After a rocky start to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship’s legacy, this past year gave it a much-needed push back into the limelight as one of the most sought-after belts in wrestling, but there’s still work to be done. Kazuchika Okada was about to do that until his fantastic run was cut horribly short by SANADA, but that’ll no longer be an issue as we take matters back to the aftermath of Wrestle Kingdom 17, to the start of the Rainmaker’s 2nd reign. This isn’t just about recapturing the glimmer of the V4 belt though. In each company, the World Championship acts as the centrepiece to its future, any changes affecting the greater surrounding stories as well. Thus, this booking aims to orient NJPW as a whole, smoothing over complaints like the redundancy of BULLET CLUB and the staleness of CHAOS whilst building a promising future for New Japan for when its current pillars ultimately need to hang up their boots.
New Year Dash!! (January 5, 2023)
Also on the show:
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI) vs Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls)
BULLET CLUB (Jay White, KENTA, El Phantasmo, EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi) vs Guerrillas of Destiny, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Master Wato
Kazuchika Okada & Kenny Omega vs United Empire (Aaron Henare & Jeff Cobb)
As always, New Year Dash!! has been an explosive night thus far, seeing the debuts of Just4Guys and Sabre-Gun from the ashes of Suzuki-Gun, as well as House of Torture finally leaving BULLET CLUB after their loss earlier in the night, turning their backs on Jay White. But it’s the main event which shakes the company to the core, as legendary rivals IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega shockingly team up to take on Will Ospreay’s United Empire henchmen, both having their issues with the Commonwealth Kingpin and his posse. A fun showcase sees the super-team nail their RainmakeV-Trigger combo on Aaron Henare to seal the deal, with Cobb eyeing Kenny menacingly post-match and Okada going right back to big-leaguing Omega, refusing to acknowledge him.
Once the Cleaner departs, Kazuchika cuts a post-match promo claiming last night was merely the first of many nights of a company-wide purge. He’s tired of these outsiders trying to share his earned spotlight, so one by one, he’s going to send them back home. “Kaito Kiyomiya, young lion, I’ll see you in Yokohama.” Okada drops the mic and heads back, where IWGP Tag Team Champions Bishamon are wrapping up an interview. They’re disgruntled from their loss to Sabre-Gun earlier in the night, Goto seeming even more upset that Okada chose to team with Omega over anyone of them, questioning the use of CHAOS, but Kazuchika pays it no note, shooing him off so he can have his interview time.
Kazuchika Okada & Kenny Omega def. United Empire (Aaron Henare & Jeff Cobb) (13:36)
Heading into Yokohama, a 5-match series is announced between Los Ingobernables de Japon and KONGOH’s members! With Shingo Takagi staking his claims to Okada’s title the night prior, Katsuhiko Nakajima raises the question of how deserving the Dragon truly is considering he’s lost twice to the NOAH star. Taking the potshot as a challenge, Shingo agrees to put his shot on the line, the faction with the most wins facing the Rainmaker next!
Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena (January 21, 2023)
Also on the show:
BUSHI vs Tadasuke
Hiromu Takahashi vs Hajime Ohara
SANADA vs Manabu Soya
Tetsuya Naito vs KENOH
Shingo Takagi vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii) vs Team NOAH (Kaito Kiyomiya & Masa Kitamiya)
Before the LIJ/KONGOH series can commence, Okada calls on his trusty right-hand man Tomohiro Ishii (not Goto) to assist him in driving home the GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito and his main unit ally, Masa Kitamiya, promising to beat Kiyomiya like in last year’s tag. What starts as an average match rapidly devolves into a brawl when Kaito, sick of Kazuchika overlooking and disrespecting him, boots his face off with unbridled intensity, causing Okada to snap, beating the snot out of him! A German Suplex dumps Kazuchika on the floor as referees pull them apart, and as Okada seethes, it’s clear this is far from over.
CHAOS and Team NOAH fought to a no contest (6:35)
Though Kaito’s stunt gains the Rainmaker’s attention, it also garners his wrath, a livid Okada cursing up a storm in a post-match interview. When asked if a match will happen with Kiyomiya, Kazuchika outright refuses to work with the ‘snivelling, puny prick’, claiming he had his chance and ruined the honour of dancing with the Rainmaker. Goto tries to calm Okada down, reminding him that with Nakajima winning KONGOH the series 3-2, they have a preview match with KONGOH tomorrow. In the heat of rage, Okada tells him to ‘f*** off’, before naming Goto their team’s captain since he wants to play smart with him.
The New Beginning in Nagoya (January 22, 2023)
Captain’s Fall: CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto [C], Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI) vs KONGOH (Katsuhiko Nakajima, KENOH [C], Manabu Soya, Tadasuke)
After a turbulent recent weeks, Okada’s in dire need of something to calm him down, hoping a match in his home prefecture of Aichi will help. He’s all calm until he sees Goto’s dumb face though, becoming irrationally angry again, barking at the Aramusha to do his job. Okada sits out majority of the match until Nakajima mouths off with him on the apron, piefacing the Rainmaker when he refuses to get in! Furious, the Rainmaker shoves a concerned Goto aside and tags in, laying into Nakajima to the point of near-disqualification, before murdering Tadasuke to equalise the sides after KENOH eliminated YOSHI-HASHI! He gives Soya the same treatment, tearing KONGOH a new one until Nakajima almost slaps him unconscious, Okada staggering back into his corner, where Goto tags in! As Hirooki and Nakajima go at it, Okada regains his bearings right as Nakajima nails the Vertical Spike to pin CHAOS’s captain to automatically win the match!
KONGOH def. CHAOS (17:11)
As a smug Nakajima snatches Okada’s title away from the referee and holds it over his head, sneering and taunting at Kazuchika, the Rainmaker flips him off! Collecting his boys as Katsuhiko unceremoniously tosses Okada’s belt over to him, Okada returns to the back with gritted teeth, promising to ruin Nakajima, though not before chewing out Goto as the rest of CHAOS watch on uncomfortably.
The New Beginning in Osaka (February 11, 2023)
Also on the tour:
Jay White vs EVIL
Bishamon (c) vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs YOH - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
It’s been a rough tour for CHAOS, from getting whooped by KONGOH to YOH failing to bring back gold, but through their failures, Bishamon is able to redeem itself by beating back Sabre-Gun’s TMDK. Nevertheless, it’s all taking quite the toll on Okada’s mental, who’s been devolving back to his cocky, snappy self. Finally though, he gets a chance at release when he faces arguably his spiritual counterpart from NOAH, the fellow 35-year-old meeting the Rainmaker in a first-time match that’s been a very long-time coming. Nakajima oozes confidence as he strides out to his grand piano theme, while Okada stomps out with a scowl as Katsuhiko crumples raining Okada Dollars in his hand.
As the bell chimes, Okada offers a traditional lock-up but Nakajima stiffly kicks his thigh instead and smirks. Okada though glares a hole through Katsuhiko, launching at him like a mack truck with harsh elbows in response! Whipping him at the corner, Okada charges, but Nakajima slides out the way and rocks him with a Superkick, dusting off his hands and covering for two! He beats a Lariat attempt, nailing a Big Boot and a Leg Sweep, before crashing into the champion with a MISSILE DROPKICK!
Dazed, Okada finds himself in the ropes, Nakajima continuing to rock him with stiff boots, one sending him to the apron! The Genius of the Kick follows, wanting a Roundhouse, but Okada kicks out his other leg and nails an APRON DDT! Back inside, a Senton Atomico and DIVING ELBOW DROP nabs 2! Okada builds momentum with a Neckbreaker, but Nakajima flips out a German and whacks a SOCCER KICK into his chest! He caves Okada’s sides in with more as the champion splutters until Okada flips him off again!
Nakajima charges with a YAKUZA KICK but Okada pulls the ropes down! Nakajima caught, Okada nails a DROPKICK! Katsuhiko collapses out, Kazuchika chasing after, whipping him into the guardrail before cleaning his clock with a Big Boot of his own! FLYING CROSSBODY – SUPERKICK SNIPES OKADA! Nakajima kicks Okada’s arm into the guardrail, before a HESITATION DROPKICK whacks it off the steel post! Seating Okada on the canvas, Nakajima bullies the arm with disgusting shoulder kicks. A Penalty Kick misses, though as does Okada’s Short-Arm Rainmaker, NAKAJIMA WHIPPING THE SHOULDER INTO THE MAT!
BOW-AND-ARROW ON THE ARM! Nakajima tries tearing it off the bone, but when that doesn’t work, he ties Okada in the ropes and goes to town! The referee intervenes to force the break, but as Katsuhiko turns around a DROPKICK awaits! BELLY-TO-BACK SUPLEX! Okada teases a Rainmaker, but Nakajima slaps him away and nails the shoulder – STRAIGHT-JACKET SUPLEX! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT! Keeping wrist-control, Nakajima mockingly kicks the arm and shoves his face, BUT OKADA EXPLODES BACK WITH A LARIAT FROM THE OTHER ARM!
Keeping hold himself, Okada knocks Nakajima down with another Lariat, before a BEAUTIFUL DROPKICK knocks him loopy! HEAVY RAIN! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOO! Okada sets up the TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER, but Nakajima thrashes free with head kicks, pulling him over for a VERTICAL SPIKE attempt! Okada slips free and nails an Enzuigiri! GERMAN SUPLEX! The arm keeps him from bridging, instead climbing the turnbuckles, teasing the Crossbody, only to eat a ROLLING FIFTEEN!
Okada staggers, holding the ropes to keep upright, but Nakajima has other intentions, kicking the arm off, before nailing a RING-SHAKING SUPERPLEX! Rolling through, he pulls him into a TWISTER II!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE!!! Disappointed, he drops Okada into seated position with a BICYCLE KNEE STRIKE, before lining up a PK! OKADA COUNTERS INTO A SURPRISE EMERALD FLOWSION ON THE NOAH STAR! Regaining his bearings for a moment, Okada smells blood in the water, throws out the arms, wanting the RAINMAKER… NAKAJIMA SLAPS THE SOUL OUT OF HIM!!!
Okada collapses deadweight to his knees as Nakajima grins sick thoughts to himself, before mocking the Rainmaker pose! Ripcording Okada around, he nails a JUMPING KICK, before going for the VERTICAL SPIKE… OKADA REVERSES INTO A SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER!!! Nakajima now stunned, Okada lifts him by the waist and nails the RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOO!!! But a ticked Okada doesn’t let him go, mauling him with haymakers and kicks like he did Kaito as even Nakajima’s forced to cover up!
Frustrated, he slaps Nakajima in the face, but Katsuhiko with a SHOULDER KICK! DOUBLE UNDERHOOK SUPLEX! Okada rattled, he eats a Sliding Dropkick and an AIR RAID CRASH, before Nakajima nails the NORTHERN LIGHTS BOMB!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA STAYS ALIVE!!! Nakajima back to the well with the VERTICAL SPIKE… DROPKICK FROM OKADA!!! ANOTHER DROPKICK!!! SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER!!! AND A TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER!!! Lifting him up with hatred, Okada ripcords him into the RAINMAKER!!! But he’s not done, going for another as NAKAJIMA FLIPS HIM OFF!!! RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Katsuhiko Nakajima to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (27:18)
Triumphing over the outsider, Okada steps over him like he’s dirt and collects his title… BUT HE’S SPUN INTO A BLADE RUNNER!!! Jay White stands over his rival’s fallen body, the respect shown at Wrestle Kingdom a mere ruse, the Switchblade wanting his title back!
Done with White’s antics, Okada agrees to a rematch on one stipulation – if White loses, BULLET CLUB must disband. It’s coming up to 10 years of him dealing with their rubbish, and frankly, he’s hurt and old and tired of the rinse and repeat. It’s time he ends it for good.
Battle in the Valley (February 18, 2023)
Also on the show:
Kenny Omega (c) vs Jeff Cobb - IWGP United States Championship
Tama Tonga (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NEVER Openweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Jay White VII - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (If White loses, BULLET CLUB must disband)
With Okada dropping a massive bombshell, a deranged and desperate White can only accept, needing the title back, even if it means risking BC should he fail. Their 7th and potentially final match, Jay’s still 4-2, putting the Rainmaker at a disadvantage, but he couldn’t care less. White makes his entrance flanked by BC, who look downright scared for their future, but KENTA tells them to hold strong. As Jay approaches the ring though, he tells them to let him run this solo against the Black Sun’s advice, White believing this to be his fight despite everything on the line, going it with just Gedo. Okada’s by his lonesome as always, ready to bury the past forever.
Unlike their WK match, this starts surprisingly in Okada’s favour even with the hell he went through just a week ago, the Rainmaker cutting off White’s condescending trash talk with a DROPKICK! Beating on his torso, Okada whips Jay at the ropes for another Dropkick, but Gedo pulls White out, giving him a pep talk to focus as Okada flashes him a ‘Too Sweet’! Not thinking, Jay slides back into a BIG BOOT, Okada continuing control with a Neckbreaker!
Hammering on the neck, Okada cinches in an early RED INK, forcing White to fight as Gedo looks on worriedly. Hissing and spitting, Jay struggles to the ropes, but there’s no breaks for him, a FLAPJACK snapping his neck off the ropes and a Lariat stumbling him to the floor! Regrouping with Gedo again, his friend pleads with him to snap out of whatever this is, only to step back fearfully as a snarling Okada approaches.
Understanding he’s in supreme control, Okada takes his sweet time tossing Jay back in, though his return’s slowed by Gedo, who begs for mercy for Jay as Kazu steps on the apron. Okada rolls his eyes, ONLY TO TURN INTO JAY RUNNING FULL SPEED AT HIM! SHOULDER TACKLE SENDS OKADA FLYING RIB-FIRST INTO THE GUARDRAIL!!! As Okada wails in agony, White cackles. Mission accomplished. Playing possum to lower Kazuchika’s guard, he’s in control now.
Collecting Okada, he rams his spine from apron to post… BEFORE TACKLING HIM THROUGH THE GUARDRAIL ITSELF, BOTH EXPLODING THROUGH!!! As Okada nurses his ribs, Jay plops down on a vacant chair next to a fan and snatches their water, taking a swig and patting himself on the back, before ‘making it rain’ over Okada’s head. He sets up a table at ringside which remains untouched for now as his foe crawls back in, Jay instead nailing a sick DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! Chopping and kicking the midsection, a SNAP SAITO gets 2!
A Reverse STO attempt backfires though, Okada lifting Jay into a HANGMAN’S DDT! One Corner Elbow later, and a DROPKICK sends Jay crashing from the top turnbuckle to the ramp! Gedo orients the dazed Jay to a chair, White using it for support, only to yank him off as OKADA SOARS – TOPE CON HILO EATS THE OPENED CHAIR!!! Back in agony, a SLEEPER SUPLEX only doubles it! Sliding Kazu in, a Running Corner European follows into a Blade Buster tease… JAY HITS A BLOODY SUNDAY INSTEAD!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!!
Okada tries fighting back with a forearm, but a HURRICANE DRIVER FLOORS HIM!!! INTO A LIONTAMER!!! Jay tortures the back holding up the company as now Okada searches for the ropes, but the moment he finds them, another SLEEPER SUPLEX awaits! Okada rolls through though and nails a PERFECT DROPKICK! White rocked, he eats a TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER!!! Okada goes for a RAINMAKER, but sensing Jay trying to counter into the Blade Runner, he pushes off and nails another DROPKICK!
Remembering the table, Okada nails a SPINNING RAINMAKER, before rolling White onto it! Heading up, Gedo begs him to spare Jay, but Kazu refuses… DIVING ELBOW DROP THROUGH THE TABLE, BUT IT TAKES OUT GEDO!!! JAY PULLED GEDO INTO HIS PLACE!!! Chucking evilly to himself, Jay rolls Okada in for a KIWI KRUSHER, but the Rainmaker writhes, readjusting into seated position on White’s shoulders! He hammers on White’s head, but Jay pulls his body down instead… STEPPING OVER THE ARMS, HE NAILS A STYLES CLASH!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOO!!!
Quickly losing patience, he bashes Sharp Sensations against Okada’s chest, before holding the finger gun to his head… V-TRIGGER!!! IS HE GOING FOR IT?! Lifting Kazu onto his shoulders as the crowd gasps… JAY FEIGNS IT, DROPPING OKADA INTO BLADE RUNNER POSITION- OKADA REVERSES INTO A RAINMAKER!!! HE’S NOT FALLING FOR WHITE’S TRICKS ANYMORE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-JAY KICKS OUT!!! Dumping Jay with a German, he nails a couple Short-Arm Rainmakers, followed by a LANDSLIDE! Getting ready to nail another Rainmaker, he grabs the wrist…
JAY NAILS A RAINMAKER OF HIS OWN!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!! White slams the mat, tears in his eyes, not knowing what to do, but right as he’s about to lose hope, he remembers KENTA. Charging up the Busaiku Knee Kick… HE RUNS INTO A DROPKICK!!! Slugging elbows as Jay returns chops, Okada suddenly scoops him up for a LANDSLIDE!!! And he’s back up in position for the RAIN-BLADE RUNNER!!! BUT JAY CAN’T CAPITALISE, TOO SPENT!!!
Instead, White wills himself to go for another, securing wrist-control to nail a couple Short-Arms of his own, before doing the slit-throat taunt… BLADE RUNNER- OKADA DOESN’T BUDGE!!! Jay tugs, growing frantic as he locks eyes with Okada, who shakes his head! SPINNING TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER!!! INTO A RAINMAKER!!! Picking a limp Jay back up, Okada ‘Too Sweets’ him on the forehead, before waving goodbye, NAILING ONE MORE RAINMAKERRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! BULLET CLUB is dead. Long Live Okada.
Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Jay White to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (38:48)
A stunned silence fills San Jose at first, followed by a standing ovation for both warriors. 10 years of one of the greatest factions of all-time, now over. BC rush out to White’s side, some shocked, some furious, but overall emotional for their last night together. KENTA gives Okada a soulless look as the Rainmaker leaves the ring, Kazu nodding to Tanahashi on commentary, knowing what this moment means to him too. But alas, the night is over as Jay walks himself out of New Japan, no betrayals on their last night.
Whilst Okada’s been through two tense defences in a short span, yet another challenge awaits him. Kaito consistently calling him out in the past weeks, using Okada’s moves on tours, Kazu finally caves, confirming he’ll be there at Keiji Muto’s retirement show, but he’ll be there for blood.
NOAH Last Love (February 21, 2023)
Also on the show:
AMAKUSA vs Hiromu Takahashi
Keiji Muto vs Tetsuya Naito
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya
The most invigorating Japanese rivalry in recent memory finally receives the pay-off everyone desires as NJPW’s Ace fights NOAH’s up-and-coming Ace. What ensues is awfully one-sided, Okada fully tapping into his role of Big Brother as he demolishes the man he deems lesser than him. Kaito does his best to hold out, getting in Kazu’s face a couple times, but he’s no match for the unbridled arrogance and fury of Okada, who wrecks him with an Antonio Inoki Enzuigiri, a Mitsuharu Misawa Emerald Flowsion, and a stiff-as-hell Rainmaker! 7 years ago, this was Naomichi Marufuji to Okada, but now Kazu is the Alpha Dog in town.
Kazuchika Okada def. Kaito Kiyomiya (16:32)
With Okada drifting into this unrecognisable version of himself, the rift between him and members of CHAOS continues to grow. Goto’s outspoken in his discontentment with CHAOS’s current position, HASHI standing with his partner, believing Kazuchika should be spending more time uniting the faction as their leader rather than running off to humiliate others and dapping up Tanahashi. Ishii and Yano, on the other hand, refuse a rebellion as CHAOS OGs and loyalists, Tom already eating well with his NEVER Openweight Championship. As such, a match between them is set for Anniversary!
As for Okada, with LIJ not getting the chance to fight Okada due to their loss to KONGOH, Hiromu Takahashi challenges him to a Champion vs Champion fight as one of 2 LIJ members who did win against KONGOH.
51st Anniversary Show (March 6, 2023)
Also on the show:
Bishamon (c) vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi
A long-awaited rematch from 2020’s New Japan Cup Semi Finals for Hiromu, much like Prince Devitt a decade ago he wants to prove he can hold both titles simultaneously. Though Devitt failed, Takahashi tries to avenge stablemates Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi’s failures against the Ace as Tanahashi commentates again, having surprisingly voiced his support for Okada’s recent regime of culling the outsiders. An 18-minute sprint sees Hiromu rely on his explosiveness to leave Okada reeling, a Time Bomb II banging up the neck for a near-fall, but Takahashi still isn’t on Kazu’s level, a Rainmaker silencing him!
Kazuchika Okada def. Hiromu Takahashi (18:03)
Despite Bishamon’s defiant victory against CHAOS, Okada pays it no regard when choosing a partner for New Japan’s return to Aichi, remembering how Goto failed him last time. Called out by recent Young Lion graduates Ren Narita and Shota Umino, who have been making waves in the New Japan Cup, Narita determined to replicate mentor Katsuyori Shibata’s run to avenge him, whilst Shota wishes to impress idol Tanahashi, Kazu fittingly invites the Ace of the Universe to team with him!
New Japan Cup - Night Five (March 11, 2023)
The Dream Team (Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi) vs Ren Narita & Shota Umino
A true dream team, the company’s Aces battle its future in a thrilling exhibition bout, Shota borrowing from Tanahashi in his performance, whilst Narita remains very much determined to get in Okada’s face. Much like the rest who have tried as of late though, he’s well out his weight class, Okada paying him a mocking headbutt and a Rainmaker to humble the youngster! As Narita wallows in disappointment though, Okada offers a hand to Shota, helping him to his feet and claiming he sees a future in the Tanahashi-derivative star.
The Dream Team def. Ren Narita & Shota Umino (13:32)
As the New Japan Cup rolls on, it reaches a scintillating conclusion with Just5Guys’ Taichi besting Sabre Gun’s Zack Sabre Jr. in the Finals, Taichi having beaten Ospreay in the Semis and Zack triumphing over SANADA! As the group joins the Toshiaki Kawada student for the trophy presentation, complete with a recently-turning SANADA, who betrayed Naito in the Quarter Finals, they invite one last member to their family to Sabre-Gun’s Kosei Fujita’s umbrage – his former friend who he left, Ryohei Oiwa! Whilst J6G and Sabre-Gun’s rivalry bubbles in the background, the important matter at hand is Taichi’s upcoming shot!
Road To Sakura Genesis - Night Three (April 3, 2023)
The Dream Team (Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi) vs Just6Guys (Taichi & SANADA)
Once again calling on Tanahashi, the (Aether) Aces step to their mutual foes of Taichi & SANADA. Looking down on the pair as AJPW guys, Okada & Tanahashi are especially hostile in their treatment of J6G, but unlike Kaito who ate all of it, Taichi & SANADA are a lot more defiant, the Holy Emperor especially passionate in his reminders that no matter where he came from, he still worked his way through the Dojo like Okada and Tanahashi. Still, even with Taichi catching the champion by surprise with multiple near-falls, forcing him to become more serious, it’s not their night… yet, SANADA eating the fall off a High-Fly Flow!
The Dream Team def. Just6Guys (15:27)
Sakura Genesis (April 8, 2023)
Also on the card:
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs Lio Rush - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Great-O-Khan – NEVER Openweight Championship
Bishamon (c) vs Aussie Open - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Taichi VI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Though the tag match may not have gone in J6G’s favour, tonight’s a lot different. One year ago, Taichi watched as his partner ZSJ failed to dethrone Okada after winning the NJC, much like four years before that. But now, he’s earned the chance to be the one fighting Kazu and silence his critics, especially the Rainmaker, rather than spectating a third time. Conducting a full operatic entrance, the Holy Emperor is the fan-favourite in the very arena his mentor Kawada retired, looking to make him proud, and for once, even Okada’s grandeur pales in comparison to his foe, though he looks past it, prepared to stomp out another outsider.
What ensues is a match centred around respect, Okada refusing to give it to Taichi, and Taichi doing everything he can for it! From homages to Kawada with the DANGEROUS BACKDROP and a GANSO BOMB tease from Taichi, to Kazu intentionally attempting NOAH-centric moves like the BURNING HAMMER and EMERALD FLOWSION, they trade bombs from start to finish, Taichi even connecting a RIPCORD AXE BOMBER for a near-fall! Yet despite putting on the best underdog performance of his career, the RAINMAKERS put a stop to it!
Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Taichi to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (28:32)
So close yet so far. As another one bites the dust, CHAOS comes out to join Okada for the show-closing promo – Ishii with his gold, but Bishamon now titleless, as well as Lio Rush failing to win gold too. The Rainmaker gloats, saying he’s never been better… though CHAOS could be a lot better. Admonishing their failures, he tells them he’s disappointed in them. Unlike other factions do, he refused to hold their hands every step of the way, putting his faith in them, yet they’ve thrown that in his face time and time again. Certain members are holding the group back, so he invites them to either leave while they can, or face the consequences.
A few moments pass, but no one budges. Okada scoffs, about to speak until Goto gets in his face! Running down Okada, he says he’s done with the treatment he’s received from the Rainmaker lately, his spot in CHAOS always one of shame after all, constant losses to Okada forcing him to join his foe rather than fail further. But he’s no coward. He’s not going to tuck his tail between his legs and scram like Okada wants. He knows Kazu wants him gone, so if that’s the case… he challenges him to put the leadership of CHAOS on the line against him at his 20th Anniversary Show! If Okada wins, he’ll leave. If Goto wins, he takes over. Astonished by Goto’s defiance yet almost respecting it, Okada agrees to let him fight for his future!
Capital Collision (April 15, 2023)
Also on the show:
Kenny Omega (c) vs El Phantasmo - IWGP United States Championship
The Dream Team (Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi) vs Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) (c) vs Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) - NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship
Before Goto’s final stand, Okada makes a trip down to America to challenge for the STRONG Tag Titles, wanting to show Hirooki how it’s done by not only beating the team which dethroned Bishamon, but also the legendary Motor City Machine Guns! Joined by Tanahashi as expected, the icons make up for their lack of tag team experience with sheer talent, giving both teams a tough draw. A Rainmaker to Fletcher sets up Tanahashi for a High-Fly Flow, but as Okada prepares to defend the pinfall, OUT COME BISHAMON! Drawing Okada’s attention, Goto brawls with the Rainmaker whilst HASHI distracts Tana, allowing Davis to take him out, before nailing the Coriolis on Shelley to win the titles!
Aussie Open def. Motor City Machine Guns (c), The Dream Team (25:13)
As Okada realises what’s just happened, Bishamon are long gone by then, Goto waving to a fuming Kazu from the entranceway!
Hirooki Goto 20th Anniversary Event (April 22, 2023)
Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto XVI
High stakes for the main event, all of CHAOS and Tanahashi are in attendance to witness their stable’s future. Goto’s stoic, not letting the emotions of it all get to him, whilst Okada’s arrogant as ever, overconfident in his abilities despite their series being only 8-7 to him, Goto able to score the grandest of equalisers tonight should he win. What ensues is an all-out war for CHAOS, Goto doing everything to prove himself a worthy member, whilst Okada devotes himself to ruining the Aramusha. And at certain points, Goto has the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion on the ropes, humbling the Rainmaker off a nail-bitingly close near fall on the GTR! But Okada’s simply unstoppable, it taking three Rainmakers to seal the deal, Okada besting Goto!
Kazuchika Okada def. Hirooki Goto (25:10)
Ruining Goto’s big night, Okada’s smug with himself as HASHI, Lio, YOH, and even Yano tend to their fallen comrade, while Ishii watches with a hint of sorrow, though ultimately steering clear of treasonous actions. As per the stipulation, an emotional Goto’s forced to leave CHAOS, though he doesn’t walk the plank alone, YOSHI, Rush, and YOH, following suit! Okada seems taken aback at first, though ultimately nods, needing all traces of weakness gone from his stable. Just Ishii and Tanahashi left standing at ringside, Okada declares that the foundations of the group will be rebuilt, starting with… the three of them!
Handing a CHAOS shirt to Tanahashi, he welcomes Hiroshi to the group, before handing over the mic! Tana explains that upon speaking with Okada, he realised this would be the right way for him to protect the future of the company he fought so long for. Just because he’s carrying a flag now though, doesn’t mean he’s any different from the man they all know and love. He’s doing this for the betterment of the place he loves. He’s doing this for a purer New Japan!
As the three stand tall together… BUSAIKU KNEE KICK TO OKADA! Just as quickly as KENTA slipped into the ring, he slips back out, Taiji Ishimori & SHO by his side! Banding together as a group of misfits following BULLET CLUB’s death, SHO leaving House of Torture too, it’s clear KENTA has one thing on his mind… take from the man who took from him.
Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni (April 29, 2023)
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & X) vs KENTA, Taiji Ishimori & SHO
With KENTA and co. targeting Okada, a Six-Man Tag is set, though not with Tanahashi as CHAOS’s third man. Instead, he gives up his spot to their ‘new member’, who reveals himself to be Shota Umino! Okada impressed with his talents a couple months back, he shows off his chops here as a functioning member of the new CHAOS, the three gelling together perfectly. A rather shades of grey encounter between two sides with moral ambiguities, the crowd is evenly split, but alas, it’s KENTA’s crew scoring a bit of an upset after some shenanigans, the Busaiku Knee Kick taking down Ishii! After the match, KENTA gestures Okada’s belt around his waist.
KENTA, Taiji Ishimori & SHO def. CHAOS (14:39)
Wrestling Dontaku (May 3, 2023)
Also on the card:
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs YOSHI-HASHI - NEVER Openweight Championship
Kenny Omega (c) vs Shingo Takagi - IWGP United States Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs KENTA II - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Not having touched one-on-one since KENTA’s debut G1, there’s a big fight feel for the sacred rematch 4 years long overdue. The Black Sun carrying NOAH’s flag in Okada’s eyes, he’s determined to add KENTA to his list of casualties, whilst vengeance remains glued to the challenger’s mind. Returning to his Overture theme, KENTA’s just as arrogant as the champion, the two producing mirroring self-absorbed entrances, but as the bell rings, it remains to be seen whether their skill is also mirrored.
Starting with a feeling out sequence, the two trade a variety of holds back-and-forth with increasing pace, before Okada teases a sudden RAINMAKER! KENTA has it scouted, catching the arm and immediately getting to work on it, remembering Nakajima’s strategy. Hammering it with elbows and kicks, a HIGH KNEE finds its mark on Okada’s shoulder! Whipping him to the mat, a PENALTY KICK follows to the joint! Okada shakes out his arm in agony as KENTA’s target becomes crystal clear, smartly looking to eliminate the Rainmaker from the equation as early as possible!
KENTA races in for a Corner Big Boot, but Okada ducks out the way, dropping KENTA with a BACKDROP SUPLEX! He shakes out his arm as he drops into cover, shooting the half, only for KENTA to reverse the pinfall mid-count into a GAME OVER attempt! Alarm in his eyes, Okada frantically lunges at the ropes for reprieve, though KENTA holds on until 4 to exact as much damage as possible on the limb!
Okada resting against the ropes as he tries to get some feeling back in his arm, KENTA sprints for a RUNNING YAKUZA KICK, but Okada pulls the ropes down, the Black Sun sent crashing to the outside! He whips KENTA into the guardrails for a Big Boot that sends him over, a JUMPING CROSSBODY following suit! Dragging KENTA out the rubble, he teases a HANGMAN’S DDT off the steel, only for KENTA to drop down and SNAP OKADA’S ARM OVER THE GUARDRAIL! Threading it through the gap, a HESITATION DROPKICK MANGLES HIS ARM IN THE STEEL!
Okada lets out a cry of pain as the section crashes down on him, having no time to recover as he feebly frees himself from it, KENTA yanking him by the arm! He tries to send Okada’s arm into the steel post, but the Big Boot takes him down! Rolling KENTA inside, Okada hails down a MISSILE DROPKICK to send him sprawling across the ring, before a STRAIGHT-JACKET NECKBREAKER subdues him for the Rainmaker to lock in RED INK!
Using the opportunity to rest his own arm, it backfires when KENTA contorts it over his shoulder to free himself, a CROSS ARMBREAKER turning the tables! Kazuchika gets a monkey grip to prevent full extension though, rolling KENTA over to his shoulders for 2, before hoisting him up into an AIR RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT! Okada tries to pick KENTA up with one arm for the TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER, but he fails miserably, KENTA turning the predicament around into an EMERALD FLOWSION!
Scaling the ropes, KENTA teases a DIVING DOUBLE FOOT STOMP to the point of Okada’s elbow… MILLION DOLLAR DROPKICK INTERCEPTS! Okada stands KENTA up with a DDT, before dumping him with a GERMAN SUPLEX, though is unable to get the bridge. Wanting to wrap things up and fast, he uses the ropes to get KENTA in position for a TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER, before securing wrist-control! He looks for the RAINMAKER, only for KENTA to blast the arm with a YAKUZA KICK!
Okada’s arm dropping by his side, KENTA teases going for a RAINMAKER OF HIS OWN, only for Kazuchika to bring him down with a FLAPJACK instead! A SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER shakes off KENTA’s advances on the arm, before a RAINMAKER FINDS ITS MARK!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!! Not enough strength behind it for Okada to put KENTA down for good, he tries for another… KENTA SLAPS THE TASTE OUT HIS MOUTH! KENTA RUSH FOLLOWS SUIT! AND A BUSAIKU KNEE KICK!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA SURVIVES!!!
Doing the Rainmaker pose, KENTA secures wrist-control himself and puts Okada on his shoulders, teasing a GO 2 SLEEP! OKADA NAILS HEAVY RAIN!!! A LANDSLIDE attempt is stuffed, KENTA again abusing the arm like it’s the Dragongate monkey, BEFORE NAILING A SHORT-ARM RAINMAKER OF HIS OWN!!! Okada forced to eat stiff shot after stiff shot like it’s Shibata all over again, he looks to be on dream street as KENTA fires up a second BUSAIKU KNEE- DROPKICK COUNTERS!!! Accounting for his deteriorating arm, Okada nails a pair of SHORT-ARM RAINMAKERS with his nondominant arm to ease into one more RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Kazuchika Okada (c) def. KENTA to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (26:35)
It may be the accumulating fatigue talking, but KENTA may have given Okada his biggest scare yet, a lucky last gasp saving the Rainmaker’s reign. Not so bad for an outside, he thinks. As a shattered KENTA collects his bearing, SHO and Taiji by his side, Okada stops him from leaving just yet, instead calling to Tanahashi from commentary, who tosses him a shirt! Mic in his other hand, Okada declares that KENTA impressed him more than he would normally care to admit. It’s almost as though his talents were being wasted in BULLET CLUB… So, why not join CHAOS?
The Black Sun’s understandably stunned, the man he hated just moments ago now offering a truce? But Okada tells him to sit on it, offering a couple more shirts to his pals, stating he could use their talents to fuel his new vision. SHO was always the better Roppongi 3K member after all. And Taiji’s an Ultimo Dragon trainee like him. Just think on it. As KENTA and co. leave to the back in deep thought, it appears big things lie ahead for CHAOS…
Best of the Super Junior 30 - Night One (May 12, 2023)
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii) vs The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks)
One of those being this star-studded match-up! A Steel Cage loss to Jon Moxley thanks to a betrayal from close friend Don Callis forcing Kenny Omega to re-evaluate things for a moment, he goes to the only place he deems capable of clearing his head – Japan. Waiting for him & The Bucks there on BOSJ’s first night are their eternal rivals in CHAOS, Okada and Omega’s partnership clearly only a one-time deal, back to fighting on opposite sides. The Cleaner took note of Okada ending the faction Omega once headed, not knowing how to feel on the situation, though knowing as much as that he’d love to beat Okada another time to feel like himself again.
Running back their classic sequences, it’s less a structured bout and more anarchy as The Elite inject their western influences, though Okada and Omega remaining at the centre of things all the same. Tana tries making plays at the man who he conquered at Wrestle Kingdom 13, taking interest in Kenny’s title as the only CHAOS member here without gold, the finish seeing him stare down Kenny as he pins Matt Jackson off a High Fly Flow!
CHAOS def. The Elite (18:07)
Off the back of the tag, two huge matches are set up: First, Omega defends his US Title against Tanahashi at STRONG Resurgence in a WK rematch, and if he wins, he’ll defend against Okada in a Double Title match! Spoiler: Omega retains, setting him up for Okada off the back of a gruelling loss in Anarchy in the Arena to Blackpool Combat Club at Double or Nothing!

With the Fate of Iberia DLC, Paradox introduced the new Struggle mechanic. They next intend to apply this system in Persia this year, and I'm very interested to see what they come up with, and in what ways the system can be expanded. That said, I think Italy would be a fantastic place for a new Struggle region. This is a long post discussing what that would look like.

Guelphs and Ghibellines

If you're not familiar with the topic, I recommend watching this video from M. Laser History, it gives an excellent overview of the topic.
For a TLDR; At around the 1066 start date, there is a power struggle between the Holy Roman Emperors and the Papacy, about who has authority over who, and about rights of investitute. Later (~1125) The Italian states in the Empire find themselves caught in the middle, and deep factionalism develops between the Guelphs (pro-Church) and Ghibellines (pro-Imperial). A lot of battles and wars, big and small, are fought over this, including the glorious War of the Bucket!
The rest of this post is me spitballing an idea about how this might be implemented. If you have any ideas about how this could be done, I'd be really interested to hear it.

Ideas About Implementation

For starters, the region of the struggle would at least be Northern and Central Italy, and probably all of it. To the best of my knowledge, South Italian rulers didn't play a direct role in this struggle historically, but it's not hard to envision an alternate history where they do.
However, unlike the Iberian Struggle, which has already begun at both start dates, I imagine a super-event for Catholics about the "Investiture Controversy" or something of the sort, which would start the struggle.
For the actors involved (Struggle Participants), I imagine five types:

1. Imperial: The Holy Roman Emperor.
2. Papal: The Pope. In in-game terms, whoever's Head of Faith for the Catholic faith.
3. Neutral: Every landed character whose capital is in Italy and is inside the Holy Roman Empire. This would include vassals of vassals. All Italian rulers will start in this camp. Some will stay, most will move to one of the following two types.
4. Guelphs: Those who wish to support the Pope.
5. Ghibellines: Those who wish to support the Emperor.

In terms of phases, I'm not too certain. A lot of the phase effects in Iberia concern relations between cultures and faiths, which aren't so applicable here. I've come up with this so far (excuse the boring names, these are just placeholder):

1. Dormant: Relatively few effects from the struggle. Progresses to Limited.
2. Limited: A Casus Belli is unlocked for Guelphs against Ghibellines and Ghibellines against Guelphs. Each side can call others of their faction to the war. Imperial and Papal characters (so, just the Emperor and the Pope) can support their respective members if they are in such a war through character interaction (give money, add combat modifiers at the cost of prestige/piety, etc.), but cannot get involved. Character interactions exist for the Pope and Emperor to entice those not in their faction and who are not at war to join it. Progresses to Hostile.
3. Hostile: Emperor and Pope unlock a Casus Belli on each other which allows them to end the struggle. Neither side can call allies into the war. Guelphs join Pope, Ghibellines join Emperor. Regardless of who is attacker and defender, ticking warscore does not start for the Emperor until they occupy Pope's capital (Rome, probably), and does not start for the Pope until all Ghibelline land in struggle region is occupied by Pope and Guelphs. If Emperor wins, struggle goes to Imperial Victory Ending. If Pope wins, struggle goes to Papal Victory Endin. If it's a white peace, struggle progresses to Peace.
4. Peace: Very few (or no) effects from the struggle. Progresses to Dormant.

How do the phases actually progress to one another? Well, it could be just time, but ideally, it would be based on a type of action/character interaction that would be emblematic of friction between church and state. This would likely relate to mechanics regarding investiture. For example, every time a Catholic ruler appoints a bishop, or revokes a bishopric, the struggle progresses a bit. Basically, this whole struggle (or my idea of it) rests on the idea that Paradox has implemented some type of mechanic about investiture rights and the College of Cardinals, and where the outcome of the struggle would affect those. I'm gonna speak about the endings of the struggle broadly, and I'm gonna act as if those mechanics are already there. You can imagine that, at the start of the game, all Catholic rulers have full investiture rights, and that their ability to appoint essentially whoever they like gives them some ability to influence the election of a Pope (in a more involved fashion than CK2). I imagine the phases of this struggle being shorter and less equal than those of Iberia, where the Limited phase is significantly longer than Dormant or Peace.
The outcomes are as follows:

• Imperial Victory: Effects on Catholic faith would be that the Holy Roman Emperor gets some sort of disproportional say in the College of Cardinals and the election of a Pope. Free Investiture rights are maintained for all Catholic rulers, never to be challenged again until the end of the game. Effects on Italy would be that a number of the biggest Ghibellines (either by size, or contribution to the final Imperial-Papist war that led to this) would get a special contract type with the Emperor that gives significant bonuses and some reduced obligations. They would also be made into electors in the empire.
• Papal Victory: Effects on Catholic faith would be that, by default, free Investiture rights are disallowed, and Catholic rulers passing free investiture laws get a significant opinion malus with the Pope, as well as from their own Zealot stance vassals. Effects on Italy would be that all Guelphs would get a special contract type that disallows title revocation, allows war declaration, and has no obligations at all.

And that's basically all I've got. The specific values would play a big role in what does and doesn't happen here, but I can't begin to imagine how to go through balancing that. General pointers would be that Italians are far more willing to side with the Pope, but that the Emperor's support of Ghibellines would be stronger. Another thing might be to make one of the phase effects significantly decreased costs for upgrading/building castles, as well as any buildings which add fort levels. Essentially, marching an army from Germany all the way to Rome as the Emperor should be extremely difficult, dangerous, and time-consuming in the Hostile phase unless the Emperor has been diligent in supporting his Ghibellines and enticing others to switch sides in the Limited phase.
One last note is that this entire thing would also very much benefit from an overhaul of republics and city-states. They were an extremely important part of this conflict, and no representation of Medieval Italy would be complete without proper mechanics for them.
I guess the Struggle parts of this could be a mod. I haven't made a mod for CK3 yet, but I happen to be a programmer with some free time. I think I can do that. This would require Investiture/College of Cardinal mechanics though, with its own UI and all. I have no how to do that.
Let me know what you think of this, I would really love to hear someone else's take on how Struggle mechanics can be applied to Italy, and specifically the Guelphs and Ghibellines wars, since I find them very interesting. This has been sitting in my head for too long, and I'm happy to have it structured and proposed.

I’ve had the constant urge to pee (bladder fullness/no relief when going) since I got my first dose of the Covid vaccine in March 2021. After failing every treatment for “IC” even all the invasive ones I decided to go down the embedded UTI route. Before I did I knew from Reddit to check for Ureaplasma/Mycroplasma. I took Evvy in July and September 2021 tested negative. I also used health testing centers.com , which is PCR vaginal swab in August 2021 and it was negative. Over the last two years I’ve done Microgen (urine) 15+ times and only UTI pathogens show up, Ureaplasma has never shown in my urine. I took a third Evvy March 2022, negative. After failing long term antibiotic treatment I decided to stop all medication. I took my fourth Evvy beginning of May and now all of a sudden Urea U is showing as .92%. How? So I was getting a false negative for two years? I just ordered a Juno to take to confirm? I plan to try to treat the UU since I’ve failed every single treatment for both IC/embedded UTI. I’m old and I’ve been with my husband for 20+ years and no, no one cheated (seriously).

A terrifying movie or book or show gets your blood pumping in the moment of consumption, sure—we covered our eyes in Squid Game with the rest of the world. But for the most part, you rest easy afterward knowing that what you've witnessed is fiction, deliberately spun up to creep you out. When the real world gets eerier than anything Stephen King could dream up, that's when you have every right to get a little scared of the dark.
Once in a while, a story of a dreadful disappearance, demonic possession, or devil worship will land in the local paper instead of a pulpy old paperback. We've rounded up the most unnerving real-life tales below. In honor of spooky season, here are eleven we can't stop thinking about.

The Axe Murder House

The Villisca Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa is a well-known tourist attraction for ghost hunters and horror lovers alike. The site of a gruesome unsolved 1912 murder, in which six children and two adults had their skulls completely crushed by the axe of an unknown perpetrator, was purchased in 1994, restored to its 1912 condition, and converted into a tourist destination. It costs $428 a night to stay at the old haunted home, where visitors always report strange paranormal experiences, such as visions of a man with an axe roaming the halls or the faint screams of children.
But in November of 2014, the haunting took a darker turn. Robert Steven Laursen Jr., 37, of Rhinelander, Wisconsin was on a regular recreational paranormal visit with friends when true horror struck. Per VICE:

His companions found him stabbed in the chest—an apparently self-inflicted wound—called 9-1-1, and Laursen was brought to a nearby hospital before being helicoptered to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said Laursen suffered the self-inflicted injury at about 12:45 a.m., which is around the same time the 1912 axe murders in the house began.
Laursen recovered from his injuries, but has never spoken publicly about what occurred that day. For Martha Linn, the owner of the home, the incident was very upsetting. "It's publicity, but it's not exactly the kind of publicity you desire to have. I don't want people thinking that when they come to the Villisca Axe Murder House something's going to happen that's going to make them do something like that.” The house remains open for tourist visits and overnight stays today.
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The Haunted Doll

When you think of haunted dolls, it’s likely the creepy old Victorian-looking porcelain kind that springs to mind. None of which you probably have laying around. Still, don’t get too comfortable around any kids toys too soon, though: a Disney’s Frozen Elsa doll that was gifted for Christmas 2013 in the Houston area made headlines earlier this year when it seemingly became haunted.
Per KPRC2 Houston News:

The doll recited phrases from the movie Frozen and sang “Let It Go” when a button on its necklace was pressed.
“For two years it did that in English,” mother Emily Madonia said. “In 2015, it started doing it alternating between Spanish and English. There wasn’t a button that changed these, it was just random."
The family has owned the doll for more than six years and never changed its batteries. The mother says the doll would randomly begin to speak and sing even with its switch turned off.

The family decided to throw the creepy doll out in December of 2019. Weeks later, they found it inside a bench in their living room. “The kids insisted they didn’t put it there, and I believed them because they wouldn’t have dug through the garbage outside,” Madonia told KPRC2 Houston News.

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At that point, Elsa ceased to sing the English rendition of “Let It Go” altogether, speaking only Spanish when pressed. The family then double-bagged the bizarre doll and placed it at the bottom of their garbage which was taken out on garbage day. They went on a trip shortly after, but when they returned, Elsa too had come back, and was waiting in the backyard of their home.
This time, the family mailed Elsa to a family friend in Minnesota, who taped the haunted doll to the front bumper of his truck. It doesn’t seem to have made its way back to Houston yet, as per Madonia’s latest February Facebook update on the creepy doll.

A Deadly Exorcism

In August 2016 in North London, 26-year-old Kennedy Ife began acting strange and aggressive following a pain in his throat. He reportedly bit his father, threatened to cut off his own penis, and complained of a python or snake inside of him before his family restrained him to a bed with cable ties and excessive force.
As the BBC reported:

“The family then set about attempting to ‘cure’ Kennedy through restraint and prayer over the next three days, the court was told.”

His brother, Colin Ife, told police:

“It’s clear that thing was in him, what we believed was a demon because it was not natural. It was clearly trying to kill him,” he said.
“We had to restrain him for himself. It was clear if we didn’t restrain him, he could have tried to harm people in our family.”

Kennedy Ife had been bound to his bed for three days without medical attention when his brother called emergency services, explaining that Kennedy Ife was complaining of dehydration. He appeared to have developed breathing issues, and was pronounced dead at 10:17 a.m.
As The Independent reported:

While police were at the house Colin Ife allegedly carried out an “attempted resurrection” by chanting and praying for Mr. Ife.

All seven of Kennedy Ife’s family members were accused of manslaughter, false imprisonment, and causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult. A post-mortem examination revealed over 60 wounds including a possible bite on Kennedy Ife’s body, and his father, Kenneth Ife, along with four of his brothers, sustained injuries as well.
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The BBC reported:

Kenneth Ife told jurors he ordered his sons to take shifts and use "overwhelming force" but denied that an "association with cults, occults and secret societies" played any part in the death.

After a four day jury deliberation, all seven family members were cleared of charges on March 14, 2019.
📷Witches prepare themselves for a journey by broomstick to the Black Mountain, circa 1650. From a 17th century Dutch copperplate by Adrianus Hubertus.Hulton Archive

Dead Animals in the Walls

When the Bretzuis family decided to insulate their home in Auburn, Pennsylvania in 2015, they discovered that it had already been—with scores of dead animal carcasses.
As Fox reported:

The dead animals were wrapped in newspapers from the 1930s and 40s and were among half-used spices, and other items.
After removing the items they sent hundreds of artifacts and carcasses to an expert in Kutztown.

The expert attributed the rotting animals in their walls to Pow-wow or Dutch magic, a ritual originating in the culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch to treat ailments and gain physical and spiritual protection. The Pennsylvania Dutch were a group of German-speaking settlers to Pennsylvania in the 1600 and 1700’s, and are often of Lutheran, Mennonite, or Amish faiths.
The Washington Post notes on the magic:

Many of the spells deal with the care of livestock, finding water, or the treatment of minor ailments, reflecting the conditions and concerns of early American settlers.
But powwow also has within it a tradition of darker spells, and even of such things as conjuring demons.

One notable ritual in their tradition is this hex to create loyalty in a dog:

To attach a dog to a person, provided nothing else was used before to effect it: Try to draw some of your blood, and let the dog eat it along with his food, and he will stay with you.

The mold found on the rotting carcasses in the Bretzuis home has caused illness among the family members, and they say that the odor hasn’t gone away.
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Florida Devil Worshipping

Friends noticed that Danielle Harkins, a 35-year-old schoolteacher near St. Petersburg, Florida, started acting strangely in June of 2012, developing an interest in demonic rituals.
Soon after, she was arrested for abuse of seven of her former students, as the Tampa Bay Times reported:

Danielle Harkins told the kids they needed to rid their bodies of demons as the group gathered before dusk Saturday around a small fire near the St. Petersburg Pier. They should cut their skin to let the evil spirits out, police said she told the children. Then, they needed to burn the wounds to ensure that those spirits would not return.
When Harkins held a lighter to one teen's hand, wind blew the flame out, police said. That prompted her to douse his hand in perfume before setting it on fire. The boy suffered second-degree burns, police said.
Another teen was cut on the neck with a broken bottle, police said. Harkins used a flame to heat a small key, which she then used to cauterize the wound.

The police were notified because a friend of one of the students who participated in the ritual raised alarms. However none of the students themselves told their parents about the event or would comment following the arrest of Harkins for aggravated battery and child abuse.
NBC reported:

Investigators said they've spoken to Harkins, but she didn't spell out what type of religion would require such drastic measures.
"She hasn't informed us exactly what she was trying to accomplish with this," Puetz [of the St. Petersburg Police Department] said.

The Death of Elisa Lam

Elisa Lam was last seen on January 31, 2013 in the lobby of the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. She was vacationing through the West Coast, documenting the trip on her blog, and checking in with her parents every day. On January 31 those calls stopped. Lam had vanished. Soon the police were involved and her parents arrived to help with the search.
They had nothing. That February, LAPD released elevator surveillance footage of Lam before her disappearance. The footage shows Lam behaving strangely in the elevator, appearing to talk with invisible people, peering around the corner of the door, crouching in the corner, and opening and closing the door. But what exactly is going on in this video raises more questions than answers. Theories range from psychotic episodes, to demonic possession, to unknown assailants just out of the camera's view:
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Around that time, hotel guests started reported weird things happening with the Cecil Hotel water supply. As CNN reports:
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"The shower was awful," said Sabina Baugh, who spent eight days there during the investigation. "When you turned the tap on, the water was coming black first for two seconds and then it was going back to normal."The tap water "tasted horrible," Baugh said. "It had a very funny, sweety, disgusting taste. It's a very strange taste. I can barely describe it."But for a week, they never complained. "We never thought anything of it," she said. "We thought it was just the way it was here."

On the morning of February 19, a hotel employee climbed to the roof and used a ladder to investigate the hotel's water storage tanks. That's where authorities found the decomposing, naked body of Lam, whose personal items were found nearby. After an autopsy, her death was labeled accidental. NBC Los Angeles reported at the time about the strange circumstances in the hotel's past:

The tank has a metal latch that can be opened, but authorities said access to the roof is secured with an alarm and lock.The single-room-occupancy hotel has an unusual history. "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez, who was found guilty of 14 slayings in the 1980s, lived on the 14th floor for several months in 1985. And international serial killer Jack Unterweger is suspected of murdering three prostitutes during the time he lived there in 1991. He killed himself in jail in 1994.In 1962, a female occupant jumped out of one the hotel's windows, killing herself and a pedestrian on whom she landed.

In February 2021, a Netflix doc called Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel explored Elisa's tragic case and the history of the "cursed" Cecil Hotel.

An Exorcism in Indianapolis

Last year, the Indianapolis Star published a lengthy report on a family terrorized by three children allegedly possessed by demons. The account of Latoya Ammons and her family tells disturbing stories of children climbing up the walls, getting thrown across rooms, and children threatening doctors in deep unnatural voices. It would seem like something straight out of a movie–a work of fantasy, except all of these accounts were more or less corroborated with "nearly 800 pages of official records obtained by the Indianapolis Star and recounted in more than a dozen interviews with police, DCS personnel, psychologists, family members and a Catholic priest."
One of the more chilling sections of the report includes a segment about the possessed 9-year-old:

According to Washington's original DCS report—an account corroborated by Walker, the nurse—the 9-year-old had a "weird grin" and walked backward up a wall to the ceiling. He then flipped over Campbell, landing on his feet. He never let go of his grandmother's hand.

Another segment of the piece reads:

The 12-year-old would later tell mental health professionals that she sometimes felt as if she were being choked and held down so she couldn't speak or move. She said she heard a voice say she'd never see her family again and wouldn't live another 20 minutes.

This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Watch on📷Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Utah Murder-Suicide

In September of 2014, a Utah teen returned to his home to find his parents and three siblings dead. "In a notebook, a 'to-do list' had been scribbled on the pages ... The list looked as if the parents were readying to go on vacation—items such as 'feed the pets' and 'find someone to watch after the house' were written," The Salt Lake Tribune reported. It appeared to be murder-suicide, but there was no suicide note, no prior indication that they would do this, no explanation. Police could not figure out why two parents would kill themselves and three of their four children.
For a year, no one knew exactly what happened to the family, or what would drive the parents to do something so unthinkable. In January, police released more chilling details in the case. According to accounts from family members and an investigation by police, the parents were driven by a belief that the apocalypse was coming and an obsession with a convicted killer. As the Washington Post reported:

Friends and family told police that the parents were worried about the "evil in the world" and wanted to escape a "pending apocalypse." But most assumed they just wanted to move somewhere "off the grid." Investigators also found letters written by Kristi Strack to one of the state's most infamous convicted killers, Dan Lafferty, who was convicted in the 1984 fatal stabbing of his sister-in-law and her 1-year-old daughter. According to trial testimony, he killed the victims at the order of his brother, Ron Lafferty, who claimed to have had a revelation from God. The story became a book called "Under the Banner of Heaven."Police said Kristi Strack became friends with Dan Lafferty, and she and her husband even visited him in prison.

The Phone Stalker

In 2007, ABC news documented a series of cell phone calls to families with terrifyingly specific death threats. The unidentified callers knew exactly what families were doing and what they were wearing.

The families say the calls come in at all hours of the night, threatening to kill their children, their pets and grandparents. Voice mails arrive, playing recordings of their private conversations, including one with a local police detective.The caller knows, the families said, what they're wearing and what they're doing. And after months of investigating, police seem powerless to stop them.

This went on with the Kuykenall family for months, who reported a caller with a scratchy voice threatening to slit their throats.

When the Fircrest, Wash., police tried to find the culprit, the calls were traced back to the Kuykendalls' own phones -- even when they were turned off.It got worse. The Kuykendalls and two other Fircrest families told ABC News that they believe the callers are using their cell phones to spy on them. They say the hackers know their every move: where they are, what they're doing and what they're wearing. The callers have recorded private conversations, the families and police said, including a meeting with a local detective.

"The Watcher"

After moving into their $1.3 million dream home, a New Jersey family started receiving creepy death threats from someone who identified themselves as "The Watcher." As CBS News reported earlier this year:
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Since moving in, the owners said they have received numerous letters from the mysterious person. "The Watcher" claimed the home "has been the subject of my family for decades," and "I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming," Castro reported.The new owners have several children, and other letters asked, "Have they found out what's in the walls yet?" and "I am pleased to know your names now, and the name of the young blood you have brought to me."

The family was forced to flee from their home and later filed a lawsuit against the previous owners.

Issei the Cannibal

In 1974, 24-year-old Wako University student Issei Sagawa allegedly followed a German woman to her home in Tokyo, Japan, broke into her apartment while she was sleeping, and attempted to cut a piece of flesh off her body to consume. When she awoke, she reportedly fought him and he was later captured by the police. According to a 2012 Vice documentary that covered Issei's bizarre story, he was mistakenly charged with attempted rape and his wealthy father paid the victim a settlement outside of court to have the charges dropped.
Seven years later, in 1981, he allegedly committed a murder in France—shooting and eating a fellow University student, Renée Hartevelt. Issei creepily documented the entire experience with photographs and he was captured by authorities once again while attempting to dump the rest of her body in the Bois de Boulogne lake. He was deported back to Japan and committed to a mental institution. For reason unknown, his psychologists in Japan declared that he was sane. Furthermore, a legal technicality involving the French government refusing to turn over the documents from his case meant that his murder charges were dropped completely. He checked himself out of the mental hospital and has reportedly been walking the streets as a free man ever since. Issei has even become a controversial celebrity, writing over 20 books. According to Japan Today, he most recently fantasized about an unnamed TV actress, saying:
"I'll catch a glimpse of her thigh and think, 'That sure looks tasty.' But I don't feel like I actually want to eat it. As I accomplished the act of cannibalism once, there's no meaning to maintaining the desire for it anymore. In my book, I wrote that it [human flesh] was tasty, but that was not really true; I'd much rather eat Matsuzaka (Kobe) beef. But because I'd desired to consume human flesh for so long, I'd managed to convince myself that it would necessarily be delicious."
Issei Sagawa was also referenced in the Rolling Stones song "Too Much Blood," with the lyrics reading: "And when he ate her he took her bones/To the Bois de Boulogne." He is currently 73 years old and continues to live in Kawaski City, Japan. To this day, no one knows why France did not allow Japan to give him a trial.
📷MATT MILLER

I've seen that these particles don't render properly in either Yuzu or Ryujinx, though you can see a few of them on the latest build if you turn the camera at the right angle.
I'm wondering if these missing motes are missing in any scenarios aside from on dead bodies? Like do they show up in cutscenes on Switch, but then can't be seen on Yuzu? Someone would need to have played or watched both versions extensively to know.
There was a fix (hack?) for these motes on Github back in March according to a youtube vid, but it never went public apparently.
Anyway are there any problems aside from that? I'm told the Pentelas region issue was fixed, and I haven't read about any other major problems. Just trying to see what I'll be in for before I decide to start this game.

I recently bought an iiRcade back when the "limited time" Retromania sale started. I have spent some time with it and looked around online and these are my thoughts on it. I understand there are fan boys who are going to be upset based on other comments I have made and replies I received but I am not a fan boy of any particular home arcade. This is just my opinion.
Strengths:

• Build Quality - The build quality of this system is great to me. It's not perfect but it's much better than A1UP. Could be a little more sturdy and have better controls.
• Game Library - The ability to pick from a large selection of games and maintain multiple games on one system with no modding needed is a huge advantage. With the new A1UP softmods this advantage is less than it used to be but if they can get some top tier titles it would be a huge plus for them.
• Ease of Assembly - Putting this thing together was fast and easy. Compared to A1UP it's no contest. I had no frustration or moments of panic when assembling this at all. The instructions were clear and concise and the steps were simple. This is one of the biggest pluses to me.
• Height - I feel like this cabinet is a great height right out of the box.

Weaknesses:

• Looks - I personally do like the art on this cab, my wife doesn't. But obviously the shape is something many people don't find attractive and the lack of a marquee is just bad. The new Gold cabinets look great but they also cost a pretty penny. The marquees and artwork on the A1UPs are generally better than these.
• Licensing - Obviously this is one they need to get a handle on. They really need to work on securing licenses from Capcom and Konami as well as some of the older games. When I think of arcade games these are what I think of and these are what many of my cohorts think of. Getting these licenses would give much more mass appeal to this cabinet.
• Community - There are some dedicated people but they are the few and the loud. Very little quality Youtube content. Very little conversation on reddit. This product has a small group of owners. Many are happy with their purchase but it is likely not enough to keep the company afloat long term.
• Support - I had an issue where the Retromania character was moving all by himself when the game started running in one or two directions. I was able to fix this on their recommendation of moving the 2P joystick in the direction he was running but I will note this line from them "RetroMania shouldn't have that issue in the latest version but if it occurs, the way to resolve it would be to press the right joystick in the direction the player is going as well once then it would work normally." Ok well it does have that issue. Saying something like it shouldn't have that issue is just ignoring that it does have that issue and it needs to be fixed.

Company Health:

• Stock - They are out of stock on all of their gold cabinets and most of their regular cabinets besides Retromania. Those are all potential missed sales. There would only be a few reasons for this. 1) There isn't enough demand to support another production run. 2) Their lead times are big and their planning is bad and they don't know how many to tell their manufacturer to produce. 3) They don't have enough cash to afford the raw materials and/or production. No matter what the reason is, a healthy company can deliver all of their product lines to meet customer demand. So either they are already doing that and demand is so bad they don't need to make more or they are not healthy enough to supply the demand.
• Funding - Looking at the LinkedIn page for the CEO of the company his name on LinkedIn is "Jong Shin - RAISING SERIES-A" Series-A funding is funding for a start up that is still trying to gain market share. According to Crunchbase they announced a Series-A round in late 2020 and in Mid-2021. I feel like having the "Raising Series-A" in his name really smacks of desperation as LinkedIn is nowhere near the first source of finding investors when you have a profitable business and a good business plan. I would guess cash doesn't look good for these guys. Going back to the last point I think they are burning a lot as many start ups do but not proving enough profitability and demand to attract further investors. With demand for home arcades falling after the lockdowns were lifted and people returned to their regular lives it is inevitable that some participants will be squeezed out of the market and iiRcade is looking like one of the first to go. As I stated I purchased my machine during the Retromania sale that was supposed to end May 7th. The sale is still going on, all of the signage still says May 7th. To me this says one of a few things. 1) They need cash so they are having a fire sale to generate revenue by lowering the price and increasing the quantity demanded or 2) They have no staff to end the sale and change the signage.

So this is how I see it. Earlier someone told me "People say they are dying every year, yet more keeps coming. Give it a rest." when I mentioned it seemed like they were dying. If people really are saying that every year there is probably something to it. The lack of community and content I think is the biggest telltale sign on the consumer side. The apparent desperation to raise cash is the biggest telltale sign on the company's side. It's hard for me to say what the solve is without seeing their financials and since they are private that isn't possible. I have no clue what their margins are on each product so I couldn't opine how to fix. But it does seem like Arcade1UP has built a much stronger community and a lot more demand for their products that are in many ways inferior. Some of that is the first mover advantage they had during the lockdowns really dialing in on that demand for things to do in your home, but some is just a product that the market likes more. I think iiRcade really needs to decide what their core value proposition is and figure out how that connects with the market demand. Based on the current state of things I would say sooner is better than later on that.

This is throwaway account. I have just graduated (5/23/23) and am in need of some feedback for my resume. I don't have much work relevant work experience mainly cause I couldn't land one when Covid restriction lifted. In addition, any suggestions on how I can make all of this into 1 page?
​
Thanks in advance yall!
https://preview.redd.it/3ttw7pekgh2b1.png?width=1218&format=png&auto=webp&s=0dfbc25b732ad97e2bf73d2c8b68fba1f95800ae

I just need some confirmation or maybe some relatable anecdotes about a pretty sad situation I'm dealing with because it's causing me major anxiety and I have no idea how to approach it and idk maybe I just need to vent and idk a more appropriate place for this post. I tried the AITA subreddit but it kept deleting my post.
So to set the stage; 2021 was an awful year for my family. Shortly before the pandemic my father was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth from his lifelong dipping tobacco habit. He was going through that while the pandemic took hold and not long into it my stepmother began to lose balance a lot and would fall and not be able to get back up frequently. My dad underwent treatment and went into remission very briefly before having to go back for a skin graft while my stepmom would slowly become wheelchair bound. Then in March of 2021 my dad went to the hospital for shortness of breath. The doctors put him into a medically induced coma to run tests, and the next day my stepmom had to go to the hospital for major stomach pain (bowel obstruction from the wheelchair). I lived in FL at the time, they lived in TX. I flew out and found that my dad had a mess of chest/heart/lung complications related to his cancer and the only options were hospice or numerous surgeries for a very long shot with lots of suffering so me, my stepsister, brother in law and her children all had to go to my stepmom's room across town and first explain the situation to her which crushed us, then she and I had to sit down and make the decision to let him go into hospice peacefully and we managed to get her to his hospital to say goodbye and I flew out shortly after. I flew back into town for my dad's funeral, my mom was now starting to lose her voice and upper body strength. I fly home, a few weeks later mom is back in the hospital and I get the call from my sister who also told me one of her sons had passed shortly after she went in and I got to fly in to town to see mom and we had to tell her as a family about my nephew which was heartbreaking. Another month goes by, we finally get mom's diagnosis: ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). By this time she has to be on a respirator and I'm flying into Texas every few weeks to visit her but she eventually became unresponsive in September and we had to let her pass, too, and to cap it off it happened on my dad's birthday. I flew back shortly after to scatter her ashes on the beach (which she made sure all of us knew she wanted before she lost her voice, she didn't want us to not know like we went through with dad). So to recap, Dad passes in March, nephew passes in June, Mom passes in September. I lost my parents and a nephew inside of six months. My biological mother is still alive and I've become a little worrisome about her now but still it was the hardest year of my life.
​
After the worst year our family ever experienced I just wanted some time to process it all and grieve and I'm glad to say I'm at a point where I'll catch a glimpse of something that reminds me of them and I'll just think of whatever memory is attached to it for a minute and smile, though the anniversaries are still hard. Thank you for sticking with me so far. So during that time the process of probate was going on but I didn't much care about that, I just wanted to grieve and see my other nephew get married last year which was beautiful but..
​
It's almost two years now since mom passed away. She named my brother in law as the executor of her will. I think he was the best choice bc he would be the one to get things done and stand up to my stepbrother who was kind of the black sheep of the family (long story) but still thinks he should have been the executor. He's started a few fights over it. Anyway, about a year ago I had managed to move past the grieving process and it felt like my sister and BIL had, too. We've grown a lot closer over this time so I didn't want to ask about probate besides keeping up with how my parents' house is holding up (and retrieving a wooden chest I had made in high school that mom cherished and my dad's ring that my mom left to me) because I trust them. I also feel like asking about money after someone has passed is in poor taste.. but like I said we're almost two years past that now.
​
My mom left me, my stepsister and brother in law equal portions of her estate after the specific things like furniture, jewelry etc, and a small portion to my stepbrother. I haven't heard anything about that and until recently I was content to let it be bc I wasn't the only one that had a really hard time with so much loss so suddenly but the house hasn't even been listed for sale. I've tried asking what's going on with it, it seems there's a plumbing issue that needs to be addressed but the house is an hour and a half from their house so scheduling is hard. I get it but... stepsis doesn't work. She has health issues that slow her down but nothing that stops her from taking a day to go to the house to meet a plumber. Mom left her car to her so she definitely has her own transportation and she can do exactly what she does at home.. at mom and dad's house. She smokes cigarettes and does puzzles on her porch. She can bring her dogs for company. I don't understand how this plumbing issue has held things up for at least two months. I've tried suggesting ways to have someone meet the plumber and alert her so she can drive to the house (neighbor, friends, someone from the law office). The last option kind of put a little unwanted intrusive thought into my head, though. When I suggested just having someone from the law office as a throwaway bc I'm getting a little frustrated my sister told me "Oh, the lawyer's job was done a long time ago."
​
What does that mean? Sister had to let me go before I could ask, claiming she had to go to the doctor for a possible infection (which is was but she's fine now). I haven't called since then because I'm more than a little frustrated after that last conversation. I'm assuming it means all my parents' debts have been paid, all insurance policies have been collected, savings/retirement accounts have been consolidated etc. The only thing that appears to be left is the house. That's a monthly mortgage payment, insurance, possibly utilities and probably the car. I'm not going to lie, I have thought about what I might do with my inheritance. Nothing concrete but I've considered using it for a house or to get some training to switch careers and I'm in no immediate rush to get it but my main issue is how in the dark I feel. Stepsis and brother in law have since bought their first house and have done extensive renovations to it. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt bc BIL had been promoted at work shortly before everything happened and they were looking at houses.. but I'm not unconvinced their budget didn't get bigger? Like I don't think they're spending my portion of the inheritance... but it's a bad look isn't it? They're the only family I have left on my dad/stepmom's side and I don't want to cause tension with accusations but I don't even know how much the estate was. I'm still paying off the flights, rental car and hotel bills from all the trips to Texas. I have severe PTSD and chronic anxiety diagnoses and piling this on top has been keeping me up at night for a year now. WIBTA if I called the probate lawyer and asked to see all the statements? Is this normal?

Hi Docs.
27F, Punjabi, 140lbs.
Conditions: celiac disease, sjogrens syndromes, bipolar 2 disorder
Medications: saphris 2.5-5mg, sertraline 150mg, hydroxychloroquine 300mg, vitamin B12 1000mcg, centrum adults multivitamin, ferrous fumarate 300mg, omega 3
Substances: cocaine, alcohol
I’m looking for the least drowsy antipsychotic for treatment of bipolar 2 disorder. My psychiatrist put me on Saphris 5mg initially and then upped it to 10mg. I was VERY stable on it. The only thing with it is that it made me super drowsy. If I didn’t take saphris 10mg by 9pm, I was not able to wake up the next morning and if I was able to force myself to get out of bed, I would be falling asleep in the car and at school for about 2-3 hours.
Sometimes I don’t get home from school until 9:30-10pm and had to be up early the next morning so I would just not take the saphris. So I was only taking it occasionally and I know that’s not how psych meds work. This caused me to destabilize and I ended up relapsing on cocaine and have been using almost daily for the last 2 months (relapsed April 1st). In March I decided to decrease my dose of saphris myself to 5mg and I found it easier to wake up the next morning even if I took it at 10pm. However I do not believe that this is a therapeutic dose for me. I’m not able to take it any earlier as it puts me to sleep within 20-30 mins of taking it. I’ve been on it since May 2021. I am meeting with my psychiatrist on June 13th but I’m looking for any possible recommendations to treat my bipolar. I don’t want to change the sertraline cuz that’s been a constant for me since 2020 and I don’t want to risk destabilizing further by changing it.
Medications I’ve tried in the past: Effexor XR, escitalopram, citalopram, lamotrigine, lithium, abilify, latuda, seroquel, and divalproex. None of these worked for me and I don’t wish to try them again.
I was recommended Vraylar on a bipolar2 subreddit but I’m wondering if there are any other antipsychotics with the least incidence of drowsiness so I can ask my psychiatrist about them?
Thank you!!

To celebrate the "Return" of the "Big Gold Belt" on Raw, I thought I'd make a history combining all title runs from the first world heavyweight championship, through it's time in the NWA, its two off shoots in WCW and its appropriation by WWE. All lineages combined, all vacancies ignored, all reigns recognized and all champions holding the belt once.
​

Name	Date	Location	Days
George Hackenschmidt	May 4, 1905	New York, New York	1,065
Frank Gotch	April 3, 1908	Chicago, Illinois	1,824
Americus	March 13, 1914	Kansas City, Missouri	55
Stanislaus Zbyszko	May 7, 1914	Kansas City, Missouri	176
Charlie Cutler)	January 8, 1915	N/A	178
Joe Stecher	July 5, 1915	Omaha, Nebraska	644
Johan Olin	December 11, 1916	Springfield, Massachusetts	142
Earl Caddock	April 9, 1917	Omaha, Nebraska	1,026
Ed Lewis)	May 2, 1917	Chicago, Illinois	34
Wladek Zbyszko	June 5, 1917	San Francisco, California	5844
Wayne Munn	January 8, 1925	Wichita, Kansas	1360
Gus Sonnenberg	January 4, 1929	Boston, Massachusetts	705
Ed Don George	December 10, 1930	Los Angeles, CA	1693
Danno O'Mahoney	July 30, 1935	Boston, Massachusetts	216
Dick Shikat	March 2, 1936	New York, New York	54
Ali Baba)	April 25, 1936	Detroit, Michigan	48
Dave Levin)	June 12, 1936	Newark, New Jersey	109
Dean Detton	September 29, 1936	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	273
Bronko Nagurski	June 29, 1937	Minneapolis, Minnesota	507
Jim Londos	November 18, 1938	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	2628
Orville Brown	July 14, 1948	Des Moines, IA	501
Lou Thesz	November 27, 1949	Los Angeles, California	2300
Leo Nomellini	March 22, 1955	San Francisco, CA	359
Whipper Billy Watson	March 15, 1956	Toronto, ON	609
Édouard Carpentier	June 14, 1957	Chicago, IL	153
Dick Hutton	November 14, 1957	Toronto, ON	421
Pat O'Connor)	January 9, 1959	St. Louis, MO	903
Buddy Rogers)	June 30, 1961	Chicago, IL	145
Killer Kowalski	November 22, 1961	Montreal, Quebec	254
Bruno Sammartino	August 2, 1962	Toronto, ON	16
Bobo Brazil	August 18, 1962	Newark, NJ	1239
Gene Kiniski	January 7, 1966	St. Louis, MO	1131
Dory Funk Jr.	February 11, 1969	Tampa, FL	1563
Harley Race	May 24, 1973	Kansas City, KS	57
Jack Brisco	July 20, 1973	Houston, TX	500
Giant Baba	December 2, 1974	Kagoshima, Japan	373
Terry Funk	December 10, 1975	Miami Beach, FL	1350
Dusty Rhodes)	August 21, 1979	Tampa, FL	616
Tommy Rich	April 27, 1981	Augusta, GA	143
Ric Flair	September 17, 1981	Kansas City, KS	355
Jack Veneno	September 7, 1982	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	122
Carlos Colón	January 6, 1983	San Juan, Puerto Rico	487
Kerry Von Erich	May 6, 1984	Irving, TX	1238
Ron Garvin	September 25, 1987	Detroit, MI	515
Ricky Steamboat	February 20, 1989	Chicago, IL	502
Sting)	July 7, 1990	Baltimore, MD	257
Tatsumi Fujinami	March 21, 1991	Tokyo, Japan	116
Lex Luger	July 14, 1991	Baltimore, Maryland	363
Big Van Vader	July 12, 1992	Albany, Georgia	21
Ron Simmons	August 2, 1992	Baltimore, Maryland	10
Masahiro Chono	August 12, 1992	Tokyo, Japan	145
The Great Muta	January 4, 1993	Tokyo, Japan	48
Barry Windham	February 21, 1993	Asheville, NC	210
Rick Rude	September 19, 1993	Houston, Texas	178
Hiroshi Hase	March 16, 1994	Tokyo, Japan	123
Hulk Hogan	July 17, 1994	Orlando, Florida	42
Shane Douglas	August 27, 1994	Philadelphia, PA	85
Chris Candido	November 19, 1994	Cherry Hill, NJ	97
Dan Severn	February 24, 1995	Erlanger, KY	247
The Giant	October 29, 1995	Detroit, Michigan	29
Randy Savage	November 26, 1995	Norfolk, Virginia	974
Goldberg	July 6, 1998	Atlanta, Georgia	174
Kevin Nash	December 27, 1998	Washington, D.C.	78
Naoya Ogawa	March 14, 1999	Yokohama, Japan	29
Diamond Dallas Page	April 11, 1999	Tacoma, Washington	167
Gary Steele	September 25, 1999	Charlotte, NC	57
Bret Hart	November 21, 1999	Toronto, Ontario	56
Chris Benoit	January 16, 2000	Cincinnati, Ohio	8
Sid Vicious	January 25, 2000	Las Vegas, Nevada	83
Jeff Jarrett	April 16, 2000	Chicago, Illinois	9
David Arquette	April 25, 2000	Syracuse, New York	75
Booker T)	July 9, 2000	Daytona Beach, Florida	71
Gary Steele	September 19, 2000	Tampa, FL	6
Vince Russo	September 25, 2000	Uniondale, New York	50
Sabu)	November 14, 2000	Tampa, FL	12
Scott Steiner	November 26, 2000	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	149
Steve Corino	April 24, 2001	Tampa, FL	91
Kurt Angle	July 24, 2001	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	6
The Rock	August 19, 2001	San Jose, California	26
Chris Jericho	October 21, 2001	St. Louis, Missouri	55
Shinya Hashimoto	December 15, 2001	McKeesport, PA	186
Ken Shamrock	June 19, 2002	Huntsville, AL	49
Ron Killings	August 7, 2002	Nashville, TN	26
Triple H	September 2, 2002	Milwaukee, WI	76
Shawn Michaels	November 17, 2002	New York, NY	236
A.J. Styles	June 11, 2003	Nashville, TN	401
Randy Orton	August 15, 2004	Toronto, ON, Canada	231
Ray González	April 3, 2005	San Juan, Puerto Rico	>1
Batista	April 3, 2005	Los Angeles, CA	77
Raven)	June 19, 2005	Orlando, FL	126
Rhino	October 23, 2005	Orlando, FL	112
Christian Cage	February 12, 2006	Orlando, FL	49
Rey Mysterio	April 2, 2006	Rosemont, IL	231
Abyss)	November 19, 2006	Orlando, FL	133
The Undertaker	April 1, 2007	Detroit, MI	37
Edge)	May 8, 2007	Pittsburgh, PA	70
The Great Khali	July 17, 2007	Laredo, TX	46
Adam Pearce	September 1, 2007	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	303
CM Punk	June 30, 2008	Oklahoma City, OK	33
Brent Albright	August 2, 2008	New York City, NY)	84
Blue Demon Jr.	October 25, 2008	Mexico City, Mexico	29
John Cena	November 23, 2008	Boston, MA	196
Jeff Hardy	June 7, 2009	New Orleans, LA	296
Jack Swagger	March 30, 2010	Las Vegas, NV	110
Kane)	July 18, 2010	Kansas City, MO	212
Dolph Ziggler	February 15, 2011	San Diego, CA	19
Colt Cabana	March 6, 2011	West Hollywood, CA	48
The Sheik	April 23, 2011	Jacksonville, FL	148
Mark Henry	September 18, 2011	Buffalo, NY	91
Daniel Bryan	December 18, 2011	Baltimore, MD	105
Sheamus	April 1, 2012	Miami, FL	215
Kahagas	November 2, 2012	Clayton, NJ	67
Alberto Del Rio	January 8, 2013	Miami, FL	67
Rob Conway	March 16, 2013	San Antonio, TX	294
Satoshi Kojima	January 4, 2014	Tokyo, Japan	407
Hiroyoshi Tenzan	February 14, 2015	Sendai, Japan	196
Jax Dane	August 29, 2015	San Antonio, TX	419
Tim Storm	October 21, 2016	Sherman, TX	414
Nick Aldis	December 9, 2017	Sewell, NJ	266
Cody	September 1, 2018	Hoffman Estates, IL	1093
Trevor Murdoch	August 29, 2021	St. Louis, MO	167
Matt Cardona	February 12, 2022	Oak Grove, KY	273
Tyrus)	November 12, 2022	Chalmette, LA	196
Seth "Freakin" Rollins	May 27, 2023	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	1+

​

I'm 19 years old female in Europe, a student from Vocational School. I live with my parents and I have a brother. My family knows about my mental illness, I have ADHD + Social Anxiety, as I was diagnosed with illness from my therapist. Diagosed ADHD as a child, and diagnosed (social) anxiety as a teenage.
Back in 2020, when I was 16 years old, I met a guy online, who's name was Adam and he was from Czech, he was same age as me. We were young, so of course we'd be reckless, too naive and lack of experience from relationships cuz it was both of our first relationship, as I've never had one before, neither did Adam. (we never got to meet in real life, sadly.)
We met through Steam and Instagram, when he added me as his friend and I accepted, because he seemed interesting person. We started talking a lot, turned out to have everyday talks between us because we found out how much we're alike and things we have in common. Shortly after being great friends with him, I started falling for him, but I kept the feelings to myself. Funnily enough, I started to thought he felt the same for me. I wasn't sure why, maybe because how his actions were and the way he talked with me. I let it slide for few more months before, I confessed, and he said he had mutual feelings towards me, and we made it official at 5 July, 2020.
Things seemed great and amazing at start, and I really loved him, but I became kinda obsessed with him as I started using phone too much during school and while hanging out with friends. He didn't mind because he was the same. Although, it really started to bother one of my friend, and she talked about it to me many times that Adam was no good for me. Obviously, I didn't believed her because I knew him and I thought my friend haven't gave him a chance to get to know him. Although, I felt bad enough and tried my best to keep the boundaries between Adam and I, which I think worked for a while until my mom started talking about my phone addiction because of him, which led both of us trying to be little more less active for each other. It was fine, for most parts. I guess we managed to get through this together at some point.
Fast forward to Autumn, around November, I got a text from Adam saying he didn't wanted to be in relationship with me because of our native language differences, which shocked me, because he never cared about it in the first place. I talk with him and tried to reasonable with him about things, but he disagreed, so we decided to be friends. It didn't last long though; He texted me few hours after our conversation, and sid he highly regretted it. The pressure he gets from parents was too much for him, and thought it'd be only way to "fix" things, but he changed his mind because he knew he wasn't happy without me. (one thing to mention, none of our both families supported our long distance relationship). We sorted it out and went back together, but that's where MY problems raised...
Shortly after events of "brokeup", around winter and spring I started to experience lot of anxiety and worriness because I was afraid. I was afraid he'd hurt me again, I started to get anxious and emotional more easily, because of my fear. My friends started to notice lot of changes in me; I was more emotional, I wasn't happy and most of time I was in my own mind, didn't wanted to do any activities with them anymore. One of them knew the problem, and she immediately told me that Adam really has bad effects on me and my mental health, which I didn't believed that first at all. I knew I was just hurt because of the breakup thing. Although, I started to get worse in school; so worse that I started to fall my grades, I couldn't focus, I started to avoid people, I developed small anxiety around people and didn't wanted to go outside and at some point, the nightmares from so called "trauma", my trust issues started, I got lot of doubts. My parents started to notice there's something wrong with me and took me to therapist. I'd say it did help, but not much, unfortunately. My relationship with Adam start struggling even more during these times, especially because of my own struggle to let go of the breakup, because of how (emotional) hurt I really was.
I'm going to skip whole summer, so fast forward to 2021 August where Adam told me he wanted me to keep him a promise. "Could you be more happy for me?" he asked. Of course I promised, because I loved him, and I knew he meant well. I tried to heal and tried to forget the whole thing. I'd say it really took 8-9 months for him to finally see how badly I was struggling, since he asked me if I could be 'happier' for him.
Fast forward to 2022 January to March. I slightly started to notice different behaviour from Adam, which i tried to talk with him about, most of times he really couldn't tell me and said to was 'nothing", I knew he was lying. Few days after his 18th birthday he said he didn't wanted to continue the relationship at all, telling me it wouldn't work out and broke up with me for real, saying he actually started to understand what's life actually like. I didn't wanted to lose him, so I tried to do everything I could to have him back. Of course, it hurt like hell, but I tried so many times. He refused and I tried to accept it, even though it was such a pain for me for so long, because I loved him. Few months past by and it was time to go to school, which was my graduation year, so I tired hard to focus on lessons, exams, etc. Though before I graduated school, I made a mistake that broke my friendship between my classmates and I. I let my anger out on them most of time because of my stress level was too high. So I ended up smoking because one of my other friend wanted me to, to relieve stress. I didn't wanted to, but did it for them anyway.
Summer to Autumn 2022 after graduating I didn't stay in touch with my classmates anymore, and on my 18th I stopped smoking and tried to move on with life and to heal from everything. Adam and I stayed in contact after everything we've been going through together, and especially I still cared so much about him. Still struggled so much with anxiety, though. I got to new school, but things weren't any better as my social anxiety was still my "best" friend during this. I lost control or had a breakdown multiple times, and my coping mechanism was mainly to sit on the phone, which caused problems to teachers a lot. I was quite harsh on them as well though, showing really no respect or doing something without their permission. I got along well with two friends of mine from my previous school, actually. They were the closest I had, along with my brother, during this time of school year. So, I spend most of my time with them.
January to February 2023 I started drinking alcohol, suddenly developed little addiction towards it, and that was the only thing I wanted to do everytime I had a breakdown, has thought of it, but didn't do, either cuz I didn't had money, or cuz of my parents. Hanging out with a friend of mine in a pub one day in the evening, I bought beer for me. I was really drunk that I barely could walk after one big glass of beer. So during our walk together, I fell down by accident because of how drunk I was, it was pretty funny for us for some reason. But, it become little serious after I noticed sirens behind my gate when I was home, and my brother said it was a police, which scared me, because I didn't wanted to have problems with cops after the pub drinks. So, after that day, I didn't wanted to drink any beer or anything related to alcohol. Although, there was a day I drink beer at school by "accident", and yelled at teacher, said really mean and nasty stuff to her, which believe me, the ending wasn't nice at all...
Another thing that happened around end of February this year, was that I met a guy, in real life, fell in love and started dating. Things were awesome until he broke one small promise, that changed my trust towards him, and I wasn't sure if I could've trust him again after that. Especially if I was still having contact with Adam after official breakup between me and him, the harder it really feels to trust, since the trauma I have from Adam.
May 2023 lately, I feel like I don't want to be in a relationship anymore with my boyfriend, who's name is Eric, because of myself, my past and it feels like it wouldn't work out, and I think I'd rather stay single. Though, he doesn't want me to leave him and is really afraid of that. I love him, but those few months been hard and I don't feel the same happiness I felt before anymore. And, I just don't feel like I want to be in relationship currently, but breaking up with him would cause damage to him, which is something I don't want.
Also, to be honest, I'm feeling really lost in life. Like, I have no interest, no hobbies, nothing. I mainly "exist" and do nothing but play games and try to pass time somehow, by doing nothing productive. Thought I want to, something seems to stop me, feeling unmotivated. I don't have any plans after ending school again, but my parents won't allow me to sit at home because it isn't normal, which I know it isn't, but there's no option for me anymore, as I don't see any of it, right now. I don't want to work a part-time job or a full-time job, that's for sure.
Other things I want to mention are: - my ex boyfriend, Adam, mainly asks for nudes - I feel really lack of support from my family in general. - I don't know what to do after school when dropping out, due no experience with works either, and the only thing that I really wanted was IT specialist, which I couldn't get, because of my math, which is pretty bad. - Social anxiety isn't so bad right now, but I don't want to take pills anymore, lost of interest for everything sometimes, and breakdowns; mostly triggered by trauma or memory of my ex/past.
I never felt so loved before, until Adam broke my heart to pieces, to the point I actually fell into dark hole for what feels like forever. Yes, I've had depression before, I don't think I have it anymore, but I guess I'll never know, cuz self diagnos is bad, that's what I know. I don't go to therapy anymore, to make things clear.
My life sucks, and it feels there's no way out at times. I don't want to be dramatic, but seriously, any advice would be much appreciated.
thank you, for whoever you are, for listening and reading my story. Really wanted to let that shit out of my chest as it feels there's none to talk to. Any support, advice (or even bit criticize) is appreciated. <3

(Long post alert - I posted this on /australia but it got deleted automatically - is this due to insufficient post karma? I only joined Reddit recently, after years of lurking)
I am a 40M suburban dad in Sydney. Dual income, 2 children under 6.
I work in a professional capacity, and while I don't want to reveal my annual income, I'll drop a hint and say I paid 126K in personal income tax last year.
With that sort of income, many will say that just about everything is affordable to me. I am aware there is a cost of living crisis out there, and don't wish to come across as insensitive. However I would l like to share some of my tips on how to live on the cheap.
​
1) My groceries are cheap
I don't eat meat/fish/eggs/dairy. Yep, full plant based diet since early 2021, for my health/animals and the environment (I've heard all the arguments against veganism so let's not get into it here).
I live on beans/ rice/ vegetables/ fruit/ nuts and seeds. I go through two bags of the 'McKenzie's 12 blend soup mix' per week, at a cost of $4.60 per week. Brown rice I eat costs $19 for 5kg (I usually stock up when they are half price, at $9.50). I consume 200g of rice per day, which is about $2.66 per week when bought on special, $5.32.
My other staples are steamed/sauteed broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchinis, sweet corn, sweet potato, eggplant, kale, and fresh cherry tomatoes, red capsicum, cucumber, lettuce, as well as chia seeds, hemp seeds, roasted cashews and almonds. These aren't expensive items either.
I don't eat the vegan sausages/burger patties or cheese. I eat a whole foods plant based diet.
My snacks are fruit. Usually apples, bananas, kiwifruit, grapes are staples, with occasional berries when they are cheap.
When prices of certain items go up (I remember when broccoli/lettuce/red capsicum became 2-3x their normal price in the last 1-2 years), I don't buy them. I never complained when broccoli was twice as expensive for a while, but simply bought other vegetables.
Just yesterday I noticed that the blackberries and raspberries my children like were $5.50 a punnet, up from their usual $3.50-4.50 a punnet. So I didn't buy them, and bought extra mandarins and pears instead, at $2.50/kg and $3.90 per kg respectively.
Also I don't buy any processed food. No potato crisps (they were $3-4 per bag when I stopped buying them, but I've recently seen them selling for $6.50 a bag), no biscuits, no chocolate, no lollies, no cakes or cookies or anything with refined sugar.
​
2) I don't buy lunch when I'm at work
I pack my own lunch the previous night, while I'm cooking dinner. Lunch is basically a 2/3 serving of the vegetables/beans/rice I had the night before. as I find bought lunches are unhealthy, and aren't substantial enough to fill me up. My packed lunch probably costs me $3-4 in ingredients.
I used to buy lunch every day, at a cost of $10-12 daily, which meant around $2500 per year on lunch alone. Now it probably costs around $840.
​
3) I don't drink alcohol
I went through a craft beewine/cheese/cured meat phase for about 10 years, but gave these up not long after I gave up eating meat or other animal products. I've spent 0 cents on these foods in the past 2 years.
When I was a regular drinker, beers at the pub used to be $7.50 for Tooheys/Resches/Carlton Draught and $9.50 for the likes of Balter, Pirate Life, Feral, but I believe they cost up to $12.50. No thanks.
I used to go grocery shopping, spend $120 on groceries, and think nothing of going next door to Liquorland and spending $120 on alcohol. Now I shake my head at the mere thought of it.
​
4) I don't buy coffee or eat in cafes.
I went through a trendy cafe phase in my 20s and 30s, and thought nothing of paying $24 for a cafe breakfast and $4.50 for a large flat white. Now I make my own coffee at home. I buy green beans at a cost for $12 per kg and roast them myself (I bought a coffee roaster for $950 four years ago which has paid for itself many times over), and use 10g of coffee per cup, which works out to be 12 cents per cup. My soy milk costs $2 per litre, and I use around 150mL per cup of coffee, at a cost of 30c per cup. So my coffee costs around 42 cents to make.
I haven't eaten in a cafe for about 5 years now.
​
5) I almost never order in, or get takeaway
Not that there are many good plant based meal delivery/takeaway options out there anyway, and I find ordering in/takeaway meals to be expensive, unsatisfying, lacking in substance and not worth the cost. I avoid refined sugar and there is far too much in most takeaway meals for my liking. I eat them begrudgingly, occasionally (when my wife orders them).
The cost of a meal is the cost of material, labour, business insurance, electricity/gas, rent, advertising, accounting + the profits.
The cost of my own meals are the cost of the materials + gas/electricity. Huge difference.
I honestly enjoy my own meals more.
​
6) My fitness routine is free
I don't go to the gym. I do 100 pushups, 20 pull-ups, and 50 sit-ups every day (without fail). I also run a total of 15-20km weekly, and enter 2 half marathons a year at a cost of around $140 per event. My running shoes cost me around $120-140 every 18-24 months.
​
7) My entertainment costs very little
I pay $120 per year for a Disney+ subscription, mainly for my children. It has more content than I could watch in my lifetime. We do a Family Movie Night once a week, usually Disney/Pixar animation films.
I also watch stuff on Youtube, and don't pay anything to skip ads or anything.
I have been to the cinema twice in the last 7 years, to see the latest James Bond and Top Gun 2 (I recall paying $27 per ticket at Hoyts). I stopped going to the movies regularly when the cost of a movie ticket hit $20, also around the time streaming services became available for $10 a month.
​
8) I don't use heating in winter or cooling in summer.
I am rugged in up 4 layers at the moment, as the morning temperature in my living area falls down to 14.5 degrees. I wear a thermal top, a knitted top, a polar fleece jacket and then an Oodie on top.
In summer I don't use the air con. It's singlets and shorts in summer, and when it gets too hot to sleep, it's a fan on timer to switch off after 1 hour, and it works every time.
I live in a townhouse and pay around $200 per quarter for electricity (for a family of 4). My next door neighbour pays $800 per quarter, as he heats/cools his home all the time.
​
9) I don't spend much money on clothes or shoes
My favourite clothing brand is yd, my socks are from Target and my shoes are $120 Adidas sneakers.
I have clothes and shoes for every weather and every occasion, and don't buy new clothes or shoes unless I'm replacing old ones to be thrown out.
​
10) I don't spend much money on the latest tech.
My hp laptop cost me $1200 in 2017. Still runs like new, and unlikely to need an upgrade for another 5 years. My phone is a Samsung S20 FE, which I bought 2.5 years ago for $750.
My Galaxy tablet cost me $280 earlier this year. I buy a new one every 5 years on average.
I can't fathom paying $3000 for a 14 inch Macbook, $1500 for an iPad, or $1400 for an iPhone.
My mobile plan is through a cheap provider at $25 per month.
​
So there you have it, the reasons why I believe I spend less than 90% of people while earning in the top 1%.
I'm not penny pinching or forcing myself to live like a pauper to save money while denying myself the pleasures I want. We go on overseas holidays 2-3 weeks every year, live in a nice spot in Sydney, own two luxury European cars, and own some pretty nice things.
My hobbies are reading, blogging, going out (which means exploring my favourite parts of Sydney, and taking snaps), posting on various internet forums, watching movies at home.
I grew up in a middle income household and being thrifty was instilled in me from a young age. When I was a student I lived liked a student, and when I started earning I didn't really change my spending habits.
​
Thanks for reading!

I know this will sound crazy but... are we gonna get the third part in March 2024? So well hear me out, the first part Innocence (final version) was released on May 2021, the game had 16 chapters, soo lets say the chapters means months, 16 months from the May of 2021 are October 2022... THIS DATE is when the Requiem has been released. So the second part have 17 chapters, so 17 months from October 2022 are March 2024 right?!?!?!?
-im on something? or m i just getting crazy? (or just giving us hope)

I am kinda stuck, I get to the point straigth away and then telling the long story after so I am not completly wasting your time and if you are interested you can read the whole story. The question of my problem is after the story. The thing is, I feel like I am always second or even third option for my friends when it comes to hangout, doing plans for summer, doing trips etc. I really love traveling, I love seeing new places, I have dozens of dreams to visit, I have money for it as well, what I don't have are people to come with me, and I don't enjoy it as alone. Whenever I tell about my friends about these plans, like visiting Slovenian mountains on a trip and similiar to these, they are always excited and say its amazing, but when the time comes that I'm actually making this into a reality, they all back down instantly. What do I do to not feel this way? I have dozens of things I want to do, but I don't have the pleasure when I'm doing it alone, for example I want to try salsa dancing, try baseball, trip alot, visit foreign cities, but none of my friends join me.
Longer story:
I was always very introverted, had close to zero friends and I had no interest in getting a few either. In the later stages of high school, I fell in love and started realising how a few friend would be good now to talk about the feelings, get advices, and just overall have fun with, listen to their problems, etc... I got a few and I was very happy for them, sadly I got rejected by my love (big surprise after 0 social skills) and eventually my friends left me as well. All I had was like 2 friends from discord who I talked to at every night and one of them always mocked me that I have no life, which always hurt me. In 2020, I finally graduated from high school and started college in september, at the summer while I was waiting for the university to start, I decieded that I will improve and get alot of friends, buddies to do things and try out alot new. It actually worked, when I started I got alot of friends, I had a week where I went out almost every day, until covid lockdowns became more restriced, but even then we still went into the forests or mountains nearby, it was one of the best years, only one was better, which was 2021. I had a guy I befriended so hard, I ended up talking to him ALMOST everyday for HOURS, like I met my soulmate but as a friend. He had a uni friends who I befriended as well becouse of him call him John, and I already had a girl I befriended in the first semester, and we became a very fun group of 4 doing alot of things, such as trips to mountains, board gaming and just talk nights, movie nights. I was never really the alcohol type of guy, so this was the best thing ever.
Eventually this came to an end, my best friend started acting differently, and John didn't like how he turned out, so he started ignoring him, inviting only me and the girl friend to hangouts, I tried talking to my best friend for months, trying to pretend nothing has changed, but eventually he started dropping me slowly for his new buddies. I lost him completly.
Beside this sad news, this summer was one of the most eventful ones I had, with this girl I went dancing alot as 2, with the guy I was drinking and talking in beautiful sitting out places, talking about future plans, etc. University came and we were in different classes, eventually I became pretty far away with this girl who I considered one of my best friends and also in the same time, John has got a girlfriend, which obviously resulted in much-much less hangouts, like close to none from september to december, we hangout once and there was a time in november, when I told them they can stay at my place, becouse they had some unviersity work nearby my village.
By mid 2022, I didn't even meett the girl friend anymore, we talked once or twice monthly in messenger for about half an hour to 2 hours, it was depending on what we could tell eachother and I didn't meet John since march, and I am at november now.
Finally, after a hard work of getting them together, I could do a together hangout, with the girl, John and his GF, sadly it didn't go as I planned, with John's we still had the best-friend chemistry, sadly the girl almost completly ignored me, she never asked me anything and when I had a question specifically towards her, she barely gave an answer, while she was super talkative and fun towards John and his GF. It felt so bad. It still feels incredibly bad I can't tell. How I was ignored by someone I thought is a very good friend of mine, and she's an angel, she's just not interested in my anymore at all. Can't be worse right?
It can :). John and this girl friend decieded that they will celebrate new years at the girl's place and she decieded to invite me as well, I don't know why honestly, I am betting it was John getting me into it, becouse I wasn't invited to a similiar thing but just before christmas, it hurt again whatever, be happy I was invited this time. Well, she was playing the ignoring again, we were playing a board game, I usually play these very silly, I made John and his gf laugh ALOT, but this girl never, she always stared me with dead fish eyes, like if she would want to tell me to get the fuck out, and it feels so fucking bad. Worse comes to worse, she was incredibly welcoming, she was cooking, she made us feel very-very confortable, and I don't know why, I never felt like this, I started having feelings towards her. I talked about this with John after new years, and he was very happy, becouse he thought this girl likes me back, which I was obviously very hardly doubtful of, looking at how ignoring she was always in the last two hangouts, but he insisted it was just becouse she's nervous around me etc etc. Well he eventually convinced me to confess and.. guess what, she didn't like me back. I haven't talked to her, not even on messenger since the confession in february, I still talk to John sometimes, I even asked about the girl asking anything about where am I, or does she even remember me, but she doesn't say a single word about me, I am inrelevant to her and I want to pretend like I don't care about it, but I do, and I cry about it alot, how can she not care about me at all, not even as a friend, after all those dances, hangouts, drinkings, pool game nights, movie nights, trips, cavings. I miss 2021 more than anything
Question:
How can I improve to not care about this thing anymore and get rid of this hard feeling? The feeling that people don't care about me, not even my friends? The feeling that I am always alone, no matter what I do, not matter how much people I talk to, when it comes to serious plans, I am always alone? If I talk to many people, why do I still feel lonely? Why do my friends leave me out of their plans when they tell me they will invite me?? Why?

For the new Stays that don't know, Mysterious Kitchen was a weekly series uploaded between April 2 and April 20 of 2021, lasting 3 episodes. Its focus was to give a healing time for Stays by making the dishes that the members asked via a letter, with Lee Know as the main chef (since he was also into cooking during that time) and Han and I.N as supporting chefs.
Coincidentally, it started in age order: first episode, Chan wanted lamb chops and curry rice; second episode Lee Know asked for parboiled octopus and cream puff; lastly, in the third episode with Changbin, he only wanted steak, so Lee Know also added pasta aglio e olio. Their chemistry is very fun and I laughed a lot, the food looked delicious and it was very refreshing watching them cooking, it's helpful too, so I recommend this little variety show! But! We never hear again about the series.
Further context, MK was made during two very important events for Stays: the demanding Kingdom competition and the harsh rollercoaster that was Hyunjin's hiatus, with the kids being unable to mention him. We found a lot of comfort from the beginning of the episodes, with buns being cooked at 180°C for 20 minutes (reference to Hyunjin) and Jiniret. We also thought that the next episode would feature Hyunjin's food request, but with little faith because the situation was complicated. When the next episode didn't come, I think Stays thought they were going to keep doing it once the hiatus were over. That we only needed to support the show and show interest, because the kids wanted to know if we were really interested and I guess not only interested in the "shipping" lmao
But the 4th episode never came.
It was ever filmed? Was the public reception lower than expected, so it wasn't justified to keep filming? More than that, was it even planned doing a series with all the members's desired foods?
We have a whole life ahead of us together with Stray Kids. Do you think Lee Know, Han and I.N will make a comeback with Mysterious Kitchen someday? If so, will they keep the same members or will they switch? Or it's really over and we need to move on?
This is one of the biggest mysteries that this fandom have.

I will be providing tips and advice on how to obtain the extremely coveted and prestigious expert soldier badge. Some may say more impressive than an EMFB and EIB put together.
As of right now, there are few differences between the criteria to earn a EIB and ESB. The main differences are the time requirements for the EFPA and some weapon lanes such as shot gun or javelin might be omitted from testing for ESB soldiers. As more soldiers earn their ESB, testing criteria might change into somethings more unique to non infantry soldiers. Who knows.

• EFPA: This is a 30 minute timed event to preform the following in full OCP, helmet, and plate carrier with plates : 1 mile run. 30 dead stop push ups. 100 meter sprint. 16 (40lb) sandbag tosses onto a 65" platform, we used a LMTV flat rack. 50 meter water jug carry (40lbs each hand). 25 meter high crawl. 25 meter 3-5 second rush. 1 mile run. After all that, you're complete.

The EFPA is extremely easy to pass. The only way to fail is to deliberately quit or be morbidly obese.
When I went for my ESB, I never did a EFPA before. My time was around 22 minutes flat. Learning how to breathe in your plate carrier and pace yourself is what will get you a good time. If you've never done kit runs, get some time under your feet and focus on your breathing and gradually increase your speed. When it comes to the other events, you don't have to do everything in one setting. For example, for your 30 deadstop push ups. You can do 10 at a time until complete, same with your sandbag tosses, and everything else. Practice your deadstop pushups with your plate carrier and during your train up, weighed push ups can easily get you tight and cost you time. The key is to be constantly moving, even if it's in small increments.

• Day and night land navigation: You must find 3/4 points for both day and night in a 3 hour period for both.

If you haven't done land navigation in a while, I recommend watching videos on youtube to refresh yourself on the basics. When I did ESB, it was over 3-4+ years since I even had to THINK about land nav, and I still passed.
Do as many day and night reps as you possibly can, even if you are tired or feel confident. The more reps you do, the more you learn the course, and you might even get the same points during testing. When I went to test, I got two of the same points I've had before for both day and night.
Use fine point mechanical pencils and map markers to plot your points, the smaller your points are when you plot them, the more accurate you will be when finding your points. Invest in a good protractor. Invest in a map case to protect your map and score sheets from the elements, it rains, it snows, it gets muddy. If your score sheet is unreadable to the graders, you'll be a NO-go. protect your map and score sheet. Invest in a decent redlense headlamp. 550 cord your compass to your gear so you don't lose it.
Bring extra pencils and protectors with you incase you lose one! Constantly spot check yourself so you don't lose your score sheet. INVEST in a map case or put it in a zipblock bag! When I did my courses, it was wet and muddy. Don't be a no go because you slip and fall into mud or the rain makes your paper unreadable.

• Lanes: You cannot receive more than 1 No-go per day. If you receive a double no go at the same lane or another single no go at another lane, your time at E3B is over. There are 10 medical, patrol, and weapons lanes. There are all skill level 1 tasks.

Get as much hands on as possible with every lane! There are no easy lanes either! PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. BE SELFISH, meaning if you have your soldiers with you or people subordinate to you, don't be afraid to put yourself first. For example, when we were getting hands on for the javelins, there was a bunch of clueless privates. Don't worry about them, GET your hands on time. Don't try to save everyone or put people before you. This is your badge. Help who you can when you can, but also don't waste too much time.
Get as many reps as possible, you do not need physical equipment to practice. You can practice though a method called shadow boxing, where you go through the motions physically and talk yourself through what you're doing. Much like a boxer pretending to fight his opponent. Same concept and it is very effective. YOU CAN DO THIS with every lane in E3B. While youre waiting in lane, when you're studying in your free time, DO THIS.
TAKE NOTES FROM WHAT THE GRADERS GIVE YOU. Write as many clear notes as you can. Each lane, you should write a quick list on how to preform the task. IF THE GRADERS ALLOW YOU TO FILM THEM GIVING INSTRUCTIONS, FILM THEM. This will help you immensely.
ALWAYS REFER TO YOUR E3B handbook! Never go off hearsay, never go off Mr. highspeed. ALWAYS refer to your handbook!
During practice test conditions, GO TO AS MANY LANES AS POSSIBLE. See what the graders are looking for. IF YOU GET A NO GO- write a note as to why you got a no go and learn from it! So when you test during the real thing, you know what to look out for.
Team up with 2-3 other people who really want to earn their badge and practice and study with them, correct each other when one is wrong. When it comes time to test, practice with each other, then when you preform 3 good reps with 0 failures. GO TO TEST.
If you happen to get a no go during testing, do not let to effect you! Remain calm and patient, realize what you did wrong, retest, get your go, and continue. Do not lose your composure and make a mistake that will end your time at E3B. During testing, I got a no go during my second lane of patrols and first lane of medical. I passed by remaining calm, keeping my composure, and taking my time at the other lanes.
Remember, there are no easy lanes. There are no freebee lanes. During my ESB, there were 80 double no gos on NVGs because everyone thought it was a freebee and they didn't have to study or prep for! take every lane seriously and practice!

• 12 mile ruck: 3 hours to preform a 12 mile road march in OCP, helmet, FLC or TAPS, gas mask, M4, and 35lb (dry weight) ruck.

I usually take the first 1-2 miles of the ruck to warm up my body and legs. Then for the remaining of the ruck I will jog/ruck. I do this by jogging for 20-30 steps, everytime my left foot hits the ground that's 1 step. Then I will walk for double that amount. So I will walk for 60 steps, every left foot is 1 step. I will rinse and repeat until complete. I'm not a tall or big guy, so rucking is difficult for me. This method works for me. If I try to step out the entire thing, I will 100% bust time.
If you have downhills, I recommend jogging down them as much as possible without burning yourself out. This will increase your time.
Don't be afraid to job/ruck up hills aswell. Just dont burn yourself out.
If you make it this far, this is your final event. Dig deep and give it your all, don't quit on yourself.
Bring snacks, water, and electrolytes. You should be eating and drinking plenty of water throughout the event. If you find yourself cramping up, it's because you either need to drink water or eat something. Bring things like bananas, cliff bars, sports drinks.

• Final event is assemble and dissemble your M4 and preform a functions check.

Depending on your ruck time, you can practice this before you finish the finish line. During my E3B too, canadites were allowed to practice before they went up to graders. Not a hard event, and typically graders at this point will pass you regardless if you do it or not. It just depends.
Summarized advice: EAT PLENTY OF FOOD AND DRINK WATER DURING TRAIN UP and TESTING. Stop completely with drinking energy drinks and massive amounts of caffeine. Trust me, there were a lot of fall outs during the 12 mile ruck because people were either heat causalities or did not have the appropriate nutrients in their body because they weren't eating as much as they should.
E3B is around 19 days of your life. If you devote all 19 days to eat, sleep, and breathe E3B, you will earn your badge. You shouldn't be trying to party or drink or anything weird during E3B. To be successful, your life is literally eating, sleeping, studying, stretching, and breathing E3B. I even had dreams of E3B. Meal prep, bring packed lunches or eat MRES, do not skip out on breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Trust me, you will need as much water and nutrients in your body. Take advantage of free days or the hour or two they give you every day for free lanes. THERE ARE NO EASY lanes. People think IMTs and NVGS are easy so they dont study it or practice it, the "easy" or "freebee" lanes is what takes out the most people during E3B. Practice and study everything. The time you devote now, will ensure you don't have to do this again. team up with people who want the badge as badly as you want it. Don't waste your time talking to or trying to convivence people who don't want their badge. Don't give up, stay focused. I am a 91B and I managed to slip through the cracks and get my ESB. You can too.