“The shield that defends needs a sword by its side”
- Mech Core Pilot's Motto.
----
Churk was going to die.
He was going to die, and his brood left behind were going to be enslaved.
He was going to die, and with him his race’s history, achievements and technology would also die out.
They would all be turned into the organic robots his enemy used to power its military might.
Churk’s people were known as the Algeen’s. The Algeen’s were frog-like people, they had four arms and two legs, with large hands and feet. Fiercely intelligent, obscenely democratic, unbelievably green.
Their whole population got an equal vote on any measure of policy or governmental decision, a slow and ponderous system, but one which worked. Once they had gracefully colonized over a thousand planets. Then the Tide came and generations later, on their battered and bruised Homeworld, they were making their final stand. One world left of the most civilized civilization.
The Tide were slavers, but they had been at it for millennia now. Absorbing, enslaving, and breeding thousands of species and races. Making them all part of a homogeneous whole. No one outside of the Tide themselves knew who the original species was, and maybe no one in the Tide knew either. It was possible that they still existed, at the very top of the slavery food chain, being served by those they considered lesser and treated horribly. But it was equally possible that a slave lead rebellion had seen fit to absorb them as they had been absorbed. An ouroboros of cultural erasure and brutal labour camps.
Five hundred metres from Churk’s position, stood the product of those labour camps. Two Tide mech’s which were currently powering towards him and his squad, Churk had little delusions about how effective his semi-fortified engineer’s depo was going to be in protecting their lives. Suddenly his neural link lit up with new high priority information, he was not to engage the enemy, reinforcements were on their way.
While he was glad he didn’t have to engage the enemy (as the ordinance he had at his disposal would have been ineffective against the heavy armour of the Tide machines) the order didn’t make any sense, and so he queried it.
“Reinforcements? What reinforcements? Who’s left?” He responded. As there was no one currently available to respond to his query the over-stretched AI superintendent replied in as basic and succinct method as possible.
“An orbital drop-pod enroute. Contents: One mech. Mech rating: Classified. Mech model: Classified. Mech origin: Classified. Pilot: Anna ‘Sustain’ Finand. Species: Human.” Rattled off the AI in his head.
A mind-numbing list containing more questions than answers. Human? The Algeen’s had included as many species as possible in their attempts to create a force equal to that of the Tide’s, but as far as he knew all of them apart from the Roc’s had been wiped out. He hadn’t heard of humanity before, and how the hell had they managed to get orbital assets in position? The battle for their home world’s skies had been lost months ago. Most importantly, how the hell was one mech going to win against two Tide models?
The Tide had a clear technological advantage over the Algeen’s, most prominently displayed in any of the many mech battles which had taken place throughout the war, whether that be on the ground or in the void. The Tide’s powerplants were three times as efficient as Algeen models, and their anti-gravity/ inertia damping technology was twice as efficient. This allowed the Tide’s mechs to pack on armour and energy shields, creating hulking tanks which moved as easily as the Algeen’s mechs but had a one to four advantage in a fair fight.
A massive crash signalled to Churk that he was about to get his answers, and he eagerly peered into the dust cloud that had formed around the human mech, waiting to see the sort of beast which had come to his (and indeed his entire species) aid. Hope flared ever so briefly, only to be crushed when a familiar silhouette appeared: That of an Algeen mech.
The rounded, purple armour. The gleaming blue sensor nodes. The dome like head. The large feet. Algeen through and through, maybe even an older design from mid-way through the war. One that prioritised speed over armour, a costly mistake. There were however a few differences:
For one, the mech had been heavily modified. Additional armour had been removed from the torso and right arm. A weird cage-like attachment had been crudely added to the front of the mech's thighs and shins. The mech still had its energy shield, but it was now held in the left hand instead of being permanently attached to the mech's chest.
The shoulder armour had been replaced with a series of tubes which looked rather spikey when grouped together, some sort of smoke or grenade launchers perhaps?
Its only armament was a single sword in its right hand. This was particular. For one, it was the only item on the mech that was clearly neither Algeen nor was it of the Tide. It was a dull grey blade, looking more like an oversized cleaver then a sword. Its handle was unadorned and had not even been painted to separate its likeness from that of the rest of the blade. The entire thing was made of one single piece of metal, and while Churk did not know it at that very moment, it had been simply pressed into shape.
Its edge was barely sharp enough to cut, leaving the entire weapon closer to a bat them a knife. By Algeen and Tide standards it was brutally crude. Utterly remorseless in its hatred for elegant craftsmanship. It was a pipe bomb in comparison to a hand grenade. But like a pipe bomb: it was lethal.
Churk watched with equal parts dread and (what he felt to be) misplaced hope as the Algeen mech charged its superior counterparts.
He didn’t know it at the time, but he would speak of the following battle for many years to come.
The human mech launched towards the Tide machines; dust flaring underneath it’s artificially lightened footsteps. It’s strategic removal of armour had made the machine’s already impressive performance even more pronounced, and while its speed surprised the two Tide operators, it did little to unnerve them.
These two operators had seen enough fighting to know one Algeen machine was of little concern, and its missing armour only further reinforced their confidence.
They must have pulled that thing straight out of a repair bay. Thought the pilot of the foremost Tide mech.
These Tide mechs represented a standard advanced scouting group, consisting of one heavy, ranged mech and one light, melee machine. As scouts these mechs would only engage when they had the advantage. But on Algeen Prime, there wasn’t a single Tide scout group that didn’t have the advantage. How the two would operate was simple, the light mech would push out to the front and engage any oncoming mechs, closing quickly to force the enemy into a melee fight. Meanwhile the ranged mech would perform counter-battery and point defence operations: shooting down oncoming missiles and retaliating in kind with its own.
Tide mechs wanted a melee. They always wanted a melee.
Churk didn’t know why exactly. For while it was true that the Tide saw a distinct advantage over Algeens in melee combat, many of their mech units would choose to engage in a melee fight even when they could have as easily dispatched their enemies from afar. Maybe they just found it fun? For the Algeen race it was obvious that the Tide mech operators had been trained extensively on sword combat, even before this war had taken place, and no Algeen could win against a Tide in a fair fight.
As the war progressed the Algeen’s had tried to level the playing field in this aspect, bringing in veterans to teach new operators how to properly utilise a blade. But the icy fact was that swordsmanship had died out long ago in Algeen society (for what modern, enlightened society could possibly keep such a thing alive?) and could not be resurrected in a timely matter. At least, not on the sort of scale they needed if they were to compete against the Tide.
Of course, neither an Algeen nor a Tide Thrall had seen a human wield a blade before. Human swordplay techniques had been forged in the flames of thousands of battles; and like a candle lit from that flame, had been preserved generation after generation. No one had expected that the fires which forged such skill would ever be relit, but it was on Algeen Prime that one small candle found the sort of kindling its ancient creators could not have even imagined.
The Algeen and the Tide machine finally met on the field of battle, with the Tide’s long-range support not having fired a single shot. The Tide machine used its superior power output to slash its sword down, the piloting hoping to knock the sword from the human mech’s clearly loose grip.
It was a surprise to all when the human mech flicked its blade up to deflect the blow, keeping its grip loose as it did so, letting the momentum of the blade do the necessary dirty work. Had a human been deflecting a blow like this, doing so would have reduced the amount of force (and hence, energy) necessary to block the blow. Allowing the fighter to keep their strength up, to persist in the melee for far longer than a less skilled counterpart.
On a mech muscle fatigue was less of a concern. However not resisting the full force of the blow vastly reduced strain on the framework, motors, and anti-gravity pods of the machine. In a long battle the kind of strain that comes from blocking each and every blow can destroy a mech far more thoroughly than even the most devastating sword or missile strike.
Furthermore, deflecting the strike had another key advantage: It positioned the Human's blade for a slashing follow up. Like a snake striking the human's blade leap for the Tide mech, a potent mixture of surprise and heavy armour preventing the operator from recovering in time: The Human's blade connected with a stunning yet well aimed ferocity. The blow exploited the gap in the Tide mech's armour at the armpit. A well-known weakness which the Algeen were rarely able to exploit.
The blade cut deep, severing several of the thick black cables which sent power down the opposing mech's arm. Like cutting into a ligament, the Tide Mechs right arm (sword included) slumped down, as the antigravity modules cut out due to lack of power and its motors struggled to lift the now considerably heavier arm. Completely blindsided by the ferocious attack and now lacking an effective sword arm, the Tide pilot responded in sudden desperation: twisting his mech at its hips, the pilot slammed his own weak and heavily armoured arm into the Algeen mech which had wounded it so.
This may have seen the Tide mech retake the initiative in battle, and with it the advantage. But the Tide pilot wasn't facing an Algeen pilot, and the human who had been training for this mission for the past three years saw the wild attack coming from a galaxy away.
Ducking before the Tide mech even began its twist, the human pilot successfully dodged the incoming attack. Only instead of leaving it there she followed up the movement by striking the upper thigh of the Tide mech with the pommel of her sword.
The ball joint located there had been studied by human engineers who, it must be stated, had a better grasp on how to break things then their Algeen counterparts: the joint shattered under the force of the well-placed blow and the stresses the wild swing with an overloaded arm had placed on the machine.
Churk couldn't believe his eyes as the machine crumpled into an awkward heap: with just two well placed blows the mech pilot had managed to take down a significantly better equipped target. His men behind him cheered, but he didn't. The friendly mech wasn't out of the woods yet, and there was still a lot of ground to clear between the fallen melee mech, and its ranged counterpart.
Churk could scarcely breathe as the Tide ranged mech readied itself for a missile salvo. A single Tide missile was capable of wiping out the Algeen mech, but they never fired a single missile. Churk clenched his teeth tight as his men stopped cheering and looked on with horror as smoke began streaking over the battlefield, signalling the death that was currently barrelling for their only hope.
Inside the outmatched Algeen mech however, the human pilot only smiled.
---- Want to support me? Join my patreon! (You'll get to name chapters and characters!)

Some background information first. Me and my mom share a horse barn with my aunt. The barn is hers, but we legally have usage rights for 4 of the stables, of which we use two. We pay her about 100-150€ monthly (per horse, so double that) in addition to food cost, for services and repairs and stuff. All totally fine. She has recently invested quite a sum of her money into the barn, like replacing the stable fronts (which wasn’t necessary and we didn’t ask for it, yet she always uses this as an argument for her taking care of everything).
About a year or so ago she bought a special industrial washing machine after having the previous ones break from washing a couple of horse rugs (those things are tough, lol). She never consulted us in the decision, which of course she didn’t have to, it’s hers. She washes her horse stuff in it all the time, no problem of course, she can do that. However, every couple months we do wash one of our own rugs in it, because they would quickly break our own washing machine. Apart from the fact that I don’t want to wash my underwear in the same machine as a horse rug full of hair and shit, same as her. This is literally the purpose of her machine. However, since we didn’t directly pay for a part of it, she demanded we either don’t use it or pay her something everytime we do. She didn’t specify how much.
I think this is absurd. She gets a monthly fee from us for using the barn and for her to keep it up. In my eyes using the washing machine once every few months is included in that.

Defying a last-minute appeal by former President Donald Trump, the Texas House voted overwhelmingly Saturday to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, suspending him from office over allegations of misconduct that included bribery and abuse of office.

The vote to adopt the 20 articles of impeachment was 121-23.
The stunning vote came two days after an investigative committee unveiled the articles — and two days before the close of a biennial legislative session that saw significant right-wing victories, including a ban on transgender health care for minors and new restrictions on public universities’ diversity efforts.
The vote revealed substantial divisions within the Republican Party of Texas — the largest, richest and most powerful state GOP party in the United States. Although the party has won every statewide election for a quarter-century and has controlled both houses of the Legislature since 2003, it has deep underlying fissures, many of them exacerbated by Trump’s rise and influence.
Few attorneys general have been as prominent as Paxton, who made a career of suing the Obama and Biden administrations. One of Trump’s closest allies in Texas, along with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Paxton unsuccessfully sued to challenge the 2020 presidential election results in four states.
Attention now shifts to the Texas Senate, which will conduct a trial with senators acting as jurors and designated House members presenting their case as impeachment managers.
Permanently removing Paxton from office and barring him from holding future elected office in Texas would require the support of two-thirds of senators.
Impeachment was supported by 60 Republicans, including Speaker Dade Phelan and all five of the representatives from Collin County — where Paxton and his wife have lived for decades. All 23 votes in opposition came from Republicans.
Afterward, Paxton called the vote “illegal, unethical, and profoundly unjust,” adding that he looked forward to a quick resolution in the Senate.
The move to impeach came less than a week after the House General Investigating Committee revealed that it was investigating Paxton for what members described as a yearslong pattern of misconduct and questionable actions that include bribery, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice. They presented the case against him Saturday, acknowledging the weight of their actions.
“Today is a very grim and difficult day for this House and for the state of Texas,” Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, a committee member, told House members.
“We have a duty and an obligation to protect the citizens of Texas from elected officials who abuse their office and their powers for personal gain,” Spiller said. “As a body, we should not be complicit in allowing that behavior.”
Paxton supporters criticized the impeachment proceedings as rushed, secretive and based on hearsay accounts of actions taken by Paxton, who they said was not given the opportunity to defend himself to the investigating committee.
“This process is indefensible,” said Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, who complained that the vote was taking place on a holiday weekend before members had time to conduct a thorough review of the accusations. “It concerns me a lot because today it could be General Paxton, tomorrow it could be you and the next day it could be me.”
Saturday’s vote temporarily removes a controversial but influential Republican figure in Texas and nationally. He has led an office that initiated lawsuits that overturned or blocked major Biden and Obama administration policies, particularly on immigration; sought to reverse Trump’s electoral defeat in 2020; aggressively pursued voter fraud claims; and targeted hospitals that provided gender care to minors.
The Legislature had impeached state officials just twice since 1876 — and never an attorney general — but the House committee members who proposed impeachment argued Saturday that Paxton’s misconduct in office was so egregious that it warranted his removal.
“This gentleman is no longer fit for service or for office,” said committee member Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston. “Either this is going to be the beginning of the end of his criminal reign, or God help us with the harms that will come to all Texans if he's allowed to stay the top cop on the take, if millions of Texans can’t trust us to do the right thing, right here, right now.”
Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, a member of the investigative committee, used his presentation time to criticize Paxton for calling representatives as they worked on the House floor to “personally threaten them with political consequences in the next election” if they supported impeachment.
Speaking against impeachment, Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, called the process “wrong.”
“Don’t end our session this way. Don’t tarnish this institution,” Tinderholt said. “Don’t cheapen the act of impeachment. Don’t undermine the will of the voters. Don’t give Democrats another victory handed to them on a silver platter.”
The vote came as hardline conservatives supportive of Paxton’s aggressive strategy of suing the Biden administration were lining up in support of him. Trump — a close political ally to Paxton — blasted the impeachment proceedings as an attempt to unseat “the most hard working and effective” attorney general and thwart the “large number of American Patriots” who voted for Paxton.
Trump vowed to target any Republican who supported impeaching Paxton, adding after the vote: “What is our Country coming to?” In the evening, he called Abbott “missing in action,” asking followers on his Truth Social network, “Where is the Governor of Texas on his Attorney General’s Impeachment?”
As lawmakers listened to the committee members make their case, Paxton took to social media to boost conservatives who had come to his defense, including Trump, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, and conservative radio host Grant Stinchfield, who tweeted, “Kangaroo Court in Texas.”
About 90 minutes into the debate, the official Twitter account of the Texas attorney general’s office began tweeting at members of the committee to challenge some of the claims being made.
“Please tell the truth,” the agency’s account said.
Under the Texas Constitution, Paxton is suspended from office pending the outcome of the Senate trial. The Senate had recessed before the House voted to impeach, and Patrick, who presides over the Senate, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about a timeline for an impeachment trial.
Because Paxton was impeached while the Legislature was in session, the Texas Constitution requires the Senate to remain in Austin after the regular session ends Monday or set a trial date for the future, with no deadline for a trial spelled out in the law.
The constitution also allows the governor to appoint a provisional replacement. Gov. Greg Abbott had not weighed in on the calls to impeach Paxton and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
Impeachment represents the greatest political threat to date for Paxton, who has been reelected twice despite a 2015 indictment for felony securities fraud and an ongoing federal investigation into allegations of official misconduct that began in 2020.
The impeachment vote capped a tumultuous week at the Capitol. From Tuesday to Thursday:
Paxton abruptly accused Phelan of presiding over the chamber while drunk and demanded that he resign.
The House General Investigating Committee revealed it had been investigating Paxton in secret since March.
The committee heard a three-hour presentation from its investigators detailing allegations of corruption against the attorney general.
The committee’s three Republicans and two Democrats voted to forward 20 articles of impeachment to the full House.
Paxton, who was comfortably elected to a third term last year, made a rare appearance before assembled reporters Friday to criticize the process, saying he was not given a chance to present favorable evidence. He called impeachment an effort by Democrats and “liberal” Republicans to remove him from office, violating the will of voters and sidelining an effective warrior against Biden administration policies.
“The corrupt politicians in the Texas House are demonstrating that blind loyalty to Speaker Dade Phelan is more important than upholding their oath of office,” Paxton said. He added, “They are showcasing their absolute contempt for the electoral process.”
Many of the articles of impeachment focused on allegations that Paxton had repeatedly abused his powers of office to help a political donor and friend, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.
In fall 2020, eight top deputies in the attorney general’s office approached federal and state investigators to report their concerns about Paxton’s relationship with Paul.
All eight quit or were fired in the following months, and most of the details of their allegations against Paxton were revealed in a lawsuit by four former executives who claim they were fired — in violation of the Texas Whistleblower Act — in retaliation for reporting Paxton to the authorities. Paxton’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit is awaiting action by the Dallas-based 5th Court of Appeals.
According to the lawsuit, the whistleblowers accused Paxton of engaging in a series of “intense and bizarre” actions to help Paul, including intervening in an open-records case to help Paul gain documents from federal and state investigations into the real estate investor’s businesses. They also accused Paxton of directing his agency to intervene in a lawsuit between Paul and a charity, pushing through a rushed legal opinion to help Paul avoid a pending foreclosure sale on properties and ignoring agency rules to hire an outside lawyer to pursue an investigation helpful to Paul’s businesses.
In return, the whistleblower lawsuit alleged, Paul paid for all or part of a major renovation of a home Paxton owns in Austin. Paul also helped Paxton keep an extramarital affair quiet by employing the woman Paxton had been seeing, the lawsuit said, adding that the attorney general may also have been motivated by a $25,000 contribution Paul made to Paxton’s campaign in 2018.
In their report to the House General Investigating Committee on Wednesday, the panel’s investigators concluded that Paxton may have committed numerous crimes and violated his oath of office.
Investigators said possible felonies included abuse of official capacity by, among other actions, diverting staff time to help Paul at a labor cost of at least $72,000; misuse of official information by possibly helping Paul gain access to investigative documents; and retaliation and official oppression by firing employees who complained of Paxton’s actions to the FBI.
The articles of impeachment accused Paxton of accepting bribes, disregarding his official duties and misapplying public resources to help Paul.
The articles also referred to felony charges of securities fraud, and one felony count of failing to register with state securities officials, that have been pending against Paxton since 2015, months after he took office as attorney general. The fraud charges stem from Paxton’s work in 2011 to solicit investors in Servergy Inc. without disclosing that the McKinney company was paying him for the work.
The impeachment articles also accused Paxton of obstruction of justice by acting to delay the criminal cases with legal challenges and because a Paxton donor pursued legal action that limited the pay to prosecutors in the case, causing further delays “to Paxton’s advantage.”
Taken in total, the accusations showed a pattern of dereliction of duty in violation of the Texas Constitution, Paxton’s oaths of office and state laws against public officials acting against the public’s interest, the impeachment resolution said.
“Paxton engaged in misconduct, private or public, of such character as to indicate his unfitness for office,” the articles said.
An attorney general had never before been impeached by the Legislature, an extraordinary step that lawmakers have reserved for public officials who faced serious allegations of misconduct. Only two Texas officials have been removed from office by Senate conviction, Gov. James Ferguson in 1917 and District Judge O.P. Carrillo in 1975.
If Paxton is to survive, he will need to secure the support of 11 senators. With the 12 Democratic senators likely to support his removal, any votes for acquittal would need to come from the 19 Republican members.
Several Republican senators issued statements Saturday evening warning constituents and others that their role as jurors in the upcoming impeachment trial prohibited them from discussing the case. In a television interview Thursday, Patrick said merely that he believed senators would be responsible jurors and “do their duty.”
A complicating factor is Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, Paxton’s wife. State law requires all senators to attend an impeachment trial, though whether she will recuse herself from voting is unclear.
Paxton’s political base lies in the far-right faction of the Republican Party, where he has positioned himself as a champion of conservative causes and a thorn in the side of Democratic President Joe Biden. Paxton has criticized his opponents as RINOs (Republicans in name only) who “want nothing more than to sabotage our legal challenges to Biden’s extremist agenda by taking me out.”
He also retained the backing of the state Republican Party, led by former state Rep. Matt Rinaldi, who frequently attacks Republicans he considers to be insufficiently conservative. On Friday, Rinaldi said the impeachment was Phelan’s fault for allowing Democrats to have too much influence in the House.
“The impeachment proceedings against the attorney general are but the latest front in the Texas House’s war against Republicans to stop the conservative direction of her state,” Rinaldi said in a statement.
Paxton also has maintained a close relationship with Trump and filed an unsuccessful U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the 2020 presidential election. Paxton also spoke at Trump’s rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, shortly before the president’s supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol.
Ken Paxton has plagued Texas for far too long. I'm glad to see a modicum of justice being done.

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Party of the same players made sucky rolls one day then makes godlike rolls the day after.
So context: I am a DM who is running two seperate campaigns, one is a Descent into Avernus game and the other is a Tyranny of Dragons game. Both campaigns have the same party of players (though one person is only in ToD and not DiA) and DiA sessions are the day before the ToD sessions. Warning, very small spoilers but nothing specific that needs the spoilers tag.

Story:

So in DiA, the party, now at lvl 2 went into that one dungeon in Baldur's Gate and meet up into an enemy group with a total CR rating of 2 1/2, should be fine, right? WRONG! So the bard decided to disguise himself and get in front of the enemies under disguise as one of their allies. Unfortunately, the bard did not have any identification on him and failed to answer the enemy's questions right, resulting in fight. So this bard was more or less on his own without a frontline at the moment against two melee focused enemies.
The party did get to the room though was slowed a little with difficult terrain. The party had to rely on ranged attacks at first before closing the gap but failed to do enough damage, either by missing rolls or not doing enough damage. Soon enough, the bard goes down when he got ganged up by the two enemies and now has to start rolling death saves. But because I both a tactical but uncruel DM (mostly) I didn't have the enemies finish him off and deal with the others. Eventually, because the players weren't able to beat the enemies quick enough, the bard fails his last death save against 2 passed and died. Saddest part was that the sorcerer could have ended it before the bard died by firing their last magic missile on the last weakened enemy, instead going for an attack and missed.
The fight ended with the cleric knocked out (but they did get up) and bard dead. But because I am a partially merciful DM (and partial schemer) I decided to give the bard a chance at life by bringing the bard back to life (at a cost) but that's unimportant to this specific story and will only bring it up if someone asks.
Now let'a fast forward to the day after (aka yesterday) and onto Tyranny of Dragons, so the LVL 9 party (only 4/6 players showed up) went into the dragons lair expecting a TPK probable seeing how they are missing 2 PCs (and a CR 3 buddy). Much to everyone's surprise the first round was absolutely nuts.
So the rogue (who plays a sorc/ranger in DiA) went first and he got a NAT 20 on his attack with sneak attack damage, so big ouchies. Second the dragon and the lair actions turns and did some damage to 2 players but neither got knocked down, then the came the paladin (who plays the Bard who died and was ressurected in DiA) who ALSO got a NAT 20 and used a lvl 3 divine smite, lots of dice of damage was rolled. And if it couldn't get any worse, a Drow Barbarian (who plays a dwarf fightebarb in DiA) also got a NAT 20! But because he was using range the brutal critical didn't apply but still that was nuts. Though that barb did get another nat 20 the second round! The 4th player, a homebrew bar-bear-ian (who plays a sorc in DiA) decided to fall back and heal instead of fight and I offered them the chance to finish it if it got a nat 20, regardless of current HP, but they said no. Funny enough, one round later, that barbearian got frightened by the dragon a round later and so gets disadvantage on attacks, they would have gotten a NAT 20 had they not have DIS in the roll). After a couple hits in they kill the dragon and get the reward. Funny enough that wasn't the only super interesting thing to happen that session.
TLDR: Party makes bad rolls in a medium fight causing one PC to die in one campaign session and that same group of players make godlike rolls in a dragon fight in thd first two rounds.

In Part Four, the comeback tour of rockstar Hiroshi Tanahashi was cut brutally short at the hands of the Leader of the New School, Zack Sabre Jr., who embarked on a quest to prove himself New Japan's most valuable gaijin. After beating back Will Ospreay for Royal Quest, he ran into another familiar face in Minoru Suzuki, almost clobbering him into retirement until Naomichi Marufuji made the save. Ending his saga with Just6Guys with a win over Maru, he placed a bow on the long-standing Blackpool Combat Club rivalry by besting Jon Moxley, cementing Sabre-Gun as New Japan's undisputed leaders... That is, without taking Los Ingobernables de Japon into account.
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Since becoming one again, LIJ’s been on a tear through NJPW’s ranks this year in spite of Shingo Takagi dropping the belt and PAC losing the New Japan Cup Finals to the current World Champion. IWGP United States, IWGP Tag Team (Death Triangle have become LIJ affiliates through PAC), and NJPW World Television Championships in their grasps, they seek to round out the group by all holding titles simultaneously. But that begs the question – who’ll be going after the World Title? Though Shingo’s battle ready, he insists Tetsuya Naito take it this time, the Stardust Genius having worked his back off to rebound from Wrestle Kingdom. Failing every attempt in the past 3 years though, the question remains whether he can truly pull it off this time, or if it’s just not meant to be.
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Kizuna Road - Night Four (July 1, 2024)
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Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & El Phantasmo) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC)
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With Naito confirmed as Sabre’s #1 Contender for Wrestle Dynasty, SG and LIJ have themselves a scaled-down rematch from New Year’s Dash, Zack picking his trusty right-hand man ELP, and Tetsuya bringing the US Champion, knowing PAC has unresolved issues with ZSJ from the NJC. Though it drives the Bastard to work doubly-hard, especially considering how it’ll look if he pins the World Champion, it also makes their teamwork suffer, PAC becoming self-absorbed in getting the pin. Backfiring, a Sudden Death from Phantasmo knocks his lights out, SG getting their win back from NYD and putting the challenger on the backfoot heading into Madison Square Garden!
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Sabre-Gun def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (16:12)
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PAC appears distraught after the match, but Naito simply tells him ‘tranquilo’, not taking it personally. Though he’d hoped to use this match to get into ZSJ’s head, it appears he’ll just have to do that himself, like he’s always done.
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Wrestle Dynasty (July 14, 2024)
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Also on the show:
Shota Umino (c) vs El Desperado - NEVER Openweight Championship
Just6Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Ryohei Oiwa) (c) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan) - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs Kyle Fletcher - NJPW World Television Championship
PAC (c) vs El Phantasmo - IWGP United States Championship
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs Meiyu Tag - IWGP Tag Team Championship
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Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Tetsuya Naito XI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
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In what’s been a very successful night for LIJ thus far, clean-sweeping their way through the competition, it all rests on Naito’s shoulders now to bring it home. Perhaps the most unreliable man to slot in this spot, and yet, the most beloved, MSG fully invested in Tetsuya’s chase, either the grandest of celebrations or coldest of heartbreaks will end the night! Naito keeps his cool, emanating his usual larger-than-life aura as he walks out in a pristine crimson suit, paying homage to Shingo, whilst Sabre’s cockier than ever with his recent streak of huge wins, knowing he has Tetsuya doubting himself after their tag. As he hands his title over, the two come face-to-face, SABRE SPITTING GUM INTO NAITO’S FACE, but Tetsuya doesn’t let ZSJ’s tactics faze him, having come too far for too long to let mind games be his downfall.
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Circling each other, Zack lunges for a lock-up but Naito walks past, smirking and stretching in the opposite corner. Sabre rolls his eyes as Tetsuya turns around and tells him ‘tranquilo’, before going for it again… Zack snatching the headlock this time as Naito tries to repeat, but Tetsuya instantly whips him to the corner, teasing the COMBINACION CABRON as ZSJ braces himself… Naito stops in front of him and does the ‘Abre los Ojos’ taunt!
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Furious, Sabre piefaces him, NAITO RETURNING A FOREARM, AND WE’RE OFF! Trading strikes, Zack rocks Tetsuya with European Uppercuts, Naito returning forearms, before a Japanese Arm Drag stops Zack in his tracks! Naito goes for another, but Zack hooks onto Tetsuya’s legs, tripping him up and contorting the foot! Tetsuya boots him off with the other, a Neckbreaker and a Somersault Senton connecting, though Sabre absorbs the latter, trapping Naito’s arm onto the mat to STOMP THE HAND!
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Picking him back up, he cracks Naito with chops, before whipping him at the ropes, Naito hitting off them one after the other to build momentum, teasing the Flying Forearm Zack’s expecting… only to roll into the Tranquilo pose! ZACK MEETS HIM WITH A NECK TWIST!!! Tetsuya scrambling to the corner, Sabre steps on his throat against the ropes, BEFORE SLAPPING HIM! NAITO SPITS IN ZACK’S FACE!!! A harsh uppercut knocks Tetsuya back, a Running European following and a PENALTY KICK! Naito dodges and nails the FLYING FOREARM SMASH!
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Teasing the Tornado DDT, it’s cancelled by an Enzuigiri, Zack leaping for the KIMURA- NAITO COUNTERS INTO VALENTIA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!! Sending Sabre into the corner, the COMBINACION CABRON CONNECTS! AND A MISSILE DROPKICK! Naito teases the DRAGON SUPLEX, but Sabre flips through and STOMPS HIS ELBOW! SNAP GERMAN ON THE NECK FROM SABRE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! Naito woozy, his head’s only further knocked around by a ROLLING ELBOW! A CORNER HIGH KNEE connects, before a Hammerlock Suplex floats into a TESCO MEAL DEAL!!!
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Naito’s hand flails about the mat as Sabre keeps him grounded, no Valentia escape this time, forcing Tetsuya to work the old-fashioned way to the ropes! MSG backing the Stardust Genius, after much deliberation he gets a foot on the ropes! But Zack’s right back on him, going for a NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX- NAITO STANDS HIM UP WITH A SNAP DDT! An EVOLUCION’S shut down though, Sabre hitting the brakes to nail the ARM PELE! Fishing the arm, Zack tries to float into a FLYING ARTICLE 50- NAITO STUFFS HIM WITH A GLORIA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE SURVIVES!!!
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Rallying momentum, Tetsuya nails the TORNADO DDT! Sabre nursing the head, a DRAGON SUPLEX FOLLOWS!!! In the drop zone, Naito tests the waters for a RUNNING DESTINO- SABRE SHUTS IT DOWN WITH A EUROPEAN CLUTCH!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NAITO’S DREAMS STAY ALIVE!!! Getting dangerously close with the flash pin, Tetsuya throws defiant forearms, Zack catching and contorting one, but a ROLLING WHEEL KICK knocks him off! ESPERANZA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE KICKS OUT!!!
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Hooking the head, Naito hoists Sabre up… ZACK WITH A GUILLOTINE CHOKE MID-AIR!!! Tetsuya’s eyes bulge out his skull, looking for the nearest turnbuckle to ram Sabre into it, but ZSJ’s quicker, yanking him to the mat and transitioning into a JIM BREAKS ARMBAR!!! Brutally bending the arm at an awkward angle, there’s a manic look in Zack’s eyes as NYC desperately cheers on Naito, who does his best to hang on! Sabre keeps tugging further and further, eager to ruin Tetsuya, but it backfires, helping him stretch his leg to the ropes!
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The crowd erupts as the referee forces Sabre off, though Naito’s clearly hurting all the same, a European helping no less! Zack rallies with further Uppercuts, one knocking Tetsuya down, before firing a PENALTY KICK!!! NAITO ABSORBS IT AND ROLLS THROUGH, SABRE GOING FOR SECONDS BUT HE EATS A RUNNING DESTINOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!! Shaking himself off, Naito attempts another, though Sabre stops it with elbows, before hopping into a REAR NAKED CHOKE!
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Tetsuya tries to run forwards to free himself, though ZSJ swivels on his back into a GEDO CLUTCH!!! ANOTHER FLASH PIN! BUT NAITO ROLLS THROUGH THIS TIME INTO HIS OWN – POLVO DE ESTRELLA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE STAYS IN!!! AND AN EVOLUCION!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ANOTHER KICK OUT!!! NAITO’S GOING FOR THE SWING DESTINO!!! BUT A ZACK DRIVER COUNTERS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
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Slapping up Naito’s neck, Sabre dumps him on it with a TIGER SUPLEX!!! Naito woozy, Zack nails the PENALTY KICK!!! NAITO’S REFUSING TO STAY DOWN! Hearing MSG’s cries, he wills himself back up as Sabre watches in fascination… ONLY FOR ANOTHER PK TO CUT HIM OFF!!! And just like the 2022 NJC Finals, he’s going to end it here with a SECOND ZACK DRIVER- NAITO NAILS A DESTINO MID-AIR!!! HE’S STILL MOVING SOMEHOW!!! Stumbling to his feet, Tetsuya measures his man… DESTINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE’S FOOT’S ON THE ROPE!!!
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Saving Naito more than once, it’s come to Zack’s aid now too! Hammering Sabre with forearms, Naito tees up another DESTINO- PELE KICK!!! Tetsuya falls forward, Zack catching him in a STRETCH MUFFLER!!! IF HE CAN JUST GRAB THE OTHER LEG, IT’S ALL OVER, COMPLETING THE ORIENTEERING WITH NAPALM DEATH!!! Zack bends Naito further and further as he tries to grab hold… TETSUYA SWINGS BACK! AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! SABRE LETS GO!!! AND A ZACK DRIVER FROM NAITO!!!
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Sabre on his back, Naito thinks about waiting for the Destino… but then he sees the top rope. The crowd cry at him not to, screwing him over time and time again, but Tetsuya can’t help it! Heading up top, the world holds their breath, NAITO SOARING THROUGH THE AIR… STARDUST PRESS CONNECTS!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! IT’S A MIRACLE IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!!! NAITO’S WORLD CHAMPION AGAIN!!!
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Tetsuya Naito def. Zack Sabre Jr. (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (31:18)
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New York LOSES their minds as Naito’s handed the title, Tetsuya himself struggling to process what just happened! But then LIJ rush out – PAC with the US Title, Hiromu with the TV Title, Shingo, Yota, and Titan with the NEVER 6-Man Titles, and even the Lucha Brothers with the Tag Titles! THEY’RE DRAPED IN GOLD, BABY! Sharing embraces all around as a dismal Sabre trudges to the back, there’s not a single dry eye in the arena as the outcasts raise their fists to the sky with one hand and their titles with the other, golden tickertape hailing down! Naito’s on top of the world after 3 long years, and it feels damn good! Doing the customary championship edition roll-call, the show fades on LIJ holding all their gold… and PAC looking over at Naito’s.
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G1 Climax 34
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Entering his second of fifteen G1s as the reigning champion, Naito heads B Block opposite stiff competition. Though dispatching of Hiromu in friendly competition on Night One, the two are subsequently assaulted by KONGOH post-match, allowing NOAH’s KENOH to upset him the following night! Behind the 8-ball already, Tetsuya’s motivated to make a comeback, mowing through Narita, Tanahashi, Yota, Sabre, and KENTA to take back the lead! Suffering another surprise defeat at Jeff Cobb’s hands after multiple failed attempts from the Hawaiian Hulk to best him, it opens the door for a returning JAY WHITE to spoil his final night, wrecking Naito’s legs with a ladder, allowing Zack to advance on 14 points! As for B Block, a draw between Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada on the final night puts the Commonwealth Kingpin through, the rivals meeting one more time! Other key underlying stories see Shibata finally beating Okada, Ospreay avenging his Takagi loss, PAC beating his fellow LIJ members but losing to SANADA, and KONGOH causing ruckus throughout the competition.
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G1 Climax 34 Finals (August 19, 2024)
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Also on the show:
Jay White vs BUSHI
Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr. - G1 Climax Briefcase
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Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, PAC, Hiromu Takahashi, Titan) vs KONGOH (KENOH, Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki, Hi69, Shuji Kondo)
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Perhaps the focal reason for Naito not making the Finals, KONGOH’s tournament chicanery, as led by KENOH, was a masterfully crafted plan. After losing to Tetsuya in last year’s LIJ vs KONGOH series at Wrestle Kingdom 17, the thought of ruining the Stardust Genius for vengeance never left the Rogue Fist’s mind, and with his win over Tetsuya in the G1, their score is now 1-1. Reigniting the intense rivalry between the two stables, they have an upgraded rematch to their Wrestle Kingdom 16 5-on-5, both sides having greatly changed since then.
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Once again, PAC’s especially adamant to claim the spotlight, the loss to SANADA making him temperamental despite having the 2nd best LIJ record in this year’s tournament. An argument breaking out between PAC and Shingo as to who should get the pin is put on ice by Naito, though it doesn’t keep Titan from eating a nasty PFS from KENOH, handing the invaders the win!
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KONGOH def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (19:57)
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Redeeming WK16, KENOH offers the angriest of satisfied smiles, the group cackling as they gesture belts around their waists, warning that their business isn’t yet over. LIJ left behind, there’s a sour mood in the air from the loss, though when Shingo offers a fist in apology, PAC, taking a look at a nodding Naito, ultimately returns one, showing that despite popular belief, LIJ’s still fine.
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Splitting off for Shingo and co. to gear up for KONGOH’s second wave whilst Naito and PAC are scheduled for AEW’s ALL IN supershow, this time taking place in Tetsuya’s home of the Tokyo Dome, both men are set for defences on the show. In PAC’s case, it’s a rematch against J6G’s SANADA, the Bastard adamant to gain Naito’s favour by beating the traitor. As for Naito, he has Jay on his tail!
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Until the recent G1, White refused to show his face on any sort of NJPW programming (including Forbidden Door) since being embarrassed at Okada’s hands and having his faction torn to shreds. Leaving Japan to join AEW, no longer having connections to hide behind nor help him, he was forced to be the lone wolf for once, becoming even more merciless, knowing he’s all he has. After spreading chaos abroad, most recently coming up short in the AEW World Championship picture, trauma from his Okada loss clinging onto him anytime the stakes are raised too high again, he decided it was time to return to his roots to clear his head and eliminate any shred of weakness left in his body so that he can claim the top prize again, and there’s no better place to do so than the building his title was taken from him – the Tokyo Dome.
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The last time he faced Naito in the Tokyo Dome, he had Gedo by his side, yet still lost. Now though, he declares if he’s to have this match, he wants a compensatory factor. A means of looking out for himself, like Naito has LIJ. He’s already beaten Tetsuya thrice in singles competition, knowing he’s the better wrestler, so this time… HE WANTS A LADDER MATCH!!! Japan’s become more and more geared to the Western market, the culture shifting from traditions, so unless he’s a snob like Okada, he'll embrace the new vision and accept the challenge. Jay using the perfect words to get under Tetsuya’s skin, he accepts, looking to tear down the foundations of the Rainmaker’s regime with his reign, starting with this!
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RevProxNJPW 12th Anniversary Show (August 24, 2024)
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Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC) vs The Knight Dynasty (Ricky Knight Jr. & Zak Knight)
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The night before ALL IN features a special RevPro crossover event with their partners, NJPW, the 12th Anniversary being celebrated in Japan. Naturally, Naito tags with the most RevPro familiar member of LIJ, PAC, the two champions battling the celebrated Knight Dynasty, who are considered the present and future of the promotion! What begins as a fun exhibition sees more of the differences between PAC and Naito come to light, the hot-headedness of the Bastard and the collectedness of El Ingobernable wanting different things out of the match, yet still managing to remain reasonably on the same page. A close call on a 619 from Ricky sees Naito shove PAC out the way in the nick of time, absorbing the blow himself, though without acknowledging it, PAC springs to action, a Black Arrow on Zak scoring the victory!
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Los Ingobernables de Japon def. The Knight Dynasty (13:10)
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As the referee approaches LIJ with their titles, PAC’s quick to receive both, Naito only recovering just in time to find the Bastard lingering for a moment as he looks between the pieces of gold, before finally handing Tetsuya’s over him and walking off, leaving the leader confused yet unconcerned.
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ALL IN Tokyo (August 25, 2024)
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Also on the show:
PAC (c) vs SANADA - IWGP United States Championship
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs Golden Lovers - IWGP Tag Team Championship
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Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Jay White V - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Ladder
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Stepping into the mastermind of the Switchblade, White baits Naito to play his game, the long-time rivals settling their score over a belt they both have history with. With no Gedo around, Jay’s focus is to demolish Naito’s already tattered knees with the ladder like he did to cost Tetsuya the G1, slowing down each climbing attempt bit by bit. Given the two’s creativity, it’s a sick warfare of increasingly dangerous spots, Naito taking Jay with him to neck bump city, White cruelly massacring Tetsuya’s body with reckless abandon.
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White’s notably more in his element here, letting the Tokyo Dome atmosphere heal him whilst hurting Naito. A HANGING BLADE RUNNER cuts a Stardust Press attempt short, the magic only lasting once, but a ladder bridge CANADIAN DESTROYER buys Naito some momentum back! Ultimately, a war atop the ladder sees Naito boot Jay off, allowing him to unhook the gold to retain!
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Tetsuya Naito (c) def. Jay White V to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (25:30)
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Though Naito walks out with his belt, PAC doesn’t, making the Bastard’s issues all the more prominent, taking more frequent looks over at Tetsuya’s gold, which begs the question – was there more to PAC joining LIJ than originally thought? Still, he wishes Naito good luck for Wrestle Grand Slam, telling him he wants to see the belt on him when they go England. But for now, the end of his trilogy against KENOH awaits!
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Wrestle Grand Slam (September 8, 2024)
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Also on the show:
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs KUSHIDA - NJPW World Television Championship
El Desperado (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - NEVER Openweight Championship
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan) (c) vs KONGOH (Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki, Shuji Kondo) - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
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Tetsuya Naito (c) vs KENOH III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
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For over two years, the rivalry between LIJ and KONGOH has slowly simmered to this boiling point, coming down to the leaders now to settle their 1-1 score over NJPW’s top title! With the 6-Man Titles changing hands earlier in the night, Naito must put his 200% into assuring the same doesn’t occur here, or it’ll be disaster on New Japan’s waterfront.
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As two men that could not be more opposite collide, it’s an intense war over the company’s possession, everyone from fans to wrestlers on the edge of their seats as the last of the NOAH invaders try to leave their mark. KENOH shows nothing but hatred towards Naito for ruining his past chances, whilst Tetsuya savours his every moment in the Sun, having slaved away to hold this belt. A PFS almost does Naito in, whilst the DESTINO does the same for KENOH! Ragdolling the older star with Dragon Suplexes, KENOH sets up for the ENRIN… BUT IN HIS STARDUST PRESS MOMENT, HE MISSES!!! DESTINOOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! New Japan remains safe in the hands of Naito!
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Tetsuya Naito (c) def. KENOH to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (28:33)
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Offering a handshake to KENOH out of respect for their series… the Rogue Fist declines it, though from the look in his fiery eyes, an inkling of acknowledgement is there for Tetsuya. Telling Naito to keep the belt warm for him, he declares he’ll be back sometime again, and when that happens, he’s going to usurp Naito once and for all!
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And as they leave with their 50/50 successes, it’s back to LIJ to end the show on their usual note… except, PAC interrupts the tradition. He’s confused, no, he’s incredulous. What are they celebrating here? Failure? Or are they calling it ‘survival’? Is no one going to point out the elephant in the room? Just two months ago they were on top of the world, all draped in gold, but now they’re left with just Naito and the Lucha Bros’s gold. And yet, they’re celebrating? He’s been out here losing sleep over his missing US Title!
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If they wish to continue to be taken seriously, they need to act the part. Luckily… he has a solution. They say iron sharpens iron, so rather than fighting these large-scale wars outside their stable… why not have a ‘friendly’ within? Naito has the title and an incredible row of suitors before him, so he should pick one to defend against! Tetsuya seems perturbed by the idea knowing what almost happened the last time LIJ fought within, but as PAC insists, even pointing out how he’s the only one with a clean record over Naito… Tetsuya turns to him and raises the title! If such claims are going to be made, they need to be backed up too! Challenging PAC with his title on the line, a grinning Bastard accepts, bumping his fist!
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Burning Spirit - Night Seven (September 25, 2024)
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Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi) vs Death Triangle (PAC & The Lucha Brothers)
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Slyly manoeuvring his way into the title rematch he’s desired ever since getting a taste of the gold against Shingo last year, this is more so PAC’s chance to prove himself over the statement he’s seeming to be making. Nonetheless, with various combinations of LIJ facing Death Triangle over the Burning Spirit tour, they supposedly rely on each other to improve their own skill, these 6 especially drawing the very best out of each other. Working more seamlessly with DT than he had LIJ as of late, the freakish chemistry between the AEW lads has a Fear FactoDouble Stomp/Black Arrow combo end Hiromu, PAC grinning as he stares down Naito, the challenge growing closer by day…
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Death Triangle def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (18:24)
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Giving a brief interview heading into the match at Royal Quest, Naito states that he can’t be certain on what PAC’s intentions are, but all he knows is that no matter what, LIJ sticks together. If this match is what PAC needs for his peace of mind, then it’s all his. All he can hope is the Bastard has the same idea of family in mind.
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Royal Quest IV - Night Two (October 6, 2024)
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Also on the show:
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs Kazuchika Okada - G1 Climax Briefcase
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Tetsuya Naito (c) vs PAC II - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
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The relationship between LIJ and PAC has developed into one of the more intriguing dynamics this year, raising a multitude of questions, but now, the true light of it all will be revealed. Whether it’s friendly fire or another coup, Naito’s ready for whatever PAC may happen to have up his sleeve, whilst the Bastard lets his actions do the talking. For once, it’s an utterly no-nonsense showdown between Los members, Tetsuya taking the threat of PAC very seriously, the Jordie clearly driven to make the grand prize his. And as the match rolls on, Naito starts to see parts of himself in PAC with each cheer or cry from his home crowd.
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Just like Naito, he’s the incredibly-talented misfit who was overlooked, but unlike a young Naito, PAC doesn’t realise he has the world on his side already despite his quirks. Whilst Naito had to suffer through his changes, PAC’s a made man, and with each near-fall, the crowd see it too, becoming more and more invested in him! On the cusp of his crowning moment, PAC shows no hesitation unlike the Stardust Press, NAILING THE BLACK ARROW!!! ONE! TWO! THR-BUT NAITO KICKS OUT!!! PAC may have ‘it’, but Naito’s operating on an entirely different level as World Champion, and no matter what PAC may have thrown at him, it’s not his moment just yet. DESTINOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
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Tetsuya Naito (c) def. PAC to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (30:11)
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Maybe a different day. Both men propped in opposite corners of the ring, they suck deep for breaths, PAC only taking his eyes off Naito when he spots the title bring brought over to him. That should’ve been his. He should’ve been champion right now, but… he starts tuning in the crowd again. A standing ovation for the hometown boy. Though he may not hold the title right now, he’s still a champion in their eyes… Solace. Always overlooked, all he needed was approval. And now more than ever, he feels he has it. Noticing PAC’s realisation, Naito grins and nods to him, the two bumping fists together, no sour ending on this one.
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At least, not between LIJ… OKADA’S HERE!!! After shockingly beating Ospreay for his G1 briefcase earlier in the night, the Rainmaker has his sights on the Tokyo Dome main event, and if things are to be believed, it may be Naito defending against Kazuchika on the grand stage! The long-time WK rivals locking eyes, there’s a different atmosphere between the Ace and the Dark Ace now. No longer does Okada look upon Naito condescendingly, but with disgust. Though he failed to beat Shingo earlier in the night, Kazuchika’s been vocal all year about the damage he feels LIJ have caused the company.
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Where he did everything to purify the promotion with his reign, beating away outsiders, Naito did the exact opposite, bringing them further into their ranks and breaking tradition with a ladder match. With this briefcase in his hand though, he has the power to change that… but so does he. OSPREAY JOINS IN!!! The man who lost his case earlier in front of his own family, he can’t even look the smug Okada in the eyes. Rather, turning to Naito, he declares his desire to return to WK’s main event to not be over just yet! Against better judgement, he gave Shingo a shot at this title last year and it cost him everything. All he asks is Naito returns the favour! Smirking, Tetsuya tells him ‘earn it’, WK’s main event scene growing all the more interesting!
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Battle Autumn - Night Five (October 15, 2024)
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Elimination: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Death Triangle) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Aussie Open)
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Desperation drives a man to his darkest pits, and Ospreay is very much there. Banding his troops together one year on since the last LIJ/UE tag of this magnitude, the ante’s upped even higher now, needing to survive an elimination match to receive the match of his desires. Both stables going to war here, all their integrated rivalries of the past years come to a head, the one between Ospreay and Naito lying at the centre of it all. UE get a tough break to start with when Great-O-Khan hits the deck early, Mark Davis following, though a comeback removes the Lucha Bros from the equation!
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Cobb goes next, before Ospreay takes out PAC, a double countout subsequently removing the leaders from the equation! Boiling down to Shingo and Kyle, the Aussie Arrow pulls out the underdog performance of his life, channelling all of Ospreay’s moves before a GRIMSTONE ELIMINATES SHINGO! OSPREAY’S HEADED TO KOPW!!! Raising Fletcher onto their shoulders, it’s a grand celebration from UE, Will receiving one last lease on life! As for Naito, he can only stand and wait, a final challenge paved in his path to the Dome.
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United Empire def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (25:33)
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King of Pro-Wrestling (October 27, 2024)
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Also on the show:
KUSHIDA (c) vs Taiji Ishimori - NJPW World Television Championship
Sabre-Gun (Blake Christian & Clark Connors) (c) vs Catch 22 - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - G1 Climax Briefcase
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Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Will Ospreay IV - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
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One year ago, Ospreay’s overzealousness cost him the chance to main event Wrestle Kingdom with the World Title, but now, as it all comes full circle, it’s official, the winner of this match defending against Okada! With that in mind, both men are equally ravenous to make the grand opportunity theirs! Their fourth match together, it’s rife with callbacks, Naito especially making sure to remind Will of the way he beat him in last year’s A Block Finals to get in his head.
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To Tetsuya’s surprise though, this matured Ospreay is impervious to his strategies! No matter what the champion throws, the challenger always has an answer, their see-saw saga featuring plenty of nail-biting near-falls that could send either man through, but it’s a TRIAD OF HIDDEN BLADES that ultimately calls it, Ospreay finally reclaiming his throne, a date with destiny set in stone!
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Will Ospreay def. Tetsuya Naito (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (35:38)
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Before WK though, Power Struggle is on the calendar! Featuring the likes of Death Triangle dethroning KONGOH for the NEVER belts for PAC to fully find his place in LIJ, Ren Narita dethroning Katsuyori Shibata for the NEVER Openweight Title, and Shingo Takagi taking the US Title from SANADA, it also sees Ospreay team with Catch 22 against Okada and the two men who ended Francesco Akira and TJP’s legendary reign, SHO & Taiji Ishimori, with UE scoring the vengeful win! And on the final Road To Tokyo Dome special, Ospreay finds a surprising ally in Shibata against Okada and Tanahashi in a HUGE blockbuster tag, CHAOS getting their win back here as Shibata keeps chasing down a rematch with Tana!
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Wrestle Kingdom 19 (January 4, 2025)
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Also on the show:
Sabre-Gun (Blake Christian & Clark Connors) (c) vs Li-YOH - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) (c) vs CHAOS (Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
SHO (c) vs Francesco Akira - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Ren Narita (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NEVER Openweight Championship
Shingo Takagi (c) vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - IWGP United States Championship
Minoru Suzuki vs Taichi - Retirement
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata
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Will Ospreay (c) vs Kazuchika Okada XII - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
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Finally, this is what it’s all led to. A story set in motion from the very first moment Ospreay set foot in NJPW under Okada’s guidance in CHAOS 9 years ago. Fighting through loss after loss after loss, he finally achieved his clean win over Okada last year to reclaim his World Championship, but now, he must accomplish an even greater task – beat the Final Boss in the Tokyo Dome itself! Failing on both occasions against Okada on NJPW’s biggest stage akin to Okada’s own chase of Tanahashi, it’s his Wrestle Kingdom 10 moment now as he walks into the Dome as the reigning champion, with the Ace as the challenger! Win and he’s immortalised in history. Lose and Okada resets the company’s entire trajectory. High stakes weighing on Will’s shoulders, it’s time to elevate under pressure!
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Entering with WK level entrances to boot, Okada dripping sheer gold, and Ospreay with an entire kingdom of suited individuals accompanying him, they get underway as the bell sounds! And for the first time, it’s Ospreay controlling the opening sequence with the Tanahashi-style headlock! Big brothering Okada, he doesn’t let the Rainmaker out the gates in his own ballpark for a few minutes straight… BEFORE WILL EXPLODES FOR A HANDSPRING ENZUIGIRI!
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Okada dodges, going for a GERMAN, but Will flips through, nailing the HOOK KICK, an OSCUTTER coming up empty, Kazu swinging for a ducked RAINMAKER, and it’s a stalemate! Trading forearms, a Lariat dumps Okada out, Ospreay running Kazu’s routine of the guardrail whip and Big Boot, a RUNNING CROSSBODY EATING A DROPKICK! Nailing a TOMBSTONE on the floor, Okada sets up a table at ringside before rolling Ospreay in, the MISSILE DROPKICK and AIR-RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER harping on the neck! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!
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Wrenching the MONEY CLIP, it doesn’t get him far, a BRAINBUSTER catching Okada by surprise! SHOOTING STAR PRESS! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! A PIP PIP CHEERIO eats a BEAUTIFUL DROPKICK, before Okada whips Ospreay at the corner, only for Will to pop him up onto the turnbuckles, slamming Kawada Kicks into his face! CHEEKY NANDOS! Ospreay tries for a LIGER BOMB through the outside table, but Okada drops to the apron! Will charges for a Yakuza Kick, but a LANDSLIDE BLOCKS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY STAYS IN!!!
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Hammering the neck, Okada lunges for a RAINMAKER, though a SNAP CUTTER blocks! ROBINSON SPECIAL! Will winds up the CHELSEA GRIN, but it receives a slap and a JOHN WOO DROPKICK! A pair of Short-Arm Rainmakers ricochet off Ospreay, but a Rainmaker is feigned for a DDT! DIVING ELBOW DROP!!! ONE! TWO! THR-WILL KICKS OUT AGAIN!!! A TOMBSTONE is countered by knees, Ospreay whipping Okada at the ropes, Kazu countering a BACK BODY DROP OVER THE ROPES!!!
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Will narrowly missing the table, Okada follows with a TOPE CON HILO… BUT OSPREAY MOVES OUT THE WAY, THE RAINMAKER EXPLODING THROUGH THE WOOD!!! Shoving Okada’s lifeless body inside, Ospreay sets up a HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOO!!! A STORM BREAKER is blocked, Okada nailing a sick CORNER GERMAN! Dropkick rocks Will, before the TOMBSTONE connects! RAINMAKER’s dodged, Ospreay rebounding into an OSCUTTER- DROPKICK!!! AND A RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
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Okada keeps the wrist, going for seconds… OSPREAY NAILS A RAINMAKER OF HIS OWN!!! Wrist still held, Will nails close-range elbows to the neck, before winding up another HIDDEN BLADE- HEAVY RAIN!!! OKADA NAILS HIS OWN HIDDEN BLADE!!! Teasing the STORM BREAKER, Ospreay spins out, dumping Kazu with a LANDSLIDE!!! AND A HIDDEN BLADE… Okada collapses! As Will tries picking him up, a DROPKICK awaits! ANOTHER DROPKICK! AZTEC SUPLEX – A LA ULTIMO DRAGON!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!!
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Okada decks Ospreay with a RAINMAKER, but Will doesn’t go down fully, Kazu nailing a SECOND! Going for the Ripcord this time… RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA KICKS OUT!!! ESSEX DESTROYER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ANOTHER KICK OUT!!! Cracking a HIDDEN BLADE off Okada’s nose, an OSCUTTER follows, before he floats into a STORM BREAKER- FALLING RAINMAKERRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
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Okada smelling blood, he tries for another, AND A HIDDEN BLADE CONNECTS AT THE SAME TIME!!! Keeping hold, the two knock each other loopy with one free arm… OSCUTTER’S CAUGHT WITH A TOMBSTONE!!! Okada picks him back up, going for a SPINNING TOMBSTONE- OSPREAY REVERSES INTO A SPIKE PILEDRIVER!!! Ripcord… HIDDEN BLADE!!! AND A STORM BREAKER!!! Hoisting him up for one more… A SECOND STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
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Will Ospreay (c) def. Kazuchika Okada to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (40:51)
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HE’S DONE IT! OSPREAY’S FINALLY SURPASSED THE ACE ON HIS OWN STAGE! No longer is Okada himself anymore, but rather the Tanahashi to Ospreay’s Okada, the cycle continuing. And like his counterpart 9 years ago, Kazu leaves as empty-handed as he walked in for the first time in a decade, the times officially changing! And as sunlight washes over the Land of the Rising Sun, a new dawn is revealed. The dawn of the Ospreay Era.
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Epilogue
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Heading into 2025, NJPW is rife with changes, seeing more of the once Young Lion names step up as the likes of Tanahashi and Naito begin to slow down. CHAOS features a massive shakeup the following night as Shinsuke Nakamura returns, kickstarting his road to retirement, having been vocal in his interest of facing Tanahashi, proceeding to feud with Okada over his failures. As for Ospreay, his reign runs until Sakura Genesis, where one NJC Winner Katsuyori Shibata finally dethrones him 8 years on from his loss to Okada, though Will’s time with the title is far from over yet, remaining an integral part of the picture alongside ZSJ, Shingo, and more.

Want to feel confident again in your favorite dress? Ever feel like no matter how hard you train, your booty just doesn't seem to show results? The Electrical Hip Muscle Stimulator solves this problem for you instantly!
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https://reddit.com/link/13to377/video/ogac0jaool261/player
This allows you to train your booty and lower bodyeffectively from the comfort of your own home. It uses electrical muscle stimulation to promote muscle movement, scientifically proven to tighten your musclesto help achieve that perfect figure.

Highlights:

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• Electronic muscle stimulation: stimulate the hip and gluteal muscles and help to tone, tighten and firm your hips and buttocks to achieve the body that you’ve always wanted
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• You only need to train for 15-20 minutes/day to get that noticeable improvement in just 4 weeks
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Specifications:

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• Material: PU
• Power Source: 2 x AAA batteries (not included)
• Certificate: CE/EMC, ROHS-certified
• Color: Black & Orange
• Size: Approximately 260mm x 188mm x 12.8mm

Package Includes:

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• 1 x Electrical Hip Muscle Stimulator with Reuseable Gel Pads
• 1 Set of Reusable Gel Pad Replacement

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So context: I am a DM who is running two seperate campaigns, one is a Descent into Avernus game and the other is a Tyranny of Dragons game. Both campaigns have the same party of players (though one person is only in ToD and not DiA) and DiA sessions are the day before the ToD sessions. Warning, very small spoilers but nothing specific that needs the spoilers tag.

Story:

So in DiA, the party, now at lvl 2 went into that one dungeon in Baldur's Gate and meet up into an enemy group with a total CR rating of 2 1/2, should be fine, right? WRONG! So the bard decided to disguise himself and get in front of the enemies under disguise as one of their allies. Unfortunately, the bard did not have any identification on him and failed to answer the enemy's questions right, resulting in fight. So this bard was more or less on his own without a frontline at the moment against two melee focused enemies.
The party did get to the room though was slowed a little with difficult terrain. The party had to rely on ranged attacks at first before closing the gap but failed to do enough damage, either by missing rolls or not doing enough damage. Soon enough, the bard goes down when he got ganged up by the two enemies and now has to start rolling death saves. But because I both a tactical but uncruel DM (mostly) I didn't have the enemies finish him off and deal with the others. Eventually, because the players weren't able to beat the enemies quick enough, the bard fails his last death save against 2 passed and died. Saddest part was that the sorcerer could have ended it before the bard died by firing their last magic missile on the last weakened enemy, instead going for an attack and missed.
The fight ended with the cleric knocked out (but they did get up) and bard dead. But because I am a partially merciful DM (and partial schemer) I decided to give the bard a chance at life by bringing the bard back to life (at a cost) but that's unimportant to this specific story and will only bring it up if someone asks.
Now let'a fast forward to the day after (aka yesterday) and onto Tyranny of Dragons, so the LVL 9 party (only 4/6 players showed up) went into the dragons lair expecting a TPK probable seeing how they are missing 2 PCs (and a CR 3 buddy). Much to everyone's surprise the first round was absolutely nuts.
So the rogue (who plays a sorc/ranger in DiA) went first and he got a NAT 20 on his attack with sneak attack damage, so big ouchies. Second the dragon and the lair actions turns and did some damage to 2 players but neither got knocked down, then the came the paladin (who plays the Bard who died and was ressurected in DiA) who ALSO got a NAT 20 and used a lvl 3 divine smite, lots of dice of damage was rolled. And if it couldn't get any worse, a Drow Barbarian (who plays a dwarf fightebarb in DiA) also got a NAT 20! But because he was using range the brutal critical didn't apply but still that was nuts. Though that barb did get another nat 20 the second round! The 4th player, a homebrew bar-bear-ian (who plays a sorc in DiA) decided to fall back and heal instead of fight and I offered them the chance to finish it if it got a nat 20, regardless of current HP, but they said no. Funny enough, one round later, that barbearian got frightened by the dragon a round later and so gets disadvantage on attacks, they would have gotten a NAT 20 had they not have DIS in the roll). After a couple hits in they kill the dragon and get the reward. Funny enough that wasn't the only super interesting thing to happen that session.
TLDR: Party makes bad rolls in a medium fight causing one PC to die in one campaign session and that same group of players make godlike rolls in a dragon fight in thd first two rounds.

So I've spent far more time than I should thinking about this. Just wondering if others have also worked out ideas on which dragons fit each class or race.
Warrior - Black. Connections are the prot artifact weapon and 2x iconic Deathwing armor sets. In End Time we saw the warrior Baine in the obsidian dragonshrine. The charge as defenders of the earth meshes with protection spec, while the chaotic and wrathful actions of Deathwing invoke rage and fury. Warriors reflect the forceful, and when uncorrupted, noble characteristics of the blacks.
Death Knight - Frostbrood, easy.
Paladin - White, alternate Red. This is extremely speculative but I'm hoping based on some clues (unreleased white dragonriding skins, Tyr, silver scale) that we'll be getting dragons that fit for paladins. If not, I put them on red, as they would share in the goal of the defense of life on Azeroth. Both butn foes or heal allies with radiant flame.
Shaman - Elemental Drakes, alt Red or Black. There are a variety of elemental infused drakes now which aren't part of the 5 aspects deal that make for obvious Shaman mounts. For similar reasons to paladin they could go red. During Cata the shaman Thrall took the place of the Black aspect.
Hunter - Bronze, alt Green. Bronze is tricky as there is not an obvious class that lines up with it. It's time magic is on mages but they already have a stronger fit in Blue. I put hunters here because they may have the right characteristics to act as agents in the defense of the timeways. To seek out and correct deviations in the timeline would require agents that can maintain a low profile, survive without infrastructure. If granted long life, the type who would be able to deal with isolation of longevity. If not, Green probably works with a shared interest in the natural world.
Evoker - Chromatic, easy. Could argue that they shouldn't need drake mounts, but while they do the Chromatic is a perfect fit, as they were both projects of Neltharion combining the power of all flights.
Druid - Green, easy.
Rogue - Black via Netherwing, alt Bronze. Connections are the blacktalon agents and legendary questline. While daddy was forceful as a warrior, the children all used tactical, underhanded methods to obtain their goals. I like the Netherwing here for visual reasons, as the ephemeral nature of the drakes feels like a shadowy rogue, while maintaining the connection as the Netherwing were black eggs. Bronze could work here for the same reasons as Hunter.
Monk - Undecided. I use a green storm drake on mine, inspired by the Jade Serpent though they don't seem to have much connection to the emerald dream. The spirit force they draw on has a green feel. They have elemental abilities, they could be concerned with the red's protection of life, the timewalkers have a strong pandaria presence, nuizao invokes very much a bulwark/warder feel, the lorekeeper aspect might be of interest to the blues. The monks kind of have their own thing going on, so I think most anything could work.
Demon Hunter - Netherwing. The Netherwing of Outland were under the control of the Illidari making these obvious companions, and I don't feel that there's a stronger replacement on Azeroth.
Mage - Blue, alt Bronze. Feels like an easy assignment to blue, but leaning in on the time magic component can go Bronze.
Warlock - Fel/Corrupted, alt Black. The Feldrake and Smoldering Emberwyrm offer up drakes corrupted by fel magic to give some options. Otherwise, the black dragonflight is the definition of "power at any cost" and experimented with dark magic such as shadowflame to achieve their goals.
Priest - Red+Twilight, alt Bronze. For similar reasons to paladin the priests could share in the red flight's defense of life. The void influenced Twilight Drakes are the obvious companion to the shadow priest. I use a macro that summons based on whether shadowform is active. Including bronze because I considered the pairing, leaning into the "SeeProphet" role of priests such as Velen, who might have in common the ability to have awareness or intuition over other realities or possible futures.
Now some notes on races:
Orcs - A strong overall connection to the blacks, as they were voluntary allies during Warcraft 2: Beyond the Dark Portal. They continued to collaborate in Blackrock mountain with the Wow-era blackrock orcs. However, the Orcs will utilize whatever they can- The original Dragonmaw previously dominated the reds who would make unlikely allies at this point. The Dragonmaw of outland dominated the Netherwing. The Dragonmaw under Zaela bred Proto-Drakes resulting in Galakras.
Elves - I generally like to give these the "original" uncorrupted dragonflights, as I feel the longevity of these races would have made them likely to be bonded to the OG dragons.
Tauren - I like the proto-drakes here, purely because the extra bulk of these makes it look like they could actually carry a Tauren. There's not a strong connection specifically, but it's also not impossible, as the Tauren did operate in Northrend. If there's every an ogre/half ogre race I think proto drakes would go here as well.
Trolls - The obvious thing here is to put these on the Velocidrakes because of the strong use of dinosaurs elsewhere, but I don't love these models. For Zandalari, I'm trying them out on Storm Drakes though, as the skin tones match pretty well, and tying them back to the throne of thunder. Lei Shin promised his boon to the loyal followers, such as Jin'rokh, but perhaps the adventurers discovered the mastery over the storm drakes which would have been given to the greatest champions.
Panda - Cloud Serpents
Humans - The Broken Isles Storm drakes seem best fit on humans as they're used extensively on the progenitor Vrykul.
Dwarves - The stone drakes feel as they share Deepholme with the progenitor Earthen.
Draenei - have struggled as these don't have anything obvious. I put them on Netherwing as the colors match well and they are both from Outland, and in a way both shattered/abandoned people. I didn't really like giving them the fae dragons as in WoD.
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There's other stuff not tapped such as the veilwing of shadowlands, heart of the aspects, rylaks?, other dragonriding families. Anyway just curious what others have come up with on who gets what dragon mount.

Intro

Greetings stranger, so you have made your way TopDrives as a new player. Let me applaude you for picking this mobile game - you could have done so much worse! There is a reason many (including myself) are hooked for years. I hope you enjoy the game and have a fun ride!
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resources

SLOTS
In the early stage of your garage everything is a resource and you lack everything. Get used to it. But nothing - I repeat nothing! is as important as garage space in the beginning and it only really starts to fall off at the 1,5k - 2k mark. Until then and especially everytime you get below 10-30 free spaces you should aim all your saving of gold at the purchase of the next offer including slots! You are new, a shiny epic or legendary looks nice and feels powerful but the only sharp weapon that will carry you up until RQ500 is variety. Keep every car! Your garage is full? Use low RQ cars for fusing and replace them with better ones. Always keep 3 slots (and not more!) for rotating fusematerial from your watinglist to upgrade immediatly. At this point all of your cars except the 3 rotation slots should be locked and part of your game. Use the 24h watinglist as costfree slotextension but do not forget to sell, keep or fuse those cars because otherwise they just expire worthless.
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CASH
You will not have any cash for the most part and it is totally fine. You might consider saving up to 30-50k as an emergency reserve to perform some tunes for a top tier finish. The math is simple tuning 1 or 2 cars to win ceramic pack holds more value than straight up buying said ceramic because you get to keep the upgraded cars as a permanent boost for your garage. This way you also go for the benefit of higher tier placements: more gold, more cash, more renown and more flags. You can read more details on how to handle events here.
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GOLD
Gold will be nearly as sacred as slots for your start. Try to accumulate as much income as possible - see here. And save it for the worth offerings - see here.
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RENOWN
This is simple. You take what you get and progress at your own pace. It's not time limited so you don't have to rush things. Pick up some nice packs along the way and have fun. My recommendation would be to go for the yellowbird. The Nissan is only viable if you happen to get a strong japan garage early on.
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singleplayer

You try to finish the campaign as fast as you can and collect the rewards. Everything is still new to you, enjoy the ride and have fun. Let me just point out the keepers you want to hold and maybe max out.
Here is a list of the most useful campaign cars.
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The other part of PVE are challenges which come up from time to time. They are themed and each got their own tag and have a time limitation. There will be a separate part dedicated to those challenges.Just one thing upfront: for those events your garage needs variety! That's why every car counts, even the low RQ shitty ones. If you struggle with garagespace then just focus on the already known tags for the upcoming challenges. Those tags get released way before the challenge will hit and give you a chance to collect some cars ahead of time. You will by no way win the final price, but in your early stage even getting to a SR or UR pricecar will be a huge step and means you earned a ton of cash and some packs on your way.
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garagemanagement / how to catch up

This game has come a long way till now and many players do hold more than 2-3k cars in their garage. You do not compete with them. At all. That's why you start with beginners of similar strenght, which gets measuredin RQ (your 'playerlevel' and cap for combined strenght of your 5 cars; you can max. reach RQ500 = e.g. 5x 100 RQ car - something you can only dream of for now) and your trophycount which gets increased everytime you perform well in an event and once you get past 4k trophies you're about to swim with the big boys. But keep in mind: if you want to piss with the big dogs you got to get your leg up, so how do we do this?
The system as such is pretty dumb because it tends to reward new players who do not participate much in the events / PVP. For each gained star (1min to 3max) in a PVP race you get to chose a price from the priceboard (5x 3 prices, which get reset once all 15 have been cleared). Those prices include common, uncommon and rare cars, gold (3 each) and EXP to level your RQ (once you reached RQ500 turns into 250 cash. yay.)
Ofcourse you want the cars for fuse and sale and the gold, what you don't want is to level. Sadly you can not chose what you will get as a price and for that reason you try to win 'as little as possible', which means ideally only 1 Star (= 1 price on the priceboard) for each win to level as slow as possible. This way you can stay in the puppy bracket for longer while getting as many ceramics from the events as possible. Weird for someone who just gets hooked with the game, but we are talking about min/maxing, right?
Now here comes the tricky part: hutch implemented a new system of engagement in those events. Each tier now as a certain requirement of finished races (no matter if won or lost). This means even if you get to #1 with 5-0 races you will not get the #1 price because you do not have participated in enough races to claim that rank for you. This makes it even more important to reach your best tier with as little EXP gained as possible. That's why you should aim for the 1-star wins until you hit RQ500. If you want to play the game excessively you should hop on club-races as fast as you can, because you can race as much as you want, get to know your garage and many tracks and not gain any EXP while doing so. But clubs will be a separate part for their own.
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two little tricks I've come across to 'use' the new minima-requirements to your advantage:

1. you are 'late-joining' (about 8-12hrs before the end) a bracket and many people have low race-counts (because they are not used to the new system) you can actually spam games and sneak in front with a worse hand. How's that? Well if you get to get 5-15 you will be way back pointwise, but since you are the only one with a sufficient number of races finished you'll get placed in the top tiers to hopefully claim a ceramic pack. But for this to work you have to monitro your bracket and get an overview of who above you has how many races done and do the math where everyone could end up
2. you are happening to have a godtier hand for this event. Easy 5-0 and others fail to beat you so you end up with maybe 10-0. So instead of kicking everyones ass (I know it's hard because that's one of the single most fun things in top drives) you could intentionally lose some games to get your racecount up while not gaining EXP. Just watch your points and don't feed only one player so you won't slip down the ranks.

So you basically have to find a balance between upgrading your garage by winning packs and not climbing in RQ too fast.

Well after 223k miles my passenger side outer CV boot has finally blown. surprisingly the axle is still "good" from a driveability standpoint, no noises or sounds at high speeds or over bumps, etc. But with that much mileage, as you would guess, the logic is - if I'm removing that Axle nut, that whole axle is coming out.
Does anyone have a line for best price on OEM axle assembly p/n 43410-44042?
I'm still weighing my options. I could just replace the boot w/ OEM replacement boot and keep on trucking. I could also go with a cheaper aftermarket axle assembly, but I'm just not sold on that as I've pretty much seen all the reviews on after market axles.... unless anyone here has anything they'd like to share with their experience with non-OEM axles. OEM Junkyard axle is an option I suppose.... I'd want something from a lower mileage TC1 and no/minimal front end damage.
I know this has been discussed a bajillion times, but yeah I guess it's my turn LOL

Back in November 2022 I hit a pothole in the lake District (Cumbria council are responsible for the area), it popped a 3 week old tyre on impact, and it was so deep that as my front right wheel went into the hole, the front bumper smashed off the ground and it has broken the entire front corner of my bumper off. The hole in the bumper is big enough to fit your head in, which as I understand would be classed as dangerous to pedestrians under UK road law if someone can confirm? I pulled into someone's driveway about 50m up the road, and a couple came out to help change the wheel for my spare. They informed me they had reported the pothole for months to no avail. This couple have since sent me copies of emails reporting the pothole 18 separate times, dating back to April 2022. So the council had approx 7 months to fix this hole. I have contacted the council informing them of all of this and requesting they cover the cost for the tyre that popped, and that they cover costs to replace my front bumper (a new bumper is almost £700 and another £500 on top to paint, and there aren't any third party options - So I cannot afford this outright like I did with the tyre) and after 3 weeks I received an email from Zurich Municipal on behalf of Cumbria Council basically saying the council will look into it however they basically recommended I seek legal advice in case of it going to court. This was back in December 2022.
I've chased Zurich / Cumbria Council every 2 weeks since and have in total had 2 emails back stating "we are looking into it" and they will not give me an ETA on when I will receive any resolution. Legally how long do they have before they have to actually deal with this? As it stands they are saying replies can be up to 3 months wait, which my gut feeling is saying they just are fobbing me off. It has been over 6 months as of today since I hit that pothole, I'm still out of pocket for the tyre and driving a car with a 2ft wide hole in the bumper which may be classed as unsafe.
To add: The council filled the pot hole just 3 days after I requested they pay for damages, despite ignoring it for 7 months. Is this classed as admitting liability?
Should I take them to small claims court? What are my options here?
TL;DR: Hit a pothole. Popped tyre, bought new tyre. Smashed bumper, bumper is potentially dangerous to pedestrians, cannot afford to replace bumper. Council just not dealing with it.

I bought a Toyota Avalon with 230k miles to drive to and from work. I already expected to have to do some work to it, so I started with the front end suspension. Replaced Inne outer Tie rods, sway bar links, CV axle, control arm, ball joints, struts. But since I changed the tie rods/ sway bar links, it’s had sporadic popping in the front end. 20/30/40/50/60 mph. Just randomly pops. Did I not tighten something all the way? Is it too tight? Is there something I need to replace?
I am not a mechanic. But YouTube has helped me loosen nuts and bolts immensely.
Please help!

Mazda 6 needs front wiring harness replaced. Sell or fix?
Tldr: Mazda 6 2016(low mileage at 64000) has front wiring harness issue, won't start(dead battery) so can't easily bring to other places for appraisal Repair raw cost: $8250 + tax Discounted repair cost: $5600 + tax Dealership's appraisal: $1000 (after decucing the repairment cost) KBB appraisal I did while trying to disclose the wiring issue(can't be exact as UI doesn't have the option): $10600 KBB appraisal dealership did for me assuming the issue is fixed: trade-in: $13000; private party: $15000
This Mazda 6 2016 has been giving me lots of electrical headaches over the years. It's been 6 times since 2019, every time it would feel like the engine was shaking on the road, either idle, low speed or on highway. First PCM was replaced under warranty(I had to fight the dealership for this), then Mass Airflow Sensor, Oxygen Sensor, battery, a supposedly poor wiring job done by the 3P shop I brought it to, then finally the dealership located the short in the wiring harness, and it's gonna cost me $8250 with tax to fix.
After some even more back and forth with me filing a complaint to the state government, thr dealership reached back out to cooperate, offering either using insurance to cover or fix at discounted rate. Insurance claim got denied because they see it as caused by poor repair (likely from the one time I brought it to 3P, but they found some rodent waste and I suspect they just did some simple wrapping, so they didn't break it, just couldn't fix and got the blame).
Now the only option they offer is to fix with a discount($5600+tax), or sell outright to them (appraised as ~$1000 considering the repairs cost). I can also tow it out to get appraised else where but it properly won't look good. The supposed value after the fix looks kind of worth the try. And the time I can buy after fixing it for a less pressured car shopping also seems worth it, given that the current new car market is trending down with the credit crunch and inventory build up.
Would you advise fix or sell? Appreciate any prompt opinions, as I have to make a call by end of the day.

Endless researching about ebikes and I am whittling down my wants/needs for first ebike.
Cadence vs torque sensor- Want torque and thought I was done but NO! apparently there's different kinds of torque sensors on ebikes.
Kinds of Torque sensors- Bottom Bracket, Idler wheel on chain, Strain gauge on rear axle, Crank sensor, Spring Gauge on rear derailleur hanger.
Are some torque sensors better- reliable/troublefree/low maintenence/easily replaced etc than others?
Do some torque sensors make access/maintenance to rear wheel hardecomplicated? - changing tire/tube/chain/brakes etc? Want rear hub motor vs mid drive for the lower price/throttle/class 3. Would consider front hub motor but they aren't very common.
How do I find out what kind of torque sensor each ebike has?
Am I wasting my time trying to figure out which torque sensor is used by ebike makers?
Trying to find and compare basic list of components is already difficult since many don't list specifics like make/model of hydraulic brakes, derailleur etc.

Mazda 6 needs front wiring harness replaced. Sell or fix?
Tldr: Mazda 6 2016(low mileage at 64000) has front wiring harness issue, won't start(dead battery) so can't easily bring to other places for appraisal:
Repair raw cost: $8250 + tax
Discounted repair cost: $5600 + tax
Dealership's appraisal: $1000 (after decucing the repairment cost)
KBB appraisal I did while trying to disclose the wiring issue(can't be exact as UI doesn't have the option): $10600
KBB appraisal dealership did for me assuming the issue is fixed: trade-in: $13000; private party: $15000
This Mazda 6 2016 has been giving me lots of electrical headaches over the years. It's been 6 times since 2019, every time it would feel like the engine was shaking on the road, either idle, low speed or on highway. First PCM was replaced under warranty(I had to fight the dealership for this), then Mass Airflow Sensor, Oxygen Sensor, battery, a supposedly poor wiring job done by the 3P shop I brought it to, then finally the dealership located the short in the wiring harness, and it's gonna cost me $8250 with tax to fix.
After some even more back and forth with me filing a complaint to the state government, thr dealership reached back out to cooperate, offering either using insurance to cover or fix at discounted rate. Insurance claim got denied because they see it as caused by poor repair (likely from the one time I brought it to 3P, but they found some rodent waste and I suspect they just did some simple wrapping, so they didn't break it, just couldn't fix and got the blame).
Now the only option they offer is to fix with a discount($5600+tax), or sell outright to them (appraised as ~$1000 considering the repairs cost). I can also tow it out to get appraised else where but it properly won't look good. The supposed value after the fix looks kind of worth the try. And the time I can buy after fixing it for a less pressured car shopping also seems worth it, given that the current new car market is trending down with the credit crunch and inventory build up.
Would you advise fix or sell? Appreciate any prompt opinions, as I have to make a call by end of the day.

Mazda 6 needs front wiring harness replaced. Sell or fix?
Tldr: Mazda 6 2016(low mileage at 65000) has front wiring harness issue, won't start(dead battery) so can't easily bring to other places for appraisal:
Repair raw cost: $8250 + tax
Discounted repair cost: $5600 + tax
Dealership's appraisal: $1000 (after decucing the repairment cost)
KBB appraisal I did while trying to disclose the wiring issue(can't be exact as UI doesn't have the option): $10600
KBB appraisal dealership did for me assuming the issue is fixed: trade-in: $13000; private party: $15000
Long form: This Mazda 6 2016 has been giving me lots of electrical headaches over the years. It's been 6 times since 2019, every time it would feel like the engine was shaking on the road, either idle, low speed or on highway. First PCM was replaced under warranty(I had to fight the dealership for this), then Mass Airflow Sensor, Oxygen Sensor, battery, a supposedly poor wiring job done by the 3P shop I brought it to, then finally the dealership located the short in the wiring harness, and it's gonna cost me $8250 with tax to fix.
After some even more back and forth with me filing a complaint to the state government, thr dealership reached back out to cooperate, offering either using insurance to cover or fix at discounted rate. Insurance claim got denied because they see it as caused by poor repair (likely from the one time I brought it to 3P, but they found some rodent waste and I suspect they just did some simple wrapping, so they didn't break it, just couldn't fix and got the blame).
Now the only option they offer is to fix with a discount($5600+tax), or sell outright to them (appraised as ~$1000 considering the repairs cost). I can also tow it out to get appraised else where but it properly won't look good. The supposed value after the fix looks kind of worth the try. And the time I can buy after fixing it for a less pressured car shopping also seems worth it, given that the current new car market is trending down with the credit crunch and inventory build up.
Would you advise fix or sell? Appreciate any prompt opinions, as I have to make a call by end of the day.

My vehicle has been at this dealership since March 27th, 2023 because of a check engine light issue. I had checked the code and found that it was a crankshaft/camshaft correlation code and the vehicle stopped fully cranking. so I decided to take it into the dealership. They replaced the crankshaft position sensor but that did not fix the problem. They had found a wire repair to that sensor which had been done by my friend who is a master technician. (The repair obviously was not the fix) They said that in order to check any further they would need to replace the engine wiring harness which was going to cost me $4,000. I have an extended warranty but the warranty would not cover outside damages of course. I told them no way, that this has to be something else. They did not believe me and they had also gotten “advice” from a technician from corporate. I told them that it definitely has to be a timing issue if it was not the sensor. (I used to work in the industry and had seen this a couple times before). I had to speak with the shop foreman and explained to him the engine code I had received, apparently my advisor did not ADVISE the technician or shop foreman of this code. They could not check the codes as the vehicle would not start long enough for it to be read. They went ahead and tore down the timing cover and found that the timing chain guide was broken and completely missing. They ordered the guide which then took the rest of the month. My extended warranty covered up to 10 days of rental which in reality I had to pay out of pocket for. After the 10 days were up, I had not received any updates but I had to call which is when I heard that the camshaft lobe had been cracked. This to me is unbelievable as this part can only be damaged from outside forces or poor manufacturing. My car is a 2015 and has 96,000 miles and if it was poorly manufactured it would have gone out years ago. From what the pictures showed I could see evident damage to the front of the lobe. They got the camshaft covered under my extended warranty and had it ordered. They apparently also needed a coolant pipe that runs through the upper center of the block. We have been waiting for these parts to this day and I have gotten an update that the part was supposed to be here May 20th and now it isn’t coming until June 19th. I have repeatedly asked for a loaner, and also tried with my extended warranty, I have also called corporate for assistance to no avail. I have lost my job, I am about to be evicted from my apartment and currently have less than $10 in my bank account. I am beyond frustrated and done with this situation and I am searching for a legal way to go about this. PLEASE can someone tell me what I should do?