#I also came up with a fun new angle to take for the next bo found family chapter
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Haunted by Jodie oneshot visions full in the middle of finals season...
#SAVE ME#it'd be fun to write but I fear when all the work is done I will simply pass out#I also came up with a fun new angle to take for the next bo found family chapter#my brain is swimming with creative pursuits when it should be swimming with. elf pedagogy
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CW for this post: some blood, brief meantion of teen pregnancy.
I personally really love Hiroko Hagakure. Her personality wasn’t what I expected at all when thinking of what Yasuhiro’s mom would be like. However, after I met her I couldn’t imagine her being any other way. She is my very favorite of the captives. Plus her design helps in that she’s very fun to draw.
This hc of mine actually originated from looking up fan art of her and I saw one of her with the introduction every ultimate gets. I forgot what ultimate that artist gave her but the idea of her as an ultimate stuck with me. Soon this idea snowballed into an entire backstory involving Hiroko, Takaaki, and Taichi. Ideas coming in from fanart and friends. The story goes like this:
It is the start of a new school year at hopes peak. The students are all getting settled into their dorm, amongst the first years are two friends, Taichi Fujisaki and Takaaki Ishimaru. Taichi is the current ultimate programmer, while Takaaki is reserve course.
The two friends are making their way to their dorms when all of a sudden they are stopped in the courtyard. The student who stopped them appears to be in the reserve course, however they boast that they are the ultimate street fighter known as the Crimson Boar. Crimson has decided Taichi was the perfect victim to harass, seeing him as a nerd. Takaaki while standing up for Tai gets knocked out, leaving Taichi seemingly defenseless.
Before Crimson can lay a finger on the programmer, someone calls out. The true ultimate street fighter, Hiroko Hagakure, also known as the Bubblegum Bee. A title she earned due to her floral tattoos and pink hair. Hiroko quickly knocked out the trouble maker and helped Taichi carry Takaaki to his dorm.
Once the three reach the dorm, the fighter lays the boy in his bed. She introduces herself to the only other conscious person in the room. “ The name is Hiroko Hagakure. Second year student here and the actual ultimate street fighter. But you can call me Koko. What’s your names?”
The programmer nervously introduces himself and his unconscious friend. He was wary of Hiroko at first, however as soon as the fighter began taking care of Takaaki he loosened up. Quickly the two became friends.
Takaaki woke up not too long after the two became chummier. Immediately trying to get to work on getting ahead in his classes, which hadn’t even started. Hiroko tried to get him to rest, however he wasn’t having it. The two would bicker. Hiroko teasing and joking around as she tried to get Takaaki to rest. Meanwhile Takaaki would not budge, and would fire at her to try and get her to stop.
The two had this dynamic of Takaaki seeming to not like her, and her teasing him like she’d known him her whole life, for a while. The dynamic began to change the day he learned of her training.
Hiroko was the ultimate streetfighter because she won a fight against the other candidate, the Crimson Boar. The two were almost evenly matched. However due to a 6th sense running in Hiroko’s family, she came out on top. The sense allowed her to dodge blows that nobody else would’ve known were coming. The school wanted to help her hone in on this ability. She would be blindfolded and set up to work with a tennis ball machine.
This day Hiroko slipped up, and was pelted from every angle. She was bleeding from the head and was very concussed. However she insisted she was fine and went to Taichi’s dorm. Knocking on the door, she was answered by Tai who had just been chatting with Takaaki. As soon as the door opened the girl collapsed onto the floor. This caused the two to panic, taking her to the Hospital. She was released, but was made to be monitored and put on bed rest until she was better. Takaaki volunteered to monitor her. This time together brought them closer.
Over the next year the three only grew closer. However halfway through the two boys second year, their friend disappeared. There was no trace left behind, not even her at the time boyfriend was there. They searched high and low but couldn’t find her anywhere. Eventually Taichi gave up, but Takaaki wouldn’t let it go. He had developed feelings for her, however he had buried them away once he met his arranged fiancée. He fell in deep in love with his fiancée, but never forgot his friend. He ran out of places to look for her, but always hoped to find her again.
Many years later his son is now in the same academy he attended, along side Taichi’s son. He hasn’t been taking very good care of himself, his son being the only good thing he had. He was drinking one night and passed out, only to wake up to see Hiroko next to him.
He panicked, accidentally waking her up. He asked her what had happened the night before. To his somewhat relief, she told him she had broke in and saw him passed out with a liquor bottle. So she carried him to his room and planned to monitor him, making sure he didn’t asphyxiate. However she herself accidentally fell asleep halfway through the night. She revealed that she had gone missing because she ran away with her boyfriend, learning she was pregnant. She wasn’t allowed access to her phone while she was with him, so she couldn’t contact them. Her son had kept her last name, and was in Kiyotaka’s class.
When asked about her husband she had revealed she divorced him. He later died after setting her house on fire by leaving a cigar lit as he took a nap there. She was happy for him to be gone, he had been a dead beat the whole time and she had just couldn’t accept that at the time. Yasuhiro inherited her 6th sense which developed into him having clairvoyance. He had encouraged her to go find him.
This is the design I came up with for her in her second year. I like it alot, and I hope you enjoy it too.
#art#fanart#digital art#danganronpa#danganronpa fanart#hiroko hagakure#headcanon#hagakure hiroko#hiroko hagakure headcanon#danganronpa captives#danganronpa udg#ishimaru takaaki#takaaki ishimaru#tattoos#teenage dirtbag#ultimate streetfighter#backstory#taichi fujisaki#fujisaki taichi#teenager design
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The maidens. Four young women that are hosts to magical powers derived from Ozma and whose powers are connected to and named after the four seasons. Summer, fall, spring, and winter. Their powers are passed down through a couple reasons. One of them being through the person who was in their thoughts last. That’s how a miss Summer Rose gained the powers of the summer maiden.
The previous summer maiden had been a middle aged woman by the name of Fleur. Fleur Rose, her aunt. Fleur’s semblance had been Siren Song, which would distract someone that she targeted when they heard her sing. Long enough for them to be brought in by hunters, huntresses, or the police. She had raised Summer after her parents had passed, since she’d been close with her brother Onyx. When it was Fleur’s time, Sunmer was right there at her side. Which is also when Fleur told her about the maidens and to search for a man by the name of Oakley. He would help her with the powers. That and someone to help her with the power of silver eyes, that of which Summer has inherited from her mother Auburn. Afterwards she found a new power coursing through her. This must be what her aunt had been talking about. Another thing she spoke of before passing was that a maiden’s power could only be passed to whichever female was in her mind last. If it were a male, the power would pass to some random female.
Donning her white cape, Summer pulled the hood over her head and marched to the point of pick up for Beacon Academy. There the blimp would take any Beacon acceptees to the school and train then to be huntsmen and huntresses. On her hip is Panda, a bo staff she designed herself. She’s on a mission to find Ozpin and have him help her with her maiden powers. When she approached, she noticed a male with black hair spiked back. Is he here to train to be a huntsman like she was to be a huntress? He certainly seems young enough to be able to. His hands were in the front pockets of his pants and he slouched a bit. She was about to get closer to him when a female with the same black hair as him, if a bit darker, approached him. From this angle she could see the other female has red eyes. He looked at her and Summer noticed he also has red eyes. Are they siblings? She’d have to ask later.
The blimp touched down, letting any and all future Beacon students on. The duo climbed on and Summer scampered after just so she could make it aboard on time. Once everyone was on, it took off into the air and on its way to the academy. Silver eyes look around the blimp, taking it all in. She’s not very good in making friends, as evident by how she hadn’t approached the duo she spotted earlier. Summer was hoping to be their friends and get to know them. They seemed interesting. And yes, they did watch the introductory video that was played. Someone approaches from in front. She stopped to look at them. Tan skin, deep blue eyes, short light blue hair with a braid over it, white t-shirt with poofy sleeves, short blue skirt, blue sneakers, and black bracelets with gray studs on them. This person appeared to be female. Who are they? What’s their weapon? Where is their weapon?
“Hi there,” the other greeted. “What’s your name?” “Summer Rose,” Summer said and removed her hood to reveal the rest of her head. “What about you?” “Ocean Sapphire.” A smile crossed Summer’s face. Is she friend? “Nice to meet you, Ocean.” “You, too, Summer.” “Quick question, do you know who those two are?” Summer indicated the black haired duo from before. Ocean looked at them and tilted her head. “Can’t day that I do. Do you?” “That’s why I asked.” There’s a moment of silence. “Oh.” For the rest of the ride to Beacon, Summer and Ocean stayed with each other and talked. Blue and silver eyes look out the window as they watch Beacon getting closer. “This is it,” Summer said. “There’s no turning back now.” There was a nod from Ocean. “We’re becoming huntresses.” They walked into the main room when the blimp landed and others joined them.
“Welcome, students,” a distinct male voice called out to the group. Multiple sets of eyes look to the front to see a tan male standing there wearing a chestnut and dark green outfit. His hair is brown and his eyes bright green. “I am Professor Oakley, the headmaster of Beacon Academy.” That’s him. That’s the guy Aunt Fleur told Summer to look for. When the time was right, she was going to talk to Oakley and get him to help her. Whether he wanted to or not. Someone had to help her with her maiden powers. After explaining some things, he brought a silver haired and brown eyed child. Huh? A child? They seemed to be eleven years old. Why is a child here? Oh... his name is Ozpin. Wait... he’s being trained this young to be headmaster because he wanted to run Beacon? Why would someone do that?
The next day the first years met on the cliff overlooking Emerald Forest. Standing in front of them is Oakley, Ozpin, and one of the teachers. They’d let Ozpin come up with this and explain it. The first years were to retrieve a relic from the ruins and bring it back with the first person they laid eyes on. This person would be their partner for the next four years. Along with two others, they would be a team for the duration of their stay at Beacon. Ok, seemed simple enough, Summer thought. And they were going to work on their landing strategy. Ooo, this is going to be fun. Some students were confused by this until they were launched one by one from the cliff side. Summer cheered as she was launched, smiling brightly as she flew through the air. When she noticed the was getting close to a tree, she pulled Panda from her hip and chucked it at the tree. Hands gripped the bo staff and she shimmied closer to the tree so she could climb onto the nearby branch. She pulled Oanda from the tree when she was on it. Ok, now time to find a partner and the ruins. Hopefully she could get Ocean on her team. Or one of the two red eyed people she saw when waiting for the blimp the day before. Jumping from branch to branch, she made her way through the forest. Something caught her eye down on the ground. A blond male fighting a Creep. Didn’t seem like he was winning so far. She saw that his weapon was the golden yellow gauntlets around his wrists that was firing shots at the Grimm. Smirking, Summer jumped down to join in the fight.
“Mind if I join you?” She asked. A snort from blondie. “Go ahead, I could use the help,” he replied. Sure, he wasn’t Ocean nor one of the other two she wanted, but she’d be fine with having this guy as her partner for their school years. Summer held Panda in her hands and charged at the Creep, letting out a battle cry. She attacked anywhere she could in an attempt to take down the Grimm. Blondie did the same with both his gauntlets and his fists. As they were fighting, Summer couldn’t help but wonder what his semblance is. Hers is Trick or Treat, where she could create explosives using different explosive materials in one touch with the trick side. With the treat side, it depended on who it was she was talking to. Pausing a moment to catch her breath, Summer looked around. Damn, there wasn’t anything she could turn into an explosive. Time to use her fallback. “Blondie, our of the way!” She called out to her partner. “I have a name you know,” he called back. “It’s Taiyang.” “Taiyang get out of the way!” She screamed. “Jeez, alright, alright.” Taiyang approached her and gave her a look as he passed to stand behind her. Silver eyes close and she took a deep breath. Her eyes soon opened again and white flames spewed from her eyes. Taiyang raised an eyebrow. What was she doing? Oh, that’s a leaf storm attacking the Grimm. This caught Taiyang off guard and he backed up a bit. Is this her semblance? A leaf storm? Now she’s conjured a lightning storm to attack the Grimm. What’s with this girl? Ice soon froze the Grimm to the ground, where Summer charged in and used Panda to pierce it and made it disappear soon after. She looked back at Taiyang after using her maiden powers and the white flames around her eyes disappeared. “What was that?” He asked. “Your semblance?” She thought about it for a moment before answering. Could she trust him with her secret? “No, it was something different.”
When Oakley saw her using her maiden powers, he straightened almost immediately. The first thing that came out of his mouth was, “I don’t believe it.” Both Ozpin and the teacher look at him. “What is it?” The teacher asked. “We have a maiden in our midst,” Oakley replied. He wouldn’t go into further detail when Ozpin asked about it. Or even speak again after that. He just knew he’d have to talk to Summer Rose after teams were made. Sooner or later, the first duo made it back with their relic, followed by some others.
Summer and Taiyang took a while to get to the ruins, but that’s mainly because Taiyang had questions for her regarding her maiden powers and why she wanted to go to Beacon in the first place. So she told him it was her aunt Fleur that had passed on the power to her and told her to go find professor Oakley, so he could help her learn to use them. She’d also said to find someone to teach her to use the power of silver eyes. That one Taiyang was confused about and if Summer were honest, so was she. What made silver eyes so special, other than they were rare. Once they reached the ruins, they spotted two more duos there. One duo consisted of the black haired and red eyed duo Summer had seen multiple times before. And the other has her friend Ocean and someone else. Someone with purple eyes and long gray hair pulled in two pigtails, a lock of it loose and outlining the right side of her face. Summer immediately went to hug the blue haired female that hugged her back. Taiyang jokes in saying it seemed like they hadn’t seen each other in forever. Two sets of red eyes roll as the female picked up one of the horse chess pieces. That left the other horse or the queen. Which one were the two duos going to pick?
“I was hoping you’d be on my team, Ocean,” Summer said. “So was I, but it’s ok. We’ll see each other around the school. She’s certainly optimistic about this. Her partner picked up the queen. “Besides, weren’t you the one that wanted to know these two?” She asked and indicated the red eyed duo. Summer almost immediately covered Ocean’s mouth with one hand and lowered her hand with the other. “Sssshhhh.” The red eyed male seemed surprised at hearing this. She wanted to know them? Ocean giggled, a bright smile playing across her face. Taiyang chuckled and picked up the last chess piece. “Anyway, let’s get going guys. We have to get these back to Oakley.”
“Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, Raven Branwen, Qrow Branwen. You four retrieved the white knight. You will be known as team STRQ, with Summer as your leader.” So that was their names. Qrow and Raven Branwen. At least she knows their names now and that they’re siblings. Twins, she guessed. Since they both enrolled at the same time. The look in Oakley’s eyes when he looked at her said he wished to talk to her in private, so that’s what she’s going to do when this was all done.
“Liam Cannyn, Granite Orchestra, Ocean Sapphire, Oliver Strummand, you four retrieved the black queen. You will now be known as Team LGOO, with Liam as the leader.” Summer cheered for her friend. Ocean smiled and looked to Summer in the crowd. Sure, they were on different teams, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends.
At night time, when everyone else was getting ready for bed, Summer slopped her white cloak on. She was just about to leave the dorm room when someone asked, “Where are you going?” Jumping a bit, Summer looked to see Qrow standing there. “Oakley wanted to see me, so I’m going to his office,” she said. “And you weren’t going to tell us?” She paused a moment. “Because it’s a secret and only Taiyang knows what it’s about.” Qrow rolled his eyes. “Of course it is. I’m going with you.” Summer shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand what it’s about.” “Try me.” Silver eyes squint. “You’re not going to stay here, are you?” Qrow shook his head. “Nope.” A sigh from Summer. “Fine, but don’t expect this to be a normal meeting.” Qrow chuckled. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” And with that, Summer and Qrow made their way to Oakley’s office, where they saw Oakley and Ozpin waiting.
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Accidentally In Love
Pairing: Mako x reader
Request: anonymous asked “ Do you write for Lok/Atla?Maybe can you write an imagine where the reader is the daughter of Iroh (Izumi's son) and she meets Mako and they fall in love? ”
Warnings: nothing really
A/N: It’s two for one on Mako fic today 😂 I rewatched LOK much sooner than I’d originally thought, like I honestly thought I wouldn’t get to this for another couple of months but for once I suprised myself in a good way. hope you like it, it got a little longer than i’d expected it to.
Word Count: 3002
*
My life could be summed up pretty well as a long series of accidents. Some good, some bad, some neither one nor the other, all changing my life in inexplicable ways with consequences I'd never intended. I was born an accident for starters, the product of two 18-year-olds scared they might never see each other again when one left with the United Forces on a particularly dangerous assignment. 9 months later, there I was.
I discovered I was a waterbender when I was five and accidentally knocked a candle over, managing to set the kitchen on fire. The water came to me in my moment of panic and I doused it without a second thought. Then I accidentally flooded the kitchen when I couldn't stop it and got myself sent to the southern water tribe to be trained.
It was there I met Korra although I was never supposed to. She'd slipped away and gone exploring and so had I. We bumped into each other and quickly became friends in the way kids do which somehow led to us being trained together. It also led to the rather unfortunate almost-drowning as we both pushed ourselves further than we were able to when we were 8.
Republic City became my home again not long after that.
There was no more life-changing accidents for a few years until I got my first boyfriend when I was 12. That didn't end well. Turns out I accidentally dated the son of one of the most elusive crime lords in the city and found out enough to help Chief Beifong take them down.
And the accidents didn't stop coming.
I got knocked over by Asami and her father chasing a dog across the road. That got me a new best friend. I almost got myself expelled from school by turning the gym into an ice rink and getting half the student body to cut class. That got me a ton of new friends, many of whom turned out to be bad influences. Thanks to them I got caught fighting in the street and only avoided punishment by Beifong at my dad's intervention. That's what landed me under constant supervision training in the United Forces and what finally let me redeem myself by saving everyone on my warship during an attack.
At 16 I became an officer, serving under my own father - the great General Iroh - and it's as odd as you'd imagine. I might have asked for a different assignment were it not considered such a great honour, especially for someone as young as I was at the time. It meant I got to spend more time with my dad at least, even if he was shouting orders much of the time. That wasn't something I'd had the luxury of growing up.
A few months ago I'd helped Korra and her friends defeat Amon and the equalists and met Mako. That changed everything for me yet again. I'd gone with him and Korra when the team split up and accidentally developed a bit of a crush as we worked together. So obviously I had to stay in Republic City after all that.
Beifong hired me without question when I asked and I ended up working alongside Mako. A lot. It should be no surprise that my next accident was a big one. I fell in love.
Who knows if he felt the same though.
We were grabbing dinner after a long day at work, both of us too tired to actually talk as we ate. I was watching him intently though. I did that a lot.
It was one of those rare occasions when he wasn't frowning even a little. He was like that when he was tired enough. The harsh angles of his face softened and the seemingly constant worry in his eyes eased. It was my favourite time to be with him.
He was more honest in those moments, more willing to open up about himself and his feelings. He was more willing to do that generally as of late actually. I wondered what new information I'd glean tonight.
"Hellooo," he dragged the word out, "You listening, (Y/N)?" Crap. I wasn't. I didn't even realise he'd started talking.
"Hmm?" I made sure to pay attention to what he was saying this time.
"I said, Beifong is letting me have the evening off for the Future Industries relaunch party in a few days-"
"Wait, there's a party ?"
"More like a gala but yeah, I thought you knew. Asami sent an invite." He frowned. I wish he wouldn't.
"I forgot to send her my new address."
He shook his head fondly and a small smile slipped onto his face. "Of course you did."
"Hey! I'm not normally that forgetful." He levelled me with a disbelieving look. "Okay fine, maybe I am. So what about the party?"
"Are you working Friday night?" I shook my head. "Good. Because I was going to ask…" He looked nervous and, dare I say it, a bit flustered. "Would you like to go...to the party...with me?"
It took a minute to compute that, it was the last thing I'd expected to hear. I watched as the hopeful smile that he'd been wearing slowly slid from his face as he mistook my silence.
"I'd love to," I finally blurted out.
"Really?"
"Yeah. It'll be fun." Our waiter came over and we quickly paid the bill and stood to leave.
"So, I'll come pick you up at 7?"
"Sounds great."
"I'll see you Friday then."
"See you Friday." I couldn't wait. He hugged me goodbye quickly and we went our separate ways home. It wasn't until I was getting changed for bed that I realised I hadn't asked one incredibly vital question. I hadn't asked if it was a date.
*
I radioed Asami in a panic the next morning and she dropped everything to come over and see me.
"So what did he say exactly?" She asked as I set a tray of tea down on the coffee table.
"He just asked if I wanted to go with him."
"Did he seem nervous?"
"A little I guess."
"Well then my guess is date."
"But he didn't do anything else to suggest it was. And maybe he was just worried I'd think he was asking me on a date and not as a friend."
"This is Mako so you might have a point there." She stirred her tea thoughtfully for a minute before looking up at me suddenly. I could practically see the lightbulb above her head.
"Okay so we don't know if it's a date but you want it to be, right?" I nodded and took a sip of my drink. "Well, in that case we need to go shopping."
I looked at her quizzically. "Shopping? I have clothes from the last party."
"Yes shopping. If we get you the right outfit we could easily turn 'friends hanging out' into an actual date. And if it's already a date, a great outfit can't hurt."
"You really think a good outfit can do that?"
"I know a good outfit can do that."
"Okay. Let's go shopping then."
*
"Bolin, I need your help." I didn't bother knocking and walked straight into my brother's apartment.
"Mako! It's great to see you bro! You gotta learn to knock first though."
"You should stop leaving your door unlocked and then maybe I would."
"Solid point. What can I do for you?"
"I have a date with (Y/N)."
"Well finally! You've been going on about her for months."
"I haven't- you're right, I have a bit." I flopped onto his couch and he took a seat beside me.
"Nice to see you admit it. So you've got a date, what's the problem?"
"I'm not sure she knows it's a date." He frowned.
"What do you mean? How could she not know it's a date?" I explained quickly and Bolin had his head in his hands by the time I was finished. "And you say you're the ladies man of this family."
"This is different. (Y/N) is different."
"Not a good enough excuse but we can salvage this."
"Okay, how?"
"First I'll say, from what you've told me she may well think it's a date." I breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't completely messed up. "But we don't know that for sure so you've got to be observant. Look for signs of attraction, flirt a little, see how she reacts, you know the drill."
"That wasn't as helpful as i'm sure you thought it was."
"Wasn't meant to be."
"What?" I sat up and glared at him.
"You're an idiot. (Y/N) likes you, has for ages."
"How do you know?" He rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh.
"Aside from it being obvious every time she looks at you? I'm her friend, I know things."
"She's better friends with me than you."
"That hurts bro."
"Bo-"
"Fine! Asami told me. But I knew anyway!"
"I've got to go." I stood abruptly and Bolin shot me a confused look as he got up too.
"What? Why?"
"Need to go shopping." I glanced at my watch quickly and cursed. "Actually I need to go to work. I'll see you later Bo."
"Bye!" He called out but I was already out the door. I'd be late if I didn't hurry and Beifong would probably make me work on Friday if I was. At least the conversation was worth it. At least now I knew she liked me.
*
Friday. 6:50. I was trying not to be sick. Nerves were getting the better of me. Honestly I'd feel so much better if I just knew what this was. Although, if it was a date for sure, I'd probably be hunched over the toilet by now so maybe this was just a little bit better.
I finished applying my makeup the way Asami had taught me and fixed my hair a little before sliding on my new dress. A dress I never could have afforded myself. Asami insisted though.
There was a knock at my door and I startled as I looked at the time. It was seven and the last 10 minutes had somehow gone in a snap. I rushed to find my shoes, yelling to Mako to come in as I did. The door clicked shut and he yelled out a greeting as I finally located the shoes under my bed.
"Sorry, I'll be out in just a minute," I called back and hastened to finish getting ready. I checked how I looked once more, tucking back a stray hair, and took a deep breath before stepping out into the living room. I could do this. It might not even be a date, I reminded myself again.
"Hey, (Y/-" he cut himself off and I was instantly worried. Well as worried as I could feel past the block in my brain that was screaming over how good he looked.
"Hey Mako," I smiled self-consciously and fiddled with my dress. He recovered himself at the sound of my voice and stood from my couch.
"Hey, (Y/N)." I bit back a grin.
"You already said that."
"Oh, right...uh, you ready to go?" I nodded and we left my apartment, walking down the stairs in an only slightly awkward silence.
"Woah! Nice wheels. Where'd you get that?" I was shocked when I saw the car he led me to. It was way too fancy to afford on our salary.
"Asami let me borrow it. Insisted I did actually. She said we should show up in style."
"She's not wrong. Let's go then." The drive was short and thankfully less awkward than the walk down. Whatever weird tension had been in my apartment - probably my fault - had dissipated and we chatted like we usually did.
We arrived at the party slightly late and the venue was already packed. A valet took the car keys from Mako and he offered me his hand as we walked up the steps together. A few photographers took pictures and the nerves from earlier started coming back. People knew who we were. People were going to talk, the papers speculate. What were they going to assume about us? And more importantly, would they be right?
I tripped on the last step, falling into Mako's arms as he moved to catch me automatically. His face was too close to mine and I struggled to breathe. Heat flared in my cheeks as I scrambled to get my footing back and pull out of his embrace. He shot me a concerned look but I just shrugged it off with a small smile and continued inside, tugging him along with me. I almost wished I hadn't when we entered and people turned to look.
The first hour was a bit off a mess. I mixed up people's names, spilled a few drinks, almost knocked over a table full of cakes, and tripped over just about everything. Eventually we ended up talking to Bolin and Asami. I excused myself to the bathroom with a pointed look to Asami. She got the hint and came with me.
"Are you okay?" She asked as the door shut behind us.
"Not even a little bit. I'm freaking out and I keep messing things up and I'm so nervous I think I might be sick and I still don't know if this is a date and if it is I'm on my way to making it the worst date ever and I know this is ridiculous because it's just Mako and he's one of my best friends so this shouldn't be awkward but I love him and he looks so good tonight and it's making me want to kiss him but I can't because I still don't know if he likes me too but I really want him to and I just think I'm going to ruin everything somehow-" the words kept tumbling out in a jumbled mess as I slowly got more hysterical and Asami finally had to cut me off.
"Breathe. Just breathe." She held my shoulders and took deep breaths herself for me to follow. I felt myself beginning to calm down. "Just keep breathing. You're fine, okay? You're not messing anything up. I've been watching you two since you got here and Mako definitely likes you too."
"How do you know?" I asked in a small voice
"It's obvious to everyone here. Honestly, if you could see the way he looks at you, you'd understand."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. Now go out there and get him."
"Okay."
*
"Am I messing this up?" I asked Bolin when the girls disappeared off to the bathroom. "(Y/N) seems so uncomfortable. Are you sure she actually likes me."
"I'm sure bro. If anything this proves it."
"How?"
"She's nervous, Mako. She likes you and you know that but I don't think she knows that you like her."
"Oh. Oh."
"Now you get it. She's hoping it's a date but she's not sure and she obviously doesn't want to mess anything up which is making her nervous and awkward."
"How in the world could you know that?"
"I'm very smart and observant." I gave him a pointed look. "Fine! Asami told me again. You know it hurts you don't think I could figure it out myself."
"You'll live." I patted him on the shoulder and he rolled his eyes before glancing behind me.
"Watch out, they're coming back."
*
"Well, it was good to catch up with you guys. I'll see you a bit later but I've got more guests to talk to now. Bolin?" He looked over at Asami. "You mind coming with me?"
"Of course."
"Enjoy the party you two." Asami hugged me then. "Good luck," she whispered in my ear before letting go and heading off with Bolin. I watched them leave, still slightly nervous to face Mako again. He cleared his throat and I turned my head.
"Would you like to dance?" Breathe, I told myself, you can do this.
"Sure." I took his hand and he led me to the middle of the room. The song playing was slow, thankfully since I wasn't a great dancer. I knew the steps and where to put my hands at least. His hand settled on my waist and electricity raced through me. I swallowed hard to control my nerves, trying not to get distracted by the warmth that spread from every point of contact as we started to dance. I was lost in him for a while and the silence went on. Finally it was broken.
"(Y/N)-"
"Mako-" we both spoke at the same time and I grinned at how ridiculous this all was.
"You go first," he said.
"Okay. I need to ask, I can't stand not knowing anymore, is this a date?"
"Yes."
"Okay." Okay? Why was that all I said?
"Are you alright with it being a date?" He looked a little worried. Unsurprising since all I said was okay. I wanted to smack myself for being such an idiot.
"Yes."
"Okay." A few seconds passed in silence again.
"So...does that mean you like me the way I like you?" I asked finally.
"That depends. Can I kiss you?"
"Please." And he did.
His lips were soft against mine, softer than I'd imagined actually, and the kiss was unhurried. He pulled me closer and I leaned into his body, letting his familiar warmth and comfort permeate my skin. It didn't last long but we stayed close when our lips parted.
"So is that a yes?" I whispered.
"I think it's a yes." He smiled and pulled me into another kiss. It occurred to me that people were watching and we'd probably have to suffer through the ordeal of it being in the papers but I found I didn't care all that much. Getting to finally kiss the guy I'd fallen in love with was more than worth it.
*
Tag Lists: (send an ask if you want to be added!)
Everything: @wonderfilledness
#mako#mako x reader#mako imagine#mako fanfic#mako x you#avatar#avatar fanfic#avatar imagine#lok fanfic#lok imagine#lok#reader insert
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Silver Lining
chapter 55
Young-Do knew that his irritable mood bled over everything this afternoon. Father would laugh at him and tell him the problems with this hotel were Young-Do’s fault because he neglected it. He decided after his third attempt to tie his tie and argue with the phantom of Father that he couldn’t wear the slip of cloth around his neck.
He hoped Eun-Sang didn’t mind. He didn’t want to explain...why he didn’t like ties. There was only so many times he could handle her horror and promise he wasn’t going to be like his Father before she stopped believing him.
“Young-Do?” Eun-Sang called him out of his thoughts. “Can you come zip me up? I can’t reach it.”
After how close they’d come to having sex this afternoon, Young-Do wondered if they were going to make it to dinner when he went into the bathroom to zip her up. He glanced at the dress and shook his head.
“Rachel dresses you like she’s your lover and wants to put you on display.”
“At least you can’t see my nipples this time.”
“I don’t mind your nipples. I just mind everyone else looking at your nipples.” He simply zipped her up and smiled at the interesting cut of her dress. The neckline was asymmetrical over one shoulder and the hemline cut in a forty-five-degree angle from her hip, down to her knee, in the opposite direction. The dress was a bold orange, with a wide, pale yellow belt, that...matched the necklace he gave her. “That explains why I am wearing a tan suit and red shirt. I thought she surprised you.”
“I asked her what color so I could wake up early and match you to me. It feels coupley but not tacky. You didn’t like the tie?” She looked a little disappointed and he hated disappointing her.
“I kind of hate ties.”
“That’s fair. I hate heels and these are definitely four centimeters after Rachel promised me flats.” Young-Do tried not to stare at her. He’d never stated something so honestly to have it unquestioned and tactically supported. Eun-Sang wrinkled her nose and looked over her shoulder. “Does it make that big of a difference lifting my ass? I mean, are you less likely to have sex with me after dinner if I don’t wear the heels?”
Young-Do put his hands on her hips and curled the smooth fabric of her dress into his fingers. He very slowly, so he could maintain eye contact with her in the mirror, lifted it up so he could slide his hand underneath it as he kissed her neck. He enjoyed her little whimper as he stroked her. He tried not to be too surprised that she wasn’t wearing any underwear when he touched her but it was nice to know she was wet and just as frustrated as he.
“Eun-Sang, I would have sex with you, right here, right now, without the bed. You’ve been teasing me all afternoon. Wear what makes you comfortable.”
She groaned when he pulled his hand away and let her dress drop back to her knees before he stepped back and went to go wash his hands. He pretended he didn’t see her annoyed blush as he smirked to himself.
At least they were back to normal here.
Eun-Sang looked ready to say something when his phone rang. Young-Do pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. He smiled and walked out of the bathroom while he answered. “Noona. I was getting worried when I hadn’t heard from you.”
“You would’ve sent a car anyway to convince me. I wanted to tell you that I accept and I’ll be at the meeting with you and President Cha tomorrow afternoon.”
“Thank you. I’d hoped the challenge would interest you.”
“I always find your challenges interesting,” she teased. Young-Do automatically ducked his head in an attempt to hide a blush she couldn’t see. “I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” He hung up and Eun-Sang came out of the bathroom. As far as he could tell, she was finished getting ready, but frowning slightly.
“Who was that?”
“Jeon Hyun-Joo. She’ll be here tomorrow to give her presentation with her ideas and her formatting solutions for starting the new subsidiary. She just signed the preliminary contract I had Hyun-Shik put together.”
“She has your personal phone number?” Eun-Sang didn’t meet his eyes as she put on her shoes. They were strappy gold sandals with a short heel. He thought, after their conversation, she’d go with something more comfortable. Young-Do blinked and was a little surprised at the sharpness to her tone.
“I’ve known her since college. It was a personal recommendation.”
Eun-Sang looked away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I saw her resume. She is highly qualified. I’m turning into one of those women who doesn’t trust other women around her husband. I’m sorry.”
He just didn’t know why she snapped at him and it made him anxious. He had done his best to hide the personal nature of his past relationship with Hyun-Joo. He’d made such a big deal about having the integrity to not cheat on her that he never wanted it to become a betrayal in her mind. He just wished he could figure out what he did so he could avoid it in the future. He couldn’t change the fact that he slept with Hyun-Joo in college. All he could control was what happened next.
Hyun-Joo may have been a mistress but it was to a man who wanted a mistress. Young-Do didn’t. He wanted Eun-Sang. He didn’t know what to say, so he offered his hand once she finished putting her shoes on. “Let’s go see how long it takes the valet to get my car.”
It took nearly ten minutes until they were on the road.
“I’m amazed,” Eun-Sang said. “You are a smooth driver even when you’re about to explode.”
“You’re not. You are a well of patience. Nothing says I’m used to everything being ready when I want it the way my stomach is twisting now.” He had to admit, if only to himself, that it calmed him somewhat, whenever she put her hand on his leg when they drove.
“I’m annoyed because I know what our stay at that hotel costs. An average person, splurging to come out to this area, go for a hike, see the weekend market, and go to nice restaurants during their hard-earned vacation, is paying a lot of money to have things ready on their whim. We aren’t getting what we’re paying for and that is upsetting. That kind of thing can kill a hotel on a review app. I’m amazed it hasn’t happened yet.” She paused and looked down at her hand in her other lap. “I’m used to keeping my emotion off my face. My parents are not bad parents but...there are complications that come when marriage is a business arrangement.”
“Do you think we can avoid them?” He didn’t know if offering to love her was the solution to her fears. Care and love were not the same thing. He knew the difference now. He also knew, that whatever his love was, it wasn’t like Hyo-Shin’s, and could never be good enough for her.
She already told him that she got one great love of her life. She didn’t want another.
“We are kinder to each other than my parents are. I think, if we can avoid fighting over little things, we will do just fine.”
Young-Do didn’t know how true it could be. Yoon Chan-Young and Lee Bo-Na loved each other deeply and still their important fights were ripping up their daughters. He wanted to be better than that. Maybe love wasn’t the solution.
He pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and smiled when he heard live music coming from the building. “There might be dancing,” Eun-Sang said. Her expression was soft and a little sultry again. “I hope you don’t mind. It was in your profile. I thought it might be fun foreplay before we try out the bed. Or the backseat of your car.”
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buttercream flower tutorial
This time last summer, I had left my full-time job at Yelp and was gearing up to move back to Portland and focus on writing my cookbook, Weeknight Baking. Given that I had spent many years balancing my day job with this blog, I thought that finally just focusing on one thing would allow me to pursue everything I'd always wanted to do with Hummingbird High but never had time to do so: mostly, more interiors posts, party posts, travel posts, step-by-step tutorials, elaborate pastries, GIFS, videos and more!
Needless to say, none of that happened, lol. Although many of my friends and peers who'd written cookbooks warned me about how much work it all was, I'd secretly ignored their warnings because I was just too friggin' cocky. Despite their horror stories, I figured that after balancing a full-time corporate job and this blog for so long, it would be a breeze. Ha! Nope. Long story short, the book replaced Yelp as my full-time job and Hummingbird High was once again pushed to the sidelines as I raced to develop, test, and photograph recipes for Weeknight Baking.
There is light at the end of the tunnel though! I've finally met the first of my major deadlines, turning in my manuscript at the start of last month and all the photos this past Monday. I have about a month off before I get the first round of edits, during which I'm planning to relax, go on the Whole 30 in attempt to lose all the scary book-related weight I've gained in the last year, and finally stop neglecting my blog and start working on all of the ideas and plans I've had for it since yesteryear. Get excited!
First up: a decorating tutorial with the help of my talented friend, Lyndsay Sung of Coco Cake Land! Her new cookbook just came out and is dedicated to all things cake decorating and is just SO. MUCH. FUN. Lyndsay is known for her badass feminist cakes, her super kawaii animal cakes, and her general boss cake decorating skills. She is one of my favorite bakers, and is such an inspiration both inside and outside of the kitchen. Real talk — she wrote part of the book while she was fighting (and winning!) against breast cancer. I told you she was fierce.
One of the cakes in Lyndsay's book is the Buttercream Flower Power cake, which is a layer cake topped with beautiful and 100% edible buttercream roses in bright neon colors (I tried to channel them for this cake, but I think my colors came out more muted than Lyndsay's — oh well). Buttercream flowers kinda blew up on the internet last year, and of course, I'm late to the party. I'm not going to lie — I avoided piping them for a really long time because I was super intimidated to do so, but they're actually pretty easy! It helps to have a good video tutorial or two to guide you (as much as I love photos, sometimes a video really does do the job better) so I've included a pretty bare bones instructional video on how I pipe my roses:
youtube
What do you guys think of the video? Is it too bare? Should I add music and flashing lights? I know that those Buzzfeed Tasty-style videos are super popular, but for more instructional videos, I decided to keep it minimalist so you can actually see what I'm doing without any distractions. Tell me your thoughts!
Also, be sure to check out the rest of the post below for some formal instructions on how to pipe the flowers as well a quick guide on literally everything you need to get started on piping flowers of your own. And don't miss my post on Instagram, where I'm giving away a copy of Lyndsay's cookbook and a jar of some of her custom made Sweetapolita sprinkles. Super fun, right??? I'm so excited, you guys. I feel like this is a fresh start to Hummingbird High, and I am so excited to kick it off with Lyndsay and her new book. Yay!!!
featured:
book || cake stand || bowl
Buttercream Flower Tutorial
(inspired by Coco Cake Land)
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TOOLKIT
What Tools You Need for Swiss Meringue Buttercream
a heatproof rubber spatula
a candy thermometer, preferably digital (I use this one)
a freestanding electric mixer with a whisk and paddle attachment (I use a KitchenAid mixer)
What Tools You Need for Cake Decorating
4 pastry piping bags
4 pastry bag couplers
a petal piping tip (I recommend Wilton #102 for small flowers, and Wilton #125 for large ones)
an open star piping tip (I recommend Wilton #1M)
a flower nail
one 12 x 16-inch sheet of parchment paper, cut into 2- or 3-inch squares
a half sheet pan
flower lifter scissors
What Ingredients You Need for the Flower Power Cake
one 8-inch cake of your choice, smoothly frosted
one recipe Lyndsay's Swiss Meringue Buttercream (included below)
pink, purple, green and blue food coloring (I used colors from this awesome Americolor set)
sprinkles (duhhhh)
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SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM 101
Lyndsay's Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
1 cup (8 ounces) large egg whites, from about 7 to 8 large eggs
2 1/4 cups (15.75 ounces) granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups (20 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
a pinch of kosher salt
Recipe
In the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer, combine 1 cup large egg whites and 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar. Mix with a heatproof rubber spatula to combine into a sugary slurry. Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water and place it on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Set the mixer bowl on top of the saucepan to create a kind of double boiler, making sure the mixer bowl doesn't touch the water.
Heat the egg and sugar mixture until it reaches 160 (F) on the candy thermometer, using the rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to prevent any ingredients from burning and stirring the mixture occasionally. This process should take around 10 minutes, so if you find that it's taking longer, don't be afraid to crank up the heat!
Use oven mitts to carefully transfer the mixer bowl onto the stand mixer and fit a whisk attachment in place. Turn the mixer on to its highest setting and beat the mixture for 10 minutes, or until you've created a meringue with medium-stiff peaks and the sides of the bowl are only slightly warm or at room temperature.
Scrape down the whisk, and replace it with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add 2 1/4 cups cubed unsalted butter a few cubes at a time, continuing to mix until the butter is incorporated. At this point, it should look like a thick soup, and that's totally okay. Add 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract and a pinch of kosher salt, and turn the mixer up to its highest speed. Beat the mixture on high speed for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until a fluffy, silky, magical buttercream frosting has formed.
Troubleshooting Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting ... if your Swiss Meringue Buttercream is too soupy: That likely means that the meringue wasn't cool enough when you started adding the butter, and/or it's a super hot day, and/or your butter was way too soft. No worries! Place the whole bowl in the fridge for about 10 minutes to cool it down before beating it again, first on low speed and gradually increasing it to high speed.
... if your Swiss Meringue Buttercream looks curdled and/or mottled: That likely means that the butter you used was way too cold and refuses to emulsify with the meringue. We can fix it, don't even worry. Eyeball out a 1/4 cup scoop of the curdled/mottled Swiss Meringue buttercream and transfer to a liquid measuring cup. Microwave on low speed for about 15 to 20 seconds, or until the frosting is soupy, liquidy, and warm. Pour back into the rest of the frosting and turn the mixer back on to high speed for about 2 to 3 minutes — the melted frosting should have helped bring the entire batch down to the right temperature for whipping.
If you don't have a microwave, you can try Lyndsay's suggestion: lightly heat the whole bowl over a low-boing pot of water. Once it's warmed up a teensy bit, try mixing it again.
Storing Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting Swiss meringue buttercream will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the fridge or up to 1 month in the freezer. Just be sure to store in an airtight container to prevent the frosting from absorbing any weird fridge/freezer flavors.
To use chilled buttercream, bring it back to room temperature by letting it sit uncovered at room temperature for about 1 hour or so. Transfer to the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer and gently rewhip before using. If you find that the buttercream looks mottled, use the tricks above to incorporate it fully. To use frozen buttercream, thaw the buttercream in the fridge overnight and follow the steps for thawing chilled buttercream.
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BUTTERCREAM FLOWERS 101
How to Pipe Buttercream Roses
First, prep your ingredients and tools: divide the buttercream into four even batches, dying each batch with a different color. Fit 4 pastry bags with couplers, and fill each pastry bag with its own batch of buttercream. For one of the pastry bags with the petal tip.
Squeeze a tiny amount of buttercream onto the center of the flower nail. Pat a parchment paper square on top of the buttercream, pressing down and rubbing it across the surface of the nail to "glue" it onto the nail. Arrange the parchment paper so that it is relatively centered on the nail. Brilliant! You're ready to pipe flowers.
Start by piping a small blob of buttercream in the center of the parchment paper. It doesn't have to be a specific shape or even pretty — a small blob will do. Next, hold the piping bag at a 45-degree angle with the wide end of the piping tip at the bottom of the nail; squeeze the piping bag, turning the nail at the same time, so that it pipes a half circle around the blob of buttercream frosting. Pipe another half circle, starting from the halfway point of the initial half circle. Repeat until you've got a circle that forms the base of the rose. Repeat this process for the outer petals of the rose — as your flower grows, you'll notice that you'll need to pipe longer and longer half circles. Continue making the layers of petals until you've reached the desired size for your rose — smaller ones will look more like conventional roses, whereas larger ones will look almost like peonies, succulents, or even cabbage flowers.
Once satisfied with your flower, carefully remove the parchment paper from the flower nail with the flower attached and place it on the half sheet pan. Repeat the process for however many roses you wish to make, moving the petal tip to different piping bags for different colored flowers. Go crazy and make as many flowers as you want, but be sure to reserve some frosting for finishing the cake and gluing the flowers on to the actual cake itself. Once done, transfer the sheet pan to the freezer to freeze for at least 1 hour, or until the flowers are cold and firm to the touch.
How to Assemble a Buttercream Flower Power Cake
Once the flowers are frozen and firm to the touch, it's time to decorate the cake. Remove the sheet pan from the freezer. Use the flower lifter scissors to carefully lift up each flower from its parchment paper square, discarding the paper and transferring the flower to the top of the cake. To transfer them to the sides of the cake, pipe a blob of reserved frosting onto the sides of the cake to use as glue to hold the flower in place.
Use a pastry bag with an open star piping tip to pipe quick stars in between the flowers, eliminating any "naked" space on the top of the cake. Garnish with sprinkles.
How to Save Buttercream Flowers for Future Cakes If you find yourself with leftover flowers, you can save your hard work for future cakes! Leave any leftover flowers on their individual parchment paper squares on the sheet pan and transfer to the freezer to chill overnight. Once the flowers have frozen solid, carefully transfer the flowers on their parchment squares into a Ziploc bag and seal tightly. The flowers will keep in the freezer for several months. When ready to use, you can use them straight from the freezer: simply unpeel each flower from its square and arrange on your cake as desired.
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Source: https://www.hummingbirdhigh.com/2018/08/buttercream-flower-tutorial.html
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It’s time now to reveal the Top 25 matches in NXT Takeover history, and if you missed the first part that featured the introduction to this project and the honorable mentions. Now let us begin unveiling the top 25 matches with the first 5 being released today:
25. The Undisputed Era vs. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch (Takeover: Chicago II)
2018 was a year where the tag division of NXT was being dominated by the Undisputed Era, originally by Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish until Fish got hurt and Roderick Strong stepped in to be O’Reilly’s partner. At the same time, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch were young stars looking to break out of the pack on NXT and decided to team up to try and take out the UE. So here at the second edition of Takeover in the Windy City, Lorcan and Burch get their shot at becoming tag champions by facing O’Reilly and Strong. What we would get was 16 minutes of one of the hottest tag matches to that point as both teams went all out and put on a great match to kick off a pretty strong show. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I always believed that O’Reilly had better chemistry with Strong than he did with Fish though that’s not a knock on Fish since they had great chemistry from their days in ROH and the indies. On the flip side, Lorcan and Burch had gelled quickly together as a team and they took O’Reilly and Strong to the limit only for O’Reilly and Strong to get out of Chicago with a solid title defense. The crowd dynamic was also interesting as they were clearly behind O’Reilly and Strong during the match, but they do give Lorcan and Burch a standing ovation out of respect after the match. In the end, the match was worthy of a spot on the list though it only manages to just make the list ahead of some of the honorable mentions.
24. Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano (Takeover: WarGames II)
The summer of 2018 saw one of the more interesting angles in NXT history with who took out Aleister Black ahead of Brooklyn IV, and after much speculation and some teasing by Nikki Cross it was revealed that Gargano was the assailant. It was an interesting dynamic as Gargano justified his actions because of his ongoing issues with Tommaso Ciampa, but Black vowed to make him pay for his sins as they were set to face off at WarGames II. On what ended up being a pretty stacked card with two big matches still ahead of it, the two men would put on a really fun match that featured a lot of big spots and stiff shots. Both men would go all out and were given plenty of time to work with as they went just over 18 minutes, and they would go back and forth numerous times as each man tried their best to keep the other down. In the end, Black would finish Gargano off with a stiff Black Mass before officially absolving him of his sins and hitting a second stiff Black Mass to get the win. This was a solid win for Black after losing the NXT Title over the summer and the loss would just continue to add frustration to Gargano going into 2019. Overall, this was a great match and was just enough to make it onto the top 25 list ahead of some other great matches.
23. The Undisputed Era vs. the War Raiders (Takeover: Phoenix)
As 2019 started, the Undisputed Era pretty much had a stranglehold on the tag titles since late 2017, and they had turned back every challenge heading into this show where they faced their toughest task to date. The Raiders stated their claim to the titles when they attacked the UE after their title match at Brooklyn IV, and then the Raiders would defeat the UE in the WarGames match in November. So now as we head into the desert of Phoenix, the Raiders were set to finally end the UE’s run as champions and become the new dominant team of the division. With a packed crowd in the Talking Stick Resort Arena which I was fortunate to be a part of, these two teams would open the show and tear down the house with a fantastic match. The two teams were given 17 minutes and used the most of it as the UE tried everything in their power to escape with the titles, but in the end the power of the Raiders was too much and they would end the UE’s reign as champions. This was one of the best openers of 2019 thus far and obviously being there live helps secure it a spot in the top 25, and I feel that it deserves a spot on this list even if it is this low.
22. The Authors of Pain vs. #DIY vs. the Revival (Takeover: Orlando)
The tag team goodness on this list continues with another tag match that features three of the most memorable teams in the history of NXT. 2016 saw the rise of the Revival as they dominated most of the year as tag champions aside from a brief run by American Alpha, and the second half of the year saw them had a great feud with #DIY which will be highlighted later in the list (spoiler alert). And then you had the Authors of Pain who were going to be the dominant power team and they had momentum winning the Dusty Rhodes Classic in 2016, and at San Antonio two months prior they won the titles from #DIY in dominant fashion. Now, both the Revival and #DIY would get their shot at the titles here in Orlando in a triple threat elimination match, and the question was whether either team could dethrone the Authors. The three teams would go on to have a great 24 minute match that saw the Revival and #DIY do everything they can including forming an unlikely alliance, but the Authors would overcome it and eliminate #DIY first much to the chagrin of the crowd. The Revival would put up a strong fight in what ended up being their final outing in NXT, but they would put the Authors over strong and give the Authors a solid title defense against two top teams. This was a tremendous match where all three teams looked strong with the Authors looking the best since they left as champions, and this was worthy of making the list even though it wasn’t enough to make the top 20.
21. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Breeze (Takeover: Fatal 4-Way)
2014 was the year of Adrian Neville as he had won the NXT Title at Arrival from Bo Dallas, and he had successfully defended it against Kidd at the very first Takeover. Following that, Kidd would continue to hound Neville while Breeze and Zayn also staked their claim for a title shot, and after Neville defeated each man in singles matches he was given the chance to choose one to face at Fatal 4-Way. But being the fighting champion he was, he chose to face all three men at once to prove that he was the best and so that there was no question as to who was the best. What we ended up getting was one of the best Fatal 4-Way matches in history as all four men went all out and put on a fantastic match. The crowd was completely invested in this match and this was during the time when they were hoping Zayn would finally have his moment, and he came so close to doing so only for Neville to manage to escape with the win and the title. It was a fine ending to give Neville a solid title defense while also continuing the feud with Zayn, which would lead to a match at the next show where Zayn might finally get his moment in the sun. This match was a great match during the early days of Takeover and merited a place on the list even though it didn’t quite make the top 20.
That concludes part two and up next will be part three where we begin to reveal the top 20.
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Ramblings: Anaheim Eliminated; Pittsburgh Rolls; More on Defence Scoring; Johns – April 19
The second elimination of this postseason came at the hands of the San Jose Sharks as they sent Anaheim packing in a four-game sweep following a 2-1 Game 4 win.
The story of the series was Martin Jones. He allowed just four goals in the four games, allowing one or none in three of them. Not that San Jose didn’t play well but Jones was the reason why this series ended in four instead of six or seven.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Ducks do this offseason. Their core is locked up for a lot of money, they don’t have a lot of cap space, and they have to sign restricted free agents Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase. Even if they aren’t expensive, it won’t leave them much wriggle room. That necessarily excludes a splash in free agency so anything they do will have to come via trade. Is the core good enough to make another run? Getzlaf/Perry/Kesler will all be at least 33 years old next year. Maybe a lengthy offseason is just what the doctor ordered.
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The big news all day Wednesday was whether Sean Couturier would be in the lineup for Philadelphia. He was inadvertently injured in practice by Radko Gudas and was a game-time decision. He was eventually ruled out just before warmups and Nolan Patrick took his spot on the top line.
It did not go well for the Flyers.
Pittsburgh was up 2-0 after 20 minutes and 4-0 after 31 minutes. They were basically on cruise control from that point, with the game ending up 5-0. Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and an assist while Matt Murray stopped all 26 shots he faced.
The Flyers still have the offence to get back in this series but if Couturier can’t return, things are looking bleak.
To his credit, Patrick played well enough. Regardless of line mates, matching up against Crosby is difficult for any centre, let alone a rookie. If he can hold on to his top power-play status next season, he could have himself a nice fantasy campaign. He’s been impressive over the last couple of months and showed a lot of progression.
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It was a, shall we say, feisty game between the Devils and Lightning last night. Tampa Bay extended their series lead to 3-1 with a 3-1 win. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists, figuring into every marker. There were 11 power plays between the two teams and Kucherov found a way to hurt the Devils in more way than one as Sami Vatanen left the game following this hit:
Sami Vatanen headed to the locker room after this hit from Nikita Kucherov. pic.twitter.com/tw3Bap5zHK
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 19, 2018
I’ll leave it up to you guys to discuss if there will be supplemental discipline. There was no update from the coach after the game on Vatanen.
It was nice to see Damon Severson stay in the lineup, and he managed eight (!) shots on goal in this game. He had been a healthy scratch for the team at times in the regular season and the playoffs. I’m still a believer in his talent but with the emergence of Will Butcher, there won’t be much in the way of meaningful power-play minutes for Severson next year. Without those power-play points, he’ll be hard pressed for 30-point seasons until the offensive depth on this roster greatly improves. I’m still bullish on him as a talent but bearish on his situation. I’m not sure he’ll have much fantasy relevance outside of deep leagues and dynasties for the 2018-19 season.
*
I’m not sure what it is with Filip Forsberg and this Colorado blue line, but, uh, this was amazing:
That deserves another look. pic.twitter.com/dVxPgK0T6p
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 19, 2018
Nashville put their foot on the throat of Colorado with a 3-2 road win to go up 3-1 in the series. Colorado fought back from a 3-0 deficit to make it 3-2 in the third period, and hit a post late, but just couldn’t find the tying goal.
Jonathan Bernier, by the way, was injured at some point in the second period and did not start the third. Andrew Hammond will be the goalie going forward if Bernier’s injury lingers.
Don’t forget about Craig Smith in your fantasy drafts next year. I’ve written about him before but he was a pretty consistent 20-goal scorer before a rough 2016-17 campaign. He’s bounced back on that Nashville second line this year with Kyle Turris and Kevin Fiala to go with top power-play minutes. All the big names will be popular in drafts (Forsberg, Arvidsson, Josi/Subban/Ellis, even Fiala), but don’t forget about Smith as a bench option. He had a goal in this game on an absolute snipe which was a nice reminder of what he can do for your fantasy squads.
*
The Selke Trophy finalists were named Wednesday night. The trophy is handed to the top two-way forward in the league. And they are:
Selke Finalists, as voted by the @PWHA…Bergeron (BOS), Couturier (PHI) & Kopitar (LA).
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 18, 2018
I don’t want to get deep into it here but I think there’s a good case could be made for both Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Koivu. Of course, then you have to take a name (or two) off the list, and which name(s) do you remove? Not so easy to pick just three.
*
Josh Morrissey has been suspended for one game by the NHL for his cross-check on Eric Staal in Tuesday night’s game. If Tyler Myers isn’t ready to go, the Jets will be a little short-handed on the blue line for the next matchup.
*
A couple of days ago in these Ramblings, I discussed how goal-scoring by defencemen had been changing and continues to change in the NHL. If you haven’t read it, you can do so here. The long and short of it is that defencemen are scoring a higher percentage of their team’s goals at five-on-five but a much lower percentage of their team’s goals on the power play. Naturally, this has an effect in fantasy because if defencemen are scoring fewer power-play goals, they have less of an impact in leagues that count power-play goals as their own category.
One thing I failed to consider was how power plays themselves are changing. Tyler Dellow has written about this extensively already, so for those with subscriptions to The Athletic, you can check out his work there. To get you started, I recommend this read on 3F-2D power plays and how they compare in production to 4F-1D power plays, and how it pertains to the Leafs. It was written a year ago but the principles still apply.
Of course, that is what I had failed to consider: teams moving to using four forwards on the power play. With power-play conversion rates at their highest in decades, the sharp declines in PP goal-scoring from defencemen didn’t make sense without a mitigating factor. That factor is defencemen are on the ice for less ice time per minute of their team’s available PP minutes and the rate is declining every year. Here you go (all data from Natural Stat Trick):
That chart shows us how many minutes defencemen are on the ice for every minute of their team’s available power-play time. Four years ago, there was 1.6 minutes of ice time allocated to defencemen for every minute of their team’s power play. This year, there was 1.33. Knowing that teams aren’t going to five-forward power plays with any sort of regularity, this means teams are shifting to four-forward/one-defenceman PP setups.
It bears out this year, too. If you look at the top-10 teams in goals per minute on the PP, they all use one defenceman on the top quintet. They also have a lot of talent, too, but putting more offensively-gifted players in offensive situations leads to more goals. Shocking, I know.
Yes, while defencemen are scoring fewer power-play goals, there’s a reason for that. Not that it comes as a surprise to you astute fantasy players, but guys locked into top PP roles (Shayne Gostisbehere, Victor Hedman, Brent Burns) carry a lot of value.
Anyway, just wanted to clear that up.
*
While I’m talking about defencemen, I’m a bit excited for Stephen Johns next season in the fantasy hockey game.
Ken Hitchcock dragged the Dallas Stars from a wildly entertaining offensive team into a defensive slug. I don’t think there’s much debate about that. Hopefully the next coach takes the leash off all the offensive talent has, and will potentially have (hey Valeri Nichushkin), and this team can return to being as much fun to watch as they used to be.
With regards to Johns, among the 152 defencemen with 1000-plus minutes last year at all strengths, he was fourth in blocked shots per 60 minutes. Of the top-15 defencemen in blocked shots, he was second in shot attempts per 60 minutes (just behind Alex Edler). Blocking shots is one thing, being able to chip in offensively is another, and very few do both. Johns is one of them.
He put up monster peripheral numbers with over 200 hits and over 150 blocked shots. He averaged over 1.6 shots per game. He scored eight goals despite not being very far off his career shooting percentage mark. He did all this while playing fewer than 18 minutes a night. He’ll never touch the top PP unit, but if he can earn a couple more minutes in ice time under a new coaching regime, he has the makings of a very, very solid multi-cat roto performer. Keep an eye to see what the Stars do with their blue line in their offseason. Hopefully he’s earned top-4 minutes. We shall see.
*
There were some interesting tweets from Micah Blake McCurdy on Twitter Wednesday morning pertaining to the Vegas-Los Angeles series. This one stuck out to me from Vegas:
Vegas continues to (v. unusually, I think) not use the centre of the ice very much. This is their regular season shots, showing the same bifurcation – both circles, not crashing the netfront, not using the slot as much. pic.twitter.com/0aabaX4YOc
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) April 18, 2018
Honestly, it’s not often we see teams shooting from the angles and not the mid-to-low slot. Sure, there are teams who can’t get to the net, but you often at least see them shoot from further out.
One thing that popped into my head: royal road passes. These are passes made across the slot in order to get the goalie moving laterally. You can read up on the math here from Hockey Graphs, as well as other pass types, but basically it boils down to high conversion rates. Players who can get a good shot off following this type of pass score much more often.
I haven’t seen anyone tracking playoff data for Vegas for these types of passes (if someone has, let me know in the comments), but my guess is Vegas is often looking for royal road passes. I just found it interesting.
*
An observation from former Toronto Marlies assistant coach Justin Bourne:
Every single NHL team should see Vegas’ success and think, “hey, maybe we should give that buried player who we insert in the lineup every fourth game for 10 mins a better opportunity? Maybe he can do more with a legit chance?”
— Justin Bourne (@jtbourne) April 18, 2018
My thought is coaches play not to lose rather than play to win. They’d rather give a guy they know is average-to-below-average ice time than a guy whose future they’re uncertain of. Human beings avoid uncertainty like the plague, coaches are no different.
There is a fantasy hockey lesson in here: don’t be afraid to swing for the fences in drafts, particularly in the later rounds. I preach this all the time and it won’t be the last time I mention it this offseason.
Look at ADPs last year: Brandon Dubinsky and Bo Horvat drafted next to each other; Andrew Shaw and Anthony Mantha a half-round apart; same for Evgeny Dadonov and Scott Hartnell. Different categories factor in – hits and penalty minutes particularly – but people drafting guys whom we know won’t excel offensively are drafting for fifth place instead of drafting for first place.
from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-anaheim-eliminated-pittsburgh-rolls-more-on-defence-scoring-johns-april-19/
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Dixon’s Girl
(CW: Abuse)
“Ale for you.”
Lux glanced at the barman with a confused frown, her bow sliding across the strings without missing a note. “Who from?”
“The gentleman in the far booth,” the barman answered, setting the mug on the table at Lux’s elbow; the tone of his response made it clear the man in question was a gentleman only in rank and title. As he departed, Lux leaned over to peer into the mug. The red. The most expensive ale the tavern offered. The kind of gift that came with expectations.
Looking up from the mug, Lux spied the booth in the far corner of the tavern. The man was handsome for a Human, with dark hair and a lean face, but the confidence of his smirk and the pointedness of his gaze made her skin crawl. This was a man thoroughly used to getting exactly what he wanted. More concerning, however, was the young woman next to him: curved and pretty, she smiled whenever the man spoke in her direction, but it never reached her eyes and vanished as soon as he looked away. She was playing her part well, but behind the mask, she was terrified.
After a moment, she realised where she had seen the man before: a fortnight prior, at court, when she had been invited to play with a small orchestra for some of the nobility. He had been in the audience, though the woman on his arm at that performance had been different. She had been older, more self-possessed, and infinitely bored with the sedateness of the music. Lux could only assume that woman had been his wife. This new woman was definitely not.
She watched them as she played. He talked almost incessantly, making broad gestures to indicate his points and laughing loudly at his own jokes. She smiled, nodded, offered the occasional response which he largely ignored. From time to time he would point at Lux, leaning close and whispering to the woman with a lascivious smile. His desires for the evening were so abundantly, unavoidably clear that under normal circumstances they would have made Lux laugh. He was going to be sorely disappointed.
Lux waited until the man turned to flag down a barmaid and caught the woman’s eye. She murmured something to herself, her lips barely moving, but the jerk of the woman’s head told her the magic had gone through: Are you okay? The woman blinked, her eyes darting nervously around her before settling back on Lux. She shook her head very slightly. The Tiefling nodded, incanted again: My set is almost through. Tell him you want to meet me. I’ll be at the bar. Trust me. The woman did not move a muscle, but the intensity of her stare was all the confirmation Lux needed.
When she finished her last song, Lux stood, bowed, stowed her violin and made her way to the bar, bringing the untouched ale with her. Pressing a coin onto the varnished wood, she told the barkeep she needed a room immediately, no questions. The barkeep nodded, took her coin and handed her a small key with a leather number tag. Lux palmed the key and took a deep swig of ale. Now it was time for the real show.
“You there! Bard!”
Somehow managing to keep her eyes from rolling out of her skull, Lux turned to see the man approaching, his arm draped casually over the woman’s shoulders. She lifted her mug and tipped her head. “My lord. Are you my patron this evening?”
“I most certainly am! A fine performance, bard. Truly magnificent! Quite a difference from your appearance at court the other day. Clearly, this is where you’re in your element.” Lux noted the subtle backhandedness of the man’s words, but did not interrupt. Let him play out his part. “My mistress--” he squeezed his arm around the woman’s neck, “--was very taken by your music.” He smashed a kiss onto the woman’s temple, but kept his eyes on Lux. “Of course, I promised her an introduction. She’s just anxious to meet you.” Gods, deliver us from this man’s libido.
“Naturally.” Lux smiled her best smile and extended her hand. When the woman cautiously took it, Lux sank into a dramatic bow, using the motion to pull her a step forward and out of the man’s grip. She kissed the woman’s hand as she straightened. “Lux. A pleasure to meet you, my lady.”
Before the woman could introduce herself in return, the man barked a laugh. “Oh, she’s no lady! There’s no need for that. She’s a shoemaker’s daughter. She’s here with me because she’s the prettiest shoemaker’s daughter in all Corneria.”
“Is that so, my lord?” Lux responded mildly, not letting go of the woman’s hand. “And what brings a gentleman such as yourself to this humble establishment?”
The man leaned rakishly against the bar, his ego almost visibly puffing, and raised his hand in declaration. “I love taverns! This part of town is always the best place to find entertainment. It’s all so… rustic! Simple food, common ales…” He spied Lux’s hand wrapped around the woman’s and fixed her with a grin. “...Talented women. There’s something for everyone here. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Of course, my lord.” Gently, Lux placed the woman’s hand on her hip, sliding her arm around her waist. The woman’s eyes widened, watching Lux closely, but she accepted the Tiefling’s embrace.
“Oh I’m so glad.” The man looked them up and down, his eyes positively burning. “Now, as your evening’s patron, I should very much like to take a room upstairs and commission a private performance for my mistress and myself.” He licked his lips.
For a long moment, Lux pretended to consider the man’s offer. She drew the woman close, carefully angling their bodies to move her safely behind her and out of the man’s reach. “Yes.” With the woman at her back, she regarded the man. “And… No.”
He blinked. “What?”
“No, my lord. No private performances this evening.”
“Excuse me?” the man spluttered. “You can’t-- I’ve-- What is it you want, then? I’ll pay double!” His obliviousness to the fact he had just been played like a lute was almost endearing.
“Pay?” Lux asked, unfazed. “Does this look like a brothel to you, my lord? If you need one, I can make recommendations.”
“What-- You vulgar cow! How dare you spurn me! Your kind should be grateful for the attention, you hellish beast! I can’t believe I wasted my time with you and your pitiful music.” For a split second, he looked about to spit in her face, but instead he turned with a flourish. “Come, darling. We’re leaving.”
“She’s not going anywhere with you.”
The man stopped. Slowly, he turned, his face crimson with rage. “What did you say to me?”
The tavern fell silent, every eye fixed on the scene. Lux slipped her hand behind her back and felt the woman take the room key from her open palm. She spoke slowly, stalling until the woman’s footsteps receded. “I said, she’s not going anywhere with you, my lord.”
“You good-for-nothing blasphemous whore!” The man drew himself up to his full height, which might have been intimidating had he not been a full three inches shorter than the Tiefling. “You deny me satisfaction and take my woman from me?! This is outrageous! I shan’t stand for it! Do you know who I am?!”
“First of all,” Lux growled, also drawing up to her full height, “she’s not your woman. Second, I’m guessing you only bring her to taverns in this part of town so you can have your fun without your wife finding out. Am I correct, sir? So your goodly wife doesn’t discover her noble husband is a liar and a cheat? You can’t hide your sins from me, sir, because I do know who you are. So here’s what’s going to happen: you’re going to walk out that door and never seek your former mistress’s company again. You will allow her to go free and speak of her to no-one. If I hear even a rumour you’ve darkened her doorstep again, I will go straight to your wife and tell her everything I know. How does that sound?”
“You wouldn’t,” the man breathed, genuine fear creeping into his fury. “She’d-- She’d never believe a creature like you!”
“I would, and she will. In fact,” she added, leaning close enough to kiss him, “I’ll make the story even better. I’ll tell everyone in every tavern that you and I are passionate lovers, that you spend every day just waiting to empty yourself into this hell. Word will spread, believe you me. Everyone will know you like to fuck devil spawn. And what will your fellows at court say then?”
“But that’s-- That’s not true!”
Lux shrugged. “You wanted it to be. What do I care if it’s true or not?” She smirked. “They say anyone can fuck their way into the nobility if they’re dedicated enough. Maybe it’ll get me a court appointment. Wouldn’t that be fun?” She dropped the sneer, her voice lowering. “Or, you can turn around, right now, and get. out.”
Speechless, the man weighed his options. The entire room watched intently. Finally, his hands balled into fists, the man spat at Lux’s feet, muttered a curse and stormed out of the tavern.
Taking a deep breath, Lux looked out across the sea of silent patrons. “How many of you saw what he was doing to her?” she asked, her voice cold with fury. Several faces dropped their gaze. “I could see it from across the fucking room. How many of you saw, and did nothing? You let some knobhead in a fancy doublet abuse one of your own, in your own house, and you did nothing. Because, what? He’s rich? He has rank? He deserves to get what he wants? It’s too much godsdamned trouble?” She scanned the room; no-one met her eyes. She shook her head in disgust. “And they say I’m evil.” Picking up her violin case, she mounted the stairs to the upper floor.
Room four. Lux knocked lightly. No answer. “My lady? It’s Lux. ...The bard. It’s alright now.” No answer. She wondered if she had the wrong room. Then the lock clicked and the door creaked open to reveal the woman behind it. She was younger than Lux but not by much, her auburn hair pinned into elaborate braids, her green eyes wide with fear. The faded remains of a bruise ringed one eye socket. “Are you okay?”
The woman nodded, opening the door further. “Come in.” As soon as Lux entered, she closed the door and locked it again. “He’s really gone?”
“Yeah. Lord Fuck-a-Duck shouldn’t be bothering you anymore.” Lux smiled. “You’re free.”
Without warning, the woman threw her arms around the Tiefling. “Oh thank you! Thank you thank you thank you thank you--” She kissed her hard, cutting off her own words.
For a moment Lux melted into the kiss, then realised what she was doing and pulled back with a start. “Hey, whoa, hang on. Back up.” She wriggled out of the woman’s arms, trying to calm her suddenly racing pulse. “Okay. Okay. Hey. Let’s start at the beginning. What’s your name?”
“Maria,” the woman answered. “Is something wrong?” she asked, noticing Lux’s slight flinch.
“No, no. Just a similar name to someone I once knew. Sorry.” Lux stepped over to the table, flipping a chair around and settling backwards onto it, a posture as defensive as it was disarming. “What’s your story, Maria? How did you come to be here?”
“Um, there’s not a lot to tell, really.” Maria sat on the edge of the bed, her hands folded nervously in her lap. “I’m a shoemaker’s daughter, that much is true. My father owns a shop near the canal. Mortimer’s.”
Lux nodded. “I know the place.” If it was the shop she was thinking of, Maria’s father and her own mother bought leather from the same tannery. Her father was a good enough man by all accounts, but she knew he gave her mother dirty looks when they crossed paths.
Maria blinked. “You do? Are you from around here?” Lux nodded again, and it took Maria a moment to realise she was not going to elaborate. “Right… My father makes a lot of specialty shoes for the upper class, and since I help out around the shop, he often asks me to deliver them. That’s how I met him. He had ordered shoes.” She bit her lip. “He seemed so… elegant, at first. He was well-read and had good taste, and he kept telling me how pretty I was. He bought me gifts and took me places. I guess I was charmed. I’d never been courted by a noble before. I thought I loved him.” She looked embarrassed. “But he got off on the secret of it all. The power. He showed me off to his friends, bragged about me, but I could never visit him at home or go with him to court functions. I was never an official mistress. When I started to ask why it had to be that way, he…” She trailed off, one hand moving almost unconsciously to her bruised cheekbone. “And then it got bad.” Finally, she looked up at Lux. “We were out in public all the time, but nobody saw. Or if they did, they pretended not to. I thought I was trapped. How did you know?”
“Because I’ve been there,” Lux answered softly.
“Ohh…” Maria breathed, looking at the Tiefling with such deep pity it nearly made her fidget in her seat. “How did you… What happened?”
“Pretty girl, bad choices. Got hooked. Realised I was miserable, eventually left. Tried to repair the damage.” Lux did not like to talk about herself, least of all her most vulnerable moments. The conversation made her want a cigarette.
“But you’re safe now.” It was almost a question. “You came out the other side.”
Lux sighed. “Yeah. I guess I did.” She stood, sliding the chair back under the table. “You’ll be okay. It’ll take time, and it will hurt a lot, but you can rebuild from here. When you hit bottom, the only way to go is up.” Before she could pick up her violin case, Maria rose, catching Lux’s hand in hers. Her other arm snaked around Lux’s waist, bringing them close.
“Please stay.”
“Maria,” Lux protested weakly, “you seem like a nice girl, but you’ve just been through something pretty serious. Maybe you should sleep on it--”
“I want you. You make me feel safe.” Maria smiled. “I’ve never met one of your kind. I thought you’d be frightening, but… you’re not. You’re an angel.”
Lux scoffed. “I’m really not.”
“You are to me.” Maria stepped back, taking Lux’s other hand and tugging her toward the bed. “Just stay with me for a little while? Even if you disappear and I never see you again, I want to keep this.”
The Tiefling well knew her lack of willpower when it came to pretty women, but just this once, something inside her made her stand her ground. “How about this,” she offered, squeezing Maria’s hands. “I’ll stay tonight, all night.” She dipped her head and kissed her gently, chastely. “But not for this. You don’t need that right now. I’ll stay for you.” Releasing her, Lux rounded the other side of the bed, kicking off her boots and unbuckling her belt. Maria watched her until she lay down, still clad in trousers and kurta, then smiled shyly and bent to take off her own boots. She unlaced her bodice and left it on the floor, crawling in beside Lux in her blouse and skirt, curling against her side and resting her head on her shoulder.
“Thank you.”
Lux wrapped her arms around the woman. “Sure thing.”
Within minutes, Maria was asleep, her breathing deep and even. In the darkness, Lux followed the wood grain of the ceiling beams, thinking idly about the past. Eventually she, too, drifted off to sleep.
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July 3, 2017
From the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ
Your hosts are Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Booker T
We are shown a video package on the Big Cass/Enzo Amore feud.
The live show starts with Enzo Amore coming down to the ring as Cole tells us he will beat his former partner, Big Cass, at the Great Balls of Fire PPV. Enzo tells us all of what he has been through this year and it happened when Cass had his back. He then accuses Cass of looking past him as Enzo talks about getting up every time he gets knocked down. Enzo then talks about not being the biggest, baddest, or strongest but is one of the toughest to step into the ring in a long, long time. He then tells Cass about not pretending who he is and that he is grateful for all of the kids wearing his merchandise as it helps him put food on the table, which is why he keeps getting up after being knocked down and that makes him believe in himself. Enzo then says Cass is nothing more than a “seven-foot catchphrase” that he (Enzo) wrote himself. Enzo then tells Cass not to get surprised when his next merchandise check reads “zero dimes” and will change when his shirt says “asshole.” Enzo’s music hits then he picks up the mic and says they were brothers but now that is dead due to Cass but that boot to his face gave him new life as Enzo calls himself an army of one and compares himself to Tupac Shakur because “all eyes are on me.” Cass is then shown watching backstage when Charly Caruso asks for his thoughts. Cass says he never heard someone talk for so long without actually saying anything then says he is where the money is and promise to beat him at Great Balls of Fire but Enzo attacks from behind until several officials break it up.
Enzo showed a lot of passion in his promo and as a result the crowd bought what he was saying and got behind him. Plus, it was nice to see Enzo get a bit of revenge against Cass by attacking him backstage. They’ve done a great job at humanizing Enzo since Cass turned on him and he has delivered on the mic. Right now, they have something with this feud.
Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Nia Jax & Alexa Bliss
Nia overpowers Bayley to start. Bayley tries to fight her off then tags out. Sasha shoves Nia into the corner then dropkicks Nia outside. Nia shoves Bayley off of the apron into the barricade then hits a running knee smash as Sasha checks on her partner before the break. We return with Alexa working a chinlock on Sasha as Cole tells us that Bayley was taken backstage during the break and is now out of the match. Sasha fights back against both women but misses a double knee smash in the corner. Nia tags and hits a backbreaker then drops a pair of elbows as that gets two. Sasha gets out of a bearhug but gets tossed soon after that. Alexa is in and beats on Sasha. She yells how this is her division but misses a knee drop. Sasha fights back then kicks Nia off of the apron. Alexa attacks from behind and tries for a DDT but Sasha escapes and puts on the Banks Statement and Alexa taps out before Nia could make the save (10:11) *1/2.
Thoughts: This was not a good match. The action was clunky and it did nothing to make you want to see Alexa vs. Sasha this Sunday at Great Balls of Fire. The questionable handling of the Bayley character continued too, sadly, as if they are trying to rebuild her by heading down this path it will most likely fail.
Kurt Angle is in his office on the phone. Braun Strowman tells Angle what will happen when Reigns is unable to compete in the ambulance match. Angle says he heard Reigns will be ready but Strowman tells him he is wrong then demands competition. Angle tells Strowman the matches are all set but Strowman tells him he will have competition by the end of the night.
A video package of the Samoa Joe/Brock Lesnar feud is shown. It included promos from both men too. Great work here for a match that they have built up quite well. A match to look forward too this Sunday. Cole then tells us that both men are here tonight for an exclusive interview. Good stuff here.
Cedric Alexander comes out to the ring. He feels like a broken record due to always telling Noam Dar & Alicia Fox that he is through with him. Cedric then wants Dar to come out so he can send him back to Fox with a “magic neckbrace.” Dar comes out as does Fox then we get a match.
Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar w/ Alicia Fox
Cedric beats on Dar to start. He heads outside then Fox steps in front of him to protect her man. Dar blocks a satellite headscissors with a kick then goes to work on the arm. Fox gets on the apron to distract Cedric but that fails as Cedric hits Dar with the Lumbar Check and the win (2:10) 1/2*.
Thoughts: They really need to end this feud. Its been awful and the Dar & Fox pairing are doing nothing but dragging down the Cruiserweight Division.
We are shown clips from last week’s Miz TV with the Ball Family which leads to another episode this week as Miz addresses what happened last week.
Miz TV with Maryse and the Miztourage. Miz, sporting a cool white suit, talks about bringing the ratings last week then gets cheered by saying Lonzo Ball will be the biggest bust in NBA history then makes sure to get booed by dissing former Phoenix Sun Steve Nash. Miz then calls LaVar ball an embarrassment and a raving lunatic. He also cannot believe that LaVar wants Ambrose to represent the Big Baller Brand as Ambrose is nothing but wasted potential. Miz put over the promise he had when first arriving to the WWE, calling him the next Roddy Piper. However, we instead got “wacky” Ambrose as Miz keeps saying that Ambrose cannot handle success, stating he caves under pressure. He then says you can laugh all you want at the jokes but there is no bigger joke than Ambrose, who now comes out with a mic in his hand. He thought we’d never see Miz TV again after last week’s trainwreck but also said Miz was true in what he said. Ambrose also said he loves jokes and thinks it would be hilarious if they had a match right now. Heath Slater & Rhyno come out as Slater he was the last man to beat Miz in the ring and never had an Intercontinental Title opportunity in his eight years with WWE. Slater then talks about wanting to be able to provide for his kids. Miz tells Ambrose he will get a rematch when he says so before making fun of Slater for being a hick from West Virginia and is about to leave but Kurt Angle comes out. Angle tells Miz he decides who competes. Miz tells Angle to go discuss his personal problems with Graves then tells Angle he will put up the title Sunday and all he does is have to pick an opponent. Angle says both as he tells Miz he will have to face Slater now then Ambrose at the PPV this Sunday as Miz is in shock as we head to commercial.
I liked the segment here. Miz cut a good promo on Ambrose, ragging on him for not living up to his potential, then he got some comeuppance by being forced to defend the Intercontinental Title against Slater despite not being prepared to wrestle.
WWE Intercontinental Title Match: The Miz (c) w/ Maryse, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel vs. Heath Slater w/ Rhyno
Ambrose is on commentary. Slater gets two off of a rollup then they take it to the mat as Ambrose makes fun of the Miztourage. They trade headlocks then Slater gets two with a backslide. He gets two with another rollup before going back to the headlock. Miz catches Slater with a knee smash but Slater fights back in the corner. Slater yanks off Miz’s shirt then hits an inverted atomic drop for another nearfall as Miz regroups outside as we head to commercial. The action returns with Miz now in control as the back of his pants have split. They brawl on their knees until Miz spikes him with a DDT but that only gets two. Miz guillotines Slater before tossing him outside where Rhyno fends off the Miztourage. Ambrose is on commentary asking who came up with the Great Balls of Fire PPV name, saying its awful, as Miz gets another nearfall in the ring. Miz then uses the It kicks but Slater ducks the last kick and pancakes Miz as both men are down. Slater is up first and runs wild. Miz rams him in the corner but Slater escapes and rolls him up for two. Slater gets another nearfall as the crowd is into this match. Miz comes back with a clothesline in the corner then poses. He heads up top but Slater runs up and hits a powerslam as the crowd goes nuts. Axel distracts the ref from the apron as Rhyno yanks him off and they brawl with the Miztourage getting the upper hand then Miz hits Slater with the Skull Crushing Finale for the win (12:47) **1/2. After the match, Miz tosses Slater outside to get beat up by the Miztourage but Ambrose runs out for the save. Ambrose chases Miz away then the Miztourage attacks him. Miz is back inside and yells in Ambrose face before hitting him with the Skull Crushing Finale.
Thoughts: Solid match as the crowd got behind Slater at the end and even bought some of the nearfalls. This match also did a lot to try and establish Axel & Dallas as more than just goofs. They laid out everyone at the end and it makes the Miz act more dangerous. It also appears that the Miz/Maryse conflict is over for how as they were on the same page.
Replay from last week when Strowman launched Reigns off of the stage and against the ambulance before putting him inside where Reigns is driven away.
Apollo Crews is texting someone backstage when Titus O’Neill walks in and tells Apollo he has an opportunity to be a star tonight by facing Strowman. Titus tries to convince him that Strowman made Kalisto and to take the match, even coming up with a new “Crews can’t lose” catchphrase that both end up singing as the segment ends with Crews agreeing to face Strowman.
Goldust is in the ring sitting in a director’s chair. He promises to show us his latest masterpiece titled the “Shattered Truth” before thanking us “little people.” Goldust then thanks R-Truth for being so naive as without that none of this would be possible. We then finally get to this film as its clips of Goldust jumping Truth before the bell last week but made up as a film trailer. The film ends and we see Truth eating popcorn in the ring behind Goldust before he beats him down. Goldust heads up the ramp after getting tossed outside as Truth is the one standing tall. I liked the segment. Goldust is showing off how his mic skills as they are slowly building up the feud between former partners. Although, you can say its overkill with two former partners currently feuding on the same show.
Angle is in his office. Cesaro & Sheamus enter as Angle tells him during Sunday’s Tag Team Title match against the Hardy Boyz they will have a 30-Minute Iron Man Match. Both men are actually pleased with the stipulation and said since they are in peak condition they want some action. Angle suggests Cesaro face Strowman but he wants Balor due to what happened last week. Angle then makes the match. The big news here is that the RAW Tag Team Titles will be defended in an Iron Man Match.
Before the match, Hawkins says he should be facing Strowman and giving him a run for his money. He then says last week’s crowd in Los Angeles did not believe in him and wants the “dummies” in Phoenix to get it right and asks if they think he will lose tonight, as they cheer, but Rollins takes the mic away and asks the crowd if they think Hawkins needs to shut up as they cheer then Rollins knocks him down.
Curt Hawkins vs. Seth Rollins
Hawkins charges but gets kicked then eats a ripcord knee smash as Rollins picks up the win (0:09).
Thoughts: Easy win for Rollins to give him some momentum heading into the PPV.
After the match, Rollins addresses Wyatt and says he knows he is here then addresses his comments about everyone needing to be saved. Rollins says he does not ignore his sins, he embraces them as it makes him the man he is today then tells Wyatt this Sunday there will be a cleansing of his mystique when it’s proven that he is not a god. After that, the only question remaining will be whether or not Wyatt is a man or a coward. This promo was fine I suppose but the entire point of the Rollins/Wyatt feud is not enough to make me care. Its a directionless program.
Now, we get a split screen interview with Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman. Joe cuts off Cole’s and says no one wants to hear his questions so he has one of his own for his opponent. Joe has a question for Heyman but Lesnar tells him he’s not facing Heyman this Sunday. Joe then tells the “champ” he will address him later. They both trash talk each other as Lesnar promises to walk in and out as the champion while Joe says he has beaten him at every turn then lists off the guys he has choked out in his career such as Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, and Samoa Joe. Joe then says why are we doing this as he yanks off his mic then starts looking for Lesnar backstage as Lesnar and Heyman cannot believe he is doing this. A few officials like Adam Pearce and Jamie Noble try to stop him but he does not listen. Joe then tells off Angle, who has several security members behind him, and finds where Lesnar is but is pulled back by everyone as he screams about how he will put Lesnar down, yelling “Come on, champ!”
Just a tremendous segment. The cocky, dominant champion remaining calm and reminding the unafraid challenger whose boss while the challenger reminds the champion that he has beaten him at each turn and constantly proving that he is not afraid. This is a money program and I would gladly pay the full PPV price to see this match. I really hope they continue this feud after the show as it is that good but it seems unlikely at this point.
Neville vs. Mustafa Ali
Neville takes Ali down then they mix it up for a bit as Cole brings up Ali’s feud against Drew Gulak, who is against high-flying. Ali uses his agility to escape from the corner and gets a nearfall with a crossbody. Ali heads up for the inverted 450 but Neville cuts him off and heads up top where Ali lands on his feet during a super back suplex attempt. Ali gets a nearfall with a floating DDT then drags Neville in position for the inverted 450 but Neville gets up and pushes him off as Ali crashes into the barricade. Neville heads out to roll Ali inside then roughs him up in the corner. He mocks the crowd then goes back to destroying Ali. He flapjacks Ali then mocks the crowd again but takes his time as Ali fights back. Ali tries his rolling neckbreaker but ends up getting clotheslined then Neville puts him away with the Rings of Saturn (6:22) **1/2. Neville refuses to break the hold after the bell then finally does before yanking his belt away from the referee. Cole then tells us that Neville vs. Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship will take place on the Great Balls of Fire Kickoff Show.
Thoughts: Good action. These two had more time and a better match the RAW after WrestleMania 33 but still entertained tonight. Ali’s offense is impressive but at the end Neville once again looked dominant as he heads into Sunday with some momentum.
Bray Wyatt is shown walking through a desert as we will hear from him after the break. We return as Bray is shown in the desert telling us that he decided to give the world independence and that he is the chaos that fuels the fire. He keeps talking and talking then tells Rollins this Sunday he will get to look into the face of a god for the first time and it will burn.
I thought the promo was nothing more than jibberish and the segment itself overproduced. The Bray character is past its point of usefulness in the company. He never wins the big matches or feuds and has been saying the same stuff for the past four years. Its stale and this delivery is wearing on people.
Charly asks Alexa Bliss if her loss tonight will foreshadow what will happen on Sunday. Alexa plays it off that she gave Sasha the win to give her a false sense of security and its all part of her strategy. Charly isn’t buying that so Alexa then disses Charly for only being able to hold a microphone while she is the RAW Women’s Champion. I thought Alexa did a good job here and liked how Charly stood up to her obvious false claim that she lost her match tonight on purpose.
Finn Balor vs. Cesaro w/ Sheamus
The Hardy Boyz are on commentary for this match. Balor starts off by working a side headlock. Cesaro catches him and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Cesaro cuts off a comeback with a clothesline then works the arm. Balor rolls through a sunset flip and hits a basement dropkick before chopping away in the corner. Balor hits a few stomps as the Hardy Boyz keep putting him over on commentary. Sheamus distracts the ref then Balor himself gets wrapped up in that as it allows Cesaro to attack from behind. Balor fights back but gets dumped outside as we head to break. The action returns with Cesaro in control. He deadlifts Balor for a gutwrench suplex as that gets two then works the arm. Cesaro misses a corner charge but catches Balor and turns that into a suplex as that gets two. Balor continues to kick out of pinfall attempts as Cesaro gets pissed. Cesaro tries for the Neutralizer but Balor escapes then hits a double stomp as both men are down. Balor is up first and runs wild. He takes Cesaro down on the outside with a dropkick then hits a running soccer kick from the apron. Back inside, Balor hits a sling blade then sets up for a shotgun dropkick but is distracted by Elias Samson. Balor then charges but Cesaro pancakes him and hits an uppercut as that gets two. Cesaro hits a running uppercut in the corner but Balor takes him off the top with an enziguiri. Sheamus distracts the referee as Samson trips up Balor then the Hardy Boyz run out to even things off. Balor sends Cesaro to the floor with a backdrop then flies out with a tope con hilo. Cesaro comes back to slam Balor off of the apron as the crowd starts a “this is awesome” Chant as everyone is hitting big moves on the outside. Balor then dropkicks Cesaro into the barricade and rolls him inside for the Coup de Grace and the win (15:07) ***.
Thoughts: Good match that picked up at the end. However, with most of the commentary focused on the Iron Man Tag Match at the PPV, I do not know why you had Balor win this match. To go even further, with the way these guys have been booked on TV lately, they should have just put them all in another six-man tag match.
Back from break, an ambulance backs into the arena. Strowman then comes out and heads to the ring as he is demanding competition. Strowman says there are few things in this world he likes more than hurting Reigns. He then calls him out for being too stubborn to stay down and that he will leave Great Balls of Fire the same way he did last week, in the back of an ambulance. However, Reigns is not here and he wants competition before demanding Angle send someone out. We get Titus O’Neill in a suit telling Strowman that he is a big man with a plan but everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. He then promises a Titus Worldwide special match as Strowman will be facing a tough, hungry man who will prove that monsters can be defeated.
Braun Strowman vs. Apollo Crews w/ Titus O’Neill
Crews ducks a clothesline then hammers away. He escapes from the corner but runs into a big boot. Strowman then yells about Crews not being able to beat him before sending him to the floor. Crews rolls inside then Strowman cranks his neck. Strowman yells at Titus before kicking Crews outside then Titus tries to fire up his client. Crews slaps Strowman from the apron and snaps his neck off the top rope. Crews hits a pair of enziguiris then takes him down after a pair of basement dropkicks. Crews tries a standing moonsault but Strowman kicks him in midair was Crews flies across the ring. Strowman then picks up Crews and hits a running powerslam but pulls him up at two then hits it again and does the same thing. Booker then yells for Titus to do something as Strowman hits a third powerslam for the win (4:33) *1/2.
Thoughts: The match accomplished what it should have by putting Strowman over as a force and positioning Crews as a babyface who is not afraid to stand up to anyone. The moonsault spot was great.
After the match, Strowman continues his assault on Crews. Titus stands up on the apron then heads inside as the two jaw at each other. Titus then fires away but runs into a clothesline and hits him with a powerslam. Strowman heads out and tosses Crews over the barricade then takes him to the ambulance. Strowman opens the doors and tosses Crews inside and pats the back for the driver to take him away. However, the ambulance does not move as Strowman is getting pissed. Strowman then goes to the driver’s door and peaks inside to open it up as Reigns comes out and punches him in the face. Strowman fights back and throws Reigns against the ambulance and then onto the stage. Reigns fights back and drives Strowman into the screens before spearing Strowman off of a stage and through a table. Strowman is then on his feet near the ambulance as Reigns is on the stage as the show ends. I liked this segment as these two guys have great chemistry together. They had a nice brawl to close out the show.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I thought this was a good show. The top two matches at the PPV have been built up quite well and they had some strong promos and segments throughout the show. Great Balls of Fire looks like a promising card and the build for Joe vs. Lesnar has brought us some of the best TV segments in quite some time. Tonight made me excited for the PPV and showed that while not all of the feuds are interesting or even good, the RAW brand does have some direction.
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