KAT Hyperfuse & MW 2DGF Timestamps
TGR Tomo Timestamps and multiple picture angles
[I know they are kinda old timestamps, feel free to let me know if you'd like updated ones. I'm just very lazy]
 

Item	Condition, Description	Price (shipped, includes G&S)
KAT Hyperfuse (set only)	Excellent Condition: Alphas, Icon Mods, and Novelties. Mounted twice, used for 2 weeks per, and unused since.	$140 shipped CONUS, $125 local (Outer San Francisco)
MW 2DGF (set only)	Sealed: Hiragana, Weeb Mods	$75 shipped CONUS, $60 local (outer SF)
Silver TGR Tomo (Hotswap, PC Plate)	Great Condition, please see notes below	$450 shipped CONUS, $420 local (outer SF)

 
Hey folks, trying to offload some stuff here that is barely or hasn't gotten much use from me. All comes from a non-smoking, no pet household. I am also always adamant in handling my peripherals very cleanly. Local outer San Francisco.
Would prefer to do local transactions so I don't get taxed because of Paypal.
Not looking for trades currently.
Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.
 

TGR Tomo Notes: 

• This Silver Tomo is in excellent condition used for about 3 weeks of light use.
• Hotswap PCB, Polycarbonate Plate
• IMPORTANT: upper case is slightly scratched ONLY from the inside. Scratches are located on some edges of the upper frame where PCB is "dropped" in. Scratches are NOT visible at all from outside when assembled. Scratches came from my dumb carelessness when trying to mount the o-ring. ^{[Please see picture #20 to #22 in Timestamps for in-detail pictures]}
• Other than scratches from inside edges of upper case, near flawless condition everywhere else. Especially the Silver alu outside and brass weight
• In picture #10, there is a very very slight scuff on the bottom right side corner, but it is honestly very hard to see. My phone camera can barely pick even it up, but just for reference.
• Comes with personally tuned TX Stabs already.
• All screws torqued only until my first feel of resistance
• Comes with all accessories included when shipped to me (which includes the o-ring, not currently mounted). The keeb will be wrapped with the included microfiber cloth. I did not have the Kaban carrying case.
• Will be shipped in original slide-out box. I cut out the first two foam-safety bars on the packaging so that the Tomo can fit in there better. See picture #26 for detail.

 

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - ROAD TO THE TOP
I wasn’t planning on checking out the 4 episode special for Uma Musume, but the amazing opening caught my eye and convinced me to give it a shot. As I started watching, it was clear to me that this show’s superb animation was supported by some incredible cinematography that helped build the narrative between its leads. As a fun exercise, I wanted to try to highlight some of the directing choices and break down how Uma Musume RTTT gets away with telling so little by showing so much.
Cinematography is the presentation of the visuals in anime. The arrangement of characters in a scene, the lighting, the focus on props or backgrounds: all of these can be encapsulated by “cinematography,” and put in a ton of work for the viewing experience. There are plenty of obvious instances where a show will employ cinematography, but even if you don’t notice it immediately, these choices can have an underlying psychological effect in how you experience a scene. You can dye a scene in blue to enhance the melancholy. You can cut away from a conversation to a nearby prop to reveal a character’s mental state. These visual techniques can easily go underappreciated, and Uma Musume thankfully has some fairly overt examples that we can analyze.
(spoilers for episode 1)
Prologue
Episode one opens up with the Yayoi Sho, a GII race that introduces two of our main leads: Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega. Much of what I want to talk about in this race will come later. But let me give a brief synopsis of the race. Under a slight drizzle, we start off with Avec Blaze* in the lead. Narita Top Road, eager to meet the expectations of her fans and coach, puts on a burst of speed to take the lead. Admiral Vega, who also feels the need to win for a yet undisclosed person, quickly follows up on her heels despite lingering behind the pack. Though it’s a close affair between the two, Narita Top Road clutches her lead and wins the race. She cheerfully waves to the crowd while Admiral Vega regretfully looks on. The episode immediately gives viewers exactly what they’re here for: some hype horse girls racing.
Narita Top Road: the favorite
After the OP, we follow Narita Top Road in her daily school life. Her training starts at dawn, and this is clearly a recurring affair since her coach advises her to take a break.** At school, Narita Top Road is the class president and is admired by her classmates. Between her coach, fans, and friends, there’s plenty of people who acknowledge her drive and expect great things from her. Admiral Vega, noticing a small injury on Narita Top Road’s thigh, brings her outside to put a band-aid on it. In the hallway, Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega confess to one another declare their respective determination to win the upcoming Satsukisho. While Narita Top Road professes her excitement to race along with someone she admires, the light from the windows is always illuminating her face. She is quite literally glowing. Meanwhile, Admiral Vega, who feels hesitant about befriending her rivals, seems to have her face framed in between the path of these light beams. She’s not poorly lit by any means: there is just a clear difference in how our two characters are illuminated. The light is so all over Narita Top Road that she is reflecting light. This light and dark metaphor will persist throughout the episode’s run.
We’re next treated to a brief origin story for Narita Top Road. What helps sell the flashback is the fact that the conversations with the trainer all take place at sunset. This is a great example of the “Against the Setting Sun” trope, where Narita Top Road and the trainer make a goal to conquer the Twinkle Series together. Sunsets can symbolize transitioning to another phase, and here it depicts Narita Top Road’s first step to becoming a pro. We’re also treated to a parallel from an earlier training scene, where Narita Top Road attempts to make a sharp turn from the outside of the pack. She struggles more in this flashback, staggering several times; there is a noticeable improvement in the training scene that took place during the present, where Narita Top Road only staggers once. The mirroring of her first training scene in this flashback confirms Narita Top Road’s consistent practice and diligence. Narita Top Road works from sunrise to sunset, and when you consider the previous paragraph on lighting, it becomes apparent that Narita Top Road can be associated with daylight.
TM Opera O: in the middle
While Satsukisho is expected to be all about Admiral Vega vs. Narita Top Road, we switch unexpectedly to a third character. The ordering of events here was initially a bit confusing for me: we start with a cocky smirk prior to cutting to the eyecatch, with the upper half of the face hidden. When we come back, the first thing we see is an eye: it is TM Opera O waking up at 2 AM, visibly distressed. Then, it cuts to a flashback where TM Opera O is returning to running after an injury. She is all bravado and speaks boldly of her destiny to win every race she enters. She proceeds to win consecutive races, backing up her claims, but is also shown visibly struggling during training. Even so, she proudly declares that her perseverance in the face of adversity is for the audience: TM Opera O lives to win and bask in the cheers of a crowd.
This flashback in my opinion serves to humanize TM Opera O’s larger than life personality: behind her dramatic flair and proud sense of self is someone who worked incredibly hard to get back into shape and still experiences some stress about meeting the standards she set for herself. For instance, her introduction starts with just her mouth, hiding the eyes, which are commonly used to indicate a character’s true nature. Then the show cuts to that portion of the face (eye) that was missing in that first shot, suggesting that the TM Opera O waking up right now is closer to her true self than the more grandiose mask she wears in public. She’ll continue to play this theatrical character in the series, but her introduction serves to let the audience know early on that she’s had her own share of struggles and insecurities.
Admiral Vega: the rival
Finally, we get to Admiral Vega and what she’s doing in preparation for the Satsukisho. We cut to night time, where Admiral Vega leaves to go for a run. She and her roommate, Curren Chan, are placed in different layers (Admiral Vega slightly blurred in the front while Curren Chan is sharp and placed behind her). This arrangement highlights the contrast in their activities: as Curren Chan is clearly winding down the day by brushing her tail, Admiral Vega is off to train.
As she runs along a deserted street with numerous streetlights, Admiral Vega refuses to step into them. In fact, she’s shown running away from the light. The connection to darkness suggests that Admiral Vega’s motivations could be unhealthy. Or, going back to her thoughts in the hallway, Admiral Vega’s avoidance of light could connect to her dogma that she does not need friends or rivals (in this case, Narita Top Road who is the light): she just has to win at all costs. Either way, the lack of lighting for Admiral Vega directly sets her up as the clear rival for Narita Top Road. In the very next scene, Narita Top Road practices in broad daylight to the cheers of her classmates. Lighting and the time of day will play a pivotal role in coloring the interactions between these two characters in the rest of the series.
Final Race
And now we’ve finally arrived at the Satsukisho, a premiere GI race for our trio of leads. Before it begins, Admiral Vega and Narita Top Road meet in the tunnels leading to the racetrack. Even though they are in the exact same location with respect to the light from the exit, Narita Top Road’s face is illuminated while Admiral Vega’s face continues to be shadowed. These two are definitely rivals and antitheses to one another. However, TM Opera O appears from the top of the tunnel exit, the backlighting giving her an almost videogame-boss-like feel; these two were supposed to be focused on one another, but the more menacing opponent may be the one standing above them.
Even if the media has tried to convince you that it’s a close affair between Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega, the cinematography makes it clear that this is Narita Top Road’s race to lose. Despite her cheerful demeanor in training, Narita Top Road is actually very nervous. She’s the last to enter her start gate and, as her classmates and friends cheer her on, we get this shot of Narita Top Road seemingly caged in by her starting gate. These expectations that she’s desperate to meet are beginning to stress her out. As we start the race, you’ll see that many of the shots here mirror that first race, which Narita Top Road won: the stormy clouds and slight drizzle, the shot of her coach right before the dramatic last minute spurt from Narita Top Road to take the lead, and even the brief proximity of Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega give the impression that we’ve seen this exact race before.
But unlike the race at the start of the episode, TM Opera O arrives to steal the show! There’s an incredible panning shot that zooms in on TM Opera O as she makes a break for the lead, emphasizing her approach. But then she flies past the camera, and the shot becomes an inverted zoom away. Not only does this shot give the viewer the sense of being left in the dust like her opponents, but the upside down perspective makes it clear that this result is an upset and, dare I say it, has flipped expectations. TM Opera O snatches victory from Narita Top Road’s hands, shattering the projection of a repeat of the first race’s results.*** She rightfully basks in the glory she anticipated earlier in the episode.
At the end, Narita Top Road is devastated. While TM Opera O celebrates, Narita Top Road’s sweaty face is pushed to the background: it’s a very familiar position for Admiral Vega. The mirroring of shots throughout this final race really gives this single episode a sense of completion, and that we’ve come full circle in spite of the different results. Despite the loss, the episode ends with Narita Top Road’s refusal to give in: a literal ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds and illuminates her as she holds her head high. Her hopes for a GI win have yet to be dashed, and she’ll have three more episodes to get her revenge. Meanwhile, Admiral Vega finished a dismal 6th, and her posture here is even more slumped than in the first race. Maybe it’s an injury bothering her, or perhaps it’s from the increasing weight of her failed expectations physically pushing her down. We’ll have to see in episode two if she’ll be able to find the same strength to raise her head.
Conclusion
As you watch the next three episodes, you’ll find the same impeccable directing throughout. They’ll continue to mirror previous shots to help depict the evolving relationships between characters and utilize lighting to contrast Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega. There are so many awesome shots littered throughout the show and despite my qualms for some of the story elements, my attention was captured by both the stellar race animation and the thoughtful cinematography. Even if you’re not that interested in horse girls, consider giving this short ONA a shot.****
Thanks to u/MyrnaMountWeazel for reviewing my essay!
*Is her name actually Astral Blaze?
**There’s a fun pair of shots here between the coach and Narita Top Road, but I wasn’t sure what this could mean outside of (spoilers) some potential communication issues between Narita Top Road and her trainer in the later episodes.
***I really was hoping that TM Opera O being in the 12th position and winning was a cinematic choice referencing Narita Top Road winning the first race in the 12th position, but no it is an actual coincidence.
****This was supposed to be a funny post about horse feet but I got lost in the directing sauce.

Welcome!
This is a series I am going to be working on where I endeavour to cover various topics in physiology intermixed with clinical pearls to impart some knowledge that doctors of most specialties and grades will hopefully find useful when looking after acutely unwell patients. Join me as we dredge through the depths of anaesthetic exam revision to answer important questions like "why do CT ask for a pink cannula", "why frusemide is okay to give in AKI", "why is hypoxic drive a bunch of horse manure" and many more. Pick up some of this material and you'll be well on your way to becoming a pernickety anaesthetist, whether you like it or not!
Questions, comments, feedback, and suggestions are both encouraged and welcome.

Previous installments:

• IV access, resuscitation, fluids, and the cardiovascular system
  
• The physiology of ageing and illness, and its impact on critical care decision making
  
• Respiratory failure, oxygen therapy, and gas exchange
  
• Reduced consciousness, intracranial events, and the central nervous system
  

Kidney function, acute kidney injury, and acid-base disorders

Next stop along our systems review are the mighty kidneys. I won't talk to you about Lupus nephritis or renal tubular acidosis, however I will try my best to cover some more typical things you might encounter like acute kidney injury (AKI) and drug dosing in renal impairment while trying to avoid embarrassing myself as a non-renal doctor.

What do the kidneys do?

An obvious question, they allow us to get rid of waste substances in urine. They are so much more than that however, they:

• Regulate electrolyte concentrations, water balance and plasma volume, plasma osmolality
• Regulate red blood cell production
• Regulate blood pressure via RAA system influencing vascular resistance
• Maintain acid-base homeostasis
• Control Vitamin D production
• Produce glucose from proteins and triglycerides (gluconeogenesis)

We will focus on only a few of these in this post, but the kidney's multiple roles and complex biochemical signalling deserves as mention as it can make diagnosing and understanding disease states difficult. It can also make us forget what other consequences there might be for patients in these disease states.

How do we measure kidney function?

In some respects knowing the heart or the brain aren't working is easy. Low blood pressure and infection? Septic shock. Low blood pressure + STEMI? Cardiogenic shock. Unconsciounsess or coma? Well whatever it is, it ain't working. So what about the kidneys, well we have creatinine, right? WRONG.
Although the kidney has many functions as we noted before, the easiest methods to quantify function look at the obvious: waste production. Its function is the sum of filtration through all the glomeruli in the kidneys, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). When a substance is freely filtered through the kidneys and is neither secreted nor reabsorbed (which occur in the tubules rather than the glomeruli), the rate at which that substance is removed or cleared from the plasma can be used to measure GFR (in mL/min).
This substance is inulin and not creatinine. Because inulin isn't naturally present in our bodies, it has to be infused and then its concentration and the rate of decay measured. This is impractical clinically, so creatinine was selected as a practical alternative. The correlation between serum creatinine and measured GFR was researched and various formulas like MDRD and CKD-EPI were developed to estimate GFR (eGFR). This is why labs report eGFR as opposed to GFR. (There are also other methods to determine GFR like radionuclide scintigraphy...)

What's the problem?

The estimation of the GFR relies on assumptions that are not without problems. This review covers the topic at length, however the main points are:

• Creatinine is secreted, unlike inulin. As mentioned this occurs in the tubules, so changes in secretion will affect serum creatinine level despite a static filtration rate. As renal diseases progress, more and more creatinine is secreted, making serum concentrations less reflective of actual filtration.
  
• To truly reflect instrinsic renal function creatinine has to be in a steady state with stable generation and serum concentration. Creatinine is produced as a waste product of protein breakdown mainly from muscles. Therefore anything affecting catabolism, muscle activity, dietary protein intake, can alter this steady state. Frail sarcopenic patients will have artificially low creatinines and may not get as significant of a rise as a young muscular person in AKI.
  
• There has to be adequate delivery of creatinine to the glomeruli. The kidneys receive ~20% of the cardiac output, so the heart has to be pumping out effectively with healthy blood vessels, good volume and blood flow. A hypovolaemic patient with an MI may have a high creatinine despite working kidneys, they're just not being adequately perfused. Chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, lead to upset of autoregulation of normal afferent (entering) arterioles, whereas ACE inhibitors and ARBs block AT-II from causing vasoconstriction of efferent (outgoing) arterioles, an imbalance can lead to renal impairment if perfusion isn't maintained, or improved blood flow and urine output if it is.
  
• The studies from which eGFR formulas are derived were conducted in mostly European and North American populations with elderly, black and CKD patients being significantly underrepresented. They only measured GFR a few times a year. With increasingly older, frailer, sicker patients, leading more sedentary industrialized diets and lifestyles, will the accuracy of these formulas hold up with time?
  
• eGFR correlates loosely with important indicators like proteinuria, fluid status, blood pressure, acidosis, anaemia, bone disease, iron deficiency, tubular function, etc. In the absence of those indicators, the elderly often have decreased GFR without increases in morbidity and mortality.
  

The takeaway is that creatinine and eGFR are tools developed from the assessment and monitoring of long term renal function. It is not designed for use in patients with acute fluctuations or those with zero kidney function (eg, anuric dialysis dependent).

What else we can monitor?

The example of the heart earlier was misleading. Blood pressure is influenced by many factors. Septic shock is actually a high cardiac output state with low systemic vascular resistance (SVR). Patients with heart failure can have normal blood pressures despite severe systolic dysfunction and poor exercise tolerance. Blood pressure is an easy surrogate marker because determining cardiac output and SVR is invasive and complex (of course we have focused echocardiography to help us these days).
A surrogate marker we can use for the kidneys is urine output (UO). After all the end product of glomerular filtration is the ultrafiltrate which will become the urine. If there is adequate urine output despite raised or increasing creatinine levels, we can be reasonably satisfied the kidneys are actually receiving enough blood flow to get rid of waste and perform its other functions.

Acute Kidney Injury

This leads us into one of the most commonly encountered entities in hospitalised patients: AKI. Let's look at the KDIGO criteria seen in the table below.

AKI Stage	Serum creatinine criteria	Urine output criteria
1	SeCr increase ≥26 umol/L <48hrs or SeCr increase ≥1.5 - 2x from baseline	<0.5mL/kg/hr for ≥6hrs
2	SeCr increase ≥2-3x from baseline	<0.5mL/kg/hr for ≥12hrs
3	SeCr increase ≥354 umol/L <48hrs or SeCr increase ≥3x from baseline or started on renal replacement therapy (any stage)	<0.3mL/kg/hr for ≥24hrs or anuria for ≥12hrs

^{Note: UO <0.5mL/kg/hr is the definition of oliguria.}
Definining by creatinine is a more practical screening test in most situations, allowing earlier diagnosis and intervention. UO can be monitored during the course of the day to identify patients who are borderline or not responding to treatment, may need re-evaluation of the cause, or escalation of care. This way a combination of the two can help offset the limitations of each method.
NICE guidance already exists on the diagnosis and management of AKI, most hospitals will have care bundles or even 'AKI nurses', so I'll run over a few important points.

• Pre-renal - This only means the cause lies outside the kidneys, and in at least in the early stages there is no histological change in the kidneys. In many cases like sepsis, diarrhoea, haemorrhage, there can be a relative or absolute fluid deficit and IV fluids are generally indicated. However excessive fluids can result in interstitial oedema in the kidneys, reducing the glomerular pressure gradient and so also reducing filtration. Similarly in poor cardiac output states where there is venous congestion there is a problem with the outflow of blood from the kidneys, so this is not a cause to reflexively withhold diuretics.
  
• Intrinsic - Here there are structural histological changes in the kidney, caused by many intrinsic renal diseases or nephrotoxic agents like aminoglycosides, vancomycin, NSAIDs, etc. If this is suspected, stopping the offending agent generally resolves AKI without needing a biopsy. Furosemide is not mentioned here as it is not inherently nephrotoxic. Acute tubular necrosis is often mentioned as a specific clinical entity, either due to nephrotoxic agents or sustained hypoperfusion from pre-renal causes. It is not a very helpful term since histological tubular damage has rarely been proven in studies, nor does it help with treatment.
  
• Post-renal - Obstruction may be incomplete, acute on chronic, with a normal ultrasound, no oligo/anuria, and may be associated with other pathologies like a kidney stone with pyelonephritis or sepsis. Catheters can get blocked too so don't forget a bladder scan if anuric, and obstruction can rarely be external such as by tumours or abdominal compartment syndrome.
  

When do I refer to renal or ICU?

Local protocols aside, advice should be sought when the patient does not appear to be responding to medical management and there may be a need for renal replacement therapy (RRT). This is often in the form of intermittent haemodialysis (iHD) on renal wards, and continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) in ICU. There are small differences in mechanism, efficacy, and indications of the many forms of RRT, the details of which aren't important for most non specialists. Generally accepted indications for RRT include:

• Symptomatic uraemia - Encephalopathy, neuropathy, pericarditis. Elevated urea on its own is not generally an indication.
  
• Hyperkalaemia - Persistent hyperkalaemia (>6.5) despite insulin/dextrose. Severe hyperkalaemia (>8 ) with arrhythmias, requiring pacing or isoprenaline. This can occur even without anuria and should be escalated as it obviously can be life threatening.
  
• Severe metabolic acidosis, pH <7.1 - This will depend upon the cause and patient's condition. Patients with DKA and pH <7 can almost always quickly be turned around with insulin and fluids. Severely septic patients may not be able to tolerate medical management long enough to improve without RRT.
  
• Toxins or overdose - Some medications and toxins may be removed by RRT (eg, lithium, vancomycin), with specific type of RRT better for some drugs than others. This is uncommon and decisions will depend on the input from renal, clinical state of the patient, and advice from toxbase or national poisons service. A drug may not be removed by RRT but if it leads to another entity such as acidosis it may still warrant RRT.
  
• Fluid overload or pulmonary oedema refractory to diuretics - If patient is anuric despite diuretics then it's more likely they'll end up requiring RRT. In contrast pulmonary oedema in decompensated heart failure with worsening renal function is not helped more by RRT than by adequate diuresis.
  

Absent from above include oligo/anuria or specific values of urea and creatinine. This doesn't exclude them as considerations, however the whole picture should be taken together to make decisions on an individualised basis. It might be that the patient improves despite a creatinine of 700, it might be they become acidotic and hyperkalaemic with a creatinine of 400. Even on the ICU we still don't know when the right time is to start RRT.
This is a reason why renal and ICU often advise the generic "monitor I/O" rather than taking over care. We do appreciate accurate monitoring is unrealistic on the wards, but we also don't have the ability to admit everyone when few will need a specific intervention like RRT. An adequate UO to aim for is above 0.5mL/kg/hr. As AKI resolves some patients enter a polyuric phase, this will resolve but watch that they don't become hypovolaemic in the process, it may require further fluids matching what is lost.

Renal vs ICU referral

This will depend on local arrangements and acuity. Refer to renal if:

• Single organ kidney failure - Normotensive haemodynamically stable patients, not septic or comorbid with poor cardiac function. The principal reason haemodialysis is intermittent because fluid is more rapidly removed therefore borderline hypotensive patients may not tolerate large volumes of blood and fluid being rapidly withdrawn from their intravascular space. I have seen patients arrest from starting dialysis!
  
• Unclear cause of AKI - ICU can offer RRT as a bridge, but the underlying cause has to be treated, if the cause is unclear or there is persistent renal dysfunction, this will require renal input. We refer for this from the ICU too.
  
• Diagnosis requiring specialist treatment - Immunosuppressive therapy for vasculitis.
  
• Renal transplant patients - Even with a clear cause and response to treatment, the precarious nature of immunosuppression, renal impairment and graft function mean these usually merit a call to transplant renal physicians.
  

Refer to ICU if:

• Multiorgan failure - Borderline blood pressure, high oxygen requirements, fluctuating consciousness level, coagulopathy, these patients are unlikely to tolerate iHD, but more importantly it suggests they are critically ill and may need rapid escalation of care (if appropriate) beyond what renal can provide (intubation, vasopressors, etc).
  
• No on-site dialysis service - In hours there may be arrangements to transfer to partnetertiary hospital particularly for complex patients. However hospitalised dialysis patients known to the renal team may require more urgent RRT than this allows. Some ICUs have the plumbing to offer dialysis (this will need a dialysis nurse however).
  
• Patient in extremis - ICU may be able to offer more timely input in patients needing urgent intervention especially if prior to surgery. A patient with bowel perforation and severe AKI will usually be septic and in multiorgan failure anyway, but a 70 year old with obstructive pathology may benefit from being close to theatre to offer RRT while awaiting a nephrostomy (or exchange). If it's reversible and there is somebody willing to operate, I would even dialyse a patient with a DNACPR we wouldn't otherwise admit.
  

Specific considerations

• AKI in heart failure
  
  • The heart-kidney interaction is complex and works both ways (see this review). Volume status and cardiac function needs to be carefully evaluated. Seeing CCF documented in the notes is meaningless. What does their most recent echo show? What did they present with? Stable HF with reasonable ventricular function and sepsis with no signs of overload can receive fluids. Acute cardiogenic pulmonary oedema with severe ventricular dysfunction probably has AKI rooted in the decompensation of heart failure (type 1 cardio-renal syndrome) and would benefit from diuresis.
  • Acute decompensated HF is usually a hypervolaemic state. Elevated right atrial pressures reduce the arteriovenous pressure gradient in the kidney leading to venous congestion, poor outflow. Inflow is also limited adding to the poor cardiac output so glomerular filtration is reduced, leading to a vicious cycle. Aggressive diuresis with furosemide reduces this congestion, improves glomerular pressure gradient and increasing filtration (as long as the patient does not become hypovolaemic). Furosemide's initial beneficial effects in venous congestion is preceded by its diuretic action and is thought to be due to it causing venodilation, reducing preload. The addition of acetazolamide may improve decongestion further.
  • Creatinine rising is not an indication to stop diuresis, it may in fact signify adequate decongestion with improved patient outcomes.
• AKI in liver disease
  
  • Like in heart failure this is a complicated topic (see this recent review). AKI is very common, occuring in up to 50% of hospitalised patients with cirrhosis. While we hear things like hepatorenal syndrome thrown around, common things being common we have to look at all the usual causes we've discussed first (so don't just throw terlipressin at everyone!)
  • Pre-renal causes are most common: Discontinue nephrotoxic drugs. Look for and cover for infections and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Hypovolaemia from diuretics or GI bleeds, resuscitate with crystalloids and blood as needed until euvolaemic (careful to avoid overload). Albumin has been found to improve survival in patients with SBP and can be considered if worsening renal function despite resuscitation (or following paracetensis for large volume >5L ascites). Hypervolaemia from congestion (cirrhotic cardiomyopathy leading to right heart failure can benefit from diuretics, abdominal compartment syndrome from tense ascites should be drained).
  • Intrinsic leaves us with tubulointerstitial causes and hepatorenal syndrome (HRS). Low fractional excretion of sodium and urine microscopy can help confirm HRS which offers a grim prognosis. Terlipressin may improve renal function at the cost of significant pulmonary oedema so regular volume assessment and avoidance of overload is paramount. RRT would only expected to be offered if waiting, or under consideration, for liver transplantation. If not, palliation will be the most likely alternative course.
• Drug dosing
  
  • I would avoid using the BNF in renal impairment. Many of its recommendations are different than common guidelines and frankly weird. Do talk to your pharmacist (also microbiologist where appropriate), they'll often refer to The Renal Drug Handbook which is a good resource and covers scenarios like RRT. Most drugs will be dosed based on creatinine clearance not eGFR so arm yourself with an app or calculator.
• Sodium bicarbonate
  
  • Bicarbonate infusions offer temporary extra buffering capacity, mopping up excess hydrogen ions resulting in a higher pH. This is beneficial in hyperkalaemia as a higher pH favours potassium moving intracellularly (for this reason saline is more harmful and Hartmann's more beneficial in hyperkalaemia). It also has accepted roles in tricyclic antidepressant overdose with adverse ECG findings (QRS, QT prolongation), urinary alkalinization (in salicylate poisonining, poor evidence in rhabdomyolysis), and normal anion gap metabolic acidosis (there is high cloride to replace loss of bicarbonate, see later).
  • Its use outside these indications is contentious. There is no evidence of benefit in DKA over conventional fluids even if normal saline's tendancy for acidosis may slow resolution of the acidaemia in DKA. It may be actively harmful in lactic acidosis and respiratory failure as the increased pH shifts the O2Hb dissociation curve to the left, causing reduced oxygen offloading. It also results in net CO₂ production (HCO₃⁻ + H⁺ → H₂CO₃ → H₂O + CO₂) which will have to be blown off with excess minute ventilation.
  • So why do ICU and renal advise it or use it themselves even with a lack of solid indications? Well, essentially it's a temporising measure. Severe acidaemia contributes to myocardial dysfunction, arrhythmias, and catecholamine resistance. In the critically ill it can be useful as a delay while you insert lines or in the hope it will avoid the need for RRT. The BICAR-ICU trial did find it delays the need for RRT and may even possibly reduce the need. I'm not entirely sold on the latter, but it can be reasonable to try if there are positive indicators like good UO.
  • How? Usually available in concentrated (8.4% with 1000mmol/L of each ion) or dilute (1.26% with 150mmol/L) forms. Due to the high tonicity of the former, 1.26% is generally preferrable especially if you can or want to give larger volumes. 8.4% should be reserved for fluid restricted states and should be given slowly via a central line except in an emergency. Slow infusions help combat significant CO₂ rises and hypernatraemia (especially with 8.4%). Dosing is 1 mmol/kg which is 1mL/kg of 8.4% or 6-7mL/kg of 1.26%. For real simplicity most patients can take a 50mL vial of 8.4% or 500mL bag of 1.26%.
• Iodinated contrast
  
  • The entity contrast induced nephropathy, better termed contrast associated acute kidney injury, is a contentious topic. There are many good reviews already on this topic.
  • The evidence is from old studies using high osmolality agents during PCI. Fluctuations in creatinine may not be indicative of actual renal function and may simply reflect the underlying illness requiring a scan rather than the contrast itself. Patients are not more likely to need long term RRT.
  • IV contrast with modern low osmolality agents isn't associated with AKI in patients who aren't and even those who are critically ill. There was no association in patients even with pre-existing AKI. Prophylaxis with intravenous saline nor sodium bicarbonate have been found to make a difference even in CKD patients with eGFR >30.
  • The tl;dr is unless you're in cath lab or IR suite bolusing large quantities of dye arterially it is probably irrelevant. The benefit of a quality contrast enhanced scan in diagnosing and treating the patient are likely to outweigh any miniscule risk. RCR guidelines mention appropriate consent and identification of patients at risk (eGFR <40) they do not exclude the use of contrast or require hydration, at any renal function. You are the doctor, it's up to you to discuss and determine need and benefit. (It's the radiographer's job to ask, don't @ them, but they shouldn't refuse either).

Acid-base disturbances

Now it would seem we are forced to consider the fundamental concept of what acid-base physiology even is. You might have heard about strong ion difference and become lost in confusion. You're not alone. Put simply, there are two competing theories that try to explain how pH changes occur in the body: the traditional model that uses the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation to mathematically explain pH with bicarbonate, and the Stewart model that uses the concept of strong ion difference to explain why changes in bicarbonate occur. The bottom line is that these are detailed explorations of physiology more useful for bed time reading than the bedside. For the interested details can be read elsewhere.
More practically, we can work through a blood gas in a systematic fashion to help decipher the type of acid-base disturbance. Start with pH → PO₂ (always check oxygenation) → PCO₂ (respiratory component) → HCO₃⁻ (metabolic component). I've reproduced this in a simple but limited table below for reference, but this is a more intuitive flowchart to work through.

pH	PCO₂	HCO₃⁻	Disturbance
<7.35	>6	↔	Acute respiratory acidosis
		↑	Chronic respiratory acidosis
	↔ /↓	<22	Metabolic acidosis
>7.45	<4.5	↔	Acute respiratory alkalosis
		↓	Chronic respiratory alkalosis
	↔ /↑	>26	Metabolic alkalosis

^{Numbers indicate primary abnormalities, arrows indicate compensatory changes. Respiratory compensation by altering ventilation occurs quickly, while renal compensation by altering bicarbonate excretion is a much slower process.}

Respiratory

With the topic being the kidney, I won't discuss respiratory acidosis here (see this earlier physiology bite). Acute respiratory alkalosis is due to hyperventilation blowing off CO₂. This can be due to obvious things like pain or anxiety, a compensation for hypoxaemia (eg, high altitude climbing), pregnancy (increased minute ventilation stimulated by progesterone), or salicylate poisoning (direct stimulation of respiratory centre).

Metabolic

Dipping back into some physiology, we can consider two concepts that can give us more information: base excess and anion gap. The purpose of these concepts is help narrow our differential diagnosis, rather than serve as pathophysiological explanations of illness.

• Base excess (BE) - This idea comes from Danish physicians during the polio epidemic where patients often experienced chronic CO₂ retention. For a standardised numerical way of gauging the degree of disturbance Siggaard-Andersen proposed BE to represent the quantity of acid in a lab that needed to be added to a solution of blood to normalise it to a pH to 7.40 and PCO₂ of 5.3. Not because the plan was to literally add acid, but this way you could easily quantify the degree of disturbance. Rather than use this concept Americans appear obsessed with the more complicated Winter's formula instead. Most blood gas analysers will calculate BE for us, often reported as standardised base excess (SBE), with a normal range of +/- 3. A negative base excess is sometimes described as a base deficit, they're the same thing.
  
  • SBE <-3 - There is a metabolic acidosis, alone or as compensation for a respiratory alkalosis.
  • SBE >3 - There is a metabolic alkalosis, alone or as compensation for a respiratory acidosis.
  • Mild -4 to -9, moderate -10 to -14, and severe <-15 (same but positive values for alkalosis)
  • It is especially helpful with mixed disorders or causes. A lactate of 4 doesn't explain a BE of -12 alone, are there other contributors to the acidosis? A bicarb of 30 doesn't explain a BE of +10, what else can be causing alkalosis?
• Anion gap (AG) - I have a more detailed reply here explaining anion gap. It is a theoretical number that exploits the body's need to maintain electroneutrality: we have a bunch of positively charged ions (cations) that are evenly matched with negatively charged ions (anions), and we measure some of these. When we have an excess of some anions that we don't measure like lactate this calculated number rises because one of the measured anions (bicarbonate) drops to compensate to maintain electroneutrality. Like BE, most blood gas analysers will calculate AG for you.
  

There are far too many causes and detailed physiology to discuss here exhaustively. If you want to read about the Cori cycle, Type A and B lactic acidosis, helpful mnemonics and more, head to this review or this section on Deranged Physiology.

Metabolic acidosis

Symptoms are non-specific, with the most obvious being hyperventilation for compensation. In severely acidotic states (pH <7) seek early ICU help. Awake patients will hyperventilate sometimes down to PCO₂ <2 which can dramatically increase work of breathing. Initiating invasive ventilation in this stage or patient fatigue can be very dangerous if hyperventilation isn't maintained, the acidosis can worsen and precipitate cardiac arrest. Hypotension from vasodilation and reduced cardiac contractility can occur, as well as arrhythmias, confusion, delirium, coma.

• High anion gap metabolic acidosis - The presence of unmeasured anions including: lactate, ketones (diabetes, starvation, alcoholic), salicylates, formate (metabolite of methanol), oxalate and glycolate (metabolites of ethylene glycol), other toxins.
  
• Normal anion gap metabolic acidosis - Losses of base (bicarbonate loss in GI tract via high ouput ileostomy or diarrhoea, renal loss via acetazolamide) or excess of acid (renal tubular acidosis, hyperchloraemia, adrenal insufficiency).
  
• Pitfalls: Albumin is an unmeasured anion, so low albumin can mask a high anion gap. Albumin corrected formulas have been developed. Similarly excessively high unmeasured cations like magnesium, calcium, and even lithium, can also lower the gap.
  

Treatment is aimed at eliminating the underlying cause with specific therapies as required like insulin in DKA, fomepizole for ethylene glycol poisoning, folinic acid in methanol poisoning, etc.

Metabolic alkalosis

Despite metabolic acidosis being the usual focus, metabolic alkalosis is actually the more common abnormality of the two in hospitalised patients and is frequently seen as a mixed disorder (like as a response to prolonged CO2 retention as seen in mechanically ventilated patients). In severe states it can lead to delirium, seizures, obtundation, arrhythmias.
The 'opposite' of acidosis, here we see a gain of alkali or loss of acid, with impaired bicarbonate excretion required to maintain this (via chloride or potassium depletion, impaired renal function, or volume depletion).

• Gain of alkali - Iatrogenic from bicarbonate infusions, citrate in transfused blood.
  
• Loss of acid - From the kidneys via diuretic therapy, or mineralocorticoid excess, hypokalaemia. From the GI tract by vomiting especially with pyloric stenosis or obstruction as there is gastric acid loss (with chloride) only, laxative abuse diarrhoea.
  

Treating the underlying cause is important as always. Where there is low chloride and hypovolaemia, this usually responds well to fluid replacement with saline and potassium as required. Acetazolamide can be given if there is hypervolaemia although in practice this is rarely required unless continued diuresis with other diuretics is required. Alkalosis results in low ionised calcium that can cause paraesthesias, but as calcium is buffered by albumin this rarely requires treatment and resolves with correction of the alkalosis.

Conclusion

This is another large topic where there was plenty to talk about. I had to cut down the scope significantly as it rapidly spun out of control, however I thought the nuances deserved a detailed writeup. Nothing is ever absolute so don't take any of this as incontrovertible evidence of the incompetence of a hated colleague (or of my brilliance)! It will hopefully have given you some ideas to think about and research further when you see patients with AKI yourself.
Until next time!

I am not refuting the idea that the two clearly had a romance angle in the earlier volumes but come on, how many of you people actually ended up marrying your first crush? I'm sure there are a couple people out there who did so, but I'm sure there are also people out there who had many exes before finding "the one", or people who had many crushes they never pursued a relationship with before actually committing to one.
Blake clearly had the hots for Sun at some point but that doesn't instantly guarantee that he's going to be her partner for life. She never committed to a relationship with him so it's not like she's not allowed to be attracted to other people while being attracted to Sun, or pursue other people romantically. People have their crushes but their feelings for said crushes also eventually fizzle out at some point.
As someone who liked both blacksun and bmblb I feel like people are too busy demonizing the writers and pitying Sun to appreciate how they let Sun sign off from the ship in a graceful way while they started nudging the story towards bumblebee. They showed that Sun was still willing to help Blake in V4 without asking for a relationship in return. Instead of having some weird cliche scene where Blake rejects Sun's advances and tells him she's not interested with Sun visibly getting sad after, instead we get Sun just silently acknowledging that Blake's not interested in a relationship with him, and deciding, "you know what, I'm still here for you! If you need help, just give me a holler and I'll be there". I feel like not actually pushing through with Blacksun as a romantic pairing made Blake and Sun's dynamic more powerful. Here we have two people, a male and a female character in particular, who would go above and beyond for each other, because they love each other, but not in a romantic way. Idk, I just really appreciate the platonic Male x Female "I'd die for you" energy oozing out of this pairing. It's the kind of energy that you will see from romantic pairings all the time but not as often from platonic pairings.
Ultimately, Blake is just an ordinary person at heart, and just like any other ordinary person she can have waning romantic interests.
When V10 drops (if it gets greenlit hopefully) I hope we see more of Blacksun anyways (of course this isn't romantic anymore) since they're clearly still very good pals. Even better if we get Yang and Sun interactions too, since you cannot convince me those two won't get along well.

I 42f recently reconnected with a guy I went on one date two years ago. We went on two dates and it was great he expressed interest we both spoke about how we are looking and ready for relationships, etc.
Then his communication slowed down a lot after the second date. I came right out and asked him if he was doing the slow fade yet again. He said no, he was just having a really busy and stressful week. He owns a business and it’s the busy season. He said apologized and said that wasn’t it and asked for my availability and we went out in a short date this past Wednesday.
He was visibly stressed by work and we talked about it. He said it seems whoever we meet it’s in his busy season and he knows he should have been more communicative but he didn’t have the bandwidth.
Here we are again with no communication. I asked if he week got better and basically said no, it’s even worse. I offered an ear and that was it. Nothing since then.
The ironic thing is I’m a single parent and he’s not a parent. She’s a teen, we can be busy and I have one just plus a second job and keeping up with my house. But when I want to date I make time to do it. He said he has dated single parents in the past but it always seemed they didn’t have time for him. And here we are , and he’s the one who doesn’t have time for me.
If you got this far…… this just isn’t working for me. I need communication to build a connection. If we only see eachother once a week, I need some in between. I’m not getting any of that. This seems to be a recurring theme I deal with. Wants to date, doesn’t want to make the time, doesn’t text and doesn’t call. They all want to date, but don’t want the effort.
I’m thinking about how to tell him this. Part of me feels like a dick because he is so busy, but I have needs and I’m having a hard time building a connection
Thanks for listening

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - ROAD TO THE TOP
I wasn’t planning on checking out the 4 episode special for Uma Musume, but the amazing opening caught my eye and convinced me to give it a shot. As I started watching, it was clear to me that this show’s superb animation was supported by some incredible cinematography that helped build the narrative between its leads. As a fun exercise, I wanted to try to highlight some of the directing choices and break down how Uma Musume RTTT gets away with telling so little by showing so much.
Cinematography is the presentation of the visuals in anime. The arrangement of characters in a scene, the lighting, the focus on props or backgrounds: all of these can be encapsulated by “cinematography,” and put in a ton of work for the viewing experience. There are plenty of obvious instances where a show will employ cinematography, but even if you don’t notice it immediately, these choices can have an underlying psychological effect in how you experience a scene. You can dye a scene in blue to enhance the melancholy. You can cut away from a conversation to a nearby prop to reveal a character’s mental state. These visual techniques can easily go underappreciated, and Uma Musume thankfully has some fairly overt examples that we can analyze.
(spoilers for episode 1)
Episode one opens up with the Yayoi Sho, a GII race that introduces two of our main leads: Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega. Much of what I want to talk about in this race will come later. But let me give a brief synopsis of the race. Under a slight drizzle, we start off with Avec Blaze* in the lead. Narita Top Road, eager to meet the expectations of her fans and coach, puts on a burst of speed to take the lead. Admiral Vega, who also feels the need to win for a yet undisclosed person, quickly follows up on her heels despite lingering behind the pack. Though it’s a close affair between the two, Narita Top Road clutches her lead and wins the race. She cheerfully waves to the crowd while Admiral Vega regretfully looks on. The episode immediately gives viewers exactly what they’re here for: some hype horse girls racing.
After the OP, we follow Narita Top Road in her daily school life. Her training starts at dawn, and this is clearly a recurring affair since her coach advises her to take a break.** At school, Narita Top Road is the class president and is admired by her classmates. Between her coach, fans, and friends, there’s plenty of people who acknowledge her drive and expect great things from her. Admiral Vega, noticing a small injury on Narita Top Road’s thigh, brings her outside to put a band-aid on it. In the hallway, Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega confess to one another declare their respective determination to win the upcoming Satsukisho. While Narita Top Road professes her excitement to race along with someone she admires, the light from the windows is always illuminating her face. She is quite literally glowing. Meanwhile, Admiral Vega, who feels hesitant about befriending her rivals, seems to have her face framed in between the path of these light beams. She’s not poorly lit by any means: there is just a clear difference in how our two characters are illuminated. The light is so all over Narita Top Road that she is reflecting light. This light and dark metaphor will persist throughout the episode’s run.
We’re next treated to a brief origin story for Narita Top Road. What helps sell the flashback is the fact that the conversations with the trainer all take place at sunset. This is a great example of the “Against the Setting Sun” trope, where Narita Top Road and the trainer make a goal to conquer the Twinkle Series together. Sunsets can symbolize transitioning to another phase, and here it depicts Narita Top Road’s first step to becoming a pro. We’re also treated to a parallel from an earlier training scene, where Narita Top Road attempts to make a sharp turn from the outside of the pack. She struggles more in this flashback, staggering several times; there is a noticeable improvement in the training scene that took place during the present, where Narita Top Road only staggers once. The mirroring of her first training scene in this flashback confirms Narita Top Road’s consistent practice and diligence. Narita Top Road works from sunrise to sunset, and when you consider the previous paragraph on lighting, it becomes apparent that Narita Top Road can be associated with daylight.
While Satsukisho is expected to be all about Admiral Vega vs. Narita Top Road, we switch unexpectedly to a third character. The ordering of events here was initially a bit confusing for me: we start with a cocky smirk prior to cutting to the eyecatch, with the upper half of the face hidden. When we come back, the first thing we see is an eye: it is TM Opera O waking up at 2 AM, visibly distressed. Then, it cuts to a flashback where TM Opera O is returning to running after an injury. She is all bravado and speaks boldly of her destiny to win every race she enters. She proceeds to win consecutive races, backing up her claims, but is also shown visibly struggling during training. Even so, she proudly declares that her perseverance in the face of adversity is for the audience: TM Opera O lives to win and bask in the cheers of a crowd. This flashback in my opinion serves to humanize TM Opera O’s larger than life personality: behind her dramatic flair and proud sense of self is someone who worked incredibly hard to get back into shape and still experiences some stress about meeting the standards she set for herself. For instance, her introduction starts with just her mouth, hiding the eyes, which are commonly used to indicate a character’s true nature. Then the show cuts to that portion of the face (eye) that was missing in that first shot, suggesting that the TM Opera O waking up right now is closer to her true self than the more grandiose mask she wears in public. She’ll continue to play this theatrical character in the series, but her introduction serves to let the audience know early on that she’s had her own share of struggles and insecurities.
Finally, we get to Admiral Vega and what she’s doing in preparation for the Satsukisho. We cut to night time, where Admiral Vega leaves to go for a run. She and her roommate, Curren Chan, are placed in different layers (Admiral Vega slightly blurred in the front while Curren Chan is sharp and placed behind her). This arrangement highlights the contrast in their activities: as Curren Chan is clearly winding down the day by brushing her tail, Admiral Vega is off to train. As she runs along a deserted street with numerous streetlights, Admiral Vega refuses to step into them. In fact, she’s shown running away from the light. The connection to darkness suggests that Admiral Vega’s motivations could be unhealthy. Or, going back to her thoughts in the hallway, Admiral Vega’s avoidance of light could connect to her dogma that she does not need friends or rivals (in this case, Narita Top Road who is the light): she just has to win at all costs. Either way, the lack of lighting for Admiral Vega directly sets her up as the clear rival for Narita Top Road. In the very next scene, Narita Top Road practices in broad daylight to the cheers of her classmates. Lighting and the time of day will play a pivotal role in coloring the interactions between these two characters in the rest of the series.
And now we’ve finally arrived at the Satsukisho, a premiere GI race for our trio of leads. Before it begins, Admiral Vega and Narita Top Road meet in the tunnels leading to the racetrack. Even though they are in the exact same location with respect to the light from the exit, Narita Top Road’s face is illuminated while Admiral Vega’s face continues to be shadowed. These two are definitely rivals and antitheses to one another. However, TM Opera O appears from the top of the tunnel exit, the backlighting giving her an almost videogame-boss-like feel; these two were supposed to be focused on one another, but the more menacing opponent may be the one standing above them.
Even if the media has tried to convince you that it’s a close affair between Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega, the cinematography makes it clear that this is Narita Top Road’s race to lose. Despite her cheerful demeanor in training, Narita Top Road is actually very nervous. She’s the last to enter her start gate and, as her classmates and friends cheer her on, we get this shot of Narita Top Road seemingly caged in by her starting gate. These expectations that she’s desperate to meet are beginning to stress her out. As we start the race, you’ll see that many of the shots here mirror that first race, which Narita Top Road won: the stormy clouds and slight drizzle, the shot of her coach right before the dramatic last minute spurt from Narita Top Road to take the lead, and even the brief proximity of Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega give the impression that we’ve seen this exact race before.
But unlike the race at the start of the episode, TM Opera O arrives to steal the show! There’s an incredible panning shot that zooms in on TM Opera O as she makes a break for the lead, emphasizing her approach. But then she flies past the camera, and the shot becomes an inverted zoom away. Not only does this shot give the viewer the sense of being left in the dust like her opponents, but the upside down perspective makes it clear that this result is an upset and, dare I say it, has flipped expectations. TM Opera O snatches victory from Narita Top Road’s hands, shattering the projection of a repeat of the first race’s results.*** She rightfully basks in the glory she anticipated earlier in the episode.
At the end, Narita Top Road is devastated. While TM Opera O celebrates, Narita Top Road’s sweaty face is pushed to the background: it’s a very familiar position for Admiral Vega. The mirroring of shots throughout this final race really gives this single episode a sense of completion, and that we’ve come full circle in spite of the different results. Despite the loss, the episode ends with Narita Top Road’s refusal to give in: a literal ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds and illuminates her as she holds her head high. Her hopes for a GI win have yet to be dashed, and she’ll have three more episodes to get her revenge. Meanwhile, Admiral Vega finished a dismal 6th, and her posture here is even more slumped than in the first race. Maybe it’s an injury bothering her, or perhaps it’s from the increasing weight of her failed expectations physically pushing her down. We’ll have to see in episode two if she’ll be able to find the same strength to raise her head.
As you watch the next three episodes, you’ll find the same impeccable directing throughout. They’ll continue to mirror previous shots to help depict the evolving relationships between characters and utilize lighting to contrast Narita Top Road and Admiral Vega. There are so many awesome shots littered throughout the show and despite my qualms for some of the story elements, my attention was captured by both the stellar race animation and the thoughtful cinematography. Even if you’re not that interested in horse girls, consider giving this short ONA a shot.****
*Is her name actually Astral Blaze?
**There’s a fun pair of shots here between the coach and Narita Top Road, but I wasn’t sure what this could mean outside of (spoilers) some potential communication issues between Narita Top Road and her trainer in the later episodes.
***I really was hoping that TM Opera O being in the 12th position and winning was a cinematic choice referencing Narita Top Road winning the first race in the 12th position, but no it is an actual coincidence.
****This was supposed to be a funny post about horse feet but I got lost in the directing sauce.

Friday night I went camping. I've used this spot before, and have never even seen a tick. I knew it was possible but didn't think it was likely.
On Saturday I woke up to a tick on my chest. It stayed there for maybe an hour after I saw it because I didn't have tweezers on hand.
Less than 12 hours later, I'm home, I have a headache, my insides feel kinda weird (cramps, some gas, definitely felt like I was gonna have diarrhea), and my appetite is basically gone. I take allergy meds, tylenol, and drink water thinking maybe I was just dehydrated. The meds did not help.
It's Sunday now. The bite is now visible and is this teeny pink spot with what might be a head (not tick head, I'm pretty confident I got that out, best comparison is a herpes sore but super small).
Should I go to urgent care, or call my primary tomorrow? Is it okay if I choose to wait it out and see if maybe I have a cold? I have only been in close contract with three people over the last two weeks, everyone else in passing outdoors, and none of them feel ill.

Stanford released a remarkable new second order optimizer known as Sophia which uses estimator and utilises clipping mechanism.

According to the paper, It is 100K steps more efficient and takes significantly less wall-clock time to compute.

The paper is amazing and a milestone at least according to me. They did not provide any code but provided pseudocode and Algorithm to program the optimizer. I find it helpful programming or either understanding the code rather than just reading the literature itself even its pseudocode. Which is why, I took the time to write a function that utilises the Optimizer.
If you're interested what hyper params they used it's very much clear in their paper and they also mentioned to get the hyper-params for sophia using a grid search and based on AdamW and Lion's param choices.
It is very fast project so I was only able to write the code in very basic way no pytorch or jax whatsoever. I am optimistic to add a training script and few nifty features. That's not until a few weeks.
I personally think reading the code and learning Sophia will be very helpful and for many it can provide a new research direction (maybe for your thesis as well). I have adding the github link to my code.
Contribution:
Roma wasn't built by itself. If you think you have something to offer feel free to contribute to the repository. It'll help others to learn. And you as well. And if you have found my work interesting or helpful consider giving a star, it helps the repository being visible to many people and kinda motivates me to consider providing updates and cool stuff with a project.
Otherwise, here's the GitHub code and Paper Link
GitHub code: https://github.com/sleepingcat4/Sophia
Paper Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.14342

Lately I’ve noticed that I’m not getting nearly as many messages or likes on my profile. I’m completely verified and previously have received many likes and messages. I don’t have any sexual content or allusion to sexual favors. I’ve checked that my profile is visible but when I made a male account I could not even find my page.

~ 1. Introduction ~
Here is a detailed description of my wishlist for a Mario Kart 9 or 10/X (if Tour is considered the 9th installment) I don't expect everyone to like all my ideas. This is just a wishlist. I obviously would be happy with any Mario Kart Nintendo decides to put out but in a perfect world, this is what I would want for it to be the best Mario Kart imo. I hope you enjoy.
*= Thoughts, Personal opinions, New ideas for modes, mechanics, driver outfits, vehicles, items, options, etc

• with numbered annotation⁰= Explanations on certain features

🔒= Locked. Must be unlocked by in game requirements or DLC
~ 2. Mechanics ~
~ Single Player / Multiplayer 》1P》2P》3P》4P》
Grand Prix》Class Optimization》Driver(s) Select》Vehicle Parts》Circuits》Cup Select》 Class Optimization options: Engine: 50cc》100cc》150cc》Mirror》All¹》All Mirror¹》 Driver: Solo Dash》Double Dash》² Drift: Automatic》Manual》³ Items: Normal》No Items》 Camera: Normal》First Person》⁴
*¹ - All and All Mirror options are only available in Grand Prix. After a Circuit has been selected, It'll play each Cup in order of that specific Circuit.
*² - All race and battle modes will feature either a Solo Dash or the new Double Dash option similar to Mario Kart Double Dash for extra replayability and character combinations.
*³ - Even if not many people liked Automatic drifting, it was there for a reason for you to choose. Some liked it. Some didn't. It should be the player's choice.
*⁴ - Camera can also be changed freely during the race from the pause menu.
Time Trials》Driver(s) Select》Circuits》Cup Select》Course Select》 Race Solo》Race Against Ghost》View Ghost》Online Ghost》Upload Ghost Data》
• VS Race》Driver(s) Select》Vehicle Parts》Customized Race》Circuits》Cup Select》Course Select》 Customized Race options: Engine Class: 50cc》100cc》150cc》Mirror》 Driver: Solo Dash》Double Dash》 Drift: Automatic》Manual》 Teams: No Teams》Team Game》 Items: Normal》Frantic》No Items》No Items and Coins》Custom》 COM: Easy》Normal》Hard》Pro¹》 COM Vehicles (Solo)²: All Vehicles》Karts Only》Bikes Only》 COM Vehicles (Doubles)²: All Vehicles》ATVs Only》Buggys Only》 Courses: Choose》In Order》Random》 Race Count: 4》5³》8》12》16》32》64》All》 Laps: 1》2》3》4》5》⁴
*¹ - Added a Pro difficulty to make the CPU feel more of a challenge.
*² - Wanted to split the vehicle selections between Solo Dash and Double Dash drivers. Solo Dash drivers will now only select between Karts and Bikes and Double Dash drivers will only select between ATVs and new Buggy vehicles. *Buggys are essential similar to the designs of the Karts used in Mario Kart Double Dash. ATVs are now bigger in size to help fit the idea of 2 drivers on one vehicle.
*³ - The original Super Mario Kart had 5 courses per Cup so I brought that option back for custom races.
*⁴ - Wanted to make the option available for players. These courses will be excluded from Laps option and be set to default when selected: ⁿ⁶⁴ Wario Stadium, ⁿ⁶⁴ Rainbow Road, ᵍᶜⁿ Baby Park, ᵍᶜⁿ Wario Colosseum, ³ᵈˢ Wuhu Loop, ³ᵈˢ Maka Wuhu, ³ᵈˢ Rainbow Road, ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Mount Wario, and ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Big Blue.
Battle》Driver(s) Select》Vehicle Parts》Customized Battle》Course Select》 Customized Battle options: Driver: Solo Dash》Double Dash》 Drift: Automatic》Manual》 Teams: No Teams》Team Game》 Items: Normal》Frantic》Skilled》Custom》 Round Time: 1 Minute》2 Minutes》3 Minutes》4 Minutes》5 Minutes》 COM: Easy》Normal》Hard》Pro》 COM Vehicles (Solo Dash): All Vehicles》Karts Only》Bikes Only》 COM Vehicles (Double Dash): All Vehicles》ATVs Only》Buggys Only》 Courses: Choose》In Order》Random》 Round Count: 3 Rounds》5 Rounds》7 Rounds》¹
*¹ - I shortened the rounds. Anything past 7 rounds is too much imo but that's just me. Also being a little bias cuz I'm not a fan of battle mode.
~ Online Play 》1P》2P》
Worldwide: Grand Prix*》VS Race》Battle》
Regional: Grand Prix*》VS Race》Battle》
Friends》Create Room
Tournaments》Menu. Menu options: Create a Tournament: Icon》Name》Rules》Time Settings》Other》 *Rules options: Mode: 50cc》100cc》150cc》Mirror》Balloon》Classic Balloon¹》 Renegade Roundup》Bob-omb Blast》Shine Runners¹》Coin Runners》 Shine Thief》Thunder Cloud Tag¹》Random Battle》 Driver: Solo Dash》Double Dash》 Drift: Automatic》Manual》 Teams: No Teams》Team Game》 Items: Normal》No Items》No Items or Coins》Frantic》Skilled*²》Custom》 Round Time (Battle only): 1 Minute》2 Minutes》3 Minutes》4 Minutes》5 Minutes》 COM: No COM》Easy》Normal》Hard》Pro》 Vehicles (Solo Dash): All Vehicles》Karts Only》Bikes Only》 Vehicles (Double Dash): All Vehicles》ATVs Only》Buggys Only》 Camera: Normal》First Person》 Smart Steering: Smart Steering OK》No Smart Steering》 *Time Settings options: Frequency: Weekly》Daily》Fixed Period》 Start Day: Sunday》Monday》Tuesday》Wednesday》Thursday》Friday》Saturday》 Start Date: Dependent》 Start Time: Dependent》 End Day: Sunday》Monday》Tuesday》Wednesday》Thursday》Friday》Saturday》 End Date: Dependent》 End Time: Dependent》 Round Count: 4 Rounds》8 Rounds》16 Rounds》 Group Shuffling: Don't Shuffle》Every 4th Match》 *Other options: Player Rating: Any Rating》0-2999》3000-9999》10000-99999》 Public/Private: Open to Everyone》Code Required》
*¹ - Scroll down to Battle section for more info.
*² - Skilled Items for Battle mode only.
Search by Code Search by Type Active Tournaments

• • A Report button will finally be added to report cheaters/hackers/etc.
• • I'm thinking Solo Dash races will feature the usual 12 players (1st - 12th place) while Double Dash races features upto 16 players but 8 groups total (1st - 8th place).
• • Worldwide and Regional Grand Prix will be 2-12 racers (or 4-16 in doubles mode) in a 4-race Cup from any randomly displayed Cups. Cups are then selected based on player voting.
• • Create Room will now feature customized options such as Mode, Teams, Items, CPUs, and Vehicles similar to the Create a Tournament option.
• • For online, I'd also like for a better ranking system to prevent casual players from racing against competitive players and vice versa.

~ MKTV
My Replays. View saved replays from previous races or battles on and offline. * You can now save more than just 6 replays.
Online Replays*¹ View shared replays from others online
Spectate*²
*¹ - Should've already been added in the first place.
²* - View recent online races or battles replays. Earn coins by voting who'll be 1st. * Literally stole this idea from Smash.
~ Other Details

• • The race start intro and race finishes to retro courses will have a remake version of their original transitions along with a rearranged verison of their original theme from that respective retro course. Example for better understanding. * Mario Kart GP courses will have the current game's race start and finish transitions.
• • I somehow also want to incorporate a way that once the Retro Grand Prix is unlocked, the title screen will have remake versions of the original title screens from previous Mario Kart games similar to Mario Party Superstars. Example
• It would show different title screens at each start up similarly to how Mario Kart 8/Deluxe's title screens Example
  
• • Sometimes the CPU seems to make decisions that only seem to target the player regardless of placement. I want a smarter CPU for harder difficulties that won't just use an item just to use. If a CPU is holding a shell, they should use it logically or defend themselves with it logically.
• • I personally am fine with every other mechanic used in Mario Kart 8/Deluxe such as driving techniques used, amiibo settings, Stats, etc. Keep the same driving techniques even during Double Dash mode. I personally was not a fan of Mario Kart Double Dash's drift mechanic and would not want that function brought back.

~ 3. Characters and Vehicles ~
~ Characters
68 Total Drivers (including DLC) 32 Total Alternate Drivers. 100 Total Individual Characters.

• • Driver select screen, press R button to rotate between alternate drivers. Some drivers will have upto 9 different outfits to choose from.
• • I wanted the original 8 to be the starting roster.

~ Drivers
Mario》Metal Mario 🔒》Tanooki Mario 🔒》Fire Mario 🔒》Ice Mario 🔒》Dr. Mario 🔒》 - Mario (Classic) 🔒 - Mario (Builder) 🔒 - Mario (SNES) 🔒 - Mario (Sunshine) 🔒 - Mario (Tuxedo) 🔒 - Mario (N64)*🔒 - Metal Mario (Gold) 🔒
Luigi》Penguin Luigi 🔒》Fire Luigi 🔒》Gooigi*🔒》 - Luigi (Classic) 🔒 - Luigi (Golf) 🔒 - Luigi (Builder) 🔒
Peach》Pink Gold Peach 🔒》Cat Peach 🔒》Fire Peach*🔒》 - Peach (Wedding) 🔒
Yoshi - Light-blue Yoshi - Black Yoshi - Red Yoshi - Yellow Yoshi - White Yoshi - Purple Yoshi - Pink Yoshi - Orange Yoshi
Bowser》Dry Bowser 🔒》Meowser 🔒》 - Dry Bowser (Gold) 🔒
Donkey Kong Jr. - Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES) 🔒
Koopa Troopa》Koopa (Freerunning) 🔒》 - Red Koopa (Freerunning) - Blue Koopa (Freerunning) - Purple Koopa (Freerunning) - Gold Koopa (Freerunning) 🔒
Toad》Cat Toad 🔒》Captain Toad 🔒》 - Toad (Pit Crew) 🔒 - Toad (Builder) 🔒 - Toad (Astronaut) 🔒 - Toad (Blue)* - Toad (Yellow)* - Toad (Green)*
Donkey Kong 🔒
Wario 🔒 - Wario (Biker)*
Daisy 🔒
Birdo 🔒 - Birdo (Light Blue) - Birdo (Black) - Birdo (Red) - Birdo (Yellow) - Birdo (White) - Birdo (Purple) - Birdo (Green) - Birdo (Orange)
Baby Mario 🔒
Baby Luigi 🔒
Toadette 🔒》Peachette 🔒》 - Toadette (Explorer) 🔒 - Toadette (Builder) 🔒 - Toadette (Astronaut) 🔒
Paratroopa 🔒 - Green Paratroopa*
Diddy Kong 🔒
Bowser Jr. 🔒
Waluigi 🔒
Petey Piranha 🔒
King Boo 🔒 - King Boo (Luigi's Mansion)
Pac-Man 🔒
Ms. Pac-Man 🔒
Blinky 🔒》Pinky》Inky》Clyde*》
Dry Bones 🔒 - Dry Bones (Gold) 🔒
R.O.B. 🔒 - R.O.B. (Famicom)*
Shy Guy 🔒 - Light-blue Shy Guy - Black Shy Guy - Green Shy Guy - Yellow Shy Guy - White Shy Guy - Blue Shy Guy - Pink Shy Guy - Orange Shy Guy
Mametchi 🔒
Baby Peach 🔒
Baby Daisy 🔒
Rosalina 🔒
Funky Kong 🔒
Mii 🔒
Honey Queen 🔒
Wiggler 🔒
Lakitu 🔒
Don-chan 🔒
Baby Rosalina 🔒
Iggy 🔒》Roy》Lemmy》Larry》Wendy》Ludwig》Morton》
Link 🔒 - Link (Champion's Tunic)
Villager 🔒 - Villager (Female)
Isabelle 🔒 - Isabelle (Winter)*
Inkling Girl 🔒 - Inkling Girl (lime green) - Inkling Girl (magenta)
Inkling Boy 🔒 - Inkling Boy (purple) - Inkling Boy (teal)
Pauline 🔒
Hammer Bro 🔒》Boomerang Bro 🔒》Ice Bro 🔒》Fire Bro 🔒》
Monty Mole 🔒
Dixie Kong 🔒
Nabbit 🔒
King Bob-omb 🔒
Kamek 🔒
Chargin' Chuck 🔒
Poochy 🔒
~ Newcomers
Noki ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒 - Noki (Green) - Noki (Pink) - Noki (Yellow)
Pianta ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒 - Pianta (Pink) - Pianta (Yellow) - Pianta (Purple)
Professor E. Gadd ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒
Toadsworth ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒
Luma ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒 - Luma (Blue) - Luma (Pink) - Luma (Green) - Luma (Cyan) - Luma (Red) - Luma (Purple) - Luma (Black) - Luma (Orange)
~ DLC
Sonic the Hedgehog ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒
Miles "Tails" Prower ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒
King K. Rool ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒》Kaptain K. Rool*》
Krunch ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒 * Would be an excellent choice for a surprise DLC character to those familiar w/Diddy Kong Racing
Zelda ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒》Sheik*》
Kirby ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒
King Dedede ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒
Captain Falcon ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒
Samus ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒》Zero Suit*》
Geno ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ 🔒

• - there's plenty of room for more characters but I figured 100 was the perfect amount of characters, especially with the double dash feature with everyone potentially having a partner with no odd person out.

~ Vehicles
Available parts. The parts available are listed here in the order shown in the vehicle customization screen, with the following notation: ¹ = Changes color, depending on the character. ² = Changes color for the Koopalings. ³ = Changes color for Daisy, Baby Daisy, Rosalina, and Baby Rosalina. (DLC) = Part is only available as downloadable content.

• Personally, I would want a system that prevents everyone from choosing the best racer with the best vehicle parts. For example If Luigi is the best racer and his best vehicle is the standard kart with mushroom tires, and gold glider, obviously everyone will choose Toad and those exact parts to win races. I want everyone to choose their favorite racer and parts that make them comfortable to race in, and not just look at a list of the best racers and parts and just copy and paste that. I don't know how to fix this honestly but I'm sure someone could help with ideas to this to make everyone equal in a way on the track with their own individuality similar to what Mario Kart 7 did with their characters.

~ Karts (Solo Dash)
Standard Kart¹ 4-Wheel Cradle 8-Bit Pipe Frame¹ Apple Kart B Dasher Badwagon Barrel Train Biddybuggy (Buggybud)¹ Birthday Girl (Royal Ribbon)²/³ Blue Falcon Blue Seven Booster Seat (Baby Booster) Bruiser (Growlster) Brute Bull's-Eye Banzai Bulldog-W ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ Bumble V Cact-R Cact-X Cat Cruiser Cheep Charger Cheep Snorkel Circuit Special¹ Clanky Kart Classic Dragster (Nostalgia 1) Cloud 9 Crawly Kart Cucumber Dasher II Daytripper (Royal Racer) Dozer Dasher Dragonfly Dry Bomber Egg 1 Flame Flyer Gold Mantis Gold Pipe Frame Gold Standard (Gold Kart) Green Apple Kart Honeycoupe (Dragonetti) Hurricane Jet Cruiser Jetsetter (Aero Glider) Jumbo Jetter Kiddie Kart¹ Koopa Clown² Landship ² Light Dancer Light Tripper Mach 8 Mini Beast (Concerto) Mushmellow Offroader P-Wing Paintster Parade Kart Penguin Slider Pink Mushmellow Pipe Frame¹ Piranha Prowler Poltergust 4000 Power Flower Prancer Prop Kart Quickshaw ROB-BLS Rambi Rider Royale Shooting Star Sky Pop ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ Sneeker (Bounder)¹ Snow Skimmer Soda Jet Sports Coupe (Sports Coupé) Sprinter (B Dasher Mk. 2) Star Broom Steel Driver Streamliner Streetle Super 1 Super Blooper (Turbo Blooper) Surf Sailer Swift Talon Tanooki Kart Tea Coupe Tiny Titan (Rally Romper) Tiny Tug Tri-Speeder Wario Car Warship Wild Wing Wildlife Yellow Taxi Zucchini (Gherkin) Speed Star ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source Whirlwind Sport ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source Egg Mobile ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ * Was inspired by this image I found. Source Reminds me of the Egg Mobile with Monster tires White Cat ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source Dark Schnieder ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source Car¹ ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ * Source * the number in the center will be replaced by driver's logo Dragoon Kart ⁽ᵈˡᶜ * Source
~ Bikes (Solo Dash)
Standard Bike¹ Bit Bike (Nanobike) City Tripper¹ Flame Rider Hurricane Jet Bubble (Bubble Bike) Master Cycle Zero Mr. Scooty (Mr Scooty) Phantom Quacker ROB-LGS Shooting Star (Twinkle Star) Sugarscoot (Bon Bon)¹ The Duke Varmint Wario Bike Zip Zip (Rapide) Zipper Wheelie Bike ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source
Bullet Bike¹ Comet Dolphin Dasher Flame Runner (Bowser Bike)¹ Jet Bike Mach Bike¹ Magikruiser¹ Master Cycle Sneakster (Nitrocycle) Sport Bike¹ Yoshi Bike¹ Zinger Sting ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ * just an idea I had for a new bike based off of a beta imagine for Donkey Kong racing. Source * the number in the center will be replaced by driver's logo. Bike version of the Prop Kart
~ ATVs (Double Dash)
Standard ATV (Standard Quad)¹ Bone Rattler Inkstriker Spear (Torpedo)¹ Splat Buggy Teddy Buggy Tyrant Wild Wiggler Hovercraft¹ ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source
~ Buggys (Double Dash)
Standard Buggy ¹ Banisher Bolt Buggy Bullet Blaster Coach³ * Heart Coach/Bloom Coach from Mario Kart Double Dash DK Jumbo Fire Buggy¹ * Red Fire from Mario Kart Double Dash Goo-Goo Buggy¹ Koopa Dasher Koopa King Para-Wing Pipe Buggy¹ Piranha Pipes Turbo Birdo Turbo Yoshi Waluigi Racer
~ Tires
Standard (Normal) 8-Bit Standard Ancient Tires (Ancient Tyres) Azure Roller Bicycle Tires Blue Monster Blue Standard (Normal Blue) Button Capsule Crimson Slim Cushion Cyber Slick Drum Gold 8-Bit Standard Gold Tires (Gold Wheels) Heart Rings Hot Monster (Funky Monster) Iron Leaf Tires (Leaf Tyres) Metal Monster Mushroom Mushroom Off-Road Red Monster Retro Off-Road Roller Slick Slim Snorkel Tires Sponge Triforce Tires (Triforce Tyres) Wood (Wooden) Yoshi Tires
~ Gliders
Super Glider¹ 8-Bit Jumping Mario Beast Glider (Ghastly Glider) Bowser Kite Butterfly Sunset Cloud Glider Crimson Crane Droplet Glider Eggshell Glider Eggshell Glider Fare Flier Flower Glider Gold Glider Great Sail Hylian Kite MKTV Parafoil Oilpaper Umbrella Paper Glider Parachute Paraglider (Breath of the Wild) Paraglider (Parafoil) Peach Parasol³ Plane Glider Ribbon Swooper (Swoop) Waddle Wing Waluigi Wing Wario Wing Magic Carpet ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source Wizpig Glider ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Example at 00:31 Tails Flier ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source Knuckles Glider ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source Gunship ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source
~ 4. Items ~
× – Does not appear in Battle Mode.
~ Items found on the track
Item Box - Gives the player a random item. Items given are based on the player's distance from first place. * I would like for them to look either similar to how they looked in Mario Kart 64 or Mario Kart DS' design.
Coin - Gives the player a small boost and increase top speed when more are collected, up to a maximum of ten.
Rupee - The equivalent of a coin, used for Hyrule Circuit and Zelda related courses. They replace coins in the item roulette and in the track.
Bell - The equivalent of a coin, used for Animal Crossing. They replace coins in the item roulette and in the track.
Cash - The equivalent of a coin, used for Splatoon related courses. They replace coins in the item roulette and in the track.
Balloon ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - The equivalent of an Item Box, used for Diddy Kong Racing related course. Source
Item Box (Capsule) ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - The equivalent of an Item Box, used for Sonic related course. Source
Star Block ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - The equivalent of an Item Box, used for Kirby related course. Source
Banana ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - The equivalent of a coin, used for Donkey Kong Country / Diddy Kong Racing related courses. They replace coins in the item roulette and in the track. Source
Ring ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - The equivalent of a coin, used for Sonic related courses. They replace coins in the item roulette and in the track. Source
Food ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - The equivalent of a coin, used for Kirby related courses. They replace coins in the item roulette and in the track. Source
~ New Items
Coin Block ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ - * floats above player for a short time (10 seconds). Hop to collect upto 10 coins. Can only be obtained if player has 0 coins. Replacing the Coin Box item from Mario Kart Tour. Example
~ Returning Items
Banana Peel - When a kart hits a Banana Peel, it spins out. You can carry one behind your kart to protect yourself from a single attack. Can be thrown backward and forward.
Green Shell - Travels in a straight line and knocks over a kart it hits.
Red Shell - Red Shell Homes in on the closest kart in front of the player and knocks it over.
Feather - Causes the player to spin and leap in the air, providing a small speed boost upon landing, akin to a regular trick (characters will also perform a trick animation during the jump).
Mushroom - Provides the player's kart with a small speed boost.
Super Star - Provides the player invincibility from all terrain and items, and also giving a speed boost.
Boo - Unleashes Boo, who turns the player invisible for a brief time, making them impervious to enemy attacks, and steals an opponent's item. Cannot steal Special Items.
Coinˣ - Grants the player two extra coins and a micro boost.
Lightningˣ - Causes all opponents to drop their items, shrink, and drive slowly for a short time.
Fake Item - Looks just like an item box, but when you run into it, it knocks you over.
Bob-omb - Explodes after a short time when thrown or dropped, knocking over any kart in its blast radius.
Blooper - Sprays ink on all racers ahead and reduces their visibility. The racers hit also lose some of their traction while sprayed.
Bullet Billˣ - Transforms the player into a Bullet Bill, rocketing through the track with auto-pilot, and providing invincibility from all terrain and items.
Spiny Shellˣ - Targets the racer in first place, knocking over all other karts in its path.
Super Horn - Emits a radial shockwave hitting racers, as well as destroying all obstacles, including the Spiny Shell.
~ Special Items
Fireball (Red) - Three fireballs will revolve around your kart. They split up after they're thrown and go sliding ahead. These powerful pyrotechnics can take out multiple opponents at once. Drivers: Mario, Fire Mario
Fireball (Green) - Three fireballs will revolve around your kart. They split up after they're thrown and go sliding ahead. These powerful pyrotechnics can take out multiple opponents at once. Drivers: Luigi, Fire Luigi
Fire Flower - Allows the player to throw fireballs for a short time that cause other karts to spin out on impact. Drivers: Metal Mario, Fire Peach, Fire Bro
Ice Flower - Three balls of ice will revolve around your kart. Throw them all at once and they'll freeze any kart they hit, causing them to slide. Drivers: Ice Bro, Ice Mario, Penguin Luigi
Heart - This protective Heart revolves around your kart for a set amount of time, shielding you from attacks. Any item that hits the player becomes theirs to use. A cute and handy item. Drivers: Peach, Daisy, Villager, Wendy, Mametchi
Yoshi's Egg - This egg rolls down the road and home in on opponents. When they hit and break, they'll drop three more items. Drivers: Yoshi
Birdo's Egg - Homes in on the kart in front of you and crashes once it hits. Three more items will fly out when it breaks. Drivers: Birdo
Chain Chomp - This fearsome beast chases karts with reckless abandon, pulling the player behind it at breakneck speeds. Drivers: Baby Mario, Baby Luigi
Triple Mushrooms - Orbits the player's kart, providing them with three separate speed boosts. Drivers: Toad, Toadette
Golden Mushroom - Provides the player's kart with continuous speed boosts for a short time. Drivers: Captain Toad
Mega Mushroom - The driver grows bigger, which allows them to squash other racers by running over them, making them lose their items and slow down for a moment. Drivers: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Wiggler
Poison Mushroom - A stationary item. Looks like a regular mushroom but If one is run into, the victim shrinks, as if hit by a Lightning. Shrunken racers who run into it revert to normal size. Drivers: Kamek * ngl, i didn't really know who to give this item to
Mushroom Cannon - A cannon designed to resemble a Mushroom. Continually shoots out Mushrooms in front of your kart for a set time. Drivers: Monty Mole, Peachette, Toadsworth
Triple Green Shells - Three green shells that orbit the player's kart, protecting them from incoming attacks. Drivers: Koopa Troopa, Dry Bones, Lakitu, Koopa (Freerunning)
Triple Red Shells - Three red shells that orbit the player's kart, protecting them from incoming attacks. Drivers: Paratroopa, Dry Bones, Lakitu, Koopa (Freerunning)
Bowser's Shell - An awe-inspiring giant shell! As it careens down the road, slamming and ramming into karts, it's the very image of Bowser himself. Drivers: Bowser, Bowser Jr., Dry Bowser
Triple Bananas - Three bananas that orbit the player's kart, protecting them from incoming attacks. Drivers: Donkey Kong Jr., Dixie Kong
Giant Banana - Not only does this big banana spin out karts that hit it, but after being struck it breaks into three regular-sized Bananas. Drivers: Donkey Kong
Banana Barrels - Arm your kart with two fully-loaded barrels of Bananas! Continually shoots out Bananas in front of or behind your kart for a set time. Drivers: Diddy Kong, Funky Kong
Thunder Cloud - A thundercloud hovers over the recipient and strikes it with lightning after 10 seconds. The user shrinks to a very small size for 10 seconds, driving more slowly. Before this happens, the user has higher speed and acceleration while not losing speed when driving off-road, and may pass the cloud to an opponent by bumping into them. Drivers: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde * If there was absolutely no choice but to have the next Meta character, it'd be the Ghosts. Having one of the worst possible specials in the game should balance them out.
POW Block - The POW Block appears above the karts as a 2D image, warning players of its arrival, and causes any racer on the ground ahead of the user to spin out and drop their items. * Since wheelies are no longer a thing, it always spins out other racers unless they're in anti-gravity mode or during an in air trick Drivers: Mii, Don-chan
Super Leaf- Gives the player's kart a tail that can be used to deflect items, knock over opponents and collect coins. The tail will disappear after a moment or if the player is hurt. Drivers: Tanooki Mario
Lucky Seven - Surrounds the player with seven items that rotates around its kart. The player receives a Mushroom, Banana, Green Shell, Red Shell, Blooper, Bob-omb, and a Star. Drivers: King Boo, Pauline, Poochy, Nabbit, Chargin' Chuck, Pianta, Noki
Boomerang Flower - Can be thrown up to three times, hitting racers forward/backward and when it returns to its user after the first and second use. Driver: Boomerang Bro, Larry
Piranha Plant - Automatically chomps on obstacles and other racers, giving a short speed boost for each bite. Drivers: Petey Piranha
Double Bob-ombs - Two Bob-ombs will revolve around your kart. Throw them both at once. Drivers: Wario, Waluigi, Roy
Bob-omb Cannon - Continually shoots out Bob-ombs in front of your kart for a set time. Drivers: Shy Guy
Giga Bob-omb - After being thrown, it will explode after hitting a kart or bouncing 3 times. It has a larger blast radius than a standard Bob-omb. Drivers: King Bob-omb
Bubble - Briefly envelops your kart and protects you from damage for a set time. While in the bubble, you will get a speed boost and float in the air. Drivers: Baby Peach, Baby Daisy, Baby Rosalina, Lemmy
Dash Ring - Tosses out three rings in front of you along the track. Pass through them for a speed boost! Drivers: Rosalina, Luma, Ludwig, Honey Queen
Hammer - Throws multiple Hammers in an arc aimed at karts in front of yours. Drivers: Hammer Bro
Super Bell - A bell rings above the driver, knocking away nearby karts and items. The bell rings three consecutive times. Drivers: Cat Peach, Cat Toad
Capsule - Three colorful capsules surround your kart. They'll bounce at opponents when thrown. Drivers: Dr. Mario
Splat Bomb ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ - * Explodes after a short time when thrown or dropped, knocking and spraying ink on any kart in its blast radius and reduces their visibility. The racers hit also lose some of their traction while sprayed. Drivers: Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy
Magical Boomerang ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾ - * Works like a Boomerang Flower that tracks closes kart infront of player like a Red Shell Drivers: Link
Magnet ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - * a powerful magnet that pulls opponents towards the player Source Drivers: Krunch
Nayru's Love ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - * will surround the racer's kart with a protective shield. Any items that hit this shield will be reflected back at the racer who used them. If a driver using Nayru's Love is attacked with an item such as a Lightning, the racer who used the Lightning item will take damage. Drivers: Zelda
Copy Ability ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - * steals Special item from any racer. If no racer has a special item on them, it'll randomly generate a random racer's Special Item. Drivers: Kirby
Dedede's Hammer ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - * driver using Dedede's Hammer, will swing it around for about 5 seconds. Any karts hit will be squashed, causing them to lose their item and speed momentarily. Drivers: King Dedede
Invincibility Shield ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - * become invulnerable to all damage for a short time. Drivers: Sonic, Tails
Bombs ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - * Think Double Bob-ombs, the original Triple Bananas and the Feather item. If used as a protective item, upon the explosion, the player will leap in the air, providing a small speed boost upon landing. Drivers: Samus
Geno Flash ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ - * works like a Lightning but doesn't strink opponents. Drivers: Geno

• - R.O.B. and Professor E. Gadd have the ability to obtain any special item, excluding Fireball (Green), Birdo's Egg, Lucky Seven, Nayru's Love ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾, Copy Ability ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾, and Geno Flash ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾

~ 5. Courses ~
~ Cups
161 Total Courses
Nitro Grand Prix Mushroom Cup》 Flower Cup》 Star Cup》 Special Cup 🔒
Retro Grand Prix 🔒 Mushroom 🍄 Courses : Shell Cup》Golden Dash Cup》Red Coin Cup》Blue Coin Cup》Banana Cup》Lucky Cat Cup》1-Up Cup》Gold Cup》
Flower 🌷 Courses: Leaf Cup》Turnip Cup》Freezie Cup》Metal Cup》 Lightning Cup》Rock Cup》POW Cup》Heart Cup》
Star ⭐️ Courses: Sun Cup》Moon Cup》Red Shell Cup》Thunder Cloud Cup》Wing Cup》Boomerang Cup》Coin Block Cup》Warp Cup》
Special 👑 Courses: Vanish Cup》Cherry Cup》Mega Cup》Tanooki Cup》? Block Cup》Spiny Cup》Shine Cup》Grand Cup》
World Grand Prix🔒 Lightning⚡️Courses: Egg Cup》Triforce Cup》Crossing Cup》Bell Cup》Propeller Cup》Fruit Cup》Feather Cup》Acorn Cup》Super Cup》World Cup》
Extra Grand Prix 🔒* Excellent idea to introduce courses from the Mario Kart GP series as well as new courses for DLC content
~ New Courses
Nitro Grand Prix: Mushroom Cup 🍄 1. New Mario Circuit 2. TBD 3. TBD 4. TBD
Nitro Grand Prix: Flower Cup 🌷 1. beach- or water-themed course 2. TBD 3. TBD 4. TBD
Nitro Grand Prix: Star Cup ⭐️ 1. ice- or snow-themed course 2. TBD 3. TBD 4. TBD
Nitro Grand Prix: Special Cup 👑 1. TBD 2. TBD 3. New Bowser's Castle 4. New Rainbow Road
~ Retro Courses
Mushroom 🍄 Courses Retro Grand Prix: Shell Cup 1. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Mario Kart Stadium 2. ᵈˢ Yoshi Falls 3. ᵍᶜⁿ Baby Park 4. ˢⁿᵉˢ Bowser Castle 1
Retro Grand Prix: Golden Dash Cup 1. ʷⁱⁱ Luigi Circuit 2. ᵍᵇᵃ Shy Guy Beach 3. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Sweet Sweet Canyon 4. ᵍᶜⁿ Dry Dry Desert
Retro Grand Prix: Red Coin Cup 1. ³ᵈˢ Toad Circuit 2. ⁿ⁶⁴ Moo Moo Farm 3. ᵍᵇᵃ Riverside Park 4. ʷⁱⁱ Toad's Factory
Retro Grand Prix: Blue Coin Cup 1. ⁿ⁶⁴ Luigi Raceway 2. ˢⁿᵉˢ Donut Plains 1 3. ᵈˢ Cheep Cheep Beach 4. ³ᵈˢ Shy Guy Bazaar
Retro Grand Prix: Banana Cup 1. ᵈˢ Figure-8 Circuit 2. ʷⁱⁱ Moo Moo Meadows 3. ³ᵈˢ Cheep Cheep Lagoon 4. ⁿ⁶⁴ Kalimari Desert
Retro Grand Prix: Lucky Cat Cup 1. ˢⁿᵉˢ Mario Circuit 1 2. ᵍᶜⁿ Peach Beach 3. ⁿ⁶⁴ Koopa Troopa Beach 4. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Thwomp Ruins
Retro Grand Prix: 1-Up Cup 1. ᵍᶜⁿ Luigi Circuit 2. ³ᵈˢ Daisy Hills 3. ˢⁿᵉˢ Ghost Valley 1 4. ᵍᵇᵃ Bowser Castle 1
Retro Grand Prix: Gold Cup 1. ᵍᵇᵃ Peach Circuit 2. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Water Park 3. ʷⁱⁱ Mushroom Gorge 4. ᵈˢ Luigi's Mansion
Flower 🌷 Courses Retro Grand Prix: Leaf Cup 1. ᵍᶜⁿ Mushroom Bridge 2. ᵍᵇᵃ Boo Lake 3. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Twisted Mansion 4. ³ᵈˢ Rock Rock Mountain
Retro Grand Prix: Turnip Cup 1. ᵍᵇᵃ Mario Circuit 2. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Toad Harbor 3. ⁿ⁶⁴ Choco Mountain 4. ˢⁿᵉˢ Bowser Castle 2
Retro Grand Prix: Freezie Cup 1. ᵈˢ Desert Hills 2. ᵍᶜⁿ Mario Circuit 3. ʷⁱⁱ DK Summit 4. ᵍᵇᵃ Bowser Castle 2
Retro Grand Prix: Metal Cup 1. ʷⁱⁱ Mario Circuit 2. ⁿ⁶⁴ Frappe Snowland 3. ᵍᶜⁿ Daisy Cruiser 4. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Shy Guy Falls
Retro Grand Prix: Lightning Cup 1. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Mario Circuit 2. ˢⁿᵉˢ Ghost Valley 2 3. ᵈˢ Waluigi Pinball 4. ʷⁱⁱ Wario's Gold Mine
Retro Grand Prix: Rock Cup 1. ˢⁿᵉˢ Choco Island 1 2. ᵈˢ Delfino Square 3. ³ᵈˢ Music Park 4. ⁿ⁶⁴ Mario Raceway
Retro Grand Prix: POW Cup 1. ³ᵈˢ Wuhu Loop 2. ʷⁱⁱ Coconut Mall 3. ᵍᵇᵃ Cheese Land 4. ᵈˢ Shroom Ridge
Retro Grand Prix: Heart Cup 1. ⁿ⁶⁴ Toad's Turnpike 2. ³ᵈˢ Mario Circuit 3. ˢⁿᵉˢ Donut Plains 2 4. ᵍᶜⁿ Waluigi Stadium
Star ⭐️ Courses Retro Grand Prix: Sun Cup 1. ᵍᵇᵃ Snow Land 2. ˢⁿᵉˢ Choco Island 2 3. ᵍᶜⁿ Yoshi Circuit 4. ⁿ⁶⁴ Bowser's Castle
Retro Grand Prix: Moon Cup 1. ⁿ⁶⁴ Wario Stadium 2. ʷⁱⁱ Koopa Cape 3. ᵍᵇᵃ Yoshi Desert 4. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Mount Wario
Retro Grand Prix: Red Shell Cup 1. ʷⁱⁱ Daisy Circuit 2. ᵍᵇᵃ Ribbon Road 3. ᵈˢ Mario Circuit 4. ᵍᶜⁿ DK Mountain
Retro Grand Prix: Thunder Cloud Cup 1. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Sunshine Airport 2. ⁿ⁶⁴ Sherbet Land 3. ˢⁿᵉˢ Vanilla Lake 1 4. ³ᵈˢ Maka Wuhu
Retro Grand Prix: Wing Cup 1. ᵈˢ DK Pass 2. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Dolphin Shoals 3. ³ᵈˢ Neo Bowser City 4. ʷⁱⁱ Grumble Volcano
Retro Grand Prix: Boomerang Cup 1. ᵍᶜⁿ Sherbet Land 2. ³ᵈˢ Wario Shipyard 3. ⁿ⁶⁴ Royal Raceway 4. ˢⁿᵉˢ Bowser Castle 3
Retro Grand Prix: Coin Block Cup 1. ˢⁿᵉˢ Koopa Beach 1 2. ᵈˢ Tick-Tock Clock 3. ʷⁱⁱ Maple Treeway 4. ᵍᵇᵃ Bowser Castle 3
Retro Grand Prix: Warp Cup 1. ³ᵈˢ Piranha Plant Slide 2. ᵍᶜⁿ Mushroom City 3. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Electrodrome 4. ᵈˢ Airship Fortress
Special 👑 Courses Retro Grand Prix: Vanish Cup 1. ˢⁿᵉˢ Donut Plains 3 2. ʷⁱⁱ Moonview Highway 3. ᵍᵇᵃ Bowser Castle 4 4. ᵍᶜⁿ Rainbow Road
Retro Grand Prix: Cherry Cup 1. ³ᵈˢ DK Jungle 2. ᵍᵇᵃ Broken Pier 3. ˢⁿᵉˢ Ghost Valley 3 4. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Rainbow Road
Retro Grand Prix: Mega Cup 1. ʷⁱⁱ Dry Dry Ruins 2. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Bone-Dry Dunes 3. ⁿ⁶⁴ Banshee Boardwalk 4. ˢⁿᵉˢ Vanilla Lake 2
Retro Grand Prix: Tanooki Cup 1. ᵍᶜⁿ Wario Colosseum 2. ³ᵈˢ Rosalina's Ice World 3. ʷⁱⁱ Bowser's Castle 4. ⁿ⁶⁴ Rainbow Road
Retro Grand Prix: ? Block Cup 1. ᵈˢ Wario Stadium 2. ˢⁿᵉˢ Koopa Beach 2 3. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Bowser's Castle 4. ᵍᵇᵃ Rainbow Road
Retro Grand Prix: Spiny Cup 1. ᵍᵇᵃ Lakeside Park 2. ᵍᶜⁿ Dino Dino Jungle 3. ᵈˢ Bowser Castle 4. ʷⁱⁱ Rainbow Road
Retro Grand Prix: Shine Cup 1. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Cloudtop Cruise 2. ⁿ⁶⁴ Yoshi Valley 3. ³ᵈˢ Bowser's Castle 4. ᵈˢ Rainbow Road
Retro Grand Prix: Grand Cup 1. ⁿ⁶⁴ D.K.'s Jungle Parkway 2. ᵈˢ Peach Gardens 3. ᵍᶜⁿ Bowser's Castle 4. ³ᵈˢ Rainbow Road
Lightning⚡️Courses 🔒 World Grand Prix: Egg Cup 1. ˢⁿᵉˢ Rainbow Road 2. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Berlin Byways 3. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Wild Woods 4. ˢʷᶦᵗᶜʰ Yoshi's Island
World Grand Prix: Triforce Cup 1. ˢⁿᵉˢ Mario Circuit 4 2. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Los Angeles Laps 3. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Piranha Plant Cove 4. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Hyrule Circuit
World Grand Prix: Crossing Cup 1. ᵍᵇᵃ Luigi Circuit 2. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Sydney Sprint 3. TBA 4. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Animal Crossing
World Grand Prix: Bell Cup 1. ᵍᵇᵃ Sky Garden 2. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Singapore Speedway 3. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Super Bell Subway 4. TBA
World Grand Prix: Propeller Cup 1. ˢⁿᵉˢ Mario Circuit 3 2. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Vancouver Velocity 3. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Ice Ice Outpost 4. ˢʷᶦᵗᶜʰ Sky-High Sundae
World Grand Prix: Fruit Cup 1. ᵍᵇᵃ Sunset Wilds 2. ᵗᵒᵘʳ New York Minute 3. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Bangkok Rush 4. TBA
World Grand Prix: Feather Cup 1. ˢⁿᵉˢ Mario Circuit 2 2. ᵗᵒᵘʳ London Loop 3. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Ninja Hideaway 4. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Mute City
World Grand Prix: Acorn Cup 1. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Paris Promenade 2. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Merry Mountain 3. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Dragon Driftway 4. TBA
World Grand Prix: Super Cup 1. ᵍᵇᵃ Cheep-Cheep Island 2. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Amsterdam Drift 3. TBA 4. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Big Blue
World Grand Prix: World Cup 1. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Tokyo Blur 2. ʷⁱⁱ ᵘ Excitebike Arena 3. ᵗᵒᵘʳ Athens Dash 4. TBA
~ Extra/DLC Courses
Extra Grand Prix: Mario Cup 1. ᵃᵍᵖ Mario Highway 2. ᵃᵍᵖ Mario Beach
Extra Grand Prix: Extra Mario Cup 🔒 1. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Splash Circuit 2. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Tropical Coast
Extra Grand Prix: DK Cup 1. ᵃᵍᵖ DK Jungle 2. ᵃᵍᵖ Bananan Ruins
Extra Grand Prix: Extra DK Cup 🔒 1. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Bananan Labyrinth 2. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ DK Jungle
Extra Grand Prix: Wario Cup 1. ᵃᵍᵖ Diamond City 2. ᵃᵍᵖ Snow Panic
Extra Grand Prix: Waluigi Cup 1. ᵃᵍᵖ² Stadium Arena 2. ᵃᵍᵖ² Waluigi Stadium
Extra Grand Prix: Pac-Man Cup 1. ᵃᵍᵖ Pac Mountain 2. ᵃᵍᵖ Pac Labyrinth
Extra Grand Prix: Extra Pac-Man Cup 🔒 1. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ PAC-MAN Stadium 2. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ NAMCO Circuit
Extra Grand Prix: Bowser Cup 1. ᵃᵍᵖ Bowser's Castle 2. ᵃᵍᵖ Castle Wall
Extra Grand Prix: Extra Bowser Cup 🔒 1. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Bowser's Factory 2. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Bowser's Castle
Extra Grand Prix: Rainbow Cup 🔒 1. ᵃᵍᵖ Rainbow Coaster 2. ᵃᵍᵖ Rainbow Downhill
Extra Grand Prix: Yoshi Cup 1. ᵃᵍᵖ² Yoshi Park 1 2. ᵃᵍᵖ² Yoshi Park 2
Extra Grand Prix: Toad Cup 1. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Peach Castle 2. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Kingdom Way
Extra Grand Prix: Don-chan Cup 🔒 1. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Bon Dance Street 2. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Omatsuri Circuit
Extra Grand Prix: Bowser Jr. Cup 1. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Aerial Road 2. ᵃᵍᵖᵈˣ Sky Arena
Extra Grand Prix: Inklings Cup 1. Splatoon themed course * Splat Circuit 2. Splatoon themed course
Extra Grand Prix: Sonic ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ 🔒 1. Sonic themed course * Twinkle Circuit Source at 1:00 2. Sonic themed course * Green Hill Zone related course
Extra Grand Prix: King K. Rool ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ 🔒 1. King K. Rool/Donkey Kong Country related themed course 2. Diddy Kong Racing related themed course * Jungle Falls or Darkmoon Caverns Source 1 Source 2
Extra Grand Prix: Zelda ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ 🔒 1. Zelda themed course * Lost Woods 2. Zelda themed course
Extra Grand Prix: Kirby ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ 🔒 1. Kirby themed course * Fantasy Meadows (from Kirby Air Ride) Source 2. Kirby themed course * Meta Knight's Halberd or The Great Cave Offensive
Extra Grand Prix: Samus ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ 🔒 1. Metroid themed course 2. Metroid themed course
~ 6. Battle ~
In all games, the engine class of Battle Mode is fixed to 50cc. An exception is the Renegade Roundup mode where it is increased to 100cc.
~ Battle Modes
Balloon Battle》Team Balloon Battle》 Classic Balloon Battle》Team Classic Balloon Battle - Mini Bomb Karts return. Shine Thief》Team Shine Thief》 Bob-omb Blast》Team Bob-omb Blast Shine Runners Coin Runners (Coin Battle)》Team Coin Runners》 Renegade Roundup
Thunder Cloud Tag ⁽ⁿᵉʷ⁾* - Similar to Shine Thief but reverse. Think of it as Tag. A random player has a Thunder Cloud and must tag others to lose it from above their head. If the player holds the Thunder Cloud when the timer reaches zero, this process repeats until one player remains.
~ Courses
ˢⁿᵉˢ Battle Course 1 ˢⁿᵉˢ Battle Course 2 ˢⁿᵉˢ Battle Course 3 ˢⁿᵉˢ Battle Course 4 ⁿ⁶⁴ Big Donut ⁿ⁶⁴ Block Fort ⁿ⁶⁴ Double Deck ⁿ⁶⁴ Skyscraper ᵍᵇᵃ Battle Course 1 ᵍᵇᵃ Battle Course 2 ᵍᵇᵃ Battle Course 3 ᵍᵇᵃ Battle Course 4 ᵍᶜⁿ Cookie Land ᵍᶜⁿ Block City ᵍᶜⁿ Luigi's Mansion ᵍᶜⁿ Nintendo GameCube ᵍᶜⁿ Pipe Plaza ᵍᶜⁿ Tilt-a-Kart ᵈˢ Nintendo DS ᵈˢ Twilight House ᵈˢ Palm Shore ᵈˢ Tart Top ᵈˢ Block Fort ᵈˢ Pipe Plaza ʷⁱⁱ Block Plaza ʷⁱⁱ Delfino Pier ʷⁱⁱ Funky Stadium ʷⁱⁱ Chain Chomp Wheel ʷⁱⁱ Thwomp Desert ³ᵈˢ Honeybee Hive (Honeybee House) ³ᵈˢ Sherbet Rink ³ᵈˢ Wuhu Town ˢʷᶦᵗᶜʰ Battle Stadium ˢʷᶦᵗᶜʰ Sweet Sweet Kingdom ˢʷᶦᵗᶜʰ Dragon Palace ˢʷᶦᵗᶜʰ Lunar Colony ˢʷᶦᵗᶜʰ Urchin Underpass ᵗᵒᵘʳ New York Minute B ᵗᵒᵘʳ Paris Promenade B Icicle Pyramid or Smokey Castle ⁽ᵈˡᶜ⁾ Source 1 Source 2

I'm a comp artists and I get a lot of screen comp shots, often from shows that don't have a VFX Supervisor, so I get a lot of variation in how they prepare them. Sometimes they try to do right by the comp artists, but often it can be more of a hindrance.
So here's some tips for what we, as comp artists, want in a screen comp:
For most standard screen comps, make sure the screen is off - black - reflections and all. Don't make it green, don't make it any colour, keep it off OR have it on with a completely black screen. EDIT: This is for most well lit scenes, If the scene is shot in a dark environment and there'll be a lot of light emitting from the screen, then you'll want to make the screen the appropriate colour as I'll mention later.
Avoid unwanted reflections like set lights, gear etc, but keep any natural reflections like set and/or talent. This way we can blend whatever it is we're comping with the screen, keeping the reflections that make it look integrated. If the shot is locked off, don't even worry about tracking markers.
If the shot is moving, place a small tracking marker in each corner and in the centre of the screen ON the screen. DO NOT PUT TRACKING MARKERS ON THE BEZELS! A tracking marker should be a small "+" or a small dot is fine, as long as it's sharp, and still highly visible with motion blur. Just grab a 50¢ sheet of small dot stickers, or use a small piece of camera tape.
Now if there will be talent obstructing the screen, like a lot, EDIT OR if there'll be a lot of interactive light coming from the screen, that's when you want the screen to be a keyable colour. Choose a colour that will likely represent what will be on the screen. For example, if you know you'll be putting a standard white article site on the screen, make it white. Green screen is not as magical as it's often portrayed to be, there is always rotoscoping involved anyway, so make sure the screen is a colour that matches what will be comped onto it, it makes our job much easier. And yes, you want our job to be easier, because it means more time spent making it look the best it can be. If there will be anything obstructing the screen make sure the tracking markers are visible the whole time, or at least for most of the time.
If someone is going to be typing a message on a phone, and it absolutely has to be comped in later. Please open their notes app and make them actually type what they should be typing. Have the screen brightness super low if the colours won't match the comp, otherwise if the screen is going to be relatively similar to the comped plate, just leave it as is, but still apply tracking markers either way. If we can keep the real keyboard and just comp what's above it, that's the best case scenario as there'd be minimal rotoscoping of thumbs etc. In this case, treat the screen above the keyboard as the screen and place the bottom corner markers above the keyboard.
Now this next piece of advice is what's going to get you the most accurate screen comp result most of the time: get a VFX supervisor if you can. As you can tell from my post, different scenarios will require different setups, even for little things like screen comps, and they will know what to do and when. If you can't get one, hopefully this post will be helpful and save some stress from some future comp artists.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments or pose alternate solutions or flaws in my advice.

I feel like every product I use has something that’s not good for the baby! I have sensitive, aging skin, but will break out over literally anything. I like basic products- Neutrogina gentle cleanser, Cerve or Neutrogina AM moisturizer and PM moisturizer. Nivea firming body lotion. But even these gentle basic products have some bad chemicals in them. I feel like I research all the time but still can’t find any that work for my skin. Please help ladies!! I’m going crazy and my poor face is looking terrible! Any recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated

Hi guys, I am looking for routine tips for oily skin with rosacea. Right now I use CeraVe Cleanser deep pore cleansing in the morning and then Cetaphil Pro SpotControl Mattifying Moisturizer SPF 30 for oily skin. In the evening I use the same cleanser and then Soolantra in the nose area and CeraVe moisturizer on the rest of the face. Before I used the CeraVe Cleanser, I used the Paula's Choice Calm Cleanser. With this, my rosacea in the nose area was well under control, however, I had pretty oily skin and blemishes on my forehead. Now, with the CeraVe Cleanser, the rosacea is more severe again, but I have less oily and blemished skin. Are there any suggestions for improving the routine, or does anyone have the same complaints? Thank you all for your advice.

I'm a VFX artists and I get a lot of screen comp shots, often from shows that don't have a VFX Supervisor, so I get a lot of variation in how they prepare them. Sometimes they try to do right by the comp artists, but often it can be more of a hindrance.
So here's some tips for what we, as comp artists, want in a screen comp:
For most standard screen comps, make sure the screen is off - black - reflections and all. Don't make it green, don't make it any colour, keep it off OR have it on with a completely black screen. This is for most well lit scenes, If the scene is shot in a dark environment and there'll be a lot of light emitting from the screen, then you'll want to make the screen the appropriate colour as I'll mention later.
Avoid unwanted reflections like set lights, gear etc, but keep any natural reflections like set and/or talent. This way we can blend whatever it is we're comping with the screen, keeping the reflections that make it look integrated. If the shot is locked off, don't even worry about tracking markers.
If the shot is moving, place a small tracking marker in each corner and in the centre of the screen ON the screen. DO NOT PUT TRACKING MARKERS ON THE BEZELS! A tracking marker should be a small "+" or a small dot is fine, as long as it's sharp, and still highly visible with motion blur. Just grab a 50¢ sheet of small dot stickers, or use a small piece of camera tape.
Now if, there will be talent obstructing the screen, like a lot, OR the scene is dark and there'll be a lot of interactive light coming from the screen, that's when you want the screen to be a keyable colour. Choose a colour that will likely represent what will be on the screen. For example, if you know you'll be putting a standard white article site on the screen, make it white. Green screen is not as magical as it's often portrayed to be, there is always rotoscoping involved anyway, so make sure the screen is a colour that matches what will be comped onto it, it makes our job much easier. And yes, you want our job to be easier, because it means more time spent making it look the best it can be. If there will be anything obstructing the screen make sure the tracking markers are visible the whole time, or at least for most of the time.
If someone is going to be typing a message on a phone, and it absolutely has to be comped in later. Please open their notes app and make them actually type what they should be typing. Have the screen brightness super low if the colours won't match the comp, otherwise if the screen is going to be relatively similar to the comped plate, just leave it as is, but still apply tracking markers either way. If we can keep the real keyboard and just comp what's above it, that's the best case scenario as there'd be minimal rotoscoping of thumbs etc. In this case, treat the screen above the keyboard as the screen and place the bottom corner markers above the keyboard.
Now this next piece of advice is what's going to get you the most accurate screen comp result most of the time: get a VFX supervisor if you can. As you can tell from my post, different scenarios will require different setups, even for little things like screen comps, and they will know what to do and when. If you can't get one, hopefully this post will be helpful and save some stress from some future comp artists.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments or pose alternate solutions or flaws in my advice.

SS:
1 Thessalonians 5:6: "So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober."
“Sleeping is giving in, No matter what the time is. Sleeping is giving in, So lift those heavy eyelids. People say that you'll die Faster than without water. But we know it's just a lie, Scare your sons and scare your daughter.” –Arcade Fire
1 Peter 5:8: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
Revelation 3:2: "Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God."
“I wish I could take the pain away If you can make it through the night, there's a brighter day Everything will be alright if you hold on It's a struggle every day, gotta roll on” –Tupac
Isaiah 52:1: "Awake, awake, put on your strength."
"I can't sleep, the clowns will eat me." –The Simpsons
"I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death." –Nas
"The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep! You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep! People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep!" –Rumi
Proverbs 6:9-11: “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”
"Ooh, I'm thinking we should stay in tonight Get lost in the Pacific, paradise Is it only two of us? Yeah, I think I like that I'm staying up all night, oh yeah, yeah" –Charlie Puth
“Up all night, yeah, all night long; We can make the world right, yeah, we can make it strong” –Sia
“Well, I argued all night like so many have before Saying, "Whatever you give me, I seem to need so much more" Then she pointed at me where I kneeled on her floor She said, "Don't try to use me or slyly refuse me Just win me or lose me, it is this that the darkness is for" I cried, "Oh, Lady Midnight, I fear that you grow old The stars eat your body and the wind makes you cold" "If we cry now," she said, "it will just be ignored" So I walked through the morning, sweet early morning I could hear my lady calling, "You've won me, you've won me, my Lord" –Leonard Cohen
"This is why Why we fight, why we lie awake And this is why This is why we fight" –The Decemberists
“I'm young and I'm falling in love With the night I'm not tired, let's just ride” –Charli Adams
“Oh, I'm near to sleeping, I'm keeping awake It's tomorrow, yes it is” –Innocence Mission
“I know it's comfortable to go back to sleep Take a look at what you've been lying in Before you wake up in search of your paycheck death The demons of regret are making your deathbed” –Rocky Votolato
1 Thessalonians 5:6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.
“Yes, the sidewalk soon will launch you Into Brooklyn, through the air And they will give a cheer, I am sure When you are coming near To the ground Oh, early in the morning When you fly away” –Innocence Mission
“No sleep No Sleep till Brooklyn” –Beastie Boys
"No sleep, no sleep until I'm done with finding the answer." –Linkin Park
Matthew 26:41: "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Mark 13:33: "Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come."
“Those in the know say how it goes You plan on reapin' you better sow You plan on sleepin' you better keep movin' Sleepin' ain't allowed around here you know” –Townes Van Zandt
Ephesians 5:14: "For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'"
"Sleep, those little slices of death — how I loathe them." –Edgar Allan Poe
“Smokin' weed like it ain't no thing, so even kids Wanna try now, then lie down and get ran through Nobody watches 'em, clockin' the evil man do Faced with the demons, addicted to hearin' victims screamin'” –Tupac
"Awake! Awake O sleeper of the land of shadows, wake! Expand! I am in you and you in me, mutual in love divine." –William Blake
"Sleep is the most moronic fraternity in the world, with the heaviest dues and the crudest rituals." –Vladimir Nabokov
“I haven't eaten a bite Or slept for three days and nights That's how I got to Memphis” –Tom T. Jones
"Insomnia is my greatest inspiration." –Jon Stewart
"I'm up all night to get lucky." –Daft Punk
“Whatever gets you through the night It's all right, it's all right” –John Lennon
Surah Al-Imran (3:113): "They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Scripture is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer]."
Surah Al-Zumar (39:9): "Devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord."
"Don't close your eyes, you might miss the show." –Aerosmith
“In the night forlorn the morning's born And the morning shines with the lights of love And you will miss sunrise if you close your eyes And that would break my heart in two” –Townes Van Zandt
“don't close your eyes; don't close your eyes, this is your life” –Switchfoot
“(I'm wide awake) Yeah, I was in the dark I was falling hard With an open heart (I'm wide awake) How did I read the stars so wrong? (I'm wide awake) And now it's clear to me That everything you see Ain't always what it seems (I'm wide awake) Yeah, I was dreaming for so long” –Katy Perry
"I'll sleep when I'm dead." –Warren Zevon –Bon Jovi
"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." –Robert Frost
“Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake with me Just keep on holding on” –Dean Lewis
"I can't sleep, I'm in too deep." –Alan Walker
"Stay awake, don't rest your head. Don't lie down upon your bed. While the moon drifts in the skies, stay awake, don't close your eyes." –Mary Poppins
“I don't wanna sleep, I just wanna Keep On Loving You” –REO Speedwagon
“Sleeping is giving in, No matter what the time is. Sleeping is giving in, So lift those heavy eyelids. People say that you'll die Faster than without water. But we know it's just a lie, Scare your sons and scare your daughter.” –Arcade Fire

I always had dry skin on my cheeks and pretty oily skin on my forehead. Since I recently started using adapalen my cheeks are never satisfied, feel tight and look dull. The problem is that heavier moisturizers still break me out. My current workaround is using very light moisturizers and layering 2-4 layers until my skin feels plump. Still after 3 hours I have to repeat because it never seems to be enough. Because of that I power through a whole bottle of moustruizer in 3 weeks. I already deduced that my skin really loves glycerin, but I never seem to manage to lock in the moisture it provides. I also tried slugging at night, but didn't notice much of a difference as most of the petroleum jelly ended on my pillows. Do you have any tips how I can lock in more moisture without clogging my pores or ingredients to look out for? Thank you in advance!
Moisturizers that worked: Cosrx oil free ultra moisturizing lotion (although I didn't like it) Neutrogena hydro boost Everything with large amounts of glycerin (especially sheet masks) Rovectin Lotus Water Cream (current)
Moisturizers that break me out: Cerave in the tub Cerave Lotion Make p:rem safe me Effaclar duo +
My current routine: Am Wash with water Axis-y dark spot correcting glow serum Hada Labo Gokyujin Premium Lotion 2-3 layers Rovectin Clean Lotus Water Cream Nivea super water gel (SPF 50)
Pm Wash with cosrx low pH good morning cleanser Adapalen 0,1% Hada Labo 2-3 layers Rovectin (Cosrx Propolis honey overnight mask)

So I'm not 100% new. I've plastidipped wheels and grille on one of my older vehicles. I just got a 2023 cx30 and first order of business was shadow black hyperdip all chrome/alloy on the vehicle. hyperdip itself is new to me though
I've already done front grille, roof racks, wheels, side window chrome. All areas look good despite some minor imperfections that I don't think 99% of people would ever notice.
But what I expected to be the easiest part, has proven to the the hardest. The rear Mazda and CX-30 logos. I'm on attempt #3, currently on 3 of 6 wet coats waiting for it to dry.
Every single time so far both emblems, when peeling at the end, have peeled back over the chrome. both previous attempts it happened at the same spot on the emblems and based on what I'm seeing as of wet coat 3, I feel like it's going to happen again. I just can't figure out where things are going wrong on these specific areas. I'm taking extra care to clean the surface and to make sure it's dry. 2 light tack coats then 6 wet out coats changing the direction I come in from each time. It just will not cut cleanly around these 2 areas. It's driving me fucking nuts. the AWD emblem was such a pain in the ass the first 2 times I straight up removed it for this third attempt. If I decide I want the AWD back I'll just buy an already black one. In fact, if this 3rd attempt fails I'm likely to just give up and buy black ones to replace the chrome.
For the record, I'm doing this in ~68 degree weather with 42% humidity and placed the can in bowl of warm water between coats. I've watched this video like 5 times to make sure I wasn't overlooking something.
You can see in the photo how it's almost bridging itself in some areas. To this would imply moisture but I can't even understand how it could be with the car I took and the exact same spots for 3 straight attemtps
https://imgur.com/a/nqZWnD9/

I (28f) have been dating my partner (47m) for about 1 and a half years. He has a 17 year old son who spends every second week at his mother’s house. I have a 3 year old son whose father has him every second weekend. We moved in together in january.
Until now everything’s been going pretty well, I’ve been getting along well with his son and even his ex-wife and I are on friendly terms and my son is happy too.
Last week we found out that I'm expecting. We told the boys yesterday and both of them reacted positively. My son was visibly excited at the prospect of becoming a big brother and my partner’s son congratulated us and said he was happy about it as well.
This morning he came up to me looking angry. I asked him what was wrong and he told me that he hated me and that he wished his dad had already broken up with me.
I hadn’t expected such a reaction from him so I didn’t know how to respond. My partner noticed that something was bothering me and asked if something had happened. I told him what his son said to me. He immediately went to his room to confront him about it.
It escalated into a screaming match that ended with his son leaving for his mother’s. I talked to my partner afterwards telling him that I didn’t want this to happen but he said his son is old enough to know how to behave and to know that he can’t do what he wants without consequence.
His mother has now texted me that I had no right to kick her son out of his home and that I'm alienating him from his father.
I feel bad about how this all went down but I didn’t expect it to happen. Should I have just kept my mouth shut and dealt with it on my own? I didn't tell my partner to kick him out and I don't agree with him doing so but I also feel relieved that he handled it. Is it wrong for me to feel that way?

Let's settle it once and for all: who do you think is the most popular member in TXT?
I personally believe that Soobin is the most popular as his MC gig in Music Bank really increased his popularity and made male (and female) idols and singers fall for him which endeared him to their fans and helped him to raise his own visibility and popularity and that of his group. He always goes viral on TikTok for seemingly inane things like singing Block B and dancing to OMG's Dolphin and has cool cats like Suga falling hard for him and imitating his 'Sorry for being cute' challenge. Alongside Yeonjun, he has had the most invites to fashion events and seems to be on many fashion magazine spreads. I always see him trending on Twitter in my country and he always seems to gain many fans even outside of MOA fandom. Many people that have worked with him always praise him and Seventeen were whipped for him on HYBE Game Caterers when he was dancing to K-pop songs. Post-Music Bank, he has not had as many high profile solo gigs but here's to hoping that HYBE capitalises on his popularity and sends him on variety shows or pushes him to be an actor like ASTRO's Cha Eunwoo.
[Note: This post is not to start any fanwars. It is just a thread to share my thoughts on who I think is the most popular member in TXT. Feel free to share your opinions but please do not put down other members to share who you think is the most popular.]

Opal stood up with a sigh, grimacing at the pain along her back and arm. She looked down on the man crumpled on the floor. “Sorry Devona. But life’s a bitch.”
“...fuck you,” he mumbled.
Opal’s eyes widened slightly. “Man, he’s one tough cookie. Not much he can do now though.” She pulled the documents out from her bag to verify that they were still there, and then slid them into her jacket. She turned to leave before pausing. Something felt… off. Her eyes scanned the area and she tensed herself. Even with Opal being as alert as she could, she didn’t see the fist coming at her face until it was too late. Her vision spun as her head snapped back, feeling her feet leave the ground as someone slept her legs out from under her. She pushed herself off and jumped to her feet, only to be met with a swift kick waist. She tried to swing her crowbar but a hand wrenched her wrist to the side and a knee slammed into her stomach. She doubled over and felt her lunch struggle to the surface before she was promptly slammed face-first into the wall. She slid down like wet spaghetti onto the floor.
She turned her head to the side to watch the retreating footsteps as she waited for her entire body to stop aching. Devona, if that was his name, was already sitting up, wincing but very much functional despite the blood dribbling down his face. She could see the figure now crouching beside him, doing something with their hands. It took Opal a few seconds to realise that they were signing something.
-you alright?
Devona nodded, rubbing his bruised cheek. “Yeah, I’m fine, Harlow. Don’t worry about me.”
Opal would have sworn out loud, but the pain in her face was making it hard to speak. “Are you kidding me? They sent the damn wolf after these documents too?” Speaking of the documents, why was she after them again? She frowned and rooted around her memories like a child digging in the sand. Right, to sell the information within. Wow, she was scatter-brained. Probably to do with the ringing headache she had.
She had to get away. But with her current situation, a foot race would be a pointless endeavour. All she needed to do was get to her motorcycle parked a few metres away, and she’d be able to depart. She looked over the side of the roof and studied the area. Then she rolled over the side. She grabbed onto the railings by the side and yanked them off, managing to swing herself into a window after skidding down several metres. If she couldn’t outpace Harlow, then she could at least slow them down. She shoved herself to her feet and started to run, the sound of someone scaling the wall already behind her. She shoved desks and cabinets in front of doors as she ran, the only sound she could hear being her own footsteps and bated breath. If she got caught once, if she slowed down for a single second, she’d be headed for the rocks.
She turned the corner and felt that same shiver of anticipation run up her spine. They’d caught up to her, somehow. She readied herself and ducked under but still caught the edge of the hit as Harlow appeared from behind her. She grabbed an oil can and crushed it behind her back, spilling it down onto the floor. They rushed forward anyway, using the momentum to slam into Opal and throw her across the floor. This time it was her scrambling upon the oil to get up, grabbing onto the wall to try to pull herself up. She was instead hoisted up and thrown through the door and onto the clean floor of the corridor where she pushed herself up and began to run again. Something nagged at her but she ignored it, electing to get to the exit as fast as possible.
She finally shoved the door open and ran upon the gravel, finding where her motorcycle was parked. She kicked back the stand and revved the engine, tearing off as fast as she could while weaving for good measure. She relaxed her body once she reached the empty fields of high grass, shooting a final peace sign towards the dwindling buildings. She reached into her jacket and then realised that the documents were not there.
“God. Fucking. Dammit.” That conniving bastard. They’d probably stolen the documents during that final tussle, and the nagging feeling she’d so carelessly discarded was how strange it was that they didn’t continue to chase her. There was enough time to go back, perhaps she could -
There was a massive explosion from one of the buildings, loud enough for the windows on the neighbouring structures to shatter. On second thought, perhaps she’d let this one go.
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Claren soared through the air and slammed against the ground and wall, bouncing around like a handball. He pressed a hand to his head with a groan as he stopped, barely managing to dodge the glaive that slammed into the ground and sent a blast of lightning into the earth. As he looked, he could see that metal had been infused into the bone and flesh that comprised the glaive. Laurel came at him again, swinging her glaive again and again as lightning coursed through her body. Claren blocked her attacks, but he was forced to the defensive, the lightning preventing him from getting close.
He pushed forward nevertheless, grabbing onto the end of Laurel’s glaive as she tried to drive it into his chest. He didn’t know how much longer his shield could keep up, but there was no chance for him to take a moment to recover. He could feel the heat from the electricity scouring the air, not hot enough to injure but hot enough to hurt. His fist connected with Laurel’s face and sent her flying backwards before she launched herself forward with a burst of electricity, sending him slamming through the door and into a hallway. He didn’t have time to test if his bones were broken before she was launching herself into the air, electricity worming around her like a writhing cocoon. Claren rolled to the side to avoid her slamming into the ground, sending shards of concrete everywhere. His thoughts rushed around his head as he jumped to his feet and started the process again.
Claren didn’t have time to consider the ramifications of why her magic was so different to what it had been before. All he had was to try and hold her off for long enough to… what, exactly? Figure out a way to beat her? For backup to arrive? Have the crime lords escape? He almost laughed at that one - internally, of course. He barely laughed out loud. He’d dedicated most of his life to law and order, and here he was: potentially throwing his life away for a bunch of high-end criminals. The thought of it casted a bitter taste in his mouth and he could feel his teeth grit together. The sudden, uncontrollable action startled Claren enough to make him almost freeze up. He’d trained himself for years to hold in anything of that ike, and here he was, in the midst of battle yet unable to compose himself. He smoothed his expression again and hit Laurel across the head with a hook.
“You know,” Laurel managed between breaths while dodging and weaving, “this would be a lot easier if you just stood aside.” Her glaive gave her the advantage in reach, but Claren’s bubble provided him with enough manoeuvrability to get in and out.
“I mean,” she continued, “why bother trying to save people like that? They’re scum, or lower than scum. Just the greedy pigs of the world that managed to get enough money to stay on the top of the bottom.”
It was such a mirror of his own thoughts that he almost, for a second, considered it. He tried his hardest to push her words from his mind and levelled his gaze at her. “I don’t make deals with people like you. Not to mention, you already murdered the English council, so don’t pretend like you’re above them.”
Laurel scoffed. “Please, they were politicians. Barely even people.”
She stomped her feet and a wave of electricity radiated off of her, scorching the ground and furniture around her. She raised her hands and a scent of ash filled the air. Fire suddenly flared into existence all around her, bright and blindingly hot. Claren had to jump forward as he felt himself cooking alive from the fire that rose just a few inches away from him. Laurel opened her palm and a wave of flame erupted from her hand right towards Claren. He expanded his bubble just before it washed over him, keeping the scorching heat away. He rolled to the side and outstretched his hand into a finger gun. His shield was sucked around his hand and onto the tip of his finger, hanging there like a dew drop. It fired off and slammed into Laurel, sending her flying backwards. It shot back and wrapped around Claren just as another wave of fire rushed at him.
He dodged to the side as she swung wildly with her glaive, the blade lit by flame. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his yo-yo. Laurel guffawed as she saw it, her voice revealing the emotion that her mask was hiding.
“A yo-yo? Seriously?”
Claren’s shield flowed over the yo-yo and he lashed out with it, wrapping around Laurel faster than she could register. He swung the yo-yo around and Laurel followed, being slammed all around the wall and floor like a ball attached to a ping-pong paddle. He pulled and she spun like a top as the yo-yo retracted to his hand before crumping to the floor.
“That’s Captain yo-yo to you,” Claren said dryly. The bubble from the yo-yo started to wash over him. It wavered for a second, and then shattered. That was not good. But with Laurel out for the count, he should be able to wait out for his shield to form again.
Laurel stood up. Claren was momentarily taken aback. Someone who was without any physical enhancements should have been taken out by that assault. She stretched her neck and arms.
“Nice trick. Wanna see me do it?” She lashed out with a strand of lightning, faster than Claren could dodge and wrapped it around him. While it was much faster, it barely tickled his skin as it pressed against him. Then the strand of lightning erupted into flames, and Claren could feel his flesh start to bubble. She slammed him all around the room and the world began to blur, his vision flashing white intermittently from the agony of the experience. She brought him in close, spinning him around like a ribbon dancer would, and punched him in the face. He collapsed to the ground as the last of the fiery electricity stopped holding him up, body still steaming as his wounds hissed.
Laurel picked him up by the collar and dangled him in the air.
“Like I said. This would have been a lot easier if you just stood aside.” She was tall, tall enough that with the two of them at eye-height Claren’s feet couldn’t find the floor at all. She started to carry him towards the window and Claren thought about how high the mansion was from the ground as she threw him through it.
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Cirius had taken a quick break when he felt his eyes start to slide from their sockets. He excused himself to the bathroom, died, and then came back out as fresh as a daisy. Ignoring the incredibly confused and alarmed expressions of the crime lords, he continued to lead them out until they were in the front yard.
“Welp,” he said, “you can all go home now.” He heard some commotion from the mansion, and turned around. The noises stopped.
“Huh. Must have been the wind.”
The window shattered and Claren hurtled through. Cirius scrambled around the lawn and managed to catch Claren, taking the brunt of the fall as the man slammed into him. He was burnt heavily all over, and a hiss of pain escaped his lips as Cirius set him gently upon the ground. He looked up as a figure jumped down, landing on top of a car as electricity coursed around her. It was the woman from before, still brandishing her glaive and with her mask covering her face. Bauble, was it?
“Hey,” said Cirius, because he didn’t know what else to say.
“Hey,” she returned casually, leaning against her glaive onto the ruined wreck. She seemed to be trying to appear flippant, but too much of her weight was put on the glaive for that to be true.
“Did you do this?” he asked, gesturing towards Claren.
“Yep.”
Cirius nodded. “Not going to lie, Bauble, you suck. I kinda have to fight you now.”
Even with the mask Cirius could feel her glare. “First off, it’s Laurel. Second off, I don’t have time to waste on you.” She directed her gaze towards the crowd and waved her finger around. The crowd surged as if trying to disperse before she slammed her foot and sent a wave of fire soaring up to block them.
“Not you, not you, not you,” she muttered. “Ah, there you are!” The flames dispersed and the crowd backed away from the man she was pointing to. He looked around, as if for anyone to help. Everyone turned and ran towards their cars, getting in and driving away within seconds.
Laurel twirled her glaive and jumped down. “I’m going to kill you now, okay?” She dodged leisurely to the side as Cirius tried to tackle her, sending volts of electricity through his body with a casual backhand. She grabbed Cirius by the collar and threw him with a blast of lightning, hurtling him several metres away. The man turned to run and she shot out a small bolt of lightning, seizing him up and collapsing him to the ground. She stepped forward, scraping the glaive across the scorched grass before being slammed in the back. She whipped around to see Claren pointing his index finger, his face screwed up in pain yet eyes forced open.
“You really don’t know when to quit, so you?” she snarled. She hoisted her glaive into the air but was interrupted once again as Cirius popped out and managed to grasp onto Laurel’s leg. Before she could kick him off, he clambered up onto her back and clung to her.
“What the fUCKKK” she yelled, the yell turning into a screech as Cirius bit down as hard as he could on her shoulder. She wheeled around wildly, shouting curses to the sky as she tried her hardest to shake Cirius off. He continued to hang on, his fingers gripping tightly and only the gloves preventing his nails from sinking into her skin. Fire and lightning roiled off of her yet Cirius continued to cling on. She slammed her back against the mansion again and again. Cirius heard something crunch from within his body. Still holding on with one hand, he grabbed a disk from his pocket and tossed it into the air. Dropping down, he kicked at Laurel’s feet before running away as the disk exploded and sent debris tumbling down onto her. He ran to Claren and hauled him up, trying his best not to touch the deep burns. He turned his attention to the man who was still lying on the ground as if pretending to be dead. Cirius walked over while holding up Claren and kicked him in the side.
“Ah! Just kill me quickly!” he screamed before seeing that it was just Cirius. Cirius stared down at him.
“Just get up and help me support Claren.”
They managed to get into a building and barricade the door. Cirius propped Claren up against the wall as the man started to pace the halls.
“God, where are the guards! They should have stopped her!” he yelled. Cirius grabbed a pen and threw it at his head.
“Shut up. She’s going to hear us.”
“Hear us! Who cares if she hears us! She’ll find us anyway! We’re doomed!”
Claren slitted his eyes open. “Keep it down. I have a headache and it’s…”
“Killing you?” Cirius interjected.
Claren raised an eyebrow. “No. My wounds are killing me. My headache is simply a pain to deal with.”
Cirius chewed his lip. He needed a plan. Devona and Harlow were both off somewhere else, and he didn’t have time to wait for them to come around.
“Think, think,” he muttered to himself. An idea sparked in his head. It wasn’t very good, but it was all he had.
“You there,” he said, pointing at the man who he had thrown the pen at. “Uh, what’s your name?”
“Winston Haxter,” supplied Claren with a pained voice. “He’s the one I was supposed to be negotiating with.”
“I see, I see. What’s your discipline?”
“I, uh, can run well.”
Cirius hummed. “Super-speed, eh? Yeah, I can work with that.”
“No, I run at normal speed. But like, I don’t get tired. I can just keep running.”
“Huh. So you have infinite stamina?”
“Yeah. But like… just for running.”
Cirius hummed again. “Well, I can probably still work with that.” He stepped towards Winston and pointed towards a long hallway. “Alright, when she gets here, you’re going to start running down there.”
“What! She’ll kill me!”
“Come on man. Your magic is literally just running. You can outpace her. ‘Sides, I have a plan. Claren’s going to be at the end of the hallway, and he’ll bubble the two of you up. I’ll distract her and lead her far away where I’ll… I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.”
Winston stared at him. “You’ll die.”
“Oh, most definitely. In fact, probably several times! But hey, that’s just how it is.”
Winston’s face dropped even more, if that was even possible. “You’re absolutely insane. We’re all going to die.”
“Nope! Just me! Anyways, go wait by the hallway. Don’t want to lose any ground.” He walked over to Claren before Winston could protest. He sat down next to him.
“Hey.”
Claren titled his head down. “Mr. Walker.”
“You up for the plan?”
He shifted his body and winced. “I am. I don’t think it’s an especially good plan, but I don’t see a better way.” A strange expression settled over his face. It took a while for Cirius to discern it. It was discontentment, irritation, bitterness. Claren seemed to recognise this and swallowed the expression.
“You know, it’s not too late to toss Winston at her and walk away.”
“What did you say?” Winston called out.
“Nothing!”
Claren sighed and his shoulders sagged. “No. That’s not for me to decide. I have a job, and I need to do it.”
“Why? I mean, you clearly don’t want to protect him.”
Claren looked away. The two of them sat in silence before Clarne spoke up again. “I need to do my job because it’s… it’s not a good job. It doesn’t feel good to look people you know have done horrible, horrible things in the eye and shake their hand. To watch them walk away and know that you could have stopped them but… couldn’t. Or just didn’t. I won’t - I can’t let anyone else do that.” His hand reached up to the two rings on his fingers and twisted them - a golden band with a bright yellow gem and a silver band with a cool blue one.
Cirius stared at the ground. “Wow. That kinda sucks.”
Claren huffed a laugh. “That it does.” He shook his head. “Look at me, talking about my feelings while on the job. How unprofessional.” He staggered to his feet. “You should go and get prepared. Won’t be long until she finds us.”
Claren was right. The door was thrown off its hinges and a figure ducked down. The light glinted off the white mask as Laurel stood in the frame. She stared down across the room at Winston, who was doing a very good job looking like a deer in headlights. She cocked her head to the side. Winston bolted down the hallway, his breaths sharp and panicked. She blasted forward with a bolt of lightning, each step energised as she leisurely followed him.
Laurel ran down the hallway, every step bringing her closer to Winston. Cirius let out a silent exhale. It was time. All the doors along the hallway were open, and a short figure jumped out of one only to be met with an immediate blast of lightning so strong it sent the figure slamming back immediately. Laurel had anticipated a trap being laid. Unfortunately for her, Cirius had anticipated her anticipation. The makeshift, stuffed, humanoid doll wearing Cirius clothes smouldered, the string that attached it to the tripwire carefully hidden across the floor snapped from the sudden force of the lightning. At the same moment as she turned to unleash her magic, Cirius leapt from the opposing side and tackled Laurel, sending the two of them crashing to the ground.
Laurel grabbed him by the arm and slammed him into the wall, fire roiling off of her and washing over him. Cirius kicked at Laurel until he felt it connect with something hard and her grip loosened. He dropped down as he realised that his eyeballs had been burnt off. He scrambled around blindly for several seconds before a glaive tore through his chest and ripped him in half. A foot stomped on his head again and again until his skull cracked open and his brains were mushed upon the floor. Laurel stomped on the desecrated body again and again until blood and gore started to coat the cuffs of her pants.
“You know, I’m starting to feel a little insulted.” She whipped her head around and stared at Cirius, standing there perfectly fine.
“Wha- you-” she looked back at the corpse, then at Cirius. “I killed you!”
“You missed.”
She looked back at the corpse. “No I fucking didn’t!” She grabbed her glaive and threw it at him, slicing his face wide open along with the rest of his head. The top half of his head slid cleanly off and onto the floor.
“Missed again,” said Cirius from behind her. She gathered lightning in her hand and sent a bolt right through him.
“You should really aim better.”
“What the fuck!” Laurel screamed. “I killed you! I killed you several times!” “Yeah, I get that a lot.” He dodged the glaive being thrown at him again and turned to run. Laurel charged after him, each charged step leaving cracks within the floor. He ducked down as she ripped through the air, fire and lightning trailing behind her. She brought down a wave of flame with a kick, following it up by swinging her glaive as it crackled with lightning. Cirius ducked under, rushing forward through the flame and punching Laurel in the stomach. His gloves glowed for a second, a frosty cyan that pierced the air, and a blast of energy ripped out that slammed Laurel into the wall.
Cirius was hit with a wave of exhaustion. He’d died thrice in a row, and although there didn’t seem to be any limit on how many times he could die and revive, it certainly wore on him after a while. He needed to think of something to do. Laurel was already drawing herself back to her feet, her mask shifted to the side and revealing her cold, hard eyes that blazed with fury. His mind scoured all of what he knew of buildings like this.
“The boiler room! Of course! If I can get there, I can blow this place sky high and take her down with it.” He forced himself up and started to run, turning around briefly to wave at Laurel. As expected, she gave chase, her movements more akin to a rabid animal than a hunter. He ran through winding corridors and locked doors, barely dodging the stray bolt of lightning or fireball. He could already feel the exhaustion from dying and reviving thrice in a row; he’d be too tired to outpace Laurel if he had to die again.
He reached the door to the boiler just as Laurel caught up, tackling Cirius and sending him crashing through the old, rotten wood. She kicked him in the face as he slid across the floor, preventing him from righting himself. She stepped forward and pressed her foot down on his back.
“I wonder,” she said, “how many times can you die until it becomes too much? Is there even a limit for you?” Her voice was sing-songy and slightly manic, like glass about to shatter into thousands of sharp, sharp fibres. Cirius rooted around his pocket. He didn’t feel any explosives. He clicked his fingers and a spark flicked to life, the cyan light barely visible before fizzling out.
“I mean, if there is, I certainly haven’t reached it yet.” He clicked again and a bigger spark emerged. He managed to shoot it out of his index finger right towards one of the thermal tanks. The tiny spark travelled through the air, hit the tank and did absolutely nothing.
“Well. We’re screwed.” As Cirius started to lament his poor planning skills, Laurel’s head snapped up.
“What was that?”
“Uh. Nothing,” Cirius replied like the excellent liar he was. Laurel cocked her head. “Oh, so that sound from behind that thermal tank over there was nothing?” She lifted her arm and her hand flared with electricity. “Hope you won’t mind this, then.” She shot a bolt of lightning and hit the thermal dead centre. There was a beat of silence. “Oh, fuck.” A moment later, absolutely nothing happened.
“Oh. I really thought those were going to explode. Like, as soon as I realised I had blasted lightning at a thermal tank, I was all ‘that’s going to explode’.” She laughed. “Wow. That’s pretty funny.”
Cirius felt something brush up against the hand that was still in his pocket. He pulled it out.
“Oh hey! I still have an explosive disk!” He activated it, threw it at the thermal tank and the world exploded.
“-ey. Wake up.” Cirius blearily opened up his eyes. He was laid out across the floor next to what presumably had been the building. Claren was crouched next to him, snapping his fingers in front of his face.
“Oh, good. You’re awake.”
Cirius nodded and got up. He was so incredibly tired, but a sense of accomplishment filled his chest. “We did it.”
Claren nodded. “Indeed we did.”
There was a small silence before Cirius broke it. “Hey, about what you said before. I know it probably isn’t much, coming from me, but,” Cirius hovered his hand above Claren’s shoulder. “I think you’re really awesome.”
Claren bowed his head. “Thank you, Cirius.” He stared at the hand. “I’m sorry, what is this?”
“Well, I heard from bossman that you don’t like physical touch. So I’m doing this to show reassurance while still respecting your boundaries.”
Claren blinked. “That’s… pretty thoughtful, actually.”
“Hey, uh, am I safe to go now?” Winston asked, standing a few feet away and ruining the moment.
“Yeah, it should be all good,” Cirius responded before a bolt of lightning ripped through Winston’s head.
Claren immediately flared up his shield around the two of them, blocking the next bolt of lightning. Laurel, her mask half-shattered to show her furious eye, tuxedo torn with skin scraped raw underneath, and arm clearly broken staggered towards them.
“You clever, clever little fucker. You led me on quite the wild goose chase.” Her mouth twisted into a manic grin. “Typically, I’d just leave you be. But now? I think I’m going to kill the shield guy first and string out his body across the buildings here. Then I’m going to throw the little one in a box and toss him into the deepest, darkest part of the ocean.” She hoisted her glaive as lightning crackled around her, larger and more volatile than before.
Claren narrowed his eyes. “Cirius. Are you in any condition to fight?”
Cirius shook his head. “Going to be honest, this feels like a running situation.” As if on cue, a wall of flames erupted to life around them.
Something silent flew through the air. A thin, red line appeared over Laurel’s cheek. The crossbow bolt embedded into a wall. Laurel turned around and Harlow faced her, holding a crossbow aimed straight at her. There was a beat of silence as Harlow stared her down, their message held clearly in their hands. Laurel stamped her foot and a circle of flame enveloped her. When it cleared, she was gone. Harlow stared off towards the air, as if contemplating pursuing her, but turned to Claren and Cirius instead.
“I must admit, it would have been very useful having you here earlier.”
I was busy, they replied as they poured a blue vial over Claren’s wounds.
“Where’s bossman?” “Right here.” Devona popped into existence behind them and his eyes scanned the area. He looked down at the two of them. “Claren. You don’t look so good.”
“I could say the same about you. Broken hip?”
“Certainly feels like it. Cirius, you alright?”
Cirius flashed him a thumbs up. “You know it.”
“I’ll inform you of the details after I get these wounds treated,” Claren told Harlow. “I think I’ll be fine to walk on my own for now. I’ll let you know if I require any assistance.”
They made it all the way back to the original drop-off point and called Axon. After Claren explained a basic overview of why they were so late and Harlow was forced to promise to describe everything that happened, the portals opened up. Claren waved Harlow and Cirius through but held Devona back.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
Claren hummed. “Cirius was… the only reason that I survived. If it wasn’t for him, then I wouldn’t be here right now. He may seem strange and irrational, but-”
“When push comes to shove, you can count on him.”
Claren nodded. “It took me a while to realise that. But from what I’ve heard from Axon, you seem to be able to put up with Cirius’s less serious side very well. How is that?”
Devona scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know. Guess I’m just used to it.”
“I see.” Claren bowed his head. “Goodbye, Mr. Verdant. And do get that hip checked.”
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“Jamie, no! That’s a terrible idea!”
“Come on, Vivian. It’ll be great! I’ve constructed the perfect plan!”
Vivian folded his arms. “Oh yeah? And what is that, pray tell?”
“Alright, so, in order to make our own water-slide, we steal all the blankets from all the houses and wet them. We tie them together, and then we attach it all around the town and slide around! It’d be amazing!”
Vivian stared at his twin sister with a mix of disbelief and amazement. “And how are we going to attach it all around the town?”
She faltered. “I’ll… I don’t know. I’ll think of something.” She clasped her hands together. “Come onnnnn Vivi, please!”
Vivian sighed. “Fine. Just this once,” he replied, perhaps for the fifteenth time.
“Yay!” Jamie slung her arm over his shoulder. “I promise you, this is going to be awesome.”
“I’m sure,” he responded dryly, but he couldn’t hide the small grin on his fsce.
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Laurel Pariah was pissed. She winced as she jolted her broken arm, and she felt how her entire body radiated with pain from every movement she took. The wind was howling, so she didn’t hear the footsteps approaching until they were right behind her.
“You’ve returned,” the figure said brightly.
“That I have.”
The Dreamer hummed, and Laurel shifted her gaze to see him picking at his nails. “Did you achieve your mission?”
“I did. I just ran into some… complications.”
The Dreamer chuckled unkindly. “I can see that.” He cocked his head to the side, his expression hidden behind a mask decorated with white stars. “You broke your mask again. They’re not going to be pleased if you keep doing that, you know?”
“They collapsed a fucking building on me. What do you exp-”
The Dreamer put his hands up. “Hey now, hold your horses. Yes, yes, opponents were tough yadda yadda. I get it, I really do. Sucks to get your ass beaten so often, doesn’t it, poor little baby? I mean, I wouldn’t know, but still.”
Laurel grit her teeth. “Go fuck yourself.”
The Dreamer laughed. “Well then, I’ll see you later, Demon of Babel. Toodles!” He walked away, deep into the thicket of trees until he vanished from sight. Laurel kicked at the dirt before turning to walk away too, leaving only the wind to howl to an empty sky.

I've been mildly interested in streaming games, and have used my primary PC to stream to other devices on my local network.
BUT...I wanted to see what the world looks like, if you only own an Orange Pi 5, and want to cloud stream.
It works just fine is the good news...but how it works is rather strange. Let's investigate.
The great thing about Geforce NOW, is that you can link most visible digital storefronts to the account, thus giving you access to a library that you already own, and continued access to purchasing on that storefront and that account.
That's really really awesome...but there is something else here which ISN'T awesome. I'll return to that in a bit.
Performance and quality is pretty stellar. There is of course 'some latency' which isn't optimal for FPS genre. It's minor, much to the credit of the service, but even that minor latency doesn't 'feel' good in that genre.
One would assume the platform would lean away from FPS titles, and focus more on action and more controller focused games...but it's almost top to bottom games that I would only M+KB on.
So, the first thing that has to happen with the platform, is it needs to refocus it's game selection away from FPS.
Now we are getting to the nitty gritty, and it's rather odd. The way I would assume the service to work, is that I verify my account/library of something like Steam, and Geforce NOW validates the authenticity of my digital ownership and spawns a session through their Geforce NOW.
This is not what happens. What actually happens, is that Geforce NOW spawns an instance of, for instance Steam, on a server, with all your credentials.
To me, this is a strange and unnecessary step, as I have already 'synced' my library.
The way it should work, is Geforce NOW can ask me to 'sync' and verify my account and library, for security, but otherwise, there is no reason to spawn an instance of Steam with my credentials somewhere.
Secondly, as this IS what is happening, why can Geforce NOW tell me what I can and cannot stream, while they themselves have access to my entire library spawned somewhere in their system?
My Account. My Library. Spawned on some server...with all sorts of red tape around it.
Is it MY account, or is Geforce NOW's account...now?
So that's all rather strange, and a lot of liberties seem to be taken here as to what I can access on my own account.
Is Geforce NOW the villain...or are they Robin Hood? Again, I dunno...but because, for example, a steam instance is open on their end, with all your credentials, one can, through some trickery, get to a view of the steam client and play 'unsupported' titles'. Some may work, while others appear to have hard blacklists against them.
It's all very strange. Or maybe I am strange, for thinking it's strange. Maybe it isn't my account at all anymore. It's Geforce NOW's account, and they dictate what I have access to. Performance is bright, but the future is dark...

Hi All. I (28M) have found an astonishing Les Paul Standard in honeyburst from 2002, it is available in the UK and I am thinking about buying it. I am an intermediate player (dont do any gigs except for my neighbours), currently I play on a Telecaster which I also like a lot. It is not very much needed from a utility point of view to own another guitar (except that it has a shorter scale length which is good because I have small hands), it would be more to own a piece of history instrument for the rest of my life and spend a lot of quality time with it. It is in excellent condition with a tiny bit of wear and tear which is normal after 20+ years, price wise it is in the lower range of Standards (it has a great value label shown on Reverb).
Unfortunately I am not able to travel to the store and play it because it is very far from me. I have tried many Les Pauls before, I feel like I know what to expect. Apparently, it might have had a neck repair because of the spray over but nothing else is visible. I wouldn't need to spend on any maintenance for a good number of years.
Main question: Shall I buy this instrument if I really like it even though I don't really need to have it? (It is def not cheap but I can afford it… few family members of mine dont thing its a good idea) Let me know your thoughts and decision points I should consider.
Cheers!