#i thought the main point was Women who Fight??? brawl??? and are allowed to be messy

[art-heap]

I know I reblogged this before but I came back to maybe look thru the tags and replies for some suggestions and the unbridled rage I got upon seeing "you mean rwby? honkai impact? sailor moon? kill la kill? precure? she-ra? my little pony?" NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get that maybe some of these have Women or Girls Who Fight or are Strong and sometimes Diverse...

but fundamentally, None of them do this:

[teenage-mutant-ninja-freak]

Show me yours and I’ll show you mine

Mob! Leo x fem reader

Summery: You’re a sex worker working at the infamous Red Room (R&R) brothel in New York city when you run into Leo who’s there not on business. He, somehow, takes a liking to you and your adventure ensues.

Warnings: NSFW, sex work mentions, fist fight/violence, alcohol mentions, violence mentions.

((A/N: This doesn’t have much of a plot, just a fun idea I had and I haven’t written a mob fic in so long so here ya’ go!!))

It wasn’t a slow day at Red Room, Clients had been in and out all day and it was nearing 7pm. The smell of perfume and cologne hung heavy in the air and the place was starting to get messy. During the day the brothel is mainly used for men to drink and be kept company but when the night hits, it comes alive.

Women roaming around in lingerie of every kind, singers and dancers to entertain those who are just here to escape their wives or boys trying to become men chasing down pretty women who only show interest after they flash their cash. Security is pretty tight, too. Can’t have minors getting in, as much as they try, or anyone throwing off the atmosphere with drunken brawling.

It’s a beautiful September night, the air is still warm the remnants of summer and sun beans are streaming in through the ornate glass windows. Classic, beautiful furniture covers the main room where men get to know their chosen girl before she takes them back to her room and the bar is crowded with the usuals who are just here to watch and have a good time.

You walk through the vast room, smiling and making chit chat with as many of the men as you can before picking up your drink and retiring to one of the chairs. For a busy day it was still slow for you. You adjust your thigh highs as you sit and take off your heels. A small rest wouldn’t kill you. There were all sorts in tonight including, or so you’d heard, one of the mob boys. You hadn’t laid eyes on him yet but there was a certain tension surrounding the place that only the turtle boys could create so even if you hadn’t seen him, you could feel him. They weren’t strangers to R&R, sometimes they’d bring business associates here to butter them up, buy them a girl for the night and talk business where she kissed their neck or they’d come for their own pleasure. 

You take another look around the room, most of the men were focused on Starla who was singing a blues version of “how to be a heart breaker”, her voice slightly deeper than usual and full of sensual promise and her bright red, lacy bra and panties are particularly stunning. Praying that no one will approach you for at least another 10 minutes you take a sip of your whiskey and sit back to enjoy the show- when you hear it.

From a more distant corner of the room there are raised voices and harsh words being thrown about, something that is not accepted in the Red Room. Putting down your drink, you pick up your heels in your other hand and go over to see what all the fuss is about.

“I want what I fucking paid for!” comes a voice from a heavily intoxicated man who is standing on the last step to the stairs. Cherry stand in front of him, clearly distressed and looking slightly dishevelled. You can only assume that something went wrong in the bedroom and she had to run. Bastard you thought to yourself.

“Not if you won’t wear a condom! There are fucking rules!” she bites back. She was right, R&R had very strict guidelines to keep their girls and patrons safe and condoms must be worn for any and all sexual activity as well as regular STD checks.

That’s when he finally loses his cool completely, grabbing Cherry by the hair and trying to pull her back up the stairs. You don’t know exactly what came over you but before you know what you’re doing you drop your heels and rush over, prising his hand from her hair and socking him in the jaw. His head flies back from the impact and hits the wall, ricocheting off it before he falls down cold on the stairs which is met by a round of applause from the crowd that has gathered around you both. You turn to a now crying Cherry.

“you ok? What did he do? You alright?” you ask in quick succession. 

“I-I’m-” she sobs and holds on to you, you wrap your arms around her bare waist and move her slightly to the side as the ever late security deals with the unconscious guy. You decide it’s better to get her away and instead take her outside where some of the other girls have crowded round and offer her drinks and cigarettes as well as their sympathies. They stroke her hair and comfort her so you venture back inside, leaving her in their very capable hands. 

Once back in the main room, the madame for the night walks briskly over to you with a hard expression on her face.

“And just what was that?” She half whispers

“I know right, that jerk was trying to make her go bare back even though we’re super specific that we don’t do that here” you reply

“Not that!” She snaps “That little brawl you had with him. What do you think you were doing?”

“...Defending my colleague?” you’re confused, this isn’t the first time one of the girls here has had to step up for another, it probably won’t be the last either. 

“We have to crack down on you- you girls getting into fights! It’s dangerous and irresponsible and I think you should go home for the rest of-”

You both stop when you sense a presence to your right. Looking over you come face to face with a towering figure: Leonardo.

The madame clears her throat and smiles

“Ah, Mr Leonardo! How- how may we help you?” she beams at him. You’re not sure if it’s out of respect or fear, probably a mixture of both.

“How much for this one?” He says point blank.

“Excuse me?” The madame’s jaw almost hits the floor

“How much for this one for a few hours?”

You smile and give him big doe eyes as he talks price with her and she still attempts to send you home. Eventually it’s settled and allows you to take him back to your room.

He’s silent on the walk up there even as you chat idly about how handsome he is as you usually do with clients and making sure to sway your hips extra heavily to give him a good view as you walk up ahead of him.

Once tucked inside your room, you kneel on the bed and face him.

“So, how do you want me, big guy?” you say in a low, seductive voice.

He sits in a chair by the door in the corner and lights up a cigarette which isn’t technically allowed but acceptations are always made to accommodate the mob boys so you let it slide. 

“You can cut that shit out now” he says bluntly.

“what shit?” you’re confused again

“The ‘big guy’ and ‘you’re so handsome’ practically drooling over me shit. It’s overdone and, honestly, you’re not very convincing.”

“I’ll have you know that my acting skills are top notch but if you want realness lets go. How do you wanna fuck me and how long do I have to put up with you for?”

He smiles at that

“Atta’ girl”

You both sit in silence for a few minutes as he looks over you, drinking in your form. His eyes always linger on your hips and the garter belt around your waist so you can safely assume these are your best features in his opinion. 

“What possessed you to take on that drunk guy?” he breaks the silence

“My friend was in trouble, besides, I’ve got a solid right hook and wanted an excuse to use it” you reply. He smiles again. Not to be cocky, but I think I’m winning him over you think to yourself.

He’s rented out your room for two hours and all he seems to want to do is talk. He doesn’t even get up from his chair apart from once and only then it was to look out the window as he asked you about how you ended up here. You assumed it was some kind of saviour complex, the whole “how did a nice girl like you end up in a dump like this” routine but the truth is you like the Red Room. You love the attention and praise it gets you, your family knows what you do for a living and are proud of you and you’ve made some good friends here. 

“...Besides” you continue “it’s the only place around here where it’s not impossible to make 5 grand in a night if you try hard enough. Most other places can’t say the same.”

He was decent conversation although he was reluctant to tell you anything about himself, but he listened and appeared genuinely interested in what you had to say. You even made him laugh a few times. You didn’t know the turtle boys even had a sense of humour. 

Your 2 hours with him were coming to an end and, after pouring him a final drink, you said your goodbyes, It wasn’t completely unusual for a client to simply want to talk for their time with you, but from what you’d heard the turtle boys have an insatiable appetite for women so it doesn’t quite sit right with you that he didn’t want your body. Oh well.

_________________

The next morning was your day off. You woke up before your alarm and took a few minutes to hug your pillow closer to you and breathe in the fresh morning air from the window by your head. Your apartment was modest but not dingy in the slightest, the Red Room paid well and your home reflected that to some extent although you never wanted to be flashy about it. Last night was still on your mind, the way Leo (as he had asked you to call him) looked at you was still burned into your memory. His scent and the way he raised each drink to his lips. Everything he did commanded authority and was done with such grace and composure. Your thoughts were rudely interrupted by your alarm, only, it wasn’t your alarm. 

Confused, you look at your phone and see the madame is calling. What does this old bitch want? you think before answering the call.

“Hello?” you talk into the phone, trying to hide your distaste at being bothered on one of your precious days off.

“Hi, y/n, I really hate to do this but I need to get straight to the point. You have an outcall today.” the voice replies

“Oh, I’m sorry, you must be mistaken, This is my day off and I don’t do outcalls anymore. That’s been cleared with you guys for months.” the annoyance was beginning to shine through your voice. 

“Yes, I’m aware, but special allowances have to be made when certain clientele....Desire your company...”

“Who the fuck do you think is special enough to get me out of bed right now?” you hiss into the phone

“Leonardo...”

You didn’t hear the rest of her sentence as you take a second to let that sink in. Half of you was pissed as hell that these rich boys get whatever they want and whoever they want just because they practically run the town through fear, but another small part of you was...Flattered. 

“What time and where?” you ask

The madame gives you all the information and you hurry out of bed to get showered and ready. You only had an hour and a half to make yourself look presentable and actually get half way across town to his mansion. 

Five minutes before you need to be out of the door, you take a second to admire yourself in the mirror. You had done a good job with your cat eye makeup and you were pretty sure your have him eating out of your hand with the little baby pink slip dress you were wearing. Underneath was another garter belt, thigh highs and a small heel. You could have gone bigger considering you were only average height and Leo must have been about 6′7 at least but you decided a small heel worked better with the aesthetic you were cultivating. 

____________________

The uber pulled up the the enormous house that towered in front of you, driving carefully between the ornate and ancient statues that seemed the guard the entrance to the driveway. Opening the door and stepping out, the almost overwhelming aroma of roses filled your nose from the thickets by the front door. Everything was beautiful and clearly meticulously designed and placed. You felt your heart drop. What the fuck do I have to offer this guy who has everything? You swallow the lump in your throat and go to ring the door bell. 

A small, round man dressed in a white shirt and black waistcoat answers the door and smiles at you as if you ask why you’re here. Running a hand through your hair in an attempt to compose yourself (you’re a professional after all) you use your most confident voice to say:

“I’m y/n, and I’m here for Leonardo. He should be expecting me”

Realisation washes over the man’s face as he asks you to “please come in” and you take a seat in the foyer. You take a second to look around. The entrance hall is magnificent, a huge chandelier hangs above you with crystals or even diamonds (you weren’t sure but they were rich enough to afford such luxuries) casting glorious rainbows around the room as the light from the windows shines through it. The furniture had to be custom made, you’d never seen anything like it before and in the centre of the foyer is a round table with the most beautiful vase you’d ever seen and a carefully constructed bouquet of flowers sitting in it. You’d started to realise that maybe you were in too deep, but there was no getting out now.

It’s not long before you here footsteps coming down the stairs behind you. Leo and his older, and somehow taller, brother were walking down and seemed to be deep in conversation. They were still a little too far away to hear and they spoke in hushed voices but you could make out the purple suited one say

“She’s not talking” in a feverish voice to which Leo replied

“That’s not my problem right now, deal with her before I deal with you!”

it sounded serious.

Once at the bottom of the staircase and spotting you, he posture relaxes a little and he puts on that charming smile which reminds you that you need to do the same. That’s what he’s paying for, but he has such beautiful deep blue eyes that it;s difficult to not get distracted by them. He wore a black suit with very thing white lines going down it and a baby blue handkerchief in the breast pocket, his signature colour. He looked to die for.

He approaches and greets you with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek while telling you how beautiful you look. What a silver tongue he has. 

He takes you on a tour of the house and garden, it’s clear that he’s only doing this as a formality, to get you comfortable around him and it isn’t to brag. He almost seems indifferent about his extreme wealth. There were a few rooms with heavy locks on the doors and he didn’t show you into those or one entire wing of the house; telling you that was under construction. You saw Donatello go through to that area, though but, you didn’t want to rock the boat by asking questions.

Eventually he took you out to the patio, it was stunning. More roses and other potted flower stood all around and the table was set with silver cutlery and beautiful wine glasses. He pulled a chair out for you to sit, like a true gentleman.

As waiters came and went, bringing you both lavish meals and more wine, you talked for hours. Well...You talked. He mainly listened and asked questions. You couldn’t help but feel entirely comfortable around him, something about his presence was so non-judgemental and sincere that you felt you could answer everything honestly and not put up a front like you usually would on other “dates”. The only trouble around when you spoke next.

“So I’m been rattling on for ages. Tell me about you. What do you like to do in your spare time? Do you like living with your brothers? Where did you grow up?”

That last question seemed to hit a nerve as he looked as if he winced slightly  at it. He didn’t answer.

You put your hand on his

“Did you hear me?”

He pulled his hand away and looked you in the eyes

“I didn’t pay you to interrogate me. You’re here to sit and look pretty, not open your fucking mouth”

You were stunned. This sudden turn seemed to come from nowhere and that’s when you felt the anger rise up in you. You’d never been one to hold your tongue and you weren’t going to start now- consequences be damned.

“Well excuse the fuck me!” you began “Why is it that every guy feels so entitled to my life but so unwilling to tell me anything about their own? Oh yeah! Maybe it’s because they’re so boring an insignificant in this world that they have to pay a woman to come talk to their sorry ass because no one would do it for free. I thought you were different but it’s all for show, isn’t it? The house, the cars, the money... Nothing behind that, just another pitiful, sad little man who has to pay for a quick fuck. I’m outta here”

You throw your napkin down on the plate and walk away. You almost make it to the front door when a hand grips your wrist, turning you to face them.

Leo looks sorry for himself. It’s clear he knows the magnitude to which he’s messed up but he doesn’t say anything right away.

“Well?” you say impatiently? “Look, you wanted me here. I just go where the money takes me but for a second I thought there might actually be some kind of connection. You want a real date, then you have to tell me about yourself at least a little. That’s what real people do. But if you’re just going to be a giant douche with no respect, I’m leaving.”

“It’s not a happy story” he finally says through gritted teeth, hand still firmly around your wrist. “But if you want to hear about it, follow me”

He takes you upstairs a through a few more hallways until you reach what must be his room. It’s just as beautifully designed as the rest of the house but with a few more personal touches. As opposed to the slightly Italian looking architecture and design of the rest of the house, his room has katanas hung up on the wall and a small nook in the corner of the room where a tea maker sits. It’s more homely than the rest of the place. More his own.

He sits you down on the bed and slowly begins to explain.

He doesn’t go into too much detail, you imagine that would be too painful for him.He tells you how he was found in a sewer with his brothers and then made to wear chains and perform for sick crowds of smiling a grimacing humans and how he hated them. He mentioned the beatings and the torture, the hunger he felt everyday. He spoke on the anger his father harboured and how they would dream of a revenge so bloody and raw that he hoped god would look away while they did it. He told you about their escape and how it was the first time he’d know the touch of a human that hadn’t left a scar. It was all horrific and you couldn’t believe he survived that.

“...We still don’t know what Mikey saw that night but whatever it was, he didn’t talk for three weeks and now he’s...Well, now he’s the new Mikey. I don’t talk about it because who would want to know? And I don’t want pity, I don’t want your sympathy just because ‘boo hoo, he had a tough childhood’ ”

You place your hand on his cheek and turn his face towards you, he didn’t look at you the entire time he spoke.

“I don’t pity you” You began “I admire you. Going through all that and still being a functional person? That takes a strength I couldn’t muster”

You lean in to kiss him on the cheek, he turns his head and kisses you on the lips slowly, as if to savour every second of it. You hands go to his face and he lightly grips the back of your neck as the kiss intensifies. You lie back and he takes his place on top of you, between your legs and he trails one hand up your thigh to your hip, going just underneath your now bunched up dress.

He begins to kiss down your jaw line and towards your neck and your breath hitches in your throat at the pressure of his lips on your skin. His attention turns to your cleavage, he looks up at you as if you ask for permission and you nod before his head delves between your breasts, kissing and lapping at your tender flesh. You roll your head back and begin to pant slightly. The way he’s so attentive and gentle yet composed and in control is a nice contrast that few men can do successfully. 

Cupping one of your breasts as he kisses it, you put your hand under his chin to return his mouth to yours and your tongues swirl together in ecstasy as you moan into his mouth.You can feel him hardening through his tailored trousers. Pulling back, you begin to unbutton his shirt as he takes off his blazer before reaching down between the two of you and cupping his bulge through his clothes. He almost growls at that and takes the top of your dress in his hands, ripping it down the middle. You look up at him wide eyed and he simply smiles and whispers

“I’ll buy you ten new ones”

You can’t see too well in the room as the sun is beginning to set but you can still make out how toned and muscular his chest is even in the half light. You run your fingers over his abs as he pushes up your dress and pulls down your underwear. Leo begins to kiss down your inner thighs, nipping gently as he gets closer to your sex

“No” you say suddenly. He stops immediately and looks at you “I want you. I just wanna feel you”

Pushing himself up onto his knees, still between your open legs, he undoes his belt, unzips him pants and pulls them down. His hard, thick cock bouncing free from its previous restraints. He takes a quick second to reach into his bedside draw and pull out a condom that he puts on with ease. He leans down and puts one hand firmly on the bed next to your head and with the other lines himself up at your already soaked entrance. You ready yourself for whats about to come, he’s bigger than your usual clients. He slowly pushes himself inside you and you gasp at the pleasurable agony of how torturous it is. Eventually he bottoms out and kisses you on the lips before looking into your eyes.

“are you ready?” He asks, you nod in return

His hips start at a slow but hard pace, obviously warming you up for whats to come. He nibbles at your ear and his hand becomes entangled in your hair, pulling it lightly as if to test the waters of how you feel about that. The more you moan the faster and harder he goes while whispering how much of a good girl you are in your ear and telling you how you take him so well.

All you can do is breathlessly moan and beg him not to stop, he looks into your eyes with a devilish mischief and says

“Stop? We’re only just starting”

He pulls out and flips you onto your front, pulling your hips up to meet his and enters you again from behind. He grabs one of your arms and pulls it behind your back, gripping it there to stay and place and with the other he gathers up the lengths of your hair and pulls so that you’re facing forwards. His pace is punishing and your eyes begin to tear up from just how mind blowing he is. Occasionally he would let go of your arm to give you a quick, sharp slap on the ass or to caress your hips a little but eventually he would always grip your wrist again, keeping it in place.

His pace begins to slow and he looks down at himself sliding in and out of you.

“Baby, you’re being so good. Look how well you’re taking me. Such an angel” he coos 

“I- I can’t take much more” you whisper but he hears and chuckles to himself. Letting go of your arm his hand slides between your thighs and begins to play with your clit, each circle he rubs is in time with his thrusts and it’s driving you crazy.

“Leo, Leo! I-” you can’t take anymore as a full body orgasm rolls through you and you almost collapse if it weren’t for his arms holding you up. One more smack on your ass and a few more thrusts and you can tell he’s almost at his own release.

“Fuck baby” He purrs and he explodes inside of you before leaning down the kiss the centre of your back. He gentle places you down on the bed so that you don’t just falls that way and quickly goes to dispose of the condom.

You get under the sheets of the bed, still panting slightly and a thin mist of sweat is lining your forehead. Leo gets into bed beside you in the now dark room and you push yourself closer to him as he wraps an arm around you. You lean in and close your eyes against his chest. Sex always made you sleepy, well, good sex did. He looks down at you, kisses your hair and whispers

“You’re gonna need that sleep. I just know I’ll need to have you again in the morning”

You smile against his skin as he rubs small circles on your back as you drift off. The last thing you remember is him whispering, and you’re not sure if it was to you or himself

“It felt good to finally tell someone all that shit. I’m glad you’re here”

Feeling appreciated and satisfied you let sleep take you, only left to dream about what pleasures the morning had waiting for you.

The end

[imaginedhaven]

Rules of Engagement: Chapter Nine

Link to Masterpost

Got this one out for you as quickly as I could, y’all! Hope you enjoy.

~*~*~

The Vaults were everything a princess such as Aelin should avoid. The building was tucked away in the heart of Rifthold’s slums, dim and positively reeking of subpar ale and human sweat among other, far worse scents, and shady deals were being struck in practically every corner available. Small nooks with ragged curtains housed women and men selling their company for the night, and a large unmarked pit was in the center of the main room. The two cutthroats brawling in the center of it made its purpose clear enough.

Rowan truly wished she had allowed him to venture here alone, but he supposed that would rather ruin the point of their visit.

Aelin wandered back over to him, hips swaying in a confident swagger as she carried a mug of ale in each hand. “You could try to look less like an outsider, you know,” she grinned.

Rowan took a deep, calming breath and immediately regretted it. “We are outsiders,” he pointed out. “You have a better chance of blending in than I.”

“Oh, please,” she replied. “You could start by looking less grumpy. Have you smiled in the last century?”

“That’s terrible advice,” he argued. “We’re in a dump, surrounded by hardened criminals. Perhaps you’ll get somewhere by smiling, but it would only look stranger if I did.”

Aelin caught his gaze as she handed him one of the mugs, turquoise eyes searching his for something. Is it going to be a problem? she seemed to ask.

He shook his head minutely. Even among the Fae, he was long used to standing out. He would adapt, as he always did.

That determination didn’t stop him from tugging the hood of his cloak lower as he followed Aelin deeper into the crowd, though.

She weaved her way around the building, every step projecting an easy confidence as she looked at the people they passed with a tiny smirk and eyes that missed nothing. These were not the movements of a princess who had remained in her castle, he realized. No, this was what her assassin had taught her. This was the side of her he had encountered that first night.

It was not Aelin Galathynius he was following toward the fighting ring. No, it was her face, but it was Celaena Sardothien looking back at him through those eyes.

It was truly amazing just how different and yet similar the two were, now that he had spent time with both sides of her. Celaena was everything that Aelin was never allowed to be, all harsh edges and crude swagger as she faced her problems with the sharp blades he knew she had tucked in a surprising number of places given the fit of her trousers. By adopting Celaena’s more catlike grace and dark outfits, she could pass largely unnoticed where Aelin would ordinarily be recognizable by her golden hair and Ashryver eyes.

The determination that shone in those eyes, however, was a common thread between both personas, as was the feral smirk that graced her features as she approached the men who were running the fights.

“Name?” one of them grunted.

“Celaena Sardothien,” she purred. “Looks like an… exciting venture you have here.”

“Are you here to talk or fight?” the man snapped, and Rowan barely restrained himself from baring his canines in response to the implicit threat to her safety.

Aelin grinned and reached toward the man, tracing a single fingertip down the center of his chest. “I don’t suppose I’d get to fight you, would I?” she smirked.

It was clever, what she was doing. However, despite the obvious success she was having in setting the man on edge Rowan found himself unable to approve of her tactics. The man clearly disapproved as well, for soon she was set to fight one of the toughest competitors he had been able to find.

Aelin seemed unfazed as she allowed him to check her for weapons and then slid down into the ring, but Rowan felt a thrill of nerves on her behalf. It would be one thing if she were allowed to fight with magic, or even with her knives, but he knew she had only recently begun to learn hand-to-hand combat. A few weeks’ practice with her cousin couldn’t possibly be enough to win here.

If Aelin shared his concerns, she didn’t show it. Instead she sized her opponent up with a confident smirk, eyes never quite meeting his face but tracing along his form. “Well, this ought to be exciting, don’t you think?” she drawled.

As she circled him, keeping to the edge of the ring, Rowan suddenly realized exactly what she was doing. She had sized him up, and realized that in a competition of brute strength she was going to be found wanting. Instead, she was doing her best to keep her competitor on edge and irritated. It was either going to explode in her face, or it was one of the most brilliant tactics he’d seen.

As she had obviously wanted him to do, he shouted and ran toward her, hands curled into fists. Rowan watched her smirk widen into a full grin before she dropped to her knees, landing one solid hit between his legs and a second to the back of a knee before rolling away.

These were not tactics her cousin would have taught her. No, these would have been taught by her former lover, or perhaps from someone who had come into her guard from a less savory beginning. They way she fought now was not about honor, but survival, and Rowan grudgingly admired her for it.

That did not stop his fingers from curling around the hilt of a knife as the man advanced again, all the more enraged now that Aelin had humiliated him once. Only the rules of their bout, few as they were, stopped him from intervening.

In the privacy of his own thoughts, Rowan could also admit that interfering would likely only enrage Aelin, and he was not stupid enough to do so without a need for it, not now that they had finally reached some level of understanding.

This time Aelin stomped on the man’s foot before whirling just out of reach, using the agility her smaller frame provided, and Rowan allowed himself to grin as her opponent swore. Judging from the way he was moving she had broken at least one bone in his foot, and his anger would make him clumsy while the injury would slow him further.

Rowan growled and the crowd hissed as Aelin’s opponent pulled a knife in flagrant violation of what few rules there were. It would have been within Aelin’s rights to end the match there, but instead she simply grinned and pulled her own blade from her boot.

Rowan felt the tension leave his shoulders at her grin, and he allowed a small smirk of his own to grace his features as they circled each other again. While the man had clearly thought to gain an advantage over her, Rowan knew how Aelin fought with knives and was confident in her impending victory.

Aelin closed ground quickly now that she was fighting in her preferred style, and allowed her opponent’s blade to graze her cheek in exchange for drawing her own across his forehead. It was a smart move; even though the cut itself was small he would soon find his vision impaired, and it would only continue to impede him. It would still be best for her to end this quickly, however, and she seemed to agree with his conclusion. Her next move was to slam the hilt of her blade down on the man’s temple, and she grinned as he fell to the ground unconscious and she was declared the winner.

He watched as she glanced at the crowd, gaze lingering on at least two different people, before she finally climbed back out of the pit and made her way back to him.

“Well, you certainly made an impression,” he muttered as he handed her cloak back to her.

“Didn’t I?” she grinned. “Come on, we’ve been here long enough.”

Though they took a circuitous route to avoid being followed, it was still only a few short minutes until they reached their room for the night. Aelin lit a candle and then cringed, eyes wide with surprise.

Rowan turned, and froze as the candlelight illuminated golden hair and furious Ashryver eyes. “You’ve been busy, cousin,” Aedion growled.

~*~*~

“I’m still angry with you,” Aedion muttered as they prepared for their walk to the palace two days later.

He glared at his cousin as she looked back at him, eyes wide with false innocence. “Must you be? I thought we agreed that you would forgive me.”

“Eventually,” he corrected. “We agreed that I would forgive you eventually. But you snuck out without telling anyone where you were going, and you used my instincts against me. You knew I wouldn’t be able to follow you, not with Lysandra bringing home a child. And even if it’s healed now, you got hurt.”

Aedion had been furious when she had snuck back in with Whitethorn that night, and even more so when he had seen the gash on her cheek. He didn’t expect her to tell him everything, of course, but he had hoped she would at least tell him she was going somewhere at all. Instead he had been left with nothing but blind panic and the inability to leave his mate and their ward vulnerable. The excuse that they had simply been exploring the town had absolutely not lessened his anger, and Whitethorn’s silence on the matter didn’t help either.

Aelin sighed, the light of the morning sun catching and glimmering in her braided hair. “I know you won’t believe me, but it was worth it.”

“You’re right,” he replied. “I don’t believe you, and you had better believe the only thing that will make me believe you is you telling me why you left. And before you say another word, I know you’re not telling me the full story. You don’t have to now, we’re in public. But I don’t want you to think for one second that I think you’ve told me everything.”

He watched as Aelin’s shoulders slumped, and immediately regretted the harshness of his words. If he looked at Whitethorn now he was certain he’d be met with a fierce green glare for the offense; the male had been remarkably protective of Aelin for this whole journey, and the past two days had been no exception. Aedion sighed. “I’m sorry. That was harsh, and perhaps overly so. But you need to realize that we want to help you, and we can’t do that if you’re not telling us what we need to know. Lysandra was terrified, you know.”

“Don’t bring Lysandra into this,” his mate said from where she was straightening Aelin’s skirts. “Lysandra already had it out with Aelin, and can fight her own battles. There, you’re as ready as I can make you.”

Aelin grinned over at him, clearly trying to change the subject. “Think I’m ready to meet royalty, cousin?”

She was, but then he had expected nothing less. Her hair was neatly braided around her head, making it look longer than it actually was, and a small golden circlet was peeking out of the top of it. She was wearing a gown the deep red of Adarlan, with golden accents and a deep blue lining on the inside of billowing sleeves and around her neck. Anyone who even glanced at her would be able to read the message of the choices: she had come to ingratiate herself with the royal family and especially the crown prince.

“You almost look presentable,” he teased, tugging on a loose strand of her hair.

“Och!” she cried, batting his hand away with a grin. “I don’t know why I asked you, you’re as insufferable as ever.”

Her reaction was just as much a message as anything else she ever did. By teasing back the way she did, she was telling him without actually saying the words that she was giving them an opportunity to reach level ground once more before they traveled to the palace. He had lived with her long enough to read the message hidden in her actions, and he quietly nodded. He had said all he could for now, and only time would convince Aelin to open up further.

A glance over Aelin’s shoulder granted him a glimpse of Whitethorn’s nod of approval, and briefly he wondered just how much she had told the warrior and how much he had found out on his own. He obviously knew more than he was letting on, but he was clearly defending Aelin just as he had been for weeks.

As Aedion stood and opened the door, he decided that it would be maddening if it didn’t make him so godsdamned happy that his cousin had someone else looking out for her as well.

Their journey to the palace was brief, and before long they were waved through the gates by the guards. Aedion glanced up at the building that was to be their home for the next several weeks and stopped in his tracks, openly staring.

It was one thing to hear that the upper levels of Adarlan’s palace were constructed of glass. It was quite another to actually see it. The first several levels, forming a building approximately the size of Orynth’s palace, were made of the same stone as much of the rest of the city. The glass extension nearly doubled the size of the building, sitting atop the stone like a gleaming crown and catching the light of the sun. Aedion cringed internally at the idea of living and working in such a distracting location, and took a moment to hope that their assigned rooms would be in the lower levels.

Several of the guards led them into the building, and in just a few short moments they were in the throne room and being greeted by the crown prince himself. Aedion stood to one side, hands loosely clasped behind his back as would be expected of him, but his eyes swept the room for threats.

Before all else, even with everything that was unsaid between them, he was Aelin’s protector and he intended to do his duty.

~*~*~

Dorian offered to escort Aelin and her escort to their rooms personally, every inch the welcoming crown prince he was expected to be, and smiled as Aelin took the arm he offered to her. “I hope your journey wasn’t too hard on you,” he said as they walked. “I know you set a fast pace.”

Aelin smiled back at him in a way that meant she had quite the story to tell, he was certain. “It was certainly an adventure,” she admitted. “This is the furthest I’ve been from Orynth in years, ever since we lost my parents.”

“It was hard on Terrasen,” Dorian acknowledged. “It made sense for your regent to keep you close, where you could be guarded while you came of age.”

Aelin nodded. “Such a depressing discussion, though. I’d much rather talk about your father’s improvements to the castle.”

Dorian laughed. “Truthfully? I spend as little time in the glass portion of the castle as I can get away with. You’ll all be living in the lower levels as well,” he revealed, and he smiled as the rest of the group breathed sighs of relief. “It’s not much further from here, I know you all must be exhausted.”

The first room, which had been prepared for the two warriors Aelin had brought with her, was the room that would best suit for the child they hadn’t been expecting to travel with the group. One of the warriors, who looked similar enough to Aelin that he presumed him to be her cousin Aedion, joined the girl. The woman who had traveled with them remained in that room as well, leaving only Aelin and her tutor. “I wasn’t certain whether to expect you, Prince Rowan,” Dorian admitted, “but I am glad we prepared for the possibility.”

The Fae prince smiled, though there was no humor in it. “I aim to surprise,” he replied. “It’s gotten me far in life.”

“I see,” Dorian muttered. “The room next to Aelin’s was meant to go to her assistant, though it appears she is staying elsewhere. It is already prepared, if you wish to stay there instead.”

The warrior nodded in response and slipped into the room, leaving only Aelin to escort to the next door. “I had a few surprises brought up for you,” Dorian admitted.

Aelin grinned, turquoise eyes sparkling with excitement. “Did you, now?”

Dorian only opened the door to her rooms and quietly gestured for her to enter, wanting her to see rather than spoil the surprise.

He was not disappointed when she reacted with a gasp, hand covering her mouth as she saw the stacks of books he’d selected from the library. “We don’t have quite as wide a selection regarding ancient history as the Library of Orynth,” he disclosed, “but I found what I could. I know you like your books older than most can remember.”

“I love it,” Aelin replied, a small tremble in her voice as she delicately traced the spine of one of the manuscripts. “I’ll enjoy discussing these with you, I think, if you’d care to.”

“I would be delighted to hear your opinions on my selections, of course,” Dorian grinned. “I would expect nothing less.”

As he watched, she began sorting through the small collection. That wasn’t his only surprise for her, though, and she blinked up at him when he told her as much. “I’m not certain how many more surprises I can take,” she confessed. “And to think it’s only my first day here.”

“There’s only one more today,” he reassured her as he moved closer to the desk. “I’m not certain of the customs surrounding courting in Terrasen, but here in Adarlan it is customary for a prince to give his intended a token to affirm the negotiation. Even though we have our own understanding, I thought it best to adhere to the custom.”

Aelin nodded. “It would certainly be advantageous. This will only work for both of us if we’re convincing.”

“I thought along similar lines,” he agreed as he pulled a plain golden ring from his pocket and took her hand.

Aelin stared at him, eyes wide enough that he could see the ring of gold that highlighted their blue shade, and he rushed to explain. “Our history says that this ring was brought across the sea by one of your ancestors, and brought into the Havilliard family by marriage centuries ago. It seemed only fitting to return it to a Galathynius, regardless of how our little arrangement ends.”

The corners of Aelin’s lips curled into a smile. “Such a thoughtful courting gift, Prince Dorian,” she mused. “Why, people will start to talk.”

Dorian laughed. “I believe you revel in the attention. Regardless, it would be terribly hurtful to reject it, so I’m afraid I must insist.”

The ring had been forged and sized for a man long ago, and so Aelin’s thumb was the only finger it would reasonably fit on. However, this realization only made her grin, and he breathed an internal sigh of relief. “I will treasure this, then,” she said as she looked down at it, “as a most thoughtful gift from someone I hope will remain a dear friend.”

“As a prince, I feel obligated to say it would benefit both Terrasen and Adarlan for us to maintain close ties,” he replied. “As a man, however, I will admit I hope so for more personal reasons as well. You’re the first person I’ve met outside of my tutors and advisors willing to discuss history and literature alike with me, and I’m selfish enough to want it to continue regardless of what happens.”

Aelin smiled. “Well, if I’m lucky I can make decent headway into the first of these by the evening meal. Perhaps we can discuss it further then.”

“It would be a pleasure,” Dorian said as he moved back toward the door. “I’ll make certain someone helps you find your way to the dining room.”

As Aelin hummed in acknowledgement and opened the first book, he smiled and left her to get settled in. Everything was going according to their plan, and he couldn’t be more pleased.

~*~*~

The first text Aelin had opened happened to recount the creation of Doranelle, and Aelin was enthralled from the first words. For all that she had given her tutors a difficult time as she grew up, her lessons in history had long been her favorite. Whether it was the history of Terrasen or of its neighboring lands, it had been the one subject in which Aelin had truly excelled.

As she had grown older, and especially after her parents had died, she had become more interested in learning about Doranelle in particular as well. She had promised her mother that she would never go there herself, but she had known on some level that someday representatives from Doranelle would come to her, and she had wanted to be as prepared as she could be.

Of course, that day had come and she had quickly realized there had been absolutely no way to prepare herself for Rowan Whitethorn.

As she turned the page, she thought that perhaps she ought to discuss this history with him. Although it was incredibly unlikely that the male had actually been around for Doranelle’s creation while Mab and Mora yet lived, as someone who had been born and raised there perhaps he would have some insight she would miss as an outsider. Not only that, but he would be able to tell her what it was like there now, and that was just as important as the historical context of the city.

She carefully closed the book as she heard the door to her room open, and she glanced over, expecting that perhaps it was Lysandra or even Rowan come to check on her. Instead, she saw a young man wearing the dark uniform of Adarlan’s royal guard. As he closed her door behind himself she studied his close-cropped chestnut hair, and as he turned around she met warm brown eyes.

Perhaps this was who Dorian had sent to make certain she would be able to find her way around, though it was early yet. “Well met, guardsman,” she called, hoping that her acknowledgement of his presence would prompt him to say what he was doing in her rooms in the first place.

“Your Highness,” he responded as she finally pieced together his features and a portrait she had seen what seemed like ages ago. This was Chaol Westfall, the captain of Prince Dorian’s guard and rumored to be one of his closest friends. Lysandra’s dossier had noted some of his familial ties, but those were less important to her in this moment than the fact that he had risen to captain at such a young age. Either he was promoted due to his friendship with the prince or due to impressive skills, and the way he walked strongly suggested the latter to her.

“Dorian mentioned he was sending someone. Is that why you’re here?”

Captain Westfall squared his shoulders, one hand straying to the hilt of an impressive-looking sword. “Partially,” he replied. “Chaol Westfall, Captain of Adarlan’s royal guard. As captain of the guard, he asked me to make certain yourself and your escort were comfortable and to show you around the palace. However, that’s not the only reason I’m here.”

“Oh?” Aelin asked, a single eyebrow raising in question. “Did one of my people give one of yours a difficult time?”

“That remains to be seen,” the captain replied. “I’m hoping that my inquiries can be resolved quickly and quietly.”

“I believe that would be advantageous for all involved,” she said carefully, “and I will do what I can to answer your questions.”

“Then you will have my thanks, though I doubt you will want them,” the young captain said as the warmth left his eyes.

“Oh? Is there something I’ve done to cause offense?”

“One of my guards reported a disturbance in the city two nights ago, and I went to investigate,” he began. “The perpetrator was claimed to be a young woman with golden hair, going into the worst part of the slums and entering an illegal fight. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be a matter for the royal guard, and I would’ve left it alone. However, Dorian had given me descriptions of those we were to be expecting to arrive at the palace so that you might pass through the gates more easily. So I went to investigate myself, just to make certain that we wouldn’t have any trouble.”

He stepped closer, and Aelin did her best to keep her surprise off of her face. “My question for you, Your Highness,” he continued, “is what exactly you were doing in the Vaults two nights ago.”

~*~*~

Tagging:

@ireallyshouldsleeprn @queen-of-glass @fangirlprincess09 @sassys-world @morganofthewildfire @superspiritfestival @perseusannabeth @sis-it-dont-add-up

[the-nut-queen]

I Have a lot of thoughts on beyond light so I’m going to share them

spoilers for beyond light obvs

The Nut Queen’s thoughts on Beyond Light/SotH:

Campaign:

·       Pretty much went how I expected, i.e. nothing unpredictable or particularly interesting/mould breaking

·       That being said, I liked it! And had a lot of fun

·       Good to see Variks again, good to see the Stranger.

·       Eramis was a pretty decent villain, but pretty much had the same motives as every other Eliksni enemy before her (Skolas, Aksis, Siviks, etc.)

o   Very much felt like Rise of Iron… 2! With the Eliksni taking a new power that they didn’t fully understand to wreck shit, and also, it’s Clovis’ fault again

·       The boss fights felt a little dull. Getting to the end and just spamming stasis got old pretty quickly. I think having that for the first time work, then being able to use stasis as a subclass going forward would have been better (instead of getting the subclass at the very end of the campaign, I haven’t even started upgrading it with shit yet)

·       Liked the ghost lines and voices lines that would happen as you travelled to places

·       The progression felt very smooth, I hardly noticed when the game switched from “story mission” to “kill some adds for some stuff to progress” which was nice.

·       Liked the likewise smooth integration of the empire hunts to the main story line (good source of repeatable content for the future) although I was a little confused when I got a triumph for empire hunts since I literally hadn’t heard House of Salvation call themselves an Empire before

·       Ghost being super concerned with you using the darkness then the guardian just not fucking saying anything is kinda dumb lol but that’s pretty standard

·       It was pretty dumb when at the final boss fight Eramis freezes your ghost and shatters your splinter and freezes you then the stranger’s voice over is like “look within” and you can just suddenly use stasis because why not lol

o   Would have been cool to have a “guardians make their own fate” reference here instead

·       WHAT IS THE POINT OF FIRETEAM “E” (Elsie/Stranger, Eli/Drifter, Eris) Don’t get me wrong, I love them! and I love that 1 solitary cutscene where they’re brawling and using stasis, but they literally serve no purpose to the story? Especially dumb how mara and the nine were like “ooh only 3 have transcended their design ooh they are so special” and then they just stand around a campfire while you do all the work lol

o   Sidenote, the Stranger’s little floaty thing: what is it? And what is the point of it besides looking cute in one cutscene??

·       Also really annoyed that the BOSS for the Glassway Strike is just another boring fucking hydra, like wtf. You introduced a fucking sick new Vex type!!! (wyvern) and you DIDN’T use it as a BOSS for the NEW VEX strike. The boss fight was so boring too, it was literally just a hydra but with lots of health and sometimes it disappeared, come on bungie

 New Light:

·       Pretty cool! Shaw Han is boring though. Bungie you need more women characters and more GHOST characters (also like any non-binary characters)

o   It’d be funny to see a guardian/ghost duo NPC where the guardian doesn’t talk and the ghost does! Like with literally every npc except Osiris/Sagira their ghosts just don’t fucking say anything . (I get that it is more money to hire more voice actors and to write more lines etc. etc. etc. but its getting a bit old. GHOSTS HAVE OPINIONS!

o   Maybe even an npc who is just a solo ghost! They haven’t found their guardian or their guardian was slain by the hive or something that would be cool

·       Where is Shiro-4?

·       Where is Misraaks/House Light?

·       Navota: also boring. Just a hive wizard. You may as well have just had Omnigul come back. Or her nightmare (though I understand that that was dealt with on the moon in the nightmare hunts but still)

o   Disgraced strike: also boring. And the boss fight is also boring and takes forever?

·       Cosmodrome: Cool to be back, was fun to get annihilated by an immune hive night in skyshock as is tradition

o   Annoyed there doesn’t appear to be any Rise of Iron continuity with the landscape, the splicers fuck some shit up in the divide and outside the wall

o   Also, is the path to the Rasputin bunker just gone?

o   Yeah I just checked, the path to the grottos area (from D1) from the forgotten shore has just disappeared in D2 they just put more cliff there

o   Wtf why

o   Also the D1 location maps are so awful lol (wow, we really used to live like that huh)

·       Cosmo lost sectors: nice. Hive labyrinth was fun. Sad they didn’t reuse like the Rasputin bunker but that’s chill

 Season of the Hunt:

·       I’m keen to see my BOYS Pulled Pork and Crow

·       SPIDER DON’T HURT CROW ISTG

·       Not sure what the seasonal content has in store

·       I hope it isn’t as boring as season of undying that sucked asss (obvs I have this worry since they spent the majority of the time developing Beyond Light/Europa, (I assume))

·       It looks like a combo of nightmare hunts and other seasonal public-style events

·       Maybe an escalation protocol/blind well style thing? Idk we’ll find out

 Overall:

·       BUGS! So many fucking bugs

o   you fucked up a perfectly good game, look at it, it has anxiety

o   omg bungie please help us

o   girl help, I’m trapped under the prison of elders grav lift thingo

o   girl help I’ve been launched into the wall at mach speed

·       GAMBIT:

o   You fucked up gambit too. You took all the cool shit out of Prime then mixed it with the lame shit from regular gambit to make gambit whatever the opposite of “prime” is

o   My idea for a better gambit TM:

o   Each class gets one (1) class item

o   They look like the prime class items except not coloured/glowy

o   There are 4 mods you can slot in the “combat style” mod slot ie the last slot

o   They’re like, idk 6 energy to slot

o   And they give you the gambit prime role! And the class item glows in the respective colour and you get an aura too

o   you get all the fun prime perks without having to grind r*ckoning and also have a full set of amour equipped, so you got freedom with your gear

o   it would be GOOD

o   sigh

o   gambit is the worst now

o   it’s like just as hard as prime was too but you don’t get good perks so you just eat shit

o   gambit rant over, moving on to planet rant:

·       YOU CAN’T SAY THAT FOUR CELESTIAL BODIES HAVE “DISAPPEARED” CANONICALLY ONLY LEAVING AN “ANOMOLY” (AS DESCRIBED BY WEBLORE) AND THEN

·       AND THEN fucking have CRUCIBLE AND GAMBIT MATCHES ON THE DISAPPEARED PLANETS

o   I totally get that for time, resources, crunch, and hell even desire would mean throwing out a heap of crucible matches would be not ideal because then there would be like 3 left

o   But

o   WHAT THE FUCK. Maybe if you said idk the vanguard has quarantined the four legacy planets due to the giant fucking darkness pyramids looming there so you’re not allowed to go there any more (as like an in game/lore reason for the planets being vaulted)

o   Cus like yeah you can’t patrol there anymore but drifter doesn’t care about vanguard sanctions so he can just ignore it for the gambit maps

o   And shaxx

o   Could like come up with a reason? Idk

o   It’s just really

o   Really

o   Stupid

·       I like the move towards being chill with gender (changing “male” and “female” to “Masculine” and “feminine” however I would like to see this go further. Ability to change your pronouns whenever you want, ability to change your characters gender presentation whenever you want, ability to be “androgynous” and use “they/them” pronouns

o   Like really, we’re space wizards in the far far future and some of us are even robots. there’s no doubt there would be trans guardians

Final thoughts:

I love this game, I love bungie, I am keen for what the future has to offer

But

I can’t help but feel like this is just another “beginning”

Like shadowkeep was supposed to kick off the era of darkness with the discovery of the first pyramid ship then we just had two random seasons after it that just felt like Curse of Osiris and Warmind Redux

Then arrivals was a phenomenal season

But yeah I was expecting things to be more high stakes I guess? The beyond light campaign didn’t feel very high stakes and it kinda just felt like “oh look you can use the darkness now”

in short, bungie hire me for good ideas and more queer characters

[danwhobrowses]

AEW Revolution 2021 - Reaction & Review

Before you say anything, yes I know about the finish.

But while work has prevented me from watching the show live I will still be running down the PPV as I said I would, the card is still stacked and people were mighty excited to see the wrestling so let’s get to it

Spoilers for AEW Revolution 2021, I have done my best to avoid spoilers myself but have not been able to fully escape it, I won’t let my post be the same for someone else

The Buy-In I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Buy-In should not have 75% promos, especially since the promos are uploaded as the Countdown. It’s the same thing Tony you can fit an entire match in between it, or even recap the segments on the prior Dark - good promos from Miro, Archer and Big Swole in that show and the Butcher & Blade attacked Bear Country, all of which would have relevance to the PPV.

Britt Baker pre-match promo On the cusp of her tag match came out Dr. Britt Baker DMD who lambasted the company for booking ‘Reba’ to tag with her after she sustained an ‘injury’ at the hands of Nyla Rose. Baker acted like her ‘doctor’s note’ should’ve been enough and had Reba walk on stage with a crutch to sell her point. With her partner injured she has been allowed to pick a replacement. Thoughts would’ve obviously gone to one Thea Trinidad but that made the surprise so much better.

Dr Britt Baker (w/ Rebel ‘Reba’ Tanea) & Maki Itoh def. Riho & Thunder Rosa - Pinfall on Rosa by Baker after a Superkick + Crutch Shot Maki Itoh, who was unusually absent from the TJPW PPV - arrived to a loud pop from the crowd and Serpentico just completely losing his shit at ringside. The King of Simps sang her entrance as she usually does as she soaked in the atmosphere with pure joy on her face. The babyfaces quickly made their entrances after as the match was about to kick off. For a tag match it was more of a 2v2 than a tag bout, I mean that in there wasn’t a lot of team moves; whenever the heels felt threatened they would switch partners to regain momentum, but that did allow each woman to face off one another. There were some good interactions between each woman in the bout, Excalibur doing very well to inform the fans that Itoh had history with Riho and Rosa and that she had recently come out of a tag tournament final in TJPW where she and ‘Pink Striker’ Miyu Yamashita fell short to NEO Biishiki-Gun (a faction that involves the heel alter-ego of the Eliminator Tournament’s Mei Suruga). Between the match Rosa and Baker sold the animosity, trading middle fingers while the other was in the corner until they finally got to cross one another. The final stages proved to be entertaining when Itoh and Riho where legal, Rosa and Baker had both rushed the ring to fight when Riho sucker hit Baker on the apron, leading to a trade off in moves between all four women, Rosa got planted with a tornado DDT, but Itoh missed the Flying Kokeshi, Riho almost capitalized but her Shining Wizard was countered by Itoh’s magnificently fluid rolling half crab counter. Riho would make the ropes as both women tagged out after Itoh got Riho with a headbutt and Riho shook off Baker after Rosa broke up her pin from an air raid crash, liquid pinfalls and counters happened after that which was an easy highlight. Reba proved not to be as injured as let on when she jumped the apron but was accidentally socked by Baker after Rosa dodged and hit the DVD, Itoh broke the pin but got thrown out of the ring afterwards, the cameras missing Riho diving at Itoh on the outside. In the ring Baker - having wriggled out of a Fire Thunder Driver - staggered Rosa with a superkick and used the ref’s position to push Rosa towards him near the ropes where Reba cracked Rosa with the crutches as the ref dodged, the damage was enough for Baker to get the 3 count. After the match Riho ensured that Rosa wouldn’t get attacked afterwards as Reba limped on and out the ring, Baker and Itoh leaving the ramp with middle fingers to their opponents

It was a very fun match, camera work wasn’t the best at times but it was still really good. I didn’t expect Itoh and Baker’s twitter buddying to lead to them partnering up but that is the sneaky foreshadowing. The booking of this match should really be stated a bit more, Riho and Rosa are top caliber former champions on their brands, and Itoh and Baker hanged with them mostly to a stalemate. With 2 victories over Rosa though Baker should be on the up, and sadly we may see less of Rosa with NWA coming back (same will probably be said about Serena once her knee recovers until she drops the belt) so it was important that nobody came out looking weak. With Itoh’s US appearance too and the pop (and the resulting appearance on BTE) you can be sure that the Cutest in the World will be seen again.

Main Card Always gotta show my approval of using Brodie’s ‘you know what that means’ to start a show. JR sounded a little hoarse though today, hope he’s okay.

AEW World Tag Championship The Young Bucks def. The Inner Circle [Chris Jericho & MJF (w/ Wardlow)] - Pinfall on Jericho by Matt via Meltzer Driver Jericho came out with his usual Painmaker while MJF continues with his fashion atrocity of a white robe and blue tassels with the scarf print in the middle. The Bucks kept it simple with the black, yellow and pink - which Excalibur noted was designed by Matt’s daughter. The Bucks were definitely aggrieved, shoving the belts in the faces of their opponent before the bell, Jericho though played the mind games by snatching a title from Aubrey to hold it aloft. The bell rang and immediately it was brawling, Bucks pulling their patented dual suicide dive and stereo sharpshooters, interceptor spear and the hanging senton. MJF got some momentum by catching Nick before his apron moonsault as Jericho hit the triangle dropkick, Wardlow choking Nick on the outside while Aubrey was distracted and then hitting the double flapjack before stealing the Bucks’ poses. Matt roared in again but Wardlow again proved to shift momentum to his Inner Circle stablemates, this time pulling the ropes so Matt fell out. The Inner Circle kept things simple and grounded, antagonizing the Bucks whenever they could in hopes they will fall into a mistake, however their confidence left them more open to slipping up and falling into Nick’s hot tag, a lovely springboard destroyer hit two so the Bucks hit the Motor City Machine Guns’ move. MJF tagged Jericho but his Judas Effect was superkicked, Bucks tried Meltzer Driver but MJF grabbed Nick again and Jericho hit the tombstone, leaving Nick to flip with nobody home and leave him prone to the Walls of Jericho, Nick tagged Matt while in the hold but then Matt got locked in the Walls. MJF got 2 for a catch powerbomb but slowed it down by taunting Matt with multiple ‘Suck It!’s, Excalibur humorously begging Matt to just punch him ‘where he is pointing’, the provocation worked though as Matt went for a Meltzer Driver, allowing Jericho to catch Nick mid-flight with a Codebreaker and MJF to roll Matt up for 2. Wardlow distracted Aubrey as Jericho hit Matt’s legs with a bat leading to MJF hitting the Heatseeker, but they got 2 again! The Bucks countered with a baited corner kick and stereo crossbodies in and out of the ring, Wardlow got rocked by a dodged Judas Effect as Nick rolled Jericho for 2, Jericho tries a Lionsault but meets a low Superkick and then a BTE Trigger but MJF breaks the count, eating a Superkick Party (aka Death by Leg Slapping) for his troubles. Jericho gets a Double Superkick and then finished by a Meltzer Driver.

It was a hot opener for sure, the Bucks talking smack to Jericho afterwards. The Inner Circle were wily but relied too much on Wardlow and provoking the Bucks into making mistakes. I am actually surprised to see no Sammy Guevara even at ringside, besides Wardlow no Inner Circle members tried to interfere either, pretty clean affair.

Casino Tag Team Royale Death Triangle [PAC and Rey Fénix] win the Royale to be No. 1 Contenders for the Tag Titles - Fénix last eliminating Jungle Boy After the Bucks came naming the next contender, starting with the Natural Nightmares and Dark Order’s Five and Dime - ironically it was the old guard vs the Nightmare Factory alums - a handshake between 5 and Dustin was not shared when QT clubbed 10 to kick off the match. Dark Order got some great offence but were blindsided by Dustin’s double bulldog Different to regular Casino Royales, entrants played to Royal Rumble rules of one team at a time, the first team to enter being Santana & Ortiz. Five got eliminated first by QT after hitting the ‘That’s Gotta Suck’ (a crossbody to the back of an opponent lying on the ropes) on Ortiz, 10 unable to avenge him as the Sydals came next, Matt hitting the Meteora rather than the Shooting Star attempt like last time. Uno and Grayson came next, Uno hitting that delicious twisting flatliner on Mike Sydal as Santana and Ortiz dumped Mike out of the ring. Santana also completely kicked the taste out of Grayson and 10 soon after with a percussive kick. The Gunn Club came next without Billy, huge amount of faith in Austin and Colten, during which Matt Sydal got thrown over by the Gunns and dumped out by Santana’s big boot, meaning the Sydals were the first team to be eliminated. Intrigue hit after the Pretty Picture (Avalon & Bononi) and the Varsity Blonds came into the match, Austin had dumped Avalon and dual Famassers to Bononi looked like it was gonna eliminate the big man but then QT eliminated the Gunns at once. Ire and confusion was seen on Dustin’s face as QT eliminated his fellow Nightmare Family members, and QT then eliminated himself! A shock break up for sure from one of the most consistent Midcard tag teams in AEW. Bear Country Hell Yeah though hossed their way in, Grayson was able to lift one but got eliminated, Jurassic Express came next as Baltimora’s Tarzan Boy echoed from the arena, JB countered Santana and Ortiz’ tag move to eliminate the latter and then baited Santana to rana him out, Luchasaurus eliminated Bononi and then Griff, assisting Marko to do a slippery rana which Uno sold by running into the ring post to eliminate himself. Butcher and Blade came in fresh to dump Pillman and 10 and end their nights, Jack Evans had also appeared out of nowhere to assist in eliminating 10 as Bear Country brawled with Butcher and Blade, Dustin tried to get involved and was dragged out of the ring apron by Allie. Private Party then came in with the clean black and gold, nearly eliminating JB had Marko not held him up. SCU completely beheaded PP, Bear Country then eliminating Luchasaurus to some boos before being dumped by Butcher just as Death Triangle came in. Lastly was Silver and Reynolds who came to a decent pop, nailing Daniels with a Spin Doctor to start and then Dark Destroyer and Elimination from Isaiah Kassidy, SCU then eliminated Butcher leaving 4 teams left. Fénix bodyscissored Daniels, JB launched Reynolds over the turnbuckle and Kazarian thrown by PAC. Silver, PAC, Fénix and JB was just sublime, Silver only taken out by Fénix’s rope walk pele kick to leave JB on his own. “Jungle Boy in the Death Triangle” was a hell of a call by Excalibur as he eliminated PAC by using his momentum against him. Fénix and JB was just high octane, JB catching Fénix with an anti-air superkick, clothesline and poison rana but as he went to throw Fénix he counters with the 619 rebound heel kick and clotheslined JB out of the ring.

That was a strong ass royale. I will not however forget that Top Flight and FTR were unusually absent from the match (not to mention the Good Brothers, I hoped it’d be Casino Rules with them as the Joker, and TH2). But a lot of good stuff here, surprising split by the Nightmares, Butcher/Blade vs Bear Country feels imminent, Santana and Ortiz as well as SCU were still strong, I feel for Jurassic Express though, they are always inches from the brass ring but never quite getting it, but Death Triangle probably needed it more. Making Fénix the last man was a good decision as well because he had been taking a lot of Ls, now with a trio vs the Bucks it can lead to some interesting concepts, and batshit crazy spots.

Paul Wight Interview Wight sprinkled some hinting at his mystery signing by saying ‘No-one’s gonna outwork him’ as we paused till the next match. DDP and Al Snow were also shown in attendance.

AEW Women’s World Championship Hikaru Shida def. Ryo Mizunami - Pinfall via Corkscrew Knee Strike The promo package used for this match has to get some shine as well because it really built why both women were so motivated to win.

Mizunami came out with the tournament trophy in hand to ensure her clout had not been forgotten, Shida may not have worn the power suit but the kimono and kasa still looked wonderful. A handshake started the match but Shida dodged the lariat attempt. Mizunami shoulder blocked Shida but the champion kipped up impressing Aniki and prompting her to ground her a second time. Mizunami and Shida traded corner chops as Mizunami wasted too much time showboating for the champion to hit the rana and then the ringside knee strike, the Chair launch was caught as Mizunami dumped Shida over the railing. Leg drop was almost countered by the Stretch Muffler but Aniki used her power to continue grounding Shida and wearing her down with submissions, Shida though would grasp momentum with driving her opponent into the corner with her knees and then a missile dropkick, a driven Shida crunched Aniki with a B-Driver on the ramp then a deadlift suplex back into the ring, the champion’s confidence was met with Mizunami’s powerful flurry of strikes, Shida hits a running knee but Mizunami gets back up, she hits the Tamashii but can’t make the cover.  The women return to the handshake strike trading, but Mizunami got the advantage and plants her with an Uranage and Spear, the Guillotine Legdrop gets a close 2 but the champion kicks out again, she rolls out of the Fisherman buster to hit a German but gets hit in the back of the head, Shida hits the Falcon Arrow and kips back up, the Tamashii is blocked but she keeps striking Mizunami, running knee to the back of the head, Falcon Arrow again but could not hook the leg, the next Tamashii countered with a lariat but the following lariat countered with a knee. Shida digs into some Latino Heat with the eye poke and roll up for two, she hits the Tamashii but Aniki rolls her up for an agonizing two. Looked like a botched DDT but Shida hits a third Tamashii and Mizunami kicks out again, Shida opts for a corkscrew knee strike and that gets the three.

Shida’s celebration is cut short by Nyla and Vickie attacking both, Shida prevents Aniki from being Beast Bombed but is then blindsided by Baker and Itoh, Itoh biting Mizunami’s fingers while Nyla and Baker squared off before reaching an understanding. Rosa darted in for the save as Itoh taunted Rosa with an Akanbe (pulling her eyelid down). In the ring Shida offered a hand to Aniki while her opponent bowed to her in respect. If anyone had doubts that Mizunami would be a bad choice for Revolution they were promptly eating their words about now. This was a proper physical women’s bout showing the best of Joshi Strong Style. Shida showed off some newer moves even resorting to a heel move to try and win (Yakuza Heel Shida is an option) and a different finish to the Tamashii while Mizunami continued to brightly shine with power and charisma. The post-match stuff does leave a lot of intrigue too. Baker and Nyla’s alliance of convenience can only go so far when both want the title, it hurts to see Itoh with the heels given how over she is but it made sense in the context that Mizunami eliminated her from the tournament - Itoh fights for Itoh, the heels are just convenience for now. The tournament playing this role shows how important it was for the women’s division too, Rosa and Baker temporarily stepping up to Nyla and Nyla wanting to waste Aniki makes it important. In addition, Big Swole - who noted that she is next due to her title shot before the tournament’s announcement being postponed due to COVID - tweeted a ‘not my business’ kinda tweet during this too, which is telling.

Double or Nothing 2021 is coming May 30th A small promo for Double or Nothing was shown announcing the date.

Pre-Match Segment with Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy Before their match with Kip and Miro, Alex Mahvez was going to interview the two men before Miro and Kip jumped both men. Miro telling the camera to ‘Play my music’ as he dragged Chuck to the ramp and ring as he taunted a bleeding Taylor to just say the word to make it stop. Mic in his mouth Chuck instead said ‘ring the damn bell’ and slapped Miro to kick off the bout.

Miro & Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford) def. Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy - Submission via Game Over by Miro on Chuck Taylor Miro wastes no time in this match, delivering the hurt to the partnerless Taylor before tagging out to Kip a few times as he taunted Taylor in and out of the ring. Taylor countered Sabian in time for Cassidy to appear on the ramp hurt, Miro slowly stalked the prone Cassidy only to have fallen for his possum as he kipped up and nailed an Orange Punch, tagging in to get a diving DDT for 2 on Kip, the back that was hurt before prevented a Beach Break to give Sabian the advantage while Miro recovered. Chuck is tagged in for a stomp/Beach Break combo, Miro breaks the count after Taylor was decked with a Piledriver. Miro gets involved as Bryce and Penelope argue, the deadly Orange Kicks humor Miro but his Pump Kick is dodged, Miro gets Orange in the gut before he can make a second Orange Punch but hits the Stundog Millionaire on the counter, Penelope stops Orange from running the ropes and provides distraction for Miro to push him, but he knocks Penelope right into the railing - it was a big sell - and takes out Orange but Taylor and Kip are legal. Miro drags Kip from his wife to tag himself in, nearly being beaten by the inside cradle before flooring Taylor with the Matchka kick and the Game Over for the win. Relief soaks the face of Miro as he feels a weight lifted, AEW’s weakest feud apparently over. Overall it was a nice way to finish it, Miro looked incredibly strong in the bout and teases of him discarding Kip were shown. OC was kept strong by the prior assault wearing him down and Taylor showed a lot of guts. It may do Chuck good to be written out for a bit, until Trent comes back at least.

Inner Circle Segment Not accepting that his interview time was taken, Mahvez found a new duo to interview. MJF and Jericho - flanked by Santana and Ortiz - were asked what’s next as Jericho went on a ‘we should’ve won’ tirade. Jericho and MJF hinted at a change as they promoted next week an ‘Inner Circle War Council’. It could indeed mean that someone else is being discarded from the Inner Circle, or someone’s coming in to take Sammy’s old spot.

Big Money Match ‘Hangman’ Adam Page def. ‘Big Money’ Matt Hardy - Pinfall via Buckshot Lariat I must first and foremost admit that I am loving this heel Matt Hardy. The ‘Corporate Leech’ has done really well at being a bane to AEW’s top babyface Cowboy and his Cult Buddies, he’s also driven Private Party to a new and better direction. Hangman’s funny name plates continued with ‘Decided on the Snapper 560Z’ as he came in 6-0 against Hardy’s 3-0 PPV record. Hangman controlled the early parts of the bout with his strength, Matt surviving with his veteran awareness to avoid the Buckshot but not enough to avoid Hangman’s axe handle from the railings. Hangman hurt his arm by having it slammed in the ring post as Hardy honed in on the hand; stretching, biting and crushing it between some steps. Commentary sold that the hand injured was Hangman’s favoured hand, the fact proven when Page’s punch damaged him as well, the Side Effect though was wonderfully countered with a cradle and then a DVD. Hardy evaded Hangman to catch him in a Twist of Fate on the outside, hoping for a Count Out win, Page rolls in at 9 as Hardy seizes control, yanking Hangman from the ropes with a turnbuckle elevated German Suplex. A big moonsault to the outside regains the advantage for Hangman as he follows up with a diving crossbody and sliding lariat, Hardy escapes the Deadeye to get a neckbreaker and then a powerbomb. Hangman counters the Twist of Fate into the Deadeye but Private Party (in ‘Civilian Clothes’) distract the ref to buy Matt time to recover, Hangman decides to take out both men on the sides, he goes for the Buckshot but lands into a Side Effect and Twist of Fate at 2. Shocked, Hardy motions for Private Party to get involved, but Dark Order swarm in to stop them, Hardy clubs Hangman on the apron but the Dark Order catch him and pull him back up for the Buckshot, that lands the 3 count. Hangman has his hand raised as Dark order applaud him, Hangman then walks in to hug the stable, toasting a beer given to him by Colt Cabana.

It was a good match, expected TH2 to also interfere but I guess they didn’t want the match to go on too long. The core purpose of the match was good: Hangman has turned a curve, he’s no longer being manipulated and he has friends in the Dark Order to support him. Where Hardy goes now he’s ‘Broke’ will be an interesting route, perhaps he will have to invest a little wiser or be met with people coming to collect checks he could no longer cash in.

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match Scorpio Sky def. Cody Rhodes (w/ Arn Anderson), Max Caster, Penta El 0M, Lance Archer (w/ Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts) and Ethan Page AEW went very tongue and cheek by making the prize be a literal Brass Ring, JR even making a joke about it as Sonic the Hedgehog memes hit the internet. Caster started with a rap to get the crowd involved, Archer came in and decked someone at ringside, Sky and Penta had normal entrances while Cody pyro’d it up as the camera panned to Jade Cargill and Red Velvet either side and Archer climbing the apron to stare Cody down. All Ego became All Elite as Ethan Page appeared with a decent pop with a huge smile on his face and a name plate that showed his veteran and championship experience.

The match kicked off all around with the main focus on Archer and Cody renewing their TNT rivalries, Archer was the first to throw a ladder into Scorpio Sky and Page, but ate a Superkick and Slingblade by Penta, Penta then got German Suplexed by Sky before Caster took him out. Caster calls for Jack Evans to bring the Boombox that won him his qualifier but Evans is intercepted by 10 and flattened with a spinebuster, 10 doesn’t collect the Boombox though as he leaves which he will use on Page and Cody - after the two took out Archer but then fought each other. Penta took out Caster and Cody by using the Ladder as a ramp for a senton but Archer then kicks him out, Page cutters and crushes Archer under the ladder, escaping Sky’s TKO to drop Sky on the ladder while Archer was sandwiched between it. Page tries to trap Archer under the ladder but Archer powers it to a slope allowing Penta to backstab Page, Penta then Destroyer’s Cody on a ladder laid on the ring and railing, the match selling Cody’s injured shoulder and take him away from the ring while Caster and Sky tussle to climb the ladder. Caster picks a taller ladder for the high ground but are met by Page and Archer. Sky is the last man on the ladder but Penta pulls him down, his showboating costs him though as Sky recovers, biting his head and pulling Penta down with a neckbreaker. Page and Caster then tussle at the top but Caster pulls Page down with a messy sunset bomb, Sky cracks Caster with a frog splash on the ladder but crosses Archer, Sky almost uses Archer’s launchpad to climb the ladder but is pulled down, he goes for the turnbuckle but is pushed down and sent through another ladder laid on the railing and apron. Penta comes into a hot streak in taking down the remaining four men, but All Ego rakes Penta’s eye to get him off the ladder. Cody then staggers back to the ramp, whipping his opponents with his weight belt with a wincing crack, hurting his arm to land a Cross Rhodes on Page. Cody looks to set up a ladder dive but meets a Suplex by Archer and a Claim to Fame Elbow Drop by Caster. Caster and Penta climb the tall ladder but Archer knocks the ladder down, chokeslamming everything that moves and dropping Caster on a ladder with a Black Out. As Archer makes the climb, Page attacks but Archer no sells it and shoves Page away, Page low blows Archer then hits the Razor’s Edge but then Jake the Snake comes in and hits him with a Short-Arm Clothesline to a big pop before Penta wipes the legend out. Cody kinda messes up the cutter on Penta, giving Penta time to use a Steel Chair on his arm, as he climbs though Sky uses the chair on Penta’s ankle. Sky and Cody climb and trade blows, Sky yanks the injured shoulder, talks smack to Cody before pushing his face off the ladder. With nobody to oppose, Sky grabs the Brass Ring to be the Face of the Revolution.

It may not be AEW’s best ladder match, but it was still highly entertaining. Ethan Page was a good surprise entrant and Cody really did play us with his John Cena threatening rally. Caster also impressed a lot given the circumstances and this darker more heelish Scorpio Sky will be interesting to see as he faces Darby Allin.

Hall of Fame-Worthy Signing is: Christian Cage WWE stole Ben Carter from AEW, so AEW stole Christian from WWE. His new mantra of ‘Out Work Everyone’ is made official as Christian came in, posed, signed a contract and left. It got a big pop from the fans and it was definitely Hall of Fame worthy. I’m not gonna let it upset me that I had hoped for Minoru Suzuki because there is still a Forbidden Door being opened, Christian still has it and we will have to wait and see how AEW use him.

Street Fight Sting & Darby Allin def. Team Tazz [Brian Cage & Ricky Starks] - Pinfall on Starks by Sting via a Scorpion Death Drop I will preface if you didn’t expect the Street Fight to be cinematic then you were pretty blind, Sting can take bumps but AEW are not going to throw caution into the wind with him. Tazz joined commentary to be grilled by JR and Tony as the match faded into an ‘Undisclosed Location’. There were some really nice Lucha Underground-esque transitions and filmwork as Cage and Starks travelled to a boiler room ring while Darby’s entrance was met with Sting-wearing hoodlums and both men travelling to the location - Darby skating onto Sting’s truck to enter at the same time. Cage quickly dominated from the start, dumping Darby and then wasting the ‘Hoodlums’ while Starks pressed Sting against the corner. Darby tried to fight back but Cage dragged Darby around. Sting regained control with a Stinger Splash and Snake Eyes but Darby was thrown through doors as Tazz talked up his boys noting how if Darby can’t compete he’ll have to relinquish his title. Starks and Sting eventually leave the ring and Sting goes straight for the bat, Starks goading the Icon to discard the bat but still gets clubbed and kicked into the brick wall, leaving Starks to search for Cage and Darby. Cage though is going upstairs, carrying Darby in a vertical suplex position while he goes up the stairs and dumping him on a trash can. Sting though arrives to work the numbers advantage, Starks then comes back though, hitting Sting with a pipe and an oil drum, String hurts Starks’ knee by opening a drawer on it and Starks is laid out by Cage’s accidental chair shot. Cage continues to fend off the duo for a bit before being hit by a Fire Extinguisher and a glass before slammed into the table, Starks then uses the 2x4 and focuses on Allin, Darby fights back though, climbing a beam to do a Coffin Drop. However, an Orange Masked man comes in and slams Allin against the beam: Powerhouse Hobbs reminding the duo that Team Tazz do have the numbers advantage as Hook also joins the fight. Sting and Cage both get up to tussle, Sting being driven against a beam as all of Team Tazz sans Starks deal with Darby, swinging him into a window frame before then aiming for Sting. Sting narrows the path to avoid the onslaught, Allin recovering to throw Sting his bat from the upper floors. The Icon goes to town, snapping the bat over Cage’s back and moving to a Shovel, Allin then does a massive elbow drop through Cage as Starks and Sting return to the ring. Starks almost gets the Stinger by baiting his Stinger Splash into an exposed turnbuckle, a spear hits two! Starks tries what looks like a prep for a buckle bomb but Sting rolls out at 2, Sting then hits the Scorpion Death Drop and that is 3. Sting stares down the camera as Tazz leaves commentary in a huff.

In terms of brutality it was a lovely street fight, the finale was a bit abrupt though. Hobbs and Hook kinda disappeared and it was a bit annoying that a ‘Street Fight’ ended in a ring. Props though to cinematography, Sting did not seem uncomfortable and there were some strong spots, Brian Cage looking excellent as well. Allin will look to Scorpio Sky to defend his title and hopefully Team Tazz can find a new target to get their momentum back.

AEW Dynamite Card As a result of the current matches on Revolution 3 matches were announced; Sky and Allin will face this Wednesday for the title, on top of that Matt Jackson will take on Rey Fénix in a build to their tag title match and Shida, Mizunami and Rosa will team to fight Baker, Itoh and Rebel - I guess we’ll be seeing Itoh-chan very soon huh? Nyla noticeably absent though - in six woman tag action, on top of that was the Inner Circle War Council.

AEW World Championship - Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch Kenny Omega (w/ Don Callis) def. Jon Moxley - Pinfall via One Winged Angel Okay. Here we go. The ‘Moxley Extermination Contraption’ looked as classic as an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch could look as both men gingerly scouted the ring. Mox was wearing an unusually clean leather studded jacket which Excalibur clarified was a shout out to Onita. Omega’s entrance ditched the dancers (rip to Shida’s bestie) as his entrance video emphasized Kenny holding aloft the world title to get in Moxley’s head. Bryce Remsburg himself was dressed like he was in a COVID treatment camp with the visor, gloves and full body suit, well-prepared for the dangers surrounding him. Hindsight would bring a bad omen to Don Callis as he talked about how ‘carefully designed’ the ring was rigged with explosives and building up the 30 minute countdown, he at the very least got a good line with ‘Gentlemen it’s a good day to die here at Revolution’.

Kenny and Mox sought for the same tactic: push someone face first into the exploding barbed wire. Each men having inch close counters and escapes to avoid the barbed wire, Moxley brought the weapons left outside the ring and head to the ramp to punish Omega with the Barbed Wire Bat and Kendo Stick, Kenny however Blinded Moxley with powder and tossed Moxley into the explosive wire. For my money of what I’ve seen, the explosions were a little tame - though I can understand why for safety. Rattled and twitching, Moxley still kicked out at 2, forcing Kenny to punish him further with a Kendo Stick and trash can to focus on the knee. Kotaro Crusher on the trash can busted Moxley’s head open for 2 so Kenny tries a Figure Four, Moxley though grinds a barbed wire steel chair onto Kenny’s leg and hand, cutting Kenny’s hand open and breaking the hold. Kenny tries the Snap Dragon but Moxley evades, but gets thrown into one of the barbed wire boards on the turnbuckles. Excalibur continuing to be on fire with the quip of a ‘barbed wire halo’ as the bloodied face of Moxley displays and Bryce Remsburg enters perpetual cringe. Kenny is next to taste the explosives though as his Figure Four attempt is kicked away and launches him chest first into the ropes, a shotgun dropkick sends him back first into it for a second go, Moxley pulls out an Exploder, sets Kenny up for another Barbed Wire board, Kenny wriggles to set up the Snap Dragon but Moxley reverses into another pump handle exploder into the board. Moxley nearly blinded by his own blood calls for the Death Rider on the Wired Chair, but Omega sets up the One Winged Angel, Moxley German Suplexes him out and dumps Omega on the chair with a Sidewalk Slam, the wire sticking to Omega’s jeans. Moxley calls to his I Quit Match with Kingston and wraps some wire around his arm, he misses the Lariat and gets hit with one Snap Dragon Suplex, Kenny hits another but Moxley gets back up, V-Trigger blocks the second Barbed Wire Lariat attempt but not the third at the halfway mark.

Omega throws huge caution into the wind by escaping the Paradigm Shift and pushing Moxley and himself into the exploding ropes, his vision affected as he asks Remsburg for water to clean his eyes - it seems to be a worked one though or at least dust. Jabs are shared on the apron between the wired ropes and one of the ‘Triple Hell’ wired boards, Moxley gets advantage and hits the Paradigm Shift onto the boards, however, Omega merely bounced off of it while Moxley is firmly stuck inside the board. As Moxley painfully unhinges himself from the board he pulls out more wire - Kenny also wearing a crimson mask - as he batters Omega in the head. A noise alarms Moxley of time running out, he does the Cactus Piledriver for 2 twice, Omega hits the Low Blow and the Powerbomb for 2, Two V-Triggers on the corner and then the One Winged Angel, 1, 2,

BANG!

Moxley kicked the rope to trigger the explosion, blinding Omega and breaking the count. Moxley has the barbed wire bat but the Good Brothers rush in, as Moxley wails on Gallows, Kenny is handed his own Barbed wire bat, he swings for Moxley and 

BANG! 

the bat itself is charged too! 1, 2, NO! The Good Borthers set up a regular chair, Omega drops him with the One Winged Angel and gets the three.

Omega celebrates but Don reminds them of the countdown, the trio handcuff Moxley’s hands as the hard cam continues to miss Omega’s smack talking. Kenny brutalizes a defenseless Moxley with the non-charged wire baseball bat as the 1 minute warning is issued. Kenny celebrates but Kingston rushes in - against the advice of the Butcher, Blade and Bunny. Kingston tries to break the cuffs but has no time, he tries to drag Moxley but has no time, he takes one last look at Moxley’s face and covers his body over his friend and rival and

Fizzle.

Mostly just a limp pyro show. A heartbreaking technical error which was met with boos as the PPV goes from A+ to A-/B+ simply by this one moment. It hurts to look at, but I think the worst part is that Kingston - being the kayfabe professional he is - sold it. Had he simply got up and had Kenny come out with a ‘gotcha’ it could’ve been salvaged but alas, the PPV ends in a whimper.

The match itself was great though, brutal and bloody, the explosions were a bit small but as I said, I can understand why. The lack of the big explosive finish will be a huge damper on it even with AEW’s attempts to take it on the chin and try and salvage it, if I were TK though I probably would book the next Dynamite to still have the ring rigged - noting that only Kenny and Callis knew how to wire and unwire it, that way we can still have a Chekov’s gun and have it potentially blow at any time during the next Dynamite, we pass off Kingston’s selling with a promo from him saying he had accepted death to save his friend and passed out from it and we either have Kingston, Moxley or maybe even Callis get caught in the ring actually blowing, like have Kenny on the tron pull a killswitch or have Callis think he defused it only to do the opposite. Looking ahead though this does imply that Moxley won’t completely disappear from AEW just yet, he still has the IWGP US title to drop before he goes on paternity leave, he will certainly be sleeping on the couch until the baby comes though XD On top of that we’ve neatly set up Kenny’s next challenger in Kingston, who is not a bad shout at all given that he won Match and Feud of the Year for WON last year.

Conclusion Had the explosion gone off proper, this would be A+ for sure, but given how that was literally the last hurrah built up so much on a highly anticipated bout, I have to give it an A- as a PPV. All memes and criticism aside for that one singular moment the rest of the PPV was amazing. Maki Itoh got double the surprise presence as well as a BTE cameo and is booked for Dynamite to steamroll an amazing debut run, Brian Cage and Lance Archer looked like absolute beasts in spite of defeat (Moxley too), Death Triangle are back in a title picture, Jungle Boy continues to amaze, Shida puts on another banger, Hangman’s slow rise to potentially usurping Omega has begun, Sting entertained in a safe manner, Scorpio Sky returns in a big way, the Bucks retained in a fiery opener and Miro was on a tear essentially squashing Chuck Taylor to get back on track. Not to mention debuts for Christian Cage and Ethan Page (more Cages and Pages, what happens if Brian and Adam face Christian and Ethan? I'm still waiting for Kong vs Kong)

On top of that we give huge props to Excalibur and Tony for essentially carrying the commentary with their knowledge and timing while JR had some voice troubles and Tony Khan for promoting this PPV to be trending worldwide for literal days

My favourite match has to be narrowly the Main Event, it just pips the Women’s title match because of its sold brutality, and I’m not really counting the post-match stuff from it. Nobody wrestled poorly in the entire show as well so aside from one big technical blemish, it was a strong ass show and all the shortcomings it had can easily be bounced back from.

Needs a lil’ more TH2 though...

[greennightspider]

Fairytale #2: CinderEric (Cinderella)

Author’s Note: There will be two or three parts to this Fairytale saga, and even though its written in second person the main character’s name is Elle. I will be doing a full masterlist for these Fairytales, as well as adding them to my main masterlist.

Summary: A hotheaded Dauntless initiate has some steam to blow off. What better way than to blow it on one of the biggest nights of the Dauntless year, with one of the fiercest bigshots around? 

Chapter 2

Eric x Elle

Fuck those little shits.

You continued scrubbing the floor with a vengeance, imagining your roomates’ faces in the reflection of soap and suds underneath your red hands.

I know Frigg rigged that shit.

*scrub scrub scrub*

The only sounds around you were your own frustrated grunts as you finished cleaning the last section of the Dauntless concrete floor.

You had unfortunately bit off more than you could chew when you challenged two older Dauntless initiates for bumping you in the mess hall, which resulted in a lost bet and you on your knees scrubbing away.

“You shouldn’t’ve picked a fight with us tonight of all nights sootface, you could’ve tried your luck at the Brawl.” The two Dauntless boys sneered as they jogged away, not wanting to miss the show.

Tonight was a special night. Every turn of the season (or whenever the higher ups felt like it) there was a tournament held named the Dauntless Brawl. It was the Dauntless version of a ball or a social, where opponents would fight one on one until the last man (or woman) was standing. And anyone who could take that title was named “king”.

Of course, the “King” was also granted one wish; access to the best gear, a better apartment, you name it you could ask for it.

The reward matched the risk, as it was open to all Dauntless, whether it be captain, commander or solider. The only ones who weren’t allowed were initiates, as they weren’t full blooded Dauntless yet and could even use their wish to better their rankings in the initiate stages.

However, you knew that most of the initiates were going to sneak in to watch anyway, which the guards didn’t mind as long as you weren’t annoying didn’t get in the way.

But here I am, cleaning up the stinking floor.

You threw your wet rag against the wall and watched it slide down into your bucket. Finally done.

But the scrubbing hadn’t put a dent in your seething anger. And as you sat their on your hands and knees, a wicked idea popped into your head.

Heh. Maybe I just need to blow off some steam.

After you went back to your own quarters and changed into your fighting gear, hastily shoved on your boots, tied your hair in a tight ponytail, you headed in the direction of the loudest brawl in all of Dauntless.

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The roars of the crowd rebounded off the stone walls of the arena. Dauntless men and women lined the borders of the large room. There were multiple balcony rings around the arena; one at ground level, one at the first floor, and then the top balconies which were only home to the initiates who had snuck in to get whatever view they could.

Down in the arena two guards dragged yet another unconscious body out of the ring and into the medical facility. However, this only fuelled the adrenaline pumping through everyone’s veins. That, and alcohol.

Eric wasn’t much of a smiler. The only time he would smile was when he was dripping with sarcasm, or when he was about to slam someone’s head into a wall. But he couldn’t help a smug grin that graced his usually tight lips. He circled around the arena as they dragged his last opponent out of the Brawl

Eric stalked the square ring like he owned it. And he did own it. It was a shock to everyone when the Dauntless leader decided to join in the fray this season, but not so much of a surprise that he barrelled his way to the top.  He roared at the crowd and the crowd roared back. Eric couldn’t say that being on top didn’t feel great.

As you neared the large double doors to the Brawl you saw two guards cart a person on a stretcher way to the medical wing. And surely, this should have been a warning. Given you pause.

But you did no such thing as you tied your bandanna tight around your mouth and nose, slammed the doors open and made your way into the crowd.

The announcer walked into the ring with a mic and circled the crowd. “Soldiers! All hail the undefeated champion of the Brawl!”

You pushed your way through the crowd so that you could get a better look at this ‘champion’, realizing it was the blue eyed prick who thought he was better than everyone else.

“Who would dare, challenge the pride of the Dauntless leaders? The merciless prince of the Brawl?”

“I would!”

The whole arena went silent. Everyone stopped and stepped back from the lone tiny hand that stuck up straight in the air in the crowd. And because of that you had a clear view of Eric. And vice versa.

The announcer looked at you and coughed awkwardly. “And who are you?”

“I’m the one who’s gonna kick his ass.” You quickly took in all the eyes staring at you as you walked to the ring, but quickly averted them down when you looked up and saw your fellow initiates starting from the top balconies with open mouths.

You pulled yourself up into the ring and Eric laughed at your size. “Nice try cinder-face, maybe go back to sweeping the chimney at home.

The crowd started laughing. You swiped your fingers on your cheek and realised you still had soot on your face from the cleaning. As you watched Eric walk away you didn’t think you should’ve kept your mouth shut.

“Why? Afraid you’re gonna lose princess?”

You swore you could see Eric’s back muscles tighten like you had done it yourself with a wrench. But you were still fired up from losing your bet and too far gone to go back now.

The announcer looked between you and Eric for a second before shrugging. “All right, it’s your funeral cinder-face. SOLDIERS! WE HAVE A CONTENDERRRRRR.”

“WILL IT BE AN UNDERDOG UPSET? OR WILL IT BECOME ERIC’S THIRTEENTH WIN FOR THE NIGHT?” The announcer shouted to the crowd.

You were snapped out of your anger for a minute before processing the announcer’s words. “Hol up, did you say thirteen??”

But you didn’t have time to get your question answered as the bell sounded for the fight to begin.

Both of you took no time in circling the ring. You watched Eric’s footing. It was heavy, meaning that while he wasn’t fast, it would be hard to knock him down.

While you were by no means the strongest girl around, you were gifted when it came to grappling, a product of your jiu-jitsu training. You didn’t have to beat Eric to the ground, you just had to be in the right place at the right time.

As soon as your eyes shifted to his feet Eric immediately moved towards you with a mean right hook, which you dodged just in the nick of time.

Didn’t look like Eric was interested in playing nice just because you were a girl.

You used the close proximity to quickly wrap yourself around his body and lift yourself onto his back, leaning back so Eric had to stumble back.

Eric was quick to adapt though, grabbing your legs and landing full force on his back, slamming you between his body and the mat beneath him. He should have got off you quicker, but Eric had assumed that winding you would have stopped your movements.

He was wrong.

As soon as he lifted himself off of you, you spun your body all the way to the other side of the ring, landing so that you were on all fours facing him. Well, all threes.

Not being a stranger to getting slammed on your back in training you clutched one hand around your stomach, as you willed your body and mind to calm down. And as you got your breath back you realized that.

Eric chuckled from the other side of the ring as you made your way towards him, and he almost laughed when you looked like you were trying to punch him in the gut, to which he foolishly let you because he thought it would be hilarious to watch. However, as you drew closer you crouched your body even lower and made a grab for his arm. You then pulled his arm towards you with one foot jammed in his torso so he would topple over.

“Fuck!” Eric yelled as he realized you are just trying to get him off balance. As he fell you made sure that he landed on his back with your grip still on his right arm. You quickly snaked yourself around his full arm and started to twist and pull, leaving Eric to roar in pain.

The whole arena was in a wild frenzy at this point, mixed screams for Eric to get the fuck up and ones for you to take him down. Eric was respected, but that didn’t mean people didn’t secretly want to see him put in his place.

And if there’s nothing the Dauntless loved more than a champion it was an underdog.

You held on to his grip for dear life, careful that you didn’t snap the bone but trying not to give him any leeway. You were near the edge of the mat, your own frustrated grunts uttered through gritted teeth as your head went back. But as it went back, you saw a figure coming towards you through the crowd, a rather, familiar figure.

“Danny?”

Your ever loyal and best friend Danny managed to push through the crowd up to your face. He had skin a tad darker than yours, short curly hair and was scrawny to boot. Which made you two a good match since his brains made up for your brawns.

“Elle you idiot what the hell are you doing?!” He hissed.

“Letting off some steam what the fuck does it look like?!” You grunted back.

Danny got closer to your ear to where he thought Eric couldn’t hear him. “And what happens if you win and they figure out you’re an initiate?”

Your eyes widened as you realised maaaybe you hadn’t thought this all the way through. “Uhm…”

“And did you also forget the midnight curfew check??”

Shit.

“Throw the fight Elle, its your only shot.” Danny whispered as he disappeared back into the crowd before any of your supervisors could spot him. Turning back to the problem at hand inch my inch you let your grip slip, hoping to make it look as convincing as possible. C’mon c’mon take the bait.

And sure enough Eric did. He managed to break your grip and twist himself so now he was on top of you face to face. And staring face to face with a furious Eric was enough to scare you shitless.

“I surrender!”

The Dauntless crowd uttered mixed cheers and looks of confusion as the same hand that challenged Eric was now held in defeat. Eric’s own fist which was aimed at your face landed into the mat centimetres from your ear. 

For a dozen slow seconds Eric did not let up off you, staring into your eyes and you assumed was also your soul. But as soon as the announcer declared Eric the champion you wriggled out from under him, rolled off and out of the ring and scrambled your way through the crowd in a hurry.

Looking at your watch it was 11.45, so you had no time to waste even though you didn’t notice that your left boot was missing. You didn’t care you just took the other one off and ran with it under your arm.

While looking like a coward was the last thing you wanted to do, it played to your advantage as you tugged the bandanna down and ran through the hallway to your dorm.

One, that no one else but Danny would ever believe that it was you running with your tail between your legs. And two? You’d rather be talked about as a coward than be factionless.

But as Eric was declared champion of the Brawl he looked down at the boot on the ground with a vengeance.

Knowing one way or another he would find you. And get even.

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Taglist: @therealcalicali @themusingofagothicsoul @tomarisela @mbaku-babygirl @laketaj24 @myboyfriendgiriboy @every-jai (lemme know if you wanna be added)

[hazyheel]

AEW Fight for the Fallen Review

Our first match for the pre show was Peter Avalon vs. Sonny Kiss. Avalon cut a kinda funny promo, starting out by saying that the venue they were in was a library, but Sonny Kiss quickly interrupted him. Kiss had a pretty cool entrance, with the Jacksonville Jaguar cheerleaders. As for the actual match, it was pretty simple. Kiss showed off his Lucha style of offense. Avalon didn’t do much in terms of impressive moves, but he did get a lot of heel heat. At one point, Avalon threw Kiss out of the ring, hoping that Leva Bates would attack him, but she just rolled Kiss back in the ring. Kiss quickly won with a “Kiss is it” a split leg drop in the corner.

Grade: C+. An okay match, really more showcasing Kiss than anything. He is good, had some interesting offense. He will be an entertaining part of this roster, that is for sure. As for Avalon, he looked good at times, but this match wasn’t about him. The Librarian gimmick wasn’t as bad this time around, but it was still annoying. Both of them look like they will be able to be something when TV starts. I look forward to seeing them weekly. 

Then we had a Women’s Tag Team match, Britt Baker and Riho vs. Shoko Nakajima and Bea Priestly. Baker and Nakajima started the match with some nice looking technical wrestling. Priestly and Riho faced off after that, with Priestly using her dominant power to take down the smaller Riho. Priestly and Nakajima worked over Riho’s arm for a while, which took up quite a bit of the match. It broke down at one point, with all competitors hitting signature moves. Priestly and Baker squared off at one point, and the crowd went totally wild. They had a huge slugfest in the middle of the ring, ending with a superkick and a butterfly suplex from Baker. Priestly got her back not long after wiith a shoulder capture suplex for a near fall. At one point, Riho hit Nakajima with a northern lights suplex for a near fall, followed by a brutal double foot stomp for a near fall. Nakajima went for a senton on Riho, who dodged it, Riho then went for the running knee, only for Nakajima to hit a spike rana into a cradle for the win.

After the match, Baker and Priestly brawled a bit, only for their partners to pull them apart. I would love to see that feud. 

Grade: C. What was unfortunate about this match was that Shoko Nakajima was holding it back. From what I could tell, everyone else was really good and showed an awesome contest. But I didn’t connect with Nakajima at all, and she didn’t impress me. I thought that Priestly and Riho really shined here, they looked great in this match, and Baker looked pretty good too. The problem here was that Nakajima was just featured too much, and none of them really had chemistry with her. That’s too bad, because I wanted to like her, but I just couldn’t. I like that they are setting up Baker and Priestly, but it’s too bad Riho had to lose to do it. 

Our opener to the main show, we had MJF, Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara vs. Jimmy Havoc, Joey Janela and Darby Allin. MJF didn’t cut a promo before this match, but there were a lot of entrances, so that makes sense. Although, MJF was jaw jacking with Spears during the match, so the babyfaces absolutely destroyed him early on. Sammy Guevara tagged in and had a really nice sequence with Janela, ending in a brutal german suplex into the bottom turnbuckle. However, when Janela then tagged out to Havoc, Allin looked pretty pissed, so neither team was really airtight. Allin and Spears nearly squared off, but after Allin begged him to put stiches in his head, Spears tagged out and backed off. One of the most interesting parts of the match was the huge amount of heat on the heels, because every time they tagged out, they were booed like crazy. Nice to see heels that are actually hated. At one point, Spears tagged himself in off of Guevara, only for MJF to tag himself in and give him the classic ten taunt. Spears then ran in, and ate a huge lariat from Janela that MJF avoided. Havoc had a huge hot tag, taking on all three of the heels. He finished off the hot tag by dodging a spear from MJF, which hit Spears and pinned them both in the corner, so Havoc then superplexed Guevara off their backs. Havoc was even able to hit Spears with an acid rainmaker, but Guevara immediately gave him a backstabber in response. Guevara didn’t slow down there, because he gave Janela a huge superkick on the outside, ran back in the ring to give Havoc a suicide dive, and then slid in again to give Janela a suicide corkscrew splash. Guevara almost got a 630 on Allin, but Janela grabbed him off the top rope and gave him a death valley driver on the apron, giving the camera a middle finger and saying “Fuck you Jim Cornette.” So that was fun. Back in the ring, Spears tagged himself in, giving Allin a backbreaker and then a running death valley driver for the win.

Grade: B+. This was a great flippy match, where everyone shined. This match showcased everyone in it, maybe with the exception of MJF, but we already knew what he was about. It really showed what Janela and Havoc could do, because they are really good even outside of their death matches. Guevara really shined above everyone else. He was flying around at crazy speeds, and that suicide dive spot was awesome. He shined above everyone in the ring, and got in some good character work by refusing to move for Allin’s entrance, and trying to constantly be the center of attention. Havoc also got in some character work, as he was nochalantly biting people all over the place. He looked scary.  It was a great idea for Spears to pin Allin, because he got a pin on someone that Cody couldn’t beat. Good booking, I can’t wait for that match. 

Before the next match, they showed Private Party sitting in the crowd, with Jebailey next to them, only for Jebailey to get thrown out because it was a private party. That was funny.

Into Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie, which was framed as a friendly singles match, but as they were about to start, Awesome Kong showed up again to be in Brandi’s corner. Allie kept the advantage early on, and tried to confront Kong on the outside, but that allowed Brandi to hit a baseball slide to get in some offense, even dumping water on her head. She beat down Allie quite a bit, and the second that Allie started to get back into the match, Kong tripped her as she ran the ropes. At one point, Allie got back into the match, but Brandi took control back by coming off the middle rope from a suplex position and hitting a vertical suplex. Allie nearly had the match won with a superkick and a running death valley driver, only for Kong to pull Brandi out of the ring, just enough for the ref to think it was a kickout. Allie then locked in a dragon sleeper, but Kong distracted the ref while Brandi was tapping out. As Allie argued with the ref, Brandi nailed her with the atomic spear for the win.

After the match, Brandi attacked Allie a bit, and Awesome Kong was about to give her a finisher, but Aja Kong came out to make the save. They didn’t come to blows as they were separated by referees, but they certainly will. Kong was completely ready to kill Aja, but Aja didn’t budge. Brandi forced Kong to leave, while Aja helped Allie out to the back.

Grade: C+. Meh match. I wasn’t huge on Allie before, and I’m still not. Brandi was alright, and they had a couple spots that were pretty good, but otherwise this was meh. I think it was interesting to set up Brandi and Awesome Kong as a unit, I liked those aspects, and Aja Kong vs Awesome Kong will be awesome, no pun intended. This women’s division is shaping up in an interesting way. 

Then we had a 3 way tag, The Dark Order vs. Angelico and Jack Evans vs. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus. Winner of this match will advance to All Out and face Best Friends for a bye in the AEW world tag team championships tournament. It was cute to see Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy as a team, and Marko Stunt came out. Their team was called a boy and his dinosaur, which was fun. Stunt stayed on the outside during this match, but that new tag team was over as shit. Stu Grayson started the match with Evans, where Grayson threw him around a whole bunch, prompting Evans to beg for the tag out. Grayson and Angelico fought next, but Grayson still overpowered him. As Evil Uno came in, Angelico just wanted to get out, so he gave Jungle Boy a hot tag, and he wrecked Uno with some great looking flying, but Uno eventually but him on his back. Jungle Boy then tagged in Luchasaurus, who even intimidated Uno. Uno tagged out to Jack Evans and Evans desperately tried to convince Angelico to take his place, but he psyched Evans up enough to get his courage. He tried to take down Luchasaurus, but he didn’t budge and beat Evans down with double team offense. The Dark Order beat down Jungle boy quite a bit, not letting him tag out to any team in the match. Uno gave Jungle Boy a top rope senton that looked brutal for a near fall. Eventually, Luchasaurus got a hot tag and beat down Grayson, and took down both Evans and Angelico. After he chokeslammed Evans out of the ring and onto Angelico, followed by a shooting star press off the apron from Jungle Boy. Luchasaurus even was able to go one on one with Evil Uno for a bit and remain in control. As Evans was about to hit Jungle Boy with the 630 senton, but Marko Stunt ran up to the top rope, and drilled Evans with a top rope hurricanrana. The ref ejected Stunt, so Luchasaurus chucked him out over the top rope and onto Angelico. Back in the ring, Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy hit an awesome looking back body drop into a powerbomb combination on Evans, only for Uno to break it up. Uno and Grayson then fought back into the match, giving a boy and his dinosaur a cannonball and splash combination for a shocking near fall. I definitely thought that was it.  Right after that, they gave Jungle Boy Fatality to move on to All Out.

Grade: A-. Jeez, I didn’t expect this match to be as good as it was. These teams were moving super fast, hit some awesome tag combinations and reminded me why tag team wrestling is my favorite style of wrestling. I love that a boy and his dinosaur are a team now, that is adorable, and I was thrilled to see Evans and Angelico again. Of course the Dark Order had to win, that feud with the best friends had to go to All Out, Should be a really fun match, but I am still a bit unsure of Evil Uno in particular. He didn’t do all that much to impress me, other than the senton. I hope to see quite a bit more from them at All Out. 

Then we had Kip Sabian vs. Adam Page. Sabian had quite the chip on his shoulder for this match, and it showed quite a bit as he stayed on the aggressive side. Page constantly reversed out of moves early on, before the two went strike for strike with each other. At one point, Sabian gave Page an awesome suicide dive and braced himself on the barricade to catch his breath. As he did, a fan got right up in his face and insulted him, so Sabian kissed him, which seemed appropriate. Another spot saw Page giving Sabian a leg trap suplex and Sabian looked like he landed right on his head. It looked brutal. Sabian got more and more frustrated as the match went on, such as when Page continued to sit up after pique kicks. He was so frustrated after that that Sabian started to attack the knee, and then hit another pique for a near fall. One of the highlight of the match was after Page hit a back body drop to Sabian on the apron. He followed it up with the actual best moonsault off the top to the floor that I have ever seen. It looked awesome, brutal to take and brutal to do. Page even started to sell his leg after that. Page even followed it up with a running powerbomb out over the top rope and onto the entrance ramp, and nearly got a countout win. Sabian sold it really really well by spasming for a five count from the ref. Around that time, they gave a three minute call, and the commentators started to play it up that Sabian may not have to lose. Sabian continued to target the knee, giving him a dragonscrew in the ropes, as Page sold it like he was shot.The two fought and dueled for rollups, and Page actually rolled through one, in perfect deadeye position. He nailed the deadeye and won the match.

After the match, one of the Dark Order’s creepers attacked page. It was easy to realize that it was Jericho. He onmasked to a chorus of boos and cheers.He gave page a codebreaker and Judas effect, busting Page open on the head. 

Grade: B+. Really good match. I loved Sabian’s desperation during the match, and how Page was certainly taking him seriously despite the knowledge that he was the favorite here. The selling in this match was phenomenal even with the overall lack of sustained limb work. I though the Jericho attack at the end was expected and predictable, but Page getting busted open during it was a lucky break from them because it made it seem real. This was a good match, and for whatever reason, made me buy Page as a legitimate main eventer. I hope to see more of Kip Sabian, because he is a great talent. 

Then we have a first time ever tag match: SCU vs. The Lucha Bros. SCU cut a promo on Jacksonville, saying that although it isn’t SoCal, its an alright city. The Lucha Bros and SCU were right up in each other’s face as the match was about to start, so this was intense right from the start. Sky and Pentagon took some time to try to intimidate each other early on with dueling crowd chants. As Pentagon took off his glove to toss it to Aubrey Hepbern, she dropped it and got heavy boos. They tried again and she got huge cheers. Sky stopped the Cero Miedo and they were off to the races. The Lucha Bros destroyed Kazarian with double superkicks, and then slid to the outside for double superkicks on Daniels. They continued to attack Daniels, which he took offense to and hit them with an Arabian moonsault, prompting Hepbern to eject him. There was one point that was really awkward, when Fenix was going to go for a suicide dive as Pentgon hit the Pentagon driver on Sky, but Fenix didn’t see Kazarian on the outside, so he hesitated a couple times before going for a splash instead, looking pretty annoyed about it. On the other side of the spectrum, there was an awesome assisted deadlift DDT from Kazarian to Fenix, but only a near fall. The teams continued to brawl, and Fenix hit an awesome rope walk double foot stomp on Kazarian as Pentagon hit Sky with a mexican destroyer. The Lucha Bros then hit hit Sky with fear factor for the win. 

After the match, Daniels came back out, and the Lucha Bros destroyed all of SCU with a ladder. They then cut a promo on the ladder, calling out the Young Bucks and challenging them to a ladder match at All Out. That would be an awesome match, but what will the stakes be? That is the question. Could be the Triple A World Tag Team Championships, or it could be for something more interesting. 

Grade: A-. Another awesome tag team match. They killed it out there and put on a great match. The moves were super hard hitting, and they blended phenomenally. I think that Daniels’ involvement early on kinda hurt the match, because that interference should’ve caused a DQ. And it didn’t really add anything. But other than that, it was a great match. I love that challenge for All Out, should be a great match. I look forward to the stories about that going forward.

Then we have CIMA vs. Kenny Omega. This was probably the match I was most looking forward to, as Cima really impressed me from what I’ve seen of him, and Kenny is Kenny. The crowd was chanting “this is awesome” right from the get go. These two fought at a frantic pace from the start. It kinda reminded me of a New Japan match in that way. They slowed down a bit as they continued, with both hitting very deliberate strikes and power moves, until Omega fought back into it with various V-Triggers. Omega began to target Cima’s knees and upper legs, trying to neutralize the meteora that he likes to hit. At one point, as the two brawled on the outside, Cima climbed up onto some bleachers with Omega on a podium, and Cima nailed him with a meteora onto it, which looked tough for everyone. Back in the ring, Cima nailed Omega with a pair of Meteroas, one to the back of the head, the other to the face, but only a near fall. Cima went for another Meteora to a standing Omega, only for Omega to catch him and nail a buckle bomb, a v-trigger, a leg trap michinoku driver and then another v-trigger for a near fall. After that sequence, the crowd broke into dueling chants of “Fight forever” and “this is awesome.” The two kept up the momentum, with Cima nailing a pair of meteoras, a brainbuster on the apron, and then a meteroa off the top, but Omega got his foot off the top rope. The two continued to brawl, and Cima’s leg gave out. This allowed Omega to hit a tiger driver, a v-trigger and the one winged angel for the win.

Grade: A. They continue to deliver on this show. This is Kenny’s best match since he left New Japan, and they killed it. Cima was a great opponent and an awesome foil for Omega here. It was a hard hitting, strong style match that could’ve easily been the main event. Great stuff from both guys, Cima could be a world champion someday. 

Then we had Chris Jericho, coming out to cut a promo. He talked about how Page’s blood was still on his hand. He wanted a thank you from AEW management, and got pissed at the fans for trying to thank him, because they don’t matter. He called them Jerksonville, and Jackoffville. He gave himself credit for AEW thriving the way it has. He said that he was offended that Page won the battle royal, he would’ve preferred a whole bunch of other randos from that match. He put over Page a little bit, but then said that this match is a lose lose for him. If he wins, he is already a legend, and he is expected to win, and he gets nothing out of it. But if he loses, AEW starts to go down, and so does Jericho. He finsihed off by calling Page a bitch, and Page ran out and attacked They fought off the refs and other wrestlers who eventually separated them for the most part. Page’s eye looked really ugly, but he looked badass. That’ll be a great match I think.

Grade: B. Good promo. Jericho’s crowd work was honestly the highlight of this, and how he was wildly egotistic to the point that he saw no upside in beating Page. The brawl was great, with Page’s eye looking the way it did only added to it. Looking forward to the match, and whatever build they wind up going with.

In the main event, we had the Young Bucks vs. Cody and Dustin Rhodes. Billed as a Dream Tag team match, and it really is one. On commentary before the match, JR was oddly defensive about older wresters, saying “how dare he live to be 50.” The match started with a handshake between Nick and Cody. Nick started to do some flips to get out of Cody’s various holds, which really showed the clash of styles. The two were right up in each other’s faces as they continued to go for and counter out of each other’s signatures. The Bucks eventually got control after The Brotherhood showed off their tag prowess, and the Bucks once again made fun of the Rhodes’ moments at Double or Nothing. The Bucks beat down Dustin, and pulled Cody off of the apron when Dustin got close. Nick even mocked Cody’s enthusiasm in the corner by mimicking him. Cody eventually got the hot tag and lit up the bucks. Throughout the match, both teams took terms spitting on the partner on the apron, as the heat of this match slowly ramped up. The Brotherhood worked over Matt’s shoulder, as it was run into the post early on in the match. The Bucks eventually worked the pace of the match back into their favor, and even locked in stereo sharpshooters, only for the Rhodes to reverse it into stereo figure four leglocks. The match continued on, and there was an awesome spot where the Bucks went for the Meltzer driver Dustin, but Cody intercepted Matt with a disaster kick. The Brotherhood then hit an assisted Cross Rhodes, but Nick broke up the pin with a swanton bomb. The two teams beat each other down, and Cody accidentally hit Rick Knox, causing a ref bump. The Rhodes then set up the bucks for Shattered Dreams and hit them in stereo, followed by Stereo twisting suplexes for a near fall.  The Bucks retreated to the outside, and Cody came flying out to them, eating superkicks as he fell. The Bucks then double teamed Dustin, who was able to fend them off pretty well, before dropping down for the right and eating a superkick and an elbow drop for a near fall. After beating Cody down a bit, the Bucks were unsure if they wanted to target the stitches. Eventually they figured that they had to, and gave him a double superkick to the back of the head, with Dustin breaking up the pin. The two teams then stole each other’s offense, with the Bucks hitting the drop down right, followed by Superkicks from the Brotherhood.The Bucks then hit superkicks of their own, and nailed Cody with a Cross Rhodes for a near fall, and the Meltzer Driver for the win.

After the match, Dustin refused to let The Bucks help Cody up. The Bucks then grabbed a mic and apologized for this little feud getting so heated and personal. They said it was in the spirit of competition, and that the Rhodes brothers were supposed to be a great tag team. They didn’t watch much “of the other product,” but the Brotherhood absolutely was a great tag team, one of the best in the world. 

Grade: B+. I really liked this match. The crowd was dead during it, but they really did well here. There was a lot of storytelling as the two teams devolved into more violent offense as they went. I thought that Cody and Dustin still had it as a team and that they did really well. The Bucks made sense to get the win here, as Cody and Dustin may end up going their separate ways soon, but they put on a really good match that I liked. It just sucks that the crowd didn’t care. 

The guys in the back then came out to present a check to the victims society. They raised $150,000 for them, which was awesome. Cody gave a passionate promo about All Elite Wrestling, saying that no one can counter program them. They can’t fight the love that this company was built on, and they talked about how they’d be going to TNT in the fall, and they’d bring the fans with them. He then put Kenny on the mic, who thanked the fans and gave a goodnight, with the gun stuff switched to cartoon sound effects. It was cute and sweet, and this was a good ending to the show.

Overall Grade: B

Pros: 6-man tag; triple threat tag; sabian vs. page; lucha bros vs. scu; cima vs. omega; main event

Cons: women’s tag

[tkmedia]

Raw recap & reactions: The Hurt Business, New Day go to war

Big Poppa I love an overarching thread with multiple twists, turns, and a logical conclusion. Monday Night Raw set it off this week with a match pitting WWE Champion Big E vs Bobby Lashley. Lashley truly believes E can’t beat him, which explains all the rationalization he’s done since the All Mighty added “former WWE Champion” to his resume. Their opening match, which was ill in all the right ways, showcased a dominant Lashley and the reinstatement of the Hurt Business. Yes, ladies and gents, the Hurt Business is apparently back in business. Once Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander made their presence known, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kington stepped in. A brawl ensued, a DQ was handed out, and it was the best kind of chaos. Adam Pearce, clearly not a fan of anything he saw, said the match would continue later tonight in a steel cage. No Hurt Business, no New Day. Just Lashley x E trapped in twisted steel. These two cats didn’t disappoint. Besides the brutality of the match, it was the clear desperation both men showed. Bobby Lashley needed to beat E to prove his point. Before the bell rang, got all of the upper hands on the champ. Lashley didn’t want to leave anything to chance and wanted every advantage he could muster. If that meant tossing E around the floor before the match officially started, then so be it. If that meant calling the Hurt Business down to do business, that’s cool too. E needed to beat the All Mighty to shut him and anyone else up who believes he’s not a legitimate champion. Despite the pre-match ass whooping, E lit Lashley up like a pinball machine once the bell rang. He used the cage to his advantage every now and then, but he wanted to overpower the man. It wasn’t just about proving he was the better man; E needed to prove he was the stronger man. In every good or great wrestling match, a character flaw is shown and exploited. Early in the match, we got ours from Lashley. Rather than continue to go for pin attempts, Lashley tried climbing out. Corey Graves, a man who should make it his business to be Flava Flav to Lashley’s Chuck D, said Bobby wants to win the title in dramatic fashion. Bobby’s ego didn’t allow him to just take the W when it was right there; he had to showboat and continue his pattern of habitual line stepping. E stopped him from getting out and tried to do a Big Ending from the top rope, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Not yet anyway. We even got a tease of a Hurt Business x New Day feud I’m dying to see. When Shelton and Cedric interfered to stop the champ from climbing out, Woods and Kofi represented as they should. Woods, in particular, looked like a man who needs a belt around his waist when he slammed the cage door on Bobby Lashley’s head, and superkicked Cedric back to Main Event. No diss to the man or Main Event, but yeah, you get the point. Once the four men were finally in the locker room, E and Lashley continued their war. That desperation I mentioned showed up again as both men had chances to walk out of the gate. When Lashley tried to walk out, E grabbed his arm as many times as possible. When E looked ready to saunter out, Lashley grabbed his ankle. They were literally holding on for dear life because the title, and beating each other, means that much to them. Neither man wanted to stay down and neither could stay down. E survived a spear and a spine buster, while Lashley survived multiple suplexes and a Big Ending. But when the challenger had the champion in a precarious position, his fatal flaw reared its ugly head again. Rather than walk out the gate or go for a pinfall, he once again decided to climb out of the ring, apparently learning nothing from earlier. E caught him again and this time, he nailed the Big Ending from the top rope. 1-2-3. While basking in the moment, a familiar tune blasted out of the arena speakers and Drew McIntyre, sword in hand, made his intentions known to the champ. We didn’t get a fight—and still no swordplay—but it’s clear Drew Mac wants a fight and E is ready to give it to him. I hope this isn’t the last tango the Hurt Business and New Day do, but this was a fantastic story and match. In just a few weeks, E and Bobby told a succinct story with a logical conclusion. Well done, boys. Priest x Sheamus Get Extreme I didn’t think they’d get me. After seeing Sheamus and Damian Priest go blow for blow over the United States Championship for several weeks, I got it. Priest is better than Sheamus right now. How many times can they tell the same story? Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t put money on that because the extreme rules stipulation was the proper escalation of a feud built on physicality. As usual with most matches like this in WWE these days, they start out wrestling until one guy realizes they can use kendo sticks, chairs, and whatever plunder they can find. Chekov’s table made an early appearance thanks to the champ, and he suffered a White Noise for his troubles. In fact, with Sheamus’ history as a brawler, one might think this was the perfect match for him to finally best the Infamous one and snatch back the gold. Right? Yeah, about that. We’ve seen Priest outsmart Sheamus in their previous matches. Even last night, he was just quicker to the draw than the Celtic Warrior. This week, Priest showed he’s the better man physically as well. He survived Sheamus’ best shots, and, in my favorite spot of the night, threw a chair at the man’s face to counter a Brogue Kick. Ultimately, Sheamus met his...reckoning...after going through a table in the corner of the ring, and then taking a Reckoning. This should be the last gasp in this feud. The draft is Friday, and these two have fought each other enough. Damian needs more challengers, and Sheamus might benefit from a change of scenery. Good ending to a story that went a long way in making Damian a legit tough cat and not someone you want to mess with. Extracurriculars Words from Goldberg’s Garage Goldberg doesn’t know what kind of a papa Bobby Lashley is. Clearly, Lashley isn’t the type to have a painting of his arm and his baby clinging to said arm on his wall. But that aside, Goldberg wants to fulfill a promise he made to his wife and his son to always protect the latter, at all costs. If he’s lucky, he’ll get to kill Lashley. This is a good story because its relatable and understandable. Lashley hurt Goldberg’s son, Goldberg wants his pound of flesh. And you know what? I hope he gets it. Goldberg’s never been the best promo but that worked because it felt real and I’m riding with the old man. Finally Phenomenal AJ Styles can pretty much do anything he wants in a wrestling ring with anyone he chooses to do it with. Styles and Riddle put on a dope television match that, at times, looked like someone was legitimately hurt. From a story standpoint, he needed this W. AJ’s racked up several Ls over several weeks, and looked anything but phenomenal. That changed this week and it was beautiful to watch. Charlotte Has no Time for This Either Charlotte Flair wasted an open challenge on Doudrop because, duh, Eva Marie isn’t finished with her former “friend” yet. Anyone who knows wrestling saw this coming from 25 miles away, so it’s not shocking. However, it is disappointing because there’s no end in sight to this thing between Doudrop and Eva plus it ruins her first title match. No one was served well here, so consider it a swing and a miss. And yet.. Raw moves fast. Remember when I said it looks like we’re still doing this thing with Eva and Doudrop? Like I just said it? Scratch that. Eva got on the mic and said she should be Raw’s champion of women. What’s more, she believes she can beat any woman in locker room. This brought out an angry Shayna Baszler, who did to Eva the same thing she did to Nia Jax last week. I guess WWE thought Shayna would get booed for this? Handsome Finish Angel Garza x Erik danced for a bit as a breather after the hot opening segment. It was a glorified squash as Garza got the W. Reggie Lives to Fight Another Day Silly me for thinking Richochet was getting a real chance to get some gold around his waist. Instead of a match filled with cats getting higher than a giraffe, we only got a taste of that until R-Truth, Drake Maverick, and friends interfered. Wherever this ride is going, I want off. That’s no Bear, That’s a BearCAT Tozawa, fresh off another 24-7 embarrassment, demanded a match with anyone. Out came the newly minted Keith “Bearcat” Lee. This is obviously a reboot for the former limitless one. And he looks good. He looks like someone I need to take seriously. But Bearcat? Really? I guess if you’re going to debut that nickname, Cincinnati is the right place. If only Lee wasn’t from Texas. Matching Capes Nikki A.S.H. wants matching capes for Super Brutality. Rhea Ripley isn’t convinced. Six Man Chaos Jeff Hardy, Mansoor, & Mustafa Ali vs. Jinder Mahal, Shanky, & Veer battled in the ongoing saga of Jeff Hardy wandering from position to position on Monday nights. This was a quick hitter that didn’t last long enough to get good or bad. Jinder and the boys got the W as the holding pattern before the draft continues. He’s the Commanding Officer Now Another squash/holding pattern match between Karrion Kross and Jaxson Ryker. They’re building Kross as a dominant super shredder, one who even poked fun at Ryker’s military service. It was a nice touch and added personality to a guy who needs as much as he can to overcome that look. Raw was good this week. The show moved at a good clip, was bookended by two dope matches that told one long story, and was mostly entertaining in the middle. While a lot of it was a holding pattern because things change Friday and next Monday, it was a good sendoff for Raw as we know it. Grade: A- That’s my grade and I’m sticking to it. Your turn. Read the full article

[thelioninmybed]

Oh, what an opportunity! For the writing meme, could you please commentate the first section of "We build castles," in which Fingolfin is a DICK and Idril is but wee? Basically I want to hear all your Findis thoughts.

We build castles with our fears and sleep in them like kings and queens

[I never know when to cut a quote short :/ ]

Idril loved her great grandfather’s palace; its vast green lawns, perfect for running upon barefoot; its libraries full of sweet-smelling books with soft leather covers, bright illustrations and words that she could almost read; its hidden nooks and forgotten passages where a child could so easily disappear herself.

[Before Em and Sath yell at me, ‘books’ means like. Ten. Ten books.]

It was a good thing too, since she was scarcely allowed to leave it anymore. Her father would not say why but Idril was very good at eavesdropping and even if she hadn’t been, often enough everyone was shouting loud enough she did not need to.

[I haven’t written much else about it because I’m bad at politics, but those early days of tension must have been fascinating. Think how BAD they must have been at civil war when they were just starting out]

They were shouting now, her grandfather and her great aunt, and Idril pressed herself flat against the column she was hiding behind, her hands over her mouth so she would not cry and give herself away.

Her grandfather’s voice, so loud moments before, was gone low and placatory. “Sister, be calm-”

[I like Fingolfin! I like him lots! But in a story that’s about the women who fall through the cracks in Tolkien’s narrative, I thought it would be interesting to address that it’s he rather than Findis (who is, after all, Indis’ oldest child) who’s the main actor in the feud with Feanor.] 

“Be calm?” snarled kind, placid Auntie Findis. “Your followers are brawling in the streets and you tell me to be calm? How long before there’s a death?”

[Kind, placid Auntie Findis is the original Renesmee but aside from that, we don’t have much to go on. There are several great ways to explain her apparent lack of involvement in the unrest, but here’s a Findis who was ambitious and resentful over being forced to the side in a story she should have been central to. A player but one it was convenient to overlook both at the time and later, when writing the histories. I’ve always imagined she took after Indis more in appearance, as opposed to the more Noldorin-looking Lalwen, which lead to something of a self-fulfilling prophecy when it comes to alliances made and interests nurtured]

“I wish this no more than you,” said Grandfather gently. “It is Fëanor’s doing-”

“Of course it’s Fëanor’s doing, but it takes two to stage a duel. You call him too volatile to rule - and I agree! - but you’re acting little better.”

“I’m not going to roll over and let him have his way. I do not expect you to understand-”

“Why would I not? I am as much a child of Finwë as you or he, no matter that I have not felt the need to take our father’s name twice over!”

[Technically I don’t think we got Finwe Nolofinwe until after Finwe’s death but. Shh. Historical records are wobbly and it’s too sick a burn to pass over]

“That’s what this comes back to, isn’t it? This isn’t about our people at all, it is about you being denied something.”

“How dare you try to turn this back on me!” Findis said, her voice rising to a shriek. “I have borne humiliation upon humiliation while you and Fëanor foment civil war and you accuse me of selfishness?”

[Pains me to do it, but of course Idril has already internalised a lot of toxic stuff and uses negative words like ‘shriek’ to describe women showing unattractive, indecorous emotion]

Idril sobbed, loud enough that they both heard her and went silent. She hadn’t meant to but the palace was supposed to be safe, her father had promised, and adults were supposed to be wise, not as angry and petulant as she and Orodreth squabbling over toys.

[The weirdness that is the possibility that none of the Finweans were children at the same time, are Feanor’s kids older than his brothers, who the heck knows anything about Orodreth. Idril isn’t wrong to note the childishness of fighting over a crown whose bearer is, to the best of anyone’s knowledge immortal but of course it’s not about the crown]

“Findis, if we can’t talk without you becoming hysterical then I have nothing more to say,” said her grandfather with icy courtesy. “Please see to your niece.” He turned upon his heel.

[I Am Not A Subtle Writer, part the 65th. Usually I take LACE at aggressively face value when it says elves have little in the way of sexual dimorphism or enforced gender roles, despite basically everything in the text that contradicts that, but here’s me Making A Point.]

Findis bit at her lower lip, fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. And then she crossed the floor, hard shoes clacking upon the marble, and scooped Idril up into her arms.

[And Findis does her duty and the noose tightens further]

“I’m sorry,” Idril told her, sniffing. “I was afraid.”

[It ain’t gonna get better, kiddo]

Findis wiped away her tears with a sleeve scratchy with embroidery. “There’s no shame in being afraid, Celebrindal,” she said. “But you must never let it show. See how they turn it back against you?”

[Advice that’s horrible for all it’s horribly necessary. Don’t be weak (and don’t be too strong either, as Lalwen and Aredhel will tell)]

[ember-of-sin]

Writetober Day #1: Fear

Going to try some prompts from inktober/writetober, and see how it works out. Here’s the first day. Enjoy!

~

Hungry.

~

“Fucking Sudan,” Hamish Bertold swore, putting the cigarette to his lips and taking a long drag from it. The mercenary leaned back against the side of his jeep, looking up at the stars. “Fucking Sudan.” The Englishman looked over at the rest of his unit – Frederic Pashayev, a former Chechen guerilla, who’d giving up fighting for a cause once Russian artillery landed on his wife and child. Disgusted with both the failed separatist movement that couldn’t even save his own family and by the increasing number of Islamic fighters flooding into the country, the ex-Soviet had left his nation behind. Next to him, weaving his hands back in forth in a description of an event he’d probably mentioned ten times before was Jacques D’Entremot. Always well-groomed, even in a dirty fucking country like this, the Frenchman also loved fire. Perhaps a little more than he should, but not so much that Bertold had to make sure he didn’t go burning down a village for no reason.

Sitting on the hood of the car was the fourth member of their team; Anna Lee Smith, an American. ‘Little Orphan Annie’ whenever you thought she wasn’t listening. You didn’t find many women in this kind of work, but Smith was one of the exceptions. A head shorter than Bertold, she wasn’t squat or bulky, but built and definitely tough enough to lay out any man that thought she was an easy mark. Smith was also prone to starting bar-clearing brawls whenever she thought that she was getting less than the full amount of respect that she deserved.

Bertold ran a finger around his collar, desperate for even that temporary relief. It was a hot night here, so humid you could practically drink the air. “How much longer, Abdul?” he asked.

“Please, sir,” their guide offered in a voice of forced obsequiousness. ‘Abdul’ was not his real name. In the North, he was a devout Muslim convert. In the south of the country, he was an upstanding Christian by birth. For want of an actual identity, Pashayev had given him his name and it had stuck. “It will take however long it takes.”

“It better take less time than that,” Frederic commented darkly. They’d been waiting here, outside another shithole Sudanese village for the past four hours. Allegedly, Abdul had a contact here who would know where their targets were headed.

The mercenary ran a finger through his collar again. A very wealthy man had hired them after his very idealistic daughter had run off to join one of the aid agencies working in the country. A death squad had visited the girl’s camp. They had not been terribly impressed with the group’s humanitarian mission, and had objected to the dispersal of supplies, food and medical attention to the southern Sudanese. They had requested that all goods be turned over to them, as government authorities, for proper distribution. The medical personnel had not wanted to do this. The northerners had insisted. Quite strenuously.

Officially, the government knew nothing about the ‘Camp Holtisce Massacre’, where 87 southern Sudanese men, women and children were slaughtered, 7 foreign aid workers were butchered and one very wealthy man’s overly idealistic daughter was raped and murdered. The very wealthy man had pressured his government to take corrective measures, which amounted to a strongly-worded finger-wagging. The very wealthy man then spent a considerable amount of money to find out exactly who had carried out the Camp Holtisce atrocity and to contract, through appropriate channels, Bertold and his team. Who would, thank you, locate the team and make sure to express the very wealthy man’s extreme displeasure before sending them off to whatever lay in the hereafter.

A good job for good pay.

Bertold’s team had been tracking the northerners for some time now and were almost on them, but somehow they’d given him the slip. They’d moved into the small, out-of-the way southern town to do what came naturally to genocidal lunatics – at least Bertold had thought so, but the notable lack of shots and screams showed a restraint that was totally out-of-character for the northerners. Either they had decided to give peace a chance, or they had figured out that Bertold and his team were tailing them and were either a) lying in wait, or b) had snuck out of the village either to escape or circle around and then ambush the mercenaries.

No matter how it went, Hamish did not like the possible outcomes. He’d fallen his unit back off the main roads far enough that they should be able to spot any flanking attempts, but there was no sign of life from the village ahead.

Abdul had gone ahead to signal his contact there, and received the ‘wait’ response. Which only made Bertold and his team more nervous.

Smith and D’Entremot had swept the area three times already; no sign of flankers and Abdul had checked with his contact again, got another ‘wait’. So, what the fuck was going on?

“This is ridiculous,” Pashenyev growled. “If they’re going to fucking come at us, then come at us already.”

“Maybe they’re bunkered down, thinking the same thing?” Anna suggested, cradling a sniper rifle that seemed two sizes too big for her.

Hamish nodded to himself. No point in waiting any more; if there was a trap, they might as well go in to spring it. “Move out, then. We’ll leave the jeep here.”

“And, you can be assured that will I safeguard it valiantly,” their guide promised.

Frederic grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and gave him a shove. “You’re on point,” the Chechen growled.

~

“Motherfucking Christ,” Smith whispered in horror as the cone of light from her flashlight played over scene of carnage.

There’d been no sentries.

No drunks loitering around the outskirts of the town, no children sneaking out of bed, no men and women carousing. There was only the stench of blood, the hissing of small, unattended fires and the crackling of glass from shattered windows underfoot. There were no bodies. Only bloodstains splashed against walls and doors, dirt and fences. Bits of bone, pieces of entrails. Drag marks leading off into the savannah.

The crude wooden floors of huts were splashed with dark, reeking fluid. Fingernails had curled deep scratches leading in floors, door frames and windowsills. The woman’s nose crinkled at the mingled scents of blood and urine, the actinic musk of perspiration underlying everything. Not, not just perspiration; fear.

Anna could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She didn’t know why; she’d fought on a dozen different battlefields, seen and done things far worse than this empty village but here… it was wrong. Indefinably, inescapably wrong. Something… something bad had happened, beyond even what her eyes were telling her.

They shouldn’t be here.

-run-

It was a whispering, chittering voice in the back of her skull, repeating the mantra over and over again. Run. Run. Run.

The mercenary played her flashlight over the walls of the house she was in, a squat and simple one-room hut. There; something on the walls, some kind of writing, it looked like. Smeared on the planks in a shaking hand, barely legible, it trailed off into an indecipherable scrawl as its author was dragged away:

They are h...

Inside her, the voice grew louder, but she shoved it away and backed out of the empty house, continuing her sweep of the village, and if a shiver of movement caught her eye, it was only ever the rustling of grass or some litter that had caught in the wind.

~

“This is wrong,” Abdul said, clutching his own pistol tightly. “Death squads leave the bodies as a warning. This is not a regime were people are disappeared. Not like this.”

“Yeah? So where are they?” Hamish demanded, playing his light over a broken bicycle. The dirt beneath it had been torn up with frantic movements, a dark stain in the dusty soil. A busted watch lay discarded in the dirt, its strap torn, the glass face broken. The mercenary knelt down to pick it up. It had stopped over six hours ago, even before the death squad had gotten here.

That was impossible. It meant-

“Ham,” Anna’s voice crackled through the radio. “Get over here. We’re in the village square.”

“What’d you find?”

“Our targets.”

~

The death squad; a dozen men armed with a variety of weapons, from machetes and hammers to AK-47s and even an RPG or two. Not that it had done them much good. These bodies were still here, left out where they’d fallen, their manner of their deaths telling a very distinct tale.

They’d come to the town to rape, pillage and murder and found it just as empty. Fanning out to search for the villagers that they’d believed to be hiding, they’d been hunted down and killed themselves, picked off one by one. In houses, searching closets. In the street, standing guard, or when they’d tried to run.

One of them was slumped at the wheel of one of their vehicles, a jagged chunk of metal imbedded in his skull, thrown with considerable force and accuracy.

“Their magazines are still full,” Jacques pointed out, touching a finger to the barrel of the driver’s gun. It was no warmer than the Sudanese climate allowed for. “Whatever happened, happened fast.”

“It must have been the villagers,” Pashayev said, his fingers tapping against his submachine gun in a cadence continually increasing in tempo. He felt it too. It was in the air. Something wrong had been here.  “The villagers. They decided to not to put up with these fuckers’ shit and gave a little back.” He didn’t sound like he believed it, but Bertold could see Frederic was rattled. They all were. There was something about this place

“Yeah, you think?” Smith spat, shining her flashlight into Frederic’s face. “You think a village of goat-farmers just up and killed a dozen men and then ghosted off into nowhere again like the fucking SAS? That strike you as plausible?”

“Maybe the old man hired someone else for the job,” Jacques snapped back, stroking his natty little goatee. “They just got here first. Some other merc troop.”

“No…” Bertold mused. “We would have heard. And nobody on the market is this good.”

“Then what the fuck happened here?”

“More to the point,” Anna raised her hand. “Why do we care? The targets’re dead, we’re not. Let’s go get paid. Do we really have to play the horror movie cliché of ‘explore the spooky village’?”

Jacques nodded. “I agree. Answers are for people who care to ask questions. Let’s not.” There was an edge to his voice and Bertold looked over at his companion; he was feeling it too. They all were.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s-”

“Wait,” Abdul put in. “We must find our contact.”

“‘Our’ contact?” Pashayev grunted.

Hamish pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sure he’s fine. He probably lit out when he saw us coming in.” Burn the village, run away run away never come back.

The Russian laughed. “Didn’t want to be mistaken for another spook in the dark.”

Whatever Abdul had been about to say in reply was cut off by a startled shout from Anna. “Movement!”

Hamish spun, lifting his gun and sweeping the flashlight beam across the empty village; there. Someone had just run between two houses. He gestured to his team, Frederic and Jacques breaking off to slip around while he and Anna moved in. Abdul remained where he was.

The clear night was starting to cloud over; only the orange glow of the small, still-burning fires and the thin cone of light from Hamish’s lamp provided any light at all as the moon’s glow was slowly devoured. He flicked off the flashlight, unwilling to give away his position. Ahead of him, he could hear raspy, frightened breathing, the scrape of feet over dirt. His nose twitched.

-blood-

The village reeked of it, stunk of fear and pain. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to listen to the gibbering voice inside him and just run, run until he no longer could and pull the ground in over him. Instead, he forced himself to take another step and then, another.

His head throbbed, the flush of adrenalin making his entire body shake. I know this, some ancient part of him quavered. I… remember this. Long-forgotten, buried beneath generations of human primacy, some atavistic part of him shivered in uncomprehending horror. That … there was no word to describe it. The human sense of smell was vestigial compared to that of other organisms and the scent of blood and death, ash and befoulment in this place was almost overpowering, but beneath it… one particle in a thousand. A million. A billion. There was no definable odour, but he could still feel it. It was everywhere. This is a bad place, that primitive voice whimpered.

Beside him, he could hear Smith, the hitch of her own breathing telling him that she felt it too. Their eyes met, each of them wanting to run, each of them shaking off the primitive instinct as nothing more than the willies. But, the little voice insisted, growing louder. You’ve seen worse. You’ve done worse. Why this place?[/i]

He remembered a tidbit he’d heard on one nature program or another. The scent of a ferret so terrifies rabbits that some die of fright before they ever see it...

Stop it! he ordered himself as he continued down the alley. A ray of moonlight pierced through the clouds as they briefly thinned out. There was a shadow on the other side of nearest house’s corner. Hamish slid sideways, cursing himself for the scuffing his feet made in the dirt. You’re better than this!

So thick in the air, he could almost feel it, making every nerve scream in primal terror, he forced the incomprehensible fear away and moved closer, adrenalin starting to make his arms shake.

As the moon’s light retreated again, he gestured for Anna to give him a little space as he whirled around the corner. There was a startled cry as he swung the barrel of the gun into the face of a terrified girl.

~

The man who today went by the name of Abdul swore to himself and kicked a furrow in the beaten-down dirt of the path. He didn’t like this, anything about this. Jamal should have been here waiting for them when they arrived, even if the village was like this. It wasn’t like him to play these sorts of games.

Waiting for the mercenaries to return, Abdul sighed with disgust. He headed to Jamal’s house, forcing himself to loosen his grip on his pistol, but each time he inadvertently found his hands tightening about it painfully, like a child with a security blanket worried about the Boogeyman.

He passed by a patter of red in the silhouette of a man and suppressed a shudder, recalling too many local tales of the jinns. In some tales, they were harmless tricksters. In others, they were malign spirits. Still others… Abdul shook himself. Superstitions, he told himself. That was all.

There; he was at his destination, a small chicken coop on the edge of town. Jamal’s brother owned it and it would not be out of place for his contact to be seen here; that was why they had chosen it. There was a cluttering of clucks from the hens; they were all cowering in their coop, heads cocked at Abdul, terrified eyes staring... almost expectantly.

Abdul suppressed the insane urge to scream at them, demanding that they tell him what they had seen. He paused, catching some motion in his peripheral vision, but when he turned to look, there was nothing. Just another stupid bird.

He found the small shed that Jamal contacted him from, frowning as he picked out a strange shape in the dirt. It was Jamal’s flashlight. Why would it…? He turned it over in his hands, freezing as his fingers touched something sticky, warm and wet. With a suddenly shaking hand, he drew his own flashlight and shone it on the ground, revealing the thick, matted bloodstains there.

“No…” he whispered.

“Khalikh,” he heard someone call his name, his real name.

He looked up, seeing a form slip behind a house. “Over here,” the familiar voice called.

“Jamal? Is that you?”

“Over here, Khalikh,” Jamal called. “Over here.”

His heart pounding, the man vaulted over the fence, rushing to the building, and rounding the corner, but there was no one there.

“Khalikh,” the voice called, a little closer. There – in the shadows between this house and the next, he could just make out a human form. “Over here. Hurry.”

“Yes, yes. Just stay there.”

“I’ll stay,” Jamal promised. “Khalikh, come here.”

Khalikh stepped into the darkness. “What happened here, Jamal? Are you all right?” the other man did not respond. “Jamal? Are you hurt? Say something!” He fumbled with the light, almost dropping it before turning it on, a spotlight shining on the ground, catching the dried pool of blood there perfectly, a fresh drop splashing onto the crimson soil. The blood drained from Khalikh’s face as he panned the beam up over the figure. “Jamal,” he whispered, reaching up to close his friend’s eyes. Left here like… like…

…like bait.

“Khalikh,” Jamal’s voice called from behind him. “Over here.”

~

“Please!” she begged, cowering away from the mercenary. “No hurt!”

As keyed-up as he was, Hamish almost pulled the trigger anyways. “Who are you?” he demanded, his nostrils flared. “What happened here?” He could barely form the words, his breath ragged and hoarse in his throat.

The girl – her skin was lighter than that the southern Sudanese African population, pressed herself up against the wall as if trying to flatten herself against it. “Don’t hurt me! I’m afraid!” She didn’t look more than twenty years old, if that. Kill her! some part of Hamish shrieked in rising panic.

“It’s okay,” Smith tried to reassure the frightened girl, but could barely form the words. Run, her mind screamed even louder, a shriek that bubbled up from the deepest, darkest recesses of racial memory. Run from her! But even as that voice screamed and gibbered, another insisted that everything was all right, that she didn’t have to be afraid, that she just had to reach out and help the girl…

“I’m afraid,” the young woman repeated.

“You don’t have to be,” Smith tried, swallowing back her own terror, forcing herself not to retch. Her legs were shaking. “We’re here to help you.” She had to help her; the poor thing was so frightened, she had to, to get closer and…

..she took another step.

“Please,” the girl said – did her lips twitch just then? – pulling deeper into the shadows, but letting Anna approach. “I’m afraid.”

Something’s not right. Hamish realized, pulling himself out of his stupor. He grabbed his radio. “Jacques, Fred – come in.” There was nothing; only static. “Abdul.” No response. “Anna, let’s-” Smith was reaching for the girl. Yes, that was the thing to do. Run! Don’t be afraid. Never stop, never stop! Hamish grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“The fuck, Bert?” Anna demanded, but the mercenary captain’s eyes never left the young woman in front of them, his gun still shaking in his one-handed grip.

“Don’t hurt me,” the girl sobbed, so small and frightened. “Please. I’m afraid.”

The moon returned, filling the entire village with cold, clear light. It lasted only seconds, but that was enough. The shadows vanished and Hamish could see the dark stains covering the girl’s clothes, the dried blood around her mouth… and the green cats-eye gleam of her gaze. She was beautiful, but… wrong somehow, her near-Arabic features perfect; too perfect. As if someone had tried to sculpt a human, but didn’t quite realize what one should be. She saw his realization. Her eyes glittered with reflected light as she smiled, exposing a too-wide mouth full of gleaming teeth. “Please help me,” she begged in the same pleading tone. “I’m hungry.”

Shoot her! Shoot her shoot her shoot her now! Hamish’s mind shrieked, but he couldn’t make himself pull the trigger. It was all he could do not to run, his heart pounding in his ears like thunder, his entire body shaking. He backed away from the girl, pulling Anna with him, each step an effort not to throw the woman at the thing in front of him and flee in blind panic.

There was a flicker of motion and the girl was gone, as if she’d only been his imagination.

~

“She was there,” panted Smith. “She was there.”

“Yeah,” Hamish nodded, checking behind them. “Yeah, she was.” He grabbed his radio. “Abdul, Jack, Fred. Where the fuck are you?” Christ, her eyes. Her mouth. Was that just a… a trick of the light? He almost staggered as faded, washed-out memories threatened to overwhelm him. No, not memories. Not really. No faces. No images. No sounds. But they were there, a terrifying recognition. His knees buckled, but he kept control of his stomach, clutching the radio as if it were a lifeline to sanity. His conscious mind struggled to make sense of atavistic memories, interpreting them as fragments, scenes played out over and over so many times that they’d imbued themselves directly in his genes. A warning, dormant for generations but now shrieking as strongly as any other primal instinct.

-screaming, dragged off into the darkness-

-gleaming green eyes in the dark, Cheshire grins of sharp teeth-

-the scent of them filling the air, nostrils flaring, hooting in rage and fear, a fist clenched in panic-

-they are watching, always watching-

“We’re here,” Jacques answered, his voice crackling through the radio, pulling Hamish out of his spell.

Bertold pulled himself back to his feet, trying to calm himself, but he was still shaking, that fear was still there, eating away at him. He had enough firepower to kill this village himself and he’d gotten the shakes over a ninety-eight pound waif? What the fuck happened here? What were those things? “Christ, you assholes take a vacation or something?” Focus on them. On them, nothing else. We’re getting out of here, that’s what matters.

“We’re here. Are you coming?”

“Fuck you,” Hamish growled. “We’re pulling out. Now. I can’t raise Abdul. You seen him?” Yes run run run run.

“No.”

“Too bad for him, then. I’m not waiting. We’re leaving.”

“Where are you?”

“We didn’t go far, jackass,” Hamish snapped. “You?”

“Over here.”

“Thanks. Very helpful.” Bertold had reached the village square again, the dead death squad still laying where they’d fallen. He staggered and almost fell; looking down, he saw what had tripped him. The flashlight from Frederic’s uniform. There was a spot of red liquid on the lens. Hamish picked it up, the blood draining from his face. “Jacques… let me speak to Frederic.”

“I’m here,” Pashayev’s Russian burr growled through the comm. It sounded just like him. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah. Yeah, we are…” Hamish said, acid bubbling up his windpipe. Just like the girl.

From behind them, he could hear a soft, flowing melodic cry. The girl. She was crawling over the thatched roof of the nearest house, arms and legs moving like a spider, feet dug in, ready to spring. She was staring at them, her eyes shining green in the reflected firelight, the blood around her mouth glistening wetly. There was no malice in her expression, just… intensity. She opened her mouth and sang again.

Something nearby answered her, a hushed, taunting whisper in Jacques’s voice: “Over here.”

Hamish let the flashlight fall from his hands, looking to Anna for… what, he didn’t know, but the woman was gone. He looked back up at the girl, watched as a long, bifurcated tongue ran over her lips and the blood there. It was fresh.

Her expression never changed as she continued to stare. Patient. Wary. Hungry. Name. My name is Hamish Bertold, he told himself. “I know what you are,” he said; barely a whisper, his mouth was dry. He forced himself to scream it: “I know what you are!” I have… I have survived worse than this. I have killed dozens of men. I am a human man, top of the food chain and I am not afraid. I am not afraid. I have a gun and all she… they have is… is…

I know what you are, she seemed to say, his imagination filling in her part of the conversation. And it is simple. Prey.

It was only the smallest gesture, really. The girl slid her tongue out towards him, a beckoning gesture. His courage failed entirely and Hamish opened fire, screaming incoherently, the weapon bucking in his shaking hands as he sprayed bullets in all directions, hitting nothing. In seconds, the weapon clicked empty and he threw his gun away, running for all he was worth. His lungs burned as he ran, his heart thudding so hard it felt as if it would explode, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter where he ran, just as long as it was away.

Rabbits and ferrets…

There was a rush of movement behind him and he looked over his shoulder, he had a glimpse of green and white as he tumbled to the ground, flailing, shrieking and gibbering in blind panic as warm breath blew over his face and sharp teeth closed on his throat.

“Please,” even over the sound of his own screaming he heard someone speaking in Anna’s voice. “I’m hungry.”

[arisefairsun]

Can you talk about the pros and the cons of Olivia Hussey's Juliet? She is my favourite Juliet, but I would like to see a more critical review of her portrayal for once!

Ah! I’m really happy that you asked this because I’m hopelessly in love with Franco Zeffirelli’s movie and I could talk about Olivia Hussey’s acting all day long.

The first thing I would like to remark is the context in which the movie was made. In many ways, it is a mirror of the youth movements of the 60s, and the trope of idealism versus violence, dreaming versus fighting, is one of the main characteristics of the movie.The fights are really violent (the opening brawl, for instance, was filmed in a more aggressive way than usual, as it fatally has Capulets and Montagues murdering each other and women screaming with their children in their arms), and it presents Romeo and Juliet’s love as an innocent, harmless force as opposed to the cultural violence that surrounds them. Olivia Hussey underscored how excellently the movie had harmonized with the ideals of her generation. And, indeed, you could say it is an ode to sexual freedom, peace, and the power of youth. You can see that in the way Zeffirelli filmed the bedroom scene, with Juliet lying naked after consummating a marriage she arranged herself.

Zeffirelli seemed to be particularly interested in her character:

The central idea is that of a puppeteer, Destiny, who handles all the characters. They are all puppets on a stage and no one is fully responsible. The whole tragedy is permeated with the idea of fate. There is nothing to do. Juliet is the only valuable opposition to it. 

So he decided to exploit the transgression of Juliet’s acts, and I will always be grateful to him for giving us such a powerful, intrepid Juliet. He was also one of the first directors to cast teenagers to play the lovers. Precisely, physically speaking I consider Olivia to be really suitable for the role. The innocence and tenderness of childhood she conveys wonderfully, but once she gets to express herself you find that her eyes denote such intelligence, her voice such fortitude, that you couldn’t possibly dismiss her as a dumb kid. (To be honest, I can’t fathom how it is possible to distort the play to the point that people think the word “dumb” befits Juliet and Romeo.) She transmits so much expressiveness with those piercing, inquisitive eyes and her loud, firm voice. See how monotonous she sounds when she lies to the Nurse, but how fierce her voice is during the “O bid me leap…” speech in the cell. She is a Juliet that does something else apart from blushing and smiling tenderly—she is also restless, frustrated, even rude in some parts. She doesn’t limit herself to simply reciting her lines in a monotonous tone, but rather she inserts so much depth and energy in every single word that she succeeds in constructing a complex Juliet—Olivia handled the duality of her character really well. Sometimes she cries fearfully on the floor as she implores her parents to listen to her and sometimes she contemptuously yells at her mother that she won’t marry Paris “by Saint Peter’s Church and Peter too.”

To me, Olivia portrayed Juliet as a young girl who is too alive to contain herself—as if the world weren’t big enough for her. One of the things that amazes me about her acting is the way she uses her body to transmit her indefatigable energy. She shows a great command of herself. For instance, I noticed that she spends a huge amount of time running. We find her running the first time we see her, she leaves the scene running after her conversation with her mother, she arrives at the ball running, she comes in and out of her balcony running repeatedly, she arrives in the church running again, and hurriedly crosses herself before running again toward Romeo with her arms wide open. I could go on. (But interestingly, during Paris and Friar Lawrence’s brief conversation in the cell, she comes in running as well, but once she spots Paris she stops suddenly and starts walking instead, as if she were attempting to behave more correctly, faking to be a more restrained and therefore acceptable woman. She does this as well when she runs to her mother’s bedroom and stops abruptly before Lady Capulet can see her.) With this restlessness and her resolute nature, she transgresses the tediousness of her society—she is simply too in love with life itself to confine herself to inaction. It makes perfect sense to hear her describe herself as “a boundless sea” when you hear her exhilarated laughter. 

And then she denotes so much determination and self-condifence. Olivia takes advantage of every single line to portray Juliet as an independent, strong-minded young girl. “But trust me, gentleman, I’ll prove more true / Than those that have more cunning to be strange.” She sounds so angry when she says that. More than swearing her love to Romeo, she looks like she is threatening him not to fool her. (He actually even nods nervously there and it’s hilarious.) And her face is priceless when he tries to swear his love by the moon. She tells him off. She is so resolute and skeptical throughout the whole balcony scene, it’s wonderful. I invite you to watch that scene again, paying attention to her facial expressions.

Another scene I think is worth commenting is 2.5, when the Nurse delivers Romeo’s news to her. I like to compare her acting here with that of other actresses playing Juliet. In this scene, her impatience is usually portrayed more like an inoffensive, sweet frustration. She is still adorable even when she is irritated. However, Olivia’s Juliet does not even try to palliate her impatience. When she goes down the stairs and notices that the Nurse is not yet come, she boldly places her needlework on the table as she goes on ranting about how disgusted she is by old people. When the Nurse finally arrives with Peter, Juliet basically puts her hands on her waist impatiently and kicks him out after giving him a quite exasperated look. She then even takes away an apple that the Nurse was holding in her teeth and clenches her fists. But when she finally gets her Nurse to tell her what she wants, she euphorically bursts into laughter and thus leaves the scene running enthusiastically. I find this much more entertaining than, say, Rebecca Saire’s acting, who was only slightly impatient in comparison with Olivia’s liveliness.

The movie is replete with moments like that. I still can’t get over the way she looks at her own cousin when she turns around (screencaps here), or the fact that she doesn’t even look at Paris when he kisses her hand and says farewell before leaving the ball. Moreover, the camera tends to focus on her emotions. The first kiss is filmed in a way that only allows you to contemplate Juliet’s face and all the different emotions she goes through. There is that long kissing sequence in the balcony scene where you can only see her face as well. And in the last scene, the first hint that she is still alive comes from her hand. The camera focuses entirely on it as she begins to move her fingers slowly, but all of a sudden she clenches her fist with strength and resolution. The camera then follows her hand as it reaches her face, and those wide, alert eyes open again. Those are just a few examples, but the movie is full of close-ups of her intelligent eyes.

The main flaw of Olivia’s Juliet, however, is the same flaw of the whole movie: too many lines were cut out (more than half of the play!). Certainly they skipped some of her wittiest moments, such as the part where she deceives her mother, or the “gallop apace” speech, in which she so explicitly poeticizes sex. Although its absence is partly compensated, in my opinion, by the more than evident sexual agency she shows throughout the movie. She actively looks for Romeo at the ball, and even when he touches her hand for the first time, the camera shoots her eyes closing in ecstasy. She grabs his shoulders in their second kiss, and even holds his face in her hands and kisses him as he stays still in the balcony scene.

Another thing I dislike is her reaction to Tybalt’s death. The way she criticizes Romeo is wonderfully acted again—really vigorous and enraged. But it stops there. The last thing she says is, “But wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin?” In the play she goes on trying to find out what must have really happened between Romeo and Tybalt, and she comes to her own conclusions. However, in the movie, we just see her bash Romeo and then we don’t see her again until the next morning, when she is happily sleeping by his side. It sort of weakens the character, because Juliet doesn’t forgive him entirely until she decides it couldn’t had been his fault.

And, of course, there is the potion speech missing. It is actually the soliloquy she chose for her audition, but Zeffirelli decided to cut it out because he feared it would alter the balance between Romeo and Juliet in terms of their importance to the plot: “If she does this potion speech, she’ll get all the attention. The film won’t be Romeo and Juliet—it will be ‘Did you see Olivia Hussey in that scene?”

But I think Olivia’s Juliet is excellently paired up with Leonard’s Romeo—the angriest Juliet comes with the softest Romeo. It is as though Thought and Dream intertwined. While Juliet speaks with a very potent, determined voice, Leonard’s Romeo has more of a whispering, soft tone. (We literally see him sighing with his eyes closed against some pretty flowers.) This duality of their personalities is tangible in the very way they are introduced in the movie. Romeo’s entrance is accompanied by a dreamy, tender song as he appears smiling at a flower that he is holding in his hands; Juliet, on the contrary, shows up running while a much more energetic song is playing (from around 1:03 on). It goes on like that for the rest of the movie and it culminates with their last words. Romeo raises the venom with tears streaming down his face as he slowly whispers, “here’s to my love”. (It! Breaks! My! Heart!) Juliet, however, roars her last words, and even half smiles at the dagger for a moment as she commands it to “rust” in her.

So what I love about her is her strength and her ability to denote so much expressiveness with her body. If only I could watch her perform all the missing lines. She did so much with the little she was given, it’s wonderful. We need more Juliets like this—Juliets who express themselves so freely and fearlessly.

[happenable-blog]

WWE SmackDown Live - 19/03/19: Highlights & Review

The Miz kicks-off SmackDown Live The Miz comes out and cued a video package that showed us the footage of previous week of Fastlane and SmackDown Live when Shane turned on Miz and made the match against him for WrestleMania. Back live, Miz said he has sacrificed every relationship over the years for his road to WrestleMania. He teamed up with Shane only to make his Dad proud. People warned Miz to watch yourself, but he didn't listen to them. He said to Shane, "You were not born the Best in the World, you are a McMahon you were born the worst."  He said you don’t own me or Kofi. The crowd cheered. He said that he wasn’t born rich he worked hard to achieve his success. Over the course of 13 years he have earned every bit of respect that he have now. The crowd chants "You deserve it". Miz replied You are damn right I do, and Shane deserves the ass whopping that he will give him at WrestleMania.

A great promo by Miz. He was very passionate about it. Well acted and very well delivered from. He also had this awesome line which could easily be a stolen inspirational quote but I loved it: Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard enough. Rating: 4/5 WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Banks & Bayley vs IIconics IIconics cut a promo while they made their entrance. They said that the Banks and Bayley tried to stay at home turf, even going back to NXT. Then they got chaffed off by Nia and Tamina on Raw. According to them, they have saved the best for the last as they finally decide to come to SmackDown Live and the last will be Iconic. The crowd chanted for Bayley. Bayley is dominating the match against Billie Kay. Lacey Evans made her appearance just to walk back. I totally forgot that she didn't do it on Raw. The distraction allowed IIconics to take the upper edge and beat down Bayley. IIconics work over  Bayley. This led to the hot tag to Sasha. Sasha led the comeback against Peyton. She tried to rally the crowd but only a mild cheer. She hit her double knees from the top rope. Billie Kay held Banks' leg back. Bayley came out to save but ate a kick by Billie. As Peyton went for the pin Billie holds Sasha's hand for the win Winner: IIconics It was a fine match. IIconics got the win to put them over as the fourth contender for the possible four corner tag team match at Mania. But the thing is that I am not invested in it. Rating: 3/5 Rey Mysterio has an interview backstage. He introduced us to his son who is grown to be way taller than him. He said that he will face Samoa Joe for the US title at WrestleMania. His son got some mic time saying that Joe is a bully and his dad will beat him down to win the US title at mania as he will be sitting in the front row. The Kevin Owens show with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair Kevin Owens wore a red tie and a suit for the return of the Kevin Owens show on SmackDown Live. He welcomed us to the new and improved KO show.  He started with some humor. And as every face should, he mentioned that he is rooting for Kofi in the main event. He proceeds to welcome “The Man” Becky Lynch out to the ring. The crowd cheered and then booed for the next guest who was Charlotte. Both the women sat down across the table. The crowd chanted Becky. Kevin said that he knows how best friends can get under your skin. Owens read some of the statements made by Ronda to Becky from the KO cue cards. Then he tried to set fire between his two guests by saying the statements made by them to each other. Owens told them that no one wants to see them talk anymore. Everyone wants to see them fight. Charlotte said that she will beat the holy hell out of Becky. Before Becky could reply Owens just went out of the ring instead of just disappearing. Becky attacked Charlotte and an all-out brawl starts between the two. They traded punches and kicks on one another. Charlotte even slapped one of the security guards who ran down there to separate the two.

Kevin Owens was great in the segment. He was really funny and come out as a great face. The brawl between the two women will really help rebuild some of the lost hype of this feud. Great segment overall. Rating: 4/5 Kayla is backstage with AJ Styles. He said that Orton may have an advantage over him. It is his home ground after all. But at WrestleMania, he is not going to build he is going to tear the house down. And as every face should. He mentions he is rooting for Kofi in the main event. Daniel Bryan Promo Before the gauntlet match starts Daniel Bryan cuts a promo. He said that Kofi being in the gauntlet match is an injustice to him. He reminded everyone that Kofi has never earned a shot for his title. Kofi was handpicked out of the tag team division and given a title shot at Elimination Chamber from nowhere. He did fight valiantly in the previous gauntlet match and at Elimination Chamber but he lost. So he has not earned anything. It doesn’t matter how much they chant Kofi (which they weren't but started chanting after this), he is a B+ player at best. He has earned nothing. It was a good promo by Bryan. And the B+ line was only there to get heat from the crowd. It also shows the hypocrisy of Bryan as he was considered a B+ back in the authority days. Rating: 3.5/5 New day’s music interrupts Bryan. Big E and Woods hugged Kofi before going back and left Kofi to fight on his own. The Bar came out next. Kofi will face one of them to start the gauntlet. Gauntlet Match Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus I thought that Rowan will start the match that is why he and Bryan came out first, but whatever. The commentator made us know that the rest of the New Day is barred from ringside. That made sense. I was like why they left Kofi to fight alone. The crowd chants, "You look stupid" to Sheamus. Kofi is laughing at this. Kofi throws Sheamus outside and trust falls on him over the top rope. As the ref was ushing back Sheamus from the ropes, Cesaro uppercuts Kofi for a two count.  Every comeback attempt from kofi was shot down by Sheamus so far. Kofi does the Boom/New Day drop. Sheamus caught Kofi attempting the Trouble in Paradise. He tried to go for cloverleaf, but Kofi countered. Top rope crossbody by Kofi for a two count. Sheamus hits him with an Irish curse backbreaker led by the cloverleaf. Kofi smartly countered it to a pin attempt but a kick out. The Usos joins the New Day backstage watching the match. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick. Kofi countered with a roll up. Sheamus kicks out but is taken down by the Trouble in Paradise instantly after. Sheamus is eliminated. Backstage the Hardys and Mustafa Ali joins to watch Kofi’s match. Kofi Kingston vs Cesaro Cesaro hits some uppercuts to start things off. Kofi attempts springboard move but Cesaro caught him and hit him with a backbreaker.

Cesaro does the swing to Kofi. He transitioned it into a cloverleaf instantly. Kofi grabs Cesaro’s leg and tried to roll him but Cesaro countered it into a suplex. He went for the Neutraliser. Kofi counters and hits SOS for the pin. Cesaro is eliminated Didn’t like how Kofi just hit one move to win against Cesaro. He should have had some more offence in the match. Kofi Kingston vs Rowan Rowan starts with a wicked clothesline. Followed by another clothesline on the outside. He just kept slamming Kofi over to the barricade. Rowan grabbed a chair and beat kofi with it to get disqualified Rowan is eliminated The 7-foot monster continued to beat Kofi even after he is eliminated. Backstage the new day is not happy with some more babyface joining them. Rowan put Kofi through the announce table with the Iron Claw laying him out. Kofi Kingston vs Samoa Joe The match got started in the break. Joe dominates Kofi for the majority if the match. Joe denied Kofi's comeback with a clothesline that turned him 180. The camera cuts backstage with more babyfaces watching the match now. Joe went for coquina clutch but Kofi countered with a stunner. Joe comes back with an urinagi. Kofi tried to come back but he is just too exhausted. Joe went for a  muscle buster but Kofi countered with a roll up to eliminate Joe. Samoa joe is eliminated

Backstage everyone is celebrating. Joe is furious and applies the coquina clutch through the ropes to choke Kofi out. Kofi Kingston vs Randy Orton Orton is working over Kofi. He calls Kofi stupid (flashbacks). Kofi throw him to the steel steps but Kofi doesn’t have enough left to make it count. Commentators acknowledged this being poetic justice when back in 2010 Orton stopped the ascend of Kofi in his feud. Orton just dominated the match. Orton went for RKO Kofi countered and hit Trouble in Paradise but he doesn't have enough left to go for the cover. He tried to crawl to go for the cover but Orton rolled out of the ring. Orton gets back in the match. Kofi has been in the match for 50+ minutes by this point. Orton hits his signature rope DDT. Orton went for the RKO but kofi rolled him over for the win. Winner: Kofi Kingston The new day comes out to congratulate Kofi and lifts him up on their shoulders and points at the WrestleMania sign. The crowd is celebrating with the New Day... But it is interrupted by Vince's Music. Vince McMahon comes out to congratulate Kofi and tells him that Kofi is going to WrestleMania as soon as he beats this one last man. Big E and Woods must leave now as they are still barred. Bryan comes out as the last man Kofi must face. Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan

Bryan laid his kicks in the corner. The crowd chants NO to every kick. Bryan hits Kofi with a Back suplex from the top rope. He locks in the LeBell lock but Kofi forces a ropebreak. The crowd is super hot by this moment. Kofi tried to hit SOS but didn’t get all of it as he couldn’t roll over. This allowed Bryan to kick out. Bryan hits his running kicks to the corner led by stomps on kofi’s head. He does his Yes chants to call out for the running knee. He hits it and pins Kofi for the win. Winner: Daniel Bryan The individual matches may not be great. But they were average or sub-par at best but the story of told throughout. Kofi being too exhausted and finally beating all odds inky to get screwed by Vince yet again. This was great. I was genuinely heartbroken when Bryan pinned Kofi to lay him out. I am pretty sure he is going to get his match but I got worked at that moment and hated Vince, just what they wanted. Rating: 4/5 This was a very enjoyable episode of SmackDown Live. The promos were good. The wrestling was fine if not superb. And it gets me excited for next week. How will Kofi get added to the match? It is getting really interesting. It is funny how Raw just makes me want to kill myself while watching wrestling but SmackDown Live just reminds me why I love wrestling so much. SmackDown Live Rating: 4.5/5 Check out the previous night's Raw Review here. Also, check out previous SmackDown Live reviews here. Read the full article

[userzara]

hey guys, it’s dani (-: i play elise too and this is my brand new child and i’m super stoked for them !! OKAY so this became longer than i thought it was going to be, practically their bio but the first two sections is background, it’s not until you get to ‘recent years/now’ that it’ll get to zara’s main point. um, right TWs: drugs, minor death. 

did i just see DUA LIPA walking down sixth street ?! oh, wait, it’s just ZARA SERAFIN, the 22 year old DEMIGIRL CASHIER/DEALER who has a reputation for being  SNARKY AND MANIPULATIVE but STREETSMART AND STEADFAST. let’s hope THEY/SHE prepared to take on the wild ride that is austin, texas. 

okay where do i begin, basically zara is inspired by alex vause as well as a variety of songs by phora ( check him out he’s great ) + an old character of mine that i never truly developed. so, to be frank, she’s a mess.com. i love her though, a lot and i’m going to try to break her down without writing an eight page essay mla format, so! here we go. 

BEFORE AUSTIN, TEXAS. 

zara comes from los angeles, california. the downtown area specifically, not the best area to grow up in but it was home and she never focused on how bad her city was doing because, for starters she only lived there until she was ten years old and the only thing on her mind is her friends. 

her parents divorced when she had turned eight years old, her dad wasn’t the best at commitment to his wife, he absolutely adored zara but settling down just hadn’t been his thing and he left. he kept in touch, briefly. at first, zara understood why he left, he was tired but he loved her so it was okay. but those calls slowly stopped happening until he stopped calling completely and she stopped waiting for them. it was one of the worst heartbreaks she’s faced. 

at ten years old, her mother remarried and they packed up everything to move to austin, texas with her new boyfriend that practically came out of nowhere. he wasn’t zara’s favorite person, in fact she felt betrayed and angry that he was now sitting where her dad used to sit and was taking over. her mother had two kids with this new guy and zara loves her siblings but she still holds a deep grudge for the guy who swept her mother up and ruined her life by moving to fucking texas. dramatic, sure but her friends were all in l.a and she had to start new. 

EARLY YEARS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS ( 10-18 ).

at first she didn’t want to make new friends, sulking became a thing. zara was supposed to loathe this place in hopes that if they didn’t make any friends they’ll pack up and move back to los angeles where she belongs. spoiler alert: that never happened and it dawned on her that this is her life now 

middle school approached and she knew she couldn’t face these coming years alone. it was hell, appearances were something they couldn’t give a shit about, sticking solely to wearing a signature black hoodie all the time, heavy eyeliner in attempt to make herself look tough but instead it got the label ‘basketcase’ stuck on her aka those mean blonde texas girls with the drawls and ‘my momma says…’ etc lmao.

POINT IS, near the end of sixth grade she got into fight with the girl who tried to torment her, finally snapping they fought in the quad of the school and zara let out of suppressed emotions and kicked her ass in front of everyone until they were pulled apart and she felt pleased as heck when she saw she made Beauty Pageant bleeding because good, that’ll teach her to stop running her mouth 

this caught the attention of what teachers like to call the ‘troubled’ kids. when zara came back from her three day suspension (and did she get a yelling at home oh boy) they took her under their wing, zara’s already average grades started dropping by influence, she soon adopted some of their characteristics and mannerisms, forging herself into something she wasn’t seeking their approval because holy fuck these people were great. hanging out every friday at the movie theaters, loitering at the ages of thirteen/fourteen in the streets feeling like kings of the city, it became addicting 

eventually this group formed into some of the ‘popular’ kids, no not the prom king and queen type of thing but they had a name for themselves. especially in HIGH SCHOOL. things started to get heavier, hanging out at the movie theaters turned into going to ragers, to trying weed for the first time, alcohol and zara fucking loved feeling rebellious and indulging in this new-found freedom. her first kiss was a drunk one and she wouldn’t be able to tell you who it was because she doesn’t remember, she just needed her first kiss because everyone was kissing everyone 

her home life didn’t get any better. she started to come home later or the next day. her grades were shit but zara didn’t care. 

soon enough weed turned to lsd. sophomore year became the year she lost her virginity to a guy that was feeling her up at a party, she didn’t care for him, she wasn’t attracted to him but all her friends were non-virgins and so she had to be too. she didn’t give a fuck with who only that it would be over quick and onto the next one. still, the first time left her feeling…weird. they didn’t enjoy it but, she thought it had to be done. not the best mentality to have. 

zara starter ditching school, making new friends with people they met at parties, picking them down the street from their high school. they had drugs, they held the key to a good time. these were…bad people for her. dealers that lured her into their world of easy cash and a fucking good time. they knew they were attractive, still growing into their body and they knew they could munch off of them. most of this was junior year and it’s still a shock her grades kept her in school. 

senior year they hardly showed up. senior year she saw someone die before her. it was one of the guys that provided whatever drug or bottle of alcohol she needed and it was an accident witnessing it. at this rate, zara went days without going home and they were on their way to the semi empty gas station for a drink before finally going home when she saw her friend through the window across the street and, it was a deal gone wrong and a gunshot broke through the chilly night causing her to drop her orange gatorade and spilling it all over the floor before she ran out of the store across the street and, well it didn’t really leave her the same. 

somehow she managed to graduate high school but barely. she felt lost but still indulged herself in bad habits throughout that last year, still free-loading off others, tricking people into doing stuff for her. sleeping with whoever the hell she wanted to fuck. just throwing herself into whatever she could. 

RECENT YEARS/NOW ( 19-22 ) 

at nineteen she was still lost, she didn’t know what she wanted to do. school was out of the question, she hated work but still did odd jobs, for a while they worked at a laundromat, taking care after the place. she still went to parties/clubs, snuck into bars. flirted with all the pretty faces and put on her faux personality. tbh zara is a goddamn two-face. 

ANYWAYS at nineteen she got caught with a gram of heroin by the police. the authorities were called when a party had started getting out of control and they arrested as many people as they could, among them: zara. charged guilty of drug possession, and since her parents couldn’t pay bail, she ended up doing 2 years of prison. two long years in the slammer. 

that was something. it didn’t hit zara that her life choices had her end up in prison until her first night in the women’s ward.  she didn’t cry until she was locked in a bathroom stall and that was the only time. those were the longest days of her life. she met people in there, good and bad. avoided getting into brawls and picked up a book here and there. in my head she had a relationship with someone in there, but not really? frequent fwbs, exclusive. zara doesn’t label shit, she gets bored and, just like her first time, on to the next. honestly help her.

NOW TWENTY-TWO and her parents aren’t welcoming her back. she isn’t allowed to see her siblings, her family hadn’t visited her at all during those two years. her mother only came once but it was short since she couldn’t beat the fact that her baby was in prison, blaming herself and asking where she went wrong in raising her. 

thankfully she had one single friend ( since i have a feeling not a lot of people kept in touch with her after she got arrested; connections anyone ?? and also connection for that ONE friend ) who hooked her up with a job to get her back on her feet but old habits die hard, working at a gas station just isn’t cutting it and is currently getting into the dealing game with her old contacts. 

in my head it’s been like, two weeks since she’s been out. back in the city and ready for Drama. 

SO YEAH THIS IS IT, WOW THAT WAS LONG IM SORRY !! wow i realized i haven’t really incorporated the alex vause thing apart from being in prison but personality wise i mean yeah, anyway !! hmu for those plots please and thank you !! or like this and i’ll come sliding into your ims !! (-: 

[steves-on-a-plane]

Bar Fights and Best Friends

Words:1489 Bucky Barnes X Reader Summary: Reader is a bar tender who just cant seem to catch a break. One night after an all out brawl breaks out where she works, she finds herself trapped behind the counter with one of the patrons. A Patron with a metal arm who claims to know the Avengers.  [Image not relevant, I just really liked it.]

“This is so not my day!” You huffed as a beer bottle whizzed past your head. You should have gone home four hours ago, but the night bartender had called out for their shift. Being the Good Samaritan that you were, you offered to stay. Apparently, the universe decided that the best reward for your small act of kindness would be an all-out brawl at the bar. Cowering behind the counter you tried desperately to remember what your boss had said the procedure for this was.

“You’re telling me!” A voice groaned from your left. You looked over to see a man sitting a couple feet your left. His chin was lined with stubble. His hair was grown out long, just reaching his shoulders. The brim of a baseball hat covered most of his face but you got the impression that you had nothing to fear from this man.

“Long day for you too, then?” You scooted over towards him. Both so that you could avoid another flying beverage and so that you could hear each other better.

“Long life.” He chuckled bitterly. He poked his head up over the brim of the counter only to immediately pull himself back down. “Well that’s not stopping any time soon.” He sighed. “I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Bucky.”

“Nice to meet you Bucky. I’m [Y/n].” You grasped his hand and gave it a shake. You were surprised by how smooth and cold his hand was. You looked down. It was metal!

“Like I said, long life.” He repeated uncomfortably.

“Believe me. I get it.” You smirked. “Any chance that arm of yours is bullet proof?”

“Actually,” Bucky smirked back. “It is. But no one’s got any guns out there.”

“Yet. They’ll only be happy fighting over booze for so long. Eventually they’ll try and hop over this counter…”

“It’s okay.” Bucky put a hand on your shoulder. “We’ll get out of here. I have some friends I can call.” He took out his cellphone and dialed. “Steve? Listen I’m trapped at Billy’s Bar in midtown. A brawl broke out and…no, I’m hiding behind the counter with the bartender. I’d rather not have to crack any skulls if…thank you.” He hung up the phone. “My friends are on their way.”

“Well unless your friends are the Avengers…”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.” He tilted his head to the side. He was studying you the same way you used to looked at your math homework. Intrigue with an overwhelming feeling of befuddlement.

“I’m guessing that means I should know who you are?” You started through his curtain of hair and tried to place the face that was looking back at you. Maybe it was the baseball cap that was still obstructing most of it, but you couldn’t tell who this man was.

“I mean how many other people are there in the world with a vibranium arm?” He mumbled. “Bet if I was Tony Stark though…” You were about to apologize to your accidental comrade, when a hush wavered through the bar. You stuck your head up over the wooden countertop reminding yourself of the prairie dogs you’d seen on TV. What your eyes met was a sight you had not expected. Captain America and one of the B-list Avengers…Falcon, was it? (You were pretty sure that’s what the guy in the flight suit went by.) Were standing on the doorway of the bar, both with their arms crossed. You ducked back under the bar to gape at Bucky.

“You weren’t kidding! You’re really friends with the Avengers!” You exclaimed before taking another peek over the bar.

“We can do this one of two ways.” Captain America was telling the patrons seriously. It was like something from a movie as one by one men and women throughout the place were paying off their tabs and exiting through the very same door Captain America was playing bouncer too.

“You can come out now, Princess!” Falcon called out, walking in your direction.

“Excuse me?” You huffed, immediately putting your hands on your hips. Sure, this guy was an Avenger but he wasn’t even a well-known one. You didn’t allow the customers to talk to you that way, so there was no way you were going to let any Avenger.

“He’s talking to me.” Bucky explained, now clambering to his feet. “Very funny, Sam. Ha ha.” He added sarcastically.

“I’m just saying for a guy who supposedly killed quite a few people in their day, it sure does feel like we end up saving your ass an awful lot.” Falcon shrugged.

“You’re pushing your luck, Wilson.” Bucky growled in warning.  By this point the bar had emptied out except for Captain America, Falcon, Bucky and yourself. Captain America secured the door behind himself and then walked over to the bar where everyone else was still standing.

“Gentlemen, don’t you thing we’re being rude?” The captain asked. “Buck, perhaps you could introduce…”

“[Y/N], these are the friends I was telling you about. The one with the muscles is Captain America, and that’s his pet bird.” He nodded at Captain America and Falcon respectively.

“It’s Sam.” Falcon explained. “Nice to meet you, [Y/N].” He smiled for the first time.

“You can just call me, Steve.” Captain America explained. “What exactly happened here?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.” You huffed. “One minute I was purring like a hundred tequila shots for this dude’s bachelor party and next thing I know there’s a all-out brawl. I tried to clear the place out, but no one ever listens to the bartender. Especially if it’s a woman.” You sighed. “Thanks for the help. I’ll give you my bosses contact info so you can send him the bill or whatever, then I’ll get this place cleaned up.”

“There’s no charge for our services.” Steve explained. “We offer protection to people who need it. It would be much of a service if we expected payment for it.”

“I suppose.” You agreed. You lifted the hinged section of countertop so that yourself and Bucky could step out from behind it and into the main part of the room. “Thanks again for the help. I don’t mean to be rude but I really do have to start cleaning up if I want to get out of here before four AM.” You heaved another sigh as you looked around the bar. The place looked like your sister’s apartment after her last sorority party. It was practically trashed. Oh yes, today was definitely not your day.

“Well we could stay and help, couldn’t we?” Bucky suggested.

“Oh, no.” You shook your head. “That’s really nice of you but I’m sure you have a cat to rescue from a tree or another bar maid in distress to save.” But the Avengers wouldn’t take no for an answer. They insisted on sticking around and helping you clean up the disaster area, which was basically the entire bar.

With their help, it only took about an hour to gather and wash what had survived of the glasses, the remnants of liquor and beer bottles, take out the trash, sweep of the floor, wipe the tables and counter, and get everything looking as it had before you agreed to work a sixteen-hour shift. When it was finally time to go must have looked a little worse for wear than you thought because Bucky insisted on walking you home.  

“This late at night, you really shouldn’t be walking home alone.” If you weren’t so tired, you probably would have tried to argue with him. You were more than capable of handling yourself, you grew up on the streets of New York! But that night, you were so tired you decided having an escort probably wasn’t a bad idea after all. Sam and Steve both gave you’re their personal cellphone numbers and instructed you to feel free to call if you ever ran into trouble. You promised to do just that before exchanging polite goodbyes and adding a final thank you for good measure.

“So, Steve said you guys were in the war together, but he didn’t say which. Was it Iraq or…?” You let your sentence trail off, internally scolding yourself. Of all the ways to start a conversation, [Y/N]!

“No.” Bucky smirked. “World War II.”

“Oh…” Now you felt like a complete idiot. Sure, someone had found Captain America in the ice in the 2000, but the only war he’d ever actually fought was World War II. You tried to think back on what you’d learned in History Class. What was that group they’d said he fought with? The Howling Commandos. Now you remembered. His childhood best friend was a part of the Commandos too. James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky!

“You’re that Bucky Barnes? Best friends with Captain America, Bucky Barnes? Of course you are.” You shook your head.

“Don’t hold it against me.” He chuckled.

[salty-dracon]

HALFWAYDEAD- Intro

I’m reworking one of my old stories, about a young girl who discovers she’s the reincarnation of a god. The beginning of her story ties into a possible end to TMX, too. 

You don’t need to know anything about my work to read this, so please give me feedback ^꒳^

Seven of yours have fallen to my domain, Narcissa.

Yes, they have.

Quickly, now, before they reach the Earth. Destroy them.

I cannot do that, Luke.

Why not?

Because I refuse to hurt them.

Even though they commit atrocities in your name?

They do not take my name anymore. Heaven knows that the Seven are the true beholders of my will.

Things will only get worse, Narcissa.

They are not evil creatures, Luke. Giselle sees no threat.

Giselle?

They are no threat.

You’re both fools. They will end the world.

They are not evil! They will not end the world!

If they try, we will stop them.

Grey’s eyes shot open.

A person’s hand was pressed against his cheek. An unfamiliar person. A dirty, grimy, creature-

Grey shoved it away before ascertaining the shape of this person.

The people standing in front of him were a group of fishermen. Six of them. Around Grey, he saw his six compatriots, all drenched with seawater, somewhat awake.

“What should we do with him?” one of the fishermen asked.

“Perhaps the men are the women’s husbands. Don’t do anything to them.”

Thaumas shook his blonde curls as he sat up. His hands recoiled when he saw the state of the wooden boat that they were in. He moved closer to Grey, away from the men.

“Earth,” Grey whispered.

“Are you okay?” One of the fishermen approached Grey. Probably their leader.

“Yes,” Grey said.

“You were floating in the middle of the ocean. What happened? Where are you from?”

In response to “where are you from”, Grey pointed to the sky.

“The sky?” one of the other men asked. “Are they gods?”

As the others woke up, they all huddled around Grey, asking him the same questions he had- where were they, who were these people, if they would hurt them.

“You speak perfect Hindi,” one said.

“I do not speak Hindi,” Grey replied. “I speak human.”

“I can understand his Marathi just fine,” another one said.

“He’s speaking Hindi!” The two of them proceeded to get into a brawl.

“Should we stop them?” Amelia asked, watching them fight.

“We are on Earth.” Grey smiled. “We can… intervene… directly.”

“How? We’re on the boat of a fisherman!”

Grey stood up and approached the men. “Do you want to see my magic?” he asked.

The men’s eyes all widened.

Grey reached his hand out. A burst of light exploded from his hand, causing all of the fishermen to fall into a stupor. Grey closed his eyes. He saw their memories. He saw their fears, their loves, their desires, their tragedies, all mingled within their brains. When Grey lowered his hand, he understood them.

“There is a place,” Grey said, “where none of you will ever have to starve. Where your mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, and children will never have to starve. If you take me to your leader, I will tell you how to get there.”

Five minutes later, the boat was on a course for land.

The leader of the fishing docks was a mustached man. His eyes widened at the seven who entered- they were radiating pure color, and pure life. Immediately, he bowed before them.

“He is wise,” Grey said, in angel-tongue. He had learned that the humans didn’t recognize it, unlike human-tongue. He advised his friends to speak to him in angel-tongue if they didn’t want to be heard by the humans.

“Do you wish to spare him?” Larkspur asked, in angel-tongue. “What about the others?”

“You will see.” Grey approached him, and spoke in human-tongue. “Allow us rest in the comforts of your home. Falling out of the sky is a harrowing experience.”

The man obliged immediately. He called his wife on a cell phone, and told her to care for the seven angels- avatars of Shiva, he said- in order to win their blessings.

“But the fishermen!” Larkspur protested, in angel-tongue.

“Patience,” Grey said, with a smile. “We will not leave without fulfilling our promise.”

While Amelia played with the young children, and Typhon and Thaumas enjoyed the two servants’ flirtations, Grey conversed with the man of the house and his wife. He thanked them for allowing them passage, and performed his magic on them. He saw that they were a greedy bunch, but not for bad reason- they were deep in debt. He told them that there was a place where money was of no consequence, and that everyone in their family could live worry-free and debt-free. He then asked to meet the man’s leader. The man said of course he could.

A truck with the seven of them drove to the city. There they met a certain state leader, a legislator. Grey did the same thing, promising him a land of happiness for his family and country.

They returned to the fishing village, where they were greeted by the fishermen and their families. One spent a night with each family; in the morning, their bodies were left soulless in their beds, their eyes closed in the deepest of sleep, their hearts still.

“Why did you wait until now?” Larkspur asked, as they traveled to New Delhi to meet the Prime Minister.

“A man will love his children and his children’s children. A leader will love his subordinates, but not his subordinate’s subordinates. If we had killed the fishermen before we left to visit the governor, we would have faced persecution from their boss. However, with both his and the governor's good blessing, we have avoided it. These men are not family. They cannot care about each other’s lives.”

All eyes were on them, Grey noted, as the Prime Minister of India greeted them, offering his deepest of thanks for their blessings from the sky. As he always did, Grey told the Prime Minister that above them all was a world where we all lived in peace. That Grey could teach them all how to get there. That he would, once he could be sure that his words could reach the entire world.

Naturally, word of the messengers from the sky had already reached the ears of the world.

Narcissa, your children are destroying the world order.

They are not my children, Luke.

They are under your care.

Giselle, don’t you agree with me, sister?

…

Are you joking?

I have faith in humanity.

These are not humans!

I will keep my eyes on them, then, as one who holds dominion over matters of the material.

Temples and churches requested audiences, but more often, they proclaimed that these seven were children of the Devil or some other negative force. This, Grey staunchly denied- their healing abilities, Grey said, as they healed their detractors’ families, was evidence that they were children of heaven. Words of their deeds spread quickly among religious circles, sending some into crisis. The worshippers of the old gods were flocking to those who manifested true divine power, as all who were present could tell. Many congregations weakened, turning to worship the “messengers from the sky”.

This was not good, Grey said. They would hang onto every last word of his like leeches, the religious fanatics that this world was filled with. It did not bother him, however. Should Grey speak of the end, they would come to accept it. But as his dealings with Brooke had taught him, rarely in this day and age did anyone ever truly love God- they would forsake God for their husbands, wives, and children if they had to. He could speak of the end, but he would need to bring it about in one fell swoop if he could.

Corporations and crowds called upon the angels to speak on certain topics, looking to see their influence brought upon the world. Grey refused all gifts of money or luxury, though Amelia was certainly interested in gold. Such things, Grey said, would never matter in the end. The party was sometimes the subject of assassination attempts, that claimed many of their escorts- Grey did not feel sorry for them. They died for a noble cause. The angels, of course, remained unharmed. Humans offered their lives and bodies- Grey wished for neither. A new Jesus, he was called. A creature of absolute purity. The Messiah.

Their pilgrimage to the United States took them through many streets, where they were greeted with joy and excitement. The science-minded were skeptical of their power, though Grey was willing to demonstrate it for anyone who asked. He did so, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt to all of the country’s scientists that his power could not be explained by the matters of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Many towns were left abandoned as others followed their pilgrimage- yet others were isolated, left to worship their own gods.

The people of the United States welcomed the seven, inviting them to talk shows and asking for their advice. Grey fully immersed himself in them, learning to weave his powers of illusion over crowds of people, and reveling in their fears and desires. The Internet, a thing Grey had once hated but come to love, spread his words to secluded places. Many asked for his words on topics. He was asked about things he did not know, and things he did and wished to correct. He spoke of the Truth, of the womb, of life, of those that watched over humans, of those that sought power by consuming souls. Everyone was loved, he said. Everyone. The poor and rich, the beautiful and ugly, and the friendless and the popular. Everyone was something. To be told you were loved for that something was like a drug that humans were drawn to.

Even Brooke’s main form of social media, once filled with news on homesteading, sung his praises. It was time, he thought, to take the throne of this world.

The angel finally sought his audience with the President of the United States, who, as many had noted, has drunk his fill of greed- he was elected into office not by the people, but by the megacorporations- entities that destroyed lives in an effort to preserve their own. Grey did not find them noble. Floundering for material life by causing suffering and death was not true dedication to the Truth. Death should not involve suffering, of course- they should have understood that. Many looked upon this President with scorn, and many others looked upon him with admiration- Grey felt no strong inclination towards either side. Either way, it was about time to change his strategy.

The angel spoke on the stage in front of the White House, about the Truth. He wove his illusion magic over the President, proclaiming to the crowd many truths they suspected. The President sought their death- they did not receive it. The people clamored for the seven to replace all of the government in turn, causing a revolution. Grey was not interested in the revolution- however, he sought to prevent all of the suffering he saw. Shootouts between enforcers and rebels caused many souls to leave Earth. In a way, it was good. Feeding heaven was a priority. A presidential election drew near- Grey was happy to see millions supporting him.

It was nearly time, they all said amongst each other, for the end.

The end, Narcissa. They speak of the end!

I have no control over them. Giselle?

…

Giselle, we must do something.

This would never have happened if you had just listened to me!

I am a goddess of heaven and hell, not a goddess of earth! That’s your domain!

Shouldn’t you have prevented the fall of Septima? Shouldn’t you have foreseen this?!

Only your apprentice has the power to foretell the future!

Brother, sister, stop fighting.

And then what?

I will stop them, should they seek to destroy my domain.

Grey won the election by a landslide, toppling every other candidate. His first acts in office were to reduce human suffering. He made sure that everyone, no matter of race, creed, or gender (though such things meant little to him) had enough to eat, and made enough money to live. There were those that thanked him, and those that made endless attempts on their lives, seeing their loss of influence. They were quickly disposed of, now that Grey had the power to do so. All in preparation for the end, Grey told his friends, and because Earth must become more like heaven, he told his admirers. He did not know how to run a country, but he had the help of other humans who did, and who truly understood his will once he had given them a taste of his illusions.

It was time for the end, he said, seeing those that still yet detracted his divine power be chased to the darkest parts of the world.

Secretly, with the help of a Cabinet whose eyes and ears he fooled with illusions, he began a war. People caught on quicker than he imagined- those that once praised him now scorned him, and those that had always scorned him proclaimed that they were right. The first and final step of the war was to unleash the army of nuclear missiles tucked in various places around the country.

Sister!

I see it.

Sister, please…

Narcissa, what shall I do with them?

Do not end them. Do not upset the balance.

End them!

The balance is important, Luke.

Balance was thrown out the window with the fall of Septima!

Giselle?

I know what I will do.

Could you tell me?

We must wait until the time is right. Until the rulers of the material can see with their own eyes the fate that awaits these stray children of heaven. 

Grey’s subordinates stepped out onto the grounds of the White House, whose walls Thaumas had kept safe with perpetual ice. Thousands were rioting, protesting the nuclear war that Grey had started. Grey attempted to soothe some with illusions, but for every one that gave themselves up, there were ten more, fueled with an ever greater anger.

Right now, it was simply a matter of waiting.

Grey’s eyes turned towards the sky, and for the first time, he smiled a little, as he watched the fruits of his year-long labor blossom. People screamed as they watched missiles stream over the sky in a flash of light and smoke, all headed towards the major powers of the world. There was no doubt that, in a few minutes, all of life on Earth would be extinct, as other countries retaliated. No one had truly destroyed their nuclear missiles- even Grey knew that.

As Grey’s eyes watched a particularly large missile crest over the sun, he noticed the sun grow a little brighter, before a beam of light eviscerated his body, destroying his sight and rendering it to black. Six more eviscerated the bodies of his friends, leaving only their souls behind. He barely noticed the crowds screaming in horror, in joy, in whatever emotion they could feel watching the bodies of a deeply-loved warlord be scorched alive by divine will.

It is done.

You destroyed their bodies?

Whatever God the humans believe in has spoken.

And the missiles?

Dealt with.

Destroyed?

No.

And their souls?

I am the god of the material. Their bodies are no more.

Their souls are in my domain.

And after all of this, would you still, Narcissa-

Let them live?

Yes. You’ve wreaked enough havoc.

I know.

So then what will you do?

…

You don’t know?

I fear their leader’s power. It could drive hell to fanaticism. And yet…

Miss Narcissa?

Yes, Damian?

I think I could be of service. You see, a certain plane of mine requires divine blood.

The missiles were less immediately noticed by the crowd. To many, it seemed like they had vanished entirely. Not vanished, of course- the men who observed space so closely had noticed one of them in the Asteroid Belt, so far away that it was of no threat. Yet others were found orbiting gas giants and floating out in the vast expanses.

One, however, had traveled less than one hundred miles, from high in the sky above Canada to six hundred feet above the highest building in a small Southern town. It wasn’t a very strong missile, compared to some of the others, but nonetheless, everyone in that town, and in the surrounding towns, including a young rich girl who was painting her nails while listening to Lana del Rey, was killed when it hit.

(((Author’s notes: There are three people: two women and a man, all siblings, speaking during the italicized sections. The last paragraph has a fourth person who is not related to the other three. As will be explained in HalfWayDead, Giselle is the oldest sibling. Though the most powerful on Earth, she is the most indifferent to human affairs. Only when one threatens her domain (life and creation) would she step in. Luke is the middle sibling, and although he complains about his sisters’ actions, he is the primary antagonist of HalfWayDead, being a god of death and destruction. Narcissa is the youngest sibling, who is known in TMX as the Goddess of Heaven and Hell. She oversees both planes with love and kindness, and would never tip the balance as she sees it, unless the threat was immediate and obvious. She loves all good, well-meaning souls.)))

[hazyheel]

WWE Smackdown Live 6/11/19 Review

We started with a rendition of Miz TV. Miz had a new shirt of his dad having his fists up at Wrestlemania, and I guess he was being forced to host this edition. He was reading off of a literal script for Shane. He kept saying best in the world wrong for a laugh, but it wasn’t much of anything. Shane then came out with Drew McIntyre and Elias. Elias was the musical guest, and the crowd chanted you suck at him. Miz called out Shane for having only tainted wins, which Shane didn’t seem to care about. Mcintyre talked about how he would beat Roman at stomping ground. Miz pointed out that McIntyre is wasting his potential by being Shane’s lackey, which makes a lot of sense. Shane and Miz started to hurl insults at each other, and nearly came to blows. Shane challenged Miz to a gauntlet match. If he could beat both Elias and McIntyre, then he could fight Shane. 

So, we went right into the matches, starting with Miz vs. Elias. This was the match where I noticed that Miz doesn’t do the corner dropkicks like Daniel Bryan anymore, but he does corner knees. Interesting way to make the move his own, and to transition into a face role. Miz quickly took care of Elias by dodging an elbow drop and hitting the skull crushing finale for three. 

He then fought Drew McIntyre. Miz was actually brutally beating down McIntyre for a lot of this match, such as a super stiff baseball slide and a brawl on the outside. At one point, Miz went for the skull crushing finale, but Shane distracted him, so McIntyre could get the Glasgow kiss, and then a claymore for the win. 

After that happened, Shane said that he would still fight Miz. There was actually a bit of back and forth until Shane locked in a triangle for the win. 

Grade: B-. I wasn’t sure about putting this whole segment on the positive side, but I think the matches were mostly fine, and the heel work from Shane at the end there was really good. So yeah, I’ll give this a B-. I normally don’t like the style of heel that Shane is, smarmy but also not quite good enough at being smarmy. But this was probably his best work, challenging a beaten down Miz like that. I liked it, especially how happy he was that he is now 3-0 over Miz. That record is bullshit and shouldn’t exist, but at least it’s because Shane is being a dick. 

Backstage, Ember Moon talked to Fire and Desire while she was playing on a switch. They told her to focus on a real life superhero like Mandy Rose, and then smacked the switch out of her hand and left. Moon was pissed and threw some stuff.

Then we had the Planets Tag Team Champions. Daniel Bryan said that there would be a title match, against a couple Jobbers holding cardboard titles. But before they got going, Heavy Machinery came out to interrupt. Heavy Machinery said that they were ducking the challenge for the belts. So, Daniel Bryan said that if they can beat the jobbers, they will get a title match. Heavy Machinery won quickly with the compactor.

Grade: C. Yeah this was an inoffensive squash match, but I’m also rewinding the grade a bit because Heavy Machinery was off TV for so long and are now just getting a title match. That is BS, but they are certainly the team that should get it. 

Backstage, R-Truth and Carmella were talking about how terrible being the 24/7 champion was. He said that he pinned Jinder on a plane 49,000 feet celsius, that was funny. Carmella heard someone coming, so she told Truth to get in a box. It turned out only to be a production guy, but the case locked and Carmella had to leave for a match with Sonya Deville. So she left, and Jinder showed up and tried to open it, pretending to be Carmella as he did, So this was the 24/7 shenanigans of the evening, and I was into it. 

So we came back to the match between Carmella and Sonya Deville. At one point, Carmella locked in the code of silence, but Rose put Deville’s foot on the rope to break things up. She chased Rose around, but Deville caught her with a brutal knee to the stomach for a near fall. Carmella then threw Deville out of the ring, and gave both women a suicide dive, hitting Rose with an extra superkick. As Carmella went back in, Deville hit a step up knee for the win.

Grade: C-. Lots of interference, and it was not wrestled the best. I really don’t care much for this feud, and it seems just to be a placeholder before fire and desire break up. So not a great match, and I think it’d be much better if Carmella was actually involved in the 24/7 championship picture.

So then we had Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross backstage. Bliss told Cross that a bunch of people were being mean to her on social media, and that Bayley liked one of them. She said that Bayley is the same as everyone who calls Cross names. She told Cross not to hold back during her match with Bayley. I like how Bliss is manipulating Cross here, it is good. I wish it was someone who wasn’t supposed to be a crazy person, but its fine.

Then we the return of Big E, ahead of the 6-man tag later on. New Day cut a promo and they joked about how if Big E had a title run for every time that he returned, he would be Charlotte Flair. Kofi said it was a booking joke, and Woods cut him off by talking about their match. They talked about how Kofi has beaten all of their opponents at one point or another. Ziggler interrupted, and talked about how Kofi cheated to beat him at super showdown. Kofi just said that it was revenge for Ziggler kicking Woods earlier in the match, but then Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn interrupted. Zayn and Owens said that it was injustice, and I found it was difficult to disagree with the heels here. Zayn said that the rules are more important than who the fans like. Zayn called the fans hypocrites, and I kinda get where he is coming from. Big E then put over Kingston and defended him, and Kofi told him that he won’t have any more excuses after the steel cage match. 

Grade: C. Everyone could talk in this segment, but it was very filler, and the heels were being perfectly reasonable. A heel promo that really makes the good guys look like the bad guys are a problem. Ziggler has every right to be mad, Kofi did cheat. So it’s difficult to say he is in the wrong.

Then we had Bayley backstage, being asked about Bliss manipulating Cross, and Bayley just didn’t care.

Then we had Aleister Black continuing to offer an open challenge. He had someone open the door, and shout out of it, saying that the door is wide open. Black is so much better than this. 

We went right into Bayley vs. Nikki Cross. They were brawling right at the bell. At one point, Bayley went for the dropkick under the corner on the outside, but Cross trapped her behind the apron and beat her down. Bliss did get involved minorly at one point, distracting her and allowing Cross to get a cradle for a near fall. Bayley got the win with the elbow drop, staring right at Bliss when she did.

Grade: C+. Match didn’t have much to it, but I did like how Bayley looked right at Bliss when she hit the finish. Other than that this was a nothing match.

Jinder went back to get Truth out of the box, but it was gone. Truth was still in the box, and he was getting shipped to LA in the box. 

24/7 stuff: B-. Not nearly as funny as the stuff on Raw, but still good. I like this gag, and it’ll be resolved on monday. 

Then we had Apollo Crews being interviewed about the attack from Andrade last week. Zelina Vega showed up to run him down, and told Crews to stay away from Andrade. Then randomly, Chad Gable was there taking notes. I-I don’t know why.

And into the main event, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler vs. the New Day.  A lot of fast paced action here, and oddly enough Kingston was normally the one on the backfoot. At one point, Woods went up for the limit breaker, but Ziggler crotched him on the top rope. On commentary, Graves emphasized the fact that the face commentators are always okay with the faces cheating, which I though was quite interesting. At one point, Kevin Owens hit a moonsault for a near fall, and I would love to see that move enter his arsenal more. Big E had a huge hot tag during the match, destroying Ziggler with suplexes and a splash. Ziggler blind tagged in Zayn, who held Kofi for a superkick. Kofi dodged so it hit Zayn, and Kofi nailed Ziggler with a trouble in paradise, followed by another one to Zayn for the win.

Grade: B-. Fast paced action and a good pickup for Kofi. I might’ve preferred to see Big E pick up the win, but I will never argue with making a champion strong. Good stuff here, and the match of the night. 

Also, something I noticed that happened tonight was that on commentary, they keep mentioning how WWE is the only “cross cultural” sports entertainment company in the world. So that is them taking pot shots at AEW. 

Overall Grade: C+

Pros: nothing overtly good, but i thought that Graves gave a good commentary performance. 

Cons: Heavy Machinery hasn’t been on the show; carmella vs. deville; filler promo