sprouted pointed ears.
Now there is a caveat to vampires and their symptoms. A vampire does not have to have all symptoms to be considered a vampire. The only universal changes are the teeth and eye changes. The rest depends entirely on the individual. Vampires can also vary due to the cure. Now people being turned into vampires cannot be cured, but a full vampire can be cured mentally. This is due to the fact that our brains deteriorate so quickly when we are turned that we’d be brain-dead if we were turned human again.
Now I should probably address their abilities as it seems pop culture has added many that aren’t true. First off vampires are not immortal. They actually live typically shorter lives due to the toll the disease can have on the body. Second, they are naturally more robust and faster than humans. However, this is due to a lack of restraint and they will often hurt themselves in these shows of apparent supernatural strength. Third, they do have sensitive skin that burns easily however they won’t burn to death in sunlight. Fourth, they cannot turn invisible in any manner although they are very stealthy. Fifth, they cannot disobey gravity in any manner. Sixth, the drinking of blood does indeed strengthen them to a great degree for a short time. Seventh, they don’t transform not in any form or manner. I’ve encountered many vampires in my time. Most vampires tend to slowly become feral the longer they are infected. To the point, they become forest creatures that are often mistaken as wendigos. Eighth and lastly they are invulnerable to a degree. They function similarly to Achilles; they are invincible except for one spot. This spot for vampires is always the chest right where the sternum is. If you can land a clean shot there you can kill a vampire.
My most recent encounter with a vampire was that of a vampire in Idaho. We’d been getting reports of many disappearances in Idaho that sounded suspiciously like vampire activity, so I was sent in to investigate this matter.
I loaded the railgun and checked all my gear. I had everything I needed. I looked over at the pilot and gave him a thumbs up then I strapped the backpack and duffel bag on. The doors to the plane on one side opened and I stood next to the opening at the plane. I gave one last nod to the pilot and then jumped. The wind tossed me around and I rocketed down to the forest below. If you had asked me just a year ago I would’ve been terrified but now nothing scared me. I’d seen so much worse things than heights. I kept my eyes on the forest below as I fell faster and faster getting closer and closer to the ground then. Pop! Www Wish! The parachute caught my fall yanking at my body. Then slowly I lowered the 100 feet separating me from the ground. Most would call me crazy for the stunts like that I pull, and maybe I am crazy to take a monster to hunt monsters after all. Maybe I just pull those stunts because some sick part of me wants to be afraid of the things I fight. I don’t really know I’m not really into character study anyways.
I unbuckled from the chute which was now tangled 20 feet up in a tree, and fell to the ground. I would’ve landed on my feet but a line got tangled flipping me and causing me to fall straight on my helmet with a loud Crack! After recovering I unclipped the bag and backpack and got everything set.
I strapped all the extra gear to my belt and vest then plugged the tube attached to my gun into the gas canister on my back. Then I checked the small gps I had on me. The cave was half a mile away through the fields. I switched on my night vision and I started jogging for the point. It really wasn’t far at all maybe a five-minute jog and I was there. It was a large rocky hole in the middle of a field. There was a tiny rough dirt road leading up to it with a small dirt lot around it. Parked in the lot was a very old tan Ford truck. Sticking out of the hole was an old rusty ladder with a cage around it. I walked over and looked down into the cave. There was probably a 30-foot drop into the large chamber. So I squeezed into the caged ladder and started making my way down. The space was cramped and the ladder was shaky, but I reached the bottom with little incident. The walls of the cave were covered in graffiti of all colors and small circles of rocks looking like makeshift fire pits littered the cave floor. Along with the rocks were beer bottles. They were of all brands, colors, and sizes and they were scattered around it as well.
I scanned the room and saw two tunnels leading in either direction. After a momentary pause to think I went for the larger and more traveled one. The tunnel quickly opened onto another large and very tall chamber although this one did not go to the surface. This chamber was also almost pitch black even for the night vision. I reached up to my helmet and switched the light on. Instantly the second chamber was flooded with light. This chamber had a large high ledge overlooking it and like the other was covered in graffiti. I walked through the chamber and into the tunnel once again. This section of the tunnel was large and long.
I walked along its sandy floors as the tunnel opened into a third chamber to the right of the chamber was a high ledge that looked like people had crawled up on it. I climbed it to see if anything was up there but just more graffiti. I looked around the rest of the chamber and saw another similar but much large ledge. It looked empty as well so I just kept going. The tunnel leading out was low but wide so I had to crouch down in order to go through. The tunnel took a tight turn to the right as the ceiling slowly and gradually got higher. The floor of this section was covered in lots of large sharp rocks and not flat and sandy like the rest. Slowly I made my way through this section until the tunnel was tall and normal again. I walked down it for a while only for it to get low and tight again. I squeed through an especially tall section into the smallest chamber so far. This chamber had a slight turn in it and once I made the turn I saw the first sign of the missing people.
Fresh cans sitting on rocks, a backpack leaning against the wall, an expensive camera is next to the backpack, and a few jackets and water bottles are set on the rocks. I started scanning the room to see where’d they gone. I saw two holes leading to the same place. They were about 2 ½ feet tall and 3 feet wide. That’s when I caught on to the sound just beyond the holes. It was faint but it sounded like a sucking-smacking type noise. I knew that sound I’d heard it a hundred times before. It was the sound of a vampire feasting.
I grabbed a tool from my belt that looked like a bulky glow stick and cracked it open. Blinding amounts of light erupted from it, so much so that my helmet immediately tinted. I threw the glowing stick into one of the holes and instantly screeches of pain and terror came from the room. Good, I thought. It must’ve hurt the thing. After a couple of seconds, it came crawling out of the other hole. The one I hadn’t thrown the stick through.
The creature was absolutely disgusting and horrifying to look at. This vampire looked like a crossbreed between a naked mole rat, a bat, and a person. Its eyes were yellow with slits for pupils. Its face was wrinkly and closely resembled that of a vampire bat. Its mouth bore four large fangs with additional smaller fangs. Its ears were pointed and much larger. The top of its head was bald and smooth just time the rest of the body. I saw its face was covered in blood as it looked up at me. The rest of its body was fairly normal besides some noticeably large claws on its five fingers.
It screeched with anger again when it looked up into my light and started scampering away the way I’d come. I grabbed another light stick and threw it where the vampire was going. It yelled in pain and terror and turned around back into my light. I could tell it was trying to make a decision, so I took the chance and shot at it. I hit it in the throat the large stake for a bullet bounced off and clambered on the ground. The vampire smiled and then rushed toward me. I almost took another shot but it was too fast.
It slammed into my legs toppling me to the ground. I heard the sound of ripping fabric and then quickly I threw myself atop the vampire trying to wrestle it to the ground. I tried but it was stronger than me and eventually threw me off. It backed away studying me then in a blink it dove for my throat its teeth sinking through my armor and barely piercing my flesh. I pulled my knife, shoved it off, and then made a stab at its chest. It pierced the skin but the thing scampered away so fast it didn’t kill it.
The light stick was starting to go dim and before I threw another the vampire started darting down the tunnel. I chased after it but it was faster than me. I knew that. My only hope was that this thing didn’t know how to climb up a ladder. I crawled through the tight sections and sprinted through the tunnel. Suddenly I entered one of the chambers. This was the one with the ledge on either side. I scanned my light on and around both ledges but it wasn’t there.
Just as I was about to walk into the second chamber I remembered something. It had a large ledge just above where I was about to walk in. I picked up a large rock and threw it into the chamber. I heard the vampire shuffle and almost jump off the ledge, but it seemed it realized before it was to jump. It hissed in frustration but stayed up there. I stood there trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I just walked into the cave backward so I’d be facing it when it jumped for me. Just as I thought it did, and I shot. The stake bullet pierced the vampire directly in the center of the chest, and it was slammed into the rocky face.
The stake bullet had pierced it in such a way the vampire was now pinned to the stone wall by it. Despite this tremendous injury, it yelled in pain and finally spokes its first words
“Mors tua tarda erit.” It sputtered out in a barely understandable voice.
It was Latin and it roughly translated to “your death will be slow.” Right after it said that it pushed itself off the stake breaking even more of its chest. Vampires didn’t die quickly or slowly this one would die soon I knew that but he’d put up a fight until he did.
He lunged at me slashing through my armor and tearing my arm open. He dove for my throat sinking his teeth in again. For a quick moment, I felt its fangs begin to suck the blood from my body before I grabbed my knife and started stabbing it in the stomach. Since I’d hit the mark it was now just as vulnerable as any human. It pulled away and I raised the gun and made two quick shots at its face.
The vampire collapsed backward dead. I hauled myself out of the cave and told my team over my phone the job was done. In just 5 minutes they had the whole investigation team out there. Turns out that thing had managed to drag 22 people past the small hole it had been in. All the corpses were identified and a quick cover story was made.
I had to take the antidote, but I was fine. This isn’t even the worst time I had with a vampire. This one was a walk in the park compared to some of the others I’ve had to deal with. But anyways I’m running out of time so I suppose I’ll tell you all more about that next time, and please tell me what kinda cryptids you’re wondering about because I guarantee I’ve probably fought it. Anyway over and out.

I hunt monsters for an international anomaly research center
Part 1
I’m just going to go out and say it. Monsters are real and I’m going to tell my stories about them:
First, Vampires. Vampires like humans come in many shapes and sizes, and unlike what some have stated they are relatively different from the stereotypical Dracula vampire. One of their primary differences is they are not pretty. They’re not Twilight or Dracula-looking vampires but rather more closely resemble Nosferatu. A fully infected vampire is bald with no eyelashes, eyebrows, or hair atop the head, along with no other bodily hair. They also have much more prominent canines and begin to lose their other teeth making their speech very hard if not impossible to understand. Their eyes start to change and turn yellow resembling closer to that of a nocturnal animal rather than human eyes, and their faces often become more animalistic looking. Some individuals have even sprouted pointed ears.
Now there is a caveat to vampires and their symptoms. A vampire does not have to have all the visual symptoms to be considered a vampire. The only universal changes are the teeth and eye changes. The rest depends entirely on the individual. Vampires can also vary due to the cure. Now people being turned into vampires cannot be cured, but a full vampire can be cured mentally. This is due to the fact that our brains deteriorate so quickly when we are turned that we’d be brain-dead if we were turned human again.
Now I should probably address their abilities as it seems pop culture has added many that aren’t true. First off vampires are not immortal. They actually live typically shorter lives due to the toll the disease can have on the body. Second, they are naturally more robust and faster than humans. However, this is due to a lack of restraint and they will often hurt themselves in these shows of apparent supernatural strength. Third, they do have sensitive skin that burns easily however they won’t burn to death in sunlight. Fourth, they cannot turn invisible in any manner although they are very stealthy. Fifth, they cannot disobey gravity in any manner. Sixth, the drinking of blood does indeed strengthen them to a great degree for a short time. Seventh, they don’t transform not in any form or manner. I’ve encountered many vampires in my time. Most vampires tend to slowly become feral the longer they are infected. To the point, they become forest creatures that are often mistaken as wendigos. Eighth and lastly they are invulnerable to a degree. They function similarly to Achilles; they are invincible except for one spot. This spot for vampires is always the chest right where the sternum is. If you can land a clean shot there you can kill a vampire.
My most recent encounter with a vampire was that of a vampire in Idaho. We’d been getting reports of many disappearances in Idaho that sounded suspiciously like vampire activity, so I was sent in to investigate this matter.
I loaded the railgun and checked all my gear. I had everything I needed. I looked over at the pilot and gave him a thumbs up then I strapped the backpack and duffel bag on. The doors to the plane on one side opened and I stood next to the opening at the plane. I gave one last nod to the pilot and then jumped. The wind tossed me around and I rocketed down to the forest below. If you had asked me just a year ago I would’ve been terrified but now nothing scared me. I’d seen so much worse things than heights. I kept my eyes on the forest below as I fell faster and faster getting closer and closer to the ground then. Pop! Www Wish! The parachute caught my fall yanking at my body. Then slowly I lowered the 100 feet separating me from the ground. Most would call me crazy for the stunts like that I pull, and maybe I am crazy to take a monster to hunt monsters after all. Maybe I just pull those stunts because some sick part of me wants to be afraid of the things I fight. I don’t really know I’m not really into character study anyways.
I unbuckled from the chute which was now tangled 20 feet up in a tree, and fell to the ground. I would’ve landed on my feet but a line got tangled flipping me and causing me to fall straight on my helmet with a loud Crack! After recovering I unclipped the bag and backpack and got everything set.
I strapped all the extra gear to my belt and vest then plugged the tube attached to my gun into the gas canister on my back. Then I checked the small gps I had on me. The cave was half a mile away through the fields. I switched on my night vision and I started jogging for the point. It really wasn’t far at all maybe a five-minute jog and I was there. It was a large rocky hole in the middle of a field. There was a tiny rough dirt road leading up to it with a small dirt lot around it. Parked in the lot was a very old tan Ford truck. Sticking out of the hole was an old rusty ladder with a cage around it. I walked over and looked down into the cave. There was probably a 30-foot drop into the large chamber. So I squeezed into the caged ladder and started making my way down. The space was cramped and the ladder was shaky, but I reached the bottom with little incident. The walls of the cave were covered in graffiti of all colors and small circles of rocks looking like makeshift fire pits littered the cave floor. Along with the rocks were beer bottles. They were of all brands, colors, and sizes and they were scattered around it as well.
I scanned the room and saw two tunnels leading in either direction. After a momentary pause to think I went for the larger and more traveled one. The tunnel quickly opened onto another large and very tall chamber although this one did not go to the surface. This chamber was also almost pitch black even for the night vision. I reached up to my helmet and switched the light on. Instantly the second chamber was flooded with light. This chamber had a large high ledge overlooking it and like the other was covered in graffiti. I walked through the chamber and into the tunnel once again. This section of the tunnel was large and long.
I walked along its sandy floors as the tunnel opened into a third chamber to the right of the chamber was a high ledge that looked like people had crawled up on it. I climbed it to see if anything was up there but just more graffiti. I looked around the rest of the chamber and saw another similar but much large ledge. It looked empty as well so I just kept going. The tunnel leading out was low but wide so I had to crouch down in order to go through. The tunnel took a tight turn to the right as the ceiling slowly and gradually got higher. The floor of this section was covered in lots of large sharp rocks and not flat and sandy like the rest. Slowly I made my way through this section until the tunnel was tall and normal again. I walked down it for a while only for it to get low and tight again. I squeed through an especially tall section into the smallest chamber so far. This chamber had a slight turn in it and once I made the turn I saw the first sign of the missing people.
Fresh cans sitting on rocks, a backpack leaning against the wall, an expensive camera is next to the backpack, and a few jackets and water bottles are set on the rocks. I started scanning the room to see where’d they gone. I saw two holes leading to the same place. They were about 2 ½ feet tall and 3 feet wide. That’s when I caught on to the sound just beyond the holes. It was faint but it sounded like a sucking-smacking type noise. I knew that sound I’d heard it a hundred times before. It was the sound of a vampire feasting.
I grabbed a tool from my belt that looked like a bulky glow stick and cracked it open. Blinding amounts of light erupted from it, so much so that my helmet immediately tinted. I threw the glowing stick into one of the holes and instantly screeches of pain and terror came from the room. Good, I thought. It must’ve hurt the thing. After a couple of seconds, it came crawling out of the other hole. The one I hadn’t thrown the stick through.
The creature was absolutely disgusting and horrifying to look at. This vampire looked like a crossbreed between a naked mole rat, a bat, and a person. Its eyes were yellow with slits for pupils. Its face was wrinkly and closely resembled that of a vampire bat. Its mouth bore four large fangs with additional smaller fangs. Its ears were pointed and much larger. The top of its head was bald and smooth just time the rest of the body. I saw its face was covered in blood as it looked up at me. The rest of its body was fairly normal besides some noticeably large claws on its five fingers.
It screeched with anger again when it looked up into my light and started scampering away the way I’d come. I grabbed another light stick and threw it where the vampire was going. It yelled in pain and terror and turned around back into my light. I could tell it was trying to make a decision, so I took the chance and shot at it. I hit it in the throat the large stake for a bullet bounced off and clambered on the ground. The vampire smiled and then rushed toward me. I almost took another shot but it was too fast.
It slammed into my legs toppling me to the ground. I heard the sound of ripping fabric and then quickly I threw myself atop the vampire trying to wrestle it to the ground. I tried but it was stronger than me and eventually threw me off. It backed away studying me then in a blink it dove for my throat its teeth sinking through my armor and barely piercing my flesh. I pulled my knife, shoved it off, and then made a stab at its chest. It pierced the skin but the thing scampered away so fast it didn’t kill it.
The light stick was starting to go dim and before I threw another the vampire started darting down the tunnel. I chased after it but it was faster than me. I knew that. My only hope was that this thing didn’t know how to climb up a ladder. I crawled through the tight sections and sprinted through the tunnel. Suddenly I entered one of the chambers. This was the one with the ledge on either side. I scanned my light on and around both ledges but it wasn’t there.
Just as I was about to walk into the second chamber I remembered something. It had a large ledge just above where I was about to walk in. I picked up a large rock and threw it into the chamber. I heard the vampire shuffle and almost jump off the ledge, but it seemed it realized before it was to jump. It hissed in frustration but stayed up there. I stood there trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I just walked into the cave backward so I’d be facing it when it jumped for me. Just as I thought it did, and I shot. The stake bullet pierced the vampire directly in the center of the chest, and it was slammed into the rocky face.
The stake bullet had pierced it in such a way the vampire was now pinned to the stone wall by it. Despite this tremendous injury, it yelled in pain and finally spokes its first words
“Mors tua tarda erit.” It sputtered out in a barely understandable voice.
It was Latin and it roughly translated to “your death will be slow.” Right after it said that it pushed itself off the stake breaking even more of its chest. Vampires didn’t die quickly or slowly this one would die soon I knew that but he’d put up a fight until he did.
He lunged at me slashing through my armor and tearing my arm open. He dove for my throat sinking his teeth in again. For a quick moment, I felt its fangs begin to suck the blood from my body before I grabbed my knife and started stabbing it in the stomach. Since I’d hit the mark it was now just as vulnerable as any human. It pulled away and I raised the gun and made two quick shots at its face.
The vampire collapsed backward dead. I hauled myself out of the cave and told my team the job was done over the phone. In just 5 minutes they had the whole investigation team out there. Turns out that thing had managed to drag 22 people past the small hole it had been in. All the corpses were identified and a quick cover story was made.
I had to take the antidote, but I was fine. This isn’t even the worst time I had with a vampire. This one was a walk in the park compared to some of the others I’ve had to deal with. But anyways I’m running out of time so I suppose I’ll tell you all more about that next time, and please tell me what kinda cryptids you’re wondering about because I guarantee I’ve probably fought it. Anyway over and out.

Located in Toronto. I drive on the 401 a ton, both for work and visiting family out of town frequently. Anywhere from Whitby to KW. Driving in Europe was a dream. Coming back and driving in Ontario has made me so angry.
I was in France and Italy for two months, and things I noticed there that shocked me in very good ways: - if there was a quick slowdown, people put their 4-ways on - used signals - drivers used the left lane explicitly for PASSING. Aside from a few cases I never really saw anyone cruising in the left lane, and they definitely were either going the speed limit or above - if they weren’t going to speed limit, especially in 130km/h zones, they stayed in the right or middle lanes - nobody driving with their high beams on when they shouldn’t be, accidentally blinding other drivers - leaving ample space to the car infront - DIDNT SEE A SINGLE ACCIDENT
Things I see all the time in Ontario: - high beams all the time, or certain models that have blinding headlights (looking at you new Corollas) - drivers cruising in the left lane under or exactly at the speed limit - drivers weaving in and out of HOV lanes - riding super close to the car infront - accidents all. the. fucking. time. - I don’t even want to continue.
The driving around the GTA is abhorrent and no wonder there are accidents constantly.

Passive: Inbalance Highlight: Whenever you deal damage to an enemy through abillities or autos you apply a stack of Inbalance on them for 6s refreshing with each further stack applied and stacking up indefinitely.
Inbalance: After 6 stacks, your enemy's Magic Resist is reduced by 10-20(Based on level)% and their Attack Damage and Abillity Power are reduced by 5-10(Based on level)%. Stacks after the 6th further increase the Magic Resist reduction by 1% and the Attack Damage and Abillity Power reduction by 0.5%.
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Q - Orbs of Balance:
Cost: 50/45/40/35/30 Mana + 1 Orb of Balance
Range: 1350
Cooldown: 3s
Passive***: Every 12/10/8/6/4s create an Orb of Balance up to 2/3/4/5/6 Orbs. These Orbs orbit around you and dealing 60/80/100/120/140(+50% AP) magic damage and marking enemies for 3s. Marked enemies only take 20% of the damage from the passive Orb orbit.
Active: Channel over this abillity's duration, immobilizing yourself, for every 0.45/0.4/0.35/0.3/0.25s channeled shoot one of your orbs dealing 30/40/50/60/70(+30% AP) Magic Damage per Orb to the first enemy hit.
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W - Shining Light:
Cost: 60/70/80/90/100 Mana
Range: 3000/3500/4000/4500/5000
Cooldown:20/18/16/14/12s
Active: After 1.25s summon a shining light at the targeted location for 3s, granting vision and dealing 1/1.5/2/2.5/3(+0.5% AP)% of the targets Max Health as Magic Damage every 0.5s. Any of Kora's Orbs of Balance will instead be transfered to the light's location and orbit around it's edges. Kora regains 20/40/60/80/100(+9% bonus HP) Health while inside the light's area and is granted a 50/75/100/125/150(+35% AP, +9% bonus HP) shield. Orbs shot from within the Shining Light will always orbit to the front of the Shining Light to shoot from it and therefore will never touch the Shining Light's center.
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E - Foo Wave:
Cost: 60/70/80/90/100 Mana
Range: 1100
Cooldown: 14/13/12/11/10s
Active: Kora claps his hands creating a massive soundwave that deals 100/120/140/160/180(+60% AP) magic damage and slows the enemy by 20/30/40/50/60% for 2s. If the enemy hit has 6 stacks of Inbalance, you regain 1/1/2/2/3 Orbs of Balance and this abillity stuns instead, after the 6th stack the stun duration increases by 0.1s.
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R - Art of Balance:
Cost: 100 Mana + Atleast 1 Orb of Balance
Range: 0-4000 (150% of the Projectile Speed)
Cooldown: 120/100/80s
Width: 200(+20 per Orb of Balance consumed after the 1st)
Pull Strenght*: 200(+30 per Orb of Balance consumed after the 1st)
ProjectileSpeed: 0-2000(Based on cast distance**)
Projectile Duration: 2s
Passive: Gain 1/2/3% bonus Armor and Magic Resist per Orb Active. Increase Orb cap by +1/2/3 when this abillity is not on cooldown.
Active: Instant casting(Under 0.35s) will use this abillity consuming only 1 Orb of Balance, after 0.35s, every 0.2s consume another orb of Balance to empower this abillity. Launch Mega Orb that deals 80/120/160(+40% AP) Magic Damage + 40/50/60(+20% AP) magic Damage per orb consumed after the first one. The Mega Orb pulls enemies to it's center and applies a stack of inbalance every 0.75s to enemies it pulls.
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*Pull Strenght: Basically pushes enemies towards it's center. An enemy with 200 speed moving away from the center with a Pull Force of 200 will be immobilized. An enemy with 100 speed moving away from the center with a Pull force of 200 will be pulled at a speed of 100. An enemy with 300 speed moving away from the center with a Pull Force of 200 will move away at a speed of 100. Basically it uses vectors to calculate the direction the pulled target will go.
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**Ult's Projectile Speed:
CastRange: 0-250: 0 Projectile Speed
CastRange: 251-500: 250 Projectile Speed
CastRange: 501-750: 500 Projectile Speed
CastRange: 751-1000: 1000 Projectile Speed
CastRange: 1001 and above: 2000 Projectile Speed
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***Orbs of Balance(Passive): Orbs of Balance orbit around Kora at around 1 loop/1.5s. This means with 6 orbs, each second 4 Orbs will deal damage to the enemy(With 9 orbs, 6 orbs will deal damage instead.)
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Builds:
Full AP: Burst Mage
Tank: Top LaneSupport
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Playstyle:
Mage: You want to poke with Q until the enemy reaches 6 stacks and then use E to stun them and Q them for a quick burst. You can use E to gain vision, help other lanes or even stack your passive in an enemy that's behind minions but you will lose your Orb's protection. You can cast it on yourself to heal yourself and even deal damage and stack passive on divers. Your Q's passive is a way to stack your passive very fast allowing you to use E to stun your enemies and get out. W + Q can also deal a fair amount of burst onto other lanes but you will become vulnerable for W's duration and you can't place W on top of the enemy otherwise the orbs won't hit, and unless the enemy is stunned it's unlikely you'll hit all of your orbs(Especially considering W's 1.25s of delay.)
Your Ult has 2 purposes, CC &Burst or Poke&Burst. Casting at max range will make it's pull almost innefective as the projectile will move much faster than it can pull and it won't apply many stacks, but it still deals a burst of damage at a high range. Casting it on top of yourself will pretty much pull sucessfully anything with less than 470 movement speed(If you consumed 9 orbs), deal high damage and apply a lot of your stacks. The main disvantage of this ult is the time it takes to channel and consume all orbs. It's usually better to use it after stunning with E or stealthily from some bushes.
Tank: Can use Mages combos, but due to lack of damage you will usually want to avoid using Q and will just try to be on top of the enemy using Q's passive to stack your passive and reduce their Magic Resist and Damage, use W almost exclusively on yourself to heal/shield yourself as it won't deal much damage without AP, E will be much easier to stun if you are able to get on top of the enemy. Your Ult will also deal much less damage so you will always want to use it on top of yourself after an E stun to extend your CC duration. After level 6 your R will give you bonus resists as long as you don't use Q.
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Cons:
It's a very easy to exploit champ. Your burst comes from Q. Using a full Q makes you wait a long time to get a great burst gain. Using W at the wrong time far from you removes any damage from the Q's passive and active in your lane and pretty much garantees your E will be useless as well if the enemy didn't have the 6 Inbalance stacks already. E can AoE stun but if the enemies hide behind minions you will be forced to use W(Or autos) to stack your passive, during which they can exploit your lack of Orbs around you. Your Ult also requires a fairly long channel time to be effective. Missusing ult will diminish your Q's burst.
AP Kora: Struggles vs ranged enemies if they just stay behind minions because he can't stack it's passive and stun them without having to use W. Against Divers his already game is fairly simple while they don't have damage whenever they dive you use your Q's passive to stack your passive very fast and W if necessary to survive, and then just E them and use Q again for some burst or just run away, in the late game however strong assassins will just kill you before you can stack your passive on them with Q's passive Orbs(This doesn't apply to Tank Kora).
Tank Kora: Immobilize. Unlike AP Kora your ranged damage is very low, and your main source of damage comes from your Q's passive Orbs + Your Passive while your on top of the enemies, but Kora is immobile so enemies with dashes can just dash away from your orbs. Rylai's can still help but only vs enemies without dashes. Tank Kora's main purpose is to be on top of the enemy which thanks to it's passive means if he survives enough it garantees the win, in team fights however it's conditional CC means he has a much harder job getting on top of the enemies and reducing their Damage/MR.

Hey all, I have been a recent enjoyer of Tahm Kench support and I always take the durability primary runes. But I was just considering whether or not Hail of Blades would be as effective or even more so.
The idea is that if you can get a good knockup on the ADC or support you then get a quick 3 autos in and tongue lash after for a stun since you'll have 3 stacks of acquired taste. Pairing this with a strong early ADC (Tristana, Draven, Samira, etc) seems like you could roll a lane.
What do you all think?

I parked in the tower's lot, letting my headlights bore into the amalgam of twisted metal and glass for a few moments before shutting them off.
Josh muttered, his voice low. "We're really doing this, huh?"
He ran a hand through his mop of curly hair— a dumb tic he developed last summer when his girlfriend, Annabeth, told him it was sexy. She was beside him now, cuddled up in the backseat across his lap.
I glanced at my own girlfriend, Ellie, in the passenger seat. She was trying her damndest to appear brave, but I knew better. There was no way she was comfortable with trespassing tonight.
I sighed, realizing that Josh would also chicken out.
"We're doing this? You sure you want to come?" I prodded.
Josh shifted in his seat, hand running through his hair yet again. "Maybe it's better if I stay in the truck.”
Annabeth shrugged next to him, unsurprised.
"Me, too,” Ellie chimed in, nodding at Josh.
Annabeth met my eyes, a glimmer of understanding passing between us. Our partners were both boring, god-awful goody two shoes.
"Pussies," I jabbed, swinging open my door without giving them a moment to respond.
Annabeth hopped out behind me, waving at the two losers in the truck before spinning towards me with a grin on her face.
"They're weird," she said, rolling her eyes.
For a moment, I was drinking in the way her golden hair shimmered in the moonlight. A light breeze tickled at our faces, sending sparkles of her moon-lit hair between us.
"Yup," I mustered.
I turned, strolling towards the chain link fence that formed a circular perimeter around the base of Sabe's Tower.
Sabe’s Tower. Thirteen stories of abandoned potential, whispering of times past when our town's inhabitants thought we'd hit a population boom, becoming the Houston of West Virginia. In the 70s, our success was tied to coal. Jobs flooded in, and with them, a myriad of people trying to make their way in life. Then the mines abruptly ran dry, decimating our town's economy. Since that time, our population has done nothing but dwindle.
Sabe’s Tower. Thirteen stories of decaying grandeur, silently rotting from the inside out. Some say that's what happened to Sabe himself— a rot took hold in his core, spreading and spreading until nothing but rot was left. In the end, he took his own life, which some say was for the best. He was a greedy fool, the wealthiest man for miles, owning half the surrounding countryside before the mining industry took off. Made a fortune selling his family's land to coal companies, putting every ounce of profit into making his towering hotel more luxurious than a Ritz Carlton.
Sabe’s Tower. Thirteen stories of failed dreams, now screaming vulgar obscenities at our eyes. It is a truly ugly behemoth, domineering our town's skyline with unmerited arrogance. Sabe thought painting the tower purple would give it an air of majesty, like royalties of the past, swaddled in silky lavender robes. His aspiration, after all, was nothing less than to emulate the sacred Tabernacle of Moses, to make his hotel a dwelling place for gods among men. In its current state of disrepair, however, the tower was no more than an eyesore— a visual cacophony of broken glass, peeling sickly-purple paint, and rusted steel inlays.
Adding to the hotel's disgrace, it was cylindrical in form, perched atop the highest peak for miles, jutting into the sky like a middle finger to the gods. Its phallic outline stood in stark contrast to the run-down strip malls lying in its wake.
The fence surrounding the tower was a bit too tall and a bit too wobbly to safely scale, so we circled, looking for an entry point. Every few yards, a DO NOT TRESPASS sign hung, tied to the fence with zip-ties in each corner. Someone had taken the liberty to spray paint a word underneath each sign, now making them all read:
DO NOT TRESPASS ALONE.
"Good thing you're coming with me," I joked, pointing at one of the signs.
Annabeth paused to read it for a moment. "Yeah... kinda weird that someone did that. I wonder why?"
I shrugged, continuing around the perimeter.
Eventually, we found a gate in the fence, held closed with chains at waist level. The gate's post careened steeply outward, creating a manageable gap near the top. The gate post was only held in place by the chains, not even slightly anchored to the ground. Without too much of a struggle, we hoisted ourselves up and through the gap.
Once inside the fence, I found myself spellbound by the abandoned hotel. The stars in the night sky reflected across the windows, bending and warping around the curved perimeter. Each glimmer of starlight turned into dizzying fractals, melding together and slipping between the shards of broken glass with each shift of my gaze.
The result was honestly breathtaking.
At night, the eyesoriffic tower was beautiful. Its silhouette dared to embrace the star-studded cosmos, standing with a quiet dignity that defied its daytime mockery.
I felt Annabeth shuffle beside me.
Suddenly, her phone flashlight was on, illuminating a path through overgrown concrete to the tower. At the end of the path was the structure’s entrance— a gaping hole with no attempt to conceal the darkness within.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" I yelled, spinning to face her.
"W... What do you mean?" she stuttered.
"Turn that off, you idiot," I explained, lowering my voice. "Someone might see the light and call the cops."
The light flicked off, Annabeth mumbling apologies.
I blinked away the afterimage of weeds eating through the concrete lot, silently cursing myself for being so ridiculously hostile toward her.
"Sorry," I mumbled.
"You're good, Donovan" she whispered, brushing her hand across my arm.
As we continued to the open doorway, the outside of the tower came into focus. It was far further dilapidated than I had realized— each accent of purple paint, faded and peeling, was bulging out from between the glass and steel like it was trying to escape. I rubbed a fingernail on the paint, revealing a soft, rotting wood beneath.
I entered the tower first, pausing to let my eyes adjust. The darkness of the doorway opened up into an atrium that must have once made for a magnificent entrance. It was shaped like a slice of pie, us standing near the crust, peering inward toward the center. Above was pitch black, not yielding any answers to just how high up this mighty room's ceiling stretched.
The musty scent that filled my nose was surprisingly welcoming— somewhere between the smell of fishing trips and century old bookstores. I took a deep breath, relishing in the soft stench.
I could vaguely make out wires dangling down from the ceiling of the atrium. They were impossibly long, stretching upward into the infinite gloom.
"They look like vines," Annabeth whispered, her voice a soft purr.
The air was thick with falling dust, filtering down from the abyss above, twirling between the wires in satisfyingly slow-motion. The falling dust made it even harder to see in the dark, leaving the walls on either side of the room foggy blobs. I waved my hand, sending fleeting dust spirals through the air.
I remembered seeing photos of the atrium online, taken on some of the earliest digital cameras ever made. Those pictures showed marble countertops, intricate wooden carvings, and lushly carpeted floors.
The room, as it stands today, is a barren husk of Sabe's vision. The carpet, only present in scattered clumps, was impossibly dark, soiled to the point of true black. It clung to the concrete foundation, viciously holding on for dear life in a losing battle.
I bent down to examine a clump of carpet in front of me, amazed by the absence of light reflecting back. It was like staring into a pit of nothing, a vague absence, an outline of something that should be there.
I poked the toe of my boot at it.
FPOOSH.
It exploded, erupting into my face.
I gagged instinctively, tasting the vile substance mix into my lungs. Annabeth slapped my back as I continued gagging and coughing, begging the mucus to tear itself free from my lungs and just fucking get out of my body because it feels like I'm dying oh GOD.
And eventually, it did.
The violent hacking subsided into slight wretching, then was gone.
"Are you okay?" Annabeth tested.
Do you think I'm fucking okay?
"What the fuck was that?" I spewed.
She bent over the clump of carpet. Underneath the blackened top layer that just violently erupted was a pale network of matted spiderwebs.
"Hmm..." she began, "It kind of looks like mycelium."
She met my raised eyebrow with an eye roll.
"You know, like the roots of a fungus or some shit, I don't know. I just saw the shrooms growing in Bryce's closet that one time he showed me his stash. This white stuff looks just like it. So I guess that makes this black stuff like the part of the shroom we eat, or whatever."
"Oh dip," I responded, nodding. "That makes sense. One time I saw a nature show about some plants that shoot their seeds everywhere when something touches them. It's probably just spreading its spores when we touch it."
"Yeah," she breathed, "pretty gnarly."
We shuffled deeper into the gloom, weaving between dangling cables and clumps of fungus. I felt a drop of moisture flick off a cable, sliding onto my arm.
I groaned. "Fuck. That cable was wet."
"Disgusting," she whispered back.
We made our way to the apex of the room, the center of the tower, revealing a rusted set of elevator doors leaning together like drunks at a quinceanera. The doorway to the stairs, however, beckoned to us with the same unobstructed, pitch-black allure that the tower's entrance emanated just minutes before.
In the dark, it's truly amazing how utterly void all open doorways look.
Upon stepping inside the stairwell, the world vanished. The only proof of having working eyes was a faint, vertical glow of light filtering through the door, abruptly fading into all-consuming black.
Every sound in the entire building bored through my soul, bouncing from wall to wall, ceiling to floor, echoing on and on for all of eternity. The stairwell, directly in the center of the decrepit hotel, was the focal point of every creaking floorboard, every popping nail, every howling gust of wind. It was as if I was holding up a monstrous conch shell to my ear— a deafening murmur of echoes in disarray, smelting together to form satanic harmonies.
"Whoa," Annabeth mumbled.
Her word cut through the other echoes, impossibly loud against their monotonous hum.
Instantly, the echo of her voice filled the stairwell, rising like the build up of a dubstep song until peaking, impossibly overwhelming for a few brief seconds. The echoes of her voice then faded as quickly as they arrived.
She put a hand to her mouth, the whites of her eyes barely visible in the glow coming from the doorway.
I reached out, placing a hand where her shoulder should be. There was not enough space for us to stand abreast in the stairwell, leaving us in a comically squished proximity. She was breathing rapidly, barely managing to stay silent. I squeezed, and her breathing quickly slowed. I felt her hand creep onto mine, and we stood for a minute, simply listening to the cries of the dying building echo around us.
As my eyes adjusted, I could make out a staircase spiraling up the curved wall. Clearly this was a service stairwell, as it is much too cramped for the likes of Sabe's guests. Only a few steps were visible through the darkness at a time, making the staircase feel even tinier than it already was. Luckily, no fungus grew on the stairs themselves, leaving the metal alone to rust.
Annabeth shuffled onto the first step, producing a small object from her pocket. She handed it to me, then pointed up the stairwell, careful to not send echoes through the cylindrical chamber again.
I brought it close to my eyes for inspection, straining against the lack of light.
A joint...
She wants to go to the roof and smoke.
A smile cracked my lips. Classic Annabeth.
Every couple stairsteps, there would be a doorway. Most of them let in a dim glow, offering a glimpse into what must have once been a custodial closet on each floor.
On floor 9, I tugged at Annabeth's hand. We made eye contact in the faint light coming from the doorway. I motioned through it, pointing to the nearly fungus free floor. I wanted to explore at least a little bit, to see if the closet circled around the stairwell or not.
I poked my head through the doorway, freeing myself from the overwhelming cacophony of echoes in the stairwell.
I verified that the closet did, in fact, curve around the circular staircase like a donut. A few steps in one direction led to a terrifying drop— the elevator shaft. Next to it, a sidewalk sized ledge led to an open door, giving a view of the floor's main hallway. The path looked safe— no fungus, cracks, or otherwise obvious defects— so I proceeded, treading as light as a fox, fumbling for Annabeth's hand behind me.
The main hallway ran between the custodial closet and the guest rooms, creating another donut ring around the central stairwell. Throughout the hallway, patches of fungus grew alarmingly close together, threatening to overtake the concrete.
"That stairwell was insane," Annabeth whispered.
I nodded. "Fuck yeah, I wonder what it was like when the hotel was actually open. Must have been miserable for the staff."
We weaved through the fungus filled hallway, coming to room 901. I glanced at Annabeth, raising my eyebrows. The door was slightly ajar, hanging from its one remaining door hinge. I pushed gently, eliciting a monstrous creak.
The room was empty, extending away to the outside in a familiar pie shape. The mold seemed to grow thinner in the room, leaving most of the exposed concrete safe to cross. At the far side, a floor to ceiling panel of windows looked out over our town.
I gasped, taking in the view. Never before had I seen our town from this high up. My eyes drew to the smokestacks by the river, their blinking lights ominously flickering over downtown. Individual streets ran in parallel lines away from the tower, lit with yellowing streetlights. Between the roads, tiny lights cast from window panes twinkled, blending with one another into a starscape of their own.
"Dude," I said. "Look at this."
No response.
I spun, looking for Annabeth, frantically scanning the room. My eyes had adjusted to the outside light, leaving me sightless.
"Annabeth," I hissed.
A cold tingle went up my spine, pulling at hairs on the back of my neck.
"Annabeth?"
​
Silence.
​
Silence.
​
Silence.
​
I crept back across the floor, now aware of the entire room at once. There was nowhere for her to be hiding. No desks, cans of paint, ladders, nothing. Just an empty room with patchy fungus growing on the cement.
Something must have happened.
I studied each fungal growth in the room as I passed by. Even with the light cast from the windows, the tops remained impossibly dark. Not a single feature was discernible— only an outline was visible.
Halfway to the door, a three foot wide hole led straight to floor 8. I could have sworn it wasn't there before. I peered into the opening, seeing straight through to the room below. From what I could see, it was identically empty.
"Annabeth," I tried again, nearing the door to the hallway.
"BOO!"
I stumbled backward, tripping over my own feet. I landed squarely on a patch of fungus.
FPOOSH.
I remembered to hold my breath, close my eyes, and plug my nose.
Annabeth cackled from the threshold of the doorway, standing over me with both hands on her forehead.
"You should have seen the look—" she began, breaking off into another fit of laughter.
"Shut up," I groaned, pushing to my feet. My entire body was covered in squishy fungus gunk. I pointed at the hole behind me, continuing. "You could have killed me."
"Blah, blah, blah," she mocked. "You're fine... you're just being a baby."
Annabeth gave me a playful shove, hands lingering for a moment overdue. Swatting her paws off me, I marched back to the stairwell. I led the rest of the way to floor 13, followed by her snickers.
As I reached the top of the stairs and stepped onto the 13th floor, my jaw dropped. It was a scene straight out of a surrealist painting. An enormous pool room lay before us. Glass walls extended up from the tile floors, creating a massive, clear domed perimeter. A swath of stars twinkled brilliantly through the clear ceiling, their light refracting through the glass, casting ethereal patterns onto the room's otherwise bleak surroundings.
The pool itself was a semi-circular cutout covering half the floor space, starting at ground level and deepening in a corkscrew motion. Its ceramic tiles, once probably a bright blue, were now tinged with patches of the same fungal growth we had come across on the lower floors. The growth was sparse here, though, letting the original floor design take prominence.
In the center of the room— on top of the staircase we just stepped out of— stood a circular pillar that extended up to the middle of the glass dome, like a spine holding up the entire tower. A small antenna jutted out from above the pillar atop the dome. Surrounding the antenna was a low fence, perhaps a safety measure for maintenance workers.
Annabeth, having finally contained her laughter, stepped beside me, her face illuminated by the soft starlight filtering in through the dome. She too stood silent, taken aback by the unexpected beauty of this forgotten space.
As we moved around the room, our steps echoed across the vast emptiness. With every patch of fungus we passed, the same eerie darkness hovered, the undulating mold standing stark against the ceramic tiles.
We made our way back to the central pillar. A ladder, carved into the pillar, connected to the glass ceiling with a trapdoor.
"To the roof?" Annabeth sang, rubbing her hands together in a goblin-like motion.
"Ladies first."
As she climbed above me, I couldn't help but crane my neck and drool. She slammed open the trapdoor, and we burst through to the roof.
The fenced-in area was covered with a dark spongy surface, gripping at my knees when I stood up. Wind whipped around us, carrying a chill that cut through my clothes and bit into my skin. With each gust, the antenna above us groaned and swayed, almost as if it were joining in a dance with an unseen partner.
We sat on the squishy rubber surface, comfortably in silence. I met her eyes, smiling dumbly. We passed the joint back and forth until it dwindled down, its ember glow flickering one last time before extinguishing completely. A familiar haze crawled through my thoughts, slowing the passage of time to a languishing crawl.
"Hey..." she started, "I think I've finally found inspiration for my next album."
I scooted closer to her, taking her hand. I knew the topic brought about an unusual timidity in her— a blemish in the badass persona she's so keen on presenting. She won't even talk to her own boyfriend about her music career.
"Yeah?" I floated.
She hesitated for a second, settling into the moment. I felt a tug at my crotch, suddenly all too aware of how pretty she looked in the moonlight. I took in every detail— the way her hair fell across her face, the pattern of her freckles, the soft speckling of stars reflecting across her eyes.
"I think you need to take off your shirt, first, though," she whispered, now inches from my face. "You're filthy."
I glanced down, remembering the fungal gunk that had soiled my clothes when she scared me.
Without warning, her hands slid under my shirt, warm and sure. I helped her yank it off, collapsing into her lips.
***
When we got back to the truck, I was still high enough to see everything in slow motion. Before pulling out of the parking lot, Annabeth and I regurgitated the events of our urban exploration, trying to show our significant others what fun they missed out on. It goes without saying that part of the story was intentionally omitted.
Ellie and Josh were unamused. Their lack of adventure will forever be a mystery to me.
We swung out of the lot, hopping onto the highway headed into town. I swayed between lanes, struggling to keep the double-yellow lines in focus.
"Are you sure you're good to drive?" Ellie asked, gripping the armrest.
"I'm fine," I slurred.
Seconds later, another truck materialized in front of us. I swerved to avoid it, then everything went black.
***
I woke up to a strong hand pulling me out of the window. My truck was upside down, the roof completely caved in.
I groaned. "Aww... fuck...."
The person who pulled me out looked like the kind of guy to chew tobacco and spit wisdom. His fishing cap cast a deep shadow across his eyes in the moon's glow, concealing his gaze. He was an old timer, that's for sure, one of those folk who came during the coal rush and decided to stay when all was said and done. I could see his truck— the same truck I saw moments before the crash— pulled into the shoulder of the highway with its blinkers on.
"Easy now," he reassured, his voice like gravel under a boot. "Anyone else inside?"
I nodded, unable to speak.
I plopped onto the grassy slope embarking off the side of the road. The old man pulled their mangled bodies out, one by one.
The countryside shrank around me. I felt the corners of my vision pulling in, the weed in my system straining the limits of shock I could take before melting down.
"I'm sorry, son," he whispered, his voice carrying the weight of my guilt. "The police will be here soon. Don't you worry."
The police.
I stood up. I knew exactly how the police treated people with my skin color in this town.
I ran.
"Hey now!" the man hollered.
I kept running.
Away from my truck, away from my dead friends, away from the police.
I ran until my breath came in ragged, uncontrollable huffs. I flopped to the ground, laying on the cool concrete, cradling my head with my hands. Blood flowed between my fingertips, pooling onto the pavement.
I laid there until police sirens wailed through the night, rapidly approaching. They stopped at the wreck, leaving me in silence. Moments later, the sirens picked up their mournful song again, heading toward me.
I sat up.
I was back in the lot of Sabe's Tower. Only then did I realize how little distance I really ran from the wreck— a couple hundred yards at most.
Four, five, maybe even six sirens filled the air. They were all coming for me. They knew what I had done.
I bolted from my position on the concrete. I could hide in the tower. No way the cops would look for me in that rotting place. They wouldn't dare.
I squeezed through the gap in the fence, same as before, vaulting past the
DO NOT TRESPASS ALONE
signs in a fluid lunge. The sirens behind me screamed into the night, melding together into a continuous doomsday chant.
Red and blue lights filled the lot. I hit the ground right in front of the gaping entrance to the tower, praying that the weeds poking through the concrete would be enough to mask my form. I army crawled, inch by inch, dragging myself across broken bottles and plywood shrapnell, until I was safely in the darkness of the tower.
In.
Out.
I breathed.
In.
Out.
A police cruiser parked in the lot. Its siren drowned out all other wails for a moment before shutting off. A chubby white officer hopped out, surveying the scene. His gaze came to rest on the spot where I had lain. He squatted down, raking a finger through the pool of blood I left behind. He took a few steps toward the tower, squatting down yet again. Another splotch of blood, no doubt.
His voice floated through the plaza, slightly nasal and a little out of breath. "Dispatch, this is officer Chetty, badge number 741. I'm on the scene at 1019 Pleasant Valley Lane, in the lot of Sabe's Tower. I've located a pool of fresh blood that may be linked to our hit-and-run suspect. Possible injury, suspect could be close. Requesting immediate backup and forensics for evidence collection."
Fuck.
I wormed my way further into the tower's belly, sliding between patches of fungus like a mouse in a snake pit, heading for the stairwell. I had to ascend, to find some nook or cranny out of reach of the pursuing officers. The godforsaken tower was one big game of hide and seek, only this time, losing meant far worse than a bruised ego.
Something gurgled in the darkness.
My blood froze. I halted, my heart hammering a tattoo against my ribs. Holding my breath, I strained my senses, eyes peering into the graying murk, searching for the source of the sound.
It came again, a wretched retching, like an animal choking on its own vomit. Hacking, gurgling, bubbling wetness bursting through strained vocal chords, a sound of fading vitality. It was coming from near the door, just outside the meager halo of light slipping through the hole.
A wet line smeared across the back of my neck. A yelp escaped my lips before I realized it was just a cord dangling from the ceiling.
At my yelp, the gurgling paused.
A heavy hush fell over the place, the quietude of the hunted.
I could faintly make out echoes emanating from the stairwell, only a few feet behind me.
The gurgling continued, sucking at the thick air. It began to drag itself forward through the fungus covered floor— a slow, steady, rhythmic drag against the concrete.
FPOOSH.
A geyser of spores bloomed, mingling with swirls of dust in the meager light. The creature, or whatever it was, did not slow its approach. Out of the darkness, a form began to shape— a silhouette clawing its way toward me.
FPOOSH.
I could see this eruption envelop the mass on the floor. One hand appeared, then another. Its fingers scrabbled over the concrete, searching for any purchase to grip. They flexed, heaving the thing even closer.
A mop of curly hair appeared between the hands. A body, face down. It pulled itself closer, into another fungal growth, grinding its face through the rough concrete.
FPOOSH.
A knife protruded from its back. The handle jutted upward, a grim totem amidst the grime and gore. I shuddered, involuntarily taking a step closer to the stairwell.
It looked up at me.
Or rather, Josh looked up at me.
I stared back, mouth agape.
His face was nearly sanded off from the concrete. His nose took the worst of it, ground down to the bone, leaving only two sucking, gurgling holes between his eyes. His cheeks were a mangled mess of blood and rocks, viscous red flowing freely to the tip of his chin before dribbling off. The chunks of meat hanging where lips should have been flapped against his teeth with every jerky motion, tethered to his face by all too little strands of flesh. Beneath them, his teeth showed bright red and white in a perpetual grimacing smile.
"Josh?" I managed to whisper, my voice a frightened squeak.
Josh opened his mouth as if to respond, ripping both cheeks in half. He hacked, gurgling, spitting up blood that came from deep within his torso. He slowly cocked his head to the side, but instead of stopping at a slant, he kept twisting his neck until bones started to crack and his head dangled upside down.
His mangled, upside down head swung limply as he pulled himself to his knees, his neck like jelly. He wasn't wearing the same clothes he was wearing earlier tonight— no, he was wearing clothes from the night Annabeth first cheated on him with me. He was at a Villanova game, supporting his favorite team since birth. Annabeth knew he would be gone for the weekend, so we took our chance. I was still at her place when he came back, wearing his Collin Gillespie jersey and reeking of beer.
Now in front of me, his prized jersey was in tatters, torn to ribbons by the concrete. He groaned, shuffling and reaching for me with bloody fingers.
I bolted into the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. I pushed myself faster and faster until the door to floor 9 loomed to my side. I didn't pause for a moment, pushed forward by the gurgling echoes reverberating from below.
My thighs, weak from the frantic climb, begged for a break. I wobbled into the hallway, painfully tip-toeing through the fungus. The door to 901 beckoned ahead, hanging open like it had been awaiting my hasty return.
I stumbled over the threshold when Annabeth's singing filled the room. "Oh, Donovan!"
I froze.
Outlined against the window was a two-headed beast. One face belonged to Annabeth, the other to Ellie. The creature swayed, an obscene dance of bare, fused flesh. It wore no clothes, as if to mock God himself. It had two sets of everything— eight appendages total, like a humanoid arachnid. Annabeth's breasts, now side by side with Ellie's, put Ellie to shame, even now.
Annabeth crooned again, "Oh, Donovan!" each syllable laced with acid and honey. The sound made my skin crawl as it floated through the silent room.
"You always did want more, didn't you Donovan?" Ellie sneered, a harsh grin splitting her face.
Annabeth spat, "More than Ellie could give. More than anyone could give."
The thing dropped to the floor with a thud. All eight limbs moved in unison as it crawled.
"Isn't this what you wanted? Both of us at the same time?" Their voices tumbled over each other, mouths moving in synchrony. Together, their laughter filled the hollow room. "Don't you like the thrill, Donovan? Don't you like playing with fire?"
The thing scurried at me, jumping over fungal growths with powerful leaps. The sudden movement broke my paralyzation, spurring my legs to action. I darted into the closet and through the stairwell door, into the gurgling echoes.
Back down the stairwell I ran, the two headed beast in pursuit. Both girls snarled, hindered by their conjoined size in the narrow passageway. Their struggle echoed through the stairwell, mixing with the gurgling. I fled further down, needing to put distance between that thing and me.
I stopped dead in my tracks between floors 2 and 3.
Josh was there, leaning against the wall with the knife removed from his back, now grasped tightly in his hand. I staggered back up the stairs, instinctively retreating, narrowly avoiding the blade as he lunged at me.
Glancing up, I caught a flash of pale skin bearing down on me, cutting off my escape. My only way out was the door to floor 3. I charged through the closet, leaving the echoes behind me.
Floor 3 was empty— no walls, only fungus and windows. The atrium loomed to my left, a pie shaped hole missing from the floor and ceiling. I backed away from the door, eyeing the dangling cords hanging in the atrium.
Maybe... Just maybe....
Josh stumbled from the stairwell, filling the air with his wet slurping. Annabeth and Ellie followed, scrambling toward me.
I didn't have time to think.
I jumped, grasping at the dangling wires, praying they would hold my weight.
Time stuttered, hanging suspended like an icicle on a winter's morning. The world spun in a dizzying blur as I twisted, fingers stretching for a grip. Panic clawed its icy fingers up my spine, but it was the surprise that struck me most. The simple disbelief that this was happening.
A wire found its way into my hand, snapping without slowing my fall.
The wind whooshed past, ripping the breath from my lungs. Above me, the third floor retreated, its grimy concrete replaced by a view of the atrium's ceiling, wires swinging back and forth from my desperate escape.
Then came the sensation of falling. It's a feeling that strikes a primal chord, an orchestra of fear and adrenaline that means the end of a life. My stomach lurched, free-falling alongside me, while the rest of my body seemed to hover in a state of disbelief.
The impact came as both a shock and an inevitability. There was a moment of sheer, undiluted pain, a soundless scream reverberating through my very bones. It felt like being shattered from the inside out, an explosion of agony that started from my back and radiated outwards. An iron-hot spike of pain shot through me, and then, a chilling void as everything below my waist slipped into a terrifying numbness.
The echo of my body's collision rang in my ears as the world spun into a disorienting whirl of blurs, shadows, and pain. The cold concrete beneath me felt real, solid, a chilling contrast to the sudden loss of sensation in my legs.
In the throbbing silence that followed, I understood. I had fallen. I was broken. I lay sprawled on the atrium floor, gasping, the world tilting dangerously in my vision.
Annabeth and Ellie emerged from the staircase, scrambling across the atrium floor. Red and blue police lights filtered through the tower’s windows, making shadows dance between the monster's eight limbs. Josh wasn't far behind, still clutching onto the bloody knife, head rolling upside down between his shoulders.
"Police, we're coming in!" a familiar nasally voice shouted.
The moment officers stepped foot in the tower, the monsters vanished in a spray of spores.
​
X

Things from the 60's that are coming back or are becoming popular again;

• The following cars; the Volkswagon Bus is coming back in 2024 as the ID Buzz, the International Harvester Scout is coming back in 2026 as Scout Motors, and the Ford Bronco is already back. People love their cars are with plane tickets becoming so expensive, road trips are the "new" trend.
• '60s fashion is becoming increasingly popular again
• Marijuana is becoming more acceptable
• 60s pop culture is making a revival. People just want to go to the beach and listen to chill music or go to theme parks which have increased attendance globally by 72% according to AECOM
• The number of surfers has increased by more than 35% in less than a decade according to SFIA
• Compare 60s music to today's top songs; it's not that different.
• Barbie is literally having a movie.
• The civil rights movement took place in the 1960s
• Most of us prefer to order our food through stuff like Doordash because it's quick and easy, right? Well, the 1960s was the decade when quick-service food became popular. Drive-throughs began to replace drive-ins.
• We've made watching TV easier with streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Max, Hulu, and Paramount+. The early 60s was the decade when most homes began having televisions.

Thoughts?

How much would you think is a reasonable price w/trailer? Faded paint, minor interior damage. Hours unknown, but would purchase from OG owner. Located in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Previous Version
While I was writing the regular State of VTuber World post, I wrote a massive tangent detailing Hololive's history, and decided it would be much better done as a separate post.
I was actually going to overwrite the previous version, but the previous version is too... old, so I thought I would just write a new one. Hopefully I'll update this in September, which would be the end of the current period, and then probably put out Ver. 3 a long time after, if that ever happens.
The history of Hololive are split into 9-ish month chunks.

Part 1 - Pre-History {17-09-07 - 18-06-01}

When Tokino Sora first went on NicoNico in the auspicious day of September 7, 2017, there were famously 13 viewers unaccounted for in her debut stream. VTuber as a modern concept started ten months ago with the advent of Kizuna Ai on December 1, and at that point VTubers as a concept was seriously considered a dead end. The Ai's initial hype train died down and newcomers such as Siro did not gain the success that people were hoping for. Many suspect this VTuber fad was going to be consigned into the dustbin of history much like disco and leg warmers.
So, Sora did not start with the most fortuitous occasions. But the luck for VTuber and Sora turned around as Kaguya Luna became the new hit star and ushered in a kind of Cambrian Explosion of VTuber at the time. One of the bigger innovations was that Luna frequently mentioned other VTubers, she coined the term Oyabun for Kizuna Ai, and therefore there was a genuine sense of community building around this newfangled tech. Hololive App went online of December 21, 2017.
Sora was one of the bigger beneficiaries as she was redirected by Siro after her Christmas stream failed to work. Sora started to gain subscribers at a pretty good clip at that point. Sora is sometimes mentioned as one of the secondary heavenly kings along with Fuji Aoi, her close friend to this day.
Cover debuted their second talent, Roboco-san, on March 4, 2018. Roboco was the demo model for the Hololive app, similar to the beginnings of Nijisanji with 1st Gen's model also being a demo. Nijisanji was and is and will be a foil to Hololive. They both started as an app but quickly pivoted to the entertainment industry. Nijisanji's 1st Gen was a revolution - and singlehandedly shifted the meta in a way that will never be done before. And Nijisanji were pumping out great talents every month or so, flooding the market, which further threatened the other companies.
Nijisanji prompted fierce response from the competitor. AppLand, the company responsible for Siro, decided to debut 9 new talents that will operate on a strict weekly schedule, and this approach worked very well. Cover had to respond in turn, and so they quickly debuted 6 new talents, first being Yozora Mel who debuted on May 13, 2018.

Part 2 - Early Classical Era {18-06-01 - 19-04-01}

Note this version will not be delving too deeply into the individual members, as they are nicely detailed in Version One. If you want to know what the talents in the agency are all about, then check the previous version which is the top link. This version mostly expands and clarifies things.
First Gen of Hololive - Aki Rosenthal, Natsuiro Matsuri, Shirakami Fubuki - debuted on June 1, 2018 with Akai Haato debuting a week later because she had some tech issues. There was one other person but we do not talk about this person, she basically bribed her way into debut, and after that incident Yozora Mel was folded into this 1st Gen. A recent observation - there is a hidden theme in early VTuber groups, for example Re:AcT was originally called Kageyaki Stars and their talents all had a Zodiac theme, Leona being the Leo, of course, and Kyo being... a virgin? Not sure, actually. This Gen also has a theme, reference much later in the title for their song Plasmagic Seasons, which is of course the Seasons - Akai Haato as Spring, Natsuiro Matsuri as Summer, Aki Rosenthal as Fall, and Shirakami Fubuki as Winter. That extra person really did not fit, especially with the above theme.
Second Gen of Hololive quickly followed, the debut was more spaced out this time. Minato Aqua went first on August 8, 2018, followed by Murasaki Shion on August 17, 2018, Nakiri Ayame was next on September 3, 2018, followed by Yuzuki Choco on September 4, 2018, and Oozora Subaru rounding out the crew debuting on September 14, 2018. Around the same time, on August 1, 2018, another Cover Project launched called Sakura Miko project, which was a return of Kizuna Ai style content.
This odd collection signifies the attitudes of this time, no one really knew what they were doing. There were not many collabs, in fact Hololive members tended to collab with Nijisanji members more than their own members, and many kind of considered Hololive to be kind of a sister group to Nijisanji. Again, the contents were kind of halfway between video and streams, there weren't really long streams, those that did famously Kanae and Korone, were seen as odd outliers. There were a lot of odd and interesting VTuber-industry projects - a fun thing is to watch PL's of future talents interacting with their future workmates, which is obscenely entertaining in some respects.
Sakura Miko project immediately crashed and burned and Miko joined Hololive proper on December 25, 2018. On November 15, AZKi debuted as a part of a collaboration with Cover and upd8, another agency that was progenitor of Kizuna Ai. upd8 ran things differently, it was a 'talent' agency and not a creative one, which meant upd8 did not hold onto any assets of livers. upd8 had a hodgepodge of creators, including one half of 774 inc., which meant AZKi, Inaba Haneru, Patra Suou and Kizuna Ai were technically part of the same agency at this point in November 2018. Oh Shibuya Hal and Utai Meika was also part of this group. Yep, upd8 was a mess, had potential though.
On December 12, 2018, Ookami Mio joined Hololive as part of a new project called Hololive GAMERS, and unlike their other projects GAMERS actually grew a few months later.

Part 3 - Late Classical Era {19-04-01 - 19-12-27}

Okayu and Korone were announced on April Fools 2019 and subsequently Nekomata Okayu debuted April 6, 2019 and Inugami Korone on April 13, 2019. Korone's stream was so scuffed that it became the anti-basis for future debut streams. But the GAMERS basically set the tone of Hololive as a company. GAMERS were basically scouted as Fubuki's friends, and therefore GAMERS were the first generations that felt like a group of friends. Most, if not all, relationships between people grew from this seed.
They still regularly collabed with Nijisanji at that point. One can go through what is now seemingly bizarre combos - Higuchi Kaede and Roboco, Nakiri Ayame and Inui Toko, and so on... although few still persist to this day, Kamioka Family and its extension NASS and Oozora Family being the two...
But this was the time that Hololive kind of found the identity that we were kind of familiar with. This was also the time that idolization was slowly making its way through the company. The well-remember first Hololive Summer (which was, and still is, a Comiket associated project) was the first time Shiny Smily Story was introduced with the full song being released on September 17, 2019, which led to Hololive 1stFes or Nonstop Story on January 28, 2020.
Hololive extended the relationship with upd8 regarding AZKi to be Innoaka Music and they eventually snagged an indie VTuber named Hoshimachi Suisei, who has been active since March 22, 2018, during the height of the First Boom, announcing this new venture on May 19, 2019. Hoshimachi Suisei was frustrated with the arrangement and joined Hololive proper on December 1, 2019. The inclusion date is more mutely celebrated but their growth more closely tracks with the counterparts who debuting around their inclusion - so in some sense, we should think of Miko as an honorary member of GAMERS and Suisei as a honorary member of HoloForce, which considering her early relationship with Kanata and Coco, might as well be true from a different perspective.
Another push regarding this idolization was the opening of a male branch called Holostars. First talents started appearing in June, with Hanasaki Miyabi on June 8, 2019, Kagami Kira on June 9, 2019, Kanade Izuru on June 22, 2019.
Hololive also started to look beyond Japan, which was largely locked by the immense success of Nijisanji, and Hololive looked towards China. Around late winter and early spring of 2019, Hololive member started to stream quite a bit in BiliBili and started to take in a lot of Chinese sponsors, culminating in the Azur Lane event, which was one of the seeds for their future in North America - indeed many of the early English clippers were Chinese...
It was at this point that Hololive went looking for its third Gen, which had a fantasy theme - Usada Pekora debuted on July 17, 2019, Uruha Rushia on July 18, 2019, Shiranui Flare on August 7, 2019, Shirogane Noel on August 8, 2019, and Houshou Marine on August 11, 2019.
Many consider this group to be the miracle group, but they were kind of isolated for the first few months, many of their streams consisting of group Minecraft sessions. It was a friendship forged from pressure, not a loose one like GAMERS, and it gave a different feeling than the rest. Even today, there is an odd break between 3rd Gen and the gens higher up, except for a couple important exceptions like Aqua-Marine, or Marine in general. Subaru-Noel came out much later, and before that it was actually Rushia-Subaru.
Azur Lane event was on November 26, 2019. During this time, Hololive also opened their ill-fated Chinese branch with Yogiri debuting on September 28, 2019, Civia on November 2, 2019, and Spade Echo on January 30, 2020.
There was kind of an add-on group with Takushiji Suzaku debuting on September 7, 2019, and Arurandeisu on September 8, 2019. Suzaku apparently was really fed up with how Holostars worked so he left early on March 6, 2020. Second Gen followed with Rikkaroid debuting on October 20, 2019, and Astel Leda debuting on December 7, 2019, Kishido Temma on December 14, 2019, and Yukoku Roberu on December 24, 2019. Note this division feels wildly off, with the intra-gen gap being larger than the inter-gen gap. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the first three gens are usually grouped into one super group.
This nicely segues to our next section...

Part 3 - Early Golden Era {19-12-27 - 20-09-12}

HoloForce, as they are rarely called, were truly a force. Amane Kanata debuted on December 27, 2019, Kiryu Coco followed on December 28, 2019, Tsunomaki Watame on December 29, 2019, and after new years, Tokoyami Towa on January 3, 2020 and Himemori Luna on January 4, 2020. Kiryu Coco was an instant hit, growing at a rate seldom seen before.
Spearheaded by this new leader, Hololive slowly gain prominence right as the pandemic hit and the Second Boom occurred as Western anime fans looked to VTuber as a replacement for all the delayed anime releases. Hololive was well positioned to take on this second boom, as there were more clips from Hololive... even though Nijisanji pursued a Chinese audiences like Hololive, the Nijisanji clippers were usually Japanese students and therefore preferred longer clips, while Hololive clippers were people bred from things like TikTok and they truly clipped like a fame-chasing clipper would, short condensation of the streamer's character. A very easy and addicting introduction.
There was also the fact that Cover knew their western outreach and also saw the success of people like Hana Macchia, and they decided to slowly branch out to Western audiences, starting with Indonesia, which was also a safe second options since the days of AKB48.
Area15 debuted April 10, 2020 for Ayunda Risu, April 11, 2020 for Moona Hoshinova, and April 12, 2020 for Airani Iofifteen. While their growth was paltry compared to their JP counterparts, they were on the higher side compared to their ID peers, so Cover saw the green light to go ahead and continue developing an western EN branch.
Also Hololive China debuted their 2nd Gen with Doris debuting on April 3, 2020, Rosalyn debuting on April 5, 2020, and Artia debuting on April 11, 2020. Holostar 3rd Gen also debut around this time with Tsukishita Kaoru debuting on April 29, 2020, Kageyama Shien on April 30, 2020, and Aragami Oga on May 1, 2020.
Those three groups tended to stick together, which HoloID had a close relationship with Holostars which would turn out to be fruitful much later in the process.
Hololive started to gain its rapid growth, and as with all rapid growth, there were some growing pains, a large numbers of archives had to be taken down due to increase in copyright notices and Hololive increasingly became isolated from the VTuber world as a whole.
Also, pretty much the rest of HoloForce was struggling. Towa's low voice and her boyfriend fracas, happening since the idol concept has been firmly placed and heavily sold to western audiences, meant Towa lost pretty much all momentum. Watame had her infamous kuso internet which she famously did not apologize for, therefore forever becoming blameless. Luna was a controversial choice as she was a former Nijisanji Liver and kind of known as a vagabond, jumping from agency to agency, but thankfully she found her home in Hololive.
Kanata, even though her hearing was going, managed to stand with a budding relationship with Coco and furthered her relationship with Suisei, who she knew from way before.
Except for Coco, this was a quiet time. Many of the talents were on rest, like Mel or Akirose, which is one of the main reasons they are so far behind, and there was less outside appearance as the company simply tried to wade through their newfound fame.
HoloFive eventually appeared - Yukihana Lamy on August 12, 2020, Momosuzu Nene on August 13, 2020, Shishiro Botan on August 14, 2020, Mano Aloe on August 15, 2020, and Omaru Polka on August 16, 2020. Mano Aloe were swept in a huge scandal and prompt graduated at the end of the month. Considering HoloFive had a long gestation period, even this short stint was a shock to many. Truth be told, Aloe was not in a great mental state, she later attempted suicide falling down several stories, only to be saved by a tree.
There are still people who like to imagine a world with Aloe, but I wonder of a world where the person behind Aloe was swapped with someone from HoloX. Aloe would have been fine by late 2021, and many of the talents from HoloX would have been more than adequate in August of 2020. I think the best switch would be with Chloe.
Even though technically in the next era, Haato-Coco Taiwan Incident would be the final of the three major controversies that rocked Cover as they restructured. Taiwan Incident basically killed off all chances of development in China, along with a separate fiasco that led to the closure of HoloCN with all six members quietly disappearing by the end of 2020.
With all these controversies, Hololive could have gone down in flames, but there was a saving grace or really multiple saving grace that effectively created a shift and an opportunity.

Part 4 - Late Golden Era {20-09-12 - 21-07-01}

HoloMyth arrived on September 12, 2020 for Mori Calliope, Takanashi Kiara and September 13, 2020 for Ninomae Ina'ins, Gawr Gura and Amelia Watson. They were another of the 'perfect' groups, a heaven-sent in the time of multiple disasters.
The minecraft server, largely dormant since the beginning of 2020, reopened with the introduction of Gen 5 and continued when Area15 were introduced, with Moona Hoshinova pretty much alighting the Company Rivalry Arc which became the basis for the modern dynamic of Hololive as we know today. The fame of Area15 skyrocketed, the combo of Risu's first NNN and her KING cover didn't detract from that fame at all either...
And their newfound dominance in ID was sealed with the debut of HoloRo - Kureiji Ollie on December 4, 2020, Anya Melfissa on December 5, 2020, and Pavolia Reine on December 6, 2020. Once again, they were heavily focused on outreach with Ollie being the breakout star which sapped any remaining momentum NijiID had, leading to their long and terminal decline for the next three years at least.
Those early months of 2021, defined by the time between Hololive 2nd Fes, Beyond the Stage, and Bloom, Hololive's first original concert, was in my humble opinion, the greatest time in Hololive. The development of the Company Rivalry Arc with the first extended interaction of MiComet, one of the most enduring duos in Hololive much to the chagrin of Nousagis and Heimins. The 2021 Mario Kart Tournament, which brought Towa into prominence and showcased that Hololive can pull off a tournament, one of the major strengths of Nijisanji and the Bouquet album's relative success, especially with the opening song Blue Clapper was instrumental in Hololive becoming a reliable music producer, which left Innonaka without an identity leading to AZKi eventually joining Hololive proper in April 1, 2022.
Another development was the introduction of Hololive Alternative, which was marked by two PVs, first of which debuted on May 5, 2021 with a teaser right after Bloom.
Days after Bloom however were colored by one event, which marks the finality in this era. There hasn't a large graduation - Holostars lost two members Tsukishita Kaoru on July 28, 2020 and Kagami Kira on November 30, 2020... but it was a quiet one, most might only recognize those graduations because of the downed spirit of HoloID at the time. But the graduation to come was the big one - probably the biggest one until Kizuna Ai's hiatus and many would argue even still then, as the age of Kiryu Coco came to close.
The announcement was on June 9, but in hindsight the signs were there since the beginnings of the Hololive Summer Festival, which also marks the start of the end of the Company Arc. The later half of this era felt like a barrel racing towards that final moment. Most watched stream in VTuber stream, probably unlikely to be broken for a long time.
Coco was instrumental in steering the talent's directions, especially in turbulent times such as the year and half in which Coco existed on our screens. Without that sail, Cover and their talents had to go on their own and face whatever demons it may raise...

Part 5 - The Transition Era {21-07-01 - 22-03-20}

Hololive was chugging around after the graduation with 3D Live happening almost every other day during August... and also quite a lot of debuts from the EN side.
IRyS debuted on July 8, 2021. She was supposed to be part of a JP/EN collab VSinger group that were probably going to debut in Spring if there were enough applicants, but they were only able to fish one, and she came down (three times) to grace our screens and a month later on August 22, 2021, HoloCouncil made their debut - Tsukumo Sana, Ceres Fauna, Ouro Kronii, Nanashi Mumei, and Hakos Baelz. Less perfect than HoloMyth but still good, and very helpful as there was a Minecraft merger happening. As I explained above, Hololive had a hard time integrating their new members. For the longest time, I had a hard time differentiating 5th Gen because they would just hang out together and rarely with senpais, but the merger and the eagerness of HoloMyth to get fresh blood led one of the smoothest integrations.
This continued with HoloX - La+ Darknesss on November 26, 2021, Takane Lui on November 27, 2021, Hakui Koyori on November 28, 2021, Sakamata Chloe on November 29, 2021, and Kazama Iroha on November 30, 2021. My impression of them was shock, as with many, not only were given only a few hours notice, but it happened right after the infamous 3rd Gen Live. The relative failure of that live and the death of her beloved cat started a decline for one Uruha Rushia, whose aberrant behavior will eventually blow up three weeks before 3rdFes.
Rushia's termination also felt like a barrelling moment in hindsight, but I did not end this era on February 24, 2022, but on the 2nd Day of 3rd Fes, because I want to end on a high note and the 3D debuts of Area 15 and HoloMyth more than enough made up for the sudden loss and confusion of Uruha Rushia. While Rushia left on quite a sour note, Rushia still gets fondly remembered, especially by talents like Pekora and Fubuki... it's interesting.
I should also mention taht 3rd Fes, Link Your Wish, was first to be accompanied by an Expo, which was first done by Nijisanji back in early 2020, right before the pandemic.

Part 6 - Early Modern Era {22-03-20 - 22-12-31}

End of 3rd Fes led to two debuts - first HoloH3roes with Vestia Zeta on March 27, 2022, Kaela Kovalskia on March 28, 2022, and Kobo Kanaeru on March 29, 2022, followed by Holostar's UPROAR with Yatogami Fuma and Utsugi Uyu debuting on March 29, 2022 and Hizaki Gamma and Minase Rio debuting on March 30, 2022.
The focus for these groups was a change, HoloID now looking inwards back towards Indonesia, marking the rise of homegrown groups like AKA Virtual, and Holostar's idolfication including the de-aging of Aruran. This was followed by a quiet but long integration of Hololive and Holostar, an informal but still significant, which culminates in the year-end concert.
There were quite a lot of concerts in this era, 2nd PV which was on June 11, 2022, the return of Hololive Summer along with the regular spate of summer celebration concerts, there was a kind of fatigue and there was no new debut in sight, at least for a while...
Tempus HQ was quite a turning point - Regisa Altare and Magni Dezmond debuted on July 22, 2022 and Axel Syrios and Noir Vesper debuted on July 23, 2022. Not only did it accelerated the interaction between Hololive and Holostars, but also the EN branches of Hololive and Nijisanji as well, which was a long time coming, considering it was over a year since NijiEN debuted.
Along with Tsukumo Sana's graduation on July 31, 2022, things kind of took a back seat in the fall season as the long preparation for 4th Fes was underway. There was a lull that was unfamiliar since the beginning of 2020 - a nice bookend to the EN boom, which was rapidly fading at this point. In hindsight, it was an appreciative one, or so I think at least.
There was one incredibly bright light and that was Kobo Kanaeru, who along with Hyakumantenbara Salome, was the biggest beneficiary of the Third General Boom, caused the end of COVID restrictions for most of the world. The third Boom was less significant than the first two, but it saw the surge of strong local ID and KR groups along with renewed interest in Japan, which benefitted both Hololive and Nijisanji.
Kobo's obstinately Indonesian nature gave me worry as for integration but I wasn't to be worried because Kobo has quite a sharp wit behind her genuinely childish behavior. Kobo will be remembered for her various connections reaching across all branches, pretty much.

Part 7 - Late Modern Era {22-12-31 - 23-09-??}

The year-end concert served as a teaser for Our Bright Parade, which happened on March 18 and March 19, 2023. There was also an extension for Hololive Tempus, with its VG division - Gavis Bettel and Machina X Flayon debuting on January 7, 2023 and Banzoin Hakka and Josuiji Shinri debuting January 8, 2023. It was an understandable yet odd debut and I think VG was one of the most 'Nijisanji' groups in Hololive I have ever seen.
This was good grounds for Kobo. After Our Bright Parade, there was both a lull and an uptick. There was a lot happening - a new studio and an amusement park takeover - but a strange lack of debuts from any branches. One of the longest lack of such, I believe ever.
This might change soon, however, and that's where all our story has to end. I will fill in the rest of the story at the end of this period. And hopefully, I can come back to fill in the next era.

Now, I only recently started playing jungle. I decided to swap over from support as being able to jungle is just a really useful skill and I haven't played jungle as my main for like 2 seasons now.
At first, the buff-sharing patch was like a godsend, it basically meant that I can still farm my buff camps while the most fed player on my team (usually adc or mid) can share the buff with me. It was great!
I also allow my mid or whoever is most fed to take a couple of camps late-game just so they can maintain their lead in gold, I only do this if you are very fed/ relatively fed. So tell me why the 0/7 Gwen thinks it's okay to take all my camps in that side of the jungle along with my buff.
They literally have a massive wave crashing into the tower but the stupid frog is clearly worth more gold to them?! Alright, let's just say they just had to take the frog, fine, whatever it's just one camp. BUT WHY TAKE THE BUFF WE BOTH COULD SHARE?! IM LITERALLY ROTATING TO YOUR SIDE!
It's not just the Gwen players, it's the 0/10 Darius, the 2/6 Yone, the 0/5 Garen, the list just keeps on going. You have an entire lane to yourselves. Alright, I can actually forgive the smaller camps like krugs and wolves being taken but the buffs?! Really?! The buff we both can share?! You want to steal something we both can share?!
The worst part is, if I am not quick with my farming I just know the solo laner will steal all my jungle. The ADCs on the other hand are seemingly way more understanding. They actually ping me to come to get the buff, like they damage it just enough for me to kill it so that I get the gold and they can share the buff.
A little advice to the 0/5 players, if you are inting or feeding, it doesn't have to be your fault (the opponent are usually just better) then just farm in your lane or rotate to a different lane but stealing camps from a jungler who's main source of gold is usually the camps is just beyond stupid. I understand you want to get even in gold with your opponent but if you are dragging down someone who is still around the same gold or just a bit fed, you are basically holding back that player which allows the enemy to catch up so now both of you are behind and have less impact in team fights or just fights in general. I play ap junglers like Diana, morg and Gragas who need gold, yes I understand ganks contribute a lot but these champs thrive late-game and by stealing their camps you are making them take longer to hit their power spikes.
Sorry, long post but I still feel like this problem has somehow gotten worse.

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
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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

Gratitude for Klay. Quick trip down memory lane (60 seconds)
Klay Thompson Retiring? https://youtube.com/shorts/Dad2L0bZrJY?feature=share