#Not only because he and Killer were now outnumbered as the Stars had come together

[somegrumpynerd]

He's so normal

[danwhobrowses]

AEW: All Out 2021 - Initial Reaction and Thoughts

I have kept so far off of social media it's not funny And I hope you know how difficult that is being a QA tester

But AEW is back in Chicagoland, there'll be homecomings, title defenses and one would bet some new faces, so without further ado let's get to it

Spoilers on the PPV, watch it on BR or Fite then come back

As I did with Summerslam, I will be marking who I predicted to win in Italics so we can see how right or wrong I was. I also must confess even radio silence could not save me from learning about 1 debut, but it was one I had anticipated.

The Buy In

As usual we started with promo package overkill, but they did right by starting with CM Punk's one because it is a great package - also the video was good.

Half an hour later - which we could've fit one or two matches in - we get to the first match.

Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) and Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy & Wheeler Yuta) [w/Marko Stunt] def. HFO (Matt Hardy, Private Party & TH2) [w/The Blade] (Submission on Angelico by Jungle Boy via Snare Trap) Well that was a mouthful. Our quickly put-together clusterfuck started with the HFO coming out quickly, then the Pixies coming out with a nice pop as Orange grabbed a sign hoping that Trent gets well soon. Baltimora had the bigger pop because everyone loves Baltimora, and Jungle Boy, also I loved the sign 'Jurassic Times demand Jurassic Measures'.

Matt and Chuck start but Matt demands OC to come out, Chuck tries to lock up but gets kicked away, and tags in Yuta, who gets thrown in the corner too, so Yuta tags Orange in...and Orange tags Luchasaurus in XD Hardy isn't too willing to try and shove the big dino man and tags in Jack Evans, who gets thrown around. JB gets tagged in, showing off his skillset with the rope flip arm drag and an inch perfect dropkick. Yuta and Kassidy are tagged in next, but Yuta's baited into Quen's blind tag, leading into Angelico to be tagged in. Yuta escapes a wristlock and turns it into an Octopus Stretch, but Evans puts him in an Ankle Lock, so Taylor puts him in a chinlock, so Kassidy climbs on a backpack sleeper, JB then latches an Ankle Lock, so Quen locks in the Cravat, Luchasaurus is out next, assessing who to hit and just decides to tackle them all apart. Proper Indy spot that was.

Luchasaurus is now playing like a hot tag, chop one man, drop the other, chop the one man, drop the other, Kassidy hits his high pitch scream as the big man comes back around to Jack Evans, hitting that wonderfully brutal Chokesault GTS he used to murder Fuego that one time (they didn't name the move, so I'm calling it the Extinction Event). Luchasaurus now stalks Hardy, but Hardy is using himself to distract the big man from Private Party's blindside, he stops them with a chokeslam setup but Hardy hits the chop block, leading to a kick combo from PP and driven into the ring post. Cassidy comes up behind all 3 next though, Superkicks of Death for each of them, Hardy's beside himself from this relentless assault and tries to charge OC, but Cassidy turns it into a Waistlock to push Hardy through the ropes. PP take advantage though, flatliner into Kassidy's knees, then a Standing Shooting Star Press Sandwiching Cassidy again. Taylor comes out next, dodging PP and then using Quen's charge as a release Suplex into Kassidy who was sitting in the lower corner. TH2 run into the DDT/Flatliner combo and then PP are taken out by Taylor's Tope Con Hilo while Yuta splashes Angelico - but Evans breaks it up.

TH2 then hit Yuta with some combos; Back/Neckbreaker, then a launch into Evans' boots, but Taylor breaks up the pin. PP throw Taylor out next though, hitting the Gin n Juice on Yuta, Angelico makes the pin but OC kinda half-heartedly shoves Angelico to break the pin, dragging Yuta in the corner as he puts in the pockets. Two lariat dodges lead to a no hands headscissors on Angelico, a 2 for 1 hurricanrana on PP and a dropkick kip up on Evans, Hardy though sneaks up and hits the Twist of Fate. But his focus is on the illegal man, Yuta tags in JB while Taylor dumps Hardy out, both Taylor and Yuta then Tope on PP, but they don't get much and PP roll back in with Angelico. Crowd firmly behind JB he misses the rebound lariat on Kassidy but recovers by sweeping Quen, Brainbuster on Kassidy as Angelico comes to, JB kicks him to his knees, Evans comes out but he kicks Evans into Angelico, Evans punches JB away as Angelico stands up with Evans on his shoulder, but this only acts as a threat to Luchasaurus who lifts JB on his shoulders, both men trading blows with JB clotheslining Evans off of Angelico.

Quen though looks to use this as a Doomsday Device setup, but JB matrix dodges it, so Kassidy now tries a crossbody, which JB reverses into a Spanish Fly/Moonsault Fallaway Slam (I've only ever seen such a counter in Lucha Underground when Cage reversed the Doomsday Device into a twisting powerslam, I popped for that as well). Luchasaurus is left standing but the Blade threatens involvement, so he eats a Pump Kick, Marko then climbs on Luchasaurus' shoulders and dives on the Blade. Tail Whip by Luchasaurus and then the Snare Trap by JB ends the match.

Post match Jurassic Express leave so Best Friends can Give The People What They Want™ but TH2 jump Yuta and PP jump Taylor, Evans delays Orange for a bit as a hulking figure marches into the ring. Big Bad Butch is back in the game, beheading OC with a lariat before his patented knee steps. He throws OC down as the heels look to swarm OC, but Jurassic Express, Varsity Blonds, Dante Martin, 10 and John Silver make the save. Assisted by the Jurassic Express, Best Friends give the Blonds, Dante, 10 and Silver What The People Want™ much to Silver's giddy elation. JB also looks killer in OC's shades as OC 'climbs' the corners to gesture the crowd.

It was a fun ass indy match to get the crowd hot, it could never try to top Deeb/Riho so it didn't, it did surprise me that it didn't lean too much on the Best Friends/HFO narrative but that was proven to be due to Butcher's return post-match. Last thing this kinda pointless feud needs though is more bodies, maybe being outnumbered will cause Hardy to back off? I mean does anyone remember what they were fighting over? I think this started with Kris and Bunny maybe? It's ran it's course is all.

Afterwards we got a sneak peak of the Rhodes' latest vanity project 'Rhodes to the Top'. Doesn't really interest me tbf I don't wanna see Total AEW Divas you know? I feel like it's just gonna make both of the Rhodes' look bad and since Hana Kimura I have little patience for pseudo-reality and forced drama.

Dan Lambert interrupts commentary from the crowd flanked by 3 UFC fighters and the Men of the Year (I still prefer ScorpEgo). They seem to have threatened to do something later in the show. JR gets his introduction and the PPV begins!

Main Card

It never ceases to make me smile that AEW still uses the 'And you know what that means' to start their shows.

TNT Championship Miro (c) def. Eddie Kingston (Pinfall via Matchka Kick) The announcement of the title match was met with a big roar from the crowd as the Chicago natives were firmly behind Kingston, even having a 'Redeem Deez Nuts' sign AND Shirt. Miro got a nice pop too, signs also pick the perfect spot with Miro because before it was 'Miro vs Ishii When?' and this time it's 'We want AJ and Punk vs CJ and Miro'. Eddie shows no intimidation, even happy and goading the Redeemer into the fight.

Miro makes the charge but runs into a knee to the gut, but he trips Kingston to try and latch on Game Over, Kingston wriggles out and tries the Half Nelson Suplex but Miro powers out and rolls out of the ring. Both men pace as Kingston holds the early advantage, shimmying his shoulders with the fans' clapping, Miro catches the kick but Kingston just pokes the eyes instead, chops to the corner, then machine gun chops to the next corner, Miro tries to grapple but Kingston thrusts him with an Exploder. Miro's rattled out the ring, so Eddie follows, but runs into a kick and is thrown into the barricade, body tackle and superkick by Miro as he again throws Kingston into the opposite barricade, but Kingston rebounds and retaliates with a big boot and returns to the ring.

Knowing he can't win by Countout, Kingston looks to dive at Miro from the apron, but his charge is countered into a twisting powerslam onto the exercise mats, Miro focuses on the back, driving it into the ring post twice but it's not even 1. Miro then focuses on the hand, biting and stomping it, knowing that this nullifies grip, chops and the Uraken, he chokes Kingston on the ropes before another kick to the spine. As Miro stares at the crowd Kingston grits his teeth and stands back up, slapping Miro's beard in hopes of a comeback before being smacked with a forearm. Two Sliding Elbow Drops only gets one, Miro then wears Eddie with a choke but Eddie powers back, couple of chops but he can't lift for the Suplex, allowing Miro to hit a high end dropkick, he soaks in the boos for a bit then body charges Kingston in the corner, he eats a retaliation chop by Kingston, but the second one makes him wince. May've been a miscommunication next, Miro looked like he body charged Kingston who was leaving the corner, but he quickly missed the corner splash, if it was a miscommunication it was well-recovered. Enzugiri by Kingston and a sliding uppercut knocks Miro out the ring, but the Suicide Dive is intercepted by an Enzugiri by Miro. Kingston recovers with a Saito Suplex but both men are reeling.

Miro gets up first, hitting Kingston with forearms and pulling him up, once Kingston's on his feet though he starts getting his fire back, trades of forearms and chops ends with two Side slams for 2. He goes for the Uraken but Miro rolls out the ring on sight, only to eat a Suicide dive. Miro misses the pump kick back in the ring and gets hit with a Fisherman's Suplex pinfall for 2. Crowd is hot behind Kingston, but he's lured into the corner charge so Miro can pummel at the back, Kingston tries to hold onto the turnbuckle pad but rips it off as Miro German's him, Matchka kick floors Eddie, as Miro devilishly smiles with half his chest bruised by chops. He calls for the Game Over, but before he cinches back Kingston starts moving to the ropes, he gets the regular Accolade version which allows Eddie to free an arm and grab the rope.

Crowd is getting really loud now as Miro gets more frustrated, he grabs the Turnbuckle pad but throws it away in reconsideration, opening him up for Eddie to strike: Uraken, DDT! But the Ref was disposing of the turnbuckle pad, gifting that extra few seconds for Miro to kick out at 2. Crowds kayfabe chant 'you fucked up' at the ref while Kingston prepares for the piledriver, but his back gives in twice making him opt for knee strikes to the head. He sees the exposed turnbuckle and prepares to drive Miro into it, but the ref stands in the way - knowing it'd lead to a DQ. The position we know well as Miro uses his frame to obscure the Ref's vision from the heel kick low blow, a clean roundhouse to the head staggers Eddie more and then the Matchka allows the 3.

Strong opener, good narrative of both men exposing the weak points of the other's body parts. The low blow is a bit cheap but it creates the paradox of Miro's holier than thou attitude. Kingston still proves himself strong in defeat, and as I anticipated AEW didn't make him tap out, so the continuity of his I Quit feud with Moxley remains intact, with Miro pushed this far and having to cheat it also sells Kingston as more than capable of being Miro's equal. Miro will have W no. 7 now, and it remains a prize waiting for a young prospect to crack open.

Jon Moxley def. Satoshi Kojima (Pinfall via Death Rider) Kojima got a loud welcome from Chicago but they sang for Moxley as he came down the crowd in a GCW hoodie - sadly no GCW belt which he won recently from Matt Cardona. Bell rings and Kojima offers a handshake, but Moxley is a man of his word, the bell rang so he has no respect, and offers a middle finger instead.

Stiff chops and forearms start the physicality, both men get a kick to the gut but it's Kojima who gets the early advantage with a shoulder tackle and a titty dance next to the titty master. Koji Lariat is avoided by Mox who flees the ring, but Kojima flattens him with a Tope, Moxley elbows Kojima away when the NJPW legend attempts to return to the ring and delivers a suicide dive of his own, Russian Leg Sweep onto the barricade and then Moxley attacks the hand. Knees to the head then a chop in the corner keeps Moxley's confidence high, but Kojima barrages him with Machine gun chops, throwing Moxley into the corner then landing the Elbow Drop for an early 2. Forearms are countered with a backwards slam, he calls for the Brainbuster but Kojima holds his ground, reversing it to put Moxley on the top turnbuckle. Moxley bites at Kojima, so Kojima bites back and lands the Superplex. Both men fight on the Apron before Kojima hits Mox with a forward falling DDT on the apron, DDT back in the ring for another 2 as duelling chants for Mox and Kojima divides the crowd.

Bleeding from the elbow, Mox counters a Koji Cutter with a Choke, twisting it into a Money Clip for 2, then transitioning to a Cross Armbreaker. Kojima gets a leg to the rope but Moxley knees him in the face, Kojima prevents the Paradigm Shift and hits a Brainbuster for 2, Koji Lariat again is averted but this time with a German. Mox tries two standing lariats, but Kojima won't fall, he tries a running lariat but Kojima collides it with a lariat of his own, staggering Moxley, Kojima feels that third time's the charm but Moxley gets a high knee, tries the Paradigm Shift again but this time is countered by a short-arm lariat and a Koji Cutter. Both men trade blows, Moxley uses the ropes but runs into a Discus but roars back with a Rebound Lariat for 2, as Kojima rolls though it's straight into the Bulldog Choke that Kojima gets to the ropes to break.

Moxley rethinks his strategy by kicks to the gut, but he's caught and hit with Mongolian Chops, Moxley headbutts him away long enough to twist Kojima's charge into a rolling Paradigm Shift, Moxley gestures to the crowd, picks him up for the Death Rider for 3.

After the match Moxley shows his respect, bows to Kojima and looks to take a breather, but the music has changed.

The King

Minoru Suzuki

Crowd Roars alive as Moxley looks in disbelief, but the sound is real, the Kaze ni Nare is real and oh baby, Minoru Suzuki is Damn Real. Suzuki makes sure the crowd is ready, but they were born ready as Kaze ni Nare erupts from the building, Murder Grandpa vs Moxley II looks imminent as they stare each other down. Suzuki looks ready for a fight though, hitting Mox with a forearm, Moxley retaliates with the bleeding elbow, Moxley's blood only adds to Suzuki's scoffing as he returns fire, Suzuki goes for a big boot but Moxley laughs it off and goes for a Lariat, but Suzuki holds ground too, Moxley tries again but Suzuki locks him into the Rear Naked Choke, fading Moxley enough to hit the Gotch Piledriver and placing his foot over the prone Moxley.

We knew AEW were put in a corner when Tanahashi was unable to fulfill the planned match with Moxley, and major props to Kojima too for stepping up, Moxley definitely worked to show off Kojima's strengths in the match but not too much to feel like Mox was fully in danger, both men still had an ace in the hole. Mox's victory though only elevates Suzuki's arrival more for the crowd, giving the anticipated rematch time to build where Kojima's match could not.

AEW Women's Championship Dr. Britt Baker DMD (c) [w/Rebel 'Reba' Tanea & Jamie Hayter] def. Kris Statlander [w/Orange Cassidy] (Ref Stoppage Submission via Lockjaw) Statlander appeared in what looked a bit like a remodified version of her gear that she wore in her clunky title match with Nyla years ago, backed by the Best Friends in grey tracksuits (could be the lighting I think that was supposed to be 'space tracksuits'). Baker has added white to her gear and still has the crowd fully behind her, while Jamie also has a new baseball-ish shirt.

Wristlocks are traded to start the match, each switching by rolls or cartwheels, Baker rolls backwards to try and apply the Lockjaw but Statlander wriggles out and motions to a headlock, Baker pulls the hair to get Kris to release the hold and tries a sunset flip, but has to backtrack when Statlander tries her new 'Spider Crab' submission move she submitted Reba to on Rampage. Statlander motions to boop but Britt takes the arm to try and set up another Lockjaw, Statlander rolls out but Baker now motions DMD - which prompts Statlander to grab the arm and use it to boop Baker with her own hand. Shoulder tackle proves the Alien's strength, so Baker uses kicks and a headlock to try and cut her down, she whips her to the turnbuckle but Statlander remains composed and elbows her away, then doing a headstand on the turnbuckle to Mule Kick Baker away, Baker takes advantage of a slow climb to hit Statlander with a Draping Spinning Fisherman Neckbreacker and kicks Statlander out the ring. Hayter and Rebel look to stalk Statlander but OC struts up sunglasses half down with the most 'bruh' stare he can muster, Baker behind him looking confused as hell.

The pause does not disrupt Baker's momentum, her kick from the apron is caught, but she stomps on the hair so Kris lands face first on the apron. Baker assumes control with stomps, a suplex, forearms to the back of the head and then an Octopus hold, Kris powers back with strikes, driving Baker into the corner, running elbow and a running knee gets Kris going but Baker hits back with a Sling Blade, kinda scuffed the stomp attempt but it didn't look like it was meant to happen as Statlander hits the Fisherman's Falcon Arrow for 2. Short-arm Lariat hits once but not the second, as Baker weaves and contorts into a backslide for 2, a planted DDT follows as Statlander pulls an RVD-esque sell but that also only gets 2.

Baker looks annoyed at the hardcam, superkick to Statlander who's on her knees as Reba provides her with the glove. Baker toys with Kris with kicks to the head, but Baker catches the big Superkick and cracks Baker with a kick of her own, sets up the Big Bang Theory but Baker rolls up for 2, Statlander tries to recover with a corner charge but Baker hits the turnbuckle flatliner. She climbs up top, but Statlander recovers, this one was a light botch: Kris looked to go for a delayed superplex but Baker was falling back to the turnbuckle, so in an attempt to gain more leverage she leaned back too far and followed with the Superplex, Kris looked to have hurt her head a little but nothing drastic. Undeterred, Statlander tries the Area 451, but Baker dodges and prepares the Lockjaw, Statlander struggles enough though for Baker to transition to a Crossface, so Statlander lifts her up, eventually scrambling to an Electric Chair position for the Facebuster, Scissor Kick only gets 2.

Baker this time rolls out the ring, and avoids Statlander's Pendulum Moonsault - hard landing for Kris there - which allows Baker to hit a Stomp on the outside, using the steel steps to get some extra height. Baker seeks a countout win as Statlander's floored, OC though in a desperate move uncharacteristically removes his shades and shouts 'Stat! Get Up!' to will her back into the ring, Baker tries Lockjaw but Statlander rolls it into a Spider Crab. It...still doesn't look too great honestly, the setup needs more like a Powerbomb and it'd probably work better is the opponent was either lifted a little (like Shida's Fullmetal Muffler) or their head was backwards like a Boston Crab, regardless Baker frees a leg to kick Statlander away. Scraping kicks to Statlander's face in the corner draws the ire of the ref, who Baker shoves away to deal more stomps and gain some heat. Pittsburgh Sunrise (it's the Panama Sunrise but she's from Pittsburgh) gets a huge pop, 1, 2, No! Baker then hits the Stomp, 1, 2, No! Lockjaw then gets applied and the ref stops the match.

Really good match from these two. It wasn't much a doubt over whether Baker would retain but this was definitely a redemption of sorts from Statlander. Her last title match with Nyla didn't hit the mark and it did harm her momentum and confidence, but she came out here strong and very well received against the super-over Baker, Statlander lost nothing in defeat and proved she can deliver on PPV and be a future champion.

Andrade El Idolo interview segment Andrade was asked whether he was behind PAC's 'travel issues' which has delayed their much-anticipated match to Rampage, and Andrade pleas innocence because he was ready for a fight on PPV, he undermines PAC for being a smaller name compared to him as well and offers to pay for PAC's flight for Rampage to ensure the match goes forward. Chavo suggests that PAC is scared of Andrade and mocks the Lucha Bros for refusing their services.

AEW World Tag Championship Steel Cage Match Lucha Bros [w/ Alex Abrahantes] def The Young Bucks [w/Brandon Cutler] (pinfall by Pentat on Nick via Assisted Package Piledriver) - TITLE CHANGE!! Announcement that the tag titles are next drew a big pop as the cage descended. Interesting to note as well that Cage Escape is not a win stipulation. A live performance for the Lucha Bros with masked and robed dancers, the singers were quite accurate to how they sound on track so that was good, Lucha Bros arrived in Aztec headwear and then hilariously varsity jackets which did not clash at all, Alex though with the red suit. Under the jackets, Penta sports Mexico colours while Fénix has flames on his tights. A round of boos follow the Bucks' entrance, wearing some red at the front badges at the back thing which is somehow less in-your-face as past gears, they are flanked by Gallows in an Elite Shirt, Anderson in a Bullet Club shirt, Brandon in the obscured back in a zebra print tracksuit and Don Callis in a pink suit. Also god Nick what is that beard? It's like he's bleached the Hogan tache blonde but kept the rest of the beard, kinda like Scott Steiner but worse. Don joined commentary as well.

The match starts with throwing hands, but strangely the Bucks try to climb out the cage to start, which commentary does note confusion over. Fénix dropkicks them into the steel with the assist from Penta, some liquid tag team dodging still goes Lucha Bros' way with simultaneous corner Enzugiris, Nick looks to get an advantage by knocking away Penta but Fénix dropkicks him back into the steel, kicking Matt in the jaw as he did a turnbuckle headstand after his charge missed too. Fénix gets Matt's hand for a corner arm drag, but Nick has the same idea with Penta, they meet on the same turnbuckle so Fénix instead Rana's Nick, Lucha Bros remain firmly in control with the lower ass dropkick (they called it something but I didn't catch the first word) and then stereo superkicks, two throws head first into the steel and then a tackle should've been enough, but the Bucks moved out of the way for the fourth attack causing the Lucha Bros to land into the steel themselves.

The Bucks assume some control now, hitting the brothers with the corner-to-corner Double Stomp and Backstabber, a dropkick sandwiches Penta's head between Matt's boot and the steel, as he slumps in the small gap between the cage and apron, and then Fénix gets the same with a nasty landing from the powerbomb into the cage wall - Penta hit with a PK to keep him down. The Bucks posture as they find their groove, Matt choking Fénix with a chain while Nick continues to wear down Penta. They try to powerbomb Fénix again into the cage, but Fénix hurricanrana's Matt into the steel instead, Nick eats 2 Sling Blades and then Matt a Backstabber from Penta for 2, broken by Nick. Fénix then defies logic again, doing his usual setup for the flipping arm drag but this time using the cage wall to kick off and arm drag Matt instead of Nick, he rolls away from Nick's senton who runs into Penta's tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, their stereo superkicks though are avoided and kick each other instead.

Cutters are traded next, Nick to Fénix, Penta to Nick, Matt's to Penta was slick, Fénix's handspring though is scouted as they try to throw him overhead, but he lands on his feet and lands the Rolling Double Cutter. Penta lets Fénix hit a Superkick on Matt before hitting the Pentagon Driver (which Excalibur still calls Made in Japan, currentish IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi's move - ish depending on if you're asking Will Ospreay or not) but it's only a 2. Fénix whistles to his brother like a dog to set up the Fear Factor, but Nick pushes Fénix into the cage and Matt flips out, Penta now in the Sharpshooter as Fénix has a nasty landing on the apron from a German Suplex. Commentary reminds that there's no rope breaks, so Fénix has to kick through Nick to get a kick on Matt to break the hold, now the Bucks use the Draping Swanton but it's only 2, Fénix tries fighting back, but the Bucks hit a double Superkick when he springs up, causing him to bounce off the cage wall again.

With Fénix in between, the Bucks do what looked more like a Fear Factor variant of the Indytaker, Nick dropkicking Penta on the tombstone so he can land a senton on Fénix, both cover each brother but only get 2 a piece. Crowd tries to will the Lucha Bros alive as the Bucks set Fénix up for the BTE Trigger, but like on Dynamite Fénix rolls away so the Bucks' knees clash instead, he tries a Springboard Crossbody but the brothers Jackson catch him, looking to set up the Meltzer Driver, but Fénix wriggles away, pushing Matt into Nick who rebounds off the cage, Matt low blows both of the Lucha Bros to disrupt their momentum with Callis noting that it's all legal.

More Bang For Your Buck's pinfall is broken at 2 by a Penta superkick to Matt, annoyed the Bucks now focus on the masks of the Lucha Bros and then Lawn Darts Fénix into the cage wall. Motioning to Cutler, Brandon throws a bag over the cage into the ring (would've been funnier if he failed the first time), Matt takes his shoe off and I blood left my face with flashbacks of Candice LeRae - and lo it was just that: the Thumbtack Shoe - a $5000 variation. Penta's already bleeding as Matt stalks Fénix, but Penta stands between Matt and his brother, taking the blow for him (cameras missed the impact though which was a shame), focusing on Penta now, Nick prepares to throw him headfirst into Matt's Tack Shoe, but Penta just about holds his ground to stop...but not for the second time, his mask 'stuck' on the tacks as Matt digs the shoe further into Penta's head and then Nick drives in with a Helluva Kick.

Penta's pooling with blood now as the Bucks prepare a BTE Trigger, but Fénix is standing up now, so they hit him with a tacked Superkick and a Poison Rana, BTE Trigger on Penta, 1, 2, NO! Fénix just reached out in time to break the count. Both Lucha Brothers are bleeding as Alex is willing the crowd on, Matt takes the shoe off to use it like a belt shot, but Fénix kicks it away, the Bird of War has come to life as he reverses Nick's back body drop into a Hurricanrana onto Matt. Matt's put on the turnbuckle and Nick's kicked away, Fénix spots the Tack Shoe and clubs Nick in the head with it, then Matt, Blackfire Driver! 1, 2, NO! Lucha Bros look for the Fear Factor, so Nick again tries to throw Fénix into the cage wall, this time though Fénix latches onto the cage wall, so Nick decides to climb too. Matt and Penta yank their opponent down, staring each other down and hitting stereo Package Piledrivers. Now Matt and Penta collide, they're up on the turnbuckle where Penta realises something: they've gone through this whole match without a Canadian Destroyer, and it's time to rectify that.

The Super Destroyer is not pinned though, all four men wobbling as they chop each other (at this point Penta's practically unmasked, only blood obscures his face), then they trade superkicks, a second round though leaves Matt the quicker foot and still standing, but Fénix kips up and knocks him with a superkick too, then Nick does that to Fénix, then Penta does that to Nick, and Matt and Penta double clothesline. Fénix and Nick fight next, Nick does a flip escape but Fénix rocks him with his Tiger Feint Rebound Roundhouse into Penta, Fear Factor! 1, 2, Matt breaks it up! Fénix gestures another top rope move but Penta tells him to think higher: the top of the cage. Fénix ascends the Cage's top looking for a massive Fear Factor finish, but just when they prepare, Nick superkicks Penta, and now he climbs the cage to meet Fénix, and runs into a PK back down. Cage Crossbody on all 3, assisted Package Piledriver, Fénix claws Matt away, 1, 2, 3!

The cage lifts as Penta celebrates with his kids before reconvening with his brother and Alex to celebrate at the ramp.

Jesus what a match, brutal and athletic. How can you underrate either team when they keep delivering bangers like this? Even though I bet against them I'm not at all upset with the Lucha Bros winning, if anything I only expected it because it paired in with the Andrade storyline - who had promised under him they would win the titles - and because I was hoping for Santana & Ortiz to win the titles at Grand Slam, which could still happen but I was kinda liking them as babyfaces. But the Bucks' reign ends, which means that it's new destinations for both teams, perhaps this will be an opportune time for AEW to use the pedigree of the Bucks to elevate another tag team like they have with Jurassic Express, or maybe even feud with Santana & Ortiz or the fractured Dark Order.

A recap of the matches reminds us that we've had some great matches so far, as we steel ourselves for the Women's Casino Royale.

Women's Casino Battle Royale Joker: Ruby Soho wins the Battle Royale First is the clubs, which begins with Hikaru Shida for a nice big pop, then Skye Blue - the Chicago native late addition replacing the injured Julia Hart - who gets another big hometown welcome, Emi Sakurai with butler Lulu Pencil and the Bunny are next, but Abadon with new hair and new gear makes the striking impression. I am confused though, didn't Nyla say she would start the Battle Royale? I felt like that was a thing in the build.

No friends in the ring for Shida, former teacher Sakura goes right for her but gets hit with a powerslam, Abadon and Bunny stared down but focused on Skye Blue as Shida got hit with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Shida sprawls too close to Bunny who shifts her focus on the former champion while Skye takes Sakura in a show of Ss. Both Skye and Bunny eat tilt-a-whirl backbreakers though as teacher and student don't see eye to eye, Abadon though sneaks up on them and scares both Joshi, aiming for the only women whose given her the L twice in her AEW career. Skye and Bunny take the centre stage as Skye tries to rally, only to be kneed by Bunny, Skye retaliates with a rope jump knee strike - dangerous territory as she poses unaware of Abadon, she survives the throw but not the boot, a row of boos as Chicago laments that one of their own was the first to be eliminated. Bunny then eliminates Abadon though to cheers, Abadon impressively landed on her feet, and hopefully she will not forget Allie's actions of As.

Allie takes her time before stomping Shida out of Emi's Romero Special, she tries to throw Emi but she resists and goes for Shida again, using a hair yank to throw Shida around. Double Underhook Backbreaker preludes the next suit: Diamonds. Anna Jay charges right for the Bunny for revenge as Kiera Hogan , KiLynn King, Diamante and Nyla come out. King tried to save Shida from Hogan, but real life girlfriend Diamante retaliates leading to them teaming up on the Dark standout. Nyla, Emi and Shida continue to duke it out, unable to take turns on who fights who as Anna and Bunny fight in the corner. Emi gets hit to the apron and seated by Diamante's failed chop block, allowing Shida to Baseball Slide both and eliminate her former mentor. Hogan is also eliminated by Nyla via an Enzugiri while she was sitting on the Turnbuckle, then sadly KiLynn King could not reignite past feuds with Nyla and is eliminated by her with a big clothesline. Shida hits the Willow's Bell on Diamante and locks eyes with Nyla, she tries to Rana but the Native Beast powers through and dumps the former champion in surprise fashion - fans booed it too, having a special handshake with Diamante to signify an alliance there.

Alliance did not last long as they determined to leave Anna and Allie to their assault of As, both Diamante and Allie have the advantage on opposite corners when Hearts are called. Thunder Rosa charges at lightning speed at Nyla, who calls a Time Out and gets a dropkick instead, Penelope Ford puts the disadvantage on Anna while Riho gets a nice pop from the crowd, Jamie Hayter comes in next and then Big Swole just as Riho hits Allie and Ford with a 619. Hayter zones in on the smaller opponent in Riho while Swole eyes her rival Diamante, Commentary incorrectly say Riho was eliminated by Hayter, even though she kicked the Joshi under the ropes - maybe something happened? - Swole eliminates Diamante with a diving headbutt but is thrown out by Hayter, allowing Diamante and Swole to continue brawling. Hayter then joins Nyla in fighting Rosa, but she fights back with charging dropkicks.

Spades are last and like a storm Tay Conti rushes to save her friend, hitting a Tay-KO on Allie as Red Velvet is called, spearing Hayter as Leyla Hirsch comes in, seeking a target to throw and finding Penelope. Jade Cargill's the penultimate name called as Leyla German's Nyla but runs into a strike by Jade, Rebel is the final Spade to assist Jamie on attacking Velvet. Penelope almost eliminates Conti by the turnbuckle, but Conti uses her core strength to sit back up, Rebel's feat of doing the splits in the middle of the ropes does not save her though, as she's prime target for Velvet's dropkick. Bunny follows, she dragged Anna with her to the apron but her kick was blocked, Anna's kick landed, but then Penelope's landed on Anna. Tay cannot boot Penelope over the ropes but the Leyla is eliminated by being Gorilla Pressed by Jade onto Anna and Bunny. Conti is whiplashed mid-rope by Ford, Velvet and Hayter in one corner, Jade and Nyla zoning on Rosa in the other, the countdown for the joker cannot be heard though because Chicago knows which woman they want to come out.

And they get it.

Ruby Soho with 'Destination AEW' on the back of her jacket, she comes for Jade first, staggering her with kicks, Nyla attacks next, staggering her with a headbutt, but Rosa uses Soho as a platform to Rana Nyla, both women eye up Cargill but Jade fights through, a nice pumphandle suplex from her on Soho preludes Conti doing her Three Amigas Judo throws, Ford lands on her feet for the third though as Cargill dumps Hayter out so she can face her first rival alone. Conti's attacks keep being countered by Ford, and she eats a hook kick to keep her floored, at this time Jade dumps Velvet out, but she posed too much and Nyla lobs her out, Rose herself surviving a double assault from Soho and Rosa as Conti uses a headscissors to eliminate Ford - only for herself to be blindsided on the apron by Nyla.

It comes down to Three; Nyla, Rosa and Soho. Soho and Rosa are fended off by Nyla, Tree Slam on Soho, Samoan Drop on Rosa, Nyla shifts attention to Soho and puts her in the Tree of Woe, but Rosa uses this to throw Nyla over, she holds on but cannot avoid the Shotgun Dropkick. Now it's Soho and Rosa, both women super over with the crowd as they trade chops, both are exchanging the same counters, so Rosa tries the Fire Thunder Driver, Soho escapes and tries her old Riott Kick, Rosa tries to reverse it but Soho turns it into a whip to get Rosa onto the apron. Rosa though goes for the slow DDT, but Soho holds onto the ropes in Skin the Cat fashion, leaving her stomach prone for Rosa to stomp. Soho manages to stumble Rosa, dodges a kick and staggers Rosa with a knee, Rosa's legs now dangerously close to ground, Soho tries a lift, then a German but Rosa then tries a DVD, Soho escapes, throws Rosa in the ring post, Gamagiri hits Rosa clean and eliminates her.

Oh JR, had to pull a WWE Dynamite and call her Ruby Riott XD

I...liked it? But it's not all I wanted from this Battle Royale. I hoped this'd be a platform to properly expand the Women's Division and set up multiple long-term feuds, instead we mainly retread on old feuds, but we also unceremoniously dumped out fan favourites like Shida, Riho and Skye Blue for little less than nothing, we also had the chance to better showcase Kiera Hogan, KiLynn King, Abadon and Jamie Hayter but had them eliminated by people with no real storyline connection or implication. I do hope Riho's okay because that elimination was wonky and must've been done due to an injury. I also didn't like how half of the eliminations is just 'I'm gonna pose in this obviously dangerous position I hope nobody blindsides me', we need to find new tricks.

The final two though was some good wrestling, happy for Ruby and she'll hopefully make a good fit for AEW

It's 10:30 and I have 4 matches still...yeep

If Chris Jericho Loses, he Retires Chris Jericho def. MJF (Submission via Walls of Jericho) A Y2J countdown gets the crowd going, but the tron doesn't erupt in Judas, instead it says 'Jericho's Last Match' and MJF's music hits. HEEL

That's all you can say until he comes out in kingly robes, without Wardlow surprisingly, getting in the face of fans and sporting new gear, no more plaits this time.

No Entrance Music for Jericho, instead there's Fozzy's guitarist playing the riff to will Chicago to sing along. Jericho in a biker jacket and his baseball bat Floyd as MJF stares daggers at him. An ad for Jericho's book preludes the match too.

Before locking up MJF adds heat by ripping up signs. A stalemate of sorts begin with traded shoulder tackles and hip tosses, Jericho's experience seems to be winning out when he prepares the walls, but MJF turns it into a cradle for 2. MJF and Jericho leave the ring, the veteran getting the advantage and tossing MJF into barricades, into the crowd they go as Jericho poses with a sign, but then back to ringside where Jericho dumps one of those queue rope holder things (sue me I don't know every word) right on MJF. Back in the ring MJF is dumped out again by a triangle dropkick, but he baits the baseball slide by trapping Jericho in the apron, he regains advantage by wrenching on the shoulder that was injured, taunting the crowd in between his attacks. Suplex gets 2 so he bites the fingers, second Suplex is countered allowing Jericho to chop, Bulldog and Backbreaker for 2, MJF goes back for the arm, stomps and hammerlock throws for 2, now MJF goes for chops, strutting like Flair and then gyrating, Jericho throws him over but MJF just counters with a Heatseeker on the apron.

Count Out is being threatened but Jericho gets in enough at 9, avoiding MJF's stomp, MJF gets a little too cocky and misses the Asai Moonsault - landed on his feet though - and then receives a Twisting Powerbomb on the apron. Back in the ring it's back to fisticuffs, MJF does an eye rake but misses the haymaker and gets hit in the back, Jericho looks for a top rope attack but lands into a one-legged Codebreaker for 2. The back attack from early delays MJF from lifting Jericho, allowing the Demo God the chance to try the Walls, MJF kicks him away but runs into a Shoulder Block, then a Lionsault - just to prove he can - but it's only 2. MJF is writhing as Jericho clubs him in the corner, 10 strikes looks to soften MJF for a Super Rana but he counters it into a Sit-Out Powerbomb, MJF still sells the back and the time allows Jericho to kick out at 2. He bites at Jericho next, sets him up for a Superplex but is pushed away, Flying Codebreaker only gets 2 for Jericho.

Out comes Wardlow, but Hager intercepts and brawls, the distraction is enough though for MJF to use Floyd the Bat to hit Jericho, MJF shouts Goodbye to Jericho and hits his own Judas Effect: 1, 2, 3? The bell rings but Jericho's foot is on the ropes, it takes a secondary ref to inform Aubrey and the Announcer so the match can resume. MJF is angry, he shoves Aubrey but she shoves back, allowing Jericho to roll up MJF for the 2 (nice call to when he technically won the world title from Triple H), MJF then cinches the Salt of the Earth, Jericho fights it into a rollup, just a 2, he scraps and claws at MJF and finally gets in the Walls of Jericho, MJF tries to crawl to the ropes but he's dragged to the middle and taps. The Inner Circle come to congratulate Jericho after.

So, they were never gonna retire Jericho like this, not with 4 losses and not when there's still mileage in fans singing Judas. Frankly, the feud went on too long, the Labors were decent but peaked at Nick Gage (sorry Juice and Wardlow) and it made no sense that MJF was a fifth labor because the labors were meant to be completed SO Jericho could face MJF. I guess it's 'just desserts' for the heel but now where does AEW's best heel go from here? He needs a solid win and so does his faction.

CM Punk def. Darby Allin (Pinfall via GTS) Next would be the one everyone was looking forward to, a Century Gothic Quote starts Darby's entrance as he hangs a body bag with 'Best in the World' from a Helicopter then jumps off of said helicopter. Sting gives Darby a fistbump and hug before letting him skate alone to the ring, a strong pop considering who he is facing.

And who he is facing is chanted at full volume as Cult of Personality is sang along louder than they sang Judas. Punk in the trousers gets to his knees, checks his watch and tells the world what they wanna know: It's Clobberin' Time.

Punk looks in great shape for the match as both opponents stare each other down, Punk even taking a seat to stare at him, both stand at the same time, like two predators ready for war. The bell rings to cheers as they lock up, Darby shifts his weight to roll Punk away, a surprised 'well okay then' smirks from Punk as Darby wins the first exchange. Darby knows to be hesitant with locking up, and his hesitation is well found as Punk uses his strength to shoulder barge Darby away. The third lock is controlled by Darby's hammerlock, every attempt to roll away doesn't deter Darby until he releases it for a roll up, not even 1 though as Punk elbows him down. Scoop Slam doesn't get 1 for Punk so he tries a headlock, Darby surprises Punk by using his speed to tackle him down, but on the second time he almost sets himself up for GTS, which Darby is quick and wise to stay well away from.

Leaving the ring, Darby takes a moment to get his head straight, he tries a hip toss but Punk is too strong, he manages the springboard hip toss though and rams his body into Punk's in the corner. He tries a hammer throw but it's countered and Darby does that nasty nasty spot where he goes through the turnbuckle and ricochets off the ring post. Punk rolls him in for just a 2, then focuses on the back with a stretch, when he reaches the ropes he stomps Darby and hits a backdrop but it's only good for 2, he stretches Darby again and counters his fight back with a Kitchen Sink and an Abdominal Stretch, then again with a Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreaker and a chinlock before returning to the Abdominal Stretch. Darby soon regains momentum though, escaping the stretch long enough to hit his over-the-top stunner, Slaps from Darby keep Punk frazzled as he hits a springboard Coffin Splash and a roll up for 2, Punk tries GTS but Darby Sunset Rolls for 2 again, Darby's strike combo and then a Code Red for 2. Darby seeks the Coffin Drop, but Punk cuts him off and prepares for an Avalanche Back Drop, only for Darby to cleverly shift it into a Crossbody Splash for 2. Darby goes for a Jacknife Pin but Punk uses his core to crab up, twisting for a Backslide, he can't get all the way but he lifts him for GTS, hits it! But Darby's body sprawls out of the ring.

Darby answers the count at 9 to Punk's relief, before using his strength to keep Darby jaded, classic knee strike to the corner followed by a short-arm clothesline. He gestures for GTS, but Darby is limp, he takes time to lift Darby which gives him the time to elbow Punk's jaw, hammering it until Punk is on his knees. Punk rolls out the ring but gets hit with the Darby-patented Suicide Dive, then a Swanton from the top turnbuckle to the outside. He throws Punk in the ring and prepares to Coffin Drop, but not before drawing heat by gesturing GTS himself, he makes the jump but Punk sits up just in time! He soaks up his cleverness a little too much though because his confident shuffle to pin Darby is reversed into a pin by Darby for 2, so Punk holds on mid-kick out to lift him up for GTS, he gets the throw but Darby blocks the knee, Last Supper! 1, 2, No!

Leg Lariat floors Darby, but Darby gets his boots up in the corner, he climbs on Punk looking for a Poison Rana, but Punk shifts him and that's the GTS! 1, 2, 3!

Punk gestures 7 to the cameras to note that he's back after 7 years, Sting then comes out and shakes Punk's hand before both men tend to Darby. Darby staggers away to get up on his own and shakes Punk's hand too as Darby and Sting leave the ring for Punk to soak in. Punk gleefully takes a lap before joyfully leaving, letting the fans tell him which tunnel he's supposed to leave through.

It won't get 5 stars but this was still great fun to see, it was a moment more than it was a match, and it's good to see that Punk barely misses a step. Darby still looks strong too and we open much more new opportunities with Punk on the roster. The finish was a bit quick for me, but it was the right finish: it's Bret in Canada, you don't have Punk lose in Chicago...unless you want a riot that is.

Full Gear was promoted for November before the piss break.

Paul Wight def. QT Marshall [w/ Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto] (Pinfall via Chokeslam) The Factory came out first, before Wight returned in a more clothed version of his usual singlet. Solo was thrown at Wight and dumped out the ring, Comoroto - not used to facing someone this bigger and this heavier than him - would also be dragged out the ring too.

QT's opening blows are nothing to Wight, who effectively destroys Marshall with chops between punches and standing on him. QT does get some momentum by using dropkicks, dropping Wight to his knees with a dropkick to the hip, his strikes are shoved off by Wight but a Shotgun Dropkick does floor the big man - enough for a 1 count at least which dumps QT out of the ring. QT tries the Diamond Cutter but it's shrugged off, Shoulder Block and a Back Body Drop keeps him down as Wight lifts Solo into the ring to chop him, Comoroto fares a little better after eating one Wight's punches, but is felled to a pounce, giving Marshall time to climb to the turnbuckle and land into a Chokeslam for 3.

At least it was over quickly, maybe could've been quicker. I dunno since the Cody feud demolished them the Factory are nobodies, which is a shame because Comoroto and Ogogo have great potential, they're just in the wrong spot. This wasn't a PPV match either, this was better a segment or a Buy-In 'match' and the Gunn Club turn had no influence on this in the end either, so meh.

Dynamite/Rampage Promo

Dynamite is promoted for next Wednesday and it's Moxley vs Suzuki booked! Mox then cuts a promo on Suzuki before the rest of the card is shown; Ruby Soho will have a segment to address her win and collision course with Baker, and Dustin vs Black as previously announced on Rampage.

Black cuts a promo too, inviting Dustin to get angry because it makes him prone to mistake, taunting Dustin with his past victories in the Codyverse so to keep him angry.

We also promoted PAC/Andrade on Rampage but it was just saying the match is on Friday.

AEW World Championship Kenny Omega (c) [w/Don Callis] def. Christian Cage (Pinfall via Avalanche One Winged Angel)

Christian comes out first with the Impact World Title around his waist, but Kenny goes more showy with Devil's Sky and tights reminiscent of his New Japan days and blue in his hair. When his name was called he danged the world title in front of Christian as commentary note how he's on the verge of surpassing Moxley's world title reign in days.

Omega tries a V-Trigger before the bell, but Christian dodges it and prepares a Killswitch that Omega escapes, wagging his finger and starting a shoving contest. Omega hits a rana but Christian regains control on the outside, throwing Omega in the barricade and then a jumping splash from the top turnbuckle. Omega is next to shift momentum though by reversing an Irish Whip that throws Christian up and over the steel steps, using Callis as distraction he pulls out a table to stomp onto Christian, cracking the furniture as Omega mockingly channels Urkel's 'Did I do that?'.

Callis sets up another table with Kenny, but the suplex is countered by Christian who suplexes Omega away from the table. Back in the ring Omega's dropkick is scouted as he lands back first on the floor, but he rakes Christian's eyes before he can capitalize and lands a modified sling blade for 2. Raking facelocks and chops are among the actions Kenny does to try and cut Christian's breathing, a Back drop draws Cage to the corner where he tries to use his feet to hide openings for Kenny, he gets to his feet and climbs to the turnbuckle, but Kenny just shoves him off back outside the ring.

Humorously, Kenny's initial attempt to Moonsault off the barricade leads him to slip on his ass, but the second one hits the mark and splashes Christian on the outside, it's only good for 2 though. Christian tries to fight through Kenny's assault, but he's thrown into the turnbuckle then hit with an Ushigoroshi for 2. Kenny looks to go up top but Christian cuts him off, Super Rana by Cage is clean but no space for a pin, instead they trade blows, Kenny throwing his weight to get the upper hand, he misses the corner elbow which allows Christian to start his 10 strikes, but at 4 Kenny sets up the OWA, so Christian wriggles out, pushes him back in the Turnbuckle and starts again. Christian's getting some speed on Omega, and almost has him in a Cloverleaf, so Kenny after trying to eye rake and pull hair loosens a leg and kicks him away, he sets up the You Can't Escape but Christian reverses the run up into a reverse DDT for 2.

Cage sizes Kenny up for a spear, but he runs into a Knee, Christian escapes the Tiger Driver and lands a Swinging DDT to set up the Killswitch, Kenny escapes and uses a Spinning Leg Lariat to send Christian in the corner; V-Trigger, Snap Dragon Suplex, Another Snap Dragon, he gestures the gun but Christian gives him the finger, so he gives Christian a third Snap Dragon and a V Trigger. Both men edge closer to Chekov's table, Kenny looking to German Christian onto, Christian holds onto the ropes so he tries a Snap Dragon, but Christian reverses into a Killswitch setup, which Kenny avoids by pushing Cage into the ring post, he looks for the OWA but Christian escapes by returning to the ring and a reverse neckbreacker, onto the apron and Christian spears Kenny into the table with venom.

Spear to the back and front gives Christian the 2 count, so he goes up top, Frog Splash falls into Kenny's knees but Christian's damage to Kenny's back prevents him from performing the Dr Wagner Bomb. 2 V Triggers land, Christian blocks the third to try and fight back, but Kenny hits another one, then a Rain Trigger! Calling back a lot of New Japan now. Kenny goes for the Tiger Driver but Christian escapes, taking Kenny down for a Cloverleaf - sensing danger, Callis motions to the ramp, and the Good Brothers comes down. As Callis distracts the ref, Christian fends off Anderson, but Gallow has him held against the rope for Kenny to attack, V Trigger obviously hits Gallows instead and Christian tries the Killswitch, Kenny escapes, Omega tries the OWA, Christian escapes, Killswitch attempts, Killswitch lands! 1, 2, No! That was a close 2 as well, very good timing.

As Christian sets Kenny on the turnbuckle Callis tries to sneak behind him, being chased away when spotted. Christian looks to set up an Avalanche Killswitch but Kenny rakes the eyes, sets up for OWA, and lands it, nobody kicks out and that's 3.

The Bucks come out wrapped up to celebrate with the Elite and beat down Christian more, Jurassic Express try to help but the numbers are too grand. Chants of Yes! come from the crowd but Kenny grabs a mic, telling them that nobody is on his level. Apt choice of words though; the only people who can beat him are either not here, already retired or already dead

The lights go out, and it's a Ghost! Britt Baker's Boyfriend! Adam Cole BayBay comes to the ring, ready to argue with Kenny about his case of being killed off of BTE, but then he shifts his focus and superkicks Jungle Boy!

Embracing the Bucks and getting a triple kiss, Kenny mocks the crowd for thinking that Cole, their good friend, would be their enemy. Cole then talks about how the Elite is now the biggest faction in the business and that nobody is going to stop them. Kenny happily says it's a happy ending and prepares his goodbye and good night, but before that even happens, another music hits.

Oh Yes. Yes. Yes.

It's Bryan Danielson, backing the faces, as they fend off the Elite, Danielson hits the Buisaku Knee on Nick before celebrating with Christian and Jurassic Express while Cole - thunder stolen - looks angrily on.

Well it's midnight and that's how you end a PPV. Kenny vs Christian was a decent enough match all things considered, it's hard to fill the boots of Kenny vs Hangman like we wanted, but we can be patient, we have brand new toys to play with after all. Some of the shenaniganry was a bit gimmicky especially since it was a little too similar to Jericho vs MJF, but we never really bought Christian beating Kenny here so it doesn't matter as much.

Conclusion Somehow I didn't feel as enthralled as I did for Double or Nothing, but I still felt like this was great. I think it bodes down to the whole 'higher highs but lower lows' argument; Wight/QT shouldn't have been there, the Women's Casino Royale could've been booked better for most of the women and MJF/Jericho needed a bit more oomph. On the other hand, can you really fault a PPV that just gave us debuts for Minoru Suzuki, Ruby Soho (oh right, she was the one I was spoiled on btw), Adam Cole BayBay and Bryan Danielson on the same night CM Punk, Darby Allin, Christian Cage, Kenny Omega, the Lucha Bros, the Young Bucks, MJF, Jericho, Miro, Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley all competed in?

This may indeed be worth the 3-4 hours sleep I bet I'll get now, but with a backlog as long as my arm I need to sleep

Pro Wrestling is Great.

[the-roanoke-society]

i was working in the lab late one night...

when my eyes beheld an eerie sight...

welcome to the final post of horror aus for halloween 2020! i hope you all enjoyed the ride. i apologize for not having everything ready on halloween like i originally planned. remember that the inbox and dms are always open for questions, comments and concerns. if you missed them, here are parts one, two and three. all warnings still apply, so be forewarned.

i know things are scary right now. but to quote the infamous n. gaiman: fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

take it from me when i say that we outnumber the monsters of this world--and more importantly, take heart.

click below the cut if you, too, like doing the monster mash (no offense but it is kind of a graveyard smash...)

there’s bloodstains beneath the carpet - a ∆ au inspired by the super, co-starring technical officer drake and @agents-of-virtue​'s agent annabelle

it was a new start. for both drew and matthew. a new city, shining with opportunities and adventure. they had no shortage of hope--but maybe did have a little shortage of cash.

all the same, the knox-edwards boarding house wasn’t that bad. grimy and with a level of grunge akin to a garage band circa 1995, sure, but nothing unbearable.

but as drew was stuck in the hallway holding up their couch, matthew trying to figure out who needed to pivot and in what direction in order to not have furniture stuck in the doorway, he overheard it:

“what? another one? are you serious?”

two people were walking down the hallway, and they didn’t look to be much older than himself, or matthew. a man and woman, close together, as if they were conspiring.

“wait, drew, i think i got it, turn left a little bit--”

“as a heart attack. that makes it four people in three months. i’m telling you bekah, something fuckin’ weird in goin’ on here. people don’t just up and vanish from their own homes, and--oh!”

“drew! are you listening to me? turn it left!”

oh shit. oh shit. don’t act like you were obviously eavesdropping, maybe they didn’t notice...

“drew!”

“hi!”

welp. all right. be cool.

“uh--hello!” but he yelped when matthew unexpectedly let go of the couch, and it landed on the ground with a hard thud.

but drew was still processing what he heard. four people in three months? what did that mean?

mini soundtrack sampler includes: rockwell, ‘somebody’s watching me’ + absofacto, ‘dissolve’ + barns courtney, ‘99��

won’t you cut me down? - a second chances au inspired by seven in heaven

joan, normally, wasn’t so forward. at least, not a society-thrown event where multiple agencies were represented, and especially not when he knew lilith was around and not above reprimanding an agent in front of god and everyone else in the room.

but he’d had quite a bit to drink.

the evening was winding down.

and josie... josie was breathtaking.

he couldn’t help it.

“joan--joan!” she laughed as he turned her, taking her elbow and leading her down a hallway close to one of the larger coat closets. “what are you d--”

her voice cut off abruptly to the tune of joan’s mouth on hers, and the closing of a closet door.

joan didn’t stop to think about how this particular door wasn’t room he distinctly remembered. he was tipsy and enamored and his wife consumed his senses. he didn’t care.

but he did care a while later, after they’d made themselves presentable again and opened the door to a manor that was much, much quieter than he was expecting.

and josie felt it too.

it was an odd sensation, to feel that he’d stepped out of one place and into another entirely.

josie asked quietly, “where... where did everyone go?”

mini soundtrack sampler includes: jack white, ‘i’m shakin’‘ + konrad old money & sleep steady, ‘rage’ + k. flay, ‘blood in the cut’

my hands are growing colder - an inverse functions au inspired by eli

ginny knew erik wasn’t broken. she would rather have faced down a demon or some unholy thing sprung out of the gate than ever describe him like that.

but he was--unique.

beyond the understanding of most medical doctors, at least. even aly and caroline were struggling to treat his symptoms. it was like he’d become allergic to everything around him over the course of just a few days. his symptoms were sudden, severe, and left her nervous.

it wasn’t just allergies. she knew that. and if she had to seek help outside of the society, then so be it. all that mattered to her was seeing him brought back to health.

and late one night, during a despair-fueled search through some files in the archives that looked like they hadn’t been touched in years, she found a name: dr. isabella horn.

the fact that lacey, who’d been overseeing the roanoe medical wards for ages, hadn’t heard of her, should have been a warning.

but desperate times call for desperate measures.

the next day, they were on their way to a facility in the middle of the midwest--though ‘facility’ wasn’t quite the right word. it looked more like a mansion, with nothing but wheat fields all around as far as they eye could see. the horizon was only broken by the occasional oil derrick.

and they were surprised when they had to be buzzed through pressurized, completely sterile chambers to even get inside.

but there, right at the front of the welcoming committee, was a woman with dark eyes, and an easy smile.

“good afternoon! you must be ginny and erik, welcome. i’m dr. horn.”

but ginny didn’t trust her grin.

and that should have been the second warning.

mini soundtrack sampler includes: stevie wonder, ‘superstitious’ + the killers, ‘when you were young’ + the revivalists, ‘wish i knew you’

i saw your bones on the road - a pastel goth au inspired by the silence

meli would look back on it and realize with no small sense of irony how loud it was when it began.

the screaming, the terror. how she blasted her spotify on her furious drive to guiliana’s house in the blessedly quiet suburbs, eyes constantly searching the sky. she knew that the responsible thing to do would be to listen to the coverage on the radio, but honestly? she’d heard enough. she had more than half a brain, and she knew exactly what to do.

get her girlfriend and head--okay, maybe she didn’t know exactly what to do.

but giuliana was smart. they’d figure it out together.

the government didn’t know what they were, exactly. nobody did. meli only knew that they were calling them vesps.

it was a word that she mulled over frantically. linguistics was always a welcome distraction. she thought she’d heard it before, but all she could think of was the latin vespere. it roughly translated to ‘from the evening,’ or ‘from the night.’

from the dark.

perhaps that was an apt name.

the sunset had painted the sky in shades that were obnoxiously beautiful given the circumstances, and her jeep lurched in protest as she abruptly slammed the gear shift into park in the glow of guiliana’s porch lights.

in the distance, she could hear shrieking--but not that of human beings.

mini soundtrack sampler includes: mourning ritual, ‘bad moon rising’ + twenty one pilots, ‘ride’ + royal blood, ‘trouble’s coming’

waiting for the vultures - a time traveler’s husband au inspired by the houses october built

it had been dara’s idea.

“oh it’ll be fun! think about it, italy and the states celebrate halloween with way, way different aesthetics. think of this as getting a sampler of how america does it,” she said, sitting in silvano’s lap, charm volume as far up as it would go.

and he agreed. “all right--okay. a grand adventure across the country hitting as many haunted houses as we can.”

“geez, try not to sound too excited.”

he murmured into her shoulder, “i’m mostly excited to spend time with you. but if a road trip through october is what you want, then that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

he was rewarded with kisses peppered all over his face and a very excited dara dragging him excitedly to best buy to pick up a camcorder. “what? of course we need a camera! if we record everything then it’s like--i don’t know. like it’s ours. we can go back to it whenever want, and we can show all our friends the cool places we saw when we get home!”

dara hadn’t known then.

she didn’t know it would start with one lone figure in a clown costume standing in front of the rv like he was going to charge at it. she didn’t know that they would end up surrounded, followed. abducted.

it had been dara’s idea.

and she would never forgive herself.

mini soundtrack sampler includes: van halen, ‘runnin’ with the devil’ + the 1975, ‘if you’re too shy (let me know)’ + afi, ‘miss murder’

[phoenixmaiden-reading]

Kings Rising Book Review

Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat

Read: April 20, 2020 – April 29, 2020

Wow! That’s all I can say. It was so much better than what I was expecting. With the truth finally out about who Damen was, all that was left was for him and Laurent to get together and of course, take down his uncle. It was a long road to get there because of their feuding countries and the fact that Damen killed Laurent’s brother. But they eventually got over that, and they are so perfect with each other. Laurent is such a love-starved person and Damen was more than willing to show him, and he certainly did, often it seemed. And I have to say, Laurent is really smart and knows how to get what he wants. Though it took him a while to realize what he wanted was Damen, he just fought it so hard because of their past. But once that was out of the way, they were happy and Laurent was open to having a relationship with Damen and looking to the future and what they could do together when everything was over. It was a nice change to when Laurent was pushing him away, but after it was like a  natural thing. They just had to win the war against his uncle in one piece.. And ugh, his uncle! I hate him. What a manipulative son-of-a-bitch. But at least Laurent and Damen were able to overcome him and Kastor and now they can be happy. All in all, the book was well written and given a perfect end to tie everything together. This series will always be my guilty pleasure.

Stars: ★★★★★

Warning! Spoiler Summary ahead!!

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It picks right up where the last book left off with the Akielon army kneeling to their King, Damianos. While they were shocked and happy to find him still alive, the opposite was true for the Veretians. They were outraged and were starting to rebel in having the Prince-Killer inside their walls. In order for Damen to keep the fort under control, he had Nikandros take the fort. Once it was done, Damen met with Guymar and Jord to see of their loyalty. Guymar was livid and refused to fight with Akielons, he was removed from the room. Jord was more forthcoming because he already knew who he was. Damen said he had made Laurent a promise even after he learned who he was. Afterward, he met with Nickandros who was happy to see him and said he had mourned him. He also told him that he had been there when Kastor was crowned and how he had said that Damen’s guards had killed him and in turn he had the guards killed. Nikandros then showed him a letter that had been from Laurent written some time ago requesting aid to take down his uncle in return he would provide proof that Kastor had colluded with the Regent to kill King Theomedes of Akielos. Nikandros also gave him a golden lion pin that he had taken the night Damen had died; it was treason to do so but he wanted something to remember his friend by. But it belonged to him as a mark of the King of Akielos. Nikandros saw Damen’s golden cuff and knew immediately that it was a mark of a slave and was horrified. Damen admitted that Kastor had made him a slave and he had been given to Laurent who has since freed him, but he doesn’t know who he is. But Nikandros was still in shock that his King had been a slave to the Prince of Vere. To make things worse, Makedon overheard and was just as disgusted and horrified at the revelation; he knew what he did with slaves and the fact that Damen had done those things for their enemy was the most degrading and an insult to Akielos. Damen wanted to hide it but that would be the wrong thing, so instead, he told them that yes he had been a slave to the Prince but he will not hide it. They will have to bare the knowledge just as he had. And it was not like he could hide it anyway, it was common knowledge around the fort. Nikandros wasn’t sure if they could be able to control the actions of the men, so Damen said that if they pledged to fight the men will follow. That morning, Damen made his announcement to the Akielon army saying he was alive and he was there to fight as their King. He didn’t try to hide his slave cuff either. They then set out for Charcy and the Prince Guard: Jord, Huet, Lazar, and more men in blue came with them to fight for their prince. The plan was that Laurent was to go a day early to approach from the north while they left a day later to go south and block in the Regent’s army from both sides. When they got close to Charcy, the soldiers could see how bad the ground was to fight and they were getting nervous, but Damen had to trust that Laurent would come. But something was wrong. The Regent’s men were there early and his men were coming from the north. It was suddenly clear that Laurent wasn’t coming. A scout was yelling coming toward them that the Prince wasn’t coming. Makedon knew they should never have trusted a Veretian. Damen had no time to think and ordered the men to fight even though they were outnumbered, they had to fight.

For once there was a chapter not in Damen’s POV. It was Laurent’s.  He woke up in a cell at Fortaine and Govart was there. But he would be easy to deal with, the trouble was that the deadline for the battle had come and gone, the slave along with the Akielons would think he had betrayed them but knew that somehow he would win. Laurent then focused on what was going in and took in that he was injured and tied up. Govart gloated that they were all alone and no one would come to help him and proceeded to hit him. But Laurent just took it and said that he wondered what Govart had on his uncle that allowed him to keep him around. They had only put them in the same cell in hopes that one will take out the other, not that it mattered when his uncle became King. He could make Govard disappear and that would be it. But Govart wasn’t threatened and advanced and proceeded to beat him for an hour. He ended up with a knife in his shoulder, an inconvenience but a victory since it meant he wouldn’t remove his tongue like Govart had threatened. Guion came eventually and Laurent asked if he knew what Govart had on his uncle. It was clear that Guion didn’t know and he opened the cell door and demanded to know. While Govart was distracted, Laurent was able to get out of the ropes binding his hands and took out the knife from his shoulder. His grunt of pain made Govart notice but he was pleased that he could play with him now. Laurent felt a little weak from blood loss but was strong enough to lift the chair he had been sitting in and break it on Govart’s head. He went down and didn’t move. Laurent escaped the room and closed it, leaving Guion trapped inside the cell. Their positions now reversed. Guion tried to plead his way out of the cell, but Laurent wasn’t going to hear it and threatened to stab him with the knife. Guion said that the Akielons will not trust him and will want to kill him for letting them die because he missed their meeting time, but Laurent knew that. Laurent told him that there was a man that tried to stop him from doing the wrong thing but he wasn’t here now. He then said he wondered what the Regent will think when he hears that Guion had helped him kill Govart and let him escape…it didn’t really happen, but who knows what happens with rumors. Laurent could leave and Guion would be stuck here because this had been a private arrangement, no one was to know Laurent was there so no one would know to look for Guion. So Guion had no choice but to ask what he wanted.

Oof this chapter was rough. Damen was fighting on the front line with his men at Charcy. He lost half his men and Nickandros was angry that Laurent didn’t show. The battle lasted hours until Damen took out the leader but it wasn’t the Regent, it was simply a puppet put in his place. The Akielons were looking at him in awe and Damen looked around and saw why, he had simply been killing the ones in front of him to get to the Regent decoy and he had taken out a lot of them in the process. But they had won. At the edge of the field, a herald came wearing blue, Laurent’s colors with a message. Damen was angry and wanted to know where Laurent was, but the herald just gave him a scroll that said Damen had Charcy and he had Fortaine and to meet him at the fort. So Damen had everyone gather and they left for Fortaine. When they got there, Laurent’s banner was raised and tents were lining the front of the fort. Nickandros was angry that Laurent had been safely in his fort while their men fought and died in his battle. Damen just made his way to the main tent alone, leaving his men to set up camp. Inside the tent, Laurent was waiting for him unsurprised that they had won at Charcy. Damen told him that the men think he is a coward, but Damen didn’t believe he was. He wouldn’t break a promise to him. Damen also noticed that Laurent’s shoulder was injured and understood that had to do with his absence. Damen then said that he was there to tell him who he really was, but Laurent already knew. He knew from the first day that Damen had been brought to him- his brother’s killer. Damen was stunned with the new information and the sudden venom in Laurent’s voice. Yet he couldn’t understand why, if he knew, had he allowed him to live and why he had slept with him. Laurent just said he was using him, that he suffered through his touch in order to secure victory at Charcy. Damen couldn’t believe what Laurent was saying, he had to be lying, what they had shared at Ravenel hadn’t been Laurent using him, he had surrendered to him fully, not as a slave, but as a man. Laurent denied it again and mocked him and said that he had lied when he said Damen was his slave, he had never been a slave, not really. Damen finally admitted that no, he was not a slave, he was the King of Akielos, they were equal. So now that was out in the open, Damen wanted to know why he was brought here and Laurent said that his uncle was in Akielos.

Laurent told him that his uncle knew who he was from the beginning too and gave him to Laurent waiting for Damen to fuck him so he could rub it in Laurent’s face that he had slept with his brother’s killer and watch him implode. But that didn’t work out, yet Laurent had slept with him anyway. Damen didn’t want to believe that it had meant nothing, but Laurent kept throwing his words while they had made love in his face, mocking him. Laurent then said that his uncle had planned Charcy as a diversion and had set sail for Ios days ago. He then said that he will give Damen supplies and troops to set out to the south in exchange for Delpha. Damen was shocked that Laurent would ask that of him especially because Delpha belonged to his close and loyal friend, Nickandros. It was clear Laurent had planned all this from the beginning. Damen said he would form an alliance with him and help him go against his uncle, but he will not give him Delpha. Laurent said that was fine, but he had Guion who had a letter with his confession of the deal between the Regent and Kastor. If he rejected his offer, he will kill Guion and burn the letter. Yet Damen knew Nickandros would never give up Delpha, but that was why Laurent said he will when they gave him Ios instead. Damen was cornered and when he tried to see if Laurent had any sort of connection with him, he found Laurent impassive. So Damen didn’t have any choice and he agreed. When Damen left the tent he felt lost and vulnerable, and feelings that he had thought he had shared with Laurent had been a lie. He felt the loss even though Laurent hadn’t been his to lose, to begin with. The relationship between them didn’t have any right to exist in the first place, even if he had hoped that there would be. But Damen was a King and couldn’t wallow in anything that could have been. So he headed to the Akielon camp and had Nickandros brought to him in the command tent and told him of the deal and of his decision to give Delpha to Laurent. Nickandros was understandably upset and said that Laurent was trying to put them against each other, yet Damen already knew that. Nickandros said that this action would make him lose men, Makedon, and Straton most prominently. The men will talk also about Damen being a slave and what that meant especially with the new alliance, but Damen refused to take off the cuff. Yet despite all that, Nickandros said that he will stay because he wanted Ios- like Laurent knew he would. Laurent always thought of everything. Damen told Nickandros that even though Laurent hated him and Akielos, he hated his uncle more and he needed them, just as they needed him. They had to work together to take down the Regent, he was doing it for Akielos. Nickandros just said that if he was wrong and Laurent betrayed them, there will be no Akielos. Later, Damen finally went back to his tent and found a slave, a woman, naked waiting for him, sent there by Nickandros, knowing his tastes. If it had been before all of this, he would have gladly taken her to his bed, but now he just found it awkward. It was like he had forgotten how to command a slave now that he had been one himself. He just couldn’t do it. So he told her to leave and that he will require no slaves during the campaign and will be attended to by a squire.

The next morning both sides, Akielon and Veretians gathered together for a big announcement where Damen and Laurent sat on twin thrones and announced that they were forming an alliance. Laurent then said that it was customary in Vere to give a gift to a companion and then gave him a whip…the same one he had been whipped with back in Arles. No one else knew the meaning of the gift, but Damen did. But that wasn’t all he brought, he also had whipping posts brought in where he had the men who had attacked the Akielon village strapped to them and whipped to pay for their crimes. Damen didn’t like it, reminded of his whipping, yet he watched it all. After the men were dragged away, Damen gave Laurent a gift of his own. The matching gold slave cuff to his own. Damen said that he would wear it to mark them as equals. He didn’t think Laurent would wear it but after a moment, he had Damen put it on him. Damen then said that if Laurent helped him get his kingdom back, he will see him crowned as King of Vere. After, there were display fights to commemorate the occasion. While they were watching, Damen could feel Makedon watching them, it was clear he was not happy allying with Veretians, he hated them. When Makedon approached, he wanted to see a contest between Akielos and Vere, specifically between Laurent and Damen; Makedon didn’t think much of Laurent and didn’t think he could fight, but Damen knew better. Yet Laurent said that they were like brothers, meaning, brothers were not supposed to fight. Not long after, their alliance was signed and the company went their separate ways. Later, Nickandros came to confront Damen. He recognized Laurent as his type, blonde and blue-eyed, like the women he had been interested in before. Nickandros thought he was a fool and was trying to go after Laurent because he was his type, it was like he was giving Laurent Delpha as a bedding gift. So he told him to just bed him already and move on. Yet he could see in Damen’s face that it had already happened. Damen just told him it had only happened once and yes, he did want him, but he was the King of Akielos, he had to think of his people. What they had now, was just an alliance that was it. Nickandros didn’t believe it, at least not for Damen, he knew him, knew that once he trusts someone, he will give his loyalty and fight until his dying breath for that person. Damen then said that Nickandros was doing the same thing with him. If he was wrong, Nickandros could lose everything, yet he still chose to follow Damen. Nickandros just warned him that the Prince of Vere could not be trusted. Damen just replied that he already didn’t trust Laurent just being with him for one morning, just wait until he spent a whole day with him.

Damen spent his days with a routine. He would do work- making plans and having meetings with the Captains, both Akielon and Veretian. Meaning Laurent was there too, just as smooth-talking and confident as always. They had agreed to have their camps separate since both sides didn’t like the other, especially the Veretians who thought the Akielons were barbarians walking around half-naked, yet that was their style. In Akielos, they were freer in their clothing while the Veretians were more restricted with their laces and sleeves. Damen also refused to take a slave to bed which started rumors among the men, but he couldn’t, not after being one himself and because of Laurent. Always Laurent. He couldn’t stop thinking about him and the friendship they no longer had. So he threw himself into work, and at night, he trained with his sword until he was sore only to do it again the next day. Damen also went to go see Guion who had not changed sides though it wasn’t like he had a choice since the Regent wouldn’t forgive him for failing to kill Laurent. He had asked how Laurent got hurt and learned that Guion had put Govart in a cell with Laurent and had a little accident. (yeah right) But as a result, Govart had died after Laurent hit him over the head. Not a huge loss though. He then asked Guion if the Regent knew who he was. Guion wasn’t sure but if he did he made a mistake in sending him to Laurent. The plan probably would have been that Laurent would have recognized him and made a mistake or he wanted Laurent to sleep with him and be ashamed after he realized he had slept with his brother's killer. Either way, it would be a win for the Regent. Damen just said that he was supposed to swear loyalty to the throne and his Prince, and yet he had turned on him for power and personal gain, yet it had gained him nothing. Guion just said that Laurent killed his son, but Damen disagreed saying Guion did by putting him in the path of the Regent. The other thing he had to deal with was the divided troop; he was used to it because it had been the same at the beginning from Arles, only this time it was between two warring factions that had been fighting each other for years. And Makedon was not making it easy either, he kept trying to one-up Laurent and would lose before it would begin. He first refused to take the extra food from Fortaine, the Akielons didn’t need pampering. Yet Laurent said that everyone in the troop will have the same amount of food depending on how much Makedon got. So he lost that round to Laurent. The second time was when a fight happened between an Akielon and Veretian, Makedon passed it off as friendly competition. So Laurent said that the next time a Veretian attacked an Akielon would be executed; that only a coward hit someone who couldn’t fight back. Every time Makedon tried to show Laurent up, Laurent would outmaneuver him. Damen remembered what that was like. In the meantime, they made plans to move to Marlas where they will hold an okton along with a feast to celebrate the pledge between the countries. One night while Damen was out practicing, he caught some of Makedon’s men making sport of throwing spears at a target with a Veretian that was tied to the center. Damen revealed himself and they stopped, scared that their King had caught them. Makedon was sent for and Damen told him that his soldiers had broken the peace and Makedon said that they will be executed for it. Nikandros then took the Veretian boy back to his camp and find the physician to tend to him and to let Laurent know what had happened. Damen then told Makedon that he respected his loyalty to his father, but if his soldiers step out of line again, he will have to face him. Later, Damen went to Paschal to see how to young Veretian man was doing, he was fine but he had taken more than a beating; the soldiers had raped him as well. Damen then apologized for not telling Paschal who he was. Paschal just said that he should prepare himself for what the Regent was planning to do in Akielos. Guion had said he didn’t know what he was planning, but Paschael said that all Veretians knew that he was planning to rule Akielos.

The next morning, Makedon’s men were executed for breaking the peace. While it was the rule, Makedon wasn’t happy and he and his men left ahead of everyone else. Then both companies set out for Marlas, Damen, and Laurent rode side by side as was expected because of the alliance. As they rode through the villages bordering Akielos, there were a lot of people coming out to see their King, and it wasn’t Damen, these villages had been Veretian before Akielos won the war. They reached Marlas and it had no mark of that fateful day, but Damen remembered the fallen soldiers and the scorched, blood-soaked earth, even as he saw the lush grass that had taken over. When they were inside the walls of Marlas, they were greeted by the attendants and there was a Slave Keeper there with fresh slaves to serve the Prince of Vere since Damen did not take slaves. The one Laurent chose was an unbeded slave, who was shy and submissive, named Isander. As a test to the slave, he had Isander kiss his boot, but while he was doing that, Laurent was watching Damen. Laurent was trying to get a rise out of Damen to use the same tactic he had used on him. Damen didn’t let it show, but he was jealous of what Laurent could be doing with the slave…attending him the way Damen did. Later, the two factions met in the hall, and Damen and Laurent sat on twin couches. It was there that they asked for the bannermen to pledge their support. Yet before they did so, one of the bannermen wanted to make sure that Vere wasn’t controlling Akielos by affirming if Laurent was Damen’s lover. Laurent answered by showing that he still wore the other gold cuff that had been Damen’s, then asked if he was really the type of person to sleep with the man who killed his brother (except he had…). The bannerman said that someone would have to be cold blooded to do that. With that said, the bannermen said their pledge. After the food was served and both countries mingled together, or rather they tolerated each other as they started drinking. At one point Jord came over to Aimeric’s mother and gave his respects. He then told Damen he was glad he and Laurent were friends now, he had thought that he would have killed him when he found out. Damen told him that Laurent had known the entire time, but Jord was still glad since he had someone to trust For the rest of the meal, Damen had to keep himself busy from watching Laurent were his slave, Isander, was attending to him- he didn’t like it. But after a while, he saw him leave with the slave and Damen tried to follow but was stopped by people from the party. By the time he made it to the corridor, Laurent was gone…but Isander had been left behind. Isander was confused about why he hadn’t been taken to the bedroom and said that Laurent had gone to the stables. Damen knew where he went and headed out to the field where he had killed Laurent’s brother years ago. He found him sitting on a rock and Laurent clearly didn’t want to see him, yet Damen approached anyway and said he was here if he wanted to talk. Laurent just said that Damen didn’t want to talk, he wanted to fuck him, that he had been thinking about it since Ravenel. While it was true that Damen thought about it a lot, it wasn’t what he came to talk about, Laurent was just saying words to make him hurt, and it worked, yet Damen didn’t let it show. Instead, he said that Auguste’s death had been quick. Before they could talk more, they heard horses coming and Damen pushed Laurent against the rock to hide as they passed and there were a lot. An entire troop was going off to some unknown destination and they weren’t their men and they didn’t know how they had slipped past their scouts. And so they went back to Marlas.

Damen and Laurent took some men and rode out after the riders and came upon a burned village. It was clear that the villagers had no time run and barricaded themselves inside, but they had to come out when the houses were set on fire. Only one building was untouched and inside they found a girl, a woman, and a man who was dying from a spear wound having tried to defend the village. When Damen asked the girl who did this, she said it was Daminos sending a message to Kastor. It made him sick. Soldiers came in the dead of night shouting his name as they killed innocent people all to hurt Damen’s political standing. When Damen went off to the edge of the village for air, he spotted a body of a soldier, one of the ones who had attacked the village and he had a notched belt, a mark of one of Makedon’s men. Damen went to Makedon and challenged him to a fight for what he had done. It didn’t help Makedon that he didn’t care that Veretian’s were dead. So they went to blows until Laurent came and ordered them to stop. Damen just barely stopped his sword from slicing into Laurent’s neck, who had pulled Makedon out of the way and had put himself between them. Laurent said that they were playing right into his uncle’s hands and that anyone could put a notch on a belt. Someone had framed Makedon in order to put a rift between him and his people, and it wasn’t Kastor…no someone else was pulling the strings on this. The Regent. It wasn’t the first time either, Damen remembered the attack on Laurent in the palace in Vere when the assassin’s had Akielon weapons. Later, Damen was at the training grounds working off his anger and frustration when he spotted Laurent watching him. He didn’t know how long he had been standing there. Then Laurent said that he should fight an equal if he was that angry, meaning himself and he took up a sword. Damen knew it was a bad idea, there was still so much unsaid between them, but he didn’t say no instead giving him a warning. Fighting Laurent was irritating because every move was calculated, but he already knew that as he remembered the fight with Govart. The fight started off light, Laurent not even exerting himself, until he taunted Damen, and then they really started fighting. They each blocked each other’s attacks, but Laurent was struggling with the force of Damen’s blows and was now panting with excursion. At one point, Damen had knocked Laurent down and told him to yield, but instead, he flung dirt into Damen’s eyes and was able to get back up to continue the fight, this time with everything he had, using anything in his path to throw in Damen’s way to try to win. In the end, it wasn’t enough. Damen was able to pin Laurent to a wall, but he continued to fight, kicking and punching him, trying to go for a knife, but Damen didn’t let go and wrestled him to the floor until Laurent yielded. Damen then told him that he could have done this when he was a slave, but he didn’t. He can’t beat him, he wasn’t good enough, not when he was coming at him for revenge. And asked him if that was what he wanted between them. Laurent said yes because his brother was all he had. He knew he wasn’t good enough, but Auguste would have stopped him, yet he laughed because that wasn’t true either. Damen then gave him a knife and pointed it at his stomach and told him to stop him. Yet Laurent didn’t kill him, though Damen could see him warring with himself. The air around them shifted to something else, and the knife dropped to the floor. Damen just left the hall.

The next morning Damen and Laurent had to act like nothing had happened the night before and had to sit next to each other in an arena where the day's games and festivities were to take place. There was an awning above them to protect Laurents fair skim who was dressed head to toe in traditional Veretian style while Damen was the opposite with arms and legs bare with only a chiton pinned around him. Their armies were dressed much the same as their kings, though much of Damen’s army, mainly Makedon was noticeably absent. Despite this, the games began. Each side fought fairly and won several games. One soldier, Pallas, won three an won the right to challenge Damen to a wrestling match, traditionally fought naked. Damen accepted and disrobed and joined the young soldier in the ring where they wrestled in the mud until Pallas gave in. Damen had enjoyed himself; it had been a while since he had participated in a game. When he was cleaned off he joined Laurent back on the dais. Nickandros asked him to join him in inspecting the weapons for the okton. Once they were alone, Nikandros advanced on him and turned him around and pull off the fabric covering him to look at his back, specifically the scars left there from his whipping. Nickandros was horrified and asked who did it to him. Laurent answered from behind them that he did, or at least he had his man do it while he watched, he had wanted to kill him, but his uncle didn’t let him. Nickandros wanted to attack Laurent especially when Laurent continued to give more details, but Damen held him back and told him to leave. When they were alone, Damen said he didn’t have to say those things, he would defect, but Laurent said he wouldn’t, he was loyal. Damen then caught Laurent looking at the scars on his back in the mirror and asked if he was admiring his handiwork. Laurent just said he was due back in the stands, hiding that he had been caught looking and they returned to the stands. The okton was now set up and ready for the main event and everyone was waiting for it to start when Makedon finally made his appearance with his men. He said that a village had been attacked in his name and he wanted a requital. He said he will pledge himself to Damen if the Prince of Vere proved himself on the field as they have yet to see. Damen wasn’t sure since Veretians didn’t train in the okton. Makedon said that their King will take the field and asked if the Prince of Vere lacked the courage to do the same. Laurent agreed and mounted up. The Okton was simple enough, there were 5 riders that had their own colored spears that they had to throw at targets while they rode in a figure eight without stopping. There had to be precision and athleticism with a risk of injury. Damen had trained for months as a boy to participate and while he knew Laurent was good on horseback and knew he knew how to throw a spear, but both at the same time with others doing the same…men have died from it. And Damen couldn’t help him wither. So he only had to hope for the best. The game started off well, Pallas, Laurent, and Damen each hitting bullseye on the target while outmaneuvering the other riders and missed spears hitting the ground. Then one of the riders knocked the target down and Pallas and Lyros threw at the same time as it fell and each of the spears was heading for the other on the opposite side. The one Lyros threw was heading to either Laurent or Pallas and the one Pallas threw was heading straight toward Damen’s chest. There was no way to dodge it, so he adjusted his stance and caught the spear in mid-air. On the other side, Pallas was frozen, if he moved it would risk killing the Prince or he would die. Laurent had seen what was about to happen and lept from his horse to Pallas’s and kept him low in the saddle so the spear passed over their heads. Laurent then took Pallas’s spear and bullseye it on the opposite side and Damen did the same with his caught spear. The crowd went wild. Both Damen and Laurent were crowned the winners and the festivities continued and the men were starting to get along as the night wore on. Makedon came out and sat down across from Laurent and offered to drink with him. It was a huge step on Makedon’s part, but Damen knew Laurent didn’t drink and thought he would turn him down. Instead, Laurent drank and Makedon did too. And they continued to do so, getting drunk in the process and Makedon reminisced of old oktons. It seemed like Makedon had now accepted Laurent and even invited him for a king’s hunt. He eventually left leading his men weaving out into the night. Laurent was done too and needed help getting up, so Damen helped him to his room. Along the way, Laurent talked, nonsense mostly, he just didn’t shut up. Laurent said that he rarely drank because he had no alcohol tolerance even though he knew he may have to. Damen said that the night they met, Laurent had been drunk and Laurent said he had to be because he had to deal with Damen…an Akielon bed slave named after his brother’s killer…but of course Laurent knew it was the real deal. It pained Damen to hear that Laurent hadn’t been able to be sober to deal with him. Damen guided Laurent to his room and ignored what that may imply to anyone who saw them. He told the guards to not let anyone enter the room knowing that Laurent wouldn’t want anyone to see him working off a night of drinking. Laurent, drunk, told Damen to attend him without thinking and Damen did so for old time's sake. Laurent in his drunken haze said he missed him and their conversations. That made Damen happy and he could barely restrain himself especially when he told Laurent to go to bed and Laurent replied with “then take me” giving it a different implication. Seeing Laurent laying on the bed vulnerable and wanton was torture, but he didn’t do anything. He wasn’t himself and he would kill him when Laurent sobered up. So he left him to sleep it off.

Damen woke up in a good mood as he remembered the night before and the fact that Laurent missed him. That mood followed him down to the war room where he met with the captains to go over their next move to take Karthas. Laurent was supporting a hangover when he came down but he now had Makedon’s approval especially with how much he had drank of his personal drink. It made Laurent uncomfortable with Makedon’s camaraderie but he bore it. They then went over an attack plan and strategies for the upcoming fight. Laurent was still suffering from a headache and Makedon said to have his slave bring him some tea. So he said “Bring me some” and instinctively Damen stood. It was awkward for a moment when both Laurent and Damen didn’t move until Nikandros had everyone clear the hall to get ready to ride. Nice cover up Nick! When they were alone, Laurent wanted to know what had happened last night, he remembered only a little of it. Damen told him he had just taken him to his rooms and attended him and nothing else. He had been drunk and he wasn’t someone who would take advantage of somone in that position. Laurent agreed that he wasn’t and then asked if he had said anything. Damen said that Laurent had said he had missed him and Laurent blushed red. Damen admitted that he missed him too and that he was jealous of Isander. Laurent said that Isander was a slave, yet Damen had been a slave. Laurent just said he hadn’t been, he had been born to rule like he was. Later, Damen went to go see the villager survivers to see how they were and to apologize for what had been done. They knew who he was now and were angry and said they wished someone else had come to Delfur and won years ago. The little girl there was getting upset and another one tried to make her feel better with a coin trick. A familiar one. Damen now knew that Laurent had been here before him. The troops then set out for Karthas. Along the way, Nikandros warned Damen to be careful ‘when’ not if Laurent let him fuck him again, he could want something. It was what he did, he did it to Makedon and he could do it to Damen; he only gave if he wanted something. Damen took this in stride and continued to the front of the line where Laurent was and continued forward. When they got to Karthas, it was empty. They thought it was a trap at first but there really wasn’t anyone there, everyone in the fort had retreated. But they had left someone behind. Jokaste. Along with a handful of handmaidens. She had been sent to a different town to give birth but hadn’t made it. She had obviously been the one to organize the attack on the village in order to slow them down. When Damen saw her, he thought she was as beautiful as ever and didn’t act like she had been surrounded by the enemy. Damen had her sent away.

Nikandros told him later that Jokaste had been confined to a cell but didn’t know what to do with her. Damen wanted it to be worse than what she had done with him, sending him to Vere as a slave. For now, he had her confined with no men about who could be lured by her. Damen now had the fort under his control and a powerful prisoner. It didn’t take long for the Regent’s heralds to come. This time Damen and Laurent were ready to receive them, unlike last time. The herald had a message from the “King of Vere” whom the Regent was now calling himself. Damen refuted that by saying the King sat beside him and that the Regent had false claims to the throne. The Herald pretended not to hear and said to Laurent that his uncle was extending him a chance to restore his good name. That his uncle doesn’t believe that Laurent has turned on his people and offers him a chance to stand trial to prove himself. That he would be returned everything that was his. Laurent made him repeat exactly what he said and then asked what would happen if he refused. The herald said he would be executed and he will be given a traitor’s death on display for all to see and his name struck from the family register and forgotten. Laurent said nothing, so Damen told the Herald to go back to the Regent and tell thim that everything will be Laurent’s when he is named King. Akielos and Vere will ride united and he will fall. A dignitary that had come with the herald spoke to Laurent, pleading with him not to side with Damen because of the things he has done; of what he had been accused of in Ios. When Damen asked what that was, the herald said in Akielon so everyone could hear that Damen had been accused of killing his father, the King Theomedes of Akielos. The hall erupted into chaos and Damen had the Herald removed from his sight. Damen’s mind was swirling at the injustice, at the fact that his brother Kastor had killed their father and lied to say that Damen had done it. It was the last straw and he knew that there was no hope in saving any relationship with his brother. Being accused of killing his father was worse than being sent to Vere as a slave. The hall had been cleared from all the shouting people and he didn’t want to believe that his people would believe the herald’s words. He now knew how Laurent felt when his uncle had taken away his support and turned his people against him. Damen was realing with just this one fight, Laurent had put up with it for years. Yet Damen wasn’t going to act out in anger, he was going to march and take the Regent out. Larent continued not to say anything and seemed to be considering the proposal, yet Damen didn’t think he would get a trial, he would kill him. Laurent said he wasn’t considering it, his uncle would have witnesses that would smear his name across the floor before he was killed. But there was something that was missing. His uncle wouldn’t extend his hand knowing it wouldn’t be taken, there had to be something else. Before he could figure it out, Pallas came in saying that Jokaste was asking to see Damen. Damen knew he couldn’t deal with her knowing now that while his father had been dying, she had been having an affair with Kastor, that she had used him. She would tear him apart in his current state, so he had Laurent go. But after a few minutes, he followed Laurent to the cells, but stayed out of sight as they talked. Seeing them side by side, Damen could see how alike in coloring they were, with blonde hair and blue eyes. They exchanged biting words about how Damen had fucked both of them. Jokaste went into detail of how it must have been for Laurent to take his enemy into his bed and enjoy it. Laurent didn’t rise to the bait. Jokaste then told him that she had information and asked for clemency where she will be released back to Kastor. Laurent said no, that once Damen was crowed king in Ios, she will be executed. He was going to leave when she said that her son had come early and had to send him away when she heard Damen’t soldiers coming. Laurent didn’t care about a bastard child, but Jokaste said he should since he was the son of a king. Damen, who had been listening, put it together. The child had been early, why she had gone so far to give birth to obscure the birth date…because it was his. Laurent was horrified to learn that Jokaste had sent Damen’s son to his uncle. Jokaste just said that she was not going to be left to rot in a cell and wanted Damen to come see him next time, not his bed boy.

Laurent had seen him when he left, but Damen didn’t care and went to his room where he could think. All he could think of was the fact that he might have a son and that he had failed his father. After a time, the door opened and Laurent was there. Damen didn’t want to really deal with him at that moment but Laurent just said that he was here. He also noticed that no one had disturbed him and that Laurent had something to do with it. Damen was going to thank him for it, but before he could he found himself in Laurent’s embrace. It was clearly an inexperienced hug, but a hug all the same. They then talked, actually talked. Damen finally admitted to himself that his father was dead and Laurent knew how it was to lose family. Damen then asked if there was no way forward for them, could they not just hold their position and rule it together, could they even be together? Damen left it out there and waited. Laurent just asked him how he could trust him after what his own brother did and Damen just said that Laurent was a good honest man and his brother was not. He then said that if he gave him his heart, Laurent would treat it tenderly. (ugh, Damen! So sweet) Laurent couldn’t take it either and said he couldn’t think when he spoke or made love to him like that, so Damen told him not to think. Laurent tried to tell him to stop but Damen just told him not to think again and Laurent blurted out to kiss him. It surprised Laurent that he admitted that but he didn’t take it back. He also admitted that it had been a long time since he had been with anyone, only one other besides, Damen. Damen just told him he would never hurt him, but he had in regards to lying who he was and killing his brother, but he was sorry about it. After that Damen made Laurent admit and see that he wasn’t a slave, he was a man. Laurent then said Damen’s name for the first time. They didn’t do much talking after that. There were no more secrets between them and Laurent accepted who Damen was and made love to Damen anyway. Their joining was beautiful and hot, I enjoyed it far too much. 😊 But it was Laurent’s acceptance of Damen that was so moving, it took a lot for him to do it, but his love for Damen won out. And Damen knew exactly how to make Laurent feel good, slow, and steady and it was amazing for both of them.

In the morning, Laurent was still there lying next to him, a fact that made Damen very happy. He also took great pleasure in hearing Laurent saying his name. They had a bit of bittersweet pillow talk where they wondered “what if.” Damen said that he would have courted him properly if they had the time and Laurent said that he would have gotten along with his brother, been friends perhaps. Laurent then promised that he wouldn’t let his uncle hurt him or his child if it was his child. They got busy again and were interrupted by Pallas who came for instructions and caught them in the act. Laurent was not bothered in the slightest, but Damen was embarrassed. He was not used to being seen in a position except for slaves, but they were beneath him in stature, but Pallas was a soldier. After Pallas left with his instructions,  Laurent asked if he was shy, which he thought was funny because he had wrestled naked earlier. Damen said that the wrestling was a sport, in Akielos they don’t do it in front of others. Laurent said that in Vere, a royal married couple consummates their marriage in front of the council. Damen was horrified. As they lay next to each other, talk turned to Govart and Laurent said that he thought Govart had something on his uncle and wanted to know what, but didn’t get a chance to find out. He told Damen how he got out of Fortaine, it was unbelievable, yet Damen believed it. He didn’t think Nikandros would though. Damen then asked if Laurent had anyone there to comfort him when Auguste died, and Laurent said he did, though he seemed stiff and uneasy in his reply. Damen was just glad that he hadn’t been alone. They still had things to do, but they spent the rest of the morning together. Later they talked and laid out their plans, or Laurent did since Damen wasn’t exactly a planner. When the servants came in to take their dishes away did the question of why Damen didn’t have slaves in his household. Damen thought it was obvious why, since he had been one himself, he now didn’t like slaves a sentiment that Laurent agreed with. And Laurent probably would have freed him on the first night if he hadn’t been who he was. When Damen questioned if Pet’s in Vere were the same, Laurent’s answer was no, Pet’s didn’t have a choice if they wanted to survive; a slave in Akielos had better options. Laurent then said that his uncle wouldn’t hurt the child, but would likely use it as leverage, so they will have to get it back. But first, they had to find out if there really was a child, so Damen had to go see Jokaste. He didn’t want to play her games and straight out asked her if there really was a child, but he knew he wouldn’t get a straight answer out of her, so he asked her handmaids. He said that Jokaste will be executed, but they can be saved if they answered his questions. None of them answered at first and Jokaste tried to get in a word or two to try and play a game with Damen, saying that Kastor will kill the child if he finds out it’s Damen’s and if she is killed, the wet nurse that is with it will tell him, but he wasn’t having it. He had a soldier come and start to take one of the handmaids and she cracked and revealed that there really was a child, it had been taken to Ios, but she wasn’t sure who the father was, yet Jokaste said it was Damen’s. She also revealed that Jokaste didn’t trust the Regent so the wet nurse had been instructed to trade the child to Damen in exchange for Jokaste’s freedom. (Wow, what a mother she is). Jokaste didn’t show it, but she was not happy that the plan had been revealed, but she took it in stride and said that the only way for the trade to work was for her to be there in person. Damen knew that he couldn’t just walk into Ios with his brother and the Regent looking for him, but there was one place where they could meet without being ambushed, the Kingsmeet. The handmaids were then separated from Jokaste with one of them to communicate with the wet nurse the plan. Now alone, Jokaste said he was a fool to trust the Prince of Vere, he had his own plans, but Damen knew that already, Laurent was always clear in his intentions. Before he left, he told her he chose the wrong brother to follow, following Kaster landed her with nothing and even her own women have turned on her. Jokaste just said that Kastor should have killed him.

Since they couldn’t just walk into the Kingsmeet, they decided to go in disguise as cloth merchants. After careful planning, they planned their route and who was going. Only the best soldiers were going, so Jord, Pallas, and another Lazar, and the doctor Paschal, and Guion and his wife so he behaved. While he watched everything come together through a window, Damen waited for Laurent to come to discuss the plan he had come up with. He was already dressed in a simple cloth merchant garb with his gold cuff hidden. Then Laurent came in…dress in Akielon clothing, something that Damen wasn’t prepared for because there was a lot of skin showing; his ankles, feet, and one shoulder. It was not something a Veretian would wear as they are always fully clothed. Damen was speechless, but all Laurent said was that everyone else was wearing Akielon clothes so he was too. They then went over the plan again. Later, Damen told Nikandros the plan and as he expected, he didn’t like it because it was dishonorable; going in disguise wasn’t their way, it was backhanded.  Yet that was what they were going to do. So they set out with their two wagons and light guard and kept a lookout because there were a lot of dangers, one of which was Jokaste herself who was bound and gagged in a wagon. The first test was to get past the border guard. They were stopped and Damen told the Captain that they were escorting Jokaste to Ios after her birth and didn’t want to be disturbed. But the Captain didn’t care and wanted the wagon opened. That was a problem because Jokaste would be found, but when they forced open the front wagon, Damen could hear the Captain talking to someone and then came back and said that they can go through and they will even ride with them through the rest of the checkpoints. The Captain even told Damen that Jokaste was as beautiful as they say. Once they passed all the checkpoints and were a safe distance did they stop. Nikandros didn’t know how he got Jokaste to go along, Laurent then came out of the wagon saying she didn’t and tossed aside a blue garment to put a jacket back on. Meaning it hadn’t been Jokaste in the wagon, it had been Laurent…in a blue dress pretending to be Jokaste, a fact that was blowing Nikandros’s mind. They now had to move quickly when they realized they didn’t arrive at their destination. Jokaste was removed from the supply wagon where she had been to the front one, then they moved on, taking refuge in old child hideouts that Damen used to go to, to hide from the patrols. The next challenge was to go to Heston who was loyal to his father, but Damen had to go himself and present himself and hope he could shield them from Kastor. Damen set off and Laurent went with him as they left the wagons behind to the estate. Yet when they got there, there were too many horses in the stables, meaning Jokaste had warned the guards that they may be coming there, so that was a bust. But they still needed to find a way to hide the wagons, so Damen set off back to the wagons and Laurent went to take care of the soldiers. By way of letting loose the dog that went off on the strange horses which spooked them and they got out and ran off. Of course, the soldiers followed trying to get the horses back. With them distracted, Damen raced back to the wagons and got them to move faster and across a small stream behind some bushes. Shortly after, they heard Kastor’s men coming and move past them going to the Heston estate. They continued on and Damen just hoped that Kastor didn’t remember the stream they had found as children or that he told Jokaste about it. Laurent was able to join them at some point bearing an apricot from the orchard. They stopped the wagons by some old runes and set up a small camp where they wouldn’t be found. Camp was awkward for the Akieleons because they were not used to sitting around a fire and sharing wine with their King. It wasn’t until Laurent came in and told them of their escapade from the brothel where he got the blue dress and had them in tears from laughing. Later, Damen went to his bedroll to go to sleep and was pleased when Laurent joined him. They spoke about the runes around them that were similar to Acquitart and a bit about their childhood with their brothers. Damen said that when all of this was over, they could spend a week out here in the country and he could show him around. Laurent said he would like that.

Their luck ran out the following day when one of their wagons broke an axel. They were in the middle of repairing it when Akieloen soldiers appeared, they tried to be quiet but Laurent had a different idea. He hailed the soldiers bringing their attention to them. Damen wanted to strangle Laurent because they were outnumbered. Yet when the soldiers came, Laurent told them that they were cloth merchants making a delivery with a  defective wagon. They asked for their name and Damen said Charls, since it was the only cloth merchant he knew. Turned out that Charls was a renowned Veretian cloth merchant and they didn’t believe it because clearly, Damen wasn’t Veretian. Laurent said that he was Charls and that Damen was his assistant, Lamen (basically a combination of their names. Cute!). Somehow, Laurent was able to convince the soldiers to help them with the axel and guide them to an inn. Damen wasn’t even fazed anymore, but Nikandros couldn’t even believe what was happening. They did run into a bit of a problem…because Charls the cloth merchant was already there! Charls was brought forth and he recognized Laurent as the Prince of Vere and played along saying that he was his cousin Charls and he was Charls, named after their grandfather Charls. (I was laughing at this. So funny!) With that situation resolved and “Charls” vouched for, the soldiers left and Charls brought Damen and Laurent to a private corner. Charls was glad to see his Prince again, in another disguise no less. Laurent introduced Damen as Lamen, his assistant again because they couldn’t reveal who Damen really was. They were then introduced to other merchants as Charls younger cousin and assistant. While Laurent was absorbed in conversation with the other merchants with some surprising knowledge on merchant politics, Damen spoke with Charls’ assistant Guilliame who told him that Charls had met the Prince of Vere before in disguise as a prostitute. Damen played along feigning disbelief. When it was time to retire, Damen was led to Laurent’s room where he was waiting freshly bathed. He had dismantled the bed and set it before the fire, and kissed him when he came in. Damen then went to take a bath and when he was done, he was in for a surprise because Laurent had planned a bit more by lighting candles around the room and the man himself waiting for him which he thought was sweet. Things turned uh, passionate after that and Damen got the size of his lifetime as Laurent dropped to his knees before him and, well, gave him a blow job, a good one too even with it being his first time. After, Laurent asked him to show him what it could be like if they were together. So Damen made love to him, slowly, just how Laurent liked it. When they were done and lying next to each other, Damen commented that he was jealous of whatever princess Laurent was going to marry and Laurent said that there was no princess, he was going to be the last of his line. Damen didn’t know what to say to that, so stayed silent. After a while, Laurent said that he was glad Damen was here, he thought he would have to face his uncle alone and Damen said he wasn’t alone. They traveled with Charls for a few days and didn’t have any trouble, and the journey was relaxed for everyone as they bonded with some of the merchants. During one stop, Paschal said that he was the Regent’s physician and took care of his boys, meaning the boys he took to his bed (gross). He also said that his brother used to serve in the King’s Guard before he died. When they parted ways with Charls, Guilliame said that he noticed that “Lamen” had been a slave and that “Charls” had freed him and that he and Charls have never traded in slaves. Damen said without hesitation that Damianos will end slavery when he is King. As a parting word, Laurent told Charls to mention his name to Damianos when he is on the throne, he will give him a good price on cloth. Which is funny, because he was standing right there. They then parted ways, their party heading to the Kingsmeet. When everyone was asleep, including Damen beside him, Laurent got up and went to Jokaste’s wagon. He dismissed the guards and opened it up. He was letting her go as part of his own plans. He told her that he thought it was Kastor’s child. That she knew what was coming so to save Damen’s life, she had to send him to Vere and to do it, she had to be in Kastor’s bed. Jokaste didn’t say anything nor did her expression change, but Laurent could tell he had got it right because for the first time he could tell she was afraid. Laurent continued to say that he knew it was Kastor’s child because she wouldn’t use Damen’s child against him. He said they were alike because they both gave Damen a chance to live. Jokaste asked if the only difference was between them was that she chose the wrong brother, and Laurent said that she didn’t choose. (I think that means that she didn’t have to choose, she chose Damen all along, its why she did what she did. So Damen would survive).

In the morning, Laurent said it was best to not disturb Jokaste before the exchange so he and Damen went off alone to the Kingsmeet. It was a beautiful place made of white marble where pilgrims came to pay tribute to the Kingstone and a place where enemies could parlay. So Damen and Laurent went in as pilgrims. They had to pass through the gates first that were guarded by KIngsmeet guards dressed in white and take a pledge to not break the rules of peace. Damen had last been here when he was an infant when he was brought to be presented as the heir. No one spoke about how Kastor had been there, having been passed over, if he hadn’t been born, Kastor would have been the one presented. Damen told Laurent that Nikandros had served here at the Kingsmeet for 2 years, but he hadn’t been allowed because his father had said he was supposed to lead not follow. As they passed through the halls, Damen pointed out the different statues of past King’s and Queen’s of Akielos, one of which was the First King. He had unified the Kingdom and everything Damen has now has been passed from him. When they entered the inner chamber the Regent was waiting for them. Damen thought there was an ambush, but no one came, he was alone. Laurent and his uncle faced each other and exchanged sharp retorts each trying to get under each other’s skin. That was until the Regent said that Laurent knew he was going to be here and had come to give himself up for the child. Damen didn’t believe it at first but Laurent didn’t deny it. He had come to give himself up because Laurent knew that Damen wouldn’t fight if the Regent had his child, so he was going to give himself up so that Damen could win. Damen wanted to do the exchange instead, but the Regent wasn’t interested in making a deal with him, he wanted Laurent to stand trial before the Council. Laurent wanted him to leave, but Damen wouldn’t and said that Laurent would never kneel for him. Yet the Regent said he had, that he should have turned him away…(That pervert! Him and Laurent! He took advantage of a child!) Damen couldn’t control himself and drew his sword on the Regent but in that moment, Damen had broken the pledge and was swiftly taken down by the white sentries in the chamber. He didn’t go down without a fight of course, but they managed to pin him down and they told him his life forfit to the King. And the Regent said he was a King and wanted Damen killed. Laurent pleaded with his uncle to stop, to take him instead, but the Regent didn’t want him. So Laurent said he will go with him to Ios and stand trial if they let Damen go. Yet the Regent wasn’t going to make it easy. He wanted him to beg. For a man like Laurent, it was an utterly humiliating position but he did it. He got down on his knees and begged. Damen could scarcely believe what was happening. The Regent accepted and the next thing Damen knew Laurent was leaving with him and Damen left behind.

They didn’t let Damen go until the morning just as they said. By then Laurent was long gone. He was met outside the Kingsmeet by Jord and Nikandros and the former wanted to know where Laurent was, so he told him. Jord was understandably upset about the news and blamed Damen for leaving him there with his uncle. But there had been nothing he could have done. Laurent would be taken to Ios to stand trial where he would be branded a traitor and killed. Damen couldn’t let that happen. Laurent thought he was alone, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t going to just leave him. So Damen went to Ios alone and turned himself in. As he walked through the town, no one stopped him, no one seemed to even recognize him until he announced himself at the gates to the palace. Once everyone knew who he was they stared in shock because their King was alive and they were so happy to see him. But the guards had to bring him in despite this and had to manhandle Damen into the palace. They put him in a cell and tried to figure out what to do with him, when they did, they put him in cuffs and took him to the great hall where there was already a ceremony going on. The Regent was there with Kastor sitting next to him on a dasis, soldiers, both Veretian and Akielon alike sat around the room, as was the Council and right in front in chains was Laurent. He was still alive, a little worse for wear, but alive. Kastor was smug and clearly didn’t know what he had brought into the palace. When Laurent saw Damen, he was shocked and it took a moment to control himself. The Regent announced to everyone that Damianos of Akielos, the one responsible for the death of King Thromedes, had been captured. But Damen hadn’t been brought to face his crimes, he was the final piece of evidence against Laurent. That they were working together and that Laurent was sleeping with his brother’s killer. Then the Regent asked with false concern if Damen had forced him, that he was safe and could tell the truth, but Laurent said that he lay with him of his own volition and that Damen was innocent of any charges against him, that he was a good man. Damen understood that Laurent was trying to protect him, so he tried to do the same, and told the court that Laurent was wrongly accused and they will hear him if this was a fair trial. The council immediately tried to interrupt, but Damen was adamant that he will be heard. And the Regent, confident, let him. So he told the truth, how when they first met, Damen didn’t like him, that he was blinded by prejudice and didn’t understand who Laurent was and who he was fighting alone. That Laurent had more honor than any man he had ever met and he was proud to be his lover. The Regent said that while it was a heartfelt decoloration but there was no proof of this. Damen replied that the Regent was the architect of it all and he did have proof.

Damen then called Guion to come and speak. So he was sent for and with him the rest of his party; Guion’s wife Loyse, Paschal, Nikandros, and Jord.  But it didn’t go as planned. Guion lied. He said that Laurent was guilty of everything he was charged with. That he had been a prisoner for months and had seen what he had been up to, bedding the Akielon every night, and chose him over his country.  Damen was understandably angry that he was lying when he swore to tell the truth about the Regent’s group in Akielos. Guion just said that the Regent was innocent and his only crime was that he trusted his nephew. The Council had enough after that and were ready to pass their sentence. Damen and Laurent were pushed to their knees and a black cloth was brought out a symbol of death. Laurent pushed forward so that he was standing in front of asking his uncle if he wasn’t going to give him any last advice. The Regent just said that he had so much promise. That it hurt him that he hated him so when all he wanted was what was best for him. And that he should have known better to use Guion against him. Laurent then said that he wasn’t who he brought with him and Loyse, Guion’s wife stood up and said it was her and she had something to say. Guion tried to stop her, but she ignored him and said that the Regent had brought ruin to her family and killed her son, Aimeric. She said that the Regent would come to Fortaine and her husband allowed him to visit their youngest son’s bedroom in exchange for land and a position on the Council. He also made Guion the Ambassador to Akielos and was the go-between for the Regent and Kastor. Aimeric had killed himself because he had been an accomplice in the Regent and Kastor’s plot to kill King Theomedes and take his country. She then brought out a signet ring of Vere, (I think the same one that Laurent sent off before with the messenger) Loyse finished by saying that Kastor had assassinated his father in exchange for Veretian troops that he wanted to use to take Ios. Kastor denied the claims and wanted her arrested, but the Council had heard it all and they were disgusted. They already didn’t like that the Regent took young boys to his bed, and that a council member’s son had been used didn’t sit well with them. But it still didn’t clear Laurent’s name, but it did absolve Damen’s crime of being accused of killing the King.  Damen tried to think of how to save him, Govart had known something about the Regent, but he was dead now. Nicaise had known, and he was killed too. There had to be a conection…. Damen pushed forward and said that there was someone else who can testify, but he hasn’t come forward. He is a good man and maybe he would if he was free to do so if he did not fear repercussions. But he said to the room that he had a duty to his country. Paschal came forward with a bundle of letters from his brother who had died. They were carried by Govart and stolen by Nicaise and was killed for it. Paschal said his brother Langren was an archer and he a physician and they came to the capital together. Langren rose in the ranks and into the King’s Guard quickly. Then the war came with Akielos; talks fell through so the King took his army to Marlas to force Theomedes away. Paschal said that his brother had been nervous before the fight, speaking strangely and didn’t find out why until years later. The Regent had advised the King to leave the safetly of the fort saying it was safe as they launched a surprise attack on the Akielons. But instead Veretians fell and Prince Auguste died. In his grief, the King took off his helm and was hit by a stray arrow in the throat. With the King and heir dead, the Regent ascended the throne. Paschal looked for his brother and found that he had fled the battlefield and had died several days later in a village and the people told him that a young Govart had been with him. He didn’t know if Govart had killed his brother, but the soldier had suddenly rose in power and was given money and slaves. It wasn’t until he read the letters that Nicaise gave to him did he understand. It was what he had used to blackmail the Regent and why his brother had fled. His brother had killed the King Aleron of Vere on orders from the Regent who promised him money, but instead had him killed to keep him quiet. It was proof that the Regent had conspired to kill his brother in order to claim the throne for himself. There was silence around the room as Paschal passed the letters to the Council. Damen looked at Laurent and he was white as a sheet, not having expected this outcome. It also now made sense to Damen why the Veretian army had attacked that day in the open when it had been obvious that they shouldn’t. Guion tried to deny all of it but Herode of the Council said that a Nicaise had been more loyal than the Council. Then he knelt in front of Laurent and said that they had failed him as their King. Then one by one the Council knelt in front of Laurent who was in shock that he was now King. The Regent said that the Council has been deceived into treason and wanted them arrested, but no one moved, even the Regent’s Guard didn’t move. One soldier ripped his insignia off his clothes and stood by Laurent and then the rest followed. The Regent tried to talk his way out of it, until Laurent told him he had lost. The Council then passed judgement. He was charged with treason and sentenced to death. His body will be displayed on the city gates and not with his family. As soldiers grabed him, the Regent said he couldn’t sentence him, he was King. Herode said he was never King. In a last ditch effort, the Regent said that he’ll kill Daminos’s child, but Laurent said no he won’t. Because he didn’t have the child and also that Damen knew it wasn’t his. He had found the scrap of paper that morning from Jokaste saying it wasn’t his and he was safe. The Regent was then brought forward and the sentence brought down, by a beheading. Now in charge, Laurent gave orders to have his uncle’s body displayed on the gates and his flag put out to let the people know. Then he ordered to have Damen unchained. The Akielon soldiers were confused now having been following Kastor all this time, and Kastor himself was gone having taken off with his guard in the confusion. Laurent came forward and said that if he needed an army to take the capital, he now had one. Damen just said to find him after…he had something to do.

The halls were in chaos when Damen set off to find Kastor. Kastor’s men were defending his retreat and he had to get to him before he left the palace to regroup with an army, it would turn into full out war. Laurent’s soldiers were not going to be any help because they were in an Aklieon palace and didn’t know the place like he did, but so did Kastor. So Damen went after him using a shortcut through the slave viewing rooms to the baths. The last time he had been there was when he was caught and stripped down to be sold. It didn’t take long for him to wait and soon Kastor was in front of him and alone. Now that they were face to face, they finally talked as Damen went up the stairs to confront him. Kastor basically blamed him for being born because he had everything that should have been his. Kastor said that when he was captured, the Regent had wanted him and at first he had refused, but Jokaste had convinced him to send him to Vere. When Damen got close enough, Kastor told him to kill him and let his sword go so that he was defenseless. But Damen couldn’t do it, he was going to take him in and have him live the rest of his life under house arrest in Ios. Kastor said thank you…then stabbed him with a knife. Damen fell backward down the stairs and landed at the bottom the wind knocked out of him and Kastor advanced on him with this sword that he had dropped to kill him because there couldn’t be 2 Kings of Akielos. Then miraculously Laurent appeared having followed Damen through the halls. He instructed Damen to staunch the blood, then used the gold cuff on Damen’s wrist to chain him to the floor. Laurent said that Damen won’t kill Kastor, but he will. Damen didn’t want him to because it was his brother, but he didn’t listen. Kastor was confident he was going to kill Laurent and then Damen.  Damen knew how Laurent fought, he was good, yet Kastor was good too and had more experience. Last time Laurent and Damen had fought, Laurent had been still injured and clouded by anger, but this time he was at his best and clear-headed. Kastor and Laurent faced each other and fought, Laurent parrying each of Kastor’s attacks until Laurent stumbled. Kastor went in for the kill, but it had been a feint and Laurent drove his sword into Kastor’s chest, killing him. Then Laurent was by his side. Damen just felt relieved that Laurent was okay, and even if his brother was now dead, the brother he had known had been lost to him years ago. Later he will mourn the loss of his brother and inter him with his father. But for right now, he focused on Laurent. Laurent said he had killed his brother, but Damen wasn’t mad, instead, he understood him now. They were now both orphans. Laurent said they now held Ios, the center of both their lands and it had been one kingdom at some point. Damen agreed. They just had to wait for a physician to come, but he wasn’t too badly hurt. He just let Laurent fuss over him and looked to the future with Laurent by his side.

[twodaysintojune]

Close Call

Supernatural, Debriel, Warnings-None

Written for @debrielcc ‘s third round.

Alternate Universes, Fantasy

Find me at AO3

“Play us a song, Gabe.”

Gabriel took some time to finish munching his piece of bread in silence before he downed it with a sip of wine. Cleaning his hands, he went for his lute sighing tiredly.

It’s not that he was against the idea, it was just that everyone was beyond the concept of tiredness by then. The rest of the party calmly finishing their own meals while Gabriel adjusted the strings.

Dean was already sharpening his blade, a previous encounter with a couple of orcs dulling it slightly meant that it was time for the stone. A painful task for someone with a currently half incapacitated arm that he still managed to do because he just couldn’t trust his baby to anyone else. Castiel was mixing some herbs in boiling water. A nourishing potion of some sorts that he was preparing for him to be in less pain while he recovered.

Just five more days and they would finally be at home, or the closest thing that the entire party could call home anyways. The place where Sam and Dean’s parents lived.

The journey through the cavernous path of Brelin’s Pass was supposedly going to be the quickest way back to the town of Cravenfall but a sudden occupation of a few goblins and orcs that came down from the North escaping the sharp cold winter of the ridges had turned it into a strenuous march. They had done really well for an outnumbered party of five but despite Castiel’s efforts they all held bruises and gashes and some of their clothes were a lost cause.

Sam had warded the camp with heavy misguiding spells, no one wanted to deal with anything anymore that day. Still, Dean was going to do the first lookout round and then pass the baton to Garth, his sense of smell had payed greatly throughout the whole endeavor. Dean was less prone to make fun of his pointy ‘doggy’ ears now.

Strong fingers began to move over the instrument with a song that Dean only knew too well.

“Through the trail of the stars,

I came to find your light.

I ran along the rotten path

Of silver vines and fire.

Oh Sylfaen, Oh Sylfaen,

Will you ever hear my prayer?

Will you ever join us

In our pain?

Will you ever sit

Besides our pyre?”

Gabriel’s smooth tenor voice drawled the notes of the song with a clear ring that made it the more nostalgic.

Dean stopped dragging the stone through his blade. He looked up towards the bard, falling into the enchantment of his voice and the deep honey of his eyes reflecting the fire of the camp, glowing like a spell. You could feel the pain of the verses cover your bones while the song pleaded to Sylfaen to forgive the humans that had aggrieved him and come back from the land of the High Elves to lead the attack of the now lost city of Arthalos against the hordes of evil.

It was a sad song but for Dean it was much more than that. It reminded him of the day he met the bard, listening to that song for the first time. That day he stood reclined against a wall for two hours until Gabriel finished his show and had collected his coins and approached him. Gabriel looked at him dazed when Dean stretched his hand towards him out of the blue with a killer smile.

“Dean Winchester. Please be my bard.”

Neither Sam nor Castiel had been overly fond of Gabriel at first, especially when they discovered he also had some quite sneaky skill sets that would remind more of a thief than a simple bard.

Gabriel had also not been really that happy when he found out that he had to share the gorgeous green eyed man’s time with a pair of stiffs like them but they all eventually grew on to each other.

Dean was taken away from his trance when Castiel softly shoved a wooden bowl on his hands. A sharp accusatory sight from his friend made Dean realize just how deep into Gabriel’s performance he had been. He blushed while taking the healer’s potion sipping on the not so bad tasting brew.

The stars were shining brightly now that the fire was more coal than logs. Gabriel resting against a rock, Cas and Sam sleeping one upon the other against the roots of a tree sharing a blanket, Garth almost on top of the both of them, curled up like a dog. Okay, maybe Dean would still make fun of him from time to time. He looked back for a second to ensure his friends were sleeping well while he turned towards the forest once more.

He heard a rustle of leaves and felt Gabriel sit by his side on the trunk of the fallen tree. When Gabriel grunted while trying to find a position where his ass was not entirely smashed, Dean turned his head slightly towards him to acknowledge his presence. Up close, you could see the bags under his eyes and the slight trembling of his shoulders. His body was desperate for some rest but apparently the adrenaline of staying awake three days running through goblins had just barely stopped flooding.

Without a word he threw himself at Dean, who received him a bit astonished. Dean’s alarm went up the moment he felt Gabriel drown a sob.

“Gabe?”

“I thought I had lost you.”

Dean snickered. “Yeah, I don’t think anyone expected that bloodhound”

“He dragged you like a broken doll...”

“It’s a good thing your aim with the bow is as sharp as your voice.”

Gabriel rubbed his face against Dean’s shirt and looked upwards. Before Dean could say a thing Gabriel was already pulling him down and linking their lips in a desperate kiss.

Gabriel had danced with Dean, flirting with him to no end with no result. He had eventually resigned himself to the idea that Dean had, in fact, been interested in him only as the bard of the group but after experiencing the ice cold sting of panic shiver throughout his guts at the idea of losing Dean forever he had made up his mind. He didn’t care if Dean got angry at him later. He had to convey all the things he held inside to the man.

This stirred Dean’s own repressed feelings for the bard. He had known it from the moment he had laid eyes upon him. He had know this was the man he wanted to spend the rest of his days with. But it had been way too difficult to show it when your party depended on you as the only wall to receive all the hits and defend the others. For some reason, most likely his training as knight, Dean had assumed that in order to protect everyone this impenetrable wall had to be extended to his owns feelings as well.

Dean held Gabriel closer. The kiss was rough but oddly chaste. Lips joined together for a long time and only briefly pulling apart for some air. They finally pulled away only to join their foreheads, still roused by the elation of knowing each others feelings were reciprocated, smirking softly. Interlacing their hands.

“Let me take you to my parents once we get to Cravenfall.”

“I’ve been letting you take me wherever you go so far. I’m not stopping you now.”

In an hour or so, Dean would wake Garth up and go to sleep against the root of a tree just like his brother.

In an hour or so, Gabriel would join him and cover the both of them with a blanket, just like Castiel.

In five more days they would finally be at home, or the closest thing that the entire party could call home anyways.

[icarussolved-blog]

ACT 2 : INTERLUDE / ACHILLES RAN FIRST INTO THE WAR LOOKING FOR HIS HEART !

(( take note that while most of these acts have been thought out for years now they are EASILY subject to change. The story of Price is a tricky one that I dont have all the kinks worked out yet & I will definitely be going more in-depths into the events listed in the future. But for RP purposes this is all important information for Nathaniel Price  ))

First thing to note is that the city had always had gang  activity but here is where it starts to get hectic. Four gangs start to make large leeway into the city : the Bogdan, the Reginalds , the Vegas, and the Cruises.

The city notices and so does the police as gang related crimes begin to increase.

Price is out of the hospital and back on the job as almost nothing has changed. He remembers all the words of Thatcher but he’s keeping his mind focused on his cases.

It is in this act that Price and Hope get closer and also Price begins to subconsciously open up more to people. He gets friends and talks to people for purposes outside of just being a detective he becomes more human in his responses and the truer side of him is shown.  

Of course while Price is getting better as a person this doesn’t really change his mindset. His pride. His needing to win. His need to be respected and adored by so many. 

A major keystone in this act is while the villain underbelly is starting to erupt members of The Circus is murder good citizens. The city in a mob mentality rounds up any homeless or strays and wants to execute them. Price and his fellow detectives stop it but their public image does drop substantially. After catching the real killers The Circus does decide it’s probably best to leave. And never come back. Which would mean Hope would have to go with them.

Cue super emotional lovey dovey talk between Hope & Price and Price finally admitting that he wants Hope to stay w/ him. Because she makes him feel different and makes him feel alive and makes him feel something he’s never felt before. And that’s all she wanted to heart. It’s great stuff at least in my mind. Hope moves in with Price and leaves The Circus much to their dissapointment who greatly believes that Price and Hope are only meant for ruin.

They move in with each other cue shenanigans of Price learning to now live with someone else again. 

More cases. Yadda. Yadda.

Now here’s where things get interesting and it’s all because of two kids

Maria Bogan ,daughter of the head of the Bogan family, & Oliver Walker, messanger to the various Mobs located in the city who carries messages across along with important packages.

The two became star crossed lovers and didn’t want this life for them. They wanted to be together and be free from just this criminal lifestyle. 

So one night Oliver stole her away. On the night she was supposed to be kidnapped by the Reginalds. Which caused great problems but also delayed the oncoming war. 

Oliver took her to the one person he could trust which was Price. Knowing Price was definetly on the straight and narrow. Maria stayed with them while Oliver continued to do his thing. 

Tensions rose among the mob family with the missing daughter of the Bogans but the Reginalds had one thing in mind and that was getting the Bogans out of here. They would find a way to get rid of them and their operations one way or the other.  And if they were going to do that they needed the Messanger. So they got him. Kidnapped him. And pretty much killed the kid. In killing the messanger the Reginalds broke a rule and became open season for the rest of the gang families.

The Bogdans are the first to fall. With maria being the sole survivor thanks to Hope’s help. (and of course the police ). With Price telling Maria and Hope to go back to his place and stay there. And stay safe. He and the police had to fend off the city and themselves as the city became a battleground for the gang war. 

Price and his cohorts manage to arrest the Reginald leaders along with key member in the Cruises. But the Cruises arrest were a setup. Planted with a bomb and moments before Price can even realize that there arrest seemed too coincidental the bomb is detonated inside the police station. Price and a lot of his fellow detectives manages to survive but so many others are dead. A sergeant of the Cruises walks in and the leader of the Reginald starts to escape. Price has to take them both down even with a bunch of pain in his system and the station up in smokes. 

Spoiler he does manage. He kills the leader of the Reginalds and captures the sergeant and gets the location of their leader. 

IN a huge gunfight the Cruises are taken out but Price and his partners are held at gunpoint and handcuffed by the Vegas who were waiting for this situation. Who were organizing things from behind including the Reginalds jump to action. For the detectives to handle this mess and for the Vegas to pick up the pieces. 

The leader of the Vegas shoots one of Price’s detective’s and kills him and say she’ll do the same for the rest of the boys and gals in blue. One by one.  Price is frightened for his life and keeps thinking back to Hope and all the people he knows. So he devises a quick plan because this is not where he dies. He won’t die with so much left to do and so much left to live for. And so much. And so much. So even while outnumbered they attack and retaliate. Price manages to get a gun in his hand thanks to Maria who enters the scene only to shoot a Vega member and kill him that way Price is able to grab a gun. With a gun in his hand a shootout occurs with Price taking cover and the rest of the detectives grabbing guns off the fallen and joining the frey. The detectives do manage to win it out in the end, thanks to the assistance of one of the Vegas,  and arrest the Vega and therefore end the war.  The leader Vega is arrested and so are her sergeants but one of them is freed thanks to the Commissioner of the police who states that this Seargent was actually just an undercover agent. That agent is freed and the war is over. (( this part is subject to change a bit the final sequence is ROUGH and I’d like to give it more thought ))

Price and the rest of the detectives are given a few weeks off for holiday reasons and to let the city recover and to rebuild the station. Price for once is grateful for this time off and spends the holidays with Hope.

Maria takes control of the Bogdan family and shares a final moment w/ Price at Oliver’s grave before leaving the city with them.

The Vegas is taken over by this unknown Seargent  and their criminal involvement dies down.

Price and the detectives are hailed as heroes along with the Commissioner 

[aion-rsa]

How The Living Dead Completes Romero’s Zombie Legacy

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George A. Romero figuratively wrote the book on zombies with his low-budget, independent 1968 horror film epoch Night of the Living Dead. World War Z, 28 Days Later, Zombieland and even The Walking Dead trudged that territory but didn’t map much new terrain. Romero’s final novel, The Living Dead, completed by author Daniel Kraus (The Shape of Water novelization), doesn’t expand on the basics of the zombie apocalypse. It doesn’t challenge the zombie trope Romero filled out with his subsequent works on animated corpses, when The Living Dead had their Day, Dawn, Land, Diary and Survival. But, with it, Romero and Kraus do peer deeper into the mirror to find a bitter reflection of the horrors Romero brings out in The Living.

The Living Dead is character-driven in ways the feature films could never be. In Night of the Living Dead, the audience didn’t know, nor would they have cared, whether Helen Cooper (Marilyn Eastman) put on weight after marrying Harry (Karl Hardman). But we know this about Rosa, the wife of novel protagonist Luis Accocola, the Assistant Medical Examiner who logs the first case of reanimation in The Living Dead. We also know Luis paid for Rosa’s education and had to wait to marry her because she was so much younger than him. We know Rosa suffered a miscarriage long before the recently deceased became the ambulatory diseased.

We’ll never know if “They’re Coming to Get You” Barbra (Judith O’Dea) ever dreamed of dancing with Fred Astaire at night. But we know Luis’s assistant Charlene Rutkowski recoils from the very sight of Astaire when her mother Mae tunes in to the classic movie channel because the top hatted, tuxedo-sporting tap dancer tries to lead in her nightmares. Even before John Doe becomes the archive in the novel’s version of Patient Zero, Luis wants to know more about his history, whether he mattered. Why the homeless man is dressed so fine, and why he doesn’t have the curved spine of the long-term vagrant. In this respect, he is Romero. The unimportant details may not solve zombification, but it holds clues to the fading humanity.

The Living Dead is a fitting end to Romero’s zombie chronicles. The novel form allows him to bring more of himself into the pages, each of the characters filled out with flavors Romero himself test-tasted. There is also a bittersweet meta irony to the fact that the horror genius died before finishing the work and it was reanimated by Kraus, an unabashed fan and likely successor to the “Father of the Modern Zombie Film.” He hides Romero “Easter eggs” throughout the book, while also bringing in references to the pandemic apocalypse novel The Stand. Romero worked frequently with Stephen King, adapting his writer’s nightmare The Dark Half, having a barrel of fun with Monkey Shines, and indulging their shared love of EC Comics with Creepshow. The feature film adaptation was even shot in the four color scheme which defined the magazine. They further explored the horrors of publishing with Bruiser. The city of Bangor, Maine, which is King’s home turf, is referenced within the first few pages. He and Romero are wonderfully horrific friends.

The Living Dead is divided into three acts. Act One tells the story through the introduction of disconnected characters. It unfolds like an archive from the future written from multiple points of view. The history is being put together by a team in Washington, led by the researcher Etta Hoffmann. She is autistic and unflappably records survivors’ stories. Goaded on by an internet troll named Chucksux69, News anchor Chuck Corso at the cable station WNN broadcasts the events as they come in, even though he has no idea if anyone can see him. He does this while his co-workers try to eat him. Similar things happen at sea, where the US Navy aircraft carrier Olympia becomes a floating arena where dead sailors face off against the living crew. The gospel of the dead is spread zealously by a preacher in the book.

“When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth,” Romero warned in Dawn of the Dead. The characters in The Living Dead have to learn this for themselves. The only problem with living in a world written by George A. Romero is that the inhabitants didn’t grow up in a world with Romero in it. They don’t know what to do when the dead won’t stay dead. One of the most consistent things about zombies, whether they’re found in the Living Dead universe or one of the many other genre works, is you kill them by shooting them in the head. It doesn’t have to be a gunshot; Daryl on The Walking Dead does the deed with a bow and some arrows (though that series has gone on for a full decade without ever using the word zombie). From the very first ambulatory corpse, played by Bill Hinzman in Night of the Living Dead, to the present, a fractured skull is the only way to stop chomping teeth. Try telling that to the people in the book.

Why do zombies keep on biting? Day of the Dead posited the corpses reanimate because of primitive impulses in the spinal column. We, the audience, know from that movie onward it was because of special effects wizard Tom Savini. It would be nice to think of his hand on the elderly zombie in the novel who tries to gum someone to death. In The Living Dead, we learn zombies just wake up hungry. “This hunger is different from any you knew before,” a chapter opens. “This hunger is a lack. Something has been taken from you. You do not know what. This hunger is everywhere. Hunger, the fist. Hunger, the bones. Hunger, the flesh. Hunger, the brain.” Zombies aren’t evil, they are animalistic. Humans, on the other hand, are free to act horribly. If this particular horror niche is dead it can be reanimated here with this book. Night of the Living Dead brought the genre to life. The Living Dead gives Zombies souls. 

When Romero and some friends shot the indie film for just over $100,000 that would become The Night of the Living Dead, the country was going to hell. The Vietnam War was bringing death to the dinner table daily on the evening news. The generation which grew up in the shadow of the nuclear bomb was pulling away from a rotting society, unraveling like an exposed lower intestine. While women sew American flags sometime between “Year Fucking Six” and “Year Fucking Seven” of The Living Dead, Johnny and Barbara walk past a shredded flag as they enter the cemetery where their father is buried at the start of the film that started it all. The wreath is an empty gesture. Johnny can’t even remember what their father looked like.

Inspired by Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend and its film adaptation The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price, Night of the Living Dead reincarnated Zombie movies. Once the realm of island magic culturally appropriated by actors like Bela Lugosi and George Zucco, zombies were now hungry legions munching on the living. Brains were not yet the delicacy The Simpsons would make them out to be. The undead are a metaphor for whatever we want to put on them. Romero is a political artist and the book is contemporary. Like the ill-equipped national response to COVID-19, we watch an unprepared society face a cataclysmic event and come apart at the seams. Similar to the effects of the quarantine, the zombie apocalypse is good for the environment. Also mirroring our times, the zombies infest a hate-filled world though they prove to be an equalizer of all classes and in the toxic racial divide.

“Someone dies, someone else learns to live,” Greer, a Black teenager who escapes an overridden trailer park in the Midwest at the beginning of the novel, is taught. Minority characters feature prominently in The Living Dead. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated the year Night of the Living Dead was released. In the film, Ben, a Black character played by Duane Jones, survives the undead campaign, the tribal maneuvering of the other captive combatants around him, casual bigotry and betrayal only to be shot in the head by passing zombie thrill-killers. The final moments of the film shows photographs of men with dead zombies which look eerily similar to lynch mob photos.

Romero didn’t only use the undead as a political metaphor. They are endemic to all society. The Zombies aren’t the only brain-dead or dying characters in his films or the novel. In The Living Dead, most of the people’s minds are already infested by paranoid distrust of the news media and the hatred encouraged by social media. Luis’s life is saved at one point because he’s not flipping through his cell phone as he usually does. He actually notices the looks on the people’s faces. In Romero’s 1978 installment Dawn of the Dead, the citizenry’s minds were numbed by TV, radio and consumerism. Its biggest scene happens in a Pittsburgh shopping mall with muzak playing in the background. 

Act Two summarizes what would be the territory of 1985’s Day of the Dead (which gave zombies class-consciousness), 2005’s Land of the Dead, and Romero’s “found footage” installment Diary of the Dead (2007), but takes a turn at 2009’s western Survival of the Dead. Subtitled “The Life of Death,” Act Two spans eleven years, all of which are being recorded in “The Hoffmann Archive of Tales from the New World.” We learn zombies are more like us than we might wish to believe. Like modern man wastes most of its animal-based consumer products, the zombies only eat five percent of their kill. They also hold grudges. Zombies outnumber humans 400,000 to one. Camels, lions and zebras are immune to reanimation, but chimps come back from the dead.

Straightforward as they may be, Romero’s films were rarely what they seemed through the action. Subversive social commentary runs through his 1978 vampire film Martin, which was more about unfettered schizophrenia than vampires. John Amplas played the title role in a very realistic, and very violent, exploration. He drugs and rapes his victims before drinking their blood. The Crazies (1973) was more about the society struck by a military biological weapon more than an epidemic containment film. The Living Dead is more than a zombie novel. It is a bitter parable.

Act Three moves 15 years after the apocalypse as survivors try to put together a new civilization amidst an evolving zombie population. It is a planetary reset. The museums are covered in graffiti and overgrown. People begin to read books, mix paint, shoot each other in the face when agitated. The dead win. 

George A. Romero died on July 16, 2017, a relatively innocent time which, although it was only three years ago, seems very far away. Donald Trump rode a racist wave of xenophobia to the whitest White House the country has seen since President Andrew Jackson, but he was still treated as a joke. The Living Dead was written before COVID-19, the killing of George Floyd and a police force which militarized against protestors faster than the zombies could run in 28 Days Later. Romero and Daniel Kraus are visionaries who were able to make a parable of today’s times in almost real time. The news on Max Headroom came at you from 30 minutes in the future. The future legend of The Living Dead was predicted only months in advance to be delivered exactly on time.  

The Living Dead will be available to buy and read on August 4th. It is now available for pre-order.

The post How The Living Dead Completes Romero’s Zombie Legacy appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[remnant-chronicles]

Chaos

“Now the time has come.” said Darius as he stood atop of a black and white tank, his voice booming in the hangar of which Atlas' army awaited for battle Lyran, Varin, Ric, and his army of Grimm. He continued, “The time has come for you to defend your home. Our home. For far too long Lyran has had his way with our land, but no more. Today we will restore peace. Today we will restore balance! Now march forth and FIGHT!” said Darius in a rousing, but short speech to the roaring solders of Atlas. The solders began running and riding out of the hangar in hordes while Darius jumped off the tank to the ground. He took off his oversized lab-like coat to reveal a metal jumpsuit underneath with pulsing lights in random parts of the legs and arms. The chest piece looked like shimmering water as the gel-like liquid in it was meant to absorb any type of impact to the chest. HAVK was walking toward Darius as he opened a case that was brought to him. He took out two claymores that were almost his own height (almost six feet) and rested them on a table. They were called Castor and Pollux. “You're joining the fray, sir?” asked Hisa. “I think it's time that I stop sitting on the sidelines barking orders. It's time to take some of that 'barking' and put it to good use.” replied Darius, his eyes twinkling. “Do you think you hold your own in battle?” asked Ali as she waltzed up to the two claymores and attempted to lift but couldn't because of their sheer size and weight. She frowned at the swords, thinking trickery, and looked at Lyran. “Why yes, Miss Crimson, I believe I can.” said Darius with a smile. Ali cast the girls an uncertain look as they left the hangar with the rest of the troops and ran to the battle that was already in full effect in the quarry near Atlas. Dust was picking up from the fight and rising to the air casting a dark haze on the landscape. Grimm and solders were locked in battle both tooth and nail, gun and blade. HAVK readied their weapons as they surveyed the battle on a cliff above the battle. “I don't see Lyran anywhere.” said Kira as she checked the tops of the cliffs and mountain sides. “I wouldn't expect him to be.” replied Ali, “Did you think that he would be down there risking his neck?” “Exactly. He's probably going to wait until the crowd thins a bit. Strike when we're at the weakest.” said Hisa as she saw a number of solders get struck down by a pack of Beowolves. “Well then, let's make our entrance shall we?” asked Ali, a gleam in her eye. “Kira's already ahead of you.” said Hisa with a smile as Kira leapt from from the cliff and, with full force, struck the ground with her arms and caused a small wave of energy that tore apart the Grimm that were advancing toward her. “You know, I always tell her not to be so rash. Welp, let's get to it.” said Ali with a shrug. The rest of the girls jumped down and began picking off the Grimm in large numbers. Hisa led the pack, her gauntlets punching and crushing through Grimm while Ali sliced and diced her way to the ones Kira and Hisa were missing. “FROM THE EAST!” came the voice of an unknown soldier, “NEVERMORES!” Hisa and the girls glanced in the direction that the soldier called and were surprised at the dozens of Nevermores flying in their direction. “Why so many?” asked Kira with wonder as she squinted her eyes. “Who cares.” said Ali in a grumble, “Let's be rid of them.” HAVK ran to a clearing to try and stop the Nevermore that were gaining speed by the second. “Ali!” called out Kira, “Star Killer!” “Got it!” replied Ali as she breathed out slowly. Ali got down to a single knee and looked up, her sword glittering in the dust filled sun. She slowed down time to a point where everything seemed like it was standing still. She then threw her sword once, ran over to where it was going to land and caught it. She did it a few times until her semblance gave out. Kira, with the assistance of Hisa using her semblance to convert her gauntlets into several saucer-like objects and made them float in midair, casting small shadows on the ground. In an instant, Ali suddenly appeared, along with several afterimages of her odachi that were popping into appearance. The shadows underneath the saucers grew in size and the odachis fell into them, as if falling into water. “I gotta time it right,” said Kira to herself, her brow furrowed in concentration, “Right...NOW!” All of a sudden, swords flew from underneath the Nevermores at top speed and went through their stomachs and out of their backs. Hisa, thinking on the spot, sent the saucers racing to the swords that were in a state of hovering before gravity took over and melded with the swords. One by one, the swords grew in size as the little nanobugs that were inside of Hisa's gauntlets (originally used to dismantle enemy technology from the inside out) were crawling out of the saucers and covering her sword, as well as the afterimages (considering the afterimages were attaining a physical form because of the speed they were created, they still had a small window of time before they dissipated). Once the swords were nearly triple in size, pointed downward, fell and pierced the Nevermores- killing them- that were flanking Atlas. The victory cheer was short lived as more Grimm (Beowolves) were rushing to the field and attacking soldiers. Before the girls could react, Darius came flying with both of his claymores over his head. With one mighty swing, he nearly leveled the field with a swipe as a shockwave of energy sent both Grimm and ally solders flying. Darius stood in the middle of a small crater he just made staring at the top of a particular mountain, his brow furrowing to a scowl. HAVK followed his gaze and saw Lyran standing at the peak with his arm held out his sides. A mad laughter emanated from his throat as Karashi (a small bird-like Grimm) flew over Lyran's shoulders in vast swarms. Kira's jaw dropped as the sheer number of Karashi darkened the sky. “Well,” piped up Hisa as she adjusted her glasses, “Looks like he's been pretty busy.” “Let's get it done.” said Ali as she readied herself. However, before they could even move one muscle, there was a low and powerful growl that sounded behind Ali that made her jump. She whipped herself around with her sword at the ready only to find the source was Darius. She, along with Hisa and Ali, were surprised at the ferociousness of Darius as he leapt from where he was standing and put his claymores together to form one bazooka-flamethrower combo that shot out missiles as well as blue flames. As Darius swung and took aim at Lyran, blue flames poured from the barrel and covered the Karashi that were swarming behind Lyran. Their ashes were falling toward the ground as Darius shot at Lyran, the force of the shot made him backflip. Lyran dodged the missile and jumped toward Darius, his broadsword ready for and overhead strike. “How nice of you to get off your ass and actually do something for a change.” sneered Lyran as their swords clashed with near deafening clang. “Remind me never to question his orders again in the future.” said Hisa in a nervous laughter. “Shirayuki!” came a voice from Hisa's communicator. “Yes, what is it?” responded Hisa. “We need your help right now in section six! We're outnumbered-ARGH!” said the voice. “Got it! We're on our way!” said Hisa as she ran with Ali and Kira to their location. The scene was grim as solders lie dead on the ground. Hisa surveyed the area and felt her spirits drop. Scattered everywhere were the many bodies of solders, most of the burnt, that were slain in the fight. Kira knelt to one knee and examined some dirt that was very dark in color. Ali examined darkened rocks and boulders and turned to Hisa who was watching the fight between Lyran and Darius from far away. “You would never think that old-man Darius could have that kind of power.” said an impressed Hisa. “Techno Princess,” called out Ali as she picked up a blackened stone, “Will you focus for a second?” “Hmm? What?” asked Hisa as she brought her attention to Ali and took the stone that she was being handed to. “Looks familiar doesn't it?” asked Ali. “I don't know what you're talking abo-no. No way.” said Hisa, a tone of skepticism rising in her voice. “You know I was hoping for some type of fire breathing lizard Grimm, but I think we know who did this.” said Ali. “C'mon, Ali.” said Kira as she joined her teammates, “I'd imagine that Veta has a strong enough will to withstand Lyran's lies.” “I hope so.” said Hisa as the stone disintegrated into a fine powder and scattered in the wind. BOOM! A huge explosion came from underneath HAVK that made them fall to the ground. Dust picked up from the ground as well as some pebbles and small rocks were bouncing around before settling down again. “What was that?” asked Ali as she massaged he backside after falling. “I have no idea,” said Hisa as she adjusted her glasses, “I don't see smoke anywhe-” “Below!” yelled out Kira as she jumped up. Both Ali and Hisa jumped up just in time to witness the giant Grimm Giganters emerge from the ground, both hulking and immensely strong. “Why are they getting bigger? ARGH! They're always getting bigger! What about a cockroach or a mouse or something!?!” grunted Ali in frustration as she dodged a swing from one of the emerging Giganter's arms. “You should be used to this by now, Ali!” yelled Hisa as she shot one of the Giganters with a special Gravity Dust round from her gauntlets causing one of its arms to get sucked into a gravitational vortex. Kira took charge against two of the dozen Giganters that were attacking by slipping into the shadows that were behind the giants and attacking them by getting their feet stuck and then using her momentum from diving from shadow to shadow, pummeling their legs until they crumbled from the damage. As Kira was doing her thing, Ali was was having a bit of fun confusing her enemies as she slowed down time while dodging the attacks from their massive arms. As she used her semblance, she took the opportunity to slice their weak points: their joints. Each slice made an appendage unusable as Ali cut through the softer muscle tissue that at their joints. More and more began crumbling under the weight of their unusable limbs making them susceptible to a kill shot from Ali's shotgun. Hisa was was having a bit of trouble with her collection of Giganters. She wasn't as strong or fast as Kira or Ali, but she was holding her own as she tried copying Ali's way of fighting them. As she dodged the Giganter's swings, she would shoot at their exposed muscle at their joints. Only difference was that the bullets contained her nanobots that in turn exploded when enough of them gathered in one spot. After the Giganters were defeated, Hisa and the rest gathered together all out of breath but otherwise unscathed. “I need a break after that.” said Kira as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “We will.” said Hisa, “I'll buy everyone dinner. Varin included, after this is said and done.” “Shirayuki! We're being overrun at Section Two!” said a voice in Hisa's communicator. “Damn it! Can't they cut us some slack?” asked Ali as she hit the pommel of her sword. “This is war, Ali. We're not gonna get any brakes until he's dead.” said Kira as she stretched her arms. Ali nodded and followed Hisa as they ran to Section Two. After a quick run, they found themselves in the middle of a huge battle between man and Grimm. Solders were battling everything from Beowolves to Arujiros and even more Karashi. “Let's do this once again, ladies.” yelled Hisa as she shot random Grimm that were in her vicinity. Ali and Kira followed suit as Kira started slipping into the shadows and attacking Beowolves from underneath with a devastating uppercut to their chests. The impact made them explode from the pelvis on upward. Ali seemed like a blur as she started using her gun to propel herself faster as she used her semblance. The Beowolves and Arujrios that she was attacking had no time to react as she cut through swathes of Grimm like they were standing still (which, in her case, they were). “AHHH! NO!” came the scream from Hisa. Ali turned in the direction of Hisa's voice and saw to her horror that her foot was caught in a hole on the ground with dozens of Grimm running towards her. It looked like she was trying pull it out, but her foot was stuck in the hole pretty well. Ali, who was too far away and almost out of “juice” from over using her semblance, turned and looked at Kira who nodded in understanding. Kira raised her arms and cast a shadow at Ali's feet. She dove into it as Kira cast another one so that Ali can dive into that one so that she can increase her momentum. After doing this five times in a row, Kira cast a shadow towards a rock face so that Ali could launch at top speed from. In an instant, Ali cut through most of the Grimm like they were hot butter while Kira smashed the last few to a pulp. Ali extended a helping hand to Hisa, which she took, and stood her up on her feet. Kira then pummeled the hole that Hisa's foot was stuck in to free her. “Thanks both of you,” said Hisa with a calming sigh, “I didn't want to do anything stupid to myself.” “You're lucky we heard you over the racket.” said Kira as she took a cloth and wiped her hands with it. “Now I think we should head back over to ba-” started Hisa, but was cut off by a bright flash of light and a burst of wind. “What was that?” asked Ali as she squinted in the direction of the flash. “I don't know, but let's go!” said Hisa as she started running toward the source. Ali and Kira followed at top speed, the closer they got, the more destroyed everything looked. From burnt plant life, to scorched rocks, the scene was a depressing one. The girls stopped at the edge of a cliff that faced the Atlas headquarters and started down at profusely morose scene. Once again, bodies laid scattered all over the ground both burnt and broken. “We were close this time. C'mon let's get to the bottom.” said Hisa as she jumped down Once they were on ground level, the girls started investigating the scene. Hisa caught something from the corner of her eye; a soldier that somehow survived. He was moving his arms around as he looked like he was trying to stand. Hisa ran over to him and put a comforting had on his chest. “Kasian,” said Hisa as she glanced at his name tag, “If you can, tell me what happened here?” “We were overrun. I don't think I've ever seen that many Grimm...concentrated in a...single area before.” said Kasian through painful breaths. “What else? It's okay, take your time.” said Hisa. “We somehow sta...rted to gain...the upper hand...That's when...they showed up.” “Who?” asked Ali, her brow furrowing. “I don't know. A...boy and some...one who burned.” said Kasian. “Burned? Asked Kira. “Look around you.” said Kasian raising an arm to signal the surrounding area. “What did they do?” asked Hisa. “The...boy said something to the oth..er one and then fell through the floor as if it...as if it were water.” said Kasian, his breaths coming in small heaves. “And the other one?” asked Ali. “Fi..re” said Kasian before his head slumped to the side and he breathed no more. “That was most likely Ric with this other person.” said Hisa as she closed his eyes and put his arms at his sides. “Other person?” scoffed Ali, “We all know who it is, Hisa. Don't deny it either, Kira.” Just when Hisa was going to answer, a blast of heat hit the girls like a train hitting a car. Dust began unsettling from the ground as the heat came in pulses followed by loud clangs and booms. Ali looked in the direction of where the noises was coming from. “Hisa, I think that's where Darius is. We should head over there.” she said. “Agreed,” said Hisa nodding her head, “Double time it, ladies.” Hisa, Ali and Kira ran at top speed to where the source of the action was coming from. Dead Grimm were still dissolving as Hisa and the girls were getting closer to a menacing looking cliff. Together they ran towards the top and then stopped abruptly as Hisa uttered a short but loud cry. Standing at the edge of the cliff was Lyran- who was covered in cuts, bruises, and scrapes- Ric, who looked at Hisa in surprise, and the person standing next to Ric that was holding Darius, off the side of a cliff, up by his neck. The person holding Darius was dressed in a black jumpsuit that had lights flashing all over it and a helmet with Nazca style line's flashing across the visor. The visor had a huge crack in it, revealing the face of the person inside. “NO!” yelled Kira as she took a step closer to see the person's face better. Standing at the edge of the cliff holding a battered and bruised Darius was none other than..Veta.