Starter locs from twists

Not sure if I'm doing this user submission right or not but... here we go.
​
Myself (42, non-binary) and my spouse (45, m) live in a small cottage on his parent's property as we prepare to purchase a home. This has been the arrangement since we, as a family, moved to our current location around four years ago (we're in the US). Myself and my in-laws get along fabulously, in fact, my spouse often says if we DO ever get divorced they would probably kick him to the curb and keep me.
But back to the subject at hand... my spouse and I love our little cottage. It's not big, just two rooms and a bathroom of which one of the rooms is our bedroom and office area and the other is our den and kitchen area. The only problem I have with it is the landscaping around it. It's about four or five basic, run-of-the-mill shrubberies (of which we have yet to have any questing knights ask us for), and really awkward and half-dead hydrangeas at each of our two doors.
I love gardening. It's one of my comfort tasks. I also have an intense dislike for hydrangeas because they are in full bloom for maybe two days out of a year and are dries twigs the rest of the year.
I have begged and pleaded with my in-laws to let me change the landscaping around the cottage--I even said I would transplant the current landscaping to being at their house, since they match their landscaping, and instead put a variety of bee and butterfly-friendly flowers and bushes around the cottage. My father-in-law was all for it but my mother-in-law was absolutely against it so... I wasn't allowed to do it. I even tried to sweeten the deal by saying I would plant more roses, which she loves, and she still said no.
I have done everything I can think of, short of driving copper in the roots of the accursed shrubberies and hydrangeas (because I don't want to kill them). Although I did get a small victory this past November when I bought a pumpkin to put out for the herds of deer that eat corn and sunflower seeds out of our bird feeders... I now have a massive pumpkin patch that is currently giving us massive yellow flowers every day and I LOVE it (I am also secretly hoping they choke out at least one of the hydrangeas as a bulk of the patch is right next to it).
The spousal unit and I are looking to FINALLY get our own property and starter home sometime in the next year. I keep telling him that, before we leave, I'm going to order two, one-pound bags of wildflower seeds (it would only be about $40) and just flower bomb the greenspace around the cottage. He says I should put that energy toward landscaping our soon-to-be home instead of a petty, albeit amusing, pseudo-prank on his mother. I told him it would give her something to remember me by once we move out despite the fact we will probably still see them every weekend once we move.
So, WIBTA if I flower bomb my MiL's yard?
PS: The only reason I still want to do it is because I know she loves bright flowers, in fact, she loves it when I bring her bouquets of flowers and arrange them for her, and during the spring and summer she likes to sit on the back porch and would be able to see the flowers from the porch. She was just raised with the mentality that yards have to be boring and tidy and that she would never be so bold as to scatter wildflowers all over the place. I figure her looking out over the property and seeing the little pops of bright flowers would bring her joy since I wouldn't be able to bring her flower arrangements as often once we move out.

My Dragon Flame made short work of most of the demons close to me, but they were clearly accumulating in that village. Perhaps this was meant to be the vanguard of their attack, or the fall-back base. And as more and more demons poured out, I quickly learned that when all four types are present, they gain some serious synergy. Ghouls would use ranged weapons instead of running dick first into final death, Decoms would attempt to trap me with their magic rather than kill me outright, Seducers would constantly surround me, because they could heal from damage and were far more resilient. Faced with a small army, I suddenly understood what Curt Connors felt. It's like my mind briefly split into two, probably from stress... of blue balls most likely. One part was focused on the fight, enraged and primal, and the other... the other kept noticing random stuff. For example, the primal part of my mind kept a demon between me and Oni, and after he cut down a ghoul and a decom the other part noticed that Oni seemed to avoid getting into a scuffle with Seducers specifically. Like the synergy relied on them. But as I dodged another attack, said seducer vaped her pink mist into my face, and I started coughing. Now that I no longer had gold to calm me down, the mist worked... just not as intended. Instead of turning me into a drooling idiot, my sense of smell seemed to be kicked into overdrive, while my instincts and reaction have dulled instead. The mist did nothing to excite me, but it did give me a strangely familiar taste in my mouth. Like a taste of gelatin capsules filled with yohimbine. That observant part of my mind noted that perhaps her pink energy wasn't potent enough to affect me, who had endured the Heat for so long. However, my reaction made other demons feel as if I was incapacitated, and they swarmed me again.
There was a distinct stench of chlorine from the plaza, or is it ammonia? Not really a surprise there, considering how many demons spilled themselves there. I failed to dodge an attack from the same Seducer's daggers, and now I had a huge gash across my back, which hurt a lot more than usual. But at least it was still healing.
There was the pleasant smell of medicinal herbs from somewhere behind me in the forest, and I assumed that it was either Radius or mage escort trying to recover from the pink mist. Considering what that mist was doing to people, perhaps they had some sort of Horny Bonk medicine? Decom's fireball nearly burned my face off, I barely avoided it, and only because I was busy dodging another attack. It ended with a few killed ghouls.
A combination of brimstone, curled milk and a revoltingly rancid odor of toxic plastic, the kind that bad knock-off toys with a bloody red torch in the chest are made of. That smell signaled the approach of Oni as he counterattacked, but I was too slow to react, and his fist landed squarely on my face. The hit was so strong it felt like my consciousness was knocked out of my body! Well, at least a part of my consciousness, the part that was distracted. As a result, I was watching myself in third person, feeling pain, and taste of my own blood, but unable to act. And the heat, in my blood, was rising again. But that hit, it did some good too. Because now, Dragon's instincts took over fully, shaking off whatever the mist was.
I watched my hand let go of the sword, as the fingers turned to claws, and lashed out at the demons in front of me. Oni dodged, leaving Seducer in the way of an attack - It tore out her throat, and she gurgled briefly before collapsing. Her regeneration was unable to keep up? That did nothing to dissuade others. But I noticed a strange expression on Oni's face. I watched as my other hand parried an attack and responded with a thrust of my clawed hand, breaking through the chest of another demon, piercing her heart by the feeling of it. Decom flung another fireball at me, but when it hit my face, I felt no pain, only irritation. My blood was boiling by this point. I saw smoke leaking out of my mouth, then I took a deep breath, but instead of fire I let out a mighty dragon roar from frustration. There was so much power behind it, the wall closest to me had collapsed, my whole body shook so hard that my consciousness rubber-banded back into my body, which was rather painful. However, it did clear my head, knocking all nonsense out.
Seducers got blown away (but they survived this again), few remaining decoms dropped dead, last ghoul was blown to bits, but Oni... Oni just staggered and only briefly. Good thing he did, though, because I needed a moment to recover too, and we both returned to the fight at the same time. I balled up my clawed fist and hit his face just as he hit mine, my head snapping back. I am sure it looked much less awesome and cinematic compared to similar scenes in anime. Pain in my face was nothing compared to pain in my hand, as claws actually dug into my own flesh. However, this time, probably because he was still reeling from the roar, the hit connected property. And while I couldn't see much damage, his reaction looked similar to mine the first time his hit landed. I recovered quickly and brought up my weapons, this time, properly parrying his counterattack. Seducers launched at me, their durability was getting to me. Worse still, because I now had only one sword. The other was laying there, out of my reach, and while I could fight in these odds, figuring out my claws NOW, was out of the question. I didn't think I was flexible enough. That's when Tia stepped in. Stealthy Rogue skewered one of the demons and threw ice potions at the same time. It gave me a breather I needed, helped by the fact that both Radius and the mage escort (I swear I'll ask his name when we get through this) finally rejoined me. They took on the bitches while I faced the medium bad.
I was briefly distracted, but it was long enough for Oni to knock the other sword out of my hand, and run me through with the bone blade. "Shit!" I coughed as he pinned me to the tree. "Said, as I. For me, no match," Oni was getting smug. "You first. After them." He pulled out a bone from his body, turned it into a sword and raised it to strike me down. But now that both my hands were free, my other hand also sprouted claws and I yanked the bone sword out... at least I thought I did. Claws actually shattered the bone! As his sword slashed at me, without thinking, I raised both my hands in defensive stance... and watched as the sword snapped against them. Only then did I realized that my hands weren't just clawed but also now covered in scales, and heavier than before. I had little time to contemplate the new discovery. I heard a scream of warning from Radius as Seducers surrounded me and one managed to bite me! "You dare hit a lady?!" one of them exclaimed. "Hammer of justice is unisex!" I think I muttered, before punching the biter. To my shock, her teeth remained lodged in my arm, while the rest of her body pulverized. "The hell?!" This finally got them to pause, but now I was on the offensive. My fists punched through the remaining Seducers until only one was left. Oni actually got in the way, as I tried to finish that bitch off. Even my heavy punch did nothing to really hurt the bastard, but my scales had no problem stopping his bone sword. I feigned the attack, while throwing an icicle at the demon... And I heard a sound of something snapping. Oni let out a pained snarl and swung his fist, I did the same. His fist socked me in the jaw, but my head didn't get foggy this time. My punch, on the other hand, actually caved his face in! There was a clear indent in the shape of my fist, and as he took a step back, bluish blood burst out. I expected him to heal from that, to snap his face back into place and attack again. But Oni collapsed, grabbed onto his face and started howling. My three companions approached the demon, weapons drawn. Tia's hand was bleeding, but he looked okay. Radius was covered in some suspicious goo, and the mage looked worse for the wear, too. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, shivers were running down my back. Something was wrong. His howl was getting higher and higher pitched, and his body started to glow...
I don't know what happened next. One moment - I was staring at the glowing demon, some sort of thought forming in the back of my head, the next - I was clutching Tia with one hand, Radius with the other and the Escort mage was holding onto my back for dear life, deep in the forest, kneeling amidst the burned out circle the size of the village plaza. The remnant of some defensive spell fell apart around me, but I've never actually learned one, so maybe it's the escort mage? All three of my companions looked shaken and confused. There was heat coming from the direction of the village, and a subtle smell of fire. There were broken and burned trees in that direction too. And a horrible realization struck me, my brain threw up the scene from the end of Predator. I ran back towards the village, skipping over toppled trees. And stared at an enormous crater, where a village used to be, the sides were rapidly cooling, cracking the stone. "Holy shit..." The only thing left of the village, were occupied pillories, and a weird twisted structure beneath them. With a bit of aerial movement, I landed by the pillories, but as soon as I did, the structure they were perched on began collapsing. I managed to leap back just in time, but the pillories puffed into smoke and disintegrated.

For starters, my son and I have been trying to cruise through the game without looking up ANYTHING. I just feel like that kind of ruins the experience and I want this game last. However I did cheat once and looked ip the Hylian Shield because I really wanted it but that’s it I swear! We have beaten the divine beast camel and elephant so far and we decided to just take a break from main missions to explore parts of the map we haven’t. Well he comes across the clouded area that covers the woods and tried to parachute in….obviously doesn’t work. That’s when I knew “this has to be it.” I found the entrance and we’re having at this maze.
Now again, I’m trying really hard not to look stuff up but I’m about to cave lol. We’ve been at it over well over an hour and we can’t get through. Anyone else try to blindly navigate this? I want to try asking what signs I look for or anything that shows I’m going the right way. We’ll see how this goes first and if we still suck, YouTube it is lol

Time Warps is an action-adventure game set in a futuristic world. Players must use the power of time manipulation to battle enemies and complete puzzles. With various weapons and gadgets at their disposal, they must travel between different time periods to save the future from an unknown evil. The game features classic platforming elements as well as unique time-based puzzles in order to progress. Time Warps also includes an engaging story with unique characters and twists.

Galadriel, goddess of rebirth and hope, was completely unaware of Xerxes' gaze upon her, too happy and occupied was she in spreading life and renewal throughout the mortal realm. She indeed looked as if she had been crafted from the Earth itself, with her sky-blue eyes, long dazzling golden locks, fair skin like snow and lips like roses. Her voice was the sweetest, warmest honey in existence, and everywhere she went, people felt a little better, a little more hopeful and rested and determined. Younger, almost.....
The goddess was coaxing life back into some wilting flowers when a creature approached her. Galadriel recognized them immediately as one of Xerxes' minions. The god of destruction had made his desire for her quite plain over the years, with gifts and proposals and the like, but the goddess refuses every one. He had murdered her father, and he was a cruel sadist. Galadriel would rather set fire to all her creations than do anything to make Xerxes happy, much less agreeing to be his queen.
"Mistress.....a gift, from our Master," a raspy voice whispered behind her. Galadriel sighed, not turning around. "Take it back, neither he nor his gifts are welcome here," she said firmly, lovely voice laced with venom. "I thought I had made that quote clear last time....."
"Oh, but he promises this is the last one," the shadow assured, holding out the vial. "One last declaration of his love: golden nectar. If you refuse him still, he will leave you be, mistress."
Galadriel scoffed, continuing to work. "Ah, how decent of him. You'll forgive my hesitation to--" Her blue eyes went wide as she saw what was clearly a love potion disguised badly as her favorite drink.
The goddess's blood boiled and she shook with fury. How dare that monster attempt to deceive her so disgustingly. His depravity truly knew no bounds...... Galadriel was about to smash it when she got an idea.
".......thank you," she replied coolly, calming down enough to smile politely at the shadow. "I..... appreciate his thoughtfulness. I will need time to think.....I do not give an answer yet. Will that suffice for now?"
The creature smirked and bowed. "Of course, my lady. Enjoy." He disappeared, and Galadriel considered the vial in her slim white fingers.
So, this is how he wanted to play it, then? Well, if he was willing to give her the perfect cover, remove any suspicion of rebellious motives or discontent from her, while also allowing her into his kingdom, his confidence, his bed.....exposing his soft underbelly, as it were.....then who was she to refuse?
Hi! If you suffered through to the end and are still somehow interested, and are 21+, shoot me your response to this starter in DM and we can go from there!

"Nothing ever grows here."
This was a sentiment my father expressed often, referring to a particular plot on the east side of our property, murmuring the words bitterly. No matter what crops he planted there, no matter the attention he gave them, they would either wither and die or grow in a sickly, twisted fashion.
When I was young I watched him work the land and brought him food and water as the sun beat down upon us, dreading the day that he often told me would come- the day I was old enough to toil alongside him.
My interests were books, knowledge, the arts. Things they taught at school, and the more interesting topics I could learn about from Thomas, our neighbor who lived a mile down the road from us. Though he was several grades above me, Thomas was always kind, treating me as one would a younger sibling and entertaining my curiosities. It was from him that I found myself immersed in works of fiction and fantasy, things that my father would glance at and grimace.
"These things aren't meant for people like us, Leroy. No, we weren't dealt a hand to indulge ourselves in the luxury of idle pleasures for men who do not work with their hands."
He never said these things with a tone of anger or resentment, but rather in a measured way, meant to let me understand that he would derive no pleasure in keeping me from my interests or from walking to the school in a few short months. No, he said these things regretfully, wearily. He too, had once dreamed of a life away from his family's struggling farm. The only of his three siblings to survive adolescence, he chose to stay and aid my grandfather after my grandmother passed and he began succumbing to the bottle.
While my father never gave in to such vices, seeing him grow stiffer and harder of breath each day, I knew that I soon would assume the role he had once played for his father. And so I clung to my remaining days of freedom with a feverish fervor.
​
"...and it's entirely made of ice?" I asked, insistent and intrusive at Thomas's side.
"No, it's a continent covered by and surrounded by ice…" he replied distractedly, keeping his eyes on his book as we walked, "The, uh, Vikings found it I think… maybe the Spaniards. It's interesting though, no one owns Antarctica… Besides maybe the penguins."
"The Spanish find everything.”
“Mm. The Nazis went there too. My father told me.”
“Does he ever talk about the war?”
Thomas raised an eyebrow but didn’t look up from the page. His father, Sheriff Russell, patrolled Mt.Harmon with an efficiency that could only have been instilled by combat. Nothing ever happened in our sleepy little town, and he often seemed disappointed by this.
“Does yours?” Thomas replied.
“No. Mostly worries about the Russians these days. ”
“You’d think we’d be tired of war by now, wouldn’t you? And yet we continue to find new and horrifying ways to kill one another. Seems if we invent the weapons we’ll invent a reason to point them at someone.”
“Why do we keep making them then?”
“It’s profitable.”
There was a long pause between us. I decided to change the subject.
"What are you reading?"
"Frankenstein, or; The Modern Prometheus. It's by a woman named Mary Shelley. Gruesome throughout, it's about a monster created by a man who becomes a monster himself… You'd like it, I think. You can borrow it when I'm finished."
“How does one become a monster?”
“Inwardly. You’ll see when you read it. Conversely, the monster begins to appear more human.”
I pondered the meaning of what he had said and we neared a bend in the road. Thomas suddenly stopped in his tracks and dropped Frankenstein to his side. He stared straight ahead, eyes squinting at something through thick coniferous branches. I followed his gaze, finding nothing.
"Do you see that?"
"No…" I whispered. I followed his finger until I was able to see the camouflaged Great Horned Owl roosting there. Its sharp eyes were trained on us.
“How bizarre,” Thomas remarked.
“Not really. That’s one of the most common species of owl in this region.”
“It’s not bizarre that it’s here. It’s bizarre that it’s awake in daylight and that there are so many in one place.”
Taken aback, I realized the forest we were staring into was staring right back at us. Dozens of these owls were scattered throughout the trees.
“Incredible… Enjoy this moment, Leroy. We’ll never see anything like this again.”
We lingered for a while, soaking it in. After a silent agreement was reached that we had appreciated them sufficiently we turned away and journeyed on.
​
“You’re getting better with that,” I noted, watching my father adjust the radio’s dial to his favorite station. He often asked me to tune it for him.
“There is a part of me that still dislikes it greatly. Yet I find myself compelled. It doesn’t do us well to be uninformed.”
The broadcast spoke of the weather. The next week was to be warm, uncharacteristically so for this time of year. To this he grunted, “Figures.”
“How does that figure?”
“Maybe it doesn’t. But it gives me something to blame. Might as well be the weather.”
“And what do you blame on the weather?”
“Whatever you want. It’s the perfect scapegoat.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Let the cat out.”
I journeyed to the porch with the orange creature weaving itself between my feet. It wasn’t our cat, but it was here often enough for us to feel responsible for it. We weren’t sure who it belonged to, if anyone. It scampered out into the night, where a thick fog had settled over the grass. I listened to the chirping of crickets mingle with the muffled chatter of the radio while settling into a creaking rocking chair. The glow from the lamp inside gave off just enough light as I examined the cover before opening Frankenstein, flipping through to see what annotations Thomas had made in his scribbled, slanted way of expressing his thoughts between the printed lines. They always intrigued me as much as the original work. I smiled, returning to the first page.
It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils…
​
“...Well, what did you think of Duck and Cover?”
Thomas was clearly excited to discuss the schoolwide atomic weapon safety protocol video we had been shown that morning. I was less than eager to reply. Practicing the drill had left me feeling ill.
“A desk would never save us from an explosion of that magnitude.”
“Clearly.”
“Why not build a bunker?”
Thomas laughed, “It costs money. Besides, would you want to be trapped in a bunker for years until the radiation decays? I’d rather die, frankly, than become a human sardine.”
“Valid…”
“If the government really wanted to make dealing with the aftermath convenient, they’d have us each dig our own grave beforehand. When the alarms blare we would simply lie down in them, and wait.” Thomas crossed his arms over his chest and mimed falling backwards.
I forced the resemblance of a chuckle out of a throat that had constricted.
“You don’t look well.”
“Why should I?” I turned to him, exasperated, “I don’t have a desk at home. Even the illusion of shelter might be nice.”
Thomas softened his voice, “I’m sorry, I was trying to make light of the absurdity of it all… I try not to mention that you’re leaving school. I force it from my mind so often that it sometimes slips away completely.”
“It’s not just that.”
“Then what?”
“...Doesn’t it bother you? To know that there are decisions being made for us? Ones that we do not get a say in- like who to bomb, or being forced to hide under a desk in the face of certain death?” I could feel my eyes beginning to water.
“...Of course it does.”
“And yet you laugh about it?”
Thomas shrugged, “I try to. Sometimes that’s the only option left.”
​
“What was your reasoning in choosing a Chevrolet over a Ford?”
My father was patching a tire, I was pestering him while he worked in the barn.
“Truth be told, I could give a damn about brands, makes or models. They all drive, they all break down, they all require special attention to certain faulty components… I simply needed a truck, and this is the one I could afford the day I was buying.”
“So you don’t ever find yourself admiring a Ford?”
“Sure. The grass is always greener, as they say...”
“And as you say. That's an idiom you use often.”
“Perhaps. I’m a practicing pragmatist.”
“You consider yourself to be a pragmatist?”
“...Should I surmise from your tone that you disagree?"
“I… didn’t say that.”
“Not in so many words.”
A pair of owls hooted rhythmically from somewhere to the east. He placed the tire back on the hub, giving me a stern look before winking at me as he began tightening the bolts to the rim. His point was made and my tongue was tied. He gave a curt nod at my concession and lowered the jack, running his hands across the repaired tread to make certain that no air was escaping. Once he was satisfied that it had been patched successfully he wiped them on his coveralls and stood up, grunting and groaning as his tired limbs protested just as loudly.
When he spoke again his voice had lost some of the sharpness it typically held, “There was another matter I wished to discuss with you before this task took precedence this evening”
“I’m all ears.”
“Tell that to the mouth you’re always running…” he chuckled softly, his usual gruff timbre still absent from this remark, “Leroy, I’ve decided to hire some help around here.”
I stared at him, sizing up the implication of what he’d said.
“Do you forget who manages your finances?” I asked, incredulous, knowing that we didn’t have a quarter to spare.
“That only adds to my point. You are a child, yet you understand these things as well, or perhaps even better, than I.”
“Indeed, which makes your statement even more foolish.”
The gruffness came back to his voice with his response.
“Not at all. There is hope for you yet. You haven’t made the poor decisions I have and tied yourself to this cursed piece of land… Nothing grows here. And what does is meager…”
“...Meaning that you will need my help to succeed.”
“Nonsense. You will be at school for the spring and the fall, and in the summer you will have chores. But I cannot bear keeping you here with me. I will hire help.”
There was a finality to what he had said. A weight had been simultaneously lifted from my shoulders and placed firmly in the air between us. Impenetrable and inarguable. I found my lips trembling.
“Were you ever happy here?”
My question took him aback. He regarded me for a while before he spoke, his voice once again lowered to a softer cadence and volume.
“...I suppose I was for a time. We told ourselves we would return home to a hero's welcome… To parades and medals and our loved ones. And we did… To all the fanfare and the admiration… For what we had done. Who we had killed. The enemy- young men just like us. Scared, tired, hungry, sick men that we were told to kill with distorted reasoning, manipulation, for fear of being called a coward or a traitor… Through similar methods they were coerced to do the same to us. At the end of the day, we were only ever trying to survive, no matter which uniform we wore.”
He leaned against the frame of the Chevy.
“So I was happy to survive… I was happy to return to my infant, my wife…” he sighed heavily, staring down at the ground, “And then she left us... She was not happy here.”
“We… Couldn’t we have gone with her?”
“No,” he shook his head, “No, it wasn’t like that, Leroy… She was- is- a spirit meant to be free. She would have never been happy with us. Perhaps I was a fool for ever thinking that she could be…”
I had never heard him speak of her this frankly. I could see his eyes sadden as memories of their time together flashed through his mind. I nearly regretted broaching the subject.
“She was- she is- a good woman, in her own way,” he concluded, looking back at me.
“...And you are a great man,” I told him.
He rubbed his face with his sleeve, quickly concealing the mist forming in his eyes from my sight. When he lowered his arm he was once again composed.
“And you are a great son, Leroy.”
​
The next morning Thomas was not waiting on the porch for me on the way to school as usual. Instead I was greeted by Sheriff Russell after I knocked on the screen door. Seeing him dressed in a robe and slippers instead of his uniform was oddly disorienting.
"Good morning, Leroy. I'm afraid Thomas has had a fever through the night. His mother believes it best for him to stay in bed for the day. Just getting over mine," he added, seeming to feel the need to justify his attire.
"Oh, well pass it along to him that I hope he feels better soon."
"I'll do that, I'll do just that..." Russell yawned, coffee mug in hand. The sound of bare feet bounding down the steps came from inside and Thomas appeared, looking pale and tired.
“Young man, you ought to be resting!” Darcy poked her head around the corner to half-heartedly scold him.
“I’ll go back up in a minute, Ma, relax!”
Russell scowled at him.
“Did Pop show you this?” he asked, grabbing something off of the kitchen table and pressing it against the screen for me to see.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Only if you believe it to be a Geiger counter."
“I figured we ought to have a few at the station in case we… Well, you never know these days,” Russell said grimly, “They’ve been giving off odd readings though.”
“Have they been calibrated?”
“Do you really think I didn’t zero them in?” Thomas answered before his father could speak.
“It’s just a question… Were they stored with packets of desiccant? Have you made certain that the ionization chambers have not rusted? That the welds are intact? They will be useless if any air gets inside.”
Thomas looked toward Russell to reply.
“I… don’t know. Well, Leroy, Thomas always told me you were sharp,” Russell said, seeming to have gone from seeing me as a child to an equal in that moment. Darcy reappeared around the corner.
“Thomas, get back in your room and rest!”
He grimaced at her.
“I’ll be better in a day or two,” he grumbled, “I’ll see you then.”
“Feel better. Good to see you, Sheriff,” I said, turning to depart.
“One moment, Leroy,” he called, and I returned to the porch, “Have you ever been to the library in Augusta?”
“No, sir. I’ve never been to Augusta at all.”
“You don’t say? Well, with as much as the two of you read, it occurs to me that it would be a worthy pilgrimage to make. What do you say we all take a trip down once we’ve recovered? I imagine they have a few books in the capitol library that you could never find in our little town.”
“I… I’d love to, Sheriff,” I murmured, flustered by this act of kindness, “I’ll… I’ll ask my father.”
“Good man. And Leroy, you may call me Russell,” he smiled.
​
This was the night that the monster visited me.
It waited until my sheets were soaked in cold sweat and my teeth chattered uncontrollably to make itself known.
It rose out of the darkness, a form that slowly took shape out of billowing shadow. And then it was before me. Massive. Cadaverous. Its suppurating flesh crudely sewn together in multicolored patches.
But worse was its grin. Something so hideous was not meant to express the joy it conveyed from the cruelty of its intentions. Blackened teeth and bloodshot eyes bore into my very essence as the form of Mary Shelley's literary creation was brought to fruition before me. The scream in my lungs would not release itself. It felt as if a great weight had settled over my throat and ribs.
But no, it was the screaming in my ears that made the tapestry of my nightmare begin to fray.
My eyes shot open and the tethers of sleep paralysis released their grip on my limbs.
There it was once more, shrill and agonized, the sound of something suffering in the throes of its final moments before death.
I was on my feet. My door slammed against the wall. My father's door was already open. As I careened down the hallway I was just able to make out his silhouette, a shotgun in his hands.
"Stay here, Leroy," he barked.
A change had come over him. He was no longer the stiff-limbed, patient father I knew. His posture straightened, his voice was callous. He burst into the night, once more a soldier storming into battle. Even in my panic I could not help being awed by the transformation I had witnessed.
A shot fired…
And another.
Then a complete and deafening silence.
I crept to the door, pushing it open just enough to peer out. An impermeable fog clung to the air, making it impossible to make out anything past the porch.
"F-father?"
My toes were on the top step now, slowly inching their way to the damp grass.
Still. Silent.
"Dad?!"
The owls began hooting and the crickets started up their chatter once more. Altogether, the creatures around seemed to release a breath they had held collectively. Even the fog relinquished its grip on my vision.
I could just make out his slumped form. My feet slapped against the cold earth as I sprinted my way toward him, anticipating the worst.
"Dad, are you okay? Dad!"
Then he was on his feet once more, gripping me by the waist and hoisting me up.
"There is nothing for you to see, Leroy... Nothing at all. Close your eyes, son. Please, close your eyes…"
Despite the desperation and sincerity in his voice my curiosity got the better of me. I squinted through my eyelids, just able to make out the pile of scattered limbs through my lashes. I forced bile back down my throat and clenched my eyes tightly, shocked to find myself wishing to return to the nightmare that had awoke me.

Every single episode of this series has used the magic theme song at least once. It’s the sorrowful melody that is mainly played on strings and horns that comes on whenever Emma gets pushed down and Melinda’s magic is used to its destructive potential. Each time it rolls sadness, pain, and tragedy are sure to be present or follow.

• Ep.1 Emma’s life is stolen from her
  
• Ep. 2 Everyone in the vicinity gets hurt and an entire street is leveled
  
• Ep. 3 Emma is forced apart from Winston despite their mutual wish to be together. Emma is forced to go against her better judgement and Seng gets hurt (he is hurt when she doesn’t use her powers, but I’d argue it’s more because of him ignorantly chasing random spirit animals rather than her actions)
  
• Ep. 4 Emma allows rage to take her and a family’s home is destroyed.
  
• Ep. 5 Edred insults Emma while the kraken inflicts massive amounts of physical pain. Melinda’s mother tries to take her magic from her. Plus you one more scene, but we’ll talk about that in a sec.
  

As you can see each of these are either physically or emotionally damaging to mostly the Emma half of the pair, with the presumably numbed Melinda’s pain coming from what we saw of her past in the last episode. I’ve pulled up these scenes multiple times just to hear that mournful theme. Then the theme changed in the most lovely way.
Throughout the show so far we’ve seen the back and forth between Emma and Melinda as they both vie for control of Emma’s body. The emotionally hardened Melinda doesn’t have room for Emma or any other collateral in the face of the perceived great “evil” and Emma can’t wrap her head around the royal indifference to civilians that all of the warriors seem to have. That all changes in episode 5 when Emma gets to witness first hand a small fraction of Melinda’s past.
Up until this point Emma has been pulling away from or getting smothered by Melinda. Even when the magic is eventually used in Episode 3 it is 100% against her wishes, she never once approaches it voluntarily. Then Copernicus get broken/killed.
Even though Melinda is furious with Emma, Emma is finally able to empathize with her thanks to seeing her past. Then when they both witness Copernicus being shattered they both are finally able to instinctively unite on the matter, calling upon the enveloped form together. This is where both the character design and the theme changes.
While the design showing Emma’s willing participation in the magic through her white core is very cool, I just love how we get an optimistic twist on the magic theme. Where once there was dragging stringing and the pitiful moans of horns now there is a choir and drums joining in, quickening the tempo, reviving the wailing melody into something powerfully triumphant. Finally they have found common ground together making them more powerful than they ever were alone.
I know Tartakovsky’s visuals are one of the biggest draws with his shows, but I’ve just been in love with this particular theme since the first episode and wanted to talk about it.

5/26/2023 Coldest Circles Quest Pack
5/19/2023 DEATH STRANDING
5/13/2023 The Sims™ 4 The Daring Lifestyle Bundle
5/5/2023 Kao the Kangaroo
5/5/2023 Against All Odds
4/27/2023 Poker Club
4/27/2023 Breathedge
3/10/2023 Epic Cheerleader Pack
3/10/2023 Rumbleverse™
12/29/2022 Mortal Shell
12/22/2022 Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
12/22/2022 Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
12/22/2022 Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
12/15/2022 Bloons TD 6
12/15/2022 Fall Guys - Snowberry
11/24/2022 Evil Dead: The Game
11/24/2022 Dark Deity
11/24/2022 Epic Cheerleader Pack
10/28/2022 Saturnalia
10/28/2022 Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus - Standard Edition
10/27/2022 Evoland Legendary Edition
10/27/2022 Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition
9/24/2022 Gloomhaven
9/2/2022 Destiny 2
9/2/2022 Submerged: Hidden Depths
9/2/2022 Knockout City™
8/16/2022 Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
8/16/2022 MultiVersus
8/16/2022 Rumbleverse™
6/30/2022 Iratus: Lord of the DeadIratus: Lord of the Dead
6/30/2022 Hood: Outlaws & LegendsIratus: Lord of the Dead
6/30/2022 Geneforge 1 - Mutagen
6/23/2022 Roller Champions™
6/23/2022 Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
6/21/2022 Fall Guys
6/16/2022 Supraland
6/9/2022 Maneater
6/3/2022 Wolfenstein: The New Order
5/28/2022 BioShock: The Collection
5/21/2022 Borderlands 3
5/13/2022 Redout: Enhanced Edition
5/11/2022 Terraforming Mars
3/24/2022 EVE Online - Superluminal Pack
3/17/2022 In Sound Mind
3/3/2022 Centipede: Recharged
3/3/2022 Epic Slayer Kit
3/3/2022 Black Widow: Recharged
2/25/2022 Cris Tales
2/17/2022 Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
2/11/2022 Windbound
1/28/2022 DAEMON X MACHINA
1/23/2022 Relicta
1/8/2022 Gods Will Fall
12/30/2021 Tomb Raider GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION
12/30/2021 Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
12/30/2021 Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration
12/29/2021 Salt and Sanctuary
12/25/2021 Prey
12/25/2021 Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition
12/23/2021 Vampyr
12/21/2021 Second Extinction™
12/21/2021 Loop Hero
12/19/2021 The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
12/17/2021 Neon Abyss
12/16/2021 Shenmue III - Standard Edition
12/9/2021 Godfall Challenger Edition
12/9/2021 Prison Architect
12/2/2021 Dead by Daylight
12/2/2021 while True: learn()
11/18/2021 Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)
11/18/2021 Guild of Dungeoneering
11/18/2021 KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION
11/13/2021 Rogue Company
11/13/2021 Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-shot Adventure
11/4/2021 Aven Colony
10/22/2021 Among the Sleep - Enhanced Edition
10/15/2021 Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
10/15/2021 Paladins Epic Pack
10/7/2021 PC Building Simulator
9/30/2021 Europa Universalis IV
9/28/2021 2064: Read Only Memories
9/24/2021 Santa's Sweatshop
9/16/2021 Tharsis
9/16/2021 Speed Brawl
9/9/2021 Sheltered
9/9/2021 Nioh: The Complete Edition
9/3/2021 Yoku's Island Express
8/26/2021 Automachef
8/25/2021 Saints Row®: The Third™ Remastered
8/19/2021 Yooka-Laylee
8/19/2021 Void Bastards
8/12/2021 Rebel Galaxy
8/6/2021 Core
8/6/2021 A Plague Tale: Innocence
7/30/2021 Mothergunship
7/30/2021 Train Sim World 2
7/15/2021 Offworld Trading Company
7/15/2021 Obduction
7/8/2021 Ironcast
7/8/2021 Bridge Constructor The Walking Dead
7/1/2021 The Spectrum Retreat
6/24/2021 Sonic Mania
6/24/2021 Horizon Chase Turbo
6/17/2021 Hell is other demons
6/17/2021 Overcooked! 2
6/10/2021 Control
6/3/2021 Frostpunk
5/27/2021 Among Us
5/20/2021 NBA 2K21
5/14/2021 The Lion's Song
5/7/2021 Pine
4/30/2021 Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms
4/23/2021 Alien: Isolation
4/22/2021 Hand of Fate 2
4/15/2021 Deponia: The Complete Journey
4/15/2021 Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
4/15/2021 The First Tree
4/9/2021 3 out of 10: Season Two
4/1/2021 Tales of the Neon Sea
3/31/2021 HITMAN 3 Access Pass: HITMAN 1 GOTY Edition
3/30/2021 HITMAN 3 - Free Starter Pack
3/25/2021 Creature in the Well
3/23/2021 Magic: Legends
3/18/2021 The Fall
3/6/2021 Wargame Red Dragon - The Millionth Mile
3/6/2021 Wargame Red Dragon - Norse Dragons
3/6/2021 Wargame Red Dragon - Second Korean War
3/6/2021 Wargame: Red Dragon - Russian Roulette [10v10 ...
3/4/2021 Wargame: Red Dragon
2/28/2021 PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2
2/25/2021 Sunless Sea
2/18/2021 Absolute Drift
2/18/2021 Rage 2
2/11/2021 Halcyon 6
2/4/2021 Metro: Last Light Redux
1/28/2021 Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition
1/21/2021 Galactic Civilizations III
1/14/2021 STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II: Celebration Edition...
1/7/2021 Crying Suns
12/31/2020 Jurassic World Evolution
12/29/2020 Solitairica
12/28/2020 Stranded Deep
12/27/2020 Night in the Woods
12/26/2020 My Time at Portia
12/25/2020 Darkest Dungeon®: The Musketeer
12/25/2020 Darkest Dungeon®
12/23/2020 Tropico 5
12/21/2020 Alien: Isolation
12/20/2020 Defense Grid: The Awakening
12/19/2020 The Long Dark
12/18/2020 Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
12/17/2020 Cities: Skylines - Carols, Candles and Candy
12/17/2020 Cities: Skylines - Pearls From the East
12/17/2020 Cities: Skylines - Match Day
12/17/2020 Cities: Skylines
12/10/2020 Pillars of Eternity - Definitive Edition
12/10/2020 Tyranny - Gold Edition
12/3/2020 CRSED: F.O.A.D.
12/3/2020 Cave Story+
11/26/2020 MudRunner - Old Timers DLC
11/26/2020 MudRunner - Valley DLC
11/26/2020 MudRunner - Ridge DLC
11/26/2020 MudRunner
11/19/2020 The World Next Door
11/19/2020 Elite Dangerous
11/13/2020 Neverwinter
11/13/2020 The Textorcist
11/5/2020 Dungeons 3
10/29/2020 Blair Witch
10/29/2020 Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered
10/22/2020 Layers of Fear 2
10/22/2020 Costume Quest 2
10/15/2020 Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
10/15/2020 Kingdom New Lands
10/8/2020 ABZU
10/8/2020 Rising Storm 2: Vietnam
10/1/2020 Pikuniku
9/29/2020 Heroes & Generals WWII
9/24/2020 RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3: Complete Edition
9/23/2020 Rocket League®
9/17/2020 Football Manager 2020
9/17/2020 Watch Dogs 2
9/17/2020 Stick It To The Man!
9/10/2020 Railway Empire
9/10/2020 Where The Water Tastes Like Wine
9/7/2020 Spellbreak
9/3/2020 3 out of 10, EP 5: "The Rig Is Up!"
9/3/2020 Into The Breach
9/3/2020 Diabotical
9/1/2020 Commander Lilith DLC
8/27/2020 3 out of 10, EP 4: "Thank You For Being An Ass...
8/27/2020 Shadowrun Collection
8/27/2020 HITMAN
8/22/2020 3 out of 10 Episode 3: Pivot Like A Champion
8/20/2020 God's Trigger
8/20/2020 Enter The Gungeon
8/13/2020 The Alto Collection
8/13/2020 Remnant: From the Ashes
8/13/2020 Might & Magic: Chess Royale
8/13/2020 3 Out of 10 Episode 2 Foundation 101
8/13/2020 A Total War Saga: TROY
8/6/2020 3 Out of 10 Ep 1 Welcome to Shovelworks
8/6/2020 Wilmot's Warehouse
7/31/2020 Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
7/31/2020 Barony
7/31/2020 20XX
7/23/2020 Next Up Hero
7/23/2020 Tacoma
7/16/2020 Torchlight II
7/10/2020 Delores: A Thimbleweed Park mini-adventure
7/10/2020 The Escapists 2
7/10/2020 Lifeless Planet: Premier Edition
7/10/2020 Killing Floor 2
7/3/2020 Trackmania
7/3/2020 Hue
6/25/2020 AER Memories of Old
6/25/2020 Stranger Things 3: The Game
6/18/2020 Pathway
6/11/2020 ARK Valguero
6/11/2020 ARK Crystal Isles
6/11/2020 ARK The Center
6/11/2020 ARK Editor
6/11/2020 ARK Ragnarok
6/11/2020 ARK: Survival Evolved
6/11/2020 SAMURAI SHODOWN NEOGEO COLLECTION
5/28/2020 Sludge Life
5/28/2020 Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
5/21/2020 Sid Meier's Civilization VI
5/14/2020 Grand Theft Auto V
5/2/2020 Amnesia: The Dark Descent
5/2/2020 Crashlands
4/23/2020 For The King
4/17/2020 Wheels of Aurelia
4/17/2020 Just Cause 4
4/15/2020 Paladins
4/15/2020 Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments
4/15/2020 Close to the Sun
4/4/2020 Gone Home
4/4/2020 Drawful 2
4/4/2020 Hob
3/26/2020 Tormentor X Punisher
3/26/2020 Figment
3/26/2020 World War Z
3/20/2020 Watch Dogs Standard Edition
3/20/2020 The Stanley Parable
3/2/2020 InnerSpace
2/21/2020 Magic: The Gathering Arena
2/21/2020 Assassins Creed Syndicate Standard Edition
2/21/2020 Faeria
2/14/2020 Aztez
2/14/2020 HD Voice Pack - English
2/14/2020 HD Voice Pack - German
2/14/2020 HD Voice Pack - French
2/14/2020 HD Sound Pack
2/14/2020 HD Texture Pack
2/14/2020 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
2/6/2020 Ticket to Ride
2/6/2020 Carcassonne
1/30/2020 Farming Simulator 19
1/23/2020 The Bridge
1/16/2020 Horace
1/10/2020 Sundered Eldritch Edition
1/1/2020 Darksiders Warmastered Edition
1/1/2020 Steep
1/1/2020 Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition
1/1/2020 Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
12/30/2019 Hello Neighbor
12/29/2019 The Talos Principle
12/26/2019 Faster Than Light
12/23/2019 Ape Out
12/13/2019 The Wolf Among Us
12/13/2019 The Escapists
12/5/2019 Jotun Valhalla Edition
11/29/2019 Rayman Legends
11/21/2019 Bad North Jotunn Edition
11/15/2019 The Messenger
11/7/2019 Nuclear Throne
11/7/2019 RUINER
10/31/2019 SOMA
10/24/2019 Layers of Fear
10/24/2019 Q.U.B.E. 2
10/17/2019 >observer_
10/17/2019 Alan Wake's American Nightmare
10/10/2019 Surviving Mars - Mysteries Resupply Pack
10/10/2019 Surviving Mars - Space Race
10/10/2019 Surviving Mars
10/4/2019 Minit
9/26/2019 Metro: 2033 Redux
9/26/2019 Everything
9/19/2019 Lego Batman Trilogy
9/19/2019 Batman Arkham - Trilogy
9/18/2019 Conarium
8/29/2019 Inside
8/29/2019 Celeste
8/23/2019 Fez
8/21/2019 The Cycle Early Access
8/15/2019 Mutant Year Zero
8/15/2019 Hyper Light Drifter
8/8/2019 GNOG
8/3/2019 Alan Wake
8/3/2019 For Honor Standard Edition
7/25/2019 This War of Mine
7/25/2019 Moonlighter
7/18/2019 Limbo
7/11/2019 Torchlight
7/4/2019 Overcooked
7/3/2019 Dauntless
7/3/2019 Last Day of June

I cannot for the life of me find the answer to this. Can I activate main on cards the turn I play them if they require the card to be rested? For instance the Garp from the starter deck can blow up a dude if he’s rested, but my mtg brain says a summon sick guy can’t tap, so can I?
Also, counter spells, like white out. Are those ONLY as counters, or can I use those in my main phase as well?
Thank you, this game is sick :)

I’ll try to keep this extremely long journey as short as possible. I had a heroin addiction many years ago. I dated a girl who I really got along with but my addiction ultimately made the relationship awful and we parted ways. I got clean and met another woman we were together for 6 years. But to be honest from almost 6 months in, it was a bad relationship there were so many red flags I chose to ignore. And issues, that I should have left sooner but my family told me I always run at the first sign of trouble and I didn’t want to be like that anymore. So I stayed to try to make it work. We never got married btw.
She was always angry at me and it was me trying to build a healthy relationship with this person and the whole time I was told I needed to change this and then that. Etc. It never stopped the end less amount of things she told me were wrong with me. Meanwhile she stayed the same and would never change anything about her. 4 years in we had an unplanned pregnancy. I had been blessed with my son but as you know the relationship didn’t get any better. I tried everything I could think of to make this work for our son. But I believe she has mental health issues or unhealed trauma. I would be hit. Screamed at. I had to even call the cops on her once. And she never would say sorry or admit doing anything wrong. Just twist things to play victim.
I was on a hill of being miserable for 18 years as long as I got to see my son. And I was beginning to accept that. But things just kept getting worst.
That’s when I turned to God, I started praying every night for her. For my son. For me. But most importantly to bring me closer to him bc I always believed and talked to him but I grew apart from him during the relationship.
Not much got better but we had an argument that changed everything. I saw what we were doing to my 2 year old If I kept him in this environment of us not getting along. It would be very toxic just like my childhood was.
So I decided I no longer could do this anymore and had to leave. I prayed and went on walks. And cried asking if this is what he wanted for me. And I felt so clear that he was telling me this was never what he wanted for me in the first place but I allowed sex to cloud my judgment. ( pretty much the only good thing in the relationship)
very shortly after. With in the first month. (Still praying to bring me closer to him) we had been broken up. Me sleeping on the couch trying to find a place to live.
I see this girl at my gym. And I never talk to girls at the gym but something told me to smile and just wave. So I did. The next day she smiles and waves and I go introduce myself. We have a talk and for the next 30 mins it was like we have talked for years. It flowed so easy. And about 5 mins into the convo she tells me she's a born again Christian and her faith is very important to her.
I thought this was very odd to find anyone my age who believed and spoke about it so freely it just never happens to me. And I had been praying to get closer. But with everything going on. It kind of didn't go more than a conversation.
I told her about my son and the situation and she sympathized but we didn't talk much about it at first. I found a place to live and signed a lease. I found her on Instagram and we started sending Bible verses and such back and forth. No flirting or anything. She knew a lot more than me about the faith and I would ask questions and we would just dive into it.
As the days got closer to moving out. We started talking more personally. She didn't want any part of the situation until I was moved out anyway so we just talked and never hung out.
I continued to pray and ask God if this was my own intentions or his. As it doesn't make sense to me that this is what he wants for me. But everyday it seemed my ex was doing things I didn't like. Trying to still have sex with me even though I was sleeping on the couch telling her no. Getting angry still etc.
And this woman was helping me with the word. I move out and me and her hang out almost right away. We do not do anything sexually. We just talk and talk and laugh and talk about God. And our past etc.
Mean while my ex is being CRAZY I won't put everything in here but absolutely crazy. I begin to tell this woman what's going on and she is helping me through it. With in the first month we are all about God. Communication. Growth etc. I kept asking if God wants me back with my ex why Every time I talk to her. I feel very unsettling and am met with sin (sex jokes, wrath, just craziness)
Me and the new woman continue to talk and hangout (still no sex)
2 months have gone by and in my heart for the first time I feel like this is a woman I would marry. Honestly. It knows it's two month. I know it's so soon. Trust me everyone around me is telling me. But there's something about this I CANNOT explain and it's upsetting me because everyone around me is telling me I'm jumping into something too soon and thinks I'm crazy. But I never experienced this with any past women. And I’ve dated a lot.
I don't know if it's because we are God based and my last didn't even believe or what. I have such peace in my heart with this but my mom is messing with me (she's a Christian) telling me I'm listening to the devil trying to break up my family. And I'm jumping into things too soon.
And she making me feel like what I am doing is bad. And mishearing God. The more I pray the closer I get to this woman. And the crazier my ex becomes. I begged God one night to tell me if this is what he wants because I'm so confused. And I started crying so hard. I felt joy and I felt like he was telling me "you suffered too long. Take this gift from me. And enjoy it"
I feel I did so much work on Myself in the relationship those 6 years and I know exactly what I want. I was so exhausted I don't feel there's much healing for me to do from the last relationship I had been tapped out for so long. And I feel it would be silly to not just see where this goes esp if it’s God based and bringing me closer.
Me and her are both on the same page but confused as this seems like this isn't the way God would present us to each other. Can someone help me understand this?
I always want to say. I am a great dad to my son. I am heavily involved. We split custody. And I want what is best for him and will do anything for him. I don't want this post (just it's focused on something else) to come across as I am not putting my son first. I promise I am. But the other situation is what I am confused about.

This one is admittedly an older write up that I never posted here, however I’ve worked on it so much that it's basically a different bit of text all together. I really had fun working on it. I will always stress that my words are never law! These are just my ideas, feel free to disagree with me.
In my opinion I see protection magic as a very fundamental building block to anyone trying to get into practice. This is for a few different reasons: A) its one of the easiest forms of energy manipulation. B) it is extremely difficult to harm yourself with. C) it quite literally uses basic shapes, colors, and symbols which can then be further developed into more complex workings. E) its a great first step into magic theory as a whole, in fact, I’d count it as just one step above blowing out a candle to make a wish or writing something in a journal to manifest.
It can also be one of the first steps to learning discernment. Protection magic as a starting point is just you molding your energy against a background of other collective unknown energy. Having such a simple black and white difference of “my energy” and “not my energy” is the first lesson of differentiating between subtle forms of matter(technically mental forms of matter). Simple “my energy” and “not my energy” are the bones of learning how to sense spirits, learning how to communicate spirits, how to tell spirits apart from one another, how to tell the difference between you and a spirit, and much much more.
And obviously the biggest reason for why its so great is that its- well protective. You are able to defend yourself, this builds up your confidence as a starting magician. Confidence and education are the best tools against fear.
Its funny because learning magic is like sending yourself back to kindergarten. You have to learn basic shapes, you have to learn simple visualization, you have to learn basic black and white before filling out the vast amount of complexities that exist within the occult/spiritual world. Its baby steps, and those steps are critical to someone's development as a magician. Especially if someone seeks to have the occult be a large part of their life. The occult is a marathon not a sprint. When starting out you have to treat things like learning a very new language, start simple.
While the following breakdown of protection magic is old I will vastly expand on it and break things down much more. Please remember that I am no master, I am no teacher, I am no King, I am just a Magician. My words are never law! This is just one Magician sharing their thoughts and opinions with other Magicians. That is it. Without further ado:
I am someone who stresses protection but not someone who jumps at every shadow or cries "i've been cursed" at every misfortune. I like to be as well informed as possible while being as practical as possible. Protection serves to not only defend yourself against possible threats but to ground yourself from personal thoughtforms.
With protection magic you have to understand the general concept you are working with. Protection is something primal. being kept safe, healthy, and secured away from things that wish to harm you is core to most animals. Humans are born with an innate fear of falling. we seek safety instinctually. We find the right means to protect ourselves with not matter if its physical, emotional, mental, and of course spiritual.
I am aware that some claim that protection is not needed however I would firmly disagree. Since the start of folklore and mythology there have been threats that humans wove tales about. These small rhymes, rules of thumb, and magical cures for angered spirits have become a staple in culture and collective understanding. So even if you are an atheist( or someone who doesn’t see the use or logic of protection magic) I find it interesting to at least go over the idea of spiritual protection and understand the reasons behind it.
First, you have to define what you are protecting, what you're protecting from, and how you are protecting it. You wouldn't wear deodorant to protect yourself from viruses. You don't wash your hands to protect yourself from getting robbed. The fact of the matter is that protection needs to be applied correctly against the correct threat. This is true for most magic as well.
The “what you are protecting” is simple enough. You can protect just about anything and everything but boiling it down to generals it will normally be:
1) Yourself
2) Your space
3) Your property
Things can of course be made more complicated! You can add protections on your finances. You can add protections to your job. You can ensure that your mind is protected from being swayed or influenced. You can secure your housing or living situation with protections. You can even add protections to your pets.
The “what” In protection magic is very easy to pick and is probably the easiest of steps in regards to this type of energy work.
If you feel that you’re missing some type of protection in an area of your life a good question that I generally ask is “how would I attack myself.” As outlandish as it may seem, putting yourself in the shoes of an attacking spirit can really highlight your weaknesses in defense. Think about how you would attack yourself. How would you bring you to ruin? Destabilize your mental state? Turn your vices sour? Cause arguments between your friend group? Really sit down and think about it.
If you were an enemy to you how would you take yourself down? Once you’ve written a list of your weaknesses or openings then its up to you to place protections on those weak spots. No one can ever be 100% on anything however you can get close.
But the above only applies to people who are slightly more advanced in their practice. If you are just starting in this field of energy work then focusing on the basics of Protecting Yourself, Protecting your space, or protecting your property will be enough.
No matter what the “what” is in your workings of protection magic once you have it you can move onto the next step.
Protection from What?
The way that I learned it there are three core "threats" that you'll be needing to protect yourself from:
Harmful entities
Other magicians
Negative spaces
These three core threats can again be more complex but overall most dangers can come from one of the three or a mix of them.
Protection from other magicians/ other people has two layers in it. Im sure everyone knows what the “evil eye” is. A classic tale of jealousy, hate, ignorance, and anger wrapped up into a single strong gaze that sends a nasty wave of energy aimed at one person in particular. People like this can also spread rumors which can be harmful in its own right. I would count this person as a threat just as much as I’d count another practiced magician as threat.
However if you keep to yourself magic wise and don't go around discord or reddit or Facebook occult groups then running into another magician to piss off is rather difficult. The second layer to this however is mundane people in mundane situations. The threat of robbery, toxic people, and backstabbing is equally a threat as is a magic or evil eye related one.
These layers to the threats of the “other magician/ harmful person” should be handled differently! Just as each method of attack is different, each method of protection from it needs to be different as well. This isn’t me suggesting that every protective ritual has to be miles different then another when you go to make protective items, just that each situation needs to be thought upon differently and carefully.
For all workings- not just defensive ones, I highly recommend you sit down with a type of divination and vet your ideas in regards to protection. Vet if the herbs you're adding to your protection bottle will actually align with the method of protection you want. Vet if the chants you found on the internet would actually be beneficial for the energy work you’re doing. Ask questions! And critically think. You might get a flood of inspiration with grand ideas of ancient circles or pentagrams however if it runs counter to the herbs you're adding then it will make the working muted. Everything has qualities, layers, associations, and aspects.
We all know the basic
Fire - expansion, light
Water - shrinkage, heavy
Air - light, flowing
Earth - heavy, solid
These qualities are important in magic. These qualities being used as measuring systems in the type of energy they bring to a practice are both subjective and objective. Objectively breaking down a plant like a dandelion into various qualities can tell us that its associated with the sun, strength, and air. Its associated with these qualities because of the color, it’s persistence, and the plant's natural cycle of spreading seeds. However breaking it down in a more subjective lens can tell us that its been associated with dreams, wishes, and the heart.
The basic theory behind the understanding of qualities is that nature comes in patterns and repeats. Its the simple as above so below. Learning qualities and how they relate to everything else is hard to learn at first however starting with basic elemental associations for things is a good bridge to start.
Personal associations can have more impact then objective ones in my opinion because its the filter that your energy is going through. How you understand something and how you interpret something will shape your energy. If that shape is the key to the result you want will depend and is why I suggest vetting ideas with divination.
Make sure to vet everything you do in a working. Ask if it effectively brings the change you want. See if there are ways to improve it. Above all make sure you understand the reasons for each step, each herb, each chant, and each everything.
Bringing back the focus to various threats leads me to focus on harmful entities. Harmful entities is a label that I apply to general hostile astral spirits, hostile spirits, or pissed off spirits. The core to this label is that it addresses non physical threats and more astral attacks that can bring harm to your physical body eventually. Technically if a magician were to astral project to you and attempt to cause harm, sow discord, destabilize, ect then they could fall under this label as well.
This is often the big bad that most people think about when they ask about protection magic. Horror movies show us that spirits are just itching to scam, steal, and trick us in some way or form. Setting up protections against this type of threat is good for peace of mind and can come in handy if you happen to cross paths with something thats less then happy.
The last “threat” in this section is negative spaces. This threat is something that I’ve rarely encountered but that I find important to mention. Places with “bad vibes”, spaces where intense violence occurred, some cemeteries, ect. This is where the threat is the area itself and it’s draining capabilities. Think of it like stepping into an old oil puddle that stinks. The stench clings onto your pants and soon you feel like it’s everywhere. The main danger with this type of threat is that it not only drains you but it can attract harmful spirits. These places can make you feel sick, dizzy, cause panic, and even nightmares after you’ve moved from the space.
Needless to say no one wants to experience that so its good to set wards against it.
Each of the sections build up to the final step of protection workings, the how. Just how do you go about protecting yourself? How do you know what qualities are best against certain threats? How do you go about putting it all together?
I am going to answer these questions but I hope not to lead away from the theory that I like to stress. I adore writing rituals and giving instructions but what I mainly like to use these posts as is basic theory. The idea behind the rituals and complex structures that are found within grimoires. The base formula that magic is set up on and that makes it work. I will go on about basic visualization but this how section is not a ritual instruction! This is not a herb recommendation list, or me giving invocations out. This is the base formula of how to use energetic protection. There will always be more complexities then I have time to write for. There will always be more ways to shape, twist, form, and mold energy in creative, efficient, and effective ways to strengthen the effect of a working.
With that out of the way the “how” is the most complicated and vast part of these types of workings. There are so many ways to mold energy, so many ways to call on herbs, gods, use planets, ect. There are so many rituals out there for people to find uncrossings, protection charms, and other protective items. This how section will focus on the black and white of “my energy” and “not my energy.” After you’ve identified what you’re protecting and what you’re protecting it from the how comes down to you.
It comes down to what you have available and what types of vetting you did in the other steps.

• Look at various herbs that have the protective correspondences that you need.
• Look at various stones that have the correspondences that you want
• think if the qualities that you want your protections to have are present in the materials that you have ( think about things like if a stone repels harm or absorbs it, does a herb chase spirits away or does it act like a fence to keep influences away from you)
• look at basic shapes

Most importantly of all, keep it simple. More does not always mean better. I can slap 50 herbs together in a jar but that doesn’t mean its stronger. The main action of the “How” is *How*ever you plan to weave the above steps together. You will need to raise the energy needed to activate the protection. You get to form your own puzzle of ideas and simple shapes to create as many walls around you as you want.
There are various mediums in which you can toss your herbs, stones, sigils, chants, and visualization together.
You can use candles
You can use jars
You can use waters
You can use oils
When putting everything together don't focus too much on how strong something is or how complex it is. Follow what feels right and practice. The occult is a grand place with many secrets and many voices. The best way to stretch yourself out and explore small steps into it is by practicing.
As said before I am no master. My words are never law and people will think differently then I do. Protection magic as a whole is a huge and in-depth study that I didn’t even scratch the surface of. This write up went past what my old one used to be and im kinda happy about that. I might post the old one if I ever feel called to but right now thats all I have! I’d love to hear other’s ideas about protection magic.
and ofc I didn't proof read this nor will I.

Tl;dr at bottom!

• Low A Cannonballers got rained out today. The makeup game is planned for tomorrow. This is also, the best news of the entire section, so strap in.
• High A Dash lose again, to fall to 24-18. They're now 1-9 in their last 10. They still hold a 1 game lead on Greenville (Boston) for best record in their Division (South Atlantic League South), but no longer hold the best record in A+, the Dodgers do at 29-15. The dash committed 5 errors total, allowing 7 runs to score, while only 3 were earned. Dalquist, the starter, had to be pulled after 1 and 2/3rds giving up 2 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), 4 walks, and 1 strikeout. He has a 7.77 era after 22 innings. He's the white sox 3rd round pick from 2019, 81 overall.
• AA Barons lose again, to fall to 14-30 overall. They lose to the Smokies 7-1. Mena went 6 innings for the Barons, giving up 3 hits, 3 runs (earned), 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. The barons struck out 14 times in the game, and could only muster 4 hits.
• AAA Knights (25-25) got murdered, losing 20-4. The knights were able to muster 12 hits, but also committed 3 errors that kept innings alive, and the pitching gave up two grand slams. Charlotte had the lead 2-0, before all of the wheels fell off. Starter Nate Fisher went 4 innings, gave up 7 hits, 6 runs (earned), 4 walks, 4 strikeouts. Everyone that pitched tonight for the knights pitched horribly except for Tanner Banks, who went 1 inning, and gave up 2 hits but got out of the inning unscathed. They used a position player in the top of the 8th after giving up a 6 spot.

Notable Batting Lines on the night

• Loidel Chapelli (2B, A+) - 2-4 (3B, 2B), 1 rbi
• Moises Castillo (SS, AA) - 2-2 (2 1B) 1BB
• Lenyn Sosa (2B, AAA) - 3-3 (2B, HR, 1B) 4 rbis, 1BB
• Oscar Colas (RF, AAA) - 2-4 (2 1B)
• Elvis Andrus Rehab Assignment (DH, AAA) - 1-3 (1 1B) with 1BB

Tl;dr - Every level of the White Sox organization that played today lost. Sosa continues to destroy AAA pitching, which begs the question as to why he isn't allowed to develop with the Sox in the first place.

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.
​
​
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.
​
​
Kizuna Road - Night Four (July 1, 2024)
​
Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & El Phantasmo) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC)
​
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!
​
Sabre-Gun def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (16:12)
​
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.
​
​
Wrestle Dynasty (July 14, 2024)
​
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
​
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Tetsuya Naito XI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
​
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.
​
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!
​
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!
​
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!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
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!
​
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!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
Tetsuya Naito def. Zack Sabre Jr. (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (31:18)
​
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.
​
​
G1 Climax 34
​
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.
​
​
G1 Climax 34 Finals (August 19, 2024)
​
Also on the show:
Jay White vs BUSHI
Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr. - G1 Climax Briefcase
​
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, PAC, Hiromu Takahashi, Titan) vs KONGOH (KENOH, Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki, Hi69, Shuji Kondo)
​
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.
​
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!
​
KONGOH def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (19:57)
​
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.
​
​
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!
​
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.
​
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!
​
​
RevProxNJPW 12th Anniversary Show (August 24, 2024)
​
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC) vs The Knight Dynasty (Ricky Knight Jr. & Zak Knight)
​
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!
​
Los Ingobernables de Japon def. The Knight Dynasty (13:10)
​
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.
​
​
ALL IN Tokyo (August 25, 2024)
​
Also on the show:
PAC (c) vs SANADA - IWGP United States Championship
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs Golden Lovers - IWGP Tag Team Championship
​
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Jay White V - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Ladder
​
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.
​
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!
​
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. Jay White V to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (25:30)
​
​
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!
​
​
Wrestle Grand Slam (September 8, 2024)
​
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
​
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs KENOH III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
​
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.
​
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!
​
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. KENOH to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (28:33)
​
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!
​
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!
​
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!
​
​
Burning Spirit - Night Seven (September 25, 2024)
​
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi) vs Death Triangle (PAC & The Lucha Brothers)
​
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…
​
Death Triangle def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (18:24)
​
​
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.
​
​
Royal Quest IV - Night Two (October 6, 2024)
​
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
​
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs PAC II - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
​
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.
​
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!!!
​
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. PAC to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (30:11)
​
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.
​
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.
​
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!
​
​
Battle Autumn - Night Five (October 15, 2024)
​
Elimination: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Death Triangle) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Aussie Open)
​
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!
​
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.
​
United Empire def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (25:33)
​
​
King of Pro-Wrestling (October 27, 2024)
​
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
​
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Will Ospreay IV - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
​
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.
​
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!
​
Will Ospreay def. Tetsuya Naito (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (35:38)
​
​
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!
​
​
Wrestle Kingdom 19 (January 4, 2025)
​
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
​
Will Ospreay (c) vs Kazuchika Okada XII - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
​
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!
​
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!
​
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!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
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!!!
​
Will Ospreay (c) def. Kazuchika Okada to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (40:51)
​
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.
​
​
Epilogue
​
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.

Hello everyone, think I'm gonna finally bite the bullet on a hookah soon. I'm a big fan of normal but want to try the new e-hmd from aeon when it releases which will thankfully be compatible with anything. That being said, this week I saw some of what I thought was a relatively good deal.
One item being the moze breeze 2 for I believe 176+tax from fivestarhookah. You can use code Fml to get free shipping and an Fml tobacco pack. Anyone know of any other deals? Or think the moze is great?
I also saw for heavy discount they had a starter pack for 80 of a KM. If you buy another hmd or also get different shisha and apply the Fml code you might be able to get everything needed for a budget setup for 100.

In Part Three, Shingo Takagi confronted both his duties as World Heavyweight Champion and member of Los Ingobernables de Japon, proceeding to right the wrongs of his first reign by winning the January 4 main event against Tetsuya Naito to squash their beef and become co-leaders. With PAC shockingly joining the group after having gone on a crusade against them, they seemed stronger than ever, all except for Shingo's neck. Feeling the weight of CHAOS crushing it, it took both Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi to bring him to his knees, the Ace of the Universe back to his rightful spot after 5 years, restoring CHAOS’s purist regime. Ending off on keeping the riches from blood rival Katsuyori Shibata yet again, he now awaits the arrival of the 2024 New Japan Cup Winner...
​
​
New Japan Cup Finals (March 28, 2024)
​
“ZACK SABRE JR. HAS PAC IN HYPERNORMALISATION! PAC SUBMITS! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FOR THE THIRD TIME IN HISTORY OUR NEW JAPAN CUP WINNER IS ZSJ!” After two failed attempts to translate his cup success into gold, the Bone Master has another chance to fulfil his career’s greatest goal. And out walks the man he beat in the 2018 Finals for his first win, the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi! One of Zack’s biggest rivals since coming to Japan, and one that’s had his number more time than he’s had theirs, he must beat the godly Ace of the Universe if he wishes to claim his first piece of IWGP-commissioned singles gold!
​
​
The stage set for Sakura Genesis, Sabre makes sure to rub in everyone’s faces the premonition he laid down at New Year’s Dash. He said to LIJ he’d be back for the title, and after beating one of their men, he’s made good on his claims. And now, he’s going to make ‘God’ bow to him, whether he wants to or not. When asked for his opinion on the challenger, Tanahashi says he’s amused by how earnestly the Windy Man’s tried to become a New Japan guy, moving his entire life to Japan in pursuit of the top prize. Whilst that dedication may be admirable, it’ll be for nought, Zack just another visitor to his grand kingdom, CHAOS remaining Sabre’s white whale at the end of every NJC journey.
​
​
Sakura Genesis (April 7, 2024)
​
Also on the show:
United Empire (Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Aaron Henare) (c) vs Just6Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Ryohei Oiwa) - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
YOH (c) vs El Desperado - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
TMDK (c) vs Bishamon - IWGP Tag Team Championship
​
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr. XI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
​
They say third time’s the charm, but that remains to be seen in Sabre’s case. Sabre-Gun with mixed successes throughout the night, El Desperado coming up short whilst TMDK kept their gold, it’s up to their leader to set an example for his group. Popping his collar, he steels his gaze on the championship as Tanahashi makes his entrance, Zack blocking out the surrounding world. Despite channelling the controversial words of the polarising Okada for the past year, Hiroshi still has Ryogoku in the palm of his hands, remaining the people’s favourite no matter the shade of grey he envelops himself in. Back to his pomp and circumstance, he gives ZSJ the full show of what a true star looks like, ready to bring Sabre back down to reality.
​
It's a methodical opening from the two talented grapplers, Tanahashi standing toe-to-toe with the best technical wrestler in the world with merely his sheer aura. Sabre shoots for an early Article 50, but Tana sidesteps him into the ropes, before condescendingly patting him on the cheek! Zack retaliates with a forearm, knocking Tana to the mat, a deluge of stomps raining down on his face as the Hiroshi tries to cover up!
​
Escaping to the ropes, Sabre charges at him with a EUROPEAN UPPERCUT! Tana evades, connecting a DRAGON-STYLE HARITE, slapping respect into the challenger! Incensed, Sabre leaves a mark with a stinging slap of his own, before nailing a chain of Uppercuts! Tana fights back for a TWIST AND SHOUT, though Sabre counters with a FLATLINER! A High-Angle German is stuffed, Zack decked with an ALL OUT and a MIDDLE-ROPE SENTON BOMB! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!
​
Tana guns for the leg like he did Shibata, but a Feint Roundhouse into a Legsweep from ZSJ floors him! AND A NECK TWIST!!! With Hiroshi distracted by his neck, Sabre immediately switches for the legs, applying SUNDAY RAIL ENGINEERING WORKS REPLACEMENT BUS SERVICE!!! Tana’s quick to make the ropes, though has to physically pull himself to the apron when Sabre doesn’t release! No breather for him, Zack hooks his leg in the ropes and connects a DRAGON SCREW!
​
Tana receiving a taste of his own medicine, Sabre slides out and scores one directly on the apron, bashing Hiroshi’s leg into the hardest part of the ring! He attempts to Irish Whip Tanahashi into the ring post, but the Once in a Century Talent nails a SLING BLADE ON THE APRON! DRAGON SUPLEX TO THE FLOOR!!! Playing the starpower card, Tana poses with a grin as the cameras catch a shot of Sabre beneath him. He doesn’t notice Zack’s little twitches though, committing to a HIGH FLY FLOW TO THE OUTSIDE!!! A POSSUM SABRE PUSHES HIM MID-AIR ONTO THE BARRICADE!!!
​
As Tokyo gasps, it’s academic from Sabre as he threads Tana’s leg through a steel chair, PILMANISING IT!!! Evidence long discarded by the time the referee walks over, he wraps Hiroshi’s leg around the steel post, using it to apply a SASORI-GATAME!!! Tana lets out shouts of agony, Zack milking the suffering as Hiroshi begs the referee to get the challenger to stop. Eventually letting go, he forces Tanahashi to walk himself back into the spider’s web, a SPRINGBOARD ENZUIGIRI awaiting! BRIDGING NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!
​
Swivelling into a KNEEBAR now, he rolls around with Tana’s leg in his grasp, countering Hiroshi’s each attempts at escape, before going for the SELECTED TECHNICAL WORKS VOL. 2 combination, but Tana stacks his shoulders up! ONE! TWO! THR-NO LUCK! Forced to release to kick out, he scrambles to his feet to batter Hiroshi with a elbows, a DISCUS ELBOW SMASH staggering him, but a Pele Kick is caught, Tana nailing his own DRAGON SCREW!!!
​
A TWIST AND SHOUT follows, before Tana wraps on the DRAGON SWING! Wrenching on the neck, he makes a good few rotations before suddenly dropping to a knee, his leg unable to hold up for too long. Going for a DRAGON SUPLEX, it’s blocked by a barrage of back elbows, though Hiroshi nails the DARUMA-SHIKI GERMAN INSTEAD!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE KICKS OUT! Nursing his neck, Sabre gets no reprieve as a HASE URANAGE spikes him, and a HIGH FLY ATTACK… IS CAUGHT IN AN ANKLE LOCK!!!
​
Tana rolls through but Sabre rolls with him, though he can’t get the grapevine, Tana booting him off with the other leg! TWIST AND SHOUT! Sabre subdued, a SLING BLADE takes him down, a HIGH FLY FLOW FOLLOWING SUIT!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Tana rushes for a TEXAS CLOVERLEAF, putting the hurt on Zack’s legs now! The Submission Master searches for escapes yet Hiroshi commits his everything to this move, not letting him free for the life of him! That is, until his own leg gives way! Grounded, he can’t stop a PENALTY KICK!!! AND A ZACK DRIVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-TANA STAYS ALIVE!!!
​
Ragdolling Hiroshi with a pair of Double Underhook Suplexes, Zack puts Tana in a prone position to stomp the insides of the knees, before applying a CALF SLICER!!! Yet again, the Ace of the Universe is in trouble, his condition deteriorating with each submission. Knowing he needs to change that and fast… HE GRABS ZACK’S SKULL AND RAMS IT INTO THE MAT REPEATEDLY TO BREAK!!! Gears turning in his mind from Sabre’s tribute, HE GETS HIM UP FOR A STYLES CLASH!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE SURVIVES!!!
​
Connecting a SLING BLADE, he dumps Zack with a DRAGON SUPLEX! ZACK RESPONDS WITH ONE OF HIS OWN! Open palm strikes from Tana light up Zack, only for him to wring out the arm for a PELE KICK!!! Sabre teases a Legsweep, but Hiroshi hops over this time and nails a GROUNDED HIGH FLY FLOW!!! Air driven out of ZSJ’s lungs, Tana hoists him up… AND NAILS A TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER!!! SHADES OF OKADA!!! The CHAOS Leader beating him like this both past Sakura Geneses, it’s going to happen again!
​
Scaling the ropes, Tana crashes down with a HIGH FLY FLOWWWWWWWWWW!!! But he’s not done! Wanting to make an example out of Sabre, he takes his time posing atop the world like the star he is… BUT IT ALLOWS ZACK TO RECOVER, GRABBING HIS LEG!!! Hammering the knee before Tana has a chance to respond, he yanks him off… RUNNING LIGER BOMB!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!! STRAIGHT INTO CLARKY CAT BAD BALLOON REMIX!!! Folding Tana’s leg over his shoulder, he utterly destroys the geriatric knees over the champion, who wails in agony, doing anything he can to break free… BUT HE’S TOO FAR FROM THE ROPES!!! TANAHASHI TAPS OUT!!! THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM – ZSJ’S THE NEW KING OF NEW JAPAN!!!
​
Zack Sabre Jr. def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (30:23)
​
Cutting Tanahashi’s reign brutally short, Sabre-Gun has claimed its spot on the throne! Raising up both his trophy and championship, he’s lifted onto TMDK’s shoulders, the three men flaunting their gold to the world as the remainder of the stable joins them! Tana shell-shocked, he hangs his head in shame and despair as he limps off, Ryogoku the first of many dark days for NJPW…
​
​
As the new monarch, Sabre’s first order of business is simple – kill off his counterpart. And by that he means the man who successfully defended the title against him last year, Will Ospreay. Though he may hold the title, jealousy courses through ZSJ’s veins knowing the Commonwealth Kingpin’s considered the company’s top gaijin despite Zack’s superior record over him. Wanting to change that, he calls out Ospreay, who’s fresh off dropping the NEVER 6-Man Titles to Just6Guys, having had quite the identity crisis since having the WK main event taken from him. Eager at the chance at a do-over, he accepts without hesitation.
​
​
Wrestling Hinokuni (April 27, 2024)
​
Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & TMDK) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay & Aussie Open)
​
Whilst Sabre and Ospreay have kept their distance since their Royal Quest match, the same can’t be said about the greater stables. World Tag League Winners TMDK taking Aussie Open’s IWGP Tag Team Championship at Wrestle Kingdom and United Empire successfully defending the NEVER Titles against Sabre-Gun at the Anniversary Show, this conclusion was only inevitable. Aussie Open also wanting a chance to get their titles back, they team with Ospreay here against the champion unit, the Commonwealth Nations going to war for supremacy.
​
Unlike Royal Quest, Sabre’s notably a lot surer of himself against Will here, no longer compensating by matching his striking game, rather trying to make Ospreay play his game instead. However, even with Zack being in his best possible form, SG falters against UE once more, the Coriolis to Mikey Nicholls setting the stage for Wrestling Dontaku! Zack grits his teeth as much like Tanahashi, Ospreay looks down on him.
​
United Empire def. Sabre-Gun (17:34)
​
​
Wrestling Dontaku (May 4, 2024)
​
Also on the show:
Ren Narita (c) vs Shota Umino - NEVER Openweight Championship
Taichi (c) vs Hiromu Takahashi - NJPW World Television Championship
YOH (c) vs Robbie Eagles - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
KENTA (c) vs PAC - IWGP United States Championship
TMDK (c) vs Aussie Open - IWGP Tag Team Championship
​
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Will Ospreay XVII - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
​
A rivalry extending back an entire decade to the UK Indies, the spot for best British wrestler in the world has long been contested between these two. Back at it again, it’s time they settle the score once more. Ospreay strides out comfortably, having been in this position plenty of times by now as a potentially soon-to-be 3x World Champion, this his domain. As for Sabre, it’s his first time defending a title of this magnitude, pressure clearly weighing on his shoulders, but taking a deep breath, he prepares himself for victory just like TMDK earlier in the night.
​
As the bell rings… Ospreay explodes for a DROPKICK right away – shades of NJC 2021! Zack fishes the leg out the air and applies an ANKLE LOCK, LOOKING TO TAP HIM OUT WITHIN THE FIRST FEW SECONDS OF THE MATCH! Alarmed, Ospreay thrashes with kicks from his free leg to force Sabre off, rolling to the outside to recollect himself! Sabre doesn’t let him though, nailing a Baseball Slide Dropkick, before tossing him back in and wrangling the leg again!
​
A roll shakes him off, a HOOK KICK following, AND AN OSCUTTER! Sabre stops it though, countering with a SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX! Will rotates through to his feet and soars for a STANDING SHOOTING STAR PRESS, but again Zack dodges! BOW & ARROW ATTEMPT! Will flips into a cover, Zack kicking out instantly! Ospreay handsprings off the ropes, teasing his signature Enzuigiri, Sabre grasping the leg mid-air, but another follows, wrapping around his neck to twist through into a CROSS ARMBREAKER FROM WILL!
​
Sabre gets the monkey grip, preventing full extension, BUT WILL BITES THE FINGERS TO FORCE HIM OFF, now getting the full stretch, yelling at the referee to ask Zack if he submits! Sabre refuses however, rolling onto his stomach to turn the hold over and stand up, getting his legs around Will’s neck to score a NECK TWIST, getting him to release!
​
Zack knowing it to be a sore spot, he gets rallying with European Uppercuts to rock it like a bobblehead, before leaping into a GUILLOTINE CHOKE! Zack tightens his grip around Will’s neck, but a BUCKLE EXPLODER SUPLEX loosens it again as Sabre’s left dangling in a Tree of Woe! Ospreay sits cross-legged in front of him and SMASHES HIS NOSE WITH FOREARMS, busting a defenceless Zack open! Fish-hooking the nose, Will shakes his head about and lets crimson droplets paint the surroundings like a psychopathic Bob Ross, before letting go, cackling.
​
He heads to the top rope, but Zack meets him there, pulling himself up using his core strength and crotching Will on the neighbouring rope! The two face-to-face again, Zack sitting on the turnbuckle and Will on the rope, they trade forearms, blood continuing to leak down Sabre’s face, but he doesn’t care, INSTEAD GRABBING WILL’S LEG TO SUSPEND HIM UPSIDE-DOWN WITH A HANGING SUNDAY RAIL ENGINEERING WORKS REPLACEMENT BUS SERVICE!!!
​
Will’s in sheer agony as Sabre contorts his limb, but he’s saved by the referee’s count, Sabre forced to let go, Ospreay slumping to the apron. Zack turns to face the apron as he collects his wits and catches his breath, whilst Will nurses his leg, being checked on by the referee to make sure he’s good to continue, hopping to his base. Sabre settles down on the apron behind Will, grabbing him from behind, TESTING AN APRON TIGER SUPLEX!
​
Ospreay smashes the nose with a rear headbutt to ward him off! AND HE SPRINGS OFF ONE LEG TO DROP SABRE WITH AN APRON OSCUTTER, BOTH MEN SPILLING TO THE FLOOR!!! The referee starts their count as both lay still, no sign of movement as the 10 count nears. Reaching 12 now, they finally begin to stir, getting on all fours… 13… 14… 15… OSPREAY’S LEG GIVES OUT! 16… 17… 18… BOTH MEN MAKE ONE LAST PUSH, SABRE SHOVING HIMSELF INSIDE THE RING BY 19, WHILST OSPREAY PULLS HIMSELF UP ONTO THE APRON AND SPRINGS OFF ONE LEG ON THE ROPES FOR A PIP PIP CHEERIO!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!!
​
Coming down hard on the leg though, Ospreay writhes in pain, but with Zack down, he pulls himself up with every last bit of energy he has up for STORM BREAKER… ZACK WITH AN OCTOPUS HOLD!!! Will immediately rams him into the turnbuckle until he lets up, Sabre instead sliding down his back like a bird hitting a window, OSPREAY COLLECTING HIM TO NAIL A HITODENASHI DRIVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOO!!!
​
Will shouts in frustration, having jammed the leg on the landing. Feeling victory nigh though, he preps the HIDDEN BLADE!!! SABRE SPINS AROUND AND COUNTERS WITH A ZACK DRIVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE!!! PENTALTY KICK! ANOTHER COVER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-STILL NO LUCK!!! NOW A NUMERO DOS A LA DESPERADO!!! Ospreay screams as Sabre tears the leg in half, Will dancing around in search of reprieve, until a FRANKENSTEINER stands ZSJ on his dome! BRAINBUSTER FOLLOWS!
​
Sabre rocked, Ospreay cracks the CHELSEA GRIN against his neck, before connecting the HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ZACK’S STILL IN IT!!! Will’s leg is falling apart as he stumbles back into the corner to try for seconds, losing balance and collapsing before he can reach his target! EUROPEAN CLUTCH FROM ZACK!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY SURVIVES!!! BUT A PENALTY KICK TO THE SKULL! AND STRAIGHT INTO ORIENTEERING WITH NAPALM DEATH!!! OSPREAY THRASHES LIKE A MADMAN, FEELING HIS LIGAMENTS ON THE VERGE OF TEARING… AND HE TAPS!!!
​
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. Will Ospreay to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (34:18)
​
One more for the bad guys. Commonwealth Kingpin at his mercy, Ospreay a mess as he scrambles off, Zack’s the new Top Gaijin in town. Raising his title high from the turnbuckles, he juices every last drop out his victory, this moment perfect to him… or not. OH MY GOD IT’S MINORU SUZUKI!!! Any bit of colour that remains on ZSJ’s pale face drains off as the King’s music rings through Fukuoka, but there’s no sign of the man- WAIT, SABRE’S SPUN AROUND! KICK TO THE GUT – GOTCH-STYLE PILEDRIVER!!! HE’S HERE!!! Placing a boot on Zack’s chest, Suzuki holds the World Title high over his former stablemate’s body!
​
​
The ending of Dontaku has Japan buzzing as they question the true motive of Suzuki’s attack, and after an extended silence, the King sets the record straight. 1 ½ years ago, Suzuki-Gun was dissolved, and ever since, Sabre’s been writing checks with his mouth that he can’t cash. He walks around with the World Title like he’s the reason he even received recognition in NJPW in the first place. Suzuki gave him a home beside him, and as rapidly as he elevated Sabre, he can take it all away from him just as fast. He’s getting old and is still missing the final piece to the Japanese Triple Crown, so he plans to take that from Zack.
​
Sabre doesn’t take too kindly to these words, letting his actions speak for himself as he ASSAULTS SUZUKI on a Road To Dontaku show! Bringing Sabre-Gun with him, they brutalise the legend, before Zack plants his group’s flag on Suzuki’s chest! Mocking him for having no allies the next night, declaring Suzuki’s era of relevance to be long gone… this plays. SUZUKI’S HERE, AND HE’S NOT ALONE! IT’S JUST6GUYS!!! Racing to the ring, the two factions erupt in a massive brawl, bodies flying left and right! Sabre tries for a quick getaway but he’s stopped by Minoru, who gives him a devilish snarl before clobbering him with forearms until Sabre-Gun’s sent packing through the crowd, Zack yelling expletives at Suzuki as he retreats!
​
​
Back to Yokohama Arena (May 16, 2024)
​
Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado & TMDK) vs Minoru Suzuki & Just3Guys (Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI)
​
With Sabre-Gun and Just6Guys feuding ever since their respective formations, switching between silent competitive warfare of racking up belts to fighting each other, notably the Sabre/Taichi saga, it all fully comes to a head in Suzuki’s home of Yokohama! With full freedom to destroy each other however they please, the two factions don’t hold back one bit, with Suzuki especially targeting ZSJ. He’s unable to give him grief the way he wishes to though, Zack tactfully hiding behind his partners until he can blindside Minoru, before scramming again. Ultimately, it’s Minoru putting Desperado away with the GOTCH PILEDRIVER, before signalling to Sabre that time’s running out for him, Suzuki to get his hands on him too soon enough!
​
Minoru Suzuki & J6G def. Sabre-Gun (15:03)
​
​
As much as Sabre tries to deny it, that day only speeds closer with each accusation of cowardice against the prideful champion’s name, the world questioning whether he’s afraid of Suzuki. Adamant to silence his doubters, he finally accepts Suzuki’s title challenge, setting the stage for Dominion, though promising he won’t have a career to go back to when Sabre’s done with him!
​
​
Dominion 6.2 (June 2, 2024)
​
Also on the show:
YOH (c) vs SHO - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Just2Guys (c) vs Sabre-Gun (Blake Christian & Clark Connors) - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
TMDK (c) vs The Lucha Brothers - IWGP Tag Team Championship
PAC (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - IWGP United States Championship
​
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Minoru Suzuki - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
​
With Sabre-Gun beating Just6Guys earlier in the night, this war’s already at its boiling point by the time the main event arrives, Suzuki opting to enter second as Zack steps out- CRACK! STEEL CHAIR TO SABRE’S SPINE!!! Suzuki isn’t wasting even a second here, tearing the jacket off Sabre’s back before bending the steel over his spine! The Windy Man desperately tries to crawl away to the ring, but Suzuki steps on his ankle to stop him! Turning him around to meet his maker, MINORU GOES FOR A GOTCH PILEDRIVER ON THE CHAIR!!! LOW BLOW FROM SABRE TO COUNTER!!!
​
Suzuki drops to his knees as Osaka boos the smarmy champion, ZSJ now battering the King’s back, before finally sliding him in to get the match started! PENALTY KICK RIGHT AWAY!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!! Sabre wrenches in a CLARKY CAT, working the arm as Suzuki writhes under him, but it’s not long before Minoru stands up out of it, hurling ZSJ to the mat! Booting him in the jaw, Suzuki backs him into the corner and tears into him with open palm strikes! He winds up a CORNER DROPKICK, but Sabre evades, blasting him with a rapid barrage of European Uppercuts against the turnbuckle!
​
Zack taking the run-up now, Suzuki bucks him over the ropes to the apron, SABRE BLASTING A THUMB IN HIS EYE! Minoru blinded, Zack leaps up for a SPRINGBOARD ENZUIGIRI- SUZUKI BLOCKS WITH A WILD SLAP TO THE CHEEK!!! Sabre stiffed, Suzuki applies a HANGING JUJI-GATAME FROM THE ROPES!!! Zack screams in agony as Minoru damn near rips his arm out the socket, the referee’s count the only thing keeping him from going!
​
Releasing, Sabre crumples to the floor, getting as far as he possibly can from Suzuki, though he’s not fast enough, Suzuki nailing a GOAL KICK to his skull from the apron! Grabbing Sabre, he HURLS him into the guardrail with it shoulder-first, the velocity sending Zack through! As he goes to collect his prey though, SABRE TOSSES A CHAIR AT HIS SKULL!!! Threading Suzuki’s arm through it, SABRE STOMPS THE ELBOW!!! AND AN ARTICLE 50!!!
​
Sabre abuses the legend, but he forgets about the other arm, Suzuki slapping his head in with it until Zack releases! Shaking off the arm, a BACK BODY DROP sends Sabre crashing back to ringside, Minoru following after him as ZSJ slinks inside the ring. Zack beats him to his feet though, stomping a hole through the mat with Suzuki’s skull, dribbling it! He cracks a ROLLING ELBOW off the skull, but Minoru walks through it, glaring at Sabre! Throwing an elbow of his own, it gets caught, Zack scoring the PELE KICK to the arm!
​
AND A KIMURA LOCK!!! Sabre brutally rips at the arm, bringing Suzuki to his knees from the pain even, but Minoru pins his shoulders to the mat! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE RELEASES TO KICK OUT! As Zack rolls to his feet, a SHOTGUN DROPKICK awaits him! Suzuki clobbers him with slaps to the face, Sabre seeing stars as one knocks him clean off his feet! Turning to the turnbuckle… SUZUKI RIPS IT OFF!!! Steel exposed, he teases a SNAP SUPLEX INTO THE CORNER!!! SABRE COUNTERS WITH A BRAINBUSTER ON THE MAT!!! GUILLOTINE CHOKE!!!
​
Draining the life out of Suzuki, Sabre presses on the carotid artery, Minoru is deep trouble! BUT NOW THE KING BITES ON ZSJ’S FINGERS!!! Zack yelps and releases, allowing Suzuki to secure his wrists and STOMP HIS HEAD IN!!! Sabre catches a boot and applies SUNDAY RAIL ENGINEERING WORKS REPLACEMENT BUS SERVICE!!! ZSJ tortures Suzuki’s leg, though in doing so leaves his arm exposed, Minoru yanking off his grip and countering into HIS OWN HEEL HOOK!!!
​
Sabre desperately tries the same counter, but Suzuki’s grip is too tight to break, forcing Zack to roll to the ropes! SUZUKI ISN’T LETTING GO! Crawling on his hands, Sabre pulls himself to the floor and WHIPLASHES MINORU’S NECK OFF THE BOTTOM ROPE!!! Staggering about ringside on one foot, he grabs his title and rolls back in! Suzuki struggling up, Sabre tries to deck him with the belt… but the referee grabs it from behind! A tug-of-war ends in SUZUKI KNOCKING THE BELT INTO THE REF WITH AN ENZUIGIRI!
​
Both men hitting the deck, Minoru rocks ZSJ with a Dropkick! GOTCH PILEDRIVER ONTO THE TITLE!!! But there’s no one to count! Pissed, Suzuki limps out and abuses a couple young lions, before picking one out the crowd to toss in the ring, ripping the referee’s shirt off and telling the lion to put it on! SUZUKI COVERS! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Even more livid, HE DECKS THIS LION TOO! Turning back to Zack, he notices the champion feebly reaching for the belt! Kicking it out the ring, Suzuki goes for another GOTCH PILEDRIVER!!! BACK BODY DROP COUNTER!!!
​
Still hurting, Sabre struggles to get a rally of strikes going, Suzuki meeting him blow for blow! BUT SABRE WHIPS THE SHOULDER INTO THE MAT! Minoru stunned, sadistic thoughts run through Sabre’s mind… TIGER SUPLEX INTO THE EXPOSED STEEL!!! AND A RUNNING LIGER BOMB – ONE OF SUZUKI’S RIVALS MOVES!!! THE REFEREE’S BACK TO CONSCIOUSNESS! NOT LIKE THIS! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
​
Sabre’s exasperated, thinking he had it! Running out of options, he teases a ZACK DRIVER, but Suzuki slips behind and applies the SLEEPER HOLD!!! Sabre’s quickly fading, frantically trying to tear the bad arm off, but Minoru doesn’t budge, shoving ZSJ to the mat for the PENALTY KICK!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ZACK KICKS OUT!!! Suzuki grabs Sabre by the chin, demanding him to strike Minoru if he thinks he’s so tough, ZSJ doing his best, but Suzuki eats it and returns a HARD SLAP! SLEEPER SUPLEX!!!
​
Tossing Sabre to the apron, Minoru steps onto the middle rope and cinches in an ELEVATED SLEEPER!!! Zack dangles in the air, unable to find his footing to escape, Suzuki lifting him higher and higher! Blood rushing to his legs, he needs to act fast, attacking the elbow again until the hold is finally slightly loosened! Leaning forwards, he pulls Suzuki his direction, allowing him to lower his feet onto the apron… YANKING SUZUKI INTO AN APRON ZACK DRIVER!!!
​
Sabre coughs up a lung as he kicks Minoru’s corpse back in, before lining up a PENALTY KICK!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SUZUKI’S ALIVE!!! Zack’s stunned as he comes face-to-face with Suzuki’s sneer, Minoru still having enough in him to throw slaps! Sabre returning Uppercuts, they go blow-for-blow until Zack collapses first, though he’s playing possum, HEADBUTTING THE SHOULDER as the King tries to grab him! He goes for YOU CAN’T PLAY CONKERS IN ENGLAND, though he’s immediately tossed down, SUZUKI NAILING A PENALTY KICK!!!
​
Winding up, Minoru goes for one more… ZACK SLAPS HIS HEAD OFF HIS SHOULDERS!!! Putting the head between his legs, HE NAILS A GOTCH PILEDRIVER!!! Suzuki collapses in position for a PENALTY KICK!!! AND NOW SABRE CINCHES IT IN – HURRAH! ANOTHER YEAR, SURELY THIS ONE WILL BE BETTER THAN THE LAST; THE INEXORABLE MARCH OF PROGRESS WILL LEAD US ALL TO HAPPINESS!!! Suzuki grits his teeth, trying to fight through it, Sabre keeping his eyes on his hands to see the tap… NOWHERE TO GO, MINORU FLIPS HIM OFF WITH BOTH HANDS AND VERBALLY SUBMITS!!!
​
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. Minoru Suzuki to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (32:50)
​
Surviving one of the toughest matches of his career, Zack’s kingdom still lives, though barely. As he’s handed his title though, he chucks it aside, this about far more than the gold to him! SABRE STOMPS OUT SUZUKI!!! Signalling to the back, out rush Sabre-Gun, coming to Sabre’s aid to conduct a mugging on the legend! SUDDEN DEATH FROM ELP! PINCHE LOCO FROM DESPERADO! THUNDER VALLEY FROM TMDK! TANDEM JEEP FLIP/DROPKICK FROM BLAKE, CONNORS AND FUJITA! And now, it's Zack’s turn. Dragging him to the concrete… HE’S GOING FOR THE GOTCH PILEDRIVER!!! HE WANTS TO RETIRE SUZUKI FOR GOOD!!!
​
BUT HERE COMES J6G!!! AND LANCE ARCHER TOO!!! Sabre tosses Suzuki aside to deal with the oncoming traffic, Taichi and co. putting up an honourable fight, but they’re still down a man, Sabre-Gun managing to retain their upper-hand, until… OH MY GOD, IT’S SUZUKI’S OLD TAG PARTNER NAOMICHI MARUFUJI!!! Sabre can’t even get a curse out before a KO-OH SMACKS HIM IN THE FACE!!! Marufuji beats on Zack to turn the tide, going for the POLE SHIFT, but Sabre manages to escape in the nick of time, Sabre-Gun once again sent on the retreat, the show closing on Marufuji helping Suzuki up!
​
​
NJPW/AJPW/NOAH All Together Again (June 7, 2024)
​
Zack Sabre Jr. vs Naomichi Marufuji
​
After the events of Dominion, it’s only natural these two fight, long, long overdue a one-on-one since their NOAH days together! Fighting in Suzuki’s honour, Marufuji steps to the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and it’s like 2016 all over again the way he utterly humbles Sabre to start like he’s facing Okada! A match of two halves, it goes from Naomichi giving ZSJ the biggest whooping of his life to Sabre brutally breaking down the legend, reminding him he’s 8 years too old to still be winning these sorts of matches. Though Maru gives Zack grief one more than one occasion, he meets his demise at the hands of a CREMATION LILY, Sabre spitting on Naomichi as he leaves, declaring himself untouchable!
​
Zack Sabre Jr. def. Naomichi Marufuji (25:37)
​
​
With his war on J6G and friends officially behind him, Sabre sets his sights on a show he has quite some history with. Losing to Claudio Castagnoli at the first Forbidden Door, before beating Katsuyori Shibata at the second to take both the NJPW TV and ROH Pure Titles to ALL IN to submit Danielson, there’s naturally only one direction for him to head…
​
​
Dynamite (June 12, 2024)
​
Racking another AEW International Championship defence under his belt, Wheeler YUTA is on top of the world, and as he’s approached by Tony Schiavone for a post-match comment… WHACK! IWGP WORLD TITLE TO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD!!! SABRE-GUN’S HERE!!! Mugging Blackpool Combat Club’s young gun like they did Suzuki, a SABRE DRIVER leaves him broken on the mat as Zack yells down the camera that he wants Moxley’s head at Forbidden Door, scurrying away before BCC can make the save!
​
​
Collision (June 15, 2024)
​
Zack Sabre Jr. vs Wheeler YUTA
​
Off the back of Sabre’s assault on YUTA, a match is made between the two technically-gifted champions in a massive Collision main event! Though ZSJ’s far out his paygrade, an arrogant Wheeler does his best to knock off the Technical Wizard, impressing with a display of submissions he’s picked up from Danielson, before employing some of Claudio’s marquee athleticism and Mox’s grittiness. Never a fair match to begin with though, a TESCO MEAL DEAL cruelly silences YUTA!
​
Zack Sabre Jr. def. Wheeler YUTA (10:12)
​
Grabbing a mic, Zack runs down Moxley, reminding him how they were supposed to fight 4 years ago until the pandemic ruined that, Jon ducking him ever since. Now though, he’s the last member of BCC he needs to get through before he can shut up those babies too, so all he needs to know is if Jon is still afraid of him or not. And as Sabre awaits his response… HE RECEIVES IT IN THE FORM OF A PARADIGM SHIFT!!! Mox holds Zack’s title over his body, gaining some retribution for YUTA!
​
​
AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door (June 23, 2024)
​
Also on the show:
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs La Faccion Ingobernable (RUSH & Dralistico) - IWGP Tag Team Championship
PAC (c) vs Swerve Strickland - IWGP United States Championship
Tetsuya Naito vs Andrade El Idolo
​
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Jon Moxley - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
​
The final showdown of a lengthy saga, Sabre makes his third defence against New Japan’s Ace, and it’s quite literally a bloody clinic, Mox showing zero fear in the face of the Top Gaijin, who looks to plant his flag over another territory. From a Paradigm Shift to the floor to a Zack Driver through a table, both men are busted open by the surroundings, the blood loss only helping Sabre’s case when he locks in the HYPERNORMALISATION, causing Mox to pass out! Alas, ZSJ stands atop BCC, but perhaps a more personal challenge yet awaits him…
​
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. Jon Moxley to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (23:20)